[Flashback]A Smith and a Fencer (Rhuryc)

[Carsten]

Timestamp: 69th of Fall, 507 AV

Syliras was a magnificent city, a grandiose metropolis. He had often thought of Zeltiva as a large city, but it was nothing compared to Syliras. Syliras was not just ruins that were being rebuilt; it was an actually growing city. A testament to humanity’s strength and endurance, the city felt like it screamed that even the Valterrian could not bring down the mortals. And the Knights! Of course Carsten had read and heard about them, the protectors of humanity, and the virtuous, gallant and heroic knights that shielded the civilians from danger. He had not seen many. A few patrols in the distant, the guard questioning him before letting him into the city, the ones patrolling the battlements. They looked armed and dangerous, and they were the strongest military force in Mizahar, as far as Carsten knew.

He had only been in the city for one day, having arrived the afternoon before, and sleeping it away in a small tavern. Now he was walking around in the city, trying to breathe in the air, but it felt stale and heavy. The city was built tightly; it seemed they wanted to fit as many buildings inside the walls before expanding outwards. That made sense to Carsten, they probably did not have the materials or builders to build a new set of walls, or enough men to guard anything else outside the city than the crops. Still, it felt like they could not fit much more inside the walls. He wondered if they Knights were aware of that or not. Perhaps they would try to build in height, or depth. Making a set of caverns below the city might be possible, he thought, but they might just end up making the entire city collapse.

When he stumbled out of the rather dark alley he had wandered into, he stood in front of the Temple of All Gods. The Temple was fascinating, one temple for all the gods. It was not normal, usually the worshippers of certain gods would try to avoid each other, but here they were forced together. Was it to create tolerance for each other, to more easily watch the groups or simply of convenience for pilgrims? It was difficult to say, he would have to study the Knights to learn of their motivations.

He walked up the steps to the temple, and studied the building with curiousity, but it might as well have looked like indifference for those that could not read his face. As the neared the door, he tugged off the leather glove on his left hand and put his palm against the door, while looking into the temple. He entered, and put on his glove again.

As he knelt down and closed his eyes, he started muttering a prayer. ”Gnora, grant me your divine blessing, show me the path, keep my mind focused.” His voice got lower and lower, until it simply disappeared and he completed the prayer in his mind.