Chapter 157: High Lady Erna
As the carriage trundled through the city, Ashlynn continued to marvel at a variety of sights in the bustling areas of the city. After several minutes, they reached a second set of gates where much more imposing guards inspected every carriage or party passing through. Seeing the sharp, angular glyph on the side of Lady Nyrielle’s carriage, the guards bowed deeply and waved them through.
The city beyond the gate was much quieter and less festive. Stately manors sat behind elaborate iron gates on large plots of land interspersed with exclusive-looking shopping districts, most of which had shuttered for the night. When they arrived at their destination, however, Ashlynn was stunned at the sight that greeted her.
High Lady Erna’s palace rose from the heart of the city like a dream of gleaming marble and reflected moonlight. Unlike the imposing fortresses of human lords or even the mighty fortress built by Frost Walkers, this was a palace built to celebrate power and flaunt wealth more than a military fortification built to defend it.
Graceful columns soared skyward, supporting elaborate archways adorned with carved serpents that were so intricately detailed that they seemed to move in the flickering lamplight of the courtyard, as though they could come to life at any moment. A few of them even carried traces of sorcery that made Ashlynn wonder if the giant pythons could actually come to life.
Opulent fountains dominated the sprawling courtyard, their waters cascading through elaborate tiers where larger than life statues of the Scaled Clan’s greatest rulers stood like silent guardians defending the palace from would-be attackers.
These weren’t the stiff, formal statues Ashlynn knew from human lands. Each figure was captured in motion, their serpentine lower bodies coiled with lethal grace while their human torsos twisted in poses of attack or defense, as though they were locked in eternal combat. The aura of mystic energy that clung to them was even greater than what Ashlynn sensed from the carved serpents.
"Those statues," Ashlynn whispered, pointing at an imposing male figure with perfectly sculpted musculature raising a spear high overhead as though he was ready to impale their carriage. "Are they like the Blood Golems? Preserved protectors of fallen warriors?"
"The Scaled Clan celebrates their heroes and rulers like this," Nyrielle said, smiling as she noticed the most recent addition to the courtyard. "It’s true that they are more than simple decorations, but they have no connection to the dead. A living sorcerer must connect with them in order to direct their actions."
"I see," Ashlynn said, as she continued to look around the courtyard. At first, she hadn’t seen it as being a well-defended fortification but it seemed like her notion of ’fortification’ was far too simple for the Eldritch clans on this side of the mountains.