Chapter 495: Us Lessers (1/2)
Chapter 495: Us Lessers
ARTHUR LEYWIN
A thousand worries—soe as the sea between Dicathen and Alacrya—vied for my attention as Windsom activated the teleportation artifact I couldn’t help but second guess my return to the asuran hoer in Dicathen to begin with? Which was le for power in Epheotus or the continuing tension that threatened to burst between the peoples of my home?
I had done what I could to ensure soh time to resolve every potential problem, nor to visit all the people who deserved my attention The afterees had been a mess to clean up Lord Silvershale had nearly been killed by one of his ownfor a hostile takeover of the Beast Corps project, clai that the project had relied on dwarven resources and been co it their intellectual property; and all of Darv seemed poised for yet another civil conflict
Meanwhile, I hadn’t even had time to visit the Glayders in Etistin or Chul in the Hearth I could only hope the rest of his healing had gone well and that he’d woken up A part of ain, but I knew I couldn’t take hi how either Kezess or Novis, lord of the Avignis clan and the phoenix race, would react
I had to keep King’s Ga under the weight of all these coh I would have preferred to fully activate the Godrune, which would have given hly cohts, I didn’t want to create that barrier between the others and estured for olden oval that hung above his artifact I quicklytheir readiness My focus also looked inward to Regis, aited excitedly to reach our destination
With a wink to , I stepped through the portal
The s salt and brine The silence of the apartments deep within Earthborn Institute was replaced by the lapping of waves, cawing of distant sea birds, and shouts of children playing The Epheotan sun warain
We had appeared in a square of s streets, which ran between alien buildings that appeared to be grown frolea pearl Just ahead of me, the square opened out onto a beach of silver sand, but my attention was drawn beyond the beach Every layer of ht
I foundout onto the beach al else faded away as I stared at a ht, extending out beyond the line of sight ahead of me I had seen oceans before, but…
The warm blue water was interrupted by shallow, consistently spaced waves, which curled over and crested not hite foam, but purple Aether filled the ocean and the atmosphere above it Beyond the ocean, just at the horizon, at the very edge of ave way to a purple-black one, like I was looking out into the aetheric realht the fountain of aether in Everburn had been impressive, but this ocean was second only to the aetheric realm in its density I suddenly turned back to ask Windsoone without a word
Not far down the beach, a group of leviathan children were playing under the watchful gaze of an elder The children were chasing each other across the silver sand, with those being chased having to transfor a li fins, claws, or even a tail in order to avoid being tagged “it”
One little boy in particular, who appeared to be no older than a hu at us ide ht blue coloration and flat braids of green hair that spilled down around his shoulders like seaweed, and one hand was covered in blue scales ebbed and bearing sharp claws His mouth opened wide, and he bellowed, “Look, it’s the lessers!”
“Don’t be impolite, little one,” the elder admonished him patiently “This is Lord Arthur of Clan Leywin”
The children ireet us Registhe children, his appearance only made them even more interested
“I’ve never seen a lesser before!” one little girl said excitedly, the ridges along her teentle breeze “Is it true some of you can’t use ave her a disappointed sort of look “Really, Lord Leywin is an archon Obviously, he can usehtened and pointed to Regis “I uardian beast!”
“That’s not a guardian beast,” one of the others said, crossing ar from theive their behavior, Lord Leywin,” the elder said, tussling the boy’s green hair fondly “They’re just curious, and in their exciteotten their manners Now, children, do you think Clan Leywin is here to stand on the beach and be poked and prodded”—she gently knocked away the hand of a little girl as pulling at Mom’s hair and clothes as she inspected her—“or to visit Lord Eccleiah?”
“Oh, we know the way!” the first boy announced, reaching for aggle of children, who i over each other in an effort to assure us that they would be the best guide, and the others were likely to get us lost or drowned Before this could turn into anything rabbed in s pulled along the beach
Balconies, paths, ays, and arches opened onto the beach from the city, and as ent,clothes in bright colors, and h in a wider variety of tones Many had no hair at all, but those who did sported strange haircuts in a plethora of inhu to their heads in tight, mossy curls
To our left, in the ocean, a pair of transfor bodies crested the ocean waves only to vanish into the sapphire and turquoise scales They were long, thin, and shi+ning, with ridges and fins all down their spines and sides
Although not larger orthe beach, it was still somehow obvious e came to Veruhn’s residence Pearlescent walls curved upwards, interrupted by round, open s Deep sea-green tiles like scales covered the roof and fors over the s and balconies All varieties of colorful plants grew around the house, waving gently in the sea breeze
Our escort held back as we approached the beach-front porch, and Zelyna stepped out from behind an ivy-covered sandstone wall Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she wore dark leather instead of the bright, breezy garb favored by the other leviathans we’d seen Her storarded us, but I couldn’t read her expression
“Welco lukewar your arrival and invites you into his hoestured across an open porch to an arched entry, which contained no door, nor even a curtain like those in Everburn City often had
“Thanks for being our guides,” Ellie said, waving at the children
They all waved back happily, then burst out in a delighted squeal when Regis suddenly flared with aht, innocent laugh as the kids turned tail and sprinted away, chased by their own peels of excited screa when I’d last heard Moave
Sesture, crossing a covered porch constructed of carved sandstone bricks tinged with a ht, airy, and sweet-s patterns on the floor and up the walls, which were also covered in places with living coral Light issued fro artifacts and silver flames that hovered above colorful candles
The room was laid out like a parlor, full of driftwood furniture with doors leading to multiple other cha feet could be heard sprinting across the tile floor A creature appeared froaped down at it
Its body was long and broad, its head flat, triangular, and gaping in a tooth-filled grin It looked a bit like an Earth alligator, except instead of a leathery hide it looked as if it had rolled in tiny geer, and bright wings were tucked against its back Its jaws snapped closed rapidly, sending out a clacking kind of warning or greeting
“Oh, but it’s so pretty,” Sylvie said, easing forward and extending a cautious hand for the creature to sniff, heedless of the many broad teeth
“Ah, I see you’ve already met Flutter Step” Veruhn’s familiar voice entered the room just before he did His arded the creature It spun in a circle, chasing its own long tail, then skittered back out of the parlor “Windso to h the words were spoken plainly, without biting sarcasm, I couldn’t help but suspect that herude, father,” Zelyna said coolly as she maneuvered around my family and me and into the house “This is Lord Leywin’s first royal visit to Ecclesia”
Veruhn waved her words away “Arthur and I are old friends by now There is no need for stuffy titles or ceremony between us, I’m sure But please, do cooes”
A leviathan wo roo around her on little white clouds
“Ah, thank you, Cora,” Veruhn was quick to say, stepping out of her way as she laid out the trays on the shout the room
“I wasn’t sure what less—ah, that is, what Clan Leyould like,” Cora said The deep bow she es
“I’m sure whatever you’ve prepared will be excellent,” Mo herself somewhat uncomfortably on a couch fra that looked like sea grass
The leviathan woain and backed out of the rooo with one brow partially raised, an a up the side of her mouth “You make people nervous,” she said, and I wasn’t quite sure whether she was talking to is snapped a couple of what looked like crab legs off a tray as before he stalked toward the doorhere the creature, Flutter Step, had disappeared earlier He stopped as if frozen, chewed slowly, and then turned back toward the food “Oh ht eyes jumped to my mother “Ah, no offense, Alice”
Moed pastry fro it uncertainly “Oh, don’t bother, Regis I knohat I’ certainly has never been it”
“Well, Cora is the best cook in Ecclesia, perhaps all of Epheotus,” Veruhn said, chuckling “She’s also a skilled hunter; the ten-thousand-legged crab is no mean opponent”
“Oh posh,” Cora said fro from her words
“You have a cook?” Ellie said as she picked up a stack of thin, papery green wafers More quietly to Mom, she added, “That’s so weird”
“And why shouldn’t we have a cook?” Zelyna asked, steel in her tone
Ellie froze with a seaafer halfway in her mouth “Oh, I just…um…”
Zelyna turned her nose up “Did you think we, perhaps, siicked our food out of thin air?”