Spring 3rd, 513 AV - The Gates of Nyka
The journey had been a long one indeed, scores of days worth of hardship that most people perhaps would see as a fruitless endeavor for the rewards that they would be getting, something too risky to possibly ever pay off. Pay off it had, however, in many ways indeed. And Zandelia would never find herself thinking that it was not worth every sleepless night, every drop of sweat and rumbling of empty stomach. She had promised them all that Nyka would alleviate the tensions that had been building over the course of their journey, as the only one whom had nominally offered up information on having visited there before in many ways she had been tasked with trying to keep the morale that flagged after the first week of travel from plummeting into outright mutiny – it had not been an easy task. Still, as winter’s bite eased and the first winds of Spring on the horizon brought a sense of accomplishment and possibility their moods had lifted noticeably.
Even if, at times, we almost killed each other. Still, if my memory remains correct and I bloody hope it does, well…we are close indeed she told herself as she tried not to pay attention to t e aches in her thighs and rump from the endless journey on horseback.
It had been a lesson all in itself, the art of riding a horse over long distances and the slow – almost imperceptible – adaptations that he body had undergone along the way. The pains were certainly not as intense anymore but she would never say they had receded fully, it took a considerable amount of her mental fortitude just to keep from screaming about it with every step that her mount took. It was such a simple thing too, to own another life, even if it was a horse – and not a particularly amazing one at that. Still, she had forged a bond with it she thought, having fed it and kept it warm and safe for the duration. It would remain to be seen whether it would be maintained for the future, though she fancied it would be if she had her way over it. A companion was a companion after all, human or not. She stroked the beasts powerful neck a few times, leaning down painfully in the saddle to do so, and felt the strength there.
“Good boy, good boy indeed. Just a little further” she whispered to it, words not audible to those not riding right next to her.
As the crest of the hill came under the hooves of their mounts it proved to be the last one, Nyka lay before them in all its glory – and what glory was stored there indeed. Powerfully thick walls encircled the city, crenellated in some places and even from here she could see the glisten of sunlight from the tips of weapons of those patrolling it. It was a large city indeed, by the standards of cities in Syliras, filled with factions of monks and demi-gods as its ruler. She smiled at the other three and laughed at the final ending of their journey.
“Didn’t I say it was worth the journey? Welcome…to Nyka” she stated as she swept her hand across the city theatrically.
She spurred her mount onwards in a gentle walk down towards the city gates, the quarries looming somberly in their path and found herself to be genuinely excited for the first time in seasons.
