A Ride Through Iron

Total solar eclipse, a moment of perfect silence amidst a warzone, honest politicians. These are rarities measured in lifetimes, that's what I naively thought, but this warmth, this unfamiliar warmth spreading all throughout my chest, its the rarest of them all.

I gently opened my eyes, a dim blue light shone from above.

Confused yet nonetheless careless as a newborn, I look up.

“an unfamiliar ceiling.”

I mutter.

I'm in what seem to be a bed, covered in warm white blankets, the noise of burning wood pleased me greatly.

To my left stood a wall made of some sort of dark metal, an oval wooden window splitting it into two connected segments, each with their own patterns, no reflections can be seen.

“am I in.. heaven?”

No I shouldn't be silly, there's no way I deserve heaven, even if it did exist.

“am I in.. jail?”

That's slightly better, if there’s one life lesson I learned since I've been gifted consciousness, its that optimism is the fastest train down towards pandemonium station.

Seriously where the hell am I?

I remember uncontrollably assaulting some sort of really ugly wall, it was probably just a dream, even if it wasn't, I should take advantage of this god given bed, before the owner of that wall comes and claims my head.

I wiggled through my new silk cave of blankets, turning and twisting like a worm in heat, which I concluded by finally settling sideways, my face facing the right side of the room.

My eyes danced half open, as they wandered from decor to the other, an interesting small bamboo in a vase, a purple rug engraved with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a weird set of iron armor sitting on the ground, it’s back leaning on the wall next to the wooden door, building contrast, giving my eyes the perfect setting to close once again.

A cool set of armor, how interesting…

A what?

My eyes snapped open faster than a starved horse spotting 2 red pixels resembling an apple 10 kilometers away in the middle of a desert.

The armor was looking back at me.

I'm definitely in some sort of custody, are they giving me a good time before severing my head on a public display?

Unlikely.

The knight stood up, the friction of his armor trailing sparks

He then saluted, before removing his helmet.

”Sir Lushen, your carriage awaits you outside.” the man declared.

Sir what now? This is something I can get behind.

I swiftly stood up, “where are we headed?”, I asked, searching for my clothes.

“The royal court.” the knight replied.

I audibly laughed, before considering whether or not I should fight this guy off and try to run, royal court? I think I'm understanding it wrong.

“For what purpose?” I added. the knight putting his helmet back on as he faced the exit,

“You are being persecuted for illegal damage of a sacred monument, sir.”

Yeah there’s no way I'm beating this guy in a fight, my mind went silent, my confident demeanor changed back to its original cowardly form, I took one final look at the bed behind me as I wore my green vest, a vest that was placed near me, then I finally walked off. Grabbing the handle and closing one more door behind me.

My steps echoed on the metallic hallway, following the rhythm of the frightenedly stable knight, his armor had a white glow to it, reinforced. Thick red leather threads dangled from behind his limbs as he pushed forward.

I was in shock, if I had one wish, anything in existence, It would be to never step into a courtroom once again.

We exited the building and were met by the sun yet again, my disturbed gaze grew even more disturbed, as I saw what could only be described as a drunk architect’s dream.

A fortress spanning across the horizon. Iron bridges one next to the other like the notes of a piano, various metals and minerals plastered everywhere as if worthless.

Slim water streams below and between each building, transporting people and cargo alike, veins sustaining a living breathing body.

A scene enough to distract me from my impending doom, for a couple seconds at least as I marveled at its design.

I felt.. conflicted.

“Grab on.” the knight announced, standing on a square platform at the end of the bridge that was connected to the hallway exit.

At its center is a circular handle, pierced by a hollow thick steel tube that went all the way down to ground level.

My hands clashed with the handle, my lungs struggling to expand fast enough as I shook overwhelmed with enigmatic emotions.

The knight's hand rose, his finger thrusted forward, the dust from all around us sizzled and scattered up, as if the wind danced around us, slapping it's feet on the platform with every beat.

The platform shook for a moment before finally giving way, and slid down the thick tube, the same tube slowly filling up with some liquid.

I had finally lost my composure and audibly gasped as I had just seen what can be defined as nothing but magic, unbelievably efficient magic integrated with the city's structure and from within the knight's control.

The idea there's no way I'm escaping this place. solidified itself into my brain, before giving rise to yet another monologue:

So is this how my gun works?, it wasn't just my mind fully toying with my reality, quite the opposite.

It was reality toying with my mind.

I need to compose myself. this isn't just in my head anymore.

The armored man put his hand back down, swiftly eyeing me through his helmet, mere seconds passed for those familiar sparks to lead me towards a horse carriage parked a the edge of the stone road, as its proud handler marched. the city looked much more marvelous from below.

So they do use horses after all, my shock led me to believe I'm in some sort of futuristic urban setting, but I stand corrected.

Now that I took a closer more precise approach, I noticed the medieval style clothing of its residents, as well as the lack of cellphones or artificial lights.

They seem to be advanced in their own way though. Resources, too much mineral resources.

Theories grew and clashed in my head as I stepped into the strangely wooden carriage plastered with gold, guided by a similarly armored horse.

 The knight jumped to his front driver seat before raising his hand giving a signal, allowing the horse it's first steps.

This doesn't feel like a criminal detention, the guard is careless, the rooms are luxurious, and the way he spoke to me indicated respect, respect a criminal can only wish to receive. 

The word "Lushen" suddenly flashing as I pondered.

He did confirm my name, I must be a resident of this kingdom.

The sounds of the horse galops morphed into a stressful chorus, I began to sweat, my memories flooding my mind, fear brewing into my very being.

My vision grew hazy and time passed quicker than I had expected.

Metal knocking on the carriage door snapped me back to reality. Mister knight took to opening it. And started heading towards a very unique building that stood out from the rest, not even making sure I was following him.

Is this carelessness or confidence? I thought to myself.

The building consisted of dark brown brick pillars, forming a pattern to similarly positioned wooden pillars. Huge walls carrying the metal roof resembling traditional Chinese architecture.

Like a kid following his mother's swinging arms, trying not to lose himself in the crowd. I followed the hasty knight, a sense of safety radiated from him that the haunting building highlighted.

Its clearly the royal court.

My eyes stuck glued to the ground. We both started traversed through the hallway and into what seems to be a trial room, my eyes still shy from fear, the words "just wait over here sir Lushen, the judge will arrive soon" stung me.

I smiled and followed instructions.

How ironic.

Trembling with fear I took a deep breath,

My head sat at the railing of my chair, my eyes contacting the light of whatever's above me.

The words:

"a familiar ceiling."

Left my mouth.