A dozen guardsmen marched into the grotto from the large mouth of the cave. Clad in surcoats and skin-tight pants that looked like dark blue fish scales with a leather texture, they surrounded a tall woman. Presenting herself, she pushed her way through a pair of broad shoulders and scanned the platform with an austere rise of her chin. As soon as she stopped in front of the guardsmen, they pumped the ground a few times with their long gold staffs that bore a wicked blade along the top, which became a flourishing echo within the quieted cave.
Rían gaped at her in awe. She. Was. Beautiful.
Prismed with aqua colors, long strands of thick blonde hair framed a sweetheart face, which glistened in a filagree of silvery patterns that trailed from her hairline and down the sides of her cheeks n
