1 Fall 519
Bricken rode on the edge of the cart, flanked by his mother. Talk had been buzzing for days as the ship docked in Thunder Bay and they loaded up for the journey to Skyinarta, talk about the inarta and the eagles. Bricken had seen eagles before - great birds, but the talk was that these birds were even greater. An inarta merchant on the caravan spoke of mighty Endals riding their eagles into battles and hunts, down to the lowly deks who worked the dirty jobs to keep the city running.
Bricken had yet to really see a proper city. His memories of Nyka were fuzzy at best, and this strange cave city gave his nerveless body something to jitter about. He rehearsed the Nari he knew in his head.
"Hello! Would you like to buy something?"
"My name is Bricken."
"We sell spice. Would you like cinnamon for this Fall?"
He wished he knew more than just trade language. The man who took care of the spice stall itself did most of the talking, while Bricken and his mother worked to additionally sell and keep track of trades.
"Do you think we'll see an eagle?" He asked his mother, kicking his legs.
"We almost always see an eagle," she replied. In the past weeks, she had been less careful of her son, telling him the importance of finding one's own self. He hadn't minded. That's what parents are supposed to do.
He looked behind, at the trail stretching behind them, lined with many horses pulling carts. Dew glittered on the grasses lining the worn road. It was very early, but he had been told they had to arrive in the morning to set up.
The trail continued to climb until a stop. Bricken heard the announcement of their arrival and quickly climbed over the crates on the cart to see.
The Sanikas Gates. They didn't seem remarkable at first, but the mountain towering overhead clearly had a lot of space. Bricken was nearly bouncing with excitement as he stared at the columns. Something was missing, however.
"Where are the..." he dug for the word, "...welcome people?"
He couldn't find the right word, but knew it made enough sense. The merchant driving the horses told him to wait and watch.
Someone, a merchant with short gray hair who had clearly made this journey many times before, slowly walked up and pulled a inconspicuous chain hanging beside the column. Bricken heard a distant sign of bells.
They began working their way inside. Another man, similarly old, greeted them in common. He didn't pay much mind to each merchant that filed in, not as much as the other workers who took to checking over what was coming in and handing off directions, nearly each one with the same bright red hair. One of them, a young woman, caught the attention of their caravan.
"What are you selling?" She asked quickly in Nari.
"Spice," the merchant replied. She rattled off more directions quicker than Bricken could understand, leaving both the pycon and the merchant lost. The merchant that had told them about Wind Reach, the Inarta, came over and began translating. The horses were being guided away as they spoke.
"She wants you to go to the outer ring, near the north end. You'll be beside a fur dealer."
They were quickly swept up. As they entered the market, they passed a large and imposing man, who nodded as they passed and gave a quick greeting.
"Remember your red..."
Bricken focused on the unknown word he spoke. Red what?
He spotted the small red flag in the merchant's hand. Must be that.
They had only just entered the market place and Bricken was already blown away. The whole place was decorated with colors and sights - reds, oranges, leaf patterns abound. Glass trinkets glistening like stars filled stalls on the inner ring, even from a distance they caught his eye. He wanted to explore.
His mother nearly read his mind.
"Go ahead. We have the stall handled."
Bricken did not have to be asked twice. Even though the market hadn't opened to the residents yet, foot traffic was still a force to be reckoned with. He was nearly stepped on quite a few times.
After a long walk for his tiny form, he made it to the middle, where artisans were showing off their recently made goods. The glass was everywhere, but still too high to see. Bricken carefully scaled a chair sat to the side, onto the back.
The glass trinkets were leaves. Tiny, glistening leaves. He gasped, and in his lean managed to lose his balance.
He tumbled to the floor, once again getting just a tad flattened. He spent a moment focusing his form, pulling his body back to shape.
What next?
He ventured closer to the middle, where he saw it.
A massive eagle was perched directly on an arch in the center. It was larger than a horse. Bricken remembered the Inarta's words about how an eagle would telepathically communicate with its chosen rider.
Is he talking now?
Bricken had heard a bell toll in the distance, but was too distracted to notice at first. Until the crowd poured in.
Almost immediately, he was rushed. He saw the eagle take off, its wingspan so vast he felt it would take him ten chimes to walk accross them. The feet around him kicked and scrambled, forcing him to run as fast as he could back. He retraced his steps, taking a few wrong turns until ending up back at his familiar stall.
A man was browsing.
"Spice!" Bricken called, clambering up the side. The stall was designed for easy climbing for its pycon workers, with small ledges build into the side.
"Would you like cinammon for Fall?"
The man blinked several times at the pycon.
"Clay?"
Bricken shook his clay-like hand.
"Pycon!"
The man lowered himself. He seemed puzzled, but then nodded and went on his way.
"Wait!-Wait!" Bricken called. The man didn't hear, as the crowd was noisy enough on its own.
"I want to stay," Bricken said softly. He made his way to his mother, standing over a ledger book.
"I want to stay," he repeated. His mother looked up, her carved eyes not showing her shock. Bricken could sense it, however.
"I-" She took a moment to think. "Yes. That could be helpful to you. It is time for you to become your own pycon, after all."
She turned to the merchant and explained. The merchant nodded, and said a quick farewell, taking over the ledger book as another customer came by.
His mother looked at him, then climbed down and reached into her own personal belonging bag.
"For you," she said, "a symbol of Harameus. Keep it close. Always remember to keep an eye out for his messages, for he gave us life."
She handed him a ring, tied to a short rope of silk looped around. He waved his arm, then pulled the string around his shoulder.
"Thank you," he spoke.
He found the Inarti merchant at a nearby stall.
"I want to... stay."
The man smiled at him.
"Here? Sure?"
Bricken did a full body nod, more of a bow. He learned early on that many would not pick up on tiny movements from tiny people.
"Go see the Valintar."
He turned to a nearby Inarti, an old friend perhaps, and spoke very quickly in Nari. Bricken picked up a few words here and there, but the speed of the whistling language made it hard.
The friend looked at him. Bricken recognized the next phrase.
"You can pick him up."
The stranger held out a hand, and Bricken quickly climbed aboard. Riding on people wasn't a shameful thing. It was just a fact that someone five inches tall couldn't keep up.
With that, they travelled through the stone halls before reaching a large stained glass feature. They went inside to see a man already alerted by the sound of entry. He was another Inarta. Bricken had resigned himself to the knowledge they would be all he saw for a while.
Bricken went right ahead and spoke what he wanted.
"Hello. I am Bricken. I want to... sta-live... here."
