Through The Castle Garden is an installment for A Call to Arms, a series of stories inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Taking place late in the canon of the series, a middle-aged Anry Muse chooses to fulfill an old promise by visiting Huaisheng Temple within Minwa Dynasty. Upon his arrival, however, he discovers that his old friend Taizong Muhtar has been deceased for some time, though his spirits are lifted upon learning that his younger sister, Zetian Muhtar, is still alive, albeit out in town at the time. After exploring the temple grounds and meeting both one of the Muhtars' mutual friends, Laleh Gulyar, and their impersonal and distant father, Shimin Muhtar, Anry ends up meeting a ranger like himself from the northern forests of Mwalakore, named Migizi; almost instantly, however, the two discover that their personalities are completely incompatible despite their shared goal of ridding the world of otherworldly beings and threats to their plane. Outside of Huaisheng's grounds, however, the two are given a joint task that forces them to cooperate for at least a few moments.
Through The Castle Garden can be read here.
The above photograph is that of an entryway to the real-life Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, China. As mentioned before, Huaisheng Mosque is China's single oldest mosque and one of the world's oldest mosques, estimated to have been built in about 627 CE. A unique blend of Chinese and Muslim architecture, it acts as a perfect stand-in for the fictitious Huaisheng Temple.
