1 City of Ournasis
"The creation of the universe birthed the celestial entities that are known by the people of Ouron as gods. These gods were first born into the world as embryos and grew over time. The first gods that came into being were: Ouroboros, the goddess of life; the Fervent Sun, god of light; the Frigid King, god of the atmosphere; "the nameless god", of gravity; the Annis of Imputresco, goddess of rot; and the Obitus the Mortum, bringer of death," the pastor announced, "these Gods began creating life around the universe: shaping galaxies and molding organisms onto their planets. As these Gods aged they began to separate and claim individual planets. Ouroboros claimed the planet with the most pulchritude; Ouron. Ouron, named after Ouroboros herself, was created billions of years after the universe delivered the Gods. This planet was crafted by the hands of the 6 Primis Cosmos. It contained both life and death; beauty and pain. Each of the 6 grafted layers of Ouron brought upon the entitlement and greed of the Gods, hence causing The Eradication."
It was the year 4037 the last time I visited that pastor, since then I've left Nemus and ventured south to Ournasis. Upon arriving, I was welcomed by the giant towers that were hundreds of feet tall and dressed in white and gold paint. The kingdom of Ournasis is one of the most vast among Ouron; it is the center of trading where hundreds of merchants travel to sell their goods to the wealthy. The main street of Ournasis is decorated head to toe with merchant shops and stands: all with uniform white and gold patterned roofs and signs. I made my way around the city for hours until I found myself faced with a tavern. The building was rather small and its wooden frame stood out next to the golden towers. The moment I opened the splintered tavern doors I met eyes with a man standing behind what seemed to be a reception a few feet away from a bar that was glazed with colorful glasses of various liquors.
"You here for a room son?" I was taken out of my daze upon hearing such a sudden question in such an impatient tone.
"Just a room." I meekly responded as I was still attempting to process the details of the tavern. Despite its obscure exterior, the interior was full of life: there were people in every booth and seat, glasses were constantly knocking against each other and then the table, and once in a while a few thunderous voices could be heard yelling at another person across the bar.
"Name an' nights you will stay?" I hadn't heard the man as I was distracted by a short individual near the stairs of the building who was covered by a purple and relatively torn cloak.
"Name an' nights you stayin'," the man asked again.
"Cruces; Cruces Aeneas, and just one night sir," I responded. Upon looking back at the corner I no longer saw the purple cloak. "
Room 314," the man said whilst handing me a wooden key.
I made my way past the booths and intoxicated dunces to the stairs. With each step, the staircase would creak; eventually, after making it past the sketchy staircase I found myself on the third floor in front of a molding door with a golden plaque next to it that read, "Room 314." I moved the key from my right hand, put it in the keyhole, and twisted it to the left: although that did not work. Damn; after a few tries I finally successfully opened the deteriorating door and fell onto my bed. The room was quite small; even smaller than mine back home. The room contained a desk, chair, and bed that made up the width of the room. As I tried to doze off I could hear the sound of footsteps running down the hallway and people talking through the walls. In an attempt to drown out the inharmonious sounds, I slapped my pillow over my head and dreamt of tomorrow.
Before leaving the tavern in the morning I checked the stairs one last time but was faced by nobody; albeit that did not matter. I had been sent to Ournasis by my family back in Nemus to become a merchant. It took a full year to arrive in Ournasis; it could have been just a week although a ticket to Ournasis costs a fortune. I made my way through the streets until I found a spot to set up my stand next to a banking building. Perfect. It is easy to spot foreign traders in this city; most of the local's stands and shops here are decorated with white and gold paints that are only found in Ournasis. I knelt down and found a soft spot in the dirt to pierce with a wooden stake to hang up the roof of my stand. I hoisted the blue woven tarp over the stakes and laid out hand crafted pots and herbs from Nemus over a lighter blue tarp.
I waited and watched as passersby stopped, stared, and then moved on from my stand. Hours passed: the sky started to become sullen as the lambent sun vanished and the city started to dry out. After a few more minutes of sitting and waiting my legs started to lose feeling and I decided to take down the stand. Though, suddenly I saw it again: the person from the tavern - the one near the stairs. They stood across the street and remained there staring; staring at me whilst I stared back. For a brief moment I could see his brown hair that matched with his eyes, small nose, and thin face. The boy looked around my age, 19, maybe even younger.
"Hey-" Right as I opened my mouth the boy bolted down the street and I chased him. He turned left, right, and then down an alley. With each turn he vanished and reappeared just barely out of reach. Each time I would try to reach out my hand or vocalize a word, anything, but I was too exhausted. My heart started pounding and the oppressive steps of the boy wore me out with each passing second. The purple cloth in front of me started to look more fuzzy and suddenly, everything became gray, white, colorful, and then black.
I woke up to street lamps refracting light into my green eyes and a few other colors. I tried to fix my eyes open but the light was too bright. I lifted my hands, covered my eyes, and lay there a bit longer until something hit me in the head. I bolted to my feet and looked around, determined to find the disruptor of my peace. At my feet was a bottle. I looked around and found that the alley I was running around was behind me and ahead of me was what seemed like an underground city filled with a multitude of colorful signs. The signs read "Vacancy", "Tulipa Bar", "Open 24 Hours", and "50% off Cigs". The whole street was illuminated with signs, though most were too bright for my awakening eyes to read. I took a few steps forwards, away from the alley. I was astounded. I've heard of underground cities from my pastor back home but I was told they no longer exist. Unknowingly I began walking further away from the alley until right in front of me there was an arrow pointing to the left.
"CHURCH OF THE OUROBOROS"
I turned my head to the direction of the arrow and saw exactly as told: a church. Right at that moment I stopped walking. How did I get here? Then I remembered, I remembered chasing a boy, a boy in purple. I fainted, I recalled. Did he take me here? It seemed so. I fainted in an alley and no one was here when I woke up. It had to be him. Anyone else would have at least stayed with me. Maybe he wanted to make sure I was safe, so he took me here? Then why did he leave? I thought back to myself. I stood next to the sign facing the church for quite a while arguing with myself, confusing myself. I had no clue why he ran when I was only trying to talk to him. It doesn't matter anymore, he is gone. I exited my pondering and continued to the church, only to see the same damned purple cloak again.
