A Tale of Crown and Country

Tavin

The next two days were uneventful in the life of Tavin Guildensrohn. Before embarking on his quest, he would have said walking to Aldira, sleeping under the stars, and eating apples for every meal was quite the adventure in and of itself. But this new Tavin, who had travelled solo from Brekka to Ilane, who had made friends with a lonely kid from Weltyn, an angry boy from Quaelsi, and a pair of siblings who had received the opposites of each other's personalities, and who had continued his travels despite the growing number of fears, obstacles, and self-doubt, was prepared for anything.

    What he was not prepared for, however, was Aldira.

    It was like nothing he could ever have imagined. Flat-topped, stone buildings the colour of the sand that breached the gap between land and sea peeked out from behind walls that had seen everything from war to fire to natural disaster. The city itself was round and so tightly packed that even from a distance it gave off a ding of human activity. Aldira hummed with the sound of excitement, work, and ambition. It was the city of dreams and disasters. It sat between rows on rows of farmland and the crashing Adith Sea; the ideal location for a city renowned for its power and ease of movement. Masts of merchant ships swayed on the waves waiting for their turn to unload their goods into the infamous city. Aldira was so very different from other cities in the country, so much its own that it could have served as solitary power and no one would have cared; merchants flocked to its markets and dreamers flocked to its streets. It was no wonder everyone in Allriya wanted to live there.

    Even before he reached the main gates Tavin felt a mix of giddiness and fear swirl about in his stomach. This was it. This was the final stop; not the end of his quest, but the end of his searching. In Aldira anything was possible. Here he could find a library or maybe visit the University of Allriya for some assistance. There had to be someone in the enormous population of the city who could help him. Filled with the energy of the city, Tavin decided his next course of action: he would go straight to the University.

    Tavin followed the throng of carts and carriages inside the city walls. He gazed in wonder as six guards in matching attire stood at the entryway. Tavin thought this was a little overkill, but the Allriyans were always doing things like that.

    As soon as he stepped into the large square that welcomed guests to the capital city, he was in awe. Citizens not only from Allriya but Jayakan as well, and even a few Reightneirians went about their daily business. It was a miracle nobody crashed into one another. A hubbub of noises joined the sensory overload that was Aldira. Tavin couldn't concentrate on one thing at a time. He felt at the same time overwhelmed and overjoyed. This was a place where things happened, where people lived and breathed for the first time. A place where cultures clashed; and yet it was nothing like the cities of Allriya Tavin had seen before. This was its one locale, the mix of foreigners and citizens alike had created its own culture.

    Tavin wandered down the streets watching in awe as a woman shook a grass mat out her third storey window and a group of small boys disappeared down an alley that, when Tavin peered down after them, merged into a series of endless backalleys and hidden doors in the shadows of the city. Carts thundered by on their way to the markets and carriages pushed through the crowds of people on their way to the richer districts.

    He needed to find the University. First priority. Maybe someone there would be able to help him, and more than that, be kind enough to find him cheap lodgings of some kind. In his experience, librarians were generally those types of people.

    Tavin stepped into the cool shade of a bakery. The windows flung wide let a cool breeze in and wafts of fresh bread out. Tavin had been too consumed with the city to notice the air: it was warm, heavy, and full of the salt of the sea. It was one of the many reasons Aldira was not stagnant like other cities. Despite the sheer numbers of people, the city was never weighed down by its own stench.

   A shop girl in the bakery situated him in the city and between rapid-fire orders to the bakers behind her told him in short where the University was. According to her, it was on the border of the rich and mercantile districts, further up the hill that was Aldira, towards the castle that marked the peak of the knoll the city was built around. She didn't know where exactly the library was, and when Tavin asked for more specific directions she was gone behind a sea of customers.

    Semi-confident he would be able to find his way, Tavin embarked on his final journey: the quest for the library. He tried asking passerby's for help, but they either ignored him or knew not to what he referred. At some point the streets grew cleaner, smoother, and less crowded. The people he passed wore brighter clothes; women's dresses started to incorporate jewelry and there was always at least one man in clean leather boots and carrying a sword meant for display rather than combat. Tavin guessed he had reached the rich district. For a few minutes he prepared himself, then, when the courage reached him, he asked a young woman where he could find the University of Allriya and its library. She was kind enough and pointed him down two blocks to the west and a block south. He thanked her and walked in the direction indicated while her friends snickered at the exchange. Tavin drowned them out by practising what he would say to the head librarian, once he found them. He still wasn't sure if he would mention the prophecy directly, or if that would make him look like a fool. He might mention his name, but that wouldn't have an effect on the librarian. He decided that all he would ask for was a book on the history of Allriya, and, more specifically, on the history of the royal family. Allriya seemed just like the nation that would commission such a novel.