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[h1]The City of Sin[/h1]

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It was midday in Laurienna. The desert heat was hot, but comfortable to the starry skinned. They bustled about as usual, from bartering crafts, to slaves. Though, the markets were emptier than they had been once. After the coup, the plague and star fall… Laurienna had seen better days. 

“Did you hear?” Came the solemn voice of a guard. Two stood watch at the market square, wearing the lowest tier armor and with spears of starlight. The Nebulite that spoke was a ruddy brown starred man and his fellow guardsmen was pitch black with blue stars. A strange pattern, for any Nebulite. 

“What now Nefrius?” Replied his disinterested voice. He stared straight ahead, not giving Nefrius the time of day. 

“They say Lord Zius is taking half the standing army to the Talmonese. Can you guess why?”

“Let me guess, to sell more concubines for some measly amount of gold?”

“By Ohannkeloi, how’d you know Vas?”

Vas, or Vasallis, turned to Nefrius with a questioning expression, mixed with boredom. 

“Call it a well educated guess.” he said sarcastically, before looking back away. 

“Oh come on Vas, don’t be like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like… Like you.”

“Like me? Really?”

“Well yeah, you’re always so glum. Maybe change that or something.”

“Nefrius, shut up.”

“Well I don’t mean anything by it, I swear on Orvus, Vas. You used to talk all the time, what happened?”

Vas snapped his head back to Nefrius.

“What happened? Do I really need to explain to you what happened? You’ve got be fucking kidding me Nef. Look around, this city is hemorrhaging Nebulites, our people, for a shiny object! It doesn’t do anything, you can only make jewelry out of it, and yet the damn [i]Nobility[/i], only care for themselves and sell us off. And don’t even get me started on how many of us have died over these last few years. If it’s not one thing, then it’s another, over and over again. There’s talk of the slaves revolting because they no longer fear our whips, we’re growing weak Nef. And weakness could swallow our city up into dust. I fear for the future of Laurienna, so I apologize if I don’t want to talk!” he shouted at the other man, who seemed to shrink a little.

“Sorry… Vas.” came Nef’s small voice after a moment. 

Vas sighed, before turning to Nef. “And we stand around, guarding a dying market. Where did it all go wrong?” He finished, kicking a small pebble.

“Well... “ Nef leaned in and whispered, “Probably with the late Queen.”

Vas narrowed his eyes, before looking around to make sure their conversation was just between the two of them. “I spit upon her grave.” he growled silently. “What did she ever do but worsen things? I don’t know how any of us still respect her… But I will admit, don’t you find it odd when she died, the people she associated with the closest were declared rebels?” 

Nef seemed to stand up straighter at the suggestion. “Now that I think about it… All were Lords and Ladies of her court, some even from the days upon the Eye. Would her closest allies, perhaps even friends try to overthrow her? And her children… There was a rumor… Someone spoke of five children, in the dead of night, being shipped off to the Talmonese. I thought nothing of it but now… What if… What if those were the other five children?”

Vas stroked his chin and thought a moment. “Where did you hear such a rumor?”

“From a slaver, probably dead now.” Nef shrugged. 

“It is odd, don’t you think. A supposed coup to weed out Polyastera’s friends, allies… Her loyalists have you, in the guise of rebels. That would mean… Laurien… She lied.”

Nef looked shocked at the accusation, before suddenly grinning. “Vas… Does it really matter?”

Vas raised an eyebrow. 

“The Queen was awful, her loyalists as you call them, were as equally bad. Maybe Laurien did us a good thing. Maybe by getting rid of those kids, Laurien reset the ruler to a more manageable position? Still… That wouldn’t explain why she disappeared, her house destroyed and her kids missing as well.” Nef stretched. 

“You might be onto something there, Nef. As for Laurien… I don’t know how to feel about that. Perhaps she tried to rule behind the scenes and was found out? Or run off by something or someone? It’s all just speculation at this point. Still… The city is in the same downward spiral, even if that’s all true. It doesn’t help us.” Vas sighed. 

Nef shuffled, leaning back into a shaded wall. “What we need is… I don’t know… someone willing to put the Nobles in their place. To make Laurienna what it always should have been. We need a better king, perhaps something even more than a king. I don’t know… I feel silly even saying this.”

Vas blinked quickly as Nef’s words lingered in his heart. "It's not silly… It makes sense Nef." The two then looked at each other, grins forming on their faces.

Perhaps things would change after all.

[hider=Summary]

Two nebulite guards talk about current events in Laurienna, thinking about the future.

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