Aclair was etched out of a mountain.

It was a large mountain, gray, piercing through the sky in an almost cone shape, the base much wider than the top. Although she could see it reach the clear sky, Claire was sure that any hope of climbing such a beast was lost to normal humans. Though, she noticed the irony in her own words.

The city itself was at its base, a sharp left just at the end of a rough patch of grass away from the forest they had just came from. If one looked right, they would see another forest bisected by a crystal clear river, but Claire wasn't much into water gazing and turned her attention back to the city. Though, she did spot what appeared to be several groups of people enter that forest.

The two walked quietly, Claire in front and Alicia at the back, the path had become much smaller than before and they could no longer walk side by side even if they wanted to. Of course, they could choose to walk on the countless flowers that littered the area, but they didn't. It was almost like they had both silently agreed to keep from degrading their beauty.

There were twists and turns, but through it all, they both almost gawked at the city ahead. It was the first time they had seen such a thing in person.

It was made of magnificent limestone. Under the rays of the sun, the white walls almost shone like a sparkling jewel.

The city was inclined, from the front to the back, from the bottom to the top, though some places appeared bumpy. Houses rose up and down its innards, it was disorderly and seemingly chaotic, some were large, others were small, some rose into a fine point like the mountain itself and others flattened out. There seemed to be no city planning that had been done for its construction. It was almost as if a craftsman had gingerly chiseled away at a block of stone and made the best of what he could with the little time he had.

A city etched into a mountain, surrounded on all sides, only two forests' a path to enter and leave. A city before a field of flowers and a clear crystal river.

It wasn't anything special, in fact, it was quite crude in nature. However, Claire faintly smiled at this crudeness. It had its own charm and she had an inkling that she would grow to like it there.

She looked up, continuing to walk towards the city.

Above, there were various squawking birds. Black feathered and quite large, enough to be seen as more than just dots from the ground. From time to time, they would pass by each other, chirping almost a beastly roar and angrily flapping their wide wings at the one that dared to cross its path. They flew here and there, some fast, some slow. She was unaware of where they would or wouldn't go. However, her keen eyes noticed that they all held folded paper attached to their legs.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

They reached the city much sooner than expected, maybe it was in part due to the bit of excitement they both felt.

There was an iron gate, through it, she could see an inclined path of cobblestone that seemed to waver through buildings like a snake. At the side of the gate, there were two knights. Each one wore a set of shining silver armor and held a sword at the waist, they stood at either end of the gate and gazed out with steadiness.

Although they glanced at the two girls momentarily, it was a given thanks to their odd attires and beauty, the knights soon returned to gazing out into the area.

The gate was open, but at the left, where it connected to the walls of the city, there was a wooden stand.

The two girls walked up to it.

"Cards please," The man within spoke, his voice was rough, but there was a hint of entrancement when one heard it.

Alicia tilted her head while Claire shook hers, "We don't have any cards. What are those?"

The lips of the man gawked open. Did she just ask what the cards were? When one mentioned cards, it could only be that card right? He couldn't help but furrow his think brows.

"Sacred Cards, issued at your births, they record not only your status but your various records as well; from your occupation to your ranking." He explained unhurriedly and carefully to the two.

Only criminals would claim that they 'held no cards', and although the man had seen a lot, he was quite sure that these two girls couldn't be criminals.

Claire felt that this man wasn't so bad, she also felt that this world might just be a bit different from her expectations.

"I'm sorry, sir." For the first time in a while, she willingly chose to address an adult as he should be addressed.

"But the two of us were orphaned, we have only had each other since we were born and had been living within the forest. We lived off of berries, fruits, and small creatures...and sometimes when it became rough and our supplies strained, we were forced to eat bugs for meals. My sister here even had half her face burned through an encounter with a beast. It wasn't until we met a kind man who saved us from the beast did he take pity on us and pointed out that there was a city close by...until then...we had no idea that civilization existed."

Alicia nodded, twice, at Claire's narration.

Claire's voice shook, there was even a tear at the corner of her eyes, "To think there had been kind people here this whole time...we had no idea and had been living like this our whole lives. Please sir, may we enter and experience what it's like to live with a full belly? We just want to find a simple job and feed ourselves."

"Ah," The man was at a loss for words.

He immediately felt pity for the two, 'They must have been through a lot...and they were only kids too.' His heart wavered and he almost felt like adopting them as his own and hugging them tightly.

He now realized why the blonde-haired girl had a broken mask on. He couldn't imagine what type of anguish she must have felt or what type of strength it took to live with a scarred face for such a girl. He felt terrible at having slightly doubted the two before.

He sighed, waving his hand, "You two may go ahead and enter, I recommend you look for one of the guilds if you wish to acquire Sacred Cards. It will make things much easier in the future. And, please, be careful within the city."

He watched as the two passed him by, sighing once more and bitterly shaking his head. He had seen a lot of people enter and leave this city, but this was the first time he felt his heart fluctuate at another's background.

"This world is truly wide..." He muttered.

Sadly, if he had looked closer, he would have been able to see quite a handful of loopholes in the girl's story. But he didn't.