Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 67

As he approached the guards at the gates of Tomorrow's Edge, he could see there was a lot of activity behind them in the city. Players and Elionans alike meandered about, creating a gentle swell of chatter.

"Ho there, Outsider!" One of the guards called out.

Severance stopped, getting a vague sense of déjà vu. It was almost like he was approaching the gates of Ascendance for the very first time. The thought made him smile faintly.

He'd come a long way since then. His smile turned sorrowful.

If only Uncle Fenn could have seen it.

His heart throbbed, and he hastily turned his attention to the guards, focusing on them in order to take his mind off of his uncle. All of the guards were huge behemoths of men, save for the single female on the end. She must have been a bodybuilder though, because she could easily have lifted Severance with a single hand. She probably had more muscles in her pinky finger that Severance had in his entire body.

The burly fellow who called out to him was slightly less intimidating than the woman, even if Severance had to crank his head back to look the guy in the face. And that was with Severance topping six feet himself.

"Hi," he hesitantly greeted.

The guard looked down at him, light glinting off his silver, winged helm. Apparently, his name was Guardsman Gari. "I haven't seen you before. You're seeking entrance?"

"Yes, please." Severance tried to sound confident, he really did. But these guys were huge! They probably devoured an entire boar for breakfast, followed by a whole cow for lunch, and then drank the blood of trespassing Outsiders for dinner.

"Hmmm." The guard looked him up and down, then finally stepped aside, opening a narrow gap between himself and the guard who stood beside him. "All right, you may pass. You'll want to go straight to the Registrator, who is just up ahead. And don't cause any trouble. This city is neutral ground, and we don't tolerate troublemakers."

"Okay," Severance managed. He gingerly squeezed himself between the narrow space the guards had made for him, and flinched as his shoulder brushed against the gleaming gauntlet of the guard on the left. There was no reaction from the guard, to his immense relief, but Severance hurriedly picked up the pace once he passed them, eager to put some distance between them.

The main road into Tomorrow's Edge lay before him, wide and welcoming. His boots clipped softly, drawing his attention to the ground beneath his feet. Severance realized the road was made of tiny smooth stones, each a varying shade of blue, and which fit snugly together like an intricate puzzle. The design almost reminded him of the Veiled courtyard, except the stones here were much smaller. And blue.

He lifted his eyes, following the road as it stretched before him in a trail of azure. It shone pale where the sunlight hit, and darkened in the shadows to a steel blue.

People walked about as if they traveled on gravel, completely ignoring the splendor that was beneath their feet. Severance watched them for a moment, rubbing at his neck. Maybe they were accustomed to it. He didn't think he'd get used to it, though. He felt like he was dirtying it with his boots.

There were a lot of things to take in. Every person he saw looked impressive, clad in majestic armor or flowing robes, or even leather attire that spanned from colorful costume to simplistic and functional. Old, yet lovingly maintained buildings and perfectly shaped trees and even flowering vines that wound up the former—everything looked so majestic and clean that Severance had trouble wrapping his brain around it all.

When he finally spotted a large marble sign with the words engraved in it— REGISTRATOR OFFICE—he felt a wave of relief and immediately made a beeline towards it.