“Come on, Traven. You can’t spend all day up here just staring at the city. Let’s get going.”
“I haven’t even had a chance to see the palace,” he complained as he fell in step behind Blaize. Soon the entire city was hidden by the high walls except for a few buildings and the unbelievably tall towers.
“What do you mean?” Blaize countered. “Those four highest towers in the center of the city are part of the palace.” Traven felt a little foolish since he could still see the towers, but he wished he had been able to look at the rest of it. “And don’t worry about it. You’ll have plenty of time to see it up close when we get inside the city.”
As they continued on towards the city walls, Traven saw that the farms suddenly stopped, leaving a wide area of open grassland outside the walls of the city.
“How come there’s nothing between here and the city,” he asked Blaize.
“That’s for a couple of reasons,” Blaize began. “First of all it keeps traffic orderly as it comes and goes from the city, and second of all it allows for a better tactical advantage if the city is attacked. An invading army has to bare itself in the open to the catapults and arrows of Calyn.”
Traven immediately saw what a good idea it was. It took longer to make it to the city than he had thought it would. The stretch of open grassland was a lot bigger than it had looked from up on the rise. As they rode closer to the walls of the city, he made a point to look down at the road like the other travelers were doing. The sun bouncing off the white stones of the wall was so bright he feared if he stared at it very long he would go blind. At last they reached the massive gate of the city, and Traven looked up. Since it was the only main gate in and out of the huge city, it was wide enough for numerous wagons to pass through at the same time. It also towered far above their heads. As they passed under the wall, Traven arched his head back and guessed that the gate itself must be several stories tall. He also noticed how wide the walls were. Passing through the gate was almost like passing through a tunnel as they were bathed in its shadow for several moments.
Coming out of the darkness and into the city, Traven once again stared in awe. The main road remained as wide as the highway and cut straight through the heart of the city. On either side of the road, tall buildings rose up against each other. All of the buildings had white plastered walls, but each seemed to have a different color of slate on their rooftop. The streets were packed with people, but Traven could easily see down the road. Far ahead in the distance he could see what must have been the Grand Palace. He could make out a massive building that the four huge towers reached out from. Sun glinted off of the huge, golden dome that topped the palace. Traven followed in awe as Blaize made his way through the throng of people. When they reached a side street, Blaize turned and led him to a square where they could stop to talk without impeding traffic. Blaize pulled up next to a fountain with two large statues of some fish that had fans around their necks and noses like swords.
“So what do you think of the city?” Blaize asked with a big smile.
“It’s amazing,” Traven blurted out immediately. “I never imagined it would be so large and so beautiful.” From what Traven had seen so far, the city was full of grand squares, beautifully elegant buildings, and an atmosphere of excitement.
“Yes,” Blaize answered, “Calyn is probably the most breathtaking city in the whole world. Rankdra comes close and is grand in its own respect, but it just does not have the elegance of Calyn. You think the city is wonderful already and you haven’t even seen the Grand Palace up close. You’ll really be amazed when you get to the High King’s Square. It’s full of statues and is bordered by the Grand Palace, the Royal Library, and several other impressive buildings. The rest of the city is amazing as well. All throughout there are squares with beautiful fountains like this one. The docks are also interesting. You can see people there from many different lands. I’m sure you’ll like living in this city, but enough of that. I don’t know about you, but after this morning I’m awfully hungry. Let’s go get something to eat. Down this street a ways there are several decent restaurants.”
Traven followed eagerly as Blaize made his way down the street. In his excitement to reach Calyn he had forgotten how hungry he was and that he hadn’t eaten anything all day. They turned off onto another side street that wasn’t nearly as busy as the two that they had previously been on. Down the street there were several buildings that were three stories tall and had signs that were filled with pictures of food announcing restaurants’ names. Blaize led him to one of them called The Plate of Plenty. It had a picture of a large plate stacked high into the air with all kinds of food. Blaize and Traven left their mounts with an attendant at the side of the restaurant and went in to quell their monstrous appetites. The main room of the restaurant was not very full as it was past breakfast but still a little too early for lunch. A waitress dressed in a bright green dress and a clean white apron led them to a booth in the corner of the restaurant and went to get them something to drink.
“You’ll love the food here,” Blaize said with a large grin. “It’s a bit on the expensive side, but it is sure worth it. I figured I’d splurge on a really good meal before I start eating at the barrack’s mess. Besides, we have a few extra coins from back in Four Bridges don’t we?” he said with a wink.
“I don’t care how good the food tastes. I just want a lot of it.”
Blaize smiled as the waitress brought back two mugs of hot spiced cider. Before she could ask what they would like to eat, Blaize ordered two of the chef’s special series and sent her away with a smile.
”What’s the chef’s special series?”
“You’ll find out when it gets here, but don’t worry, you’ll like it, and it will definitely fill you up.”
Traven took a drink of the spiced cider and set it down as he waited anxiously for the food to arrive. The cider was really good, but he wanted something on his stomach before he drank the rest of it. The waitress arrived much faster than he had expected with some appetizers. They were strips of some clear, chewy meat covered in fried bread crumbs. Blaize said the meat was from a sea animal that had many long, dangling arms and legs called a squid. Traven was not sure if he believed him, but whatever it was, it was good. Traven quickly finished his plate and drank some more of the cider. He finished so fast that he had to wait awhile before the waitress returned again. Blaize, on the other hand, ate slowly as Traven watched hungrily from across the table with his stomach growling.
After what seemed like an eternity, the waitress finally brought out two large platters heaped with steaming food. He stared with wide eyes as she set the platter in front of him. Blaize paid the waitress as Traven dug into the food. It was as delicious as Blaize had said it would be, and there was plenty of it. There was beef covered in a spicy brown sauce, a lamb chop in a sweet red sauce, and several different kinds of fish in a tangy white sauce. The platter was also heaped with vegetables smothered in butter. There were carrots, tomatoes, and corn. There were potato wedges covered in melted cheese and some strange orange potato-like vegetable sprinkled with sugar. There was also a large, fluffy roll squeezed in on the edge of everything else. The heap of food was soon reduced to nothing but some sauce which Traven promptly cleaned up with the last of his roll. Some of the food had tasted strange to him, but it had all tasted good nonetheless. He leaned back against the wall, satisfied. Blaize finished his food shortly after Traven and after looking around, burped quietly into his hand.
“Didn’t I tell you you’d like what I ordered?” Blaize said as he rubbed his stomach.
“You’d think that I’d trust you by now,” Traven said with a smile.
“You should,” Blaize answered with mock concern. “But to change the subject, Traven, I really need to go sign up at the barracks and you need to get to your merchant school. That’s the reason we’re here after all.”
Traven suddenly wasn’t as excited as he had been. He’d known that when they finall
y reached Calyn he and Blaize would go their separate ways, but he had been so excited with everything that he had forgotten all about it. It would be interesting and exciting to be in the merchant school, but he knew he would miss Blaize. Blaize had become almost like a second father to him but more like a best friend. Traven didn’t want to have to say farewell to the man who had not only saved his life but had allowed him to travel with him. Blaize had even taken the time to teach him not only how to fight and protect himself but also about life. Traven solemnly followed him out of the restaurant and mounted Pennon in silence.
“Oh brother, Traven. You look like you just found out that someone died.”
“I was just thinking that it’s too bad we have to part so soon,” he answered.
“It’s not like we’re not going to see each other ever again.” Traven brightened up slightly. “We’re going to be in the same city, and we can easily get together every once in a while and reminisce on sleeping out in the freezing rain and being attacked in the dark.” Traven smiled. “Besides, when you’re a big, wealthy merchant, maybe I’ll sign on as one of your merchant guards.”
“If I become a wealthy merchant, you’ll be the first choice for captain of my guards.”
“Oh, I’m so flattered,” Blaize said facetiously.
They then rode in silence until they made it back to the main street. Once back on the main street, Blaize rode next to Traven until they came to a point where a large street crossed the main one. Blaize pointed down the street that headed south.
“The army barracks is that way, so I guess it’s bye for now. I’ll see you around.”
With that, Blaize turned with a smile and began down the street southward. As Traven sat sadly watching him leave, he suddenly realized he didn’t know how to get to where he needed to go.
“Wait a minute Blaize,” Traven yelled as he hurried after the warrior. Blaize pulled over to the side of the road and looked back at Traven. “Where are the merchant schools at?”
“I forgot that you didn’t know,” Blaize said with a laugh. “They are right on the other side of the Grand Palace. Just keep following this road. When you get past the Grand Palace, go right on the first large street that crosses the one you’re on. That’ll take you right into the scholar district. From there you’ll have to find the particular merchant school by yourself.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without your help.”
“You would probably just ask someone else and find it anyway,” Blaize said with a grin. “Now get out of here.”
Traven gave a final wave to Blaize and made his way back onto the main street.
* * * * *
Blaize watched as Traven made his way down the main street and out of sight. The young man was so out of place in the large city, but he would get the hang of it. At least he knew how to defend himself now. He smiled to himself. It was too bad that they had to part. Traven had been good company on the journey to Calyn. Blaize had almost come to love the young man as the son that he had never had. He would miss being able to talk with him every day. Oh well, he thought as he started down the road towards the army barracks, I’ll see him again sometime. And for some reason, Blaize knew he would.
* * * * *
As Traven rode closer and closer to the Grand Palace, his eyes grew wider and wider. When the main street finally transformed into the High King’s Square, he found himself once again at a loss for words. It was all so amazing! There were fountains all over the gigantic square with statues of fantastical creatures and legendary warriors. In the center of the square there was even a small grove of trees encircled by colorful flowers of every kind. Surrounding the square were immense buildings of stunning architecture. Traven easily guessed which one was the Royal Library but was not sure what all of the rest of the buildings were for. But out of all of the buildings, one of them stood out far above all the rest, the Grand Palace.
The capacious size of the building itself was remarkable not to mention its beautiful architecture. The Grand Palace was as wide as one whole side of the square and surrounded by a two arm span tall wall that was made out of the same brilliant white stone as that of the outer wall. It was set back slightly from the square, and through the open gate at its front, Traven could see that it had its own small square filled with statues of past kings and queens of Kalia. To the sides of the palace square there were trees of every kind that offset the whites and golds of the palace with their greenery and fall foliage. The palace rose above the trees many stories into the air. Atop the final story there was a large dome of gold that capped the center of the palace. Even more striking than the golden dome however were the four towers that rose out of the corners of the palace. The two in front were extremely high, but the two in back reached even higher towards the heavens. Traven had no way of knowing how tall the towers were but guessed that the two smaller ones in front had to be at least twenty stories tall. He did not even want to guess at how tall the other two were. Traven could see that the tops of the four towers were also plated in gold just as the dome was. He had never imagined the palace being so vast and beautiful.
Traven continued to stare up in awe at the Grand Palace from the spacious High King’s Square as the flood of people in the square flowed around him. As he stared up at the windows of the palace, he wondered what it would be like to live in such a wonderful place. Servants would be at his beck and call and he would have all the luxuries he had ever dreamed of. Whenever he felt like it, he could climb to the top of one of the towers and look far out over the ocean or far out over the grasslands of Kalia. It would be amazing. Traven finally ripped his gaze away from the palace and started across the square to where the main road would emerge from it. He really did need to get to the merchant school to check in. However, he couldn’t help glancing up at the palace several more times as he crossed the square.
He reached the main road and started down it away from the palace. He turned right on the first road that crossed the one he was on and found himself on a quieter road with less traffic that was lined with large buildings. He rode slowly down the road so that he could read the signs on all of the buildings announcing what they were. They ranged from elementary academies to philosophical centers. Towards the end of the street Traven found the building he had been looking for. A large, four story building with a bright red slate roof announced itself as Kalia’s Merchant Academy. He smiled uncertainly at the large building that was to be his new home. He had made it to merchant school at last.
17
Kalista gazed out from her bedroom window down at the great square milling about with people. Different people from different lands walked freely through the square, some stopping to admire the palace. She always marveled at the fact that they did not realize that while they were staring up at the palace, she was sometimes staring right back at them. She wondered what it would be like to be one of them. It would be fun to be an ordinary person who could do whatever they wanted to. What she would give to be able to go out there alone and have some fun. She envied those who could choose to do whatever they wanted. With a sigh, she stepped back from her window and walked over to her vanity to run a brush through her hair. Kalista admired herself in the mirror as she sat brushing her long golden hair with her favorite ivory brush. She smiled at her reflection, and it smiled back at her showing off its dimples. Those had come from her dad while her hair had come from her mother.
Tears began to well up in her bright blue eyes at the thought of her mother. She did not cry about it anymore, but her eyes sometimes still stung with tears. She still found it hard to believe that she no longer had a mother. All of her life her mother had been her best friend. She had always admired her mother’s strength and beauty, and most of all she had admired her mother for always being there for her to talk to. She wished her mother was still there for her to talk with now. Kalista sometimes discussed her problems with her nanny, but it was never the same. Her nanny could never compare to her mother, the High Que
en Kineta d’ Roshedrian.
She had been dead for over a year now, but the pain of her death had still not worn off. Shortly after Kalista’s sixteenth birthday celebration, her mother had suddenly fallen ill. The royal clerics and the best physicians in Kalia had tried everything but had not been able to save her from dying several weeks later. Kalista would never forget how her mother had reserved time, even after she had fallen ill, when they could just sit together and talk privately as mother and daughter and not High Queen and Princess. When she had finally died, the High Queen had died with one hand clasped by her loving husband, the High King Raldon d’ Roshedrian, and one hand clasped by her only child, the Princess Kalista d’ Roshedrian. Kalista would never forget that night for as long as she lived. Even after her mother had fallen ill, Kalista had never believed that she would actually die. She had always maintained the hope that her mother would miraculously be healed. On that last night with her mother, her view of the world had changed. She had seen how frail and special life was and how cruel the fates could be.
She had never been particularly close to her father before her mother’s death and still was not. At first she had thought the death would have brought them closer together, and while it had at first, soon things were back to normal with the High King spending all of his time ruling the kingdom. She had always admired her mother for balancing her duty as the High Queen with her duty as a mother. Kalista didn’t think badly of her father for being so dedicated to his people but had always wished they could be closer. She set her brush down and patted her eyes softly with a silk handkerchief. After clearing the tears from her eyes, she set about weaving her long golden hair into a single, thick braid.
Wielder's Awakening Page 19
