The Halo Of Vakh (BOOK 1)

PYROPA

Dedication to @NotSylheti for being a good friend and an amazingly sweet person. Go check out her works!

Within four days of her arrival, Sapphire had learnt all she could about the coastal city of Falargimea and the small settlements that surrounded it. The land was flat, the lush plains extending far and wide, a single wide canal ran through the centre of the city, an extension of the Golanda River that provided water for the residents. The first thing she noticed the first morning she woke up in the city was the absence of the snow that had covered Kapok. A light chill remained in the air, one that made her shiver whenever she removed the woollen shawl Rueen had lent her but made her sweat whenever she wore the fabric for too long. Another reminder of the completely different life she had lived in Kapok came in the form of the constant noise that surrounded the city, something that starkly differed from the peaceful atmosphere back in Kapok.

There were shouts from vendors and calls from the handlers with their trade. The sounds of the soldiers marching through the city in the evening during their patrols, jarred her senses, making her gut twist in anger. A gong rang through the city every time a ship arrived from Nirin, which was about every three hours. And then came the sounds of the small processions that went around the city for the entertainment of the tourists. It was perhaps the only time of the day that she enjoyed; watching the small crowd of acrobats and jugglers, attempting various feats, pass through the streets. She was even amazed by the constant vibration of the pendulum clock.

During her talks with Rueen in the small kitchen that had been constructed right outside the bedroom, she had also managed to find out about the noble under whose command the city worked. According to Rueen, the man, Redmord Elyane, had several trade firms under him. The earnings would go to the crown, half of which Elyane would use for his own pleasure and luxury, only seldom spending any coin at the inhabitants. According to the twenty-four year old, it was the reason the city was slowly turning into a slum. 

Most people in the central city were wealthy merchants, who could provide well enough for themselves and the mein of their homes. Most people who lived further away from the coast were simple peasants, including a bunch of milkmen, smiths, carpenters, tailors and servants who worked in Elyane's citadel. She had also heard of the local school and library, something foreign to her; people in Kapok knew how to read and write but none of them were men of science and philosophy.

The days in the city had managed to make her mind drift off from the constant thoughts that had plagued her mind the night she had arrived. For the first few days, she had felt numb and cold. Nightmares had become a regular occurrence. She could not sleep, and could not eat properly. Her eyes hurt. She wanted to rest, desperately, but the constant images of her parent's cold white faces and the glare of lime flames haunted each and every one of her nights.

Rueen and James had tried to make the place as comfortable for her as they could. The entire living compound consisted of a small hallway between a bedroom and a privy. The father and daughter had set up a small makeshift hearth in one corner of the hallway around which the pots, pans and other cutlery lay in a neat stack. A basket housed their collection of vegetables. The room had two small beds pushed against two opposite walls. The small window (the only one in the entire house) remained open during the day, the lilac curtains parted to allow the light into the room. A single cabinet rose along the wall between the beds, containing the few possessions they had.

When she had woken up the first morning to the loud bells ringing through the city, and had seen Rueen sleeping on a patched rug on the floor, she had insisted on a change of arrangements, arguing to take the floor that night. James had offered to sleep on the floor, resulting in both the women shutting him down with angry glares; it would have been disrespectful to allow the elder to sleep on the ground while they enjoyed the comforts of the bed. Finally, the two had decided to take the bed alternatingly.