Chapter 26: Vol.1 Part. 26: Gate of Athylia

The sun, long gone by noon, shone reddish through the windy day on Athylia's artistic houses, illuminating the city. Rays of light were colored by crystals built into the walls of the homes as runes threw their light onto the streets in new splendor.

Sighsten, troubled by recent events, awaited his friend's return to his office. He had left the wall around lunchtime to assemble an investigative team that would get to the bottom of what had happened.

The Soulguard, an elite unit under the direct command of the king and bishop, was his choice. It was their loyalty that gave him confidence. Because they took a magic oath, they couldn't betray the kingdom, or their soul would shatter. They act for the good of Athylia and protect the crown and scriptures with their life. All of their souls were covered with a mighty seal that only the gods or the crown could break.

It took him some time to be granted an audience with the king and get permission to entrust the Soulguard with that task. Now they were on the streets of the city.

The requirements to join this unit were unbelievably high. Not only did they require extraordinary abilities in magical knowledge, but It was also vital that they had the flexibility and an extraordinary gift of perception. They had to be adaptable to their orders to be able to obtain information in any situation.

Sighsten wished that all soldiers in this kingdom behaved with equal professionalism. But he knew that this would never be feasible.

A knock interrupted the silent office. He looked at the door, which was opened shortly afterward by a person. Neo, his best friend entered the room and bowed.

"Greetings, Sighsten," Neo spoke. "I bring the results of the investigation." As expected, Ebonee was not present. But in the current crisis, he thought it would be better if she continued to guard the walls. Not that her behavior would be any different if peaceful doves were flying over the kingdom.

Sighsten nodded. "Greetings Neo. I take it you're done with the inspection?"

"Luckily, we didn't find any other runes in the southern masonry. The other cardinal points are currently being examined by selected soldiers."

"That's wonderful news. Now all that is left to be seen is whether the Soulguard can learn anything about the saboteur."

They both turned to the door when a knock interrupted their conversation.

"Are you expecting someone else?"

"Not really," Sighsten replied before inviting the person in.

The door swung open with tremendous force as a knight in blue robes entered the room. His face was still red and strained. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Sir Sighsten, we have received an emergency message from Kanah." He handed him the letter before bowing and leaving the room.

With a low growl, he took the letter while trying to hide his face under a mask of false Emotions. The message was sealed with a red wax stamp depicting the respective elements.

He pressed his ring, adorned with a brilliant purple jewel, against the sigil of the Elemental Brigade. The wax flashed briefly before breaking open with a small flash of light and cracking. Crumbs fell under the trembling hand as the envelope was opened with a dark expression.

"That's bad," said Sighsten. He looked up and saw his good friend's confused expression. "Kanah retreats under the oncoming monsters. According to her estimate, it will take the monsters almost four days to hit our wall. So we have a lot to prepare."

"Furthermore, she asked that we provide a dwelling for two people."

"Oh yes?"

"Although she didn't mention who was coming, I assume from her previous letters that one of the two people is Luna." Sighsten scratched the back of his head. He was very interested in getting to know Luna. If she could reach the dark horror in the forest center and return alive, her abilities would have to be incredible. She also saved Hijalmarr's group a couple of days ago with a magnificent spell. Even though she wasn't a citizen of the kingdom, the services she provided were extraordinary. She had the potential to be a critical ally should they play their cards right.

"If Kanah asked for it, we should hurry to process the request," Neo said.

"That would probably be for the best." We'll have more details once the brigade arrives in Athylia. "Until then, however, we should make preparations for war," Sighsten said as he looked out the window.

The sun was just setting behind the cathedral, and the golden rays of the sun were withdrawing from it.

 

***

 

"Wow!" marveled Jannet. Luna chuckled lightly at the remark. They had been on the road for a few hours now, and the sun was already low on the horizon. The warm light that often broke through the dense cloud cover lost its brilliance. The onset of the red evening was accompanied by an icy wind.

Luna was happy that Kanah had lent them clothes because, without them, it would be difficult for Jannet to get through the coming winter. The first thing they would have to do is look for better clothing; so they didn't have to worry about the winter. One major problem was that they didn't have a single coin in their pockets. The more sunrays left the earth, the crueler the wind became.

Every breath was accompanied by a white mist.

After five hours, they finally saw their long-awaited destination. Two towers, hundreds of meters high, soared into the already darkened sky. Colorful lights glittered in the direction as the evening sun reflected off jewels. Large gems of different colors slowly became visible to the naked eye.

She didn't even have to look to the side to know that Jannet was mesmerized by the glorious view.

Gold embellishments encased the gem, which Luna quickly identified as runes. Above the gate sat the largest gemstone, stripped of all color sadly. Four other runes were placed around this central rune. They appeared in the most beautiful colors that changed at regular intervals. The size itself was phenomenal and was only helped by the divine feeling of the protective jewels.

Luna did not doubt that this wall was built by the hand of God. Wrinkles formed on her forehead as the feeling of nostalgia flooded her mind. She felt something inside her awaken as if an old memory had been put to sleep. But even after a moment's thought, she couldn't clear the cloud of smoke in her head. She shook her head and postponed her investigation. She looked to the side, a star-eyed Jannet on her knees, admiring the splendor highlighted. She put a hand on her shoulder and shook her numb body.

"Jane, wake up. We're almost there."

"Do you see the wall? Isn't it just amazing? I've never seen anything so wonderful!" She cried out. Luna noticed that Jannet was only briefly snapped out of her fantasies.

Luna was nervous. She did not know to what extent Kann informed the authorities. Neither of them had anything to identify with. Jannet continued to admire the imaginative view like a small child. The towers kept getting bigger. Night had not yet fallen, but an icy wind paled across the formation. The wood creaked under the earth’s shaking and the winds’ pushing.

Finally, they stopped at the gates. Luna heard Kanah speak to the guards at the gate, and moments later the formation began to move. Janet had somehow calmed down, and they slowly drove through the large wooden gates. A silvery sheen covered the gates, laying like a shield over the already-aged wood.

Jannet tugged uncertainly at her sleeve. In a way, it felt like she was being smuggled into town. However, Luna was sure that Kanah had already organized something in one of the letters.

Suddenly, Luna felt an energy field wash over her. Jannet began to tremble uncontrollably beside her as if she was having a seizure. Had they had a bit more time to train, the mana circulation could have prevented such a reaction. She put a hand on her shoulder and smiled confidently. Their car came to a stop inside the city, just inside the gates. A high-quality, shiny stone path led to the center of the city, like the main street.

Luna watched Jannet's gaze sweep around the area. It was late in the evening now, but brilliant lights twinkled like sparklers on street corners and houses. The first lanterns lit the way. Eventually, Jannet's gaze lingered on the Grand Palace in the distance. Like something out of a fairy tale, everything faded into its shadow, except for the cathedral. The smell of hay and fire hung in the air, almost unnoticed.

Shortly thereafter, she heard a person announce himself with loud footsteps. She looked to the side and sat as a person approached them.

"I take it you two are Luna and Jannet?" asked a person in luxurious clothes.

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"That's right," Luna replied.

"Would you be so kind as to follow me? We need to discuss a few small things before you can enter the town." He said, looking at her with expectant eyes.

Luna looked at Jannet, who cautiously nodded her head. "That shouldn't be a problem," Luna finally answered.

They were led into a rather luxurious adjoining room, in which a table and chairs were already set up. The person began to rummage through the desk, whereupon, shortly thereafter, a document appeared on the desk. In the meantime, the two decided to make themselves comfortable on the chairs.

After all the documents were stacked on the table, the person she still didn't know the name of left the room, leaving the two of them confused.

"Shall we stand as soon as someone comes through the door?" asked Jannet.

"Probably a good idea. After all, we have no idea about the rules of conduct in this world." They didn't have to wait long before a person entered the room wearing a fine white and red coat, short blonde hair, and brown eyes. Luna immediately noticed the runes on his clothes and the backs of his hands.

He was followed by two other people. One of them had long black hair and wore an elegant green robe. Runes also adorned his clothes. However, she recognized immediately that these were nowhere near the qualities that the man before him possessed.

'Interesting, so we're dealing with a runemaster,' Luna thought. She believed that only high-ranking people or rune masters who edited their own clothes wore such high-quality runes. Of course, she didn't think one bit that a duke or king would go out to greet her.

Luna paid no attention to the last person. No runes decorate his clothes, from which she deduces that he was only present for logging. Both stood up as the three people entered the premises.

"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Sighsten, Commander of the Order of Knights, and I'd like to ask you a few questions before you can enter the city." Luna's face froze. Contrary to her expectations, she was greeted by a senior member.

"Indeed," she stuttered slightly. "My name is Luna, and this is my companion, Jannet," she said, bowing a bit.

"No need for formality," he replied. "It would just waste time. As you probably already know, there are special rules that must be followed to be granted entry into this city." He pulled out two silver cards and placed them carefully on the table.

"If you show no ill intentions toward Athylia, these cards will be issued to you, and you may live in the city." He reached into a drawer again, pulled out a small device, and handed it to Luna.

"We're going to ask you a couple of questions while you're holding this device in your hand; if you speak the truth, you'll be fine. If you lie, the device will flash red, and we'll weigh up whether we can let you into the city." Luna and Jannet grimaced. They were unable to answer questions about their origins.

"Of course, the questions won't interfere with your private life," Sighsten added quickly when he saw the two worried faces.

Luna nodded, "I understand. Would you mind if I took a closer look at the device before we started the interrogations?" Luna wanted to check the runes to make sure this device didn't hold any other functions.

"That's no problem," Sighsten replied with a slight smile.

She picked up the inactive device and began to inspect it from all sides. The runes were nothing special and appeared to be mass-produced. The device compared the soul's inner voice with the actual answer given. She concluded that lying was impossible. Only if one could fake the truth of the soul could one deceive the device.

Luna frowned but otherwise saw no flaw in the design. She injected her mana, causing the runes to briefly glowed red before turning greenish. She lifted her head and looked in Sighsten's and Neo's direction. Sighsten nodded and began the questioning after checking that the secretary was ready. "Let's start with something easy; what's your name?"

"Luna." She saw him nod when the color didn't change. He was satisfied with the functioning of the device.

"Have you bad intentions towards Athylia?"

"No."

"Are you planning a short stay, or do you considering staying longer in Athylia?"

"It's not certain yet, but we'll wait and see about the infection first."

"Did you have anything to do with the infection?"

"No."

"Well then, I'll ask Jannet to take the device."

Luna handed the small device to Jannet with a smile. She was slightly surprised when Sighsten finished; there were far fewer questions than she had thought. Apparently, just knowing what the intentions were towards Athylia was enough for them. She had been watching Jannet being questioned and realized how difficult it was for her to maintain a constant flow of mana. She sighed at the realization of how long it would still take Jannet to construct her first spell.

Jannet finished her questioning as quickly as Luna did.

"Have you any family names?" he asked.

"I don't have one," Luna replied.

Sighsten looked at Jannet, who just shook her head.

"As you already know, the monsters will meet our kingdom in less than four days. So in the next few days, there will be a couple of evacuation drills. Everyone who is in Athylia is obliged to take part in this."

Luna nodded and asked, "If I may ask a question?"

"Please," Sighsten replied, raising his hand.

"How specifically do you intend to kill the Beholder? I'm not disputing your city's might; I know how strong it is after seeing the Holy Walls with my own eyes, but I'd like assurance that there are few to no incidents occurring while the battle is going on."

Sighsten cleared his throat and touched his chin. "While I'm not allowed to tell you what we have planned, I can assure you that we can keep the monsters out of this city." He replied.

"Your word is enough for me," Luna said with a smile on her face.

"Kanah hasn't informed you yet, but we have provided you with a small apartment in the center of town. A soldier will lead you there as soon as your identification cards are ready. Said Sighsten. "I still have a few important appointments to make, so I'll say goodbye for today."

Sighsten and Neo said goodbye to Luna and Jannet, who returned the goodbye with a bow. They didn't have to wait long before their cards were ready, and they could leave the office.

A knight was already waiting for them at the big gate. Night had already fallen, and only the streetlights illuminated the icy night accompanied by dozens of cold winds.

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