Pokemon Mystery Dungeon:Rising Enigma

From the bottom of the town's limits stood two gates. The heft of the gates required two Golurks to pull the gates open and to push it back. At 9 ft tall, the rock golems stood. At 18 feet towered the gates. At 18 feet stood the purity of thickness and a pillar of defense, made with the chill of absolute solidity emanating from its massive, blackened hull. At 18 feet stood two miracles of metal working. There was no one within the city that couldn't recognize the material or the paint that covered it, yet no one could name the maker of such a craft. They simply knew the gates were there, always standing, always ready. And in an odd sense, they were always cold.

Archaeologists have visited the door, along with blacksmiths, metallurgists, and engineers of all professions. Yet all they could make of it, is the impossibility of making such a large thing. It was solid, one continuous piece with no cracks, defects, or openings of any kind. Yet as certain geologists have found out, these twin doors themselves were older than anything that could be found within the city, even older than the castle itself that stood within the middle. There was no age to it, there was no sense that it couldn't have been found anywhere from then to thousands of years ago. It was as if the thing was simply a natural structure that grew from the soil and the city built itself around it.

Theories arose of its origin of course, countless would rise and fall as new information came and went and gained more and less respect within the community. Two prevailing ideas would emerge from the tides of the public consciousness. One came from those who lived and grew next to the thing itself, while others grew from the scientific community. The latter stated that other than the handles that attached themselves to the outside of the doors that the Golurks used to pull, there was nothing to suggest this thing was made in the "worked on" sense. Instead, as the city itself seemed built within an unnatural depression, the scholars suggested that this "gate" was a rock smoothed and worn down by reentry. Whatever material it came from didn't exist or didn't have the conditions necessary to form on earth; there was nothing on the planet that could even begin to match how tough the thing was. That itself was the issue. It was so hard, there have been so many attempts to chip off even the tiniest amount of it for analysis, but it still didn't break. Fighting types, Pseudo-Legendaries, there was even 1 story that a Regi had visited and tried to break the thing down. No matter what, no matter the typing, no matter the power, no matter if it was brute force or concentrated, the damn thing wouldn't break. And as any researcher of the door could tell you, there was one phrase that had rattled, confused, and simply taunted them while it damned them to an eternal research hell.

"How did the Handles of the gate come in?"

Because the handles themselves were not infallible. It was certainly possible to break, and there was a crack where that was proven by an especially rowdy fire type at the beginnings of a major hangover. The issue specifically was that there was no feasible way for the handles to have entered the door and not have destroyed the whole thing. It was possible that something could puncture the door if it was small enough in stature and given enough speed to it. However, there were no signs of any sort of molding or speed puncture or anything of the sorts. It was a spear through the ozone, and it was somehow sticking there. It was an impossibility.

The second theory however, simply relied on the facts that the handles were there in the first place. The patterns of it were made with love, made with hands that couldn't possibly have the strength to lift such a structure. The attention to detail was too precise in each carving and groove that the being that made this would have to have hands that were possessed with discipline and excellence. This wasn't perfect, however. It was sloppy, it was unclean in parts. Certain shapes could look nothing more than gaps and crevices in one view. The handles themselves told something. It told of a first draft getting finished. A scholar turning into a master. From there, it was simply emerged that this was an art piece. Made from something that could invest such time and money in such a thing and once it was done, was given full rights to fall to obscurity. The people however simply took it as inspiration, as a show of force on the side of memory. The door and its impossible handles represented the spirit of Seva better than any motto could.

"Your name will end. Eventually people will forget your glory, forget your gold, forget everything that you were. But if you work hard, you will leave that door. You will leave its handles. You will leave something that will exist beyond you."

From inside the gates came the structures from the people themselves. The roads of Seva worked themselves inwards from the gate all the way up to the center of town, where the castle had been built. The outer rim was surrounded by guard posts covering the walls in a circular sense. From there a post was made every so often to detect weak points. Of the total circular outposts, there were a total of 8 posts with 3 on each side of the diameter and 1 on the north and south side. Each post contained around 2-3 volunteer guild members from the Almas guild. The position was mostly given as a form of leisure, punishment, or just to fill in a city requirement for defense of the area. From the first rim to the second came the houses. The ones built here were custom made yet at the same time worked within a sense. Each house was built to a maximum of 3 rooms for the area. Each house wasn't simply lived in though, people who had chosen to live in Seva had built themselves what they would consider family homes. A property to be passed on to the generation as each house was added on and improved or changed in some form. Most of the housing was made in a general sense. 4 walls, a roof and such of that nature. However, each house was made with the typing in mind while others with more of the budget were made with the specific Pokemon. The neighborhood itself had a rough and tumble vibe. Parental supervision was there but when given the time as school had ended for the day and there were no more chores, there was no reason for them to go around town, rumble and tussle with each other and spend what pocket money they have.

The next place outside the first round of houses would be the marketplace. The major commerce area was stacked up with caravans and stable shops. It was basically conjoined to the hilt with some of the other money-making ventures. A mine somewhere outside of the city limits, mostly staffed by ground types and other Pokemon that can handle the small space and rough actions needed to break through the dirt. There were also kids on the corners running in to buy a small sparring space for getting their kicks in. Other than that exception, the shops themselves were mostly centered around the more vain or greedy. Food and decoration were the highlights of this section, and the shops were delightful. Something for the family. Something you could get for your partner for your anniversary. Something you could get for your partner on the chance they forgot your anniversary. Of course, it was not all glitz and glamor. The side streets and alleyways maintained a stream of activity. Some were simply for taking out the garbage. Other times, the alleyway was to be the scene of a local incident involving a poor mon who accidentally fell on the wrong end of a poison jab several times. (Note: In order to avoid being caught in the alleys unguarded, advise yourself to not take bets from a Klefki. It's rigged as hell.) It was life. Of course, in the off chance of said poison jabbing incident, you could have a run in Slurpuff's and rot your teeth. If you order the Caramel SuperrSizzer, you should try to not eat it all in one sitting. There have been many unfortunate incidents regarding people who cannot even look at something vaguely orange without cupping their hands to their mouth. While all things lead burning

Upwards from there lay the castle town and those who gathered there for a variety of things. It was mostly an association of armorers and people with the rescue team trade. There's housing there for teams that have registered under the guild and of course some who wanted their own higher-class housing. The housing itself usually comes in a form of mass production with similar models in order to get a sense of fanciness without getting their hands dirty. Miners that specially associate with the city can also be found living there. While not every visitor to Seva is a part of the guild, multiple rescue team members from different lands and continents have worked with the Almas guild in a sense of contract work. Due to the "unique" position of Almas, it has long since been a place for mons of experience and mons of new to visit to get set for their travels and form connections that will last their professional careers and their personal lives.

For as long as there has been a castle, for as long as there has been the idea of Seva; there has been the Almas guild. Like most things in Seva, no one has an idea of where the namesake came from. Some assume it to be the first guild master, but that information has been lost for a long while. The first official Guild-master would be an Aggron whose name is... not applicable anymore. From there went a Floatzel, from there was a weird period of Solrock (which wasn't bad in the slightest but Arc, they freaked people out.) and others from that. Finally ending with the promotion of Thea, a Corviknight. Such a promotion came about with little in terms of opposition. Though what little opposition there was came from Thea's relationship to the Inquisitors.

Inquisitors are under no circumstances to be trifled with. If they have been called, then something has already happened. Never commit any action against the PKA that will lead to an Inquisitor being called on you. Cases are not to be argued with, go with them safely and spare the Pokémon around you the displeasure of interacting with them.

And finally, lay the Castle. Castle Garde is the second oldest structure within the town of Seva and within it lies the figurehead of the city. Underneath its purview are housing for some of the more credible guild members and the mayor of the city. The mayor of course outranked the guild master (this is Seva, not Mistico, Arc forsaken continent.) but that is neither here nor there. Castle Garde is to put it lightly, ancient. Over the years it has had to be replaced in certain areas, but the main parts of the castle have stayed the same after assumed decades of standing firm. Like most things in Seva, it came from a place of mystery. Some think that Seva itself as well as the castle were named for some ancient figure that had started the city. No one truly knows. All that is known about the castle however is that it is big, it is sturdy, and in the chance of invasion, has been equipped with centuries past of items to fend off attackers.

The outside holds a board for any important guild announcement but when you truly stand before it, you feel a sense of secondhand pride, spirit, the overall urge that makes you want to do something. But that description will come....in the next chapter.