|
“I’m home.” It’s been so long and yet it all seems to be the same. “Are we in the right place?” a small voice from behind me asks. “Yes” I reply, “I’m back… I’m finally home.”
Around me buildings climb to the sky, and the sound of traffic roars in the distance. The grass under my feet feels soft and comforting as a breeze blows cool air past us. The sun, though hidden by the buildings to the east, reflects on the glass of the buildings to the west, and warms my skin. It all feels right but at the same time seems foreign. The place was all right, the sounds the smells were the same as I remember. It was me that was wrong, I was the foreign entity, the fish out of water. Fifteen years in another world made ‘me’ different. All that happened in Nosis has changed me, not only physically but also mentally and spiritually. You could say I’d found ‘god’… or at least some higher powers. I have aged and grown to deal with the harshness of my life. My skin has thickened and my instincts have sharpened over the years. Reia has grown as well but not like me.
Reia the one whom I have pledged my life to guard also has aged in the past 8 years that I have been her protector. I look to her and see a beautiful young woman. If my memory serves she’s 27 years old. Time and travel have not ill affected her appearance as she grows only more beautiful. Her soft skin slightly tanned carries few scars and is accented by her long and straight brown hair gliding against her white sleeveless shirt, a widened collar forming a ‘V’ neck to the middle of her chest shows only a hint of the red bikini top she wears underneath. Continuing down, her top ends inches before her navel showing again her soft golden skin for only a second before it is hidden by her modestly short grey skirt highlighted with red ribbons running from her waist, along the seam past her knees. She also carries her silver staff, covered in the story of its history it is completed by a green and blue translucent sphere that represents Nosis.
Looking her up and down, I then look to myself. My face is clean and relatively untouched save a single scar that runs from the bridge of my nose halfway down my right cheek but most is covered by my black hair that ends at my jaw line shrouding my face. My clothing is the uniform of a Tu’ralotian warrior, thick black shirt and jeans covering chain mail armor. Though proud as I am of the uniform, I acquired a long flowing deep red trench coat made from the scales of a Sand Serpent to cover it both for security of body and of identity. The upper half of the coat has 4 adjustable straps and armored shoulder pads while the bottom is left to move freely. A metal sheathe which I carry holds Shetiga, my sword, huge in comparison to any other sword on Earth Shetiga stands five feet long from tip to hilt with a two foot handle. The blade resembles that of a straight edged Japanese sword. Though uncertain, most believe that Shetiga was forged by the ancients themselves, the reason for which is unknown.
“What should we do now?” Reia asks as she moves cautiously to my side. I then remembered that Reia had never been here. This place must be horribly confusing to her. The noise from the passing cars, equipment clashing as workers set up scaffolding next to a building, people speaking into cell phones, and the rumble of a plane overhead. The hustle and bustle of a thriving metropolis is something unseen in Nosis. Cars, cell phone, planes and such simply don’t exist where Reia is from. People walk, send letters, and only dream of traveling along the sky. Suddenly with a sound reminiscent of a crack of thunder the portal which had brought us here closed. Looking around I took note of the time on a nearby billboard knowing that two months from now we had to be ready for the portal to reopen, Mage Golin knew that by that time the Horde that was scouring Javole would be gone, but he made clear that he only had enough materials in his possession to open the portal one more time and if we missed it we would never be able to return to Nosis.
“So where are your friends?” Reia asked. I took the moment to get my bearings and realized that the park we stood in was Grey Park, the same park my friends and I had gone to as kids and the last place I remember being before the fateful day I was transported to Nosis. Years had passed and pasts were forgotten. The memories flooded back like a bullet to the head. Chris, Amanda, my house, my job, my school… my life. I had been gone for so long and I had gone through so much that I just put it all in the back of my mind. At first I tried to always remember Earth and my old life believing that I’d be home in no time, but eventually with all that occurred it just took second tier to what had to be done. I had to focus on the mission, the quest. I needed objectivity or Reia would suffer, but now we we’re back and I could breathe some relief. Until now I never knew how care-free my life was.
Reia, always the one to remind you of your task, again asks, “When do we start looking for your friends?” I turned to her and answered, “We need to see if they still live where they used to when I left.” “You mean you don’t stay in the village you’re born in?” “No. I mean yes, sometimes. People move from place to place here for various reasons, but for the most part we don’t stay where we were born.” Reia looks at me confused, “How odd.”
Reia looks about as I think. The only way we’d be able to get around was to take the bus, but I doubted that the driver would take Tev, so we needed to get some money. I began to look around the park at the buildings near by. There in a plaza across the street I saw a pawn shop. “That’s it. We can go there to trade something.” I said turning to Reia, her face again tense with confusion, “We’re going to have to sell something.” Reia asks, “Why? Are we out of Tev?” “No, but here Tev can’t buy anything, we use a different currency.”
Leaving the park we entered the pawn shop.
***
The shop seemed bigger once you were inside. The ceiling hung 10 feet from the floor and every inch of the walls covered in artifacts, masks, and other unidentifiable things. On the floor shelves stood 3 to 6 feet each one also filled with knick-knacks. To the right of the entrance a pair of glass displays held a cash register that looked more ancient than most of the artifacts around it. Behind it an old man stands slightly hunched, his face displays the demeanor of one rarely surprised, yet as he looks at Reia and me he seems to be uncertain what to make of us. “May I help you?” asks the shop keep. His voice is high pitched and cracked as if he hasn’t cleared his throat is years. His clothes are faded and dusty, and his white hair is combed over to hide his obvious hair loss.
Reia bowed with her palms together and arms out stretched forming a straight line from elbow to elbow. A generic greeting, in Nosis it was Tu’ralotian for “Greetings to you, may the Ancients bless you.” The Tu’ralota, Reias people, consists of nearly everyone in Nosis. The Tu’ralota are followers of the Ancients. They believe that the Ancients created Nosis and all the creatures on it. The Tu’ralota use technology to better their existence but the use of technology as a weapon is forbidden, this is why the Tu’ralotian army fights using swords and magics. Fortunately their weapons are a match for their enemies.
The only people who don’t follow this religion are classed in one of two groups, the Kalato or the Saekoo. The Kalato are a people who feel that the Ancients have forgotten or forsaken them. They are quiet and are rarely ever a problem keeping to themselves and most even living among the Tu’ralota. The Kalato, though segregated and often seen as outcasts, have no ill will towards the Tu’ralota but choose to work along side them in the ongoing effort to create a utopia out of Nosis.
The second group, the Saekoo, are a mysterious people. They don’t believe in the Ancients and feel that the religion of the Tu’ralota is holding Nosis back from its’ true future. They use advanced technology to create weapons of war and genetically enhance creatures to overthrow the Tu’ralota and claim Nosis for themselves. Saekoo are violent and attack any Tu’ralota or Kalato that enter their territory. Only a small handful have entered Saekoo lands and lived to tell about it, this is why much is not known about the people themselves.
The shop keep gave Reia a look over and a minute passed staring at each other until I opened, “Do you buy artifacts?” The shop keep nods, “Yes I do buy unusual artifacts. Are you interested in selling those costumes, or maybe that…?” He seems to stare through me and continues, “Or maybe that sword?” “No. Shetiga is not for sale.” I reply moving my voice to the defensive, “But might you be interested in this?” I pulled my dagger out quickly allowing it to slip from my grasp. As it floated in the air at my shoulders, before gravity could take a hold of it, I grabbed it by the blades edge and tilted it towards the shop keep. “Well… Very interesting.” said the old shop keep as he slowly took the dagger from my hand. He examined it first noticing the text printed along the length of the blade, then running his fingers along the intricate patterns over the hilt and handle. Finally his gaze centered on the crystal planted between the blade and handle.
“How much is it worth?” I asked. The shop keep looked up, “Well I’m not sure when or even where this dagger came from and the writing on the blade is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Do you perhaps know what it says… or where it came from?” I turned to Reia and she shook her head telling me she was as unsure of its origin as I was. During our journey it had never come to mind to find out these things about the dagger it was simply a tool to me. Reia knew the history of her possessions from when she was a child, but when I arrived in Nosis I never had much time to dwell on such things, the war and the quest took precedent.
Looking to the shop keep, “No we don’t know where it is from or who made it. How much is the blade itself worth?” The shopkeeper looked the dagger over again and replied, “I’ll give you $50 for it. If you knew more about it I might be able to give you more but for now that is all I can give you.” I thought for a second and figured that Reia and I wouldn’t be here for long so we should get by with $50, at least until we found Chris and Amanda. I smiled and accepted his offer.
After getting some change Reia and I left the shop heading for the bus stop a few stores down. Every person we passed stared in awe of Reia and I. Looking to Reia as we walked and I could see that all of the attention was making her uncomfortable. We reached the bus stop and moved to the bench. Now that most of the people had passed and we were somewhat alone I could see that Reia was becoming more comfortable. I took my position behind and to the right of Reia as she sat, even in my own world I kept my guard up. Here we were safe from Seminets, Crulons and the slew of other creatures looking for a meal, but here, just like in the cities of Nosis, we had to be careful of the people. Muggers, thieves, murderers, and just plain angry people were in abundance and Reia may seem a perfect target for any of them. I looked to Reia and decided to keep the truth to myself. If she believed that it was safe here she might be able to live a normal life, even if only for a while. Seeing her now I can’t remember a time she was more relaxed. The only worry she could have is about the odd looks we were getting.
“Why do people look at me like I have two heads?” Reia asks. As usual Reia and I were on the same page, I guess traveling together for nearly five years can do that to people. Looking about I replied, “They don’t know what to make of us. To them we’re wearing some pretty odd clothing.” I paused a moment then continued by asking, “Do you remember when we first met?” “Only A little” she said a sly look on her face. “Well later you told me you thought the people in Xon had some unusual clothes. It’s the same with everyone here.” “Oh, I guess I understand. Should we get some new clothes to help us blend in?” “No, not right now. After we find Chris and Amanda we’ll worry about that. Besides you and Amanda should be roughly the same size so you can probably borrow some of her clothes.” “What about you?” Reia says as she looks me up and down. “If I can find somewhere to put my gear and Shetiga, I’ll be able to blend in. Plenty of people wear trench coats here.” Though I don’t think any are made from the scales of a Sand Serpent.
We fell silent as someone took a seat beside Reia, until the bus arrived. It was old and dirty, the sides showed dents, rust and the signature of some graffiti artist. The brakes squeaked as it came to a halt and the door swung open. The driver was an elderly man who probably had been driving buses for so long he knew nothing else. The person beside us got on first and I followed. I stepped onto the bus before noticing Reia was still sitting at the bench. “Come on we have to get on the bus.” I yelled to her over the sound of the motor. Reia sat unmoving, her eyes wide with fear as she mutters, “I… I... I don’t like this.” I motion to the driver to wait as I step off to Reias side. “What is it?” I ask. Reia shakes as she replies, “Zero, it’s a machine. I’m afraid. What if it attacks us?” “It wont, look…” I say as I point to the driver, “It is controlled by a person.” Reia lowers her head glaring at the bus as she speaks, “So are the Saekoo machines.”
“Are you going to get on or what?” The driver yells impatiently. I turn to him and yell back fiercely, “Hold on a minute!” Turning back to Reia I calmly ask, “Reia, Do you trust me?” Reia nods and I continue, “Then I give you my word that no harm will come to you here as long as I’m with you. The machines here are safe, they will not hurt you.” Reia looks into my eyes and nods knowing I would never lie to her. She stands and we climb aboard the bus paying with the change we had gotten from the pawn shop. The bus driver grumbles as he closes the door and the bus begins to move.
|