Into The Tainted Waters

The City

The desert was very hot, very hot and dry. I looked over to the others to see that Viktoria had made a sprinkler of water out of the ground that was now misting them. "We need to get going" Caoimhe mumbles to herself. "Alright, we need to get going, turn off the water" she says to Viktoria. Viktoria does a closing hand motion that shut the spout off. "Good, now i need to get the circle drawn" Caoimhe says to herself. "Where exactly are we going" Nate asks. "To the city of Alharis, it's where the Sentinel Council is" she replies. "Oh no, now everyone will see me as a rat" Hannah says quietly. "There have been a few..... developments that we need the Council to weigh in on" Caoimhe says. "Oh, that usually means some strict code is going to be enforced" Nikolai says then sighs, laying his head on his paws. "I've been wondering about this council ever since you first mentioned them, now we get to meet them, yes!" Taylor says lively. Caoimhe started drawing words inside circles in the sand, like a ritual.

"You won't be able to talk in the Council chambers, it's a pretty bullshit law but you have to abide by it" she says writing more inscriptions. "Well, this one's gonna be breaking that one" Michael says nodding his head towards Nate. "Hey!" Nate exclaims. "No, no breaking any laws there, there are very strict punishments" Caoimhe says still working on the ground. "Such as almost every major crime being punishable by death" she continues. "Harsh" Nate says leaning on a rock. "And i'm pretty sure the punishment for speaking out in the Council chambers is electric shock" she says. "Pleasant" Nikolai says with his eyes closed, head still on his paws.

Caoimhe stands up, looking ready. "Alright, everyone step into the circle" she says. We all enter the circle, giving just enough room to fit. Caoimhe points her palms at the ground inside the circle with a golden light shooting into the words, illuminating them. "Everybody ready?" she asks. We all voice our readiness as she pulses out a large burst of light. In an instant, i could feel every atom in my body ripping apart and form back together again. It was too fast to feel the pain, but i could tell that would have been the most painful experience i've ever had.

We appear in the center of building, made of some white vibrant stone. There were pillars connecting to the bottom of the domed ceiling and arches creating the doorways. It was a cylindrical shaped room, with a glass mosaic at the top, letting the sunlight shine into the colors. It was a beautiful scene of two men talking to a much taller man, with rolling green hills surrounding them. It looked to have no flaws as my eyes reach every part. Even the walls and pillars seemed to be perfect. "This looks almost roman" i say out loud. "We seem to have shifted to the roman culture part of the city" Caoimhe says. "There are parts to this city for every culture that has existed" she says. She walks forwards into a doorway while we followed close behind.

We exited the building to come to a cobblestone road with more building made of the beautiful white stone. They were enormous and extravagant, and seemingly endless. "If my memory serves me, there is a shifting center a few blocks down from here" Caoimhe says aloud. We begin to walk down the road, passing what looked like massive residential buildings. There were people conversing and doing activities all around. They were dressed in a sort of toga-futuristic suit hybrid. I listened in closely to hear that they were speaking in clear latin, a language that has been dead for a millennium.

We continue down the road to see a few restaurants of the same architectural style. Caoimhe pulls a hood over her head as we walk, puzzling me and the others. "What's wrong with her?" Nate whispers to me. "I don't know, i think it has something to do with Arkyn" i whisper back. Michael flies onto Nate's shoulder in between us and whispers "She hasn't been very well liked by the more ancient culture parts of the city since the assault on Arkyn's complex". "So she has to hide herself?" i ask. When we walk past, people grew silent, staring at Caoimhe. "Let's hurry out of here" she says to us.

We quicken our pace to come to a small domed open building in the middle of the road. There was a circle similar to the one Caoimhe drew in the sand, with people entering and disappearing. We walk up to a terminal attached to the inner wall. Caoimhe types in Council Hall B on the screen, changing the circle to a golden color. "Alright, everybody in" she says, nodding at the circle. We walk into the circle, instantly shifting to another place. I look around and see everyone standing mesmerized by the building we were in.

I looked around to see the most wonderful architecture i've ever seen. There were arches that swirled and cascaded in ways that should not have been possible. The walls had the most beautiful scenes painted on them. "Whoa, that's incredible" Taylor says looking at the wall of art. I look closer, then the scene changes. "Whoa" we collectively say. They were constantly changing all around us, creating beautiful masterpieces in mere moments. The arches and supports were made of gold and silvery metals, but much more vibrant than earth metals. They shined with a brilliance i've never seen, but were strong enough to hold up this enormous building. It was at least two hundred feet high, with moving bridges transporting people to different rooms in the walls. There were four corridors, each in a cardinal direction, and each at least five football fields long.

"This is incredible" Viktoria says with wide eyes. "Yes, when you have powers and technology like Sentinels do, you tend to create some breathtaking things" Caoimhe says proudly. "Now come on, the Council is expecting us" she says beginning to walk forwards. There was thousands of people in these corridors, maybe tens of thousands. Yet we never seemed to lose one another, always sticking out due to our clothing. Everyone else was wearing a hybrid of their cultures clothing and a futuristic suit. We had our armoring on from the mission we were just on.

We reach the end of the hall after quite some time to come to a small door. "This is it?" Nate asks. "Yes, it is" Caoimhe answers. "I was expecting something cooler" he mumbled. We enter the door to come to a rather small room, the size of the average house. There was a large table in the center with fifty or so people seated at it. "Ah good, we can get started now" one of the men says. "Caoimhe, it's good to see you again" a familiar voice says. "Likewise Bacchus" Caoimhe says. We take the empty seats and join in the Council. A man dressed in an extravagant suit stood up. "As the Speaker of the Council, i call this meeting to start" he says in a deep booming voice that echoed with power. "Thank you Cyrus, now onto pressing matter" one of the men says. "Alexander, you are a son of a whore and should not be on this council" he says to another man.