Deathless

Deathless Chapter Thirty-Nine: Morsar

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Morsar

A city that had once been so much more than any city in Arlenia that has come before it, and yet at present, so much less. The City of Mages. Morsar.

The threesome stood in awe before the great stone arch, under which Arseph the Mageslayer led his army to smite the mages where they dwelt. Under which the great Everthorn Mages, the vanguard of Mage Lord Alvarin, had been deployed, the first military march of Mages since the Second Great Serenian War itself. Under which kings and emperors had come to stand in awe of the great City of Mages.

When Morsar was established, there was only the Inner City, with the Golden Keep dominating that district, with arcane laboratories, academies, training grounds, and the like, with several residential avenues arranged haphazardly around it. Then when the Mages began expanding, with more and more of the refugee Mages trickling in from the remnants of Wymar, the city began to expand, with a larger Middle City with elite academies and training grounds for the honing of magical talent. The Outer City was the centre of commerce of Morsar, with traders from outside Morsar being restricted to only these markets. Here was where majority of the citizens dwelt and set up their businesses and shops.

And now the Outer City was in shambles, decimated by Arseph's catapults and the ruthless torches of his army. They had let none survive as they cut their way through the Outer and Middle Cities, making their way to the Golden Keep. Charred shapes lay spread-eagled on the ground, lining the streets with black. Death was everywhere, with bodies left butchered along the streets, with Arseph's men not even caring to build the fallen men a pyre.

Lindale saw a group of four corpses lying together, underneath the doorway of a once two-storey building, now a husk of what it once was. The bodies were burnt so badly that the line between one corpse and the next was blurred, the black charred flesh blending together in a morbid symphony of death. He saw that two of the shapes were no taller than four feet. Mere children, butchered in their own homes and left to burn. He shook his head and pressed forward.

Lindale led the group through the rubble, as he had studied maps and diagrams of Morsar long before they had set out on their quest. As a child, he had taken a voracious interest in the fallen Mages of Morsar, of whom his parents would tell animated tales of their exploits.

As they entered, he took note of the area around him. Most of the wooden buildings were in ruin, with decades-old burnt wood laying in decimation, and many of those wrought of stone shattered.

As they entered, the road diverged into three main avenues, with each being lined with burnt buildings. At the end of the middle road, Lindale saw a great tall stone brick building, lined with torches on all sides. When it was new, it was surely at least three stories tall. Lindale suspected it had been some central market or trade centre.

"We can grab a vantage point there," Lindale said, pointing to the building. "Get a feel for our surroundings."

He looked up and saw the Golden Keep, as imposing as it must have been in the old days even in its derelict state. Perhaps now it had even a more poignant visage that it was breached and charred in several areas. The enchanting old ruin now had a certain haunting dominance over the rest of the city. It cast a shadow across the Inner City, just as the sun casting doubtful glances on it from above.

They made their way to the building, stepping over bodies and rubble as they went. Lindale was the first to pass underneath its doorway. His fists clenched and his teeth were grit the second he saw what was inside.

The entry had been barricaded with stone and wood, and it seemed that the invaders had decided to burn those civilians that took shelter inside. Charred remains of the building's wooden floor and columns littered the ground, leaving only its stone skeleton intact. But the worst thing were the corpses.