The Heretics

4: Leadership

For a few seconds, I stopped breathing altogether.

The view that stood before me was one I barely believed could even exist. Not even the mansions we'd seen down at the ocean in Everett Valley were capable of being compared to this.

Buildings as large as two mansions put together stood before us, like castles made of white stone. They weren't marble like the interior of the Thrakos mansion had been, but it vibrated with nobility and prestige. The architecture of the buildings was old fashioned and, as far as I'd learned in the Iarhus, belonged to a style people called 'goth'. Windows lined one side from top to bottom, the glass blurred to block sight to the interior. There was no roof in the traditional sense since the building resembled more a castle than anything else.

And where one building seemed to be finished, another was built right beside it in such a similar matter that it almost looked like they were one and the same.

Everything I could see, being so small in comparison, was the same. They were all huge and built with white stones with incredibly large windows. One building in particular caught my attention as I attempted to look up—mostly to see how high up they went—but that one swallowed the horizon like it was the only palace standing in the entirety of Espheros. For that was what it was—a palace.

It stood farther away, that much I could tell. It was at the very end of whatever this was, and it was so big and so high it was endless. Built in the same style as the rest, it had much more pillars and towers. Resembling a U-shape, it probably consisted of two wings. Both tips of the U ended with towers which had enough space for at least four dragons to land. The dimensions were...

They were breathtaking.

And terrifying.

"I've never felt so small in my entire life," Jaxxon commented, bringing me back to the tiny spot we were all in, at the edge of this huge, magical place that was more surreal than anything else.

With my mouth agape, I turned to him and nodded dumbstruck.

"Is everyone seeing what I'm seeing?" Leana added, causing her sister Debrova to chuckle.

Emmet guffawed. "I have no idea what we're even looking at."

A few nods went through the pack. Reece's face had shock and amazement written all over it, his pupils dilated as he marveled at what stood before us in its glory. His jaw dropped slightly.

Suddenly, a wave of euphoria went through all of us and we started bellowing in laughter, the sounds bubbling out of our stomachs.

"This is just amazing!" Debrova screeched and more laughter followed.

"It's absolutely freaking breathtaking," her sister added, and I agreed silently, a grin stretched out over my face.

Yes, it certainly was.

"You should see the interior of the castle. It's even worse than all of this," Dante muttered and I shot a glance to him right away, tilting my head in question.

"He means that the queen has a very extravagant taste. The castle is much more, well, palatial then the rest of the capital," Dante's twin Ryker explained, accompanied by Dante's grunt.

Smiling internally, I figured it was somewhat typical that Dante didn't like the whole display of luxury and I looked at the capital with different eyes now, finding it all a little bit over the top. It was still beautiful––but it was indeed an extreme show of wealth and I wondered if the rest of Polla'Nisia displayed the same level of decadence.

The Thrakos men lead us through the streets of Cinat as Ryker explained that the plastered walkways had only been constructed when mankind came into existence and their ancestors began walking amongst them to find out more about them. Their original homes had been within the mountains, away from any kind of civilization. When Cora asked about the creation of mankind, Ryker did not supply her with an answer but shrugged it off and said, "We do not know exactly how humans were created, just like we don't know how we ourselves were woven by magic. No one from that time has surpassed it since everything that lives dies eventually."

"Adding to that, Ryker doesn't believe in religion. We do have our practices and our beliefs, he just doesn't think they're true," Tyrion elaborated.

"So according to you, Tyrion, when did life start?" Cora pushed.

I couldn't quite understand what it was she wanted to gain, knowing about that. Would knowing where we came from really solve anything? Religion had never much been my strong suit, especially growing up with a sibling that spurted logical explanations like a talking encyclopedia. But talking about it now amidst all of what was going on seemed foolish.

"I think our worries exceed the necessity of knowing about religion. Let's get going. We have much to talk about, I expect," Emmet said, voicing my sentiments, and cut the conversation off.

"Yes. There is a lot of things that we must discuss." Reece gave Ryker a pointed look, who didn't miss a beat.

Ryker nodded. "I agree. But this is a matter you must take up with Reagan." Ryker paused shortly and added, "One leader to another."

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I hope the descriptions of the castle/palace were fathomable!

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