The road to the Palace Garden had once been carpeted with flower petals year-round. Elite soldiers in golden armor that gleamed in the sunlight had stood on either side...
That was how the road to the Palace had looked before the Old Royal Capital fell.
Now blood and fire, death and chaos covered it.
The Ratfolk pouring down from the Palace gave ground step by step, while the Expeditionary Army surged uphill against them, its morale soaring.
Warriors held the front. Musketeers and Rangers took pressure off them, while Mages continuously cast spells to cleanse the dozens of diseases the Ratfolk carried, ease fatigue, and heal wounds.
In the open, Warriors could do little more than wipe out a few groups of Ratfolk. But in a siege fought through streets and alleys, their role was irreplaceable.
The bare Palace had lost its flower beds and greenery. Its statues had been toppled, its murals chiseled apart. It held no beauty, and the Expeditionary Army seemed to be fighting through lost ruins. When they climbed the steps and charged into the Palace Garden, the Rangers were first onto the roof of the old royal palace. They raised their Longbows and roared.
They were much like cats, always seeking high places where they could see their surroundings and feel safe. So besides the Elven Pantheon, some also chose to worship Cat and Midnight Maiden.
Then a beautiful white cat stepped onto the Palace roof, and the Rangers around her moved aside.
They respected cats with spiritual awareness, believing them to be envoys of Cat and Midnight Maiden—especially now, at the end of the first millennium of the Saint Laurent Calendar, when the Gods had gone silent.
Silly Cat walked to the edge of the roof as though she had the entire Royal City