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50th of Cryxatum, Summer Era XIV PF
Val hadn't ever seen anything like the ice gardens before. Even in Herozzal, which was the sort of place one might have expected to find something analogous, there was nothing. And so she walked through the gardens slowly and carefully, taking in the strange atmosphere and the unfamiliar sights. Umbrosus walked beside her, and though she didn't say anything to him, she was glad of his presence. Not many people were usually interested in bothering her when she had a companion that looked like a wolf but was the size of a pony.
She had probably been there for a good candlemark or so, though she wasn't being careful to keep track of the time. But it was at about that point that she saw the obeli, that rose high over her head. It was a curious enough piece to attract her attention. Not many people stuck obelisks in an ice-sculpture garden, after all.
As Val got a bit closer, she noticed there was a plaque on it. She was the sort of person who always insisted on reading the signs in a museum, and so she walked right to the side of the obelisk, so that she would be able to read the text. It was in Jaedaxienne, unfortunately, which she did not read, but the language bore enough similarities to Ancient Aelyrian -- and the text was short enough -- for her to be able to pick out the gist of it. Something about answers being in the heart, not the mind.
This wasn't a concept Val believed in much; she trusted her mental faculties much more than she trusted her emotions. But she supposed if you were living in a city that had as much of a problematic recent past as Jaedaxia did, that maybe it might give someone some comfort. She shrugged once, and then turned to go...though not without idly brushing the smooth marble surface with her fingers.
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