Tales of Arlo

The Glory of Love

In the distance, the warm light of torches flickered between the tall tree trunks. The edges of the light's grasp near licked the hooves of our horses as walked away as quietly as we could. Although the shouting men were far away, each sigh of one of the horses sent the hairs on my spine straight up. Oda led us around the edge of the forest surrounding Lazz City until we had reached the opposite side, far away from the torches and their carriers. 

"What kind of magic was THAT?" Oda broke the silence, turning to Sivero. 

Sivero clicked his tongue, shaking his head and hopping from his horse. The old crow grabbed a stick and began drawing practiced symbols in the dirt. Each was complex and nearly foreign to me entirely. Oda must have seen the puzzled look across my face and began translating for me. 

"The big circle with the six small circles around it is enchantment. The shield looking one is abjuration," he pointed out, "You should know the star with the eye in the middle..."

"Divinity?" I guessed, earning myself a solid nod from Sivero, "What's the triangle?"

"Evocation! This is one is illusion," Oda continued pointing closely as Sivero finished up his drawings, "There's conjuration and that's transmutation, which means that one with two half-moon shapes must be necromancy."

"So what does my power have to do with any of those?" I asked Sivero. 

Sivero turned and began a new drawing. He started by drawing the moon and stars, before he drew a little, familiar stick figure with a star coming out of her hand. When he finished, Sivero turned to me and shrugged.  Sivero quickly signed his thoughts to Oda, faster than I could read his hands. 

"The old coot has never seen it before," Oda laughed, "Maybe you've got something new... Or at least, new to Orah."

The sun had fully peaked above the towering city and we had all silently taken notice. Gathering ourselves and donning our capes, we rode into up to towering city wall. As we grew closer, I could see people already bustling around exposed higher levels of the wall. 

Unless the wall that trapped the citizens of Nohr, Lazz City's wall sat like a crown atop a king's head, with open arches lining the second floor. The city's moat was filled with a colorful array of water flowers. Frogs jumped from their lily pad stages into the crystal clear water. The sound of chatter and callings was intermingled with the faintest sound of music. I looked over at Oda was an excited grin, only to find his face somber and still before he turned his head towards me. Immediately, his thoughtful look was replaced with that cheeky smile. 

A pair of guards was stationed at each side of the massive, golden doors to the city. We stopped our horses and I pulled out a letter from Lord Bastian, presenting it to the guards. Their full-body armor clanked they reached my side, taking  the letter from me. The two guard took off their helmets, holding their helmets against their bodies. 

One guard was a dark elf with braided hair swirled into a singular bun, holding the letter in his hand. Standing above him was a tiefling with fiery red skin and mohawk that flayed backwards, who seemed suspicious of the letter.  

"Here on business in the name of Ashfall? I don't think we've heard a word from them since the war," the first guard noted. 

"You know they're in a pickle when even old man Bastian is saying something is urgent... Tell us, travelers, what kind of court do you hold to be the bringers of such important news?" the second asked jokingly as he scanned our trio. 

"I am a Viscountess of Lorshire and the tiefling is the newest knight of Lorshire," I proclaimed, "which is why I must speak with Lord Luc immediately."