January 27, 2019, 3:45pm

With Rufka's… friend, Tathia, staring at Smoulder, I take a step back, putting distance between us while urging Smoulder to calm down. Cause from her spike of anger, I could tell she almost launched herself directly at Tathia.

"It's okay, Tathia," Rufka says, stepping between us. "She's not warped. Not mana-warped at least."

Tathia's helmet remains motionless, then tilts slightly as she turns toward Rufka. "Fine," her deep voice rumbles, "So long as she doesn't get near me, fine. Anyway, I should get back to it. Unless you have some other Vaus-twisted thing to shove in my face?"

"Uh. No, sorry," Rufka apologizes, stepping back.

Tathia just huffs, turning back and stepping into her shop, leaving us alone with a slam.

"Well, that was almost as interesting as Keeltha's tri-crispy," Tipan says, putting her arm over Rufka's shoulders. "Seemed like it was about to be almost as violent too."

"Nah, Tathia wouldn't go that far…" Rufka trails off as a loud boom resounds from behind the closed door of the shop, and more of the caustic mist leaks into the alley. "Still, we should probably leave her in peace."

"We do still want to visit the palace. And since we'll be so close, we can visit my mother as well," Tipan says, releasing Rufka's shoulder as she looks back toward the packed area around the arena. "But perhaps we should take another route."

Rufka nods, waving us forward as she hops over the pool of caustic mist. The rest of us follow, likewise making our own little leaps to keep clear as Rufka leads us out of the alley through a few short turns until we emerge onto another corridor-bridge. Considering the packed streets of the arena a short distance behind us, the emptiness of the street we emerge onto is… eerie.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, as I look around at the empty passageway.

"We're getting close to the Edge. People don't like to live near the Edge. Not eastward anyway," Rufka states as she picks her way across the bridge with surprising care. "Watch your step. Maintenance isn't as thorough out here."

"Why'd we come…" my words fail me as I glance up through a break in the clustered pod buildings along the edge of the street. Or maybe the Edge. Either way, beyond those ponds sits a castle straight out of a disney movie. Then the bridge shifts slightly, and the view is gone. I almost fly up to get a better perspective, but Rufka's urging us along.

Another few streets later and we are definitely at the Edge. And my view of the castle is completely unobstructed. Dark towers of obsidian stone rise from the depths of the abyss. As far down as I can see, there isn't a single bit of unworked stone. And it's not a tiny little thing either. The castle fills half the horizon, and we're still several kilometers away from it.

But as I look closer, I can see signs of neglect. Not in the upper levels, where everything seems to be in perfect shape. But lower down. There are passages open to the air that were clearly never designed to be. And staircases missing entire steps.

Still, it's a very impressive castle.

"Hard to get a proper view if you just go straight in," Rufka says, walking over to the edge of the bridge where there isn't so much as a single home attached.

"I've… it's different from here," Tipan mumbles as she kneels down next to Rufka, peering over the ledge. "I've visited the palace dozens of times. Maybe hundreds. I never realized… do you see the decay?"

Tipan's not looking at me, she's staring at Rufka.

"Yep. It's a big place. Can't be easy to maintain."

"Not with our disdain for terramancers. But still, it would only take a pair of them a month to restore the palace. To leave it like this…"

"No-user cares. They don't come out here. Not from the council, anyway." At Rufka's last words, I notice a shape moving further down the bridge. Another K'tharn, shorter than most. They're kneeled much like Tipan is, though they have several items spread out in front of them and their head is bowed.

Rufka must've noticed my interest, cause she says, "Ah. Yeah, some come here to pray. Think being so close to the End'll make it easier for Astria to hear em. Carried to the sky on the mana-currents and all that."

None of us say anything as we watch the distant K'tharn for another few moments. They remain on their knees, their lips moving, but their words inaudible. As I turn away, realizing I'm basically spying on someone when they're trying to have a private moment, Tipan clears her throat.

Glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the palace, she says, "The view is… amazing from here. But as I mentioned, I would like to visit my mother."

"Right. We should do that," I agree, standing up and pointedly turning away from the K'tharn who's praying behind us. Which leaves me staring in the direction Tipan was glancing. The district just outside the World's End Palace.

While not as grand as the palace, even from here, I can tell it's better maintained. Well, better than the lower palace. Which… is kinda the mountain it's built on too. Nevermind, not important. What is important is that we're walking towards this fancier section of the city. And it's not just the better quality of care.

As we get closer, the materials around us take on more interesting patterns. A bright red hide, striped through with orange is framed by nearly black bone on one side, while across the way, a building of yellow hide is suspended amongst bright green bonework. And their density… unlike many of the outer areas, the walls here feel solid to my mana.

Tipan continues to lead us forward, passing over where the channel leads to the courtyard surrounding the World's End palace and taking us down to a smaller cluster of homes with a single bridge leading to them. The end of the bridge is sealed with a steel and gold gate, guarded by a single K'tharn.

When they step forward, Tipan greets them, spending a moment talking before they let us by. The K'tharn's eyes flick over each of us as we pass, but goes back to sitting at the gate without mention.

Inside the gate is a small courtyard with small plots of carefully tended flowers planted in front of each of the dwellings. Tipan leads us to a dwelling whose flowers are a mix of light green and bright white. Glancing at the colours of the flowers in front of the other buildings, I can't help but notice this is the only one with any white flowers.

Tipan reaches out as if to push the curtain aside and stroll in, but then seems to change her mind, knocking on the frame next to the canvas flap. As we wait, I flick a quick inspection at the closest flower.

"Sky's Bloom."

"Chosen for their inherent bond to wind and water mana, these flowers are tended in many alchemists' gardens. Due to their finicky nature, they're rarely used as ornamentation. The sole exception is when a house gives birth to a Skyborne."

Well, I guess that explains why they're the only white flowers. Funny that they're probably there for Tipan yet she's not even her usual all-white self at the moment.

As we wait, I notice Tipan standing with her lower arms behind her back, tapping her thumbs together. A motion that would be completely out of sight of anyone within the pod-home. More of a pod-mansion, really, with its size. Upon closer inspection, I realize it's not just the flowers that set this home apart from its neighbours. It has twice as many trophies mounted above the door, a pair of monstrous skulls staring down at any guest.

After more than a minute of waiting beneath the empty stare of those defeated beasts, Tipan turns to us with a frown. "I suppose mother isn't home."

"Do you want to come back later?" I ask, shifting slightly to move away from the empty gaze of the skulls.

"It might be for the…" Tipan's eyes move past me, tracking someone behind me. The corners of her mouth tug up into a smile for a moment before settling back into a neutral expression.

"You! Who gave you permission to stomp about my den!" A deep voice calls from behind us. I turn just in time to see Ivicka bearing down on me.