Note: I won't post the whole description of Nikalanta again - therefore I ask you to use the link below or directly jump to the Azum guild to get the basic information about Nikalanta's structure/design. Danke^^
Part IV - Nikalanta I
And before Lucind went on showing Maximos her memories of the arrival in Nikalanta, she gave him a summary of the wonderous city's design and structure, taking the atlas that was still lying between them to flip open a page which showed a construction map.
"Nikalanta's main station is quite a sight. Though I got the impression that it would be difficult to find a calm spot in this city. Well, I found out it is possible, but during our stay we mainly frequented those quarters with the highest population.
The station is on the same level as the entertainment floors of the living areas - and as you can see you can choose between normal stairs, escalators and elevators to get up onto the main floor.
But the Aishwarya and the rest of us separated for the time being, 'cause Kemecha, Tagis and Kaled had come up with the plan to bring Sun, Vahn, Owle and me to a secret place that the others, including Tagis, didn't know of. So, on the main floor, the Aishwarya, Tagis and we choose a different way: Tagis wanted to meet someone at the local station where we had ended up - there, you see...that's what I've just told you: all parts of the city aren't only connected by passages you can walk along or drive along with anything that doesn't produce exhaust fumes, but also by a smaller and slower working train net...or well, the vehicles for the oldest part of Nikalanta seem to be more old school, but that's just for the look."
The water screen displayed the group around Kemecha entering such a small, old looking train, whose interior was but almost as comfortable as the express had been. It was, however, crowded here as well. But it got visibly better once they entered Section d. It was like...
"...stepping into a big hall...well, huge, to say the least." Especially at this point it became handy that the view changed between the members of the group so that Maximos could get the best sight on the section. Far in the distance he would notice the opposite wall, separating this section from the Core, the oldest part of Nikalanta; not that far away were left and right the walls with its two arc shaped passages, dividing Section a - f from each other.
"And there you have this \'tower\', in the middle.* The renovation works for this one had been finished half a year ago, the apartments' rents and the hotel prices are expensive compared to other accommodations in Area 1...likely not in comparison to the...house where we were going to stay, though, hehe. I visited the tower once, will show you later on, had a coffee in one of the cafes there.
We walked to the address Kemecha had organized for us, using a cell phone like device. Everybody was fine with having walk after the train ride, and in this way we also directly got to see a bit of Jitro's capital city."
Maximos could now see himself that the inner parts of Nikalanta were a patchwork of architectural styles, be it along the walls, where the buildings were stapled on each other, growing up the wall because after a while people weren't allowed to erect new houses, temples or whatever in front of the old - one of two main roads, leading through all Sections and through the passages of the walls, was the border for any further building sites. Those roads also sported tracks for the 'oldschool' trains, that were only flanked by waist high barriers, if any at all. And so, the building terrace along the walls were like a vast burrow - the area between them and the tower in the center didn't look much different from Semyon. Still, with many information boards, some even run electronically, it was easier to get from a to b than in the seaport.
Also, another distinct difference between Nikalanta and Semyon was that all those foreign influences that reached the port got to bloom in the melting pot that Nikalanta was: there was a variety of nations and languages. Even though Azumerians were still in the majority, you came to see faces from Gaia and the other continents, many being employed in one of a local stores.
"The sense of fashion has also shifted in this city, Eastern and Western designs are combinated or fused into a new style. There were groups of youths following the latest 'in' movement called 'desert punk'....there, those guys, for example." She pointed at the screen. "It's a pity I didn't have the time for a good shopping tour," Lucind sighed.
The group stopped at a street vendor to buy some kind of dumplings - before the recollection jumped forward to the point where everybody walked into a narrow side street, directly leading into the sections 'burrow' quarter.
"First, it looked just as jumbled and topsy-turvy as I'd expected. But after turning left and right and left again - you wonder how people get along with this maze - and finally came to a high wall, which had the 'Whoa' effect on everybody...also because of those two bulky men there."
Wearing cotton pants, wrapping skirts and barely nothing on their torso, their impressive muscles made you think twice about going through the double swinging door behind them. Kemecha however just greeted the grim looking guys, whereupon one of them nodded and said something, waving them through. Behind this wall, everything looked much cleaner - not that the rest of the section was messy, but not a single leave lied on the light, patterned stone floor. They had stepped into a large inner courtyard, the buildings left, right and ahead kind of melting into one, especially since a gallery lead around the second floor of half of them. And to a stair leading up to said gallery, Kemecha led the group. As Maximos would probably notice, it wasn't nearly as crowded in there than it had been on the open streets, but all persons being in this secluded corner looked wealthy, neatly clad - and many of them extremely handsome. On the screen, Vahn and Owle exchanged confused looks.
A bit down the gallery, a girl looked out of a low window, her elbows leaning on the sill, her face in her hands. She looked nothing short to a doll with her white skin that showed a shimmer effect like silk, the silvery white, extremely thin hair and the tiny, really tiny mouth with cherry red lipgloss; her face was heart shaped and the eyes were extremely huge....and dark purple. She didn't look older than fourteen, her voice was that of a teenager - but behaved like a 'grande dame', without being bossy or bitchy, but with an aura of wisdom and mischief. On a second look it became apparent how thin she was....actually, her arms and fingers were longer than normal.
She greeted Kemecha with the sweetest smile and curiously peeked at the others. The window in which she lay had three curtains which folded around the girl, veiling everything below her flat chest.
"A good day, dear. A nice bunch of fellows you're bringing this time. And they're guests only? No clients?" As it turned out, her Gaian was fairly good.
"Only guests. No special treatment." Kemecha grinned broadly before turning around. Through her eyes, you could see Lucind downing a grin, a similar expression was marking Sun's face, whereas Owle and Vahn had started looking a tad uneasy. "This is Sugi. She'll be your hostess as long as you're staying in Nikalanta....unless something urges to relocate you."
"Welcome to my Garden," Sugi said, still smiling, her huge eyes nearly closed. "Make yourself at home. One of my servants will show you your rooms. I'll join in later."
On the right side of the window, there was a wooden gate in the form of a skillfully worked lattice - behind, a small world of luxury, pleasant smells, fine food and relaxation began. The interior, they would soon find out, was simply magnificent, though not too overloaded. Just as they had all shuffled into a short corridor - the door on the left could only lead into the room where Sugi was - a young man in pompous robes came walking through the main hall in which the corridor ended. He obviously was from the West, since his fine features had nothing Azumerian. His long honey blond hair fell over his shoulders when her welcomed them with a bow - and his smile resembled Sugi's.
"Welcome. My name is Orendel. I will show you around and you can always come to me if you have a question," he started, his pronunciation being much clumsier than that of his mistress.
Lucind delivered the synchro for this scene.
"I've got a question." That was Vahn.
"Yes?" Orendel smiled broadly.
"Is this here a brothel or something,"he asked bluntly. He was obviously not too fond of the idea of staying in Sugi's 'garden'.
"Yes," Orendel answered, still smiling in the same sweet way. "You can say this it is, but we also have normal guests who...uhm...just want to have a room and maybe a bit company, but no close contact. Of course, I make sure you don't get into a...unpleasant situation. But my colleagues know that you are no clients."
Vahn just stared at the man, discomfort and irritation written all over his face, then he looked at Kemecha who had turned into a Cheshire cat. "You brought us to a brothel...??"
Owle, who was standing half behind Vahn, was obviously more than embarrassed of the whole situation and glanced at Sunstrike as if searching for help - he, however, was peeking around, curiosity twinkling in his eyes.
"How many men and women are working here, Orendel?" Lucind asked, just as relaxed as Sun.
"Twenty eight. Including two cooks. And we only have male employees."
Did Sun's ears just wiggle?
Well, Vahn's vein was throbbing menacingly. Owle looking from one to the other.
"I see," Lucind said on the screen and right next to Maximos, chuckling under her breath. "But you're clients are male and female?" Owle's already pink cheeks turned just a shade darker.
"That is right." Orendel nodded - did he have another expression in his repertoire than this cute smile?
"You'll like it!" Kemecha nudged Vahn, who mumbled something inarticulate. "And you're safe here."
"I already love it!" That was Sun. When he noticed Owle's face, he wrapped an arm around her, and whispered something like, "No worries, dear. It'll be alright. And I'd never cheat on you, haha.."
"Not that Owle felt at ease then," Lucind explained Maximos," but I think she preferred searching cover with Sunstrike more than behind Vahn."
"Anyway, we got two rooms, not the largest, but still....would've liked to take all furniture, carpets and accessories with me, hehe. And we had no problems with whatsoever, Orendel made sure we had our privacy, we got a wonderful breakfast every morning we were there - and we were indeed safe there, 'cause as soon as we had brought our stuff in the rooms and made a short trip through the neighborhood, we noticed that there weren't only the guards in front of the gate, but also more security staff within, for those who visit this...special corner normally are wealthy and the owners of the 'hotels', restaurants and gambling clubs want to keep the exclusiveness of their business alliance."
"It was planned that we would meet Kaled at six at the so called Mosrin Gate, one of the gates between area R1 and R2. So until then, we had several hours off - but I wanted to relax before we'd meet the Aishwarya council, therefore I went with the others to do take a short walk around the surrounding blocks, but then returned to Sugi's Garden, with Kemecha for company, she didn't want to leave me alone. After that, she had to leave to report to the CoD headquarter...err..Clan of Dorya, I mean.
And while I napped in our wonderful room," - Maximos would see it on the water screen -," Sun had a special encounter that was going to change a lot for him in the course of events... Hmm, even though I count him a good friend, I don't actually know much about him. But what I learned a while ago - and you probably saw it, too, during the Heaven or Hell tournament - is that one part of Sunstrike is resided by a lizard. In what way his visible self and the lizard are connected, I can't tell. Suppose it's about buried memories of another life. Or the man we see is a product of the lizard character and...something else. Anyway. Since the whole story was something really private for Sunstrike, I didn't ask him to show me what he'd experienced in the two days and nights he suddenly vanished during our mission.
But it all started with a little thief..."
Lucind told Max in a few sentences that, while the rest of the group went on shopping, a boy of probably twelve years pilfered a pendant Sunstrike had bought from a vendor - and that the redhead had followed him, not so much because of the jewelry, but because the boy was a lizard Chimera, looking different from "Sun's" people, but definitely a small humanoid reptile that directly captured Sunstrike's attention and interest completely.
As it turned out, Sunstrike managed to keep up with the thief and thus finally entered The Circus, a cabaret in the basement floor of Nikalanta, which was the place for entertainment and fun in most areas or sections, the right place to spent your leisure, be it in a club, or a gambling hall, even movie theater could be found there; but also some fairly shady corners.
"Sun said the lizard boy's parents were members of The Circus, and that the artists there were a bunch of crazy, yet friendly folks. He got his pendant back plus free tickets for the evening show - but the latter really wasn't necessary for you could see it written all over Sunstrike's face that he wanted to meet those Chimera again anyway.
The meeting with the heads of the Aishwarya came first, however."
*
The soul mirror showed how the complete group was guided by Kemecha, winding through the narrow streets, taking the cable car to the newer area R1, where also the city's leading heads were residing: the whole atmosphere this section gave off was more noble, quieter, offering more space between all facilities...probably less exciting for adventurous people but better for the faint hearted and those with a good filled wallet. What caught the spectator's eye furthermore was the ceiling being higher than in the Sections a - f, equipped with an end-to-end artificial sky.
"Our destination was Nikalanta's Zin Hasin. Basically...this is what most people over there associate with Sirens - and what I learned that day is that my kind has its own place in the Azumerian culture...not a respected one at all places, but especially in Jitro Sirens are seen and frequented for their knowledge about body and soul." At this point, a certain softness and admiration mingled with Lucind's voice.
"Those Zin Hasins can be found all over Azum, even a few in the less populated, simple life areas in the West. The easiest way to translate it is 'bath house'. 'Zin', however - a Seireneian word - stands for the healing effects of water. 'Hasin' is Azumeric, once used in the meaning of 'temple' or 'holy place', today it usually describes a public building.
But it's more than a bathing house, as a matter of fact.
Well, the main area is for wellness: several pools with different water temparatures, some designed like a cave, filled with sea water or supplied by subterrnean lakes. You've got steam and mud baths, saunas, resting corners...a cave with hot stones which was a favorite place for reptilian Chimera...a hammam right next to the changing room."
Picture after picture ran over the watery screen, revealing the wonderful interior of the Zin Hasin: even though it showed many adornments or ornamentations typical for Azum, the design of each room was quite plain and calming, an interaction of wood, dark grey stone and light marble. There were candles, indirect electrical light, honey coloured lamps or windows, very few sculptures or decorations, but placed in a very subtle way so that you weren't distracted but could just focus on yourself...and relax.
"The architecture reminded me a lot of ours, I mean, that of the Gaian Sirens. And we, too, have such bath houses, but not in this extent...and mainly for ourselves... Which is a pity indeed."
A second area, Lucind went, was visited by those who felt sick in any way, for there they could find traditional healers and massagers - and not all of them were Sirens. "Also those whose minds were troubled, who were mentally disturbed went there. What I found impressive is that this area was nearly opened twenty four hours a day, giving people the chance to find someone there whenever they needed help.
I was...taken aback...to say the least...even had bitter feelings stuck in my throat. I thought, 'Why are you asking for our help? You've got the life I always wished for us: as a part of society, doing what was once supposed to be our task - to aid other souls, in whatever way.' And yet, right when we were given a tour through the Zin Hasin, my speculations as to why the Aishwarya called out for us Western Sirens became much clearer...'cause their life, no matter how harmonic it seemed to be, was in danger. A danger barely noticable, but steadily growing. One very similar to the Chimera sorrows."
The third part consisted of private rooms and namely was the place where Lucind and the other should meet the Aishwarya council.
The group finally walked into a large, rectangular room, showing the same design like the rest of the bath house. Two lines of ottomans moved into a dark brown soft fabric were arranged opposite of each other, describing a slight bow so that they all ottomans together nearly built a circle. In the end, there were five seats facing fourteen. On the latter, the council was already assembled: seven female Sirens - fullbloods and halfs -, in the middle, as Lucind explained, Shankar's sister Bedular, a handsome woman, too, but with a pair of sharp looking eyes that went well with her neatly combed back greenish blue hair.
"Directly thought it was obvious why they've made her their spokeswoman. Bedular isn't only the council's representative, so, something like the final judge when it comes to matters within the clan, but is also a member of Nikalanta's senate and thus negotiates with other politicians and representatives. Got the impression she has quite the right connections...and thus some influence."
Maximos would see how Lucind and the other four - Kemecha had stayed behind at some point - were guided to their seats, providing that Lucind sat opposite of Bedular. And behind Lucind's group, in the background, there were Kaled, Shankar, Yaranahe, Eshnared and a few other Sirens.
Bedular, a fullblood Siren, by the way, first greeted the guests in the typical manner of her race: index and middle finger touching forehead, lips and chest, introduced both parties to each other, then sat down and went on talking, a soft, somewhat wise smile on her face.
"Basically, she came down to business without any unnecessary chitchat. What I noticed was that Bedular obviously spoke in a way it wasn't planned before with the other members, for she got several confused looks as you will see.
'I know there's a lot of mistrust and doubt on both sides, West and East.' That's how she started.
'But I think, I believe it's about time to overcome all misunderstandings, all animosity.
No matter whether or not you find a way to reconnect us to the collective, the Lhor aven, I am determined to do everything in my power to initiate a reunification of our culture and that of the remaining Siren world. Thinking back of the few attempts of approach, which have all failed, makes it clear that this time it can't be accomplished just like that, too. It takes time, but I hope we will find tolerant and understanding partner in each other.'
At that point, it was me to be confused though I did my best not to show it - but I didn't know there'd been - who knows how serious - efforts to mediate between both sides.
Anyways. Bedular's speech appeared to be professional, a bit daring maybe, but rather target-oriented and considerate in the right measure. But what I also noticed was she was hardly able to suppress an urgency, insecurity close to anxiety even, which told me she was sincere with her words.
She then admitted that, aside from the general wish to see the Azumerian Sirens integrated into the global Siren society, the reason for their call was their need of help - and yes, they were hoping to obtain more power and thus wished for the reconnection to work this time, to express it in a very simplified way.
Bedular made a step back, so to say, and explained what the Aishwarya were and gave us a few examples of the differences between their way of living and ours - and that of the other 'normal' clans on Azum. During the nearly five hundred years of the continent's 'second' history, the Aishwarya clan had turned from a group of outcasts to a new attitude of living a Siren's life, which has been joined by many members of those clans who had lived in Azum before.
Over the time after The Rain they had established their own...you can say, rank, in society. They helped a great deal to overcome the tragedy, even though all of them must've been traumatized themselves. They did what we're supposed to do, trying to cure mind and also the body. The Aishwarya are reknowned healers and diplomats. Whereas the other clans have developed in a way similar to ours on Gaia: for various reasons, they retreated to live alone, usually along the coast, not interferring with anyone else's business.
So...there wasn't...or isn't just the gap between East and West, but there's also lot of coldness being exchanged between the Azumerian Sirens as it is. Back at that meeting, Bedular was cautious with her words at least when it came to their relationship to the other clans on that continent. But..."
Lucind lightly shook her head as though she had decided to first go on with her summary of the meeting at the Zin Hasin. The tea mug in her hands was only luke warm.
She then recapitulated the recent history of Azum, just like Bedular had done, pointing out the growing conflicts between humans and Chimera, humans and humans, Chimera and Chimera. The current problem was that the local troups of the Clan of Dorya, especially those stationed at Nikalanta's overground outskirts to which also Kaled Onroy belonged, had been under regular attack of a group of Meohar Chimera. It had first started with minor skirmishes and mockery, just like it was the problem everywhere on Azum: there were many of the "free" living Meohar accusing the CoD members or other Chimera who worked for governmental establishments to be traitors, fawning cowards, slaves of the human population.
"After a while, though, it became apparent that this was more than the usualy, stupid quarrels - and you see, the Dorya guys aren't completely innocent, either. That is, what I always bear in mind and also noticed after a few days in Azum: only a very few are without guild. It doesn't mean that everybody else is bad and to be damned. But..." She took the last sip of her tea and put the mug back on the table. "I don't have to tell you that we're living in shades of grey. You've got the extreme cases on both sides, yet the predominant part of our world isn't that easy to read." Leaning back against the wall, Lucind turned her head, grinning ever so slightly. "It's like in those freaky children stories and fairytales: a maggot might hide in the most delicous praline." Soft laughter. "Someone once said that enough sugar coats everything evil. On the other hand, way too often beauty and good will is overseen when wrapped in ugliness or gentle darkness.
...Sugi is a good example."
For a moment, Lucind's memories switched back to the Garden: Lucind and the others were sitting in some common room, talking to Orendel, having tea, when, out of the corridor's shadow, Sugi came to them. Vahn and Sun nearly jumped into action, Owle didn't look less alarmed. Lucind, though, despite looking highly confused, just took another sip from her tiny cup.
"I had heard Sugi's voice, her laughter when she'd addressed some other customer, but the sounds she made were...wrong...it wasn't sounding as if a human was approaching: I heard the steps of more than two feet."
And out of the dark a pair of long, snowy grey insectoid legs teetered into the soft light of the room - right afterwards, the rest of Sugi's body followed: down to the ribcage, everything was more or less 'normal', aside from the already mentioned long, thin arms and fingers; then, however, a wasp-waist followed...literally. Below, the body elongated into a rice corn shaped back part. On the whole, Sugi looked like a humanoid wasp...only that her six legs were longer and stronger than those of a wasp or a bee, proportionally to their bodies. And somehow...aside from the fact that the sight of an insect Chimera was grotesque enough - Sugi was really tall if she only used those legs to lift her body -, something else was a bit off. She wore a corsett, and a vest, and a shawl around shoulders - but the 'cape' loosely fastened to her back revealed small bumps along...was that a spine?
"Sugi belongs to the recessive Chimera, those who either can't procreate or lose the animal features bit by bit - the latter applies to insect Chimera. But in all generations, the humanoid and non-human genes never seemed fully compatible. Thus, nearly every Chimera of this kind showed or shows minor or heavy deformations. As you can see here, Sugi's rear section isn't perfectly shaped like you see it with a wasp, for example but shows a shift to the right, when you stand in front of her, thanks to malformed spinal remnants...see the vertebrae sticking out there?
Also, she told me that after she hatched she still had a second pair of human arms, but they were completely underdeveloped and of no use. That is why their parents had them amputated after a while.
And believe it or not, that girl's older than I am...!" Lucind laughed. "But an amazing woman. You get this granma feeling when being with her, she knows so much, uncovers simple but deep truths of life...
- But enough of that for now.
What I was going to say was that the attacks on the Dorya only seemed to be random - but first secret investigations indicated that there was system behind the apparent arbitrariness: the rumor spread that this was nothing short to an attempt to have the Clan members appear in a bad light by luring them into charging...and likely into a trap which would make them the bad guys. And, depending on how serious the outcome of this conflict might be, it was going to have harsh consequences not only for the CoD, but also for Chimera in general, Jitro's government, Nikalanta's council...which, by the way, is mainly under the influence of an old family of cat Chimera.
This is also where Tagis comes into play: as I mentioned earlier, she's also part of the Clan of Dorya, and, as a matter of fact, she's leading the investigations, together with her own little department. On the ship she already told us about the smoldering aggression on both sides, that many Dorya members demanded to finally do something against the 'Meohar scum'...even threated to do something on their own.
Therefore, finding out what was going on behind the scenes, means, who stood behind the attacks of those Chimera living in the Meohar Mountains, had top priority. 'Cause with the tensed atmosphere in the East of Azum, any crisis could have been the straw that breaks the camel's back... Tagis said that both Jitro and Lahadam wouldn't be happy to start a war, though, despite the restricting laws King Amralkais of Lahadam enacted to restrict the Chimera's life. Means...what both governments were fearing most when we arrived, what the Clan of Dorya and the Aishwarya and seemingly many citizens of both countries were fearing most was...well, something like a civil war.
That was, too, what Bedular told us, and then asked me if I had already taked to Tagis concerning the latest results of the investigation, for this was something not even the rest of the Aishwarya council, nor the rest of the attendees were allowed to know - though back then I doubted that especially Kaled was completely clueless, since one of the strong suspicions Tagis and her department had was that a traitor lived among the Dorya members. The two other options were that the wirepuller, if not more than one, was to be found among the Meohar or the Lahadamean government...or that these possible cases were even connected with each other.
'And that is why', Bedular went on,' that is the other reason why we officially asked for help. These days, we have to meet nearly the same mistrust that is shown the Chimera, although it's not obvious here in this region - not yet. We Aishwarya helped bringing this country back to life. Therefore, we need...we could do so much more if our abilities would be completed.'"
While Lucind recited Bedular, Maximos could see how the council's spokeswoman was gesturing more agitated than before.
"'We can't just watch how our life, everything around us slowly breaks apart - we are in the position to ease the conflicts, to help understanding each other. We, the Aishwarya want to understand our fellow citizens in a better way. It is our duty to make this here a better world for family...for everybody.'"
At this point, Lucind would glance at Max.
"Finally she added that, even if it still wasn't possible to lead their souls back to the lhor aven, that they nevertheless wished for nothing more than an exchange between West and East, and, yes, they also humbly asked for help should things get worse there. Of course, in this situation, they wouldn't demand too much and that the Aishwarya understood it was going to be a long, slow process, probably with a few setbacks - until both Siren cultures would find together. Therefore, they wouldn't want to push for anything."
The next comment coming from Bedular perceivably made the rest of the council feel uneasy. The soul mirror showed how Lucind stood up, walked over to the fullblood Siren and knelt down in front of her. With the view changing, one could see Larhien narrowing his eyes, and also Sun, Vahn and Owle tensing up ever so slightly.
"She asked me to check her mind. Heh, I found that a bit overdramatic, but on the other hand, it's nothing unusual among Sirens. Though I felt that the other council members were a tad scandalized that she insisted and I did it in the end. She was 'clean'. I mean, I didn't want to intrude too deeply, and also did the scan very carefully, more like I would do it with someone who's not of our kind. 'Told' her that she wouldn't necessarily have to go this far, but she just 'answered' that she did what was necessary to help her people, her land and all Sirens in general."
When Lucind stood up after closing the connection to Bedular, you could see a girl running over who must've slipped into the room and wriggled through the others standing behind Larhien and the others. So, right when Lucind turned around, she found herself being hugtackled by said girl: she didn't appear to be older than ten, though with the fact she obviously was a Siren, too - that pair of prominent ears peeked through her extremely long, silken hair - her real age was to settle somewhere else. With large eyes of a dark brownish amber, she beamed up at the Half Siren.
Sitting next to Maximos, Lucind smiled softly. "This is Fhezi. She is...well, back then I learned that she was a half like me, even though her skin is just as pale as mine. Still, I didn't wonder about her dark blue hair, with some streaks of brown and green - you know, fullbloods have fair hair when they're still young, but it darkens bit by bit until, at the end of their life, it's nearly black.
Fhezi was quite the known little girl among the Aishwarya, also in that area of Nikalanta. She doesn't speak. No matter what they tried, no matter to which healer she was brought, nobody could tell what was wrong - or more like, that nothing seemed to be wrong with her, and that it simply must be something mental. But as you can see, Fhezi laughs. Every once in a while, she also chuckles or cries. Most of the time, though, she just seemed to be happy or in a wonderous calm state nothing can shatter...despite her mother being sick and weak ever since she gave life to her daughter. Never learned something 'bout the father, by the way.
Well, as it turned out, from that moment on, the girl barely left my side, even if it meant escaping her nanny or her relatives or whoever was in charge of looking after her. I really didn't mind for I liked her a lot immediately and assumed she thought me to be cool for I came from far a way.
So...there you see that the meeting was more or less over then. Bedular informed us about the next steps, which was what Kaled had told us earlier: we were going to travel to the coast to do the examination, to see if the Azumerian Sirens were in any way compatible to the lhor aven. Political duties only allowed her to leave the town in three days. But maybe, so she said, we would like to use the time to learn more about the Aishwarya lifestyle and the current situation in Azum's East by ourselves.
As she said goodbye and we stood up, I turned around just in time to see Kaled's expression before he left: on the first look he looked as grim as always, but I could also make out a faint trace of bitterness and disappointment I couldn't fully interpret at this time."
All this, Maximos would be able to see on the water screen, before it turned blank.
*
"And indeed, I used the few days to gather as much information as possible, be it via talking to people, browsing through newspapers or using the internet, which is almost on the same level of development and speed as the one we have here, but can only be accessed in the newest areas of Nikalanta.
The other agreed to help me. Sunstrike, I knew, wanted to find out more about the lizard Chimera, but that was fine for me, also since he gathered some information just like Owle and Vahn did: I wanted to know what kind of life and what sort of reputation the Aishwarya and the other Siren clans really had on this continent. Not just with view on my mission - but also to start paying pack Tagis. Because Bedular had only asked me if I had already received certain data from Tagis for she knew Larhien and me had agreed to help the 'captain' with finding the person or persons who organized the assaults on the Dorya. That this was our compensation for more than bringing us to Azum, the Aishwarya leader didn't know..."
The Half Siren stopped for a moment, obviously putting her thoughts in order, before she went on.
"On the night before we left for the Siren village at the coast, we finally wanted to visit The Circus, the cabaret where Sunstrike had made first contact with the lizards. I was on my way, together with Owle, to meet the guys at the entrance and had made a short stop to jump into a crowded tea store. When I walked out..." Here, the soul mirror started sending Lucind's memories again.
"I saw how two guys were just about to leave Owle alone, wearing stupid grins. She looked extremely pissed and told me that she couldn't really tell what those sleazy men had wanted from her - they only spoke some Azumeric dialect - but that they had been extremely pushy and brash. Apprently they had tried to make her come with them, and their efforts only ceased when Owle's initial embarrassment and polite rejection had turned into open anger...
The rest of the evening was really pleasant. We met all those freaky, interesting guys from The Circus, starting with Soi'so, the cabaret's leader and manager, who regularily drove his team crazy with his childishness and carefree behaviour, had his hair dyed in three different lurid colours, but otherwise only wore black clothes, sometimes pieces who gave him an effeminate air.
After Vahn and Suntrike had briefed me on their latest inquiries concerning the Aishwarya, we did nothing else but enjoying the artists' program, for example this cat dance."
The memory forwarded a bit, until a group of male and female cat Chimera entered the round stage around which the audience was positioned: their performance bristled with energy and a nearly aggressive vitality.
In between, Fhezi showed up and scrambled up onto Lucind's lap.
"Back then I already sensed that here, too, thing's weren't painted in black and white...and I nearly feared the outcome of the reconnection test..."
*I've got no idea if all this works out in means of the architecture, if one fat tower and the walls are enough to support a hall/cave of about 5 times 10 kilometer...I'm not even still fully sure bout the structure, in what (dis)order the buildings are placed and so on, but I think in this case it's better to have everybody of you fill in the gaps yourself.
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" Larhien made a whining face while walking up onto the small platform.
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It was very much inspired by the imagery you used to describe the song's effects. ))
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