The Outskirts

Yami felt elated as he made his way to the Edge of Harmos. Just a little while ago he couldn’t imagine feeling this much hope. Not after the humiliating result of the pairing ritual.

“I’ll head home first to grab some supplies. I'll also grab the broom! I’ll be needing that if I want to get to the Outskirts at the soonest possible time,” he thought to himself.

As he made it to the entrance of his home, he proceeded with caution. It was already the wee hours of the morning and he didn’t want to wake his parents.

“They must have already heard about the result of the pairing. I don’t want to worry them about that now. I’ll just let them know how I am once I make things better,” he told himself.

Yami hastily grabbed some loose bread and fruits and placed them in a little container which he proceeded to put inside his satchel.

He also snuck into his father’s craft studio and took one of the gadgets and placed it in his pocket. It was a little device with a little wheel at the top and if you turned this wheel the device would emit a tiny little spark, his father called it an “igniter”.

As he exited his father’s craft studio, he thought again to himself.

“Honestly the things dad makes. Though this igniter may come in handy to start fires for me during my trip, it’s completely useless to those with partners. They’d just use “refine” magic. I guess this is why business is so bad.”

Yami made sure to double check his gear and supplies before he grabbed the broom.

“That’s about everything, I guess. Time to head out.”

Yami headed out the back way to prepare for his take-off. But before he left he made sure to leave a note for his parents. He laid a piece of paper on the kitchen table to make sure his mother wouldn’t miss it.

On his note was a simple message:

“Hey folks, I’m fine don’t worry! Just heading out to maximize my youth. Will be back in a couple of days so AGAIN don’t worry! Also sorry in advance mom, I’m going to need the broom, I promise I’ll clean everything when I get back.

PS Don’t cry dad, it’s not your fault. Also, I borrowed one of your igniters.”

Yami flew swiftly across the night sky. He could see the buildings beneath him change from tiny cottage houses to big townhouses and then to mansions. It was only now that he realized how segregated Harmos really was.

He few passed the border of the city until he reached the river. The river that once gave him the most solace from the loneliness he felt, being alienated by his peers. Now, it just reminds him that he was back where he started. Alone.

“Steel yourself, Yami. Remember, there’s still a chance,” he muttered to himself.

As he came back to his senses, he realized that he already needed to start his descent asthe barrier that separated the Central city of Harmos from the Outskirts drew nearer.

Yami made sure to land a good distance from the barrier gate so he could get himself ready.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” he told himself as he pinned the keeper’s badge that he got from Archimedes on the left breast of his jacket.

Slowly Yami walked toward the barrier, which was nothing more than a translucent magical wall. In fact, if it wasn’t for the tint of purple that the magical wall emitted you wouldn’t even be able to tell that it was there.

As he got closer, he started to notice something.

“Huh… where’s the door?” he gasped.

This is the first time that Yami has ever been this close to the barrier, even though he has heard people talk about how going through the barrier allows you to descend to the Outskirts, he never really bothered to learn the exact process for actually doing it.

Yami’s anxiety grew the closer he got to the barrier. He didn’t want to look any more suspicious than he already was.

“Stupid! I should have asked the old man how to actually go through the barrier!” he thought.

Suddenly, to his surprise he heard a voice call out.

“Oi! What’re you doing!?” a man called out.

Yami looked around searching for the person who called out to him.

“Over here!” the man yelled again.

This time around Yami was able to follow the sound of the voice and he noticed a little wooden booth just under one of the big trees.

“Oh hi! I was just about to start my shift!” Yami replied awkwardly.

“Well, I figured as much. Come here now. We don’t have all day,” the man said.

Yami walked toward the booth and as he got closer, he was able to see the man more clearly. He was a short,  stout, and he wore an all-blue security uniform complete with a bobby helmet.

“So, what is it then?” the guard asked.

Yami just stared at the man looking confused.

“Your number kid, what’s your badge number?" the man asked sounding slightly annoyed.

“Oh! Right, sorry it’s just that it’s too early.” Yami said as he pretended to yawn.

“It’s 0257.” Yami replied as he read the number on the badge pinned on his chest.

“Alright then 0… 2… 5… 7…” The man said to himself as he scribbled on a piece of paper.

“Here you go, just sign this sheet and take this key stone and head on to the platform,” the guard said as he handed Yami a sheet of paper along with an odd rectangular shaped stone with a number scribbled on it.

As Yami was placing his signature on the sheet he asked. “What’s this stone for? Snd where’s the Platform? Sorry it’s my first day.”

“Oh, no wonder you looked lost like a chicken with his head cut off! Hehe,” the guard chuckled.

“If you head out to the center there, you’re going to notice a huge circular area at the end of a pathway just outside the barrier. Once you step on to that area holding that stone, I’ll get a signal in this booth and I’ll lower you to the Outskirts. Once you reach the bottom you should see the distribution center. You can go straight there I’ll let them know that a newbie is coming,” the guard instructed.

“Oh, great thanks!” Yami replied. He didn’t fully understand what the man had said but he thought it best to play along for now.

“At least now I can get through the barrier,” he thought to himself.

Yami approached the barrier and as he got closer, he started to notice a partition widening. He glanced back at the guard who was waving for him to proceed through the newly formed opening on the magical wall.

As he passed through the wall, Yami felt the air outside of the central city of Harmos on his face for the first time.

“The air feels so heavy here,” he said to himself.

Outside the barrier, a vast horizon greeted Yami. He felt as if he was standing on a cliff at the end of the world, and below him was nothing but dark grey clouds. As he further accessed the area, he noticed that the earth that he stood on looked as if it had been carved out by magic. A narrow pathway, only large enough for a row of about five people, stretched from the opening of the barrier to the platform that the guard had mentioned earlier.

Yami walked carefully. “Man, that’s a long drop,” he thought to himself as he clenched his broom tightly.

As he made it to the end of the pathway, he noticed the surface area of earth under his feet grow wider. The platform was a huge clump of earth, that was shaped like a massive circle, at the edge of the cliff and the floor area was large enough to fit one of the huge mansions in the Heart level comfortably.

Once he had stepped onto the platform a voice boomed from the opposite end of the pathway.

“We are about to begin your descent, please stay as close to the center of the platform as possible to avoid plummeting to your doom. Unless you have a broom of course but that’s not advisable for first timers as odds are you would get lost and meet your doom,” the guard announced.

“That’s an oddly specific and cryptic announcement,” a small girl said.

“Tell me about it,” Yami replied.

Yami jumped back in shock as he realized he wasn’t alone. In doing this he found himself teetering on the edge of the platform as he struggled to regain his balance. He thought he was going to fall but hand had reached out and grabbed his broom and pulled him back onto the platform.

“Hey careful! Don’t make the guard’s announcement into a reality!” she said.

“Sorry, you just shocked me,” he replied in relief as he planted both his feet back on the platform.

“Oh, sorry about that, guess I was pretty unnoticeable earlier,” she said with a slight chuckle in her voice.

“But it was a good thing that you got on the platform when you did. I’ve been here all night waiting for the next shift,” the small girl explained as she yawned.

“You were sleeping out here?” he replied.

“Yeah,” she replied with a grin with a grin.

“In the middle of the platform?” he asked dumbfoundedly.

“Yup, I’m a rowdy sleeper so I toss and turn a lot, so the middle of the platform is the safest place,” the girl responded with a pleasant smile on her face.

“Why?” Yami asked again wondering why this question was even necessary.

“Oh… You see my shift mates went ahead of me last night, so I was going back to the Edge by myself when I noticed that I forgot my keystone back at the distribution center. And you can’t get through the barrier or go back down without the keystone to signal the guard. So, I just decided to wait here for the morning shift,” she explained.

“Oh, she’s just an idiot,” he thought to himself.

“By the way, my name is Lyra. What’s yours? And how come you’re here alone?”

“My name is Yami. And uhm… I’m alone cause it’s my first day and I’m excited,” he said sounding uncertain.

“Oh, ok!” Lyra replied with a smile.

“Whoa she bought that completely. Just how thick headed is she?” Yami thought to himself.

“Well since it’s your first day, and since you’re an eager beaver, I’ll escort you to the distribution center,” she said politely.

“Thanks,” he replied.

It took them several more minutes before the platform reached the bottom. When they arrived, Yami noticed that the environment around him felt duller. The ground was greyer, the trees seemed darker and more wilted than the trees in the central city.

“This place is pretty dreary, right? Welcome to the Outskirts, Yami,” Lyra said with an inappropriate smile.

***