Traveller's awe is a feeling that most explorers of Ezma describe as "an absolute fascination of a discovery underlined by the terror of all the possibilities such find encompasses." To put it into the words of a non-scholar, usually, when a wanderer discovers something incredible, they feel enthusiastic, and yet fearful, because what they stand before might look incredible, but it can also hold numerous dangers. This feeling was exactly what the children felt the moment the densest part of the woods was behind them and they could finally rest their eyes on the massive mountain Kiflerasp, which served as the home for moon elves. The setting sun and slowly encroaching darkness brought forth the lights of the city, which lined the mountain at four distinctly different altitudes, starting at the bottom and ending at the very top.

"Whoa..." Alma could not bring herself to say much else. Traveller's awe was truly growing strong within her.

"Ah, Elkif, home crappy home." Glavas let out a deep exhale and turned to the children. "You two okay?"

"I... just wow..."

"Heh, it's quite the sight, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Compared to the places we usually visit, this is..."

"Worse."

"No! Much nicer!"

"Nicer, but worse. This place looks nice from the distance, but trust me, it offers very little comfort."

[Where is your house? Can we see it from here?] Surdi asked, completely oblivious to the earlier parts of the conversation.

"Actually... hmmm... oh yeah, there! See that big pile of blocks at the far end there? Next to that road?" He pointed toward the very foot of the mountain. The place seemed the worst out of the whole city. Buildings looked like tiny cubes, sometimes even piled up on one another, or stuck incredibly close together.

"Umm... Glavas? Why does the place look so..."

[Like a dump?] The dragon did not hold back and with a wave of his arm, he gestured over the sea of cubes stretching all around the mountain.

"That's because nothing better can be afforded. It's not meant to be a home for anyone. That's where the Unode live."

"Noooo! More elven language!" Alma shook her head.

[Are those like... slums?]

"Yes, sort of. See the lights at the very top?"

[Yeah?]

"That's the home Haavistas, the high priests. In direct translation, those who can see the goddess. The district below that is for the Haasavrras, like... important people for running the city. So-called those who serve the goddess. And below that is the area for the rest of the moon elves, the Odimai, literally meaning ordinary people."

"But they all live up on the mountain. So down here it's a place for who? Slaves? Refugees?"

"Not quite. It's for us, the Unode. Literally means unwanted. Originally, the city was built for a specific number of elves. The economy was based around that too. But some couples simply wanted to have more children. As the population grew, the church turned to extreme measures. Any 'extra population' that is not wanted is shoved down there to the lowest district. Farthest away from the goddess."

[Wow... messed up.]

"Told you. It's not a nice place. Overpopulation is not an issue. We have enough food for everyone, and the houses could also be built at a decent quality should the church share some of its wealth. But instead, they shun us and just leave us to our own devices down here. Bunch of bastards."

Once the trio had enough time to absorb the slowly building culture shock and traveler's awe, they began heading down the road toward the mountain. It wasn't far now, and Glavas hoped that they would manage to reach the center of the city before it would get too dark.

"You okay?" he asked when he saw Alma rubbing her fingers.

"Yeah. You were right, the sting wasn't so bad. Or at least it no longer feels so weird."

"That's good to hear. You two are from the southeastern Ezma, so I will give you a little warning about the north. Out here, the small creatures are usually just keen on running away. They won't kill you, but they can still hurt you if they'd feel threatened. But you see anything bigger than a horse and you run away screaming, understood? What the little fauna lacks in aggression, the large one compensates for with some vicious predators. So, if you see anything big, just make a lot of noise and I will come to help you."

The district looked even worse up close than it did from afar. The buildings were not created with luxury in mind. On the ground floor, there was always a rectangle made of perfectly smooth stone, with just a few imperfections here and there, and with curtains in windows instead of glass. Next to it was a small garden, barely three by three meters, surrounded by a makeshift fence. This was, as Glavas called it, outdoor storage for the particular family. A ladder then always led onto the roof of the building, where stood another, smaller rectangle, with an even tinier section of the roof used as a balcony. Like this, the buildings could pile up even five stories high. In certain cases, up to four parallelly-built houses were used as a base, in order to obtain more space on their connected roofs. There were no streetlamps. Instead, each structure had a fireplace in the "outdoor storage", which the residents would always light during the night and invite all the neighbors living above them to come and warm themselves by the fire.

"I imagined... something else," Alma muttered. Her anxiety only grew by the second as the eyes of the locals kept staring at them.

[Are they like... angry at visitors?]

"No, they are just fascinated to see you. Out here, it's only the moon elves 99% of the time. So seeing a human, let alone a child, and with dark skin on top of that, is just... unusual for them. Same thing with seeing a dragon. That might be an even rarer sight in this area."

"Bunch of racists!" Alma hissed and her eyes could stab right through the onlookers.

"No, not really. Out here, they don't have much, so no matter your species or skin, you would always be welcome as an equal. Most of them have just never seen anyone like you, so they are a bit curious. But I assure you, if you treat them nicely, they will do the same."

[Oh yeah? Because so far they look at us like we're some weird animals.]

"That will pass. Give them time."

As they kept going through the seemingly endless streets, a question kept on growing in Alma's mind, until she could no longer stand it and had to ask. "You mentioned that your dad resolved the housing problem for the poor, no? But... this doesn't really look like it to me."

"Believe it or not, it used to be a lot worse. Back then, people were literally living on the streets, sleeping outside, and the houses were... well, made of anything you could find really. These seem at least decent. And there are so many now... I wonder how my old man managed to build all this since my last visit."

They walked a few more blocks before a loud shouting pierced the slowly darkening skies, like a spear tossed into the streets, aimed at a particular recipient.

"GLAAAAAAAAAVAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!" the call carried itself high into the sky and then descended onto the city below, showering the residents with this single, prolonged word. The hunter quickly turned toward the direction of the noise. It was a voice he recognized far too well. Now all that remained was to find the owner. Glavas expected many things but certainly not this. His father was standing on the roof of one of the tallest piles of buildings in the local vicinity, holding onto a lightning rod and shouting into the wind like a howling wolf. Despite being over seven hundred and eighty years old, the elf still waved at them all enthusiastically, like a child that can't wait to go out and play with their friends.

[Let me guess, your father?]

"Yup," Glavas sighed.

"I can see some similarities," Alma smirked. Since he was so far they could barely see his features against the dark night sky, it was clear she was referring to his behavior.

"Well, let's get this over with," the hunter muttered and led the children closer toward the place where they'd been called.

Nearby was a construction site. The children's curiosity regarding the origin of the rectangular buildings was soon answered when they saw the elves at work. "Katarane!" the chief of the site shouted and with slow movements of their hands, a quartet of elves telekinetically moved large beams of metal into place. "Obudaa!" he shouted yet another command and as a single unit, the workers forced the beams to bend before the power of their magic. "Kistu!" Another elf ran forth from the surrounding crowd and firmly planted his feet right under the intersection of the four bent pillars. He then raised his hands and his bright red hair glowed slightly before a concentrated stream of flames rose up from his palms heating the metal enough so it could be molded and connected. "Good! Geomancers!" the chief called. The previous group retreated and an army of at least twelve men rushed in, surrounding the unfinished building. "Ready? Sii!" With a few sharp movements, magic flew out of the brown and gray-haired workers, forming into a strange paste, whose texture looked akin to stone, but with a consistency of pudding. Like this, they formed countless small bricks out of the material and lined them up just outside the metal beams. "Aaaaand... Vist!" In complete unison, the workers raised their arms, making the bricks fly into the air, hovering perfectly equally leveled at the height of their heads. "Connect!" The bricks flew inward, forming the first layer of walls around the soon-to-be house. "Muure!" The chief gave his final command and the children watched in awe as the elves made the bricks melt together and harden into actual stone. Afterward, the process simply repeated itself. New bricks were made, levitated, connected, and then hardened. Layer after layer, this group of elven construction workers was slowly building a house.

"Glavie!" Someone called out from the street behind them. The trio immediately turned around and their eyes quickly landed on the nearly-bald elf running toward them.

"Sup Glint, long time no..." before Glavas could finish, his father wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Compared to the hunter, he was at least a head and a half taller, and the muscles on his arms looked as if they were the magnum opus of a local sculptor. He hugged his son and pulled him up from the ground. The children could not help but laugh when they saw Glavas' feet lift off from the earth.

"Let go! Let go! I will shoot if I have to!" the hunter muttered with a surprising speed, almost making his own words intelligible.

"Alright, alright, no need to get all aggressive, Mr. hunter." Glint settled him back down and placed his hands on Glavas' shoulders. "Ah, I am so happy you could come. With you around, this will be the best Extinguishing one can ask for."

"Heh, yeah... Although... We probably have a lot of talking to do."

"Oh yes, absolutely! There is so much we still need to discuss. Don't worry, I won't bother you with the formalities. I've already dug the grave and picked out the perfect coffin for my body. But there is a part that only you will be able to do."

"Carry your fire up the mountain?"

"Exactly! I want my soul to reach the moon, but... well, let's say that I fear that without your... expertise, it will not be possible."

"My expertise? What does that mean?"

"Well, I've helped build homes for a lot of Unode. Those theatrics of construction going on behind you? Yeah, that is my invention. But now the unwanted have a home and the priests don't like that. I'm worried that they might try to stop anyone from going up the mountain with my flame. Anyone but a feared hunter, that is."

"I see. So you don't want me to be your Parasavrra, you need me to be one."

"What?! No! I do want you! You're my only son!"

"Come on, pops. I've never done anything you'd agree with. My whole life, I've been rejecting your way of life. Don't pretend that you wouldn't offer it to a different person if you could."

Glint quieted down for a moment, before staring Glavas straight in the eyes. Meanwhile, his arms were still resting on the hunter's shoulders. "Are you happy, Glavas?"

"Huh? With what?"

"Life. Are you happy with your life?"

For a moment, his head turned around and glanced over the two children. "Yeah... I guess I am. I've got a lot to think about recently, but... I'd say so."

"Then that is all I can ask for. We can have different opinions on things. And sometimes we express them quite strongly. But I love you no matter what. And as long as you are happy, so am I. Now, how about we head home for the evening? Your mom's making fish."

"Sounds great, but I feel like I should go to the graveyard first."

"Oh... Do you want to visit her?"

"Yeah. I feel like I should since I'm here. I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright, but don't stay too long. And you better introduce the little ones behind you once we have more time. I've got like a million questions."

"So do I, but I will try to answer them as best I can." They waved each other goodbye and as the hunter and his kids walked off, Glint returned to his work on the construction site.

"Glavas? Who exactly do you want to visit at a graveyard?" Alma eventually asked, scared of the answer.

"My childhood friend."