Talia had no idea why there was an incessant pounding in her head, she wondered if she was being hit with a bat that she didn't know of. The voices drifted over to her muffled and distorted and she had troubles understanding what exactly what was being said. Opening her eyes was the greatest task she faced as it proved increasingly difficult no matter how hard she tried.
"...need to see." She managed to mutter out through her pain.
She felt the hand holding her down before she heard the voice "You need to calm down." The voice said strong and authoritative and she wondered why exactly she was being ordered by someone she had no idea who he was.
"I don't take orders from you." she forced out and managed what she assumed was a glare as she finally successfully opened her eyes.
Her brows furrowed as she stared at the man in front of her, he looked like no one she had seen before and she stared at him in confusion As if reading her thoughts "I'm San, I was in your safe house a few days ago" he spoke in that same authoritative manner again
"I'm sure you have questions" he continued "and they will all be answered in due time, but first" He walked to the box by the bedside "We need to examine you"
"Are you a doctor?" she asked him incredulously
He chuckled lightly as he shook his head "I'm just a man who has seen many things and knows many more."
She stared in confusion as he continued to work on her external injuries with expertise while he asked questions about herself that she tried to answer to the best of her ability.
"where am I?" she asked after he finishes examining her.
He extended his hand to her with a smile, she stared at him warily and hesitantly took his hand. He pulled her up and supported her as he walked her outside the small house. He waited patiently as she adjusted her eyes to the sunlight
"Welcome to the Yogvian Empire." He said and she could practically hear the pride in his voice as he spoke.
Talia had only ever been shocked speechless for about twice before in her life; first was when the man she knew as her father had told her that he wasn't her biological father as he had found her by the riverside and second was when he told her she was royalty but even then she had not been as shocked as she was at that moment when she looked upon the breathtaking view before her. She had no words to describe it as she took a step forward and was mesmerized by what she saw.
"It's a floating city." she said with awe
"No, it's not floating " San told her with a smile
"What?" she asked incredulously, she felt like a she had stepped into a fairy world, everything and she meant everything was beautiful.
" If you look closely, there are pillars at certain locations that hold the city afloat."
Talia did not even have the time to look closely, she kept studying the landscape, the houses were made of shiny stone that she glistened in the sunlight, doors made out of pure stone too. Each house was at least one storey tall built round and cave-like and every house had a uniquenes to it even with similar designs around them ranging from the stones arrangements to even it's color, there were means of transport on the road that she had never seen before; soundless and beautiful even the roads itself were made out of the same type of stone that she suspected had been made flattened and smooth for passage. She was awed by the intelligence behind the design of the city.
"What are this stones?" she asked in awe as her hand trailed the wall of a house she had gotten close to, it felt cool to touch even as the sun was at its highest peak and she wondered how that was possible
"That is no stone." San answered her with a beaming smile "It's simply Thistle or Thistum as the humans call it."
"Are you not humans?" She asked with a frown
"We're not all humans, some are creatures you might have heard of while the others are not."
"Hmm" was all she said in reply fixing her gaze on a large spiral looking structure that extended downward below the city "What is that?"
"That is one of the numerous pillars holding the city down"
She wandered around for a bit drinking in the beauty of the entire city before San spoke again
"Our leader would like to speak with you.? He informed her
"Like your king?" She asked looking up at him with a frown
His smile was ever present as he answered her "We do not have a king, we have a selected group of people who rule together but appoint one person as their leader to be the face of the ruling council."
Talia tried not to let her confusion show as she mulled over his word in her head wondering how that kind of rulership worked exactly
"We know you're in trouble with your king and we would like to discuss that with you." San said to her "I'm sure you will love to see more of the city but it is imperative if we go to The House to see the council."
The House was about seven houses away from where they were and again Talia was awed by the architecture of the building. It was the tallest building around there and the only building that wasn't constructed in a cave like manner, it was tall and straight as the buildings she was familiar with where she came from. San who walked ahead of her got to the door made of thistle with a kind of mechanism embedded within it that had to scan his eyes before the door slid open for him, Talia watched dumbfounded as to how that was possible
"You're not in the system if I go in, the door locks." Talia snapped out of her dazed state and walked into the the building that was beautiful beyond words.
There were paintings everywhere, the lack of windows could not be felt as the hair was still cool; the effect of the thistle used in building. The twinkling lights in every direction was an added beauty to the aesthetics of the building. There were guards everywhere who wore armour made of thistle and they looked as part of the decor as the rest of the designs. San led her towards another thistle made structure that moved up and she realised it was a form of transport that didn't involve stairs
"This is called a lift, avoiding the effects of stairs." San told her with a smile and he stepped into the enclosure. She quickly followed suit even as she was a but afraid of the strange mechanism which moved soundlessly and stopped at every floor for about three minutes for people to get off.
They finally got off at the top floor and she stepped into a kind of great hall with about six chairs and table for each chair arranged on the raised platform, all the seats were made of thistle designed in a kind of half circle.
"This is the meeting room of the council." San said to her
"Why is there thus much seats?" she gestured to the lowered side of the hall where rows and rows of seats were arranged
"It's for large meetings or festivals where the people have to be gathered together, like when new laws are made."
"Am I meeting the whole gathering?"
San regarded her with amusement "No, it will just be three of us."
"So, do I.....?" She trailed off as she saw him bow to someone behind her.
Talia turned around and stared at the man who had just made an entrance into the Hall, and she was surprised as to the simplicity of his dressing and his style, he didn't even look like a leader and when he spoke even his voice was gentle and kind
"Hello, I'm Tal." He said with a smile "I'm the representative of the empire's council."