Light of the Heavens

VII. Arrival at Sarom

Sarom, Crown Jewel of the East, was a vast, sprawling metropolis glittering on the shores of the Sea of Pearls. White sand beaches stretched in either direction beyond the bounds of almost endless docks crowded with ships. On either side of the deep harbor rose the Twins, two statues almost as tall as the Colossus. One was a woman, her hand outstretched holding a torch while the other held scrolls to her chest. Her face was marked with the same symbol as Seben's, honoring the first to master fire-speaking. The other figure was that of a man, crowned and regal, bearing the mythical pride of the first kings of the Eth.

It was all very ostentatious to Vassa, every bit of the harbor meant to strike awe into those approaching. The palace was visible on the great cliff overlooking the sea, gleaming sandstone painted gold by the sunlight, its vast dome blazing beneath the sunlight to the point of almost seeming a second sun. The docks themselves were grand in a different way, teeming with people speaking almost every language known. Sarom was not only the greatest city of the East, but the hub of a vast trade network that spanned the entire known world....and then some, as traders appeared even from the whispered lands to the far west.

"What do you think?" Vassa asked, leaning against the rail as Inam-ul-Haq brought them gracefully up alongside a dock in the merchant section of the docks, away from the great warships and private vessels of the noble houses as well as the fishing fleets that that made their living in the crystalline waters of the Sea of Pearls.

Seben's eyes were wide as she took in everything. "I had heard Sarom was incredible, but this...this is a great deal more than that," she said with awe. She turned to look at Vassa. "What do you think? You are as new here as I."

"It certainly aims to project an aura of power and majesty," the masked woman observed. "And it is quite cosmopolitan if one observes merely the docks, but there is a great deal that remains unknown, and so my opinion is somewhat limited."

"Does anything impress you?" Seben asked with a faint grin.

"Your persistence in curious prying into everything and everyone," Vassa said with amusement. "Grand cityscapes, less so."

Seben huffed slightly at that, but it seemed more good-natured than actually annoyed. "You do so love to nettle."

"Your irritated sighs are somewhat endearing," Vassa said idly, returning her gaze to the city. "Which one is the Ashen Tower?"

"There," Seben said, pointing. "I recognize it from the stories."

Vassa let her gaze trail the pointing finger. There, perched to the easternmost section of the upper city, was a towering grey spire that protruded out from the cliff face, the lower half of the building scarred with black as if ravaged by some fire. At its top rose a small plume of smoke. "Is it truly burned?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Seben said, leaning against the railing on the deck. "Well, not physically. They used a dark stone and a light stone to give it that pattern. It's more symbolic than anything else."

"Fascinating," Vassa said, her tone dry enough that it was difficult to tell if she was being sarcastic or not. For the most part it was a genuine statement. She wanted to direct her inner eye towards the tower, but a concentration of djinn and magical artifacts would probably blot out anything of interest from this distance even if the area somehow wasn't warded. If she wanted to find anything in specific, such as any hint about Seben's magic, she would need to be inside.

"So we go to the Ashen Tower as soon as the captain's finished with the guards?" Seben asked more quietly.

"That would be unwise, I think," Vassa said, tracing her fingertips over the grooves in the wood of the railing. "Firstly, we should find the accommodations that Lord Osei has offered to clean up at and then we should proceed about getting you better clothing and whatever else we might need. If your common roots will truly be a problem in gaining admission to the Ashen Tower, better that you at least be clean and well dressed. You will be that much less objectionable."