The Second Carpenter

XV

XV_I_Welcome_to_Hotel_Žananaria

Scarlet and Bluemoon were both clad in the dresses Norhan had given them. They had arrived at the city of Autumn Falls, the scholarly pride of the Empire of Žanaria. Although this city was located at the eastern edge of the continent, it was not a harbor; for it was built upon rather unique geographical conditions. The border between land and water was a disproportionately large cliff, with the highest altitude of the city and most of the east. From the top of the cliff sourced a great waterfall that poured mainly into the sea; but the caves in the side of the cliff stole a proportion of the water the poured upon their protruding mouths and sent it to the city side of the cliff, creating the river Ever Blue. The caves' mouths had been shaped to resemble human-like heads by forgotten generations. And the branches of the Ever Blue joined and divided at several places, firstly entering and surrounding the Great Shrine of Ayjiya in a similar way to the yin-yang symbol, then entering the area of the Grand Academy of Autumn Falls, drawing a line between the academies of kiyl and arts and that of sciences. This academy was the closest establishment to the peak of the cliff; and the Ever Blue, although coming from the east, entered the academy in a line parallel to the prime meridian after a twist, following a twist of the cliff itself, which gave the academy a view of the sea and the waterfall.

Nil had departed for her villa once they had arrived at the city, and the girls, along with Norhan, were now at the gate of the academy. Something was carved into the black and white chequer-marked statue by the iron gate in an ancient tongue that Bluemoon and Scarlet were not acquainted with and Norhan did not translate for them; but I will translate it for you. Truly, what would you do without me? For every time an owl dies, one realm falls. Even Norhan was not certain what it meant. The statue itself was a human-like sitting figure with multiple arms and legs.

They passed the Science Academy which looked like the lodging of a society trying to stay hidden from the universe, with the architect of the structure having paid next to no attention to architectural beauty, only focusing on the structure's practicality. They passed the Ever Blue over a wooden bridge whose handrails were covered by colorful algae. The greenery upon the fertile patches of the miscellaneous ground on the other side of the Ever Blue was more diverse, and they started to see topiary in the yard area of the Academy of Arts which was built upon the blowholes of the cliff that were utilized as fountains and housed a structure of extravagant architecture and mostly askew angles. The greenery continued as they reached the Kiyl Academy. This one was carved into the cliff, and it seemed physically impossible for its proportions to stand.

This entire cliff might remind you of the one in Henariot - if you still remember it - which obliges me to point out an essential difference: while the cliff in Henariot looked like a disproportionate nail in the face of the land, the one here rose naturally as a consistent continuation of the rest of the land.

They entered the peculiar structure of which the inside looked extremely elegant and stylish as opposed to its wild appearance from the outside. A long red carpet with ornamented lines at the sides covered the ground of the hallway they were passing through. The ground beneath the carpet was paved with cream stones cut into circular and askew lozenge patterns. The walls were covered with vertical and equally sized wooden planks of dark brown color. The ceiling was covered with white plaster and diversely shaped chandeliers hung from it.

They entered a certain room that was apparently a place for registration and enrollment. It was a large room. The eastern wall had an open view of the sea and the waterfall.

"Watery wall?"

"Ocean window?"

"Well, we just call them windows. You should see the kind of apple that grows in these lands. It is delicious and practical, and it doesn't abuse your trust to rob you." Norhan walked ahead and talked to a young man sitting behind a desk. "Greetings, lad."