Sonnet: The Cities of Steam, Brass, and Aether

Chapter Eight

Desmond walked along the alabaster white bridge that would take them across the river, this was always an eerie feeling to him; it felt as if he was walking to the edge of the waterfall itself, considering the keep was built upon the edge of it.

He wasn't able to see inside the castle grounds from this angle, but he could clearly view the overhead of the castle; still easily viewing everything deep within the valley.

He unfortunately wasn't able to hear anything below, the torrential downpour the waterfalls created sounded like a neverending pissing contest amongst the gods.

Almost directly below where they were standing, on the terrace underneath them, a crowd was beginning to form a circle around something. He didn't need to hear what they were saying though, he had a good idea of the words being spouted by those gawking fools. They were surrounding the bodies of the two soldiers and the minotaur he had tossed of course.

No doubt there was a commotion that was beginning to stir in the castle grounds. If he strained his ears hard enough, he could just hear the sound of trumpets blasting in the distance. No doubt announcing the presence of some non-existent attacker, Desmond began to let loose a low, rumbling laughter that was heard from deep within his chest.

Vilgis was just staring at him with an incredulous look on his face, as if he had never seen his brother before today.

"What? You know they had it coming to them, damn bastards fell asleep on guard. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Gods, I dunno. Maybe reprimand them? Demote them? Straight up banish their asses or even toss them in the dungeon! I think you went a little too far this time..." He scolded his brother, but he honestly wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"We each have different methods then, I guess." He threw his brother a wry smile, he always knew just how to get him worked up.

A trait that all too often is the older siblings, instead of the younger ones as is the case here.

He began to wander away from Vilgis as he saw some other knights of the church, who were standing just beyond the castle walls.

"See ya later bro, tell pops I said hey." He threw a hand into the air, waving goodbye without even looking over his shoulder.

A pair of knights greeted him casually, despite his rank and status all knights of the church treated each other as equals; with the exception of the Milzani, who was considered to be the Grand Master Knight.

As he got closer, he recognized the both of them as knight commanders in the order; it was Zarius and Veris, both of whom he had fought countless battles side by side with.

Damn he was thirsty, perhaps it was from lugging that minotaur behind him for kilometers; it really didn't matter why though, he just knew he needed a drink.

"Let's go drink."

"Uhh... yeah sure, we got nothing else to do until the hunt tomorrow evening, right, Veris?"

"Right."

Desmond's stroll had never faltered while they answered, determinedly walking towards the small village that lay outside of the castle walls. Although, it wasn't a small village anymore, but a large bustling city.

Certainly not as large or intricately built as Sonnet, but a grand sight to see nonetheless. Of course, none of this mattered to Desmond. He had practically been raised here within the keep, spending many hours in the city now known as Stojimas; which was rumored to mean final stand in a now forgotten tongue.

He walked beneath high hanging banners and flags, flapping about in the chilly evening air in a spastic manner. Although the suns had both set, the city was still thriving with life. Lights beamed up and down the streets from street poles and shops that were staying open late into the night.