As the carriage was treading through the beautiful city, Lucian sat on a bit of an uncomfortable bench viewing the passing structures and lamp posts. In doing so, he noticed that there was still a good amount of civilians roaming the patterned sidewalks and there was even a bit of traffic in the streets.
Lucian's pupils reflected the many lights buzzing with vibrance, "I suppose you weren't exaggerating when you said that this city never sleeps.". Seriously, I may have lost my memories but It's clear that this is not normal.
Ozzus pulled a strand of hair behind his ear as he responded, "Yes, this city's people don't let the darkness of nightfall stop them from chasing their ambitions, but there is also another factor that might also be the reason you see so many bustling individuals."
"What might that be?"
"Novus has a very large population as well as a social structure with about 3% nobility, 77% middle class, and the remaining 20 belonging to the lower class. The city is also the largest trading and ingenuity capital in the entirety of the world so it's no surprise that its people work longer than regular. It keeps us ahead of others."
This new information was indeed intriguing to Lucian leading his curiosity even furher. "I would never have thought that a city could be this disciplined and prosperous. From what you said, I would have thought that it was a government official's dream."
"That's only because the man known as archon Valerius set a strong foundation for it.", Stated Ozzus
"That was nearly an entire era ago though, and we all know that man was a tyrant." Priscilla shot back.
Ozzus sighed showing annoyance, "He was a great man, and how could you call him a tyrant when there's no solid evidence. Is this really what the academy has been teaching you?", his tone was unmoving and a bit mocking.
Priscilla was clearly agitated by her brother, "Oh yeah? Then how did he acquire all this land when he practically began with absolutely nothing? There are nearly 50 square miles of territory and not to mention the poorly covered up ruins of a past civilization."
Ozzus's expression changed to that of disappointment, "The great texts describing his achievements describe how he unified multiple nations with his unwavering courage and peace talks. Those texts also have physical proof that they are as old as this great unified country."
"I bet every word in those texts were twisted and changed to boast his title."
"This is why you don't get good grades on your essays; you keep not using evidence and saying what you think and not what already is."
"My essay grades are great!"
This argument is starting to get out of hand. "Would you be so kind as to explain who this emperor is?", Lucian asked trying to cool down their heated quarrel.
"Yes of course, I apologies that you had to witness that." said Ozzus as he straightened his posture. "Emperor Valerius was a strong and charismatic man who was born of royal blood. His father, Emperor Drusus was often included in many political issues that sometimes led to grand and horrific wars. Valerius was never fond of his father's rule or the wars that ensued with it leading him to develop an insatiable thirst for knowledge as to finding the best way to establish and maintain a peace with the world."
"As the young prince grew older, his hatred for his father eventually grew to a point where he chose to flee the kingdom and go on a road of somewhat chaotic enlightenment, but during his travels, he came across an escort carrying the royal blood of another land.
"This royal happened to be the prince of jade landing, a beautiful eastern city that had maintained an environment of peace for half a century. Velarius was asked to tag along with the prince back to jade landing to see for his own eyes how peace has and would be achieved."
"During their short journey, both men became close friends in a short amount of time due to their shared ideals on achieving life with serene harmony."
"Why would a prince let a stranger who he didn't even know to travel with him?", asked Lucian with a puzzled expression.
"That's what I had wondered but the text never gave a clear explanation to it. My best conclusion as to why would be that the prince may have been what you would call an Ethereal which is just the term you would use to identify someone like me or Priscilla.
Before Lucian could ask anything, the coach finally stopped at a street corner. "This seems to be our stop. I'll tell you the rest of the story some other time." Said Ozzie with a groan as he stood up.
C'mon I was getting really invested into this! Lucian's expression clearly showed his disappointment.
Stepping out of the carriage last, Ozzus spoke with a small but eager smile, "I'll be heading to a bar not to far from here so you guys go on. Lucian, Priscilla will lead you to the Crowe family's abode."
"Oh, alright.". Who leaves their younger sister with a random stranger that they pretty much just met? In a massive city at that!
Attempting to ignore the train of thoughts that were pending to come rushing forward, Lucian decided to enjoy the scenery.
Strolling through the magnificent city, Lucian noticed that every building was different with some reaching great heights while others were a mere one floor. Lots of distinct features made them stand out, for example, one building seemed to have four pillars in the front holding up a small balcony while another was wider with a small flowerbed in front. Even though every building was different, they were also very similar. It appeared that the architecture in this place was almost exclusively industrial and ornamental.
The lamp posts in the city made it absolutely beautiful, but it seemed that it was only the noble streets that were lit up. Lucian recalled there being no lamp posts at all in the lower and middle-class parts of the city. The only way he could've known that those parts were devoid of light was due to their carriage having to take another route due to a unusual quantity of traffic. This led them to have to take a route that cut through the Lower and Middle-class parts of the city.
I would've thought that the whole city was lit up based on how Priscilla described it. It turns out that the bright light that I saw from the boat was only a mere fraction of this city. How does 1.5 square miles shine that brightly!?
Turning his attention to Priscilla who was walking slightly in front of him, Lucian politely asked, "Would you happen to know why only the nobility's section of the city is lit up?"
Priscilla looked back. It was apparent that she was happy to be the one to answer Lucian's questions. "I believe that it is to conserve power, but another reason is that the nobility's section of the city is where most large churches, businesses, and political edifices are." noted the eager girl half guessingly.
"I find it hard to believe that people would be able to sleep with all of this noise and light pollution around." said Lucian with a small laugh.
"you're not wrong but, this is the busiest part of the city. If one organization within it slows down, it could possibly slow down the city as a whole. The people here get used to it though, that's just how things have to work around here."
I wonder what kind of matters the Crowe family deals with. A church isn't what I'd imagine my family operating, perhaps business or political matters?
As Lucian wandered in his thoughts, he came across a massive library that seemed like it contained a worlds worth of knowledge. It had 2 floors with beautiful windows on each , and a large double door at the entrance.
I think I know where I'll be getting that book from. Lucian thought while having a small chuckle.
"what's so funny?", asked Priscilla.
"It's nothing, an intriguing thought just crossed my mind is all."
A couple minutes later, Lucian was still stuck in his thoughts when he accidentally bumped into formal looking man, nearly knocking the two of them down.
"My deepest apologies sir."
"It's alright, this part of the city can be quite crowded.", The old gentleman remarked.
His voice was deep and flowed with a wise elegance. He seemed to be out on errands due to the two bags he was holding with one holding 3 loafs of bread while the other seemed to contain other amenities. The man seemed to be in his 50's or 60's with neat grey hair parted down the middle and wearing a black tailcoat with black trousers. He seemed to be an attendant of some sort.
The man seemed to stare at Lucian for a good couple seconds before snapping back to his senses giving a small bow and saying, "I'll have to be going now, have a goodnight young sir."
"You to.", Lucian was quite confused by what just transpired. The man looked as if he'd just seen a ghost.
"You should catch up Lucian, were almost there.", exclaimed Priscilla who was a bit further ahead.
"R-right, sorry!", Lucian said loudly.
Afterwards, Priscilla stopped at an extremely large house. It was at least double the length as the regular sized houses and seemed to be about 3 floors high. The building was amazing, every detail was carefully thought out. The double doors had a design of roses with the handle having intricate squarish designs.
There were 4 large windows on each floor that were extremely tinted with most having a rose bed hanging from each. There were 2 balconies with one on opposite sides of the second floor.
Lucian just stood there staring at the structure in a daze. I knew it would be big but not the size of a literal fortress!
"This is it, the Crowe household." Stated Priscilla with a calm tone.
"Should I go knock?", asked Lucian taking slow steps.
"Yes but try to explain who you are first before they turn you away.", said Priscilla with a chuckle.
As Lucian treaded towards the door, he felt a strange feeling of nervousness. Now wasn't the time to get cold feet though.
After taking a deep breath Lucian pushed aside his nervousness and knocked.
"Tap, Tap, Tap."