The clutch of sharys: Chapter three
Chapter 3: Flashes of a Journey
This union, this fulfillment of divine purpose, was what created the sphere and brought about the birth of magic. However, Sharys looked down and still saw room for more.
Not too far down the hallway from Keti's office, the low hum of a large group of people reached Cara's ears, and she quickened her pace towards the sound. As she emerged from the hallway, she walked up to the marble railing that curved in a perfect circle around the tower’s interior, rising to the height of her chest in thin stone columns. Leaning over the cold stone barrier, Cara took a quick look down into the foyer.
She could see the tips of differently coiffed heads, with their intricate braids and curls, adorned with pearls, gems, feathers, and filigree as the sweeping, bright trains of myriad coats and dresses accompanied them below. The sound of creaking leathers and whispering as the rest of the participants moved around beckoned her down the stairs. Cara nervously shoved a few of her tight, red curls behind her ear, adjusting the tail of her messy braid where it draped over her shoulder.
She fussed with her outfit as she moved around the balcony, trying to tuck and pull where she could to make herself presentable. The underclothes were simple enough, and her braid would need redoing before things started, but there was nothing to be done about the size of the jacket or the way it tightly strained across her shoulders, so it was time to enter. Cara quickly stepped down the staircase that led to the bottom floor of the castle, feeling relieved at how few eyes turned up to observe her as she descended.
Families exchanged pleasant greetings with some, frosty nods with others, before sweeping off to claim different tables and nooks as meeting spaces for their candidates. Peeking through the throng, Cara saw a chair free against the back wall adjacent to the raised back half of the room and made her way over. She cautiously picked her way through the tables, offering a polite nod to the dark-haired twins of House Apulia, who were checking each other's leather arm guards as they caught her eye. The girl had been one of the young noblewomen foisted on her by the Admiral, but at least they hadn't had to endure each other long.
Cara walked past the mass of Apulia blue and yellow, reaching the dais that ran the back length of the room, and eyed the empty collection of huge rocks that ran around the middle. The stone platform was flanked with several stained glass windows depicting a sphere floating between two massive clawed hands, one black and one white, clutching the orb between their two draconic feet. Another showed thousands of dragons filling the air, swarming like a cloud of gnats towards an enormous eye that was crying, delicate blue glass tracing a river down a black mass. Lastly was a window displaying a colossal creature, head bent in sorrow as it ripped out its own eye, magic flowing from the wound and mixing with a lake of blood on the glass ground below. The Godbeast's massive white head was the only part of the creature shown within the glass, and it was flanked by thousands and thousands of dots reaching towards the bright red pool. Empty rows of chairs lined either side of the raised platform; its dull, gray flooring tinted bright colors by the fingers of light that slid in through the colored glass.
Claiming her spot near the bottom right of the dais, Cara sat with her back to the wall, taking deep breaths and trying to calm the gnawing sense of panic rattling around her gut. Maybe Keti had been right, and this was all a horrible idea that would only end with Cara getting roasted alive and then, if she was lucky, ending up a burnt blob in an infirmary for the rest of her life. Clenching her jaw so hard the joints at the back of her face ached, Cara shook her head and pinched her arm, using the sudden pain to push down those thoughts.
In its place, she ran through the mental checklist of preparations as she undid and quickly re-braided her hair, weaving it tightly against the side of her head, slowly picking up locks as she twisted it around the back and down her other shoulder. “Boots are tied, hair is contained, all that's left is to sit through the boring pleasantries and then get going. There’s only one chance to escape all of this, and error is not an option.” She took a deep breath and steadied her hands as she finished. Wrapping the end several times with the leather cord, Cara double tied the knot, hoping the lucky number of the godbeasts would bring her good fortune. She checked her belt buckle, her keeper's shank slid down the back of her left boot, and the strength of the knots she had tied in her laces.
Another crystalline tone sang out, reverberating cleanly throughout the room as a ripple of attentiveness ran across Cara and the other candidates for the trial. Standing, Cara stretched, loosening up her muscles as many other young men and women did the same. She didn’t have much that could amount to a plan for when she got into the vault, as so much was unknown. The only thing she knew was that the second she arrived in the vault, she wanted to be moving because to be standing still was asking for death.
Despite the slow pace of her stretches, Cara's heart sped up in anticipation, pumping her body full of energy that made it highly difficult to stay in one place and gradually finish her stretches. She couldn't risk getting a cramp mid-chase with a human-eating dragon, Cara reminded herself, pulling an arm behind her head before swinging it out and down, swapping the stretch to the other arm.
Creaking hinges at the back of the room announced Shary's Servants, the priests of the godbeast that held authority over matters of magic and the shards, as such a thing was the realm of religion and belief. A woman stepped forward from the huddle of people, her purple robes lined with roses wrought out of golden thread. The High Servant stood straight, her shoulder-length mousy brown hair and dull eyes the color of growing wood. Diminutive though her appearance may have been, when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice rang out, and the masses listened.
"We welcome you here today, Noble families of the great country of Netis." The High Servant paused, raising her hands slightly and waiting for all noise to die down before she continued. "Since the Seal's inception in the blood of our forebears and the Godbeast itself, humans and dragons have shared a sacred bond. Each nation has its own traditions surrounding the hatching of dragons, and in Netis, when those of the nobility reach the age of discernment at sixteen when the spark of Sharys alights within them, they are given the choice to seek an egg and hatch it." Cara's uncle had tried his hardest to funnel her into just getting an egg, but she had worked hard to delay his plans, instead quietly making her own to take part in the Trial two years later at eighteen.
Beaming down at the assembled candidates, who had slowly floated towards the front of the crowd, The High Servant continued. "In Netis, it was agreed that those related to the first families by marriage or blood would be allowed the pick of the best eggs, those closest in power and image to the Godbeast itself. Every five years, to pay honor to the lines lost in the Children’s Battle, the vault would be reopened to those who chose to wait, and its guardians readied to fend them off."
As the High Servant droned on about the arguments over the first family’s rights, drafting the laws and regulations surrounding it, and the symbolism of the five-year cycle, Cara took in her competition. Closest to her was a narrow-faced young woman staring up at the lecturing clergywoman with large, blue eyes that held a look suggesting she was far away in her thoughts. Beyond the thin-faced girl was a group of five young men, huddled together and muttering about something under their breaths. Their impressive size, bulky physiques, and patches blatantly sewn onto their jackets with the royal coat of arms made it a touch obvious that these were the lordlings who trained for quite some time to protect someone rather important.
That someone was easily found, listening intently to the sermon in front of the group, fair hair swept back away from his brow by a bronze coronet, with a black dragon ruby that marked him as a favored prince. As if irked by the attention and noise behind him, Prince Kimon's sharp gaze snapped back towards his friends, and Cara saw his lips move quickly yet silently, the mumbling group falling quiet. Cara watched him exert his influence over his peers, wishing she too had the power to silence people with a look and a few choice words. Kimon caught Cara's gaze as he turned back around, narrowing his eyes in a quick glare of disapproval before refitting his attention on the High Servant.
Shame warming her cheeks at being caught ogling, Cara turned her attention up to the dais as well, to where the High Servant's lecture was still in full swing. "To ensure that the Second Children could separate the eggs, the godbeasts helped Netis to develop a system based on the cards with which they played. It was a system that other nations quickly adopted since it could be taught and recognized by both common and noble alike. As the first children proliferated and spread, the purity of the power in their veins varied, some becoming diluted, others concentrated, the variability being a flaw in the first children's progeny."
Turning and giving a dramatic flourish over her hands, the diminutive woman indicated the circle of stones lying on the ground behind her. "In just a few moments, we will open the door to the Vault of Broken Wings, as decreed by the agreement between the first Queen of Netis and the four elemental first children. A door that has been closed for five years per the wishes of our ancestors. You will proceed in, without the protection of magic or weapon, to search for one of the strongest forces ever known to man. There is no egg low in power within the Vault, but there is no guarantee of your survival either."
The high servant slowly spread her arms, tilting her head back and looking down her nose at the assembled leather-clad group in front of her. "Do you understand these conditions?" She asked, her voice booming. Cara stiffened, trying to forget the small knife in the back of her boot, less a weapon than a tool, but probably best left behind just the same. She recited back the words that she dreamed of saying for the past two years, repeating them when doubt crept in. "By the blood of my ancestors and for the glory of Netis and family, I accept this chance."
She stated the words loudly, her voice echoed by about thirty others. These words meant something extra to her since she was not participating as her sister had, endowed with the allies and sigil of their Uncle's house. Cara instead stood alone, wearing her father's colors, bearing his name and sigil, even though it did not provide the same advantages as her uncle’s crest. Keti could have her help, but Cara needed no one but herself. It was the way things had been for a while, ever since her sister had begun her career and Cara had left the Admiral's household.
The High Servant held her pose as the last few echoes of their words rang about the ceiling, taking in a deep breath as she lowered her head. "Then, to those of you who risk life and limb in your quest for power, let us begin." As she finished, dozens of the other purple-clothed 'Servants' sprang into action, pushing and magically guiding the stones strewn about the dais together so that they formed a complete ring of touching rock.
One woman caught Cara's attention when she lifted her arms, eyes faintly giving off a white light as she shifted her hand forward, scooping upwards. A blast of air wormed its way past her in a spinning arm and wedged its way underneath an imposing chunk of rock. Another clergy member stepped up in sync with the first's motions, eyes glowing a light green while placing their shoulder against the rock as it floated in its cushion of air. Using their bodies to guide it into place gently, the team of priests lay the stone down with a gentle thud, stepping back in line once they had finished.
Cara noticed that while she had been watching the duo using air magic, the other stones had all neatly moved into place, and the High Servant was on the move, walking towards the back of the circle. "I am sure you have all heard the different stories that your parents and siblings have told you of their first time travelling through a portal, but I assure you that all words will fail to encompass what you are about to experience for yourselves."
The heavy sounds of wings beating through the air faintly caught Cara's ear, and sure enough, the rasping sound of claws on stone sounded mere moments later as several dragons landed around the large metal dome that covered the overhead opening over the dais. Large, empty arched spaces lined that distance from the gap in the ceiling to the bottom of the metallic covering, allowing air and light to flow into the room. It was one of many such openings near public places that allowed dragons and their riders easy passage to come and go.
The High Servant glanced up, Cara following her gaze, at the four scaley heads winding their way into the ceremony space, sharp slitted eyes glancing around and taking in those assembled. Four of the purple-clothed servants stepped forward, raising their hands in front of them and catching the attention of their draconian partners.
Cara’s attention was broken by one of the young men who looked far too developed to still be eligible. The lordling had begun swinging his arms back and forth in a small circle perpendicular to the ground as he bounced, twisting his torso with the motion. "Stop that." Someone hissed, and the man flipped a rude gesture behind his back where the participants could see, but it was hidden from the priests and families assembled. He stopped rolling his shoulders as he stilled, watching the High Servant with an eager expression shining on his round face.
Cara turned back to the ceremony, where up on the dais, the raised hands of the clergy were drifting downwards, directing their dragons to the circle on the ground. The High Servant looked up at the dragons before slowly turning her gaze down to the four priests below her, giving a deep nod.
The woman standing to her right tossed a handful of blue powder into the circle, and seconds later, the green dragon, with its knobbed horns that curled outwards from its brow, breathed a stream of water rushing out in a geyser from its throat. Cara could feel the cool mist faintly coming off of the dragon's breath as it streamed into the circle but did not leak out or overflow. Curious, she joined several of the participants in moving closer, leaning on the rail that separated the dais from the rest of the room so she could stand on the tips of her toes to get a look, hoping that would make up for her lack of height.
Try as she might, though, Cara was not tall enough to see up the steps and over the large stones. Instead, she was forced to scuttle back when the dragon head nearest her, a grey and white beast with smooth, curved horns that looked like brows protruding from the sides of its face, suddenly lowered its head and opened its long snout. Out its mouth came waves of ringing force, vibrating through the air as they pulverized and shook the water in the middle of the stone ring. If she tilted her head, Cara could almost hear a high whining sound that pulsed in time with the dragon's breath, but the more she attempted to focus on the noise, the more it slipped away from her.
Quickly, the orange and red creature near the front of the dome followed the motion of its rider, who was already dusting their hands of whatever they had thrown into the ring. Its jaw dropping loose, a stream of abnormally bright red rocks, stricken through with black, were exhaled out of the creature’s throat. They flew into the center of the water below its head, somehow sinking through the surface instead of hitting the stone floor beneath.
Finally, the older man to the High Servant’s left stepped forward and cast his handful of powder into the mix. As the granules left the Servant's hand, shimmering rainbow white in the air, the fluid in the ring spun into a whirlpool, glowing from within. The four clergy members took another step forward, raising their hands and pushing the palms out, flat over the churning waters.
With the motion, different colored lights shining from their eyes, the liquid beneath them accelerated, spinning ever faster as they exerted their power over it. Finally, the dark purple dragon at the back, who had been watching the ritual with an unblinking eye, leaned its head down, opening its long jaw only a few inches and releasing a beam of light that rode out on its breath. Luminescence shone from jagged jaws like a mirror reflecting the afternoon sun into the room, shining towards the ever-accelerating pool and piercing into its waters.
Immediately, whatever mixture the church had created intensified its light, acceleration within increasing as a film spread across the surface. To Cara, it looked like a thick carpet of buttery, white and yellow embers, the air over it shimmering slightly, though she couldn't see any of the Servants reacting to any heat. As one, the clergy members pushed their arms in the center, making the combination that should have splashed out of the pool at this rate merely deepen, the waters combining into a shining, luminescent slurry. The light coming off it was intense, causing Cara to squint to look into it, and the dragons closed their mouths, great heads retreating from the space above the dais.
"The time now approaches, young nobles, and you must hasten to your chosen destiny." The High Servant at the head of the circle addressed the participants once more. She looked rather excited to Cara for a woman who was supposedly sending them off to their possible demise.
Murmurs rose around the room as the crowd got closer to gawk at either the participants or the portal, a rare display of the secret magic of the dragons known only by the godbeasts and their servants. Not that this sacred and arcane knowledge was shared lightly to the Servants of Sharys because although the church had, among its other blessings, massive ranks of believers from several nations, it did not have many deserters. This was helped by the fact that those foolish enough to try were ruthlessly hunted down and slaughtered, their families shamed and punished.
Unfortunately, in Cara’s mind, this also created an environment of opinion among the most devout followers that those outside the church were pitiable enemies, worthy of raising themselves above, yet equally deserving of burning hate. “And nothing,” Cara thought to herself, bouncing on the balls of her feet to release some nerves before getting ready to run into the pool with the rest of the pack “unifies a group of people quite like hate.”
The Aerie and its large staff loomed behind her eyes, the icy stares of critical judgment and the forced politeness between them. Cara's lips twitched in a wry smile that hung on her face like a piece of tissue paper in the air, there momentarily, then inevitably falling away. She couldn't complain, it wasn't as though she had been treated poorly aside from the social isolation and occasional aerie yard scuffle, but street stepping was an art form in Cetna, perfected by tavern fights and back-alley battles. Cara glanced up at the High Servant, bouncing impatiently on her toes as the woman raised a hand over the assembled group, the crowd slowly fading back and finally leaving them alone.
The pressure of the crowd releasing, the small group of young people spread out, Cara heading for the far left side to give herself more room. A few steps into her movement, she realized the twins were walking the same way and wondered if they were following her. Up ahead of the group, the brown-haired priestess began intoning a lengthy, ritualistic blessing called The Blessed Eye over those still left before the dais. Cara did her best to dutifully look up but quickly found her thoughts wandering as it was hard to pay her attention to words she didn't believe.