Sanctuary

A giant black abyss loomed in the distance surrounding Sanctuary. Following the incident with Amanda, and the Araneians reaching the city, expeditions into the wastes were ended as it was too dangerous to send hunters outside anymore.

Now they guarded watchtowers, which stood on the walls of the city, shining a bright light into the lands outside of the city. In the north-eastern tower, Wes and Anya were stood watch, with Wes operating the light, this job could be lonely, but luckily Wes and Anya had been paired up.

"It's so creepy" Anya sighed.

"What is?" Wes asked.

"There could be hundreds of them out there, thousands maybe, just stood outside of our light, and we'd never know" Anya shivered.

"They don't attack the city though, something about this place repels them" Wes nodded.

"Still, it's terrifying, that the fate of so many people rests on an unknown factor" Anya said, as she stared out into the darkness.

"And us" Wes nodded.

"Yeah..." Anya sighed again.

"We'll be fine though, we fought worse, and we have Roisin on our side" Wes winked.

"I guess" Anya smirked. Wes stared out into the darkness and thought to himself.

"It's weird, it really feels as if we're the last people alive" Wes said as he gazed out. "But, Disceath is apparently fine, and New Raryst too" He added.

"So it's just localized to this continent?" Anya asks.

"Seems so" Wes nodded. "Thing is, in this state, we're not going to be able to restore the Crystals, like Ishtall did for Terrana. So this continent is going to be stuck like this" He explained.

"I mean, as long as Sanctuary is safe, life here so far is pretty good" Anya smiled.

"Yeah, worse places to spend the end of days" Wes joked, as he looked at Anya. "I'm glad that I am here with you" He smiled. Anya smiled back and hugged Wes. Time passed as the two continued their shift through the day, until a beeping sound alerted them that their shift was over.

They both headed down through the tower to street level, as they passed by their night shift counterparts. Day and night didn't seem to have much of a meaning any more, as the sky was nearly as dark at night, as it was in the day.

They stood by the road as a car slowed down and the window wound down. It was Lotte.

"Finished a little later today, I see" Lotte smiled. "Get in" She said, as she unlocked the doors. Wes and Anya got into the back of Lotte's car, it had become a habit of Lotte's to pick up Wes and Anya after the end of their shift, as she worked at the nearby Airship Yard.

The Airship yard's main task these days was to repair any damage to foreign airships caused by the fiends, and outfitting them with better defences. This also was part of the city's speciality, as the Western Continent also had its problems with fiends, after the fall of Imperistia and Raryst.

"Anything exciting happen today?" Lotte asked.

"You ask that every time" Anya laughed.

"I'm just curious!" Lotte chuckled.

"Nothing happened really, we just chatted about things and stuff" Wes explained.

"Things and stuff? Sounds interesting" Lotte teased.

"It was, very" Wes laughed.

"How about you, anything interesting with the New Raryst ship?" Anya asked.

"Not really, they did send a gift for us all though, some Raryst Chocolates" Lotte smiled.

"Oh, can I have one?" Anya asked.

"And incur the wrath of Roisin? No thanks" Lotte laughed.

"Too right, if you ate one of her favourite chocolates, there would be hell to pay, Anya" Wes nodded.

"That said, they sent quite a lot of it, a crate of it, in fact" Lotte explained.

"Hmm, I guess the wedding of Ashe and Ariel won't go ahead this year after all" Anya sighed.

"Hmm, they might decide to get married here instead, I'm sure the folks in New Raryst would understand" Lotte nodded.

"That's true" Anya said, as she looked out of the window at the building sites across the city. Raindrops began to fall from the sky, as the car drove down the dark rainy highway. The city lights of Sanctuary illuminated the darkness, and could be seen for miles around, by the many fiends that lurked in the darkness.

A Hellhound stood watching the city from a nearby cliff, when suddenly it was stabbed through it's back by a blade made from wind energy. The blade disappeared and darkness returned. As the mysterious hunter looked toward the city of hope.