On the docks of **Vesenia**, the roar of fishing boats arriving at the coastal district was deafening—a symphony of crashing timber and longshoremen's shouts tangled with the salt air of the Vereda Sea. **Kia**, a sentinel of the Order Guard, was watching the merchant vessels unload when a ship of unfamiliar design caught her eye. Moving quietly despite the faint creak of her metal armor, she followed the cargo handlers into a colossal warehouse that swallowed the noise of the port whole.
Inside, the silence was absolute. Kia slipped through the shadows, unsettled by the absence of any guards, until she reached the heart of the building. Pressed against the wall, she held her breath as she caught the murmurs of a clandestine gathering: a group of people plotting war against the Empire, whispering about the sovereign's weakness and waiting for the right moment to strike. But before she could process any of it, a blinding shaft of light cut through the darkness from the entrance, silhouetting a figure clad in gleaming chrome. A Royal Guard.
"Grab her!" the conspirators barked at their personal guards.
But Kia had already mapped her escape. She broke into a frantic sprint through the docks of Vesenia, weaving between ships as the pursuit swelled behind her. In her flight, she ran headlong into a pirate smuggling vessel hauling fruit from the remote islands. Chaos erupted: mercenaries threw themselves into a brawl against the Caryacs, friend and foe indistinguishable in the middle of the unloading.
Using the mayhem as cover, Kia kept running—until she slammed hard into a young Caryac woman sprinting in the opposite direction, desperate to stay out of prison. Both of them hit the ground with a heavy thud. The pirate, convinced Kia was chasing her, scrambled to her feet and started pleading for her life.
"I wasn't after you," Kia gasped. "Someone's after me."
"Oh, thank god," the Caryac replied. "Then I'll be on my way."
"Not so fast. You're under arrest," Kia said flatly, protocol intact even in the middle of a disaster.
Before the arrest could go any further, a squad of mercenaries closed in around them. Left with no choice, the guard and the pirate fought side by side until the last one went down. With nowhere else to go, they ducked into a shuttered shop—*The Sweet Herb*. They broke the door and took shelter in the quiet of the storefront while the chaos of Vesenia raged on outside.
They climbed the stairs to a hallway lined with several rooms, where a different smell—earth and something alive—pulled at their attention. When they opened the door, they found something neither of them had ever expected to see: a young botanist using brown magic to heal a dying plant. A Brown Mage, caught in the act. The shock was mutual, but Kia and the pirate, in a moment of wordless agreement, moved to surround the boy. They laid out the terms: he wouldn't go to prison if he helped them get out of the city.
The botanist agreed. He packed a satchel with his practice books, vials, and supplies, and the three of them prepared to move. Outside, Vesenia was a war zone—the Royal Guard, the mercenaries, and the Caryacs locked in a full-scale brawl.
Trying to keep a low profile, they slipped into a clothing shop. They were walking backward, watching to make sure no one had followed them, when the owner spotted them.
"Two pirates!" the man yelped, terrified.
The Caryac pointed at the botanist and let out a wicked laugh. "Ha! Not him. He's a warlock."
The shopkeeper's eyes went wide as saucers. "A warlock? A warlock and a pirate in my shop? Help! Somebody help!"
Kia stepped out from behind him with ice-cold calm. "Lucky you, citizen..." she murmured, before gagging him and locking him in a back room.
Quickly, the three of them stripped off their uniforms and rags and changed into local clothes. Now, blending in as ordinary residents of Vesenia, they readied themselves to disappear into the crowd and slip out of the district before the Empire locked down the coast.