Oathbreaker: Wings of Cinder

Chapter 2: What the world is

Azgara was a sight to behold, a city of brilliance, a city of red-brick towers and angel statues. The air was infused with the scent of a thousand flowers and each warm breeze violently overwhelmed them with an aroma of food they had never tried before yet craved desperately. It was sat on a cliff overlooking an endless pit nested between several waterfalls. One side of the castle where they were staying overlooked the buzzing of everyday life and the other forced each of them to face the inevitability of death. The noise from the charging water rendered everyone deaf and unaware of possible danger and still it was the side that housed most visitors.

Investigating the views from each side of the castle prompted Sairon to feel as small as the speck of dust on the window sill. Wary of everyone's gaze he sought solitude, hoping he was allowed to soak in the city from afar in the best way possible. With a lot of effort, he desired to imagine the food that made him dream of the tastiest bread in the world. Sairon's experience with food was quite limited so he was curious to peek into each and every plate and cup hoping for new experiences.

The first meal in the castle was a bowl of some brown soup, Kaylee assumed it was mushroom, followed by a mound of meat and vegetables they were having trouble identifying. Hayden thought it tasted like a basement and Sairon was not even questioning the origin, he was drowning in the delicious food so exotic and foreign to his unaccustomed taste buds.

As they were sitting on the balcony during their dinner, before them was the city reflecting the night sky, bathing in the light of the street lamps, and behind them the largest room they had ever seen. They were placed in a single bedroom with four beds and a shelf and desk for each of them. it wasn't much, but for a group of children isolated from the world their entire lives, it was everything.

From rags hanging off their sore shoulders to fine dresses and shirts embracing their bodies like silk, the past couple of days of freedom felt much like paradise as no one bothered them, no one woke them up so they were able to sleep in as much as they wanted and just breathe without the constant fear of death hanging over their heads.

Kaylee barely left her bed, she was snuggled between warm sheets with piles of books at her feet, swallowing them one by one. Hayden roamed the castle in search of people to talk to while Sairon wished to observe for now, communication felt like too big of a step, he hardly knew what to talk about, and divulging to anyone what his life's been like might have been too much for an introduction.

Perhaps it was the reason Ambis found him first while he was sitting on a bench in the hall filled with people. Sairon noticed the smiles on their faces, the nods when someone else was talking, and occasionally gentle slaps on the shoulder with eyes wide open.

"Having fun?" the royal mage asked, taking a seat next to Sairon.

That simple move attracted the attention of more than a few people mingling in the room.

"I am trying to learn," he admitted. "I lack experience in social situations. I don't even know what they are. They have nice clothes and they look healthy, like Mareen."

"Mareen is not like them. These people in front of us have titles. Some are dukes and duchesses, some counts and countesses, and some simply lords and ladies, they are well off and like to show off." Ambis leaned in closer. "Pay attention to them, examine their faces. Are those smiles and laughs real or are they pretending? At court people, no matter their titles, usually pretend to care. Most of these nobles, which is the general term for those with titles, would surely like to kill at least eighty percent of the ones present."

Following Ambis' instructions, Sairon kept his eyes on the faces of those present, he avoided the ones staring back at him but tried to understand the ones still talking to their peers. Those must be subtle differences Ambis was talking about, smiles weren't all honest then? He sighed and shook his head. "Am I like a baby? I have to learn so much... I might be able to fight a bit, but I... don't know anything."