Chapter 72: A Foreign Land

"Welcome to Narabun, how long are you planning on parking yer ship?" The dockhand tried to be polite, Braydon did still look like a noble after a few days sailing after all. But it was obvious that he was more used to speaking to merchants and sailors than the nobility.

"A day or two, I doubt we will be staying longer." Upon hearing Braydon's response the dockhand wrote something down on what looked to be a ledger of sorts. Braydon had not been to a major port city, so this was a new experience for him. Guards at city gates were all much more relaxed about their job, probably because a wagon could not carry an invading force like a ship could. As they were talking, Nela came down from the ship to join him, drawing many sideways glances from the merchants and dockhands going about their business. It was not often that they got to see noble ladies, only the most well off merchants frequently met them. Even then it was rare for such a young noble lady to be seen, most never travelling unless to a banquet or for marriage, Nela was one of the exceptions.

"Then we will leave you with the captain to sort anything else out." Braydon turned to the dockhand who was about to start asking more questions. He knew that he was not best suited to deal with this and quickly lumped all the paperwork onto Captain, who was just now coming off of the ship. The dockhand nodded, looking relieved that he could talk to the kind of people he was used to dealing with.

"Shall we go?" Nela prompted when she noticed that Braydon was looking around the dock. Gerald and Roan had been standing to the side since the dockhand had gone to ask more questions to the captain.

"Of course." Hearing her words quickly brought him out of his own world as they made their way out of the docks. He had been looking around the dock, it was a far cry from the 'dock' in Milmond. There were many piers with goods being loaded onto and unloaded from ships. He had expected it to be more empty due to the civil war but apparently there were many who were willing to profit from the conflict. He didn't notice any ships like theirs but there was a lot of merchant ships and one or two galleys. The galleys were probably part of the royal fleet. Even though Shuluk was not known for it's great navy, it still had one. Considering the capital was on the coast and both of it's neighbours had strong fleets, there was no choice but to at least have some ships of their own.

"Viscount Braydon?" As they left the docks, they were greeted by two soldiers, in full plate armour and ceremonial swords at their side. The tabards they wore held the insignia of the Grand Duchy as their design.

"Indeed." Braydon responded, the duchess regent had obviously sent someone to accompany them to the castle.

"The Grand Duke and his Regent request your presence. Please follow us." Once they received confirmation, they bowed in respect before asking that he follow them. They brought them to a carriage, not holding the Grand Duke's insignia but obviously not a carriage that just any noble could own. It was pulled by four horses, something more out of grandeur than necessity.

"After you." One of the men held the door for Braydon and Nela to get into the carriage while the other sat at the front, they were obviously going to be the drivers as well. Gerald and Roan sat on the seating at the back of the carriage, obviously meant for guards to sit at while the master would be seated inside.

"Is it me or they are more hierarchical in Shuluk?" Once the carriage started moving, Braydon turned to ask Nela. The people in Boshil had not been this concerned with status, but everything was done by the book since they had arrived.

"Shuluk was once part of the Barakhil Empire, the empire has a much stricter social order than most places. It could also be because we are foreign nobles, they don't want to have a reputation for being rude. That would do nothing for them in future meetings and negotiations with other countries." Nela put forward a few possibilities, Braydon was inclined to think it was the latter. Shuluk had tried to make it's identity as separate from Barakhil as it could for a long time, it would not surprise him if they had tried to change noble customs too.

As he looked outside, he could definitely see the attempt being made. The older buildings looked distinctly different to the newer buildings. The new ones looked more familiar to him, taking more inspiration from western Ezaes, being built from a mixture of wood and stone. The older buildings were made from marble, Braydon presumed that they were built back in imperial days. Even before it became the capital of Shuluk, Narabun was an important trading city for the empire. As the carriage was on it's journey to the castle, they passed by a building that Braydon almost mistook for the castle.

"What is that place?" Braydon wondered aloud.

"That is the Great Church of Narabun, the seat of Cardinal Allmon." One of the two soldiers explained from outside of the carriage. Though it caused Braydon to think, 'Why don't we have something like this in Fiveria?'.

"It was built by Emperor Gregor II as a gift to the church. A long time ago the empire used to have good relations with the church, but that was before even the coalition war. Nothing like it has been built since, nobody has had both the resources and good will toward the church to do it since then. Most of the other Great Churches are in the old lands of Ciai, if they haven't already been lost due to the constant warring there " Nela explained, she had been looking into the church in Shuluk, it was one of the first things she had come across.

"Sounds like a place that would be interesting to visit." Braydon said idly as they made their way through the city streets. 'Mireille would probably love it.' Braydon thought back to the girl who gave him the silent treatment up until they had to leave. She had still gone to see them off in the end.