The world was too vast. Occupied by giants who lived in housing that could barely fit them. The walls of Liofeld were all-encompassing. Royce had never seen past them. The city was already far larger than he could imagine. He would turn into a shriveled old man before he would be able to explore it all.

  So how much more was past the barrier? Countless Drajin traveled through the gates, and he would hear many different tales. Emerii came from that world beyond. Arty would venture out occasionally.

  Would he ever be granted that grace? By his father? Or by God?

  Those questions did not matter. He was young, spry, and more importantly, in the middle of a game. Hunting his two friends, who were escaping into the city proper. Royce was the hunter this time, and they were the rogues. If he lost their trail, they would soon show themselves to antagonize him.

  He had been warned to be careful in the city, but this was his home. Nothing could lurk between the alleys or in the shadows that could hurt him or his friends.

  Besides, if they stayed out too late, the adults would join in. While that was guaranteed to see them punished, it also came with its own thrills. At least, that was what Emerii and Arty always said when they would drag him into trouble.

  This time, he would pay them back, twice, no, three times! An overwhelming victory! Just as he thought it, from behind a stand displaying vegetables, Emerii’s small form appeared. One hand stretched her eyelid down as she stuck her tongue out. As soon as she did, she began running.

  “Get back here!” Royce yelled as he gave chase.

  The adults who witnessed the exchange chuckled whimsically.

  A city that was a world in itself. People who could do no wrong, though he knew they existed, somewhere beyond his vision. Still too young to understand the cruelty of the world or his father.

  Every day was filled with play and fun; studying was a far thought. Training was a mythical venture. When had his friends become so? The simple answer was that they always were, and would be forever. Nothing would change in the walls, even as they grew.

  Even as they approached their teenage years, they would rail against the darkness that lurked; Royce would battle against the demands of the world, where they would only wish to play and be joyful.

  Yes, he thought of those childhood times happily. Though everything did shift, eventually. Not gradually, but suddenly, with a force that would always give him resolve. He was still a child when it occurred, and after. But mentally, no longer.

  It had been spring, just like it was now. Adolescence was only a stone’s throw away. Royce and Arty would soon be eleven, and Emerii thirteen. Still, they were children, and while they held the hope of the future, they still protested against some of the more compromising responsibilities.

  All three of them had begun practicing the sword intensely, under supervision from his father, the Lord Captain. A welling feeling had been building since he was young, and being forced under his father’s thumb further had seen that rebellious emotion flourish. A deep hate, as Emerii and Arty were never treated as harshly as he was.

  It was expected that all three would join the Welkia Royal Guard once they were older, though Lady Idwyn had been contesting the idea that the Promised One would be subjected to that future.

  The day had been particularly horrendous, and so the three had escaped into the city to play their favorite game. Royce had baited the two searching for them perfectly, making those two Royal Guard the hunters.

  “We gave them the slip,” Arty said with a chuckle.

  “Perhaps we should return to the castle,” Royce responded.

  Emerii slipped her arm over his shoulder and began roughly rubbing his head. “This is practice and exercise in its own way. Our arms are sore from swinging the practice swords anyway. It is time to wear our feet out.”

  Royce smiled trepidatiously as he was pulled along by the two troublemakers. Though it was an innocent type of mischief.

  “There they are!” A man called. Tomer, a member of the Welkia Royal Guard. On this day he was selected as the babysitter of the next generation.

  While he was faster and had more endurance, he did not stand a chance against them. As they ran, they cut through openings in buildings that only children could fit through. Slipped between walls that prevented the glutinous gut of an adult’s passage.

  The trio cheered happily.

  From the skies of the tall Liofeld rafters, another hunter sought the rogues. Jumping from on high, Wila aimed to cut off their escape route.

  “The adventure ends here,” She proclaimed.

  The only way forward was to travel the stone steps that led to a section of wall that defended Liofeld. While they might only be given a minor reprimand for still playing and avoiding their training, becoming a nuisance on the wall was strictly forbidden. It would see them in boiling water.

  Royce resigned himself to capture. Arty grabbed his hand and dragged him away, following Emerii up to the stairs to the wall.

  “Wait!” Wila begged. “Don’t get in the soldiers’ way!”

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  “We won’t!” Arty joyfully called back.

  Royce ran across the wall. Each step was a breath of freedom. The sun cascaded over the land, and the view he was so rarely privy to engulfed his heart. The two Royal Guards chased after them, though, they too, were merrily laughing along with them.

  It was only briefly, then they took a detour down another flight of stairs into an area rife with taverns. Though there was not as much hustle and bustle as they had expected. Despite their efforts, they were caught.

  Tomer picked Arty up, who couldn’t help but giggle. Wila sought Emerii, but despite being at such a young age, she stood resolute. There was a strange glint in Wila’s eyes, but it was not unusual.

  “We actually surrender this time,” Royce said.

  Wila wilted and nodded.

  Emerii sighed. “If we really wanted to have escaped, we could have. But it is getting late. We’ll let you have the victory this time.”

  Tomer chuckled while he and Arty roughhoused. “Well, thank you very much, lass. Let’s get you all back to the castle.”

  “But there’s still so much more to explore,” Arty pouted.

  “Don’t you think you’ve seen everything? You lot have lived your whole lives here.”

  Wila smiled menacingly. “Perhaps they have not seen the underground.”

  All the children looked to her curiously.

  “Old sunken buildings from long ago. Caused by the Drajin constantly building on the old. Not as vast as our city, but a maze lying underneath.”

  Tomer scowled. “Do not give them any ideas. That place is not only a maze, but it is structurally unstable and not worth exploring. Maybe if they liked musky old tombs, but most who attempt to explore it discover their own grave.”

  Wila shrugged, and the trio laughed.

  Without any struggle, they all headed home. Moments like these were the brightness in Royce’s life. It did not matter if it was not Wila or Tomer playing with them. Countless other adults and Royal Guards joined in. Too many to remember the names of all, though their presence was still felt.

  Perhaps he would have forgotten their names as well. The two who appeared to be as kind and friendly as any other Drajin in his life. No, he would remember their names. Forevermore, engraved on his soul.

  “So we’re in agreement, then?” Emerii asked.

  Royce sighed. “I don’t think there’s a reason to find what she was talking about. It is not as if a place like that was a mystery to us. You just want to find it because they mentioned it.”

  She slugged his arm. Hard.

  As he rubbed his new wound, he continued, “I heard it’s unstable down there. Also, unsavory characters might make it their home. I’m worried about our safety.”

  Arty’s eyes, as pure and unyielding as ever, stared forward. “Few patrols go down there. It is our duty to make sure no evil is being committed in our city.”

  Emerii snickered. “You just want a new secret base.”

  Abashed, Arty turned away. “That is only if there are no villains hiding there.”

  “I’ll admit, there is some danger,” She said. “Other kids have been going missing lately. I think that is why everyone is stricter than usual.”

  “If Arty’s aunt were here, we would be even more restricted,” Royce laughed.

  Arty kicked his feet. “I wish she were.”

  Royce and Emerii’s eyes met, then they both slapped their chosen friend on the back.

  “No time to sulk. Onward!” Emerii roared.

  Royce’s shoulders sank.

  Arty dragged him along as he said, “After this, we’ll succeed in getting you on the outside of the wall, Royce!”

  The trio rushed into the city as they always would. They had picked a day they would be permitted to play, despite their schedules growing more rigid. This made sure they would not be chased as they scouted out their new secret base.

  The only major difficulty was discovering an entrance to such an area. That had taken some days. Rumors abounded that there was a secret torture dungeon below. At one point, they had found an entrance guarded by soldiers. There would be no slipping past them.

  It had not taken long for them to lose heart, but still they searched. Supposedly, there should be many such entrances to the buried buildings of old. Just as they had given up on finding the place filled with legends and history, a local old man told them that his basement connected to one such passage.

  That had been the lead they had been searching for. It did not take long to use Arty’s charisma to allow them to use the old man’s basement, though he did warn them to be careful.

  A tight tunnel of compressed stone led them downwards. Far too small for an adult, and even then, the three of them could barely fit. Then, a steep drop. Taking the plunge, they were met by more narrow passages.

  A darkness that told of no light reaching it in decades welcomed them. Their meager sources of light did little to pierce the veil. Royce marked their path. It would be bad to be lost down in these ruins.

  Occasionally, they would come to more open areas of old rooms and buildings stacked atop one another. There was no loot, as the old owners or thieves had claimed everything. Still, this was an old Liofeld, an unknown yet familiar new face to their home.

  Royce had been disappointed. He had expected something far grander, like a city beneath a city. This was not even interesting like the old catacombs that also resided under the city in a different section. This was ruins, simple as that. Any history or artifacts were stripped away. Would their lives also end buried like this?

  It was quite possible to get lost and die down here. Especially in the case of children. Perhaps some unstable parts had fallen through, creating more openings. That could explain the missing children. Then the parts would fall through again, erasing the entrance.

  Would they find corpses down here? He sincerely wished they did not.

  A voice echoed through the tunnels. The trio froze. Emerii sank into a crouch. From the look on her face, she was attempting to summon her deity. She had been the best at it. Arty was doing well for his age as well, but Royce had managed nothing of note.

  Confusion contorted her features.

  “Let’s follow the sound and see what’s ahead,” Arty whispered.

  They nodded in agreement, then began to sneak forward.

  What they saw was horrific. No, to this day, a word did not fit what they saw.

  Armed thugs were leading some people through a designated tunnel. Some were children, but mostly it was a group of various ages in chains. Suddenly, the reality of the missing people came to light. Children’s disappearances were more noticed. Those older in the train had likely been written off as simply leaving the city and abandoning old lives.

  “Trafficking, in our city,” Emerii whimpered.

  The area was wider than where they had come from. It was more than just the trafficking. Slaves were a regularity in this world. Even Liofeld had them. But these were people not claimed in war or born into it. No, these people were suddenly subjected to an uncertain future under the nose of their new masters.

  Royce had never agreed with slavery, but now the true insidiousness touched his young brain. But even that was nothing compared to the betrayal.

  In plain view, Wila was there. A makeshift curtain, leading a child behind it.

  Some cries could be heard, echoing through the tunnels. Emerii paled. Whatever she had seen with her deity had been untranslatable. Royce’s imagination spun, cruelty and debauchery that seared his heart.

  He hoped the unimaginable torment would end.

  Tomer looked disgusted at his companion’s actions, but with a new pouch of gold given by a thug, he shrugged and counted it with a dreadful gleam in his eyes.

  Emerii began panting. Royce realized he was as well. They would have to quiet down, or they would be found out.

  Then, he noticed Arty. His face wide with surprise, terror. But slowly, his features shifted. Determination, hardened resolve. It was the white-hot fury of a golden grizzly.