Magika [Completed]

Chapter 34

 I didn't break my promise. Aldeheid leaned against the third floor banister and looked up at the snake statue. The shower of sunlight made its amber eyes glitter, and Aldeheid could've sworn it was staring at him.

He turned away and walked to the other side of the circular atrium. His body felt heavy, and his movements were sluggish, as though he were dragging a heavy weight behind him. He hadn't seen Kitaya or Lephiria since the mock trial the previous day, choosing to keep to himself.

And after mulling over things, Aldeheid realized things weren't as horrid as they'd seemed in his head. Of all the cape trials he'd had, that was the first time a cape was able to walk away.

Kitaya had lived up to her word, and no one was seriously hurt. He should've trusted her. He owed her that much after everything she'd done for him.

With a sigh Aldeheid put his focus elsewhere. There was no need to mope in such a beautiful place. He moved to the nearest wall to study the crude depictions that covered its surface. What do these mean? he wondered, examining each painting in turn. He felt the barest tug on his earring, and nearly jumped from his skin. His back hit the stone wall as he whirled around.

Are you always this jumpy?" Lephiria asked with a laugh.

Aldeheid placed a hand over his racing heart. "L-Lephiria... you're alright."

"What you expected me to be bedridden for days?" She folded her arms across her bosom. "I'm a little insulted that you think me so weak."

Aldeheid's face burned. "N-no, that's not what I meant. Yesterday after the trial you were..." His words trailed off when she started laughing at him again.

"You can relax. I was only teasing. I'm actually glad I ran into you." She held out her hand, offering him the single ether stone nestled in her palm. "I found it in my hair this morning."

He breathed a laugh. "I see. Thank you. And I suppose I owe you an apology. For what happened."

"You owe me nothing. I volunteered, remember?" She moved to stand beside him, looking at the wall paintings. "So you've been admiring our history."

"Is that what these pictures are?"

"Indeed. On these walls are everything that my people were, everything that we are, and soon, everything that we will be." She made a grand gesture with her arms.

That seemed a little extravagant for his taste. He found books to be a far better vessel for recording history. "What happens when you run out of space?"

"Then we make more. As our history grows, so will the walls of this Bastion, and so will my people. Until we become bigger than the realms themselves."

Extravagant indeed. "So, how does one decipher this?" He gestured at the wall.

"Well you'd have to know what the pictures and symbols mean. I find it interesting that you were looking at this one, since it speaks of death."

Aldeheid bit down on the swear that tried to escape his mouth, and the bitter taste it left on his tongue made his face twist in disgust. "Of course it does."

"This." Lephiria pointed to a woman with green skin, straight black hair and a crown of leaves on her head. "Represents death."

"That's not at all how she looks. Her skin is pale as moonlight, and her hair has more texture. She doesn't have a crown, and the little dragon on her shoulder is missing."

Lephiria shrugged. "Well death is said to have many forms. There a great deal of people who have stared into her eyes, and each one describes her differently. It is believed amongst my people that when one dies, they pass through the body of death, and only then can they be reborn."