I looked out over the sterling fields of morning dew that surrounded the city. It was early morning so everything shone in the newborn light of the sun. Even from here the noise of city life could be heard. Sometimes I found my self wanting to return to life as it was before, life in the palace with my family. But here I was, working for the Circle for the rest of my life, always on the other side of those pristine but deceptive white city walls.
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I was waiting on her, Diana. The one person in the world that made me feel different. The one person who didn't treat me like royalty or some amazing thing. With her I felt normal. Out of the prying gaze of others. She made me feel whole.
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So I sat under the giant oak tree on this hill where I'd come for so many years. To find my thoughts and my peace after finishing a contract or the nightmares I had every night. It was here I found peace even in my own company, which should've been harder than it really was. Soon my thoughts were pulled away as I could hear her quiet footsteps coming from behind me.
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I stood slowly and turned around to meet her warm chocolate gaze. "We're already late." She said smartly as she continued to move forward, her feet silent but provocative with every step. Her hips and legs moved in a way that could make any man swoon. I had to stop thinking about it.
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"I know." I said as I started to walk down the path from where she came. She followed closely behind. "I haven't seen you in a few days, how have things been with you?" She asked me, breaking the awkward silence I was causing. Her question actually forced me to think of an answer because I was never short with her. "Things have been... strange of late." I told her as I remembered how my dreams had changed in the past few week.
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"How so?" She asked. I thought even harder for a way to explain them. They weren't nightmares, just strange dreams. "I've been having dreams." I said finally. "Nightmares?" She asked. "No, just dreams. But these are different. It's always the same. I'm at the peak of a mountain. Everything is on fire. But the flames move slowly while some move normally. Like time slowed itself in one place but stayed the same in another. After a while the flames began to burn green. And then everything goes black. After that I wake up hearing a voice say something that I can't discern."
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She stayed silent for a moment as she thought about what to say. "Does it mean anything to you?" She asked. I shook my head in denial. "Well you are Gifted. Maybe it's something connected to that." I thought about that as we reached where our horses were tied to wooden posts on the edge of a small but beaten dirt path leading to this special place.
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She rode a milky white and brown mare. A beautiful horse she'd won from a bet years in the past. Mine was an older brown stallion bred from the foothills of Rïel. He was fast and had always been reliable. He was a gift from the lord of Rïelon so I'd raised him from a young age. One of my few and closest friends, even if it was just an animal.
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"We'd better get going." Diana suggested. Today was supposed to be a big day for me. Today the Circle plans to welcome me as the newest Keeper, one of the highest and most esteemed positions in the our vast organization. And yet I dreaded every moment leading to this day. I never wanted my days of adventure and hunting to end. Even if the men and beasts I'd hunted were dangerous, I was still free in those moments. As Keeper I would just be held down.
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Finally we began to ride towards the city, leaving the reminiscent hill behind to welcome the more familiar and pleasant rural outskirts of Kaladea. Farms and grain mills, orchards and vineyards were scattered all over the place. I'd always admired the quaint country life outside the walls. For these people it was rough at times but there was always opportunity to make something. Not like royalty, born with everything and never having to work for anything. These people knew struggle. Kaladea may have been the richest city on the Continent but that wealth had never made it forgiving. This city was ruthless underneath all of the beauty and coin.
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We made it to the gates only for the guards to immediately recognize us both and let us pass through. They were relaxed more than usual today. A few of them held mugs of ale and talked to each other while manning the walls. The black steel of their breastplates gave off a dark shimmer in the bright noon sunlight while the royal purple tunics and capes garnered a more regal look to each man. All of them had the symbol of the Voltaine Empire, a proud and sharp lightning bolt of black purity set against the royal purple cloth. The one symbol of power known across all of the Continent.
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We stopped our horses as two of the guards came to greet us but ended up stopping as they recognized us both after getting closer. "Go on ahead Lord Fraey." The younger one said, a female. Her voice caught me off guard, sounding so familiar and yet I couldn't place it. She had blonde hair as short as some of the male guards but eyes as green as the grass. She looked ready for anything at anytime. So strange. I hated being called a lord but she meant well. She didn't know me as well as the older guards. "I'm not a lord." I said plainly as I prodded my horse to move forward and through the gate.
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I never got tired of marveling at the city's intricate architecture. It was one of the oldest cities on the Continent. Some say it was built by forgotten ancestors thousands of years ago, always too questionable of a topic for me. But it was without a doubt one of the most beautiful and elegant cities I'd ever seen. All of the buildings were built from the same immaculate white marble, draped in magnificent purple cloths and banners. But as I looked at the faces of the people that parted in front of me, I could see the struggles in their eyes and on their shoulders and I remembered the corrupt and belittling atmosphere of Kaladea. One rule in life that I'd learned was that anywhere and everywhere, the successful people are always built upon the shoulders of the unrecognized, the common people.
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After a while we made it deeper into the graceful city stopping outside our home, the Hall of Judgment. One of the seven halls of the Circle around the Continent and the birth place of our order. Here I'd met many of my friends and even lost some. I'd given my whole life to this place and more after that. This was home.
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We tied off our horses outside and made our way inside. Past the statues of our founders and forefathers. Perhaps we would be made into statues some day, Diana and myself both. We almost made it to the commons before we were stopped by a familiar voice.
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"Fraey, Diana." Hathien called. It didn't sound good at all, his voice was grim and out of tone. "There is news from the Highlands. Something's happened."
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