Balle, Day 26 (4)

A sovereign carriage awaited them patiently in the frontal courtyard before the doors of the palace's main hall. It was a mobile made of dark wood with a sturdy construction, and on every corner of it was the gilded seal of the current sovereign dynasty.

The throne of Oalta was constantly passed on between the four families of the old blood, and therefore only cycled between four dynasties. The Eight Houses were the largest family trees in the entire continent, and each House wore its own seal proudly, however, when the Head of House sat upon the throne, only the sovereign family could use the special seal to distinguish them from the rest of the family tree.

House Hellfryne's sigil was a gryffon. The sovereign seal was a gryffon with a scroll and sword crossed behind it. These types of added variations were the same for the sovereign seals of the other four families.

The sigils of the Eight Houses had been established long ago in the old world, much earlier than when The Final See happened, but the sovereign variations were established in the domain of the new world.

Verinia looked at the sovereign seal adorning the carriage and suddenly felt ill with a sense of foreboding. She could not help wondering if the throne was in danger.

Everything that had happened since the beginning of the summer months had been so unusual and unheard of that it made bizarre ideas take root and flourish in her mind.

She shook her head, taking Sur Ka'iser's hand to help her mount into the carriage.

Some of those from the Empress's visiting party were also wandering around the courtyard and taking carriages to leave the palace grounds. Her Eminence herself was nowhere to be seen, but Verinia had received a report that she had gone to visit Viola in the early morning.

She smirked to herself and folded her slender hands gracefully on her lap.

Most of the visitors who were leaving the palace were probably off to visit the daytime market in the city centre, which held considerably less 'mystic' goods than the night market did, but came with its own form of chaos just the same.

Sur Louren, Sur Dalton and Sur Keli, Halen, Syvia and Dresderia's protectors, followed their carriage with Sur Ka'iser on their horses, as they were entirely too large to fit in any sort of domestic vehicle together with their armour.

It was honestly a marvel how those men were able to move so agilely with that much staulten on their bodies.

Staulten was a blend of strong metals commonly used to forge weapons and armour in Oalta, since it was supposedly unbreakable. The greatest flaw to it was that staulten was very heavy.

As they travelled down to the valley of the city, the beautifully cared for greenery surrounding the palace became more barren, until the many streets of the capital became packed to the brim with life.

Verinia thought that even if she saw the scenery of Zanza a thousand times, she would never become tired of it.

Everything was so different from life in the palace, where no one shouted or laughed so loudly as to be heard three streets away. There seemed to be no restrictions for commoners, and she considered it a beautiful thing to witness their freedom.

The First Princess oftentimes found herself feeling envious. What would it be for her to one day be so free? This was not something that could happen to her even in alternate lifetimes.

Soon, their carriage travelled toward the merchant district, where a tall tower resided that could be seen from the entrance of the city more than six leagues away. At a high point of the tower was a plaque with the symbol for the Missionary Order of Transcendence, more commonly called the MOT.

The MOT compound took up an entire zin of the merchant's district, which was a land measurement of two square leagues total. As the main quarters of the Missionary Order, it was naturally larger than all the other MOT compounds across the continent.

This was also where the Cardinal Matron of the Order resided.

Outside of the compound were several tents set up and ten carts piled high with goods of different sorts, from clothing to rations of food.

Sur Ka'iser helped his mistress descend from the mobile after the young prince and princesses had come down, and Verinia was greeted with the light scent of dry sand so typical of Zanza.

Even though New Oalta was a prosperous continent full of vegetation, it had its deserts, and the capital city happened to sit right in the middle of one.

Zanza was a coastal city, despite its size and sandiness. One side of Light Tower palace sat facing the opening of Zinfrha's Fjord, overlooking the Sea of Mirrors. The other side faced Zanza directly.

Besides the desert of Zanza, the remainder of the capital peninsula was lush, fertile land, and despite the sand, there were some parts, like the sovereign orchards, that had fertile soil.

But, ever since the curse of The Final See, even what was currently considered fertile was bad soil compared to the prosperity they had enjoyed before. From time to time, the continent would come under harsh times of famine and drought. During those periods, their political alliances were crucial.

But who could withstand to give aid to such a large place for long?

Lost in her thoughts, Verinia had little time to observe her surroundings before a woman clad in blue from her headdress to her shoes approached, bearing the white symbol upon her breast of the Missionary Order of Transcendence. A smaller, identical symbol hung from a gold chain around her waist, the only adornment to her otherwise plain appearance.

"Heaven's blessings to you, Su'Adrit." The woman bowed her body to the First Princess and then to the younger siblings. "Adriit. Su'Darath. It is good to see you in good health."

"And you as well, Bishop Matron." Verinia smiled kindly and motioned to her siblings. "We've come to offer our aid."

"Very well. The medical facility awaits you, Su'Adrit." The Bishop Matron motioned to the area of public service set up in front of the compound. "Please choose your stations, Your Sovereign Highnesses."

"I'll help with the clothing," Syvia decided.

"I'll help with the food."

"I'll assist the matrons with scholarship," Dresderia announced timidly. She darted a glance at the First Princess, and only upon seeing that there was no objection did she relax.

The siblings took their leave of each other with their protectors in tow.

As expected, upon her arrival to the medical area, Verinia was given an apron to tie over her fine dress. She pulled away her wide sleeves as well and tied them up to her elbows to prevent from soiling them.

Her cold skin sparkled under the light of the suns, and red, angry crescents sat on her palms, some weeping and others mostly healed.

She quickly took some bandages and wrapped her palms before placing handskins on her hands. The medical gloves were thin but incredibly resistant to strain and tear, made from the lining of boar's belly.

"Serenity, if you'll assist me here." Grand Matron Lora Anthipeia had barely raised her head in the proper greeting, as she was tending to an arm which had been cut open gruesomely. Verinia quickly approached the table to assess the injury. "What do you see?"