Allologue 7

Allologue #7a 	Allologue #7b
First Rest of Korrinoth, After Calamity 923 	First Rest of Korrinoth, After Calamity 923
Julien Ghesquiere finished packing the last of his things in the apartment that he had shared with Cecily for the past month and a half. It had not been his home for very long, though he had been made to feel welcome here. Part of him was sad to leave the place behind, but it was important that he return to his work in Oceanside and finalize the agreements that had been arranged through Adrienne Worthing.
As he rode the tram to the riverside docks, Julien marveled at all the technological wonders of Wolis. The passenger tram carried the throng of people without the need of oxen or horses. He had spent many a long evening working with Adrienne on treaties and trade agreements by flameless lamplight. He had a box of clicky pens stowed away for his use in his office at home. Though travel by airship would be more expedient, Julien preferred traveling by water and would be boarding the river barge that would be taking him to Sunholme and beyond. He regretted things said between himself and Renn Worthing and regretted more the things that were left unsaid. More than anything, he was disappointed in himself for his part in everything that had happened. He regretted bringing Cecily into it, though he was grateful for her help and her company. He hoped that the young author would one day grow beyond her dependence on Renn.	
Julien Ghesquiere packed away the last of the essentials he needed from the office before he boarded the airship to Sunholme. The people who worked at Here to There with Ghesquiere were hardworking and dependable, and in his short time as the head of the company, he had come to cherish and respect them all. He didn’t want to leave, but these plans had been set in motion long ago, and it was time to bring to an end the machinations of Adrienne Worthing.
As Julien’s carriage bounced along the cobblestone roads, his thoughts wandered to all the people he had met while staying in Oceanside. Unlike Wolis, Oceanside possessed a menagerie of diverse and interesting people. The people of Oceanside walked freely without fear of persecution or prejudice. The teachings of the Sister’s Chapel were vastly different than those of the Purifiers. He would remain in Oceanside but for all the work left unfinished in Wolis, and it was now within his reach to bring everything he hated about the corrupt city to its knees. His thoughts turned to his betrothed. He wondered how much she knew of her family’s dealings, how complicit she was in the wrongful acts committed by the Worthing family. He had been charmed by her when they had first met. He admired her passion for those pursuits she found worthwhile, and her honest dismay of those which she did not. He wondered what kind of person she would have become if everything ahead hadn’t been necessary, if she would see his actions as tearing her world down around her or setting her free.
Julien found himself oddly at ease with his first footfalls on the deck of the barge. Though it was not a proper seafaring vessel, it was good to feel the gentle sway of the water beneath the vessel. He greeted the captain and stowed his belongings in the room that had been provided, then returned above decks to observe the launch and to get one last look at the city he was uncertain he would ever return to. As he looked at the gathered crowd saying their farewells to the sailors and the other passengers, a bobbing braid of red-brown hair caught his eye as Cecily Cardew ran down the dock alongside the ship as it began to pull away. She was clearly running and shouting, though over the roar of the river and the din of the crowd, he was unable to make out what she was saying. The only thing that was apparent to him was that she would run out of dock long before they ran out of river. His eyes went wide as she sprinted ahead of the vessel and clambered up onto a post. He leaped for the edge of the ship as she leaped from the peer, not quite clearing the distance necessary to land on the deck of the vessel. He nearly dove overboard himself, clasping his hand around her wrist and, with the help of many burlier sailors than he, pulled the young woman aboard.
“What are you doing here?” Julien said.
Cecily seemed uncertain in her answer, but she finally said, “There seemed more reasons to go than to say. I wanted to see the world after all, and the way I figure it, you owe me a favor or three. So I figured I’d tag along with you, if that’s okay.”
Julien smiled and patted her shoulder. “It may not be as much of an adventure as you would expect. But there is nothing that improves a long sea voyage like good company, and I’d be happy to have you along.”
“Great!” Cecily said. “When do we leave?”
“We in fact left before you arrived.”
Cecily grinned and punched him in the arm playfully. They went together to smooth things over with the captain, who would no doubt be unamused by the presence of a stowaway on his ship.	
Julien took his first few uneasy steps across the airship as he boarded. He was not overfond of traveling, and thought it best to get it over with as quickly as possible without going to the expense of teleportation. The airship seemed sturdy enough to his untrained eye, and the first mate expertly shouting orders to the crew put him somewhat at ease. He had just stowed his meager possessions in his cabin before returning to the main deck to see that in the span of only a few moments, the sky outside had darkened, and the weather had changed concertedly. The cause became apparent as a large bolt of lightning struck against the side of Blackhold Prison, the dark tower where only the most heinous enemies of the prince were locked up. Amid the burning embers and the crackling sparks, Julien could see an extraordinarily large avian shape slam into the side of the tower, toppling it over. Though the guards were quick to respond to the assailant with crossbows and other weapons, the giant bird seemed unfazed. It unleashed a terrifying screech as another bolt of lightning arced through many of its assailants, and the tide of arrows abated long enough for a gaunt-looking man to climb aboard the giant feathered beast. With another screech and a great beating of its wings, the legendary Thunderbird completed its jailbreak and flew off into the desert. Julien marveled at the raw power and ferocity of the creature, admiring it even as it disappeared along with the black clouds from whence it came.
Having paid the captain an appropriate fee for the additional passenger and having seen Cecily stowed in her own cabin, Julien returned to his room, oddly excited about the journey ahead. He was eager to show his beloved Oceanside to his friend and probably talk entirely too much about the different ships in his fleet. He hoped that seeing the world unfiltered way from Wolis would be inspiring in ways that speculative fanfiction could not. For the moment he had forgotten everything about the pressure placed upon him as the heir to his family’s empire and was just a young man facing adventure across the high seas.	
His departure only slightly delayed by the creature’s attack, he returned to his cabin, where he sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. His thoughts lingered on the majesty of the creature that had attacked. The destruction had been instantaneous, and the violence had exhibited a purity of form that he found himself envious and in awe of. He wished that he could be done with the task ahead of him with such a simple stroke of power, but he had learned the hard way that Wolis was a place of insidious double dealings and casual backstabs. His insides were performing a complex dance of excitement and dread. He could no longer be just a young boy, and instead must become the embodied spirit of vengeance to crush those that had wronged him and his family.
Category:Allologue