[The World of Serean]
[The Fifth Domain]
Serean was a world that was known to contain the largest deserts in all the Primordial Expanse! Serean was made up of ten continents, and nearly eighty percent of every single continent was covered in sand, and as a result of this immense amount of sand, the Serens had all developed in ways that ensured they could survive for long periods in hot and dry climates!
The Serens were all tall, thin creatures with long arms and legs that made it easy for them to walk over the sand without problems. They had dark skin that could withstand high heat, and they wore thin clothes over their private areas alone! Many Serens were known to drive around the desert on massive Sand Sleighs that they used for transportation or sport.
The main occupations of the people in this world was trade, and they were known to travel very long distances on their sleighs being pulled by massive creatures called Frevas that looked like a cross between a dog and a bear. The largest continent in Serean was called the Central Virgon Continent, and right at the center of this continent was the largest trade city in the entire world, called Bizan. Bizan was located in the middle of a massive desert. It had high city walls built around it to prevent the sand from entering easily, and the main city was filled with thousands of houses and shops where traders packed their goods!
A hooded man trekked calmly across the streets of Bizan with his hands in his coat pocket.
"Come buy my artefacts. Magical protections! Rune sequence disruptors!"
"Magic cores sold here! Magic cores to feed your Frevas!"
"Selling a spell to make your sleighs travel faster! Only for a few people!"
"Desert Fly meat here! Get your Desert Fly meat!"
The loud voices of the traders echoed through the air as the man walked through the market, and he could see hundreds of people moving through the street and stopping at various stalls to either buy or sell some wares. Large Frevas were lying on the ground beside their sleighs while waiting for their masters to finish selling or buying, and the smell from the different stalls was carried away by the flowing desert wind.
Bizan was a city that never slept, so you could come here at any time, and you would see hundreds of traders selling as usual. But this particular man wasn’t here today to buy or sell anything to the traders. Instead, he was looking for a specific person who he knew only did business in this particular city.
The man travelled past the main trade center and made his way through an alleyway where some children were playing games. Some of the children bumped into him as they ran past, and the man glanced down at one of the children who tried to stick his hand in the man’s pocket to steal from him. The child paled once he saw that he had been caught, and he quickly ran away. The man just shook his head before he continued on his way. The alleyways in this city were all interconnected, so the man was able to travel across them to reach the underbelly of the city, where the poor and miserable people lived.
"Hey honey, want to spend some time together?"
"Handsome, just one gold coin for a night."
This part of the city was filled with beggars, thugs, and prostitutes, and the man easily avoided any contact with the people as he walked past all the half-naked women and dangerous-looking men. And it didn’t take long before he reached a small, rundown shop located at the end of an alley. The shop looked completely unimpressive, but some mages in certain circles knew that in this shop was one of the most important people to ever live!
The man made his way into the shop, and he was immediately greeted with the smell of potions and medicine. There was an old woman moving around slowly as she tried to put the potions in their right place, and the man pulled down his hood to reveal the handsome face of Harold Marc, the third son of the sixth wife of Richard Marc, and Jason’s older brother.
"Madam Palina."
Harold spoke up in a calm voice once he revealed himself, and the old woman turned her milky white eyes towards Harold slowly. The old woman was obviously blind, but she was able to look right at Harold easily, and Harold felt a little uncomfortable when she smiled at him and showed off two rows of dirty brown teeth.
"Oh, young Harold. It’s been too long. I’ve been expecting you."
Harold said nothing to that since he knew that his presence here was not a surprise to the woman. After all, she was the one who invited him to come. Harold first met Madam Palina more than ten years ago. Back then, Harold had only started keeping tabs on his other siblings, and Harold wanted to find as many ways as possible to know what his siblings were up to. And as a result of that search, he had somehow gotten involved with Madam Palina!
When Harold first heard what exactly Madam Palina could do, he didn’t believe it! It was such an outlandish ability that it didn’t even seem reasonable! But after seeing her use her gift so many times, Harold had come to trust her judgement, and after realising that she had never been wrong before, Harold now knew that she was someone he had to take seriously.
"Come, Harold. We have a lot of business to attend to."
Madam Palina left her potion shop behind, and she began to move toward a curtain at the back of the room. Harold followed behind her, and he crossed past the thick curtain and arrived in a small room that had a single table with a chair on each side. There was a crystal ball in the middle of the table, but Harold knew that this ball was only a fake prop that Madam Palina used to fool certain customers into thinking she was some sort of fortune teller. Those who knew what Madam Palina could really do also knew that Madam Palina didn’t need her crystal ball at all for her ability to work!
Madam Palina offered one of the seats to Harold, and she made sure he sat before taking a seat opposite him.
"You know why I have called you here, Harold?"
Harold nodded once, and Madam Palina gave a dirty smile.
"Then first you must give me what you owe me."
Harold let out a breath before he reached into his coat, brought out a large bag, and dropped it on the table! Madam Palina took up the bag and weighed it in her hand! The clinking of gold coins echoed through the small room, and once Madam Palina was satisfied with the amount, she smiled again and put the bag inside her dress.
"Yes, yes, very good. You have always been my most generous customer. Hehehe – cough! Cough! Ah, yes, now to business."
Harold folded his hands, and he listened closely to what Madam Palina was about to say. Although Madam Palina looked like a typical crooked con artist, Harold had learned a long time ago that she was very straightforward in the way she did business. After his accidental discovery of Madam Palina, Harold managed to enter a deal with her where she would provide him with her services in exchange for money, and Harold didn’t mind paying the large sums that she required simply because of what exactly it was that she could do!
Madam Palina was a wielder of one of the rarest gifts magic could ever give to a mage. The gift of [Allsight]. Madam Palina could receive visions of the future!