Cairo

Chapter 1: Crimson City

In crimson City, the night air was never cold nor were the streets dark. That was how it used to be when the stars illuminated the skies and the moonlight reflected off the stone streets. Now the stones were gone, reduced to a dusty, dirt pathway. The only light was the few stars that shone, the hollow moonlight, and the thin fire lanterns that survived the children's onslaught by day. Even the houses that were once considered lavish were looked down on. Cracked, muddy clay shacks, people would call them, for attained the radiant memory of what once was the capital of their country, Cairo. Like many other cities had, Crimson City fell into poverty, labeled accordingly by the people. A place that once was the center of their country had decayed into a desolate state when the country fell to ruins after the Great Fire, but it was the Government collapse that shattered everything. It wasn't only the cities, it was the whole country. What was once a utopia of gardens-fresh life, plants, and clear water- was now a barren desert reduced to shambles. No one visited anymore to see the beauty; they stayed far away from a dangerous place, the Land of Destruction. Still holding to their pride, the people clung to their fire magic that had destroyed the country. 

Everyone born in Cairo knew fire magic. It was born in their blood from olden times, passed through generation after generation. Even the little children who giggled as they ran down the streets were able to easily light the lanterns that lost their flames. The children were too busy laughing to notice the figure standing in the middle of the dusty road. Absorbed in their game they ran straight into him. His golden eyes stared down at them like a hawk looking at its prey. They frowned at the stranger as they backed up. An apology slipped through their mouths hesitantly. Turning on their heels, they ran away as fast as their legs would take them.

The young man's name was Cairo. While still young, he stood tall and proud. He placed a hand on his hip, tilting his head back to get a glimpse of the midnight sky. Today there were no stars. With no natural illumination, the only source of light were the small lanterns. They were such small flames too that they barely gave off any light. He waved his hand in front of one. Inside the lantern, the light grew quite a bit in size until it was big enough to light a whole section of the street. Cairo nodded to himself, content with his work. After all, he was the child protegee of fire magic; there were only a few people who could say they had better talent at fire magic than Cairo did. Fortunately or unfortunately, he had the pleasure of only knowing one of them.

"Remind me again why we're here?"

Another male stepped beside Cairo. He was shorter than him by a few inches. His light brown hair almost looked orange in the light of the flickering lantern flames. A girl stood beside him, leaning against one of the small clay houses. Her dark grey hair meshed with the darkness of the night. As she stared at the ground, her coarse black eyes held nothing in them. She didn't make any move to join in on the conversation. When Cario started to walk again, she was at his side in a matter of seconds. They were alone in the middle of the night.

"I've told you about ten times already," Cairo said, a slight huff in his irritated voice. "If you'd actually listen to me once in awhile, Cane, I'm sure you'd know by now. I'll say it again, though: I'm looking for a Kleptos card that I think is here."

"And where exactly in this poor slum city are we going to find a Kleptos card?" he asked.

Cairo only pointed to the girl right next to him. "I found Aerie on a deserted street down south. You never know where you can find rare gems, though usually it's in unexpected places."

"Unexpected..." Cane's eyes wandered around his surroundings. "You can sure say that. I doubt these people even know what a Kleptos is."

"Right here." Cairo knocked one of his knuckles on some idents on a clay house. "They're marks from a Kleptos fight. Even slums like these can have low level Kleptos; they're in abundance, after all. For slums this place isn't even bad."