The Lumifall Hearth

An hour passed without luck.

The damaged walls and windows of the train had repaired themselves using some kind of magic, and everyone seemed to have already established their teams, leaving only me and a few other loners behind to straggle.

As a human, it was hard enough already to find a teammate because we didn’t have any magical powers or extraordinary physical capabilities, but for me in particular, I couldn’t even find other humans to team up with. Each of them rejected me for varying reasons.

“You’re too thin.”

“Your weapon is a… sketchbook?”

“Get away from me.”

That last guy was some other loser that no one talked to. He was the first and last of the remaining losers I attempted to team up with, and was what made me realize that none of the remaining passengers actually wanted a team. For whatever reason, they had decided that they were better at doing this alone.

I entered back into the original passenger car I came from, and sat down at my seat, exhausted from all the attempted socializing. I had gone through each and every car with no luck. With tired eyes, I looked down at my frail fingers.

If only I hadn’t starved myself. Maybe then I’d be strong enough to consider teaming up with. But now I’m so weak that I’m considered below average even amongst the other humans here.

I leaned my head against the window, staring at my translucent reflection but jumping backwards upon noticing something different.

My eyes… they’re a different color.

For some reason, my normally dark brown eyes were now a brilliant shade of golden orange—the exact same one that Izan had.

I continued angling my face in different positions, looking for any other changes, but outside of my eyes, everything else remained the same.

That’s strange… I thought, why is that my eyes are the only thing that changed?

However, my thoughts were quickly interrupted, as past that weak reflection of myself in the glass, I noticed a floating island in the distance.

It was massive, and surrounded in a strange translucent white bubble that encircled it like some sort of barrier. Inside of it, it seemed to be… snowing? There was snow. Lots of it. And amongst the vast expanse of white, I made out the distant silhouette of a large spire that stood out amongst the jagged city skyline.

“All passengers take your seats,” Izan’s voice suddenly announces on the intercom, “we’ll be arriving at the Lumifall Hearth shortly.”

The Lumifall Hearth… I repeat its name, why does everything in this world have to be named so weirdly?

Everything else seemed to be automatically translated when said or read to me, but it seemed like it didn’t apply to the official names of things in this world.

Soon enough, the train neared the island, and as we passed through the white barrier, a sudden rush of wind violently blows past the train. Almost immediately, the temperature of the cabin noticeably drops, and I begin to appreciate that my loose summer clothes were replaced by the warm trench coat that now ever-so-snuggly wrapped around my body.

The train made a soft bump as it touched solid ground for the first time, and the scenery of the endless sunset sky was now replaced by the sight of stone cottages and tall towers that only seemed to increase in size as the train moved towards the city center.

Soft lights warmly illuminated the cold streets from the lamps that hung around the city. Night had fallen, and yet the streets still seemed to be full of the residents that lived here, each of them seemingly heading home for the day.

Unlike the passengers of the train, they were less humanoid. They retained more of their animalistic features with the only difference being that they were bipedal if they weren’t already. Mice, cats, owls, pigeons, and other animals that were typically found on the streets of cities were each bundled up in their winter coats, mingling about the city with their families and continuing on with their own lives. They reminded me of characters I would see inside of an animated children’s Christmas movie.

Some of them, specifically the children, would sometimes stop to point and look at us as our train passed by. It was here that I noticed that our train was beginning to slow down and as I angled my eyes ahead, I noticed we were heading towards the large spire-like structure I saw from before.

This is the train station? I wondered, watching the train enter inside and come to a halt.

The interior of the spire was Gothic in design, much like the other parts of the city. It reminded me of a grand cathedral with its large colored glass windows and imposing, purposefully designed arches carved along the limestone walls.

The doors of the train open with a pshh, and when I stepped outside, I half expected to find a priest giving out their sermons behind a lectern, but the spire turned out to just be an overly designed train station after all.

“I welcome you all to the Lumifall Hearth once again,” Izan’s voice rings out, this time from a louder intercom that seemed to be a part of the station rather than the train, “it doesn’t matter too much what you do from here on out. Your only job is to exterminate a Nightmare upon seeing one, and remember to check in with one of us Conductors at least once a week—or else… Tee hee!”

Ugh this guy, I thought, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with him again. Let’s just make sure to avoid whichever train he’s the conductor of.

I look around the station, watching the other dreamweavers file out and admire the architecture in awe.

For now though, let’s go explore the city.