Miraveth, Where Chey Waited

“Woah…” Ignacio breathed.

Miraveth was huge, sprawling far into the distance. Yet from one end to the other, the city was enclosed in a massive dome that shifted and rippled in the wind like it was made of water. From their altitude, it was like it was trapped in some kind of a bubble, patterns flashing across its surface like lightning across the sky.

Kiyomi flew quite high up, the thin clouds above them so close Ignacio thought he could reach up and touch them.

Hot air balloons and blimps floated in and out of the bubble surrounding Miraveth, most with propellers attached to some kind of wood and iron engines on the sides. They were all different colours; reds, blues, greens, more than he could count, some with insignias and symbols emblazoned on the fabric.

The city itself was beautiful. Almost entirely cream in colour with gold and silver edges and inlays. The city walls alone were massive, but there was a building at the back that towered over everything else.

It had a pointed roof, a hole at the top front showing a gigantic clock. But below the roof, white, marble carvings of giants held it up on their shoulders. One giant being a man with a beard, the next being what had to be a Golem, the next of a man with a bull's head and lower legs. From the angle they flew in at, he couldn’t see the fourth. Atop the roof wrapped a statue of a giant serpent. It was frozen with its mouth open, lower jaw split in two.

“It’s amazing,” Ignacio said.

Koharu flew higher beside him, turning to him with a smile, her dark brown hair crawling over her face like tentacles in the wind.

“It is,” she said. “I always wondered who designed it. Ki, did you ever find out what that big bubble around it is?”

“Water controlled by giant pearls imbued with some kind of Blue Archmage energy,” Kiyomi said. “Those flashes you see on the surface? Weavers making a show.”

Koharu gasped, a smile widening on her face. “My people! Look at how beautiful it is.”

Ignacio nodded. “How much time do we have left before we need to leave?”

Koharu reached into her robe, the brass edge of her pocket watch glinting as she removed it. “About ten minutes.”

“Then we need to land and exit, now,” Kiyomi said.

The carpet dropped in the air, Ignacio’s stomach dropping with it. His hair billowed in the wind, his ears and nose turning cold.

His eyes widened as they glided past a giant, dark red blimp, the chopping of its propellers against the air droning past them. Ignacio glanced over his shoulder, the side of the blimp emblazoned with a crescent sun being eaten by a dark circle.

“What does that symbol mean?” Ignacio shouted, voice barely audible over the wind.

“On the blimp?” Kiyomi asked. “That was Eclipse, they’re a Psyonic crew. Only two of their members can fly, so they have a blimp for group travel.”

“Most of the blimps you see,” Koharu said, cruising above them, “belong to Psyonic crews.”

“And most of the balloons are natives,” Kiyomi said.

He scanned the horizon, the mountains and rolling green forests, rivers and hills scattered beyond Miraveth’s walls.

She was out there, somewhere. Alone in the clutches of evil.

I’m coming for you, Celeste, he thought, rage bubbling inside him. I’m going to find you. Just hold on.

They dropped further down, the tassels of the carpet lifting. Koharu swooped down, opening her arms as they approached the bubble.

“Here we go,” she said, her voice almost a song. “Open your arms, Ace!”

Ignacio squinted as they broke through the bubble, the surface swallowing them with a gloop sound. The water turned his skin and clothes cold, but it was too thin to soak him. He patted down his sleeve, the wind like ice against the damp. His ears popped from the change of pressure, a crinkling sound coming from his ears as he swallowed.

He laughed. “What is happening,” he said, incredulously.

After a few moments the wind had dried him off, its whistling quickly overshadowed by a new sound. Drums. The clamouring of voices coming from within Miraveth. Trumpets.

What is going on in there?

Kiyomi touched down on a platform of smooth white stone situated in the middle of a three part stairway. Ignacio stood up, the carpet dissipating into smoke beneath his feet. The platform was bordered on the left and right by trees with bright red blossoms that grew from cut outs in the white stone. Their roots were a tangled mess that submerged into the ground, their trunks bent and curved, some of them interlocking like arms. Their leaves and petals lay scattered around the platform, rolling to the side in the breeze.

On either side of the stairs leading up to the city gates, however, were statues. All in poses. Each holding a weapon or garment. All staring across the stairs at one another in an eternal gaze.

The gates themselves were gigantic, plated in gold that shone so bright it hurt to look at. Pillars stood on either side of them, holding up a short roof with curved ends, made of the same white stone and marble as the platform and stairs.

A pair of guards stood either side of the gates, in front of the pillars. They wore gleaming white armour, gold framing the plates of their chest plates and the t-crosses that formed the visors of their helmets. They carried tridents, the shafts a marbled white metal, the head and pommel made of gold, too. Red belts were tied around their waists, some kind of large medallion dangling down the front.

They were the only people on the staircase, but something told him that wouldn’t last long once the gates opened.

“Welcome to Miraveth,” Kiyomi said, her shoes clacking as she stepped up beside him.

Koharu placed her hands on her hips. “You didn’t open your arms.”

Ignacio chuckled. “I was a little preoccupied. Look at this place.”

Koharu turned to stare at the city gates. “Yep. These cities never get old.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get out of here,” Kiyomi said. “I’ll leave first.”

She closed her eyes, opening one to glare at Ignacio before blowing away like red smoke into the air.

Koharu turned to him with a slight smile. Her eyes flickered up. And her smile vanished.

“Ace, get down!” she shouted, blue light blazing from her hands.

Ignacio dove for her, shoulder ramming into her stomach as he took them both down to the ground. His chest and hands slammed into the stone floor, their heads leaning over the edge of the platform. He glanced over his shoulder as a flash of orange light zipped over them, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake.

He lifted himself, looking her in the eye as they panted. “You okay?”

She nodded. “We need to get out of here, now.”

He rolled off her, scrambling to his feet and turning around. A man walked towards them, his head crowned with giant feathers that trailed down to his bare chest, red markings and images painted over his tan body.