Caelan’s clothing was similar, though more formal. Both his shirt and slacks were black, but there was an ornate stitching of shimmering green that started over his heart and stretched down over his left arm as a reminder that the King of Erya was also tied to the Life Stone as its guardian. His deep black cloak hung over his right shoulder, flapping in the breeze as he walked to reveal the same deep green in Zastrad silk on the underside.
Eyes followed them as they passed people on the streets. The black clothing wasn’t out of the ordinary for Temit, but it was the shade of green that was eye-catching. There was little green to be seen in Temit. People preferred shades of purple, particularly the deep, rich amethyst purple that was the official color of the Dead God.
“It’ll be fine because I’m not expecting us to get anywhere with this High Priest of Temit.”
“High Aspect, Warden of the God’s Road to Mrtyu,” Eno automatically corrected. He’d heard Rayne say it enough this morning as they were preparing to leave the hotel.
Apparently, the leaders of Zastrad weren’t just a bunch of high priests. There were specialties, which shouldn’t have been surprising. The leader of Temit took on the title of High Aspect, and he or she was seen as the warden or guardian of the single road leading up to the mountain city of Mrtyu.
There were others like the High Arcanist, who specialized in the production and distribution of Kiss of Death to all the churches. Definitely a person of interest if KoD was getting into places that had nothing to do with the celebration of their god.
But the one they were most concerned about was the High Luminance, the leader of all of Zastrad. The person was apparently also called the Marked One and the High Clarity.
Once again, Eno had to wonder at how in the world Rayne kept all that nonsense straight in his head.
“Yes, yes, High Aspect,” Caelan muttered with a wave of his hand. “We’ll be lucky to get in to see him in the first place.”
“That doesn’t worry you?”
Caelan shrugged. “I always felt like this was a long shot. Rayne and the others are far more likely to get somewhere with Yash Magar. Zastrad’s government has an extremely long history of not wanting anything to do with other country leaders. I don’t see any reason why that would change now.”
Eno leaned forward so he could lower his voice as he spoke directly into Caelan’s ear. “Except for the fact that New Rosanthe is on a path to conquer the world and steal the power of all the gods.” As he pulled back, he saw that a new line of worry stretched across Caelan’s brow.
“True. Though their god is dead, and what better way to celebrate that god than to throw your life away in battle against New Rosanthe?” he asked, but he didn’t seem to be looking for an answer as he immediately shook his head. “I don’t think anyone can guess at what the High Luminance would do if New Rosanthe were to attack. The country has been reclusive for centuries. If it weren’t for the regular silk shipments from the east, we probably wouldn’t hear from them at all.”
It was that inability to predict what the leaders of the country would do next that was driving Rayne a bit crazy. While they’d at last managed to sleep in an actual bed with a door separating them from the rest of the group, his lover had suffered a fitful night. When he wasn’t tossing and turning, he’d taken to standing at the window, staring out at the street below. Eno had tried to comfort him, but there was little he could do. Rayne was torn over how to anticipate the movement of the Zastrad government as well as predict the outcome with the Magar meeting.
The key was that Rayne had to make sure that at least one of the options delivered them a step closer to their goal: reaching the godstone at the top of Mount Langbo.
They followed the directions Vale gave them to the seat of Temit government and found themselves standing in front of what was clearly a church at the edge of a large open square. While initially unexpected, Eno had to admit that he shouldn’t have been surprised. Zastrad was a theocracy. The government was run by the church, so state buildings naturally were churches. He was just more accustomed to seeing elegant palaces or somewhat dreary government complexes filled with people in suits.
This structure was breathtaking in its detail and design. Spires rose up to pierce the pristine blue sky. Pale-gray stone was broken up by stained glass in a multitude of colors that sucked in the morning light, transforming it into something simply stunning. Rayne should have been there to share it with him. It was a wonder that a people who were in such a rush to die could devote themselves to creating something so marvelous.