[Dignitas]

Like receding tides of memories, the city had changed and flowed with time. It had been some time since Lucian had been here, and during that time much had progressed here. The dark city by the bay was certainly more prosperous then it once had been. Most of it was also reconstructed very recently. Tall fortified walls jutted out at the cities seams, protecting those from within. Several shops had recently opened in the last era or two, creating a small boom in population. But of course, to one such as Lucian it was all too sure that somethings never changed. Crime, violence, and danger, these remained strong. And if to prove that point not an instance later did a man rush through the city streets frantically looking behind him as three or four guards chased in close pursuit. Such were the nuances of Imperia.

Some didn't appreciate such things. But many did.

The small house that had once housed a younger Lucian stood before them. Located on a side street in the major residential area in Westgate, was a piece of the past. A modest structure, it was one story with one and a half rooms. Its stone gray slate walls were common through out the city, and atop it had a slope roof for Imperia's ever present drizzle and rain. The outside seemed to be in fair condition. It could perhaps use some work such has repairing the rusty lamp that hung next to the door, and perhaps some picking up of the trash that littered its front.

The front door lay open a crack, its latch not having caught on the door completely. Pushing the creaking piece of wood back reveled the sanguine inside. As Ebon as night it was very dark, most of the windows having been covered up. And, should the two take step inside, would find litter piled up on the once well kept wood floor. The whole inside of the house was a mess in fact, with piles of trash on the floor. Should light be exposed to it, the walls also held some odd colored stains here and there as well. The house didn't have a smell fortunately, thanks to the door being open.

As the two came into the main living area, two cats darted out of their hiding places and ran under Lucian and Ly'san'a's legs, letting out an arrogant meow for having been disturbed. Minor fixes were needed, but luckily the house was structurally sound. As well, the property didn't look like it housed anyone, so that was a plus. So Lucian had returned to the city, and to the house that had been waiting patiently for its master to return. And now too Ly'san'a was here, ready to revive what had been dead for so long. To be sure, this dead house was more then what most of Imperians had.

Course, in Imperia, it wasn't always matter of having something. It was a matter of keeping it.