Cities of Power

Authors note: I have edited this chapter as I prepare to finish off the story. It was originally written a few years ago and my style of writing has changed a little since then. This storyline has very little sex in it so if you are looking for a stroke piece this won't be it. While the content won't have changed much the reading of it should be smoother. Enjoy! ~Ellie

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Trix had returned home from her adventure with her brothers and father to a tearful welcome from her mother, who had embraced her and not let her go until she finally fell asleep. Cobalt, who had blamed himself for her kidnapping, having been surprised by the Techno warrior's appearance in the house, sat with her in the back garden the next day. He carefully copied the pattern from the back of her jacket to paper for her, shading in the colours with the precious coloured chalks the men used in the forge. Once it was complete he took the jacket to their mother, who sat and unpicked the intricate stitching as Trix tried not to cry at its loss.

It was not just the loss of the pattern, but the loss of her link to the Techno's who had taken her. She had been terrified at first, but during the short time she was with them she came to realise they were just doing what they needed to for their families and clans as she would for her own family. She wasn't as afraid of them as she had been taught to be anymore. If anything, she thought of them with fondness and wished in some ways that her adventure could have lasted longer.

Having heard from Trix, herself, about the events surrounding Mica's capture in the bandit village, Spar began to give her small freedoms within the village, though she was still not allowed to venture into the surrounding woods. Life went on for the family, and Trix began to gain friendships within the village as she was seen running errands without her brothers or mother, and as the change of season celebration approached she found herself swept up in the excitement of village preparations.

Even with her new found freedoms Trix still spent a lot of time in her back garden, leaning on her favourite tree. She had no idea how people kept track of the seasons since the Great War, to her it always seemed to be hot and dry. Storms that came their way held little rain to accompany the thunder and lightning, but she smiled as she dug up the small soft rag she had hidden beneath her tree.

Mica had pressed the green lump into her hand when they had stopped awaiting their fate in the clearing the last time she had seen him. "Plant it," he had urged her in a whisper, "beside your tree. Then I will always be there at home watching over you." Trix knew that such a valuable gift would be taken and used in trade for supplies for the coming winter, so she guarded it carefully, looking at it from time to time as she waited for planting season.

Trix jumped guiltily as Cobalt called from the back of the house, "Trix, stop daydreaming and come help mother with supper plates." She had thought she would have had a few more minutes before being called back in, but she got up and dutifully went back inside the house.

Emery and Flint had been travelling since the departure of the Techno's. The family had needed supplies for the fast approaching winter season, and Spar had believed it safer to send the two brothers together rather than send them individually into danger. Trix smiled delightedly seeing the twins sitting at the kitchen table safe and home again from their travels. She hugged them both tightly as she had when they had arrived just in time for supper before moving to the kitchen to take over from her mother, clearing the evening meal from the table and washing the plates.

"I can do this," her mother said with a smile, "I think Cobalt and his friend, Reed, want you to walk with them."

"Cobalt always complains about having to take his kid sister anywhere," Trix looked at her mother, "What's going on?"

"Things change," her mother shrugged. "Maybe he realises you're not a kid anymore. It's so good to have the twins home, so you go have some fun while your father is in a good mood," Opal winked at her daughter. Spar had been like a bear with a sore tooth since the loss of Mica, the return of the twins safe from their travels had lightened his mood considerably.

In the evenings, Trix and her mother would typically sit and sew or work with the limited resources they had to create decorations for the coming winter celebration. The men of the house would sit out on the front portico welcoming friends and neighbours or going to visit others within the village. Feeling unsure of the change to the usual routine of the house, Trix grabbed her jacket and headed to the front where Cobalt and Reed waited for her.

Walking to Reed's house, they stopped and waited for his sister, Willow, to join them. The four young people talked and laughed as they walked a full circuit of the village, calling out to people they knew as they passed by. Trix had enjoyed herself more than she thought she would have, and when asked to walk the following night again she went happily with Cobalt and his friend.

Trix began to hurry through the supper time routine, helping her mother as much as she could to clean up before Cobalt called, and her mother would, as usual, smile indulgently and send her on her way. She quite liked Reed, he was tall and slim, much like the plant he was named for. When she spoke he would lean down to listen to her every word, making her feel like he cared what a girl might say.

The following Sunday the family gathered for their weekly night of Faith and Thankfulness, after the rites and prayer that Spar presided over they all sat for the family meeting. Trix and her mother usually sat in the background attending to their mending or sewing as the men talked. It was Emery who spoke up about the amount of time Trix had been spending with Reed, and Spar raised an eyebrow in her direction. "I think she should walk with Flint and me a couple of nights as well, we have friends who would like to have the opportunity to talk to her before spring comes," Emery grinned.

"And do they all have sister's as pretty as Willow?" Spar asked, and the boys groaned. "I don't approve of you using your sister in this way. You should be men enough to go and see their father's yourselves, as should any boy interested in walking out with your sister come to see me."

"But, Father!" Cobalt complained, and from her corner of the room Trix let out a sigh, no one would be brave enough to approach Spar and ask such a thing.

"Enough!" Spar said abruptly. "Mason has already asked himself, he misses Mica immensely and would like to talk to Trix about his friend. If none of you will walk with them in Mica's absence, I will walk with them myself," Trix squeaked in fright at the idea of walking with Mason and her father.

"I'll go," Flint, the quietest and gentlest of her brothers murmured, "I like Mason, he reminds me of Mica, the way he jokes all the time. Remember that time he and Mica stole the school bell and gave everyone the day off?" His chuckle was rich and deep. The men at the table relaxed into easy banter about Mica and his friends causing trouble throughout their childhoods.

Trix looked at her mother, who had a far away misty look in her eyes, reaching out and taking her hand. "I miss him too, but he wanted to go, Mother, he wanted to see the Techno city. We have to believe he is happy," she said quietly.

*****

The three Techno warriors had returned to the city of Phoenix with Mica and received accolades for bringing a willing metal worker back with them. The return journey had taken two days, in which time Mica had the opportunity to ask a myriad of questions about the town and what his place within it would be. "You have come willingly, I expect you will have the opportunity to be bonded to the ruling family of our clan, the Hawks," Venn explained in his gravelly voice, "Talon's family."

Mica looked at the brooding young warrior. From what Mica understood, being bonded was far preferable to being a peasant or slave. Bonded men had some freedoms and privileges, though they were still seen as low caste compared to the warriors and ruling families, which over the years had become one in the same. Bonded warriors were almost unheard of in recent years, from the information he got from runaway peasants and slaves he met. Mica suspected that giving the warriors freeman status was far preferable to having your own army poised for a coup and being ill-equipped to stop it.

They entered the city through the west gate and went straight to the Air Clan council chambers. The warriors left their bikes with their bonded men who had been watching for their return, and they led Mica through the maze like stone building. Mica had never been surrounded by so much stone, and his head swivelled around taking it all in and making Talon chuckle as he remembered Trix and the way she tried to take in the landscape they sped through.

"You will have plenty of time to look around once we are done in here," Talon slapped Mica on the back, ushering him forward into the large room. A large horseshoe shaped table filled the room, and Mica looked at the sea of faces that stared at him as he stumbled through the doors helped along by the hard slap on his back.

Talon smirked and raised his voice, "Greetings, Father, and members of the Air Council!"

Edge echoed his statement, followed by Venn, who gave his report on the mission and introduced Mica as the metal worker that had agreed to accompany them to the city. "He may seem young," Venn concluded, "but the bandit village of Judah tried to stop us from taking him, which I believe shows his worth."

"Was the treaty with Judah endangered?" Boreas, the leader of the clan, asked.

"I do not believe so, the boy was only a visitor there, though Judah did try to give him the protection of his village," Venn answered truthfully.

"We will alert the other city leaders then to avoid the town for some time to be safe," There was a murmur of dissension at the table. "To be fair, if one of the other clans had caused a potential problem with the safe villages we would want to know." Boreas, the leader, looked around at the gathered people and the murmur ceased. He turned to Mica, who had stood quietly watching them all, realising that all was not as it seemed with these people and to wrap his head around the politics of this city would take more time and brainpower than he had at his disposal at that moment. "You have a week to prove yourself, young man. Should you prove an asset we will allow you bonded status, if not you will face the tribunal to discover your fate. Spark," Boreas addressed a large man standing at the side of the room, "show our new man to his forge and his apartments."

The large man approached Mica and, opening the door, signalled for him to follow. For the first time, Mica questioned his fascination with the city and its technologies. He wondered if his willingness to go to Phoenix with the warriors was as terrible a fate as his father had warned about.

Within the council room a severe looking woman with a pinched face stood and burst forth in a rush of words, "Was there no sign that she could have survived? How could you come back without my daughter?" She pointed at Talon, "You, who were her betrothed, did you even look for her? Or question people as to her whereabouts?"

"There were several rumours," Talon hedged in the face of the hysterical woman, "The most recent of the rumours seemed to indicate she went to the city of Gryphon."

Venn also spoke in answer to the woman, "The mission was for the boy, not Clove." He let his words settle on the woman before continuing, "I stopped Talon's investigations on more than one occasion to ensure the mission entrusted to us. I was the leader, and it was my decision. Talon is not at fault here, if anything he is to be commended for putting the good of the clan before his personal feelings."

The woman began to screech at him in unintelligible tones until her husband roared, "Stop this foolishness! Venn is right, and Talon should be commended. Clove's disappearance is neither their fault nor their doing, and they do not deserve your acid tongue." The woman sagged into her seat and stopped her tirade.

"I am sure you are all in need of rest, we will expect a full report tomorrow. Thank you, gentlemen, you have done well," The three warriors turned and left the room. Talon ran his hands through his hair and exhaled loudly as the door closed.

"If you want to go back for her, I will come with you," Edge smirked at Talon.

Venn grunted, "If Clove is alive, I don't think she wants to be found."

"I wasn't talking about Clove," Edge chuckled and walked away whistling.

Talon spent the next two days constantly reporting about the mission and what he had discovered about Clove's mysterious disappearance, as well as the rumours that pointed to the fact that she was still alive. The more he talked of Clove, the more he thought about the girl he had found wearing her jacket, and he found himself seeking out her brother in the clan forge.

The young metal worker, like his sister, was good-natured and forgiving of those around him. Rather than deriding the inept apprentices, he had patiently shown them how to hone their skills to craft pieces of quality. His always present smile and a constant stream of jokes and laughter had changed the mood of the workers in the forge, and the workmanship coming from the apprentices began to improve almost immediately upon his arrival. Mica had tried to explain the formula's for mixing metals to the rulers of the air clan without success, but quite happily took over many of the roles involved in running the forge on a day to day basis. His uncanny ability to work with the currently available technologies made him indispensable to many of the tech heads who still struggled with the remnants of forgotten technologies that the relic hunters brought in.

Within two days, rather than the week, the clan leader, Boreas, came into the forge and handed Mica a small ingot of gold and a large armband. "We have never had a master forger quite as muscular as you are, this will need to be enlarged to fit around your upper arm. It should bear the image of a hawk, like so," he held out his hand bearing a large ring in the shape of a hawk with flared wings.

Mica picked up the armband and gold ingot, comparing the two, "I will get right on it, boss," Mica laughed, tossing the weighty gold in the air and catching it.

Word had spread swiftly through the city of the boy who had become the air clan's master forger. While most had scoffed at the idea of one so young being a Master of anything, it was the warriors who proved time and again his value. His valued soared even higher with the subtle changes the boy suggested to the design and technology of their bikes and weapons. The tech heads, who worked to recreate new technologies from the relics, also sought out the boy, and Mica found himself constantly surrounded by people and rewarded handsomely for his work.

Venn and Edge both began to seek out the company of Talon, each for their own reasons, and quite often accompanied him to the forge. Venn had a new respect for the brooding young heir of the Air Clan after the last mission, and Edge had found in him the qualities worthy of a future leader of their clan. They often found Talon with Mica in the evenings, talking late into the night about his work and discoveries and their plans and adventures.

"I'm going out again," Talon said quietly as he entered the comfortable accommodation Mica had been relocated to recently. He looked back over his shoulder ensuring his warrior friends were not approaching, then, still murmuring softly, he said, "I could get a message to your family if you wanted." The truth was Talon had been unable to get the image of Trix from his head and wanted an excuse to see her again without admitting his own desire.

Mica had laughed, "You think any one of my brothers or father wouldn't kill you on sight? I was the favourite, after all." His chuckle was deep and full of mirth.

"They could try!" Talon growled, stiffening as if prepared to fight the words themselves.

"It's your head," Mica shrugged, "and if you're going that way you might as well take these with you, I guess. What good are they to me here," he held up a small bag containing several seeds, "I will write a note to go with them."

Edge walked in without knocking, "Who's going where?"

"No one!" Talon snapped, and Mica looked between the two of them, held up his hands and backed away from what he realised could become a heated argument.

Venn arrived shortly after, and the four men lapsed into the easy banter that accompanied their strange new friendship. It was late in the night when Edge casually turned to Venn and said, "Seems Talon is planning a trip without inviting us along."

"Is that right?" Venn raised his eyebrow at the younger man.

"Word has come from Gryphon," Talon said slowly, "Clove and a Water Clan warrior, Tide, have petitioned for asylum. The Council members in Gryphon require identification of their status before granting such a privilege."

Edge whistled. "Why are they sending you?" He asked.

"Clove's parents have issued me with the task of returning her to the clan. If I do not avenge the dishonour of the water warrior, she has assured me they will no longer support my family in the clan politics," Talon ran his fingers through his hair as he disclosed the information.

"Who are you riding with?" Venn asked seriously.

"Eddy and Bay from Water Clan," his hand went through his hair again, "and Sirrus," He looked at his friends. Warriors generally went out in groups of three. There was no room for his friends in this mission, with four men already going.

The men bristled, there was no mistaking what this mission would entail, and Talon looked at them, "I am sorry, my friends."

"I'll come see you before I leave," Talon stood and looked at Mica, "Your village is close enough to Gryphon for me to detour slightly, if possible. Write your message. I will get it to a village of faith priest, if nothing else." Then he left the room. He didn't want to get into a caste argument with Venn and Edge. While they were freemen and renowned warriors, Venn and Edge were not of the ruling clan families, and that was what was required for this mission.

Talon hated the political manoeuvring and intrigue of the cities foremost families. His brother, Squall, loved it, and Talon was happy in the knowledge his parents had not only Squall, but Hunter and Aurora as well. Should they each make good marriages their family should be able to shore up their tenuous grasp on power.

*****

The four warriors sat in a small camp a day's ride from the Gryphon city gates. Eddy, the older of the two water warriors, finally broke the silence, "We all know you must challenge for your honour," he spoke to Talon. "It has been a hard ride, and Tide will be prepared. We will stop before the city tomorrow and allow you time to rest and focus, if you wish. Tide has brought our clan into disrepute and, should you fail; it will fall to us to carry out his sentence."

Relieved at the apparent offer to help rather than them being a hindrance to him, Talon nodded, and turned to Sirrus and asked, "Is it still your wish to return Clove to her mother?" He was grateful that Sirrus only nodded rather than saying anything to cause friction between the small group. "Then, yes, I would like the time to prepare myself for both battles. I do not think Clove will return easily." He saw Sirrus smirk, and he looked up at the two water warriors and inclined his head, explaining, "Clove is a warrior herself and will battle her return to her parents and the shame she has caused them."