Edited: May, 15, 2020
=============
Looming over Pinti like she was prey, was a granite tower barring entry inside. A two-story tall arched doorway stood before them. On the curved stone slab above the door were three words carved saying, 'Ferk Nort Citadel'. Each letter was a reminder of runic symbols, and two stone gargoyles flanked each side of the arched door. Two carved windows were lined up next to each of the gargoyles. Trying to take in all of the entrance tower at once, Pinti almost stumbled backwards.
Unlike the pristine glass skyscrapers that towered above her in Bairenshire, Ferk Nort Citadel was a monstrosity that used mixed materials with seemingly no rhyme or reason. It was made of stone, brick, wood, and glass. A musty, fresh dirt scent hovered around the walls. Through cracks seeped a strange clumpy white liquid that dripped out and instantly turned to water when it hit the sand. Stones carved to look like a tangle of tree roots climbed up the sides of the walls. They stopped around a bell keep with a weighty brass bell and the very top of the Citadel's entrance tower disappeared into the clouds.
When the gates moaned open, a sudden rush of scents overwhelmed her nostrils as hundreds upon hundreds of Humans and Halfhumans pushed passed them in droves. Suddenly, Syaraize was awake. Frowning, she looked behind at the main part of Syaraize confused where all these citizens came from. They had just been through that way and not seen a single soul, but now it was teeming with action.
"Come on," Galag called in an urgent voice. Pinti nodded and was about to follow when an elderly Human female bumped hard into her shoulder.
"Heizak." Pinti rubbed her shoulder. The female made her way to one of the many makeshift wooden stages that lined one side of the Citadel along the wall. There was a growing crowd around each of them. Pinti had to hold her nose for the collectively strong scent of lavender coming from the group nearest the entrance. It was enough to make her sneeze a few times.
But that wasn't the only thing that made her sneeze. Pinti had to wrap her tail around herself to keep warm. The inside of the Citadel was a contrasting low temperature despite it was in the middle of the desert.
The sand beneath her feet changed into cold gray marble. The dome-shaped roof let in desert sunlight but not the heat. Crystal shards hung from the ceiling and their pointed tips made her nervous. Those would certainly hurt if they fell on her. Galag explained that those were called 'icicles' and they were a form of frozen water.
"Icicles?" Pinti stared wearily up at the pointy things. Never once in her life had she seen icicles or even the white stuff that Humans liked to talk about—some frozen, but fluffy substance called snow. She rubbed her arms up and down, trying to stay warm.
"But I like the cold," Deel said as if someone had argued against him. "Why are you cold?" He narrowed his eyes at Pinti and furrowed his eyebrows. She noticed for the first time how his t-shirt sagged way too much in the front.
"Consider for a moment where I've been living," she said and sneezed. "Never once lived in the cold. Why is it so cold?" She sneezed again so hard it made her body jolt and her tail quiver.
"Ferk Nort Citadel was built directly in front of the portal." Galag explained as they weaved through the crowd. "Then they made the station. Syaraize Portal Station. It's the oldest Portal Station in all the Rings. It's cold because—"
Halfhumans with Human heads and tiger fur cut in front of her and for a brief moment she lost track of Galag and Deel.
"Fools!" came a screech and she turned her head.
The gray-haired, elderly female that had bumped into Pinti stood on a stage. Her face contorted into a snarl, she raised her fist in the air and hollered an chant. Only Humans seemed to gather there, and they joined in with her.
"Monar-chy of the Hu-man Race! This old world is a big dis-grace!"
Silence followed and the old female nodded her head, walking to one end of the stage.
"Race. Species," She began in a dramatic tone. "We have lived in peace without a fight over power. But two," She shook her head, "two years ago, the Edglings broke that peace again and the Massacre of the Third Ring happened." With a deep exhale through her nose, she narrowed her eyes and surveyed the crowd.
"This," She almost spat, "my fellow lavender Humans, this shows that the peace system has shattered. Races living as one?" She bugged out her eyes. "Can you believe in that?"
"No!" A male Human with long black hair said. "Fantasies!"
A murmur of agreement followed and someone else shouted, "Foolishness!"
"Outrageous! We are the superior! They are the sinners!"
"Sinners!"
An uproar of shouts followed, and the old female snapped her head back and forth listening to her audience as they yelled at each other in agreement. At last, she stomped her foot down on the stage.
"Hear me! Hear!" She bellowed. The crowd fell silent. "This is our chance, my fellow lavender Humans, to revive the Monarchy of the Human Race. We have power in the High Collection! We can take the throne. We will rid of the sin that has permeated this world!" She thrust her fist in the air so much her shirt untucked and her wrinkled stomach was exposed.
"We are the People, the People for the Monar-chy of the Hu-man Race!" She hollered and the crowd followed in suite.
"This old world is a big dis-grace!"
"Rid of the Edglings! Rid of Mulatto, the stinking Halfhumans. Rid of the last anthros left alive—Kathula! Rid of Sorcerers! Humans are the only pure race!" The old female shouted and began to stomp her feet in a rhythm that brought out a chorus of moans in low voices from the crowd. The Humans began to hum and moan, swaying from side to side.
Pinti tore her gaze away. Bairenshire did have its fair share of politically driven Humans but they weren't so angry or weird about things. She began to walk away when she caught sight of another stage.
This one only had Halfhumans of various types listening intently to a lion-like Halfhuman with a swooshing thin orange and yellow tail behind him. He wore a white bandanna around his neck as did his followers.
"Listen to them, those stupid lavenders. Mongrels," He scoffed, gesturing a Human hand at the adjacent stage. "Halfhumans are the ones that are the truer race. We descend directly from the anthropomorphics that are the natives of their world. We belong here more than anyone. Ah," He said and met eyes with Pinti. She froze in her spot as he jumped down and came over to her.
"Kathula. Oh, what an honor it is!"
Pinti's jaw dropped. He bent down on one knee and his crowd did the same. "You are the only race directly connected to our ancestors. Oh, Kathula." He bowed his head, nearly kissing the ground. "Please bestow your blessings upon us, oh, great one."
Great one? Pinti grimaced at him and took a step away. It was nice not to be belittled, but this just made her skin crawl. She was nothing special and just trying to survive in a world that mostly hated her.
Her ears caught the sound of a speaker using a Speecher headband. It made her voice echoed in strange places. Pinti turned her head and found a stage with a few Humans, Halfhumans, and one cloaked Sorcerer.
"Oh, great one," the lion-like Halfhuman said again, "please—"
Galag appeared out of the crowd and grabbed her wrist, yanking her away as a voice trumpeted over the crowds.
"Kathula, that's mine!"
"Heizak!" Pinti recognized Lai-ikolo pushing through the gathering crowd. She discarded her cloak and bared her fangs at anyone who was in her way.
"The portal entrances are just up there!" Galag pointed to a staircase where Deel stood at the foot. He was jumping up and down, waving his arms with widened eyes in sheer panic. Pinti's heart was thumping against her chest mostly from shock that she had been so close to danger.
Lai-ikolo hollered something and said, "Eliáh gij—!"
Before anything magical could happen, a loud bell sound thundered throughout the Citadel.
"This is not a drill," said a male's voice. "Edglings have appeared in the First Ring. We will begin emergency lock down. Please do not panic, listen to the guards for guidance, and the portals will begin temporary shut down until safety is guaranteed. Those within the portal, return to the First Ring or go to the one nearest you."
"Edglings?" The citizens around them widen their eyes and Lai-ikolo briefly halted her pursuit, staring up at the ceiling, probably trying to search for the black blobs. Seizing that moment, Galag pulled Pinti along to the staircase, pushing through the crowd. Meeting up with Deel, they pounded up the steps. The air went from cold to lukewarm as they neared the portal.
Below them, the gates to the Citadel closed with a BOOM that echoed throughout. From the roof came a screeching sound as a copper board slid across the top, blocking out the light and leaving them all in a gloom where the icicles glowed a blueish white.
As though startled into action, Citizens began to push and shove, scream and shout, trying to get out of the Citadel. Hefty guards of Gerfai Halflhumans blocked the way and pushed the citizens back.
"You can't leave until we have made sure it is safe," one of them growled.
"But why? The Massacre happened two years ago." The lion-like that had called Pinti 'great one' complained and tried to push by the guard but he was shoved back.
"Edglings have been killing every race! Now keep back unless you would rather die!"
The converged sour fear from citizens made Pinti grimace and it wasn't any better by the portal entries either. Each of the five entries had a guard in front of it and they were all trying to keep fear-ridden citizens from entering the portal.
There was no way for anyone to get in or return. Below, in the sea of citizens, Pinti spotted Lai-ikolo pushing her way through the tight crowd. She was nearing the staircase.
"Pinti!" Galag called. Some citizens around them seemed frozen. "Hurry, come, it doesn't last long." Puffs of green smoke smelling of olives and pinecones hung over the faces of Galag's victims. The sudden quiet was almost deafening to her ears and it amplified the commotion from below.
Galag then made a gesture and muttered something under his breath. With a puff of steam all the doors opened simultaneously. Carvings of flowers and vines in colors of gold and grass green shone brightly all over the doors. Citizens who were already inside the portal were frozen too but not from magick. They only gaped their mouths as Galag, Pinti, and Deel ran inside.