The Magical City, Flaris

Nelo and I looked upon the City of Flaris from a hill to the north west, overlooking the city, while the crew was unloading the ship's cargo and organizing it.

"There it is," Nelo said, "The City of Flaris."

"I have to admit, it's not what I expected."

"Oh?"

"With all the things I've seen in the past hour, I expected something…else. I don't know. Not this. Not wood and thatch worked houses with a small river running through it."

"I'm surprised you didn't mention that." Nelo said, pointing to a giant floating object just above the city that almost overshadowed all of it.

"Strangely it was just less surprising I guess. But now that you mention it…"

"That is Flaris' flying fortress, Bobor."

I saw at its center there was a flag that was identical to the one the large ship heldi in the battle with the two others.

"Hey Nelo, that flag there?"

"You recognize it right? Well, that's because they both belong to The Crimson Shield. It's the guild that is run by Flaris' queen, lady Cerand."

"You mentioned that name earlier, when talking about that battle."

"Yeah, that's because that was her personal ship, and her commanding it. While she is queen, she is also this lands personal guardian. Soon after the war, she redesigned the fortress and told the people that she would protect this land and its entire people with all her heart, soul, and body if need be. Some even speculate that's where the name Crimson Shield came from. She's kept her word. Anytime there's been a threat to Flaris she is the first one to meet it. She does not command soldiers into any situation she isn't willing to put herself into first. Even though we Scavengers are neutral, it is easy to see why the people of Flaris follow and look up to her. I don't think this world has ever known a leader as devoted to its people as she is."

I looked at Nelo as he spoke, and his face seemed to change slightly at the end of his story. I was going to ask what troubled him when we were interrupted.

"Sir Rohe, we're finished loading the parts onto the wagons."

"Good, we'll be right there. So, Chen, you ready to get a closer look at the city?"

Nelo turned and started toward the building behind us where the ship was docked. I looked back at the city once more then followed quickly after. Rounding the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted four wagons full of scrap and people, each attached at the front to a pair of grey armored creatures. I looked up at Nelo who smiled.

"What? They're just peaky turtles. Don't worry about it. They're not dangerous, to us anyways. They've been raised and trained in captivity. Hop on."

We rode the wagon pulled by those creatures known as peaky turtles down a path from the hill that eventually led to the city. On the outskirts I could spot many strange winged purple creatures. Upon closer inspection it turned out that they all only had one eye as well.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Demons." Nelo answered.

"Demons? But they're all over, and you don't even have guards set here?" I asked as we crossed the bridge that led into the city.

"No need. The aibats are mostly all peaceful, and no really dangerous or aggressive demons stray this far south generally."

Shortly after, we came into an open circular area with many houses lining the outside of the circle. Nelo brought the peaky turtles to a stop and told one of his men to take the reigns.

"What do you say we walk about a little Chen?"

I agreed and exited the wagon, watching as the four wagons continued on.

"What's that huge glowing spire in the center of the circle?"

"That is what the Flarians refer to as the Lode Light. It has been her for longer than anybody can remember and it's said that it was here before the city was built, but the founders of Flaris thought it so beautiful that they just built around it. Come on, this is pretty much the only thing of interest in this section of the city. The buildings in this portion mostly just house soldiers and engineers responsible for testing the Lode Light and making sure things don't malfunction on this end."

"Malfunction?"

"Yeah, see it was Lady Cerand who first discovered that the Lode Light could be used as a power source, and that's part of what fueled her redesign of the fortress. Now when need be, they use the power of the Lode Light to fire the main cannon of the fortress. It's the most powerful weapon Flaris has."

"Amazing!"

"I suppose so. I certainly don't envy anybody who has it in their heads to attack this city. Let's go."

Nelo lead me further south, deeper into the city. This section of the city, like the last, was also based upon a circular area, but with some differences. Unlike the first section, which was closed off except to the north and south, this section had many branches stretching beyond just the inner circle leading out to more buildings beyond the first line. The second difference was that while the first section seemed mostly peaceful and nearly uninhabited…this section was bustling with activity.

"This is Market Circle." Nelo said, "Most anything you could want or need in Flaris can be found here. The buildings directly on the circle belong to the better known merchants such as the smiths Boboko and Boboku. However, as you can see, there are also a lot of people who come here to barter through personal shops and just socialize."

"What about that one?" I asked, pointing to the largest building to the south.

"That would be the bank of Flaris."

"Is that another section of the city to the east?"

"Yes. While most of the market is in this section, there were a few merchants who wanted to set up over there instead, like the grocery run by Losha. But other than that, there are just some residencies and the job office. A young lady by the name of Mikyel runs that. Come to think of it, we may want to check in with her later."

"For what?"

"Well, you may not know who you are, but maybe somebody else does. Hell, maybe you're missing and there might be a lead there."

"You really think so?"

"Well, it can't hurt to try in any case. If nothing else you can take some jobs and earn yourself some penya. That could make things easier on you, if things don't work out right away. Look, I'm going to go make sure the guys have the shop set up alright, but while I'm doing that feel free to go check in with her."

I nodded and Nelo left me to go join his men. After a moment of looking around a little, I quickly made my way to the next section of the city. Mikyel's job office was directly to my left upon entering the third circular section of the city. It was really of a booth than an actual office, with a large billboard and table to the front and left of it. At the desk was Mikyel dawning all red, and large thick glasses. Her hair was pulled back in two balls keeping her blond hair out of her eyes, which were purple I saw when she looked up from her stack of papers at me.

"Welcome to the job office of Flaris. How can I help you?"

"Uh, yes, I was wondering if there were any jobs having to do with missing people?"

She pushed aside the stack of papers she was rifling through and began flipping through a new one. She was coming toward the end of the stack when she paused as though remembering something and stood up. The bulletin board was covered with papers, but she went straight to the middle of it and picked out one that was slightly covered up.

"There haven't been any missing person's jobs for a while, but this one I've kept up for some time now."

She held the sheet out for me, and I felt a jolt of excitement run through my body. There wasn't much on the sheet, just contact information, a reward, and at the end a picture. The young man in the photo had short sandy brown hair and black eyes. I didn't recognize a single feature on this man I was looking at, but then I realized I had no recollection of what I looked like either.

"May I borrow this?"

"Well, I suppose so. Just be sure to bring it back."

I gave her a quick nod and headed quickly toward the water. I stood on the bank of the river and looked again at the flier. It dropped to my side as I looked into the water. The shimmering water reflected the image of a young man, no more than 24 or so, with slightly long and messy gray hair. I leaned in closer, my nose nearly touching the water. I noticed I had gray eyes, and my skin was without a mark or blemish. I stared harder at this stranger in the water, but no feelings of familiarity ever came. It was like looking at myself for the first time.

"Chen?"

I looked behind me at Nelo, who looked slightly worried.

"You ok?" He asked.

"It's not me."

"What?"

Nelo came closer and picked up the flier from where I left it. He looked it over quickly and looked back to me.

"I'm sorry Chen."

"What am I going to do Nelo? I don't even recognize my own reflection. So many things about this world seem unbelievable. I just…I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

I felt something wet on my cheek and wiped it away.

"You'll come with us and join the Scavengers."

"What? I don't think I can…"

"Of course you can. Each branch only gets a certain budget assigned to employment, but I can take you in on my own pay."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"And you're not. Whatever your earnings are you'll pay back. Most Scavengers make money through other means than just the guild. Once you're comfortable you could start taking jobs with the office. Also…I'm hoping to find out just what the whole story with you is now. Still, it's our choice. Become a Scavenger or wander about aimlessly asking everyone you see if they recognize you. What do you say?"

Nelo held out his hand waiting for my answer, but the smile on his face showed the one he was expecting. I smiled back, and put my hand in his.