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“Not wearing a children’s harness,” I joke back.
A sudden, loud roar then bellows from the inside of the mountain, startling me. I turn away from Minerva to face it, nearly stumbling backwards over the ledge before she grabs and steadies me. I look at her expecting some amount of concern, but once again, she seems completely unbothered.
“What was that?” I gasp.
“The lions.”
We walk through a dark corridor and arrive in a room filled with six of them, each locked inside separate metal enclosures dug into the rock. Their elegance and ferocity stun me, all of them staring at me with hungry eyes and wild demeanors. This is hardly what I had expected Sanctuary to be like.
It is surreal to finally see a lion. Kalepo has an animal park, but lions have never been a part of it. I wasn’t even sure they were real beyond the myths priests tell, like the one describing winged lions that dwell in the mountains and protect sacred treasures. There are paintings of them in the temple, but they hardly capture the magnificence of the beasts before me.
“They’re here to protect us,” Minerva whispers to me, predicting my question.
“How are they supposed to do that when they’re locked away?” I puzzle.
“They are a last defense. If Sanctuary’s outer strongholds are taken and the enemy is making its way up the mountain, the cages will be opened to give us time as we retreat further up.”
I am about to ask what would stop the lions from simply chasing after them, but then I notice a steep, narrow stairway and a ladder at the far end of the room leading to an elevated platform and doorway.
“Have they ever been let loose?”
“Not intentionally,” Minerva answers hesitantly. “Accidents do happen. It’s hard to keep a beast like that in chains.”
As we work our way across the room and up the stairs and ladder, Minerva explains to me that Sanctuary is not a natural cave, but a set of manmade caverns. Those who dug them were desperate to find a place of refuge to the north beyond the canyons. They originally tried to settle in the grasslands near the marshes, but that was a costly mistake since the terrifying creatures from the marshes also use the grasslands as their own hunting grounds. At some point, it was determined that the only possible safe haven was the mountain itself.
The network of caverns was small at first since it took a long time to dig directly into the rock, but over the ages, it became an elaborate labyrinth so complex that no one has a complete grasp of just how big it is or where its many tunnels go.
“Why isn’t there a map or something?” I ask.
“When the darkness in the south began to spread,” Minerva explains, “people started disappearing, here as well. That was before Sanctuary had guards or an army to speak of. Anastasia took charge at some point during that period and decided that for the safety of everyone, people would be limited to the more open areas within the mountain. We soldiers seal off the rest.”
“Anastasia must also be very old,” I point out.
“Ancient is probably a better way of putting it,” Minerva suggests. “Some people believe that she is one of the oldest surviving rangers, but from what I’ve gathered from the few rangers I’ve come across, I’m not so convinced. She keeps us safe, though, and has for ages, so I trust her, whatever she is.”
We continue through a number of large rooms similar to the first, each filled with more beasts than the last. It must be difficult keeping them all fed, but based on their thickness, their keepers seem to manage just fine. I ask about it, and Minerva explains that much of what is hunted in the north is for the lions. It sounds like an overwhelming task, but I suppose it’s worth it for the peace of mind they provide.
After climbing up another level, I expect to see more of the same but am instead greeted with hundreds of wandering eyes, those belonging to Sanctuary’s residents. I am immediately taken aback by how poverty-stricken they look. There is a great variety to their attire, some of the clothing seeming very peculiar, but what all of it has in common is that it appears dirty and worn-down from years of use.
Most of the people do little more than glance at me before returning to whatever they were doing, but a few keep their eyes on me as I walk among them. I avoid staring back and instead study the cavern itself, which is much larger and has higher ceilings than the areas I was in before. It also has a natural look and shape to it, as though this hollow already existed within the mountain before being tunneled into.
Unlike the entrance to Sanctuary, the cavern here spreads out into a wide openness, one with dark areas too distant and spacious for the light from the many fires and torches to reach. People wander around freely, some of them disappearing into faintly lit hallways that I assume go to other open areas.
The soldier in charge of us, whose name I still don’t know, leads us on a long journey through the almost endless mass of people before finally coming to a stop in front of another dimly lit hallway. He then turns and looks at Minerva.
“I’ll take her in to see Anastasia. The rest of you are dismissed for the day. Return here for new orders in the morning.”
The discharged soldiers seem eager to leave and excitedly return the way we came. Minerva, on the other hand, seems hesitant, winking at me before following the others much more casually.
“Follow me,” my escort then says.
Beyond the hallway is an open room with what looks like a throne at its far end. It seems out of place here, as if anyone would want to take pride in being ruler over a kingdom such as this, not that the dust covering it suggests it is still used.
“Where is Severin?” a mild, calm voice calls out from a dark corridor to my right.
A tall woman then emerges, her long blonde hair glistening in the candlelight so white it almost seems surreal. Really everything about her appears majestic, almost angelic. Even in her humble, worn-out clothes, she doesn’t look like she belongs in this place. This could only be Anastasia.
“He had to stay behind,” the soldier explains, apprehension in his voice as though he is afraid of how she might react, “but he wanted you to know that he will be back before dark.”
