opened his mouth but no answer came.
“At last!”
Aric and the Priest turned around at the voice. At the other end of the temple, by the entrance, stood Sagun.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for hours,” the Castellan said as he walked through the temple’s seating. “My apologies, Holy Brother. I hope the boy was not disturbing you.”
If there was something Aric did not want to see right now, that thing was Sagun.
“Not at all. He’s just a curious boy.”
The Castellan returned the Priest’s bow, then turned to Aric.
“Your mother wishes to see you in the main hall,” he said.
His mother? In the main hall? The last time he had entered the main hall he had been removed by the steel gauntlet of a Legionary and then locked in his room. The time before that…. He could not recall a time before that.
With his black braid snaking at his back, Sagun lead Aric out of the temple and back through the myriad palaces of the Citadel. The Castellan left a trail of perfume behind him so intense that Aric felt nauseous. On the other hand, everything about Sagun gave him nausea, from the shaven top of his head contrasting with the gigantic black braid, to the overly decorated and colorful Akhami tunics. Even the way his brown skin always glowed without a single drop of sweat was repulsive. Were all people of Akham like him? If so, it had to be a horrible place.
The gates of the main hall were open when they arrived at the Core Palace, and Aric could see the blue dais where the two thrones rose. Their backrest, covered in blue satin, climbed up to the ceiling like two veils dropped from the heavens. But what truly intrigued Aric was that, standing up there, waiting for him beside his mother, was the Emperor himself.
Had Fadan said anything about the book? Or the Runium?
I’m going to be thrown away! Or worse….
Tarsus had a rigid expression, his eyes piercing through Aric. Cassia, however, gave him a delightful smile that made Aric feel warm inside.
“Aric, my love,” his mother said, “your father is in Augusta. Today, my dear, you will be allowed to see him.”
Aric’s chin dropped. He turned to the Emperor, sure he would forbid it at once, but Tarsus did no such thing. He just kept his eyes locked on Aric without saying a word.
That was not possible.
“Seriously?!”
His mother nodded affirmatively. The smile had not faded from her face yet, and it didn’t look like it was going anywhere anytime soon.
“I need to stop.”
The Sergeant leading the escort gave him an astonished look.
“Again?!”
Doric shrugged. “Horse riding makes me want to piss,” he said.
“I imagine drinking four wineskins probably doesn’t help either.”
“Unfortunately, that’s all I brought.”
“The city gates are right up there,” the Sergeant told him. “You can piss when we get to the inn.”
Doric did not reply. He stopped his horse, dismounted, and tied him to a branch. Then, he lowered his pants and started relieving himself.
“What are you doing?!” the Sergeant asked.
Doric looked down his own body, then back at the Sergeant.
“What do you mean, what am I doing?” he asked.
A Legionary started laughing but was quickly silenced by the Sergeant’s look. Doric finished, pulling his pants back up. He climbed back onto his horse and took the view in.
The Imperial Citadel rested like a crown above Mount Capitol. Its sharp towers jutted upwards like swords challenging the sky, and somewhere inside was Cassia and his son.
Around the Citadel, Augusta spread like a mantle of houses, streets, and plazas. Throughout the centuries, the city had grown so much it already had three separate, concentric walls protecting it. Doric still remembered when there were little more than a few shacks outside the outer wall, but the last couple of decades had brought so many people to the Empire’s capital that soon it would be necessary to build a fourth one.
With his escort surrounding
“At last!”
Aric and the Priest turned around at the voice. At the other end of the temple, by the entrance, stood Sagun.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for hours,” the Castellan said as he walked through the temple’s seating. “My apologies, Holy Brother. I hope the boy was not disturbing you.”
If there was something Aric did not want to see right now, that thing was Sagun.
“Not at all. He’s just a curious boy.”
The Castellan returned the Priest’s bow, then turned to Aric.
“Your mother wishes to see you in the main hall,” he said.
His mother? In the main hall? The last time he had entered the main hall he had been removed by the steel gauntlet of a Legionary and then locked in his room. The time before that…. He could not recall a time before that.
With his black braid snaking at his back, Sagun lead Aric out of the temple and back through the myriad palaces of the Citadel. The Castellan left a trail of perfume behind him so intense that Aric felt nauseous. On the other hand, everything about Sagun gave him nausea, from the shaven top of his head contrasting with the gigantic black braid, to the overly decorated and colorful Akhami tunics. Even the way his brown skin always glowed without a single drop of sweat was repulsive. Were all people of Akham like him? If so, it had to be a horrible place.
The gates of the main hall were open when they arrived at the Core Palace, and Aric could see the blue dais where the two thrones rose. Their backrest, covered in blue satin, climbed up to the ceiling like two veils dropped from the heavens. But what truly intrigued Aric was that, standing up there, waiting for him beside his mother, was the Emperor himself.
Had Fadan said anything about the book? Or the Runium?
I’m going to be thrown away! Or worse….
Tarsus had a rigid expression, his eyes piercing through Aric. Cassia, however, gave him a delightful smile that made Aric feel warm inside.
“Aric, my love,” his mother said, “your father is in Augusta. Today, my dear, you will be allowed to see him.”
Aric’s chin dropped. He turned to the Emperor, sure he would forbid it at once, but Tarsus did no such thing. He just kept his eyes locked on Aric without saying a word.
That was not possible.
“Seriously?!”
His mother nodded affirmatively. The smile had not faded from her face yet, and it didn’t look like it was going anywhere anytime soon.
“I need to stop.”
The Sergeant leading the escort gave him an astonished look.
“Again?!”
Doric shrugged. “Horse riding makes me want to piss,” he said.
“I imagine drinking four wineskins probably doesn’t help either.”
“Unfortunately, that’s all I brought.”
“The city gates are right up there,” the Sergeant told him. “You can piss when we get to the inn.”
Doric did not reply. He stopped his horse, dismounted, and tied him to a branch. Then, he lowered his pants and started relieving himself.
“What are you doing?!” the Sergeant asked.
Doric looked down his own body, then back at the Sergeant.
“What do you mean, what am I doing?” he asked.
A Legionary started laughing but was quickly silenced by the Sergeant’s look. Doric finished, pulling his pants back up. He climbed back onto his horse and took the view in.
The Imperial Citadel rested like a crown above Mount Capitol. Its sharp towers jutted upwards like swords challenging the sky, and somewhere inside was Cassia and his son.
Around the Citadel, Augusta spread like a mantle of houses, streets, and plazas. Throughout the centuries, the city had grown so much it already had three separate, concentric walls protecting it. Doric still remembered when there were little more than a few shacks outside the outer wall, but the last couple of decades had brought so many people to the Empire’s capital that soon it would be necessary to build a fourth one.
With his escort surrounding
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