East

The east side of the city is the very heart of Sacrosanct - it's unique skyline is a clash between modern sky rises and small Victorian-inspired storefronts. In the heart of downtown, the sleek colored glass buildings reign supreme though their old-world roots can be seen in the most peculiar places from the lamp post styled electric street light to the stone sidewalks. The old world architecture slowly returns the further from downtown you travel, however. It's here that magic thrives, it hums in every stone and can be felt in every breath. Often, newcomers to the city may become overwhelmed by such sensations but, eventually, it becomes an ever-present feeling that's hardly noticed.

What You'll Find Here

City Creek Center
Dark Hunter Department
Inner Sanctum
Red on the Water
Starlight Tower

City Creek Center

The City Creek Center is an upscale open-air shopping center centered in the heart of downtown Sacrosanct. With its numerous fountains, foliage-lined walkways, and bubbling streams, City Creek Center offers three blocks of chic boutiques, delicious dining, and the newest showrooms.

Dark Hunter Department

The City of Sacrosanct's Dark Hunter Department's primary concern is the safety of all of Sacrosanct's residences. Their public safety responsibilities include code enforcement and supernatural crime prevention. The Sacrosanct Dark Hunter's Department follows the directions of the International Dark Hunter Council and serves as a local point of contact for any Dark Hunters working within the Council's ranks.

Inner Sanctum

The Inner Sanctum is an independently's owned specialty coffee company and cafe with a singular focus: quality. A hidden gem on the side streets of the busy downtown, the Inner Sanctum source's the world's finest beans and local treats. From it's delectable pastries to the exquisite latte art, the Inner Sanctum is dedicated to both its craft and the customer's experience. With beans roasted in house and every cup prepared by the best baristas, you will never be disappointed at the Inner Sanctum.

Owner Alexander Macedonia

Barista Alexis Wilde

Red on the Water

Nestled in a pleasant alcove that is but a stone's throw away from the dazzling labyrinth of downtown, Red on the Water is a spectacle in its own right. Renovated in the style of a classic Irish pub with a dash of modern flair befitting the city that boasts it, this up-and-coming venue is the perfect place to snag an impeccably prepared home-cooked meal and enjoy the city's most impressive collection of brews from Ireland and beyond. You and your guests are sure to be mesmerized and invigorated by the energetic offerings of the live Celtic band to be found here every weekend.
Home of: Elysium

Owner Isolt Marcello

Co-Owner Damon Marcello
Waitress Yumi Chizue

Starlight Tower

With one hundred floors and a 125-foot spire, the Starlight Tower rises high above the Sacrosanct skyline. More than just a landmark, the Starlight Tower offers a unique mix of restaurants, shops, and offices spaced throughout the building. Organized into nine verticle zones, each of which features a sky lobby and a light-filled garden atrium which merge the upscale interior with a faux landscaped exterior setting.

What You'll Find Here

Crash Choir Records
Pentagram
Ellington Enterprise

BE THE WHO THAT YOU ARE AND BE PROUD


Posted on September 09, 2018 by ROMAN
East

Home. It meant many things for many different beings out there in the world. Perhaps to some, it was the place of their birth, those very first streets they'd wandered as children so untouched by the wickedness soon to strip them of their innocence. It was that playground nestled at the heart of their neighborhood, the place where they might have indulged their young and wild imaginations through games of adventure like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or searching for the lost ruins of some civilization swallowed by the passing of time. They might have made their very first friend upon those ever-familiar grounds, everything having started with a simple "hello" or a childish willingness to share the swing on the swingset when the others were taken. A single smile, one small yet meaningful gesture, and a friendship made to brave the years would be forged when life was at its simplest. But, this was not what "home" meant for everyone. Perhaps to others, it was the small town so small it seemed to have been forgotten altogether. It might have been where they fell in love for the very first time, eyes jaded from the hardships seen and felt in each day regarding every stranger with a wariness and unspoken distrust for fear that they would just end up hurt again. Until a man saw a beautiful creature sitting there beneath the shade of an oak, a gentle summer breeze toying gently with locks of sunshine as baby-blue eyes caressed the words etched into those paper pages of the book cradled so lovingly within her slender and soft hands. Maybe it was the small farmers market where a woman would bump into alme handsome fellow examining the ears of freshly picked corn, her things falling out of her arms just as a bashful apology might leave her lips only to be met with a gentle smile on part of the man, who would assure her that it was nothing to be sorry for. He would help her pick up her things, only for their hands to brush against one another, and then it is felt the spark ignites within that guarded heart and the world falls away until it was only the two of them there in that little market. Right in this moment, where what seemed to be nothing than a chance encounter with someone who stood out from the rest, the soul would realize its harbor and everything would begin to fall into place.

Maybe for others, "home" was where they would settle with their loved one, laying down roots for the very first time. It was where they bought their very first home. It wouldn't look like much, this tattered and worn building left to fall apart without a single soul to save it. Days and countless dollars would go into those much needed repairs as two beings would work to build something all their own, a place that would be the beginning of a new chapter in the story of their lives. Here, in this little home, the cries of their first newborn would be heard as it called out to those responsible for giving it life. There would be the gentle and hushed whispers of the mother, awakened and tired from a good night's rest, as she rocks the baby in the wooden chair so carefully made by her husband's own two callused yet devoted and loving hands. The hearty and deep laughter of the father would resonate within the four walls of that beautiful two-bedroom house as the growing child would take its first unsteady steps towards those strong and protective arms opened wide and welcoming. All the pride and love of those two new parents as they raised their child, it touched even the paint and plywood of that building. And then, perhaps for that child, "home" would be the college city where they worked hard towards their dreams, looking for their own way through this world so they might just be able to make a difference, leave their mark for generations to come. Countless hours of studying and stressing over those school exams, those low moments when it felt like they were going nowhere and questioning their decision to leave their families for a world in which their young spirits so desperately wanted to become a part of in some way, shape, or form. And then, the day they worked so defiantly towards would come, showing them just how worthwhile it had been, pushing through even the deepest moments of self-doubt and uncertainty. The cheers of proud parents as those accomplished young adults took their diplomas in hand would fill the air, obtaining the much needed key to the future they had so tirelessly sought. It would be in that city, where they'd reached for the stars only to realize they'd gone beyond them and to the moon, where "home" was found as they began their careers and made the difference their very souls had craved to do.

Roman had never had any of these moments. For him, home had never been a place, city, or town. From the very first moments he could remember, his family has always been moving from town to town, city to city, village to village. There hadn't ever really been a chance for the lion cub to make friends with another child on the playground - well, not a best friend, anyway. The were could hardly count just how many schools he and his siblings had attended, always struggling in one way or another to fit in with the rest of the kids. But, even then, it had never stopped Roman from being kind. He would have readily given up his swing for a girl with sadness in her eyes as she would sit and wait for one of the others kids to grow bored and abandon one. He would have always helped another boy who fell from the jungle gym and scraped his knee. Even as a child, at one point having been the little brother with no younger siblings beneath him, the were had been soft-hearted and seen his classmates as siblings. Perhaps it was because of growing up with an older brother and sister, and then again perhaps it was just how Roman was. Whatever the reason, he had been the child willing to help others, staying late and helping his teacher pick up books and toys. But, his family being the nomads that they were, Roman never had forged a forever friendship with another kid his age. He hadn't really needed such a bond, though. Not when he had Tristan and Nicolette, and later the twins and his youngest sister, Trinity. For all the places his family had lived, not once had he found a place his heart could not stand to live. There was no love story of a woman who'd enraptured him wholly, Kahla having been perhaps the closest thing he could have to compare such a moment to, and yet he had been young and reckless. They both hadn't been ready, having gotten so caught up in those all too new feelings before Roman realized where it would lead... Inevitably, the day came where his family was packing up what little they owned, and he'd had to say goodbye to the woman he was certain he didn't deserve. It had been a mutual thing, the golden blonde woman not wanting to leave her home and family while Roman could not part from his own, either. That parting had been a bittersweet one, and the regret of taking from her what she should have saved for the one she would marry would follow him for the rest of his days.

Through every place he's wandered, the one and only place that had been "home" to the man was his family, his pride. Leaving them, even when he knew it was to keep them safe from those reckless moments the lion was prone to, there has never been anything anywhere near as hard for him to do than bid them all farewell. Still, he remembers the sorrow in their eyes and the angry tears in Trinity's own as she tried to convince Roman to let her come with him. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her, and he'd made it clear to the fiery lioness that he could not let her follow. He was not the alpha that his father and older brother were born to be. That had never been his calling in life. How his heart had hurt that day, hugging her goodbye one last time before giving her the number to the cheap tracphone he'd purchased the day before. It was the only way they could stay in touch, and he'd made her promise to only call him when she was undoubtedly certain it was safe to do so, unquestionably sure the hunters hadn't caught up with their family. He made her promise to call him from payphones on the other side of whatever town they would live in for the short time that they would, and though these conditions meant that he would go months without hearing her voice or the voices of his other siblings or parents, it was the last thing he could do to keep their whereabouts hidden. If his own choices landed him ensnared in the hands of dark hunters, then he would not be able to tell his captors where his pride was. They could torture him, beat him, starve him, or cage him up like the wild and savage beast humans and hunters alike would so often see his were form as, and still he would not be able to give away the one thing that meant more to the man than his own life. For Roman, it had never mattered where he was or how many places he and his pride would travel through. Home was always with his pride. And he never thought it would be anywhere else. Until he came to Sacrosanct and found Maeve. The fae child had given back to the lion that sense of family that had been missing from his life for many years, and it was now here, in one of the last places he would ever have thought to find himself, that he was beginning to find something he'd been certain he would never have again. In finding Maeve, in promising to protect and provide for the child who was not his own, Roman was finding a place he could finally call his home.

He stands there patiently beside the booth where the beautiful woman sits, caught up in a world only she sees. He had hoped not to startle her, and yet still the woman startled softly in her seat at the sudden presence of his voice. His gentle smile is apologetic now as golden-hazels are met by silver-blue that took him by surprise. They were unlike any he has seen before, and it is almost hard for Roman to hear the outside world beyond that fleeting moment where the eyes of two perfect strangers meet. The moment passes though, and she gestures for him to take the seat across from her, Roman's smile soft as he nods respectfully."Thank you", he replies warmly in smooth tenor tones before sliding into the chair on the opposite side of the table where her sketchbook rests. Roman does not allow for his gaze to venture over the paper, not wanting to be rude or intrusive, instead allowing for his gaze to settle over her timid gaze. Her eyes... what did they remind him of? They were an icy blue, like a clear morning sky in the depths of winter when the sun has only just risen above the distant eastern horizon. So rare were such mornings when the world was at its coldest, and yet it seems that such a beautiful thing is captured there beneath dark lashes that blink over her gaze."My apologies, I hadn't meant to startle you. I'm Roman. Roman Lionel", he says then, setting his coffee on the table so that he could extend his callused hand to the young woman as he offers her his name, seeking to gently shake her own should she accept his greeting. When he retracts the common and courteous gesture of greeting, he sets the pastry bag on the polished wooden table and grasps his cup with his right hand, bringing the recycled plastic lid to his lips and taking a drink, reveling in the smooth and slightly nutty flavors of the blonde roasted as it touches his tongue. Yes, this was what he needed to start his day. He looks out to the sea of nameless faces, not wanting to simply stare at the woman and possibly make her uncomfortable, but it was her soft voice that draws his attention back to her. Surprise flickers across his chiseled features for a moment as the woman with elegant chestnut hair asks him a question no one else has before, though somehow it seemed fitting for her. She looks down to the either the paper in front of her or the table, an almost bashful shyness seeming to wash over her and there is something... endearing about her expression that has the man smiling gently to her once more. It was a rather cute look for her, honestly, but he keeps this comment to himself. His gaze is warm as she almost hesitantly looks back up to Roman, the man hardly having to consider his next words.

"Unfortunately, I was not born with the gift of artistry. To be entirely truthful, not even my stick figures come out looking like anything recognizable", he answers readily, a subtle humor touching his voice, hopeful that perhaps she might not feel as embarrassed about asking him. After all, it was hardly what the man considered a personal question or one of a probing nature, and he was far from opposed to engaging in easy snd casual conversation with the one he found himself in the unexpected company of this morning."I've always been better at repairs and yardwork than making something beautiful", he adds then, moving to lift the coffee cup up to his lips once more. He saw no harm in sharing this with her, certain that this much might be a little on the obvious side of things considering the toned muscle of his biceps and the roughness of his hands. He had never really invested much time in drawing or coloring like his sisters, though Trinity had always asked the lion to join her and he would always try his best to ensure he didn't go outside the lines too terribly much. It just didn't come easily to him, though he could not help but think that such a talent was nearly effortless for the woman across the table from him. There was something about her, something that the man could not quite place or explain, that seemed to speak of such a gift as creating something for the world to look upon and fawn over."May I ask what it was you were drawing?", he queried gently, a soft curiosity finding golden-hazel eyes as he regards the woman, still respectably keeping from looking down to the sketchbook should she not wish for another to see what it was she had been working to bring life to. Though he was far from capable himself, that did not mean Roman was unable to appreciate the finer things in this world. He has always enjoyed admiring the natural beauty of a sunrise or sunset, content to stop and appreciate how the colors of autumn might look against an icy blue sky so much like the young woman's eyes that he found himself looking into them softly yet again, just as he would such a morning painted by the hands of the gods.

You can't rewind a moment in this life. Let nothing stand in your way. The hands of time are never on your side
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