City of Chilog, eastern frontier of the Human Empire.

A tall and imposing castle stands at its center, towering over every other construction. A branch of the royal family governing the city lives here, its walls and hallways patrolled twenty-four hours a day, making it the most secure place in the city. A second, external wall eight meters tall surrounds the castle's stone walls, separating the castle from the noble district.

Brimming with mansions, palaces, and villas, all of them decorated with tapestries showing the noble family living there and their loyalty, the noble district is the definition of elegance and opulence. Guards patrol the many, well-lit and clean streets day and night, maintaining the peace inside and the commoners outside, using another wall.

This five-meter-tall wall divides the noble district from the commoner district, its height the difference of power between royalty and nobles.

The commoner district is an amalgamation of many kinds of people, from merchants to craftsmen, from adventurers to soldiers. Most buildings are made of wood, and busyness is what this district is about. Streets are full of people all day long, with the main street, cutting the town from west to east, has traffic every hour of the day.

Standing at the edge of the commoner district stands the tallest wall of the city, sixty meters high and twenty wide, the highest wall humans ever built, keeping monsters, aggressive creatures with cores inside them, at bay. But monsters aren’t the only danger these walls keep out.

People living in the city can see only the good of it, living their everyday lives safe and protected, but not everyone is so lucky. Positioned north and south outside the city and attached to its walls, the slum district is a smear good folks avoid, with wooden buildings hastily put together, dirty and crumbling. People who lost all their money, thieves, hitmen, murderers, slavers, all of them mix in this place, where fights start over scraps of food or territory, with people stealing from their neighbors to survive.

Noblemen, commoners, even guards stay out of it, fearing for their lives. Patrols occasionally go around this district but only in groups of five or more, usually just to collect money from the shady businesses around the area, ignoring the actual crimes and corruption spread all around.

This evening, in front of a two-story building much more refined, complete and elegant than its surroundings, was standing a group of six guards, each covered in chain mail apart from the one knocking on the door of this establishment.

Two meters tall, muscles bulging under his full plate armor and weighing at least a hundred kilos, this man was huge and imposing. The golden wing on his left shoulder symbolized his captain rank, giving him authority over a small detachment of guards. His triangular face with a cleft chin, a flat nose, ears that stuck out and thin lips was morphed in an annoyed expression, with his short, straight, brown hair and blue eyes idly scanning the establishment.

Knocking on the door, he spoke loudly right after. “Open up Geruld” he expressed with annoyance.

A few seconds passed in silence, quick steps coming closer and closer to the door, opened right after, a smiling unremarkable middle-aged man behind it. Average physique, average height, neither beautiful nor ugly, brown hair and eyes seen everywhere, he was someone you’d see and forget after a moment, the perfect choice for criminal activities.

Geruld had a smile frozen on his face, showing respect and fear at once, a guise he had rehearsed a thousand times.

“Greetings, your lordship Faerun. Here, let me give you the payment for this month. Do you wish-”

Snatching the pouch of money from Geruld’s hands, Faerun tossed it to one of the men behind him, speaking over Geruld and interrupting him.

“Yes, I do. Do you have any new merchandise? I spotted the wagon in the back, so no feigning ignorance like last time.” he spoke with a threatening tone.

Anger flashes through Geruld’s eyes for only a moment, no one noticing the sudden change. “Oh, no no no, your lordship, I would never try to deceive you. That episode was just a misunderstanding, trust me.” he said, nervously laughing. “Unfortunately, that wagon has a few… unfortunate accidents inside. The new merchandise should arrive next month, and you’ll be the first to sample it, I assure you.”

His expression getting uglier and uglier at each word, Faerun answered back irritated. “Truly? Let me see the content, then. If it’s as you say, nothing will happen. If not…” Faerun threateningly stared at Geruld, the man never losing his pleasant expression.

“Of course your lordship. Right this way.” he said, getting out of the building and turning to his left, closely followed by Faerun and his group.

Skirting outside the building, they passed through a small alley and reached the back, an open space surrounded by a metal fence as tall as a man. A covered wagon was inside, a sheet hiding its content. A man stood at the gate, boringly looking around. Hearing steps coming closer, this man turned, nodding at Geruld but ignoring Faerun.

This demeanor clearly displeased the nobleman and his face did nothing to hide it, but he didn't comment, the gatekeeper returning to his idle scan of the surroundings.

Passing through the gate and into the grassless enclosure, Geruld spoke up. “Your lordship, it’s best if your subordinates stay back. The content is quite… macabre.”

Faerun stopped the group with his hand, moving to the back of the wagon together with Geruld, lifting the sheet covering the content. A foul odor surged outward, Faerun taking a step back and almost choking, three female bodies of various age lying in a horrible state in front of him.

The first body atop of the pile was a child, around twelve years old, with long unkempt black hair. Below her, a girl around sixteen with freckles and red hair, and lastly, a woman around her thirties, chubby and with a beautiful visage ruined by her gruesome death.

Throughout the body of the little girl ran gaping gashes, from torso to feet, blood already dry. The upper-right part of her head was missing a chunk of hair.

The red-haired teenager was in worse condition, with deeper gashes, a couple of them reaching the bones and chipping them. A few of her fingers were bent the wrong way, her mouth a bit open showed a few missing teeth.

The adult woman was the worst of them all. Her torso was bent the wrong way, her head almost touching her feet. Missing chunk of flesh, her gashes had broken bones inside, and only gaping holes remained as eyes, her head bald and bloody.

Faerun, on the verge of puking, exclaimed horrified. “Great Adriar, who did this? Your clients are disturbed, that I knew, but this is beyond them.”

Geruld, amused by Faerun’s reaction, responded with a calm voice, not leaking a single hint of his emotions. “You know our policy, your lordship: everything that happens inside these walls remains inside them. I cannot say who’s the author of this deed, but he paid generously for the service and… after-service. Some of those coins are in your hands now.”

Expressing a mix of disgust and righteousness, Faerun looked at the bodies. “Money comes and goes, and it is necessary for the greater good. I shall remember your sacrifice.”

For a moment, Geruld believed his words, his righteousness. Before remembering who was talking, a person righteous in front of commoners, taking advantage of weak and helpless at their back. Furthermore, an esteemed client of Geruld’s establishment. Truly a son of Adriar, the human God.

Musing about his hypocrisy but not showing a single trace of contempt, Geruld spoke. “As you can see, no new merchandise today. Notably, we lost some, unfortunately. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll have new goods next month.” he said with a smile.

“I can see that. I’ll leave you to your work, Geruld. Farewell.” Faerun said, almost running away after that, resuming his patrol with the other guards in tow.

Geruld watched him go and once he was out of sight, walked up to the gatekeeper. “Everything all right?” he asked, his tone serious, having lost all his previous submissiveness.

“Same stuff as last few days, boss.” the gatekeeper answered, relaxed. “A few drunks passing by, the usual kids throwing stones, nothing to worry about. Shall I take care of our… problem?” he said, pointing his thumb to the wagon at his back.

Glancing at the sky and noticing it was getting closer to nighttime, Geruld answered before walking back inside. “Yes, go. I’ll call Morpheus to replace you.”

Going inside a small building inside the courtyard used as stable, the gatekeeper came out with a single brown skinny horse, linking it to the wagon and jumping onto the driving seat, going towards the forest east of the city.

A few hours later, a carriage stopped on the outskirt of the forest, not a soul in view, a hooded man climbing down from the driving seat. Reaching inside a hidden pocket of his jacket, he took out a whistle-like item, speaking a few words into it and putting it away right after.

A few minutes later a skinny old man came out of the woods, his face full of wrinkles, his white hair long and unkempt, resembling a madman. His clothes were also dirty and unkempt, with different workmanship from the human’s one.

All these details were lost to the common onlooker, as this man was floating through the air without a sound, advancing unobstructed by the undergrowth and trees. He moved towards the carriage, the hooded man not reacting even after seeing him.

Reaching the back, the old man waved a hand, the sheets raising without a touch. Moving his right hand upward, the body were lifted up into the air, moving them in front of him in an upright position. His left hand reaching into his pocket, he brought out a crystal prism with pointed ends, colorless and showing no reflections. Making a slow and deliberate gesture with his left hand, the prism slowly moved forward, touching the forehead of the older woman a moment later.

The color of the crystal changed, from transparent to almost imperceptible white. The old man lightly shook his head, moving to the left with the crystal now touching the forehead of the teenage girl, the crystal becoming clear white. He waited a few seconds for a change, and seeing none, he moved to the child with a thoughtful expression.

Touching the child, the prism instantly became pure white, slowly changing to a pinkish one. The driver, having watched all of this taking place, had now his mouth wide open, the old man speaking with a stern expression. “This is the best specimen we’ve found so far. Dispose of the others.”

Dropping the two other women unceremoniously to the floor, the old man moved into the forest without looking back, the child floating behind him. Without a single complaint, the driver loaded the two women onto the carriage, leaving right after.

The old man kept floating through the woods for an hour with a speed impossible to reach by foot. Reaching a particularly large tree, he waved his right hand, the dirt in front and beneath splitting in two and showing a passage leading underground. Once the pair was inside the dirt closed once again, leaving no trace of their passage.

The tunnel didn’t go deep nor far, leading to a huge room three meters tall, twenty long and fifteen wide just after ten steps. This room, completely made by packed dirt, had a bright sphere hanging from the ceiling, spreading light in every corner. Two wooden doors led deeper into the right, while a table as long as the wall was on the left, filled with books, trinkets, potions, and many other miscellaneous items. At the center of the room was a circle so big it left little room to move around, drawn using black powder, and inside this circle, drawn with the same black powder, was a symbol similar to an X below a triangle. At the center of it all, pierced into the ground, a black iron rod stood straight, ending with three claws, opened wide enough to fit a coin.

The old man didn’t waste time, floating the little girl inside the circle in the center of the triangle, lodging the crystal prism into the claws with utmost care right after. Checking everything was in place, he sat at the center of the X in a meditating position, closing his eyes.

Half an hour went by with nothing of note happening, until a few specks of powder moved upward in a clockwise motion, slowly forming a small tornado. This tornado grew and grew in size, sucking in more and more black powder, speeding up until it completely obscured the center, creating an impenetrable wall.

Sensing the right moment, the old man opened his eyes, his hands going up and then down towards the ground, the crystal, which had started floating during the ritual, following his movements, shooting down into the child’s chest.

The old man watched the crystal moving at full speed, his eyes fiery but concentrated. This girl was the best specimen ever created, and he was going to study her thoroughly. The crystal penetrated her torso, aiming directly at her heart. Just before reaching its target, however, the loudest sound the old man had ever heard boomed inside the cave, coming from the child.

A massive force hit his chest, obliterating every magical item on his body apart from a single one, crushing his bones and muscles, tearing his flesh and organs apart, his mana going berserk and adding even more destruction to his breaking body.

He was sent up into the air together with the ceiling, the tree, and everything around. While soaring through the air, the old man managed to catch a glimpse of the destruction. The blast was propagating in a sphere for hundreds of meters, vaporizing everything in its path and creating a huge pit, the girl at the center of it all, completely untouched on top of a pillar of dirt.

Even if the situation was desperate, he still had a trick up his sleeve. Concentrating all of his strength, he reached for his necklace, a rhombus-shaped amulet flailing wildly in the wind. Catching it, he pressed it into his chest with all of his remaining strength, crushing it. Thankfully he had this artifact, designed to be almost indestructible. Green roots as thick as an arm grew out of the amulet, intertwining around his body in merely half a second. They kept growing, forming a cocoon of roots, smashing into the ground a few seconds later, rooting itself on the spot.