The City of Splendors

Writer : Avery Brighton

A Spring in the Desert.

Chapter 1

The City

The Free Ports of the West, an alliance of free democratic cities, were the ideal place for merchants and sailors who were in search for employment in this prosperous for the human era.

There you could also hear the most bizard stories from all around the world of men and even elves some times.

One of the most widespreaded was about Callera the mysterious city of eastern Kasmia.

Her rocky valleys in the Shadow Mountains had conquered from the ''Red Serpent'',an empire located in the northern lands near the Grey Islands.

Sixteen years before was the last independent kingdom before the vast Yellow Waste a dessert so large that nobody knew where it ended.

The city placed in the eastern slops of the mountain and separated in three levels by old and half destroyed now stone walls.

Only the pale cyan exterior wall was now still in his place and full with bastions and impressive turrets near his three main entrances.

The conquerors had decorated the main gates with four gigantic statues carved in hard black granite.

The statues was the new male gods that the Usurper King ,as the people called him,tried to impose to the locals.

This gods was different from the peaceful female deities of the past in this ancient matriarchal religion and society.

This hideous deities required blood and even human sacrifices at times to satisfy their needs.

They also promoted the idea of the men or male generally supremacy over the female living beings ,human or not.

And the new masters of the city guided by the the Dark Council ,a notorious religious sect, valued only power and of course violence.

The city was also one of the few water sources in the area.

Inside the city was also a very interesting place to explore for the travelers and merchants that came with rich caravans from the dry plains west of the mountain rangrang

The houses and public buildings were constructed usually from the same cyan stone or marble as the exterior walls and the latest were usually very old and impressive.

At least the ones that survived after the terrible siege not many years ago.

The city's well preserved roads was usually crowded during the day, in this so important for the trade roads city.

Buzzing markets sheltered with arcades and large warehouses were everywhere.

But each night the streets was empty.

The rules was strict and clear.

Only the soldiers of the emperor had the permission to use the streets at night and only for patrols.

And this to prevent any citizens who could possibly attempted something unlawful during the night.

In the western side a large dark fortress with many turrets projectile from his main bulk spreaded a large threatened shade in the houses above.

It was the notorious emperor prison and now the governor headquarters that few dared to approach.

Heavy armoured warriors guarded the near by streets and watched with cold eyes every one who approched.

They all had the two headed serpent as emblem in their red coloured breastplates and armour.

In the left side of the main square which the was the largest market located a three floor white building.

A large artificial garden in rooftop could been seen from the main street.

The garden was full with purple and cyan flowers that their were extremely rare and grown only in some isolated areas of the eastern dessert.

It was the home of Asha the most successful and rich woman in the city.

Together with her sister Tamika she expanded her family merchant business in almost all the southern east part of the empire.

She was also the head of merchant conference a small elite of rich citizens who even the high ranking officials respected.

The sisters were originated from one nomadic tribe who settled in the city many years before.

But they had gained their economical power and influence in cooperation with the new rulers of the city and that made them unpopular among the common folks.

Asha was dark skinned with long raven hair and as most of her tribe people tall and lean in body.

She was an attractive voluptuous woman.

But her grey eye's was shinning with cunningess and it was well known that her incomes was not only from conventional trading.

A huge demand for slaves started to appear in the continent.

And her business didn't delayed to expand in this field to.

But not without problems from the people that still tried to stop the shameful trade.