The Whisper of the Nightingale

Chapter 5: Sky City

Raven bounced up from the floor, where she had been reading a book about various spirit beats, and joined her brother at the window.

"Wow!" Raven didn't need to act her astonishment this time; nobody could see Sky City for the first time without being impressed.

The city truly lived up to its name. Four mountain peaks stood fairly close to each other as they stretched towards the sky. The center peak was the tallest, with the three slightly lower peaks surrounding it. Around the foot of the mountains spread a large city, several kilometers in every direction, but the city wasn't limited to the ground.

Making its way up the mountains, several layers of settlements extended between the peaks, suspended over nothing but air. A great waterfall flowed down the middle peak, branching out into smaller waterfalls at every new level. Despite being covered by higher settlements, even the lowest levels had no problems getting plenty of sunlight since the distance between them where so great. Hundreds of Everest Hawks were constantly traveling between the different levels and the surrounding city.

The Sky City was located slightly further south that the Nightingale Prefecture. As a result spring had come further here and dark green greenery wove its way up the mountains and intermingled with both the houses around and on the mountain. As their cabin drew closer to the city, Hoatzin nudged Raven's shoulder and pointed to the top of the center peak.

"That must be the imperial palace, Indigo Cloud Palace!"

Raven lifter her gaze and noticed an extravagant structure sitting on a plateau above the massive waterfall. The Indigo Cloud Palace's stone walls shone with a light blue shimmer amidst the otherwise dark stone surrounding it. Large portions of the palace perturbed daringly over the plateau's edge, defying both gravity and logic. It was many times larger than the Nightingale mansion, with multiple towers extending towards the skies.

Raven wondered if not most residents of her home city would fit within.

"Raven, come here."

Just as the cabin got close enough for Raven to start seeing people milling about the city, her mother called out to her. Raven reluctantly turned away from the window and obediently walked over to her mother. Besra placed a simple veiled ornament on Raven's head.

"You have to be careful not to drop this, little Raven."

"Yes, mother!" Raven would not make that mistake again. . . .

Not soon after, the cabin swayed slightly and with a soft thud it came to a stop. Outside of the cabin Raven could hear the roaring sounds of rushing water.

'We must have landed quite close to the waterfall. . . .'

Raven glanced back towards the window, but before she could move to look out, the cabin door opened and a familiar guard bowed in the doorway.

"My Lady Besra, young master, young mistress. We have arrived at the imperial residence, Indigo Cloud Palace." The guard moved out of the way and Besra stood up to walk out, motioning to Raven and her brother to follow.

Once outside, Raven noticed that the cabin had been placed on a constructed landing area, protruding the middle peak's mountain wall. Several similar platforms could be seen on both sides of the one they were on. At the end of them all were the foundations of the awe-inspiring imperial palace she had seen from the sky. This close it looked even more daunting, as if it was challenging heaven it self with its high towers, and ornate walls, reaching endlessly upwards.

Besra walked towards the palace, closely followed by her two children. Hoatzin had grabbed Raven's hand, keeping her close to him as they came approached the palace. Excitement filled both their eyes, but Raven noticed a tinge of nervousness beneath the surface within her brother. How could he not be nervous? He was about to meet the Emperor for the first time.