The streets of the capital were buzzing with life. In two days, the ceremony for the blessing of the Sun was to be held and every citizen of Soldra was looking forward to the festival that would begin shortly afterwards. Merchants were busy setting up their stalls while street artists had already started performing for the tourists who flooded in.

Among the foreigners, there was a lone mercenary who was silently observing the crowd. Unlike the other sightseers, they weren’t here to enjoy the festivities: they were urgently looking for work, possibly as a bodyguard, to earn back the money they had spent during the journey to Soldra. The urgency of this matter was partly due to the lack of suitable accommodation. At the moment, staying at an inn was expensive for most innkeepers were charging an exorbitant fee for a stay during the holiday period.

While wondering where to sleep safely tonight, the unemployed mercenary happened to overhear the conversation between an old lady and a young girl, who they assumed to be her granddaughter.

“Sandra, we must go back! I may not have locked the door and only the great Moya knows if a thief will take this opportunity to rob us!” exclaimed the old lady anxiously.

The granddaughter, or rather Sandra, sighed tiredly before replying, “Granny, for the last time, the door is locked. Before leaving, you checked it seven times and I’m pretty sure no thief would be interested in our modest house.”

Her reasoning didn’t stop the stubborn lady though. “How can you be sure that no one will try to sneak into our house? Do I have to remind you about the inestimable vase that your grandfather gifted me a while ago? If he was still here…he would agree with me.” The thought of her late husband brought tears to her eyes. “Please, Sandra. Let’s go check our house. It’s just a block away…if we don’t go, I feel like something bad will happen.”

The young girl wasn’t so insensible to deny her grandmother’s request, especially after seeing her feel grief at the memory of her dear grandpa. She was about to say yes when suddenly the ground started shaking. The sellsword had already experienced a similar event in the past and remained calm, waiting for the earthquake to cease. The same couldn’t be said about the two women near them. Sandra was visibly shocked but kept hugging her grandmother, even if only to calm the trembling lady.

The mercenary moved closer to the two frightened women to reassure them that everything would be over in a few minutes. However, their reassurance turned out to be wrong: the earthquake intensified, causing some buildings to collapse and spreading panic among the population of Soldra.

Black miasma poured out from the cracks in the ground. In no time at all, the entire city was covered by a dense fog that made the air unbreathable. While trying to calm their cough, the sellsword glimpsed an intense light, coming from the city centre, that engulfed the capital soon after. This was the last thing they saw before the watchtower at their back collapsed, burying them under a pile of rubble.

“Vita mutatur non tollitur,” murmured an unknown female voice. This is how their first life ended.