The Obelisk
10th of Glade, Year 122 Steel
It was a symbol of all that was wrong with the world, at least for her people.
Kala had come into the world already bonded to her twin. That bond and those that came before it were gifts from the Crystal Lady to give the Avialae protection from this monstrosity that claimed the allegiance and the souls of their Kathar cousins. She had seen firsthand how lost they were when their collars were damaged. Ser Baudric had floundered, attempting to recover from his battle with a demon as well as aligning his experience of Synnekar Avialae and their civilization with what he had been told by his overseers and masters.
She wished she could free them and lead them home, at least to give them comfort and protection while they decided what they wanted to do with their lives and their bodies.
"Masked Queen," she whispered, "when I find you, please, I want to help them."
Kala sat alone in the Imperial Plaza, on a bench with a clear view of the Obelisk. She didn't approach, though she sorely wished to. Even from here, she could sense the complex runic spells scrivened into its surface. She wondered what Torin Kilvin would see if he could approach it. There might have been runeforged elements involved in its construction and he had an intuitive understanding of magic that she appreciated.
More than she wanted to know how it worked, however, she wanted to know how to break it into infinitesimal pieces and excise the knowledge of how it was created from any mind that still held it.
Her face was impassive, though; merely thoughtful. No passersby would think she looked at the thing except with quiet awe. She could not afford to be seen as deviant from the will of the Imperium.
