him. 'I promise I won't misbehave, if you promise to punish me when I do,' she said, batting her eyes.
'You already promised not to misbehave-earlier, within Everwatch,' Tauran replied, unmoved. Then a hint of a smirk grew on his face, too. 'But I don't find your company unpleasant. Which is good, as we will likely be spending much time together. Now, are you ready to go?'
Aliisza pouted for a moment, then nodded.
'Then follow me,' the celestial creature said, and took to the air.
As Aliisza unfurled her wings, she remembered that she had injured herself when she tried to escape Dwarf-friend's study. Spreading her appendages wide, she moved them experimentally. All traces of injury seemed to have vanished. She leaped into the air, soaring up into the sky, the sun warm on her pale skin. She almost felt happy.
Climbing higher into the sky, Aliisza was shocked to discover the true nature of the meadow. The grass and trees, even the small pond with a trickling brook, rested upon a chunk of rock that floated in the air. Shaped like some bizarre inverted pinnacle, the top of the hovering island had been smoothed flat, while the underside was twisted, jagged, and warped, as though violently torn from some larger place. The water from the stream fell over the side of the earthy edge, tumbling into space. Far below, Aliisza could see clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Other floating islands, some much larger than the meadow where she and Tauran had arrived, drifted in view. All exhibited natural landscapes of varying climates. She spotted structures upon a few, far in the distance. She gazed at them in awe, noting that the earthen tracts didn't move in a coordinated or uniform way. No breezes sent them drifting.
Aliisza stared at the massive mountain, where she knew the gods lived. Suddenly, she understood. It was adrift as well, a mass of stone and earth so large that it dwarfed everything else around it. The clouds near the top parted for a moment, and she could see much more of the four peaks. She noted that Tauran's description of three shorter mounts surrounding a fourth, taller one, had been accurate. The nearest peak sloped severely upward, its surface a mix of rocky outcroppings, stands of stunted trees, and the white of snow pack. The very top seemed to have been sliced away, and the alu thought she could make out a gleam of white there, perhaps something polished, shining brightly in the sun. Then the clouds drifted across it once more, obscuring the view.
Tauran set an easy pace, and Aliisza was able to study her surroundings as they winged their way toward the slopes of the closest mountain.
Below, the alu could see more meadowlike floating islands. She noted that many teemed with life. The alu spotted a small group of insectoid creatures upon one of the islands, hard at work moving a large stone. At first Aliisza thought they were massive ants, but then she noticed that they stood upright and that some of them, the larger ones, employed simple weapons. She glanced at Tauran, raising her eyebrow in question.
'Formians,' the angel explained. 'Simple-minded creatures, governed by law above all else. They have little independent thinking, acquiescing to a hive mind in all things.'
Sounds dreary, Aliisza thought, grimacing.
They moved on, flying higher, slowly approaching the upper flank of the nearest mountain. They ascended into the cloud cover and the alu felt a brief moment of moist chill. Then they broke through and she was stunned by the majesty of the place. As the distance shrank, Aliisza could see that her earlier guess had been correct. The top of the mountain had been leveled or shaped flat in some manner, and a great tiered building of white stone rested upon its crown. The outer facade was all columns and steps, and the sun glinted brightly off the smoothly polished surfaces. The alu could see that creatures came and went from the structure, which was easily the size of a small hamlet.
A pair of creatures took flight and angled straight at the two of them. Similar to Tauran in appearance, bronze-skinned and white-winged, they approached rapidly, bearing large maces. She gave another questioning look at Tauran, growing concerned that they intended to attack.
When the two creatures drew close enough, they pulled up and hovered. One of them eyed Aliisza with obvious distrust, while the other held up a hand, palm facing outward.
'Hail, Tauran. Why are you bringing this fiend to our doorstep?'
Tauran bowed and said, 'Hail, Micus. This creature has submitted to me a willingness to abide by the strictures of our realm so that her unborn child may escape harm from her execution. I escort her now to the Court of Temperance for sentencing.'
The angel named Micus nodded. 'Excellent,' he said. 'May the blessings of Tyr grace you and your child,' he said to Aliisza. Then, before she could answer, he and the other celestial creature turned and shot away, soaring low above the treetops.
Aliisza shivered. The blessings of Tyr are the last things I expect to receive, she thought as she watched them depart.
'Shall we continue?' Tauran asked.
The alu turned her attention toward her escort as they flew toward the great columned city ahead. 'I fear I have agreed to much more than I bargained for,' she said, her voice slightly amused. 'You're all being too nice, too patient. There's a catch somewhere.'
Tauran cast a meaningful glance over his shoulder at the alu as they neared a plaza cut into the mountain. It rested upon a tier about halfway up the side of the facade.
'When the soul of a being calls to us,' the angel said as he alit upon the marble tiles of the plaza, 'and requires aid in surviving and blossoming into a beautiful creature, we are overjoyed. It is the wish of all who dwell here that we might assist in raising high a spiritual being, to help it attain all of its glorious potential. There is no 'catch.' '
As soon as the half-fiend landed, the angel led her toward an archway. She could not see through it, for it was filled by a pearlescent barrier. Two powerfully built humanoids stood guard there, flanking the passageway. They had the heads of dogs, though intelligence gleamed in their eyes. Their skin had a ruddy hue, and Aliisza could see greatswords strapped to their backs. They seemed serene, but ready for action at the slightest provocation. Tauran bowed deeply before the two of them, then stepped through the doorway and vanished.
Aliisza hesitated, standing between the two sentries. She wasn't sure she wanted to go where Tauran led. She glanced at the twin guards and saw both looking at her. There was more than mere intelligence reflected in their eyes. She saw keen wisdom as they appraised her.
Sizing me up for battle? Or questioning the merits of me being here?
'Hurry,' one of them said, 'before you are mistaken for an intruder and slain.' His voice was unnaturally deep and rich. It vibrated the alu to her bones.
Aliisza swallowed and darted after Tauran.
The barrier enveloped her and she found herself within a colonnaded walkway, moving toward an open space filled with sunlight. Tauran was up ahead. She reflected for a moment on his words as she caught up. He and others like him came when called, answered those in need.
'I did that?' she asked aloud as they walked. 'I called to you? I don't remember.'
'No,' the winged being said as they entered the interior courtyard. 'You did not.'
Aliisza shook her head, puzzled. 'But you just said-'
She stopped in mid-sentence, gazing around at the beauty of the cozy space the two of them had just entered. A fountain stood in the center, a gurgling display with a statue of a magnificent winged being, even more angelic and powerful in appearance than Tauran. It was crafted of what must have been gold, and the sun blazed off it, giving it a most dazzling aspect.
All around the fountain, a topiary garden stretched in every direction. A wide assortment of trees loomed over the walkways, and benches stood beneath convenient arbors. Some trees were huge, offering shade. In other places, fruit trees blossomed, the fragrant aroma filling the area. The space was utterly devoid of other creatures.
The angel led Aliisza to one side of the courtyard, following an angled path that passed beneath an apple tree. 'A spirit called, but it was not you,' Tauran explained as he strolled out of the garden and back to the colonnaded balcony that surrounded the courtyard. He led her through another archway. 'Though you might have uttered some outcry of despair in your final moments, it was not a clarion appeal to give yourself over to Tyr's benevolence.'
