The lamps grew brighter as Quies and Valerie walked further from the rural district. He thought about the idea of this seemingly humble town going to war. It seemed unbelievable that these unassuming people he passed by on these streets would go up in arms for their own town.
To tell the truth, Etris isn't really that big. It only took them a few minutes of relaxed walking to make it from deep within the housing district into the edges of the commercial and entertainment districts.
Though, this was the town Quies had, partly, grown up in, so he really had no other major settlements to compare it to. Maybe farther west…
"Valerie, have you been to the central luminant?"
"For work? Yes. For other purposes? …yes too."
"What's it like there?"
"Well, it was way bigger than this. And the architecture varies. Mostly more stone and castle-like sorta buildings there."
Quies figured that was the case. During his many conversations with Valerie, he was able to pick up on a lot of contemporary topics and world matters. It wasn't hard to imagine what cities looked like in the central luminant.
He thought of tall pillar-like structures constructed out of gray and blackened bricks. The streets were bustling with life, and commerce and trade were prosperous. Roads were paved with cobblestone, and banners with the symbol of their government hung high above them, fluttering in the warm wind.
It was completely different from Etris, where the tyrant could spread his power through a mind veil.
Which was another thing about the central luminant. The Authority, which Quies had heard from Valerie, seemed to be a rather strong figure of power, with a hierarchical system of government. From what he picked up, and with a little bit of reading in between the lines, there was a central figure, a singular person, who had absolute power over the Authority. A typical example of a dictatorial government, though Quies had never learned much about those during his home schooling lessons.
The Authority controlled most of the central luminant, with a hold and presence throughout the rest of the habitable areas of Lumen. However, they had less of a foothold in the Etrean luminant, a subdivision of the larger region that is the Eastern luminant. When he lived in the wilderness of Erisia, he often caught a cohort of Authority guards and soldiers marching through the forests. They held weapons of different kinds, but were surprisingly orderly.. Spears, longswords, scimitars were the types of weapons he saw the most often. They probably have a standardized arms regulation for soldiers and such.
He suspected they might be after the Forge of Sin as well, but that was a rather weak assumption.
"It's also kinda diverse. Or, at least more diverse than here, where everybody other than traders are Etrean."
"Why is that?"
"How the depths would I know? Well, the central luminant is… in the center of Lumen, if it isn't obvious enough. That should be enough to answer your question."
From what Quies could remember, he had mostly encountered Etreans when he was younger. It made sense, since the Etris, and maybe even the Etrean luminant itself, is the indigenous land of the Etreans. He, himself, was Etrean after all.However, he had also faintly remembered meeting other races of people.
He distinctly remembered a Khan merchant he had met every couple of days when his family would get their weekly bread and dairy. He had a huge body, which he probably got from hauling a large cart of goods and assortments. Despite his menacing appearance, he was humble and gentle.
However, he learned that, throughout Lumen, there were dozens of ethnic and cultural groups spread throughout the luminants. They all had distinct features, whether it be horns or simple markings, which they adapted over thousands of years of change and shifting tides.
"What are we even doing passing through the commercial district?"
"We need to pass this area to reach the designated drop zone. The palace is that way, no?"
Valerie pointed upwards and slightly to the left.
"Oh… yeah."
The palace was separate from the main town of Etris. Similar to the Isle of Vigil, the island itself was split into several sections by deep and narrow fissures, which were crossed with the use of bridges. Beneath the bridges were large nets, which spanned twice the width of the bridges just in case anybody falls down. Overhanging wooden platforms were commonly propped on the inner sides of the fissures, often for viewing or storage purposes with a lack of land.
These fissures lined up perfectly to separate the town into multiple districts, with a circular interstice at the center with a large tree. Blackened stone arches were constructed along the semi-circular circumference of the interstice, making it a common path that Etreans take to traverse between the sections easily.
However, the palace seemed to be separated across a greater rift, and the bridges which led to it were grander. An ornate gate welcomed guards, the king… and practically nobody else to a grand staircase which led to the palace.
As they turned a corner, the brightness of the lamps grew, and the density of people grew as well. The sound of Quies' step merged and combined with passerbies, and the air seemed a little warmer. The subtle smell of grilled meat grew stronger. Quies could imagine the succulent juices dripping down the tender meat as it was sliced into perfect portions…
"Are you hungry, Valerie?"
She stared at him with a suffocating look, though he had gotten familiar with the pressure. Familiar didn't mean that he had become immune, though, so he quickly looked away after a moment.
"..."
"..."
Valerie stared at Quies, while Quies tried to keep his gaze away from her piercing eyes.
"...I guess I could go for a kebab, if they even have those here."