# Prejudices part 1
[5 Alost, 53 AD]
Near the wall, a group of people could be seen lined up to enter; many of these people were merchants or adventurers. As we approached, the walls of the capital grew even larger; the brickwork was slightly worn down by the waterfalls that came down, emptying into the canals that fed the ponds and fields around.
"Please, documents in hand!"
"Advance!"
Several soldiers were inspecting the identifications of the merchants and adventurers. Their shiny silver armor had some black details. While the blue emblem on their chest was interesting; I couldn't identify the creature. It was robust, with a round head, with a flat snout. It seemed to have short fins and a large tail for swimming. The curved figure of the creature formed a moon. What creature could it be?
"Are you Professor Akost?"
A young gentleman with brown hair and green eyes politely approached my father, interrupting my thoughts, though he seemed to not recognize him with a confused expression. My father approached the gentleman.
"Yes, that's right."
"Oh, Professor, you don't recognize me?"
Coming closer, my father looked at that gentleman in a somewhat disrespectful manner.
"Caleb?"
"Yes, it's me. I became a knight."
"Wow, the last time I saw you was at the inn. I thought you were going to inherit it."
"Me too... it's a long story. The inn is still there for you, Professor."
The atmosphere had changed. The two seemed to be friends for years, but because of their age you'd say they were family? While they greeted each other, the people waiting began to look at us angrily. Their gazes began to sink towards my mother, who nervously approached my father, who seemed deep in conversation with Caleb.
"Thank you very much, but will you have rooms? I'm not alone today."
"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Tanit, my husband, is he causing you any inconvenience?"
Caleb was speechless upon seeing my mother. Who could blame him? She was someone beautiful; her blue eyes and silver hair were rare features to see. Unfortunately, I did not inherit such pretty features. Approaching the nearby stream so I could see my reflection...
"These are Thomas, Alan and... Viana! Get away from there, you might fall."
I was interrupted.
"They are my children, as you can see."
The other people began to show their annoyance even more, pushing the wagon slightly. Pushing my father, noticing the message, then quickly saying goodbye to Caleb, but not before promising to continue talking at the inn. We continued moving forward with the caravan until we passed the gates when we heard a commotion behind us.
"A Demon!"
As soon as the words were heard, several soldiers had surrounded the entrance. The adventurers seemed to be forming a circle around Reed, but with all the people crowded together, it was hard to see if it was him.
"He's coming with us, I assure you he's not…"
"Shut up. How dare you bring that trash?"
Dayan's father had been hit on the chin with the handle of a sword. He endured the blow, but his gaze terrified the soldiers. Dayan and the adventurers drew their weapons at such provocation. Caleb tried to calm the crowd who, like us, couldn't get past the soldiers. There was no one who could help them. Screams and discontent soon filled the place as more and more people became aggressive.
/trill, trill /
The light sound of a flute could be heard in the crowd as the hooded man who was surrounded slowly advanced with soft steps... little by little, as the people calmed down. Walking until he was in front of the guard, he raised his arms slightly to remove his hood, and although his movements were light, the guards were still alert to his every action. I was soon able to confirm it: it was Reed. The music stopped.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Reed Zlato and I have brought a message for your king."
The knight did not seem to like Reed. Looking him up and down, he analyzed his clothing and although Reed was only wearing black and blue leather armor, the guard's eyes remained fixed on Reed's ears.
"Your kind are not welcome here. You better leave quietly while we are still friendly."
"How dare you! Reed is not a threat."
"Dayan, calm down…"
"But…"
Reed smiled slightly at Dayan, turning around, he walked a few steps towards the entrance of the city. Stopping briefly, he turned his head to look at the people surrounding the scene with determination and smiling confidently, he began to speak.
"I had heard that Calixto was a person who loved all races, including demons. That's why he founded this great city, so that everyone could live in peace. What a pity that not everyone can be as kind as him…"
"Shut up! You have no right to talk about our hero
"Then, you killed him!"
The crowd had become enraged at Reed's words; the guards were slowly beginning to give in to the angry crowd. Reed kept seeing the faces of the people; however, his cheerful countenance had vanished, only a sad look full of nostalgia remained.
"STOP!"
A loud voice came from behind the crowd. Soon the knight who stopped the riot was seen. His presence was strong; his long hair combed into a ponytail displayed a dull shade of green. His honey-colored eyes looked directly at the knight who had stopped Reed, who had lowered his gaze. As he approached, he didn't seem to move; looking like a helpless animal.
"What brings you here, young man?"
"I bring a message... for the king."
"So, why aren't you being escorted to the palace?"
The knight put his hand on Reed's shoulder. Reed to push him to walk into the city. However, Reed seemed to be confused, turning to look at the knight. He just nodded, understanding the signal. Reed began to run towards the palace.
"But what are you doing, captain? He's a demon."
"He's just a young man, and he seems to already know the city."
"Now disperse all these people, they won't let us through."
Quickly, the crowd dissipated, leaving only the adventurers who accompanied us. The knight approached and apologized for the treatment received by the gate guard, bowing his head to Dayan's father. However, the leader of the adventurers seemed not to care, unlike Dayan who seemed dissatisfied. My father approached us and stroked my hair.
"It seems that everything is resolved."
"We should go rest after such a long trip, don't you think?"
Everyone in the caravan began to say goodbye. Alan and Thomas had approached Dayan; It seemed like they were having an argument, but the atmosphere wasn't bad. It all ended with Alan running towards my father again; however, Thomas handed him a flower. Where did he get it from? Following Alan's example, he ran towards us, not without saying goodbye to the people with a smile. Meanwhile, a little distressed, I looked at the palace saying goodbye to Reed, hoping that her words would be heard.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the way to the inn, we came across several stalls. Most of them were for accessories and food; others were being set up. We observed several of these while eating things we didn't know; the flavors were a little sour, but we loved them. Eventually, we arrived at the center of the city.
"It's so amazing, you see Alan, you can see everything."
"Look at the palace, and over there is the Research Academy."
Buildings I had never seen rose up in my sight. With clean, angular lines, they danced with the sky, along with large windows on each floor, giving us the feeling of being in front of colossi. While in the center of the large square you could see a large lagoon that housed several creatures, the lights of the city allowed us to see the stars. The main streets joined the square following the direction of the compass rose; everything was in perfect order.
"Mom, what is all this? I've never seen this kind of thing."
My mother took our hands so we wouldn't get lost. We continued to see the different stalls in the center; one of these sold what seemed to be old jewelry, swords and tools of all kinds. Thomas seemed excited to see the old swords on the shelf.
"Mom, mom, can we go see?"
"Of course, but it could be tomorrow; it's getting late."
"But what if tomorrow he's not there?"
"Then we'll look for him all over the city."
My mother crouched down, holding out her pinky finger to make a promise that they would go tomorrow no matter what. Thomas held onto my mother with his interlocked finger. Leaving the store behind, we passed near the entrance to the academy; it seemed like there was no one there, he couldn't see well because of the walls surrounding it.
"Are we going to Caleb's inn?"
Thomas asked as he jumped up trying to see through the wall.
"Yes, it's a quiet place and it's close to the academy."
Looking around, the wonderful buildings in the center didn't match the others in the city; it was as if two worlds were separate. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice when we found ourselves at the entrance to the tavern-like inn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside the view was very different; a hallway extended to the reception. On both the left and right were small cubicles with a horseshoe-shaped sofa surrounding a table, separated by half walls. It was something that could not be imagined from the outside view.
r. There were more people than it seemed. We approached the reception desk, where a girl with glasses, similar to Caleb, was consumed by work, looking at many papers.
"Busy, Drey?"
"Professor, did they not receive you again?"
"No, this time I didn't come because they called me."
"I see, give me a moment."
"Room for one, second floor right side…"
"Wait, wait, I'm not coming alone today."
The girl raised her gaze even higher over the counter, fixing her eyes on my mother, adjusting the position of her glasses in disbelief.
"Uh? But look how beautiful? Is she your wife? How did you do it, Professor? And those children are so cute. But how lucky, I always thought they were lies."
"But what are you talking about, I've never lied."
"Okay, just for that I'll give you a good price, first floor left side."
We went ahead while my father waited to check in. We arrived at the room, it was divided into three rooms: master bedroom with a large bed, another bedroom with two small beds and kitchen-dining room. The view from the window allowed us to see the lights of the city center. We were already tired, maybe having eaten so much was already hitting us, with a little sleep we said goodbye to mom to go to sleep.
"Via, can you continue with the story?"
"Not now, Thomas, I'm tired."
"Come on."
"Okay, but only from here until you fall asleep."
Where we left off… I turned the pages looking at the drawings slowly until I found where we had left off...
[Their vast intelligence led them to understand the existence of the other layers, their desire for knowledge made them the pioneers in the journey between layers. They continually failed, but such mistakes only led them to success. That was when the Crash happened.
The endless sky that covered their layer suddenly began to disappear, as piles of earth and stone took its place, leaving their city underground. Was it a blessing or a curse? they wondered, looking at those pillars that protected them. Well, now they hold up our layer, leaving a labyrinth beneath us.
They tried to analyze the situation in order to prosper, as their intelligence did not allow them to give up. It seemed that the punishment of losing the sunlight was not enough to take away their arrogance. It did not take long for the second disaster to occur; gaps in the ground appeared, a truly hopeless abyss emerged in the hearts of the pioneers.
Various creatures emerged from the darkness, hunting and destroying. They tried to defend themselves, but without their technology or knowledge about the laws of this new world, they were unable to survive. Soon the disaster they caused dragged the other layers, the world entered a great war without understanding who the enemy was.
It was then that 6 heroes appeared. They had unprecedented strength; their weapons had been given to them by the last pioneers before their disappearance. With a new light, they united all the races of the surface to fight all kinds of beasts and creatures that tried to take our home.
In the end, the efforts were in vain; both beasts and creatures did not stop appearing or so it seemed until the first demon was discovered and with it we would lose a star...]