They were hard men, trained since birth, and armed with the best weapons money could buy. Miro felt vaguely resentful that some of his house’s finest work ended up here for the Emperor’s men. But then he looked at the bladesingers bringing up the rear and chatting quietly. Their armoursilk, blazoned with the Alturan raj hada, was light, and all they carried were their zenblades, yet they radiated power, deadly beyond belief. Miro noticed the way the legionnaires’ gaze kept moving warily to the bladesingers and felt his pride return.
Miro forgot about the legionnaires amongst the sights, sounds, and smells of this fantastic city. The buildings were old and grand — tall and intricately carved with fanciful figures. The streets twisted and turned haphazardly so that Miro was soon lost. For once he couldn’t simply climb a bridge and see for a good distance in all directions — the structures were so tall and close together that he couldn’t even see the sun.
The Wall stood above it all. Miro could see it close behind them and followed it with his eyes. It curved away into the distance until it became a grey blur, but it was so high that it never left his vision completely.
Miro couldn’t believe such a city could ever come into being.
The delegation passed through market after market, so that Miro wondered if the entire city was made up of markets. How could there be so many people, willing to buy so many goods?
The legionnaires led them through food markets, with strange vegetables and fruits Miro had never seen before. A man held a pumpkin half his size above his head, testing its weight. Not only was it the biggest pumpkin Miro had ever seen, it was bright yellow.
They passed through fish markets, where the fruits of the sea were lined up and sorted by size, colour, and type — from the smallest red shrimp to the most fearsome blue shark. Hanging from a balcony was a strange creature with dozens of tentacles, each covered in round suckers. The tentacles were so long they dragged on the ground three stories below.
As they walked, Miro began to notice other facets of life in Seranthia. Groups of youths were begging on the street, fighting each other for scraps of food. An old man slept in an alley next to a pile of garbage — at least, Miro hoped he was sleeping.
A ragged woman came up to them, ignoring the legionnaires. She tugged on Miro’s clothing. "Please, young sir, I have no job, no money, my daughter is ill."
Miro didn’t know how to respond. "What of your family?"
"My family is dead, killed by the imperials. For speaking out, for nothing!" She spat at the closest of the legionnaires.
"Get gone, hag!" the legionnaire growled, kicking her savagely.
She scurried away.
They passed through spice markets and gem markets, and a section of money changers. For four blocks they passed only carpet sellers. Then it was tinkers, selling pots and pans, tools and knives. A vendor held up an old enchanted knife; Miro could tell it had once been a valuable piece, but it was scratched and the runes were fading.
"Please, only two deens!" the vendor called after them.
"Not so pretty after a while, is it?" Tuok said.
A litter jostled past, borne by eight swarthy men. Through the gauze of the litter Miro could make out a female silhouette. She spoke to an attendant, who at her request brought back items for her to inspect. When one took her fancy, the attendant handed over gilden without even haggling. The market vendors bowed and scraped as the litter swept past.
"Seranthia, Capital of the World," said Tuok.
"It’s a beautiful city, but why are there so many begging? Isn’t there enough food?"
"There’s enough food, but you have to pay for it. If you’ve got money you can buy anything in Seranthia. Anything. Trust me — you don’t want to know some of the things for sale here. On the other hand, if you’ve got no money, you’re out. The Emperor routinely rounds up anyone on the street and throws them over the walls." He looked at Miro with meaning. "It’s a long way down. But still people keep coming, looking for something, I’m not sure what. It’s often I’m glad to be an Alturan."
Hearing music, Miro turned.
A woman danced on top of a small stage. Men stood around, clapping and cheering, drinking and laughing.
She was the most beautiful woman Miro had ever seen, with long flowing hair the colour of gold and eyes bluer than the sky. She smiled as she danced, her body curving and writhing with her movements.
She wore a small skirt, ending high above her knees, almost at the tops of her thighs. A tiny piece of silk was crossed in front of her breasts, and as Miro watched, she removed the silk, throwing it out into the crowd.
The men yelled raucously as her breasts were revealed, heavy and crowned with rosy nipples.
She began to play with the material of her skirt.
Then Miro noticed she never moved far from a particular part of the stage she was dancing on. Looking down, he saw her ankle was chained to the stage, a heavy manacle around her delicate foot.
"Tuok! Lord of the Sky! Look..."
Miro started to run towards the stage.
Tuok grabbed Miro and dragged him away. They both had to move quickly to push through the crowd and rejoin the delegation. Fortunately Captain Sloan hadn’t noticed their absence. Some of the soldiers smirked.