~ Chapter 6 ~
Sol Hearth
"Remember, don't say anything unless you have to. When you do, try to follow my lead," Helios whispered.
Morgan, Severa, and Owain nodded their assent. Satisfied, Helios approached the nearby city gates, stepping out into the light.
The walls of Sol Hearth were quite different from those of Aquila's Ascent. The most obvious difference was in their size; the walls of Sol Hearth were less than half the height of the formidable enclosure around Aquila's Ascent, and had been built from smaller bricks with less distinct seams. The gates offered a meager glimpse of the city's paved roads, a wide path of finely cut, smooth bricks that had been painstakingly laid in a perfectly even manner.
A full dozen of the Sun Guard had been posted at the gate. Fully half of them were wearing heavy armor. The robes and armor worn by the guards in Sol Hearth seemed more elaborate than the ones worn by the guards in Aquila's Ascent. Their reactions, too, were different; most of them looked relieved to see one of their fellow Sun Guard approaching, the rest were instantly wary for trouble.
"You should know better than to be out after dark," one of the guards hailed them. He seemed older than the others of his patrol, and his armor was more decorated, too. "You from Aquila, lad?"
"Yes, sir," Helios replied politely. "Helios, Sun Guard, Fourth Class, reporting to Captain Minos in Aquila's Ascent."
The guard nodded approvingly. "Bayn, Second Class," he said, returning the formal greeting. "I'm glad to see you safe, lad. What has happened to Aquila's Sun Spire? Its light disappeared hours ago."
"I was hoping you could tell me, actually. I was out of the city, escorting a caravan here to Sol Hearth," Helios lied. "One of our wagons busted a wheel, and we spent the better part of the day trying to fix it. Ended up giving up and turning back for Sol Hearth, but our timing was a bit off. Night fell when we were still half a mile out from the walls. We had to fight off a bunch of Nightmares just to reach the city, and just as we got there, the Sun Spire just… went out."
"So you set out for Sol Hearth immediately, with some of the merchants in tow? Without the rest of your patrol?" Bayn asked, sounding suspicious.
Helios remained unconcerned. "We were only half staffed to begin with, and without our patrol leader," he explained. "We tried to approach the city, but found the walls overrun by the Nightmares. There was no sign of the border guard. The rest of my patrol insisted on fighting their way back into the city, but I felt it would be more prudent, particularly for the merchants accompanying us, to make for Sol Hearth instead. Our home offers us little protection with the Sun Spire darkened, after all."
"You thought it would be safer to brave the wilderness alone at night?" Bayn asked incredulously.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Helios replied, grinning.
"What happened to the rest of the merchants, then?" Bayn asked, after a moment's pause.
Helios's smile faltered. "Most of them doubted my judgment, too," he admitted. "These three agreed to follow me, but the rest decided to follow my comrades back into the city. I'm not sure what happened to them after that."
Bayn glanced at Morgan, Severa, and Owain, noting their exotic dress. "Tailors?" he guessed.
"We were delivering outfits for the upcoming Harvest Festival," Helios confirmed with a nod, before any of the three could respond. "We had to abandon most of their goods."
"And the glaive?" Bayn asked, eyeing Severa's weapon. Per Helios's instruction, Severa held her glaive awkwardly, as if she had never used such a weapon before.
"We found some of the Sun Guard on our way here," Severa explained, inducing a slight quiver into her voice.
"They had already fallen to the Nightmares," Helios added grimly. "There were four of them. I recognized one. If I'm not mistaken, they were charged with watching the eastern gate tonight. They had managed to pass us in the darkness, so they must have fled as soon as the Sun Spire went dark."
As Helios had anticipated, Bayn held out one hand, beckoning towards Severa, who obediently turned over her weapon. "It seems like you were caught in a rather difficult situation… Helios, was it?"
"Yes," Helios confirmed.
"Well done," Bayn said, smiling warmly. "Few could have made the journey here after dark, and fewer still while escorting three civilians. We had hoped to learn more of Aquila's fate, but it seems we'll have to wait and see whether anyone else survived last night's tragedy. Come on inside, and I'll draw up visitor papers for you all."
Bayn retreated within the city's walls, beckoning for the visitors to follow. There was a large oaken table waiting there, covered in rolls of parchment.
"Say, lad, would you be interested in a transfer?" Bayn asked thoughtfully.
"A transfer?" Helios echoed, surprised.
"Not here to Sol Hearth," Bayn clarified quickly. "I'll put in a good word for you, so there may be a promotion waiting for you somewhere down the line, but these things can take a while, especially with what has happened to Aquila. In the meantime, there's a caravan returning to Leo's Rest in two days, and another headed for Phoenix's Perch in four. I can arrange a transfer for you now, if you'd like, and get you the appropriate visiting papers for the wait. There's a good chance all of the surviving Sun Guard from Aquila will get shuffled around anyways, so if you transfer now, it'll be cleaner, plus you'll have some choice in the matter."
Helios mulled the offer over for a moment. "Could you put me down for a full seven, instead?" he asked. "When I volunteered for the escort job, I was hoping to catch up with an old friend of mine here in Sol Hearth. His name's Tohl. He and I used to be part of the same patrol, until…"
"Until he was promoted?" Bayn guessed.
Helios nodded.
"Alright. Seven days it is, after which you'll report to Headquarters for possible reassignment," Bayn said. "Good luck, Helios." He scribbled down a few notes on one of the pieces of parchment, then tore it in two, offering half of it to Helios.
"Thank you, sir," Helios said, accepting the paper before stepping aside.
"As for you three," Bayn continued, turning to Morgan, Severa, and Owain. "Given the situation, I can offer you an extended stay here as we sort out what's become of your home. You're good to remain here in Sol Hearth for fourteen days, after which you'll have to return here, or to any other gate. We should have a better idea of what's happening then. Names?"
"Cordelia," Morgan replied, speaking so smoothly that her sister almost missed the blatant lie.
"Cordelia," Bayn mumbled, scrawling the name down on another parchment. Thankfully, he did not notice the odd looks Helios, Severa, and Owain were shooting Morgan. "Next."
"Selena," Severa replied, giving Owain a meaningful look.
"Odin," Owain added, when Bayn turned to him next.
"Enjoy your stay," Bayn said, handing the documents over before ushering them on their way.
"What's this for, Hel?" Morgan asked curiously, inspecting the paper Bayn had given her once they were out of earshot of the guards.
"Visitor papers. You're supposed to carry them on you at all times," Helios explained. "Visitors to Sol Hearth are only normally allowed to stay for seven days, but that man we just met, Captain Bayn, has the authority to offer a longer stay if he believes it necessary."
"Do you know him?" Severa asked.
Helios shook his head quickly. "He was Second Class, though. Second Class is reserved for the members of the Sun Guard who serve inside Sol Sanctus itself, or for the patrol leaders in and around Sol Hearth," he explained.
"Is there a First Class?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah, but there's only ever a few with that designation," Helios replied. "First Class refers to the patrol leaders within Sol Sanctus, so, naturally, there aren't a whole lot of them. By the way, what's the deal with your names?"
"It's a habit of mine," Morgan said, shrugging. "I travel quite a bit and don't want any trouble following me, so I use a bunch of different names. Morgan's my real name, though."
"Is it, now?" Helios asked teasingly.
"You don't believe me?" Morgan asked, feigning a wounded look.
Helios chuckled. "Does it really matter?" he pointed out. "Anyhow, you're pretty much free to explore the city now, apart from Sol Sanctus itself. If you're open to suggests, I think you three ought to start with a tailor's shop. Get something that'll help you blend in a little better, you know?"
"Good idea," Morgan acknowledged. "Where would we find a tailor, though?"
"At this hour of the morning? Probably still snoozing in their beds," Helios shrugged. "I'm going to drop by the inn I normally stay at and rent myself a room for the week. It's a bit of a seedy place, but if you don't mind that, you can stick with me a bit longer and I'll show you to the market district later, once the city wakes up."
"Seedy?" Severa scowled.
"Even Sol Hearth has its blemishes," Helios said. "Some wish to peddle wares that others look down upon. Some seek to fritter away their earnings on games of chance. Then there's a few that just want to buy as much drink as they can. The inns on the outskirts of the city cater to everything that's too uncivilized for the more cultured of Sol Hearth's citizens."
"Sounds lively," Morgan declared happily, before Severa could object. "Lead the way, Hel."
The inn Helios led them to appeared entirely unimpressive. A worn wooden board dangled from rusted chains just over the doorway, but the shallow scratches upon it had been thoroughly eroded by the wind, leaving the inn's name completely illegible.
"No one's certain whether this place has ever had a name. For all we know, one of the owners over the years just slapped a wooden board here and called it a day," Helios remarked, when he saw his companions eyeing the weathered sign. "If this inn did have a name, it's long forgotten now."
"This place is unnamed?" Owain asked, seeming horrified. "That simply cannot do! A wanderer's respite and scoundrel's haven such as this must have a title befitting of its unique atmosphere."
"A name implies someone would want to speak of a place such as this," Helios laughed. He swung open the uneven door, which creaked loudly in protest, then ushered his companions inside.
The door closed noisily behind them, and Helios moved immediately towards the counter, where an old, wrinkled man with a disheveled beard awaited. The inn's owner seemed neither surprised by nor interested in his guests. The building was surprisingly large, and already, nearly two dozen patrons were scattered throughout the common room. Most were silently nursing their drinks, but a few stared calculatingly at the inn's latest guests.
"I guess we might as well sit down," Morgan whispered to Severa and Owain, before carefully navigating her way past the disorderly chairs and tables to the room's quietest corner. "Hmm… it looks like Helios is paying the innkeeper with ordinary silver coins," she observed.
Severa glanced over at the inn's counter, and saw that Morgan was right. "I guess. So what?" she asked, not understanding the significance of it.
"So the money I brought with me is probably good here in Sol Hearth," Morgan reasoned. "That's nice. It saves me having to figure out where we'd find coin to pay for new clothes."
Helios joined them a few minutes later, carrying a tray laden with heavy clay mugs. "On me," he said. Then, noticing Severa's hesitant glance towards Morgan, he added, "It's just tea. Trust me, you don't want to get anything stronger from a place like this."
Morgan took a sip from her mug, then made a face. "It's kind of bitter," she commented.
"That's how tea's supposed to taste," Severa replied, rolling her eyes as she passed one mug to Owain, then took another for herself.
"Not if you drown it in honey," Morgan said, looking wistfully towards the counter.
"Honey?" Helios asked.
"You know, from bees?" Morgan said.
Helios only stared at her blankly.
Morgan sighed. "You probably don't have any bees – or honey – here in Monolith," she guessed. "Oh well."
She fell silent a moment later as another of the inn's patrons – an attractive, fair-haired woman a few years older than Morgan – joined them uninvited. The unknown woman wore a colorful, flattering outfit that left much of her curvaceous form and powdered skin exposed. "You look like you've had a long night," she said to Helios in a simpering tone.
"Longer than you can imagine," Helios replied, sounding bored. "Can I help you with something?"
The woman smiled. "I was about to ask you the same thing," she purred. "Surely, a brave Sun Guard such as yourself would enjoy a long morning's rest… somewhere soft and warm, like the rooms upstairs, perhaps?"
"Not interested," Helios said flatly.
"Oh, don't be that way," the courtesan pouted. "It's cold and lonely this time of the year, you know."
"Every damn time," Helios cursed under his breath. He shook his head in frustration. "Not interested."
"Are you sure?" the courtesan asked teasingly, reaching out to stroke Helios's face.
Helios simply leaned back in his chair, eliciting a scowl from the courtesan. Before the spurned woman could protest, however, someone else joined them at the table: a slender, dark-haired woman dressed in the robes of the Sun Guard. In her own rather subtle fashion, she looked every bit as attractive as the blonde. Her waist-length, lustrous hair was neatly combed and draped over her shoulders, and her dark amber eyes – which had the same exotic almond shape as Helios's – carried a lively, playful spark, contrasting nicely with the gold patterns decorating her pure, white robes.
"Hel!" the newcomer exclaimed happily.
"Cress?" Helios gasped in surprise. Anything else he had to say was muffled as the dark-haired woman quickly kissed him and pulled him into a tight embrace.
When the female Sun Guard finally pulled away, she seemed to notice the shocked courtesan sitting beside her. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized breathlessly. "Were you in the middle of something?"
Helios shook his head quickly, then shot the courtesan a meaningful look. The fuming blonde rose from her chair, any trace of her warm and playful manner evaporating instantly. She stomped away angrily, muttering incomprehensible curses as she went.
"Thanks," Helios mumbled to his fellow Sun Guard.
The dark-haired woman promptly pulled Helios into another hug, but she no longer seemed as giddy and carefree as before, and her expression shone instead with relief. "I saw Aquila's light go out," she whispered, sounding terrified. "I knew if anyone could make it out of there alive, it would be you, but still, I wasn't… the others always sound so… I just couldn't be sure…"
"I'm fine," Helios said reassuring, patting the woman gently on the shoulder. "Made it here without so much as a scratch."
The dark-haired woman sighed, then composed herself wearily. "Don't scare me like that again," she begged.
"Sure thing. Next time I'm stuck making my way to Sol Hearth after dark, you'll be the first to know," Helios promised jokingly.
The other Sun Guard blushed, then changed the subject. "What's going on, Hel? What happened to Aquila? Who are these people?" She nodded slightly towards Morgan, Severa, and Owain.
"New friends of mine," Helios said evasively. "The Nihilists got to the Sun Spire, somehow. I thought I'd take my chances with the road, and ended up bringing these three with me."
"Hel, is this the friend you mentioned to the border guard earlier?" Severa guessed.
"Huh? Oh, you mean Tohl? Nah. This is my other friend, Crescent," Helios said.
"Friend, huh? That certainly was a friendly greeting," Severa said slyly.
Helios's face went bright red, but Crescent only laughed. "Hel's managed to perfect his rugged drifted look," she explained teasingly. "It makes him very popular with the ladies, particularly the expensive ones. They can be rather persistent." She turned back to Hel, and her expression became one of concern. "What's going to happen to Aquila now? And to you?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure," Helios admitted. "The border guard is still waiting to learn more about what happened in Aquila. I told them I didn't know anything to avoid a trip to Headquarters… it's mostly true, honestly. The patrol leader there guessed that I'd be transferred later, along with the other survivors."
"Here to Sol Hearth?" Crescent asked hopefully.
"Nah," Helios said, shaking his head. "He said he'd put in a good word for me, though. At least it's a step in the right direction."
"I see," Crescent said, sounding disappointed.
"I'll stick around for a few days, though," Helios went on. "I promised to take my friends to the market district later; they lost all of their normal clothing during our escape. Want to come with us?"
Crescent seemed rather tempted, but after a moment's thought, she shook her head. "You should rest, Hel. I can show your friends to the market district," she offered. "I'll catch up to you later tonight. There's a new eatery near the eastern residential district that I've been meaning to visit. We can check it out together."
"Sorry, I promised I'd show my friends around myself," Helios apologized. "It shouldn't take long."
"If you say so," Crescent said, sounding unsure.
Helios turned and peeked through the dusty window nearby. "Looks like the Solcryst is lighting up. We may as well head out as soon as you three finish your drinks," he said.
"I'm finished," Morgan said quickly, with a sour glance towards her mug, which was still mostly full.
"Let's go," Severa agreed, pushing her own empty mug to the center of the table to rest beside Owain's.
"Alright. I'll see you later, Cress," Helios promised.
"Hey, Hel, how did you meet Crescent?" Morgan asked curiously, a short while after they left the tavern. "She's Third Class, right? Her robes looked a bit fancier than yours."
"You're beginning to figure it all out, I see," Helios said, grinning. "Yeah, she's Third Class."
"Did she get promoted and transferred away, too? Like the other friend you mentioned?" Severa guessed.
"Nah. She's one of the lucky ones. She was born right here in Sol Hearth, and those already living here get to start a bit higher up on the ladder when they enlist," Helios said. "I met her after one of my escort assignments. The rest of my patrol insisted on visiting this one tavern near Headquarters and dragged me along with them. That's when I ran into Cress. She wasn't having a particularly good time, either; she was new to the Sun Guard, and since women don't usually enlist, most of the others were either teasing her or flirting with her."
"That's pretty rude," Morgan commented distastefully. "She is quite pretty, though," she added a moment after.
"She is, isn't she?" Helios agreed absently. "She's smart, too. Hell, she's twice the thinker Tohl is, and twice the friend, too, for that matter."
"You seem to hold a rather dour opinion of your other friend," Owain noted.
"Don't get me wrong," Helios said, shaking his head. "Tohl and I go way back. I met him back when I first enlisted in the Sun Guard, and he and I were assigned to the same patrol. When he eventually got promoted and left, he made me promise to catch up to him here one day. Still… Tohl's the type to live by the rules, day in, day out. He held about as much appreciation as I did for our comrades who'd muck around all day, but he wasn't necessarily always sensible himself. Or maybe Cress and I are the senseless ones. I mean, abandoning her post just to try and see if I made it here safely? It's something I would've done, too, but not Tohl. Maybe that's why he made it here to Sol Hearth while I'm still stuck in Fourth Class."
"Is it really that hard to move here?" Severa asked, looking around at the various nearby stores and their bustling crowds of customers. It resembled many other populated cities Severa had been to, and seemed generally underwhelming.
"Enlisting in the Sun Guard makes it a bit easier. Dozens are promoted and transferred here every year to replace those who fall, retire, or choose to transfer away," Helios said. "Once in a while, Sol Hearth holds a lottery for the extra residences. A handful of civilians get to move here that way each year."
"That's it?" Morgan frowned. "What if someone in your family moves here? Can you move with them?"
"Nope," Helios said. "Well, they do make an exception for married couples. If someone living out in the Reaches ends up marrying someone who lives here in Sol Hearth, they're allowed to move here. That's not too common, though, since visits are limited to seven days out of each month. That's hardly enough time to get to know someone, let alone fall in love."
"I see," Morgan said, her frown deepening. "So is that why you enlisted in the Sun Guard? To try to move here to Sol Hearth?"
"Not really," Helios said. "Actually, the real reason seems a bit silly in hindsight. I first enlisted because of my father. One evening, back when I was little, he came home with his arm all torn up. I didn't understand why he would risk getting hurt so badly. When I asked, he told me that the Sun Guard was there to make all our lives better, and that he wanted to be a part of it, whatever the cost. That was the last time we ever talked. The Nightmares came back that night. My father went to join the fighting with his sword arm still in a sling, and never came back."
"He went even though he couldn't fight?" Severa asked incredulously.
"Didn't have a choice. Or at least, he didn't think he had one," Helios shrugged. "The city would have held with or without his help, but he couldn't have known that. You can never really know when a fight will break out, or what sort of shape you'll be in. That's why, when I took up the sword myself, I learned to fight with either hand."
"And then you learned to fight with both hands at the same time," Morgan remarked. She turned to Severa, a triumphant smile upon her face. "See? You have to be prepared for just about anything! It's just like my blindfolded training technique!"
"No, it isn't," Severa said sternly.
"Blindfolded training technique?" Helios echoed questioningly.
"You don't want to know," Severa said with a sigh. "So, when did you decide you wanted to move to Sol Hearth?" she asked.
"Not long after I met Crescent," Helios admitted. "I knew it was safer here in Sol Hearth; the walls are more heavily defended, and there's rarely shortages of anything here. That never mattered much to me, though. Then I met Cress. It's nice having someone to talk to, or read with, or wander through the city beside. We've even snuck out of the city in the middle of the night a few times."
"Why would you do that?" Morgan frowned.
"To hunt down Nightmares, of course," Helios grinned. "I know. It's stupid, reckless, and ultimately useless since the Nightmares always come back. It's very therapeutic, though, chasing them through the darkness for a change instead of waiting for them to come to us, and Cress handles a bow better than anyone else I've ever seen."
"Then pay more attention when I'm shooting next time," Severa said in a miffed tone.
Helios chuckled. "Oh, I was watching," he said. "You were very good. Better than most of the Sun Guard… but not Cress. There's an annual archery competition here in Sol Hearth… five minutes, twenty targets strewn throughout an obstacle course. A few months ago, the winner set a new record, hitting seventeen of the twenty targets. Cress refused to participate, but I persuaded her to break into the course at night with me and try it out, just for fun. I managed to hit thirteen, which was already better than I expected."
"What about Crescent?" Owain asked.
"She broke the record on her first try, hitting eighteen," Helios grinned. "Then, when I joked about it being beginner's luck, she ran the course again. That time, she hit all twenty without even breaking her stride. Finished with nearly a minute to spare."
Morgan blew a soft whistle. "Nice," she said. Then, noticing Severa's mood, she hastily changed the subject. "Say, what's it like inside Sol Sanctus?" she asked. "You said it's the main headquarters for the Sun Guard, right? You've been inside, haven't you?"
"I've been inside a few times, but I haven't seen much of it," Helios said. "I've never climbed up past the first floor. That's our base of operations here in Sol Hearth. It's open to all of the Sun Guard, but there isn't much there beside meeting rooms. The High Council gathers there, too."
"High Council?" Owain interrupted.
"The seven civilian leaders of Monolith," Helios explained. "They handle pretty much everything that doesn't relate to the Sun Guard or to defending the city."
"What else is there inside the tower?" Morgan asked, sounding put off by the talk of politics.
"The second floor is made of living quarters for the members of the Sun Guard stationed within Sol Sanctus," Helios continued. "The basement floor is where the Sun Forge is kept. I've been down there once or twice, but I've never seen the Sun Forge while it's running; traditionally, it only burns by day, but I've only ever visited Sol Sanctus at night. According to the stories, that's about all there is to see. The rest of the floors are supposed to be empty, save for the occasional Sun Guard patrol… oh, and the Solcryst and the Sun Warden at the tower's summit, of course."
"Sun Warden?" Morgan asked curiously. "Who's that?"
"It's some sort of guardian spirit bound to the Solcryst," Helios explained, though he seemed uncertain. "They say it doesn't eat or sleep, or do much of anything, really. It just stands – or floats – beside the Solcryst, watching over it all day long. Some believe the Sun Warden is part of the Solcryst itself."
"Well, that's convenient," Morgan said thoughtfully.
"Is that the store we're looking for?" Severa interrupted, indicating a nearby building. She peered through the store's large glass window at the colorful garments that had been carefully posed upon elaborate wooden racks. "Those look quite nice," she added approvingly.
"This store should do," Helios said. "Think you can handle yourselves from here on out?"
"Yeah. Thanks for everything, Hel," Morgan said gratefully.
"No problem. It was nice meeting you all," Helios replied. "I don't know if we'll see each other again, but if you ever decide to head back this way again for whatever reason, maybe we can talk some more."
"We'll meet again," Morgan promised, though privately, she could only wonder how and why their paths would cross again.
Helios seemed to share her doubts, but he said nothing. Instead, he only shrugged and smiled, and with one final wave, he turned and started away, heading back towards the nameless inn.
Shopping with her older sister proved to be a greater ordeal than Morgan had bargained for. While the young tactician quickly chose a simple, cream colored outfit with a dark, patterned cloak that somewhat resembled her own, Severa had taken great pleasure in poring over a wide variety of tastefully patterned traveling robes, before finally selecting new outfits for both herself and Owain. Nearly two hours passed before the trio finally emerged from the clothing shop, dressed in their new, painstakingly chosen outfits.
Once outside, Severa seemed to put their new acquisitions out of mind. "So, what now?" she asked Morgan.
"Back to Water's Edge to get some rest ourselves?" Owain suggested.
"We could," Morgan readily agreed.
"What else is there to see here, anyways?" Severa asked. "We've seen the market now, and we walked through one of the residential districts to get here. We've seen more than enough of the other cities, too, the Reaches or whatever they're called, and Helios said we wouldn't be allowed into that Sol Sanctus place. Where do we go next?"
"Where we aren't allowed to go, of course," Morgan answered impishly. As if to accentuate her point, she gestured towards an impressive tower looming over them from what looked like a quarter of a mile away, crowned by a large, pure light that seemed as bright as the sun.
"Of course," Severa repeated dryly.