On the early morning of the day that marked a full month since Blanc and his companions set out, it also marked the day they had finally left the shadow of Blood Elna's Domain behind.
"Finally," Blanc sighed as they heard a guard approaching the gates from afar.
"Why do we have to do this?" Velakia asked, clearly annoyed, "We could have just… You know? Walked around it?"
"Because, Velakia, today we rest," Blanc replied, his voice annoying on purpose just so he could anger her some more, "What a dumb question."
"A DUMB QUES- ha… You know what, Blanc, never mind," Velakia smiled, a charming smile, if not for the absolute hostility in her different-colored eyes, "Enlighten me, and tell me, why waste a day?"
"How much food do you have left?" Blanc grinned, looking at her, "You think I did not notice how you guys stop nibbling on fish?"
"So what?" Velakia asked, embarrassed, "None of us complained."
"Well, I do," Blanc shrugged, "Do you know how annoying it is to be the only one eating while the rest of you look into the fire for no reason in particular? You have the gold from Alfred; use it."
Velakia looked to the ground, not saying anything despite her earlier anger.
Seeing an opportunity, Blanc continued, "With that said, we go inside, get a room or two in an inn, and then we go out and stock up on our supplies for at least another two weeks. Any complaints?"
He looked to the three of them, forgetting that Lendros and Tahreni couldn't speak his language for the life of them, then turned back to Velakia, who was somehow getting more annoyed.
"Fine," she clenched her jaw, "We will do it your way."
"Ummm," a man behind the gates muttered, "Interesting relationships you got going on, but I've been ignored for the past minute while you go at it, so either you pay the fee, or go back the way y'all came from."
Blanc turned as the man spoke, laying his gray eyes on the guard and his features.
"We apologise for wasting your time, my friend, but my companion over here has the ego of a lion while looking like half a cat," Blanc smiled. "Tell me, how much is the fee for our entry?"
"Inside the city? A silver each," the guard nodded, "Inside the Domain, after leaving the city? Give me a gold coin, and you can all go."
"Do you provide proof of payment?" Blanc asked, offering the entire sum the guard required as he looked into his eyes.
The guard nodded as he gave a light tug on a string Blanc hadn't noticed before. "We do."
A soft bell chimed above, and soon after, Blanc heard the sound of footsteps moving around overhead, pairs of them, creaking through the wooden floor above their head.
The metal bars that separated Blanc from the city began rising as chains pulled the bars upward into a small fitting made inside the wooden floor.
Militaristic to the end, I see, Blanc thought to himself as he looked at the opening and how it was made. The entire city was the same, a city-fortress, much like Duldera.
Placed strategically ten minutes away after entering the Domain, with barracks and training grounds leading to it, in such a way that people could not evade coming here, despite what Velakia complained about earlier.
And so was the rest of the Domain, as twelve cities, placed in the best strategic positions, just like this one, stood all around the Domain. And surrounding all of them stood villages that had only two functions.
To be the first line of defense against an attack, and as a breeding ground.
None of the villages did any farming, mining, or any other normal trade that would bring them income, with stores and inns inside the cities only for those who were passing through the Domain. The only trade this Domain and its citizens were good at was a specific form of art.
The Art of War.
The Domain took care of all its inhabitants, offering them food, houses, wood, and water, to be able to sustain themselves, and only required one thing from them. Make as many children as possible. With whom it did not matter, as long as a child was born.
A child ready to pick up a sword and fight when called upon.
For this Domain, in times of peace, made its income by being caravan guards, elite mercenaries, as well as trainers and bodyguards for Noble Bloods.
And in war, this Domain made its income by being the most terrifying army of the Empire, even if most did not have an ounce of Raw Vita in them, and fought as crazed beasts. It did not matter how many they lost, since back home, another was ready to pick up the sword of those who fell.
A trade so lucrative that it made such a Domain not only come into existence, but flourish. Whether it was peace or war, they were the first to be called upon, regardless of the price.
That was what gave this place influence, raising the Noble Blood ruling it to the position of a Crownbound.
Was it wrong, unethical even? Perhaps.
But none could judge the results of it, the influence such a place brought. Many complained that a place like this would fall to their own lust and greed, but centuries later, this Domain still stood as one of the strongest, while many of those who complained fell to the pages of history.
For them, who you were and why you were here was irrelevant. If one had bad intentions, they would become only training material for their soldiers, who required much field experience.
So they did not care about Blanc and who he was. The perfect Domain for Blanc to cross in peace.
"I welcome you," the guard began as the metal bars moved enough for Blanc and the rest to pass, "To the city of Sarmi, the eighth city of the True Swords of the High Monarch, Crownbound to the Sedes Sanguinis, inside the Domain of Noble Blood Maiores."