Blade West: Book 1

Chapter 13: Aveila

Don't get me wrong, seeing the waterfall, Serenade, and the massive forest should have prepared me. But my mouth still dropped when I saw Aveila.

Looking at the city, I couldn't help but think....."I'm....home."

Yeah, I had never been here before.
Yeah, none of this made sense. But seeing the city made me feel like "this is where it will all start to make sense."

So, where do I begin?

Well first, the city itself was somewhat rustic. The buildings and fixtures all had that smoothed over brown cement look to them. Like sand. The city was interwoven with nature. There were trees everywhere amidst the buildings. Most of the buildings were prism shaped with large windows. I didn't see any "round" buildings.

The city seemed to be on top of a hill because all of the buildings ascended upwards, and there was a large pathway, kind of like the Great Wall of China,  that circled through the city until it reached the top. The city seemed to be a giant spiral. Even from up here on Axil, I could see people walking and flying along the pathway, people sitting on top of the buildings under umbrellas enjoying breakfast, and some elemental displays of power here and there as people sparred.

But the sight to see was the crown of the city.

At the very top of this hill was a gigantic diamond nest that was at least a mile wide (and keep in mind, this nest was small in proportion to the city. That's just how big this city was). It shone colors of red, blue, green, and violet as the sunlight hit it. And it was holstered on top of a tree-like structure that held it in place.

And within the nest?
Within the nest....were the Majesties themselves.

They were both perched within the nest, both of them looking directly at us. Her Majesty stood triumphantly in her royal blue plumage with a golden crown on her head. But His Majesty....I felt my chest burn when I looked at him. His sacred white feathers glistened in the sunlight and the blue designs on them seemed to dance like blue flames. He had 3 feathers that stuck up on his head that were in the same texture as a peacock's tail feathers - very detailed and prickly almost. He also had a crown on his head, but his crown was engrafted with gems at the top. Small little gems that caught the light.

He stretched his wings, revealing a wingspan that stretched wider than the nest itself. All of his feathers were outlined in a royal blue similar to Her Majesty's color, and the designs on them started to glow a hot white. I felt the mark on my chest respond, and when He screeched, my mark burned with an intensity I hadn't felt before. It burned so bad, and yet I understood - He was excited to see me.

He flapped his wings one time and ascended into the sky. The trees amongst the city all shifted from the massive gust He created, and I saw several people grabbing their belongings and kids as He took flight.

His tails weren't feathers; they were actual tails. He had 4 long tails that trailed the wind and were covered in white feathers. They seemed somewhat flat, almost like belts, if you will. They rounded out at the ends so they weren't pointy, and they curved here and there as He flew towards us.

The closer He got to us, the greater my chest burned.

"Oh dear," Axil started. "His Majesty is headed straight towards us."

"Why of course He is. He wants to see His Prince." Ace said winking back at me.

"Does He intend to meet us head on?" Ven asked. "I'm not su-" Axil responded but I interrupted - "No."

Everyone looked at me, even Axil over his shoulder.

I can't tell you why I said no, but the answer just came out of me. "He wants me to meet Him."