His Ramblings:Broken Reflections

"Wait, what?" For a moment, Josh thought his ears were playing pranks on him, so he asked again. He could hear suppressed laughter among the crowd, not sure whether they were laughing at him or not. This time, he saw it—a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"You seem surprised, why?" she asked. Josh closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts before answering.

"Well, I am surprised that you can speak High-borne. I thought—" Cutting him off, she spoke.

"You thought what? Just because we spoke to you in our mother tongue does not mean we are not educated in the ways of the Unified States. Tell me, what is your name, boy?" Surprised by the speed at which her temperament seemed to change, he answered, ignoring the fact that she called him "boy," even though it was clear they were of the same age.

"Joshua—Joshua Belling." The moment he said his name, Josh noticed a change in expression on the young woman. She remained silent for a short while before gesturing for him to follow.

The surrounding people opened up a path for them to pass, and Josh could feel the intensity of their gazes. Some even held pity in them. [What now?] he thought, as he silently followed the young woman.

After breaking free from the crowd, Josh was blown away by the beautiful infrastructure of the place. The sheer scale of the city's walls—towering stone structures that stretched impossibly high into the sky, their surfaces adorned with intricate carvings of animals, kings, and symbols—left him breathless.

The walls themselves appeared to be made of smooth, golden-hued sandstone, but as the sun shifted, Josh noticed the occasional gleam of obsidian and ivory in the carvings. Symbols etched deep into the stone seemed both familiar and foreign: lions, falcons, serpents, and elegant human figures. They reminded him of the stories his mother used to tell him about her home back when he was just a boy. From the people to the infrastructure, everything seemed strangely familiar to the stories of his mother's home.

A memory resurfaced—his mother sitting by his bed, telling him stories of her home. The way her face lit up whenever she shared with him the precious memories, and the deep longing that reflected in her eyes. He now understood that his mother had been homesick, and by sharing with him the precious memories of her home, it was the only way she could preserve them.

And with him being cast away here, in a place that greatly fit the description of his mother's home, he could not help but feel nervous. For if this place was his mother's home, how were the people going to accept him—a bastard son of High-blood?

"Come, hold on to me." The young woman's words caught Josh off guard, even the people who stood close by seemed startled by her words.

"Excuse me?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. She turned to him with the same serious expression from before.

"You are excused. Now, hold on to me, that way we can reach the palace much faster." Josh stared at her for a few moments before approaching her and asking, "How should I—Whoa!"

Before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed onto him and took off with tremendous force, going over the enormous wall before stabilizing slowly. Opening his eyes, he was met by her soft, brown eyes staring at him with amusement. But before he could speak, his eyes moved past her, noting the huge pair of wings on her back. Great shock was evident in his eyes.

Amused by the look on his face, she sped up a bit, but Josh was way too mesmerized to care. A thousand questions filled his mind, and as if she read his thoughts, she spoke.

"Save your questions for later." She added, "We have arrived." Her speed decreased, and she gently flapped her wings, descending with grace.

They landed safely in a beautiful garden, and Josh watched as the wings dissolved into a whirlwind of sparks. He subconsciously blurted out, "How?" He had never seen or heard of anything like that in his entire life. He knew all about the blood gifts, and he had spent over two years researching sorcery. None of the records ever mentioned anything like this.

The only book that had something similar was the Book of Divine Providence, but it only mentioned that the Creator's first children traveled between realms using wings bestowed with the power to traverse every known realm. But Josh was always skeptical about the information contained in that book. There were no records of humans with the capabilities of flight—well, not any that he knew of.

"You may let go of me now." Her tone was cold, confusing Josh even more. Before he could think about her ever-shifting temperament, someone spoke from behind him in a deep and powerful voice that sent shivers down his spine.

"Nane o kalti ena mohahzu?" The voice was unfamiliar, and Josh couldn't understand the words. Quickly letting her go, he turned to meet the owner of the voice, ignoring his desire to appreciate the beauty of the garden.

"Ee papa, kilu na yena o na saka mumvura." The young woman responded, and Josh couldn't help but notice the respect in her tone.

He turned his attention to the man standing before him, and his eyes widened in awe. The man was dressed in white robes of unfamiliar fabric, with intricate golden patterns all over. His deep brown eyes seemed to bore into Josh's soul, and his neatly kept beard had a hint of gray. His long, knotted hair flowed down his sides gracefully.

Actually, now that Josh thought about it, the clothing here seemed to have those very same patterns, and the people wore a lot of jewelry. Although their fashion sense was a bit strange, he had to admire the beauty in it.

"Illu kinu taura chi?" The man asked the you woman.

"Ano taura high-borne, papa." She responded, and the man's gaze fell to Josh. He could feel the father's gaze scrutinizing him before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Which state are you from, boy?" he asked.

"Angel's Canyon, sir," Josh answered quickly, maintaining a respectful tone. The man's eyes widened in disbelief.

For a moment, the whole garden went silent, until everything seemed to pause. Josh thought to himself, What have I done?

The man retracted his gaze and stared down at the pile of books and scrolls piled up on the little table in front of him. He placed the scroll he had in hand down steadily.

He stood up from where he was seated and approached them, standing a foot away from Josh. He looked deep into Josh's eyes for a moment before speaking.

"Which house do you descend from?" His tone was calm, too calm, in fact.

Josh answered as soon as the question left his mouth, something about this man made him feel uneasy.

"House Belling, sir." And for a brief moment josh saw pain in the eyes of the man, but it was immediately replaced by calm indifference.

Unable to comprehend the man's reaction, Josh remained quiet, letting his eyes speak for him. A moment of silence went by, as if the whole world stood waiting for the man to speak. And after what felt like decades of silence, the man's lips parted, and the words that came out of his mouth were in a tongue Josh could not understand.

"Mutore ufambe kilua nae umgeza."

Josh had assumed that he was merely speaking to himself, as his tone was low, and his voice was barely audible. But then, the young woman beside him moved forward and answered.

"Ee papa, chafamba nae."

The young woman gave a short bow to the man before turning to Josh and gesturing for him to move in the opposite direction. No questions asked, he turned around and began walking towards the beautiful piece of infrastructure ahead.

Their walk was short and silent, passing a few servants along the way, until they entered the building. Upon entering, it felt like Josh had stumbled upon divine residency. The beauty of the interior was unlike anything he had ever seen.

From the golden walls to the sky-blue ceiling with murals that told a story of sorts, and even the scent of the place was heavenly. He studied the servants and noticed that the female servants had their hair braided in a very specific manner, and they all wore long, flowing ankle-length dresses with a belt around the waist and simple leather sandals.

For the men, the servants had bald heads with differing marks on their foreheads. They wore knee-length sleeveless linen tunics with a belt at the waist and sandals. The floor beneath appeared to be made of gold, and looking down, Josh could see his reflection.

He couldn't begin to describe the furniture, as it was unlike anything he had ever seen. Huge portraits hung on the wall, and Josh admired their beauty. But a single portrait caught his eye—it seemed to be depicting a battle between two great armies. Josh stopped in his tracks to study it.

Upon closer inspection, Josh could clearly make out everything. The battle depicted by the portrait was between the High-blood and these people of unknown origin. Taking a step back, Josh looked at the others and noticed that all of these portraits seemed to be portraying different types of stories, but they all seemed interconnected.

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

..."You will have time to study them later, let us proceed first." The young woman spoke, and Josh nodded, gathering courage to ask for her name.

"Can I have your name, milady?" he asked politely, with a faint smile.

She shook her head with a smile and began walking. "Only now that you muster the courage to ask for my name? I thought men from the Unified States were supposed to be gentlemen. I guess I was wrong about that too."

Her amusement was apparent in her voice, and Josh wanted to come up with a retort, but then he caught on to something she said.

"What do you mean you were wrong about that too? What is the other thing you were wrong about?" he asked.

She only glanced at him and said nothing else, continuing the rest of their walk in silence.