The Chronicles of Osera: Child Of Mesendra

Wameri

Omydaedren overheard voices in conversation as he stomped down the last wooden stairs.
It was Vasati and her husband, Gefryn.

"Morning, Daedren!" Gefryn greeted him. He was sitting on the wooden railing and facing his wife. His dark brown hair was cut shorter than the last time Omydaedren had seen him. Vasati frowned when she saw Omydaedren. "We only saw three birds fly out."
Omydaedren's face still wore his fear from before.

Gefryn hopped off of the rail. "Did you try to summon a bird?" He asked.

"I couldn't do it," Omydaedren replied plainly.

"Will you attempt it again before you leave?" Vasati asked him, her dark eyes squinted. Omydaedren rubbed his eyes, "I do not want to."

"It could take several attempts," Gefryn reminded him. "You aren't a Skytalon by blood, same as me," he added.

"No, I am not Skytalon," Omydaedren sighed.

"It is in the blood," Vasati stated, folding her slender arms. Omydaedren gave her an awkward smile and descended down the last spiral stairs.

He set out on a simple dirt path that led toward the city. Zrerra squawked as she flew over Omydaedren and landed gracefully on the wooden rail of the aviary. Omydaedren shook his head at the hawk and shoved his hands in his pants pockets.

The city he was headed toward was one of stone brick and thatched roofs made simply from the grasses of the plains. The largest structure, aside from the aviary towers, was the Kandratin Hold. The majority of the building was carved directly into the mountainside. The entrance was the only part not submerged in the mountain. Two, sturdy and square, towers built out of stone bricks and an immense set of wooden doors that were always open. A way beside the Hold, was the Wamerian Mines. The outside of the mines was built as a circular tower around a large pit and had an open roof. Smoke was constantly fuming out of the open top and would fill the surrounding air with the scent of burnt wood and coal.

Omydaedren could see the darkening smoke now and sighed heavily at the thought of the stench being all he could smell for hours. He had made it to the first outskirts of the city where the thick grasses had been turned into fertile farmlands. He could smell the fresh soil and the heavy stench of buffalo manure. The land on either side of Omydaedren quickly became fields of wheat and barley and still had their green blades. A Drarvuno on a saddled buffalo looked up from pulling harvested wheat and waved a hand to Omydaedren. He waved back and could hear several buffalo grunts as he travelled through the farmlands.

The sun had finally begun to warm Omydaedren when he made it into the city. The air had changed to the sweet scent of pastries blended with the smokiness of buffalo meat. There was chatter on the streets and some of the children were playing with a ball made from hides. He thought for a moment, that he ought to stop later and buy some of the meat for his journey tomorrow. Omydaedren continued toward the mines. Later, he thought. He still felt the need to flee from what chased him. The air was steadily becoming more overcast with smoke as he continued on.

The sounds of metal on stone was all Omydaedren could hear when he came upon the Wamerian Mines. Men were going to and from the mines, lugging massive shards of stone with veins of iron and clumps of coal. Most of their hands were black from touching the coal. Several smelting fires were lit with men working them constantly. Omydaedren continued inside the mine.

Inside, the mine opened into a wide area. The floor was busy but plain except for the massive hole that was dug into the earth. Vertical shafts lined the outer walls of the building that were responsible for guiding the smoke out of the earth. Since there was no roof, hefty ropes were strung across the top of the exposed building. Thinner ropes were attached to those by welded rings. They cascaded down into the mines and carried Drarvuno up and down the excavated sides of the hole.