Friday, November 7
Silence, Silver, and Secrets: Prologue
A purple-haired elorii strode into the Bone Market of Nishanpur, looking around in distaste. It had been no simple feat to enter the city with her weapons intact; the Nierite hang-up about Sarishan steel made it that much harder to smuggle her elven thinblade in. Fortunately, coins and her natural beauty won the day. The flirting, with humans no less, made her feel dirty. She scanned the Market for a place to bathe.
Her eyes lit upon a large, vaguely human-shaped scaffolding in the center of Bone Market. The structure was stuffed with twigs and straw.
One of the Swords of Nier caught her gaze. “Ugly, isn’t it? Looks like they’re going to go ahead with their Burning Man festival anyway.”
The elorii arched a delicate eyebrow. “Festival?”
The Nierite shock of red curls flexed as he shrugged. “Something the Nerothians do. We’ve repealed the curfew, but you should be careful tonight. A pretty lady like yourself shouldn’t be alone on a night like this; the whole week is a festival.”
Ilmarė peered at the Nierite out of the corner of her eye. It was a clumsy come on. She was about to respond when the scaffolding was lit. The flames leaped high into the dark sky.
Even the Nierite soldier appreciated the sight. “Not bad,” he rested one hand on the pommel of the wavy-bladed greatsword that all Swords of Nier carried with them. “Even the Lord of Flame enjoys a pyre such as this.”
Then the barrage began. Naked, ash-smeared figures emerged from the darkness. Armed with balls of snow and chunks of ice, they assaulted the burning effigy. The sizzle and hiss of the snow hitting the fire filled the air.
“What?” shouted the soldier. He whistled and pointed to other similar accoutered Nierites, who drew their swords and advanced on the naked Nerothians. “Stop them!” [MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
6:40 AM
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