Riley Nyt and The Mortal Order

Chapter 2 - Family

Riley and Cassidy watched the driver struggle with their suitcases. He had insisted that he could handle it by himself and he most certainly could have if he stopped looking back and forth between Riley and the statue that stood in the centre of the courtyard.

Alaska Nyt, the Protector, was a legendary vestral who had helped form the first Mortal Order over one hundred years ago. Along with her friends, Kelsey Nova, Darius Vale and Lily Chase, Alaska had ended the Great Viemäri War and helped divide the mortal and vestral world. The four of them had not only saved all vestral's but had spearheaded many projects that had become essential to the vestral people's way of life.

The statue of Alaska was eight feet tall and carved with uncanny detail. She wore a sari and armour, her stone skirt seemed to trail in the ever-present mountain wind and her sharp face was tilted up to the east, as if she were challenging the sky to come down and face her. Her arms rested at her sides where she held her trademark, double-bladed axes, turned outwards as if Alaska were preparing to fight. Familiar patterns trailed the hem of her sari, blossoming across her breastplate and twirled around the dense base of her ash grey statue.

"Y-you!" the driver spluttered and the suitcases clattered against the pathway. Riley and Cassidy had walked over to the statue where the driver had unfortunately followed them and now stood spluttering in disbelief.

He now pointed at Riley as he gaped at the statue that overshadowed her, the suitcases laying strewn and forgotten. Riley looked at the poor suitcase that had landed in one of the short, manicured hedges and let out a sigh.

"Yup," she replied and the driver opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

"Second daughter of Nyt!" the driver threw himself at her feet and bowed, pressing his face to pavement, "It has been my honour to drive you!" He sprang up and held his fist to his forehead, the Nyt salute, and practically vibrated with excitement.

"Thanks, dude."

They awkwardly stood like that for a good ten seconds before the driver noticed them looking very pointedly at their discarded luggage and he scrambled to retrieve their bags.

"Aarav," a voice called out, "the footmen are waiting to take their bags," a woman's voice chided and Aarav, the driver, scuttled towards the palace's massive front doors, the dusty luggage in tow.

Walking down the front steps that had a ramp cutting through it in a stroke of architectural genius was Olympia Nyt, a Supreme, the current Lady of the fortress and Riley's mother.

"Oh my," Olympia hitched up the skirt of her magenta sari and sailed forward, throwing out her arms and wrapping Riley and Cassidy into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey, mom," Riley laughed as she squirmed free, "What's up?"

Olympia slapped her arm gently, "What's up?" she fussed over Riley's leather jacket and Cassidy's coat, "Oh, look at you two! So big."

Cassidy smiled warmly as Olympia's motherly hands fussed over them in the biting.

"My darling Cassidy, you look lovely!"

"Thank you, Mrs Nyt," Cassidy blushed shyly.

"Oh darling, Olympia will do, and Riley," Olympia rounded on her, "You look so much like her!"

Riley rolled her eyes as they looked up at the statue, "I think my nose has more character."

Olympia let out a sigh, "I don't know why you had to break your nose so many times."

"It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"And your hair," Olympia shook her head as Riley swatted away her mother's hands, "Too short, you should grow it long like Cassidy's."