Setting
Within the city, open halls of crystal stretch far and wide, and the aerial nature of the city's occupants have left their distinctive mark upon the design of the city. Tall spires make up the brunt of the building structures with open windows and wide balconies that occupants come and go from by air.
The interior of the buildings are no less extravagant than their exteriors, though there is a curious absence of vibrancy to them. Crystal, blue and silver dominate everything within the city, and what colors can be found typically lay within the colder spectrum of the rainbow. Brighter colors appear to be almost non-existent within Volary.
There is no one level to the city, but rather the design conforms to the rocky terrain it has been constructed upon. No one structure appears to be the same, each seemingly having its own unique design. Sweeping arches, gracefully curved portals, and crystalline sculptures add an artistic flair to each structure.
Volary serves as an ancient architectural masterpiece that still holds its own within the modern world.
- 88 posts here • Page 1 of 4 • 1, 2, 3, 4
The boy wasn't more than about ten years old, a nephew of Avantia's, but he was a diligent enough attendant and eager to run errands for his Aunt.
"That's enough wine for now," Avantia said. "Go and find Shanthi, tell her I wish to speak with her."
Sliding a piece of parchment over in front of her, she began to intently scribe her own response while the lad scurried off.
A whirlwind kicked up in one of the streets, sudden, unprovoked, and unnatural. It picked up no dust, but from thin air, long, thin strips of paper with strange symbols inked upon them began to swirl and twist with the small tornado. They were few at first, but swiftly grew in abundance, until they blotted out a small area of the street. Slowly, but surely, the paper tornado slowed, then dispersed, leaving a crouched figure in the center.
The paper strips flitted off into the sky, like small birds, and disappeared altogether. The person who was left behind was holding onto a large, double-edged sword with both hands. They wore heavy metal armor suited for a knight, with fine, intricate patterns engraved within it. The cape that flowed down their back was a rich green, but it was tattered and torn. The stranger looked up from their hunched position, a hand reaching for the helm upon their head. It slid off in their hand, and dark hair fell down the knight's back.
A woman.
She drew the large sword out of the ground, where it had been stuck, with a surprising ease, then latched it onto a strap on her back. She looked around with a deep frown.
"Spirit Strizek, where did you take me this time?" she muttered to herself, marveling at the great city before her eyes. She folded her arms, armor clanking. "This is certainly not what I had in mind when you told me we had to leave, but I'm not sure if I can complain."
Ira took a breath, before striding in Enda's direction, raising a hand to hail her. "Stranger!" he called out, speaking the Volarian local language, "State your intent and identify yourself."
The young Lord's palm flexed at his side, ready to snatch up the glaive that was fastened to his back should the foreign woman prove hostile. Her sheathing of the weapon, however, reassured him that was not the case.
"Be calm," she said to him, keeping her hands up. "I don't mean any harm. I've come here by accident! My name is Enda Klee. I'm a knight of Karyuse. You wouldn't know it, trust me. We were under attack. Some..." Her eyes darted to the side. How would she explain Strizek? He was no god. "...one...transported me here. At random. Please, I'm lost."
Her tone was very calm, very controlled. She tried a soft smile. "Please."
"Enda. Alright," Ira sighed, switching to speak in the same language as Enda and relaxing his posture slightly, "My name is Ira. You are in the city of Volary, if you know of it, on the continent of Shintenchi." The lack of recognition in the woman's face was apparent, so he went on "... on Terra?"
He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. "Explaining that can wait. I think you should come with me before you get in any trouble." Ira turned to walk back in the direction of the palace and the guards' barracks, but paused. "You said you were under attack. There is no chance of you being followed, correct? By the same ... method you used to get here?"
"The palace? What will happen to me there?" she asked. "As heavenly as this all seems-" She raised her palm to gesture to the city, "-I've learned not to judge solely on appearance. I need to be careful. You understand, right?" The knight slacked her arms at her sides. This was either a very good situation, or a very bad one. She was on Terra. That was great! But where was Lark? Taylor? Duke? Railynn?
"Am I the first person who's appeared here like that?"
With his men at his back, the Captain gave Enda a hard and studious look.
"What's going on here, Ira?" he asked in their native Volarian tongue. "Where did this woman come from?"
Humans in Volary were an uncommon enough occurrence as to make Enda quite the spectacle, though they weren't entirely unheard of. Enda didn't look anything like their Taiyou neighbors though, nor from one of the natives further south along the coast.
It was at that moment that Kamil and the other guards descended. Ira turned to face the captain with a respectful nod. "About three feet to the left of where she is now, to my reckoning, Kamil," he said, slipping back into Volarian and smiling faintly. "Much to my surprise, she simply appeared. Teleported, or something of that nature."
He glanced back at Enda, "She seems to mean no harm. She says her name is Enda Klee, and that she came here by chance, not intent."
"I don't know if you speak the common language, like this man here-" She gestured to Ira, "But I heard my name in there, somewhere. I'm hoping that you aren't discussing the best way to get rid of my body. I really haven't done a thing wrong, have I?" She hoped she hardly looked threatening, despite having a giant sword strapped to her back. Despite wearing heavy dark armor and having more muscle than these feathery men combined.
Still speaking in Volarian he turned to his men. "Search the city for others," he instructed. Both men bowed their heads before taking to the air once more.
Turning back to Enda, Kamil inclined his head in greeting.
"That your words are verified as truth, there will be no need for that," he replied. His accent was thick and he appeared less than fluent, but he was legible enough as he switched to the more common tongue. "In the interim I welcome to Volary."
He gestured to the sprawling city of crystalline spires with his staff.
To Ira he switched briefly to Volarian once more. "There were no others?" he asked.
Folding his arms, Ira looked back to Enda. "Where are you from?" he asked, returning to speaking her language. "You mentioned being a knight of... Karyuse, was it? Is that a place on Terra?"
"Thank you. This place is amazing. I'm surprised I had not heard of it before, when I was living in Terra." she told the Captain. She waited patiently as they spoke. When a question was directed at her, she heaved a sigh.
"No. It's on another planet entirely. In another universe...I think. Either that, or so far away that anyone in a spaceship hasn't been able to find it." she explained. "Karyuse, in the continent of Madeva, on the planet of Sozo."
"If it's transport back to her planet that she requires, see that she's taken to Narita. From there she can find transport elsewhere," he told Ira in Volarian. The avorian Captain seemed more comfortable within his own tongue. "The Matriarch is to return today, I need to go see to her arrival. Tend to our guest?" he asked Ira with a nod towards Enda.
He turned to Enda then, giving her a final searching once over. "The Captain was just saying that if you need transport elsewhere, the nearby city of Narita will be able to provide that. You are of course welcome to stay in the city for however long you want, if you desire it. I couldn't tell you whether Sozo is known to the other Terran peoples, but between our Shogunate neighbours and the peoples of Aslund, it's possible- should you wish to return there."
"I'm not sure if I do." she said. "I'm no longer needed there. At the same time, I'm not quite sure what else should be done."
Find her friends? Is that what needed to happen? With Taylor, Duke, Railynn, and Lark? Strizek had mentioned something before she departed. Perhaps get back to Aslund? Wing City? What was waiting for her, there? She was sure Taylor and Duke were together, by now, as well as Railynn with Lark.
And yet still, she could not be sure. If she had nothing else to do, then she would do the only thing she could. Find them. Starting...
Oh, spirits, where?
"If it's alright, I'll wait here, see if anyone shows up."
Starting forwards, Ira turned his head to address Enda as they walked. "Tell me more about what brought you here. You said you were under attack?" he inquired. Civilians they passed turned to look with interest at Enda, her unfamiliar ethnicity combined with her being human made her quite the oddity amongst the city of winged beings.
"We were...I was...in a war," began Enda. "Against a rival kingdom. She made eye contact with everyone they passed, staring at them just as much as they were staring at her. "Spirits, everyone here..." came a quick mumble, eyes carrying to their wings. Even all her time in Wing City, in Sozo...strange places, but this...?
"...ah. Sorry. I was serving in a war...and it seemed the tides had changed just for us. Unluckily, something happened to turn that coin over again. As much as I tried to fix it, I wasn't doing much more than making the situation worse, so I left in the midst of an attack. As cowardly as that sounds, it wasn't...it was the only thing to do to help."
Enda bit her lip. Perhaps that was a bit much. "What are you all? Everyone has wings, here. I can't quite say I've experienced anything like this. It's amazing."
He laughed, "And trust me, it is as curious to us that you humans do not have wings, as it is to you that we do. At first, at the least. Many here do not frequently travel to the Taiyou lands nearby, and so still consider other races very unusual."
No doubt the trip had been far less glamorous than Spyri had anticipated on the flight out to Shintenchi.
"It doesn't smell like fish I promise," he told Spyri with that wry lopsided grin of his.
From the lift Spyri wouldn't be able to make out much past the cliff to see the city that lay just beyond her sight.
"Volary's well... well you'll just have to see it yourself. I haven't seen anything like it in the midlands," he explained. "Strange that Enda wound up here. Don't get too many humans that come here, unless things have changed since I left. You sure of it?" he asked.
"Eheh," She craned her neck to look up, locking eyes with the cliff edge. From up there, could anything smell like fish? It was a loooooooooooooooong way up. It couldn't be like anything in the Midlands. Nothing here was like anything in the Midlands. Compared to Aslund this place was bizarre. It was exotic. It was fishy.
Spyri nodded, "Yeah, can't mistake the pull y'know?"
Within the city, open halls of crystal stretched far and wide, and the aerial nature of the city's occupants had left their distinctive mark upon the design of the city. Tall spires made up the brunt of the building structures with open windows and wide balconies that occupants came and went from by air.
There appeared to be no one level to the city, but rather the design conformed to the rocky terrain it had been constructed upon. No one structure appeared to be the same, each seemingly having its own unique design. Sweeping arches, gracefully curved portals, and crystalline sculptures added an artistic flair to each structure.
"Welcome to Volary," Adriaan remarked with a wink.
It was certainly a change of atmosphere from the small fishing villages they had been to on their journey.
"Come on let's have a look around for her," he added as he shoved his hands into his pockets and lead the way into the city. "This place can be a bit difficult to traverse on foot."
Spyri drew some curious looks in passing, as the entirety of the city's population appeared to be comprised of avorians. Though not unheard of, human visitors within Volary were somewhat of a spectacle for the locals.
At the top, though. She was emotionless for an instant with her jaw plummeting towards the ground. Breathless, too. Crystal, everything everywhere. Gorgeous, tall structures reaching higher into the heavens. She didn't even think that was possible! And the people, the others like Adriaan, the other...Other Avorians. There were so many! This, this! This was the magic of Shintenchi she was imagining! Well, sort of.
Alright it was the complete opposite of anything she'd think she'd visit, but, "Wwwwwwooaaw!" Spyri was all eyes. It would be a few minutes before she realized people were looking at her all the same. She raised a brow and stood taller, doing her best to stay light and swift on her feet.
"Wish I had wings," Spyri quietly commented after a bit of traveling, finally looking ahead instead of up. Louder she said, "I think we're getting closer."
With a cheery smile, the knight got to her feet, fastening the sword onto her side. She crossed her arms and turned heel to go back into the house.
"Ira?" she called. "It's been three days, but I'm still convinced you need to know that I'm going to wonder off in case I get lost."
With a cheery smile, the knight got to her feet, fastening the sword onto her side. She crossed her arms and turned heel to go back into the house.
"Ira?" she called. "It's been three days, but I'm still convinced you need to know that I'm going to wonder off in case I get lost."
Whilst not quite at the levels of grandeur of the palace, Ira's home was larger than seemed to be common in the city, both taller and with more spacious floors (though still small compared to most non-Avorian buildings due to their propensity for building upwards as opposed to outwards). Though all of Volary seemed to consist of elegantly ornate buildings, no two quite the same for all their artful spires and archways, those in the area of Ira's home were also that touch more beautiful.
"I'm sure the guards will be willing to send you in the right direction if you do," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Where were you planning on wandering to?"
Ira paused for a moment, "I suppose that's a poor question. You don't have a destination in mind. I need to go to the merchant district to buy some new paints, if you want to accompany me. Navigating the shops can be difficult if you don't know where to look, and many of the signs are above street level."
- 88 posts here • Page 1 of 4 • 1, 2, 3, 4