The path to the City of Crows was a graveyard
To the east of Valdaran stretched the Deadlands—an expanse of scorched earth and shattered fortresses, once fertile farmland before the Skyfall Wars turned it to ruin. Ash still fell here like snow, and twisted trees rose from the ground like fingers reaching for something they'd never touch again.
Syaoran, Kira, and Teren moved cautiously, cloaks drawn tight against the cutting wind.
"The City of Crows used to be called Velostra," Teren explained. "A merchant capital. Rich, free, full of magic. Then the king sent the Black Watch."
"And left nothing behind but bones," Kira muttered.
Now, it was said to be ruled by no crown—only by blades, shadows, and whispers. The Crows, a guild of spies and assassins, made it their throne.
And hidden somewhere beneath their streets was the Bloodgate.
---
They entered the city through the south wall—half-collapsed, the guards long since dead or bribed. The streets were strangely quiet. Not empty. Just… watching.
Eyes from behind shuttered windows. Marks scratched into doors. Daggers glinting from rooftops.
Syaoran gripped the hilt of his hidden blade beneath his cloak.
Teren tried not to stare too long at anything.
Kira walked like a predator.
---
They reached the outer market—a half-buried square where fires burned in drums, and masked figures bartered secrets like coins. Overhead, crows circled in unnatural numbers, crying in rough, rhythmic patterns.
A signal.
"Don't speak unless spoken to," Kira warned. "The wrong word here can be the last."
They passed a merchant selling names. Another offering memories in vials. One woman whispered curses at a rat until it caught fire.
And then they saw him.
A man in a red cloak, leaning against a pillar of bone and stone.
Smiling
Hair like ink. Eyes like golden embers.
When Syaoran looked at him, the world seemed to slow—like the wind forgot how to move.
"There you are," the man said, voice smooth, warm.
"Who are you?" Syaoran asked, his hand twitching.
The man tilted his head.
"Some call me Ashen. Some call me Flame. The Oracle warned you of me, didn't she?"
Kira stepped between them. "The man with fire on his tongue."
Ashen grinned wider. "Truth lies in lies. And I lie very well."
---
Without warning, a dagger struck the wall beside Syaoran's head.
Half a dozen figures dropped from the rooftops—cloaked, masked, armed.
Crows.
Ashen sighed. "So rude."
The lead assassin drew twin knives, one black, one silver. "Veilborn. You have trespassed in the City of Blades. You will bleed for the Bloodgate."
Teren gasped. "They know!"
Kira drew her windblade, already moving. "We fight."
Syaoran's eyes sparked with lightning. "No. We give them what they want."
Kira blinked. "What?"
He stepped forward, blade sheathed.
"I came for the Bloodgate. Let me through"
The Crows hesitated
Then the lead assassin stepped back, knives still ready.
"Prove you're worthy"
Behind them, the ground shifted
A grate opened
Stone steps spiraled down into darkness.
Ashen's smile returned. "Oh, good," he whispered.
"The Bloodgate is hungry again"