The legendary Axorus didn't look like much from outside of it. For some time, they couldn't tell they were approaching it, and the heated road of Hydalath extended farther into the wilderness than Denziu had expected. There was enough wilderness here that there might be some wildlife for dragons in Hydalath to hunt! It was well into the afternoon when they found something other than that endless heated roadway with tundra and forest beside it.

Two anomalies reared up ahead of them. Firstly, there was a shining metal archway over the road. Secondly, to each side were large signs proclaiming, "DO NOT CROSS EXCEPT AT PORTAL". A line of twisted metal knots as high as a dragon’s chest spread a wing’s span from each other all the way to the horizon, demarcating the whole of the border to Axorus with a reminder of hazard.

Past those signs and knots, there seemed to be only more of the interminable wilderness. Denziu imagined that wildlife, unconcerned by signage, had a nature reserve in Axorus where no dragons hunted them.

The archway over the road seemed to be made of some stout metal with grilles and glowing bits upon it. It looked like some manner of exotic machinery and it hummed to life as they stepped near it. 'Hummed' was the word. Little glowing bits upon the machine brightened, and a distinctive sound filled the air, and then with a flash across the centre of the archway there was suddenly a portal to somewhere else.

Past the portal..?

It was a broad roadway on the high edge of a cliff with stout railings atop it. No longer a heated roadway, they were nevertheless greeted by a summery air that yielded sighs of pleasure from half the caravan, though not from Denziu. The warming amulet was too much here. Zie doffed it and stowed it in a pouch. On the top of the cliff, buildings towered over the road. Past the edge of the cliff, the road offered a view over the endless tops of tall buildings. There seemed to be an eternally setting sun here, blazing the city as viewed from the cliff.

The road had many turn-offs from the broad roadway they were on, which looked to be built into a larger system of roads. There were strange devices at intervals over the roads, which glowed green or red, and other devices that stood sentinel over crossing lines upon the road, which flashed symbols that Denziu could not identify. There was one symbol when the devices over the road glowed green, and another symbol when the devices over the road glowed red, so that the paired devices were always in sync with each other. It seemed to mean something to the crossing lines. Perhaps it would have meant more if there was cross-traffic upon the broad road in the city.

There was not. There was no cross-traffic at all, and only that one broad road seemed to be in use. The lights meant nothing to the caravanners, nor indeed to other traffic upon the road, and dragons pulling wagons moved across intersections lit red or green without concern.

Dragons passed in both directions along that broad, high roadway, and the traffic was a reminder that they were moving between Hydalath and Jiasote, which were staggeringly populous theomes despite being located in frozen Kelkaith. There was a great diversity of dragons here, even a few veserus. Denziu saw all but the deep-under dragons in the crowds, and was particularly surprised to see many kalla. The avian bipeds were too small to pull wagons themselves, but rode in open-sided passenger wagons pulled by other dragons, gawking at the vast city around them. Either a pilgrimage here means something to kalla, or there are large kalla communities in Jiasote and Hydalath, zie thought.

Every so often, the roads were watched by a gnarlen. They saw others patrolling. That book Denziu had been reading along the way was amply proven in its claim that a community of gnarlen dwelled in this theome.

The carven dragon statues that walked along the by-roads were the only dragons Denziu saw that day who stepped off the main road in any way. With clanking footsteps the great animate stone dragons seemed to be patrolling the near-roads away from the main road.

Eventually the group came to another portal. This one was already bright and alive. They seemed to shut down if there was more than a moment's lull in the traffic, but there was no lull this time to quell the portal.

On the other side of the portal, another broad road. This one was not next to a cliff and so offered no very special view, but rather it was towered over by buildings on both sides of it. They were great glass-shod buildings like Hydalath's pyramids. Dozens of them would have fit inside of any of Hydalath's pyramids, but they were nevertheless gigantic relative to the constructions elsewhere on Theoma, and they numbered beyond counting. Their styles were different from each other in small and unfamiliar ways, a different colour here, a stone facade at ground level there, a capping facade far aboveground on another. Some of them had signs out front thick with alien lettering; a few had signs by their doors likewise inscrutable.

If zie had not just been in Hydalath, which was taller still, the buildings would have been vertiginous.

At one point, there seemed to be a pair of the large buildings missing from the grid, and a less ambitious structure had been built in their place. A two-story fortification stood there, an outpost with two gnarlen stationed atop it and welcoming doors touching the roadway. A helpful poster by one of the doors said, "DO NOT EXPLORE THE CITY."

Shortly after that, another portal. Through the portal, another city.

This one was seen from above. The road was not upon the ground. Instead of by-road road connections, the road seemed to connect to the top floors of different buildings. Denziu chanced veering out of line to peek over the edge of the roadway, and saw that the vast endless city under them connected in countless ways, all the way down. The buildings were grown into each other in a tangle of skyways.

Zie kept up the momentum of zir steps and veered back into zir place in the caravan. They walked on.

Soon, another portal. Through the portal, another city. That was Axorus. It was morning or evening or midday in each city, but Denziu noticed that it was never night. One of the land gods had set up this theome to display something. These cities, vast to the horizon and full of buildings that were taller than almost anything on Theoma... They were a museum exhibit of sorts.

Of dragons, only the swaivshon built like this, and the largest city of the swaivshon - Polser - was dwarfed by any single world of Axorus.

When next the caravanners found another cleared area with a fortification run by gnarlen, Choave called a stop to the caravan, and the fortification proved to be a kind of rough inn with guarded wagon berths.

It was broad daylight, but as they were unhooking from their wagons Choave announced, “We’ve all travelled well into what would’ve been the night.”

They were glad of the stout walls of the caravanserai for something other than protection from thieves: protection from the light. Only inside of that place was there dark enough to sleep in.

The next morning, Denziu saw something in the areas beyond the dark-shrouded sleeping quarters. There were tours of Axorus advertised by murals on the walls. Gnarlen guides, to avert hostile Fates that prevented exploration in Axorus. The price was expensive, though not as expensive as one of Denziu’s pots.

"Relics sought! Find an artefact for your own!" said one of the hand-drawn advertisements. "The only way to have souvenirs of a dead world!" said another. They seemed to be pushing the angle that there were treasures to find in the empty cities of Axorus if dragons paid the tour price. There were pictures of objects that Denziu didn’t recognize, brushed in a crude hand. Denziu imagined the stone hand of a gnarlen struggling to hold a brush gently enough to paint with it.

The group gathered to eat near their wagon berths. The gnarlen were not prepared to offer them anything but meagre supplies intended for saving dragons discovered on the brink of starvation. Fortunately, they had their own rations.

A gnarlen guard watched them impassively while they ate. Wielding a spear, their sentinel looked like a grey vashael. The false vashael surely couldn't fly, but still stood in the slightly stooped and big-winged appearance of a vashael dragon, with a stout tail behind.

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Denziu wondered what it was like to be a gnarlen. They gave up so much in being animated statues. They were harder than an armoured vrash. That stood out between Jiasote and Hydalath, for these were swaivshon lands, and the furred swaivshon were the dragons of great softness.

Zie wondered if any of the gnarlen in Axorus were once swaivshon, but decided against asking. A fascinating thought occurred instead, and Denziu asked, "Do you think there are dragons who accept a gnarlen transformation to save their lives?"

"Surely not," said Choave. "Only necromancers can perform gnarlen transformations, and they also offer healing. A magic healer would just heal such a patient."

"I wonder. I think it might be true," said Chatulerin. "The gnarlen transformation is more of a transfer, and it's very restorative while being easier on the necromancer than great feats of healing. If a statue-body were already ready, and the necromancer were not ready to do great healing, perhaps they would save a life that way."

"I think that would be awful," said Lorvaza. "I hear gnarlen are cut off from Fate."

There was a clang from the wall that turned their heads, and they saw the guard stepping towards them. By the many Fates, the guard moved with such heavy steps! The gnarlen were not silent if they were not still.

"We are not cut off from Fate if we wear blindfolds like your own," said the guard in a deep voice. "Pardon my intrusion. I would be happy to talk about being gnarlen if you've any questions."

"Well, did you hear my question earlier? Do any gnarlen become that way to save their life?" Denziu asked.

"I heard. There is nothing else in here to hear," said the not-vashael guard. "That is something that can happen. In fact, it is stranger than you know. If someone is dying in a Hostile theome, where death of one kind or another is their only Fate, it can be futile to heal them. A gnarlen necromancer can save them better by transferring them to a pocket-sized form, and carrying them out."

"Pocket-sized?" asked Choave in an aghast tone.

The guard then held their hands apart just-so, describing something that might fit three to a pouch. "Little vohntrai figures. They can hold a person. It’s a terrible thing to be trapped in one, but the gnarlen transference can be done twice more easily than someone can be healed even once from the brink of death," said the guard.

"What did you mean, you are not cut off from Fate if you wear a blindfold like mine?" asked Lorvaza.

"Just as I said," said the guard. "I recognise that you do not move as if you are blind, and I have seen such a blindfold before on other travellers. Gruent's church, are you?"

"No, I am not. This blindfold was a gift," said Lorvaza.

"Ah, forgive me. I think most travellers who wear them are of Gruent's church. You will find many make that error of you in Jiasote," said the guard.

"But of Fate?" persisted Lorvaza.

"If a gnarlen detests being cut off from Fate and begs for Fate's guidance, the land gods grant it, so that a gnarlen who prays constantly is not beyond Fate. That blindfold begs for Fate's guidance in every moment. It is just such a form of constant prayer," explained the guard.

"I've a question," said Choave.

"Yes?"

"Do you heal if you are injured?" he asked.

The guard touched their free hand to the forearm of the limb that held the spear, looking down as they did. "If the wound is small enough. We heal, but not well or quickly. We are not quite as durable as inanimate stone, but..." and there that deep voice trailed off.

"What do you do if you are injured?" asked Choave.

The guard looked to the group again, and at Choave specifically. They said, "Most of us save up funds to have a back-up body commissioned, so that if we are ever greatly wounded, we can be transferred to a new body when necessary. A great wound in this case is such as you might persevere through. A chunk of flesh may be taken from your limb, and you will not limp forever, but there would be little point in my waiting for such a wound to heal."

The guard looked to the tip of their spear for a moment, and they were clearly in thought of another thing to say, so the group waited until once more their gaze turned outward. "We are more durable than inanimate stone in some ways, too. I could fall over without losing a limb or suffering any great injury, and yet if you pushed over a statue of a dragon it would likely be too brittle to survive."

"So you are less brittle, but not quite as resistant to getting cut," said Choave.

"Yes, but I hope you do not go fighting gnarlen with these insights. You will find we are still quite resistant to getting cut. All things are relative," said the gnarlen guard.

"What do you do to pass the time?" asked Chatulerin.

"The same things as anyone else does. Board games are popular among gnarlen. Although it’s also a little easier to just watch the world go by, for us. We have no bodily needs. No aches. No cramps. No hungers."

"Do you lose track of time?" she asked.

"For a while. Not forever.”

A voice spoke up that startled half the caravan, as Sharisen the Sociable decided to ask a question: "Is it true that the sun never moves in Axorus?" It was not exactly a question about the gnarlen, but it was still a good question to ask a local.

The gnarlen guard nodded. "Perhaps I shouldn't have said we don't lose track of time. We do find time is immeasurable here," they said. "For the sun is in one position or another over each of the ancient abandoned worlds of Axorus, and it doesn't move at all, and our bodies give us no cues."

Orachu asked a question next, and Denziu wondered if the rhythm had been caught, and now they were implicitly all taking a turn to ask a question. In this thought Denziu did not miss the question itself: "Do you want some bread and honey?"

The guard shook his head, and Denziu noticed that these motions at least were soundless. The footsteps of the guard reflected the weight of stone, zie decided, for there was no grinding of stone in the nod or shake of a head, and likewise no sound in the motion of the not-vashael's neck. “It’s not just that I don’t hunger,” he said. “I can’t eat. I miss food… though I miss meat more than bread.”

“Bread’s cheaper,” said Orachu.

The gnarlen chuckled. “Not this far into Kelkaith. Hard to farm north of Tirrtian. Dragons around here rely on hunters.”

Omrezen asked next, "Have you ever gone on a hunting trip, since being turned into a gnarlen?"

"Only in a manner of speaking," said the guard. "Dragons occasionally get lost in Axorus, though we try to discourage all unaccompanied exploration, and so dragons turn up at our guard stations frantic that they'll never see again whoever it is that wandered away from their camp. When that happens, we send runners - literally izerah gnarlen, most of the time - to the other posts up and down the through-road so that they'll question passers-by. Most of the time, someone got sick of the company they were keeping and set out ahead, so that the runners have only to catch up to them and put the worry down that way, but we still also send out hunting parties to scour the near zones of Axorus for unaccompanied wanderers. I've been on such 'hunts'. That service saves lives."

"What is your favourite theome?" This question came from Honom (who was known as 'of Mosdenechrak', Denziu thought with wry amusement).

"Hydalath," said the gnarlen guard. "I work here in Axorus, because I cannot fly to work in Hydalath, and I worry that there are dragons going missing here and not there. But when I take my vacations from here, I do so in Hydalath, to admire their latest constructions."

There was then a lull in the conversation. Lorma, Oghai, Mosdrao, Kishka, and Ekis had all asked no questions, but though the conversants looked to one or another of those who hadn't spoken, it seemed that they had no inclination to speak. Eventually Oghai stood saying, "This has been a delightful opportunity to meet someone unusual, but I think we've all finished our breakfast by now and should be preparing to leave."

"Are you interested in tours? We claim only our fee; if you find anything of note in Axorus, that belongs to you," said the gnarlen.

Mosdrao said, "I've been on several, unfortunately. The rumours that the cities are barren are quite true. I've seen more than my share of empty rooms with no furnishings in room after room of these buildings. There are rarely any artefacts to claim."

"There are other visions," said the guard, holding an open palm towards Mosdrao. "It's up to Fate whether the rooms here are empty or full. We have seen both."

"Alas, I have only seen them empty," said Mosdrao.

Choave said, "I'd love to say that means Mosdrao shouldn't attend a tour, but we shouldn't split the group. It'd be all of us or none of us, and I think we should move on towards Jiasote rather than staying for a day to try to loot a probably-barren city."

So the group moved on. Choave reorganised them slightly, so that the front rows were taken up by Mosdrao and Orachu, and in this rearranged caravan now it was Omrezen and Lorma who were in the second row. The third row (just ahead of Denziu) was Honom and Choave, while the fifth row (behind Denziu) were now Kishka and Chatulerin. Choave had gone from the first row to the third, while Kishka had gone all the way from the front of the caravan to being behind Denziu. Lorvaza and Sharisen were in the back rank, with Sharisen pulling Oghai’s carriage.

When Denziu asked Ekis why they rearranged, Ekis said that it was because they would be reaching Jiasote that day where they might encounter slush upon the road. If that happened, they would all prefer to walk after the vrash rather than before them.

There were more arches and more cities, but though each vista was an awesome variation on a city that stretched to every horizon, they were merely the backdrop to a long walk for Denziu. Eventually, and Denziu couldn't estimate the time as the sun had been at various points immobile, they found a final archway whose activation showed them once more a great tundra, and now they were so far north that they walked into Jiasote with the snow falling around them.