Capis. The city of Golden Roses. So important, so essential, and yet so far away.

   It was what captivated Serifys' thoughts as he sat on the sill to the single window of the room where he slept. The sun shone bright above him, warming the frigid air of the morning and causing the already reduced amount of dirty, leftover snow to melt further into the drains. None but the store owners, those that had to open their doors and set up their wares, walked about, the hurried scuffling of their footsteps the only noise that disturbed the peace of a sleepy Fenix.

   Fenix. An amazing place in its own way. A city of strong and healthy people living in well-developed buildings surrounded by a lavish, forested territory. Fenix was a popular city, one of the biggest of the North, and above all, Serifys' home, the place where he'd been born and raised.

   Not that he'd complain. He loved Fenix. It was where those he loved and the place he called home presided. But still, one could dream. And Serifys dreamed of going to Capis, the great Mainus of all the regions, the one place that connected all the four regions.

   "Serifys!" His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as somebody called his name.

   "Serifys, where are you?" He sighed as he recognized the owner of the voice, and didn't bother to respond.

   "Ah!" Serifys heard the door open and footsteps clack on the stone floor. "So there you are, Serifys."

   "Jermyn, why are you even-" Serifys was cut off as a force abruptly pushed him from behind and suddenly, the sill was no longer under him. He landed crouched on his feet with a grunt, stumbling over a pipe and falling backwards.

   Serifys scowled up at his twin brother, who was leaning out the window with a brilliant smile covering his face. "That was for ignoring me the first time," Jermyn called down to him. He jerked his head towards the front of the house. "We've got to get to the Scaena for the weekly meeting. Go around to the front." With that, he pulled the two halves of the window closed and they came together to form a dark mahogany rectangle, marred only by a straight black line that split it down the middle.

   Serifys sighed as he picked himself up. There were many times that he wished he didn't have to bear with the annoyance of a sibling, and this moment would be one of them.

   He walked parallel to the wall, his pale green gaze traveling over the places where rain had faded the creamy color, dirt had crept up from the ground to stain it, and cracks had split the corners of the windows and the gray stone around the house. As Serifys neared the corner, voices made their ways into the span of his hearing. He quickened his pace as he turned it, and his parents, along with his siblings, came into view.

   His mother and father stood close by each other, conversing in low tones. Their expressions were unusually tense and their faces uncharastically worried.

   "Serifys! Took you long enough," Kreatrix said, smacking him on the back of his head.

   He made a sharp noise of exclamation and rubbed the spot she'd hit, scowling at his older sister. "Can you not for once greet somebody without injuring them?"

   Kreatrix laughed in response, throwing back her head. The dark strands, of the same color as his, spread out behind her in the breeze, waving from side to side gently. "You're the only one weak enough to consider it an injury, Serifys." She raised her hand to ruffle his hair and he ducked away from it, letting a small smile slip onto his face as he did so.

   "Finally here, my dear?" Jermyn asked as Serifys came up to him. He was leaning against one of the pillars that supported their home, arms crossed over his chest.

   "The only reason I'm allowing you to say that without retaliation is because it happened to rhyme."

   "That's the only reason I even stated it in the first place."

   Serifys kicked him hard in the shin, to which Jermyn responded by cursing and then immediately looking towards their parents to see if they'd heard, which, luckily for him, they hadn't.

   "I thought you weren't going to retaliate?" he hissed, turning back towards Serifys.

   "That, beloved brother, was for pushing me out of the window."

   "Ah, Serifys, there you are. Now that everybody's here, let's get going, shall we?" His father spoke up, looking over.

   "Yes. Finally." Kreatrix lifted herself off of the railing that she'd been leaning on, rolling on the balls of her feet. "It's taken long enough."

   Jermyn's hand fluttered upwards and flicked Serifys' ear in a quick motion as he walked past. "You're always the slowest one, Serifys."

   Serifys followed, skipping over the last step of the porch and stepping directly onto the ground. "Can't call yourself the fastest one either, can you Jermyn?"

   His brother looked up pointedly at Kreatrix. "Children are always the most eager, and so always the fastest."

   "You say that about somebody who is two years older than you."

    "It's not as if she acts like she's older than me."

   Serifys chuckled in response. There was nothing he could say in response, as the statement was indisputably true. Kreatrix was the child of the family. If not in age, then in mind.

   As if she'd sensed that they were speaking about her, Kreatrix turned back to look at the two. "Hurry up, will you?" she called.

   "We're coming!" Jermyn yelled back. He shook his head and let a smile loose onto his lips as he picked up the pace.

   Serifys did the same, the leather of his boots making soft, muffled noises as it tapped against the cobbles of the stone streets. People began to slowly appear, the giggles of children filling the air as playmates met and soft murmur of collective voices rising as families merged.

   "Loranel!" a voice called, and Serifys turned his head to see who had called his mother's name.

   A woman made her way through the crowd to them, her family trailing behind her. Her smile was wide and her crystalline blue eyes bright.

   "Gwenelei." His own mother's eyes lightened when she saw her friend. "It's been awhile."

   "What can I say, old friend?" the woman responded as she twisted to the side to avoid bumping into somebody. She finally got to Serifys' family, who had all stopped to wait, and stood in front of them. "I've not had any time to visit. Varenox is coming. We've all got to give our share, and Dolyn and I are planning something quite significant this time."

   "Yes, we most definitely are," added her husband, who'd finally managed to get to them. A twinkle entered his hazel eyes. "I think I'd be right to say a great many people will enjoy what we have planned."

   "You'll love it!" piped up their son from behind Dolyn, the corners of his lips crinkling up into a smile.

   He chuckled, pulling the child forward. "Of course they will."

   "Alright then," Serifys' father said, looking in the direction that the other families were going. "We'd best be going then."

   "Ah, yes, of course," Gwenelei responded, following his gaze. "Time won't wait for us." She began to walk, and Dolyn followed with their son.

   Serifys' mother did the same, and the rest of them followed, making small talk with the other family.

   They turned one more corner, and there the Scaena awaited. It was a truly grand place, gray circular walls soaring high into the sky, great cracks from earthquakes past splitting its sides, ivy and other plants creeping to cover it with green vines and blooming purple-blue flowers. The people of Fenix massed together, turning into a stream that flowed through the large, doorless opening into the Scaena.

   They too, melted into the river of people, letting the current take them inside. They stepped through the entrance, and began to climb up the many many rows of stone-carved seats, and eventually they stopped somewhere in the middle.

   They all took a seat, Serifys in between his siblings. He watched as others made their way into the Scaena, rows of them filing inside, appearing to be no more than dashes of the various shades of cream and brown that their tunics were.

   Suddenly, a booming gong resonated throughout the Scaena and Serifys' head snapped over to the stage. A man stood to the right of the stage, a large metal club held in his hand, the lower half wrapped in leather. He raised it once more and struck the giant bronze plate that hung before him from its frame, and the sound resonated through the air once more.

   The noise quieted down in the Scaena, and heads turned towards the stage. Once more the gong boomed, and then another man came forward from the curtains hung at the back. The announcer.

   "A week has past, and so once again, I welcome you, citizens of Fenix, to the Scaena!" he cried, throwing up his arms, and his voice boomed up to Serifys.

   The routine, short round of clapping echoed throughout the colosseum and quickly died down.

   The announcer lowered his arms. "So, as usual, you all come to the Scaena seeking news. And of course, that is what we shall give you."

   And so, the man commenced the weekly meeting. It went on as normal, with nothing out of the ordinary being stated, and soon, Serifys' attention wound up elsewhere, shifting from thing to thing.

   "And before we wrap up our meeting, one more piece of essential information."

   Serifys' attention snapped back to the announcer. The most noteworthy news was always saved for last.

   The man gestured towards the curtain behind him. "A traveler has come from Capis to deliver this solemn news to you."

   A slim figure stepped out from the curtains. They appeared to be garbed in the traditional clothing of a trader, a shorter tunic than normal and knee-high boots, along with darker-colored clothing to hide the grime.

   A sense of apprehension built up in Serifys and he glanced to the side to see that worry had crept up onto his parents' faces once more. The announcer has said that this news was solemn. Whatever he meant, it certainly wasn't about how bountiful the crops were this season.

   He watched as the trader, a woman with black hair unevenly chopped off at her shoulders, made her way to where the announcer stood. She turned her face upwards, towards the audience.

   Her voice was powerful, and eerily calm as she spoke, projecting her voice so that those in the far back could hear. "I am a trader, come from the South. One month ago, I was in the Mainus of the North, Autem."

   She took another step forward, and countless eyes trained on her. "I heard news that a great criminal has been released from the dungeons of Capis."

   Murmuring spread through the crowd. Not many who went to the dungeons were released.

   "None thought much of him. After all, he is a mere old man, with seven years of his life spent in the prisons."

   Seven years. Such a long sentence. Such a great portion of his life wasted away.

   "Alas, we underestimated him. He concocted a deadly potion, and traveled to the house of one of most wealthy in Autem and threatened their lives, claiming that he would unleash a great plague upon them if they did not comply to his wishes. And so they were forced to give up their solid wealth, their money, their gold. He took that wealth and hired crooks and cronies, and with their help, broke into the city bank of Autem. He stole a massive amount of money. He bidder his time after that, for a week or so, and waited, while we slowly, eventually, pushed the fear of him to the back of our minds, but once again, he appeared! This time he'd collected even more minions, a great many, in the dozens. He then began on a rampage, traveling north, plundering and terrorizing any city that he came across."

   The trader paused for effect, letting the fear wash across the crowd before continuing. "In every city, he comes to the Scaena. In every city, he forces all the people to gather. In every city, he comes forward and he asks one question." She stopped once more, and the spoke up again, this time her voice filled with a sense of wonder and awe. "Where, he asks, is the Fire Rose?"

   Confusion rippled through the crowd. The Fire Rose? Serifys turned to face Kreatrix to ask whether she knew of this, only to find that she'd done the same.

   "You don't know?"

   "I'm afraid I don't, and I suppose it means you don't either if you're asking that question."

   The gong echoed through the Scaena once more in an attempt to calm the mutterings.

   The trader continued speaking. "His name, this criminal's name, is Satorus. And he is coming. He is coming to Fenix in a search for the Fire Rose because he believes that it is in Fenix, and he will tear apart this city and he will not stop looking until he finds the thing that he is looking for - the Fire Rose." She stopped there, ducked her upper body in a short bow, and took a step back.

   The announcer took her place and spoke out, attempting to calm down the crowd, which had erupted in protests and discussion. "Citizens of Fenix! Satorus is not here yet, and we can do what we can to stop him. Board your doors, keep your eyes on the city gates, and make sure you have a weapon nearby! Do not let your children near the gates! That is all we have to say today, and now the meeting has come to an end!"

   People began to rise, and Serifys' family followed suit. They began to make their way to the entrance of the Scaena, the noise of footsteps lost in the rising amount of voices stemming from worry and fear.

   His mother's face was tight and his father's expression drawn. Even Gwenelei's expression was oddly worried. Dolyn was completely expressionless.

   They finally reached the opening, and walked out. Dolyn and Gwenelei split away from them with a short good-bye, and they continued on their way to their own home.

   No one spoke, each person lost in their own thoughts. Serifys gaze was trained on his boots, and he watched as he took one step after another, the leather bending and flexing with his leg. Satorus... the name itself seemed so foreboding, so dangerous. He was coming. He was coming for them. For the Fire Rose. What was the Fire Rose in the first place? It appeared nobody but Satorus knew about it - but he thought that others, whoever they may be, did.

   Serifys looked up at a hand on his shoulder. Kreatrix stood next to him. "We're home." she said, not bothering to look at him as she began to climb the steps to the porch, letting her hand slip off of his shoulder. Serifys did the same, and he made it to the doors, turning around and waiting for the rest of his family to reach them.

   They eventually did. His mother slipped the key out of a pocket and inserted in into the keyhole wordlessly. She turned it with a click and pushed forward, the door moving along with her. The rest of the family filed in after her into the house.

   "Satorus is coming," Serifys murmured.

   "And we'll have to be prepared," Jermyn added as he turned to close the door, being the last person to enter.