The Mother of Monsters

Despite her best efforts, Teyva quickly found that it was hard to put all of her troubles behind her and just enjoy the city. With Azrael still silent, Teyva spent the better part of two days simply wandering the city and trying to get her bearings all the while forcing herself to reign in her Mana every step of the way. She quickly found that the various tiers of the city were separated into districts with different purposes. The lowest (and widest) level of the city was largely residential with a main street dotted with shops for those passing through. The next level up was dedicated to higher class housing and places of industry, the second tier was actually split down the middle by yet another main street to keep the two kinds of buildings separate.

The third level was intended for guilds and even some small embassies belonging to a few kingdoms in the western part of Orum that had come to peaceful terms with King Thrake. She wondered how much about Osan made its way back to Katal, if at all. They didn’t seem to care much for the world west of the Green Sea. Above the third tier was an area split into four parts and dedicated to each of the four Azar tribes. When she tried to walk around up there she found that many of those present didn’t take her wandering very well and she ultimately disappeared up the stairs to the fifth tier to avoid their unpleasant looks.

By the time she’d arrived at the fifth tier, her Mana Manipulation skill had jumped several ranks and it had become easier to keep it reigned in while she was walking and moving. Before long she hardly even thought about it.

Pleased with herself she turned her attention to the Fifth Tier. Just below the Pinnacle, the region of the city was entirely made up of administrative buildings and offices. The city guard itself was based out of here and she was pleased to run into Captain Garnet while she was taking in her surroundings.

“Exploring on your own?” He called, approaching her from across one of the larger pathways.

She turned and broke into a toothy smile, delighted to see a friendly face for once. “You could say that,” She said, pointing up to the building she was standing in front of, “This is the headquarters of the guard, right?”

The crest that hung over the door into the building was obviously some kind of helmet that looked remarkably like the helmet the soldiers were wearing down at the gates. The older man nodded and came to a stop at her side, resting his hands on his hips. “Indeed, it used to be an armory from what I’ve been told.”

“It’s hard to imagine this place being anything less than a self-contained city, was it really a fortress before?” Teyva asked.

“Who knows? I come from the western tribe, lived out there most of my life. By the time I was picked to captain a group of guardsmen the guard had already begun their work here,” He said, scratching his chin, “It does look a lot like a fortress from the outside, now that you mention it.”

“You never thought about it?”

“Afraid not,” Garnet said, “I’m just a simple soldier, ma’am.”

“You have a pretty open mind for a simple soldier,” Teyva pointed out.

“The majority of people in this city aren’t used to seeing the strange and obscure, but I’ve seen many unusual things since beginning my work at the gates. You are certainly one of the strangest, for sure,” He chuckled, “But nothing I cannot handle.”

She chuckled at the back-handed compliment and turned to him, “Do you know a good place to get a drink?”

He opened his mouth to speak and it fell even further open in shock, his eyes went wide as he stared at something behind Teyva. Teyva turned in time to hear a grizzled voice call out to her; “I might have a clue!”

There were two of them, one was a muscular Azar in his thirties from the looks of it. His skin tone was a grey-blue and his face and exposed arms were covered in cuts and scrapes. His hair was jet black and he had a bit of a manic look in his eyes that made Teyva’s gut twist a little as he approached, resting his hand on what looked like a war-mace hanging from his hip. The long weapon was covered in spikes and metal on one end. Next to the man was a female grey-yellow-skinned Azar around the same age as him. She was gorgeous, soft-featured with a button nose and heavy-lidded eyes. Her lips were curled into a perpetually knowing smirk and she was dressed in a slim-fitting dress that gave the imagination plenty to work with.

Teyva forced herself to focus when they drew in close and the woman cleared her throat, inclining her head.

“Lady Akura, correct?” She said in the sweetest sounding voice Teyva had ever heard.

“Y-yeah,” Teyva stammered, looking between the two of them.

“Kind of hard to mistake,” The man blurted out, “No one else here looks like her.”

The woman gave him a sidelong look before inclining her head again, “Apologies, Argus here needs to learn when to hold his tongue.”

Teyva turned back to Garnet for answers but the man was already on a knee, bowing in front of the man named Argus. Argus cocked an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips, “Get up, would you?”

“Yes, Master Wo,” Garnett blustered, standing and facing the big man. Teyva looked between the two of them and the word ‘master’ hit her like a truck. She looked back at the woman who grinned, bearing what looked like fangs in her direction.

“I am Tiisha, and this is Argus Wo. We are members of the Four. I understand you have already met Barin Kot and Yaga Yftha,” She said diplomatically.

Teyva grimaced and Argus barked out a laugh; “Yeah she met Yaga alright,” He scratched at his chin, rubbing a bit of stubble that had begun to form, “She does not like you.”

“Argus!” Tiisha reprimanded, “Try to show a little tact.”

“What’s the point? We all know that Yaga’s crazy jealous when it comes to Azrael. That’s why we came out here, isn’t it? To see who this person is Azrael swore an oath to and the King is calling a daughter?” He burst into laughter and nodded to Teyva, “I mean, Yaga was forced to apologize to her. That’s hilarious!”

“I’m so sorry, Lady Akura,” Tiisha said after a stunned silence fell over them, “He’s right, though. We wanted to come to see you for ourselves. I do hope that isn’t a bother.”

Teyva stared at Argus for a few heartbeats, the big man not even considering the things he’d just thrown out in public. Garnett was staring at Teyva, ashen. There were onlookers whispering among themselves as well, the word daughter being thrown around quickly through what had become a small crowd. Teyva frowned and felt a little heat come to her stomach, she narrowed her eyes at Argus and he returned the look with a playful smile.

“You did that on purpose,” She hissed in a low voice.

“I did.” He said.

“Why?”

“Because I’m grateful, we have an excuse to finally take the fight to those Katali bastards,” He pointed out in a low voice, “I’ve been looking forward to teaching them a lesson.”

“Argus, you know the King doesn’t want a war, you need to put this to rest,” Tiisha warned, “And perhaps not discuss it in public?”

Argus grinned, “Maybe, but we have a say in the matter as well and I want a damn fight already,” he bit out. “Though I suppose I could go for a drink in the meantime.”

“If it will shut you up,” Tiisha grumbled and glanced at Teyva, “Please, join us, I know he can be a bit much but he is good company I promise. Yaga’s issues are her own and do not apply to the Four as a whole.”

Teyva frowned but considered it. She wanted to have something hard to drink to get her mind off of things and perhaps walking around with two of the most powerful people in the city would divert some attention off of her. Though it could have the opposite effect as well. Teyva glanced at Garnett who was looking at her with fear in his eyes. She sighed and rubbed her face. “Alright, yes, a drink sounds good. Let’s go, please.”

Argus let out a jolly laugh and started walking, leaving the gathering behind. Teyva watched him go and moved to follow only to have a delicate hand wrap around her wrist. “My your skin is cold,” Tiisha commented before Teyva turned to look at her. She gave Teyva an apologetic smile, “I heard that you might be in need of some new gear and may have some materials to work with. After we have a drink I’ll show you to someone who might be able to help you out. A small apology for the scene.”

Teyva relaxed visibly, “Thank you, Master Tiisha.”

“Just Tiisha is fine,” The woman said, “And no need to thank me. Unlike Yaga, we are happy about the impact you’ve had. Argus in particular. He’s quite proud of Azrael, he wants the city to know she has a sister as fast as possible. You could say he’s quite a fan of yours though he’s a bit too proud to say such a thing.”

Teyva raised an eyebrow and glanced at the back of the rough-looking man as he marched toward the nearest lift tower.

“Good to know.”