could.
The air felt heavy, keeping me on edge. The locals were mostly suspicious and curious about us, but some of the Rimians and Naloreans seemed downright fearful. I wasn’t sure if we were to blame, though. I put the thought aside, nonetheless, because we were not here to police the people. We had a delicate and deeply personal mission, and we’d been instructed to keep out of their business. I did, however, take mental notes to bring up with Derek and Sofia later, once we got to a more private location.
“You mentioned your lord and lady,” Derek said, walking in front of us with Sofia and Petra. “Are they your leaders?”
“Acheron and Danika Nasani. Lord and Lady Supreme of Visio,” Petra replied. “You will meet them soon enough. They assembled this welcoming group for your arrival.”
“Yes, they had to choose between a social or military approach,” Kalon cut in, giving me an amused sideways glance. As if greeting us with swords and pitchforks would’ve been funny in any way. I wasn’t sure what to think of him, but he made the hairs on the back of my neck rise stiffly.
“We are a peaceful people,” Petra sought to assure us, giving her son a stern, menacing scowl. “Given the size of your vessel, we assumed you’d be a small party, likely exploring our world. It would’ve been rude to attack you without first knowing what your objective was.”
“We certainly appreciate your approach,” Derek replied. “Mind if I ask… How does Visio run? What sort of resources do you have?”
“It is mostly a combination of natural means and mazir. It’s our occult science, a magic of sorts, if you will,” Petra explained. “It’s how we put the haze out there, around our world. The word mazir comes from our ancient language, which hasn’t been spoken in millennia. It means ‘eternal,’ so I suppose there is a bit of poetry in there.”
“Your magic is eternal. Is that what it means?” Sofia replied.
Petra smiled. “You could say that. We do not lack anything. After Rimia and Nalore were conquered and became principates of Visio, we gained access to their resources. There is a steady flow throughout the kingdom. People don’t go hungry. They do not suffer without roofs over their heads. The Nalorean scholars are some of the brightest minds we have, responsible for their sky studies and the ships that were built to facilitate transport between the planets.”
“The Rimians provide us with plenty of food, along with unlimited access to their stone quarries. The finest marble and limestone come from them,” Zoltan said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “We’ve achieved a certain synergy, of which we are very proud. Before the Aeternae, there was nothing. Now there is everything.”
“Do you have knowledge of what was before the Aeternae?” I asked, intrigued by his phrasing.
An enormous plaza opened around us, framed by a line of majestic pink marble columns with broad arches, covered in thick and colorful flowery vines. In the middle, a fountain rose proudly, with an angelic figure holding a pitcher, through which the water gushed out and filled the bowl-shaped space beneath.
Birds sang in the nearby trees, soft trills that sought not to interfere but rather amplify the stunning view. The sun was beginning to slowly set, momentarily hiding behind one of the tall, dark gray limestone towers. Its rays hit the giant bell mounted beneath the conical roof. I wondered what the bells were used for. In other cultures, they served as warning sounds or religious chimes. Which was it with the Aeternae? Did they worship a god, or did they fear invasions?
There were hundreds of people here, but, much like the others before them, they did not dare get any closer. The sight of the golden guards was enough to make them want to stand back. It gave me a good opportunity to further observe them. Tristan and I were mesmerized by this culture, ripe with elegance and mystery. There was so much to unpack here, so many things to understand, including where the similarities between our species stopped.
Vampires drank blood for a living. What gave the Aeternae their much-needed sustenance? Much like many other points I’d saved in the back of my head, this was a question for later.
“There was nothing before the Aeternae,” the chief councilor insisted, his voice harder than before. It was a sign that he wasn’t willing to tell us more about what predated them.
“What Zoltan means to say is that there