The sounds of cracking overhead, followed by booms that shook the ground beneath him caused Seif to sit up. Panic coursed through his body as he took in the image all around him. He lay on a pallet in a small tent with ten other men and women. Each of them wore the traditional military outfits of the Salimut of Zalai. Around him lay piles of crates, some labeled as containing the explosive powder known to make boom-stones for catapults as well as a variety of swords and spears. Confusion swept through Seif, only to be taken over again by panic when another loud crack sounded overhead and the entire tent covering Seif was blown away.
Around him an entire battle raged. The army of Yanjing was nothing but battle mages wielding lightning bolts and death in their wake. Nameless citizens in the Salimuts army exploded into clouds of blood, washed away with the wind. Crates of boom-stone powder exploded nearby. Seif turned to run to see a Yanjing mage standing above him, stretching a lightning bolt between his hands. The bolt grew brighter, Seif could feel the heat as the mage raised it high and, like a spear, thrust it down towards Seif's face.
Again the earth shook beneath the small wagon. Seif gasped for breath as he sat upright near Tuma. His elbow striking a wooden box nearby. Mumbling under his breath, Seif cupped his now throbbing elbow in his other hand, taking in his surroundings. It was nearly night fall, and all around him stood charred remains of trees and fields. Seif knew they were not freshly burned, but from a forest fire centuries old. He turned to the front of the cart to see Tuma now had the reigns in his hands as he spoke quietly with Faïence. Bonemender was absorbed in a book in front of him.
"You really need to make less noise when you sleep. And perhaps wake with less... enthusiasm," came Bonemender's dry voice from behind the book. He looked up for a moment to stare at Seif. Sniffing at Seif, he returned to his book.
"Glad to see you're awake, lad! We're almost there. You can see the walls off in the distance yet." Tuma yelled behind him, almost sensing his charges eyes. Seif looked beyond Tuma and realized that walls began to grow from the ground miles ahead. They were tall, and looked to have seen better days. The setting sun highlighted notches and turrets spaced equally apart running the length of the top of the walls, and two buildings standing tall behind. Faintly, Seif could hear a clock chiming.
Faïence smiled, "Ah, thirty minutes after seven. The kitchens will be closing and the baths will be warming. Looks like ice box fare and cold baths for us!" Seif's stomach grumbled at the mention of dinner. He reached for his food bag and pulled out the last remaining treat; a piece of cured meat that smelled of spices and burnt the nose. It was a favored dish of Seif's oldest brother, but Seif hated the sting it left on his throat and lips.
He put the meat back and slumped back into the carts rail. He watched as the sun set casting large shadows over the walls and the surrounding area. Still, in the distance he could hear the cracks of lightning and the loud explosions of boom-stones. He was shaken to the bone.
As the clock inside Burning Circle struck nine at night, the small wagon made it's way to the front door of the temple. Seif stared in awe at the large wooden doors that stood open, exposing a deep stone tunnel that granted entrance to the temple. As slowly as possible, they group made their way inside, the clacking of the horses hooves echoing off the walls and ceiling. As they emerged into the temple from the other side, Faïence and Bonemender began to dismount from the wagon. Tuma, following their lead, got off from the drivers bench and handed the reigns over to a novice who donned a white habit.
Seif clambered down from the wagon, any sense of tiredness fleeting quickly as he took in what sights he could. The walls of the great temple were twenty feet high, with turrets and notches spaced evenly throughout. Inside, there were packed dirt roads that traversed between buildings, lined with lush gardens or lawns. Trees speckled the land, growing strong and tall. Two tall buildings again caught Seifs' eye. One held four large time pieces, signaling the hour in all four cardinal directions. The other was triangular in shape, but just as tall. Lights flickered inside of triangular building.
Just as Seif turned to ask about it, he was greeted with an armful of belongings. "We'll carry the lighter bits up ourselves, and have the rest sent up in the morning. Tonight you can both stay with Mender and I." Faïence chimed. She smiled, and turned on her heels, leading Tuma and Seif to the cottage. Everyone chose to ignore Bonemender's groans of disapproval.
As the group of four made their way towards the end of the temple opposite the entrance, Seif continued to look at the other buildings that he found himself passing by. From two buildings that stood parallel to each other on either side of the road he could hear boys voices drifting from one, and girls from the other. Some novices were hanging out the windows, laughing and chatting with one another from across the road, but quickly diving back inside when they saw the two Dedicates coming nearer.
"Lights out, I'm afraid," Faïence said in a startling loud voice. She raised her arm, elbow bent, and closed her hand tightly into a fist. A wash of air flowed past Seifs' ears as each light in the dorms went out at once. Seif turned to look at Faïence, his mouth agape. "I'm a kitchen witch, which means I have a bit of an understanding with fire." She patted Seif on the shoulder and kept up her walk.
As he picked up his pace to catch up, he saw others in white cotton robes emerging with piles of clothes folded in their arms, freshly wet from baths. They chatted and giggled, discussed things in earnest. Others yawned as they ran fingers through wet hair, battling of sleep before getting to their beds. Eager to get into a bed himself, Seif looked to Bonemender and Faïence. Just behind a large building that Faïence pointed out as the dining hall and main kitchen, they came up to the door of a small, two floor cabin.
The walls outside were made of clay bricks, which Seif picked up on immediately. The roof was covered with clay tiles, curved and hollow, like half circles. The windows were closed with shutters made of wood and painted a golden brown. Bonemender was the first in, opening the weathered, wooden door and lighting a lamp just inside the door. He continued around the main room, which held two seats, each near an end table, and a bookcase full of different looking tomes, lighting other lamps on the wall. Faïence disappeared behind a door on the side of the room with a bag. Within moments the entire room came to life in light, heat, and smells.
Seif recognized the smell of cooking breads, cakes, and soup. Everything made his mouth water and his stomach roar with hunger. If Faïence calling him to dinner hadn't stirred his feet, the smells would have. Rushing to the door, Seif stopped to stare at the kitchen in front of him. A long table made to seat three on either side sat in the middle of the room, with two ovens in the wall, and a bucket for scrubbing dishes. A large icebox was sat on the wall behind one row of seats, unlike anything Seif had ever seen. In his home, and many others, the iceboxes were kept in the floor, where the ground was cooler than the surface.
"If you do not move, I will turn your bones into lard." Bonemender said from behind Seif. His normally dry voice now sounded like tinder, ready to go up in flame at a moments notice. Hurrying into the room, and out of the way, Seif stood to the side of the door as Bonemender took a seat at the table. Seif made sure to sit on the other side of the table as Faïence set out a few bowls and plates. Next, she laid out two loaves of bread, shaped into the symbols of health and rejuvenation. Taking the bowls she laid out, she scooped some soup into them, and handed one to everyone at the table.
After finally gathering a bowl of soup for herself, Faïence sat at the table herself, next to Bonemender and across from Tuma. Seif ate in silence as Tuma and Faïence talked casually about many different topics as though they were old friends who always shared dinner together. After finishing his meal, Seif cleaned his dishes in the bucket, and left them to dry in an empty basin near the sink. Yawning deeply, Tuma stood from the table and gripped his charge by the shoulders. "Let me take you up stairs. If I remember correctly, There's still some space up there for two homeless lads like ourselves."
Faïence nodded as she collected her dishes and Tuma's and took them to the basin to wash. "Good night gentlemen. In the morning we'll get this all sorted out. Get some rest." Both Tuma and Seif said their goodnights and Tuma led him out of the kitchen and back into the main room, where a set of stairs stood. Climbing up, he saw four rooms, two of which had their doors closed. Tuma led him to one of the closed doors, and opened it slowly. The hinges creaked from disuse as Tuma entered and lit a lamp to reveal a small bedroom. Inside was a bed, an small table, and a single window that faced the back wall of the temple. Seif said his goodnights to Tuma and walked over to the window, unhinging the latch and opening it to let some fresh air in.
The air that come in through the window was heavy and wet, betraying the clear night sky that was above. A storm was on the move towards the temple and Seif couldn't be happier. The heavy, moist air made him sweaty and his clothes clingy. Stripping off his shirt and pants, he crawled onto the bed. He pulled a bed sheet up over his body, letting the lightness of the fabric keep him from getting hot during the night but giving him some coverage incase of someone walking into the room. He laid his head down and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the temple. Crickets chirped, a few voices trailed in from different people who walked the trails outside the small house. Seif let the sound of running water and the sound of a few night birds lull him to sleep.