The Icon Unbound

Chapter Three, Part B -- Saiph

 So we made i! Herein is the first look we have at a Sentinel's relationship to an Icon. We also get to see what happens when two strangers show up on the doorstep! I do want to thank everyone who helped me spot some (pretty glaring) errors in the first draft. If I missed anything more, please help me by pointing it out! As always, leave me a comment or a vote at the end if you think this  worthy!! --Elizabeth UPDATED 4/28/2017

The vista always startled him. Whatever the weather in Waterwall, in this place, there was spring. Saiph wondered if all the Icons kept this place this way or if it were a predilection of this incarnation of the office.

Grunting with mixed impatience and irritation, he shed coat and scarf, tossing them across a low wall before he moved through the blooming gardens, through the thick smell of the incense trees and the bouquet of a thousand flowers ripening in the strong sunlight. Laying indolently the between stone statues at the entrance to the spiraling staircase was the drakys.

Saiph halted, and considered the creature. He had met Nadir during the ceremony that bound him as the Sentinel of course. The drakys unnerved him, its huge eyes too intelligent for an animal, always focusing on a speaker. The Icon called him Nadir, although it was hard to believe such a creature could have anything remotely human, even a name. Nadir was without human goals or sympathies; which was why the Icons kept him sequestered in the Hollow for the most part.

"The Icon?"

Nadir's thin nostrils went from round as saucers to slits. A long black tongue whipped from his mouth and tasted the air, a serpentine gesture that made Saiph's skin crawl.

A minute rolled by before Saiph remembered protocol. He lowered his head, with hands clasped, the same way he bowed to the Arbiter.

"Please, where is the Icon?"

Nadir seemed to consider the request before climbing to his paws and prowling off in a new direction. Saiph followed at what he hoped was a respectful distance.

The Icon stood in the flower garden, near a small latticed shed. Saiph's steps faltered the moment he saw her; delicate and ethereal, even shrouded her gossamer veils and long sleeves so that not an inch of flesh showed. The long train of her gown fanned out behind her on the grass, so thin he could see through to the ground beneath. The ends of her sash flitted behind her in the breeze. She turned slightly as he drew near and he wondered what expression her face held beneath the veil. She reached out to welcome the drakys first, patting Nadir's neck like a dog before nodding to Saiph.

"Sentinel. I was hoping you would come today."

Just like that, he felt the muscles in his neck loosen, and the worry lift from his shoulders. She was here, she was safe, and she still acknowledged him. For a moment he couldn't speak, the gladness made his throat tight. "I came as soon as the road opened, Icon. I am here to serve."

"Your service is accepted now and always, Sentinel Saiph. You've checked in with the Arbiter?"

"Abashai sends his greetings."

"And how is your family?"

"They all survived the winter. Despite constantly tripping over one another, and the endless arguments, we endured quite well. I have made arrangements to move into the Gatehouse so that I will be closer. Assuming that there will be a winter next year, of course..." he let his voice trail off in suggestion. It was the closest he could come to a direct question.