Viviana stirred from her slumber, with a yawn, she stretched her limbs, feeling the stiffness of sleep slowly fade away. Pushing herself up from the comfortable bed, she took a moment to gather her thoughts before rising to her feet.
Leaving her room, Viviana stepped out into the hallway of the temple. The walls were adorned with intricate tapestries depicting scenes of ethereal landscapes and celestial beings. Soft torchlight flickered along the corridor, casting a warm glow upon the polished stone floor.
She passed by several closed doors, each likely leading to living quarters or private chambers for the temple's inhabitants.
Eventually, Viviana reached the main hall of the temple, where she spotted Theodore, Lilith, and Camille engaged in conversation. Their voices mingled together in a lively exchange, laughter echoing off the walls.
"Oh god, people," she muttered as she turned to leave but it was too late as Theodore spotted her,
"Oh good morning Vee!" He waved to her.
"Oh christ…" She murmured as she slowly faced the others.
"Good morning Vee," Lilith said softly.
"Again don't—ugh..whatever." She sighed, "By the way where's the others? I looked around and I didn't seen them anywhere."
"Oh they're training with Lady Seraphina," Camielle answered, "to…what was it again?"
"To discover their gift." Lilith whispered in her ear.
"Yeah that'a right!"
"And where are you guys going?"
"To go back to the stalls silly!" Camille smiled widely, too wide, "Don't you remember? We're supposed to delivery the Azurims to that Aaron guy!"
"Then we're going to spend that money to buy new clothes." Lilith chime in.
"To buy clothes, I would have thought buying some food would be more..efficient."
"Well that's been covered by Orion," Theodore replied, "So we don't really did to worry about that for now."
"Huh.." Viviana looked down at herself, still the modern purple hoodie and pants she wore yesterday. Getting new clothes would allow her not to stand out like a sore thumb.
"Alright," She nodded, "I'll come with you guys."
"Oh really?" The three light up, "That's great, come on now."
Viviana joined Theodore, Lilith, and Camille as they made their way out of the temple and down the hill towards the stalls. The path was familiar now, the cool morning air refreshing against her skin as they descended.
As they approached the stalls, Viviana noticed that the atmosphere was livelier than usual. There were more people milling about, their voices mingling with the sounds of commerce and laughter. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked goods and the sweet scent of flowers.
They made their way through the bustling crowd, weaving between stalls adorned with colorful banners and gleaming decorations. Viviana's eyes were drawn to the gleamglobes hanging from the stalls, their soft glow casting a warm light upon the scene.
"Man, this is exciting! A festival, ooh, I wonder how many food can I stuff my face in?" Camille wondered as Lilith chuckled.
"Indeed, I'm quite excited to see the festival myself."
"Well we're going to need new clothes if we're going to blend in." Viviana searched through the crowd, "The stall from yesterday should be.."
"There!" Theodore pointed to the vibrant stall ahead, however there was a large amount of people lining up. Eventually with a few bones squished together, they were to slip through the masses and enter the building.
Somehow what was inside was more chaotic than outside. What causes the chaos seemed to be orchestrated by a massive machine occupying the center of the room. It hummed and whirred, its gears turning and pistons pumping.
Upon a conveyor belt, delicate Azurim petals were carefully placed, each one emanating a soft azure glow. These petals journeyed through the machine, entering a compartment where they underwent a meticulous process of crushing and distillation. As the petals were transformed, the air became infused with the sweet fragrance of the flowers, while their luminous essence was collected in small vials.
Simultaneously, the machine's intricate mechanisms were hard at work crafting the translucent glass shells that would house the distilled essence. With precision and skill, the shells took shape under the careful guidance of the machine, their ethereal forms glimmering in the light.
Once the shells were complete, they were gently transported to another section of the machine, where the final step awaited. Arcane runes adorned the surface of the shells, glowing with ancient power as they prepared to receive the enchantments that would bring them to life. Surrounded by a swirling vortex of energy, the shells were infused with a surge of power, awakening the enchantments woven into their very fabric.
The Gleamweaver, Aaron was a sight to behold, with his once-pristine attire now disheveled and stained with traces of luminous essence. Stray petals clung to his hair, and his hands bore marks of soot and grease from his work with the intricate machine.
He then noticed the three through by the looks of their expressions, sorely wishing they come at a better time.
"Oh," The man laughed though it cracked and sounded forced, "Another one, great. Wait..wait," He looked closer and as he did his eyes lit up, "Oh it's the Chosens! Thank the goddess! Where's the Azurims?" He asked frantically.
"Oh um.."
They rummage through their pockets and see the same small pouch. They opened it and as it did yesterday morph and resize itself into a screen, Viviana swiped left until she spotted the blue flower. She brought her hand to the digital screen. She shuddered at the cold sensation it brought. She grabbed the flowers and pulled out of the space.
The Gleamweaver clapped his hand as his eyes glued to the flower, "Brilliant! Thank you, gosh the Cromatix festival have been driving mad! Please just them on the counter right there."
They did as they told and as they did a screen appeared before them.
[ Ｒｅｑｕｅｓｔ Ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅｄ!]
[ Ｔｅｎ ｅｔｈｒｉｕｍｓ ｈａｖｅ ｂｅｅｎ ｔｒａｎｓｆｅｒｒｅｄ ｔｏ ｙｏｕｒ ｗａｌｌｅｔ]
"Sweet," Viviana said, "well I wish you good luck Mr Aaron, let's go guys?"
The Chosens nodded and turned to the exit.
"Wait!" Aaron called out, they all stopped and looked at him.
"I know you probably all have plans but I really did your help—"
"No." Viviana deadpanned, "I already did you a favor and your right I do have plans today."
"B-But it's not free! Take it as being employees for the day, and you'll be rewarded with more ethyriums. So please.."
"Again pass, I already have the money you promised. So no."
"Oh come on Vee," Lilith nudged her lightly, "A little labor won't and besides we're getting paid and if we're shopping don't you think a little cash would be good?"
"Then you guys go knock yourself out, but I got things to do and that does not include doing mindless tasks for strangers."
Theodore blocked her path, as she was about to push him out of the way, he asked, "What else could you possibly do today? It could always wait until tomorrow, And besides, he really needs our help. Imagine if we were in his shoes."
"I don't need the money," Viviana crossed her arms.
"Well," he murmured, leaning in even closer, his voice barely above a whisper, "I'm not in it for the money either."
Viviana raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Theodore's cryptic statement. Before she could question him further, Theodore continued, his words laced with a sense of intrigue.
"Think about it," he urged, his eyes glinting with excitement, "a guy like him is basically the heart of major trading and stocks in this town. Now that's a connection we might need in the future."
The notion gave Viviana pause. After a moment of consideration, Viviana relented, her stance softening, "Fine," She looked at the Gleamweaver whose gaze looked more hopeful, "But it's not money I want." She pointed to the machine specifically the area with the runes, "I want you to explain what the heck is this and what it does."
With Viviana's condition set, the group gathered around the Gleamweaver, who eagerly launched into an explanation. His hands danced with animated gestures as he described the inner workings of the machine.
"This," he began, his voice reached slightly higher, "is the heart of our Gleamglobe production. It distills the essence of the Azurims, extracting their luminous properties to create the enchanting orbs you see around town."
As he spoke, the machine hummed with activity, its gears turning and pistons pumping. Theodore and Camille leaned in closer, their eyes wide with fascination, while Lilith observed quietly.
Viviana, however, remained skeptical. She scrutinized each component of the machine, her brow furrowed, "What are these?" she asked, her finger tracing the symbols etched into the metal surface.
The Gleamweaver paused, "Ah, those are the enchantment runes," he explained, his voice taking on a reverent tone. "They imbue the Gleamglobes with their magical properties, allowing them to float gracefully through the air."
Intrigued, Viviana leaned in closer, her gaze fixed on the runes. Each symbol seemed to pulsate with a faint glow, casting intricate patterns of light and shadow across the room.
"Those symbols, they're.." 'The one I saw in the flowers but there's more I don't recognize'
"Are you perhaps interested in magic?" Aaron asked, "It wouldn't be the first time a Chosen was interested in that topic, take Seraphina for example.""She learned magic? By herself?""Oh no, not by herself, rather she was taught by the previous chief of the town."Viviana's brows were raised, "And who may that be?""Well she was kind old woman, she lived in the forest though and it quite difficult to spot her in town nowadays." 'Old..lives in a forest…'
"Got it, thank you very much.""Oh no, I should thank you Chosen, and..apologize as well." He said, "If I knew those savages would appear that night then I would never have requested that of you. I am truly sorry."
Viviana shook her head, "You didn't know, I shouldn't pin the blame on you entirely, there were a lot of things kept from us that day. You're alright." The gleamweaver sighed in relief, then smiled his wrinkles showing.
'Maybe it wasn't a bad thing to help this man after all.' She thought.
Together the chosens and gleamweaver continued on with their work.
Theodore's muscles bulged as he lifted crates of supplies, with a grunt, he hoisted a particularly heavy crate onto the designated worktable. Lilith approached with a cup of water in hand, "Here, Theodore," Lilith said, extending the bottle towards him, "You look like you could use a break. It's important to stay hydrated."
Theodore accepted the bottle with a grateful nod, taking a long swig of water to quench his thirst. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, "It was nice of you to convince Viviana to help," Lilith remarked, "What exactly did you say to her that made her change her mind?"
Theodore smiled as he shrugged modestly before replying, "Oh, I just repeated what you said. And besides, helping someone doesn't hurt."
Lilith's smile grew at Theodore's response, "That's sweet of you, Theodore," she said.
Camille, deftly handling delicate components, glanced over at Theodore and Lilith "Wow, look at those two in the moment while we're working. No fair," she remarked."Yeah." Viviana simply replied as her eyes narrowed at Theodore.
After hours of diligent work, the group finally completed their tasks, Aaron inspected their work with a satisfied nod.
"You've all done splendidly," Aaron praised, a warm smile gracing his features. "I suggest you take a break and replenish your energy. Lunch awaits you."
With a wave of his hand, Aaron bid them farewell, and the group exited the bustling workshop, their stomachs rumbling in protest from hours of intense focus and physical exertion.