Shades of Grey

ESTHEN— MARCH 1843

Sadina was a charming, however fatuous, little girl: talking incessantly about her life in Esthen — her three brothers who teased her, her father’s job in the palace guard, her mother’s job with the Spirit Dancers and her friends at school.

“…Sometimes I think they hate me because my mother is half Elf and she’s absolutely beautiful. I hope I’ll look like her someday, it must be nice to be beautiful...”

It was then that I noticed how malnourished and thin Sadina looked. Her bones jutted out unnaturally against her dirt-ridden skin and I began to wonder if the façade of the Immovable City was hiding something darker.

“Erm, Sadina,” I began.

“Halt!” interrupted a strong voice before I could continue.

We had cleared the hill and arrived at the monstrous wall bordering the city. A watchman’s tower stood just next to the tall gate and a surly looking guard stared down at us from the window. He then recognised my attire and his face fell in shock.

“Wait right here!” He exclaimed, leaving the tower. I heard his steadily fading footsteps as he ran up a staircase and down a long hallway. He then began to whisper to someone, but I could not make out any words.

“Lord Remacus will be very pleased that you’ve come!” Sadina smiled brightly.

“Why?” I asked. “Is there a creature problem?”

“Yes, it’s our queen. You see—”

The guard then returned to the window breathlessly and gave us an exhausted smile.

“You may pass. Lord Remacus has been notified of your arrival and is waiting for you on the palace steps.”

The enormous steel portcullis began to rise, groaning in protest as though warning me against entry. After it had opened fully and I saw the streets of the city, I gasped in horror. What had once clearly been a proud, prosperous Elysium had become a dark and rancid Tophet.

The city streets seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dirt, a description that also unfortunately applied to the people. I carefully stepped around the indigent citizens as they pleaded with me to give them anything I could spare. Forma shuddered next to me in disgust, just as she walked past a tall dinosaur guardsman. He saw her start and growled in offence, misreading her reaction. We both flinched and I saw her temper begin to flicker dangerously as she prepared to retaliate. As I suspected, she manipulated her voice and gave a more powerful, more aggressive growl than the guard. I just managed to grab a hold of her shoulders and keep her steady before she could change into a taller, more imposing dinosaur and probably get us into even more trouble.

“Please try to be civil,” I urged under my breath as Sadina continued to ramble.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised in a forceful tone. “I just don’t like dinosaurs, they’re oddly unsettling...”

Sadina turned around and noticed that we were staring at the dinosaur guard, misunderstanding the reason for our close attention.

“Dinosaurs are very admirable creatures, but many do not know so. It has taken us many years and I only just got my first one the other day, a pterodactyl I named Garm. I get along with him alright...”

“Sadina, has it always been so desolate here?” I asked, gently redirecting her to a topic of relevance.

Sadina looked around.

“No. Ever since the queen was kidnapped, our entire country has been in this state. Oh, the other day, when I was walking to school...”

I tuned Sadina out and began to take mental notes on the hellish version of Hogarth’s Gin Lane that I saw before me. The severity of the desolation tore a hole in my heart. I saw several small children playing with jacks near the city gates, their bones jutting visibly outward against their pale, sagging skin. The homeless populace quickly hoarded rotting bits of food scattered over the dirt-ravaged streets. Dinosaur guards roamed the streets with authoritative intimidation as the people shrank away from them in fear: none would dare to rise against them.

“My dear, how good of you to agree to see me.”

I looked up at the steps to the great palace just as a man in an elaborate blue robe with a black and gold hat akin to royalty — the polar opposite in appearance of the citizens — emerged from the palace steps. On either side of him, hideous velociraptors glared darkly at me, gripping their spears in fearsome wariness. Forma flew next to me and morphed into a large Blacklight Dragon, breathing a long stream of fire into the air. The dinosaur guards did not look impressed but the steward, along with several nearby citizens, grinned and clapped; though I suspect for different reasons.

“Oh, splendid! Your Fairy is fantastic!” he cried, clapping his hands. I looked around the square and saw that the citizens were now whispering excitedly to each other.

Forma and I exchanged looks of disbelief. How could this man live in such splendorous regalia while his people suffered?

“Thank you,” I said through a polite bow. “She does have a flair for the theatrical.”

Forma looked down at me with her Dragon eyes and promptly shifted into herself. The steward smiled again.

“I am Lord Remacus, steward of this great kingdom.” He shook both of our hands heartily.

“I am Grey Echo and my Fairy’s name is Forma.”

“Charmed!” Forma said in an obnoxiously regal voice as she curtsied ostentatiously for the steward.

“Well, you must have many questions about why we have asked you here and if you will follow me, I will explain everything to you.”