Chapter 80: Sunheart (Patreon)

“This is Sunheart?” Corie asked, staring out the window in childlike wonder.

“It’s so big,” Lorelei whispered. “It makes Icefall City seem so small in comparison.”

I smiled and didn’t say anything. My two personal disciples pressed themselves against the carriage windows, staring out towards the imperial capital of Sunheart. They reminded me of when I first saw Sunheart as a child. That day remained one of my most precious memories as Gabriel Sturm.

After I left Leroy in my rooms, so that he could meditate on the insights he gained from watching me perform the Foundation Establishment forms of the Celestial Sword style, I went to find my other two personal disciples. Since Lorelei and Corie weren’t technically House Sturm retainers, and were in fact guests, they didn’t have to stay in the barracks.

I found this a little unfair, and made a mental note to ask Father if I could move Leroy into the main building. While it was a show of blatant favoritism, I didn’t care. Of course I would favor Leroy above the other House Sturm retainers. He was my bodyguard and personal disciple.

Lorelei and Corie went to bed late last night, so it took some effort to wake them up, but I managed in the end. That didn’t stop them from grumbling at me from under their breath. However, I believe I scandalized the maids with my behavior, since Lorelei and Corie were young women.

After my disciples finished getting ready, we grabbed some food from the kitchen, and left Sturm Manor in one of my family’s carriages. First we headed south towards Oakwood Hollow, before heading west towards Sunheart, since there wasn’t a road that led directly from Sturm Manor to the imperial capital. We spent the first leg of our journey in silence as we focused on eating breakfast.

After we finished our food, Lorelei and Corie asked me several questions about Sunheart. They were both a bit nervous, since this was their first time in the imperial capital. I told them just enough to ease their nervousness, but not too much. I wanted them to experience the city for themselves after all.

Sunheart was a massive city, one that could rival any of the metropolises back on Earth in size. It had wide roads to accommodate the large number of people that moved through the city, as well as a veritable fleet of airships that flew through the skies above.

Of course, one couldn’t forget the Solar Palace, the home of the Sun Emperor, which overlooked the entire city.

I also told them about Sunheart’s layout. The city was divided into several districts, each separated from the others by a series of concentric walls. The area outside of the Bronze Wall, Sunheart’s outermost wall, was called Mud Town. It was the poorest part of the capital. While Mud Town wasn’t quite a slum, it wasn’t that far off, thus the derogatory name.

The area between the Bronze Wall and the Silver Wall, Sunheart’s middle wall, was called the Earth District. This was where most of Sunheart’s population of regular mortals lived and worked. Few were allowed to enter deeper into the city. A regular mortal could spend their entire life never seeing Sunheart’s remaining districts.

The Sky District lay between the Silver Wall and the Gold Wall, Sunheart’s innermost wall. It was where most of the wizards in Sunheart lived and did business. This included minor nobles, wizards who weren’t part of any House, as well as scions from minor and middling Houses.

The airship docks were located in the Sky District; massive towers that were dozens of stories tall. Up to four airships could dock on each floor. Some towers were for passenger airships, while others were for cargo airships. I knew this because Kaylee had visited one of the towers for cargo airships a while back, and gushed about it to me in one of her letters.

The Solarian Imperial Academy was also located in the Sky District. It occupied a plot of land the size of several city blocks, and was protected by a large wall as well as several defensive magical circles. The academy’s central location made it easier for students to go out into Sunheart and experience the capital for themselves.

The main branch for the Adventurers Guild was in the Sky District as well. I found this out about a year ago, when I first started thinking about joining.

Sunheart’s final district, located within the Gold Wall, was called the Sun District. This district housed the most important government buildings for the Solarian Imperial Administration, such as the headquarters for the Solarian Imperial Bank. While the Houses ruled their territories like the fiefdoms that they were, it took a vast bureaucracy to keep the continent sized Solarian Empire a cohesive whole. The Sun District housed the beating heart of that bureaucracy.

The Sun District also contained the Sunheart; a powerful magical artifact from which the city received its name. While I had never seen it before, I heard that the Sunheart was a white hot flame housed within a sacred shrine. According to the stories, it had the ability to call down the fury of Lord Sol, whatever that meant. I was betting on a beam of concentrated Sun magic.

A part of me wondered why the Sunheart was down here, and not inside the Solar Palace where it would be safer.

The homes of the Great Houses were also located within the Sun District, including Thorne Manor, where Annabelle lived. My heart ached just thinking about Annabelle. She was so close, yet so far. Travel between the districts was heavily restricted. Since my disciples and I were in a carriage containing the crest of House Sturm, we could enter the Earth District and the Sky District without issue. However, we couldn’t enter the Sun District.

In order to do that, one needed to work as a high level civil servant, or be a member of a Great House. Otherwise, one needed a special pass issued by the imperial administration or an invitation from a Great House. Even airships were banned from flying over the Sun District, except for those belonging to the Sun Guard. There were several magical defenses in place to deal with any airship that tried.

Thankfully, there were ways to deliver messages into the Sun District, thanks to the Flying Feather Couriers. It was the only courier service allowed to pass through the Gold Wall. However, they charged outrageous prices in order to do so.

If I wanted to be with Annabelle, I would need to suck it up and pay that price. In order to officially start courting Annabelle, I needed her family’s approval. That meant doing everything above board. The first step was to meet with Annabelle’s parents, Lord and Lady Thorne. That was going to be fun, I just knew it. However, the chances of me running into a member of House Thorne and receiving an invitation were near zero, so I needed to reach out to them first.

Annabelle couldn’t invite me herself, since she was still on thin ice with her parents. According to the letters she sent, she was no longer confined to Thorne Manor since the spring semester at the Solarian Imperial Academy was about to start. Annabelle had taken a whole year off, and now it was time for her to get back to school. However, her movements were still restricted.

Not only that, but Lord and Lady Thorne wanted me to put in the effort and reach out to them first. Annabelle had discussed the matter with them. They wanted to be the ones who invited me to Thorne Manor. They were planning something, I just knew it, but I could handle it.

Besides, from what Annabelle said, Lord and Lady Thorne were at least open to the idea of me courting their daughter. They weren’t happy about it, but they hadn’t rejected me outright. And this was before I could tell them that I was Brandon Norwood’s reincarnation. If they had petitioned a grand priest to help her find him(me), that should be a point in my favor. Annabelle hadn’t told anyone about that yet, since it wasn’t her secret to share.

So a visit to the Flying Feather Couriers was on today’s to-do list, in addition to buying gifts for Kaylee and Mother. Oh, what the hell? I might as well buy gifts for the whole family.

***

Soon, the walls of Sunheart came into sight. There were four gates into the city, one for each cardinal direction. Several buildings congregated around the east gate, forming a small village; East Mud Town. While Mud Town existed all around the Bronze Wall, it was mostly concentrated around the city gates, since that was where the traffic was.

As we passed through East Mud Town, I looked out the carriage window. Despite the derogatory name, the place was neat and tidy. The buildings were simple wooden constructions, with most being one or two stories tall. The district was the poorest part of Sunheart, but the people still looked clean and well fed. They had their basic needs met, but that was it.

In another part of the Solarian Empire, East Mud Town would seem like a prosperous village as people went about their lives. While not all of them looked happy, they all at least looked content. A large amount of stray dogs wandered through East Mud Town; stray but not feral. They looked well fed as well. I even saw a child throw a bucket of scraps to a pack of them. It spoke to Sunheart’s prosperity where even the stray dogs didn’t starve.

Our carriage soon passed through East Mud Town and approached the Bronze Wall. It towered over the surrounding landscape, standing at several hundred feet and was several dozen feet thick. The wall was made from white stone, reinforced with magic circles made from bronze, thus the name. The Silver Wall and the Gold Wall were similar, though their magic circles were made from silver and gold respectively.

Sunheart’s east gate, also made from bronze, was cast in the shape of a fierce looking Light Hound. For some reason, I had the impression that if we had approached Sunheart with ill intentions, the gate would devour us whole.

The guards at the gate let us through the gate without issue, since our carriage bore the crest of House Sturm, and soon we were in the Earth District. Here, my disciples got their first real taste of Sunheart.

Unlike Mud Town, the buildings in the Earth District were made from the same white stone as the walls. They were also much taller, with some being over twenty stories high. Like with Rosewood City, the buildings were also works of art in and of themselves, though not to the same degree. The occasional park added a dash of greenery, contrasting with all the white stone.

There were a lot more people as well. Thousands of them filled the streets, each going about their business. Most of them wore more expensive clothing as well, and were better dressed overall. If Mud Town was for the poor, then the Earth District was for the middle class.

“I’ve never seen so many people before,” Corie said, staring out the carriage window. “It’s a little overwhelming, if I’m being honest.”

Lorelei nodded.

“While I’m not sure of the exact numbers,” I said. “I know Sunheart has several million residents.”

Corie looked at me, as if she thought I was joking. When she realized that I wasn’t, her eyes widened.

“How can so many people live in such a small area?” Lorelei asked.

“Small?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lorelei nodded.

“Yes, small,” she said. “Sunheart seems big, but it’s a small speck compared to the rest of the Solarian Empire.”

I conceded the point.

“Some people are fine with rubbing shoulders with this many strangers,” I said.

Lorelei shook her head.

“I wouldn’t want to live here,” she said. “I prefer the more open and wild places of the empire.”

Corie nodded.

“Me too,” she said, before glancing out the window again. “Still, there’s nothing wrong with the occasional visit.”

It took a bit longer to reach the Silver Wall, since traffic was heavier in the Earth District. In addition to the crowds on foot, other vehicles filled the wide roads; carts transporting goods, hired taxis delivering passengers to their destinations, and other nobles and house scions who were also heading to the Sky District. There were also people riding beasts of burden, both mundane and magical. I saw one man riding an Alpha Inferno Wolf, weaving his way through the flow of traffic, and no one batted an eye.

Like with the Bronze Wall, the Silver Wall’s eastern gate was cast in the shape of a Light Hound, except this one was made of silver. It took a bit longer to get through this time around, since the guards needed to verify our identities. The House Sturm crest on the side of the carriage was no longer enough. Once the guards finished, they waved us through and soon we were in the Sky District. Lorelei and Corie’s jaws both dropped when they saw it, and I resisted the urge to smirk.

The Earth District was impressive in its own right, but it was still mundane. It was a place for regular mortals. The Sky District was a lot more magical. It was a place for wizards. There were fewer buildings, spaced further apart, though they were bigger and taller on average. While most looked similar to the buildings in the Earth District, a few looked like they could only be achieved through magic.

For example, one building was a giant tree where people lived and worked. It had windows, doors, balconies, and so on, all of them shaped with Wood magic rather than built. We watched as a branch lifted someone up from the street in front of the tree and carried them to a balcony on the fourth floor.

Another was some kind of metal and stone building designed to look like a giant. When it moved, I realized that it wasn’t just a building, it was a construct. What the hell was the point of building a construct that big in the middle of the city, since it couldn’t go anywhere without causing massive amounts of destruction? I mean, the residents in the area seemed fine with it, but it just baffled me.

Tall magelamps lined the roads, which were like street lights back on Earth. Come nightfall, they would light the area up.

There were more people riding around on magical forms of transportation here than they had in the Earth District. They rode on tamed magic beasts, carriages and constructs powered by magic, and a few even weaved their way through the air on flying magical items. For the latter, most rode on magical items just large enough for individuals, but a few were large enough to carry passengers. Some wizards made a living by ferrying others around, similar to taxis and rideshares back on Earth. Air taxis? Airshares?

The House Sturm carriage seemed bland and boring in comparison.

On the streets, some wizards entertained others by using magic to enhance their performances. I saw one woman, who wore an outfit made from thin pieces of red silk, who went through a dance routine while playing around with fire. The fire seemed like some kind of living creature, feral and wild, yet the woman somehow managed to keep it tamed.

Even the artwork was strange and magical. One looked like a gyroscope made from metal latticework, with water weaving in the air around it. Together, the two formed a complicated pattern that drew me in. However, we passed by it before I could take a closer look.

The Sky District contained all these sights and more. It was like stepping into a whole new world.

***

First, I directed the carriage driver to take us to the nearest office for Flying Feather Couriers. When we arrived, I sent a message to House Thorne, though the expense made my heart ache. Still, it was worth it.

The message itself was simple. I requested a meeting with Lord and Lady Thorne at their earliest convenience, in order to discuss my courtship with Lady Annabelle.

With luck, I would hear from them within the next day or so.

After that, my disciples and I headed towards the Sky’s District’s many shopping areas. Like Enchanter’s Row in Icefall City, Sunheart had entire neighborhoods dedicated to magical crafting. However, instead of having everything in one place, the neighborhoods had different specialties.

There was the Street of Fire and Steel, which was where all the smiths specializing in making enchanted armor and weapons plied their trade. For those who focused on magical inks, enchanted paper, and magic circles, there was Quill Lane. My personal favorite was Cauldron Circle, which was where all the alchemists and alchemical supply shops made their home.

However, we didn’t go to any of those. While I would have liked to buy all kinds of powerful and expensive magical items, the sad reality of my situation set in. By House standards, House Sturm was poor. That would change in the near future, once we started selling more and more of the mythril, but at the moment our means were limited. There was a reason why our ancestral home looked run down and shabby. Hell, Father had to take out a loan from the Solarian Imperial Bank in order to renovate and expand Sturm Hill Hall.

With that in mind, the three of us headed towards one of the less affluent shopping areas, Caldwell Hill. It was owned by House Caldwell, a middling House, owned the land and leased it out. Scions from middling and minor Houses, those in a similar financial situation to House Sturm, favored it. Even so, it was a pretty high end place by mortal standards.

Since I didn’t have a particular destination in mind, I had the carriage driver park near the bottom of Caldwell Hill and then told him to take a break. I didn’t know how long we would be here, but it wouldn’t be longer than two hours. The carriage driver nodded, before heading to one of the nearby eating houses.

My disciples and I started walking through Caldwell Hill. The hill itself wasn’t steep, so we had an easy time of it. Even if it had been, as cultivators, it wouldn’t have bothered us too much.

There were all kinds of shops, though they tended towards selling luxury items rather than necessities. Jewelry shops, art galleries, boutiques, etc. Their goods were also all mundane in nature. No magic items here.

The buildings here were on the short side for Sunheart, three stories at the tallest, which gave the place a relatively cozy feeling. Like the rest of the Sky District, they were all made from white stone.

There were several people out and about. Most of them were retainers out on errands for their masters, though I saw several House scions around. I even recognized some of them. At least most of them rode around in carriages, which made it easier to avoid their eyes. If any of them saw me, rumors of my return would spread through House society like wildfire. There was little House scions enjoyed more than gossip and scandal. That was the last thing I wanted to deal with right now.

For the first half hour or so, My disciples and I explored Caldwell Hill’s main street. I wanted to take a look around before buying gifts for my family. Besides, it had been a while since I last walked the streets of Sunheart, so this was a good excuse for me to stretch my legs and enjoy the scenery.

Lorelei and Corie enjoyed themselves as well. It warmed my heart to see them oohing and aahing over the things on display through the shop windows. Their enthusiasm made me feel closer to my soul’s age rather than my body’s age. The two of them attracted some attention from others, since the two of them looked like country bumpkins during their first outing in the city, but a glare from me was enough to cause the onlookers to lower their eyes.

Music filled the air, since there were plenty of street musicians around. My disciples and I even spent a few minutes listening to a man playing a violin while using Fire and Air magic to put on a little light show. Impressive. It took a lot of concentration to use magic and play a musical instrument at the same time. Some Houses used it as a training method.

After we walked through the more open areas of Caldwell Hill, the three of us explored the less traveled ones. The alleys, the side streets, the little hidden corners. Here, we found the less popular shops. They weren’t shady or anything like that, but their locations meant they received less foot traffic. While it took a bit of effort to find them, we found some hidden gems.

For example, we found a used bookstore a little ways down an alley. The idea of buying used books offended most House scions, since it implied that they were poor. Even worse, these were fiction books, which some of House society looked down upon. I didn’t care about any of that. The part of me that was Brandon Norwood salivated at the sight. Lorelei and Corie had to drag me away after I spent five minutes just staring at the books through the shop’s windows.

As we walked around for another half hour or so, the three of us took a little break at a little plaza at the top of Caldwell Hill. Lorelei and Corie had a bit of coin saved up and they also wanted to buy some gifts for their loved ones back in the Icefall Region.

We were in the middle of discussing what to get, when Corie stiffened and grabbed my arm.

“Young master,” she said in a quiet voice. “What is that place?”

Lorelei and I followed her gaze to find her staring at a two-story shop located along the edge of the plaza. There wasn’t anything special about the shop, as far as I could tell, until I looked at the sign. It depicted a purple perfume bottle surrounded by a rain of carnation petals. The words “Corwin’s Scents” were engraved beneath it in gold lettering.

Oh.

“House Corwin makes its money by growing and selling flowers,” I explained. “They have shops all over Sunheart, and in the surrounding towns. They also make perfumes, scented oils, soaps, and so on. Their Rosewater perfume was quite popular among the House ladies last year. I’m not sure if that’s still the case.”

Corie continued to stare at the shop, a tight expression on her face. While I hadn’t forgotten about her connection to House Corwin, with everything else going on, I had put it on the back burner.

I wondered what was going through her mind right now. Andrew Corwin, Corie’s father, had used her mother and then tossed her aside when he found out she was pregnant. Being reminded of the family that had discarded her before she was even born must have been difficult for Corie.

“I want to take a look inside,” she said, still staring at the shop.

Lorelei put a hand on her friend’s arm.

“Corie,” she said in a soft voice. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Corie nodded.

“I was bound to run into them sooner or later,” she said. “Especially if I want to get revenge on the bastard that sired me. Besides, this is just one of their shops, not a scion of House Corwin. Why not go inside and take a look around?”

I could think of several reasons. The biggest was that Elizabeth Corwin, Corie’s half-sister, was my former fiancée. After I lost my duel with Annabelle, Elizabeth broke off our engagement, which soured the relationship between House Sturm and House Corwin. When they found out that I visited one of their shops, and they would find out, they might take it as some kind of message. If they took it as an insult or a threat, that would just lead to problems further down the line.

Besides, my intuition was telling me that if I walked into that shop, something would happen. I didn’t know if that was a good something or a bad something, but it would be something interesting. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tempt fate like that. My headache worsened just thinking about it.

After everything that had happened over the past week, the smart thing to do would be to walk away and come back at a later time.

Still, I knew that this was important to Corie. While I could stop her from walking into the shop, perhaps it was for the best if she took a look inside. After all, this was a part of Corie’s heritage, no matter how much she or House Corwin wished to deny it. As her Master and friend, I would support her as best I could.

“Sure, let’s go in,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe we’ll even buy something.”

It was a bit weird to buy a gift for my sister from my former fiancée’s family business, but in my defense, House Corwin made some great perfume.

Lorelei let out a sigh.

“This is a bad idea,” she said.

Corie hooked her arm through Lorelei’s.

“I know,” she said in a cheerful voice. “That’s what makes it fun.”

“And this is why you’re Master’s favorite,” Lorelei said, rolling her eyes. “The two of you are almost suicidally reckless.”

Neither me nor Corie refuted this as the three of us walked towards Corwin’s Scents.