302 Status Quo

In the next couple of weeks, the Bright Castle had become a strange place.

Inside its magnificent halls, barricades were built and three makeshift fortresses appeared, each faction holding a specific territory. Beyond these protected areas, there was no man's land. Going outside of a faction's stronghold was often tantamount to death.

No one knew what they would encounter there. Corpses littered the floor, with an occasional marauder hiding in the darkness. With no more law, tyrannical as it had been, many people gave in to their darkest impulses. But these wretches were the least of the dangers that now populated the Castle.

A much worse fate was to stumble onto a patrol or a war party of another faction. The Guards especially were quick to slaughter anyone they met, sometimes in gruesome and inventive ways. The Hunters and the followers of Changing Star were equally as ruthless, but at least not without reason or provocation.