Boulevard de Guildes

JP with Omni and Zeeke

Paris, France
May 9, 1889

As they rode through the city, Tristin looked out the window like he was a foreign dignitary. As they entered the heart of the city, Tristin closed his eyes and focused. Starting to speak in Sanskrit and moving his arms, his magic started to reach the engine.

The pistons slid a little easier and the machine started to run faster and more smoothly.

Tristin smiled at Dumont as he focused his magic on the machine.

Seeing the Lord do his thing and sensing the subtle changes in sound and locomotion, Dumont understood that Andrews was using magic on the coach. He smiled back and nodded, wondering what else the man could do.

~~~

Boulevard de Guildes

Dumont and Lord Andrews hopped down from the steam coach a block away from their destination and waved goodbye to Gemma who was headed off to check in at the Order’s Paris headquarters.

As they walked, Dumont admired the tall buildings and the bustling crowds. He was home and the Boulevard de Guildes was a place of magic and science, of old and new. It was a place brimming with potentiality, where dreams were made and where anything was possible.

It was a wide, tree-lined street in the city that housed the various guilds. Despite its width, the row was teeming with the comings and goings of all manner of guild members and visitors. The row was in fact cordoned off with posts as it was meant for only pedestrian traffic and not a thoroughfare for horse, carriages or steam wagons. Deliveries had to be made through magical means or through large entrances on the outer lanes or alleyways that fed from the main streets.

One corner of the row was home to the Guilde de la Magie and at the opposite, the Guilde des les Sciences et Technologie. These prominent buildings were two of the most important guilds in the city. The Guild of Magic was of similar height to the other buildings but was an imposing structure that demanded attention with its jettied third-story turrets and rows of gargoyles lining its roof. Similarly, the Guild of Science and Technology was a marvel of its own; a more progressive style building, with large glass windows and steel beams. The guild buildings were backset and bordered by stone walls, often with open yards behind them for training purposes.

As one can imagine, the two guilds were sometimes at odds with each other, as they represented different ways of thinking about the world. Despite their differences, the two guilds made the effort to maintain a working relationship as they are essential to the city of Paris and the wider world as a whole.

Dumont’s excitement was slightly dampened as he stopped hesitantly looking up at the Guild of Magic. Until now, he had remained intentionally unregistered because he liked to keep his talents a secret, regardless, he could never afford to pay the tuition to hone his skills and the Baroness Dumont certainly wasn’t going to be paying for him.

He sighed. ‘Ainsi soit-il.’

Dumont and Lord Andrews stepped through the tall wooden doors of the building.