A place where huge buildings, busy streets, and people screaming to get your attention to buy their products. The new priestess has finally arrived at the capital. The place where she would begin fulfilling her vows.
Watching the busy streets, Lithea remembered the times where she would accompany Chi downtown for their clothes. But because she's now in the kingdom's capital, the center of everything, it's busier than the Land of Fox's downtown.
She's now far away from the temple, she can no longer look back and see the it peeking on top of the mountains. And here there are no mountains in sight but tall buildings and bustling people. No clump of trees in each corner but poles of flags and vendors, waving at you.
It has been three days since she left the temple, she's been traveling for three days and at long last, she arrived. Now she only needs to find the guild and register herself. But how would she locate it? Chi's map has not helped her, not even once. No matter what, she cannot find this circle he drew in the middle.
She inhaled deeply and exhaled to calm herself, 'I can do.'
"Hey, lady in a white cloak!" a middle-aged guy yelled for her.
She looked around to see who he's calling, but she's the only one wearing a white cloak. She changes into her priestess cloak during day time to avoid getting hot while wearing it in daylight.
"Yes?" she walked towards him, he was behind a long table filled with delicious looking food with prices beside it.
"Come and have a taste of our specialty! We only serve it once a month, you know."
Lithea's brows furrowed with his boasting, "What is it?"
"Huh?" he was surprised there's a person who has not heard of their food. He scanned Lithea from head to toe, "are you not from around here?"
She shook her head.
He slammed his hands on the table, "then you must try our specialty! Go inside, my wife and I will feed you until your stomach bursts!" he laughed out loud.
"Ah," Lithea was dumbfounded.
Although skeptical, she still went inside and found herself in a room filled with people enjoying their meals. Everyone is with a friend, a family, or a lover to accompany them. She's all alone.
The man from earlier placed a hand on her crown, "sweetheart, entertain this young fella. Let her taste your delicious meals!"
"Oh my," the man's wife exclaimed, "a new face!"
She quickened her pace and held Lithea's hands, "come dear, come, come."
Lithea let them pull her towards a vacant seat, "shall I serve you our specialty?"
She nodded as she calculated her remaining silvers in her pocket, mentally thanking Chi for giving her huge pocket money.
"Dear, please go take care of this lady's meal." The wife said, "I will sit with her."
The husband smiled gently, his wife has this scary intuition to know when a person is in need of company or not.
"Leave it to me!" he slapped his chest.
The wife placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, "so, what made you come here to the capital?"
Lithea was surprised.
"You look like you came from the Sun Temple," she grinned.
"You're familiar with the temple?"
"Of course! I used to study there as a priestess," she proudly revealed.
"You are? Did a red smoke appear during your orbit ceremony?"
Lithea had no idea her question was rude, but since the person she's talking to understands she has no ill intention, she didn't react to it.
"It was yellow, but I met my husband while tending his wounds at the center," she blushes, recalling the past, "years later, I decided to let the Divine know of my decision. I withdrew from the temple."
She was happily telling Lithea the story of how they got married and how she knew she fell in love with him. They were too engrossed with what they were doing, they did not notice the food ariving.
A delicious meal of juicy and tender steak was served in front of Lithea. Her eyes widened in surprise, she looked at the lady before her in panic.
The woman understood her reaction and chuckled, "it is fine, dear. We eat meat in the temple on occasions but we are not forbidden to consume it without a reason."
Long list of temple rules circled through Lithea's brain and indeed, she could not remember anything stating they're not allowed to eat meat outside special occasions.
She smiled, "thank for the meal."
Lithea said her prayers and started digging in, "I will fix you a soup to go with it. I know you must be tired from your journey."
"Thank you."
The capital is the center of the kingdom, it is where all business runs. The guild, the center, and the lab all are located in the capital. Every adventurer lives within the area to avoid traveling far just to report in the guild. But those who came from very far lands, they provide a quarter depending on which rank the person belongs to. The higher the rank, the grander the quarter they offer them. Free of charge.
So those who don't have a family nearby strive hard to at least climb to a rank where they get a decent room.
The Kingdom's center is where the medical priests and priestesses all work at. It is a huge dome shaped building where they treat those who are kicked out of the hospitals cause of their untreatable wounds or diseases. The hospitals are run by people with no special training and are studying the ways of science. They are those who cure patients using modern tools and medicines. While the center uses the power and skill they trained for since they're ten years old.
The laboratory is where the Jade rank's investigating unit, also known as J.I., are mostly seen passing time. They have every equipment to help them with complicated cases. Both mage and warrior can enter the force if they meet the right requirement. One must possess quick wits and is capable of presenting all sorts of conclusions, whether based on evidence found or intuition. They must follow every direction as much as possible to solve a case. None must slip from their grasp.
But of course, that is not the only basis.
After her wonderful meal, Lithea asked the couple how much does she owe them but to her surprise, they both shook their heads and told her it's free.
"But, you served a lot. My conscience won't set me free if I don't pay."
"If you insist, then just come back later after you have settled. And you must spend your first pay in our pub, okay?" the husband joked.
Lithea smiled, "thank you for your hospitality," she bowed. "I will take my leave now."
"She's such a mature young lady," the husband commented.
"The young priestesses today sure are different," she touched her belly, "I wish for our child to grow up into a fine person like her."
"Here goes my wife's pregnancy tears," he teased when she started crying.
Hours and hours of walking and asking around for directions, she saw something up ahead. It seems like a fountain with a weird statue at the top.
'What is that?'
She walked straight ahead, not taking off her eyes on the fountain.
'Is that the fountain on Chi's map?'
Taking the map again, she looked at it. It seems to be a center, this fountain, she is now on her way to the heart of the capital. She will be at her destination soon enough.
Her heartbeat races, pounding on her ribcage, wanting to jump out. She's feeling something unexplainable, she's both excited and overwhelmed. This is what she's been training for, she will now become an adventurer. She can now avenge her parents. Although she knew it could be a long time before she finds the root of all the attack in the Land of Griffin, she won't back down.
No matter how long it would take her, she will avenge them and the others who fell victim of that monster.
A sigh of relief escaped from her mouth unwittingly as she fastened her pace, but before she could reach the fountain, just a few feet away from it, someone tapped her shoulders.
Lithea turned around and a tall young man, probably older than her, with a bow and arrow on his back, an archer. He greeted her with a sweet smile.
"Good day, lady," he bowed lightly, "are you perhaps, lost?"
She gave the person in front of her a look of disapproval. She disapproves of his curly and unkempt brown hair, his cheeky smile, and his lame half-half fashion style. Lithea couldn't figure out if he's of a noble household or someone pretending to be one. Although his clothes suggests they're tailored by a skilled tailor, his appearance and physique proposes he's not.
Lithea was about to turn around and go back to what she's been doing when the archer jumped in front of her, she was crept out.
"You're a priestess, right?" he eyed her up and down, Lithea felt her whole body curled. She's disgusted.
"You're probably on your way to the center as I noticed how you were staring at the Ruby Fountain."
Lithea's ear perked, 'Ruby Fountain?'
The archer noticed her reaction and chuckled, "yes, that was built in memory of the first Ruby Ranks."
His voice holds a proud demeanor and people like him are one of those Chi warned her about.
She gulped.
"Come, come." He walked in front of her and glanced to make sure she's following. Lithea pretended to be following him and when he kept talking and stopped checking on her, she discreetly went to a different direction to escape from him.
"It's the first time for me to see a priestess to go solo on the way to the center," he observed, "so, is it your first time here in the capital?" he turned to face the priestess he's with but could only find a white cat, meowing at him before licking its paws.
"WHAT?!"
As he was frantically looking everywhere for the priestess, someone pulled his half cape and faced him.
"What the hell are you doing, Lance?" A guy taller than him with furrowed brows and frowning lips asked.
"Verin!" Lance immediately hugged his friend, "have you seen her?"
Verin raised a brow, his hand placed on top of his sword, "Who?"
"The young lady I'm with, I was supposed to take her to the center," he scratched the back of his head.
The tall swordsman stared at his archer friend who kept glancing here and there.
'What the heck is this guy doing while I was away?'
Verin unhooked his sheathe and hit his friend's head with it, creating a small lump on his head.
"What was that for?" he cried.
"Are you picking up girls?!"
Lance gulped, he isn't guilty but seeing his friend's reaction, he has a feeling he did a terrible crime.
"I was just helping."
Verin hit him again, "did she ask for it?"
Lance blinked. He tried recalling the events a while ago and when he remembered he was forcing her. He did not mean any harm, he only wanted to help.
He felt his whole body shrank as he slowly turned away from the six foot swordsman.
"No," Verin caught his cape, "you're coming with me!"
"NOOOO!" Verin draged his resisting friend to the guild.
"Stop moving."
"Then stop dragging me!"
Lithea has finally arrived at the place she's tirelessly looking for, the guild.
She clutched the map Chi gave her and inhaled deeply before opening the double doors of the building. A surprisingly decent decoration greeted her. The hall is filled with all sorts of adventurers, only her clothing is different from theirs.
The ragged and shabby fabrics hugging their bodies proves how hard they all have worked for the kingdom.
"May I help you?"
A lady behind a desk with the guild's crest on it called her attention. She's wearing a plain black dress with a guild crest on top of the ribbon on her neck.
She moved to the desk, "yes, please."
Lithea settled her bag, "I would like to register."
The whole building fell silent, all eyes on her. Everyone who was busy talking with their friends, and those who are busy doing their job, all stopped to stare at her.
'Did she come in the wrong structure?'
Lithea peeked at the crest on the front desk and it is indeed the guild's crest.
"You are here for the registration?" the lady asked.
Lithea answered firmly with a short, "I am."
"A priestess?" the lady moved her hand up and down to her.
She felt something strange, murmurs and snickers were being made behind her back. So the rumor of them mocking those who came from the temple is true.
Her discovery has led her to yet another dangerous decision, she will show them they cannot be mess with.
"Are you oppose to that?" She asked back, maintaining a blank expression.
The lady beside the one who entertained her cleared her throat and bumped the lady off the counter.
"Hello," the person entertaining her now is dressed similarly to the previous one, but this one has green hair, "I am Alice."
"Lithea."
"Okay, Lithea." Alice took a blank plank wood with engravings on its corners and placed it in front of her, "please have your palm on the center."
Lithea did what she's told and the moment her plam touched the wood, it glowed.
"Please answer honestly," Lithea nodded, "state your name."
"Lithea Clanwing."
Alice looked at her and chuckled, "my bad. Include your middle name pleade."
"Oh. Lithea Sol Clanwing."
The lady behind the desk blinked her eyes after hearing her name.
"Age. And birthdate." Somehow her voice grew quiet.
"16. November 10."
"And your skills?"
"Combat Priestess."
Alice squinted her eyes and tilted her head, she's confused, "you're a light rank at the age of 16?"
Lihea nodded.
"And you just turner 16 three days ago?"
Lithea nodded again.
Alice mimicked her and nodded as she sighed, "you're now registered." She took the wood off the desk.
"You can now proceed upstairs and enter the Miss Calla's office. She's the guild's chief."
As she made her way upatairs, she can still feel the eyes on her. But Chi warned her to never use violence unless gravely threatened. She can't do anything to them.
Meanwhile, Alice has been panting, trying to calm her nerves. As soon as she realized who she was, she tried to keep it together until she finishes her registration.
She knew she might be the one their chief has been looking for.