alia
The day was hot.
So.
Fucking.
Hot.
Maybe the Palacio’s domes trapped heat. Maybe the sun was brighter than the day before. Maybe Alia had a layer of invisible fur that allowed her to superheat like the vats of Priam. Maybe she was just from the far north-
(Well, that last part was true, but she distinctly repressed the thought.)
Much of her day had been spent doing what she had been doing every day for at least two months.
Tending to the high-class masses.
Dinners with diplomats from Oceanis Decro. They wore Kixi suits and Clothoan gloves as they daintily picked at their blue crab curry.
Rituals and rites with global devout. She had done the high sun ritual and offering with some folks from the faction of Dara. Their small, rocky island was halfway between Oceanis Decro and Terran Vana. Isolated and reserved, she spoke in the practiced, rich voice she had cultivated for the crowds of Diamus for years as the black-cloaked devout around her only looked down, mumbling their prayers in monotone.
Not to mention the dozens of other small tasks she had been pulled right and left for all day.
And finally, a moment of respite.
PrOBABLY not!!!!
It was just that, a mere moment. She fell backward onto her plush bed, the silked sheets curling against her face. Her regalia splayed out around her, obscuring her form against the bed.
The ceiling of (one of) her rooms was covered in dangling krystallin, glowing a gentle yellow and orange, trembling with the drone of the Palacio. It was hypnotic, their quiet, fervent dance.
It was also giving Alia an even worse headache.
She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing the heels of her hands into her face. The pounding of a migraine had been constant the entire day, only growing worse. She was thankful for her ikan’s lovely herbal remedy, but it wasn’t enough today.
“Solasis Alia,” A voice came from her doorway, all too familiar. “Viaris and her caravan will be arriving within the next few hours.”
“Thank you, Lavini,” Alia sighed, pushing herself up on her many pillows. She gestured down at her flowing garb, “Do I have any more obligations today that would require me to keep wearing all of this?”
Lavini laughed, it was a glittering, gentle thing; charming at its core, “Not until tonight’s ceremony, but you’ll need to be re-sangi-ed besides. Relax a little.”
Alia smiled, the same sort of charm that Lavini dripped. But, behind her lips were tightly clenched teeth.
How the fuck am I suppose to relax when I haven’t had a moment to myself in months.
“I can send one of the apprentices to fetch you some food?” Lavini asked, moving to examine a messy tabletop near the towering door. “What would you like? And please, say something of substance Solasis.”
“Cold corn soup and some dark grain bread,” Alia said without thinking. It was a simple meal, one she would occasionally sneak to the kitchens and make herself. It reminded her of home-
Lavini laughed, something shriller about it, moving to leave the room, tossing her dark hair over hair shoulder, “Oh Solasis, always eating the food of the lesser. Such a humble leader.”
Lavini tsked as she left, saying nothing more, but leaving just energy in Alia’s room.
“Fuck,” Alia whispered under her breath, shaking her head. With a swirling mind and a pounding head, she disrobed from her regalia. She washed her face with gentle soap given to her by some devout from western Sol Victus. The face paint and makeup caking her face fell away into the small basin, water flowing from a wide reed that jutted from her wall.
She was tempted to take a bath, fantasizing about how glorious the heat would feel on her aching body. She shook her head, deciding against it. She smeared some scented oil onto her wrist and neck, allowing the scents of lavender and smoke to fill her.
She walked from the room containing her bed to a smaller one, the krystallin above her alighting as she neared it.
The new room was significantly smaller, lined with layers of clothes and ornaments. They were all beautiful fineries, things that Alia had grown used to. She was thankful for them, of course, but she also enjoyed the simple.
She found a red kaftan, embroidered at the hem. Short, loose sleeves and slits up the sides. She opted to go barefoot as she hadn’t been incredibly connected to the earth as of late.
Not that she’d been skimping on her spiritual duties.
When she returned to her bedroom, a platter of soup, bread, and roasted vegetables waited for her. A steaming cup of tea with a folded note next to it.
She plopped onto the floor, taking the platter with her, and ate in silence. Sure, there would be a feast latter, but as was drilled into her mind, feasts were for others to indulge. It was her place to exude her presence and role. Not eat. That would be fucking stupid.
Normally, these nonsense rules didn’t bother Alia. She had been living with them for so long, they seemed normal. But, with so many people around to impress, she never got to relax. It was constant posturing and posing for other's sake. Lavini and the council had been at her neck. Not to mention Celette was around and Alia couldn’t imagine a bigger nark-
A knock on her door.
Alia shook her head, trying to let go of her anger, “You may enter.”
Speak of the face and they will undoubtedly arrive.
Celette entered her room, all good posture and unbreakable expression. She wore blue day clothes with sheets of platinum armor. A sword lay sheathed on her side, supposed ‘costume’, but Alia knew well that Celette could and would cut someone in half with a mere word.
“Solasis Alia,” Celette bent her knee, bowing her head, short silver hair forcibly well-groomed. “I’ve been sent to collect you for the sangi ceremony.”
“Lavini told me I didn’t have to do anything until Viaris got her,” Alia rose, creasing her brow. She didn’t have to get ready for tonight already- did she?
Celette rose as well, slightly taller than Alia and significantly more ripped, “I don’t know, Solasis. I’m only following orders.”
There was no use arguing with Celette. She had an immovable will.
Quickly, Alia finished her food and followed Celette out of her room. They crisscrossed the Palacio through its network of mostly hidden tunnels. The main passages of the Palacio were far too crowded to move through with any urgency or haste.
They arrived in the sangi room as others milled about, wearing red as Alia did.
The room was deeply in the Palacio. Small, circular and worn by years of use. A small circular pool was in the middle of the room, bubbling with glittering water. You couldn’t see how deep it went down, but Alia knew it was at least 20 feet.
Without any thought, she began to strip. Throwing her kaftan over her head and to the ground. The apprentices were not perturbed, neither Celette. There was some sense of vulnerability, being unclothed around some near strangers.
My body is of the Gods. My body is of humanity.
“Solasis,” one of the devout nodded to her, signing the prakriti. He handed her the typical curved blade, inscribed with kohn verminian.
“Feel our light
as you descend,
old friend.”
Alia nodded to the devout with a graceful smile. Perfected.
She stepped forward to the pool, extending her arm over the rippling water.
“May the Gods bless all that we do, see, and experience,” Alia began as the devout in the room went to their knees, laying their palms against their thighs. “Allow us to prosper and be alight in this world.”
She mumbled something to herself as she cut into the fleshy part of her hand. Gold and red blood dripped from the wound, spiraling into the glittering water below.
Alia lowered herself to the water's edge, counting backward from ninety as the blood dripped from her wound.
Three...
Deep breath in.
Two...
Deep breath out.
One-
Deep breath in-
She slipped into the water, forcing the air from her lungs in a stream of bubbles. She crossed her legs beneath the water as she sank.
She carefully counted her in her mind, knowing her limit.
...
She became aware.
Alia opened her eyes underneath the water, watching the stone walls pass her by as she continued to sink. She saw Celette watching the pool, arms crossed and brow creased. She saw Lavini entertaining Imperian royals. She saw Viaris’s caravan approaching. She saw the one flickering growth of krystallin in the stores-
Time to go up.
Alia broke from her Sight, swimming upwards.
She broke the surface with a gasp, pushing her long hair back and out of her face.
She shook her head, pushing herself from the pool with ease. Two of the devout wrapped her in a large, plush towel. Alia nodded in thanks, the devout lowering their heads with bashful smiles. She threw off the towel, slipping into her kaftan, still damp.
“Viaris’s caravan is arriving sooner than expected,” Alia turned to Celette. “I’m going to my chambers and preparing once again. Let Lavini know.”
Celette nodded, exiting with Alia. The armored girl walked swiftly into one of the hidden corridors, disappearing into the catacombs of the Palacio Deimos.
Once again, Alia was alone.
Thank the Gods.
If OnLY SHE could IMAgiNE what COMES NEXT!!
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