Serellia (Everlasting Legends, Book 2)

Ch. 19 - Yuli Xolin

Ardaik 16th - Tulot, Serellia

Just as Flann and Artus reached the end of the north hall, the door to the king's war room was opened by Folian. The guard captain stepped out, eyeing the two briefly, before stepping out of the way and holding the door for those behind him. A young woman emerged into the hallway, with Bhalthier and another stranger trailing behind one another.

"I thank you for your patience, Cullach." The envoy's voice was high pitched but light and feminine in a way that was quite beautiful, not unlike a songbird, and made exotic by a thick accent that Artus didn't recognize. "I was told you were readying to return to Homenil before we arrived." Her appearance, however, was one of the strangest things Artus had ever beheld.

Her ears were somewhat elongated into points, much like the necromancers' had been, but she was undoubtedly not an elf. Two black horns, much like those on the antelope sometimes seen near Lorellia's southern border, protruded from her temples, parting her snowy bangs. The flesh color of her skin melded into a sooty black just below her elbows, almost creating the illusion of the long gloves made famous among the wealthy by the Duchess of Recheston, and each of her thin fingers ended in a pointed claw. Artus was confident when she'd turned to look at Lord Cullach as she walked that he also saw a tail the same color and texture as the rest of her flesh, pointed, and perhaps not even long enough to reach the back of her knees.

"Think nothing of it, tinislast sen issen," Bhalthier replied, showing off the fluent Elvish that he so rarely found a use for in everyday life.

"Your elvish is quite impressive," the petite woman said with a bright smile. "Better than my own."

The other stranger remained silent, and he looked far more imposing than the first. His stature, build, and attire were very similar to Folian or any other guard, though he was clearly not human either. His dark skin held a purplish-blue hue, and lacking a tail or horns most likely made him a Drau. He sported a scar that raced across his face in a jagged line from the top of his left brow to just below his left cheek, and his left eye was a different color from the right, one white and one red. His hair was also streaked white where the scar reached his hairline, standing out against the dark navy locks.

"Ah, here they are now," Bhalthier motioned towards the two princes. "Flann, Artus, meet High Cleric Yuli Xolin and her escort, Vaklo Alvano. They've been charged with investigating the attack on La'Trest."

Artus's manners were instinctual. He offered his dominant hand to the high cleric while the other settled behind his back. "Artus Moreau Viotto," he recited in a stately tone as she placed her clawed hand in his. Now that they were face to face, it was clear that despite looking almost dragon-esque, she was quite small. Shorter than Artus, even, by nearly half a foot if her horns weren't considered, which made her the average size of a Cardenian woman...but he still didn't know what she was, other than a Citadel mage.

Her eyes, nearly the same hue as his own, studied Artus for a brief moment before she spoke. "The Lorellian prince, then? You don't appear to be one of King Liam's."

"Yes," Artus said, performing an appropriate bow for his station. It was a strange feeling, however, to not be recognized by his name alone, and he wasn't sure if he felt somewhat offended or not.

"Intriguing. So, you were not present in La'Trest during the attack?"

Artus released her hand. "Not in the castle, no."

"You were witness to the dragon, though. Can you recall much about him?"

"Him? About the dragon?" Artus wracked his brain for a moment. Much of the last week felt so very far away as if it had happened lifetimes ago rather than mere days.