Eudaimonia: Maya's Journey

Ecclesia

Exhausted after travelling all night, they finally arrived on Ecclesia's doorstep.

Standing on top of the hill dominating the city, they admired the capital, a magnificent fortified city. The kingdom hadn't had a war for over five hundred years and had greatly expanded its walls beyond the king's castle. Twenty-metre tall ramparts were now protecting over one million citizens. They were stunned by the beauty and immensity of the glorious Ecclesia.

North was getting closer to his dream. He had heard all sorts of tales about the capital, he had imagined it a million times, but what he was witnessing was beyond his wildest dreams.

They joined the queue to enter the city through two colossal wooden gates. There were so many people, and it was so loud they couldn't hear themselves talking to each other. People from all parts of the country came for the Knights' Tournament. Merchants of all sorts tried to attract people passing by to their stalls, no one was paying attention to each other as they were trying to cross the road in total chaos, and walkers were in clear danger of being run over by carts. Despite the disorganised traffic there was no major incident but a few people were arguing.

Once in, their first mission was to find somewhere to sleep. They finally managed to escape the very busy streets to find themselves in much smaller parallel streets. Tarkhan had provided the address of a tavern where they could probably sleep for free as the owner was one of his old friends. The tavern was located to the east, a much calmer side of the city. After a long walk where they got lost a few times, they finally reached the White Swan Tavern.

"What can I do for you young man?" said a tall man behind the counter.

"Hi Sire. We're looking for somewhere to sleep."

"We're fully booked I'm afraid, this is the tournament. This time of the year you'll struggle to find an available bed without reservation."

"My father Tarkhan told me to ask for Aroth, do you know him?"

The man's eyes suddenly filled with emotion. With a broken voice he said, "For Tarkhan's son we'll have something." Aroth offered his hand and North shook it vigorously.

He lodged them in the mansard. The room hadn't been used for a while and it was full of dust and cobwebs, so they cleaned it up and Aroth brought mattresses and fresh linen from downstairs.

Aroth asked after his old friend and was delighted to learn Tarkhan was in good shape.

That afternoon the festivities started and they set off with Aroth for the parade. Carts of all shapes and colours were exhibited on the streets, followed by troops of musicians and dancers.

The city was buoyant; people were laughing and running everywhere. They visited stalls where they could play all sorts of games to win prizes, such as popping balloons or apple-bobbing in a bucket full of water. There were also improvised street theatres where actors, jugglers, clowns, or magicians performed.

Later in the evening the sky was set ablaze with a splendid firework display. North had never seen one before and couldn't contain his amazement all the way back. "That was awesome! Really awesome! How do they do that?" he asked.

"Master artificers do that. They use special potions that they mix to make a very rare powder," answered Aroth.

"Awwwee."

"Awesome. Yes we know," interrupted Maya annoyed. That shut him up.

Reality suddenly caught up with North. The tournament started tomorrow and as the event neared, he felt more nervous than he had ever felt before. As they went to bed he struggled to find sleep.