Moonlight Castle

After days of travel, the Umbrax Highway finally revealed itself on the horizon.

It was wider than an acre of land, flanked by ornate fences and towering sculptures that seemed to watch over the road like silent sentinels. Unlike the other Umbrax roads, this one was made of a porcelain-like material infused with swirling black smoke, creating mesmerizing, ever-changing patterns that danced across its surface. It stretched endlessly, disappearing into the distance like a ribbon of shadow and light.

Judas’s jaw dropped. “This is insane. How could any human civilization have built this?”

Aldrich glanced at him with a skeptical eye. “What makes you think the Umbrax were human? Do you really believe humans could create something this grand?”

Judas frowned, irritation flashing across his face. “How many times do I have to tell you? If the Umbrax weren’t human, why is all their infrastructure and art based on human designs?”

“Slaves,” Aldrich replied matter-of-factly. “The Umbrax obviously needed someone to do their dirty work.”

Judas sighed, exasperated. “Have you ever seen a slaver make statues and sculptures of their slaves? If you have, I’d love to be enlightened.”

Aldrich opened his mouth to retort, but a deep voice from the back of the wagon cut him off. “Can you two stop bickering? We didn’t come here to argue about ancient history. We came to hunt. I didn’t forge and sharpen these pitchforks so you could waste time debating who’s right and wrong.”

With that the conversation ended, and the men descended once more into silence.

Unlike the nameless roads they had traveled before, the Highway already bore tracks in the snow, proof that they were neither the first nor the last to seek prey in the ruins.

But what truly set the Highway apart were the Umbrax trees lining its sides. Their trunks were as black as the night sky, stark and imposing against the pale snow. Their branches were adorned with delicate white leaves that shimmered like frost in the daylight.

When night fell, the black trunks vanished into the darkness, but the leaves came alive. They glowed with a soft, phosphorescent light, casting an ethereal glow over the road. It was as if the stars themselves had descended to illuminate their path, turning the Highway into a corridor of shimmering beauty and eerie calm.