The full extent of what I had achieved, what I had now become, came crashing down on me as soon as the two city guards standing at the barracks gate let me out into the city. They checked my Citizen Card, made a note of my leaving, and wished me good luck. Just like that, I was free to do as I pleased - and do so as a citizen of the Sahal Empire.

'Great, right?'

Then why the bloody heck did I wish to be back in Esulmor so badly? Even with its beasts and apparent tick infestation, the whole forest suddenly seemed more appealing than ever before.

‘The ticks? Did I get them from the squirrels? It must have been squirrels.’

Still, better them than this unease eating away at my body. Was the constant noise of the hustle and bustle of the city assaulting my ears behind it, or the sheer number of people in it giving me goosebumps? Perhaps the stares of the passers-by, the source of the odd sensation on the back of my neck, were getting to me. Or maybe it was just the fear of the unknown.

'That has to be it!' I thought to myself, snarling under my breath. As pathetic and irritating as I might have found it, the more I thought about it, the more sure I grew.

It was the unknown eating away at me.

There was no kind old man to lead me by the hand or city guards to escort me through the city. While surrounded by countless people, no one was there to tell me what to do. Decisions about my life were up to me to make and no one else. No orders loomed over my head to abide by; no iron bound my mind. The only instructions to follow were given to me by the guy issuing the Citizen's Cards, and I was to heed them only if I so wished.

After a long, long time, I was once again the master of my fate.

'Was I, though?'

Being one of the Lost seemed to have a fate laid out by the Fae kind. To claim otherwise would be to lie to myself and turn a blind eye to the truth. The deranged asshole might be the one who asked the shitty bug to fetch him a human, but it was the Fae that picked me out and dragged me into this world. Because of it, I ended up in the middle of the forest with runes covering my body, the runes that I could only hope were doing what I thought and what Captain Rayden said, making me unable to die and say where I came from. Should there be more to it, like some complex, subtle mind control, I might as well just give up.

So, no. For my own sanity, it was better not to entertain the dreadful possibility. Yet, to make sure I was not up for any more surprises, standing in the small square in front of the city guards' barracks, I closed my eyes and delved into my domain, searching my body, every nook and cranny, every piece of my skin, fur, and feathers as thoroughly as ever. If I could miss the runes behind my ears and the ticks in my fur, I might as well have missed a few other runes, too.

* 11th glyph engraved on Spatial Domain (⦿)

Much to my disgust, however, all I found were layers of grime in places where one didn't want them. Honestly, it wouldn't be surprising if the main reason for the unpleasant stares from Terr'dens was my stench. I was undeniably in dire need of that bath the healer had mentioned.

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'The bath… oh my shitty bare ass, to get into a tub of hot water and just lie there for hours would be a dream. A hot shower would be nice, too.'

But somehow, I doubt I would find one for free here in the city. No one in their right mind would let a girl looking like me use theirs - I wouldn't. And if I did, I'd have to question their intentions. No, if I really wanted to take one, I needed money. Annoyingly, though, all I had was fur and feathers full of filth, a Citizen Card in my hand, and instructions on where to get the "Aid".

'Fine! Fine, I'll do it,' I growled at my inner self, pissed but seeing no other option than listening to what they told me one more time. No matter how much it sucked, I had no idea where to start other than bothering Scoresby. Where did one find a place to sleep, to eat, or take a piss? And what about a job? The only way to find one I could think of was to go around and ask the business owners - stinking and looking like a half-wild beast.

No. This wasn't Earth, and I wasn't the woman I used to be. Rather than go through that job-hunting hell, I swallowed what little pride I had and headed off as instructed to Seekers Square.

Luckily for me, the instructions were not that complicated, let alone requiring a map of the city. All I had to do was backtrack a third of the way I had walked, escorted by the city guards Vara and Elira, and make a one-block detour closer to the city's center to get there. The Seeker's Square was surprisingly large, one of the larger ones I had seen of the medieval cities on Earth. And quite crowded. Actually, the amount of people on the streets of Castiana, in general, was quite striking - not so strange if you give it some thought. There were no cars, no telephones, no internet, no public transport, no delivery services; if you wanted something done, you had to get off your ass and walk there. And the City Hall, the place I was looking for, the most prominent building on the square constructed of white stone, seemed to be the destination of most people here, much to my distress.

But as with the Esulmor Gate to Castiana, there was no turning back now.

One deep breath, and I headed in.

What a mistake it was, I found out the moment my bare feet touched the cold marble of the vast entrance hall. The place put the noise of the streets outside into a new perspective. Even pressing my ears to my head didn't stop the racket from piercing my ears. People were shouting over each other at notice boards or were just arguing in the middle of the hall while the five receptionists dealt with the lines at their desks.

The place was crazy, bordering on chaos.

But somehow, it all seemed to...just work.

'O-okay, Korra, y-you can do this.'

Biting down on my lower lip, I swallowed a whimper and tried to figure out where to find the place issuing the aid. Was it up the stairs or through the door on the right? Perhaps I should take the one on the left? With no better option than to wander blindly around the building, hoping that by some miracle I would stumble upon the right place, I stood in one of the lines, hoping to get my turn before the noise would get to me.

'Bloody bureaucracy!'

There was no better way to describe my agonizingly slow advance through the line to the least intimidating receptionist, a human woman smaller than me with black hair and a round face. Like the other receptionists, she dressed in a uniform not unlike that of the city guards. However, unlike theirs of reversed colors with a blue shirt and sleeveless jacket - a vest of some sort.

“He……the City…..name…How…you?”

"W-what…what did you say?!" When my turn finally came, my ears were ringing with the noise in the hall so badly that I could barely hear her.

"Hello, and welcome to the City Hall of Castiana!” The receptionist raised her voice, nonplussed, as if my suffering was everyday drudgery. “My name is Enola. How can I help you?!"