- QUARIA -
Quaria was the largest city in the southern hemisphere of Morland and its borders were surrounded by a troop of mountains to the east, in the north of the city was the river Tearl that descended from the great lake of Mayul.
The city's walls were highly fortified with dozens of guards patrolling them day and night. Even after being checked at the city gates, Hielgan could feel he was still being watched as he walked among the hundreds of mortals.
'It doesn't matter.' Hielgan thought to himself. 'This is the first time in another city apart from Sigul, I should enjoy it.'
The other city Hielgan had been to was the Criminal Capital of Sigul, where all scum of Morland would retreat to. Sigul was a lawless city where the only form of authority was power.
"Where only the strong would thrive." Hielgan murmured.
Once a month Hielgan's father would descend the hills and head into Sigul to procure their monthly supplies, on rare occasions Hielgan would tag along to assist his father.
Quaria was different from Sigul; the buildings in Quria were bigger, and the town appeared to be thriving. Sigul on the other hand barely had any large buildings, and most of the people's houses had been converted to bars and inns.
'Everyone was trying to earn a living, and very few people were doing the living.' Hielgan pondered.
Unfortunately, several mortals were dying every day in Sigul, either from getting caught between criminal ring wars or the more common mortal smuggling that frequented the city.
'It was a heinous place to live in.'
The thoughts passed by as Hielgan walked onto a different lane of the streets in the city, in this area he noticed a particular similarity that the people around him had with each other.
"It appears that the mortals here prefer to garb themselves in armor than in regular clothes." Hielgan muttered.
'I see now.'
Hielgan looked at the names arrayed across the various shops throughout the street and noted a particular trait to them.
"They all sound funny, The Conjured Barb, The Murky Bog, all of them." Hielgan chuckled. "They are Adventurer Guilds!"
At that moment Hielgan recalled the times his late father had talked about the Adventurers Guilds and its various members. Hielgan could see it all manifest as various mortals walked in and out of the guilds, the individuals wore various armors from dark metallic armors to vibrant leathers and cloth.
'Father had once said that the main Adventurers Guild Headquarters was located in Quaria.'
Hielagn proceeded to walk up the cobbled streets, he passed between an array of shops and inns, then he looked up at the signposts on each shop while trying to figure out where he would go next.
After wandering around for some time Hielgan began to follow some of the people walking through the city.
'Better than asking for directions.'
Moments later he found himself walking through one of Quaria's city squares, the area was buzzing with people, and several stalls were arrayed on the edges of the city square with every stall harboring a different commodity.
In the center of the city square were statures depicting giant mortals from a past era, one statue stood out from all the rest and it depicted a mortal wielding a greatsword in one hand, and in the other hand was a head like that of a serpent, the motionless statue stood on what appeared like bodies of fallen enemies.
The other statues portrayed various mortals wielding swords, cudgels, and spears in frozen instances of battle.
"This place is…"
"Breathtaking, right."
Entranced by the exquisite statues in the city square, Hielgan had not noticed the mortal standing in the path ahead of him. The bump was light and the expression on the mortal's face even lighter.
"My sincerest apologies,"
Hielgan quickly apologized to the mortal, It was odd for him to bump into someone else, and he wondered if the sight of the magnificent statues had brought about this clumsy nature.
"I did not see you there Sir."
"It's like Oris himself came down and carved these with his own hands."
The mortal appeared to be in a trance as his attention was fixated on the sublime figures arrayed in the square.
"My my are you alright young lad?"
With his trance broken the individual turned to face Hielgan, his crimson robes swayed in the mild breeze as the pointed hat atop his head shuddered from his quick gesture.
"I am alright."
"You are not from around here, right?"
"Not at all sir. I came here to enroll in the Royal Army."
"The Royal Army, huh?"
The mortal's eyes lightened again, and through his lens, he peered straight at Hielgan as though examining every fiber of his being. The individual nodded in approval and then placed his hand on his chin and smirked at him.
"Why?"
Stunned at the response, Hielgan stared at the mortal anticipating that he knew the reason, but the individual merely looked back at him with a concerned look.
'What's he getting at?' Hielgan wondered.
Hielgan collected his thoughts as he finally understood what the person in front of him was asking of him. Nearly every mortal in Morland knew what the Royal Army was, they were the Empire's representatives, the will of Moria in mortality, and the only prerequisite for outsiders to become a part of the venerated Holy Knights.
"My grandfather once served as a Commander in the Royal Army, and I wish to achieve the same goal."
"Oh, so it's for loyalty?"
"No," Hielgan answered quickly. "For my family's honor."
"For honor? What happened to your grandfather?"
The individual's prying was getting persistent, and Hielgan appeared to have had enough, and he began to grow suspicious of the more personal questions.
"He served under Lazuriel, that's all."
"I see."
The mortal ceased his querying, and Hielgan noted his eyes appear like a pale moon running across a clear stream.
'Are those tears?'
"You served someone once?" Hielgan asked.
"Indeed, but that was a long time ago." The mortal walked passed Hielgan. "The path to the royal palace is up ahead, just past the square."
"Thank you."
Hielgan watched the mortal fade into the crowd of adventurers before he continued on his path towards Quaria's royal palace. His thoughts remained on the strange mortal in red, and he understood that his questions were far from blatant but came from a place of many experiences.
'Those tears at the end, what were they? An old mortal's regrets, musings of a different life, or perhaps decisions carelessly made...'