IN THE STREETS It had been a petch of a long workday at Lucis and Lucis and although Ornea truly loved her job, she was content to call it a day and walk home. The winter wind was unforgiving when she walked over the bridge from Shinyama to Zinthia.
She was wearing her Lhavitian winter clothes. The sheepskin coat, the katinu which, was made for the even colder winters of Wind Reach. This and the wide brimmed black hat of wool, a knitted blue and green scarf, fur brimmed leather gloves and a pair of winter boots kept her warm enough, for Inarta standards.
The winter sky above was dark and full of stars and the moon was shining. It was a beautiful evening, but Ornea walked without thinking much about it, her whole being closed against the cold that surrounded her. The traffic on the bridge was low this time of the evening and she was nearly alone there.
She passed through the northern bridge abutment of Zinthia peak and continued past Cosmos Center. For a chime or two she thought of staying on the lower city tier, walk along the trail of waterfalls and find her way up to Solar Wind Apartments farther down the trail. She decided against it though, and instead she went directly op the broad stairway to Suraya Plaza where the atmosphere was somewhat lively despite the time and the cold. There were maybe a bit fewer people around than in the warmer seasons, but there were people, most of them wearing the dark winter clothes that made all the citizen’s look the same, at least at a distance. The plaza was far from empty.
Lhavit never went to sleep. The Inarta had learnt this by now. There were people who were busy in the days, and she guessed they mostly slept at night, just like Ornea mostly did. But there were also people who seemed to wake up around dusk break and give the city an infusion of new fresh activity right when day ended and night begun. The city was alive night and day, although the city by night struck her as different from how it was in daytime.
It was like another world, Lhavit by night, bioluminescent and tantalizing.
Ornea had heard that Lhavit by night could actually also be dangerous sometimes. But she hadn’t seen much of that side of the city. There had been a few nights out, like when she had dinner with an Inarta endal in Shooting Star Inn at the beginning of the fall, and there were other places she had visited in evening time. She had also walked to and from the Observatory after dark. But nothing unusual had happened at those occasions, and most evenings she had only went home, tired after her long workdays as metalsmith. She had washed and relaxed, had something to eat, and went to bed in time to get sleep and renew her energy for next workday.
Now, as she walked, she was thinking of yet another evening like this at home, just as usual. The night life of Lhavit would need to wait until she got some days off. Days off? She knew other people in the city had days off, but she couldn’t know if this would ever happen to her, with a boss like Edward Lucis. Edward loved his gadgeteering and he didn’t see any reason for taking boring days off from the best things in life. It didn’t seem to have occurred to him that his metalsmith and now also gadgeteering trainee would feel differently, or want to spend time away from Lucis.
At the side of the Suraya Plaza she saw the entrance to the Azure Market. And although it was cold and she was on her way home, she decided stroll in the market for a while, for easy entertainment. She wanted to see something else than Lucis and Solar Winds this evening, but was too tired to want to visit a tavern. The Azure Market was perfect. She entered and walked into the blue maze of paths and shops.
AT THE STARRY CHALICE Passing by an open shop door she stopped to glance at the sign :
The Starry Chalice. The sign also told Ornea this shop had philters for sale. She stood in the cold night outside, partly in the moonlight painted a way into the shop. When she looked into the shop she could see a Lhavitian clerk in a dark cloak among the wares.
The Inarta couldn’t say why, but as she stood there, the shop started to seem exceptionally inviting and alluring, and nearly felt like it was whispering to her to step in, come in. Suddenly it seemed irresistible. Exited and with the odd feeling of entering not just a shop, but a wonderful treasure chamber full of amazing surprises and fantastic treats, the Inarta stepped in.
She would only have a look at the shop and the things in there, she told herself. She wasn’t going to buy anything, just look around. The shop had caught her interest for a moment and she would have a brief look at it just to familiarize herself with what they sold there. Just for fun. Just because she had the time. Just because it had suddenly felt so pleasant to do it. Why not. It couldn’t hurt. Now when she was here, she recalled old stories she had heard about philters, stories mostly told during her childhood and yasi years, about potions that could achieve everything people could imagine, and some things beyond imagination too. This thought made her smile, as some of those stories had been really absurd, like the one about the invisibility potion, not to mention the elixir of truth and the oil of forgetfulness. Oh Ivak, how her thoughts has started to wander! Best to keep an eye on herself in order to avoid annoying experiences of getting distracted and dreamy. She would really just have a brief look at this place before she continued home to her apartment in The Solar Winds...hey, why even a brief look, what had she been thinking, she ought to skip this and just go home ! Ornea was already on the brink of turning to step out of the shop again ...