Story:Invisible Cities/Kerri

Cities and Destova 1
There lies a place which spends most of its life in shadow. It lies nestled within a marshland forest that impedes the approach of predatory creatures. Though its residents can defend themselves from the beasts, they choose to live in a place where they don’t have to. They hide away where they don’t need to fight for a living.

In my travels there I have found some that may call Kerri the city of cowards. That they should take back their lands. Even some within her agree. But I do not. Her people, wary of the darkness, simply seek peace. A scarce luxury for the world they live in.

Kerri and her people do not benefit from having battlements lined with archers to keep the beasts at bay. Nor do they have the means to train and maintain a defensive force against them. Instead she must shelter them from the world. A world that means so much to them, yet cares so little.

Everyone here works their best for what little quality of life they can. They hunt for meat, gather natural growing plants, dig for water, and use what firewood they can without compromising their home. It is hard work for meager gains compared to the walled cities, but it is the price to pay for their fragile safety. And work to take pride in.

Here, everyone has a role to fulfill. Everyone works their niche. They value productivity above all else, for they work with constrained resources. Including their own sanity.

But even the woods threaten them. Only shadows of the outer world have trouble penetrating the marsh. Animals, and monsters who can mimic them, still find a way to threaten Kerri and her people. They must prepare for death, even with their hidden home.

I often feel a magnetic calling to Kerri. Not because of the serene shadow of the forest, the joyous work of the people, or the escape from the outer world. But because I fear that the next time I am to return, Kerri will no longer be there.