Amestris City—vast, crowded, and restless—sprawled beneath a moonless sky. Nearly a hundred thousand souls were asleep within its walls, yet the city breathed like a living beast: fires flickered, wind whispered through alleys, and the faint toll of the midnight bell echoed from the temple quarter.
Up on the fifteen-meter-high city wall, two weary guards huddled by a brazier. Flames danced wildly in the wind, throwing long shadows against the stones.
"It's colder than a grave tonight," one of them muttered, rubbing his hands together.
"Colder every night this week," the other replied. "Half the watch still to go. If I close my eyes, I'll freeze where I stand."
"Then go on—sleep a bit. I'll wake you if the captain comes."
"Ha! Not a chance. You just want me to take the next shift too."
They chuckled quietly, the sound small against the roaring wind.
Then—a scrape.
