She was used to running, used to the desert sands burning her bare feet. Her worn brown tunic was the only piece of fabric protecting her peeling auburn skin from the smoldering Tianz Desert sun, but its lightweight still felt like heavy armor on a frail, bony body. She needed to run faster.
'Screeeeeech'
They were behind her, a demonic yellow-eyed pack species, and they were nipping at each other's feet to be the first to devour her. She had forgotten how many she had brought with her this time, but looking back was one of the mistakes a runner often makes in their trek. Ten years of life, this was not the first time she had needlessly put hers on the line, and it likely wouldn't be the last.
'Just look forward, don't slow down, never look back. Don't fall.'
Easy instructions. It wasn't long before the endless mirage of dunes made way for those dilapidated walls of her dying City to come into view. Her legs remained at a steady pace, and the screeching was a constant reminder. The clay mud gate was just coming into view. The sounds of life within all but halted, as the denizens inside knew that noise could just as easily drive off their ever-hungry prey.
On her peripherals, she could barely make out another child to her right, a taller boy. His stride was weak on one leg, but he did not let it keep him from running. To her left, however, was a child younger than her, a boy, but one who was obviously new to this predicament. She couldn't make any sounds; it wasn't good to interrupt your breathing rhythm, so she had to watch as the left child faltered.
There was a reason they told you never to slow down. The yellow-eyed creatures were predators. If prey slows down, it gives the demons a jolt of motivation that drives them into a frenzy. She saw as the left child slowed and was quickly overtaken by the small mob he had brought with him. Like the vicious killing machines they were, they made sure not a scream left their prey, as all that would remain would be bloodied sand.
It was enough to make her run faster.
The walls had cracks larger in size than two of her. It was a miracle of engineering or Magic that they remained standing. Even the Gate looked as if it could collapse at any time. It wasn't just the sight that told her she was closing into her home city—no, it was the stench.
Before she was given this harsh punishment, there was always an amusement when the wealthy denizens of the higher districts ended up coughing and having to cover their face when coming to her lower one. It was something she used to remember fondly. Until she felt why.
There was no further description of the smell; it was just pure rot. A constant pestilence. It hits your sinuses first, making your eyes slowly water. Your lungs wanted to immediately evacuate with a fit of coughs. When she first became a runner, the hit of that stench almost killed her. Now, she was used to it.
'The body is a tool, your mind is the weapon. A weak mind will make the strongest body useless. A sharp mind can make the weakest body strong.' Or so she was taught.
The hot desert sands burned her feet, but the putrid ground beyond the Gate felt disgusting. The rules were simple: Do not slow down or stop until the signal is given. Wood Palisades were set up in three lanes. She took the center lane as crowds of ragged, impoverished individuals filled the areas to each side of the lanes.
How many demons had she brought?
The location was strangely silent for those first few steps, a strangeness but one that seemed like a trap. It wasn't until Mina was a full fifty paces within the city walls that the screeches and wails of the creatures finally could be heard.
"HALT!" a man yelled from atop the only stone-built structure in the district. "Begin the count!" The girl let out deep breaths and a fury of sharp, painful coughs, trying to figure out which one she needed to prioritize. She tried to wipe away the burning sensation in her eyes but forgot about the layers of sand, dust, and sweat. Somebody moved her arm from her face, and a dirty rag helped her regain her vision.
"My girl! BREAKING RECORDS!" That large smile revealed a myriad of half-missing blackened teeth. His scalp only retained random patches of hair, and burn marks lined his face. But those copper eyes held all the love in the world—the only love that she had.
He easily lifted her frail body, placing the girl efficiently upon his shoulders, as he had always done. Despite being ten years old, it pained her to realize that she would likely never be his height. It was strangely tall, especially in the impoverished district they called home.
"Thank you for surviving, Mina." It was a joyful expression, but it was easy to hear the cracks of pain come through. Here she was, his daughter, risking her life only to return to more poverty. "I hope this is the last one." He was less jovial, but he quickly put on a fake smile.
"Dad, at least meat is available. But look how fat we are. Perhaps we don't need it?" They both chuckled at that. Their frail frames and sunken cheeks made for easy humor about where they stood in the hierarchy of wealth.
"I hear their rule is to deprive meat to any with ruby eyes!" The tall man exclaimed.
She peered back and forth dramatically around the crowds. "Well, that isn't fair. My father says my eyes are the most beautiful in the world."
As they joked, men in leather armor controlled the growing crowds. Aqua-robed scholars made their way into the area with two mounds of demonic corpses. One mound was much larger than the other, which had the crowd mumbling loudly.
Looking at the demonic corpses was always an ugly sight; they seemed deformed, a truly desert mutation, as their blackened fur was sparse, with a short body and long gangly limbs. Their faces were ugly, too, with pronounced fangs, two large holes above their mouths, and an array of three random golden eyes. Yet, their leather was used by the city guards for armor, their meat was prized by the butchers, and their bones were used for weapons. An animal that keeps a dying city on life support. For what is an Oasis City without an Oasis? A city dependent on a horrifying rodent for survival.
The aqua scholars were perplexed by the number of dead demonic bodies as they weighed the demonic corpses, writing all the specifics down. It took what seemed like forever.
"QUIET! Today's Runners have earned a great boon!" The head guard yelled deeply as he motioned for the other guards to shuffle away the crying family of the dead child, that now was a bloodied mud puddle in the sand. "The previous record for Shaykal was eight." The man paused, recalling the masses just called the creatures demons and not their scientifically designated title. "Mina has brought fifteen demons! A truly unprecedented amount for our City!"
A slow clap started until every poor soul joined in, but even Mina knew that something else was being thought of behind the eyes of all those in attendance. "Why don't they look happy, father?" She was curious and fearful.
Amongst all the chaos and whispers, the guards moved towards Mina and her father. The head guard lightly bowed to her father as he locked eyes on Mina.
"Is there an issue, Nasir?" Her father's voice went from kind to hostile. The Head Guard, Nasir, was a head shorter than her father but had a mighty figure—a man of many scars amongst his onyx skin. There were always warnings to watch out of those who are still alive with scars.
"The scholars wish to pry further information about today's catch. They will want your daughter to come beyond the Sky Gate….for more details." The Head Guard had a strange way of making an order sound like a request you could refuse. It was either his tone or his emotionless, non-blinking stare, but nobody had ever confused a request from him until now.
"There was another child; bring him. Mina will stay where the Mud is needed. Elsewise, who will protect my daughter's bounty from today?" There was obvious friction. Mina did not like its one-sided nature. She was young, but being accustomed to all manner of criminals, she knew that a man with access to a weapon had the upper hand to one without. Nasir made it obvious to all that his left hand was always on the hilt of a blade.
If silence were a blade, it would have decapitated all within its vicinity. Initially, nobody minded the conversation between her father and Nasir, but within a few seconds, the entirety of the Mud District was intimately aware of the conversation at hand. As if Runners were coming back again and a mere noise would drive off the Shaykal, the denizens of the lowest district did not move or let out a sound.
A guard, unaware of the environment, whispered loudly towards Nasir. "Boss, the Sky District representatives are being….pushy." Without so much as a blink, eyes remaining locked, the Head Guard seemed ready to unsheathe his blade.
"Pick up the other child." Nasir ordered. The other guards shuffled away, confused by the situation, as nobody had ever questioned Nasir before. "Zor, your child needs to be beyond the Sky Gate. Your child will be seen before the Five. Your child will do this with or without her father in attendance. You living would make the trip and questioning easier."
Mina watched as her father placed his large hand over Nasir's blade hand, covering it entirely, not twitching towards the apparent threat. "You think you and your seven guards can slay me, then the hundreds of Mud?" Nasir struggled oddly against her father's grip, but neither relented on the eye contact. It was like an invisible fight was occurring between them, and only they could see it.
"Father, let's go to the Sky District." Mina chimed in. This instantly warmed Zor's gaze, dislodging Nasir's hand from his own blade. Those hostile eyes returned with warmth towards his daughter. "I bet it smells better."
"Lead the way, Nasir." The Head Guard relented, not wanting any additional attention. Even with seven trained blades, they would be no match for the hundreds of hungry denizens that plagued the Mud District. "Yes, my ruby, the smells of the Trade District are distinctly more flavorful than what we have in these parts."
Mina was aware of the city's tiered colors. The Mud District, where she was from, was an amalgamation of discolored clay, sticks, and stones stacked so high that a push in the wrong direction could collapse three levels of buildings. Drainages were everywhere, corpses were plentiful, and mud likely contained filth and rampant disease. The joke was that the strongest beings in Akat City were the children who survived past age five in the Mud District.
It was intriguing how the city was laid out as if the Five Families didn't really feel like planning anything past the Sky District and the Trade District. This is an awkward situation considering that the City is entirely dependent on the Mud District for meat nowadays.
As the three went along the main street, it was easy to see where district lines stopped and began. The muddy stretch that cut the Mud District in half had those old, cracked, and barely standing structures that spoke of poverty. As the three continued, that muddy street became detailed, stone steps lined to the left and right, and the street in the center cobbled. Climbing up the street was like a painting that only kept getting more detailed. The cobbled stones and steps became better maintained and colorful, and even the stone's quality seemed to increase. Buildings to either side were sturdy, with solid doors of unknown lumber and glass windows. The smell of putrid rot steadily was replaced with perfumes, spiced meats, and flowers.
Even though her dad kept a keen eye on Nasir, there were moments of wonder for him. For Zor, those moments were of nostalgia, a nostalgia that he didn't want to return to.
"Zor. Keep your ruby-eyed princess in line with the customs of the nobility types." It was odd to hear the calm voice of the Head Guard after their intense stand-off. There was a certain amount of seduction that happened when the body didn't have to fight the urge to vomit from the rotting smells.
It took hours to escape the sights and sounds of the Mud District. Even as the walls became painted and stoned, it became increasingly obvious that the denizens of the Mud District no longer remained locked within the shanty's, as certain criminal elements viewed them from rooftops and backrooms.
"The Guards no longer stopping the creep?" This reference made the Head Guard place his hand reflexively on his hilt again. For even as the presence of other guards became more evident the higher they went, it was not something that halted the expansion of the Mud District.
"The creep won't be stopped. Not as long as the Oasis died."
"The Gangs will soon own you then."
"It doesn't matter who pays me as long as they do. The Five still have generations of wealth, I doubt the Gangs will be able to touch that. Still getting that brown stuff, Zor?"
"Nah, my daughter helped me get off of that. Can't stay in the clouds for too long when your neighbor is dying next door." Mina wasn't happy to be reminded of that; it wasn't something either of them liked to be reminded of. She tightened her grip on his large shoulders.
"You always were strong, never doubted you could fight it. Powder is a nasty thing. Lost more Guards to that than to the Gangs. It is a strong reason the Creep can't be contained." Her father was at a loss of words for the first time in the conversation, and it dawned on her that he blamed himself for how things were in the City. However, a warm smile was pointed back in her direction. "Truth be told, I am sorry for what happened to- "
"It is what it is. The City has been sliding since they betrayed the sayer." She could not piece that one together, but Nasir stopped talking on that note. A lot of wandering eyes that dawned expensive silks in fancy gold trims now suspiciously eyed them. It made her feel naked, the way they glared, but it only took Nasir's gaze for them to turn away.
The district they now walked into was the richest and most lavish Mina had ever seen. The Gate it occupied was the Trade Gate; just inside were colors she couldn't describe, shops that shined wealth, and a Guard on nearly every corner with hilts radiating imbued Magic.
"Nasir, why is it that two denizens of the Mud are dirtying my immaculate streets. Do you wish for our customers to have a poor opinion of our hospitality? Or do you-"
"Shut your face hole you coddled nitwit. They are requested by the Five." Nasir's authoritative voice silenced the wealthy merchant. No amount of ill-fitting silks in this City could ever challenge the orders of the Five. Mina recognized how the merchants who initially glared and the Guards who showed suspicion now pretended that she and her father did not exist. She hadn't seen true power before, but this was definitely what it could be defined as.
Her eyes couldn't quite comprehend the blinding gleaming structure she beheld; like an entrance into the heavens, it seemed only capable of sight by the worthy. Even her skin, which crawled in filth, seemed to feel awash at the mere presence of its white and gold trimmed design. The Sky Gate didn't have a spec of dirt upon it. Mina felt like she was a demonic entity entering holy grounds, and the guards, whose red silks, shining breastplates, and golden face masks, seemed to be glaring at her with similar eyes.
To either side of the Gate were imposing statues of the Gods of Tianz, one with the head of a hawk on a man's body and the other with the head of a serpent on a woman's body. Their instruments of grain and water told the story of how the Oasis Cities were birthed from nothing.
"Ay, you could have washed them! The request was for one, not two! Bah, least you came. Was worried the Scepta would finally have to work." A snap of the Guards fingers had a servant in clean blue robes immediately sweeping and polishing behind her father. "THE FIVE REQUESTS!" With that voice, the gates silently opened, a miracle for such a large structure.