Giant stalagmites, a mix of stone and crystals, reached up to the ceiling in the vast open chasm before them. The stalactites were nearly as enormous as they reached down from the ceiling, some reaching down into the areas between the stalagmites.
Around the rocky formations, wooden buildings rested on stone platforms that ran from the top of the rocky pillars down to the base, and Each platform had stone pillars that supported the platform above. The buildings were built in a circular pattern expanding out from the center of the platform. Bridges connected the platforms between each stalagmite to a stalactite that, in turn, connected to other stalagmites around it.
The few stalactites that reached the lower city had structures built inside them, forming a path to the platforms and buildings constructed throughout the rocky formation at the top of the cavern. In total, four stalactites were connected by bridges to a large crystal pillar that sat in the middle of the entire city. Each stalactite was connected to three stalagmites, forming four distinct sections of the city that each radiated a different color. The closest to them was the section of the city coated in a red mist, presumably the SteelBloods. To the right was blue, and to the left, green. On the far side was a dim black intermixed with purple.
Back to the central pillar connecting it all. This pillar seemed to hold the same purpose as the Steel Bloods pillar, radiating a pulsing light that filled the cavern. However, Unlike the Steels Bloods pillar, The composition of the pillar seemed to be different, being made up of a transparent crystal that took on the color of the light within. And it wasn’t only one light but a multitude confined within the glowing crystal. By far, the most dominant lights in the pillar were red and green, immediately followed by the light blue color. Last of all was the black intermixed with purple.
Everywhere that Eliza looked, there were Demons. From goblinoids reminiscent of Trelzahar and the Beast-men to imps to reptilians covered in plants and translucent ghostlike creatures. And too many other varieties to describe in such a short time. They all went about their individual businesses, forming what looked no different from a typical city.
“Why’s everyone stopped?” Leo asked, looking back at the group.
“Sorry, Iyanu is a lot… grander than expected,” Demitrus responded, looking away from the city at Leo.
“And, at least appearance-wise, more civilized than expected,” Eliza added.
Isradine audibly huffed, ”How insulting. Just because we're Demons doesn’t mean that civility is beyond us. An integral part of our society is our integrity in honoring the contracts we make and our word.” She said, before a tone of disgust came into her voice, “If you want to see true incivility, go spend some time with the Oath-Breakers or the Unsworn, they can show you what barbarism truly means.”
“Will we come across any in the city?” Leah asked.
“If you do, then it's a major problem. Because of their actions, both groups are considered kill on sight by most Demons in the city. And since they either didn’t make the contract not to fight or have broken their contract, they’ve become a target for every Demon in the city. To answer your question, No, you will not find one.”
Leo scoffed, “Because someone broke their word, they’re now liable to be hunted down in the streets by a mob? Some civility you have there.”
“You say that, but you do not understand the threat a Demon who does not honor their word poses to the rest of us—consequences of breaking our contracts aside. Iyanu exists as it does today because of a mutual agreement among all the clans to create a space where we don’t kill each other. As a result, any who upset that are killed or forced into exile amongst others like them.
“Becoming a social outcast is a far cry from being murdered,” Leo growled.
Eliza looked away, swallowing back a lump that formed in her throat, her chest felt tight, and it was getting hard to breathe.
“Guys, stop it. We shouldn’t be fighting right now,” Leah said, looking at Eliza in concern.
Isradine ignored her and continued, “I don’t know about that. It seems that it’s nothing more than a more prolonged and painful death.”
Eliza clenched her fist; she didn’t want to hear anymore. She walked in between them, cutting the conversation short, and said, “Both of you are right, Being condemned to death because of a mob isn’t civil, and it's…maybe it would be preferable just to die and get it over with rather than to struggle on as an exile from your own people.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, “But arguing over this won’t get us anywhere. Let's get going.”
Both fell silent as it dawned on them how much the situation matched Eliza and her parent’s situation.
“Sorry, Eliza, I didn’t mean to-,” Leo began to say.
“Let's just drop it,” Eliza said, holding a hand to cut him off, “Where do we need to go, Isradine?”
Isradine was silent for a few more moments before responding, “We need to follow the path until we reach the Main gate,” She said, before addressing the whole group, “If you haven’t put on your masks and hoods yet, I would recommend that you do so now.”
She turned towards Demitrus, “Demitrus, I know that you can cast illusion spells, and I want you to cover everyone in a small illusion using the magic you now have. At the very least, it’ll give them the impression that we’re all shadow demons if they look too closely.”
“Very well. Any defining small characteristics I should give everyone? My only reference point is Eliza’s legs and what I can glean from your miniature shadowy form.” He said, stretching out his arms with a gleam of excitement in his eyes that, Eliza noticed, now had a distinct violet hue. Both colors had combined so that his blue iris were speckled with purple. Isradine said something in response to his question, but Eliza didn’t process it.
“...I see. I’ll do that then,” Demitrus said, smiling before he walked towards Leah and began to cast a spell.
Eliza blinked, and it dawned on her that she had been so focused on his eyes that she hadn’t heard Isradines answer to the question. She shook her head vigorously, trying to purge the thoughts from her mind. What was up with her? She didn’t have time to get caught up in something as frivolous as someone's eye color. Was this another symptom of her enhanced desires? If that was the case, that could only mean she was unconsciously developing an int-” She immediately squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the train of thought to stop before pinching the bridge of her nose. Now wasn’t the time for thoughts like those. She had too much to do to let herself get distracted by something like that.
“Did I miss something?” Demitrus’s voice came from nearby. In fact, it was so close that he may as well have been-. Eliza opened her eyes in shock to see Demitrus’s smiling face a few inches from hers. Eliza gasped and stumbled back a couple of steps.
She glowered at him. “Don’t do that!” she snarled, heart pounding in her chest.
“What? Walk up to you? Why can’t I do that?” He asked, innocently tilting his head and widening his smile to showcase his teeth that looked well taken care of.
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Eliza looked away, “Enough. What do you want?”
“...To cast an Illusion, have you not been paying attention for the last bit?” He asked,
“I’ve been lost in thought… dealing with emotions that are getting in the way.” She said, doing her best not to look into his eyes.
“I see. Their conversation affected you that much?” he asked understandingly.
Eliza was confused for a moment before she realized that he was referring to the conversation between Isradine and Leo, “That’s one way of looking at it,” Eliza said, not correcting him.
He gently placed a hand on her head, causing Eliza to stiffen in shock. She went to push his hand away but froze when she heard him chant a word in a language she didn’t know. She felt a familiar wave of magic flow over her a moment later. It was similar to the feeling she had gotten back when he had cast the spell in the Administrative building's office. Only this time, it was different. She could feel that the illusion spell had been altered by the same magic within Eliza, and instead of chilly, it felt… soothing. Enough so that Eliza felt her body begin to inadvertently relax as the magic passed through it.
Demitrus lightly patted her on the head once the spell was done, “Don’t worry. We’ll make your uncle regret doing what he did to your family. Know that you're not alone in this.” He said comfortingly before taking his hand away. He left her and headed towards Leo.
She watched him go, lightly touching where his hand had been a moment before. She sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a problem. Her only hope was that it would fade once her transformation was over. It was just another reason onto the list for her to hold on until then.
Once Demitrus was finished, Isradine spoke up one last time. “ Now that you’re ready, It's probably best that we hide that I’ve escaped. The guards can’t do anything to you since this is your first trip to Iyanu, but that isn’t the case for me. With that in mind, if they prevent you from entering, say that you are part of the Shadow Weaver clan and remind them that you’re allowed safe entry so long as you make the Oath. Once inside, head to the south section of the city. I’ll try to help you if I can, but you guys will mostly be on your own until we reach other Shadow Weaver clan members. Is that all understood?” she asked.
When everyone acknowledged that they did, Isradines small form dispersed and disappeared into Eliza. The group then set off towards Iyanu.
***
To reach Iyanu, the group first crossed a small plateau. Soon they neared a stone arch on the chasm's edge. Beyond it was a stone bridge that reached up towards the nearest stalagmite coated in red.
A couple of Demons were guarding the archway when they approached, one a heavily armored beast-man, who stood in front of the arch, and the other a type of demon, perched on top of the arch. Though she had never seen one before, she had a pretty good idea what it was, an Iyago.
The Beastman held a black halberd with the Steel Blood standard of red lines running through it, likewise for his full bodysuit of armor. He had a helmet made to fit his bullhead, with sharp horns jutting out of the sides of it. Red eyes pierced through the darkness in the slits, watching them approach.
As for the Iyago, It had the appearance of a griffin, a creature typically seen in one of the nations in the northeast. Knowing what she now knew about the nature of Demonic magic, it or its ancestors may very well have been griffins at one point. However, embedded amongst the feathers of its wings were smaller feathers made up of hard luminescent blue crystals. Likewise, its snow-white fur had crystals sprinkled throughout. It idly flapped its wings a couple of times, causing little ice crystals to dislodge and drift through the air. Its light blue claws were lazily draped over the side of the arch as it watched them approach.
She had heard stories of them from soldiers stationed in the far north of the Empire. Supposedly if enough of the Iyago got together, they could easily cause a blizzard or ice storm with their ice-based magic.
As they neared the arch, the ice crystals floated down onto the Beastman, “Can you not?” He growled at the Iyanu
“What? I’m simply alerting you to the fact that we have visitors.” the Iyago said while inspecting the nails of his left claw.
“I noticed,” the Beastman said unamused before adding, “I probably saw them long before you woke up from the third nap you’ve taken this afternoon alone.” He growled as the group came to a stop in front of them.
The Beast-man hefted his weapon and angled it in front of the archway. “Halt, state your business,” he growled in a threatening guttural voice.
“To enter the city?” Demitrus asked as if it was apparent in a low and rough voice, almost mimicking how several Demons had sounded up until now.
“Entry is not permitted to Demons not affiliated with one of the four clans. What Clan do you hail from?” The Iyago asked, slightly flexing its wings and looking down at them. A light mist once again dislodged itself from its feathers, a gently wafted down, peppering the Beast-man and eliciting another annoyed growl from him. Some of the mist wafted over to the group, and it could only be described as cold.
“Shadow Weaver clan,” Eliza answered.
“The bull crap that my housemate spews every night reeks less of deceit than that.” The bullheaded Beast-man snarled, “If you're coming from the Shadow Weaver clan, why would you come from the Steel Blood clan’s land? You were foolish to come here. The safety of the neutral zone doesn’t include the likes of you.” He growled and lifted his heavy halberd to attack.
‘Hold.” the Iyago said, “We must follow the prescribed procedure for a matter like this.”
“What need is there? We received a report that suspicious individuals would try to come this way, and they’re very obviously suspicious.” He growled, glaring up at the Iyago.
“Circumstantial evidence. What if they are who they say they are? Are you prepared to face the consequences of killing them?” It replied calmly, meeting the Beast-man’s gaze with its icy blue eyes.
The two stood in a stare-off for a couple of moments. Finally, the Beast-man broke it off and spat into the ground, “Typical of a Frost Dancer. Do you think I don’t know what’s going on here? Even after the Shadow Weaver’s decline all those years ago, both your clans still cling together like the parasites you are. It’s time for you to recognize that they aren’t coming back and get with the program like the Bestial Fabricators.”
“The Bestial Fabricators are too busy playing with their pets to care about the feud between our clans, but more importantly, we’ve left our potential guests standing too long. Let’s get back to the matter at claw.” The Iyago said, turning to look at the group. “I’m sorry to ask this of you when shadow mana is scarce, but you need to use your clan's magic to prove that you’re who you say you are.”
Eliza looked back at the rest of the group, concerned, she and Demitrus would be fine, but what about Leah and Leo? She met their eyes, and she could tell that they were thinking the same thing.
Turning back around, Eliza looked up at the Iyago, “As you said, our magic is scarce. Would it be alright if one of us demonstrated and then vouched for the others?”
The Iyago tilted its head, pondering her request before saying, “I’ll allo-”
“Hold up,” The Beast-man interrupted, “One of them using Shadow clan magic won’t be enough, the rest of them could be Unsworn, and the Shadow weaver clan may be trying to smuggle them in. Or is that within ‘standard procedure?’” He growled.
“You dare accuse us of such a thing?” Demitrus snarled. Eliza jumped, shocked by his sudden outburst. “Your thoughtless claims dishonor our clan and us.” Demitrus finished with a glare.
The Beast-man snorted, “Honor? What honor does the Shadow Weaver clan have left? It is only a former husk of what it once was.”
“Enough, both of you,” The Iyago interjected. It looked down at Demitrus sternly, “especially you, young one. It is good that you have pride in your clan, but do not let your anger jeopardize your journey when it's barely begun.”
Demitrus slightly lowered his head towards the Iyago, giving off the impression of being abashed, ”Forgive me for my outburst. I simply couldn’t let his insults slide without saying something. If I may make a suggestion, since only one of us demonstrating our clan's magic according to protocol, would two suffice?”
The Iyago’s gaze softened, seemingly pleased by Demitrus’s display. “It would.” it said before cutting off any protest from the Beast-man with a glare, “The Shadow Weaver clan has sworn the same things as the rest of our clans, and I see no reason for them to risk breaking their oath. If these individuals prove that they’re from the Shadow Weaver clan, they will be allowed into the city after they make the Oath.”
The Beast-man met the Iyago’s glare, and after a few moments, he said, “Very well, but I will report their entrance to the guard, and if they do end up causing trouble, both the Shadow Weaver clan and you will be held accountable. Knowing the risk, do you still wish to proceed? ”
“That’s fine.” The Iyago said, before looking and Demitrus as Eliza, “Alright, you two, your demonstrations, please.”
Demitrus raised a hand that, due to his illusion magic, looked like a claw. A moment later, dark shadows began to dance betwixt his fingers. Then the shadows slowly floated up into the air and began interweaving in a circular pattern. Demitrus closed his hand, and the shadows dispersed into thin air.
“What remarkable control for one so young.” The Iyago said, watching the shadows fade away, before turning to look at Eliza, “It is now your turn, young one.”
Eliza took a deep breath and reached for the magic within herself. She drew it out and raised a similarly clawed hand, and let the magic manifest itself above her open hand. Only, it didn’t do quite what she told it to. She tried to copy Demitrus, but instead of thin interweaving shadows in the air, the shadows wound through and around her fingers before tightening, preventing her from moving her fingers. Unbidden, a purple color began to gleam inside the shadows.
“Pull it back! Quickly!” Isradine urgently whispered to Eliza.
Immediately Eliza called back the mana, but it resisted the order. Furrowing her brows, Eliza mentally grabbed ahold of the mass and forced it apart. It continued to fight but finally dispersed after a moment.
Anxiety churning in her gut, she glanced toward the two guards. The Beast-man silently stared at her through the slits in his armor.
“Oh? How interesting,” the Iyago said, “While your control may be lacking, your magic is much denser than his. You both have a lot of potential that your clan needs in a time like this.”
“You flatter us,” Eliza said, light bowing her head to the Iyago.
“I merely stated my observations. Take it as you will.” The Iyago tilted its head down at her.