1 Chapter 1 - Tangille

The world had always been divided. Whether it is up and down, left and right, good and bad, alive and dead.

Such a division exists in all extents of the mercantile world, as some deals with the living and some deals with the dead. The merchant who stood in front of Aedan smiling angelically is one of those that deal with the dead, although it should be mentioned that he doesn't sell coffin or shrouds, he deals with things much more bizarre.

Those thoughts ran through the young human's head, as he is looking straight at his bizarre and almost exotic sixth cousin of the Geonor family, Germot Geonor right outside of the city gates.

"How have you been, Aedan?" Germot grinned as he took in a small sip of the hot tea he had prepared, "I heard you got into some trouble back in town."

Aedan smiled miserably, "yes, I did."

"What did you do?"

"I slapped the Baron's son."

"What?" Germot seemed to be very surprised by what he heard, "and you didn't get killed?"

"Well, the baron did find that what his son did was unacceptable, so he simply just exiled me from the town."

"What did he do?"

Aedan shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright," Germot chuckles, "so why are you here at my place, tell me."

"Well, you see," the young human's face grew red, "since I got kicked out of town, I don't have any income ..."

"Ohhhhh ..." Germot raised an eyebrow, "so you want to work for me."

"That is the idea."

"No problem."

"Huh?" the human was somewhat surprised by the answer, "what do you mean?"

"Didn't you requested to work for me?" Germot seemed to be confused by Aedan's reaction, "and I accepted your request."

"Oh, I see," Aedan replied, appeared to be incredibly dumbfounded.

"Wonderful," Germot clapped his hands together, "now, let me bring you to the workshop; I will tell you what you have to do when we get there."

The city-state of Tangille just east of the Sych Desert, right next to the empire's border, it is one of the most important city-states in the entire known western world up till the Marol Sea.

There were much to be said about Tangille: the diverse population, the mystical landmarks, the fabled history; this city-state holds a strong political position within the entire western world, and as such act as one of the closest allies of the empire.

This was the first time Aedan had left the small town he used to reside, and with Tangille being the first significant city-state he had been to, he was undoubtedly overwhelmed by the number of exotic artefacts and mentifacts he had seen. From copper and tin coloured steampunk horses to mana-infused lamps and streetlights to the occasional beastmen and andynols walking past him as he and Germot made their way down the streets of Tangille.

After seeing all the novel and embellishing structures and curios, the human was expecting his cousin to be working at some grand and ostentatious establishment marketing jewellery or magical antiques to nobles and wealthy merchants.

It was this expectation that confounded Aedan when Germod brought him to the front of one small cafe located within one alleyway close to the city wall.

It was an old and somewhat dilapidated three-story building made out of pure wood. It is evident that the building was built without much care and maintained as such as well. The doors are squeaky as well as the floor, and the little wooden sign pinned above the entrance was ragged and seemed to be falling apart by the seconds.

Aedan, of course, felt as if he had just been told a fib, as he was told that Germod is a wealthy trader dealing with magical items, instead of being the owner of this rundown cafe.

He convinced himself that Germod was merely bringing him to enjoy some coffee, until the moment his cousin pulled out the key and unlocked the rustic brass lock on the timber door.

"Eh, Germod?"

"Yes?" Germod answered with a smile.

"What are we doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you own this place?" Aedan asked with growing uncertainty.

"Of course, why do you think I have the key."

"Ok," the entire situation stunted Aedan, but he decided against asking questions anymore, "was just making sure."

"Alright," Germod smiled again, "I want you to work as a waiter here."

"No problem," Aedan nodded his head unwillingly, as he was convinced that his cousin does control some more significant business and is unwilling to take him in. Although he couldn't complain; at least he has a job here.

"Oh, by the way," Germod randomly commented as he helped Aedan pull in his packages, "your salary will be twenty gold coins a month, and I will provide the food and living space."

"Huh?" twenty gold, that is almost how much a farmer gets in a year back in town. Twenty gold, to Aedan, is an insane amount of money.

"What, you think that is too much," Germod smirked.

"No, no, no, that is perfect," Aedan quickly nodded in appreciation, "I knew I came to the right person."

"Of course, we are cousins, after all."

Since this is technically the first day of work for him, Aedan wanted to be extra assiduous and give Germod a good impression of him. He picked up a broom next to the bathroom door and started roaming around the cafe, dusting off the furniture and equipment while his cousin left to pick something up, or so he says.

The first floor of the cafe is the lobby; it is where most of the dinning and services is going to happen, with ten tables sorted in a seemingly random pattern, and a bar directly opposite of the main entrance.

The second floor is a lot more organised, with one hallway and four large chambers supposedly designed for grand gatherings or celebrations. These four rooms were named after the paintings which decorated in each room. Kraken, Griffin, Wyvern, and Devoby, all of them were creatures of myth and fables, now painted into art pieces adorning the private chambers.

It does make Aedan think, how did those four paintings get to this place? It was evident that the craftsmanship behind them was masterful, and each of those probably cost more than the entirety of the cafe consolidated. If he had enough money to buy those paintings, why doesn't he refurnish the rest of the cafe?

With questions in mind, Aedan advanced to the third floor, which was divided into three room split in the middle by the hallway — two to the north and one to the south. The two to the north were bedrooms, with basic minimalistic designs: white walls, a white bed, a desk and a bookshelf, with the window opening toward the Tangille Drop to the north.

The city-state of Tangille was constructed around the famous Tangille Drop which formed after a particular event with the infamous Devoby, the worm. The city-state shaped like a funnel, with the drop sitting at the centre and the architectures upon the acclivity expanding out from the drop.

The incline isn't too significant, but when the city-state was almost four miles in radius, the rise is a lot more noticeable, especially from the cafe which located near the edge of the city-state, it gave anyone on this third-floor window a clear view of almost the entire city on clear days.

Aedan quickly dusted off his room and brought his packages up and set them on the floor. He didn't carry too much to Tangille, although there isn't much for him to bring. Only a pair of clothing, some copper coins and a short dagger used for self-defence.

The more sizable chamber across from the two bedrooms was locked as well as the other bedroom, which presumably was Germod's. Feeling rather idle, the human returned to the main lobby and noticed his cousin had returned and was conversing with a blue female andynol at the bar.

It was the first time Aedan had ever observed an andynol, considering he had to live all his life within a small human settlement and was undoubtedly astonished by their appearances.

The andynols were an extraordinary humanoid specie, that is fundamentally a walking, thinking, and living mass of solidified elements, with their entire body composed by such substance.

Although, despite being such an exotic race, there isn't an apparent difference in their behaviours between them and human excluding their elemental composition. They eat, they talk, they think, they fight; the only real difference is that the andynols do not have faces.

Andynols do not have any facial organs such as the eyes and the nose. They do have a mouth that isn't visible at any time unless they were eating, and they displayed their facial expressions by an anomalous inky matter that drifted beneath the surface of their semi-transparent head.

The andynol seemed to notice Aedan's presence, as the black fluid within her noggin swirled into the formation of a five-point star. She stood up and shook the human's hand very gently.

"Hello," the andynol said in a very upbeat tone, "I presume that you are Grermod's cousin?"

"Ehhh ..." Aedan did not know what to reply as the sensation of this andynol's hand stunted him. It is very soft like the hands of a human but so soft that it almost felt fluidic. Her hand was also unusually cold, not one of a living creature, although Aedan was certain the being in front of him is vital.

This andynol herself is also very charming, with a gorgeously curvy body and a long and smooth ponytail. Although never seen an andynol himself, Aedan assuredly relished gazing at the creature.

"Sorry, could you stop staring at me," the symbol had changed from the star to an upside-down triangle, as the andynol asked in a slightly uncomfortable tone.

Aedan swiftly loosened his grasp as he recognised the unpleasant situation he had placed the two of them in.

"Ay, don't sweat about him," Germod smiled while preparing an extra cup of coffee for his cousin, "he is a countryman, hasn't seen much more than the little town he was raised."

"Oh, I see," the symbol switched back to the star, "nice to meet you; what should I call you."

"Aedan would be fine," the human gradually composed himself and smiled awkwardly.

"This is Ailis by the way. She is a regular client of ours."

"Well nice to meet you Ailis," Aedan replied nervously while trying to take a sip of the coffee to get what occurred off of his head, "what do you do, Ms.Ailis?"

"I am still a student," the andynol replied softly, clearly still feeling moderately uncomfortable from the prior interaction.

"Yeah, Aedan," Germod chuckles, "she is just a year younger than you, and she is already the student president of the Tangille Academy of Magic."