The city of Eversong was awashhh in the glow of early evening sunlight, the white marble walls reflecting the changing colors of the sunset brilliantly. The brush, grass, and trees glowed almost orange in the reflected sunset, the Silvered River running close to the road appearing to have jewels fragmenting across the surface. All in all, creating a rather romantic setting. Perhaps a Little too poetic for some peoples liking, but who didn’t wax poetic every now and then? On the back of her steel gray stallion, Branna Winter quirked up The corners of her mouth as she surveyed the capital city before her, one of her hands shielding her eyes.

“Maybe I take the dramatic musings a little too far sometimes, wouldn’t you say Storm?” Branna mused out loud to her horse, casting a quick look down at the back of the stallion‘s head. He cocked an ear at her, but otherwise chose not to respond. “Thanks for that,“ she huffed, grinning as she dropped her hand from her eyes to rub briefly at the side of her companion‘s neck.

Branna wasn’t the most beautiful of women, but she did all right for herself if she put some effort into it. Granted, that wasn’t very often, not with her occupation, but at least she didn’t scare the strangers she met out in the country. She was short of stature, just managing to pass five feet, but was lean and fit. Her skin, suntanned from all the hours she spent traveling, bore several scars across her forearms and two parallel lines that marred one of her cheeks, but was otherwise free of blemishes. Her midnight dark hair, pulled back from her face in a braid that trailed nearly to her waist, offset the only feature she liked about herself, her clear blue eyes. Tugging at the front of her leather jerkin and passing a quick look over her dusty travel worn breeches and cloak, she had to admit that her current appearance screamed adventurer. Not that she minded. The more she looked like a capable ranger, the more likely she was to be hired to escort some nobleman or rich merchant.

Nudging Storm into a gentle trot, Branna guided her mount towards one of the large gates leading into Eversong, digging around in one of her saddlebags as she went until she retrieved her formal residency papers. Security had been tighted around the capital the last several weeks and most suspected it had a lot to do with recent attacks on outlying cities. No one was sure if enemy forces had infiltrated the country or if a capable bandit group was responsible for the devastation, but the citizens were increasingly nervous. Branna had even heard a rumor that Freeport, The largest and most economically profitable port city in the kingdom, had fallen under attack. It was when she had gathered this information that Branna had decided to head back towards the capital. With any luck, she’d be able to find more solid information about the current happenings. Showing her papers to one of the guards on duty at the gate, she was waved in a Quick moment later, joining the throng of citizens already in residence.

The interior of Eversong was even more radiant than the exterior of the city had been. The majority of the buildings had been constructed of white marble, edged and laced with gold and silver, with the rest of the construction made out of pale gray stone blocks. Even the edges of the river, which ran through the center of the city, had been lined with marble and stone, creating a natural canal. The river was spanned in several places by tall arching bridges, connecting The Northern and Southern halves of the city. All of the structures, theresidential buildings, the businesses, the government buildings, were maintained and kept clean fastidiously, giving the entire city a glow all of its own. With her horse‘s hooves clacking against the cobblestone streets, Branna couldn’t help but smile as she looked at her surroundings, finally feeling as if she had come home.

“Let’s Head over to the [I]Griffin’s Wing[/I] and see if Stanley has any information for us, shall we?“ Branna queried allowed to her stallion, clearly in the habit of talking with the beast after spending so much time alone with him, mentioning one of the more popular inns within the city. Storm snorted, almost as if in response, then turned down a side street as his reigns were gently tugged, picking his way through the crowd.