8 The Silver City

Into their fourth month together. Aldryn and Klyran have finally reached the Silver City. While the oracle was already used to the sight, for his companion it was a whole new story.

'Wow' the Ryan could not help but think, his eyes widening at the view.

'How cute. Is this how other's react when they see the city for the first time?' the blonde could not help but silently laugh at his friend's reaction.

"What are you laughing about? I bet yours wasn't much better" the Thrae suddenly appeared at the back of his mind.

"Oh yeah? What about you?" he asked it, "How did you react when you saw it the first time?"

"Don't make me laugh" it snorted back, "I was there when it was still a small village and saw how it slowly developed into a city."

"Oh... Forgot how old you are" the apostle then realized his mistake.

While the two of them were mentally speaking, Klyran watched in admiration the city. Sure, he has seen villages and a few small cities during his few months of being in this world, but none of them could compare to this one. First of all, it was bigger than any other settlement that he has seen so far. The stone which the city was made out of has also caught his eyes, just like the eyes of all those who are seeing it for the first time. The city seemed to radiate light and made the others, made out of simple stone, seem dull. The sound of the waterfalls have also reached his ears long before his eyes saw them. Klyran was drinking in the sight, making sure to store it in his memory.

'It has to be the most beautiful thing that I have seen in my life' he decided, watching every small movement that he could see with his large eyes.

When the two of them reached the entrance to the bridge, Klyran was simply stunned. He has never seen before such a grand structure. There were two large pathways separated by a wide river. A short way from the entrance was an arch-like bridge that united the two paths. Aldryn grabbed his friend by the hand and led him to it.

'It's bigger than I thought it would be' the Ryan thought while letting the blonde lead him.

"We need to get on the left side of the bridge", the oracle said.

He then explained that the river was used by boats, which formed a line toward the city. Klyran was looking at them noticing that each one was filled with people and boxes. The concept of boats was also new to him.

'What are those?' he wondered, trying to understand, 'Are they living creatures that live with the humans? Or magic?', impatient for an answer, he asked Aldryn about them.

"They are used by the people to transport goods that would otherwise be hard to move from one place to another", the priest said.

His friend then noticed that indeed, all the boxes that were on many of the boats would have been difficult to carry for humans.

"It is also sometimes faster to travel by boat than by horses" Aldryn added, "But when there is no water current to move them, people use those sticks that you see over there", he said pointing to some merchants on boats that were using oars to slowly move in the line.

"People also use the wind to move the boats on the water", the oracle then said, after seeing his friend's curiosity.

Those words caused Klyran to look at him, not understanding how something like the wind could be used to carry those ships along with their heavy load. After he expressed this question, Aldryn only pointed him the pillars that stood on some of the ships and the cloths that were wrapped around them.

"When there is wind, sailors stretch out that cloth and it pushes the boat forward", the oracle calmly explained.

'Ah' the Ryan realized, 'Just like the wind sometimes pushes at my wings when I fly. But it never crossed my mind that it could do the same to a piece of cloth' he nodded, understanding the logic.

"Why do we have to get in the line from the left side?" Klyran then asked, as the two of them were crossing the bridge.

"This line is for the people who simply wish to enter the city, so it moves faster. That line", he said pointing to the right side of the bridge, "is for merchants or carriages. Because the guards have to inspect the goods before allowing them into the city."

This made Klyran nod, understanding the logic behind it. After the two moved down from the bridge, Aldryn grabbed his hand again and led him to the right side of the path that they had to use.

"The right side is used by the people who want to enter the city, while the left side is for those who wish to leave."

The two were moving in the line rather fast, never once having to stop. There was a steady flow of people both entering and leaving the city. The footpath was large enough to easily fit five to six people on it at the same time. Therefore, even with the small fence made out of silver stone separating the path into two, there was plenty of space for Aldryn and Klyran to walk in.

Once the two of them reached the main gate, the guards bowed their heads when their eyes caught sight of Aldryn. After he politely nodded back, one of the four men rushed off to announce the apostle's arrival to the King.

Once inside the Silver City, Klyran's eyes grew wide. He looked at the walls and buildings. At the great river that inside the city split into thinner ones. He walked silently behind his friend, admiring the view.

'It looks like... What do they call it again? Spiderwebs? Yes... That's it... The rivers look like spiderwebs' Klyran was holding in the temptation to fly upward and see the view from above, but he didn't want to startle the humans.

The concept of water itself was rather new to him, as there was not much of it in his own world. The bit of water that could be found in his world was never used by his kin and only by the small amount of animals that lived there. So he never found any interest in seeking out how it looked, knowing that it was just something that the animals needed to survive. But here, in the Silver City, he couldn't help but admire how the river itself was merged into the city. How the people were using the flowing water to reach from one destination to another.

The two of them did not rush. Aldryn would patiently stop whenever Klyran did, whether to admire a sight, or to simply look at something in curiosity.

"It's just like taking a tour with a small child" the apostle then jokingly commented to the fox.

"Now at least you realize what my life has become" it said back with a chuckle.

"Hey!!!" he blonde then frowned, his eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

"This is the lower circle" Aldryn then suddenly said, distracting himself from the argument "It is considered to be the residential side of the city".

This caused Klyran to run his eyes around the streets and alleys.

"What does it means?" he asked and looked at the oracle, who quickly understood which word his friend was confused about.

"Residential means that this is where most people live", the blonde quickly explained.

After Klyran nodded his head, noticing that indeed, none of the merchants who managed to enter the city seemed to stop, but continued their path. He then looked around and saw that there were very few stores.

"The Silver City is made out of seven circles", as Aldryn spoke those words, he raised his hand and showed seven fingers.

"The seventh circle is where the Royal Family lives. It's where the King holds his court, hosts parties, makes the hearings and everything else. The sixth circle" the oracle said and tucked in a finger, leaving only six of them, "is where the noble and the rich people live. It is also where their grand church with their High Priest lives."

"A High Priest?" Klyran the suddenly asked, "Are you not a priest too?"

"I am a High Priest of the Old Religion. It is a bit different than the priests that normally can be found in churches", Aldryn tried to explain.

"What is the difference?" his friend asked instead.

"A normal Priest those days is simply someone who lives by certain believes and customs dictated by a religion. They perform ceremonies, like when people get married, die and so on. They are here to serve the people, to listen to their pains and sooth them. To guide the humans to live a righteous life", Aldryn begun to explain, thinking of the best words that he could use.

"I am a Priest of the Old Religion. I am also called an Apostle. I do not serve a certain religion, but a certain God. I am its link with this world and need to abide its belief. It is said that a very long time ago, apostles such as myself would often receive orders from their Gods and had to fulfil their every request. We are also considered the original Mages", the blond then stopped speaking, waiting to see if his friend needed any explanation.

"What's the difference, between serving a God and serving a Religion? And you said original mages? Does it means that there are more people capable of using magic?", Klyran asked, trying to process everything.

"A religion can be made up of one or more Gods. But I guess the main difference is that an Apostle receives the blessing of its master, while an ordinary priest does not", the blonde then said after a moment of thinking, "Ah….regarding mages….well…..there are still many people capable of wielding magic, but not all that many bother to learn it anymore."

"What happened to them?", he heard Klyran ask.

"Well…people learned magic initially to be able to help humans survive and pursued its perfection. But then people started crafting weapons and the High King of Men rose. He was said to have been able to slay any beast that threatened his kin. And as time went by and humans were able to protect themselves more, there were less of them who wanted to learn the gift of magic. Because of that, there are very few magic masters left in this world, except the apostles"

"So they still exist? Humans that can use magic at master level?", the topic seemed highly interesting to the serpent.

"Yes. There is a group of humans able to harness magic in its purest form. They made a few communities scattered around the world. The closest one is in an abandoned land a bit beyond the mountains. And while I am one of their High Priest, I no longer serve the same role for them as my ancestors did", Aldryn said, thinking back to the abandoned castle that the group uses as their home.

"Why are you not with them?" Klyran then asked, trying to fully understand the story.

"Because there are six elements and even more Apostles and only one group. Those people have long ago decided that rather than having multiple leaders, they would have none. They chose among themselves the strongest and declare them their leaders. Of course they still show us respect and would follow our guidance when given. But they mostly keep to themselves and we respect their wishes."

It seemed a rather strange story to Klyran. But he did not wish to pry, making sure to take note of this story and maybe hear more about it another time.

"What of the other five circles?" the serpent suddenly asked.

"Huh?" it caused Aldryn's attention to snap back to him.

"The other five circles? Of the Silver City." Klyran then elaborated.

"Oh… Of course. The fifth circle is mostly one grant market. The more expensive goods go there. It's where the noble people usually shop. It's mostly made out of finer clothes, fruits and food brought from countries from far away. Even the blacksmiths there sell more precious items. Their jewels have precious gems and stones, while the weapons are made of material of higher quality. There are even some merchants there that sell items made by the Monias, the people of the mines."

After those words, Aldryn took a few minutes to explain to Klyran about the different species that live in this world. The Monias that live in the mountains and mostly farm the mines and make items of precious materials. The Yakards that live in the forests and protect them from harm. He even took his times to speak of the darker creatures that reside in this world. Like the Nalrits, who came from across the sea and the Shucks. Aldryn even briefly mentioned the Serpents from the North, apologizing for confusing Klyran with one of them at first.

"The fourth circle of the City is where most of the people living in the city spend the whole day. The children go to school there, a place where they are taught to read and write. The men and women go there to work, since most cheaper items that the people need in their day to day life are made there. For example, there are a few potteries from where most people buy vases or decorations for their homes. There is a house where mostly women work and sew clothes out of cheaper material to sell it to other citizens. There is a place where men go to work and make shoes."

"What are potteries and vases?" Klyran then asked, making Aldryn realize that he might have never seen them before.

"See that over there", the priest said and pointed at a window, where flowers stood on a table, "The thing in which the flowers are kept is called a vase. It's made out of clay and pottery is the place where they are made."

"Why is it called pottery and not…clayery?" the black haired man asked, looking at his friend confused.

"Well…" Aldryn begun, but was unsure himself. While he knew many things, such trivial information was not something that he ever bothered about.

"I cannot change here. But I will tell you" the oracle heard a sigh at the back of his mind.

Thanking the Thrae for the help, Aldryn listened carefully and then repeated the information to Klyran.

"It's called pottery from the word potter. The person who makes items out of clay or other similar material. The word potter itself comes from the word pot, since it was the first thing that people have made."

His friend then nodded and looked around some more, noticing the various vases and trinkets that he could see in the people's homes.

"Why do villages not have school?" Klyran then asked instead.

"Silver City is considered the richest city in the South. In other places children have to help their parents since they are very young for the family to manage. It is also considered something that only nobles should do. The schools are actually something that Ildurin established around the fifth circle."

As he spoke, Aldryn could not help but think about the poor children that he has seen elsewhere. Their bones and scrawny figures, running around doing chores to help their families. If only every city was like this one, the world would have been a much better place, the oracle thought.

"Do not be a fool" the Thrae snapped in his mind. "Ildurin is loved by his people, but other Kings would be afraid. The mere thought that the people could think for themselves and see through their lies would keep them awake at night."

"Smart people are hard to manipulate" Aldryn agreed in his mind.

"The third circle is another grand market. But it is filled with cheaper items. Such as clothes, shoes and items made in the fourth circle. It is also packed with farmers who come from nearby regions to sell their fruits and vegetables. There are also fishermen and hunters who sell whatever they managed to catch."

"Fishermen?" Klyran interrupted again, not understanding the word.

"Those are people who catch fish", seeing the confusion linger, Aldryn tried to continues, "They are animals that live in water. I will just show you."

"Are they also…food?" the black haired man asked.

"Yes" the oracle quickly nodded.

"This world has so many things that you can eat" Klyran said in awe and it made the priest feel bad about him.

"The first two circles of the city are mostly filled with homes", he tried to continue, to take his friend's mind off the difference between their worlds.

"There are also a few shops here and there. Mostly bakeries or stalls where people can buy milk or other things that they might need in their daily lives."

Once Aldryn finished explaining the city, he looked at Klyran and noticed how his head would turn at every new sound and sight that they encountered. Such a childish reaction, Aldryn thought and smiled.

"It does makes me wonder though" the oracle said and paused, making Klyran look at him.

"What did you eat when you first came here?" he finally asked, a part of him truly curious, while another one dreadful, fearing that his friend might have tasted human flesh during the times when he could not understand the difference between the various creatures inhabiting this world.

At first, Klyran did not spoke a single word. As the two of them walked around the city, his eyes would dance all over the stones and the different constructions that were made out of them. It made Aldryn think that it was a story his friend was not willing to share, making him fear that his suspicion was true. The Thrae within his mind would deny him and insult him. The great fox itself thought that this young man was simply thinking of the first few days that he spend in this world, maybe even was contemplating about his own home, as he sometimes tended.

Then suddenly, Klyran begun to speak.

"It was never my intention to come here", he begun his story.