RTYY 336 - Arc 14 - A Dark Maze of Truth and Lies - A Dying City
Arc 14
A Dark Maze of Truth and Lies
Gentle, warm hands carefully pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. Snow had completely forgotten about the need to cover his hair, he thought, holding it in place. Even though the others might be Tien'Elhar just like him, they would still pass completely unnoticed amongst other people. Which obviously could not be said about him and his unnatural silver hair.
As they slowly made their way through the imposing massive gates, Snow noticed that there were two small guardhouses, one on each side of the gate, but that they were both abandoned, no one stationed there to keep watch. In fact, there was no one anywhere, he thought, straining his neck to see the top of the wall, where one would have expected to find more guards on the lookout.
The scenery outside the city was as empty, dead, and depressing as it had been, before they had crossed that last portal. And the deadly silence that filled Snow's ears as they entered the city made him lean back against ZaiWin's chest in search of some measure of reassurance. Everything was so wrong that all he wanted to do was close his eyes and pretend he was somewhere else.
This must be a huge city, Snow realized not long after, noticing how wide the streets were, the houses considerably big, most of them with two floors, some even three. The constructions were mainly made of polished stone, but the roofs were made of metallic tiles, their various metallic colors promising a breathtaking view once the sun made its appearance. Which wasn't bound to happen any time soon, Snow knew. He hadn't seen the smallest ray of sunlight since they'd set foot on those accursed lands.
Still, this had probably been a very busy city, he thought, noticing the many abandoned vending stalls still flanking the road, the doors of what had probably been stores and taverns boarded shut. It was almost as if they were crossing one of the busiest districts of Weiin, with the difference that every establishment had been closed and abandoned.
Eventually, they did cross paths with a few citizens. But the sight of those poor people only made Snow feel even more depressed.
With their heads bent down, rushing as fast as they could to reach their destination, their behavior was almost as if the mere fact that they were outside could place their lives in danger. They mostly carried small packages tied with strings, some people hugging their small parcels protectively against their chest. And, worst of all, they were all wearing the same kind of collar the children wore around their necks.
These were common people, Snow could easily tell by the dark color of their hair. And although they looked positively scared, constantly peering from side to side, stepping as far back as they could at the sight of MaoHan and the others, they still looked fairly healthy. Well, not that anyone could be truly healthy breathing that foul air, not to mention eating who knows what, since he still hadn't glimpsed a single crop field or livestock pen anywhere. But still, it was clear that someone was trying to keep them alive.
As they made their way through the city, the rattling of the wheels of the prison cart echoing eerily through the practically deserted streets, the houses around them also changed, becoming much larger walled complexes with gates of their own. Like with every large city or village, here too, there were clearly poor and rich neighborhoods, since the rich would never willingly share the same street as the common people on a daily basis.
Looking at these larger, and clearly richer, houses, Snow couldn't tell if they had belonged to wealthy merchants or minor noble Clans. But one thing was certain. These houses were in an even worse state than anything he had seen so far. Many had been completely burned down to the ground, the gates now gone, offering him glimpses of blackened courtyards and charred walls of stone. Others had been simply demolished, their walls tore to the ground no more than piles of rock, the once rich houses they'd protected completely vandalized and destroyed. But the worst of all was yet to come, Snow quickly concluded, his pale eyes widening in horror.
ZaiWin immediately placed a hand over his eyes, plunging him into darkness, wrapping him securely in his arms. But nothing could ever erase what he had briefly seen from his memory.
There were people hanging from the walls of the house they were passing by. Well, not people anymore. More like rotting corpses covered by equally rotting clothes. And even though ZaiWin had been quick to cover his eyes, Snow had still been able to capture the blond color of the long hair cascading freely down one of the corpses' skeletal body, that sudden speck of color contrasting with the gray dimness that seemed to envelop everything.
Gasping for air, Snow had the feeling that he couldn't breathe! He didn't want to breathe! Not that defiled, rotten air. His heart was slamming against his chest so hard that it hurt. He had to get out of there! He had to get out of that horrible place as fast as he could!
Holding him closer, ZaiWin leaned his forehead against the top of his head. And like it had happened so many times before since they'd latched that collar around his neck, Snow could somehow hear his voice inside his head.
Calm down. Everything is fine. You'll be fine. I'm right here with you.
Snow nodded and forced himself to relax, to breathe more slowly, to focus on what was truly important. Like keeping their shield in place, for example. And, at the same time, conserve as much energy as he could. He had to keep himself together. Those things … those horrible things, all belonged to the past. There was nothing he could do for those people, for their suffering that still permeated the air around him. He had to focus on what he could do. And if he wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible, he had to be able to carefully and calmly think things through. To coldly and objectively observe the world around him and learn as much as he could, gather every little piece of information that might be useful during their escape. Above all, he had to attentively watch ZaiWin's every move, so that he wouldn't miss a single one of those silent communications.
Panic and desperation had never led him anywhere, he reminded himself. Crying, pleading, praying. None of that had ever worked. Fighting for what he wanted, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. Even if that too didn't work, at least he would have tried his best. And he had promised him, hadn't he?, Snow thought, clenching ZaiWin's clothes, pressing his forehead against his chest, feeling his heart beat a bit faster than normal. He had promised him that he would fight beside him until their last breath. And, even surrounded by that foul air, Snow was yet to stop breathing.
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Author's Note: This is such a sad city 😥. Now, how come the people in the Palace don't know about this? Or maybe they know and keep quiet about it 🤔?
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