The Twelfth Moon || ✔️

62. Apicya

A mischievous smile appeared on his face at my comment. "They suffer sometimes, yes."

Tymen led me into another cave – and I was thankful to find that at the back wall, there wasn't another small tunnel waiting for me, but I saw moving water flow down. The closer we got, the clearer I saw that there was no wall – but it was covered by a thick layer of water, splattering around us and dampening the surrounding walls.

Tymen took us to the left edge of the waterfall, where a small, relatively dry clear space made room for a spectacular view. I had to catch my breath as my eyes took in what I saw before me.

We were standing quite high, and from this point, we could see the city quite clearly.

I couldn't entirely grasp what I was seeing. It looked like an enormous hole in the ground, reaching far to all sides. In the distance, I saw more rocky mountains climbing up, enclosing the city entirely with the rocky substance. The walls of this place were covered with trees, a green contrasting to the more barren landscapes where Tymen had found Jerr and me.

It was still quite early, and the Sun shone on a low point, breathtakingly illuminating the city.

Rows and rows of buildings followed each other, connected by countless streets. The sunbeams danced on the roofs, coloring the city in a golden shimmer.

On the outside, I saw fields and pastures, where the farmers were already heavily at work. Most of the agricultural land had a soft, pinkish color, and I assumed those were growing clum, the local grain.

My eyes trailed down, following where the waterfall mouthed in a river that divided the city in two and disappeared again into the mountains far away.

The city was sprouting with life, and I let myself revel in the sounds of a peaceful city, people working, walking in the streets, greeting their neighbors.

"Apicya," Tymen sang, clicking his tongue. "The Secret City."

"How can this be?" I gasped, marveled, and surprised.

"As the legend goes, when Kima came down so many Moons ago, Zyama did not see her until it was too late to prepare for the impact. And so this crater was made."

"It's immense."

"That it is," he confirmed. "Some hard-core believers even say that Kima's arrival took Zyama by such force and surprise, it caused the mountains to grow out of this crater."

"How can this be hidden away from the world?"

"Very few entries," Tymen answered as he began walking down the stairs that appeared next to the waterfall. "And magic. Be careful not to slip."

I heedfully walked behind him, carefully placing my feet on the wet steps, as the enormous waterfall disappeared behind me.

The steps lead us away from the waterfall, and the more we walked, the less slippery the rock under my feet became.

The closer we got, the more I recognized some distinct smells – smells that suddenly made my heart grow heavy as they reminded me of Rahas. But the most overwhelming smell was that typical animalistic side of the wolves. The more we marched down, the more penetrating the scent became.

Tymen looked back as he heard me snuffle. "You'll get used to the smell," he laughed. "I always forget newcomers aren't accustomed to it yet."

"How is it so strong?" I asked. Apicya was immense, but if I had to guess, it wasn't much bigger than Rahas. Yet the smell was much, much more intense.

"There are no humans here," he explained. "This is almost the entire pack, and Apicya is exclusive to wolves."

We finally reached the bottom of the stairs, my legs sore from the descent, but as we walked towards the buildings, it was easy to ignore my burning muscles. "It is?"