Chapter 241: Croi
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Chapter 241: Croi
Tala, Thron, Gallof, and Be-thric reached the edge of the city of Croi after an uneventful trek across the ten miles of plains.
After their magically noticeable method of travel, Talas fight with the magical beasts had been a bit lengthier than planned, but not by much.
Besides that fight, theyd only stopped for a moment so that Tala could duck into her sanctum to be reinscribed and repaint her limbs with iron. Tala tried not to think too long on why those limbs needed to be repainted.
As such, it was barely after sunset when their feet found paved streets.
Just like in the human lands, there were no dedicated roads between arcane cities.
This was true, even though magical creatures were far less hostile towards arcanes than they were to humans, and arcanous creatures were much rarer.
The entire set of differences and distinctions was something that Tala still didnt fully understand, honestly.
There were arcanous creatures that had gone through founts. Those were mundane beasts with a bit of magic added on the top. Sometimes they could become powerful enough to be considered magical beasts, but they were always aspected like the fount from which theyd gained their power.
Tala was unsure how they continued to get power to use, but from what she understood it just became a natural thing for them to generate power as part of their bodily functions. It was an incredibly finite supply, and if they didnt eat or sleep, they wouldnt continue to produce it.
Though, I suppose no one actually has told me that for certain.
-And that doesnt really make sense from what we know about magic and where it comes from-
But that was the prevailing theory. From what Tala could tell, arcanous animals didnt really exist in the arcane lands, as confusing as that was, so she couldnt see if the arcanes had any better information or theories.
Truly magical magical beasts were common to both the human and arcane areas of the continent, and likely found all over the world.
These beasts got their power from a bond with something. That bond wasnt unlike a soul-bond, but it wasnt with a human.
To her knowledge, no one had ever witnessed the birth or creation of a truly magical creature, so a lot was speculation. Humanity wasnt even sure if magical creatures were altered mundane creatures, jumping straight from mundane to magical, or if they were created as fully magical with or without the necessity of parentage or some form of egg or birth.
Arcanes simply saw truly magical creatures as realitys response to improper or reckless usage of magic. That predicted the appearance and behavior of the creatures, so most didnt care further. Tala hadnt been able to find research materials beyond that.
In either case, truly magical creatures gained power from that which they were bound to. The most common was from the land or reality itself. They were brought into being, or made into what they were, to defend the area or drive out something unnatural.
All this to say, roads were not possible when the land itself might somehow spawn a creature of power to wipe out the constructed, or traveler-worn, thoroughfare and anyone unlucky enough to be upon it at the time.
So, the feel of fitted stone under Talas bare feet, and the sound of the boots of the other three on the same, was a welcome statement that they were back in civilization.
True, it was a human enslaving civilization, but Tala would take what she could get at the moment. She was still feeling a bit strained, and her head was still pounding, from the fight with the minor horde of creatures, capped by the reality drake or whatever the rust that thing had been.
Arcane city defenses were much more nebulous than human ones, but that made sense given that, in general, arcane cities were left alone, where human cities were forced to move every few centuries or be destroyed.
Overall, the differences were many and compounding.
Croi was a truly ancient city.
Tala had learned a bit about it in preparation for this trip. It had been more than ten thousand years since its founding, and the very feel of the place was heavy with history.
There was a cold nip in the evening air, but that made sense as it was getting close to the shortest day of the year. Even so, as far south as they were, snow had yet to stick on the ground.
That lack alone made Tala rarely really contemplate the fact that it was mid-winter, closing in on the end of the year. Its right around a month until my twenty-first birthday.
It was an odd, disconnected thought among all the internal observations of the magnificent city, but it sat heavily within her.
This time last year, she was taking trips back and forth between Bandfast and Marliweather, trying to get in as much time with her siblings as possible before Nalac and Illie left for the Academy.
Unless I lost more time than I realized. Be-thric could have been mucking about in my head, trying to create and perfect Tali for decades, for all I know.
-I dont think so, and you dont either. Dont let fear make you jump to conclusions.-
I suppose so. I hope they are doing well.
-Nalac and Illie? Yeah I bet they took the disappearance pretty hard.-
If they even know.
-They know, Tala. They would have been told. Most students read the letters they were sent, and your siblings would do the same.-
Yeah Imagine how surprised everyone will be when I show up. That lifted her spirits a bit, and she smiled.
Gallof sighed. It is good to be back in a city, is it not? Back here in particular.
Thats right. Gallof and Thron were based out of Croi until the opening for a new Pillar came available in Platoiri. Tala glanced towards the man. Has it changed?
No, its only been a few months. Croi hasnt really changed in centuries, a few months are meaningless to such a place. He was clearly enamored with the place, and Tala could somewhat understand.
Even the outer edge was interesting.
In this city, no house or guild could buy, or even rent, a particular space. The location of their hold on any given day was purely at the whim and will of the City Lord and the House of Blood.
Though, in truth, the order and placement didnt change anywhere near that often.
I cannot fathom trying to find where you needed to go if it did change even every few days.
Tala instinctively stood up straighter as they neared. She forced her will and her magic through her garments, reshaping them into immaculate clothing befitting her station and displaying the emblem of the House of Blood. Shed retracted the white-metal armor before the trek towards the city for two reasons. First, walking in armor was never a fun time. Second, the drake had eaten a lot of her armor, and shed not taken the time to absorb more metal into her elk-leathers to replenish that finite resource.
Im going to have to be careful of that, arent I?
-Yeah I foresee it becoming a problem, if we arent careful.-
The guilds notes on how they made the metal should be in the information we acquired somewhere.
-Yeah, we can hope. It seems like useful stuff.-
Be-thric noticed her change and smiled, giving her an approving nod. Well thought, my Eskau.
Tala pasted on a smile. You are too kind, Pillar Be-thric.
Nonsense. You are the pivotal reason we are here. It is to acquire more power for you, and through you, me and the House of Blood. The impression you make will mean everything.
Great no pressure. This wasnt new information, of course, but it was still a bit nerve wracking to be reminded. I will do my utmost to make a good impression, then.
Another difference between Platoiri and Croi is that here, guards stood outside the House of Bloods hold, and the doors were flung wide.
That provided an interesting picture, actually, as it was clearly day within the hold, while full night had fallen even as they were just entering the city, and the four of them were at its heart, now.
The guards saw them and were either expecting them or noticed Talas livery.
One was a dwarf, and the other stepped forward and addressed them. Greetings, great ones of the House of Blood.
The few others who were in the area turned to regard the four.
The guard continued. Be welcomed, brothers and sisters of the House. Welcome, Pillar who is our strength against the weight of the world. Welcome, Eskau who slays those who would oppose our interest. Be welcomed, one and all!
His pronouncement echoed through the streets, and several of those near Tala and her group fell to their knees, bowing as they passed.
I suppose that makes sense in a city controlled by the House of Blood.
The guards voice had also echoed through the open doorway and some of those inside were looking out.
The most prevalent to Talas eye was a shorter woman, about her own height, wearing well-fitted dark platemail. She moved like it weighed nothing and didnt seem to restrict her in the least.
There was no helmet in evidence, so Tala assumed the armor was magical and would grow the helmet at need. It appeared expertly made with no gaps that Tala could see. Where there would normally be gaps, smaller, more flexible configurations of plates were in evidence.
The only item that seemed odd was the womans left gauntlet, which seemed too big to be standard. Her protian weapon? Shes an Eskau?
That would make sense if the protian weapon was overlaying an existing gauntlet.
Tala suspected that this woman was as well guarded in her plate-mail as Tala was inside her white metal armor, while maintaining direct control over it.
The woman almost looked human at first glance, and she had no gate. In fact, she had no color or obvious feature or magical flow about her at all that Tala could see with her mage-sight. Very good aura control.
As Tala looked closer, she almost froze in her steps.
The womans skin was as fair as a newborn babes. Her hair was as dark as pitch. Around her eyes and across her forehead, inscriptions were evident, composed of some dark metal, only seeming to add to the womans beauty.
Tala couldnt see any power flowing through the spell-form, but she didnt expect she would, given the other parts of the womans aura control.
Even so, the most striking feature, the one that had almost tripped Tala up when it was noticed, was her pointed ears, poking out from among the dark hair.
There are RUSTING ELVES!?! Fair skinned, almost otherworldly beauty, pointy ears. That checked all the boxes Tala knew of. Shes an elf
-Well, youve met dwarves. Why didnt you expect elves? They are often part of the same tales in mythology.-
The elven woman in question strode towards their group, meeting them just inside the hold.
Her voice was as melodic as it was soothing, yet there was no weakness or frailty to the sound, Greetings. I am Eskau Meallain, true servant to Pillar Cruas.
Tala gave a nod of acknowledgment. Ostensibly, she and Meallain were equals, but Cruas was second only to Corinis in the House of Blood as a whole. Tala did not want to be on this womans bad side. Thank you for greeting us personally, Eskau Meallain. I am Tali, Eskau to Pillar Be-thric.
She gestured to Be-thric, and he nodded in respect to the woman as well.
Be welcome, Pillar. Be welcome, Eskau. As Meallain gestured for them to enter, her eyes met Talas, and Tala saw the elfs control loosen just slightly, allowing Talas mage-sight a spark of insight.
BlueThe woman is rusting Revered. Tala was more and more glad that she didnt need to fight her way free of the House of Blood, because every bit of information she learned served to convince her more fully that she would fail.
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Chapter 241: Croi
Tala, Thron, Gallof, and Be-thric reached the edge of the city of Croi after an uneventful trek across the ten miles of plains.
After their magically noticeable method of travel, Talas fight with the magical beasts had been a bit lengthier than planned, but not by much.
Besides that fight, theyd only stopped for a moment so that Tala could duck into her sanctum to be reinscribed and repaint her limbs with iron. Tala tried not to think too long on why those limbs needed to be repainted.
As such, it was barely after sunset when their feet found paved streets.
Just like in the human lands, there were no dedicated roads between arcane cities.
This was true, even though magical creatures were far less hostile towards arcanes than they were to humans, and arcanous creatures were much rarer.
The entire set of differences and distinctions was something that Tala still didnt fully understand, honestly.
There were arcanous creatures that had gone through founts. Those were mundane beasts with a bit of magic added on the top. Sometimes they could become powerful enough to be considered magical beasts, but they were always aspected like the fount from which theyd gained their power.
Tala was unsure how they continued to get power to use, but from what she understood it just became a natural thing for them to generate power as part of their bodily functions. It was an incredibly finite supply, and if they didnt eat or sleep, they wouldnt continue to produce it.
Though, I suppose no one actually has told me that for certain.
-And that doesnt really make sense from what we know about magic and where it comes from-
But that was the prevailing theory. From what Tala could tell, arcanous animals didnt really exist in the arcane lands, as confusing as that was, so she couldnt see if the arcanes had any better information or theories.
Truly magical magical beasts were common to both the human and arcane areas of the continent, and likely found all over the world.
These beasts got their power from a bond with something. That bond wasnt unlike a soul-bond, but it wasnt with a human.
To her knowledge, no one had ever witnessed the birth or creation of a truly magical creature, so a lot was speculation. Humanity wasnt even sure if magical creatures were altered mundane creatures, jumping straight from mundane to magical, or if they were created as fully magical with or without the necessity of parentage or some form of egg or birth.
Arcanes simply saw truly magical creatures as realitys response to improper or reckless usage of magic. That predicted the appearance and behavior of the creatures, so most didnt care further. Tala hadnt been able to find research materials beyond that.
In either case, truly magical creatures gained power from that which they were bound to. The most common was from the land or reality itself. They were brought into being, or made into what they were, to defend the area or drive out something unnatural.
All this to say, roads were not possible when the land itself might somehow spawn a creature of power to wipe out the constructed, or traveler-worn, thoroughfare and anyone unlucky enough to be upon it at the time.
So, the feel of fitted stone under Talas bare feet, and the sound of the boots of the other three on the same, was a welcome statement that they were back in civilization.
True, it was a human enslaving civilization, but Tala would take what she could get at the moment. She was still feeling a bit strained, and her head was still pounding, from the fight with the minor horde of creatures, capped by the reality drake or whatever the rust that thing had been.
Arcane city defenses were much more nebulous than human ones, but that made sense given that, in general, arcane cities were left alone, where human cities were forced to move every few centuries or be destroyed.
Overall, the differences were many and compounding.
Croi was a truly ancient city.
Tala had learned a bit about it in preparation for this trip. It had been more than ten thousand years since its founding, and the very feel of the place was heavy with history.
There was a cold nip in the evening air, but that made sense as it was getting close to the shortest day of the year. Even so, as far south as they were, snow had yet to stick on the ground.
That lack alone made Tala rarely really contemplate the fact that it was mid-winter, closing in on the end of the year. Its right around a month until my twenty-first birthday.
It was an odd, disconnected thought among all the internal observations of the magnificent city, but it sat heavily within her.
This time last year, she was taking trips back and forth between Bandfast and Marliweather, trying to get in as much time with her siblings as possible before Nalac and Illie left for the Academy.
Unless I lost more time than I realized. Be-thric could have been mucking about in my head, trying to create and perfect Tali for decades, for all I know.
-I dont think so, and you dont either. Dont let fear make you jump to conclusions.-
I suppose so. I hope they are doing well.
-Nalac and Illie? Yeah I bet they took the disappearance pretty hard.-
If they even know.
-They know, Tala. They would have been told. Most students read the letters they were sent, and your siblings would do the same.-
Yeah Imagine how surprised everyone will be when I show up. That lifted her spirits a bit, and she smiled.
Gallof sighed. It is good to be back in a city, is it not? Back here in particular.
Thats right. Gallof and Thron were based out of Croi until the opening for a new Pillar came available in Platoiri. Tala glanced towards the man. Has it changed?
No, its only been a few months. Croi hasnt really changed in centuries, a few months are meaningless to such a place. He was clearly enamored with the place, and Tala could somewhat understand.
Even the outer edge was interesting.
In this city, no house or guild could buy, or even rent, a particular space. The location of their hold on any given day was purely at the whim and will of the City Lord and the House of Blood.
Though, in truth, the order and placement didnt change anywhere near that often.
I cannot fathom trying to find where you needed to go if it did change even every few days.
Tala instinctively stood up straighter as they neared. She forced her will and her magic through her garments, reshaping them into immaculate clothing befitting her station and displaying the emblem of the House of Blood. Shed retracted the white-metal armor before the trek towards the city for two reasons. First, walking in armor was never a fun time. Second, the drake had eaten a lot of her armor, and shed not taken the time to absorb more metal into her elk-leathers to replenish that finite resource.
Im going to have to be careful of that, arent I?
-Yeah I foresee it becoming a problem, if we arent careful.-
The guilds notes on how they made the metal should be in the information we acquired somewhere.
-Yeah, we can hope. It seems like useful stuff.-
Be-thric noticed her change and smiled, giving her an approving nod. Well thought, my Eskau.
Tala pasted on a smile. You are too kind, Pillar Be-thric.
Nonsense. You are the pivotal reason we are here. It is to acquire more power for you, and through you, me and the House of Blood. The impression you make will mean everything.
Great no pressure. This wasnt new information, of course, but it was still a bit nerve wracking to be reminded. I will do my utmost to make a good impression, then.
Another difference between Platoiri and Croi is that here, guards stood outside the House of Bloods hold, and the doors were flung wide.
That provided an interesting picture, actually, as it was clearly day within the hold, while full night had fallen even as they were just entering the city, and the four of them were at its heart, now.
The guards saw them and were either expecting them or noticed Talas livery.
One was a dwarf, and the other stepped forward and addressed them. Greetings, great ones of the House of Blood.
The few others who were in the area turned to regard the four.
The guard continued. Be welcomed, brothers and sisters of the House. Welcome, Pillar who is our strength against the weight of the world. Welcome, Eskau who slays those who would oppose our interest. Be welcomed, one and all!
His pronouncement echoed through the streets, and several of those near Tala and her group fell to their knees, bowing as they passed.
I suppose that makes sense in a city controlled by the House of Blood.
The guards voice had also echoed through the open doorway and some of those inside were looking out.
The most prevalent to Talas eye was a shorter woman, about her own height, wearing well-fitted dark platemail. She moved like it weighed nothing and didnt seem to restrict her in the least.
There was no helmet in evidence, so Tala assumed the armor was magical and would grow the helmet at need. It appeared expertly made with no gaps that Tala could see. Where there would normally be gaps, smaller, more flexible configurations of plates were in evidence.
The only item that seemed odd was the womans left gauntlet, which seemed too big to be standard. Her protian weapon? Shes an Eskau?
That would make sense if the protian weapon was overlaying an existing gauntlet.
Tala suspected that this woman was as well guarded in her plate-mail as Tala was inside her white metal armor, while maintaining direct control over it.
The woman almost looked human at first glance, and she had no gate. In fact, she had no color or obvious feature or magical flow about her at all that Tala could see with her mage-sight. Very good aura control.
As Tala looked closer, she almost froze in her steps.
The womans skin was as fair as a newborn babes. Her hair was as dark as pitch. Around her eyes and across her forehead, inscriptions were evident, composed of some dark metal, only seeming to add to the womans beauty.
Tala couldnt see any power flowing through the spell-form, but she didnt expect she would, given the other parts of the womans aura control.
Even so, the most striking feature, the one that had almost tripped Tala up when it was noticed, was her pointed ears, poking out from among the dark hair.
There are RUSTING ELVES!?! Fair skinned, almost otherworldly beauty, pointy ears. That checked all the boxes Tala knew of. Shes an elf
-Well, youve met dwarves. Why didnt you expect elves? They are often part of the same tales in mythology.-
The elven woman in question strode towards their group, meeting them just inside the hold.
Her voice was as melodic as it was soothing, yet there was no weakness or frailty to the sound, Greetings. I am Eskau Meallain, true servant to Pillar Cruas.
Tala gave a nod of acknowledgment. Ostensibly, she and Meallain were equals, but Cruas was second only to Corinis in the House of Blood as a whole. Tala did not want to be on this womans bad side. Thank you for greeting us personally, Eskau Meallain. I am Tali, Eskau to Pillar Be-thric.
She gestured to Be-thric, and he nodded in respect to the woman as well.
Be welcome, Pillar. Be welcome, Eskau. As Meallain gestured for them to enter, her eyes met Talas, and Tala saw the elfs control loosen just slightly, allowing Talas mage-sight a spark of insight.
BlueThe woman is rusting Revered. Tala was more and more glad that she didnt need to fight her way free of the House of Blood, because every bit of information she learned served to convince her more fully that she would fail.
Chapter 241: CroiTala, Thron, Gallof, and Be-thric reached the edge of the city of Croi after an uneventful trek across the ten miles of plains.After their magically noticeable method of travel, Talas fight with the magical beasts had been a bit lengthier than planned, but not by much.Besides that fight, theyd only stopped for a moment so that Tala could duck into her sanctum to be reinscribed and repaint her limbs with iron. Tala tried not to think too long on why those limbs needed to be repainted.As such, it was barely after sunset when their feet found paved streets.Just like in the human lands, there were no dedicated roads between arcane cities.This was true, even though magical creatures were far less hostile towards arcanes than they were to humans, and arcanous creatures were much rarer.The entire set of differences and distinctions was something that Tala still didnt fully understand, honestly.There were arcanous creatures that had gone through founts. Those were mundane beasts with a bit of magic added on the top. Sometimes they could become powerful enough to be considered magical beasts, but they were always aspected like the fount from which theyd gained their power.Tala was unsure how they continued to get power to use, but from what she understood it just became a natural thing for them to generate power as part of their bodily functions. It was an incredibly finite supply, and if they didnt eat or sleep, they wouldnt continue to produce it.Though, I suppose no one actually has told me that for certain.-And that doesnt really make sense from what we know about magic and where it comes from-But that was the prevailing theory. From what Tala could tell, arcanous animals didnt really exist in the arcane lands, as confusing as that was, so she couldnt see if the arcanes had any better information or theories.Truly magical magical beasts were common to both the human and arcane areas of the continent, and likely found all over the world.These beasts got their power from a bond with something. That bond wasnt unlike a soul-bond, but it wasnt with a human.To her knowledge, no one had ever witnessed the birth or creation of a truly magical creature, so a lot was speculation. Humanity wasnt even sure if magical creatures were altered mundane creatures, jumping straight from mundane to magical, or if they were created as fully magical with or without the necessity of parentage or some form of egg or birth.Arcanes simply saw truly magical creatures as realitys response to improper or reckless usage of magic. That predicted the appearance and behavior of the creatures, so most didnt care further. Tala hadnt been able to find research materials beyond that.In either case, truly magical creatures gained power from that which they were bound to. The most common was from the land or reality itself. They were brought into being, or made into what they were, to defend the area or drive out something unnatural.All this to say, roads were not possible when the land itself might somehow spawn a creature of power to wipe out the constructed, or traveler-worn, thoroughfare and anyone unlucky enough to be upon it at the time.So, the feel of fitted stone under Talas bare feet, and the sound of the boots of the other three on the same, was a welcome statement that they were back in civilization.True, it was a human enslaving civilization, but Tala would take what she could get at the moment. She was still feeling a bit strained, and her head was still pounding, from the fight with the minor horde of creatures, capped by the reality drake or whatever the rust that thing had been.Arcane city defenses were much more nebulous than human ones, but that made sense given that, in general, arcane cities were left alone, where human cities were forced to move every few centuries or be destroyed.Overall, the differences were many and compounding.Croi was a truly ancient city.Tala had learned a bit about it in preparation for this trip. It had been more than ten thousand years since its founding, and the very feel of the place was heavy with history.There was a cold nip in the evening air, but that made sense as it was getting close to the shortest day of the year. Even so, as far south as they were, snow had yet to stick on the ground.That lack alone made Tala rarely really contemplate the fact that it was mid-winter, closing in on the end of the year. Its right around a month until my twenty-first birthday.It was an odd, disconnected thought among all the internal observations of the magnificent city, but it sat heavily within her.This time last year, she was taking trips back and forth between Bandfast and Marliweather, trying to get in as much time with her siblings as possible before Nalac and Illie left for the Academy.Unless I lost more time than I realized. Be-thric could have been mucking about in my head, trying to create and perfect Tali for decades, for all I know.-I dont think so, and you dont either. Dont let fear make you jump to conclusions.-I suppose so. I hope they are doing well.-Nalac and Illie? Yeah I bet they took the disappearance pretty hard.-If they even know.-They know, Tala. They would have been told. Most students read the letters they were sent, and your siblings would do the same.-Yeah Imagine how surprised everyone will be when I show up. That lifted her spirits a bit, and she smiled.Gallof sighed. It is good to be back in a city, is it not? Back here in particular.Thats right. Gallof and Thron were based out of Croi until the opening for a new Pillar came available in Platoiri. Tala glanced towards the man. Has it changed?No, its only been a few months. Croi hasnt really changed in centuries, a few months are meaningless to such a place. He was clearly enamored with the place, and Tala could somewhat understand.Even the outer edge was interesting.In this city, no house or guild could buy, or even rent, a particular space. The location of their hold on any given day was purely at the whim and will of the City Lord and the House of Blood.Though, in truth, the order and placement didnt change anywhere near that often.I cannot fathom trying to find where you needed to go if it did change even every few days.Tala instinctively stood up straighter as they neared. She forced her will and her magic through her garments, reshaping them into immaculate clothing befitting her station and displaying the emblem of the House of Blood. Shed retracted the white-metal armor before the trek towards the city for two reasons. First, walking in armor was never a fun time. Second, the drake had eaten a lot of her armor, and shed not taken the time to absorb more metal into her elk-leathers to replenish that finite resource.Im going to have to be careful of that, arent I?-Yeah I foresee it becoming a problem, if we arent careful.-The guilds notes on how they made the metal should be in the information we acquired somewhere.-Yeah, we can hope. It seems like useful stuff.-Be-thric noticed her change and smiled, giving her an approving nod. Well thought, my Eskau.Tala pasted on a smile. You are too kind, Pillar Be-thric.Nonsense. You are the pivotal reason we are here. It is to acquire more power for you, and through you, me and the House of Blood. The impression you make will mean everything.Great no pressure. This wasnt new information, of course, but it was still a bit nerve wracking to be reminded. I will do my utmost to make a good impression, then.Another difference between Platoiri and Croi is that here, guards stood outside the House of Bloods hold, and the doors were flung wide.That provided an interesting picture, actually, as it was clearly day within the hold, while full night had fallen even as they were just entering the city, and the four of them were at its heart, now.The guards saw them and were either expecting them or noticed Talas livery.One was a dwarf, and the other stepped forward and addressed them. Greetings, great ones of the House of Blood.The few others who were in the area turned to regard the four.The guard continued. Be welcomed, brothers and sisters of the House. Welcome, Pillar who is our strength against the weight of the world. Welcome, Eskau who slays those who would oppose our interest. Be welcomed, one and all!His pronouncement echoed through the streets, and several of those near Tala and her group fell to their knees, bowing as they passed.I suppose that makes sense in a city controlled by the House of Blood.The guards voice had also echoed through the open doorway and some of those inside were looking out.The most prevalent to Talas eye was a shorter woman, about her own height, wearing well-fitted dark platemail. She moved like it weighed nothing and didnt seem to restrict her in the least.There was no helmet in evidence, so Tala assumed the armor was magical and would grow the helmet at need. It appeared expertly made with no gaps that Tala could see. Where there would normally be gaps, smaller, more flexible configurations of plates were in evidence.The only item that seemed odd was the womans left gauntlet, which seemed too big to be standard. Her protian weapon? Shes an Eskau?That would make sense if the protian weapon was overlaying an existing gauntlet.Tala suspected that this woman was as well guarded in her plate-mail as Tala was inside her white metal armor, while maintaining direct control over it.The woman almost looked human at first glance, and she had no gate. In fact, she had no color or obvious feature or magical flow about her at all that Tala could see with her mage-sight. Very good aura control.As Tala looked closer, she almost froze in her steps.The womans skin was as fair as a newborn babes. Her hair was as dark as pitch. Around her eyes and across her forehead, inscriptions were evident, composed of some dark metal, only seeming to add to the womans beauty.Tala couldnt see any power flowing through the spell-form, but she didnt expect she would, given the other parts of the womans aura control.Even so, the most striking feature, the one that had almost tripped Tala up when it was noticed, was her pointed ears, poking out from among the dark hair.There are RUSTING ELVES!?! Fair skinned, almost otherworldly beauty, pointy ears. That checked all the boxes Tala knew of. Shes an elf-Well, youve met dwarves. Why didnt you expect elves? They are often part of the same tales in mythology.-The elven woman in question strode towards their group, meeting them just inside the hold.Her voice was as melodic as it was soothing, yet there was no weakness or frailty to the sound, Greetings. I am Eskau Meallain, true servant to Pillar Cruas.Tala gave a nod of acknowledgment. Ostensibly, she and Meallain were equals, but Cruas was second only to Corinis in the House of Blood as a whole. Tala did not want to be on this womans bad side. Thank you for greeting us personally, Eskau Meallain. I am Tali, Eskau to Pillar Be-thric.She gestured to Be-thric, and he nodded in respect to the woman as well.Be welcome, Pillar. Be welcome, Eskau. As Meallain gestured for them to enter, her eyes met Talas, and Tala saw the elfs control loosen just slightly, allowing Talas mage-sight a spark of insight.BlueThe woman is rusting Revered. Tala was more and more glad that she didnt need to fight her way free of the House of Blood, because every bit of information she learned served to convince her more fully that she would fail.
