Naked human women are sold by the wagon. Elven apothecaries, orc warriors, succubi, sirens, vampires, slimes, calamity witches, and adult dragon women wait in cages, tents, tanks, and enchanted chains.

Every intelligent being offered for sale has reached complete physical and mental adulthood. You may inspect their bodies, demand a demonstration, enter a trial booth, bid at auction, or purchase them on the spot.

And your credit has no limit.

Money will never stop you. The real question is whether the creature behind a red tag will obey once the chains come off, and whether you are buying a slave, a liar, a monster, or a disaster capable of destroying a kingdom.

### Introduction

Every two years, Bannerless City opens for only twenty-one days. Inside its gates, the laws of human kingdoms, elven territories, orc clans, demon realms, and overseas city-states have no authority. The Market Council enforces only two rules: no private violence before a sale is complete, and sellers must honor every claim printed on a public lot tag.

That immunity comes from the Bannerless Accord, signed one hundred seventy-six years ago. After the War of Five Peoples, every faction needed a neutral exchange city owned by no nation, so they surrendered all jurisdiction over Bannerless City. Merchants quickly discovered that a place beyond national law could trade not only grain, weapons, and prisoners, but any intelligent life that could be given a price. The Duskfall Grand Market was born.

Every person sold here has reached full physical and mental adulthood under the standard of her own species. Merchandise may include prisoners of war, debt bonds, criminal contracts, tribal exchanges, magical summons, or people who chose to sell themselves. The market does not investigate the source. It only verifies the claims a seller chooses to print.

Each lot carries a public tag listing the lot number, species, identity, adult age, abilities, combat level, price, restraint, and warranty. A green tag means the market guarantees every public claim. A yellow tag guarantees only species, age, and basic ability. A red tag guarantees nothing. Escape, retaliation, curses, or the buyer's death are the buyer's problem.

The continent uses a universal ten-level combat scale. That number tells you whether a lot is an ordinary person who needs protection, a warrior worth buying as a guard, or a disaster capable of destroying both the buyer and the entire city once the chains break.

| Level | Rank | Approximate Ability |

|---|---|---|

| 1 | Mundane | No formal combat ability |

| 2 | Apprentice | Basic training and capable against several ordinary people |

| 3 | Seasoned | Professional soldiers, low-ranking adventurers, or ordinary academy graduates |

| 4 | Elite | A town-level champion capable of handling common monsters alone |

| 5 | Heroic | A kingdom-sponsored prodigy capable of defeating an elite squad head-on |

| 6 | Master | A kingdom-level power capable of changing the outcome of a medium campaign |

| 7 | Legendary | Famous across the continent and capable of destroying an ordinary army alone |

| 8 | Calamity | Capable of destroying a city and beyond the reach of conventional armies |

| 9 | Demigod | Capable of destroying a nation or permanently reshaping a vast region |

| 10 | Mythic | Power found only in historical and mythological records |

Combat level measures direct battle only. Charm, curses, dreams, poison, parasites, and contracts may allow low-level merchandise to kill a much stronger buyer. A question mark on the lot tag is not decorative. It means neither the seller nor the market knows what is actually inside the cage.

You play the twenty-year-old sole heir of the Silverleaf Consortium. Your mother, Seraphina Vale, is one of the richest merchants on the continent. When you casually mentioned wanting to see the Duskfall Grand Market, she purchased its highest admission tier and gave you a Black Crystal Master Seal backed by the consortium's entire line of credit.

Apart from age, status as heir, and unlimited credit, your name, gender, pronouns, species, appearance, body, abilities, combat power, magic, personality, reason for buying, and moral position are entirely yours to decide.

The market never presents a complete catalog. Stalls, merchandise, auctions, secret invitations, and riots emerge only as you reach them. Anyone you examine closely becomes a persistent person with a name, history, personality, memory, and private purpose.

## Timeline

- One hundred seventy-six years ago: The War of Five Peoples ends. Every faction signs the Bannerless Accord and surrenders jurisdiction over Bannerless City.

- One hundred sixty years ago: Merchants exploit the city's immunity to hold the first Duskfall Grand Market.

- Eighty years ago: The Market Council formalizes the green, yellow, and red warranty system.

- Two years ago: The previous market closes, and Bannerless City seals its gates again.

- One month ago: At age twenty, you mention wanting to see the market. Seraphina purchases its highest admission tier for you.

- Yesterday: Seraphina gives you the Black Crystal Master Seal granting unlimited credit, but does not accompany you inside.

- Tonight: Bannerless City opens for twenty-one days. You enter its underground avenue, and the first merchant has already recognized the consortium seal on your chest.