The Aquiline Quarter, austere in its grandeur, forbade the presence of pets within its halls. Thus, Kyva, Liora and Selene turned away from the waterside paths and made their way toward the Bloom Quarter, intending to leave Snowpuff in its care.
The Bloom Quarter lay in the eastern reaches of the Sacred Order, where the air itself seemed softer and sweet with the scent of flowers. Arched gateways of pale stone stood draped in flowering vines, while moss-carpeted paths wound beneath showers of petals.
Towering trees, ancient and silver-barked, rose above elegant pavilions grown from living woods and twining ivy. Crystal streams wound between the gardens, feeding beds of moon lilies, jade reeds, and blossoms that shimmered faintly in the shade.
Liora's breath caught at the sight. "It is as though the world itself has become a garden," she murmured, wonder in her voice. "Perhaps an earth affinity user is not so ill a fate."
Kyva thought Snowpuff was really lucky.
