The Cursed City

 “Worn candles all over the house. They fill the spaces where once family relics and decorations were. The white wax coats the old wood. How I know, how it mixes with its scent. But I can't smell no more. I touch their black fuses. They crumble between my fingers, falling like autumn leaves. But I can't feel no more. I hear their flames whispering at the dusty air. They want to tell me a story, before they die. But I can't hear no more. I taste their haste. They feel the necessity, to run out. Such is their fate. But I can't taste no more. I turn my head around, I count the candles. I still feel the emptiness, that maybe it's getting me. But I can't see no more. I try to talk. I want to tell them a story instead. How I decay, like the footprints of civilization here. But my body struggles to do so. My slow and hoarse voice remains only in my head, repeating this loud prayer. I'm a husk, a body with no life nor will. The City shares its Curse, its Decay. A candle for every person who shares my fate. But I can't now. As I am alive no more.”

The candle draws its last breath. The door is now locked, forever.

“Is it safe to go there?”, Kael, who was riding on his spectral horse alongside Polus and Kele, asked them.

“To Rmune?”, Polus answered confused.

“Yes, you talked about it as an extremely dangerous place. We people of Mitarsen already considered the Great Void very harmful, so if this is your description of the city...”, he blocked himself, lowering his head.

What if Ascarin and the others have reached it already? Will they be okay?

“...”

“Don't worry.”, Kele took over, “We have a safe base in one of the outer districts of the City. It's the first you'll meet when coming from East, and also the adjacent ones aren't that harmful.”

Kael let out of sigh of relief, “Okay... thanks for reassuring me. So one of the 25 districts of Rmune is safe?”

Polus nodded, “Exactly. Being the farthest from the center and the newest one, the Corruption still hasn't hit it at all! Oh, and if you ask: no, we still don't have a clue what the Corruption is.”

“Ehm... wasn't gonna ask it anyway.”

“Yeah, as if you weren't...”

“Sir!”, Kele brought him back to attention, “We are near Rmune's Spei Gate.”

Polus didn't talked back but just turned towards Kael, who could perceive the grin even under the clothing.

“Wha-what is it?”, he looked back and forth between him and Kele, evidently confused, “Don't we have to move forward?”

“Hands up, Kael!!!”, Polus and Kele suddenly shouted in unison.

Kael instinctively did it, pulling both his hands high towards the sky.

Kreeeee!

The long and loud sound of a falcon pierced from behind him, getting closer and closer. He turned behind and saw a giant gray falcon – as big as a dragon – swooping towards him.

“WHAT THE HELL?!”, his arms were wrapped by the big paws of the animal, which then lifted him off the ground.

“Good trip, we'll meet you inside later! Enjoy the view. Rmune is much bigger than what you can imagine!”, Polus screamed as Kael got higher in the sky.

“Damn him! Why did he have to exaggerate things like this...”, he lamented.

“Sir Polus is always like this!”

A woman voice?

Kael turned towards the falcon which was transporting him.

Huuuuuuuuuh???

“Yup, I'm a shapeshifter. You have guessed!”

“But I didn't say anything!”

“Shush! Look down, look down!”, she insisted with a sudden zeal in her tone.

Kael felt annoyed by that whole situation but still obeyed, “What could be so incre... Oh, my god...”

As they passed the clouds, descending at a high speed, the grayest of the views and the dullest of the cities. Ashen roofs of stone all hugged to each other, seeking comfort in the most hellish place of all and leaving only a few big streets. A plain as flat as a calm sea, where under monsters lurk in search of a prey. A plain as big as one could imagine, distancing over the horizon where the sun wanted to swim, tired of the long days of summer. The walls towered like giants, battered and ruined by the rare rains of the winter days.

“T-that's one district???”, Kael took the amazing sight as they got closer and closer.

“Yes. It's the Fortune District of Rmune. It has an area of at least 12.756 kilometers squared.”

“How??? That's as big as Uberdia, back in my continent!”

“Ehehehehe...”, she laughed heartily, “You don't know what will come next! This place is older than any of your legends.”

“R-really... Anyway, a-aren't we descending a little too fast?”, Kael looked down at his feet, he could start to see the figures of some people walking around the streets.

“Are ya ready to land?”

“A-ah?! Wait, land where?”

“Three, two, one, go!!!”, she shouted, releasing him from the claws of her falcon form.

“That's not how you do it... Waahhhh!!!”

Kael began falling faster and faster, aiming straight at the flat stony roof of a house. He turned towards it and crossed his arms and placed himself in a fetal position. Quickly, a thick layer of bedrock covered his entire body, shielding him against the impact.

The ball of stone pierced through the roof, producing an extremely loud sound followed by utter silence.

“What was that?”, an old voice from outside said.

“Hey, stop! Don't run on the roof like this.”, a younger one retorted.

After a few seconds where there were only the sounds of two pair of footsteps, the face of an old man with short white hair and a long beard peeked through the hole in the roof. His left eyebrow raised in confusion as he looked at the sky.

“There you are!”, the young man, who was a green-clothed falconer, rushed by and looked down at the hole too. “Who the hell... ?”

“I'm as confused as you are... and don't get too close!”, the old man pushed him back and leaned even more in to get a cleared view. “Thank the gods no one lives here!”

“You ancient piece of shit!”, the falconer took him from the shoulders and violently shoved him back. “Who's in there???”

“Get lost, I bet he's dead in there!”, the old man came back and head-locked him from behind.

The falconer coughed and tried hitting the old man with his elbow but failed, “Oh, now you're just assuming his gender? She might be a woman!”

“Oh, who cares! He's dead anyway!”

Rubble

“Huh???”

In a fraction of a second pieces of stone flew out of the roof and high in the sky, taking aback both of them.

“Uuuuugh...”, Kael lied in the remaining ruins, scratched and with a sorrowful expression.

“Look, ehehehe! He's a man! I knew it.”, the old man shouted proudly.

“yeah, but he's alive, isn't he!”

“Oh, shut u- Gahhh!”, before he could end, a little piece of stone bonked right on his head with great speed.

The falconer gasped briefly and looked up at the debris falling from the sky, but not close enough to hit them again. “Eh! That's what you deserve!”, he exclaimed pointing at the knocked-out body of his friend.

“Ach, that damn bird woman!!!”, Kael shouted frustrated as he massaged his head to adjust his blurry vision.

The falconer's ears perked at his word, “Did he say bird woman? Could it be...”

“Oh, here he is!”

He looked straight in front of him, seeing a stunningly beautiful woman on the opposite edge of the hole. Her skin was paler than normal and her eyes were colored of an amazing aquamarine hue while her dark blue long hair contrasted them.

Her dream physique, toned and roundly, was hidden by an aesthetic female soldier uniform, black and with silver buttons running from the high collar to the hem.

“Vera!”

She turned her gaze towards him, “Meku!”, her already bright eyes lit up as she hopped over and hugged him tightly.

“Ah! W-welcome back...”, she patted her back as she clenched with her arms and legs to him, nearly making him fall over. “Weren't you outside the city with Polus and Kele?”

“Yeah, yeah! But they got me to send a special package.”

“Mhh??? That guy over there... Polus sent him here?”

“Yes and they're coming too!”

“I see...”

“Ngh! Would someone kindly tell me where the fuck am I?”, Kael's shouts were getting angrier and angrier by the second. “I swear... I just meet crazy people after crazy people.”

“Soon enough, soon enough! You don't look that bad either, though.”, Vera got off Meku's arms and looked down with a smirk, “Rather, look at your left wrist.”

“... ?”, Kael looked at his left hand, seeing a strange black circle around his wrist. “What is this?”, he asked pointing at it.

“A seal to block your latent mana from showing up and scaring the hell out of people!”, she said with a proud tone, “I invented it too!”

A... a seal?! Blocking my latent mana output... Come on!

Kael flexed his fingers before trying to scratch off the black color from his wrist.

“Nah-ah. It's no use! I can only take it on and off, ehehehe!”

Kael looked perplexed at Vera, then he just sighed and fell back on the bed of debris, lifting dust in the dark empty house he was inside. “Ahhh... damn it all. You are all crazy... this might be that goddamn curse!”

He was then helped back up on the roof. He took all the dust off his clothes and glanced around but saw only the rank of roofs blocking the horizon and the looming sight of the walls that seemed to keep going forever.

This is big... they weren't joking at all...Uhg???

His eyebrows arched inward as he saw the old man lying on the ground. He quickly turned towards Meku and Vera, who were talking casually a few steps over.

“U-Uhm... what's with him?”, he said pointing at the non-moving body.

“Ahhh! Just leave him be, he'll be alright.”

“Come again???”

“Ugh...”, the old man groaned as he got up slowly, “Not even drunkenness could get me this flat out...”

“See?”, Meku reiterated before smirking, “Hard as a rock, as always!”

“Joran never changes...”, Vera added, laughing like a kid as she saw blood coming out from his white hair, something he didn't seem to be worried about at all.

Kael just looked even more puzzled than before – almost with a defeated face – before Meku came and patted his shoulder, “I told you already, he's sturdy as hell!”

“Oh, really? Haven't noticed...”

“I've even experimented it by myself too.”

“W-who even asked you?!”, Kael turned around but was surprised to see Meku's full face uncovered.

He was munching on a piece of bread. His skin was more tanned than most of the people Kael had seen in his life and his hair were fluent, wavy and of a perfect black tone. His features were of a handsomeness almost equal to that of Kael and struck immediately to the eyes.

“Where is your mask at?”

“Mhh? How do you think we falconers eat?”, Meku sent the rest of his food down with one bite, “If Polus has already told you about our traditions, don't worry about it! We are allowed to take it off for drinking or eating. But we are accustomed to do it seldom since we travel long distances very often.”

“Oh, I see... you falconers love to not get question, don't you?”

The old man, now with his whole face covered in blood, poked his head between them with no readable expression, “Can we get moving?”

“Yeah, we should...”, Kael sighed and slapped his cheeks two times, “Where to?”

163.6 kilometers North-East, Black Monks' District, three hours earlier

Ascarin turned around to check if Mala was following him. She had just passed the giant iron gate, which still looked ridicule against the walls of Rmune. His face was tired and disconsolate as his whole vision of the Great Void was destroyed, crumbled under his feet in a matter of hours.

He still smiled reassuringly to her wife as she glanced disoriented at the black houses of stone all around her. The style of those buildings were heavily resembling the one of the East of Mitarsen but none of them could understand how. That place should've been devoid of life, isolated from every single sign of life. Their whole beliefs were now wrong and it was hard to digest.

The man and the woman who were leading them through that large and desert street kept looking at the three of them as Ascarin and Mala reached Olivia, who was as disoriented as them.

“Will they be fine?”, the girl spoke, adjusting her black monk robe over her shoulder and letting the sun hit the copper-colored embroidery on the seams.

The guy to her right, dressed with the same attire, raised an eyebrow. “They're outsiders. Of course they're confused and scared by the sheer size of Rmune.”, his cobalt eyes studied them with attention.

“... They are powerful, right Thos? When we saw them at the feet of the walls... especially that woman with silver eyes.”

He lowered his head, recalling the meeting. They were just circling the walls together as they always used to do, when they saw the three of them walking towards the walls with an astonished face, as if attracted from that city that normally repels everything.

“They shouldn't be a problem. They don't look the kind of people that bring trouble. And about their power... it could be of use for us.”

“You mean against the Prophets?”, she seemed skeptical, “Are you sure we can convince them?”

Thos turned towards them once again, squinting his eyes. “Yes... they don't have a choice, after all.”

“Cough, cough...”, Thos cleared his throat, now having the attention of Ascarin and the others, “Sorry for not introducing ourselves previously. We are Thos and Yala, king and queen of the Black Monks' District and generals of the Black Monks' militia. We welcome you and promise you absolute protection for the time to come.”

Yala confirmed by nodding while staying on his side and looking at them with a reassuring face.

Mala and Olivia sighed and looked at each other with smiles of contentment but Ascarin frowned, not convinced by those words.

“In exchange of what?”, he asked.

Thos smirked back at his question, “We have a... certain person to free in one of the districts of Rmune. He is a key piece to understand what the Curse of this city is and where it comes from but he is prisoner of the Prophets, a group of maniacs who live there and think they are superior just because of their hallucination. The other problem is that the Fortune District wants him too...”

“The Fortune District?”

“It's one of the safest of the whole city. People like able blacksmiths and hand to hand warriors inhabit it, probably helped by a group of merchant-warriors who uses falcons as messengers and spying devices.”, Yala explained in details and with an happier tone than Thos.

“What are we saying is that we will grant you protection as long as you help us free that person.”, he concluded, crossing his arms while awaiting Ascarin, Mala and Olivia's answer.

“... Fine. We'll help... but at one condition.”, Ascarin answered.

“... ???”, Thos raised an eyebrow puzzled, “Sure, let's hear it.”

“If by any chance you spot a young guy with light gray hair and emerald green eyes, do everything to avoid combat and just tell him we are with you. He's our friend and he'll listen then...”

Both him and Yala looked confused as to who he was referring to. Someone with whom combat wasn't an option?

“Okay, we accept it. We'll do what we can...”

Fortune District, Joran's blacksmith shop

“Who in the world made this!?”, Joran was inspecting the Fertitas with keen eyes, holding it with extreme attention. “What even is the material!”

Meku, who was looking while standing in the street, chuckled. “Haven't seen you like this in ages.”

“He is a fantastic blacksmith, so it's rare to see him this amazed.”, Vera added.

Joran's attention was only distracted by his house door crackling open, from which Kael came out, dressed in a full falconer attire. “Kuh... doesn't fit him.”

Meku came up to him with a satisfied face, “Ahhh, you look just like one of us!”

“Why the gray lenses though?”, he said pointing to his eyes, now of the same color as Meku's ones.

“Gray eyes are one of our most prominent feature. If the Black Monks or the Prophets saw you with your shining green eyes, you would stick out like a sore thumb and be attacked from multiple sides!”

“I... see...”, Kael didn't look convinced at all but didn't complain about it.

So we have to fight those two factions from two different districts? Ehehe, sounds a lot of fun!

He thought, smirking to himself under the turbans.

“Hey, you...”

“...”, he turned towards Joran, who was holding the Fertitas up to his face with an interrogative grimace.

“What is this made of?”

Kael snatched it back from his hand, “Gold reinforced with mana, nothing else. The gem in the middle is a ruby with... a secret sealed in.”

Joran was captivated by that last information, “What? What secret?”

“It's called a secret for a reason, old man!”

“Tch... we blacksmiths are very good at keeping secrets.”

“Oh, really?”, Kael said dismissively with sarcasm.

“Yeah!”, he blurted out. “I can swear on my hammer that I will keep it!”

“Umpfh, fine.”, he leaned over Joran's ear and mumbled something.

The old man's eyes widened so much that it looked like they could pop out. He turned his gaze quickly to Kael and then to the Fertitas, unable to say anything.

Karan... really???

Kael smirked amused at the reaction before turning to Meku. “Is he coming to the party too?”

He looked at Joran, who was looking lost at nothing, “Yup... he's quite the good warrior. Even though his age makes him more of a fossil.”

“Hey, I can hear ya!!!”

“It will be fiercer than you think, Kael!”, Vera walked to Meku's side and hit him softly with her elbow despite the height difference. “My boyfriend here nearly got an arm chopped off last time...”

“Oh, okay...”, Kael just reacted with a thumbs-up.

“Are you that unimpressed... Ah, wait. Right, you can't be easily impressed.”

Meku looked at her, “And why is that?”

“Something Polus told me... I'll explain it to you later.”

Kael looked confused at the scene.

Wait... is she talking about that time at that place full of dead demons and that creature? Was it really that impressive?

“Remind me, do we start going there in a hour?”

Meku nodded, “Yes, we'll be on the border wall with the Prophets District walls like I said before. Polus and Kele are already there to scout the zone ahead.”

“Fantastic, I didn't even get the possibility to rest...”, Kael mumbled frustrated before sitting down.

… I wonder where Ascarin, Mala and... Olivia are. I hope I don't make another nightmare until she isn't around... only she knows.

Fortune District and Prophets District border, some hours later

Polus took his eyes off the binocular and glanced at Kele, “Seems like they're both here.”

“... Are you sure the six of us are enough?”

“Oh, don't drown me with your preoccupations, Kele! We have some fine warriors. Six of them will be enough. Especially with Kael, I think our success rate has gone up.”, he gently let his falcon get down of his shoulders as it walked towards Kele's one.

“So... what do you think about it?”

Polus clicked his tongue, a gesture he wasn't used to doing but when he did it, it meant only one thing: absolute certainty.

“Today... this night, we'll win!”

Kele smiled under his turbans, sitting down to look at the Fortune District houses under him, “I hope so... I hope so...”

Kreee kreee!

The verse of his falcon made Polus turn around. “They've arrived! Cool, cool... We might start the dances before dusk.”

“Ah, I see them.”, Kele pointed at Vera in her falcon form transporting Joran, Kael and Meku on her wings.

She transformed back into her human form and let the three companions land on the walls with her.

“Long time no see!”, Polus stretched his arms as he welcomed them.

“Hi.”, Kele got up and just saluted them with a wave. “We are ready and set. Both of our enemies are down there.”

“Me, Joran and Vera will take on the Prophets. Kael, Meku and Kele will give company to the Black Monks. Expect them to enter by force through Lotus Gate on their border wall with the Prophets and since they won't be there to wait for them, you will position yourself in front of the door and give them a warm welcome.”, Polus got closer to the edge of the wall as he gave the last commands. “Now all get here. Let's enjoy the view before the fun.”, he motioned for everything to do the same as him.

Kael got there last, just next to Polus who was contemplating the future battlefields.

“You know...”, he turned to him, “... I noticed you're not afraid of height.”

“... ? Well... yes. I am not, but why?”, Kael asked as he perceived a smirk from Polus.

He positioned a hand on his back, “Lucky you!”, everyone – as if it was a sign – jumped of the walls as soon as Polus gave a light push to Kael.

“Ahhh!!! What's with dropping me down now!!!”, he turned his face towards the ground, looking at the pale blue roofs of the Prophets houses getting closer and closer. “Not again!!!”

The wind roared past him hastily as he did his best to control the frenzied fall. He crossed his arms, ready to impact, but he looked behind him, where Kele was running vertically on the walls at his same height.

What is he doing???

In the midst of the confusion, Kele propelled himself towards him and grabbed him from the collar.

Kael looked around as he was dragged around in the air, spotting the other three companion descending through the orange sky.

“Get ready to land, I'm gonna throw you!”

“Fine! Do it now at least!”

Kele rotated mid air and yanked him towards a large empty street. Kael hit the ground with a bone-rattling impact, his boots grinding against the paved road as he fought for balance. Sparks flared beneath his heels before he finally skidded to a stop, breathless but upright.

“Nice landing!”, Meku clapped, stepping beside him as Kele reached them. “And that is Lotus Gate!”, Meku pointed at the giant steel door with different chiseled decorations.

“That's an awful quantity of metal...”

“The Prophets are master users of earth magic. They can extract the deepest materials from the ground... That gate is for sure strong and imposing.”, Kele pointed at the door, “Unfortunately... The black monks' plasma magic is superior.”

That said a thunderous explosion ripped through the street, hurling pieces of metal across it and barely missing the three of them. As the dust cleared himself, a handful of black monks walked forward, emerging like the darkest of the armies to occupy the West side of the Prophets District.

They were led by Thos and Yala, who stepped up in front with heavy and confident steps.

Thos' cobalt eyes widened as he saw three falconers at roughly 100 meters of distance, expecting no one to still be there.

“Three falconers... but no Polus I see.”, he said to Yala, stopping with his whole armada, “Still it's Kele and Meku.”

“And the taller one?”

He grimaced, biting his bottom lip in slight distress, “Never seen him... His latent mana is normal, but he still gives me the creeps...”

She silently agreed, watching as, after a few seconds of stall, that same guy in the middle raised his right arm.

What is he doing? The other two are just standing there...

Zoom

A giant thunder appeared in Kael's hand and he immediately launched it towards them. They parted and let the blow hit the metal remains of the door behind.

As they looked back to them, no one was there anymore.

“Where are they?”, Thos looked left and right. “Did they just... ???”

Kael reappeared without warning right in front of them, falling from apparently nowhere. He struck Thos in the liver with a powerful punch, which made him stagger back in pain, before stepping back just enough to make Yala's first strike miss.

Just when the rest of the monks rushed to him, Kele and Meku appeared from opposite alleys and positioned right in front of them.

“Exurgite!”, they both pronounced at the same time.

From the ground, a hundred shadowy figures resembling the falconers encircled the enemies. Yala looked around alarmed and preoccupied. Thos got back to her, his eyes twitching from the pain of the received hit.

“Looks like it's not only the three of them...”

“Tch... always playing down. But we also have some good reinforcements just in case.”, she huffed and clenched her fists. “Should we get them here now?”

“Uhm... not yet. I'll take the new one. You and two of our best men can be the fighting buds for Kele and Meku. You okay with it?”

She sighed but nodded, “Yeah... let's just get over with it soon. I bet Polus and the others are fighting the Prophets right now.”