Chapter 1 – Arwain, Ace Glider

Nothing compares to the wind in your face as you free fall at terminal velocity.

A shift of the wing sent Arwain veering to the right of a building. Tens of floors zipped past his gaze as he looked for the landing point reserved for ‘Gliders’. A flashing target appeared below, giving him the signal to spread his wings for a controlled descent.

But unlike other Gliders, Arwain loved speed. He reveled in the rush as the distance closed in, barely batting his wings to slow himself. Instead, they remained firmly folded along his lower body as he dove slightly off center, waiting until the moment he cleared the platform to go full spread.

In that moment, a burst of rainbow light burst around him like a gem shining in the sun. The wings that were spread cast a sheen of technicolor, beauty for a moment before nature kicked in.

The sudden upward force of wind plowed into him, but with gritted teeth, he gripped a sturdy beam underneath and bounced off the air pressure to vault back up to the platform. A graceful flip ended with feet tapping on the target, missing the center by mere centimeters.

“Darn, I thought I nailed it this time.”

Arwain held out a medium-sized package he had tucked in his right arm and opened a holographic form with the other hand, the attendant waiting before him still frozen with his jaw slack.

“Hey, c’mon. Can you sign off for it? I’m on the clock, you know.”

Lightly nodding, the attendant shakily reached out and drew a glowing signature with his finger. The form chimed with a musical note of acceptance before it disappeared. Satisfied, Arwain placed the package in the attendant’s empty hands before heading back to the edge of the platform. But before he jumped, he turned back and bellowed out.

“Thanks for using Silver Stream! Where our service is a ‘riot’!”

Arwain back flipped off the platform and back into the urban air space. Moments later, a jet of compressed air rocketed him straight up. Before the attendant could recover enough to walk inside, Arwain had become an indistinguishable sparkle among the glittering traffic dotting the sky.

Damn, I love this job!

The thrill of being a Glider was incomparable to Arwain Riot, who had helped start a transport company called Silver Stream. He was glad that humans were gifted with wings, letting them embrace the skies. History lessons had told of a time when all of humankind was grounded, before engineering could seamlessly graft techno-organic appendages to the base of one’s spine. Now, mankind effortlessly hovered and swam through the air.

That was way before he was born. He couldn’t imagine how much people had to needlessly suffer back then, having to ‘walk’ everywhere. Now, the clouded ground below was like a myth to him, a proverbial hell for those lacking the strength to soar above.

And soar, Arwain did. He shot past the flow of city traffic, above the high-speed freeways, like an arrow fired into the heavens. His red hair fluttered at the very tip, his body a streak as his jet pack accelerated him against the drag of air resistance. After a while, he could feel it – the high.

It came when the air began to thin so he could push harder.

Faster. Like he was suddenly breaking from the surface of water to greet air. Up here, Arwain felt like he could soar farther and farther, until even Earth became a distant memory. There was only one problem.

A sudden gasp escaped his mouth. The thinner air was placing a strain on his lungs, putting a timer on his joyride before he would pass out. His ascent plateaued as he finally relented on going higher, but by then, he was five kilometers up. He flipped over, pulling up his goggles before staring down at the metropolis that he called home.

Stratos – a thriving megacity with over a hundred million inhabitants. It was the birthplace of a winged society, which decided that the best way to incorporate its ballooning population was to build upwards. The skyscrapers of olden times had long been dwarfed over by a people who could build as high as they could fly.

Arwain arched his head up at a lone tower that continued to surpass all others, shooting even farther than where he stopped.

It was the ‘Thousand Wonder’, a thousand-floor engineering masterpiece of peak innovation. And Arwain had yet to manage an unaided flight up to the very top.

Despite that, there was no other place like it in the world. Arwain would never get sick of this sight, making great lengths to bear the thin atmosphere to experience it.

Down he went, letting the wind roar against his face. He pulled his goggles over his eyes, making himself smaller and faster, an arrow now dropping fearlessly forward. A puff from his jet pack added more speed, enough for the air to boom around him.

Arwain smirked at his achievement, finally tilting himself to coast into an upward glide. He slowed down, just enough so that he could hear himself talk again. A hand pressed against the comms on his uniform.

“Riot here, ready for the next package! Over!”

A moment passed as Arwain glided in the air in silence.

“Affirmative. I’ve got one more for you before you can call it a day. Launching package #324 to coordinates X305, Y502, Z3.25. Prepare to intercept. Over!”

“Copy that, Jolly. Send it over!”

A target automatically popped up in his vision, highlighting the drop point. Arwain flapped his wings and shot over to the coordinates.

In the distance, a cannon on top of a skyscraper took proper aim. With a boom, it launched a projectile through the air, heading straight for the awaiting Glider.

Arwain watched as his package traced an arc through the air, waiting for it to start falling. Swooping in at that very moment, he intercepted it in his arms. A glow activated from his gloves, disintegrating the biodegradable bubble that served as launch cushioning around the package. He quickly tucked it under his arm for protection before shooting forward to another set of coordinates already on display.

This was the role of a Glider, an occupation of transporters who caught and delivered packages all across Stratos. It was a simple job, serving the public. As a result, the key to success was being the very best at what he did.

Arwain shot down into the main traffic of Stratos, taking the diving lanes reserved for transporters. He whizzed by several fellow Gliders from rival companies, saluting them as he passed. The business districts gave way to the middle floors, where many residents made homes for themselves.

Normally, flyers would have to slow down through this densely-structured architecture, unless they wished to collide into a stray beam or column. However, Arwain’s reflexes never betrayed him.

He grabbed a pole to help him swing around a building, losing no momentum. Seeing a weave of beams blocking a straight path, he kicked off from one to another, deftly snaking through the spaces between them.

A random kid popped up from nowhere, freaking out and tossing his bag up in a panic as he tripped backwards. It sailed off a ledge and down into the depths below.

Arwain kicked off a wall to shoot down and reach the bag, then popping back up to the platform to end with a flip and plop the lost item on the kid’s lap before zooming off again. He finally reached his destination, a total of 5 minutes and 45 seconds to traverse around twelve kilometers.

He gripped a bar and spun into a triple spin landing to kill his momentum, another graceful entrance before a bakery. Opening the door, he walked up to the front counter and proudly announced “Delivery!”. The look on his face was like he had just brought Christmas gifts to an orphanage.

The young girl at the counter blinked in surprise at his enthusiasm before finally finding the words.

“Wait, but I just ordered it like fifteen minutes ago!”

“The perks of having a ‘Prime’ subscription, isn’t it? Your deliveries are connected to the best in the business. And that’s Silver Stream, where our service is a riot!”

Arwain handed the package over and got his signature. The girl immediately opened the package to check the contents – packages of confectioner’s sugar.

“Thank you! I thought I’d have to close early today. But I’ll manage somehow.”

With a hearty wave, Arwain headed out the door, a smile on his face at another satisfied customer being pleasantly surprised.

A simple job being a Glider it was. But that didn’t mean that Arwain couldn’t enjoy every aspect of it.