Once again, the century turns, and Caelia makes yet another pilgrimage to the ruins of her ancient home to walk among its ghosts, and to curse the tomb of its Destroyer. But this time the tomb is empty, robbed of its corpse along with the sword she...
"Renascence holds the key to the dark door you believe is locked forever." --from The Book of Kaia
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PHOTO CREDIT: WLOP
PLACE: ASREK – THE HOLY CITY OF HOM'A
DATE:HIEROS 20TH - PALINGENESIA
"So, tell me Lukas, is this your first time visiting the Amaranthine?" asked Calisto, playfully probing the young temple servant who was seated across from her in the covered carriage. They were rumbling up a low incline, back and forth, making their way from the city below to the sacred site above on a cold, gray day.
Lukas looked at the Princess, a dark-haired, brown-skinned beauty covered in an open fur overcoat that engulfed her arms and cascaded to her feet. There was a hood attached to it but she had pulled it back to expose her long, shining tresses. Beneath her winter fur she was arrayed in a dazzling display of satins, color, and glittering jewelry. Her eyes had black swirling mascara with iridescent turquoise accents and her lips were a deep burgundy. He swallowed hard and looked back at his master who was seated by the Princess on a cushioned bench. He was unsure whether or not he was allowed to respond to her.
"You shouldn't address him by his given name, Your Highness," the Augur interjected, staring out of the side window at the icy landscape and gloomy sky, uninterested in the conversation. "You'll only encourage his hopeless infatuation with you."
As the official High Augur, he was bedecked in the finest gold satin of his religious order, befitting the upcoming audience. But today he had exercised some restraint with his usual accessories, unwilling to give the Oracle the impression such trivialities mattered to him. He held a solid gold skullcap in his hands, turning it over slowly without looking at it.
"Stop it, Nestor!" laughed Calisto, "he's of age to secretly love a Princess, if he so chooses." She looked again at Lukas with mischief in her eyes. "He's Asrene, not vermi. The accumulation of wealth and happiness is just as much his birthright as it is yours."
The seer rolled his eyes and continued to stare outside with a morose look on his face, propping his left arm in the open carriage window.
"So, is this your first time here?" she asked Lukas again with a smile.
Lukas blushed a deep red. "I've never been here before, Your Highness."
"Well," continued Calisto, "if my pretty face makes you blush that much, I can't imagine what will happen when you see her."
