Solar Reign

X X X V I I

ANDORRA DIDN'T know what to expect. When they touched down in Averotho, her mouth had flopped open in surprise. Where Anltihamy looked like a woodland painting come to life, Averotho was different.

They landed at the gates of a bustling city. But not like the city in the Royal Court, with cobble stoned streets and squat business storefronts. This city was built tall, with stone walls keeping everyone in and buildings reaching towards the sky in what Andorra considered a New York City fashion. But, that was where the similarities ended.

A river flowed through the center of the city, which led to large, arched bridges dotting the skyline when Andorra looked through the gates. The buildings seemed to build up and over the river itself, but from where they were standing, it was hard to see just what was going on.

"Come on," Ero gestured. In Averotho, Ero didn't hide his wings. He had his on full display, and he seemed proud of them. As they stepped through the city gates, two large statues greeted them on either side, and Andorra paused to look at them.

The statue on the right had a woman standing with her hands cupped, outstretched towards whoever walked past. She had her head bowed, but her gaze was sharp and piercing, seeming to stare into Andorra's soul, as if she knew the Queen of Anlithamy was walking by. The woman wore a flowing gown, but around her neck was a star pendant.

From her hands, water slipped through the cracks of her stone fingers, rushing towards the wishing well at her feet.

The statue on the left was a man in a different position. One hand held a sword, poised towards the ground, sharp end scraping against the pavement at their feet. The other hand was raised in a still wave, palm facing Andorra. When she looked into his face, a blindfold covered both eyes.

Ero seemed to catch the way she stared. "Our guardians," he said conversationally. "They both protect the city. They did it once, centuries ago, and my father had their likeness crafted and placed here."

"Your father knew them?"

Ero grinned, but said nothing else. "C'mon. Let's keep going. It's been quite a long day, and my father awaits us."

"You could say that." Oberon rubbed at his neck. "Are you sure they'll be fine out there?"

They was referring to the wyvern and Pyatt. Ero just turned to look at Oberon, his smile gaining a bit of an edge. "Are you doubting that I've invited you here peacefully?"

Oberon held his stare, and Andorra let her gaze bounce between the two of them, feeling a hint of unease. What good would any of this be if Oberon and Ero decided to fight it out right here in the inner city of their enemy country?

But before Andorra could step between them, Ero began walking forward, clearly ignoring whatever had passed. Andorra was quick to keep up, marveling at how the buildings seemed to swallow them whole as they ventured into the heart of the city. "This is our main street. We're on the ground level right now, which is the river district. We're going to rise up to the private sector district in a moment."

Andorra was immediately overwhelmed. The river flowed next to her, and alongside the walkway were boats upon boats, all docked for the moment, but a few hosted what looked to be fishermen checking their daily haul.

Across the river was a street similar to the one they currently walked, with fishermen returning from their day on the water, hauling fish into the streets and into buildings.

When Andorra looked at the buildings on her side, she noticed that they were fish markets of some sort. Not for shopping, but rather for fishermen to sell to. She saw men bartering inside windows with bags of fish slapped over their broad shoulders.