671
Intis, Trier.
"It's not over yet." Ileana withdrew her gaze when her eyes once again felt a searing pain.
She stood on a balcony of the Cathedral of Light, gazing into the distance. Calling it a balcony was inaccurate; it was actually a small platform protruding from the cathedral's outer wall. The decorative platform was nearly a hundred meters above the ground and two meters square. An ordinary person could never have stood there, but a Beyonder could.
Unlike Backlund, the "City of Cities," with its ever-present air of majesty and history, Trier generally brought "art," "prosperity," and "romance" to mind first. The inner city, where the Royal Palace, parliament, and government were located, was the most prosperous area. Ordinarily, licensed poets and painters could be seen displaying their skills everywhere in its squares and streets. Unlike the "government area," protected by guards and high walls, the inner city was accessible to most nobles and wealthy people, while the middle class could live on its outskirts.
On ordinary nights, the warm yellow glow of gas lamps illuminated streets and alleys. Even passersby could smell the intoxicating fragrances of flowers and wine.
Now, however, Trier brimmed with a different kind of bustling activity.
Backlund was already under martial law. With a High Sequence battle taking place around the Royal Palace, everyone of any standing had immediately been transferred to shelters throughout the city. But people still walked Trier's streets. Driven by duty and five times their usual pay, the Beyonders of the Church of Steam and Machinery hurried through the city with their alchemical puppets, drawing frequent glances from the citizens.
However, since knowledge of the supernatural had begun spreading through Trier, and alchemical puppets, enormous metal installations, and Church members with incredible powers had been seen working throughout the