3
« on: April 29, 2023, 10:00:35 AM »
When one thinks of a capital city it would be easy to imagine skyscrappers of steel and glass punctuated by flashing neon, your ears would be full of chattering folk hurrying by on their way to work in a cubicle of an office or some retail dead-end. Among those sounds would be the purr of combustion engines not really going anywhere as they sit in traffic jams and their horns acting like a call to some forlorn action. All that was absent from the only city in "The Solitude", perhaps the best named region any nation could have. It was a region of Gusano of special sacred importance. Once upon a time the great God Aetharus had sored among the peaks that dominated this region and as a result only those marked by the "Eagle of the Sky" could set foot her. That was a long time ago as the spirit worlds civil war raged, Aetharus sensing mutual destruction of the Gods reached down and tore his own realm of that world from the foundations and clasping them in his mighty talons swooped out of the spirit world and into our own, exhausted and heavily laden he placed the realm among the peaks, safe for all time, a part of his spirit world forever on Mundus. Those creatures who lived with him, nestled in the caves of his realm, became curious about the world outside their caverns and began to explore and soon evolved into the humans that with Aetharus' blessing spread out and claimed Mundus for their own. While today the majority enjoy the blessings of the world outside the peaks there are those who remain. It is there among those peaks that the people of Gusano guard Cavedor, the "City of Solitude" keeping the land pure ready for should the day come where Aetharus takes us all back to the spirit world. It seems odd therefore when you walk the streets of Cavedor that it does not feel immediately sacred. Its tiny streets wind between various peaks and crevices, in fact many are carved directly into the rock. A sense of grey is hard to escape unless it is covered in the snow and ice which seems to never leave. The city is circled by a series of walls that run up and down the hills and at the four cardinal points gates, each guarded by soldiers. Should you ever make the mistake of venturing here you would find your welcome not immediately warm, the city itself reserved only for those who Aetharus has marked at their birth to be members of the Order of the Talon. These men and women are sacred caretakers, keeping the world ready for our return to the spiritual, there is much to do, knowledge to be gained, prayers to be said, sacrifices to be offered and a seemingly never ending list of rituals. A child is born, a ritual takes place, an elder dies, another ritual, some joke saying that even opening a door requires some intricate ritual, which would explain why so many homes lack internal doors. To ensure all this runs smoothly there is the Palace of the Eagle, a name that unlike the Solitude is not really fitting. The Palace is a tower, predictably grey, it is home to the Veiled One a figure who has two duties above all, maintain the Solitude's pureness and ensure the Order of the Talon is maintained. Many nations would consider them a King, or occasionally Queen, but here in Gusano their gender was often unimportant, they were elected from the Order by the druids after consulting endless omens and very occasionally accepting large bribes. Once elected the Veiled Ones life was lived, as the name would suggest, behind a veil which in more recent times had been replaced with the silver mask which now sat on a beside stand next to Matilde Icíar David's place of slumber. Her room was opulent, a giant four poster bed that the small lady was easily lost in. The bright reds, golds and greens a stark contrast to the grey outside the window. Artworks from some of the nations greatest artists hung on the wall but there among them posters of rock bands giving clues of the new Veiled Ones young age. She was just 18 and had taken the name Aurora. It meant "Dawn" and as the Druids had said the nation required a new direction, a new beginning and as such young blood was required. A bell rang out across the city and Aurora shifted in bed, her body had become acustomed to its timing. It was just after 6am, "The Sighting of the Sun", which was a stupid name if you asked Matilde. It meant that she would now be awake whether she wished it or not. There was a brief knock on the door and without warning a giant entered. Florián Montero was a brute, close to 7ft and what many of his soldiers described as a beard capable of hiding a small child in. He crossed to the bed stand and lifted the silver mask before crossing to the door that opened onto a wide stone balcony. Matilde pushed herself down deeper into the bed knowing the gust of cold air would soon be here further dragging her out of the land of sleep. The curtains were pulled back and light filled the room, Montero pushed the door open and holding the mask aloft as though Simba in the lion King walked onto the balcony. In the deep booming voice that bounced off the hillsides he bellowed. "Behold Aetharus, by your grace our beloved Aurora has passed another night in safety and welcomes your light once more." Aurora could hear a handful of voices from below offering their own blessing. This happened every morning, even when she was not in the city but elsewhere in the Solitude a member of her guard did the same with a replica mask. "Aurora shall today be about the Gods business" Montero announced turned and shut the door. It was only now he spoke to Matilde who was still burrowed deep into her duvet. "Good Morning Lady Aurora" he bowed but she failed to see it. With a gentleness you wouldn't imagine from such a brute he replaced the silver mask. "I shall have my guardsman waiting outside when you are ready. We have cabinet in two hours." That would bring another short ceremony but at least that required less cold air and men walking into her room. She wondered what would happen if she ever got a boyfriend? Would Montero or one of his black clad guardsman still just burst in? It was though something still long off. As the door closed behind Montero she dug herself out of her duvets folds and sat up letting her eyes adjust to the light.
"Hey Siri, play my Morning Workout Playlist" She called out as she swung her legs down onto the deep red rug that was next to her bed.
"Playing your Morning Workout Playlist" the voice said before blasting out some music by Blink 182. Twenty minutes of push ups, sits ups, burpees and various other forms of torture she finished and headed into the bathroom. A quick shower and she sat in front of her mirror, she found this part of her morning routine rather ironic. She picked up foundation, blushers, eye liners and lip gloss before ensuring her hair was neatly tied back. She carefully examined to two pale blue highlights in her hair, something she knew the druids disapproved of but she was now their boss so she could do what she wanted with her long blonde hair. Satisfied she looked presentable she picked out one of five identical black robes that completly hid her young slim figure. Once on she crossed to the night stand and smiled, twenty minutes of careful make up placement was about to be made irrelevant. She reached down and picked up the silver mask that would cover the top of her head down to her chin. It bore a face upon it, not of anything or anyone important just Aurora remembered the previous Veiled One had a simple flat plain silver one and it looked rather sinister. Her mask looked feminine and the silversmith had even managed to work a cascade of flowers across the forehead and down the left hand side. Strands of silver lace hung down the right hand side giving the impression of hair. She picked it up and looking in the mirror encassed her young beauty behind the silver, lifted the hood and then having put on her thin black gloves called for the music to end. Her identity gone she made her way to the door took a deep breath and opened it.
"GOOD MORNING LADY AURORA!" The two guardsman said in unison before kneeling expecting their morning ritualistic blessing that Aurora gave with a gently placed hand on each of their heads. Only another million or so rituals to get through today she told herself with an unnoticeable smile.
Show Posts
