From this point forwards we needed to travel by foot, Shryke's special carriage stood out too much. It draw far too much attention to us, at least that's how Hann explained it. Shryke would travel ahead and unload all of our stuff at our new home in Crakston city. There were still three days of foot travel left for us. Trudging over dunes, marching through the blazing heat and the threat of instant death by nightfall made the three-day trip almost unbearable at times. I couldn't feel pain but being uncomfortable was still something that affected me. I was fatigued, sweaty and hungry for most of the long walk.

As long as a good pace was kept the route was relatively safe, there were no wild animals to attack you and there were plenty of prepared caves along the way. Each night we stopped in one of the dimly lit sanctuaries and partook of any amenities the caves offered. Some had basic wells dug deep into the stone to stave off dehydration while others had small stocks of salt-preserved food. Each time we took some pickled vegetables or cured meats Hann left some money and healing salves in its place. Survival in this hostile land was a team effort, merchants would often leave some supplies if they were overstocked as they travelled to and fro.

There were no villages in the duchy, along the way I saw countless half-buried ruins of failed attempts but without the protection of the beacon and its surrounding walls, any settlements seemed doomed to fail. When I finally laid eyes on the great white walls and tower in the distance I felt relief in knowing that we were almost finished. When we made it to the gate, admission to the city went smoothly, Hann showed the guards her Animus-Blade and they were satisfied by my orphan story. This place was relatively isolated from the other duchies, I felt somewhat safe from the Collector knowing that we were a hostile desert apart.

On average the skin tones here were darker and closer to my own, though almost everyone sported brown eyes here, my grey eyes were still an oddity that I hadn't seen anyone else have. Something I noticed immediately was the difference in culture between this and the one I knew. It was a constant assault on my ears here, many people carried openly manifested blades even if they weren't working. There were also a ton of people who looked poor as dirt walking in the daylight and going about their jobs. I wondered why things were so different here until Hann reminded me of the sand elemental's wrath. The noble and wealthy lived in the dwell below, while the disposable masses lived in the sunlight, a complete reversal of what I knew.

Hann's place was right next to the walls, properties near the walls were less safe at night and were sold at dirt cheap prices. All of the buildings were made of solid stone bricks from the same red rock cliffs that I had seen in the desert. All of the buildings had no windows and the doors were nothing more than giant stone slabs on recessed stone rollers that formed a tight seal in the doorway. There was almost no wood used in the construction as it could only be acquired through trade. The insides were lit up in a similar way to the dwell, the more I saw the faint blue glow of the crystals, the more I wondered what exactly they were and how they could make light out of nothing.

All of our stuff that was loaded into the wagon was carefully stacked in the centre of our living space. After putting all of our stuff into our rooms there was only one place I wanted to visit. I wanted to see the slums of this city, I felt like I might find another kindred spirit helping the bladeless out just like the head priest. Hann advised against it but my mind was already made up, surely it wouldn't draw too much attention for an orphan to want to help the slums.

Hann stuck close and guided me around, she told me it was too dangerous to wander around alone but I didn't get it. This city felt far safer than the dwell I knew. No strange people were lurking in alleys and it felt like there was a sense of togetherness here. The culture of surviving as one even permeated the so-called slums, at a first glance everyone was hard at work in a large field surrounding the central tower. Root vegetables were planted in fertile soil and then protected by large stone slabs that were peppered with many tiny holes to let sunlight through to the plants.

Every man, woman and child were at work and they all appeared to be healthy and strong. They even had tiny stone cubes to keep them safe from the sands at night, it all appeared almost idyllic. But when I paid more attention there were a bunch of things that seemed off. Almost every single woman was pregnant and hard at work in the fields, quite a few didn't look all that much older than me. The next thing I noticed was the lack of elders, the oldest person there looked pretty young, maybe in their early thirties or late twenties. Maybe the old people were exempt from work after all no one was complaining while they toiled. The common knowledge of bladeless being useless looked not quite so common here.

A guard walked up to us wearing the signature chain armour and long pointed helmet but their tabard was coloured yellow and black with a picture of the sun behind a sword on the front. The sun was the emblem of house Smythe, it was knowledge that I gained from one piece of the tainted trove. There wasn't much point in learning about the different noble houses when you would usually only live under one banner during your life. It wouldn't be too long before I read every one of those books and made up for lost time. The guard spoke directly to me while ignoring Hann's death glare.

"I don't recognise you, state your name."

"Her name is Jo."

Hann said firmly but the guard wasn't having it.

"Remain silent until spoken to wrench, I ask again state y–"

Hann manifested her axe and pointed it at him.

"This girl is mine. As her legal guardian, you deal with me."

The guard squirmed a little once she had her weapon drawn but didn't back down.

"Is the girl of age?"

"No, she has yet to undergo the rite."

I baulked at Hann's response but tried to remain calm, she must have a good reason for lying about my age and blade tender status.

"My mistake then. I also offer you my apologies ma'am. Not many normal folk visit the fields, are you lost?"

"No, this one has a kind heart. She was orphaned at a young age and feels for the… the worms."

Hann looked like she struggled to say her last words. What did she just call these people? Worms? I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Understandable, my daughter held a similar belief when she was too tiny to know better. You should correct her more firmly."

"It will take her time, I'm sure you can understand, she relates to the worms because she could have easily been in their position."

"I can turn a blind eye for now but I insist that you stomp out that behaviour quickly."

Hann nodded and the guard marched back to his post overseeing the workers. What is going on here? The illusion was shattered and I looked around with a more critical eye. Every single one of the field workers had hard expressions, the fire of determination burning behind their eyes. Only a few looked broken and miserable but even still they toiled. Some of their backs were covered in jagged scars while others only had a few, and none of them healed well. I went to help a child that was straining to lift a stone slab that concealed fully grown vegetables. Before I could get close Hann grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

"This is why I said we shouldn't come here. Look over there. If you distract that boy he'll get whipped."

The guard that Hann gestured towards had a long and bladed whip in his hands. The mixture of clashing songs in the noisy city prevented me from being able to hear if he held an Animus-Blade or a mundane weapon. The forge-burned monster kept the people working through fear. I took deep breaths to try to keep my anger under control, I couldn't afford to create a scene. Though if I saw that man strike anyone with that disgusting whip, I wouldn't have been able to hold back. It might've been harder to help these people than I thought, their suffering came not from neglect but malice. I wasn't giving up yet, I would return later that day and see if there was anything I could offer to improve their lives. Even something seemingly small could bring them a little light in the darkness.