It was a sight to behold as airships, their spellfire rings blazing, soared through the air in and out of the docks situated on the middle to upper levels of Karith.  Among the many smaller ships was the grand sized Continental Airship, something which Drake had not had the luxury of ever riding.  As he traveled through the mid-level of Karith, noting the fresh foods he could add to his supplies while he stayed, he started to look for a place to stay the night.

He had arrived in the city around midday, and it had taken him more time than he would ever admit to find his way to the upper levels.  Despite the hustle and bustle of the city dwellers going to and fro, Drake couldn't just ask for directions.  Whether it be a twist of fate or a unlucky strike out with a fair maiden, Drake's speaking abilities had seemed to dwindle in his journey North.  Perhaps, he thought, it had something to do with his now rugged look.  It had been days since he had bathed, and he once again lacked the funds for basic amenities past one or two nights in an inn.

Which, sadly, meant more work.  He had grown accustomed to working the docks for sea vessels, and wondered if the sky docks held similar positions.  He sighed, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes.  What I really need is for things to stop happening.  Just once, I'd like a normal trip into the town without something happening.  First, it had been a warp across the world.  Next, it was almost getting killed by some demon-vampire beast.  And then the portrait….

Drake shuddered.  Just want a normal day.  He started back down the cobblestone path, and turned the corner.  High above were more airships, though these seemed much smaller in form.  Must be for personal use and the like.  I wouldn't mind owning one, one day.  He smiled.  After he dealt with this dark winged celestial problem, he figured he could spare working towards a goal like that.

With his mind in the sky, he didn't see that he bumped into someone, a man with a coat and hat.  In a thick accent, he told Drake off as the young man tried to apologize.  "Look, I'm sorry, honestly.  I wasn't paying attention and-"  The man wouldn't have it though, and instead shoved Drake into an alleyway, his hat dropping to the side to reveal a twisted smile.  He pulled a knife as two other individuals pulled closer from the shadows of the alley.

"Oh…I get it," Drake said to himself.  "You're thieves…well, it's a shame, cause I'm broke."  He tossed his coin pouch, empty, on the floor.  He pulled his cloak tighter, trying to make sure his draconic wings, which were another set of problems, were well hidden.  

"It's not just coin.  Anything of value.  Drop it," the smiling man said, twirling the knife.

"I genuinely don't want trouble," Drake said, putting his hands up.  "Can we just…talk?"  If I act now, I might kill them.  I barely know how to control my strength, and they seem relatively…squishy….  He frowned.  What to do…what to do….?

”Oh How I have wanted to get my hands on one of you again.’

In Zanar’s hand was a dark brown flagon, inside was a dark color liquid. Zanar popped the cork of the container and took a sniff of the liquids inside and closed his eyes. It was like he was in bliss once again. Karith ales were hard to come by, especially now that he rarely traveled to Parvpora since his ascension, but he had found the time to sneak away and travel to get this very thing.

“Are you sure you wish to pay this much?”

”Oh, It is very well worth every last piece of silver I owe my good friend! This is one of the finest brews out there. Silver is a not hard for me to come by.” The amount he had been given for offerings was more than enough to cover such a small fee.  The stall owner just shook his head with a grin and put the small bag of silver away “If you say so..” The god hooked his finger through the small handle and put it over his shoulder as he waved goodbye to the vendor.

Now I should make my way back, don’t want to get yelled at by my rangers for being away. He thought to himself with a nervous laugh as he made his way to the upper levels of the city. Of course, he was going to take his sweet time heading back to Canelux, very rarely did he have time to himself with the pregnancy and his dealings of godhood. So he was going to take his time and enjoy the fresh air and sights while he still could. Some would say it was irresponsible for him to do so, but if it was urgent he could easily be back in Canelux.

Walking up one of the side streets he caught a glimpse of commotion out of the corner of his eyes. ”Oooh? From what it seemed to Zanar it was a couple of street rats cornering someone. Typical thieves always using numbers where they can. Effective scare tactic that is for sure. He wasn’t going to let this just go on in front of him so headed down the alley where they all were. So he silently snuck up behind the one with the knife and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. ”So what do we have going on here? A party of sorts?”

Zanar was suppressing his own energy, so no one knew that he was a god. Without hesitation, the armed thief turned around and tried to swipe at Zanar. Knowing what the reaction would be Zanar had already stepped back some before the blade could make contact. ”Woah there..those things are dangerous ya know? Could poke an eye out or something.” He was having fun with this, but also was trying to keep the eye on all three of them was a pain.

“Oh, we got ourselves a little joker here? How about you give us all your belongings also.”

”Hmm persistent street rats aren’t ya…but then again I guess I have no choice. It is three on one.” Zanar reached behind his back underneath his overcoat, acting like he was gonna give up. The sound of spinning steel rang out as a throwing knife dug itself in the shoulder of the thief. ”As I said, going to hurt someone with those that thing,” Zanar spoke over the man as he cried out in pain.

”Now I’m sure you can handle one of these other rats, while I take the other one?” This time he was addressing the cloaked man who was cornered by these thugs.

Drake raised an eyebrow at the sudden fifth individual joining into the fray.  At first, Drake was about to call out for the man to leave, but as it turned out, the man had other plans.  With surprising speed, he dodged the initial swipe of the first thief.  While Drake was mildly impressed, the other two thieves were not, and started to respond in kind.  It was the next movement that the mystery man made, however, that took everyone off guard.  With a sudden flash of steel, one of the thieves was stabbed by a thrown object, a knife or dagger that Drake barely saw.

That was when he called out to deal with his own opponent.  I guess I can manage.  Still might break him more than I intend, Drake thought to himself as he lashed out with a quick punch, trying to catch the second thief off guard.  But it was not meant to be, as the thief recovered fast, dodging Drake's initial blow.  Damn.   

The thief drew his own dagger, and started to swipe at Drake with a flurry of deft blows, forcing the young draconian to step back.  In the narrow alley, though, that forced Drake into the wall, and the dagger struck at Drake's arms as he tried to guard.  Only, instead of blood, the thief found that his dagger merely scraped across the man's arms, as he had tried to cut the stone wall itself.

"Oh?  You weren't expecting that, were you," Drake said, his eyes flashing red for a moment.  Flames swirled around his arms, leaving black scales in their wake.  "I'll let you in on a little secret.  I wasn't expecting it either," he said with a smile.  With a strong kick, he sent the man into the other side of the alley, his head cracking against the stone wall with a decent force.

"Oh Gods, I hope I didn't hurt him too much," Drake said aloud, genuinely worried.

Zanar set his flagon of ale down on the ground, making sure it was out of the way of the fight to come. His eyes were on the one thief that he had decided was his opponent, seeing as their boss was writhing on the ground. He couldn’t blame the man though, as Zanar had aimed from the shoulder joint so the pain must have been unbearable. It seemed like the other player in the fight was managing fine without the God’s interference, he decided that he would have a little fun with this pawn.

“Ya pay fer wha’ you did to the boss. I’ll gut ya open real nice like.”

”Please do try. It has been a good minute since I got to stretch out like this.”

Zanar taunted back at the man, not liking this he quickly drew out his own dagger and came at the God with a flurry of attacks. All of them were poorly aimed and Zanar easily backpedaled out of the range of them all. Typical thieves not knowing how to use the tools at their disposal. The god caught the arm of his attacker by the wrist, twisting the arm back and then using his other free hand he slammed against the elbow of the arm with an open palm. A scream rang out as his arm bent a way no arm should, the elbow completely shattered and the knife fell to the ground.

Zanar grabbed the thief by the collar and easily tossed him over his shoulder to the ground below. He noted the thieves face as the last bit of wind was knocked out of him from the impact. ”Easier than expected..what a shame.” The glow of the flames caught his attention as the man who was once being cornered showed his scaled arm. ”Oh so I probably wasn’t even needed here…damn my good-natured heart,” his eyes followed the last thief as he crashed into the wall from the kick.

”He should still be alive, I can still hear his heartbeat from here. Doubt they will be causing any more trouble when they all wake though.” Zanar retrieved his dagger from the shoulder of the first one, a groan rang out before he lost consciousness again. ”Part dragon are we? Should have shown them your scales in the first place, they may not have attacked you if you did so. Would’ve shown them who the alpha was.” He stated the man cleaning off the blood from the blade and returning it to its proper place.

He walked over to where his flagon of ale was and picked it back up. “We can let the city guard take care of this mess. I’m sure they are on their way from the commotion, they won’t say much if you are with me. Once again he forgot to introduce himself, something he was very bad at. ”Sorry, where are my manners. The name is Zanar, Zanar Arowin.” He started to walk out of the alley and made a gesture for the draconian to follow.

Drake watched with a sense of disbelief.  This man, whoever he was, was going on about things as thought they were everyday occurrences.  In fact, he was so non0chalant about it, it might as well have been a walk in the park for him.  When he mentioned that Drake should have shown off his draconic side first, he nodded in agreement.  "That might be a better idea in the future," he stated.  But to be honest, this form still scares me.  I can barely keep it in check sometimes, unless I can channel it into something.  

As Zanar introduced himself and motioned for the young draconian to follow, Drake replied with his own name, "Drake Alzrahi.  I appreciate the help, I do…"  He started to follow, when a voice from down the alley caught his ears.

"Aile?  What's taken so long with the ma-"  Drake turned to see a fourth thief, what appeared to be the ring leader of the operation.  Before the young man could react, though, the ringleader raised his arm, chanting something quickly, and with great precision.  Drake felt a magical energy swell in front of him, more than he had ever felt before.  What is he about to do!?

As the thief let loose the magical spell, Drake summoned all of his strength and stepped in front of the blast, his arms crossed to guard it.  It was still more than he could handle, and the magical explosion of energy send him flying back, into his 'savior', and sent to two off the side of the city, to the depths below.

What Drake failed to realize, was that Zanar, a deity, probably had no need of Drake stepping to take the blast head on.  In fact, it might have been better if Drake had not.

I really have the worst luck….  

The words of the fourth thief also reached Zanar’s ears as Drake introduced himself. How did I not notice? the god thought to himself. The swell of aether appeared before the man, far more than what Zanar had expected from a common thief. He started to draw his blade, knowing that Nox could cut through the spell’s aether but before he could Drake stood in front to intercept the blast himself. ”You fool! Zanar shouted and tried to run ahead of him, but it was too late, the spell was let loose.

Losing his breath as Drake flew into him from the explosion made it so that he couldn’t react, causing the both of them to plummet down to the lower levels of the city. The sounds of two bodies crashing to the ground and glass shattering are what rang out as they landed on the lower levels. Even for Zanar, the impact was more than enough to knock him out.

A few moments he started to stir and regain his sense, he tried to take a deep breath in but was met with highly unclean air of the lower levels of the city. ”So foul..” He brought his hands up to rub his head, he had a headache like nothing other. He looked over and saw the shattered remains of the flagon of ale that he had purchased from the upper levels and just let out a defeated sigh. Managing to finally get up on a knee is when he noticed a piece of glass had dug its way into his other hand and he ripped it out and tossed it aside. It stung, but it would quickly heal.

The thick mist in the air confirmed that they had indeed fallen to the lower levels. He looked up too maybe catch a glimpse of where they fell but the mist impeded any hope of ascertaining any info from the skies. ”Well, the city guard definitely are going to be heading that way now, stupid fool releasing a spell of that magnitude in the city limits, thank god no one else was around.” That was when it clicked in his head, Drake.

”Hey, Drake are you still alive out there?!” He called out, he would’ve gone searching for him but he was still light headed from the fall. Hopefully, the man was alright, Zanar didn’t want anyone to die on his behalf…especially in a place like this.

Open your wings, you idiot.  Drake's eyes snapped open mid fall, and he tried to extend his wings.  Normally, it would have been a decent plan to catch the wind and try to glide down, but due to the nature of the city, it merely forced him to crash into things, his wings catching on every little thing.  The pain was enough to force a blackout, but not before Drake collapsed his wings, an instinct that probably saved his wings for later use.

He didn't remember hitting the ground.  By all rights he should have been dead, and had it not been for the draconic blood running through his veins, he might have been.  When he awoke, all he felt was searing pain.  He could feel tears in the webbing of his wings, most of which would probably heal.  I hope.  He grimaced as he tried to get up.  There were scratches all down his arms from Gods knew where.  

Nothing seems broken.  He finally managed to get to his feet, and staggered slightly.  He heard a voice call his name.  Oh.  Zanar.  Right.  I hope he's okay.  He swayed a little as he walked into the mist that permeated the area.  His senses were slowly returning.  There was a distinct, pungent odor that permeated the air, and the ground was littered with various tossed flasks and glass.  Is this…waste from above?  He glanced up, trying to see how far they had fallen.  No such luck.

"I'm fine," Drake called out.  "Where….where is this, exactly?  And how do we get back?"

Zanar let out a sigh of relief when he heard Drake call back out to him. Thank god, did not want to have bury a body he thought to himself walking over to where his voice came from. On the way he felt a sharp pain in his arm, thinking at first he may have actually broken it, but upon better inspection, he noticed a piece of glass from his whiskey bottle and manage to dig itself into his flesh. ”So you decided to curse me also, my apologies,” Zanar said as he pulled the piece out of his arm and threw it aside, the wound would heal quickly due to his Ursanthropy.

Once he got close enough, the God could see the wings that were on Drake’s back. ”Oh, so that is how you broke your fall, didn’t come without consequences though I see.” Zanar took note of the torn membranes of his wings, he was sure they would heal in time but at the moment flight was not a possibility for the man. ”As to answer your question, my friend, we are in the underbelly of Karith. As you are aware, the city is divided into levels based on the social class of the people living here, well, you could say that this is the lower than the low-class part.”

Zanar could easily just gate himself out of the city, but he would not leave this man down here to suffer in the fumes of the city. He was about to speak up as another Alchemical vent opened and roared, spewing more of the fumes that coated the air. ”The people down here suffer for that very reason. Mutations run rampant, and those above want nothing to do with these people. Thankfully the guild comes down and delivers supplies to those who live down here. But is it really enough to end their suffering.."

”It is the same very way we are going to get out though. Hopefully, the guards will listen to reason for why we are down here. If not, do not worry I will persuade them through other means.” Zanar smirked to his comrade. He did not wish to reveal his status to people around here if he didn’t have to. He knew the people of Parvpora cared not for the gods of Canelux, but he was sure some of them better than to cross them. ”So let us proceed, watch your step though or you might fall even further. We were fortunate enough to be caught by the lower level. It would be a shame to die from falling.”

Drake let out a sigh of relief when Zanar entered his view.  A moment of panic washed over him though, with his draconic wings on full display, though it seemed the man was not phased by this.  As Drake was new to this hybrid form that he was forced in to, he was unsure of how the main populace would react, and had chosen to keep it hidden instead, but it seemed his fear was unwarranted.  At least, to Zanar.

"These wings…they're fairly new to me, so I'm still adjusting," Drake said, wincing as he tried to fold them down to a smaller, more compact size.  I'll probably have to go to a healer for this.  I haven't the slightest idea on how to treat wing wounds.  "It could have been worse, though.  At least they're still intact"  He looked around again as Zanar mentioned the underbelly of Karith.  So, it's class based, like a lot of places.  But here, it's a literal hierarchy.  The higher you are, the more well off you are.  This brought a sour taste to his mouth, and it wasn't just the alchemical aftereffects that were being released.  

"So there's nothing that can be done about this, then?" the draconian asked.  "People are just left here to suffer?"  The world really is bigger than I thought.  I knew that it held a lot of atrocities, but this…this is a whole new level.  "No amount of reparations could fix this," he said finally.  He looked to Zanar, "Will we be effected at all by this?" he wondered.  "Lead the way.  I don't really have a sense of direction here…the fall was pretty disorienting."  He was more than appreciative of Zanar's help.  It was a miracle that they had survived the fall, or, at least that Drake had, but it would have taken an impossible feat for Drake alone to escape the lower city.

Zanar stopped in his tracks when Drake question if there was anything that could be done about the living situation here. ”No,” He answered softly, and in just that single word one could tell that the god was none too pleased with how things were done in this city. ”What would happen if things did change? Who would come down here to clean out the vents, who would risk their lives to stay within these fumes for such a period of time? Sure, healers could help and they could a system where they rotate out people..but in time it would slowly start to affect them.” Zanar finally started to walk again, keeping his eyes forward. Yet he had one of his fists clenched, just out of reaction.

”This hierarchy may exist, but it benefits the whole city. Even if it means those born into poverty may never live a normal life. Or at least a normal life that we are used to,” As he spoke another alchemical vent opened and roared as it poured more of the fumes into the air. There was a silence as he led Drake, as the god was in his own head thinking about what could have been if there were still Gods in these lands. Could they have saved this city’s lower class from a fate such as this? Zanar let out a sigh, which broke their silence. ”We should be fine, so as long as we get out of these fumes quick enough that is.” He answered Drake's other worry.

The mist started to thin, and the smell of more fresh air started to fill the area as they came up a bridged chasm in the ground. The god was thankful for the fresh air as he took it in. ”On a different note, I have to ask you, why hide your dragon features? Dragons are prideful creatures, and yet you seem to fear what people see in you. I saw your face when I noticed your wings.” He stopped before he got to the bridge and took a seat on one of the larger rocks in the air. The sounds of the air currents could be heard dancing in the chasm below. ”Don’t worry, you could call this one of the safe zones of the lower levels, besides the fall to the mountains below.”

Zanar checked out where the glass had cut open his arm and wiped away the blood to see the wound was almost fully healed. It was for these reasons that he was glad that he had ursanthropy flowing through him. ”Take a breather for a moment, my draconian friend may be one of the only times we have fresh air until we get to the upper levels.”