Crows caw as they fill the sky over the burned village. Like a massive blanket resting on top of a rotten corpse.
They rest on top of the burnt and collapsed buildings, inside their windows and what is left of bedrooms, some lucky enough to find a corpse that wasn't too burned to be turned into charcoal and feast.
It's early in the morning and the now ghost city of Eversmile has only the crows as their inhabitants. Dozens of continuous cawing fill every street in the destroyed village.
But the dark visitors are not the only ones there.
Some men and women are diligently placing what remains of the corpses littering the village on top of large wooden carts, they wear elaborate white and silver robes with brown leather gloves. Their mouths and noses are protected by torn cloth, their hair long and tied on a single braid that falls on their back.
From their necks hang and tailored on the back of their tunics the symbol of The Lightbringer.
Guards make sure no harm comes to the holy men and women, servants of the light, while some try to help them on the effort of cleaning the streets and taking down the heads on the rods.
The main plaza is where they have taken the majority of carts that are already full, showing some care for the deceased in the form of covering their bodies with large blankets. Care or obligation, since while the priest and priestesses are unaffected by the scene, the same can't be said of the young guards.
As green as sprouts, some rest their bodies against walls, looking away from the corpses. Others sit on the ground with the visors of their helmets risen.
"I was happy when I was sent to the western border, nothing ever happens here...but man, this is just messed up" One of the guards complains while cleaning the sweat off his brow with a piece of cloth. His skin was pale and glittering.
"Hey" Another one nearby knocks on his helmet getting his attention "Wanna search the sanctuary basement for some alcohol?" He asked while leaning closer and whispering.
"Won't the Supervisor notice if we are gone?" The pale guard asked while looking around.
"Do you see her anywhere around? I think she left elsewhere to check for survivors or something like that, heard her say she wanted to an hour ago" He then slaps him on his back and jerked his thumb behind him. Were the sanctuary laid with its gates half-open.
"Should had said that sooner, I can't stand the stench of cooked meat"
Both men then make sure no one is looking and quickly slip inside the stone sanctuary.
They walk from the entrance to the lectern at the end of a golden carpet laid on the middle, pews placed in several rows lay at each side of the carpet while seven banners hung from seven pillars, each depicting a heroic action taken by the Lightbringer.
Candelabra hang from the ceiling and torches the walls. A large statue of the Lightbringer standing on top of a dragon rests behind the wooden lectern. His body was covered by a cloak, naked, his manhood protected by the cloak, his hair silky and being moved by the wind, his expression cold and serious as it looks up.
The dragon beneath his feet is screaming, the sword on the man's hands piercing through its chest.
But not all is beauty. There is dry blood on the pews and ground and while the place seems almost intact, there is a heavy feeling as soon as both men enter the sanctuary.
Their steps are loud as it is their steel armor, but soon they reach the lectern and walking past it until they are behind the statue, there is an open wooden hatch. There is light coming from inside as well as what seems like people talking.
The two guards look at each other and draw their blades slowly before beginning the descend, carefully stepping on the wooden stairs.
"Supervisor?" The pale man asks when recognizes one of the three guards in the basement lit by a couple of torches.
The woman curses as she is taken by surprise, dropping a glass of alcohol that shatters on the floor spilling its sweet content. The other two men making her company are surprised as well but don't make the same mistake.
The basement is dark and large, probably as big as the sanctuary itself, with many wooden crates containing grain, water, wealth in the form of silver plates, forks, and more as well as the precious vases filled with alcohol for the ceremonies.
"Well, now I know you two are unreliable when following orders" She says taking a hand to her chest while the two other men near her laugh quietly.
"Yeah, sure "The guard behind the pale man says as he walks past him and takes off his helmet, just like the other three guards. He is bald. "Any more where that came from?" He asks gesturing at the glass of alcohol still being held by the other two guards.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but the light has abandoned you" The supervisor shrugs and then laughs loudly together with her men.
"Try searching deeper if you are that desperate "One of the guards says taking one of the torches from a nearby pillar and handing it to him, who grabs it and loses no time moving crates and pushing through the darkroom.
"If we are gonna be looking at this carnage all day, I will need that nectar" He says as he struggles to move the crates.
The other guards laugh once more while the pale man approaches them and takes off his helmet, his hair golden and short.
"Aren't any of you, worried?" He asks the group, looking uncomfortable "This is a sacred place after all"
"The Lightbringer is supposed to make us feel warm and calm in times of strife" One of the guards speaks, then holds his glass up "And it's certainly making me feel warmer and calmer already!" He then drinks the entire glass in one go.
"Look with what awaits up there, I say a couple of drinks to numb the mind is exactly what my men need...but let us keep this within us, I don't think there will be enough for my entire Einhundert" She winks at the blonde man and then looks at where the bald guard went "Hey! Did you found anything good?!"
The torch is the only thing that can be seen in the distance and after a brief moment of silence, she opens her mouth to speak again.
"Help! Someone call the priests!"The guard that went to look for alcohol yells, prompting everyone to reach for their swords.
"What is it?! What did you found?!" The supervisor asks leaning towards the dark figure approaching.
"It's a woman! a survivor from the slaughter!"The bald man is finally caught by the light of a nearby torch and shows he is helping a woman walk with her arm on his shoulders.
She is pale and her lips are black just like her long and silky hair that reflects the light of the torches with a hint of purple. Her eyes too are as black as the shadows that surround them, looking at the guards as if she had awoken from a long sleep.
Soon, the guards leave the sanctuary with the woman in their arms, they yell for the priests to come who quickly make their way to them. The crows are alarmed by the loud noise and many take flight. Cawing as they go.
Yet the crows are not the only ones taking flight, as white pigeons fly too. But on the capital of the new kingdom, they fly past the palace, their feathers falling on the closed large windows adorning its marvelous corridors.
Das walks through one of them, a leather sack rests on his side, heavy with materials for the research he must conduct soon.
This time he dresses in a lighter and thinner white cloak, as always, the hood hides his face as best as possible.
He reaches the main corridor and leaves the palace, stepping on the stone circle and beginning the spell to teleport away.
Once lighting falls and he is gone, he reappears in a completely different place.
The strong sun basks and burns the sands of the large desert, he is in the middle of a city made with stone as sandy in color as the desert itself, decorated with elaborate and seemingly abstract paintings in blue, yellow, and red.
The platform he stands on is raised enough from the ground to let him get a clear view of everything in front of him.
The city is disproportional in its distribution, many houses are three stores high with countless tight streets that can feel almost claustrophobic and a few massive ones that seem to hold hundreds of people at the same time. Hills make for an almost chaotic appearance of the entire place. A few palm trees lay here and there through the perfectly cut stone streets and on top of some roofs.
This is the territory, kingdom, and capital of the Braunners.
The inhabitants of this city are tall, even for Das's short stature, most of them looking at least seven feet tall. Slim and athletic, the majority of their visible flesh has intricate designs painted on them with either black or orange ink that look like flowers, roots, or maybe the countless stars that dot the sky at night.
They dress in cloth and silks of colors that strongly remind them of the sun. similarly to their houses, but with more purples and greens.
Their skin is tan and varies in shades but never color, with their hair, when visible, visibly complex and extravagant. Orange, pink, blue, reds, just about any color conceivable except black and white, and some that seem mixed just like their eyes.
Delicate features, long pointy ears. With gems and pearls on their foreheads, ears, and chins. Gold hanging from their necks or wrists of varying quality and complexity. They embodied flamboyance and wealth.
Men and women shout to any passer-by what they sell from their wooden stands, long and stretched cloths of different colors connected from balcony to balcony create an artificial relief from the scorching sun.
Everyone seems to react shook at first when they see Das, but before any form of panic can take place the guards shout at the crowds in their strange, loud, and cryptid language. Ensuring peace is maintained.
The guards dress very differently from those in the red kingdom. Instead of steel they utilize another alloy more akin to bronze, looking more square and quite big for their size, it still is stylish and lean, and with lots of cloths going around their shoulders and covering the helms that have a single big horse-like purple plume on top of them. They have no apparent weapons.
A small group of three guards approaches Das, with a clear out of place guard that dresses like those found back in the kingdom, yet he doesn't wear a tabard showing off the royal symbol. Instead, he has purple cloth on his shoulders just like the guards and carries a very visible spear.
"I come to seeking help from the Great Wisti, If it wasn't clear, I'm the archmage" Das says nonchalantly pointing at his staff.
The human guard nods and turns at the other guards, he then speaks to them with a little bit of difficulty, helping with his hands as his spear rest momentarily on his shoulder. The language is very uvular with long stretched sentences and hard Rs.
Eventually, they seem to understand and nod, clapping with their hands twice before walking up to the Das and standing to his sides.
"They will take you to the Palace of these people" The guard says as he returns to his post somewhere near one of the shops.
Das then begins following the two other guards that walk in front of him.
"That's no fun" Drachen complains popping out of Das's hair.
"What? You expected something else?" He asks curiously.
"I thought there would be no guards who spoke the tongue! You would have gotten lost and it would have been fun to see you struggle for a bit" Drachen then yawns and returns to her nest.
But while Das seemed relaxed, he was a little bit nervous. He didn't enjoy crowds, to begin with, and being surrounded by so many strangers, in such a strange place made him feel very uncomfortable.
Yet he soon felt a little more relief when he could see the palace in the distance. An enormous tower with many stone rings turning around the structure that reaches impossibly high into the sky. The palace of the Dominion, or as they call it, the Arshif Kabir. A giant library with untold amounts of knowledge.
If he wanted a chance of figuring out this new potential threat to the kingdom, his best chance laid there.