The Unblessed Child

Chapter Fourteen - Evil Within

When Aardriyah and Rachida reached the top deck, they were welcomed by a rowdy crowd of blessed and unblessed, all seemingly letting their hair down in celebration of the end of the working week. Drinks of varying colours and smells were being poured out of large gold and silver coloured metal drinking vessels, while a spread of food was laid upon the tables of the deck. The four ships were lined beside each other with small bridges between them allowing passage. Musicians strumming stringed wooden instruments were accompanied by others blowing into large hollowed out pipes. Every now and then a servant would feel the need to bellow out a song of merriment while others would grab a partner and perform a dance of their homeland. It was a festivity of colour, sound and taste unlike anything Aardriyah had ever seen.

The air blessed were flying large kites in the sky, of varying colours and shapes. They soared above the ships, twinkling in the sunlight and casting magnificent blues, greens, yellows and reds onto the decks beneath. Some water blessed were shooting streams of water in front of and between the ships, making shapes of animals, great and menacing. Two water beasts were shaped into large felines who advanced towards each other before colliding, smashing into one giant water abomination which sprayed the decks of the middle two ships. Aardriyah marvelled at how talented and creative all the blessed were, she had never seen such use of the elements and struggled to know where to look, to take in all the glory of the festivities around her.

The main festivities celebrated in Veros were during The Arche - a five-day period each year designated as a public time of rest and celebration for all in the realm. It was celebrated at the end of the cold period of Moons Exhalation and before the season of The Sowing began. However, regardless of how grand the celebration might be on Veros, it still seemed to pale in comparison to the festivities occurring on a normal Lullday aboard the Royal Fleet. Perhaps it was because Aardriyah had never seen such a combination of cultures in one place, or perhaps it was because everywhere she looked people were smiling, unblessed and blessed talking as if no boundaries or discrimination ever existed.

"Riyah, Riyah, my beautiful fire haired Riyah." A sweet songlike voice filled Aardriyah's head, she twirled to find the source of it and was greeted by two deep green eyes and a widening smile of brilliant teeth.

"Sekher, you seem to be -" not sure of how to finish her sentence, she blushed and looked towards her feet.

"Happy? In love?"

"Drunk" Rachida chimed in. Sekher smiled and continued,

"Well, of course my love. It is a beautiful end of light, the sun shines upon us and the water is calm and pure. I am in love with this beautiful world and this beautiful moment. I am drunk on the music of life and happy because before me stands a mysterious Verosian woman with hair as fierce as her heart." His words poured out in a song like rhythm, while sipping from his iron tankard and moving his hips in motion to a beat from the music echoing across the water. Aardriyah couldn't help but smile, the tormented words and moments of the morning now seemed far away.

"I'm just not used to this. It's so colourful and -"

"Magical." He finished for her. She smiled and grabbed his tankard, taking a sip of the strong-tasting liquid inside that burned the entire way down her throat. She coughed and rubbed away the drops falling off her lips while trying to rid her face of the utter disgust now spread across it. Sekher laughed and shook his head just as Rachida shoved another tankard into Aardriyah's right hand.

"Try this instead, it's much sweeter and tastes less like dog piss." Aardriyah took a swig of the concoction in the tankard she had just been handed. It still tasted awful, but it did have a sweeter aftertaste of berry so she felt less inclined to grimace after swallowing. As Aardriyah peered around the ship, she felt a slight sadness growing in her. She could just imagine Sonas dancing in front of the musicians, making her own words to songs she didn't know. She'd definitely stick her finger in, and taste test every piece of food she could find and of course would put the other water blessed to shame with her own water creations. Aardriyah decided to take it all in and promised that she would write down every last detail. Vowing to remember it all for Sonas and fill her in once they were reunited; if they were reunited.