Scroll 3: Suzu
When it got dark, and I had supposedly gone to bed, I carefully got out of bed, making sure I made my bed and didn't disturb anything in the room as I tiptoed outside. The summer night was perfect: warm but not humid, and the sky was dotted with shimmering stars. I went around to the back of the house. Our family Rheaird was parked there in the back of the hut, next to the shovels and wheelbarrows. I nimbly tiptoed over and climbed on. The machine didn't start, so I got off and started inspecting the machine for defects. After a while, I couldn't find any defects, so I got back on. It was then that I remembered something mom had told me when I was little and she was showing me the Rheaird for the first time.
"The Rheaird uses mana from you. When you want to start it, you have to give mana to the machine.
"How do I do that?"
"Sit back, and in your mind, see the mana running like water, from you to the Rheaird. When you start to feel warm and tingly, you are doing it right."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. After a minute, I started to feel warm, and the Rheaird roared to life. I turned toward the direction of the royal city Meltokio (I had decided to go there first, since that was the most likely place my dad and brother would be) and I was off!
After a while, I set the Rheaird on autopilot and pulled out a sack, filled with dried fruits and a canteen of water (all pilfered from the kitchen) and ate a quick snack. From my sack, I pulled out a map of the world. Since Meltokio is northwest of Mizuho, I turned northwest and rode on. Around sunup, I was exhausted. Who knew driving a Rheaird took so much work? I navigated near a stream and sat down to rest a bit before going on. Somehow, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was afternoon. I drank some water from the stream and ate the rest of my dried fruits. Making my way to the town center, I managed to get some information from a nice lady running a flower stall. Meltokio was still about 5 miles away, so I climbed back on my Rheaird and continued on my way. As I continued on my way, I thought about the sudden disappearance of my dad and my brother. I couldn't understand why they would suddenly stop sending letters. I had already ruled out a lot of possibilities, but there was still a possibility. It was so horrible that I didn't want to think about it, but now, I had to face the reality that my dad and brother could possibly be dead (perhaps murdered by the king?). I shuddered and banished the thought from my head. For the rest of the way, I tried my hardest to convince myself that the possibility of them being dead was close to 0, but I somehow felt unsettled.
-End of Scroll 3-