Ashes of the Elite

Awakened Kennet doesn't give me a single second to collect myself. The moment I straighten, she's already striding toward a massive gate carved directly into the front of the castle a towering set of stone doors veined with what looks like pale crystals easily three stories tall. They look more like something meant to keep titans in than people out.

I hurry after her, still half-dizzy, half-awestruck. She speaks without looking back. "Safeguards prevent me from teleporting directly into the castle. So we must go the long way"

I blink, trying to keep pace. "Safeguards such as...?"

She doesn't answer. Her silence stretches long enough that I think she won't respond at all then, finally, flat and cold: "Don't speak unless spoken to and don't ask stupid questions."

I grit my teeth, annoyance flaring in my chest. I'm not some child to be dragged around and scolded. We approach the front gates, and even from a distance, I can tell they're worth more than some peoples houses. Etched in deep grooves along their surface are rows of inlaid crystal, worked seamlessly into the design. Not a scratch or smudge in sight. Perfectly polished. The sheer craftsmanship is staggering, and for a brief moment, I understand. I understand why the King is the way he is. Who wouldn't become something else entirely if they lived surrounded by this?

Four guards lounge near the gate, laughing about something, until they see us. The moment their eyes land on our cloaks, they straighten like strings pulled taut. Heads bow. Eyes drop.

Before any of them can speak, Kennet flashes coin just like Cain's between two fingers and of course it's etched with the same thing. The Imperial Sigil.

"You saw me leave less than an hour ago," she says, voice flat with disdain. "Move out of my way."

One of the guards, his plumed purple helmet marking him as some type of sergeant, stammers out an apology and waves the others aside. The gate opens with a deep, grinding groan.

We pass through without another word, stepping into the heart of the empire. A wide marble stairway rises ahead of us, flanked by trimmed hedges and white stone planters overflowing with cascading flowers. Everything gleams.

The courtyard feels like it stretches forever.