Change of Pace

Calling the acceptance of Erebos Afkoran to the Capital, the most distinguished academy for artificery in all of the world, a break from his usual routine would be a vast understatement. Such change could only be considered a complete upending of his normal life, bringing him a vast distance away from any place he could take comfort in.

The place of Erebos’ residence, the town of Makrovi in the Odrenino Kingdom, was not metropolitan in the loosest sense. The Rafdino Confederacy comprised a quarter of the circular, basin-shaped world, occupying the southwestern portion and bordered by the Republic of Torgempra to the north and the Capital’s outer provinces to the east. Mountain ranges divided the world into four distinct quarters, and the four nations grew inside those natural borders. The Capital proper, however, sat in a secluded valley in the very center of the world. Holding the southeastern quarter as its outer provinces, the Capital completed the division of the world into four nearly commensurate nations.

Makrovi sat far from the center of the world, instead lying near its outer edge. Not far from the town was the Lacuna, or what most called the abyssal extension of the sky where it met the steep cliffs of the world’s edge. The tall mountains lining this edge made the climb toward the cliffs dangerous, but for unknown reasons the unique phenomenon of storm clouds seemed to gather solely along the mountains and bring down fierce rain.

Already secluded on one side by the Lacuna and lacking any landmarks of interest in neighboring kingdoms, Makrovi and other nearby towns seldom saw visitors or gave their residents reasons to visit elsewhere. The only place of interest to Erebos in Rafda was the Confederal City, the central and largest city of the nation. Along with Torgempra and Editha, the national capitals of the nations each held their own regional academies, and as schools of artificery they were certainly of intrigue to Erebos.

He couldn’t quite justify making the long journey to the Confederal City just to observe the academy there, so he had never seriously entertained the idea of visiting the city. Of course, as far as his previous lifestyle and rationale went, such thinking was overturned and he found himself preparing for that very trip and beyond.

Father: “All right, that should about do it for your packing. The best part about the Capital is that they provide almost everything for you, so all you need is enough to make the trip to the Confederal City and you can restock there.”

Erebos and his father discussed the details of his departure as they finished packing his luggage, ensuring that he would have enough personal supplies for the roughly 200 mile journey to the Confederal City. Since the city fell almost perfectly on the midpoint of a line drawn from the Capital to Makrovi, the wagon train taking the upcoming students would travel along the Rafdino Aqueduct.

Spanning from the Capital, the Confederal City, and all the way to the Lacuna mountains, the Aqueducts were an ancient construction that brought rainwater from the edge of the world to inland civilization. Each nation had a similar aqueduct, bisecting the country and running from the Lacuna mountains and passing through their national capitals.

Supposing that the aqueducts weren't there, settlements could only survive close to the Lacuna along whatever natural rivers and lakes formed. The aqueducts avoided such a possibility, allowing vast amounts of water to travel deep inland, and it's many branches acted like veins across each nation. Not only transporting massive amounts of water, the aqueducts’ decks were so wide that carriages could navigate them as if elevated roads. It rather seemed like their builders had intended this, with frequent crossings between the two sides divided by the water flow.

Silently thanking these ancient and unknown builders, Erebos double-checked his luggage and carried it out of his room. Leaving his trunk by the front door, he returned to his room to get one last look in. Already two weeks since the exam, the time until his departure had melted away before his eyes.

He joined his parents in the living room. Saying the standard goodbyes, his mother and father wore melancholic expressions, telling him to come visit at the end of the year and to send frequent messages.

Father: "I didn't think this time would come so soon, but it's finally setting in. We'll miss you around, son."

Proving too much for his mother to take with a straight face, she broke into tears at their farewell hugs.

Mother: "H-honey, we'll miss you very much. I'll be sure to reply to your messages as often as I can, but I'm s-sure you'll be very busy."

Tearful embraces were shared, and Erebos finally parted from his parent’s care for the first time in his life. Outside of a brief yearly visit, he wouldn’t see his parents for the five years of his education, with few opportunities after. The Capital did not provide its preeminent education and all essentials free of charge, for after his time as a student he would serve an indenture for the academy. Since that mostly consisted of application of one’s education and training specifically in service of the Capital, one’s duties would essentially be the same work as after the indenture ends.

Erebos thought that such an arrangement was incredibly fair, especially considering that even during the five year indenture and beyond, one’s essentials, facilities, and work supplies were provided. Working for the Capital or some other contractor wasn’t an important distinction for Erebos as long as he was able to practice the artificery he sought.

Thinking that far ahead felt a little disorienting, but it was more comfortable than having to sort out the mess of emotions welling up inside him. Erebos wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about leaving his closest family, both anticipating newfound freedom but unforeseen change, but he knew that he needed some time for his new reality to set in.

With such thoughts in his mind, Erebos walked the path to the town center filled with anxiety, the same as two weeks prior. Passing the field he always tried to avoid, Erebos didn’t see any of the children that normally played there. Guessing it was too early in the morning for them, he felt a twinge of loneliness. Arriving at the town center, the similarly abandoned streets only exacerbated such a feeling.

But a lone door to the post office opened, and out stepped the clerk that took Erebos’ message on exam day. He hadn’t even thought about the message he sent to his grandparents since then with everything else going on, but he had somewhat expected this. Their messages could have been lost going either way, so there wasn’t much he could do at this point.

Content with seeing at least one familiar face from the town before he left, Erebos resumed his walk-

Clerk: “Oy, you’re the Afkoran kid, right?”

Hailed down by the clerk, Erebos turned back and cocked his head,

Erebos: “Huh, y-yeah, I’m Erebos Afkoran.”

The clerk readjusted a bag hanging over his shoulder and started rummaging through it. Picking through numerous envelopes, he pulled out one and looked at the written label.

Clerk: “Jeez, they’re short today and making me do the morning deliveries. I took a message for you a few weeks back, didn’t I? I think this should be for you.”

Erebos took the envelope and inspected the address, seeing his name and that of his grandfather. Wondering what words his grandfather would have for him, Erebos tore the envelope open as he nodded to the withdrawing clerk.

Sliding the transcribed message out, he scanned the letter and…

“GOOD LUCK”

Erebos: “Huh, that’s it??”

Only two words appeared on the page, and nothing was written on the back or anywhere else. Erebos understood that messages were usually short, but this appeared to be encouragement for before he took the exam, not two weeks after.

Erebos looked at the back of the distant clerk and thought about asking him when the message had actually come in, but he decided not to bother the clerk any further.

Stuffing the letter into his pocket and sighing, he figured that he didn't have much more time to waste and started towards his destination. As if reinforcing that notion, the clock tower rang for 7:80, leaving him only 10 minutes before their departure time. He quickened his pace down the road towards the other side of town, dragging his trunk along it's wheels and rattling over the cut stones.

At the end of the main road sat the town's coaching inn with a connected stable, albeit a little overcapacity at the moment. A crowd of kids his age was gathered around a group of five stagecoaches, loading whatever luggage they brought with them. Seeing the crop of Jiron’s hair in the crowd, Erebos made his way to him after a coachman took his trunk and proceeded to load it into a carriage.

Erebos: “Well, looks like this will be our last view of Makrovi for awhile.”

Jiron spun around on his heel mid-conversation and wrapped his arm around Erebos’ neck, responding to his “Gah!” with,

Jiron: “Man, I was waiting foreeeeever! I think you’re the last one to get here, bro.”

Erebos: “My bad… I guess I got a little sidetracked by my parents, but I’m not late, so I’m sure it's fine.”

Jiron released Erebos and turned back towards the person he was talking to. A boy on the shorter side with a broad hat and wavy hair, he looked a little embarrassed but smiled back nonetheless.

Jiron: “Sorry about that, I just got worried that this guy wouldn’t show up.”

Smirking and poking Erebos in the stomach, Jiron looked satisfied with himself when Erebos grumbled, “Who are you to talk.”

Waving his arm away, Erebos instead looked to the boy and made a friendly smile.

Erebos: “Sorry about him, I guess he thinks he’s impressive arriving somewhere before me.”

Boy: “H-heh, that’s all right. I’m Vanov by the way, n-nice to meet you.”

Slightly stuttering but smiling nonetheless, Vanov took off his hat and bowed his head. Erebos returned the polite gesture, giving his own introduction. Vanov seemed to be much more conducive to Erebos’ manner of conversation, but he even managed to keep up with Jiron, which was respectable considering they had just met. Even though they had just met, Erebos was already comforted knowing that there was at least one stranger on their journey he could make conversation with.

Continuing in this manner for a few minutes, Vanov seemed to become more and more comfortable. All was well until one moment, where he began to wear a look of slight concern. Erebos noticed that he seemed to be looking through himself and Jiron, and when he was about to follow his gaze-

Erebos and Jiron: “Gah!”

Rumina: “If it isn’t my first and fourth favorite newbies, what an unexpected occasion!”

Wrapping her arms around both of their necks, she pulled a similar move two Jiron and almost sent all three of them tumbling down. Vanov took a step back and watched with a stupefied expression as Erebos and Jiron writhed in her grasp.

Erebos: “We’re not nearly friendly enough for this!”

Jiron: “Which is your first favorite though??”

Laughing heartily at their varied responses, Rumina eventually was forced to let go from their prying and slapped them on the back instead.

Erebos: “Weren’t you supposed to leave with the rest of the examiners, like, right after the exam?”

Rumina: “Don’t sound so disappointed, but I’m from this town too, you know. I’m allowed to spend some time with family, aren’t I?”

Grumbling in response, Erebos averted his eyes and kicked the dirt. Jiron looked much happier, however, and instead responded to her with a light shove.

Jiron: “Will you be gracing us with your fine presence in our carriage?”

Rumina: “Hah, like I’d ride with some newbies, I’ve sure I’ll be in the staff carriage where I belong.”

At this point it must have been obvious to Vanov that this was just her way of socializing, regaining his former, albeit slightly awkward, smile.

Vanov: “Uh-um, if that were the case, why’d you watch Erebos and wait to put your luggage in the same carria-a-ah…”

Skittering to a stop, Vanov's voice faltered and his face transitioned from a grin to a frightened expression when Rumina shot him a vicious glare.

Rumina: “You need to learn how to respect your elders, kid.”

Her voice was truly venomous, and Vanonv went into a deep and apologetic bow with his hat in his hands.

When he looked back up, she stuck her tongue out at him in an entirely childish gesture unbefitting of an elder and looked satisfied enough. Vanov withdrew from the conversation at that point, probably too scared of or embarrassed by Rumina to continue.

Rumina: “Well, guess I’ve been exposed, so it looks like I will be gracing you with my presence.”

She lightly elbowed them both as she started to walk off, taking a brief look back and sticking her tongue out again.

Rumina: “I suppose you guys can be my first and third favorites, after all.”

Jiron: “Second, take it or leave it.”

She smiled and waved to them before joining a conversation with some older folk, presumably staff members, leaving Erebos and Jiron with her usual mixed reception. Erebos figured that she didn’t have anything against them and just liked to tease, especially because she always left them off with nice words and expressions. He wished she would just be a little more straightforward, but he certainly didn’t dislike her and thought that having some older student connections wouldn’t be a bad thing.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the staff did a roll call and started directing everyone to their carriages. Erebos and Jiron climbed into the one they had both presumably loaded their luggage into, entering through the side doors and sitting on the front bench. The carriage’s walls were lined with seating, only broken by the two doors on either side. Excluding whatever space on the roof, the carriage looked like it could comfortably seat 8 people, so that was probably how many would be joining them.

Jiron: “Rumina and Vanov will be on here too, so that’s probably like, 4 other people? I guess there’s worse ways to socialize.”

Erebos silently appreciated those circumstances, considering that he was usually too nervous to just go into a large crowd and talk to people. Even if it was only a few people at a time, he didn’t mind having a smaller group to get to know first.

Slowly but surely, they were joined by Vanov and four others. Vanov came in alongside another girl, so they probably knew each other prior, and the other two boys made it obvious with their horseplay that they were prior friends. After introductions, Erebos learned that the girl was Vanov’s sister and that they both came from a large estate nearby. The two boys were friends from a town about 50 miles out, so they were two of the many who had taken a decent journey for the exam. The other lone boy was from a town the same distance north instead of east, but he seemed to be getting along with the other two friends fine.

After Rumina showed up and the coachmen were finished with their preparations, everyone present settled into their seats as the carriages lurched into their 400-mile journey.

***

The paved stone road gave way to packed dirt as they left the town and came nearer to the aqueduct. Already visible on the horizon, the towering structure disappeared into the distant clouds on the far left and proceeded endlessly to the right, northeast towards the Confederal City and Capital. Makrovi was built near the end of one of the aqueduct’s southeastern offshoots, and they soon came up to the reservoir that supplied the town and nearby fields with water.

The difference in construction between the reservoir and the aqueduct’s offshoot was apparent, with the reservoir’s walls being made of a rough-hewn local stone and the other constructed of tightly toleranced and precisely cut blocks.

Covered with a thick slab, the offshoot made a perfect low-grade ramp towards the aqueduct for carriage travel. The water was redirected from the conduit into the reservoir, while the deck continued and met the ground. A recently placed relay tower stood at the right foot of the ramp, along with a milestone marked with “400.”

The procession of carriages began the ascent towards the main aqueduct, having to travel about a mile before they would leave the ramp and arrive on the deck. Features of the Rafdino Aqueduct came into clearer view as they drew nearer, and the magnificence of the architecture became apparent.

Constructed in tiers of arches, the lowest layer took up about half of the total height, with the second and third layers occupying about two-thirds and one-third of what remained. Even from about a mile out, the precision and consistency of the massive arches was astonishing. The fact that such architecture was hundreds, if not thousands, of years old and much grander than anything that could be built now was still dumbfounding. He had ventured out near the aqueduct with his friends a few times before, and it never ceased to amaze him.

The others in the carriage seemed to be impressed as well, and Rumina, who must've traveled along it many times before, took some enjoyment from everyone's ogling.

Vanov: "It's almost like it's glowing, you can see it go on for miles!"

Rumina: "Whatever kind of stone was used to build it seems to reflect starlight really well, so you almost don't even need the relay tower lights. All the academies are the same way, and I think they're even more impressive looking."

Jiron: "It's a little strange being able to see something so far away. I can't wait to see the Confederal City it's the same way."

Rumina: "I said the academies, so don't get your hopes up too much. I guess it'll still be cool if you've never been there."

Her slight grimace made it seem that she had some reservations towards the city itself, but such things were of little concern to Erebos. The others must have had some trouble seeing the details of the aqueduct, but Erebos was busy picking away at every detail of the structure.

They had gotten close enough that Erebos could pick out the towers stationed at consistent intervals along the right edge of the deck, along with long ropes strung in between them acting as guards . As far as the construction itself went, Erebos could barely see any seams between the large stones making up the arches. He was always good at finding edges, but they were so difficult to spot that the aqueduct could pass off as one contiguous piece.

Noticing his intent stare, Jiron waved his hand in front of the window and caught Erebos' attention.

Jiron: "Watcha lookin' at, Eagle-eye?"

Frowning at that nickname, Erebos knocked Jiron with his elbow and continued to look off into the window.

Erebos: "What everyone else is looking at, why?"

Jiron: "I just want to know if you see something we don't, that's all."

Jiron wore a smug expression giving his reasoning, and Erebos elbowed him a little harder. Only Jiron knew about his eyesight, and Erebos didn't want to make the atmosphere weird having to explain it to near-strangers, so he preferred if Jiron just wouldn't say anything.

Taking the hint, Jiron backed off with a laugh and an elbow-jab back. Rumina seemed to have caught the exchange, but she thankfully averted her eyes and pretended to not have heard anything. Erebos would probably have to explain to her later, but he was thankful she wasn't pressing the issue.

As the carriages neared the end of the ramp and took a right onto the main deck, the sound of rushing water grew in volume. Erebos had never been near a river, but he imagined that the roar coming from the channel in the middle was an even louder sound. Folding the window down and sticking his head out, he peered into the wide channel. He had wondered what vast amounts of water were needed to supply an entire nation, but the reality was far more magnificent than he had envisioned.

At least 100 feet across and imperceptibly deep, the channel managed to have a churning, ebullient flow despite a miniscule enough grade to make it 400 miles in one slope. Taking turns leaning out the windows flanking the left side door, everyone couldn’t help but gasp at the surging current.

Vanov’s Sister: “There really is something special about the starlight glittering on the water’s surface, isn’t there?”

She blushed and looked upwards dreamily, as if lost in the moment. No one could blame her, for even the three boys were enamored by the sight. Not even ten miles into their journey, the group of seven new students were already enamored.

***

Initial excitement wore off as time passed, and eventually everyone had grown accustomed to the sheer 400 foot drop to their right and rushing current to their left. The last milestone they passed read 35, so they had quite a ways to go until their first stop, especially considering that the next coaching inn they would rest at was around the 100 mile mark according to Rumina.

They had turned the light out in the carriage to get some rest, but it wasn’t long before Erebos awoke and looked around for anyone else who had woken up. The others were still soundly asleep, so he figured he would get a bit of fresh air and hung his head out the window behind him. Stretching and rotating his neck, he was about to bring his head back in when he noticed the ladder next to the door leading to the roof. While he probably wasn’t supposed to climb up there while the carriage was moving, the carriage was moving slow enough that he probably wouldn’t be in danger, and the coachmen probably couldn’t see him anyway.

Erebos slowly opened the door, hooked his feet around the ladder, and slid out of the cabin into the cool air. He shut the door softly and climbed onto the roof, nestling himself between a few trunks and laying on his back.

The realization that he wouldn’t be seeing his parents or other townspeople he had grown accustomed to for a long while was finally setting in, but regardless of that tinge of sadness, he felt optimistic about the coming days. Erebos was certainly no socializer, but he was already getting along with the few in his carriage, and hopefully that trend would continue. Such thoughts brought a smile to his face, and-

The door to his right creaked open and shut, and light steps started ascending up the ladder. Becoming visible over the roof, Erebos saw Rumina’s visage slowly ascend. She sat down in the middle of the roof a few feet in front of him, and right when he was about to ask her what was up, she shook her head and let out a long sigh.

He interpreted this as her not wanting to talk, so he resumed his silence and gazed at the back of her head. Wondering what she could be thinking about and why she had followed him up to the roof, Erebos wanted to break the silence but couldn’t think of anything to say. She perhaps wanted to talk about the peculiar nature of his vision that she must have picked up on by now, but he couldn’t figure out how to start such a conversation. Resolving to just wait for her to instigate it, he leaned his head back and stared up into the void.

This continued for a couple minutes, until Rumina sneezed and Erebos responded with the usual expression of “Have good health.”

Rumina: “Bah-huah??”

Nearly toppling off the carriage, Rumina yelped loudly and whipped whole body around. The coachman must have heard the commotion, because he called out to them and asked if “everything was all right.”

Rumina: “Y-yeah, sorry…”

She called out with a disconcerted expression as she pulled out a rod from underneath her coat. Twisting and pointing it in his direction, Rumina finally made an explicit recognition of his presence by locking eyes and scowling.

Erebos: “W-what’s that?”

Rumina: “You think you’re asking the questions here? What the hell are you doing, hiding up here??”

Erebos didn’t really understand how she thought he was hiding, but after considering he was somewhat tucked in between two trunks and hadn’t ever actually confirmed whether she knew he was up here, he held up his hands and said, “N-no, wait, I’m sorry!”

Erebos: “I came up here right before you, and when I was about to say something you just shook your head and sighed! I thought you knew I was up here, I’m sorry!”

Desperately trying to defend himself, he explained the situation and thought that it might finally be time to let her know about his vision. Catching onto the strangeness of his explanation, she muttered to herself,

Rumina: “How the hell, it was pitch black when I came up here, we weren’t even near a tower…”

She thought to herself a moment as she gazed at an approaching tower, and she seemed to slightly lower her guard. She brought the rod closer to his face, waving it around his eyes. He leaned his head back in surprise, but other than that, he bore no reaction.

Rumina: “All right, explain what’s the deal with this, huh?”

Gesturing towards the rod pointed to his eyes, she pressured him for an explanation to something entirely unknown to him.”

Erebos: “Um, explain what, exactly? I’m… I don't know what that is, I’m sorry…”

He felt like he was profusely apologizing for something he didn’t even know what he was sorry for, but that obviously wasn’t the answer she was looking for, as she became even more flustered afterwards.

Rumina: “Idiot, that's not what I’m talking about! What, are you stupid or something?? This is a light I’m practically blinding you with!”

She spat out the explanation, and Erebos finally figured out the source of her frustration. Anyone else might try and shove away something like that in their face, but it didn’t bother him, and not even knowing what it was probably perturbed her further.

With a bitter expression, Rumina stood the light on the ground and twisted a ring on its outside. It looked like it had a metal casing with some kind of stone embedded in it, and whatever she did made it so that it could sit where it was and allow her to see him clearly.

Rumina: “So, fess up.”

Offering only those words, she demanded an explanation with a stern expression, and Erebos couldn’t think of a reason to withhold one.

Erebos: “I guess you could say I’m colorblind, but to a much higher degree. More like being unable to see any light at all.”

Rumina: “Any light? How do you see at all then?”

This was the difficult part to explain, and he had defaulted on using an explanation that seemed convenient for others to understand even if not entirely accurate.

Erebos: “Something like, drawing an invisible yet noticeable outline around every object you see, and just filling it all in with gray?”

Rumina: “So, you can’t see color or even shades at all? That must be kind of hard for depth perception, isn’t it?”

Erebos: “Eh, I can just kind of tell, same with things’ edges. I guess I can see well enough, so it’s not much of a problem.”

She leaned back in thought, rubbing her chin and probably working through some of the implications of such vision in her mind.

Rumina: “So when you say you can’t see light, is that why you could see me before, and stuff like the aqueduct’s details so far in the distance… because you can’t see the absence of light either?”

Glad that someone finally understood the extent of his vision’s strangeness through personal reasoning, he smiled and nodded to affirm her conjecture. Even with his shoddy explanation, she seemed to have figured the details out on her own.

Rumina: “But…”

Erebos raised his chin at her unexpected question, thinking that she had already understood the most difficult details.

Rumina: “If you can’t see shades at all, how do you know what you’re seeing is even gray? Knowing gray from white or black is relative, so if you’ve always seen like that, what do you have to compare it to?”

That question might have occurred to him at some point, but after having his eyes and hair compared to gray for his entire life, he just assumed that whatever he saw in between the nonexistent borders of his vision was something like that. To be fair, he really didn’t have any reason to call what he saw gray besides the prompting of others.

Erebos: “Uh… yeah, I guess you’re right. But I don’t really have a way to say it’s not, either. I guess at this point I understand my vision about as much as you do.”

She smiled and sighed while standing up on the carriage roof, offering out her hand to him. He reluctantly took it, and she hauled him up to his feet.

Rumina: “I guess this doesn’t mean much to you, but your face is really red right now.”

Erebos grimaced and rubbed his face as she let out a chuckle, picking up her light and stowing it back under her coat. Gazing towards the sky, she and Erebos stood in a meaningful silence, but he had one thought nagging in the back of his mind.

Why was she rubbing her face in the same way?