The City of Nallient

The moonlit garden of the Baroness’s house was nearly pitch black, and no sound could be heard save for the sound of Ui leaping down from her third floor guest room onto the garden, landing graciously along with her pride. There was something going on in that city, and she had to figure it out.

“Took you long enough.” Cro was sitting near her landing point with his arms crossed.

Ui was startled by Cro’s calm presence. “C-Cro. I just wanted some fresh air…”

Cro stared at her. He stood up slowly, dusted his clothes off and reached both of his arms out. “Hop on…”

Ui, despite being glad he was there waiting for her, hesitated for a few seconds before jumping into his arms. The pair launched into flight, with Ui shivering almost immediately.

“Did you forget to wear clothes appropriate for flying again?”

“To be fair, I planned to be—walking—today.”

“I’m not going to let you make a mistake like that.”

Ui pursed her lips. “Fine.”

Ui tried looking around the city. Both the city of Nallient and Nallimaru had barely any lights compared to Novestr and Aure. “Why is it so dark? Mt. Nalli should at least have leaflights.”

“Well, nobody is dumb enough to walk around at night in this weather.”

“How about flying then.” Ui winked, but beneath them was an endless, dark void. There was an unsettling lack of life for a city of that size. They flew around, spotting very few people wandering around, with a handful of businesses sparsely lighting the streets. The city was way too dark for Ui’s liking, and so was the mountain. “There’s something deeply wrong here.”

“If I told you that it’s just you, that the Udari here have harsher conditions to begin with, and it has nothing to do with Umans, and there’s nothing you can do about it, would you believe me?”

Ui grinned and shook her head. Ui immersed herself in her thoughts about the city, and forgot all about the cold air. With the starry night as a background, they flew in a large circle over Nallient. All they saw was a poorly lit, nearly lifeless city.

Cro was the one to call off their search. “There’s not much we can see from up here. Let’s try again later,” said Cro, turning his eyes from the horizon towards Ui. “With permission next time.” Ui shivered from the cold. “And with proper clothing, too.”

Ui stuck out her tongue sideways and winked, as Cro flew them quickly, and quietly, back to their chambers.

◆

Despite the elegant bed, Ui struggled to sleep in it more than she did on the carriage and the louder streets of Novestr during her usual daytime naps. The pleasant whispers of the river making its way into the sea didn’t make up for the otherwise ominous silence. This led to an uncharacteristically early risen Ui.

If she couldn’t find answers at night, then she was going to try to find them during the day. She attempted to sneak out of her room, only to find her newly assigned servant waiting.

“Oh… good morning,” said Ui, finding her plans immediately thwarted.

“Good morning, Miss Ui.” The servant with the faded green hair was there to greet her.

Ui examined her. The servant didn’t seem happy nor sad, and that made Ui even more curious. “You can call me Ui.” Even if the servant tried to keep her distance, Ui walked up close to her, closer than any Uman would. “I’m not much taller than you, am I?”

The servant remained silent, nodding politely.

“What’s your name?” asked Ui.

“Renne, Miss Ui.”

“Renne?” Ui took a moment to think through her Udari vocabulary, but it was a different region after all. “That’s not a standard Udari name, is it? Where do you live?”

“I live in the servant’s chambers of this mansion.”

Ui kept trying to make eye contact, even as Renne tried to avoid it. Ui examined her hair, and while it was definitely Udari, the tone wasn’t as bright as it should be. Maybe it was something related to the food, or the cold. Suddenly, Ui reached towards Renne, and hugged her. “Don’t worry,” whispered Ui. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Once Ui let her go, the servant bowed, and rushed away from Ui, stopping herself from breaking into a full run. Ui looked at her until she was no longer in sight, confused by the interaction. Ui had even more questions than before.

Cro surprised her from behind. “Why are you tormenting the servants, Ui? Wouldn’t you be startled too if a Uman reached out to you like that…”

“Right… Umans don’t do such things.” Ui reached for her fake white hair. Her disguise was proving unhelpful. “I just wanted some answers.”

“Be patient...” Cro was already clothed in his Royal Mage uniform; his looks were impeccable, as always, while Ui’s were the opposite. “Did you manage to sleep?”

Ui shook her head, the lack of energy showing in her movement. There was no way she could sleep trying to figure out all the questions she had about the region.

“So that’s why you’re up early…” Cro sighed. “You need to sleep. You can’t figure everything out overnight, especially without sleep… But for now, it’s breakfast time.”

Thoughts of food temporarily kept Ui from imagining worse and worse things. “I can’t wait to try the local stuff!”

Cro and Ui walked down the stairs of that mansion. It wasn’t the biggest one they’d seen, but more importantly, it seemed like a warm home. The Baroness and her husband had children, but they lived in the capital, leaving most of the house empty except for the two parents.

Ui’s excitement lasted until they walked into the dining room.

“Pleased to meet you, Ui.” The Baroness greeted Ui, who had forgotten the head of the household was there. Ui was also notoriously underdressed. “I see you’ve been comfortable. Are the servants treating you well?”

“They are,” answered Ui nervously. Cro smirked at her, and Ui knew she’d fallen into his trap. “My apologies for walking around dressed so casually.”

“Well it’s your vacation, isn’t it?” The Baroness laughed. The Baroness was a very graceful woman, and Ui admired her elegance briefly. She had a long, voluminous braid of hair hanging down her right shoulder and she wore glasses. She had fine features, just like she’d expect from a noble. Everything else, to Ui, was boring Uman formalities.

The breakfast went by uneventfully. Ui was disappointed by the food: Uman staples that she could’ve found in Novestr. Instead of focusing on the conversation that Cro somehow managed better than her, she was too absorbed looking at the servants around them: all Udari, none of them smiling, and the colors of their hair did not feel right. There was no way she could enjoy her food with everything she had seen so far.

“Miront told me a lot about you.” The Baroness tried to pull Ui back.

“Huh, Miront?” Ui was startled and lacked the context of their conversation.

“The Duke’s assistant. I don’t fault you for forgetting his name. His personality is… disturbing sometimes.”

“Oh, what did he say?”

“He said you’re the best singer on the island.”

Ui was still not used to receiving praise for her music. “Thank you…”

The Baroness looked amused. “You can’t thank me, those aren’t my thoughts… yet. I’m looking forward to it, Ui. Maybe you can make these parts a bit more lively.”

“Do they need to be made lively?” Ui’s tone of voice rose with her curiosity, while Cro kicked her discreetly under the table.

The Baroness however, interpreted it with humor. “You really are as pure as he said. Isn’t youth a beautiful thing, Victure?” The Baroness’s husband nodded with a smile as he finished his meal.

It was clear to Ui that the Baroness was the owner of that household, and because of that, she realized it would be best to make requests directly to her. “I’d like to tour the town for inspiration for my songs, is that possible?”

Cro kicked Ui harder, knowing a light kick was not enough to stop her.

“Of course.” The Baroness looked at Victure. “We can arrange that.”