Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Flickers of memory

           Jimena consulted another one of False's maps of the surrounding empires as she flew through the air. Clouds rushed by her and birds would occasionally follow her around for a few minutes. It was fun, flying in the sun, with a cool breeze sweeping her on a river of wind. Jimena smiled and and put the map away again. She was going in the correct direction. Dawn should be just over the mountains that she was fast approaching. She flapped False's elytra harder to scale some more height. Jimena didn't want to crash into the peaks and lose more of False's stuff. Luckily, she didn't crash, and managed to avoid all obstacles in her path. Soon she was flying over a kingdom of warm colors that could only be her destination. 

           Dawn looked so pretty from the sky. Then again, most things looked so much grander with a bird's eye view, but Dawn's houses had such beautiful roofs. They were made up of gradients of warm, sunny colors. There was one with red edges and an yellowy-orange middle, another with stripes of orange leading to gold, and yet another with sunrise colors of pink and purple radiating into pale scarlet. Jimena could imagine that when it was sunrise or sunset, some of those roofs would fade into the sky and just blend in. But the roofs weren't the only pretty things about Dawn, of course. The actual houses that had the colorful gradient ceilings weren't any less pretty. 

           They were built differently than some other buildings Jimena had seen. Instead of being made of processed planks, the wooden houses were made of logs stripped of their bark and branches and neatly hewn together. In between the logs were clay that made sure that the wood would stick together, and it was dyed a muted brown to help it blend in with the logs. The unprocessed wood and disguised clay added up to an interesting effect that made the houses feel more rustic and natural. The windows were also different from normal windows. The glass was stained yellow rather than being clear like most windows were, and Jimena noticed that there were always windows facing the east and west, ready to meet the rising and setting sun. The light coming in through the windows would be warm and sunny all the time. 

           Nestled around the houses were so many trees. Tall and stately pines, curvy willows, short and plump oaks. Birds nested in their branches, and bees built their hives upon them. Whoever runs this empire really cares for the trees, Jimena thought. Most people would probably chop the trees down when they expand. But the way the houses are arranged, it looks like they're trying to avoid getting in the trees' growth room. And winding around the trees and houses were roads, cobbled together by black stones sunken into dark loamy soil. It had a unique effect of making all the colors around it seem warmer and brighter, because of its dark shade. Dawn's architecture played on themes of chiaroscuro; the second storeys of the houses always built wider than the first; casting shadows onto the ground. The roofs were warmer than the muted hues of the walls. The streets contrasted with the pale flowers that grew beside it.

           Jimena remembered what Shelby had said about Dawn being all about the sun. It really showed in how they built their houses and arranged the townscape. She had to stop admiring the scenery, though, because she had to land and trade for the beeswax that she'd come here for in the first place. Jimena felt for the pouch of iron ingots that False had given her to trade, making sure it was secure and shut tight before she started her descent. She landed next to a tree, startling a couple of birds and butterflies that had been perching on it, and they flew away. Jimena watched them go, soaring away over the horizon, until she couldn't see them anymore. Just then, she heard someone else approach, and turned around to see who it was. 

           There was a lady standing there, with long sunset-red locks and emerald-green eyes. She wore a flowy pink gown with brown shoulder pads and white trim. A thick gold ringlet was her crown, studded with a single large ruby that was even redder than her hair. And from her back sprouted four monarch butterfly wings, fluttering softly in the gentle breeze. She had a regal way of standing and moving, and she looked surprised to see Jimena there. Jimena frowned. For some reason, the lady looked familiar. She felt like she should know her. "Hi," Jimena waved. She paused. "Uh, do I know you?" A flicker of confusion flashed across the lady's eyes for a brief instant, but she hid it under a mask of regality and composure. "No," She said crisply.