The Republic of Fyhelean Part 1

Chad scoped around while Hikari sat back behind a tree out of view, after Chad insisted he do so as to not get in his way. The sun set on the horizon giving the haze of this industrial city a red glow. The air smelled like hell but Hikari learned to to deal with it as opposed to really having gotten used to it. Chad quickly scuffled back to Hikari after he'd been gone an hour or so. “Good news, looks like there's one freighter heading West into Fyhelean tonight.” Chad exclaimed with gladness in his voice. “So what are we waiting for?” Asked Hikari as he picked up his pack and stood up. “The thing to start moving for one. I've never actually hopped a train before but I know the longer you're in one spot the more likely you are to be found and what we're doing isn't exactly legal. Follow me, I found a spot we can hide from, past the West end of the yard.” Chad explained as they both walked around the messy industrial hellscape that was the railyard and the surrounding industry. There the two would hide out in a drainage ditch that was currently empty and ended up waiting nearly an hour before Chad lightly smacked Hikari to life and the two set off running towards the slowly accelerating train. While Hikari was a faster runner than Chad he wasn't sure exactly what they were doing until Chad pointed to an open box car and Hikari shot forward past Chad, hand hovering over his hip as if positioned to slash the sword that wasn't there. Quickly Hikari leapt and grabbed the ladder adjacent to the door, soon followed Chad ran and jumped almost to be sucked under the box car before Hikari grabbed his arm and helped toss him into the train. Hikari managed to slide in afterwards only to see an empty box car except for Chad and two other men who eyed him down imposingly. One was an older scrappy gray haired man with long dreadlocks and a beard, the other was a tall and skinny man with pointed yet very short ears. Both were wearing hobo rags stained black by the dust of the railway. Behind them atop their laid out sleeping bags were two knee high mutt dogs barking and snapping towards Chad who had a hand hovering over his gun under his shirt. Yet it'd be Hikari who would act first, by reaching into his coat and producing a loaf of bread him and Chad bought at the store back into the city and presented it to the two hobos.

The tension in the air vanished like a candle being blown out almost instantly as the old hobo started laughing and put the back of his hand on his pointy eared companion’s chest signaling him to calm down. Reluctantly the pointy eared hobo dropped his shoulders which made Chad drop his gun hand to his pocket with a sigh of relief. The old man would mutter something in his own language before nodding and taking the bag of sliced bread and opening it. There he'd present the open bag to Hikari who would nod in thanks and take a slice before the bag was presented to Chad who shrugged and took a slice as well. The two hobos would take a slice of their own before the old hobo tossed a couple slices of bread to the dogs at their sleeping bags and then handed the bag back to Hikari. Again the old hobo would say something but neither Hikari or Chad would understand a word of it. The old hobo waited for a response but when one didn't come he'd understand and laugh again as he took a bite of his slice of bread. With everyone calmed down Hikari could get a better look around at the box can as the thing rolled down the track sounding like a river of rushing metallic water. The big square metal thing was empty, say for some wood scrap like broken splinters, bark, and sawdust which gave the car a piney scent. Eventually everyone really calmed down to where Chad and Hikari set their bags down on the opposite side of the box car, claiming it as their own while the hobos and their dogs got to keep their side. “Did they try anything? Why were you holding your hand over your gun when I came in?” Hikari whispered to Chad. “I think we just surprised each other is all. Though I think the pointy eared one, the half elf thought about trying to jump me. Doubt he's gonna try anything now but if we do have to sleep in here, sleep with one eye open.” Chad answered all in a whisper. Though as everyone settled in with the passing of time and the growth of boredom and hunger Hikari would open the bag of bread again and offer more to the hobo duo and their dogs who all happily accepted. There in the train car they all happily ate slices of bread in a quiet moment of joy and understanding. That is before the elder hobo produced a little metal bar with several holes down its thick sides from his coat pocket. Soon the pointy eared half elf hobo produced two pieces of metal joined together, one a thick semi circle, and the other a long thin strip with a bend at the end from his pants pocket. The old hobo put the holed bar to his mouth and produced a sound like a series of loud metallic whistles while the half elf hobo put his own instrument to his mouth and produced a rhythmic twanging of his own. The two played and seemed to enjoy themselves while Hikari and Chad seemed cold by comparison. Making music was considered one of the ten minor offenses when it came to Rightful Cultivation, and Henrikans like Chad were generally cold and averse to singing and dancing themselves unless you were a professional at it. As they began to play and strike up an impromptu jolly rhythm their dogs began to howl and yap with it in joy. And that was when Hikair really questioned why music of all things was considered an offense to Rightful Cultivation. It didn't build any inherit hierarchy, it didn't steal from or boss around anyone, it didn't strike wild animals dead, it didn't have to be traded for, nor did it need such specialization that you couldn't do other things like farming alongside it. Here it was giving joy between species, and if he hadn't been so conditioned to disregard it it'd have probably brought joy to him even through their language barrier. So many things about this trip made him both question and reinforced his faith in Rightful Cultivation that it made his head spin as thought about it.

Hours passed as the train rode along its tracks and everyone in that box car got along in peace. Hikari and Chad would eventually take turns napping as did the hobo duo. Though eventually the thing lurched to a screeching stop that woke Chad and Half Elf Hobo from their slumber. “Shit they must be checking the boxes at the border everyone hide.” Chad stated as he scrambled to his feet and hid his duffle bag and Hikari’s pack up in the support beams at the ceiling of the box car. The hobos opted to hide their dogs zipped into their coats and bury their sleeping bags in wood debris. Then both duos would hide against either side of the door against the wall. What must have been an hour passed like it was three before the box car door opened and a long eared elf casually took a glance in the box car before slamming the door closed again, his face signaling he was long bored of the job and just wanted it over. Chad had his hand over his gun and the two hobos looked like they held a knife and some sort of blunt instrument respectively. Hikari did no such thing even with his sword still being available from the side of his pack, and was the most grateful the railroad bull half assed his job. Eventually the train started with a lurch and began moving again. To where everyone collected their things and relaxed into their travel once again. The night passed in its entirety as the two duos rode inside the train. Their earlier tension having faded away almost completely with their common enemy, the theoretical railroad bull who didn't slack off on his duties. Every now and again someone would have to go and would be forced to open the box car door and try to go off the side. The hobos and even their dogs in their experience did so without issue, though when Hikari tried the train hit a bump in the tracks and Hikari would have fallen out had Chad not managed to catch him by his collar. The two laughed about it after the fact.

Eventually the train came to a stop and the two hobos packed up their things and dogs, opened the box car door and waved off to Hikari and Chad before stepping out. Chad and Hikari grabbed their packs and quickly exited the box car as well. Out they stepped into what seemed like a new world. Gone were the endless steppes of the Grand Daion Khanate and the rolling grassy hills of the Vilnipolya Sich. While they were in a town, and a railroad town at that, the land surrounding them was such a pervasively verdant forest it made the magical seeming forest hills of the Ōgasanmyaku seem like a desert by comparison. The forest they could see was so thick in fact that its floor seemed black as midnight with how dense the light stealing canopy was. Still they didn't have time to linger for now and both men quickly snuck their way out of the railyard and into the town surrounding it. The buildings in this land were a far cry from the cement cube brutalism of the Grand Daion Khanate, and certainly were a style all their own even compared to even the older more artistic buildings of the Vilnipolya Sich. Every building here had an extremely elaborate artistry about it, the windows were all stained glass with circular natural designs. Artistic inlays of flowers and vines in that same natural flowing style covered most every wall that wasn't a window. Everything here was built with extreme craftsmanship and a total rejection to hard geometry or any form of minimalism or utilitarianism. Plants were also everywhere in this city, but not to the same extreme as Suichokunōjō nor to the same purpose. While all the plants in Suichokunōjō were some sort of crop to be harvested, all the plants here served a decorative purpose, all having some sort of flower, multicolored leaf, or general unique beauty that worked in tandem with plants and buildings around it that created a city scape that looked more like fine art than reality. Hikari would be a mix of amazed and disgusted by this city-scape for all the plants looked like they provided no food and everything here was wastefully elaborate for the sake of decadence of one kind or another. Yet what surprised Hikari the most was that this wasn't a land of humans like all the others they traveled through. The most prominent race here by far were the pointy eared elves all walking about their business.

Before they got too far Chad would pull Hikari aside out of view. “Hold up a second, The Republic of Fyhelean is extremely strict about weapons. They catch you with a sword or me with a gun and they'll try to put us away for a long time. We gotta hide that sword quick.” Chad stated as he pulled a blanket he stole from a motel out of his duffle bag, and wrapped Hikari's out of view before tying it back to his pack. Hikari let him as he still wasn't ready to wear the thing yet, nor could his new coat actually be used to hide such a large sword to begin with. Chad and Hikari then made their way through the Art Nouveau town. The towns here were laid out differently than the ones in the last two nations as well, there were almost no driving roads. Everything was built for the scale of pedestrian walking, otherwise they'd use a trolley much like back in Suichokunōjō. Yet something was different about this place compared to Suichokunōjō. Hikari couldn't read anything on the signs but he kept seeing all the same ones every fifteen minutes or so, the same signs, the same layout, all on repeat, even much of the art and planting all the patterns. A lot of people looked and dressed incredibly similar as well, especially those that stood out on the end of every block. They had the same green button up uniform with a neon yellow vest and a flat top cap with a brim on the front, they had clubs but no guns on their hips in spite of Chad's earlier remark about weapons. Eventually Chad and Hikari made it through the town yet there was no highway to hitch on, no truck stop, no open road to cruise on your thumb. Instead it was train tracks before a tiny train station, though these trains had no box cars to hide in, only windowed passenger cars. Hikari and Chad would look inside the tiny train station window only to see big metal arches and more corner guards at the entrance. “Shit I forgot, Fyhelean is a land of no cars. It's public transport or march your ass through the woods on foot.” Chad cursed as he look through the window. “Well they're all getting on alright, why can't we just get on too?” Hikari asked Chad as he looked through the window as well. “No go, one they cost money and our leftover Vilnipolyan cash is worthless here. Not to mention those metal arches there well tell those guards about our weapons no matter how well we hide them.” Chad answered in worry. “So what do we do just walk?” Hikari asked again readied in his mind for a long foot journey. “Gonna have too I guess, were lucky Fyhelean is a pretty small place compared to Daion or Vilnipolya. Something tells me if we get caught walking on the tracks we'll be put away if they catch us.” Chad answered again. “They seem awful obsessed with putting people away, whatever that means.” Hikari responded as he stepped away from the window. “The thing with elves is that they live a real long time and because of it they're real afraid of death, risks, or anything they can't control themselves. Everything has to be their way to their specifications and they'll accept nothing else, especially the oldest ones. They also have a pension for respecting the words of their elders over their own minds. So anything anyone in charge says usually isn't questioned for a second.” Chad elaborated as he too stepped away from the window.

The two waited in the bushes until the train left before they snuck out onto the tracks and started walking. The walk itself was an eerie almost haunted sort of thing as the absolute darkness of the forest floor flanked them at all times. It felt like at any moment some mystic beast would lunge out and snatch one of them before swallowing them into said darkness. That didn't happen of course, the rail lines were so busy they scared off any beast not nimble or smart enough to out maneuver the thing. Several times Hikari would hear the train first and the pair would only have to walk a few steps towards the tree line before they were essentially invisible to anyone onboard. It only took them a day's walk to get to the next town however and they made it without incident. By the time they hit town the sun was coming down and being that their money was now worthless they opted to sleep under a hedge on the outskirts of town until the sun arose and broke over the maddeningly thick tree line. This town was a lot smaller than the city they were in, and from what could be seen it was a farming town with large fields instead of forests dominating its Western flank. Seeing those fields, especially seeing what looked like workers in them, made Hikari start jonesing for some field work again. While he hadn't tried to cultivate his energy since that night he murdered the shape changer Hikari felt the deeply drilled psychological need to do some work in the field. “We need money don't we?” Hikari asked Chad as they surveyed the land around them. “Not especially since we'll get arrested if we try to ride the trains anyways but it couldn't hurt to get some eating money. Why?” Chad answered before he questioned. “Let's go see if we can find work in those fields.” Chad answered quickly as he practically dragged Chad towards the fields. “I don't like it, I don't want to stay in one place for too long around these parts. Elves are too damn willing to snitch, especially snitch out foreigners like we obviously are. Any slip ups and we might end up hounded so bad we have to try and run back to Vilnipolya.” Chad responded but still went with Hikari anyways. The town was a little more open and less repetitive than the last city they were though this town seemed to be physically older and overall more tired seeming than the city.

The pair quickly cut across town and ended up on its far outskirts where rows of orchards, and various vegetable and fruit farms had been cut into the unrelenting onslaught of the dark forest surrounding them. The only farm that was actively harvesting right now was a raspberry farm and the pair had a hell of time trying to communicate with the elven farmer who looked no older than his early thirties at most by human standards that they were looking for a job and wanted to work his fields. Eventually with some creative pantomime involving their leftover Vilnipolyan cash the farmer finally got the idea and led the two to the fields and showed them how it was done. The raspberries would be harvested off their spiny hosts and put into a bag before the bags themselves would be loaded into some form of sorting machine on the other end of the farm. They didn't know what they were actually being paid for their labor but Hikari didn't care, he could just feel his soul rest a bet as he went between the rows and picked berries with both hands. Though he was a far better rice field worker than a berry picker his lifetime of daily harvest and fieldwork made him a picking legend. Among the other workers who all talked behind their backs in their elven language. Hikari used this time to reflect on his journey and his life really. He came to peace with the fact he wasn't going to magically find and marry Aiko out here, nor that they'd somehow run into Bataar, or even the fact he may have to restart his cultivation completely. When he got home his cultivation would be all the stronger for it as he himself would be. Chad however had no such luck with his work as his city boy hands were torn up fiercely by the raspberry bush thorns all the while he muttered and cussed to himself under his breath. At the end of the day they came to the farm owner and tried to get him to pay them cash yet instead he seemed to not understand and got a little worried look in his eye. Eventually he relented and went inside the decorative farmhouse before coming out with Chad and Hikari’s pay in cash. That night Chad ate venison with mashed potatoes while Hikari had a salad that was practically heaven sent with all the fruits, nuts, and other vegetables that were scattered about it. With the disaster that was their journey through Vilnipolya Hikari thought maybe that their luck was finally turning around. A nice break to farm and cultivate some upwards energy and make some cash before they'd kick off what Chad told him was the final land they had to travel through before reaching Henrika.