Chapter 9: The City of Soft Light

Trying to ease the lingering tension after the brutal fight with the Grace-corrupted bear, Elara spoke softly.

“If it is not too much trouble… could you escort us to the city down there?”

The woman in red tilted her head slightly. A small, practiced smile curved her lips — the kind that did an imperfect job of masking both arrogance and mild annoyance.

“Oh… you mean Rhalmeven?” she asked, as though the name should have been obvious. She gave a light shrug. “Sure. Why not?”

Without waiting for further discussion, she turned and began walking back down the narrow mountain path she had used to reach the ledge. The three Veilhans exchanged glances. Mirael’s expression clearly said she still did not trust the stranger. Elara looked hopeful. Kael simply nodded once and started after the woman in red. Something about her set his instincts on edge, though he could not yet name what it was.

The trail quickly descended from the rocky heights into the valley below. What had looked like open grassland from above revealed itself as a dense, almost miniature forest. Tall trees with broad leaves formed a partial canopy overhead, allowing shafts of golden afternoon light to pierce through in shifting columns. Soft moss and thick green grass lined both sides of the path. The air here was warmer, richer, carrying the scent of damp earth, wildflowers, and distant woodsmoke. Birds called from the branches, and somewhere nearby a stream murmured over stones.

Elara, ever the one to try bridging silences, spoke again.

“So… where exactly are we?”

The woman answered without looking back, her voice carrying that same perpetual, faintly mocking calm.

“The Ashvattha Lowlands. Just south of the Hwaeong Crimson Enclave, and northeast of Port Haruwei. Both are part of these lowlands.”

Northeast.

Kael’s steps slowed for half a second. They had believed they were traveling steadily south after leaving Yggheim Citadel. The revelation that they had somehow curved southeast left a quiet unease in his chest. He kept his expression neutral, but his cybernetic eye continued to study the woman ahead of them. Her posture remained relaxed, almost languid, yet there were subtle tells — the occasional tightening of muscles in her shoulders, the way her fingers occasionally flexed as if ready to summon flame at a moment’s notice. Her confidence bordered on condescension. She was not fully at ease with them, and she made little effort to hide it.

They walked in relative quiet for the rest of that day and into the next. The forest gradually thinned. On the morning of the second day after meeting her, the path rose over a gentle hill. When they crested it, the city of Rhalmeven spread out before them at the foot of the slope.

“Well,” the woman said, stopping just long enough to gesture, “there she is.”

Before any of them could reply or ask further questions, she vanished in a sudden blur of red and residual heat, leaving only a faint shimmer of distorted air where she had stood.

Kael and Mirael exhaled at the same time.

Well, she was certainly… something.

Elara looked mildly disappointed, as though she had hoped for a longer conversation with the mysterious fire-wielder. Still, there was nothing to do but continue. The three of them began the final descent toward the city.

The entrance to Rhalmeven was marked by a long, formal approach. A pathway of fitted brick and pale stone seemed to rise naturally out of the dirt of the hillside, as though the city itself had grown upward to meet travelers. Flanking both sides of the path stood a series of stone lions, each one carved in a slightly different posture — some seated in silent vigilance, others mid-stride, a few with mouths open in eternal, silent roars. Their surfaces were weathered but carefully maintained, and faint traces of old Grace energy still clung to the stone.

Beyond the avenue of lions rose a great torii-like gate.

It shared the same basic structure as the sacred gates of the Veilhan Isles, yet it was unmistakably different. A massive golden dragon, long and serpentine, coiled around one of the vertical pillars. Its body wound upward in elegant loops before stretching across the horizontal crossbeam. The dragon’s head rested at the exact center of the gate, jaws open wide as though caught in the middle of a thunderous roar. Sunlight caught the golden scales and made them shimmer like living metal. The craftsmanship was so fine that the dragon almost seemed ready to peel itself free of the wood and stone and take flight.

Past the gate, the city proper unfolded in a vibrant, living tapestry. Streets bustled with people going about their daily lives — merchants calling out wares, children darting between adults, the scent of cooking spices and fresh bread drifting on the air. From this vantage the multi-tiered central tower rose even more impressively, its layered roofs catching the light like stacked petals of gold. The entire city seemed untouched by the hardship and corruption that clung so heavily to the lands around Yggheim Citadel.

Kael paused just beneath the dragon’s open jaws, the weight of the Harushima at his hip a quiet reminder of how far they still had to go. Beside him, Elara’s expression softened with cautious hope. Mirael remained watchful, arms loosely crossed, violet eyes scanning the crowds for threats.