The Key To Terra

Chapter Four

The Citadel that Momo spoke of was actually a gigantic building that resembled an elegant cathedral. It shone a pristine bright white in the now morning light and was easily the largest building in the entire city. It was also situated in the city's center like a shining beacon of pure white. Oversized steps of the same color led to marble columns that stood several feet tall. Two armored men flanked either side of double wooden doors that were way larger than was necessary in Marina's opinion. Thick, ornate helmets obscured the guards' stern faces.

"Sentinels," Momo whispered to Marina, "specially trained swordsmen that keep watch over the entire city. But their priority is to protect the Citadel. Only the best of the best when it comes to swordsmanship can earn the honor to hold the title of Sentinel."

Kane scoffed at Momo's commentary. Then he walked right up to the Sentinels and addressed them confidently.

Perhaps he was not a fan of the Sentinels either. Marina began to wonder if he liked anyone aside from Momo. At the very least the list of those that he even remotely liked seemed to be tiny. Yet Momo had managed to do the impossible, she became his friend somehow. Marina would have liked the chance to be able to do the same.

"What brings you to the Citadel?" one of the Sentinels answered, both maintaining perfectly stoic expressions. Marina noticed that each had a hand on their sheathed weapons, ready to fight if necessary.

"Pontiff Voss has a new student," Kane calmly pointed a thumb back in Marina's direction. The Sentinels shared a look before one of them responded.

"She seems a bit on the older side to begin training here."

"She's just a late bloomer is all," Momo stepped forward and added. Her explanation seemed to be enough for them for they nodded at each other and pushed the two doors open, letting the trio through. The doors slammed shut behind them once they were past the threshold.

The room they stepped into was large and circular in shape. White marble floors with white walls and a white ceiling. The pure white was definitely a running theme throughout the Citadel.

Several archways lined with intricate patterns of gold and silver ran along the far side of the room like vines. It was beautiful. However it was devoid of furniture of any kind. Each step they took echoed and bounced off the walls without anything to dampen the sound. It seemed that there was no way to enter without being heard.

Through one of the archways a lone figure appeared. A willowy male elf gracefully walked towards them. A cloak of the purest white trailed behind him. Intelligent, silver eyes scanned over all three of them briefly. His assessing gaze fell on Marina last. He stopped a few feet in front of Marina and gave a small bow.

"Greetings. I am Pontiff Voss. And you are?"

"Um...I'm Marina." She found his silver eyes unnerving. They seemed to see right through her. His intelligence and power were apparent in his gaze and presence. She suddenly was not quite so sure about spending time here.

"Then tell me, Marina. What is your affinity?"

"Well I was hoping you could tell me," Marina said awkwardly. She felt embarrassed to say such a thing. Especially since the elf suddenly looked more serious. Clearly not knowing her affinity at her age was abnormal.

"I see," he appeared deep in thought but quickly switched to his equivalent of a warm smile, "then I suppose we will find that out together." Pontiff Voss gently put a hand to her back to guide her towards the archway that he had appeared through earlier.

Marina let him lead her away but looked back at Kane and Momo. Unsure if this was really a good idea. Kane looked grumpy as usual which was not helpful in the least. In contrast, Momo grinned at her and gave her a double thumbs up in reassurance.

Feeling a little better, Marina gave a small smile to Momo in return. Momo seemed to think that it was fine so she stopped worrying. They had not known each other for long at all but she trusted Momo's judgement. She felt confident that the feline Chimera would not steer her wrong. And with that she turned her attention ahead, leaving behind the only two people she knew in this strange new world.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Momo chewed on her bottom lip nervously. The two Sentinels nodded at her and Kane in acknowledgement as they exited the Citadel. It was not until they had reached the bottom of the large steps that Kane finally answered her.

"Why would she not be? All mages train at the Citadel. I'm sure she'll be no different."

"I suppose you're right..." Momo stopped walking long enough to glance back at the Citadel one last time. Shaking off her worry, she jogged to catch up to Kane's longer strides. "So now what?"

"Now we earn back what we spent today." Kane stopped in front of a billboard and gestured towards it. Papers coated the billboard, their untethered ends blowing in the gentle breeze.

"Aww work already?" Momo quickly wiped the pout off of her face as soon as Kane's scowl returned, "fiiine." He had always been big on saving their earnings. Sometimes it drew Momo crazy. The guy really needed to relax once in a while.

"Here we go," Kane plucked one of the papers and handed it to her to read. Apparently a child the next town over was sick and in need of a healer.

Healers, especially one as skilled as Momo was, were pretty uncommon. Most of them were elves. And elves never left the Citadel for some reason. No human or Chimera knew why that was. It had always been that way as far back as anyone could remember. So they healed strictly those that could make it to their doors. This meant that those too far away or too sick to make the trip to the Citadel safely had to rely on job postings and hope that a skilled healer found it in time.

But Momo did not mind picking up requests that the elves refused. She actually enjoyed healing and helping others in need. She just hoped that she made it to the child in time.

"Alright. But first let's have breakfast!" She eyed a particular nearby establishment hungrily.

"Its always food with you. I don't know where you put it all," Kane smirked, ruffling Momo's short hair as a sign of affection, "we can eat first but I expect twice as much effort from you today."

"Yes sir!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"And this is the Great Library. It contains all known knowledge. That's the main reason why the Citadel is guarded." Pontiff Voss droned on about the history of the Citadel with his arms proudly outstretched. Unfortunately he made it all sound boring. She sadly found it hard to pay attention to.

Meanwhile, Marina focused on the library that they both now stood in the center of. This room was also entirely white and windowless save for a small area in one corner with some comfortable looking seating. The rest was wall to wall books. A second floor above had railings along the circumference of the open oval at its center. This displayed a stained glass window directly above.

The library was crowded with people all dressed in white. Although there were many others around, the library still managed to be quiet. Marina had no doubt that everyone could hear what Pontiff Voss was saying.

All too soon she was led out of the Great Library. Another elf greeted them there. This one was female with long black curls that flowed down her back. Her arms were held behind her back in a professional stance as she waited patiently for their undivided attention. She wore a cloak similar to Pontiff Voss' but hers was lined with silver instead of gold. A large deep blue stone held it around herself. It sparkled from the lights overhead.

"Ah. And Marina this is Lihnore. She is to be your teacher starting today. I suppose this is a good time for me to take my leave," he placed a hand on Lihnore's shoulder for a moment. The two elves temporarily made eye contact, "I leave Marina in your care." She nodded and Pontiff Voss left her and Marina. It was not long before his footsteps could no longer be heard on the marble floors. The relief she felt from his absence was immediate. Marina let out a relieved sigh that she hoped was inaudible.

"Hello Marina," Lihnore smiled kindly. Unlike Pontiff Voss, her silver eyes were much warmer and welcoming. She seemed almost motherly. This elf Marina might find herself much more comfortable around. "all you'll be doing today is finding where you'll be staying and meeting the other students here. So don't worry."

She followed the rhythmic clacking of Lihnore's heeled boots on the floor of marble. As if the female elf needed to be any taller than she already was. Even without the heels she was noticeably taller than Marina as well as many other individuals that passed by. And Marina was about average height for a human female. The elf had to be at least six feet tall without the heels. The height of the elves would definitely take some getting used to.

Marina hoped that Lihnore would succeed in helping her. She really wanted to be able to defend herself and quickly. It was embarrassing how defenseless she was. She valued being able to take care of herself. It still bothered her that Kane and Momo had to come to her rescue.

She met many other mages over the course of the day. Most of them were elemental in nature but a few proudly claimed to have a healing affinity. She even met some guardians in training.

Apparently one of the guardians in training would be appointed to her once her affinity was discovered. And they would be a pair from then on much like Momo and Kane were. They would then train side by side to be able to efficiently fight together as a team.

Marina was finally feeling more at ease at the Citadel. Being apart from Momo and Kane for however long now seemed less terrible. She was determined to start making friends there. Besides, who knew how long she would be stuck in that strange world of swords and magic. May as well make the most of it until she finally woke up.

However Marina was beginning to wonder if it was indeed a dream after all. If it was it was proving to be far longer and far more detailed than any other dream she remembered ever having. And there was no end in sight as far as she could tell.

If it was a dream then she had no idea how she was going to wake herself up. She worried about how her father was doing. How long had she been asleep so far? Was he worried about her? Hopefully she would wake up soon and find out what was going on. She may not have ever been very close to him, but she did not want to worry her father.