Darkness of Magic (Soul of Magic Book 2)

THREE

Although Kyra had been to the walled city that the depicted the Capital of the great kingdom of Cyrian countless times since the great conflict between the humans and wizards ended, she never failed to marvel at the majesty of the city whenever she beheld it. Even as she rode through the streets that evening, her eyes couldn’t stop wandering to and fro, drinking in the magnificent view in front of her.

The city boasted of a grand structure. Strong, tall, impressive, and highly well-maintained buildings rose all over the landscape; all of them arranged to a predetermined plans that outlined cobblestone streets and well-lit alley. Keeping up with the times, the Capital was home to a lot of people; Cyrianes and non-Cyrianes alike. But while the large population would have caused a lot of trouble for any other kingdom, the royal court of the great kingdom had extended a lot of ensuring that security and orderliness was maintained throughout the Capital. And so, the hustle and bustle of the people has they went about their daily lives was no longer noise but a proclamation of prosperity which the great kingdom enjoyed. The fact that wizards were now allowed live harmoniously with the humans in the kingdom whereas they had been shunned before could only add more to the amazing feeling that the Cyriani capital city already had present in it; and it was that amazing feeling that Kyra felt whenever she came to it.

However, the Soul of magic had to admit that the majority of the achievement which was displayed before her was as a result of the work of Nicolas the Vanquisher, Richard's father and predecessor; and also the man who had started the campaign which became known as the great conflict that almost wiped out the wizards from the face of the realm. And although the claim at the time was that the former king, then crown prince of the great kingdom, said that he had been tasked by the Creator himself to rid the realm of magic; which didn’t make Kyra like the mention of his name any more than she did before. But her personal grudges, Nicolas the Vanquisher had done a great job with Cyrian during his lifetime and not even her could say otherwise.

"Look at that!" Lucian exclaimed as he reached the Place of Banners, as it was called by the Cyrianes.

The Place of Banners was actually a raised circular platform in the middle of street where the banners of the seven great houses of Cyrian were raised; the great houses were descendants of the seven brothers who founded the great kingom. A red banner of two snakes coiled round a sword with an eagle wing on each side depicted the great house of Winchmore, rulers of the great kingdom; a blue banner of a unicorn raising its front hooves for the great house of Tramenton, the eldest of the seven. A yellow banner of a scale having a sword represented the great house of Balzar, next of the three; while a brown banner of a lion sat in a meadow depicted the great house of Eskan, the brother to come after Balzar. The great house of Aubred, next to Eskan, was represented with a black banner of two crossed axes with a spear in the middle; the next after him, the great house of Vene, represented by a gold banner of barley head. And a green banner of a ship with a star at its bow represented the great house of Effair, the youngest of the seven.

However, it wasn’t any of the seven banners that Lucian was calling Kyra’s attention to. There was actually an eighth banner that the blonde-haired warrior was looking at; a white banner which had the picture of chain with a pentagram pendant around which ivy vines were wrapped around. Kyra actually had the chain of which the banner was based; it belonged to the last Head witch before the great conflict Fara and was given to the Soul of magic by the seer who had explained what exactly she was to her. The banner standing next to those of the great houses could only mean one thing; that wizards were as much a part of Cyrian as its people were. The thought brought a smile to Kyra’s lips.

"The banner is so much better than ours, Kyra," Lucian said to her as they rode up close to have a better look.

"We don't have a banner, Lucian," she reminded him, not that it did anything to change his thoughts.

"Then I think it's about time we had one," he replied, giving her a pointed look that made her suspect that it wasn’t just the banner they were talking about.

Truth be told, Kyra really did know that he was hinting at her journeying to the Blessed Isle to raise up the Wiccan tower again; there was no other way they could have a banner besides that and they both that. The Soul of magic pretended not to understand what the blonde-haired warrior was driving at and turned her attention to a guard who was approaching them just then.

"Lady Kyra," he said, bowing before her. "We've been expecting you."

"Is His Majesty available at the moment?" she asked as they rode into the palace compound, stopping every now and then to return the greetings given to her by the passing Lords and Ladies. Apparently, the humans revered her more than the wizards did; a fact which Kyra didn’t know why it should be.

"I'm sorry but the king is attending to a matter of state right now," the guard replied. "But he did say that you should make yourself at home while you wait and deeply apologises for his inability to personally bid you welcome."

"Well, if we're not up yet, then I best go and get reacquainted with some old friends," Lucian cut in before anyone could say anything, riding away just as Kyra was about to ask if she could tag along. She had a feeling that his quick exit might have a lot to do with the fact that he was displeased at her for always disagreeing with his suggestion; a suggestion he felt would do them a lot of good and end their enemies’ reign once and for all. Anyway, she let him go, deciding that it would be best for him to come to terms with it on his own.

The guard soon left afterwards and with nothing else to do, Kyra took the only option available to her; she waited, and hoped like hell it won't be for long.

***

Kyra had barely settled into the bedroom that was allocated as hers for time being when the doors suddenly swung open and Lorraine came rushing excitedly in. "I've been so happy since Richard told me you were coming," she said as she pulled in a stunned Kyra for a big hug. "And here you are in the flesh."

It came as a surprise to most people, Kyra herself included, but Princess Lorraine of Cyrian, Richard's younger sister, had taken quite a shine to her since the moment they first met. Apparently, she had always been a friend of magic, which was also surprising because her family hated magic; at least they did before the alliance.

As Kyra had learnt over the course of their friendship, Lorraine was a woman that was quite almost impossible to fathom. She could be very wise and matured one second, and behave completely childish the next. She was so full of life that the people around her would have no choice but be also.

"I have to say you look amazing, Kyra,” said the princess, giving the other woman a quick look up and down. “Although I have to tell you that everything you're putting on right now is probably more fitting on a man." Kyra made a feigned pout and both women burst into a long laughter.

"You're not bad yourself, Princess Lorraine,” replied the Soul of magic. "It's as if you grow more beautiful with every rising sun." And in truth, she wasn't exaggerating. With her just perfect average height, shining auburn hair, dazzling green eyes, and all-round interesting figure, Lorraine was easily the most beautiful in the realm. In fact, many people had begun to compare her beauty with that of Kyra herself to see which would come out on top; not that the latter minded either way.

"Please don’t join them," said Lorraine but she had a blush on her face; it was obvious the compliment meant a lot to her coming from the Soul of magic.

A little moment of silence descended on the women as both women got themselves settled in a seat. But Lorraine was not one to be quiet for long. "Did Lucian arrive with you?" she asked.

"Yes, he's probably on the training ground right now with the knights", Kyra replied, a little smile on her face as she reasoned why Lorraine had asked of Lucian particularly.

Thing is, the Soul of magic had learnt that the princess and the warrior had become quite close over the months; most especially as a result of the resettlement efforts that they had both been engaged in as emissaries for their different parties. But as of recent, Lorraine had begun to send Lucian letters constantly during their journeys which had little to do with the alliance and a lot to do with something else; and the latter had read and replied to every single one of them.

However, it wasn’t Kyra had given her response that she realized that perhaps it wasn’t the best she could have given in the light of all that she knew about the both of them’s relationship. "Well, I'm sure he'll love nothing more than to see you after he's settled," she quickly added to help out the situation; and hoped like hell it was true. Lorraine's friendship meant a lot to her and the last thing she needed was for it to go crashing against the rocks all because Lucian forgot to greet the princess.

Fortunately, Lorraine seemed to believe it too and a smile appeared on her face. "Okay, I'm sure you'll have a lot to discuss with my brother later so let me leave you to rest now," she said as she prepared to take her leave. "And Kyra, I know you're here strictly because of an urgent matter. But I'm still very glad to see you again."

And it was Kyra's turn to smile in appreciation. "Yeah," she replied. "Me too."