Elanya and Nemedion defaulted on a topic the very hour the two were to meet with the Dean--Arcane Incantations. Elanya tried her hardest not to roll her eyes when the very words were spoken. The topic was boring. Everyone knew what Arcane Incantations were, even if not many people could cast them. With enough practice and synergy, they could cast a simple Arcane Incantation without problems. However, Elanya loathed the idea. The two of them were basically presenting a conference pertaining to ancient history of Arcane Incantations, then spending the other half of their project casting pretty magic in the air for a show. Nemedion thought it would be nice to start their senior year with an extravagant demonstration, but Elanya couldn’t care less. The last thing she wanted was to show off to a bunch of rich people to gain their favor when they wouldn’t cast one glance at her afterward.

As she made her way up the stone stairs leading into the Dean’s Hall, Elanya became aware of how empty campus was. Few people walked scattered across the grounds, probably newer students that want to experience their summer in a new city instead of going back home. At the end of the school semester, Elanya always opted to stay in her room or retreated to the back of campus to practice her magic. She never once walked through the empty canvas of the campus to fully appreciate how beautiful and spacious it was without the crowds of people. Most of the trees flourished with pink, cherry leaves and white petals. The sidewalks, usually pebbled with mounds of feet, were barren. She could finally see how nice the concrete looked, how the white sand embedded within shone against the rays of the high sun. The details of the gothic-like buildings became clear to her, some having pointed columns of marble and pearl. They were much taller to her now that there weren’t tons of people huddling in front of them. She found them quite beautiful, like rediscovering artwork.

At the very top of the stairs, Elanya took a minute to take in Nemedion’s attire as he stood in front of the entrance waiting for her. Like many of the other rich students at the University, he usually wore his family’s colors and emblems, a royal blue and black, on a patch around his arm. However, today he was dressed very plainly with a dark grey tunic and black jeans. As usual, his neatly coiled dreads hung in a high ponytail on the top of his head. He titled his glasses once he noticed her staring, leaning against the wooden oak door of the Dean’s Hall.

“Do I have something on my face?” he asked.

Elanya rolled her eyes. “No, I’m just amazed by your audacity. Wearing normal clothing going to see the Dean?”

Nemedion showed a slight grin as he nodded toward the door. “I have to taunt him some kind of way. You know he’s going to defer to me during this meeting.”

Elanya knew that Nemedion disliked talking to the Dean and would rather have her speak for the both of them. For multiple previous projects, their peers assumed that Nemedion did most of the work and the talking, instead he always defaulted to Elanya, reluctantly ceding because he knew that her results were always merited.

“Would you rather that I give him an idea of our topic?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We know how he feels about status. Also, we have no clue of what could have been interesting to our peers.” Then he scoffed as he looked at her, a slight gleam in his eyes. “Besides, there is no way you could tell him about Arcane Incantations without rolling your eyes.”

At the mention of their topic, she groaned, rolling her eyes again. Nemedion sniggered while he opened the big, wooden oak doors before them.

The Dean, a stiff but prideful man, restrained his thoughts as he watched his best two students walk into his office. Elanya knew that the nobility always showed their crests to others as a way to show their pride and power, so the Dean couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at Nemedion’s display. However, he ignored the slight, hoping to conclude their meeting as soon as possible. For a moment, he held Elanya’s eyes.

Many students were accepted into Laoshin University on a scholarship. Some students were of noble birth, even if their families had fallen on hard times, losing their fortune and reputation. Despite the shame of their families, the country is not opposed to using their future offspring as instruments for the good of Vaikoln. The Nobles accumulate higher than average magic regardless of their previous studies. Their ability to hone magic has saved face for their quavering families.

Elanya was not a person born of noble birth in Vaikoln. She was an exception that couldn’t be overlooked because of her gift of Moon Magic and potential of Sun Magic. Out of respect for her father and her strong abilities, the Dean allowed the motion for Elanya’s enrollment to the University on a scholarship. But, there was something about her that rattled him. She couldn’t understand why he looked at her with so much disdain.

Nemedion presented the specifics and semantics to the Dean while Elanya held a blank expression, hoping to deter the yawn forming in her throat. She loved talking about casting magic spells meant for boasting of magical prowess during a war. Arcane Incantations were interesting enough, can obviously be devastating, but she longed to talk about something crazier. Unthinkable, really.

“This is good, Nemedion and Elanya, the new students are bound to love this. I’m hoping a joint Arcane Incantation is in the works?” he asked knowingly.

“Yes,” they both replied demuring, bowing with respect.

“Well done.” He turned to rummage through his large, mahogany desk. “I’ve arranged for your admission to the library of Zalatine for a week, on the school’s account, of course. Your flight will leave in the afternoon on the morrow, please make sure you have all your essentials packed and ready for departure.”

Nemedion looked back at Elanya with a grin. “Thank you, sir, we’ll pack our things tonight.” He said.

The encounter was as she imagined it would be. Again, she tried her hardest not to roll her eyes to the back of her head. She was sure that it would get stuck this time.

After being dismissed, Nemedion could hardly contain his excitement. There was a bounce in his step as they made their way down the stairs of the Dean’s Hall. His brown and blonde-tipped dreads bounced in multiple directions, a few heavy strands hitting Elanya in the face. Annoyed, she walked in front of him, avoiding his disturbingly happy aura.

“How can you not be excited to go to Zalatine! The wondrous capital of Vaikoln!” He exclaimed, jumping to her side. It was very un-noble of him to act like a baboon.

She waved a limp hand at him. “It’s Zalatine. It’s crowded with tons of people. Culture. Music, all that jazz. I prefer being here.”

“Even if you don’t care about Zalatine, at least be happy about getting to have complete access to their library. It’s borrowed from Magus Town, and many of their books are in Mvag.”

Elanya gave a losing shrug with a smile. “You got me there. I guess I’m too curious for my own good.”

Nemedion casted a projection spell using Air Magic, showing a small map of Zalatine, something he must have memorized in great detail in his studies. He pointed to a large tower near the center of the city, next to the King’s palace. “It’s in this tower, overlooking the vast sea, and the mazes within the palace’s gardens.”

“Wow, Nem. I’ve never seen you so excited before.”

“New abilities and history of magic always excites me,” Nemedion put a thoughtful hand on his hip, “and it’s good we’re allowed to travel, since I assumed I would be staying here the whole summer instead of going home.”

Elanya chuckled, pointing back to the dorms. “Well, let’s go back and pack.”

At first, Orantal couldn’t contain her excitement until she realized that she would be left behind while they frollocked in the country’s capital. In order to avoid her parents’ pursuits, she elected to stay the summer in Yulin-dai, hoping she would no longer have to deal with her male suitors. She wouldn’t have such a problem if her male suitors were suddenly female. The perk of staying since Elanya always had stayed behind also swayed her hasty decision. Because of Elanya’s hate of Asarian Frost, she denied herself of going back, much to the dismay of Orantal, who also hailed from Asarian Frost and hoped to spend time with her friend back home.

“We’ll only be gone for a week, maybe a few days more. It’s not like it’ll be the whole summer.” Nemedion said, tossing his bags into the closest corner to the girls’ bedroom door. To save some time, he was keeping his belongings in the girls’ room so that they can leave together, and hopefully on time.

“That’s too long!” Orantal whined.

“Don’t be such a child, Ora. We are coming back.” Nemedion went over to ruffle her neatly combed, blonde hair. He would never be seen showing such affection to anyone else like this, except for his two inquisitive friends before him. It relaxed him to let loose like this.

Elanya chuckled, slowly packing away her folded shirts into a medium-sized backpack. She rose up from the floor, making her way to her friends and placed comforting hands on both of their shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze much like her father did to her. “If it bothers you so much, why don’t you join us for breakfast and accompany us to the airport?”

“You don’t even have to tell me that because I was going to do that regardless.”

“Good, now let’s go get some dinner and maybe go watch something before our big day tomorrow.” Elanya looped her arms through both Nemedion and Orantal’s, happy to have such good friends.

Rigesh was thankful for the reprieve from the airport. He could only tolerate half the week and celebrated when he was expected at the waterport for boat inspection. His ability to build and fix machinery made up for his lack of water talent, so, with the permission of the Director and the Port’s dockmaster, he was allowed to dirty himself further by fiddling with the bolts and gears. It was only on occasion that the young man was able to cast a Water Rune on the ships for their longevity, but if he could tinker with the machine itself instead of showing off his failed magic, he was okay with anything. It wasn’t as if the Transit Bureau could fire him--he still did an astounding job at the airport, his most hated place of business.

He can worry about his troubles at the airport tomorrow, for right now, he wanted to get back home to fiddle with his prized possession. While he managed to tune the first one to adjust to his magical power, he knew that it was far from perfect. His pistol didn’t have a balanced magical input, which could lead to him channeling more magic than he needed. There didn’t need to be a repeat incident at the park, slipping into unconsciousness from exhaustion.

It was about high time he focused on completing a second pistol, one coated in onyx, far more superior than his first one. The time to create it would be indefinitely shorter than the first, something that Rigesh was looking forward to in his free time. All pieces for the second pistol were neatly placed together, he just needed to tinker more with the runes and test it out at a later date. In the meantime, he needed to hide the existence of his pistol from not only every nosy Nancy from the Transit Bureau but also the magic authorities--The Order of the Elemental.

The Order was established by the Magus and the King’s advisors to create order during unrest between the people of less fortunate genetics and the people of immense talent. They don’t function like normal police that bother with domestic disputes involving spurred lovers or petty thieves. Any crime or issue that revolved around magic always sought the solution of the Order of the Elemental, much to the dismay of the regular authorities. If the police felt that their abuse of excess magic was warranted, they still met with the Order who will excuse the slight on their law or punish all that were involved. Most of the authorities magical weapons and accessories are screened through the magical order to preserve further peace, even if the citizens believe that they were being stripped of their defensive rights.

Anyone posessing a magical weapon must register it unless they want to be fined and have their weapon taken away to be sold to the highest bidder. Having a license for his pistol would be a pain in the ass, especially since there was no way in hell he would be able to keep it. He created something no one else had--the Magus would never allow him to keep it. If push came to shove, his technical blueprints were valuable to the highest bidder. With whispers of war on the bleak horizon, the idea sounded only logical.

As the sun settled, the citizens of Yulin-dai began dispersing into their natural schedules for the nighttime. In a crazy, luscious city as this, the few activities happening at night were filled with heavy drinking, partying and consultation with the opposite sex. Ships rarely left the port after sunset due to safety concerns of operating during the nighttime. Flying to another city would be more convenient than sailing, which is why the waterport was mostly used for sending trade materials and people who couldn’t afford to fly. Commoners were more likely to board boats than airships. Rigesh, sitting on the deck of a docked ship, watched the last few people make their way on board in jealousy, many of them in a rush for departure. It was summer, after all. He wished he could vacation out of Yulin-dai too, but the Transit Bureau couldn’t afford any employees to enjoy themselves among the customers.

“Hey! Stop daydreaming up there and come help me move this cargo!” Morio’s voice bellowed from below.

Rigesh sighed, waving a lazy hand over the railing. “Oh, come on, you know that’s not our job.”

“And you know that Sele and Tangu are hiding like usual.”

Rigesh clicked his tongue, then rose up from the ship deck, rubbing his oily hands on dirty work pants. “Yeah. It’s probably a good thing that they’re hiding, no one wants to see them constantly lip locked.”

With haste, he made his way past the people boarding and onto the dock to help Morio. The man had already filled a cart full of goods for the both of them to circulate in the dockmaster’s office. Once they found their destination, they quickly stacked the cargo goods in the corner, then hustled to the lot where their steam truck was parked. As long as they disappeared before Sele and Tangu saw them, they could get away with only doing some of their undesired work. Rigesh couldn’t wait til the day after where he would relish seeing the look on their face, knowing they would be chewed out indefinitely.

Back on the road to the Transit Bureau, Rigesh leaned back into his seat with his hands behind his head, relaxing his tense body in the leather chair. Today had been such a good day, with the exception doing a little extra work for the cargo workers. He didn’t deal with Yahna since investing in a new compact where she couldn’t sink her magic into it to contact him. The last three days had involved him tunnelling magic through his pistol, hoping that it would lead to some secret to cast Water with his hands. No dice, so far. But overall, he was content with the progress in his life.

Starting to close his heavy eyes, the silence was broken by a slight chuckle from Morio. “Excited you didn’t have to go to the airport today?” he asked.

“Not just that, but I’ve been blessed with good fortune. I feel sorta complete.”

“Sorta complete?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean, like not all the way complete? Sorta, huh?” Morio teased.

Rigesh turned his head to his mentor, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. “You’re being an asshole.”

“Then you shouldn’t say such half-assed things like saying you’re sorta complete.” Morio chuckled again. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

The younger man scoffed, turning his head to peer through the window. The sky was darkening, but within the dark blue canvas were stripes of white with small, cloudy specks of orange, red and yellows. He loved the sun setting, it reminded him of home. His village didn’t have many trees among plain fields and farms, allowing him to see the vastness of the sky--observing the progressing change of colors of the day until night fell and he could count the bright stars. Stars he often wished upon.

“I keep wondering if I should send my parents my address.” He said suddenly, surprising Morio.

Morio tilted his head, trying his best to not look over while driving. “They often send me your letters, so it would help me out if you finally did.”

“I’m sorry for that.”

The older man shrugged. “It’s alright, though I don’t understand your reasoning for avoiding them like you do.”

Rigesh said nothing. He continued to look at the darkening sky, lost in thought.

“Have you ever read any of their letters to you?” Morio asked.

“One,” Rigesh said with a grimace. “After that, there was no reason to continue to read any more from them.”

“Rigesh, you should go back and visit. Clearly they worry about you. They’ve been sending you letters for a couple of years now.”

“I’m not going back. Besides, I have a new life here and I don’t need them trying to criticize my every action.”

Morio shook his head, confused. “I really don’t understand how you can stay away from your family. If I didn’t see Ma every other weekend, she would kill me.”

“That's because you’re a mama’s boy.”

Morio coughed loudly. “Oh, hush you.”

They continued the rest of the ride in silence. Rigesh watched the purple sky fight against the blaring street lights of the city. Downtown Yulin-dai was full of multicolored lights ranging from light pinks to fluorescent greens. Always full of bright wonders, Rigesh thought it a shame that many of the city folk didn’t appreciate the beautiful portrait of the night sky. Pulling their steam truck into the garage beneath the Transit Bureau, Rigesh wasted no time hopping on his steam bike and headed home. Not caring about inconveniencing the people all around him, he sped through the crowded streets, avoiding people stammering into the streets and slowing steam vehicles blocking his path. He itched to play around with his pistol, but rest sounded more responsible. He needed all of his energy for the trouble tomorrow.

After parking his steam bike in the underground garage at his apartment, Rigesh sluggishly walked to the elevator. No matter how tired he was, or if he was in a hurry, he always made time to appreciate a scan of the grassland park beneath his apartment. The elevator’s view of everything below, chiefly with all the crazy lights in the night time, was a sight. He knew his little sisters and mother would love to watch the surroundings morph as they ascended and descended. Instead of heading straight to bed, he attempted to write to his parents. Technology in the vast farmland where his parents lived was underdeveloped, so writing a physical letter was the only option to contact his family, working in his favor as it gave every opportunity to hide and limit contact with his elder sisters.

Targesh greeted his master as Rigesh opened the door, the small creature purring as he brushed his body under Rigesh’s calf muscle. In one big swoop, he picked up his pet and stroked him across the head. Nothing calmed him more than seeing his little buddy purring happily. At first, he had gotten his cat for a slight companion, overcome with loneliness in a new place where he knew no one. Over the last couple of years, the cat had become like his little brother. He couldn’t spend more than a day away from him. Rigesh’s elder sisters would probably scoff at the idea of having a cat. They were farmer’s daughters, yet they hated everything about the farm. They kept up girlish appearances as though they were above the rest of the family. He possibly missed those two the least. His heart ached for his three younger sisters, realizing that the ones closer in age to him were probably adults by now.

With a heavy heart, he placed his amber pistol in his closet and cleared his work desk of any unnecessary junk. Papers shuffled and pen in hand, he began to brainstorm an outline of what he should say to his family. He debated if he should write it in Common Vai or Wa Shei, the language of the natives that live scattered around Gong-dai. Starting off with pleasantries was a priority. His mother would scar her face with a permanent scowl at his rudeness, as she would put it, if he didn’t inquire after all five of his sisters.

So, with a quick hand, he asked about his sisters and their wellbeing. Because of his mother’s pickiness, he listed all the sisters in order of their age and importance to her-- the older two as a combination as they are always together. He remembered his mother telling him in a letter a few years ago about his oldest sister, Rowana, courting a young man from the village. After so long maybe the two are engaged and expecting. Rigesh swallowed with anguish as he wrote about it--he was probably an uncle to a little tyke or two. Rowana was at the age where she should be having a family, though maybe a little late. There was so much he was missing. In his letter, he made it known how much he started to regret his hasty, permanent stay in Yulin-dai, but a small hue of defiance didn’t want his parents to chide his decision.

Almost six pages and two hours later, Rigesh was content with his letter. He asked about his sisters, his mother’s tailoring job and his father’s health. His father was still rather young, no more than fifty years old, having started his family at a very young age, but Rigesh still hoped his father was well. As well as a father could be since his only son wasn’t home to help him with his work or fulfill his family duties. However, he knew that his youngest sister, Laoni, being the rough tomboy that she is, would be helping him out. In a short, but noticeable paragraph, he inquired about little Laoni and hoped that she was transitioning into the star she was born to be. Next, the most awkward of the letter, was reliving his unanticipated retreat to Yulin-dai while avoiding them for nearly two years and his desire to not come home after leaving the Knights. He admitted to not reading any of the letters they sent to Morio, refusing to be swayed by their supercilious opinions. The shivers in his stomach told him that he knew nothing would change their opinion of him, but his heart told him to bluster them with the progress of the project that led to him leaving the Knights. He retreated from one forceful opportunity to another against his father’s wishes, only to escape that as well. The pistol being able to shoot elemental magic and helped with his Water Magic had been an accomplishment. Would his family be proud of what he had created?

Targesh meowed from Rigesh’s bed. The small cat was becoming increasingly annoyed as time went by and Rigesh not coming to bed. The digital clock above his closet door flashed one in the morning. Maybe it was time to call it a night, he thought, scratching his head with his pen. After a quick shower, he climbed into bed to nestle next to Targesh. The black beast purred in contentment as he sat behind his master’s head. Even though his whole body was aching tired, Rigesh could not sleep. His thoughts showed his fears in vibrant colors, swirling around each other with uncomfortable anxiety. On top of the fear of his parent’s reactions lay another layer of Yahna tormenting him day in and out, adding to his insecurities. The last layer was disappointment with being a Knight, leaving because he was nothing compared to the others--their wills to protect their country with no hesitation was much bigger than his will to improve. Dying with a patriotic cause never sat well with him. The nightmares of his regrets continued to haunt him. All he wanted was to sigh in relief before he went to bed.

Rigesh woke up late today. He couldn’t fall into slumber, and when he finally did, it was for a short period after spending what felt like hours tossing and turning. Every time his alarm went off, he pushed the snooze button. At the last buzz, he threw his alarm clock at the wall, silencing it indefinitely. It didn’t even matter that he wouldn’t be able to hear it once more.

Targesh had been awakened by the noise earlier. The small, but irritated beast did everything in its power to wake his master up, until he became fed up, scratching Rigesh against his back side. Almost like a hurricane, Rigesh woke with a start and stormed across his bedroom, putting on his green uniform shirt, the wrong color. His hair barely combed, looking like a spiky porcupine, he frantically tried to slide down the strays on the side of his shaved head. In a selfish moment, he reached into his closet and grabbed his amber pistol, tucking it away in the sling of his pants.

Today, he didn’t take the time to look out at the grassland below him through the elevator’s large window. Numerous times on the road, he nearly crashed his steam bike into buildings on tight corners and large groups of people congesting the walkways. He scared a poor woman at the front desk of the post office after disposing of his letter like he was throwing a dagger. It was by the grace of Raylith that he didn’t run into the authorities. Due to his lateness, he didn’t even bother stopping by the main office and made the long trek to the airport.

Once he parked his steam bike, nearly toppling over it trying to get off, he made his way to the back where the docks were, hoping to find Morio. As he rounded the corner, he saw an angry Morio having a heated conversation with one of the ship pilots. The other man waved his hands in the air rapidly, occasionally pointing at the ship in displeasure. Rigesh reached them both of them, nervous in demeanor, trying to defuse the situation.

“Sorry I’m late, Morio.” He put his hands in his pockets to keep himself from wringing his wrists in anxiety. “What’s going on?”

“Thank Raylith, you’re here. I was starting to give up hope!” Morio rolled his eyes then turned his back on the pilot to speak to Rigesh. “Mazet and Sopon both had double rune duty with us today and they’re missing. I haven’t seen them all day. I’ve been doing, like, one ship every fucking hour when it wouldn’t take me so long if I had a team here.”

Mazet and Sopon usually loved double rune day, it gave them a chance to tease Rigesh whenever they saw Yahna. Sometimes Sopon wasn’t reliable, so it wouldn’t have surprised Rigesh if he also showed up late or called out. However, Mazet, being a senior Rune Specialist like Morio, was always responsible and usually brought a replacement in times like this. But there wasn’t a replacement for him.

“Did they call you or anything like that?” Rigesh asked.

Morio shook his head. “No, but from my understanding, people saw Mazet this morning. He said something about having to get Sopon from doing something stupid.”

“Wait, so their trucks are here?”

“Yep, but no one has seen them since the airport opened.”

Rigesh looked at the nearest clock. It was almost noon. They had been missing for nearly four hours. “They’ll show up, let’s just get some work done before the pilots start getting angry.”

Morio grimaced. “I asked for some back up from the waterport, but I haven’t heard anything yet. Must be one of those days.”

Rigesh nodded his head, then made his way to calm down the still heated pilot. After some charming words and reassured promises, the pilot yielded and made his way to the cockpit, waiting for refuel and mechanical work to finish. Rigesh could hear Morio getting upset while contacting the main office, learning of the untouched cargo from the waterport because those two lover birds never returned to work. Sele and Tangu, while utterly useless, always showed up to take other people’s credit and point fingers. Rigesh pursed his lips, a little suspicious that four people were missing. This didn’t sit right in his stomach. For the next hour, he and Morio hurriedly worked on the airships, still a bit behind schedule even with a lot of people finally taking off. He could only imagine all the complaints about the delays.

He finished up his last Air Rune before it was time for lunch. Part of him felt guilty for taking lunch at the designated time even though he had only arrived a little bit over an hour ago, but his body felt sluggish. Not once did he take any time to eat or drink any water. To be fair, he might have forgotten to feed Targesh before he left his apartment. Morio joined his side as he walked slowly to the cafeteria, throwing a lazy arm over his shoulder. Despite how irate the man had seemed earlier, he seemed to have perked up.

“Every single person has let me down, except you, Rig,” the man grinned, “I knew I could always count on you.”

Rigesh scratched his head, sighing. “I couldn’t sleep last night. Sorry for oversleeping.”

“It’s not really a big deal. Once the Director hears about all this, think about the raises we will get for being the only people available to help the masses.”

“It’s unlike Mazet to just disappear like that, but I’m not surprised by the other three.”

Morio shrugged. “I don’t know what everyone’s deal is, but it’s only been three days within the week. I doubt that everyone just decided to have a shitty day all at the same time.”

At the mention of a shitty day, the ever lovely Yahna stopped them in their tracks in the cafeteria. The cafeteria was fuller than usual due to the enormous amount of delays happening. Rigesh hoped that one of the ships that already departed had Yahna on it, but his luck had run out. He should start praying to Umbara more, maybe then would the goddess stop playing tricks on his life.

“I’m so glad my flight was delayed because I got to see you, Rigesh,” Yahna shoved her body between the two men, placing her long fingers over Rigesh’s chest.

“Umbara’s blood, you are clingy,” Rigesh muttered.

Yahna stepped back and ran her fingers through her curly, strawberry blonde hair. She blinked her eyes innocently. “I didn’t see you this morning, Rigesh, did you oversleep?”

He looked away from her annoyed. “Yes. And with good reason, too.”

“You’re always so cold toward me.”

“And you don’t know when to leave me alone.”

The two men managed to free themselves from Yahna’s senselessness long enough to go buy a bowl of soup from one of the vendors in the cafeteria. Like a lovesick puppy, she followed them around, pestering them with questions about their plans for later in the day, even for the weekend. She laughed when mentioning that Mazet and Sopon were missing, relieved that they weren’t there to make matters worse. Yahna hated every man that came in contact with Rigesh because it only proved harder for her to win him back.

They attempted to sit at one of the less crowded tables within the cafeteria, but they were bombarded with Yahna at every turn. Almost like an unruly kid, she tried to take food from Rigesh’s plate and sit well within his safe space. Even if it didn’t win her ex-lover over, she still loved bothering him to pay him back for leaving her. Yahna always got what she wants, and if she doesn’t, the people pay for it. Rigesh pushed his food away, then glared at her, knowing that he lost their battle of wills. He wanted to get back to work, anything that would allow him a distraction from this evil witch. Morio followed Rigesh as he made his way back to the break rooms. Yahna followed, having nothing to do but wait for her flight to depart.

“What is your problem?” he nearly yelled, drawing the attention of some customers scattered around.

Yahna licked her lips victoriously. “Rigesh, you know that I won’t stop bothering you until you realize that you’re mine.”

Morio opened the door to the break room slightly, but turned his head at her with disgust. “You’re a leech. Nothing makes you happier than torturing people that disappoint you.”

“And you’re a leech, too, Morio. Let’s not forget about the type of company you hang around when you’re not working.” Yahna grinned viciously.

Morio’s only reply was an angry scowl. Rigesh grew impatient by her antics. He opened the door to the break room, planning to use the area as a blockade against Yahna’s scrutiny. Morio pushed behind him, eager to be separated too, but was stopped by his colleague’s robust back.

“Damn it, Rigesh, let’s go before--” Morio moved himself to the side of Rigesh, however, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Rigesh looked into the scene with horror, trying his best to keep his food down. Yahna, ever so curious, pushed herself within the room, sliding between the two cemented figures, but immediately regretted it. She let out a blood chilling scream then turned her head into Rigesh’s shoulder to stop the sound. He didn’t bother to fight her off. He couldn’t blame her.

All morning, Mazet and Sopon had been missing. Their disappearance angered most of the airport staff. No one would have known they had been murdered in the break room, their bodies torn apart. Sopon’s neck was mostly gone, nothing but blood and a part of his spine seen. In an effort of defending himself, some of his fingers had been ripped off, some crooked against the palm of his hand. A couple of them lay by the door, skin hanging off the bone. His green eyes stared dully into the afterlife, his face held a look of confusion. He didn’t die quick, but in agony. Mazet fought his attackers head on, whereas Sopon was probably caught off guard. Marks of fire scorched the thin walls of the break room, blackened the carpet with stains and destroyed furniture. Mazet lost the fight. He lay on his back facing near his partner, his stomach turned inside out along with one of his eyes missing. The eye trails were drug across his body, half smushed. His guts decorated the floor like red waves of an ocean, death bearing beneath the water’s surface. The person fighting against him seemed annoyed while they did so, like a fanatic on a monsterous rampage.

Yahna couldn’t control herself. She vomited in the corner next to the door. All Morio could do was turn away from the scene and rub her back to comfort her. Rigesh had seen his fair share of death back with the Knights, protecting against coups, bandits and the like, but he had never seen something so visceral in his life. They needed to get out of here and alert the masses in the airport. There was a murderer on the loose.

Pulling his pistol from its hiding spot in the back of his pants, he walked out in front of them. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

But before the three could leave together, a large explosion shook them. Concrete walls began to crumble. The ceiling came crashing down on top of them as a column of fire came their way, engulfing everything in their path.

Elanya didn’t mind arriving to her destination early, but having to wait in a crowded airport only for her flight to be delayed by an hour and a half felt like torture. She, Nemedion and Orantal all woke up at the crack of dawn to breakfast together, headed through the immense morning traffic, only to be told of the delays. Nemedion demanded, as he was the son of a Duke, that he be let through and have his own flight away from the commoners. Anything that would allow him to keep from mingling with people lower than him. Elanya pinched his arm when he became unruly, reminding him that she was one of those commoners that he was so disgusted by. Besides, she knew leaving on a separate ship wasn’t feasible. The school paid for their travel and would scorn them for wasting their resources all for Nemedion’s silly pride.

Orantal, the daughter of an Earl, bribed her way past the checkpoint at the airport hoping to keep her friends company up until the very moment they boarded the ship. To Orantal’s delight, the delay allowed her a few precious hours until they returned. And so, with her feet crossed delicately at her ankles and a small sweet in her hand, she looked toward both of them for mindless conversation to keep them occupied from boredom.

“Oh, come on, you can’t be upset I’m here with you.” Ora said, biting into her treat.

Nemedion pushed up his glasses. “Not so upset, but rather surprised you wanted to stick along like you did.”

“Yeah, bribing the security to let you in was very noble of you.” Elanya snickered. “Though it brings to question if they're actually doing their jobs properly.”

Orantal waved a dismissive hand. “No one can resist my innocent charms. Besides, they’re doing their jobs better than the crew in charge of the ships. How can they be so short staffed? Granted, it isn’t a popular job day for flying out.”

Elanya tilted her head to the massive windows displaying the faded background of Yulin-dai. This morning, she felt excited. Stepping into the airport, she felt anxious. She didn’t feel right. A lingering thought that bothered her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. The amount of people and their combined auras could have been disrupting her senses. As much as she wanted to blame her nerves on the hyper sensation from earlier, she couldn’t ignore the slight ringing in her head. Each time she felt it, she ran a finger over the hilt of her sword attached at her hip.

And each time the feeling passed through her again, she would turn her attention back to the window to look at how beautiful the city looked from the very top level of the airport. The buildings distributed around were like tall towers, decorated with blue, chromatic windows and tough, metal frames. Lantern lights trailed the building sides, a slight glow that was usually brighter in night time. It reminded her of how beautifully crafted the airport was--full of chrome and lanterns glowing with every color imaginable. The floors were coated with a grey marble, tiny sparkles of stones and crystals embedded in them. Even the chairs were something fancy, cushioned with some sort of velvet fabric, colored in a color of heavy cream. The sheer potential of Yulin-dai and it’s progression over the last several years overwhelmed and inspired her. Soon, it really will be on par with the marvelous city of Zalatine.

“Are you feeling alright, Ellie?” Nemedion asked, slightly leaning his head toward her. “You don’t look so well.”

On instinct, he reached out to touch her forehead, but she shooed him away. Embarrassed by the quick rejection, he looked over to Orantal for help. All the other woman could do was giggle.

“I can’t help myself,” Orantal giggled behind her hand, “Seeing you both like this is amusing.”

Nemedion tapped his fingers on his knee with impatience. “My rejection is amusing to you?”

“You brought this on yourself, Nem, you should think about it from Ellie’s point of view.”

Elanya shrugged. “It’s whatever. He’s going to be like this the whole trip.”

“Is that so bad? To be going on this trip alone with me?” he asked.

“Don’t act like a victim.” She huffed, turning her head to face him. “We made a compromise earlier and here you are, trying to assert your dominance on someone that is not yours.”

“Please don’t be like that, Elanya.” Nemedion sighed. “I can’t help what this is.”

“This is nothing! We are just friends, that’s all we’ll ever be.” She faced away from him, crossing her arms in slight anger. “Right now, you are my partner for a project. Please stay in your place.”

Nemedion looked for Orantal for help again, but was met with continuous amusement. Orantal’s small giggles evolved into big laughter as she stared at the awkward couple. It was disappointing she wouldn’t be going with them on their trip, but maybe it wasn’t worth the headache that the two would eventually bring.

He returned his gaze to Elanya again, resisting the urge to grab her hand. “I’m sorry, Elanya,” he said, “I have treated you wrongly, even though you are one of my closest friends. I will try my best to show you that I do think highly of you.”

Elanya inclined her head toward him, a coy ear to his rare, soft words of endearment. Curiosity glistened in her strange eyes, her mouth twitched with a hint of an impish smile. “Even though I’m a commoner.”

He chuckled. “Yes, even though you are a commoner.”

“Even though I’m more talented than you?”

“You know I would never admit to that.”

“But you do think it, right?” she teased.

Nemedion rolled his eyes playfully, then showed his friend a lovely smirk. “Not a chance.”

Orantal could recognize the chemistry between the two. She thought for all the intelligence that Nemedion possessed, her friend was an absolute idiot. If Orantal wasn’t so enraptured with her steady friendship with Elanya, she would be drooling over her, too. But her eyes were set on an older woman that frequented the same bar that she goes to. There wasn’t a point in waiting for the right moment. Before the feelings fade, she would approach her desire and milk it. It’s something that her friend Nemedion needs to learn.

Twenty more minutes passed, no more recent news; only that an extra employee from the Transit Bureau had arrived to help out with the ships. From her understanding, four workers were needed to keep every flight on schedule. Regardless of the extra hand on deck, they wouldn’t catch up anytime soon.

Nemedion stretched his arms out, yawning loudly as he looked over to the vendors in the connecting cafeteria. Ignoring Orantal’s protests about having already gotten some snacks earlier, he suggested getting some light lunch to continue passing the time. Elanya still felt that strange feeling in her stomach, so food really eluded her, but she didn’t want to sit around twiddling her thumbs anymore. Almost in a single file line, the trio walked over to a vendor selling hot potatoes with as many toppings as one desired. Nemedion bought three potatoes, then led them to a table in the middle of the cafeteria floor. The ones near the windows were unavailable due to the mobs of people gathered around anxiously watching the outside for ships landing and departing. The scene was almost too suffocating to watch--disgruntled people shoving against each other trying to get a good peek at the distant horizon. Only five ships had left this morning and only two had arrived. Elanya was thankful that her father had decided to leave days earlier instead of prolonging his stay like she wanted him to.

In an elegant, but absurd way, Nemedion cut his pieces of potatoes into neat squares. It wouldn’t have been so odd if the top of the potatoes weren’t already smothered with steak, gravy, and cheese. Elanya shook her head as she dug her fork into her potato covered with roasted onions, peppers, steak, cheese and gravy. Orantal, even though she complained about eating a big snack earlier, piled her potato with every vegetable imaginable with turkey on the top. All she wanted was pure protein, whining that the other toppings were too fatty for her. Elanya snickered as they all ate their food in silence.

Silence never lasted long with the every curious Orantal. “It is rather inconvenient that Gong-dai doesn’t have a train system like the other places on Vaikoln. No one wants to take a ship through the ocean because it’s not as fast, but the airport is always crowded to hell.”

Nemedion sighed. “It also doesn’t help that Yulin-dai is the only city in Gong-dai with transportation because the wealth over on this side is still new.”

“Could the Transit Bureau not pass a bill relating to the creation of railroads across Vaikoln? Not just from the West, North and South?” Elanya asked.

“Unfortunately, they can’t.” Nemedion placed his utensils down and tapped his fingers on the table in thought. “From my understanding, the middle of Vaikoln is too dangerous to building anything through.”

Orantal agreed. She could see the confusion in Elanya’s eyes and sought out to inform her friend. “They say that the earth there is unstable. It constantly breaks down and all that’s there is rot and darkness. People that go through the middle of Vaikoln never come back alive.”

Elanya tilted her head, ignoring the pit in her stomach and picked at her food. “They never come back alive? No one knows what’s going on?”

“Ellie, you may not fly too often back and forth from Yulin-dai to Asarian Frost, but if you look through the window half way through the journey, all you can see is a massive dark hole. There is nothing there but a wasteland. No magic can save whatever is plaguing that area.”

It was true. Elanya had never flown much since her father had chosen to peddle his goods on foot or a broken down vehicle. When she got a little older and they started settling down in places a bit longer, their stays consisted of mostly the other fronts. Their main mode of transportation was taking the train to the bigger cities on the western front because her father didn’t trust the instability of the airships. After her acceptance into Laoshin, she suggested flying even though her father was uncomfortable with the idea. An hour into the flight, Elanya fell asleep, only to be awoken by an annoyed flight attendant another two hours later. She never witnessed the dark hole, nor did anyone ever talk about why no one ever crossed the middle of Vaikoln. Maybe she should have asked more questions instead of always having tunnel vision.

From the entrance of the cafeteria, a crowd gathered around an escalating uproar, causing a mild disturbance. The erroneous feeling Elanya was experiencing in her stomach was now feeling like an ominous cyst, creating slight cramps on her abdomen. She placed a hand on her stomach, causing Orantal and Nemedion to eye her with a suspicious concern.

Before Nemedion could ask something outlandish, Elanya spoke up. “No, it’s not what you’re thinking. I just have some sort of bad feeling.”

Orantal looked over to the crowd of people, edging closer to the middle of the room. “I agree with the bad feeling in your stomach.”

“We need to get out of here, right now.”

Nemedion looked around for another exit away from the main entrance where the crowd of people had gathered. He noticed two other exits, one that led to the departing walkway for the airships and the other led to a restricted area for employees.

“Let’s head over there.” He said.

“I don’t think we can even get over there.” Orantal fretted.

Elanya shrugged. “With the lack of employees, I doubt there would be anyone to see us. I just know that we need to leave as soon as possible.”

As they started to push and pull through the ever growing crowd, a scream broke out. The crowd became even more disorderly, pushing people to the side like they were parting ways for a god. Elanya smelled a huge wave of copper tarnish the air. There was blood. Lots of blood coming from the direction of the entrance. Through a small crack in the crowd creeping closer to the other entrances, Elanya could see a man. Well, she wasn’t for certain if it was an actual man--his skin was grey, almost black with rot. His skin peeled back when he launched himself on a young woman and bit into her shoulder. Orantal held in her scream, horridly turning away into Nemedion’s arm. Elanya quickly drew her sword, bound to contain the rising fear drifting up through her spine. What was that man doing? He was eating her! He couldn’t possibly be a human male by his looks and behaviors, but he seemed so similar. Nothing came to mind about what he could be. Titaneous housed different types of magical creatures--beastmen and even rare dragons--but Vaikoln didn’t possess such terrible creatures besides magic animals.

But Elanya didn’t have any more time to figure out what this monster was or where he came from. A loud blast shook the building. The ceiling came crashing down, the windows shattered and suddenly the rowdy cafeteria was engulfed in flames.