Ascension of Blood

CHAPTER FOUR Port To Port

CHAPTER FOUR

Port To Port

It had been nine days since she had left her little farm and the moons shone bright down in the evening sky, drawing ever closer to a the Bloodmoon that marked the new year. At home her mother would celebrate by taking her down to Millpeak to see the festival; they looked from a distance mostly, Mijora unable to get close enough to the clamor of people to really appreciate the fire dancers and food stalls and street dancers. But knowing that she would not be attending this years festival, and that her mother would not be beside her telling her stories and epic legends was a heavy weight on her heart.

Instead she was bundled in another carriage with her father and a stranger as they entered the towering bronze gates of the port city Crowcross.

Crowcross was a magnificent city of brilliant red stones and statues made from bronze, unless you didn't like the red bricks and statues then it was more like a throbbing headache than anything else. The pink hue from the moons made the red city feel like it was permanently ablaze.

"Legend has it," said the man who sat beside Mijora in the carriage with her father, "that this is the city where Midos and Edai grew up."

Mijora was staring out the window again, taking in the sights. Every building looked like it had been made in those red bricks; she could see bakeries and boutiques, libraries and townhouses, clock-towers and churches, all redbricked and weathered.

"Poppydeath." Her father muttered, staring the man down. "The moons are just that, moons."

"You always were a nonbeliever, Dracon."

"And you, a fool, Favian."

Favian looked ten years Dracons senior, his hair had receded back and the hair upon his chin was longer and unkempt. He seemed important from how he spoke and how much knowledge he shared through the journey, but he seemed not to be eager to look the part.

"These legends date back centuries, before there were records about the moons."

"There is no such things as gods." Dracon said, almost lazily. "They are myths, tales we tell our children to make them go to sleep at night. They are not beings to dedicate our lives too."

Favian smiled tight lipped. "I never claimed them to be Gods, but it's a lovely legend dont you agree?"

Dracon cocked his head to the side and it was almost unnoticeable, but Mijora saw the unspoke anger hidden there as though he was snaring at the old man. "It's a wonder they made you an intelligence adviser when you still believe in fairy tales."

"There is truth to be taken from every myth and story. Stories always give a lesson, and whether or not the story is true the lessons almost always are."

Her father sighed, mouth twitching the in way that meant he was holding back. "I don't agree."

"What about our Acolyte here, what do you think?" Favian asked, turning to her and offering her what seemed to be a genuine smile. "Are Midos and Edai gods that once ruled, or are they simply folklore, a story passed down distorted by time?"

Mijora looked between him and her father for a heartbeat. "I don't know... I've never really thought about it." She said.

"Of course you havent." Her father muttered.

"Our Edai and Midos. The stories say they were brothers condemned to be moons, locked in orbit forever." Favian said peeking out the window and looking skywards. "A tale of responsibilities and order."

"Enough about the dam moons, Favian." Her father muttered.

"How easily you dismiss that which is ineffable."