Chapter 471: Ivory
…21 years ago…
The light of dawn slipped through the window cracks. A narrow sun beam flickered over Aurelia’s face. She grimaced and mumbled something in a stupor, before slowly opening her eyes. Aurelia turned her head and found the other half of the bed empty and cold. With a yawn, she sat up and threw on some clothes. She grabbed her fur cloak and left her bedroom.
Winter had come to the cold Ebon Realm, taking away what little warmth its people were accustomed to. The Rupture Mountains were cold almost year-around, but the winter months were especially cold. Evenfall was situated between the mountain slopes, protecting it from most of the harsh winds, but the Celestial Shrine, their most sacred temple, stood proud atop the mountain peak. Up here the air itself burned with every breath and without the proper clothing one could easily find themselves falling asleep in the chill air, never to awaken.
Aurelia worried that Ivory had gone out without preparations for the freezing temperatures, especially at this time of the day. He had a habit of forgetting such simple things like fur cloaks and thick wool tunics. His mind seemed to always be preoccupied with something more— interesting, even if that happened to be something as simple as a flower on the side of the road.
It didn’t take long for Aurelia to find him. He was sitting at his usual spot, at the edge of a cliffside, overlooking the mountains and the city of Evenfall below. The dark sky was covered in grey clouds and the golden light of the sun was only beginning to peek through the horizon.
Ivory turned his head slightly at the sound of her footsteps crunching the snow behind him, but he didn’t turn around.
“I thought I might find you up here,” Aurelia said and plopped down next to him.
“Good morning to you too, sleepyhead,” he said with a mellow voice.
She threw the fur cloak over both of their shoulders and huddled close. “Why didn’t you wake me?”