Engineer's Empire

Engineer's Empire: Aether and Abyss: Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After some brief trouble at the palace gates, where Xander convinced the guards that Tyler, Jeffrey and Slade were cousins of his from the Connacht lowlands, they entered.

"We're relatives now?" Tyler asked once they were out of earshot of the guards.

"The way you were dressed earlier, there was no way I could have passed you for nobility. So yes, I had to call you servants then. I get to call you family now," Xander said with a smile.

Something about this appeared to affect Tyler. He stopped walking for a moment, stunned. After he exchanged looks with Slade, they both smiled. Slade nodded and Tyler caught up to the group. Beyond the outer gate was a walkway with a trickling stream underneath. The walkway was lit from below by hundreds of square paper lamps with flickering candles inside. Slade stared for a moment as they bobbed along in the water.

Gas sconces were set into the brick archways along the outer wall of the palace. Once they were beyond this wall with hanging vines and purple flowers they saw the palace itself. It was an impressive structure, a combination of power and beauty. A wide tower sat in the center with eight wings extending out from the center. Four shorter wings extended in diagonal direction, with four longer ones stretching out in between. This was the governor's mansion.

Unlike most of the rest of Brickton, there was woodwork attached to the underside of the roof with S shaped designs carved in rows. Large, opulent windows twinkled from the lamplight within. The boys from White Pine stared into the windows at long mahogany tables with dainty white cloths covering them. Marble busts and statues of important statesmen who's names none of the boys knew adorned smaller tables. Jeffrey grabbed Tyler's sleeve upon seeing one particular statue.

"Look! It's a statue of The Tower!" Jeffrey exclaimed. Tyler pulled his sleeve from Jeffrey's grasp with annoyance. Then he looked over to see the detailed marble statue of the massive warrior. He wore thick battle plate armor from head to toe, carrying a massive curved rectangular shield that protected him from visor to toe. A large double-headed battle axe stood at attention near his shoulder, the end its long handle set against the ground at his feet. He looked every bit the imposing figure of legend.

"So that's one of the champions of the War of Heroes?" Tyler asked, a smile.

"They say he was seven feet tall," Xander said.

"And impossibly strong," Locke added.

"And a steadfast warrior. He held the pass of Gimraeth against a horde of trolls while Aluette Cientos moved the army to a nearby fortress where they fended off the army after a brutal siege," Celeste said.

Everyone was quiet as they recalled the story of Hautaro Castille, the Tower. One of the many inspiring stories from the War of Heroes that all citizens of Bellingrath knew. These stories, now legends in the minds of the people were part of the fabric of the Empire, something they all took pride in. It was their history and legacy.

"It seems crazy that all those things really happened. Human warriors fighting hordes of monsters, and the darkness itself to end the Long Night. Doesn't even seem real does it?" Slade said.

"It's a part of our history," Celeste said flatly.

"I think he's saying it's strange to imagine such things happening," Xander said. Slade nodded in agreement.

"We're all fortunate it happened. Bellingrath was a desolate wilderness plagued with hordes of roaming monsters that devoured whole villages in a night. Marcus the First brought civilization back to this region," Celeste explained. Xander held up his hands.