Maelstrom Saga: Scion of the Moon

Maelstrom Saga

Scion of the Moon

Chapter 1:

A Town Trapped by Two Cliffs.

Tun and Mel recently arrived at Quil, a town situated between two cliffs that jutted out of the earth in an abnormal geological formation, as if a massive earthquake had flung twin slabs of solid rock from deep within the earth to form a natural shelter miles in girth. Within this shelter sat Quil itself, safe from the cold winds and blizzards of winter and thus relatively warm compared to the outside world.

It was a strange town indeed

They had come to Quil on a whim during their pilgrimage through the Scij mountains. While walking on the main trail heading towards the coastal city of Riplay to pray at a temple devoted to Veya, they came upon a signpost placed at a fork on the road.

"Come to Quil, the Temperate Town. (4 Kilometers)"

Temperate sounded good to Tun, especially with the life threatening windchill berating them. According to the sign Quil was much closer than Riplay as well, which was another thirty kilometers north. So they came to Quil.

Tun walked down the cobblestone streets and stone overpasses with Mel trailing close behind him. The town was deceptively large compared to other settlements this high in the mountains, and had a much larger population than any places the two had gone through before. A catered field of various fruit trees and vegetable patches could be seen past the roofs and to the distance, it stretched for several miles until they transformed into a cliff face. It was a solid shade of green even at this time of year.

Temperate indeed.

Even Foss with it's may terraces and hanging gardens wasn't this nice. Then again it was the height of winter when they had visited Wren's temple in Fos and prayed to the sun god, so the hanging gardens had been little more than a detritus farm. They would have to visit it again on the way back.

Quil's shopping district with its kiosks and tarpaulin booths was even more amazing than its topography. It was a segregated area containing no less than a dozen streets lined with shops selling a variety of goods, with the occasional nomad selling foreign foods from the back of his or her wagon. So crowded were the streets that Tun almost hadn't noticed the diners lining the roads and supported the trading booths. The smell of baked and fried goods were the only thing alerting him to their existence.

He led Mel by hand through the throngs of people, mostly Homin, and down the street to the town square. They passed under beautifully designed banners devoted to the moon and stars. Blue, white and black were the dominant colors with the rare purple. Tun assumed the purple represented the Imperial Moon, a rare event in which the moon shone a deep violet, as opposed to its normal indigo.

The town square was a circular clearing at the very center of Quil and was filled to the brim with chair lined tables belonging to their respective restaurants. The entire clearing was shaded by the largest and most skillfully sewn banner Tun had ever seen. It depicted the countless stars and constellations of the night sky. The northern eagle and the southern turtle were emphasized more greatly than the other ten constellations, but all were outlined with white streaks.

The sunlight that passed through the banner painted the ground in the same pattern, to where both the sky and ground were littered with stars.

Mel, being the seamstress that she was, burned with envy at seeing the exquisite designs. Tun tried to distract her from the masterful textiles by guiding her to an outdoor bar consisting of a wooden counter was lined with stools. They took up a pair and waited for the barmaid to take their orders.

"Oooh, that smells good. What is that?" Tun asked, both genuinely ignorant as to the nature of the food here, and vainly hoping to distract his fiance from the object of her envy.

"Smells like fried squash and... chicken, maybe." That is what it smelled like, but the chicken smelled different from any chicken he'd ever eaten. It smelled too strong for chicken.

"Smells edible. Whatever it is we'll eat it. Why wasn't this place on our map?"

A town this large is hard to miss, but Tun refused to fault the mapmaker that had sold them their guide to the Scij mountains. It had been accurate enough up until this point. So what if he had forgotten to put a marker on it for Quil, everyone makes mistakes.

"I'm just glad we found the place. It's a perfect rest spot to wait for the last of the frost to melt. We should relax and enjoy ourselves." Tun said to her, leaning back in his chair just as the barmaid greeted them, and asked them what they would like. Tun asked her what the bar's special was.

"Fel-lizard with fried hosh." She said, and after a bit of prying she revealed that hosh was a plant similar to an eggplant that grew in the Scij mountains, and the Fel-lizard was exactly what it sounded like, a lizard, which Tun and Mel were no strangers to eating.

Tun ordered two of the local specials with twin glasses of fermented peach juice. The barista thanked him and went about passing their order on to an elderly cook behind the counter. Tun turned to the other patrons while he waited, and as rude as it was, he peaked at their dishes so as to ascertain the nature of the food here. It looked normal enough. The plate consisted of greased slices of purple fruit and what Tun would have mistaken for a fish fillet if it weren't for the smell of poultry.

His neighbor, who's plate he had been examining, turned to look at him. Tun did a double take at her appearance.

She was an albino. Her hair and skin was as white as snow, though her eyes were a deep blue as opposed to pink like albino animals normally had. Tun hadn't even known humans could be albinos. You learn something new every day.

"I don't look that strange do I?" She said to him when he stared too long, the slightest hint of a frown on her face.

"What? No, of course not. I'm just socially inept is all." He joked, flashing her a goofy smile, trying to excuse his poor behavior.

She just stared back, a blank expression on her face.

"Um. I'm sorry?" He offered, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

"It's okay. Most strangers to Quil find me odd looking. You're not the first to stare, and you won't be the last. I don't fault you for it."

She spoke very slowly and in a constant monotone. Tun got the impression of an automaton like the ones his mother had told him about in her bedtime stories. Mel came to the rescue.

"Hi." She greeted with an exuberant smile and cheer. "I'm Mel, and this is my fiance Tun. We're from Roosk. We're sorry for staring. Your hair is so pretty."

It sure was. It reached all the way down to her ankles too. Matched her dress perfectly. Tun tried not to admire her appearance.

"Thank you. I'm Vosa, and raised in Quil. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tun thought it was rude of Vosa not to return Mel's compliment, but he wasn't sure if it registered to begin with. Her stony face didn't show any sign of flattery.

"Why are you two in Quil?"

"We're just taking a break from our pilgrimage, and from the cold. When we saw a sign reading 'The Temperate Town' we couldn't resist."

She perked up at the word 'pilgrimage', but only slightly.

"What kind of pilgrimage?" She asked. Her cold features gave way to an expression of childlike curiosity. Tun liked the change.

"We're praying to the altars and temples devoted to the Trivium. We're praying for a happy marriage, and becoming worldly at the same time."

The barmaid returned with their plates of food, identical to Vosa's. She returned a moment later with their drinks. The three of them took a break from their conversation to eat the still steaming food. The Fel-lizard was like any other saurian meat and had the consistency of fish with the flavor of fowl. The eggplant variant, hosh, was flavorless aside from the spices and animal fat used to fry it but gave a satisfying crunch when bitten into. Altogether it was a hearty meal, but Vosa didn't let him finish it before reigniting the conversation.

"Where have you visited so far?"

Tun put his fork and knife down, finished chewing the mouthful of food he had already stuffed into his face, and swallowed.

"We've visited most of Wren's sanctuaries along the western peaks, and two statues devoted to Ontan along the Scij road on our way here." Tun explained, remembering the warmth and sun insignias of Wren's many temples. "We've only visited two other towns so far, Foss and Emery, which did not have any temples."

"So you haven't visited any shrines to Veya?"

"No. We're heading to Riplay to visit our first one as soon as it warms up a bit."

Her face once again morphed to show expression, this time manifesting confusion.

"You mean you're not going to visit the temple to Veya here, in Quil?"

Tun and Mel looked at each-other.

"There's a temple to Veya... HERE?" Tun would have to have a serious talk with the Roosk map-maker when they returned home.

Vosa nodded and turned in her seat to point at the horizon. There was a gap in the banners through which the far wall of Quils' cliffs could be seen.

"It's at the far back of the fissure, where the two cliffs meet to form a sharp corner. There was recently a rock-slide that buried it, but our earth movers have been working to uncover it."

Interesting.

"What do you mean by fissure?" Mel interjected, before Tun could ask about the earth movers.

"Well the village is tucked between two cliffs, and when looked at from above it looks like a natural fissure, to those few who have climbed the cliff walls." Vosa explained. Tun noticed that her hands were much more expressive than her face or voice.

Tun considered this for a moment. Looking around past the various gaps in the overhang of stars and moons and decided she was right. Quil was situated within a massive elevated fissure and he was left to once again wonder how it had formed.

"We should go see it tomorrow." Mel suggested.

Tun agreed, unconditionally, but didn't need to voice it, so he took another bite out of his rapidly cooling food.

"And Vosa, you should be our guide there."

This, Tun had a problem with, but he kept his objection to himself lest he choke on his food.

"I'll have to ask my sister, but it shouldn't be a problem. The mover team should be finished by now. Would you like to meet here again tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful. Just after sunrise?" Tun offered, faking excitement.

Vosa nodded before turning back to her meal and finishing up. She downed the last of her drink, presumably non-fermented as she didn't look sixteen yet, and got up to leave. She wished them a goodnight and receded into the crowd. She nearly tripped several times as she left. Tun watched the trail of long white hair until it vanished from site before turning to his fiance and giving her 'his look.'

"Oh, relax. I think she's adorable."

"I think she's creepy."

"You'll get over it."

"Not before I strangle her in hopes of eliciting something resembling a human reaction."

The two continued to argue in this joking manner for several minutes as they finished up their meal. Mel knew he wasn't honestly bothered by the girl, and so did he, but the drinks in Quil were much stronger than those in Roosk and their humors revealed themselves more with every passing second. They were still lucid enough to walk back to the inn without any trouble, and did so, arriving at the dingy two story building just as the sun began to set. Gend Inn was conveniently located right at the mouth to the Quil fissure, where a path leading to the main road sat.

Tun ordered and payed for their breakfast for the next few days while Mel went upstairs towards the room they rented earlier that day. He eventually followed her.

When he finally got to their room it was to find that she was already tucked in for the night in her bed, so Tun made his way to his own and leapt onto the soft mattress. It was a welcomed sensation after the many nights sleeping in tents and hard temple floors.