Book I: The Nation of Alrest
Chapter V
I hate dressing up. It didn't mean I didn't know how to, but I hated it. The dress, the make up, the pantyhose, the dreaded modern torture machines commonly referred to as heels, ever part of it was sickening. I was a soldier, not some pretty little rose for all the boys to stand and gawk at with their mouths hanging open like a bunch of underfed birds in front of a worm. Nonetheless these were my orders.
"Colonel Acacia, I will need you to come to an event this Friday. I will be showcasing a miraculous invention that will change the way we see the world! But you'll have to dress nice," he had said.
I had attempted to argue wearing my dress uniform, but he waved it off and specifically asked me to wear a dress.
"That's an order," he had finished. So I knew there was no getting out of it.
I applied a nice shade to my face and eyeliner and lipstick and all of that malarkey, and then put on a dress my sister had recommended. Of course, it's not that my sister cared at all. She enjoyed watching me squirm, so she'd pick out some of the girliest things she could find. Even though it bothered me, I knew she'd never let me leave looking bad. No, she'd make sure that I looked absolutely stunning, but she'd also make sure I absolutely hated it.
I opened the closet and pulled off the plastic cover from the dress, she definitely pulled out the stops this time. The dress was very expensive, and dark blue? Wow, the color was something I didn't actually hate, until I realized that the subtle pattern on the dress contained butterflies and flowers. They were simply stitched onto the dress, and were the same color, but anyone with eyes would notice it. The dress came about to the bottom of my knees, and the spaghetti straps weren't my favorite. Luckily she included a long-sleeved black cover for it. The heels were black, but also about four inches high.
"Why do you hate me sis?" I mumbled aloud.
Now all I had to deal with was my hair. This part I didn't mind so much, as I was simple. I brushed it out and used a couple of oval hair clips to pin it behind my ears. My hair went slightly below my shoulders, but it had been in a bun for so long now that I had forgotten how long it really had gotten.
I put on the dreaded heels and then sat down and waited for the security detail to arrive.
After about fifteen minutes, I realized I had forgot my perfume and spritzed some on me. Immediately there was a loud knock on my door, startling me and causing me to drop my perfume. The almost-full bottle then proceeded to leak in a big stain on my apartments carpet.
"Son of a bitch!" I yelled at no one. "This place is going to smell like perfume for months now..."
The door was knocked again.
"Yeah, give me a minute!" I groaned as I sopped up what I could of the perfume with a towel before finally answering the door.
"Colonel Acacia?" a large man in a complete black suit with a white shirt and a black tie asked. He had a wire hanging from his ear and was wearing sunglasses. His skin was a peachy-white and he had black hair, obviously the security detail. He also had some sort of mustache, but it wasn't growing out well at all.
"That's me," I responded.
"I am part of the New Tornan Exclusive Security Detail, you're ride is here," he explained in a deep voice.
"Fine, let's just get this over with," she said as she locked her door and walked to the vehicle.
"You look—" the man went to compliment, but Acacia cut him off.
"Comment on my looks and I will kick you so hard you'll shit out the remains of your testicles, capiche?" she threatened.
The bodyguard immediately switched gears. "Y-Yes ma'am."
"Good," I responded, before being drawn once again to his weird mustache. "And shave that shit, it looks like someone smeared a shit stain on your upper lip."
The bodyguard sighed as he opened the door to the vehicle. It was a long, gold-colored car, that hovered off the ground, just like all vehicles did in New Torna.
Immediately the car took off down the highway, reaching a good medium speed of about three hundred miles an hour.
In a period of five minutes we arrived to the New Tornan Conference Hall. My house was on the west edge of town, the Conference Hall was in the center.
I left the car and entered the building, only to find it crowded with people from all over Alrest. Ardanians, Urayans, New Tornans, Tantalese, Gormotti, it was all so... overwhelming.
After pushing through at least a hundred people, I finally found General Adonis himself.
"Ah, Colonel! So good to see you," he said in his deep, booming voice. "You clean up well, I assume the Lieutenant's to thank for that?"
"My sister has always been the dressier one," I responded, gritting my teeth and wanting this to be over.
"Oh speak of the angel, here she comes now!" he pointed out, turning his attention to the girl approaching them. "Ah, Lieutenant Uzuki, how are you?"
"Doing well General, and yourself?" she responded in a cutesy, high-pitched voice.
"About to make history, I'm absolutely dying to reveal what I have in store!"
My sister then turned her unique purple eyes on me and gave me a shit-eating grin. Her dress was a dark violet, matching her eyes, and she was wearing matching heels, earrings, eye shadow, and lipstick. Her nails were also matching and her brown hair was behind her ears yet resting over her shoulder, going down just below her armpits. Her dress cut off above her knees and she looked much better than me, at least, in my opinion.
"Oh sis you look so beautiful," she said, making a big deal out of it just to get under my skin. I'd like to say it wasn't working, except we both knew it was. "Underneath all that scowl and mud there really is a precious little butterfly!"
"Watch yourself, before I show you a scowl," I shot back.
"At ease ladies, it's time. Sit down and enjoy the show. If anyone afterwards asks you questions about what I'm about to unveil you can direct them to Janie's number," he instructed.
Janie was his secretary, a job I'm glad I didn't have to put up with.
My sister and I quickly sat down and waited as the lights turned off and General Adonis himself stood before a podium before the crowd of eager people.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am General Adonis, this nation's chief executive of national defense. It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of our imminent demise. Our common enemy is the Blade Assistance Program. As we all know, blades are mysterious entities that wield unfathomable power. These people claim that blades are only means of defense against other people and for hunting, but are we so sure about that? Flesh eaters exist and can easily form, allowing any blade to have the potential to skyrocket in power to levels unreachable with our current technologies. Well today I announce that we finally have a surefire way to control blades, no matter how powerful they've become!"
There were astonished gasps coming from the crowd. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, even me!
"Everyone knows of the mythical Aegis. One thousand years ago, a wise and noble hero climbed to the top of the World Tree, and hidden there were two core crystals, one of emerald, and one of amethyst. These blades became known as Aegises, the most powerful blades ever to exist. They could move as fast as light itself, they granted their drivers immortality. The wise hero summoned the amethyst Aegis, and a wicked thief summoned the emerald. When these two Aegises fought, the emerald reigned supreme, and destroyed an entire continent. It is said that it is the reason only one continent exists," Adonis paused as everyone understood what he was saying. It was a simple story for children, but where was he going with this?
"I have created a man-made weapon with the destructive power of an Aegis."
"Outrageous!" someone yelled out.
Immediately everyone started shouting questions. I watched as security attempted to silence the crowd. This really was going to be a long day...
I woke up slowly, my eyes felt like they were still glued shut. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked out my window, it was probably almost noon by now...
I lazily rolled out of bed and threw on clothes. As I did so, my brain began to kick into gear as I remembered that Mythra was waiting on me. I hurried and threw on some blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt and rushed downstairs to find both Granny and Mythra sitting at the table.
"Someone was tired," Mythra mocked.
"Oh he always sleeps late," Granny laughed.
"Good morning... ladies," I chuckled nervously.
"Have you made your decision?" Mythra asked eagerly.
Before I could answer, Granny interrupted.
"Patience Mythra, he needs to know more first. Come sit, Silas," she said.
I sat down and Granny began telling me what I didn't know.
"Mythra is not just a girl, as you've probably guessed. She is part of a race known as blades. Blades, in essence, have existed since the beginning of time, but were only discovered briefly before the world collapsed. The Architect used three special blades, the Aegises, to recreate the world into a new existence. Afterwards, plenty of blades were scattered all across this new land we named Alrest. These blades are contained in tiny crystalline rocks called core crystals, and each one looks like a weird eight-sided die. Or two square pyramids glued together. When someone who is worthy touches the core crystal, it resonates and becomes a blade. This is what you did with Mythra. The being that resonates with a blade is called a driver, and is responsible for working with that blade, while the blade is responsible for protecting their driver."
"Well that makes a lot of sense now...," I responded.
"When a driver dies, the blade will return to its core crystal and lose all memories from its life. The next person to resonate with the blade will then be the blade's new driver, and so the process continues. This does not, however, apply to an Aegis. An Aegis has the choice to remain a blade or return to their core crystal, and can exist as long as they want. They are also free from losing their memory."
"Which is why I need your help to find out what happened to mine," Mythra added.
"If you're so powerful, why do you need me?" I asked.
"The power of a single blade is nothing compared to the power of a driver and blade when they fight in unison," Granny answered. "Both the driver and the blade gain power and confidence in each other. The more you trust each other, the better you will fight."
"So how do we recover her memory?" I questioned.
"I do not know," Granny responded. "But I think you're best bet is to head to the New Torna capitol building. Wa— A former Aegis driver made it a legal requirement for all blades to keep two GPS-tracked journals, one for historical purposes and one for the blade's personal thoughts. These journals are put into an archive and free to access by the blade so long as they can prove their identity. Luckily, Mythra's core crystal is so unique that there is no possible way that they won't identify it."
"Sounds simple enough," I said. "I think this is something I can do, I'll go with you Mythra."
Mythra acknowledged this.
"I figured you'd say that, which is why I went ahead and bought you two train tickets to New Torna. You'll make a brief stop at the Argentum Gambling District, you'll have a couple hours there to unwind and relax before boarding a second train to New Torna." Granny was one step ahead, as usual.
"Where do you get the money for all of this?" I asked in disbelief.
"I... have my ways," she answered. "Just be safe, this could be more dangerous than you're prepared for. Take your sword and take my gun. You'll need 'em both."
"You're giving me your gun?"
"You'll need it more than I will, I'll just use your old one, should work fine, eh?"
I gave her a hug. "Thanks Granny."
"Don't mention it," she said compassionately. "Also you slept too long and the train leaves in an hour, suit up and get moving."
I laughed and quickly grabbed my belongings and we headed off to Ysheva Station. We had to rush a bit to make it on time, and soon we were all standing in the boarding platform.
Granny gave me a quick hug. "I love you, be safe."
"Love you too Granny."
She then turned to Mythra, giving her a weird brown cloak.
"I don't know if anyone remembers the sign of the Aegis, but just in case, wear this robe in public, it will hide your core crystal and your green crosses," she instructed.
"Why would the green crosses be a giveaway?" Mythra asked.
"Because they glow in the dark," Granny laughed.
"Fair enough," Mythra chuckled, tucking the cloak in my bag.
"One more thing Mythra," Granny added as she handed her a bright green metal flower.
"What is this?" Mythra questioned.
"A part of you, take it with you."
Mythra put the flower in her hair. "Well, it does match quite well."
As we said our goodbyes, the intercom buzzed and gave us a message. "Attention all passengers. This train will be leaving for the Argentum Gambling District in five minutes, please finish boarding and we will begin our departure. Thank you for choosing the Ysheva Railing Corporation."
After saying one last goodbye to Granny, we quickly boarded, put our luggage in an overhead compartment, and sat next to each other on a two-seater bench. The train was mostly made of wood, but ran on fire ether. The controlled explosions produced would supply enough energy to get the train moving. The train had a narrow aisle with a dull red carpet, and the benches had cushions the same color. They weren't the most comfortable, but they weren't bad either. We both ended up propping our feet up on the opposite bench, as there were only about five people on the train itself. Then again, not many people travelled to or from Leftheria, it was such a small and quiet place. People retiring from their jobs would often come live in Leftheria while new adults beginning their life would often leave. I'm honestly surprised we had a regular train route at all considering such circumstances. Yet here we were.
The intercom buzzed again. "Attention all passengers, we have officially left Ysheva Harbor and will arrive at the Argentum Gambling District in six hours. The restrooms are located near the caboose of the train and food will be supplied at 15:00 and 18:00. Our arrival time should be 19:00. Thank you for choosing the Ysheva Railing Corporation."
Mythra laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"She says 'thanks for choosing' like we actually had a choice. No other company has railways to the mainland."
I chuckled. "I guess that is funny."
I looked back at Leftheria longingly through the window.
There was still so much I didn't know or understand, but I guess this is where my journey began...
Granny chuckled to herself as the train rolled away. "That boy has no idea what he's gotten himself into."
Readability Level: 11th-12th Grade
Time Taken: 4.5 Hours
Please do not use without permission. All artwork is not mine and credit goes to the artist.