...
The autumn rain was cold and dreary.
It chilled to the bone when it drenched the skin.
The streets were hazy, the mist and fog making it seem almost like the Immortal Realm.
The capital was surrounded by mountains on three sides, a location of excellent feng shui, easily defended and hard to attack. However, with the growing number of workshops, the Imperial Court encountered an issue it hadn't foreseen.
Coal ash and smoke accumulated in the air, unable to be dispersed by the wind, often forming a dense fog that choked the nostrils at dawn and dusk.
The rain that fell from the sky now left black, murky traces upon the ground.
The Imperial Court wasn't unaware of this issue, and Imperial Censors frequently suggested relocating the capital, but Xianjing was an ancient capital of a thousand years, and it represented the Orthodox roots of the Cloud Continent—tied, seemingly, to the rise and fall of the nation's destiny.