The Zodiac Empire

Chapter 15 - Gray Wolf

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is 37 pages long. If you feel that this is simply overwhelming to read as one part, please comment down below and I will split it into two parts like I did with chapter 3. From here on, quite a bit of the chapters are going to be around this length, so it would really help me to know if you guys think I should split them into two or not. Thanks in advanced and hope you enjoy, despite my insanely long hiatus!

"Raw seafood grows on the earthly one." Spritelile read as Alile and the others, including Silver and his pegasus, entered the gate to townsquare. In contrast to the small town of Woteon, Descowton was quite a large, lively city. Tall, vividly colored buildings made it hard for anyone (except the apathetic Alile), to keep smiles off their faces as they looked around in awe and excitement. Alsen wanted to take pictures of every single sight, but her phone was no good, so Casele let her use hers.

"Shame must be laughed at."

Between the billboards advertising everything from the newest movies to the Descowton-style hot dog, and the grand clock tower that stood in the center of townsquare, the wizards were finding themselves looking up every other minute. Alile subconsciously licked her lips as the wondrous scent of freshly baked bread wafted into her nose from a nearby local vendor.

Just as they got further into the city, Spritelile began to read at a rapid pace. "Surrendering to pressure is a decision to be regretted. Shock leads to sorrow for many. Sweet melodies fall on deaf ears. Road rage is never the key." the sprite went on and on, speaking at a near unintelligibly fast pace to keep up with everyone within Alile's radius. So many predictions right after the other left Alile with a migraine.

Hardly audible under the discord of packed traffic and hustling and bustling men and women, a young man played his violin as he walked down the well maintained sidewalk.

"Self indulgence leads to a heart to heart."

Whenever the wizards and Silver passed by someone who wasn't in too big of a hurry to pay them any mind, they would bow before their prince, surprised to see him strolling through town on this early morning.

Spritelile eventually went a good few seconds without making any predictions, then read, "There is empty space."

Alile glanced at the sprite on her shoulder. "What are you talking about?" she was used to it speaking in riddles, but it had never said something like that. She expected it to just go right back to its predictions, but it just wafted above her shoulder, silent.

Echoing in the distance, a fountain stood in the center of a verdant park right by the ocean, adding even more color to the alluring city. Seagulls perched onto the fountain and park benches, while others flew freely over the ocean. Even with all the noise from the city, boats could be heard going 'boot boot!' from the sea.

As to be expected with any ocean-side city, there was a middle aged man with a grumpy face who reeked with the scent of the sea, sitting behind a stand, trying to sell fish.

The group came to a stop at an electronics store with rows of flat screen TV's displaying the news behind the glass windows. "In other news, the mysterious, alleged wizard, continues to spread his message of creating an 'utopia'." said one of the reporters.

"I don't understand how anyone can take a word out of that man's mouth seriously! If he's really a wizard, allowing his people into our country would be a one way ticket to disaster!" said the other reporter.

"There is empty space." Spritelile broke its silence. It normally wore a poker face just like Alile, but was now adjusting its glasses and its script shook in its hands.