The Crystal Trials

4

I had never been to Salvare. Having only seen the city in my mind's eye through the descriptions from other travelers and the few artworks shown in school. None of what I had learned had done any justice to the sheer size of the city. Everything was magnified. The sounds of people living their lives, the buildings reaching far above the city walls, the ocean on the distant horizon line, but most of all Salvare University.

The University was a landmark in of itself. It loomed at the left side of the city and Castle Stratos right next to it, at the center of the city. Together, they ruled the skies with towers and many walkways connected them. Small people could be seen moving between the two buildings. Below the walkaways a large canal wove its way to the Anden river, stopped by a massive dam. The canal wrapped around the University and Castle leaving the only visible entrances to be the massive doors at the front of each. Branching off the channel were smaller water ways leading into the heart of the city like the strings of a spider web. It was a marvel to behold, that level of innovation, to provide every civilian with fresh running water. Our small town had to manually fill water tanks.

Along Salvare's massive white stone walls, magic master's patrolled. Their robes of varying colors, a rainbowed beacon of safety to the city's dwellers. Stationed with them were members of the Stratos Militia, each with glittering swords studded with gems of different colors. The white uniforms helped them camouflage against the walls.

The streets were constructed from large slabs of the same white stone laid seamlessly next to one another. The color so stark that the sun nearly blinded us as we walked. Faolan's parents drove the cart and chatted. Our group passed too many shops to count. Taury pointed to nearly each one something always catching her eye. Seraphina pointed out a dress shop with elaborate styles. She seemed to warm up to me after last night.

Faolan was practically vibrating with excitement. A constant ball of energy running through our group chatting to everyone about everything that came to mind. His charged personality had come forth since his dad woke up. Garren was put off by his energy and stayed quiet while taking in the sights. Probably because he was no longer in the spotlight. Dath had begun to stand straighter, clearly more at peace with his decision to try to enter the University. He would smile at Faolan's constant interruptions and look up at the buildings in wonder.

Above many of the shops existed the dwellings of the citizens. Some could be seen through their open windows going about their daily lives. We saw a mother yell down to her children who were playing a game in the streets below, jumping over the grates that covered the channels of water. An apartment above another clothing shop showed a group of people dying fabrics and hanging them above the street on a line to dry. Between the streets and the buildings, groomed trees grew nearly as tall, with patches of flowers and exotic grasses at the foot of them. Various windows displayed boxes of plants and herbs of all kinds. An alley way we passed showed long strips of purple and blue fabrics draped between the buildings casting colorful shadows on the streets.

The street began to narrow as we made our way closer to Salvare University, the canals closing into the center with us, like a spider's web. The city was alive with many people, but as we moved along, the streets became more congested with the arriving of projected students and their families. There were so many people of varying colors, shapes, and sizes. It was a beautiful sight and I basked in the joy of the diversity.

We came to a stop, going as far as we could without trying to drive the cart through the crowd. We saw a few cart travelers from our town amongst the mass and offered up smiles and waves. A few hours remained until the University would open its doors, so our group made themselves comfortable.

I sat on the edge of the cart letting my legs swing with pent up excitement and grabbed the last apple from my bag. Taury plopped down next to me with a large enough force to cause the horses to whinny in complaint. Faolan sat on the ground at our feet swallowing a large bite of a pastry of some kind his mom had provided. Gareen and Seraphina talked a few feet away next to a shop, leaning on the building's wall. And Dath laid on his back at the front of the cart, one arm behind his head and the other holding an apple. He was too large for the width of the cart, so his feet dangled off. The happy slow kicking of his feet made me crack a smile.