The answer to that question was an obvious one. They didn’t know. It had occurred during the Forgotten Era. Historians believed that it was from a monster, others believed that the crater had been formed by a cataclysmic explosion of human making.
It was yet another mystery waiting to be discovered. Levi lost himself in thought as he was led through the streets of Raven’s Pit. Their destination was actually in the pit itself, and, thankfully, they didn’t have to descend the long rusted metal staircase all the way down. There was an elevator. Stepping onto it, Levi had to retain his balance. It was old and rickety and downright terrifying.
Back to his thoughts, Levi couldn’t help but wonder about the mysteries of this place. How cool would it be if he was the one to discover what had happened to this world? But he shot down that thought in the next instant. If, after hundreds of years they had still yet to uncover the truth of the world, what hopes did he have?
However, he didn’t lose hope. He was interested in the history of this world, and the places it had. Was this world all explored like Earth was? Levi wanted to uncover them all, if not just to satiate his growing curiosity.
The elevator jolted to a stop, and they all got out the rickety, rusted deathtrap. What was revealed was a dark and dingy town that was filled with filth and grime. The buildings down in the pit were made of sheet metal and whatever scrap they managed to scrounge from the surface.
Every street was lined with food stalls, their enticing aromas of fried meat filling the air. Barrels of fire drew clusters of people, while men and women adorned in makeup cast flirtatious glances at passersby, inviting them to linger–or to stay.
Sera steered Levi’s shoulders so that he didn’t see that part. He looked up at her, and said, with confusion marrying his face, “What are we doing down here?”
“Business,” Greggory explained. “Anyone that knows anything, knows that all the business is down in the worst areas you can imagine. We are going to one of them. We caught quite a nice haul in the Krag this time thanks to the Trove.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to sell them at the Imperial City instead?” Levi asked. “I… can’t imagine you’d fetch a better price here, of all places.”
“Aye, and no,” Greggory chuckled. “You see, some masters of the Sway rarely move from their pit. Travelling to the Imperial City is a long, and arduous process. Even for those with Travel Sways. Because of that, depending on the ingredients presented, they will pay a premium price for it since they don’t have to travel. Especially for a town on the other side of the country”
“I see,” Levi said while narrowly avoiding a pool of murky water at his feet.
“Don’t worry, we ain’t sleeping here,” Greggory said. “Couldn’t have the lady resting in a place such as this, can we?”
“I’ve slept in worse,” Sera quickly replied. “There was that time you made us sleep in a moles den for 3 days.”
“Yeah, well we were being hunted by bloodthirsty horror claws.”
Rounding a street corner, a man in red and white robes stood atop a crate. A small crowd of no more than ten men and women, both young and old, gathered, listening intently.
"Brothers and sisters," boomed the preacher, his voice echoing through the drab streets. "Join our sacred Church of the Luminous Path and receive the divine Ingredients towards the path of light. Serve the God of Light, and he will serve you in kind. Each step you take with us brings you closer to enlightenment and eternal peace. Imagine a life where darkness holds no sway, where every soul finds its true purpose."
A murmur of excitement spread through the crowd.
"With faith, you'll be rewarded the Ingredients to bring you on the path of ascendancy. These gifts illuminate your journey and shield you from the shadows. Embrace this path, and let your spirit soar! Come, join us!"
“What’s happening?” Levi asked, whispering in fear the preacher heard him.
“Churches,” Bram said in a low voice, “are everywhere in Ubez, Levi.”
“And they hold a lot of power,” Gregory added. “The bigger the town, the more churches there are. Here, only the Church of Light, and the Sea Storm Church resides.”
“Let me guess,” Levi said, “The Church of Light focuses its power on ‘light’. Whereas the Sea Storm Church holds the power of water?”
“Aye,” Greggory said. “You’ll often see more of the Sea Storm Churches around bodies of water. Especially ports.”
“So, who do they worship?” Levi asked.
“Well, who did you worship?”
Upon hearing Greggory’s question, Levi tensed for a second. He delved into his thoughts, straining, until the information unfolded in front of him.
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“Borok,” Levi said after a moment, “of the Church of the Stoneshapers.”
“Right,” Gregory said. “The Sea Storm Church worships the man that reached the peak: Lord Waverly. He reached the 9nth tier, ascending to god-hood.”
“That’s a thing?” Levi said, shocked. Although not really. He knew of gods, but the ‘how’, was new to him. He just had to reach the 9nth tier to obtain godhood? Holy shit, he couldn’t wait.
“I see that look of fire in your eyes, lad,” Gregory said. “If everyone could reach the 9th tier, the world wouldn’t be as you know it. The only known ones to reach godhood are the leaders of the church–of which have long passed.” He pointed to the sky. “Died. Ascended. Gone to another world, who knows? We’re just mortals, at the end of the day.
“So none of them remain?” Levi asked.
“If they did,” Sera said. “They’ve done a good job at hiding all these years. From what I know, the highest tier within the church is the pope, who are all at tier 7. There are rumours that the Imperial king is at Tier 8, but no one truly knows.”
“Interesting,” Levi said. “And people join them?”
“For most of the population,” Bram said as he shifted the weight of the bag on his back, “there are few ways to obtain Ingredients worth digesting. Look around, Levi.”
Levi followed Bram’s words, glancing all around, his head on a swivel. There was nothing. Scrap metal, pools of black and brown water that he really didn’t wish to know what was within, and that was about it. It was obvious that perhaps the only way to obtain Ingredients of any worth was to somehow save up for a lifetime. Or they could just join the military, police, or churches.
Bram’s next words made it obvious that that was true. He explained that if one was born poor, without status, it was the only route to power. And because of that, they were controlled by forces barely within their realm of understanding.
As a payment of power, the churches would assign missions to their followers. If they refused, they were shackled. Sera didn’t go into detail, but Levi doubted they ever saw the light of day again. Very fitting considering in front of him was a missionary of the Church of Light.
It was a grim reminder that Levi, despite his dangerous beginnings, had come out of it lucky; with power and connections.
Rounding a corner, Gregory almost ran into a young man with a peaked cap, and a scar running down the side of his face.
“Boss–” He began to say, but stopped the next moment in horror. He bowed his head. “My apologies. I thought you were someone else.”
“Ah, it’s alright lad,” Gregory said, chuckling. “I often get mistaken by celebrities with this face of mine.”
The young man nodded, and quickly darted into a nearby dark passage.
Levi stared at Gregory for a second, before returning his vision back to the streets, in fear that someone would suddenly leap out at him from the darkness. The vibe this place gave off wasn’t exactly a wholesome one, after all.
As they continued down the streets, Levi kept on thinking about the run in with that young man. How did he mistake Gregory with someone else? Levi hated to admit it, but the detective was tall, handsome, and because of his Sway, had striking blue eyes that seemed to know everything.
Levi couldn’t imagine many people bearing a resemblance to him. Maybe it was just a mistake? Levi thought, but he doubted it. His intuition told him that the young man knew something Levi didn’t, and perhaps, not even Bram, nor Sera, knew of.
They arrived at a surprisingly luxurious shop within what Levi could only describe as the slums. It was named The Pit’s Ingredient Den. There was red carpet, and a wild and vast range of Ingredients housed behind boxes of glass.
The way the trading den worked, Levi discovered, was that the masters of Sway would hand in a ticket to the Ingredients shop with the listed Ingredients they wanted. Alongside that, was the payment. If Greggory demanded more money–which he did–then the trading house would foot the bill, and charge the Sway master upon pick-up.
In total, Greggory sold three of the Ingredients they had obtained during their travels. It was considered a good haul. Usually, they were lucky if there was an order placed for just one Ingredient.
Leaving in high spirits, Gregory, and the rest of them, returned back to the elevator. As they passed through the streets, Levi noticed a few unsavoury characters stalking in alleys, shrouded by the shadows. Levi’s hands twitched, his heart beating faster.
He found his instinct kicking in, forged from the battles he had experienced within Beron. His head twitched.
“Be calm, Levi,” Sera said, whispering into his ear, hand gently resting on his shoulder. “They won’t touch us. The bands on our arm–everyone–no matter where they are from, recognise its threat.”
Levi took a deep calming breath, and nodded. The red band across the adult trios arms were of an eye and two swords intercrossed behind it. The red and the two swords signified the Imperial Cities military corp. While the eye meant that they were detectives. And no one dared to lay a finger on the emperor's forces.
Returning to the surface, Levi heard a monstrous beast arriving. Only, it wasn’t a four legged, fur covered creature, rather, it was metallic and riddled with gears and smoke.
“Come,” Gregory said, excited, “we’ll get to see the train coming in.”
They forced their way through the crowd of people, to the station that was located up an enormous hill. It took 20 minutes just to reach the top.
Arriving, it was just as Gregory had said, guards were everywhere, all holding their weapons ready for anything to kick off. Piles of boxes and crates and packages all lay stacked underneath a crane to the side, ready to be loaded onto the train.
Of course, there was no actual train, but appearing beyond the enormous gates, a trail of billowing smoke heralded its arrival. Levi felt the thrum of thunder underfoot, heard the screeching approach of the metallic monster, and saw the Rail Slayers tethered to its roof.
Blood, guts, and bone splattered the front of the train, which was shaped like a spear. The elite troops on the roof were covered in wounds and blotches of red, their faces serious and cold.
Like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, the ground rumbled as the train crawled to a stop. Once it halted, a blast of steam erupted from the train, releasing a booming sizzle that echoed throughout the entire town. The locomotive, with its sharp edges, was a truly terrifying monstrosity that evoked a sense of smallness, much like the towering walls.
Sera bowed her head, mumbling a silent prayer, as did Gregory and Bram. They weren't alone; everyone around the station followed suit in solemn invocation.
What was going on? Levi wondered, his memories offering no clues.