Appassionata: Second Movement

Light's Reach: Homesteads - 


 * The riverstone-paved highway of Mikin Road stalks her perfectly straight path along the gradual rises and dips of the landscape, bestowing the traveler with an idyllic peppering of cottages, gardens, livestock pens along the way.


 * Most of the modest homes have been raised from the ground via a combination of stone, timber, and quaint bundles of thatch. The loving touch of flower and herb gardens sprouts eagerly at some doorsteps whereas others are kept barren by the nibbling jaws of sheep.


 * Marching ever westward, the omnipresent vista of the Light's Reach Mesa soon comes into view, a vast and expansive "table-top" area of elevated land with a flat top and sides that exist of steep cliffs. The only access to this mesa is via the eastern side, and it is this side which Mikin Road climbs to reach the illustrious gates of the reborn city above: Light's Reach.


 * A vast city, the urban area of Light's Reach spreads across the entirety of the mesa upon which it stands. A curtain wall surrounds the city, running around the perimeter of the mesa, while the eastern edge is guarded by two impressive walls known as the Twin Bulwarks. From outside, little of the city proper can be seen behind the rise of the bluff and the curtain walls that surround it.


 * However, the four torch-towers known as the Towers of Light in the "corners" of the city; each one taller than the walls that surround them, and each one holding a vast and perpetually burning torch flame at their zenith, casting warm illumination upon the area when darkness has fallen.

It is the Seventh hour by the Shadow on Lanternglow. The slightest breeze stirs over the land infrequently. A torrential downpour of rain soaks the land relentlessly.

All six moons - the cerulean orb of Herald, the crimson Dayhunter, verdant green Stormwatcher, the rich violet of the Serpent's Eye and the gray baubles known as Torch I and II - wax brightly in the sky, neatly aligned in a row that portends unspeakable might in the hands of Shadow-Touched mages. Legend holds that just such an alignment accompanied the great Cataclysm ages ago.

Naoi is sitting off to the side of the road, eating a small traveller's meal. With her hair pulled up, and her simple peasant dress, he could just be some young travelling servant out on a stroll, content in the safety that the nearby Light's Reach offers.

Zia's moving out from the main gate at a brisk pace. A very brisk pace, determined enough to be setting her off at a good clip down the road, hardly paying attention to anything at all. Her brow his furrowed, expression more than a little worried.

Naoi takes a large bite of the hard cheese, teeth grinding into it, then chewing it down. Hey, it's Ziavri. Naoi seems mildly surprised, but not so much that she doesn't call out after a second. "Ziavri?"

How many people actually *call* her Ziavri? Zia stops, quite abruptly, in the middle of the road. Quick enough that a traveler coming behind her nearly mows her down on his horse, calling out something considerably less than polite. The young woman blinks, turning towards Naoi, visibly quite startled. "Naoi?"

"Aye." Naoi says, planting a hand against her knee and rising to her feet and brushing off her hands. "Is something wrong?"

"Erm... yes and no." Zia moves away from the road to meet Naoi somewhere where the two of them aren't going to be trampled. "I'm trying to save a life, and I need your help. Can you follow me? Speak to someone?"

Naoi reaches across to grip Ziavri's arm, and then turn her the direction she was going. "Speak as you walk."

Zia nods, turns quickly on her heel and leads the way, making sure Naoi's in step with her. "I've kept my promise to you," she assures on the way. "I have not said that Blackfox reports to you. Now it is Celeste, that is the problem. An Ordinator needs to talk to Taran, to get an opinion, before these rumors about he and Sandrim spread. Please?"

Naoi listens quietly, turning and following the woman. "Celeste and I, we have an agreement that we will not betray each other. Why is Celeste dangerous? Of us all, she seems the most reasonable."

"Celeste is not dangerous." Zia shakes her head. "The opposite is the problem. For one thing, Taran will not speak to her. And for another, I don't know that her judgment would be believed as solid and honest as yours would."

"So, you are worried that she will spread rumors, and thus, call hounds even more dangerous then me." Naoi guesses, little legs working harder to keep the pace the taller woman sets. "This is a -bold- request, Ziavri, and there is no guarentee that you may like what I have decided. Why will Taran not speak to Celeste?"

"No." Zia shakes her head, pausing to turn and look at Naoi. "Celeste's decision is more likely to be that he is not a danger than not. Simply because of who he is. I'm telling you this because you need to know--if anyone were to find out... It is because until very recently they were a couple. A close couple. The story is long and complicated, but Taran will not speak to her because she left him, and her decision will be influenced because they were that close. It is not so bold as it may seem. You understand now?"

"I do." Naoi says, "I will not spare him because he is your friend."

Zia nods. "I know. You are fair, and accurate, and dedicated. I'm depending on that. Your judgment isn't already swayed one way or the other." She seems fairly convinced of that. Turning, she starts off again.

"Are you worried that he himself has fallen?" Naoi asks, as the two make thier way. "This is the first time I have seen true concern... what exactly has happened?"

"I am not. He and Sandrim built a *tower*, for the sake of the Light, and now it has all snowballed into this." Zia sighs. "I am worried of what Fastheld thinks. They're the ones who will judge, in the end."

"They usually are, but you must understand.... this is out of our jurisdiction. We cannot chase him down in his tower and slay him, or arrest him. At least, not officially." Naoi says, "It may just come to pass that we decide that he cannot return to Fastheld lands."

Zia shakes her head. "There are others who can chase him. Varal, for instance, could. But Naoi... if you speak, they will listen, usually. You have the voice of the Light behind you, and it will hold sway."

"I think..." Naoi says, as they near the portal. "You think my voice has more strength then it does. I will see. It has not been decided that he has indeed fallen."

''Under the watchful gaze of a few guarding officers of the Imperial Tribunal, you step up to the large ring of the Aria Song Portal, and - after taking and holding a breath out of instinct - pace towards the shimmering iridescent screen of light. After giving yourself a few moments to muster the final charge of confidence to carry you onwards, you step through the actual portal and embrace the draconian magic that will take you to the other side...''

Zia smiles a little. "Your voice has more strength than mine right now, believe me. More strength than his, or Sandrim's, or possibly Celeste's. That's good enough for me."

"Very well, since we've seen to met some measure of agreement... where is your friend?" Naoi says as they curl down the stairways, looking back and forth.

"Golden Dragon," Zia says simply. "Not far. And--Naoi? Thank you. For whatever judgment you pass."

Naoi shifts her gray eyes toward Ziavri at her thanks, then back ahead.

Zia stops outside the door to the Golden Dragon, visibly a little calmer than when she first found Naoi, and pauses long enough to chance a quick look at the Ordinator before stepping inside.

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