Turning around, the usual horse, pig and dog-filled street led with trees on each side, hid a few wooden restaurants, with its owners either joining the crowd or hiding behind shut curtains. Further along, the path ended with a bridge over a small canal, extending above a hill where the other road, leading amongst a few tents stretched up towards another landmark, namely, a massive tent, serving as a pub, as well as a place for important announcements, right where the river crossed without any bridges towards a tiny grove moving into a colourful gorge.

Down in the gorge, lay a lake, with flowerbeds on the shores. Atomu recalled a witchtale he once heard.

There was, supposedly, an Ancient Sword hidden at the bottom of the lake, however, unreachable and unseen to the normal eye.

Ancient Items were presumed by most not as a myth, but something once lost to time. Back before the Second War, before Guardian Demons existed, the older generation was rumoured to have already been burning demon's blood into every weapon around.

Ancients are often even speculated to be weapons made out of Shi Hon's blood, reasoning why they're still somewhere in this world but lost to thought.

Anyone could lift an Ancient Weapon if they were powerful enough.

From the tent and down the hill, between curvy roads, wooden inns, tent pawn shops and a few houses, the street connected to the one Atomu just walked through, opposing the road leading slowly to Ranpa's house.

The first thought that came to Atomu's mind was the horse-stop. He recalled waiting for hours simply because he wasn't well-versed in routes around the town at such a young age. Home, back then, was far away, but even if there was one now it would only take a few hours of walking.

Struggling to breathe, he looked towards the next landmark, with a massive, swinging clock atop a wooden tower. He remembered when his youngest sister once asked him about the precise time of day, and he too, found himself a little puzzled. Arrows in specific positions meant morning, noon, evening and so on, without any numbers, unlike in Galliath.

However, there was one thing he always knew that made him raise an eyebrow at the sight.

Right behind the clock's uneven highest point, there was a road between a few stone houses eventually leading to that one singled-out part of Medulla where the town's mayor resided.

He could hear his sonorous and distant voice, with bells and horns of the guards trying to tune out the other cacophony of sounds. Without a direction, following paths, he crouched down, finding an opening to sneak through, running amongst the few stones and through the other street.

Passing the massive Royal Square, skipping around different people calling him out for stepping on prohibited land, he stared at the patterns on the ground, suggesting stories. He saw depictions of kings and alike once ruling over what Osmania was, with the remnants of buildings now home to Saphrith standing to his right, or stretching far beyond into a different district.

Horses neighed, dogs barked, even sheep managed to sneak into different places, no one seemed to have the strength or control over the situation. Curiosity fueled chaos.

Turning back, facing the few hills and white walls atop an elevation, proudly scratching the sky, Atomu gulped.

Running errands was usually left to the family's eldest, that being of Atomu, with his brother as his assistant. One such night led them to sneak through the mentioned street and towards the Royal Square, overwatching a massive supper only reserved for those of the royalty. The tables were neatly stacked next to each other, and a cloth was laid over the wooden finishes. Although, the food was pretty much the same as what he would have enjoyed.

"Wow!" his brother muttered, in excitement.

"Shh! They'll hear us!" Atomu whispered, his concerns quickly turning into a smirk that usually painted his face.

Doing something they weren't supposed to do was always exciting, especially at a young age. It was Atomu who showed his brother the path only he seemed to know about.

Feeling the cold stone of the wall next to him, opposing the orange and red stretches of grass that lay beneath bushes, he finally turned, breathing out.

Elton told him to run, but there was nothing to be met at the other end of town.

With a frown, he continued.

While Atomu struggled with the crowds, he never found himself troubled with knowing where to go. As a young fool, he knew his way around shortcuts to make his given work a little easier.

The same couldn't necessarily be said about Chyuuichi or Rowan, as with the people sporadically disappearing the only thing that was left on their plates was confusion. Through minutes, perhaps even hours of yelling, aimlessly walking or trying to find something of interest, the two managed to find themselves in separate districts.

While Rowan's story had more twists and turns, Chyuuichi kept a strangely calm attitude throughout. Of course, having faced whatever happened earlier left him a little panicked, but finding himself in the Colliyus district put a strange stop to all those notions.

Colliyus, in old Manjuno, meant "hilltops", and that name suited very well. Chyuuichi didn't know that, though. Bah, he'd be blessed if he even remembered the few writings on signs splattered around which eventually led to tent-houses of certain families. Parson, Marski, Boron, Juyuner or Utopier were the few he read after struggling with the handwriting, which was one peculiar thing about Paladians.

The way they scribbled differed greatly from other races, stemming from the fact that most were left-handed and held their tools in what one would call an ineffective way. This led to more curvy lines, but the names which usually held thousands of passed-around stories meant nothing to Chyuuichi.

There weren't many roads in Colliyus, rather, tents were sporadically placed out of nowhere, among a few fences separating backyards, with more signs, ones the likes of "STOP stepping on my FLOWERS it took me HOURS to find THEM." which Chyuuichi laughed about for five minutes.

Hilltops meant going up and down, and the houses represented this solemnly. Some were placed on a tilt and bent unevenly, with a few wooden poles sticking out from the silk and atop the roof. The ones further below were usually smaller, as roads beneath the higher altitudes meant stretching into different valleys, climbing into rockier terrain and perhaps the few tiny caves and crevices of the town.

Those caves were home to springs, and Colliyus was one watery district. Not as in damp, rather, there were rivers, lakes and all different streams suddenly carving a road. One such occasion where Chyuuichi strutted without a care in the world led to him falling, only rescued by the one person who stayed behind from the Utopier family.

Utopiers themselves, much like any other of the Colliyus district stayed in the said place because they were well-versed in water from the get-go. It was the oldest of Utopiers who patented the first thin boats or planks used to cross bigger lakes. Juyuners were responsible for the oars, and although that invention came when old Manjuno was no longer prime, they were dubbed "Juyus" after the family.

All in all, the people who stayed there had a good reason. Besides how calm it was, most had jobs concerning the export of certain items or plants that only grew here.

Walking inside, the tent seemed to differ from the 'outskirts of Medulla' style. Namely, there was no laid floor, but a thin, colourful duvet stretched atop. The grass beneath was soft, obviously stepped out with bare feet and further strengthened by the nearby waters.

Although, except for that, Chyuuichi didn't necessarily have time to look around. When he dried out, the Mirillian left in a hurry, explaining to the woman that he had "business to attend to!".

Moving up again, trees which earlier were as sporadical and without a pattern as the tents (also, bushes, patches of grass, gorges and even a few waterfalls that fell from the hilly backdrops into groves) grew into a thick wall of barks surrounding different tents.

Chyuuichi now stood at the edge of the district, faced with a strange choice. Should he head back, or struggle through the dense trees?

Guess. Guess what Chyuuichi would do.

He eventually ended up in a cave.

On the other side, stood Rowan.

Stepping on red grass, overlooking plain and massive terrain, Rowan found themselves in a quiet and oddly comfortable part of town. With all the muffled noises far in the distance, they trod a road through the abysmally large wheat field, seldom stopping with a halted breath and feeling around the plants with their hands.

At first, Agroste presented itself as what its name entailed, in old Manjuno "fields". Then, wheat changed into massive flower fields, openly laid with roads neatly cutting through each other and opening their way towards gardens filled with fruits separated by masonry. Here and there a bell rang, as people passed through gates and stepped on bigger hills to overwatch the chaos of Medulla.

Passing by a river that began in Colliyus, Rowan bore a smile at first, concluding that everything here was right in its order. Humouring the simple name, they couldn't help but commend Paladians for these sights. Spare the few obvious signs of people running through the colza fields or big open spaces overlooking the nearby forest where fireplace dinners were held, there wasn't much to complain about.

At first. After all, nature isn't only made of plants, it is also its living creatures that paint its insides.

Moving towards bigger roads, the first tents appeared upon a tilt, moving down into an open valley with stairs towards a small town-like part of Agroste. The red grass changed into brown and beige dirt, and animals roamed around freely, which made Rowan gulp and fear for their life.

Dogs and cats weren't necessarily the most dangerous creatures, but where else were they supposed to head? Dogs and cats, unfortunately, turned into pigs, sheep, horses and even a few damned cows.

Lots of people were present, overlooking the Tributal who couldn't help but notice the few immature jokes here and there. It seemed everything that concerned the growth of food or flowers meant peace, but the animals heavily contrasted the other functions of this district.

Rowan even uttered once to no one in particular that these should be spread into two, but then again, the plant fields were mostly humanless, so they drew a few different conclusions.

There it was, Medulla, where everything gathered. Colliyus, where water sprang and sharpened nature, as well as Agroste which further enriched life, food and everything else.

"Abysmal!" Rowan yelled. Folding their arms, they trod, all up until one of the pigs rammed into their newly made clothes, soaking them in a mix of muddy water and dirt.

"S-Sorry!" Someone raised their hand, covering their mouth, and the Tributal didn't even bother to turn. Breathing in through their angered nose, they leaned against a wooden pole near a tent, trying to contain themselves. Two eyes were closed, and soon one opened.

A girl's cry could be heard, echoing in the distance, until it reached the furious Tributal, who continuously pouted.

"What are you crying for?!" someone yelled, stepping in front of their porch and standing next to a sign with the words Kaupier. Rowan chuckled.

Kau meant "Cow" and Pier meant "Pig". It seemed that the family perfectly reflected the few animals who walked inside the rather girthy tent. Barbaric.

"There." she pointed to the road eventually leading out of Agroste. "Medulla, they..!" she couldn't finish her sentence, tears rolling in.

Rowan peeked, noticing the empty waffle cone in her hand. They sighed, moving back.

"Stop crying already! There are worse things to cry about in life!" the same person shouted, closing the door and presumably pushing the pig around.

Rowan quickly concluded that Kaupiers weren't necessarily liked around these parts of Prope Portam. If the multitude of swear words written below their family name and bottles of alcohol lying around the gardens didn't suggest anything earlier, it was the people avoiding the tent, opting into taking longer roads instead. Even some of the animals turned away in fear.

"Oi." The Tributal raised their voice, crossing their hands. The girl turned.

"S-Sorry..." she put her hands together.

"Nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault that some idiots caused this." Rowan closed their eyes, with a sparkle shining in their hand. The girl's eyes lit up. "Take this."

"H-Huh? Silver?" she asked, beaming lightly.

"I don't know how much ice cream is for, but it should be enough. When all of this ends, why don't you buy yourself another?" Rowan smiled. The girl wiped away her tears and hugged their pant leg. Albeit it was still wet, she didn't seem to mind. She moved back, nodding and then ran off.

However, it seemed that, no matter how far away Rowan was, the woes of the chaos managed to reach in, in one way or another.

"What happened?" A woman ran in from one tent towards the main beige road.

"Bancho's..." the other man replied, unable to finish the sentence.

Rowan squinted both. They peered forward, sighing, and moving further along the road.

***

Eventually, things seemed to die down as hours passed without an explanation in sight. Atomu was still aimlessly wandering around the town, taking carved-out paths in the orange grass and moving further away from the crowds.

The deafening silence didn't strike at his heart, rather, it felt dull and sad. It would be effortless to continue writing about the things he could've possibly felt, so focusing on his rather uneventful journeys might reflect that uneasiness better.

Perhaps, that was the answer he sought as well.

He stepped towards the Grove district, separated by a rather mountainous hill right where Medulla's grassy and uninteresting plains ended.

When in his teenage years, Atomu avoided the place like the Paladian plague, warned of its possible dangers, and witchtales made up by his mother.

In reality, the district was rather calm, but Atomu didn't know that. He had no story to recall, and once again, felt like a stranger.

Atomu wondered about Elton instead. After all, it was said that craftsmen families lived where the biggest supply of resources belonged, with the district itself being nothing more than a lush jungle of llove trees, even with extending vines and branches, sometimes creating houses atop and further away from all the people.

Following the river, his hand swiped around the reddish bark, seeing its tint resembling the few tools Elton used along the way. His eyebrows shook.