Magna was a much different town than anything else in Shimori.

It's obvious that it was bigger than any other place in the country, but most of its differences stemmed from its people. Rather than keeping to their neat traditions, such as the belief in Shin or the ever-presence of alcohol like in Wendigo, the Morians here resembled Paladians, for the most part, perhaps sparing the fact that a chunk of them also lived in the town, much like a good hundred Tributals.

Unlike in Mistwick, or even Wendigo (for some reason), Magna was focused on the economy, jobs, and raising a social status amongst others of its kind. You'd find even the most basic of things, such as brushing away snow into the passing rivers to net you some Silver to spend, and, as you could've guessed, everything cost a great sum there.

It wasn't necessarily eaten by greed itself, but one could argue that it was what motivated goblins to attack all those years ago. There was still warmth to Magna, however.

There were many open bars with hot drinks to enjoy during the colder days, gatherings and big events in the town centre, but most importantly, Magna was where the rule of royalty at the head of leadership began, at least, in Morio's eyes. People generally appreciated what they had, but most of that couldn't be attributed to the town's ruler.

Morio, Jyuzou, Atomu and Chyuuichi stepped off their boats, wandering around the wooden deck area, before treading a bridge and finding themselves walking between tight streets, with people hanging their clothes off the balconies, opening their triangular doors and oval windows.

The roads were made out of little stone cubes, and the many horses that passed through added to much of the already present noise, but no one except the four seemed to mind. Magna was filled, if they somehow picked a less populated street, it was still full of people. When they passed by an overhang, they walked up a tilt, slowly leading towards the main square. Many people put signs on the street, recommending their businesses or pointing to their restaurants, bars or stores.

Chyuuichi eyed them carefully and tried his best to avoid getting hung on any of the bolded words. He took a deep breath and started singing, albeit a bit quietly.

"This town's kind of scary. I didn't expect this many people to be here." Atomu said, fixing his scarf.

"Where are we even headed?" Jyuzou asked.

"The guy at the port said something about the main square, right?" Morio said.

"Main square could describe half of what we already saw!" Atomu raised his voice.

"Yep. It's way worse than Wendigo..." Jyuzou glanced around. "Add onto that, it feels like everyone here wants to sell me something."

"It's culture!" Morio added, putting both hands on his backpack's straps.

Jyuzou turned to one of the mentioned signs, as a Morian shouted something, in his direction.

"Culture doesn't concern something like this." he pointed.

"Hey, Jyuzou. I don't need that negativity today, okay?" Morio raised his voice.

"I'm not negative, just honest." Jyuzou breathed out. "Very overwhelming."

"Well, I can admit that people seem bigger here." Morio nodded.

"It's because you're short," Jyuzou smirked.

Atomu covered his ears, as Morio and Jyuzou got into another meaningless argument.

"We are the bounty hunters! We take what's back and ours! We live in trees and branches! Aaaaah!" Chyuuchi stopped, before gazing at a sign. "FREE SILVER?!" his eyes widened, as he spun around on his heel and started walking towards the person behind the wooden pointer.

"Chyuuichi!" Atomu grabbed him by his scarf, flipping him around like on rope.

"Ah! Atomu, but it's free!" Chyuuichi yelled out.

"Nothing's free..." Jyuzou explained.

"Oh, yeah!" Morio blinked. "People make huge deposits and rarely get their money back," Morio added, stepping by. "Mr Bancho told me once. It's culture!"

"Mentioning him," Jyuzou spoke up. "Didn't he tell you he'd be here when we arrive?"

"Yep! More reason to be excited!" Morio smiled.

Magna was a city that constantly changed, especially with its prices. Pop-up stores appeared and disappeared, and people got scammed more often than they realised. Since a lot of Morians, Paladians and Tributals walked through the streets during the day, they worked out specific patterns as to where or when to strike and usually lived well off with what they rightfully stole.

Magna was pricy, and an inn cost fifty Silver per night, with a comfy bed and a cup of coffee in the morning. Inns were usually the safest of places, as they rarely ever get replaced with casinos or bars. Even restaurants sometimes disappeared overnight, running out of money, even though they seemed to be booming the other day.

Magna was one hell of a place to live in, but much like with anything in life, people got used to its quirks or strange characteristics, which, at the end of the day, could've been fixed, if the the royalty cared for more than the very basics. What one would see in the town was the result of what Morians crafted over years of changes, mixing styles and cultures, as well as standing their ground and making up rules on their own.

Magna was built atop a flowing river, which zigzagged into many other streaks, leading into the Shimori lake, and later towards the ocean, or the Aria River. This meant that, whenever the streams were unfrozen, many boats were used in the place of carriages. The four quickly spotted such, treading a long, thin bridge, with what Jyuzou humorously called a key of these wooden docks while Morio and Chyuuichi sighed very loudly.

Boats themselves were usually always placed at the few docks bordering the districts and kept in special stone, circular buildings for the night. Mentioning, them, structures were built on small or bigger islands, equipped with kawka roofs, which over time turned into a characteristic red colour. Most of Magna was made out of stone, and these roofs served as trivia, with Morio proudly stating that they're actually not made out of wood, which, strangely enough, Atomu denied.

On the topic of surprisingly sturdy things, on particularly cold days, the rivers froze to a halt, which meant that all the roads around the various districts were connected, allowing for ease of access, as well as justifying stepping out on that particular day.

Maybe you'd find a nice storefront where a hot cup of coffee would be served, or encounter people selling clothes near the well in the centre, marking the square in the middle. Or, just maybe, you'd witness the well-known Nuil's march in the night, or spot a fairy flying above town? Magna constantly surprised people. It's bustling, but you'd have to find that certain niche in between the stone-cold ground and in the middle of red-roofed buildings.

Talking about sights, a statue stood, seen from virtually anywhere in town. It depicted a Haran man, a Demonear named Darius who sacrificed his life to sweep the tides and triumph over the onslaught of goblins. Over the years, Morians carved his figure into the mountain, in his honour. It resembled a man in armour, reaching his hand out as if holding onto the light.

The buildings closer to the statue seem just a bit older, with a more yellowish texture to the otherwise pure white stone, the ones further from that were built anew, atop the ruined buildings, which was part of the reason why so many of the districts look different from one another, with barren houses along the way to town.

"Where to...?" Morio squinted his eyes, standing near the well, glancing at the statue from time to time. "How come you have a city this big and without a map? This is blasphemy!" he took out a sheet of paper and quickly sketched something.

Jyuzou wondered where Morio learned the word blasphemy from. "I'm sure there's one somewhere," he raised his voice, snatching the paper from his hand. "Don't waste time on all that stuff, again!"

"Snatching joy right out of my hands, glassy idiot!" Morio raised his voice.

The Paladian folded his arms, tired. He turned to Chyuuichi, who raised his hand, and with a giggle, he tilted his head.

"Do ya know this song, Atomu?" Chyuuichi sung. "We are the bounty hunters! We take what's back and ours! We live in trees and branches! Aaah!" he stopped, staring at Atomu, awaiting his response. "Orawood Chant, do ya know it?"

"I don't think so," Atomu shook his head.

Chyuuchi sighed. "I wanted to ask if ya remember the other part because I forgot."

The two Morians continued talking about nothing.

"If I were a map, where would I be?" Jyuzou wondered, strutting around.

"In my hands." Morio rolled his eyes.

"Gross," Jyuzou answered, stepping back. "Center of town, idiot."

"Wendigo had one near the clock!" Chyuuichi stepped in.

"It was a windmill," Jyuzou said.

"Can someone tell me what a windmill is?" Morio asked.

"That big spinning thing in Wendigo," Atomu whispered, signalling with his fingers.

"That was a clock." Chyuuichi smiled, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't forget that!"

"Yeah, exactly!" Morio added.

"Why are we talking about Wendigo anyway? We're in Magna!" Jyuzou raised both hands.

"Jyuzou's right. Knowing everyone here, the sun will set before we manage to accomplish something." Atomu put his bag over his shoulder, closed his eyes and walked forward. "It's best we find some shelter beforehand." he nodded, and continued treading, before almost stumbling into something.

"Watch out!" Morio shouted, pulling the Paladian back, as he fell onto the stone-cold floor.

A brown horse stopped in front of the two, with black stripes on its body and between its thin hairs. Atomu gulped, quickly standing up.

The figure from above glanced, with furrowed brows.

"I'm sorry!" Atomu immediately bowed. "P-Please continue!" he raised his hand.

The person sighed. "Watch out next time, tourist."

Atomu breathed in, putting his hand on his heart, with an unsure frown.

"Yer way too nice!" Chyuuichi mentioned. "They almost ran ya over!"

"Nice? That was a Tributal, damned royalty! I forgot what they told me in Lignoria," he stressfully played with a strand of his hair. "They're all over the town, working under Eryk Nuil-Tukman himself."

"Who's that?" Morio asked, and Jyuzou shook his head.

"Only the most important person in this town." A deep female voice echoed, as the four turned to a woman standing in front of big, open dark brown doors, leading to a massive building near the main square. "I'm assuming you lot come for the Demonear test, right? Preparations are already being made, and that child of a mild Rowan wanders around the main square as if their dumb horse and stride meant something." she chuckled, putting a pointy, grey cigar in her mouth. She fixed her burgundy robe and winked. "Come in, don't just stand around in the cold. I'm already getting chilly here," she smirked, turning around. "You're hopeless, as far as I can tell.:

"Hey! We're just new!" Chyuuichi raised his fist.

"Figured as much! The two Morian brats were so loud that the people in the bar started complaining."

"It's all your fault." Jyuzou fixed his glasses.

"I'll strangle you in your sleep," Morio replied.

"GUYS?!" Atomu shouted, and Chyuuichi chuckled, matching the barwoman's snicker.

"Arguing about sweet nothings. One rule about Magna is that all maps are in inns or any other bar. It'd be the most logical solution."

Atomu scratched his head, awkwardly.

"Told you you were hopeless," she uttered.

"This is not funny, ma'am!" Jyuzou stepped forward. "Tourism is the key factor to why Magna exists in the first place!"

"Get in already!" her voice echoed, as she stepped in, up a small staircase, treading among the many chairs and stools around the entrance.

The four followed in, finding themselves inside a massive space, brown on the inside, and rather dark. Tables were placed on the other side of the room, with unlit lamps in the middle and a few customers sneaking suspicious glances. The woman quickly moved behind a counter, with an overhang above, next to a staircase that led up to even more tables, as well as steps leading up towards the floors of inns above.

She stood in front of some stairs, which led down into a basement full of barrels filled with many alcoholic drinks, and next to a backdoor. "You won't find other bars like this anywhere in Magna. None of the other ones have legal alcohol, so you can just imagine what this place looks like at night," she said, and the four sat on big stools adjacent to the bar.

"There's illegal alcohol?" Chyuuichi asked.

"No," Atomu answered, raising a finger.

"I wanna try it!"

"Then you're in the wrong place, sweethearts!" she put her hands together. "Wendigo's for that. They kick the people who can't behave out to that bridge town. Bet you don't wanna share the same fate."

"For the plot," Chyuuichi muttered, and Atomu turned as if offended. "I'm joking!" he put both hands on the counter.

"Yeah, I was expecting more people." Jyuzou looked back to the one man sitting in the corner and chugging a pint in silence.

"Wendigo's bars were active from the moment we woke up!" Morio added.

The bartender widened her eyes, with an unassuming smirk.

"Stop with the b-booze talk already," Jyuzou shook his head. "We're not here for that."

"Booze talk isn't exactly that, but I'll bite into your mindset." she chuckled "I'm assuming you're looking for the basics, right?" she asked.

"Exactly!" Morio raised his voice, and one of the customers shushed him. "Sorry...!" he scratched his head.

"The silence doesn't last very long. You can scream all you want in the evening, though." she chuckled.

"I-Information, uh..." Atomu repeated, as if frustrated. "Where do we sleep for the night, since..." he glanced at the three, before she nodded, understanding his signals. Jyuzou furrowed his brows, before pointing to Morio.

"Inns like these, or houses, if you have the money to buy those. You'd be more keen on the former, though. They're splattered all around Magna," she explained. "Fifty Silver for the night,"

"Fifty Silver..?" Morio and Jyuzou said in unity.

"Cheap!" Chyuuichi said, with no Silver in his hands.

"Oh." Atomu looked down. "In Wendigo, you got one for free."

"Does this look like Wendigo to you, sweetheart?" she asked. "If it did, I wouldn't be here," she asked, brewing a drink under the bar. "You pay for everything, and make your own living. It's very easy to get a job, and you can even make thousands of Silver in one day if you're lucky enough. Nothing's free, though."

Chyuuichi's eyes lit up.