The sun blazed white on the horizon and the clouds cast their dark-green shadows on endless, grassy hills. A borash grazed next to a mound, like a brown smudge in the centre of a perfect painting. Blake and Liera stood nearby, arguing as usual. This was their third week of travel and, excluding Leylin’s appearance, time flew by without incident. The city should have been in their sights by now.

“Please, don’t tell me we’re lost.” Liera wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Okay.” Blake frowned at the instrument in his hands. The needle was pointing upward. Was the Arbiter toying with him? He shook it up and down to vent his frustration and maybe, by some miracle, get it working again.

“We’re lost, aren’t we?”

“Do you want to hear it or not?” replied Blake.

“How? How can you possibly be so dumb?” she asked and pulled at his clothes.

“Relax,” he said, “we just have to ask for directions.”

“Oh!” Liera looked around. “Oh, of course,” she sneered. “Do you speak grass?”

“It’s not my fault this piece of shit stopped working,” Blake complained. “And people wonder why I hate magic.” It was supposed to be pointing towards Silyra. Slavers and soldiers alike had used it for many years and Blake had never heard of a malfunction.

“Blake...” Liera drew his attention. “Where is the borash?”

“It was here just now!” Blake looked around. Their brown smudge was gone.

“They don’t even move that fast,” Liera said as she followed a trail of flattened grass. “There’s no way–”

She paused when her outstretched hand vanished into thin air. One moment it was there and the next it was gone. She looked up and slowly walked forward, her entire body disappearing from Blake’s sight.

“Liera?” Panicked, he ran to where she had just been. His vision shifted mid-dash and he almost lost his footing as Silyra burst into sight. The capital’s walls stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, like smooth cliffs of gray stone concealing the vast cityscape. Despite their height, Blake could see the top of a tower that graced the city’s skyline.

“It’s huge.” Leira was standing next to him, equally captivated.

He once met soldiers who had served in Silyra and heard of the capital’s sheer size. He knew the city was huge, but when a former guard told them that patrolling the outer wall took a fortnight, it was natural to think him a braggart. Now he had second thoughts.

“You two!” echoed a voice from atop the wall. “Move to the north-western gate!”

The siblings found the borash resting and dragged it along. They walked along the wall, then they walked some more. No signs of any gate.

“Hello?” Blake yelled. “Where are we supposed to go?”

No answer.

“We must be near, Blake,” Liera said. “Let's keep going.”

“Fine,” he grunted.

As it turned out, they weren't. Not at all. By the time they reached the gate, the sun had turned into a ball of fiery red, and Blake didn't even have the energy to complain anymore. Upon closer inspection, the gate wasn’t normal either. Glyphs had been carved into the wall, forming the shape of a moon.

Blake grew anxious when Liera walked closer and examined them. Ever since they were little, Rane and Liera had been passionate about magic and its uses. Rane later proved to be the more talented of the two, having taken after their mother, but that didn’t stop Liera from learning all she could.

“Open?” She whispered and traced a glyph with her fingertip.

The glyphs lit up with blue nora when she touched them and the stone vibrated and cracked. An arm ripped itself free of the wall and pressed against it. A body followed suit, emerging from the wall and leaving behind an oddly shaped hollow. The construct was skeletal in shape, with large elliptical eyes like pools of dark liquid. A blue-white light pulsed in the gaps of its sigil colored body and a giant cog turned in its chest.

“Hello,” it said with a monotonous voice, even though no mouth was visible on its design. “I am the engineer of the outer wall. How can I assist you?”

“We have been transferred here.” Blake hesitated and stepped back. “We're soldiers.”

The Engineer stood motionless and something in its eyes swirled.

“I understand,” it said after a lengthy pause. “Please state your names and present your insignia.”

Blake retrieved the family emblem from his pocket and held it up. “Blake Tovale. Liera Tovale.”

“I understand,” said the Engineer after another lengthy pause. The construct turned and touched several glyphs on the wall.

“Abide by the Arbiter’s law and you shall prosper,” it said as its body merged back into the rock.

The siblings waited.

“So… Now what?” Liera asked.

“No idea.”

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The wall started shaking again, much more violently this time. A large half circle of stone sunk into the ground, creating a passage wide enough for the siblings and the borash to use. It was more of a tunnel than a gate. Blake couldn't imagine what walls this thick were meant to keep out.

“Not sure which is worse,” he said. “Men turning into mud or stone turning into men?”

“I think you hate magic in general.” Liera giggled as they passed through the gate.

“Magic complicates things,” he mumbled.

They reached the end of the tunnel and Blake cursed. Instead of buildings or roads that would constitute a city, he saw a sea of green within the walls. A meadow divided into even squares, akin to a mosaic, with different crops growing in each one. If not for the ranches and farmhouses in between, Blake would have gone mental. He could see more walls in the distance, encircling a huge tower in their center.

“Well,” said Liera. “I guess we have some more distance to cover.”

“There’s no way,” Blake protested. “I need to get some sleep, Liera. I spent all morning riding to get us here.”

“We can’t waste any more time. Things could have already gotten bad.”

“A worn-out soldier is just dead weight,” he replied. “You know that better than anyone.”

“Sleep on the borash then.”

“Fine.” Blake backed down.

His sleep during their journey had been troubled enough due to Leylin. The man kept popping up in his dreams, carrying the same air of malice and madness around him, like a nightmare that denied him rest. Weird skeletons made of stone and magic only aggravated the situation.

While Blake tossed and turned on the borash’s back, Liera handled the reins and observed the capital’s farmlands with renewed interest. Countless metallic orbs hovered over the fields, dripping water on the crops below to form a light drizzle. Constructs similar to the Engineer roamed around, keeping the seedlings clear of weeds or feeding cattle. Liera kept an eye out for any humans but found none. Only metal populated the fields.

She had grown up in Danira, a city that never slept. Silyra seemed too tranquil and peaceful in comparison, almost uncanny. The last rays of the sunset lingered for a brief moment, only to be dissolved by the rapidly falling night in the next. The once red and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of black that engulfed Silyra and a canopy of luminous stars materialised amongst the ocean of blackness. Most were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then. There was something brighter that illuminated the dark, moonless night.

A beacon of light shone in the distance, a giant sphere of purple fixed atop the city’s tallest tower. As she neared the inner walls, Liera could make out some of the most impressive buildings within. Obelisks, castles and citadels, all made of stone and metal that reflected the lavender light of Silyra’s miniature sun. The inner wall allowed entry in a similar way. Liera touched the glyphs and a construct emerged from the stone.

“Hello. I am the engineer of the inner wall. How can I assist you?”

“This again?” Came Blake’s hoarse voice from the back of the borash.

“Just go back to sleep,” she replied.

“I do not sleep,” said the Engineer. The system that governed his actions responded to Liera’s words. “I am an echo of an Archmage’s will.”

Liera was surprised that these pieces of colored rock could hold a conversation. “Is he your creator?”

“That is correct.” It turned its head to face her, mimicking her earlier movements. “Who is your creator?”

Liera was taken aback by the sudden question. “My mother and father,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”

“It is a way to display interest and consideration,” said the Engineer, “and every time I converse, I learn.”

She found herself actually feeling sorry for the poor thing. Being stuck in a wall day must be boring, she thought, then realised it must lack feelings or thoughts of its own.

“I see. Do you want to be human?” she asked. Was there a point to returning the favour and showing proper etiquette? Probably not, but it made her feel polite so she did it anyway.

“Oh, no,” it replied. “Not at all. What a horrible thing to say.”

“I… Just let me through,” Liera said, defeated.

After a familiar exchange, the Engineer lowered the gate and Liera led the borash through the tunnel. Thankfully, this signalled the end of the farmlands and the open field. What greeted her on the other end of the tunnel were buildings, not too different in design from the ones she had seen before. These were more compact, however, allowing for wide roads in between.

“Welcome to Silyra!” A guard waved his hand to catch her attention.

Finally, real people! Liera dismounted the borash and observed the two guards. Their armour was ornate and painted blue, as were their helms. The crest of the white dragon adorned their breastplates, reflecting the beacon’s light. Leira used to be proud of the Daniran armor she wore, but now she wished her new position came with one of these.

“Thank you,” she greeted them with a smile.

“Hope you didn’t have much trouble finding the city,” said the younger of the two. “The Archmage’s new experiment is somewhat… excessive.”

“Excessive and impressive,” she replied and grinned. “We’ve been tasked to aid the second garrison’s commander. Can you give us some direction?”

“We’ll need to check you first, miss.” The other guard spoke for the first time, his voice gruff and intimidating. He motioned for a wandering construct to approach.

“Remove your gloves,” he instructed, “and shake its hand.”

Liera found it a bit strange but did as she was told. The construct reacted to her touch, gripping her palm firmly and the liquid in its eyes swirled. “Twenty-four,” its monotone voice informed and it let go of her.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Just a quick inspection of your nora. A score higher than fifty means you can’t enter the city unescorted.”

“Oh! We’re here?” Blake jumped off the borash shortly after he came to. “This place looks awesome!”

“Your friend will have to do it too.” The construct approached him with its mechanical arm extended. Liera stared daggers at him, expecting him to turn around to complain.

“Whatever,” he said and shook the construct’s hand.

“Three.”

The guards exchanged some confused glances. They had probably never seen anyone rank that low.

“What is it?” Blake crossed his arms.

“No matter. You may enter. Leave your mount with us and it’ll be treated well.” The older guard pointed to one of the towers. “Report to the commander’s quarters in the high district.”

The siblings retrieved their supplies from the borash and followed the directions provided by the guards. For once, they were lucky to find that the northern barracks were only five minutes away.

“I’d kill for a proper bed,” Liera said as they walked.

“Same…”

More glossy, silvery metal had been used on the barracks, making them shine brighter than nearby buildings. Liera neared and gazed at their imposing, lustrous doors. The fragment of the sky reflected on their surface contained the night’s most dazzling star, and it was… falling?

“Liera?” Blake whispered.

She turned around and looked up just as the sphere of white broke through the city’s invisible barrier, filling the sky with cracks. The soothing purple light turned scarlet and a mechanical voice echoed in the city.

[The barrier has been breached. Calling all mages to the Nost district.]