From The Window

I gazed down upon the streets below, its intricate, wavy brick pattern now divided and broken up by large craters. There was a channel that split it down the middle, leading all the way to the direction of the castle. I assumed it was once used for water, but all that filled the long gap now was piles of ash. Finally, I focused my attention on the true horrors below, having enough with trying to avoid the inevitable sight. Scattered throughout the barren road were dozens of large dragon carcasses. At each carcass, small groups of frail people gathered, climbing toward and into the large incisions on the dragons' chests, clawing at every piece of meat. The dragons that have been abandoned by them seemed completely hollow on the inside, not a single piece of flesh left to eat.

I was preoccupied by the gruesome sight for a while, wondering what could have happened between the end of the diary's entries and now. I was so distracted, I almost forgot about one of the most jarring details before me: the large, V shaped hole that had cut into the uniformity of the dark rampart. The crack was somewhat of a ways to my left from where I stood, but nevertheless, I could see its details even with the window frame obscuring part of it. The large gap reached all the way to the ground, and any debris that would have piled up at its bottom had already been pushed aside, leaving large dark piles on either side of the gap. Upon noticing the entrance that had been made from dug up rubble, and connecting it the dragons present, I asked a question aloud.

"Did a knight drag those bodies through there?" I asked, pointing at the crack in the rampart through the glass.

"Ah, thou speakest of the flesh fetchers, yes? At least that's the name I've heard them by. Those people down there never stop asking each other when the next one will come." Tradaeya responded.

"There's more of them?" I asked with concern.

"I've been here a while, observing them come in and out. They've kept those down there well fed, but for what reason, I couldn't say." She paused. "You seem rather concerned about that." She directed at me.

I flinched, realizing that I had shown something I wish I had not. I still had no clue as to the things happening around me, and I feared revealing what I was afraid of may come off as me picking a side in this unknown matter. I had no choice now, so I explained to Tradaeya what I had experienced in the forest of my encounter with the so called flesh fetcher. I hoped to myself that she would feel the same way I had in that situation.

"So thou hast abandoned the gift of food." Tradaeya responded. "Well, I don't blame thee. Dragon meat is notoriously foul tasting, and that whole ordeal just sounds classless on its own. Still, for that fetcher to force upon thee a sliver, I'm unsure of what they want."

I thought about what Tradaeya had said for a bit, seeing that she is far more knowledgeable than anyone I have come across thus far.

"Please, tell me everything you know." I asked.

"Hmm, very well. Not much has happened in any manner, and it'll be nice to have a new friend." She said in a kind tone. "I've read many of the records both in this building and others around here. There's an abundance of history here that I can share. That diary is just the best piece I've found, though it still leaves things to be desired."

Tradaeya looked back at me with her pale gray eye and a look of concern shot across my face. I had remembered the entries in the diary, about the screaming and agony.

"Wait, are you..." Tradaeya suddenly cut me off.

"No not me. I was born with this eye. Others who I've given this diary have asked the same thing." She said quickly.

"And where have they gone?" I asked.

A strange look morphed onto Tradaeya's face, one of an emotion I could not decipher. It was a blank expression, but with an undertone of something else. "They... they had to depart."

I decided not to dwell on it further, seeing that it might have been a sensitive topic. Instead I decided to start my investigation.

"So, this place, what is it actually called." I asked.

"Ah yes, that too had me confused for a time. In every record I've read in these parts, this place was always referred to as Lumiraet, yet before mine arrival, I've heard stirs of this place being called Seraphil. Even as I observe the people below, they call it Seraphil now. Perhaps this kingdom's name had been changed at some point by its people." She said.

"Was it the king maybe?" I asked, remembering mentions of him in the diary.

"I doubt it. Something else I had found common within records was the lack of any response from the king, at least until the attacks. The castle remains completely silent now, perhaps done in by the affliction, but as to what has been going on on the high hill, we might not know unless we head for the castle." Tradaeya answered.

I grabbed the diary from the old desk, flipping around to remind myself of what I had wanted to ask.

"Ah, what about these gods? This one, Proa..." Tradaeya suddenly startled me by kicking one of the fallen bookshelves, the wooden boom sounding hollow in this room's poor acoustics.

"Careful of the names thee speakest. How does thee knowest not of this already?" She asked, then suddenly switched moods. "Ha! Who am I kidding? The gods may be long gone now. I haven't seen a thing from them despite their various mentions. Hard to believe something like that exists. They must've fell silent at the presence of something greater." She said somewhat ominously.

I no longer pursued the answer to that question, fearing I might say something that would tick her.

Tradaeya sighed. "All I can say is that there were once gods who had their conflicts as we humans have. People worshiped them, but practices like that are no more, especially after the calamity." She paused. "Their names hold weight, so saying them carelessly may curse thee, but in this godless era, that might not be the case. Still, I'd risk it not."

I took a mental note of what Tradaeya had said before moving on.

"Then... do you know about what these appendages are? The one's that grew from the afflicted." I asked.

Tradaeya again had that strange look on her face, one of an unknown emotion. "Can't say I do."

I flipped through the diary one last time before asking the final question I could come up with. "And this place, it was known for killing dragons?" I asked, seeing a connection with this and the dead dragons scattered across the road.

"It's as the diary says. This place once thrived on slaying such beasts." Tradaeya paused. "Ah, there is actually one piece of history that I had found in another text. It might be important if thou'rt one seeking knowledge of this place."

I nodded, and so she began to speak of an event that had taken place within these walls and everything after that had transpired. From her telling, all of it seemed to have taken place before the great calamity.