*RUMBLE!*
A lone, wooden carriage—tail iron wheels, and an enclosed body, creaked down a familiar, colorful, glass-like road.
The Rainbow Road.
Though something was different about it. It didn't look like your average wooden carriage.
It was heftier, carrying almost an imperial presence in its design. But the detail that stuck out the most,
It was a vibrant white crystal, hovering above the tipped spire on the top of the wagon.
A man dressed in a white cape and a black armored undershirt, the standard Luni attire, was driving the wagon forward. Though no horses were pulling the carriage whatsoever.
The man dispassionately rested his head on his closed fist as the carriage continued slowly barreling down the road.
He grimaced. "...Fuckin' creatures." He rubbed his temple crossly. "I'm tired of this. If Aetheron wants those bastards kept in check, why doesn't he go down there his damn self?"
Suddenly, the man's meaningless grumbling was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream, a woman's scream.
He stopped the carriage dead in its tracks.
Quickly hopping out of the driver's seat and onto the road, he frantically searched in every direction, his heart began to pound out of his chest—not out of concern for this woman's wellbeing,
...Because there should be no other living soul traveling this road.
"H-Help! Please, help!" The woman cried out once more, still unable to be seen.
"Hey! W-Where the hell are you!?" The disgruntled man snapped. A hand placed over his standard-issued short-sword on his left hip.
With every second that she didn't respond, his fear only rose. Now, the man's body was shining with a faint blue aura—like an animal preparing itself for a fight.
Finally, the voice spoke again. "I'm here! I-I'm right here!"
He heard her words clearly, but he couldn't decipher where they were coming from; her voice bounced off the clouds around him.
"Here?" The man asked. "Here where?- URGK!"
The man suddenly felt something cold coil around his neck tightly. Hard steel.
He struggled, gasping for air as he grabbed at the force that gripped his neck. Glancing down, he recognized the series of connected metal links that were taut around his throat; it was a chain.
*YANK!*
The man was forcefully pulled to the floor by his neck. A high-brown boot drove into his sternum, keeping his entire body pinned underneath its unnatural strength.
He couldn't scream. He could barely even breathe. All that he was allowed to do was stare into the cold eyes of his aggressor as she loomed over him with an unfeeling expression.
You could tell from his eyes, he knew who this woman was.
And knew she was the last face he'd ever see.
Pandora Desdemona.
"Right here," Pandora whispered.
*CRACK!*
With a single swift motion, Pandora snapped the man's vertebrae. His life ended almost instantly—final breath nothing more than a pathetic... gasp.
She watched the life drain from his unsuspecting eyes, twisting and turning her foot across his chest, pressing down hard on his ribcage—feeling for a heartbeat.
Pandora enjoyed feeling her victim's heart stop, deriving a twisted sort of pleasure from it; she would much rather drive her hand into his chest and feel it for herself.
...But she can't leave any tracks, not this time.
There's a war brewing, and she won't allow herself to stick around and watch it unfold.
She begrudgingly uncoiled her chains from around the Luni's neck, and almost like it had a mind of its own, the chain quickly wrapped around Pandora's body, almost like a satchel.
Then, slowly... faded into a Red Light—particles floating into the sky above.
Pandora threw the man's body to the side and quickly climbed onto the now vacant carriage. Glancing at its roof, she noticed the lone, glowing gem that hovered above it.
A faint smirk grew on her face; it was her lucky day. This was exactly what she was looking for.
A Light-speed carriage. It's one of the most common forms of transportation issued to a Luni after their Discipleship. Allowing a Luni to travel from Lychinus all the way down to Tenebris in under a second.
Just from the crystal's manipulation of the Light from the Rainbow Road.
Of course, this is not the first time Pandora has 'borrowed' one of these carriages.
She attuned herself to the gem, placing just a hand on the dashboard—her entire body beginning to glow a crimson red. The crystal soon followed, its white hue slowly changing colors, now drowning in vermilion.
....
*WOOSH!*
Suddenly, the carriage took off! Blazing down the Rainbow Road, leaving nothing behind by a single streak of Light in its wake.
And it wasn't long before it reached the end of the road, Pandora blinked once—and practically missed the entire ride.
After regaining her composure, Pandora shook her head—stepping out of the carriage with a slight stumble. Then, she finally picked her head up and glanced around.
...And the sight was disappointing, just like the last time she'd unfortunately laid eyes on this place.
...It wasn't anything like the stories.
The air felt heavy the moment you touched down, a thick, disgusting, damp chill that clung to your lungs. The land itself was colorless, the grass a dull, lifeless brown that practically crumpled if you stepped on it.
But what was even stranger... was the Light. Or yet, the lack of it. It didn't shine so much as it lingered, and even that seemed completely muted. With just a glance into the sky, you could immediately find the culprit.
The Kingdom of Lychinus.
The size of the kingdom itself was enormous, its sheer length rivaling the size of a continent. There was absolutely no way 'Light' could shine down here.
...Though, when Pandora looked around. No one seemed to care—didn't even meet her gaze as she climbed out of the carriage, and the Rainbow Road slowly disappeared behind her.
...Or maybe, they know to be scared of the people who exit these carriages.
Orcs, elves, half-borns. Crowds of them packed the narrow streets in front of her, walking past grimy-looking shops, some of which had large signs that glowed bright colors. This caught Pandora's eye first—she hadn't seen some of this technology the first time she came down here, though it was nearly 2 decades ago.
Most of the beings here seemed... downtrodden. Even the kids who walked out of the nearby dilapidated secondary school walked with their heads held down. Just trying to make it home.
Some of them walked immediately into the tavern that seemed almost predatorily placed just across the street from the school. A homeless family sat just outside, waiting to beg any soul that walked in and out the tavern's door—a dark-elf mother and her two children, both wrapped in blankets, while the mother herself had none.
Pandora stood just outside of the large, open gates of the city; this place seemed to be its capital.
With a large, decrepit wooden sign staked into the dirt road. It read:
"WELCOME TO TENEBRIS."
"...Hmph." Was the only sound Pandora could muster.
Tenebris.
Though, she didn't plan on staying long, the closest thing in her brain that resembled pity almost began to form.
Yeah, she knew this place was a shithole. But, somehow, it feels as if it's gotten worse.
She didn't even have a moment to breathe—walking in the gates, she felt every single creature's gaze directly on her.
In under a second, she knew the atmosphere had immediately shifted. Mothers held their children's hands tighter, store owners peeked through their blinds overtly, even though what small number of police were nearby, scrunched their eyebrows, and stared at Pandora indignantly.
"Well, I'll be! A bloody Lychinor!" A voice shouted keenly from the sidewalk.
When Pandora stopped and turned around, she seemed surprised. This creature's appearance wasn't at all what she was expecting.
A half-ling, draped in various sorts of gold necklaces and trinkets, nearly bigger than his body. Gemstones hung from the braids on his bushy ginger beard, and his layered black tunic looked foreign as well. He sat on the curb, resting his hand on his knee, his equally as frazzled hair slightly obscuring the top half of his face.
"Aye. I don't suppose you're lost? Haha! Nah, you have that glint in yer' eye. Like a black cat followin' yer' every footstep, no matter how fast you run."
He smirked, revealing a sharp golden molar. "So tell me, lass. You a friend? Or someone I should be running from?"
Pandora didn't respond, not even granting him a slight change in expression.
The half-ling pulled his vest to the side, revealing a manner of sketchy potions and more trinkets. "Fancy a lil' pick me up? Somethin' tells me you got an insatiable appetite."
Pandora calmly reached into her right-side pocket, "I don't want any of your useless crap, old man."
*SCHING!*
And flipped the man 2 silver coins. "But, I do need some information."
He smiled grew even wider, catching both the coins with two fingers.
"...What's the quickest way to get to Erenam?" She asked.
The half-ling grabbed his beard, twirling his braids, amused. "Erenam? What kind of business do you have in Skal country, girl?"
Pandora scowled. "The 'none of yours' kind."
He heartily laughed in response, slapping his knee. "Aye! Fair." Then, his smirk slowly grew increasingly more sinister. "You know, a lad just about your age came 'round askin' a similar kind of question."
"And? What does that have to do with me?" Pandora replied, growing visibly irritated.
The half-ling chuckled. "...He was a human."
Pandora's rage quickly quelled, and her face slowly moved into confusion. She was unsure whether to believe this man or not. "There was another human who came down here?" She said, trying to suppress her rising panic.
"Haha! A tough one at that! Seen 'em scuffle with a couple of orcs and handle all of 'em like some wee lasses! He frequents the tavern at this time, sounded like he already got his route planned out to Erenam last we chatted. Seems like to me you might wanna catch 'em."
Pandora aggressively stepped closer to the half-ling, hovering over the small man with a dangerous look in her eye. "What is this man's name?"
He whipped back his hair, finally looking up to meet Pandora's gaze. He smiled.
"Dion Salvator."