Kystra, the Great Shelf City, sat nestled deep in layers of metamorphic rock. A massive system of inhabited caves interwoven into a string of odd and diverse landscapes. A world that existed in an area between Midworld and the Twilight Realm. A fractured anomaly known as the Inbetween.
The stone walls of Kystra were decorative and ornate, filling one with heavily saturated visual stimuli. Millenia of vypnyr inhabitants had made their shelf city a testimony to the art of architecture. Domestic stone and imported slabs formed buildings that protruded into streets and alleys, built atop the floors of the massive caverns. Manors and homes sat behind tall and twirling fences. Tiny shops selling magic hid in corners, while eateries and cafes lined crowded sidewalks. Lanterns in arrays of colors and traveling spheres of magically charged light lit the caverns, a continuous pulsing array of color that traveled through the streets in never ending waves. One of the larger vypnyr cities–hypnotic and heady with attraction–its population thrived in a massive sprawl of urban life extending down in a series of terraced caverns.
Wyn had traveled from Kissian using the portal rivers. Syrupy snaking cosmic plasma and molten dark matter–which in contrast to the name–glew in an irreplicable light. They were a mass of rivers that networked across the higher realms. Their bottoms dripping into the Inbetween and beyond. Much of the river's twisting maze was dangerous and uncharted. It took powerful and precise magic to navigate its winding ways. But if one had the skill and the proper vessel, their currents led to near infinite places.
Deep underground their milky churning waters spilt into the bottom levels of Kystra. Ships that sailed realms, transporting goods and passengers, pushed in and out of massive iron and stone rings. Mapping Portals that burned in steaming orange glyphs. From a tower above, on glowing pads, engineers penned coordinates for captains. The glyphs on the rings oscillated and twisted as new destinations were set.
Wyn had made his way from the docks and to one of the numerous entry gates. Large archways decorated in stone gargoyles shadowed guards checking in visitors of the city. Every head, bag, and weapon accounted for. As the line crept along, the gargoyle's heads shifted and turned, their bulging stone eyes watching all the passers.
He now stood at the front of a line. Behind him travelers, merchants, mercenaries, tourists, and immigrants shuffled on their feet, waiting to gain entry to the city. A Vypnyr soldier held out a hand and motioned with a wave of her finger towards Wyn. Tall and black eyed like most vypnyr, she loomed above the fae, clad in an angularly cut and well fitted uniform of dark grays and earthy reds. Bright blue irises offset her clothing, drawing one's attention to her face. Wynn was not familiar with the vypnyr houses so he did not know of which the woman belonged to. Only that the vypnyr worked in an organized communal fashion when guarding the city. Prominent houses who possessed armies and militia took turns tending to the militant duties of the massive city. Wyn was sure by the time he left he would see a different uniformed guard at the entry gates, checking in and out individuals.
He held up his identification, flanked by two attending guards. "Wyn, vassal of the High Imperial Fae Court."
The guard grunted, pulling forward a sleek board and a thin writing utensil. Technology of the vypnyr, called an acraslate. Magic lit up its surface and she began to scratch the thin pen across the top. "Place of origin?"
"Kisiian city of the Twilight Realm."
More scratching ensued, flashes of light shifted across her features as she wrote. "Reason for entry?"
"Leisure."
The guard pointed at the two weapon clad men who accompanied him. "And your quiet companions?" One of her eyebrows raised.
Wyn gave her a polite bow. "I am a man of importance. These are my personal bodyguards."
She took a moment looking him over, committing his image to memory, then scribbled information into the light forms on her board. "Very well. Have them check their weapons at the next guard." She pointed to another woman a few meters down. Clad in a similar uniform, she also possessed one of the glowing acraslate. Two scaly males stood in front of her while a line of light shot from her upheld acraslate. A thin violet honeycombed pattern proceeded to wave over the men up and down before letting out a trilling ring. She gave the men a nod and they continued along.
"Don't make any trouble, fae." The first guard said.
"Of course not, my lady." He gave the guard a humble bow and in turn she smiled. Pleased with his good manners and amused by his formality, she waved him through the gates.
Wyn moved along, a single fish in a massive school of beings. Creatures of every realm funneled about to the trading hub. Towering totem spirits with bark laden and mossy skin waded through a crowd of tiny men with the heads of trout. The fish-headed men scattered in a wave, avoiding being crushed by the totem spirits and their trunkish legs.
Vypnyr citizens, lazed in cafes and clubs with plush lounges that offered more to bite than just croissants and cakes and more to drink than coffees and cocktails.
A squid-like man, draped in tentacles that glistened and coiled around him pushed a food cart, selling fish cakes and cups of broth ridden with tiny colorful vegetables. Drunk patrons lined around it, eager to grab a bite. He diligently served multiple at a time, tentacles taking coins and dishing out oily broths.
All around Wyn club goers, high chasers, tourists, and passing citizens filled the streets. A testament to the city's thriving economy.
In the lower levels of Kystra, where the docks pulsed with labor and factories sorted goods, also sat the red light districts. A daunting expansion of hookah dens, sweet leaf parlors, and potion houses sitting in the shadows of casinos, bars, inns, and brothels. The streets grew tight along the lower levels. Banners, flags, chimes, talismans, chandeliers and paper and glass lanterns strewn across them in a thick netting. Beneath their haze, alluringly concealed to the eyes of the upper levels, women and men blushed in the stained lighting. The lazy waving lights of the city dripped and splashed across prostitutes of all varieties. They sat along balconies and in windows like merchandise on display, there to lure in customers. A pixieish woman with molten pink skin that swirled like liquid floated into Wyn, leaving a trail of her scent across his body before rubbing herself against one of the guards. Laughs and chirps prettier than bells and chimes followed her attempts to lure the men into a bed. Little laughs desperate for coins more so than a bedpartner. The guards giggled along, allowing themselves to be patted and groped as they passed. Wyn cleared his throat, a reminder to keep moving along.
They were ex-criminals Yuen and Delta had crafted into a private militia within the underground of Kissian. Faces who would not stick out or had connection to the emperor's army. They did not have the etiquette and rigid training of the imperial forces. Their eyes were a little more prone to wonder and their hands a little more apt to roam. They were however loyal to the two princes having been brought up from poverty and given full bellies and spare money for nectar and nightmaids. They straightened up without further reprimanding.
Their destination was at the easternmost end of the city. The Palov castle and estate. A massive complex of buildings that sat in a pocket cavern seven terraces deep. As they approached the gate, Wyn waved away the guards, ordering them to keep a low profile and not wander too far.
The castle had once been the dwelling of the great house of Palov, but now all that remained of the family was Asariel and Asarath, Esalis maternal cousins. As they had grown the twins had worked to resurrect their family name, beginning to reestablish the house by investing in trade and commerce. They had amassed quite a bit of wealth and were quickly rising through the tiers of vypnyr aristocracy. It had been three years since Wyn had last visited the Palov Estate and he was a little surprised to find the staff and guard had appeared to double.
A lone guard watched over the gate. His uniform, unlike the port guards, was white and satiny with silver trim and black accents. It was lightweight and held together with dark brown leather straps that crossed the chest and waist connecting thin plates of flexible scaled armor.
Wyn politely greeted the guards, handing over his identification and an Imperial Seal. "Good evening, I come seeking an audience with the masters of the estate."
"Ah, another from the fae Imperial Court." The guard nodded, giving Wyn his paperwork back. "The prince did mention that he was expecting a visitor soon." He took a step to the side. "Follow me, I shall escort you to the castle."
As they worked their way into the grounds, stone pathways became lined with walls that slowly grew taller, draped in the thick signature ivy foliage of Kystra. A wild garden of hedges and pale flowers existed where gray stone did not. Small canals with shallow streams of water followed the walkways, crossing and merging in the occasional bridge or pond. Thin layers of moss coated everything. Above them spherical cages of light offered food to the lush greenery, floating wrought iron cast with the remade Palov crest. What was once one panther fighting a snake, was now two panthers facing away from each other, claws raised to the world, a snake wound around them, holding them together.
It was a maze that worked its way to the castle entrance. A sprawling two storied veranda held up by tapered round pillars crescented a large fountain. Three gargoyles, stacked on a black obsidian platform, spewed water from angry faces. It all sat as a greeting to two towering spires with polished serpentine tiled roofs. It was a grand entrance and from its sides flowed walls of perfectly cut stone hewn in ivy and moss. Mixed in and peaking from rough rock were more spires and towers as the castle pushed and melded into the walls of the cave. Balconies and walkways draped across the cavern, leading to places and rooms Wyn had never seen. It was a massive structure in the process of restoration.
Two more guards in similar attire loomed at the entrance, pulling to attention as Wyn and the first guard approached.
Where two of the guards were vypnyr, Wyn found the third to be fae. It was rare for the fae to live outside of a court. Most that did were the exiled. Criminals who had been punished with disownment.
There was something wicked about her appearance. Molten chartreuse skin, blood orange hair, and cat shaped citrine eyes reminded Wyn of some toxic tropical plant, smelling sickly sweet and tasting nectary. She was not as large as the vypnyr but by fae standards she was quite tall and well muscled. A jagged scar that ran across her lips and over her jaw cut quite the imposing figure.
"Good evening, Lupin." She gave the first greeting, her smile a cocky smirk.
"Simone." Lupin, the vypnyr guard accompanying Wyn, sighed. It was the greeting of a man who knew Simone on a personal level.
"Are you ready for another round at the training grounds tonight?" The fae playfully elbowed the larger vypnyr in the stomach.
He let out an oof as he did his best to shove his body to the side and evade some of her force. "Relax." His tone was low and held a little irritation.
The fae only laughed, her pointed ears tilting back. "You're never going to beat me with that attitude."
Lupin rolled his eyes. "Escort our guest to the fae prince."
Simone bobbed her head, "Of course, of course. But don't think I ain't dragging you into that pit the moment I return."
"Ugh, fine." Lupin conceded, waving his fingers, shooing her along.
Simone turned to Wyn, eyes raking up and down his body. "I forget how pretty you imperial high fae are."
Wyn nodded. He had heard before that the general consensus was that imperial high fae did have an extra sort of charm to them. "A very kind compliment."
Simone took note of his blades next, two swords that crossed over his back. "But it appears you're not only some pampered pretty aristocrat. Do you know how to use those swords?"
Lieutenant Lupin growled at the formal tone she had taken which earned him a dramatic eye roll.
Wyn maintained his leveled composure, hands neatly tucked behind his back. "I have been told that I am quite skilled with them."
"So modest for a fae." She commented as she turned and gestured for him to follow her. Lupin grumbled about her manners again and something about how their behavior reflected the authority of the Palov family. She continued to ignore him, in a very mischievous fae fashion. "If you find the time perhaps we could spar later."
Based on how she had taunted Lupin it was obvious that Simone had an admiration for fighting. Many fae enjoyed combat sports and battle, places to take part in some of their more violent tendencies.
"If there is time, I shall take you up on your offer." It would be interesting to see how one of the Palov guards held up against a swordsman of the imperial court. Yuen would also be curious to know of the twins' progress and capabilities.
"Perfect. I'll put your pretty little self to the test." Simone reminded Wyn of the mouthy assassin his highness had trapped. In both attitude and manner.
"Are you from the eastern courts?," asked Wyn.
"Originally, yes." Simone smirked as she led him through the pillars of the veranda towards thick doors set in a large archway. "Exiled some years ago. "
It was as Wyn had expected.
The door pulled back at their approach, opening to a large hall filled with scaffolding. Currently a small army of workers were set on polishing the innermost walls smooth and glossy. More renovations took place nearby on archways that led to other areas. Craftsmen with chisels, casts, and plasters refurbished ancient carvings. Much of the castle had been carved directly into the cave.
They quickly came and left the chatter and tinkering in the main entry and filed into a long hallway where deep navy curtains hung in doorways that led to another mossy courtyard. A few more turns produced a set of double doors flanked by fig trees, old and thriving in massive red pots.
Simone knocked on the door with the back of her knuckles. Indistinguishable conversation accompanied by faint giggles could be heard and then an "enter" sounded from inside.She pushed open the doors, stepping aside to reveal a large bathhouse.