Chapter Text
Prologue
Stranger On The Train
Three days. He had been on this train for three blasted days. He was annoyed, irritable and exhausted. Since he hadn’t been the only one in the cabin, he absolutely refused to go to sleep. He refused to sleep in the presence of strangers. This was something he learned a long time ago to not do. Truth be told he’d been on the road for longer than three days if he counted the last week making his way through the Abyssal Lands, Khemet and the Burned Desert. But in comparison to that week, the three days on the train had definitely felt like the lengthiest part of his journey.
The cabin he travelled in was surprisingly big though. He expected something smaller and more crowded since he could only afford a second-class ticket. For the first few stops had been going well enough and he was even able to take a short nap. But after the fourth stop passengers slowly started pouring in much to his displeasure. At least the chairs were decent enough. Each of them has been covered in a dark green soft felt, easing his travel pains a tad. Due to its softness, he caught himself dozing off a few times, but each time he was able to force himself into a blurry state of consciousness.
Suddenly the train began shaking violently against the rails, shocking everyone wide awake on the train. The man found himself feeling slightly nauseous from the unnatural movement of the cart and forced the bile down his throat with a heavy gulp, latching on to the edge of the chair for support. The motion sickness was finally getting to him. Reaching for his pouch he quickly downed its entire content to calm his stomach down to a degree. The man took a hold of his backpack and dug around it, as he looked for something- anything, to keep his mind awake and alert. Finally, a small book ended up in his hand. Pulling it out, he noticed it was the guidebook he ‘bought’ at the station he boarded this humid voluntary prison. “The Brief History of Doh’Mino”- the country of his destination. Having nothing batter to do the man decided that he’ll give it a read to see if it has any useful information about the kingdom.
The train rocked harshly at the next turn, swaying the five passengers in the cabin roughly with it. An elderly woman dressed in something that looked like an ocean green nightgown cursed out loudly as she aggressively complained to the unfortunate well-dressed young lady sitting next to her. She kept outrageously poking at the girl’s shoulder as if to command her to pay attention to her tedious problems with the train. The young tan brunette kept nodding politely at the appropriate moments to appease the wench, but she looked obviously uncomfortable, trying to put some distance between her and the woman by placing her bag between the two of them and scooting as far as possible. However, all her attempts seemed to be in vain as the beldam kept leaning towards her and pushing at the bag.
On the other side of the cabin, the other three passengers scattered themselves around with at least two seats between each of them. A clear winged woman who seemed to be in her early thirties set silently nibbling away at sugar-coated pastries placed in her lap. She, like all other passengers, tried to ignore the furious older woman to the best of her abilities. Her crystal-like wings fluttered between short intervals as bright pink eyes stared subtly annoyed at the hag. The skittish man to her right visibly shook with angst every time the woman tried to include him in the conversation. Each time he fixed his round glasses back on his nose, he awkwardly agreed with the woman and buried his head back into the papers he was reading. Clearly, all of them were annoyed by the woman’s exploits.
The final passenger sitting the farthest from the woman at the very edge of the cabin was lucky to be excluded from the situation. He was either not noticed by the woman, or he was ignored for some unknown reason. Either way, he was more than happy to stay out of the green hag’s business. Maybe the reason he was left alone was due to his appearance he mused as he skimmed through “The Brief History of Doh’Mino” titled handbook. His long red robe was dark and dusty from his long travels, it’s sandy hood hid his face and grubby hair from sight. The dark black selection of clothes he was wearing was dusted with grey sand, making him look a little ratty. The large flax linen bag he was carrying was restitched at many places, and compartments of leather and other fabrics decorated with golden chiming ring were hastily attached to it. He definitely appeared at least a little suspicious, the man thought with a smirk.
Shaking his head as if to chase the minorly distracting thoughts away he blocked the screaming hag out and herded his concentration back towards his guidebook. Softly breathing out through his nose he started reading again.
‘Chapter 7: Doh’Mino’s Dawn
Doh’Mino, the central kingdom of the mainland and the greatest economy in the history of the World. Our esteemed country has been at the centre of wars, revolutions, and many unfortunate mishaps in the last few hundred years, but never did we abandon hope. After the Dark Times (983-1123) and the Eclipse War (1102-1278), our kingdom always became the base of rebuilding the whole continent and re-establishing routes for trading and travelling. In 1287 during the Treaty Period, Doh’Mino was allowed to make the most changes to the Great Treaty, for the financial and cultural help we provided to the surrounding countries to rebuild themselves. Because of his undying dedication for making Doh’Mino and its surroundings safe again, Elf King Horakhty The Golden (1268-1386) was made Emperor of the Great Council (1296) and secured a constant presence for future Doh’Mino rulers as to-be Emperors of the Great Council. Shortly after the death of Elf King Horakthy his son, Prince Exodia of Doh’Mino (1301-today) was crowned Elf King in 1387 with-‘
‘Interesting, but not what I’m looking for.’ He commented to himself inwardly, flipping through a few chapters before another title chapter caught his concealed eyes.
‘Chapter 10: The Reprise of Arcaedia
During the rule of Elf King Exodia The Obliterator (1301-today), the lost lands of Arcaedia have been uncovered by archaeologist, Arthur Hawkins in 1348. With it, the long-forgotten race of Arcaedians has also been able to step under the Sun after a long millennium. Arcaedians miraculously have been able to survive in underground caverns and their technology was almost up to date with what you can observe nowadays on the surface. After the country’s excavation was made public in 1349, Sultan Akhenamkhanen Arcaedia (1179-today) was welcomed as a Lord of the Great Council and Arcaedia was included in the Great Union. Since Arcaedia is bordering Khemet and the Abyssal Lands security is incredibly high at the boarders and it requires lots of foreign military support from countries such as-‘
‘Incredibly high security my ass! There was literally not a single soldier when I crossed.’ The stranger grinned as he recalled the time, he finally walked through the borders of Khemet to Arcaedia in broad daylight with not a single guard or soldier in sight. He even had a nice little leisurely walk at the edge of the Burned Desert going off course for a short while and even then, did he not see a single sign of soldiers patrolling.
‘Chapter 13: The Evergreen Scandal and Slavery
After Lord Dartz Evergreen (1290-???) was elected as president of finances an uprising in suspicious Illegal Monster hunting parties and Monster Slavery has been reported in-‘
‘I’m not even gonna go there...’ He declared to himself with a barely visible disgusted frown as he skipped the short chapter with a few flicks of his finger.
‘Chapter 14: Monster and Fairy Rulings
In 1376 the Monster and Fairy Rulings have been introduced to the Great Council by Council Lord Sultan Akhenamkhanen Arcaedia (1179-today), which aimed to include Monsters and Fairy creatures in the Great Union. While the idea sounded preposterous to many members of the Great Council, the cause found many supporters on the continent, and the Emperor of the Great Council Elf King Exodia The Obliterator (1301-today) ultimately ruled in the favour of the Monster and Fairy Rulings. Following the introduction of this decree both Fairies and Monsters were encouraged to build their own nations thanks to which Elvira, the Fey Nation and Koboron, the Monster Nation was born. Proceedings to illegalise Monster and Fairy hunting and slavery of the species included in the Monster and Fairy Rulings have been taken almost immediately after the Nations were stabilised. According to the Monster and Fairy Rulings, section 8, paragraph 5 the following races are strictly prohibited to be captured, hunted, or sold-
‘How fun. Non-Elf and Human creatures deemed ‘safe’ are allowed to live. Good job Sultan. I gotta admit that I wasn’t expecting that though. Next thing y’know Abyssals are gonna get pardoned if they start another war.’ He grumbled to himself with a roll of an eye. After another few irrelevant sections, a new title involuntarily caught his eyes.‘
‘Chapter 17: Doh’Mino’s Halflings
While marriage between different races has been legalised, Halflings still struggle to fit in and experience high rates of discrimination both in education and everyday life. This issue has been brought up with the Great Union Peace Committee multiple times, but change is yet to be made by-‘
‘…’ The man let out an audible scoff which drew the attention of the munching fairy creature for a few seconds. Frustrated, he flipped through another portion of the small booklet. He did enjoy reading but this material was more upsetting than he would have expected.
‘Chapter 21: Kurio, Academy of Magics’
‘Finally.’ He thanked his luck as a small puff of air left his nostrils. It took him a little longer to get back to his book this time as the commotion at the other end of the cabin became louder than it was before. Irritated, he spared a glance at the old hag who was now ready to attack the skittish man with the tan lady’s bag.
The dark man and the winged woman silently observed the three other travellers as the struggle ensued. The grey-haired woman was furiously trying to fling the dark blue velvet purse at the glassed elf yelling offensive remarks in his face as the owner of the bag was trying to hold the beldam back while also struggling to pry her obviously expensive purse away from her. The black-haired man was desperately trying to defend himself, attempting to catch the bag when the angry woman did manage to hurl it his way. If it wouldn’t have been happening on a train which has been on the road for almost 3 days, most people probably would have found the whole incident hilarious. The pink-eyed fey, having enough of the ordeal finally decided to ring for a conductor.
Within a few seconds, a tall man with green-tinted see-through skin and leaf-like hair appeared from the rune gate accessible by staff. Upon noticing his arrival, the old woman was already marching towards the man, demanding to speak to the driver on her. However, the employee ignored her, as she saw the fairy creature waving him over and pointing at the glowing lever she pulled. The woman explained her issue with wordy language concerning the older woman who disturbed the peace, was ready to use violence against another passenger, and stole the expensive-looking bag from the flustered maiden. Nodding, the sprite approached the hag and requested her to return the bag to its owner and apologise to the rest of the occupants of the cabin.
Everyone half expected the woman to back down, now that the conductor was asking her to behave, but no one was surprised when the woman began to cuss at the employee and tried to fling the bag at him. Before the item could have collided with the man though, a vine snapped out from a decorative plant, catching the bag mid-air, and successfully restraining the furious aged woman. The sprite collected the purse and returned it to the pleased girl who couldn’t stop thanking him, through the erupting cries of assault from the plant’s captive. The conductor kindly assured her with a smile that it was no trouble and apologised in the name of the woman. He humbly assured the other passengers that he’ll remove the woman from the cart and bid his farewell as he disappeared with the woman through the rune.
After the annoying old lady has been finally removed, the pink fairy muttered something on the level of a ‘good riddance’ in her mother tongue, and the red-coated man couldn’t help but silently agree with a short-lived chuckle. Now the cabin was a great deal quieter, he realised with relief. At this point, only the hushed munches of the fairy and the quiet chatter of the glamourous human and soft-spoken elf who decided to sit together could be heard. But that was enough for the strange man. Picking up where he left off, he casually began to read again.
‘Kurio is one of the most well-known magic-based educational facilities continent-wide. One of its most remarkable properties is the Orichalcos Magnet located directly underneath the castle. The Magnet uses its opposite polarity of the base floor to float the castle high into the skies. Many young Casters aspire to one day attend the famous establishment in which once Elf King Exodia The Obliterator (1301-today) studied magic himself. The Academy building is elven styled and possibly the oldest building after the Elf Castle and Royal Library, but it is estimated that it was built around 350 or 500. The castle holds more than 30 towers and more than 150 rooms which of many are still left undiscovered. The school had many mysteries and legends tied to it over the centuries. Some of the most well-known are the Seven Mysteries of Kurio’s Labyrinths and the Enchanted Forest’s legends about the demon dispelling properties it has. While the legends are fascinating to read about, none of them was ever proven to be true. Many researchers voiced their desires to investigate the legends on the school grounds, but as of now, the premises are closed off for everyone besides faculty and senior students for exams. The school allegedly was built by Ra Kurio with the assistance of his blood-sworn brothers: Osiris Waton and Obelisk Tor who all make common appearances in folk tales countrywide and-‘
“Attention!” A female voice came through the hooter.
‘Great. Another distraction.’ He grunted, averting his gaze towards the horns decorated with white bell-shaped flowers.
“We will be arriving in Zarkrossa, Doh’Mino in half an hour! I repeat! We will be arriving in Zarkrossa, Doh’Mino in half an hour!” The voice repeated for clarity and then hushed itself.
The man in red caught himself sighing in reprieve. Zarkrossa still wasn’t his station, but it was the first station that was in Doh’Mino. This had been a long journey so far and he was glad that he would be shortly arriving at his destination. He was sure that three days locked together with that hag worn him out mentally a lot more than any other mental trial he ever experienced. But he had to admit to himself that was him probably just being overdramatic. He could name at least ten other instances where he had to have more resolve than he did during the last three days.
He snarled at the booklet resting on his lap still open, deciding that he had enough reading for now. It already seemed like the universe didn’t want him reading since it found it necessary to interrupt him every ten minutes or so. He also found himself quickly tired of the annoying book. Most of it was probably false information anyway, he pondered. Some big hat paid a poor author to whip him a guidebook of Doh’Mino that made the country seem like a dream to be at for everyone. Except for the Halflings. At least the author didn’t lie about that one. Closing the book, he opened his bag to place it back in. The small motion being followed by the jingling of the decorative rings, and the curious eyes of the fairy woman who finally stopped eating. Now that he thought back on the two days she spent on the train, he couldn’t help but take notice of how often she did that. Every time he opened his bag, let out a sound or stirred in his seat the fairies single-coloured eyes were already on him. Did he really look that suspicious or did she just happened to be a noisy person? It didn’t matter. They’ll probably never see each other anyway.
Leaving the bag on the seat next to him, the man stretched his arms a little, letting out a noise that sounded oddly one like what a satisfied feline would make. More eyes on him. Now the pair sitting in the front was starring at him too. From underneath his cloak, it seemed like he didn’t take notice of them. Suddenly the chatter at the opposite end from him quieted down then just outright ceased. Man, was he that interesting to look at? He was probably the most mysterious person in the cart, he supposed. Unlike the old hag, who told everyone her life story twice, the stranger in red never even spoke a word. He tried to bid himself to ‘stay still, curiosity is natural’, but the sensation of people starring at him started to get really infuriating. He slowly turned his head to his left as if to give time for the other passengers to look away. His small plan did end up working much to his delight, as all eyes looked left when they came in his full vision. The meaningless conversation resumed, and the fairy began rummaging through her own suitcase, perhaps to appear busy.
On the other side of the window, larger settlements and smaller fields started coming into view. The wind washed over the golden wheat patches making it seem like a dainty body of water from far away. A cosy cottage set comfortably at the top of the smooth green hill, with busy smoke erupting from its chimney. Blurry outlines of black and white farm animals stretched out to a near infinity across the turfs next to the track. It was a huge difference to the shrivelled cracked lands the man was used to. Life thrived on every single inch of the lands in contrast to the deserted homelands he familiarised himself with. The fresh breeze lightly whistled through the open window bringing a scent of freshly cut grass with it. Even the air had a different feel to it.
He opened his eyes, not remembering when he closed them. The stranger was still exhausted. Once he finally made it to the capital the first thing he would do, is finding the closest inn and catching up to the sleep he’d been missing. He was so tired, he believed he could sleep through a whole week without stirring at the loudest of earthquakes crashing down on the city.
The train suddenly came to screeching stop, jerking the passengers with it.
“We have now arrived at Zarkrossa, Doh’Mino! I repeat! We have now arrived at Zarkrossa, Doh’Mino!” The hornets announced as the lianas slowly retracted from their previous positions wrapped around the door, and sluggishly pulled it open with old, rusted shrieks.
The Zarkrossa Station was obviously larger and better maintained than the ones they already left behind. The signs were lined with blooming flowers and ambers and the station building was a blindingly clean white with the royal blue roof tiles giving it a sense of luxury. While no one from their cabin got off, a few people were seen exiting their own and others entering in their places. The train stayed motionless for about twenty more minutes as conductors and bell boys helped the passengers to their baggage.
“Thank you for choosing the Amberground Line!” The woman called out trying to outtalk the revving up engines and whistles from the tracks. “Our next stop is Hollocite, Doh’Mino! I repeat! Our next stop is Hollocite, Doh’Mino!” As she finished the noisy vehicle pushed forward at maximum speed, pulling with it all those who didn’t prepare for the sudden start. As sickening as the train was, he was glad that he would arrive sooner at Hollocite than on foot or best-case scenario on horseback. Yawning, he stirred as he received a gentle poke in the shoulder. Being caught mid sigh the man glanced at the pink lady next to her awkwardly from beneath his hood.
“Excuse me?” She spoke silverly in a chirping voice. “I seen you read book. Could I borrow?” The fairy creature asked with a heavy accent. Not giving much of a thought about the book he was so desperate to read before, he dragged it out of its confines and presented it for her.
“Here.” The man grumbled out. It looked like the fairy was surprised by either the gesture, him speaking or both. She still took the book and thanked him with a short bob of her had. Her wings fluttered out on the seat next to his bag and she carefully sat down minding her extra appendages. Even though the fairy already had the book in her hand, she was still studying him rather than reading.
“Where are you from?” The woman asked breaking the uncomfortable silence. “You been on train for long.” Yep. He could have foreseen it. She was just a meddlesome fairy, after all. He hated socialising, especially when he was irritated. But the man was getting bored though, and he probably should practice his damn cover story. He figured he might as well have some fun with fooling the fairy.
“So I have.” He responded in a secretive tone. “I’m from Gofdwarlf, just here on business.” The Dwarf Mountains were on the other side of the Abyssal Lands. Far enough that people had no way of confirming his origins. Even if they could, it would be too much trouble to even bother with it.
“That far?” She exclaimed surprised. “How you did get across Lands Abyssal?” The lady pressed further as the train jostled through another bump slowing down, almost knocking them both to the ground.
“A friend of mine is a dragon rider, he dropped me off at the edge of the Burned Desert.” A perfectly plausible lie. Dragons were not permitted beyond Arcaedia, so others would have no reason to question why he took the train from there.
“That’s sound exciting.” The pink-eyed fairy commented in bewilderment.
“It wasn’t that much. We were above the clouds the whole time, so I didn’t see much.” The man shrugged, his cloak hiding his smirk. For a mature adult, he found her incredibly naïve. That or his charms worked better than he thought they did.
“Which is your stop?” She enquired with rising interest.
“The next one actually. Hollocite.”
“Attention! “The hornet called pausing the fairy of questioning him more. “We will be arriving at Hollocite, Doh’Mino in half an hour! I repeat! We will be arriving at Hollocite, Doh’Mino in half an hour!” Once the voice quieted down, the fairy piped up again, hoping to resume their conversation.
“Mine is Oyl Nalore, Elvira.” While the Elven she spoke sounded odd and silly, she pronounced the Senrish name of her town with an appropriate accent. The man couldn’t help but wonder if he had a strange accent in Elven too.
“You’ll be on the train for a while then.” The man started getting tired of the chit chat he walked into. The fairy nodded and opened her mouth trying to say something, but it looked as if she forgot the words she wanted to speak. Their chat took a faltering end, and the fairy finally began to read the guidebook lent to her.
Once the train passed another small settlement the rock tile roads and the bricked working-class houses became a constant presence. Most of the residences varied in colours of yellow and white, a few odd reds, green, and blue houses cresting through the mazes of pastel buildings. The streets started to get increasingly crowded once they passed a tavern decorated in wooden signs. Varying species of radiant faeries and dull monsters walked among the swarm of people, everyone carrying bags or baskets of food and other necessity items. A marketplace was most likely. Stands tightly crammed in rows on each side of the road displayed numerous exotic looking fruits, beautifully woven silks in bright colours with extravagant patterns. Here and there a few meat selling shacks could be spotted among the hoards of creatures each offering larger thighs than the last. As the train picked up the speed again the colours of the bazaar melted together into a mess of colours pulling the passengers after themselves.
The tan maiden in the front yelped as the cart swayed forcing her out of her seat and making her land headfirst into the opposite seats in a highly undignified way. The elf in the glasses quickly rushed to her aid, as the cabin buckle sideways at the sudden shift of weight. The man held harder onto the green fabric under him, sensing another wave of revulsion emitting from the pit of his stomach. At that very moment, he wanted to curse the moron who produced the most sickening way of transport in the history of the World. He silently swore to himself that never again would he ever board this vomit machine.
The train continued to move up and down along the rails having no mercy on any of its passengers’ wellbeing. Even the fairy creature stopped reading in favour of holding the booklet against her nose and mouth, her wings quivering anxiously as she hunched over. The two at the front both started to have a green tint to their faces, the lady gripping onto the man’s shoulders for support, her other hand firmly placed in front of her lips. The train was going at full speed again, shadows started changing and strange plants lighted dimly the cabin, the sun nowhere to be seen on the sky from the shifting caves of magic.
What seemed to be long torturous hours within the tunnels of rune magic, couldn’t have been over a few minutes as the train came to a jolting stop in front of the largest station yet. With the rough halt, all travellers in the cabin found themselves on the convoy's flooring the voice of the driver bringing them out of the aftereffects of the dizzying stop.
“Attention!” She announced in a confident tone. Most probably would wonder how she was still able to talk which such energy after a journey like that. “We have now arrived at Hollocite, Doh’Mino! I repeat! We have now arrived at Hollocite, Doh’Mino! Please mind the passengers boarding!”
A large gathering of creatures attempted pressing themselves towards the slowly sliding doors, to be the first ones to board. This was the most crowded station yet that the train crossed. Not wanting to spend any longer in the humid room the man stood up and reached for the shelf above the seats to collect his luggage. The stretched sack was all but carelessly thrown over his back opting on carrying his backpack in hand. Making his way towards the gate, he was stopped by the meek voice of the now sickly-looking fairy.
“W…wait! You forgot… forgot book.” She panted reaching the book towards him, but the stranger waved no with his free hand.
“You can keep it. I already read what I wanted.” He bid her with a smirk, finally exiting the train and disappearing into the crowd.
The pink-eyed fairy stared after him with wide eyes as a pitch-black tail peeked out from underneath the concealment of the scarlet robe.