The breathy bass of a large bamboo flute rang throughout the room. Then, above it danced the light sound of a violin. Life and melody entered the musical piece. Thus, the beautiful, simple music turned, anchored by the firm sound of the bass.

After several minutes of enjoyment, the piece ended, and Sawo looked back up from his music sheet. Next to him, his cousin Tawo also stopped his play and put down the flute. At the same time, their wives sitting in the front row began to clap, together with the rest of their family members.

On the lap of Sawo’s wive sat their little daughter. Her mother helped her with the clapping since she was still little, but from her expression she seemed to be having fun with it either way

“Thank you, thank you,” Sawo said as he half-bowed to the audience, a half-joking smile on his face.

“So, who is next?” Tawo asked as he walked back into the crowd. At the same time, his own wife handed him a glass of cognac. In the warm atmosphere of the room, everything felt cozy and warm. After years of searching for meaning, of rushing for an ambitious goal far away in the future, Sawo felt secure for the first time in his life.

With a drink of his own in his hand, a strong coffee liqueur, he watched his family members pick up their own instruments. As he steeped in the mood of the room, he sat down on one of the wide, upholstered chairs to enjoy the upcoming performance. Surrounded by expensive furniture sat on an invaluable rug that was thick enough to sleep on in the winter, he drank his prohibitively expensive liquor from a fancy glass of crystal. Here, he could enjoy all the luxury he could afford, much different from the outside world.

Out on the streets, the commoners of Saniya were still inescapably bound by the old laws of their ancestors. Commoners were not allowed to wear any bright colors, except simple green robes on special occasions. Commoners should not be too ostentatious. They should not wear expensive jewelry, or any form of silver anywhere on their bodies. Their heads should always be lowered, in case their presence annoyed someone of higher standing. Even more so, in the face of the nobles – all warriors and lords – they had to bow their heads, be respectful and careful, in hopes these superior people would just overlook them. Really, the list of informal rules the commoners had to follow to survive a day in Saniya was endless.

To be fair, the same was true anywhere in the Medala Empire. To Sawo however, these restrictions felt most severe for the commoners of Saniya. Although much of the city was more progressive compared to other parts of the empire, the old rules still applied.

Yet there were many commoners here who could count themselves as rich or powerful. Some were merchants, or bankers like Sawo himself. Others were craftsmen with outstanding skills and wealth. Others yet were military officers or officials in the castle, drawing power from their closeness to Saniya’s king.

Here, in this city, anyone could become someone of importance, so long as they had talent and commitment. This wasn’t possible anywhere else in Medala, where commoners were often heavily restricted in their actions, and the best doors for advancements were closed off to them in favor of the warrior class.

However, outside of work, the same problems still remained here, the same restrictions as elsewhere. Thus, all their wealth and power was worthless. They couldn’t show it off, or enjoy it in any meaningful way, at least not in any of the ways in which the nobles tended to enjoy theirs.

Thus compelled to creativity, the commoners of Saniya had developed their own customs over the past few years. They never met in lavish, public banquets like the nobles always did, since such excess would attract the attention of the nobles. They also didn’t stroll around in public and enjoy the roadside stalls, at least not in the same way the nobles did.

Instead, many commoners had retreated back into their homes. In here, they could enjoy the fruits of their labor as much as they wanted, and there would be no noble to disturb them. Compared to the decadence of the nobles, their meetings were smaller in scale, with a quieter, more homely atmosphere.

While many houses in Saniya looked simple from the outside, the inside decorations were often more lavish than a noble’s mansion. To many of the commoners, the luxury at home was an action of silent resistance, enjoying the things the nobles had prohibited them, out of sight, but without shame.

Within their own four walls, they were the lords and warriors. In here, there was nothing to fear. Since they couldn’t just invite large groups of dancers and musicians into their homes like the nobles did for their festivities, many commoners had learned to play the instruments themselves.

As they were so often, they had been inspired by the King of the South, who would sometimes perform simple pieces of music for the people of the city on public occasions. More recently, his wife had joined in as well, creating a beautiful duet sound that didn’t only ring during public events.

Sometimes around Rapra Castle, the nights of Saniya were filled with heavenly music, produced by their king and queen. It was an experience that had inspired many commoners to do the same.

Surely, nowhere else in the world did so many budding musicians exist. Their enthusiasm – as well as their limitations – had spawned an entire new branch of music, which the commoners had called chamber music, since they played their songs hidden in their chambers, surrounded by their wealth.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

While Sawo listened to his wife’s performance, he realized that his cocktail was empty. The sophisticated drinks were another invention of King Corco’s that he was thankful for. While that little king was a bit full of himself, he did have some good ideas from time to time. Unfortunately, for Sawo, it was time to leave the cozy atmosphere. Although it sometimes felt like the inside of his home was cut off from the outside world, the real world would not wait for him.

“I am afraid I will have to go now,” Sawo said. As he stood up, he watched his wife’s happy profile while she played her music.

“Already?” Tawo next to him asked, looking up to his cousin with a puzzled expression. “Why not at least wait until they finish their performance?”

While Tawo spoke, Sawo was already putting on his dark gray outer robe. Although the drab color was suited for traveling the streets of Saniya, it was also padded with expensive fur imported from the Verdant Isles. As a result, it was warm enough to withstand the icy winter of southern Medala, and luxurious enough to fit the banker’s temperament.

“No, the workers will not wait for us.” Sawo shook his head. “With all the uncertainty in the city these days, we need to reassure them that everything is still normal for us. Otherwise, they will flee the city. And how will we open our manufactory on time then?”

He thought for a moment as he looked at the performance, before he continued.

“What’s more, I have heard them practice before. The piece they have prepared this time is very long. If I move quickly, I hope I can come back before they are done and applaud them at the end. As you should know, brother, I am no friend of goodbyes.”

“Well, in that case, save travels, brother. And be careful out there.”

One nod later, Sawo turned his back on the warm atmosphere of his family and left through the front door. Outside, he found a different world.

All the warmth was gone, replaced by the harsh frost of winter. The harmonious sounds of family life and music had made way for the howling of cold winds in the city streets. These days, the roads of Saniya were almost empty, in stark contrast to the excited mood of the past. As Sawo left his courtyard, he looked up at the gray sky and tightened the collar of his robe to prevent a shudder.

Suddenly, a shove from behind robbed the banker of his balance. Somehow, he managed to grab hold on his courtyard walls and stabilized before he stumbled to the ground. If he hadn’t been a former warriors and cultivator with the strength far beyond a mortal, Sawo would have, at best, landed in the icy mud of the street, and at worst, would have suffered a serious injury.

“Make way, commoner!” he heard from the one responsible for the shove. When he looked back up, he just saw the backs of a small group of warriors strolling away from him. They didn’t even have the decency to look him in the eyes as they insulted him. With their bright red robes, they walked the streets with confidence, as if they owned them.

At a safe distance from them, Sawo continued on his own path. Although he wanted to complain about their rudeness, he wouldn’t dare. Not in today’s Saniya.

A few days ago, Corcopaca Titu Pluritac, King of the South, had announced his retreat back into his castle. At the same time, he had also handed extensive powers to the other lords of the southern kingdom. Those powers included access to and control over the many lucrative royal manufactories of the city.

Eager to fill their coffers, the other lords had lost no time at all. Although they had left Saniya before to prepare for a civil war, they had all sent their warriors over the next day, to enforce their rights on their behalf. This infestation of brutal warriors on Saniya’s streets was the result of their actions. With hardly any push-back from the local police forces and not a word from the king, who was still hiding away in his religious retreat, the warriors began to rule the streets with an iron fist.

Sawo himself was a former noble, so he wasn’t surprised by their extreme action in the slightest. All these years under King Corco’s rule, these nobles had watched the commoners gain more and more power and control. All this time, they were helpless to stop it. It must have offended them to no end, how those lower people dared to strive for higher goals and exceed the standing of the nobles. Now that they finally had the chance to restore the old order, they took full advantage of it.

As if on cue, Sawo watched several warriors gang up on a commoner carrying a hand cart behind him. Curled up and in a corner, surrounded by the tall and sturdy warriors in leather armor, the small commoner would be lucky to survive the encounter. Whatever was in his cart was already theirs either way. His best bet was to protect his vitals and hope they got bored before they kicked him to death.

Finally, the chill Sawo had been fighting off came and ran up his spine. Although he felt horrible, there was nothing he could do, not in the current city. If he got involved in the fight, there would just be two more corpses in the street. Rather than get involved in a hopeless fight for justice, the banker fled into one of the side roads, before the new rulers of the city streets could spot him.

By now, the agents of the lords held total control over Saniya. Their greed wasn’t even limited to the royal manufactories any more. Even private workshops had been invaded by the warrior armies.

Just yesterday, Sawo’s own manufactory had blocked some warriors at the entrance, with much difficulty. They had been eager to charge in and loot them for any valuables, and they hadn’t cared that the workshop was private property. At least most of Sawo’s workers were his old subordinates, many of them cultivators themselves. Faced with superior strength, the warriors could only retreat while leaving behind harsh words.

Though of course, they would come back sooner or later, with larger numbers. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the warriors had plundered everything in this town.

Meanwhile, the king, who had pretended to care so much about Saniya’s people in the past, was nowhere to be seen. Worse yet, the priests had never stopped to preach of the city’s impending doom. No amount of piety and penance from the king had changed anything in their behavior, yet he had never appeared to speak up against the criminals who had set out to destroy his city.

Had King Corcopaca always been such a wimp? What had happened to the brave and sly man who had defeated the great City Lord Sawo in the struggle for power over Saniya in years past? If that man didn’t appear again, and soon, this would be the end of the city, of that Sawo was certain.

With deep worry, the banker in the dull gray robes rushed through the side alleys of the city, to avoid the eyes of the warriors on the way to his manufactory. Maybe, he hoped, it would still be his by the time he arrived. Maybe, he wished, their brave king would return, to save them all.