When Mia's vision finally got used to the light, she could take in the surroundings. They were on a metal platform, no wider than two meters, glued to the face of a huge cliff. Stunned, she approached the railing. They were high up, the prison being completely concealed in the rock of the cliff. In front of her was a gigantic city, bounded by new cliffs a few kilometers away. The city was totally wedged into what looked like a large arcing canyon. A river bisected the city, flowing across its width and following the curve of the canyon.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the vampire questioned proudly. "And that's just one side of town! The big rock on which we are is in the Heart of the city. The metropolis develops all around it following the river, delimited by the cliffs that you see at the end. Callis is actually a gigantic circular canyon, which allowed us to conceal the entire city using very complex spells."

"It's... huge... How many people are living there?" stammered the blonde, completely taken aback by the spectacular panorama of the human city.

"Oh, I don't know, a hundred thousand maybe? The population continues to increase each day", explained Vassili, satisfied.

"So... All these stories about the human genocide..."

"A lot of humans indeed perished during the war, but there were also a lot of them... At the time, we hid here as many human women and children as we could, as well as all those who did not want to fight the war. The city is mostly human, but all kinds of races live side by side... Here, everyone lives in harmony."

Under a cloudless sky and a blazing sun, the city looked like a little corner of paradise with its white brick dwellings and its bustle of life. The river water was transparent, devoid of the pollution that Mia was used to seeing in her world, and the orange-red color of the rock that made up the canyon gave the city a warm and secret aura. When she concentrated on her new hearing, she could hear children's laughter in the distance, a few musical tunes, or even the hubbub of hundreds of conversations. The whole city was overflowing with life and its inhabitants seemed to live in peace, light years away from concerns about the war.

"Why risk this harmony by disclosing its existence, then?"

"Because living hidden is not living free. It was enough for their ancestors who had the choice between living here and dying in the war, but the new generations are... thirsty for freedom. They have not known the horrors of war, fighting and dying for their freedom seems to them a much more enviable fate than being locked up in this golden cage for whole generations."

Who could blame them? It's really human nature to want to explore the world... Even if it means sending thousands of humans to their doom. Here or at home, it's the same.

"Come on, Shaun will show you around town," the vampire concluded, inviting her to step onto the platform beside him.

A few meters further on was a small wooden cabin supported by wide ropes. It was obviously a magical elevator that allowed them to reach the ground level through several levels of platforms like the one on which Mia and Vassili were. The rock in the center of the city was so big and seemed to be dotted with mazes and rooms all the way through, it was almost as if a second city was inside, hidden from the eyes of the inhabitants below.

Mia's nervousness continued as they moved away from the Vila. Yet a part of her burned with curiosity to discover the secrets of this huge hidden city.

When they finally reached the bottom of the cliff, a young boy of about fifteen greeted them, waving his hand vigorously in their direction. The blonde's body immediately relaxed in front of the young man's smiling face. He was a human with curly black hair and cocoa skin with laughing brown eyes and a smile showing the teeth of happiness. Everything about him exuded the sympathy and ardor of youth, so Mia appreciated him immediately. Perhaps they had intentionally chosen a guide who would know how to win her sympathy and her friendship with his radiant youth, for she could not bring herself to overwhelm him with the evils which tormented her.

"Mia, is it?" Shaun called out, moving confidently towards the pair as the blonde nodded. "Don't worry, I'll show you all the best corners of Callis!"

Mia smiled tenderly in response, touched by the young man's contagious dynamism. He reminded her of her cousin Paul who always made sure to wreak havoc at each of their family meals. She had never been very close to her family circle outside of her parents, but she had always enjoyed their Christmas or birthday gatherings. There reigned a festive and good-natured atmosphere, between the smiling adults who liked to toast a little too much for any insignificant reason and the mischievous and playful children who never missed an opportunity to mess around.

It was the first time since her arrival on Istarea that she felt in a familiar environment while looking at the laughing and friendly face of the young man. For a second, she even managed to forget that she was in a parallel universe populated by magical and deadly creatures.

"Stay out of trouble, Shaun, I'm counting on you," the vampire exclaimed with a pointed look to dissuade him from disobeying.

"Yes sir!" he exclaimed, placing his hand on his forehead to give him a military salute, a bright smile on his lips.

Vassili headed for the elevator again, leaving them alone now. The young man turned to the blonde, giving her an exaggerated bow to invite her to follow him.

"After you, milady."