Destruction.
Desolation.
Death.
The three stages of the end.
Desolation causes destruction which in turn causes death.
Durlivan could be said to be in a very fragile balance, both now, and then.
The only difference is the number of needles holding it up as increased, albeit, weak needles.
Everyone is pivotal, yet each one is replaceable, all but one, and that is the one which bore it's original weight.
"The lord has been in his estate for a week now... is he alright?" Ah... I'm fine.
Anxiety coursed through the cities original populace, after the duel with Tynas he had not shown his face and without that single needle which gave them the courage to leave their footings in another hands and gaze up at the stars, they began to look back to earth with fear.
I see.
I'll need to make an appearance soon and reassure everyone that everything will be fine.
Especially the refugees.
They came here to escape conflict yet it seems to be following them causing them to leave for further into the territory, though, that won't work and they know it so many stay.
After all, the entire continent is at war right now.
Carrien is in a civil war between the three Grand Dukes.
Rekarsus and Kendogan should be engaging their main armies soon turning it into a full-blown war with, perhaps not everything on the line, but enough to make people afraid enough to run away.
The Gulf is in a perpetual state of strife and there's not telling when Pelino and the Federation will make their next move and devour what's left of the Gulf during these troubled times.
Naturally, these citizens don't know all of this, but, war is in the air and that? That everyone can feel.
People will gather towards strong names and not necessarily strong powers.
They will look for those other's fear and settle beneath them for safety.
And right now, the Summer Prince and the Scarlet Demon are those names close to home.
Aiyaaa, my life...
"It'll be fine. This isn't the first time our champion has been wounded," An Acolyte within a nearby cluster said with a smile a faded mark visible in the center of his forehead, "Our champion is strong. He has the favor of the battlefield."
"...true. Still," The man sighed with heavy eyes, "We aren't hungry anymore, but... this never-ending war, is it really worth it?"
"Ah, you aren't from here are you, young'in?" An older lady said from behind a stall, the back alleyways of Durlivan still rife with commerce, old habits die hard.
The others looked at her and she smiled.
"See, we have something to protect," She said raising a hand in which there lay some bread, "And we have a way to protect them."
She pointed to the knife on the end of her table and the guard at the corner of this market.
"We don't worry of falling to sleep and never waking, a knife in our heads, our daughters raped and sons enslaved, none of that is a worry," She continued putting down the bread and sitting back down in her chair, "We here have been through hell such that even now, the lord still searches for our lost loved ones. A little war is nothing compared to the nightmares you will suffer if you don't fight. Take this old lady's words as you will though. I'm not here to change minds."
Both the Acolyte and the refugee were silent.
One had been enslaved, forced to commit atrocities one could hardly fathom, and the other had been escaped miles across open wastes, starving for days and with little water often forced to steal from each other and sleep under the sands just to escape the hard sun preferring to cook than burn.
Neither had lived easy lives, and neither took such words lightly having suffered their own respective hells.
There were no more words on the topic, their short conversation swept away beneath the shouts of commerce within the alleyway.
I don't know why I focused on this exchange among many but, it's endearing.
...I have to work harder.
"...Ag... Agashi...!" Alias half-shouted through the cloak pulling at me, "What's wrong?"
He didn't hear them?
"Nothing," I replied looking around the commerce alleyway, "Just reminiscing over some things."
Alias' eyes widened a little as he looked around recognizing where we were.
"It's changed a lot since we were last here, huh." Alias with melancholic eyes.
"Indeed," I turned to a run down little building, the faint marks of blood still visible even after a year of cleanup, "It has."
Agashi and Alias walked through the alleyways of the puzzle city, Durlivan.
Each alleyway broke off into ten more, a maze-like that of a forest's with countless branches constantly and continuously stretching out across a vast canopy.
People of all kinds and types appeared within the city, along the rooftops were birds and fairies which came to look at the city.
Birds couldn't always remain so calm on Durlivan's rooftops, they were hunted for food which had caused an infestation of rats and such plague carriers in the past, yet, the people ate those rats too.
Seeing the birds and fairies flying freely over Durlivan's sky, Alias felt a little emotional.
He understood the struggle of the city better than Agashi did if only because he had been here longer and seen the atrocities up close.
The birds sang as winds blew.
They broke through the canopy of intricate alleyways arriving at the main street where the other half of Durlivan's population resided.
Just in front of this road lay a church or, more like a cathedral.
It had been built up to large proportions.
If one looked within, they would find many acolytes sitting on the benches receiving evening mass before prayer.
Some took to kneeling whilst they pray, whilst others chose to stand and lay out praise.
There was no very strict method of praying in this world, lest one is from one of those massive and well organized religions which require many things.
"Champion." Seramia appeared beside him with nought but a sound, "For what have you graced this church?"
He raised a hand and she stopped talking understanding immediately.
He had just come for a look.
The once tiny church was quite a bit larger now, at least three stories in height so perhaps not quite enough to call it a cathedral but certainly not a small church.
In it's surroundings, which is essentially this entire corner of the city, the buildings had been torn down and repositioned to create a church zone of sorts where the acolytes and initiates could reside.
Nearby was the place where the refugee's were being assigned shelter by Trigo.
After taking a brief look through the church's facilities which were without a doubt, impressive, they left after giving the inquisitors office within the church grounds a shallow look.
They had been here for a long time, but did not make any moves at all taking it as some sort of vacation and for that, Agashi was thankful, since they weren't being a nuisance.
But, he was also wary.
Simply because a lion is silent, does not mean it is harmless.