He looked around himself at the houses, the shops, and other buildings that had been rebuilt within the span he took to revive; they all were taller, and the architecture was a bit different than before.
Usually the houses were made of concrete and stone because of the need to light fires inside, but now they were made from wood and only some stone.
The streets were clean and devoid of any horse feces; the air didn't reek because of that reason. He was unsure of how this was accomplished since horses still roamed the streets. In fact, the population had increased significantly, as shown by the bustle in the streets.
As he turned around the corner, he saw the large castle. The symbol with a large brown bear came into view; this was the symbol of the Noble family of the city, the Brunsa Family.
'The Title of Brunsa, which means 'fierce bear' in Leosh. Morn of the Red River's nickname in the battlefield—Perhaps he was bestowed with this city by my descendants... or perhaps he attained it through his wits instead of his brawns, which seems unlikely as well.'
Morn of the Red River was a commoner from the Northern plains situated east of Grunard. He was a battle-hardened commander of Aegis's army at the battle of Giants' Castle, where he fought valiantly, losing an arm in the process. He was a strong 60-Year-old man back then; he already had a wife and two kids. He was a little headstrong but possessed immense loyalty to the king.
'He deserved the title of a noble...'
As he was carried through the streets, the faint smell of spices hit his nose; he couldn't help but drool. It reminded him of Juaid city, the former 'Kingdom of Spice.'.
'The spices from the south have reached the North? Not really surprising; it's been three centuries...'
He liked the pies in juaid, the curry as well. For generations, several kingdoms couldn't bring down the walls forged by the coin- and spice-driven economy of Juaid; even at the end of Aegis's life, it was called the richest city of the empire.
"Quite a pleasant smell." He said, trying to make small talk with the guards. The guard beside him chuckled.
"It would be pleasant for someone who has only had mutton stew for the entirety of his life; it's quite distasteful when you eat it every day." The guard said, with a sigh at the end.
"Where am I being taken?" Alicent asked, his hands tied by a strong rope. Although he matched the description of a Black-haired, blue-eyed eyed and slightly tanned-skinned person very well, there were a lot of people like that; just the description shouldn't get him into trouble.
"The red order has published a notice that the statue of Our divine lord was defamed in Kurard Village." The guard told the confused teen.
'It seems like I have been caught in the midst of some other commotion.' He thought with slight frustration. They soon arrived at the barracks of the city's red order, which were only situated a hundred and fifty meters from the city gates.
"Light bless us all." The guard at the barracks entrance said, drawing a cross on his chest. Alicent did the same as the other guards.
"You seem like a believer of the Lord. They will probably let you go after questioning you and checking your belongings." The guard said, and Alicent nodded. He took Alicent inside the barracks. Alicent looked around the barracks; several weapons were lying around in various places, and the walls were adorned with halberds, spears, clubs, and short swords.
He was taken inside of a room at the end of the main room by the guard. A man sat on the table; his hair was brown, and his skin was pale like most Northerners. The man chuckled loudly, showing his pearly white teeth. his face was lean and defined, and his hair was slicked back. he wore robes that made him look like a dignified priest of the church.
'His hair and demeanor remind me of Morn; the ladies must go crazy for him as well...'
He was conversing with a knight about something before his gaze diverted towards Alicent. As they made eye contact, a sharp pain erupted in Alicent's left eye. He put his hands over it.
"Light bless us! Did something happen?" The Priest asked with his deep voice.
"Uhh, No sir, I think something got in my eye... Light bless us all." Alicent replied as the pain subsided. The priest stood in a high rank in the Red Order, especially so if he was a descendant of Morn or a Noble of the City. There was no doubt a priest of his ranking wouldn't be involved in the supernatural.
'What was that pain? Did it trigger from just his gaze'? Alicent thought to himself as he wiped the tear that dropped from his eyes. The man's gaze stayed on him until it was diverted to the guard.
"My Lord, a suspect of the Kurard Case." The guard told the Priest, who nodded and motioned with his hand. 'Mi'Lord' was used to refer to someone who stood in a noble hierarchy by a commoner.
'So, he is of noble blood, Mi'lord...'
"You can return to your Post." The priest of the Order excused the guard, who went away after bowing.
"Are you a believer of the Lord?" The Noble priest asked Alicent. Alicent didn't know the current state of the religion; he wondered if the noble would ask him to repeat the words written in a bible of a god who had already perished.
"Yes." He said with hesitancy, and the priest looked at him for a second.
'I must be wary of what comes out of my mind.' He thought as sweat dripped down his forehead and his heartbeat kept getting faster.
"Were you the blasphemer?"
"No, Mi'Lord." The priest kept staring at him.
'Why is he staring at me so intently? Is it some kind of psychological analysis?'
"You're free to go. Just remember to give your Full name and address to the lady at the counter." The priest told the teen. Alicent was caught off guard.
"Thanks for it?" He said, Surprised. The priest nodded.
'Maybe I should bow to him before leaving to show etiquette.' He thought as he bowed to the priest and left after closing the door.
"How odd." The priest said to no one in particular as he stood up and walked near the window.
"Yes indeed, the boy felt odd." A voice came from the mirror that was hung on the wall on the opposite side of the room. It was another priest whose hair was jet black and whose skin was pale like snow. He had a ridiculous smile on his face, with his teeth showing.
"A newly made Ascender, perhaps." The mirror said. An Ascender was a person who wielded authority over the Supernatural realms.
"He seems to have an Auro center in his left eye socket. From his reaction, he seems to be an ascender of the Diamond Domain..." The priest said, putting a hand to his clean-shaven face, he gently stroked his chin.
"But the Spirit of light has stopped responding. For what? ... 2 years. Isn't that why you're struggling against the abyss?" The figure in the mirror chuckled. It put its shaky and sickly-looking hands to his hair and slicked back the few strands that had fallen.
"Yet we endure; be on the lookout for Disturbances in the mirror realm." He informed the mirror image.
"Of course..." The figure on the mirror faded into the black abyss, and the mirror became normal again.
...
'That priest is definitely not someone I should visit again. I will be extra careful not to be involved with anything till I return home.' Alicent thought as he walked through the stone roads of the city, admiring its beauty. He was near the south gate right now; he still had to walk. On the way, he admired the scenery.
'I need to deliver this letter to the Eastern side... the city is large. I should hurry; it's almost an hour past noon. I will need to return home in the dark at this rate.'
Grunard was divided into 4 parts; the outer wall of the castle, or the walls that house the city, has four gates on the North, East, West, and South sides of the city. Besides that, there were also many mini gates on the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest sides.
Before the destruction caused by Aegis's conquest, the city was much smaller; to accommodate the growing population, the walls were reconstructed and designed with rapid urbanization in mind after the conquest.
The central plaza was located just before the castle. Just as Alicent arrived there, he took a moment to admire the giant castle that had stood there for a millennium. Formerly, the castle was a giant forge built by the giants and the dwarves; for this reason, the entrance to the castle was large, almost 10 meters.
Giants of the fourth age, like King Aegis, were quite small compared to those of the third age, and even those seemed small compared to the giants of the second age.
The giants of the second age, as seen in Aegis's memories, were giants that were more than 30 meters in height. The first giant was so large, his fingers were the size of a normal human.
Alicent silently observed the castle before moving to the eastern side. The streets were wider there because of the larger number of People who came from the east.
'The east is where the Elven Sea is located. Has such a connection with the Western continent been established?' He thought, as his eyes wandered towards a few people of eastern descent, they had thicker skin than that of the central continent; they were easily distinguishable.
The place where he needed to deliver was the Grunard Farmer's association, it was a large building with trees planted around it; the architecture was reminiscent of the south, and a logo of a sapling was carved into the cement.
The sapling represented the Mistress of the forest, an avatar of the Earth Goddess. Although Alicent may not be a believer in the Earth goddess, His father was a believer.
He entered the building and gave the letter to the receptionist.
The receptionist took the letter and gave it to the regional head of the association, whose office was next to the reception.
"Mr. Alicent, the regional head, has agreed to the content of the letter. Please notify Mr. Anthony that we will be arriving within the next few days for a health inspection." The receptionist said as Alicent nodded and thanked her before going outside.
...
"He's just a farmer's kid from the south." A man said as he sat on a table, he had a newspaper in his hand and wore an exquisite suit; he had the top button done, and his tie hugged his collar tightly. A person could tell he had an exquisite sense of formality. He had slicked-back black hair and blue eyes; his skin was pale like most Northerners. He looked middle-aged.
"His grace Marcus personally told our captain to investigate him." The woman beside him said as she sipped her tea, her skin was slightly tanned, and she looked like someone of eastern descent. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun, and she looked to be in her late teens.
"The priest did? Oh man..." He muttered.