One Magical Foal

The sun was high up in the sky, its warm rays shining down on the quirlicorns down below. A soft yellow glow was cast on the cobblestone street, and the dust kicked up by quirlicorn hooves shimmered in the sunlight.

Baroque looked left and right, eyes darting back and forth. It was loud outside, as countless quirlicorns passed by him. The five of them, Resplendence, Sonnet, Minuet, Faven, and him, had been hanging out under The Tree, when Resplendence had sprung up, shouting, “G-ma and Uncle Nox are back!”

Sonnet had perked up at the mention of his father, and looked at Minuet. Baroque could now recognize when they were having a silent conversation, but he was no closer to figuring out what they were saying than Faven. Resplendence on the other hand, knew exactly what was happening. But Baroque knew better than to ask her, as his older cousin would always respond with a way too cheerful, “It’s a secret!”

Baroque hoped he’d one day learn the secret. 

Moments later, Resplendence looked over at where he was lying on the ground, and called loudly, “Race you guys to the palace!”

Faven shook her head, “I’ll just go back home.”

“Sure, your loss,” Resplendence said, waving a tail. She then started galloping away, with Sonnet and Minuet hot on her hooves.

Baroque glanced back at the older black filly, “Bye Faven!” He then took off after the other three, trying to catch them. He knew he wasn’t going to, but it didn’t hurt to try. 

As he ran through the market, trying to find his way to the palace, Baroque was reminded of how his father and Grandmother Radiance seemed to have left him alone for much longer periods of time. He was growing, and deserved more independence to run around Candentia, but it still felt like there was some other reason. Especially because he caught them whispering in hushed tones several times over the past couple weeks.

And there was also that time Uncle Luxaeterna had gently pushed him out the door, before talking to his father. He had tried pressing his ear up against the heavy wooden doors, but it was to no avail. Unfortunately, he had not been born with the ability to manipulate sounds like Minuet was, so he couldn’t catch a single word that they said. 

Now, Baroque was turning the corner to that same wing of the palace. The giant Quirlicorn statue, dedicated to some random wanderer of the lands, greeted him. Baroque would have to ask Sonnet or maybe Uncle Lux to tell him the story soon, the quirlicorn depicted in the statue had to have had an interesting story.

He spotted his siblings and his cousin waiting beside the door, all three of them panting. 

“So, who won?” Baroque asked, scurrying over. 

“I did,” Sonnet and Resplendence said at the same time. 

“No, I did,” Resplendence and Sonnet said at the same time.

“They tied,” Minuet explained, exasperation and amusement in her expression. 

“Absolutely not,” Sonnet said, “Clearly-”

“Clearly, I won,” Resplendence butted in. “But anyways, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for hours! Uncle Nox has something to show us, and he told us we’d need to wait for you!”

Baroque laughed under his breath, his ears perked up with curiosity. His father had something for them? He couldn’t wait to see what it was.

The black stallion watched the foals bicker with a tender smile spread across his muzzle.

“What’s the surprise?” Baroque asked, realizing that there was something saying muffled words in a soft chirpy voice.

"It's a surprise for Sonnet," his father reiterated. The foals all looked at Sonnet with excitement. All except Baroque, who was too focused on the voice he heard from behind the heavy wooden doors. 

"Is that another foal?" Baroque asked sheepishly. Perhaps a new friend for them to meet? All eyes shifted to him. There was a moment of silent confusion amongst the small crowd. Baroque didn't understand why, it wasn't unusual for the various members of the family to leave Candentia only to return with foals, whether they were their own or adopted. Candentians were, indeed, a fruitful and motherly or fatherly bunch. That's how Baroque himself had ended up in Candentia. Nox had never shared his whereabouts prior to reappearing with a pink foal by his side. Some joked he had taken example from his mother, who raised any foal she stumbled upon as her own.

"Baroque, that was clearly a bird chirping," Sonnet said in a condescending tone mixed with a generous pinch of confusion.

A small head poked out from behind Nox's sturdy neck; it was a tiny griffin with feathers of a soothing reddish brown shade.

There was a collective gasp from the foal's side.

"It's so cute!" Resplendence exclaimed.

"Hello!" It chirped shyly.

Baroque's ears perked up.

"See, a bird, I was right," Sonnet said, looking at his younger brother. "What, did you hear it neigh?"

"I did! Right now, it said hi!" Baroque struck the ground insistently.

"It did not!" Sonnet shouted back.

"Now, now," their father intervened, poking his muzzle between his sons. "There must be a perfectly logical explanation for this. One does not simply mistake bird chirps for a quirlicorn's speech."

"Baroque just did," Sonnet laughed.

"Maybe he has zoolingualism magic," Minuet softly suggested.

The griffin took advantage of Nox's extended leg to crawl closer to Sonnet.

"Is this the one?" It spoke in a soft, ethereal echo. "Is this Sonnet?"

Sonnet pulled his muzzle away from the ball of fluffy feathers. "That's impossible! We'd have known if he had zoolingualism, there's so much wildlife around Candentia, I would have noticed if he spoke to birds!"

The dark blue filly tilted her head pensively. "There are a lot of quirlicorns too. Maybe he just thought it was them speaking to each other."

Baroque didn't really understand what everyone was talking about. He only paid attention to the griffin, the debate between his siblings going in one ear and straight out the other. 

“That,” Sonnet pointed out, “is impossible. Even more unlikely than zoolingualism. Absolutely not, I’d have noticed. Or, if not that, you’d have noticed.”

Baroque noticed Minuet’s gaze on him and the griffin, and looked up at her. She smiled at him, saying, “Sonnet, it’s zoolingualism. Remember the classifications of magic we went over? The only one that makes sense is zoolingualism.”

“That doesn’t make any sense though!” Sonnet protested for a second, before he furrowed his eyebrows. “Fine, that does make sense. More than the other options, at least.”

“Anyways,” Sonnet continued, switching to another topic, “That ball of feathers is absolutely tiny, are you sure he’s a griffin? And not some random creature conjured into existence?”

Noxaeterna laughed with exasperation, “Sonnet, I can assure you he is a griffin. He’ll grow, don’t worry. Your grandmother and I thought he’d be a good familiar for you, given that you nearly have enough magic to form a bond with another familiar now.”

The griffin chirped at Sonnet. This time, it wasn’t actual words, and just a bunch of excited, meaningless sounds. But Baroque still understood the happiness in the griffin’s chirping. It matched his own elation, at discovering yet another magic of his. 

Sonnet, on the other hand, glanced at Minuet instead of his familiar-to-be. And she shook her head minutely, gesturing that he should focus on his griffin. 

The unfamiliar expression on Sonnet’s face disappeared within seconds, quickly replaced by a smug grin, as the griffin hopped onto his back. “Wow, an entire griffin. A bit small, but it’s a griffin. Hey Baroque, think anyone’s going to be jealous of me?”

Baroque thought that everyone was going to be jealous of Sonnet. The griffin was adorable, made the cutest puppy-eyes, and had a soothing, melodic chirp. He wished that he too could get a griffin for a familiar. It’d be years until he got there with his magic though. But, he consoled himself with the knowledge of his newly found magic, as he listened to the birds conversing in the trees. 

The courtyard was silent except for the birds, not a single other quirlicorn near him.

“What are the birds telling you now? They sure are noisy, today,” Sonnet spoke.

Baroque whipped around, startled. He hadn’t heard his brother approaching. The older foal emerged from behind an arch, raising an eyebrow in greeting. By all logic, Baroque shouldn’t have heard Sonnet this well, given the distance and the noise. Besides, it was Minuet who had sound amplification magic, not Sonnet.

His brother gazed at the birds perched on the leafy green trees.

Because of Candentia’s relatively mellow temperatures, plenty of birds could be found year round. There were the migratory birds of the Icy region that spent the summer in Candentia, before returning to the mainlands in winter, along with other birds that migrated the other way around. And of course, he couldn’t forget the birds that permanently resided in Candentia, familiars and companions of the quirlicorns there. There were pigeons and sparrows fed off the crumbs of bread, that foals would throw their way, or some small fruits from the markets, while other mystical birds from the tropics were pampered with nothing but the finest fruits.

Baroque liked all of the birds, especially the ones gathered in the courtyard. They sang nice little tunes to the beat of the sunshine, with thankful words for their hosts and their warm city.

He told Sonnet: “They’re singing an ode to Candentia.”

In reality, the song wouldn’t exactly qualify as an ode, but Baroque judged it close enough to take a poetic detour. And as Sonnet would call it, ‘poetic license’.

“How charming.”

Baroque noticed that his brother’s lips hadn’t moved. He blinked fast, thinking the sun might’ve tampered with his vision.

“It’s beautiful,” Baroque heard Sonnet say, his brother’s mouth remaining still yet again.

Baroque normally would have commented on how his brother’s music was prettier, but he was instead completely dumbfounded by what was happening.

Sonnet smirked.

“So, what do you think?” Sonnet asked slyly.

“What is happening?” Baroque cried out, bucking away from his brother. It all felt eerily like a dream. One Baroque would rather not have.

“Woah, calm down, little Pebble,” Sonnet laughed, “nothing’s happening. It’s just a little telepathy. Or rather, a ‘silent conversation’, as you call it.”

“R-really?” Baroque stuttered.

“Think it, Baroque,” Sonnet ordered.

The pink foal focused. “Really?” he asked in his head.

“Now you got it!” Sonnet smiled. “Welcome to my world.”

“That’s awesome!” Baroque reared in excitement. “Can you do that with anyone?”

“Yeah, I can. But, first, calm the excitement down,” Sonnet backed away from him. “You’re sending way too much excitement through telepathy!”

“It doesn’t only convey speech?” Baroque settled his hooves on the stepping stones.

“Nope. Anything and everything can be transmitted.”

“Do you think I could do that too?”

“Well, we’d have to wait and see if you develop any more magic. Considering that Mountains magic flows through our blood, I would be plausible.”

Baroque inadvertently sent another wave of excitement in Sonnet’s direction. The bigger foal flinched.

“Sorry,” Baroque sheepishly smiled. “Do you think I’ll ever have enough magic to have my own familiar?”

“Sure you will,” Sonnet reassured him, “ Just make sure to get yourself something better than the ol’ Muttonhead here.” He gestured towards the griffin on his back. The foal made eye contact with the tiny creature.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say, Sonnet. I’m sure Father went through a lot of trouble to find you a familiar,” Baroque said. The griffin was a perfectly fine griffin, and even if Sonnet didn’t like him, Baroque did.

Sonnet didn’t answer him with words. He only stuck his tongue out and winked, sending a wave of amusement through telepathy.

At that moment, Minuet appeared behind the arch, and Sonnet turned to greet her with a dip of his head. She and Sonnet looked at each other, then Sonnet turned to Baroque, “It’s time for dinner, let’s go!”

Now, Baroque had a clear idea of what had happened between his older siblings. Previously, it had felt like he seemingly was missing a major piece of the conversation. But now, he had been given that puzzle piece, and everything made sense.

He could clearly imagine Minuet’s voice telling Sonnet something along the lines of: “Grandmother is waiting for us at the dining room. Formal one.”

“Something important is going on? Who’s the dignitary? One of ours, or some other land?” Sonnet asked in reply.

Baroque felt Minuet’s emotion of confusion, recognizing it as the telepathic equivalent of a shrug. The foal happily trotted behind his siblings, to the dining hall. The formal one, with crystal chandeliers and intricately carved tables.

Everyone exchanged courtesies and sat at their designated places at the table, Baroque’s being at his father’s side. Sonnet publicly thanked his father for the griffin familiar, which the foal had brought to his room prior to making his way to the dining hall. A pale feather was still woven into his mane, nestled amongst the braids and gemstones.

Baroque said a polite thank you to the servant who brought his soup, then side-eyed his siblings. Both seemed so quiet and formal, perfectly poised as they sipped their soup without looking at each other, but Baroque couldn’t help but imagine what they could be telling each other without anyone else knowing, if Minuet’s suppressed smirk was any hint. He could only wish to also have telepathy. Speaking could be so tiresome at times. Telepathy was much more efficient, and the ability to converse without anyone else knowing sounded amazing.

A metallic sound brought Baroque back to reality. His father was hitting his spoon on his glass of water, beckoning everyone’s attention.

There were some inconvenient grunts at the opposite end of the table. Baroque had to admit that the sound wasn’t necessarily pleasant.

Noxaeterna cleared his throat. “My fellow Candentians and dear family, there’s something that’s been weighing on my mind lately. After thoroughly discussing the matter with Mother, I’ve thought it might be time-”

Everyone leaned closer to the stallion, wondering what grand announcement he would make. It seemed like Sonnet had guessed right, that something important was happening.

“For me to take leave from this city and further explore the lands of the quirlicorns.”

Luxaeterna, Nox’s twin brother and Baroque’s uncle, blinked in surprise. Uncle Luxaeterna muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘I should have expected that’.

In fact, everyone seemed to have been caught off guard, minus Grandmother Radiance and Psychomyth.

Baroque, on his end, was mostly worried. What would happen to him? Sure, he was independent enough that he could wander Candentia on his own, but life would be pretty boring without his father accompanying him to places and teaching him about the history of Candentia. Sure, Uncle Lux could do so as well, but it wouldn’t be the same thing. Not at all. Besides, this meant that his shared bedding with his father would no longer be warm and comfortable, and that he couldn’t count on his father’s soft lullabies anymore.

Just when Baroque was about to start protesting, Nox continued: “I’ll be taking Baroque along with me. There’s no doubt that an exploration trip such as this one would be beneficial for his development as a quirlicorn.”

Radiance, his grandmother, shook her head in approval, and an endearing smile on her face.

“I would love to take all of my beloved children along with me for this new adventure, but I believe that their place here in Candentia, with their grandmother and joust partners, where they may grow strong and benevolent heirs for the city.”

Minuet and Sonnet shared dazed looks. Baroque, on his side of the table, was too enraptured at the thought of seeing what was beyond Candentia (and most of all, to do so with his father) to really hear the polite farewells and best wishes the other guests and relatives had to offer.

Somewhere along the line, a farewell party was announced for the next evening, invitations to be sent out. Baroque had a feeling a good number of quirlicorns would be attending, even with such short notice. Sonnet excused himself from the table as soon as the last course was finished. Baroque felt his brother’s long purple tail brush against him as he walked past his seat and stopped at his father’s side.

“Where are you leaving, Father?” Baroque heard him whisper.

“I don’t have a clear plan in mind, Sonnet. I would just like to travel and discover new things,” the stallion answered.

“Will you be staying in the Icy region?”

“Most likely not, there are many interesting things to see beyond the icescape. Besides, I don’t think your brother could withstand temperatures at such a young age.”

“I see,” Sonnet awkwardly curled his lips then moved away.

The preparations for the party were loudly being discussed at the table, with Lux already scribbling down some notes as various quirlicorns made suggestions.

“Is there anything you’d like to bring along?” Nox asked.

Baroque thought about it, but his mind was blank. He would be with his father and only his father! Baroque couldn’t hold still from excitement. How fun would that be? Nox laughed and sent Baroque away to play while he packed some things. They wouldn’t need many things, Nox had explained, only some food, money and a few other things to keep them safe from the weather.

Baroque decided to run after his brother, and maybe take a good look at the small griffin again.

He didn’t find his brother in his room. Only the griffin in a small bird cage.

Baroque was shocked at the sight. He didn’t think a bird should be kept in a cage, much less a griffin. It didn’t make any sense to him. Both birds and griffins needed space to enjoy the sun and stretch their wings. Without thinking much, he walked across the room and opened the door. He poked his muzzle through it.
 

“How are you doing, little griffin? You can come out now.”

The griffin looked at him with its adorably large cat eyes.

“Hello,” it chirped and stretched. “I was just taking a nap.”

It looked at the door. “Thank you for offering, but I’m fine where I am.”

“But you’re in such a small cage!” Baroque exclaimed.

The griffin purred. “Large enough for my intents and purposes.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be outside and nap in the sun?” Baroque asked.

“Not particularly. Sonnet has great decorative tastes. I’m sure I’ll be right at home here.”

Baroque lingered for a moment more, “But, you don’t come from here. How did my father find you?”

“To be honest, I found him. It’s a great honour to be chosen as a familiar for a quirlicorn. Besides, you provide food, shelter and entertainment. What more could a griffin want?” the griffin stretched out, yawning.

Baroque stepped away from the cage. “Well, if you say so. I’ll just leave the door open in case you change your mind…”

He looked around the room, “Have you seen Sonnet? I was just looking for him.”

“I believe he walked out with his sister to look for something,” the griffin answered.

“Oh, okay,” Baroque said. “I’m going to miss him.”

“I’m sure he’ll miss you just as much.”

Baroque’s ears peaked. “You’ll keep an eye on him for me, will you? He likes to get involved in all sorts of crazy antics with Resplendence.”

“I will.” The griffin couldn’t smile because of its beak, but Baroque knew it would have if only it had lips like him.

“What’s your name anyways?”

“Sonnet named me Muttonhead. Or Fluffball. Or Pompom.” The griffin laughed.

“No, no, I was asking for your name before you were brought to the palace. Besides, I don’t think any of those are names,” Baroque let out a short laugh at how Sonnet had managed to give his griffin so many nicknames in such a short amount of time.

“It doesn’t matter to me, although, if you insist on knowing-” the word had barely left the griffin’s beak that Sonnet stormed into the room.

“What are you doing here?” the foal hissed, “I know I’ve told you not to come into my room like this!”

“I’m sorry,” Baroque mumbled. He shuffled towards the door.

“If you want that ball of fluff so much, take it. But this is my room, and I don’t want you in here.”

“I didn’t want to take it, I just wanted to let it stretch its wings,” Baroque explained. “I’m sorry I had you worried, I’ll leave now.”

“Don’t blame Baroque,” Minuet intervened, “He didn’t have a say in the matter.”

“Of course, he didn’t,” Sonnet said through telepathy.  “Why would Father be leaving in the first place if it wasn’t for him?” He glared at Baroque and the foal felt a snapping sensation in his mind.

Baroque was confused as to what that was all about. The thought clearly wasn’t meant for him, but it still hurt to hear Sonnet say something like this. Baroque stops on the threshold. Sonnet and Minuet stared at each other for a while. A wide array of expressions showed on Sonnet’s face.

“By the way, I really think you should stop calling your familiar all these ridiculous nicknames. You should call him by an actual name-”

Sonnet glared Baroque, then conjured wisps of fire to force the foal out of his room. Baroque instantly regretted making that last comment. He could see why Faven called Sonnet ‘terrifying’ now.

Feeling the biting heat on his rear end, Baroque bolted away with a surprised “Y-ouch!”.

Instinctively, Baroque ran for his Father, but he was nowhere to be found in the palace. He most likely was caught up in the whirlwind of preparations for the farewell party, as all the grown-ups were. He bobbed out of the way of the many quirlicorns trotting through the hallways until he reached the courtyard.

There, he found Resplendence excitingly “supervising” the preparations, greeting every new decoration and with a generous amount of “ooh”s and “aah”s. She noticed Baroque and trotted in his direction, not taking her eyes off the box of lanterns that had been set down at the centre of the courtyard.

“Do you know where Sonnet is?” she asked, a familiar glint in her eyes.

Baroque sadly shook his head.

“I made him angry, I don’t recommend you prank him right now.” He fanned the smoke that emanated from his rear with his tail.

“What happened?” she giggled.

“I walked into his room and I guess that made him mad. He’s not usually like that though.”

“Aww, I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose,” she said, tousling his mane with her chin. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

When she saw that the foal didn’t cheer up, she elaborated: “He’s just upset that you and your father are leaving. He’ll be fine, and I’m sure he’ll apologize later.”

“You think so?”

His older cousin nodded her head affirmatively. Resplendence’s confidence in what she said successfully made him feel better. He spent the rest of the evening listening to her rambling on and on about the interesting things he might see when he’ll leave Candentia: paradise birds, dragons, secret caves, magic dew trees and much more.

“Are you excited for the trip?” Nox asked that night while the foal was settling down next to him.

“Very,” Baroque grinned.

He wished it was time to leave already. He wanted to go out and experience the world, all of it. However, the next day, he and Nox watched Sonnet and Minuet joust with older quirlicorns whom Grandmother Radiance had invited over for the occasion. Older quirlicorns sure enjoyed their jousts, Baroque thought.

He had insisted on jousting with Minuet once, only to be informed that it wasn’t about fighting. It was about practicing your magic and strengthening your grip on it. That had saddened Baroque a bit, since he didn’t really have magics that could be used against other quirlicorns. Still, though, he liked to watch his siblings joust and imagine how he’d counter their skillful blows. Nox cheered loudly every time his children made a risky but profitable move. Which was often, given how Sonnet was throwing around his magic quite recklessly.

To no one’s surprise, Sonnet and Minuet won most of the rounds, collecting a hefty amount of points from all of their clever tricks.

Baroque didn’t really get to see his siblings afterwards, as they disappeared to get some needed rest after all of their efforts. He had heard Sonnet panting towards the end, even if he continued wearing a bright grin.

And Baroque himself had to have his fancy clothes fitted to his size again since he was a bit tight in it at the last party.

Finally, the reception was pronounced open by Radiance and a short but sweet farewell speech which could be summarized as: “I wish you all a nice trip! Beware of narwhals and cliff sides!”

And if Baroque had to tell the truth, that was it. That was the actual speech. The entirety of Radiance’s speech.

The quirlicorns still toasted to the message and cheered.

The party wasn’t like the rest. Whereas Baroque would usually follow Sonnet around and politely smile at everyone, quirlicorns were coming to him in masses to wish him a safe trip. Baroque always answered “thank you”, but sometimes was distracted and would accidently say “you too” to some poor quirlicorn who probably did not intend to go anywhere anytime soon. He said that to Faven herself, who proved to be the only one to call him out on it.

“Thank you, Baroque, but I don’t think I’ll be headed out at this time of the night.”

Baroque blinked. How long had he been here, listening to more quirlicorns than he believed lived in Candentia wish him a safe trip?

“Sorry,” he laughed. Faven smiled and moved in the direction of Sonnet, who, until now, had been standing next to Nox on the opposite corner of the room.

Baroque excused himself from the four grown-ups who were telling him about their native regions and tried to reach his brother, only to be interrupted by another group of quirlicorns.

“You’re Baroque? I wish you all the best on your world tour! Stay clear of large bodies of water, you can never know what’s in there.”

The foal gave up trying to move through the crowd. He did manage to walk close enough to be within earshot of his brother.

“Are you sure I cannot come along?” He heard Sonnet ask his father.

Nox dipped his head in someone’s direction then turned his attention towards his son.

“Your grandmother and I both think it’s best you stay in Candentia with Minuet, Resplendence, and everyone else, Sonnet. There are still many things you need to learn.”

“Can’t you teach me?”

Nox laughed. “I’m afraid I’m not competent enough to teach you about ruling an entire land, Son. Psychomyth and Martine will be much more helpful than I could ever be.”

Sonnet grunted. “Will you at least be back to watch me joust next week?”

Nox looked a little sad. “I don’t know, Sonnet. Travelling across the regions takes a long time, I don’t know when I’ll be back. But you’re strong, I know you’ll be fine without me. Speaking of Martine...”

The stallions exchanged courtesies. Sonnet turned away, only for Faven to step in his way.

Baroque didn’t manage to eavesdrop anymore, as he had more company.

It was truly exhausting, standing there and greeting every quirlicorn under the sun (or moon, in his case. It was getting late.) He wished he could listen to the musicians and play with his siblings and his cousin like he had at other parties.

Sonnet and Faven walked past him, his brother not bothering to rescue him from the endless conversation like he usually did. Baroque did hear his brother whisper, “tomorrow, by the tree.” It was subtle, though, easily chalked up to a combination of exhaustion and the wind. The foal almost didn’t hear it over the crowd. The invitation wriggled out of his mind almost instantly, as more guests approached him and prevented him from fully processing the words.

He didn’t even remember making his way to his bed and falling asleep.

He woke up to a throbbing feeling on his shoulder. His father was pushing him with his muzzle.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” his father spoke softly. “It’s time for our great adventure.”

Resplendence’s words flashed in his mind. The dragons. The magic dew trees.

Baroque sprung to his hooves. The sun hadn’t even poked its first ray of light through the window yet, but the first signs of a storm were already showing up.

They hastily ate a hearty breakfast and snuck out into the courtyard and through the sleeping city.

“Father, where are we headed?” Baroque asked, bouncing up and down behind his father. The wind ruffled his mane and he felt very much alive. The sun painted the sky blue and shone unto his glistering mane.

Nox smiled. ““Wherever you want. We can travel to the plateaus where the grass bows down to the wind, or the sandy desert where mirages dance under the sun.”

They reached a fairy ring, one quirlicorns used to enter and leave the lands of Candentia.

Baroque took a deep breath and stepped into the ring.

“I want to see everything.”