Feast Of the Flowering, Mage Prompt 1

It was a strange view from the road, the smoke rising in pillars, the hustle of the crowd… She had only snuck close to this road in her younger years, her and her friends daring each other to see who could get closer, go further towards the city. She’d always won, and in secret she wished they had pushed her further. But their parents would have killed them if they actually went into the city, in fact they probably would have killed them if they knew that they were even on the road. It was so far from her first home, and goodness gracious, if she got too close to the city with the order and their magic, who knows what might happen! In her parents argument when they first realized that she had magic, that was one of their justifications. That she had gotten too close to the city, too close to the order… They acted like it was something contagious, some kind of disease that she had caught. When in truth, she had had it since she was an infant. Thoughts of that night made a small breeze blow against her, throwing her hair backwards. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions as she walked, she didn’t need to be on edge here, there were many other things to do. After all, it was her first visit to the city. It was something special.

She drew herself back into the spectacle of it all, as sound came rushing back into her ears when her magic stopped. She shook her head slightly, the sound assaulting her ears as her unintended bit of wind faded and her hearing came back to her. She could smell the faint smell of smoke, the over powering smell of food. She could see the vendors lining the roads, and the people. The people. There were so many. The colors, the types… All of the hoofs beating against the worn down road made it sound like there was a stampede. She didn’t know how to handle it all. But she was loving it none the less. The chaos around her was frightening, and amazing all at the same time. Her eyes couldn’t take it all in, her senses were overwhelmed, so she tried to calm herself before things got out of control. She needed to focus on something, she just wasn’t sure what it would be yet.

Then, ahead of her, as if on cue, an official looking bovine stood, waving the crowd around a camel that was crying on the ground. She knew better than to involve herself with someone at a heightened emotional state, so she walked past the camel, avoiding whatever he was crying over. She was a nice girl, but her senses were already to heightened here, she didn’t need to add more emotional baggage. All she needed was to make a bigger scene than was already happening. She walked directly up to the bovine, and gave a quick nod of her head. He was waving people to a halt in front of him, and she couldn’t help but be curious as to what the hold up was.

“What’s going on ma'am?” She asked relatively politely. She looked around her at those that were being held up. “Is something the matter?” Perhaps she was being bold, but she generally was curious. What was the hold up? She just wanted to get to the main city, but she guessed it wouldn’t hurt to visit with someone now and again. This guy seemed hasty, and the crowd seemed a little annoyed, but no one seemed to be saying anything. What was going on? Her curiosity had been piqued, and now, she needed to know. She knew the guy looked official, but being her first time in the city, she had no idea what kind of official he was. She could be about to get herself into some serious trouble, but if nothing else, it would be an experience.