NOVEL NEXT Ch. 23: Velillia
They rode down the main street, following its gentle curves through the town. The deeper they got into the city, the less and less of the sky Cass could see above them. Every block, the buildings on either side seemed to hang further and further out over the road, and what open air remained was filled with more and more streamers of cloth and glass.
Even at midday, the sunlight above was choked out, with only the occasional beam of colored light refracted through the maze of cloth and glass above.
Instead, the street level was lit by lanterns and candles. Most were ordinary flames, yellow and flickering behind clear or painted glass. A fair number were magically lit, burning blues and purples and greens. Between the magic lights, the stained glass lantern shades, and the vibrant paint of the buildings, the street was awash in a dizzying array of colors, glistening even in the gloom.
Branching off on either side of the main thoroughfare were a dizzying number of side streets. Some were just as wide and busy as the street they followed, whereas others were dark and narrow things barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
This continued until they reached a wide river. The river had sharp, rocky banks, the cliffs carved away by its power. It rushed through its stone channel, fast and ceaseless, roaring like a beast. The bridge went over it, clearing the water below by tens of yards while barely rising over the road to either side by a foot.
On the far side of the river, an entirely different city had been built. On the side Cass had come from, the buildings were cramped, the alleys dark, and even the main street was only bright because of the multicolored magic lights illuminating shop fronts. On the far side was a grassy broadway lined with trees running parallel to the water. Stretching away from the river, the road continued, the sky unobstructed, the buildings separated from the road by greenery and gardens, all enclosed by low stone walls.
The road rose as it moved away from the river, twisting as it was wont to do. Rising above the city skyline was a pagoda of glass and stone. It dwarfed all the other buildings on either side of the river.
Two buildings came close, though.
The first was a tower standing tall above the crowded buildings of the lower city. It proudly reached for the sky, its spire forked like the head of a seam ripper. The building glowed to Cass’s Mana Sense, even from her considerable distance.
The second was a building atop a Spire. It floated over the river, far downstream. The river widened around it as if to make more space for the diamond-shaped mass of floating stone. Bridges connected the Spire to the river banks on either side. The building itself was a domed cathedral made of shimmering stone. They glimmered like glass, shining in the sun.
Alyx led them further into the city. People walked slower here. Their clothing was nicer and brighter. Some watched them pass from their balconies or gardens.
“You should prepare yourself,” Alyx muttered.
“For?” Cass asked.
“Best case, my family will ignore us. More likely, they will find some fault with me through you.”
Cass cocked her head to one side. “Why?”
“Why what? Why ignore me?” Alyx laughed. “Because my father would rather I didn’t exist. I’m what you call an embarrassment.
“Why find fault with me? Because it’s the easiest way to curry favor with him to put me down.
“Why target you? Because they’re cruel and narrowminded and you’re an outsider and, therefore, an easy target.”
“They’re really like that?” She thought those kinds of family dynamics were only found in trope-heavy inheritance or imperial palace stories.
“Just try to keep your head down. We won’t be here long. Once the festival starts, you and Telis can move to the townhouse out of their sight.”
The surrounding buildings parted at a wide plaza. In the center stood a statue of a stern woman riding what could only be a dragon. It was made of black glass, opaque and towering. The dragon was four times the size of the horse she rode, its head held high, its wings spread back like it was about to take off. The woman on its back was larger than life. She held a sword in one hand and a hanging chain in the other.
Opposite the plaza was a hill. A wide road snaked up it. Far above, a castle of white stone and glistening glass crowned the hill. And rising from above its stately walls was the pagoda Cass had seen from the river.
“The Dragon Palace,” Alyx explained as if that was more than enough explanation as she turned their horses up the wide road.
The road twisted up the hill. Smaller roads split off from it, carrying on along its sides. About halfway up the hill, Alyx turned them off the main road for one of these. It took them over a bridge to another hill.
No, Cass looked down, it was no hill. This was another low-hanging Spire. It floated above the ground, not that she could tell standing atop it. It didn’t so much as bob in the wind. They wound around the Spire to a manor front carved from the stony side of the Spire.
“And this is my father’s home.” Alyx’s voice was guarded, completely lacking welcome. Her eyes watched the dark windows of the house the same way they’d watched the monsters of Uvana.
Telis waited for them on the front steps. She made a half bow, one hand stretched to the side, one over her heart. Her horse and any supplies she might have collected were nowhere in sight. “Welcome home, my lady.”
“Who’s home right now, Telis?” Alyx asked as she swung herself down from the horse and helped Cass down after.
“Everyone except your father.”
“Could be worse.”
“Your father could be home,” Marco agreed with a dark chuckle.
Alyx shook her head. “Come on, let’s get settled for the festival.”
Cass followed her through the main doors and up the right side of the sweeping double staircase. A pane of stained glass was set into the wall on the landing and lit from behind. It depicted a woman and a dragon. The glass segments cut a sharp jaw and stern eyes. Her hair was a cold black, like onyx or wrought iron, and pulled back in an intricate braided crown.
The dragon beside her was no less serious. No less judgmental.
Cass had no idea it was possible to make so many different shades of black in glass, or that it was possible to do such detailed portraiture this way.
Alyx bowed her head to the portrait before passing it, while Telis and Marco bowed at the waist. Cass copied Telis.
“My grandmother,” Alyx explained, as if that explained everything. It probably did. She didn’t make any further comments as they walked deeper into the manor.
“Telis, show Cass to the guest suite and get her situated,” Alyx said as they came to a branch in the hallway. To Cass, she added, “Make yourself at home. We’ll talk when I get back.”