The Cinders of Dezu

11th: Born of Fire and Moonlight (1)

Raina found herself again in what Caddock called the  mural hall. Thus far, it was her favorite spot in the whole of the castle. In the center was a long red carpet that went from one end to the other. On either side, the walls were lined with sprawling painted works of things that made her imagination run wild.

There were men and monsters like she'd never seen. Generals, warriors, kings and queens that were wielding weapons and commanding armies. There were individual portraits as well. Between each wall of murals there were sculptures, busts, and exquisitely detailed dioramas encased under glass. It was a buffet for the eyes that she could spend hours perusing. So she did.

She dug into the cloth sack in her hand and popped a nut in her mouth. She couldn't remember what the kitchen girl had called them, but she found them quite tasty. She grabbed another and handed it to her new friend on her shoulder. She had named him Prince on account of him having saved her from a locked tower. The rat took the nut from her and nibbled on it happily. Prince behaved as if he had been domesticated for years even though he had only known her a day. But their bond had been strengthened quickly with Raina's ability to talk with him.

Prince didn't say much. He mostly let her know when he wanted food or when a certain smell interested him. Other than that he gave her signs of affection. Though she could understand him and he could understand her, a rat just didn't have much to say all the time. Full conversations weren't really their forte. But Prince knew his way around the castle better than anyone. After all, it was him that showed her the special hidden hatch under her bed. It had a hole in it that he could go in and out of which is how he had gotten in her room when he had smelled her food in the first place.

The hatch led to a series of crawl spaces and passage ways that went all throughout the castle. They were old. Very old. And Raina hadn't seen anyone else in them so she wondered if maybe she was the only one who knew about them. After she had told them about talking to Prince, no one had bothered to ask about her secret way out of her room. She decided to continue to opt out of revealing that information. In some sections, you had to get on your hands and knees but the passages seemed to lead to nearly all the rooms in the palace, including this one.
Raina was leaning over a diorama of an army with tiny spears pointed toward the ground. A general was leading the charge and they appeared to be attacking a series of lumps coming up out of sandy ground where tiny, detailed appendages and forms were rising up. She was so enthralled with the scene, that it was only when she was startled by voices that she realized she had her fingers on the glass. She lifted them off and rubbed away her fingerprints before looking for where the sounds were coming from.

"-waging his war deep into the northern mountains where the Philorian forces were outmatched."

"How did he do it?"

It was a child's voice. Raina couldn't see them yet over the white sculpture of a warrior. She made her way closer.

"Well the mighty Philorians are powerful soldiers, but they are cold blooded. It makes them much weaker in the freezing snow of the high peaks. They just couldn't manage against General Graylon's forces in that kind of cold."