Names

These lights were strange. Each was more vibrant than the last, there were so many of them I couldn't even count them all. Some were as large as my head, and some were as small as a tennis ball. The further they were from me, the dimmer they were. The closest were three bright lights that slowly revolved like stars.

Within the enclosure of the golden fog, I could feel a warmth emanating from these stars. Each of these stars had different hues, a touch of individuality that felt right to me.

Feeling curious, I drew myself closer to one and placed a soft touch on the closest star. The star shone a brilliant orange, its luminosity reminding me of the fruit itself. The moment my fingertips reached the star, of behan to burgeon and expand, rupturing like a bubble and then reforming back into a star again.

Upon its rupture, a mixed scent of warmth and spices filled the space. Brightening my mood. It had a delicious smell. Reminding me of a nice spiced orange rum I once had.

Feeling curious, I turned my gaze towards the other stars; wanting to see if they would react the same way as the first did.

The one that was next to the orange star was tinged gray. Like a cloud of smoke that wafted in a room, similar to the grey of a raincloud. Gloomy and dull.

My touch didn't make the star burst like a bubble. Instead, the star dissipated like smoke and took the shape of a silver moon stretching out into a single teardrop shape, coalescing as it dripped off slowly and precipitated into a gray star again. The scent it gave off was smokey and made my senses full.

Lastly, the final star nearest to me was one with a bright crimson glow. It was a particularly aggressive star, all flame-like as would be expected of a star. But, instead of a raging flame like I I thought it would, it was more temperate. More... Warm. Reminds me a lot of why we call my home nation the Nation of Warmth. Because it draws from the power of flames to create such warmth. Staving off the cold in the winter.

Each Star began to pulse brilliantly the moment my hands retreated. I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and touch more stars, but then, I felt something; as if something of mine were drawn away from me. For a moment, I felt faint and I could vaguely briefly sense a strange presence, no; presences. And they were getting closer to me...

....

Residing in the capital city of the Nation of Warmth; the Xenia Empire's famed Phoenix City. Inside an opulent estate in the Crown Roost area where nobles and royals alike held residence.

Under the cool lights of a chandelier, and the azure illumination of the Moon of Music, Sophia Dare stood before a vanity.

In her slender hands was a delicate green lace hand fan. She felt the smooth steel ribs as she expanded it, allowing her to see the symbol embroidered on the lace.

"Fan, reveal your secrets to me in the name of the Dare Family!...

"I command you to unfold the mysteries that lie within you!"

After a while, nothing happened. For the next five minutes Sophia attempted several things according to her mystical knowledge that she had learnt so far in order to unveil the fan's mysteries. Unfortunately not one worked.

"I should have known... Father wouldn't have actually given me something truly mystical from those ruins. Guess I was being too stubborn when he told me it's only extraordinary trait was having survived this long...." As a sigh welled in her throat, the symbol on the green fan began to shine with a gloamy orange light.

....

Elias Blackwood draped himself in dark clothes to blend in with the shadows. He watched from an alleyway as he peered out towards the port.

Elias saw countless pirates making a raucous, unabashedly drinking in the moon's glow. Basking in the cool night breeze.

If Elias hadn't accepted an important commission he wanted to hand in and be done with, he might've joined in. Unfortunately, he had no time for having fun with pirates. Especially not when his current target for assassination was one....

Their illegal activities weren't something he particularly cared for, after all, his weapons were illegal imports in the first place. No. He was searching for someone. A person with quite the delectable bounty on his head....

He held his poisoned dagger tightly, he did not want to fail this commission. Not this one in particular anyways. As Elias's shifty eyes peered all over the port, he saw no sign of his target.

"Just my luck...." As he was about to skedaddle, jumping away into the depths of the night; he suddenly saw a gray light flash from his dagger.

....

Inside a dilapidated tavern room, Nathaniel Sinclair took his time to clean his robe. He wore a pure white robe embroidered with the symbols of crimson flames and of the hearth; as an Acolyte of the Sanctified Flame it was his duty to purify places where people would reside. As such, due to his circumstances he decided to follow the process of sanctifying the room he was currently staying for the night.

He had just completed a mission delegated to him by his Deacon superior.

"It's already so late in the night...." Nathaniel reminisced about his home back in the Nation of Warmth. How every night he would be treated with a hearty meal, a delicious meal that filled his stomach and on special occasions, a dessert to end the night with something sweet.

He yearned for those days of his childhood. And now, he was an Acolyte of the Church of the Sanctified Flame. He was grateful, but still, nothing beats the warmth of a home.

Especially considering that he was currently staying in the Nation of Knowledge. As they say, knowledge was the font of all wisdom and the wellspring of endless possibilities.

The Nation of Knowledge was where someone could become something. Because people there knew things others did not. Ignorance was sin. To those in the Nation, ignorance has to be washed away in the rivers of knowledge.

In their eyes, Nathaniel was also an ignorant person. Someone blinded by his desire for his home to even try and move up the rankings within the Church. Ambition was seen as a grit of wisdom, and to pursue it was a valiant goal.

But someone without ambition was someone who lacked sufficient knowledge. Nathaniel has about enough of the place, so as he was contemplating what to do; he decided to send a letter to his Deacon first, to report back that he had completed his mission.

As he sat himself down to the desk, picking up the quill; suddenly a brilliant crimson glow expanded from the tip of the pen nib. Consuming him like flames.

....

As the blinding lights faded, the three people gazed at the endless expanse around them. A magnificent nightscape beneath their feet and above them. Though it lacked the presence of a moon, regardless it was beautiful.

Golden fog shrouded their forms. But each of them could vaguely see behind the fog. Some details that couldn't be completely obscured.

The golden fog around them exuded a strange feeling that Elias and Nathaniel understood as bizarrely familiar to them. They felt they had seen this fog before, but couldn't point where.

Then, Sophia looked over someplace. Having noticed this, both Elias and Nathaniel did the same; placing their eyes on a figure that was similarly shrouded in the golden fog.

Except, he wasn't just shrouded in it. He wore it like a robe. The robe flowed and obscured his figure entirely. Shifting every slightly as the misty fog around him swirled.

"Who are you?" As an assassin, Elias was cautious. As all mercenaries were. He however especially was rather daring and a little reckless. As such, when he had improperly referred to the other party informally, it made Nathaniel and Sophia groan.

Not wanting to make this mistake, Sophia led with questions of her own, in a more courteous manner than Elias.

"May I inquire as to the location of this place? And may I also ask who I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Sophia's refined manner of speaking earned a silent approval from Nathaniel, he somewhat understood the basics of noble courtesy. As such he could tell that this was a good example of what to do in a situation likely involving a higher power or a suspected high ranking noble.

Elias however, just frowned, he had deduced that the lady who spoke was of noble birth from her countenance and way of speaking. Especially due to their use of formal Laqua. This meant that the lady wasn't someone he could mess with and was higher than his current standing.

He kept quiet and awaited for the robed being to speak.

Nathaniel too, kept in mind how the other two held themselves before others. Coming to deduce that Elias was possibly someone from the boonies or he was just generally a crude person. Who knows?

Above all, they all waited to see how the robed being reacted.

It was Zach Albright, who had taken Nicholas Lei's place.

And if they knew his true thoughts, they would undoubtedly be disappointed to know that he was as clueless as they were.