A Student's Dream (Twisted Cogs Book 1) Read Free

shades,” Ele swore under his breath, looking up at the vast stone walls that ringed the city, higher than Elena would’ve thought possible. The stones were a tan that was bright in the evening sun, aligned, clean and straight. In her half-asleep state it looked like a castle from a fairy tale, like something that belonged in the gates of heaven. The capital City of Florenzia had always been the center of the world for Elena, but looking at Milia for the first time she couldn’t imagine a sight more impressive.
    By the time the cart rumbled its way beneath the gates, Elena had started to clear the sleep from her system, and was busy letting her gaze rove over the city they approached.
    “ How much weight do you think each wall carries?” she asked Ele, forgetting herself in her excitement, “and how did they know how much the load-bearing stones could support when they put in the arches?”
    “ I’m sure I don’t know, Elena,” her mother replied, “but I’m sure you’ll find someone with both the knowledge and inclination to answer anything you might ask. It will be good for you to finally meet your own kind of people. You’ll be able to stop pestering your poor mother with questions.”
    “ It’s hard to estimate,” Ele said, just as excited as Elena, “but they’ve got some master stone-workers living here, look at the roads!” He gestured at the smooth stones that made up the street around them, as the cart passed the gates.
    It was all too much to take in. As Ele pointed out, even the streets themselves were works of art. Each piece was laid into the ground in odd angles, as if they had just happened to fall where they were, but each fit so perfectly with the others that there wasn’t even space for weeds to grow between them. No sooner had she noticed this than Elena’s attention was grabbed by the deep smooth grooves in the stone, worn and clean, that lay on either side of the road.
    “ What are the grooves for?” Elena asked. Her mother gave her a disapproving look, but she couldn’t help herself. Without even waiting for an answer her eyes flicked skyward, following the line of precise buildings until they reached the far-off castle that stood in the center of the town, visible even from its edges.
    When they stepped down from the cart and began moving through the city on foot, Elena contented herself with drinking in the sights and listening to Ele chatter, as if he could talk enough for the both of them.
    “ Do you see how all the shops have signs of about the same size? I’ll bet that’s a regulation so that no single sign overwhelms the street, but it’s also forcing each shop owner to be unique to catch the attention of passersby,” he noted as they walked through the merchant district.
    “ Mortalis merchants,” Joanna sniffed, staring straight ahead as she walked, her chin raised ever so slightly. Elena thought it a little unfair given that their family had always been Mortalis merchants themselves, selling all kinds of goods until she had come along.
    “ I had kind of hoped your mother would get lost so we could see more of the city before we reached the studio. She must’ve gotten her hands on a map,” Ele said.
    Elena’s Aunt Jiani had visited them once a year every year before she had passed away, and she had regaled Elena with stories and information about the large city. Because of her Elena knew that the city was shaped like a gigantic wheel with the palace at its center. Eight of the wheel’s spokes were Milia’s artisan streets, home of the eight studios in which the Master Artisans of Milia lived and worked, the highest callings in the city.
    Not that every Master Artisan was at the same level, of course. It was well known that there was a certain hierarchy to the Masters of Milia, that some were more favored by the palace than others. The merchant shops they passed now all seemed to be high-end, their storefronts decorated subtly and tastefully. Clearly the