The false carriage drivers made their way through the last two checkpoints without issue; even the strict bordergates at the western entrance of Attekant. Elara had been through this entry many times, Attekant being her hometown. Entering into the city felt entirely different this time round though. She felt more a visitor than a resident. Perhaps 'intruder' or 'enemy' were more accurate words. But the New Becoming had never identified themselves as invaders. Their doctrine was a simple one: a unification of Oros as one people, under a singular, but fairly-dispersed and noble, aristocracy.

  Elara first heard of their happenings ten years ago, when she was fifteen, when they were being discussed in a critically dismissive manner by guests at her Grandfather's summer ball. 'Sanctimonious fools' were the words that she remembered clearest. But she heard more of their ideals as the years went on, and the always stayed with her. The principle that most of the inequity in Oros can be traced back to the eras of conflict between Collosea, Haemonine and Ruskel, and how said conflict continued to thrive by way of so called 'patriotism' within each realm. As long as the monarchy formed after the revolution was a just and benevolent one, then a united Oros would benefit all. It was these principles which led her to them after the fateful, and painful, events that took place nearly a year ago to that very day they were crossing the threshold into Attekant.

  The western entrance to Attekant lay at the summit of the squat, roundish mountain of Treller, The Hollytree. The word 'mountain' was thought to be a generous title by citizens of the other realms; it was effectively a substantial hill rising out of the Western end of the Triskellion. The true mountains resided behind it, with their dominating cobalt colours and jagged ridges. Still, Treller held a holy status amongst the Haemonines, as it was believed that the conscience of the God Haemonie, the middle child, resided within the Hollytree stone.

  The two carriages followed the wide spiral road downwards. It always looked to Elara like a sort of great twisting mine shaft, but built of red stone and lit by gaslamps like any average street. They came out into District 4 and headed south west. As a child, and as with most Attekant children, Elara never worried about getting lost when she went exploring the city. Attekant, being the most modern of the three capitol cities in Oros, was designed with a unique efficiency: Eight districts segmented around a central point, split evenly like hours on a clock, but with each district eventually taking on its own identity. As a result, it was difficult to get too lost when chasing her friends up and down the streets. As they passed through district 5 and entered into district 6, the streets began to become more and more familiar. She pulled her blue cloak up and lifted the hood. She wasn't aware they'd be driving through district 6, the wealthy part of town where The grand Valkueda Manor stood, and to be seen by someone familiar would be fatal to the mission. She looked nervously at Jidae.

  'Not much further.' She said, reading Elara's mind.

  After a few more minutes, they stopped outside an building with a sign reading 'D6 Bespoke Money Lenders & Depository'. They alighted the carriages and swiftly grabbed their belongings from under the seats before heading in. The sign on the door read "Closed", despite it only being late afternoon. Inside was a warm, well upholstered floorspace, with a long, horse-shoe shaped counter wrapping the back wall, and several olive green velvet coated chairs and tables in the centre. At the back, a tall man with very thin and wild whispy hair and a tight, heavily-buttoned wool jacket stood with his hands on the counter. He looked to have been expecting them.

  'Ah, my favourite customers.' He said pleasantly, but without raising his voice too much. The four of them walked to the back of the room to greet him. Jidae leaned in and shook his hand and Elara heard them both say 'En Holistis, Glory' under hushed breaths.

  'I received your message.' Said the man at normal volume. 'Please, follow me to the vault, we have your deposit box open for you.'

  They heeded his request and went through the heavy oak door and then down some stone steps of varying greys that dipped slightly at the edge from years of footfall, which led to a gigantic steel door the size and shape of a millwheel. The man spun a smaller notched wheel at the centre and heaved it open, and they entered into the vault lined wall-to-wall with locked boxes of different sizes. Jidae immediately walked over to a tall portrait locker numbered '94' towards the far left. She pulled a key from the trouser pocket and turned it in the lock, opening it. Elara felt a small draft as it opened, a shift in the air followed by a coolness and the soft smell of limestone. She turned, for a second, and then back, and to her surprise Jidae had vanished.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  'After you, Miss.' Said the man politely.

  Elara walked over to the locker, with Callask and Cosmo behind her, their steps sounding heavy on the steel floor. Within the locker she saw what appeared to be a hand-carved tunnel with rough steps descending for a few metres before they disappeared into the darkness. The others stopped behind her, and Cosmo gave her a light pat on the back. Elara stepped tentatively into the sloped tunnel. The air was cold and a little dank, reminiscent of the wine cellar in her family home, and, just for a split-second, she experienced a twang of homesickness for the first time in a year.

  She passed further and further into the gloom, the lamplight from the vault above now growing smaller in size with each step. Eventually she saw the tunnel level out, and then, a left turn, out of which an amber glow emerged. She took the turn, and stopped in her tracks before a sprawling room containing about thirty people, including Jidae, who was stood at a table near the centre with her back the entrance, talking to someone.

  It had a low ceiling, and was a rough square shape, with several tight-looking doorways leading to corridors to what Elara assumed were other, similar rooms. The whole space looked dug-out, as if built by a burrowing mole, and the only man-made materials residing in the walls were supporting buttresses made of strong wood beams. Elara walked inwards toward Jidae, side-stepping a couple of New Becoming Knights marching urgently to-and-fro with papers in their hands. The room itself bristled with energy.

  Jidae cocked her head as Elara approached. 'Hm,' she said, 'I was wondering where you'd be joining us. Elara, meet Grand Duke Vizaranu, he's the head of the Attekant helm of the New Becoming.'

  Elara reached out her hand and put on a youthful smile in greeting, but when the man stepped into view, her hand dropped in kneejerk fashion and her expression stood stunned. He had a youthful face, almost mouse-like in its pointedness, but the grey speckles in his beard and the way he carried himself, assured rather than arrogant, suggested he was in his late thirties, maybe a few years younger than Jidae. It was a kind face, with eyes the turned to half moons as he smiled a wide smile without showing any teeth. His hair was wavy and dark red, although it was hard to tell in the low haze of the bunker.

  'Hello Elara.' he said with a little humour in his tone, as if to address her almost-gawping. He shook her hand with a single lift and drop.

  'Hello.' Returned Elara. Her throat was dry. 'Must be the poor ventilation' she thought.

  'Vizranu will be joining us tomorrow, despite my clear recommendation that it is a foolish decision.'

  'You were never one for mincing your words were you?' He said to Jidae, chuckling, 'Ah do not worry yourself, you remain the leader of the squad tomorrow, all roads run through you.'

  'That,' she said with a slight icy humour, 'was never in doubt. What is doubtful is the reasoning behind risking our Attekant Grand Duke on an arrowfight-' Jidae shot a mindful glance at Elara, '... potentially hazardous endeavour. But our Grand Duke here wishes to relive his glory days.'

  Vizaranu sighed, but he looked happy still. Elara wondered if that was just his natural state. He seemed so full of life and free of bitterness compared to the other Grand Dukes she had met.

  'I hear you're our botanist?' He inquired with Elara. 'A well-versed one at that. Are you ready for tomorrow?'

  'Yeah- Yes. And I think so.' Said Elara. She felt the need to act modest for some reason and immediately regretted it. 'I've reviewed the plan, and provided some of my thoughts to it as well.'

  'Elara is the only one of us who has stepped foot inside the vault before. One could argue she is the most ready.' Said Jidae.

  'I hold that to be true,' said Vizaranu, 'but I'd also wager that Elara has seen little in the way of fighting, beyond her training, so, if it comes to it tomorrow Elara, let us do the skirmishing. Your brain is worth more than a few punctures on our skin. Now, please get some rest after your journey. There's some cabbage stew brewing in the kitchennete down that corridor. It's a tad foul but it's warm.' He nodded respectfully at both of them and then walked off to converse with two Knights who had been hovering nervously nearby, waiting for his attention. Elara watched him leave without realising and then she and Jidae set off into the other room.

  'Handsome, no?' Said her companion while he was still potentially in earshot.

  'What, no, I...' Elara blushed so deeply that her cheeks became apple-pink even in the low light.

  'I thought so too.' Said Jidae, with a wistfulness that Elara had yet to see on her.

  'Are you two together?'

  'We were Married once, although it seems like an age ago. That kind of love never fully leaves you though. It fades and sometimes festers but it stays there, in the firmament.' Jidae stared ahead, a distant fondness in her countenance. Elara guessed that an old memory was playing in her mind, but Jidae snapped from it.'

  'But the cause will always hold the helm of his heart. Above anything. Above everyone. Remember that, Elara.'