by Nicol Terra
The city was over a thousand square kilometers, metal towers shot up a mile high, with factories pumping out steam into the air. The city had neon lights, portraying thousands of signs. The city had hundreds of white cylindrical trains that ‘popped’ around through the city via tubes. The roads were nice and large, with people walking freely. Duran smiled. This was a grand city, hidden in the middle of ‘nowhere.’ This nowhere longer existed, his perception shattered.
“Well, let's go say hi.’ Duran said. Ariel lunged in between him.
“Woah, we can’t just say hi.” Ariel said.
Duran groaned. “Why not?”
“Because what if the guardsman don’t let us in?” Ariel asked.
Duran looked at just below them, a gate guarded by two men in steel armor that was easily thousands of years old. He looked back at Ariel, her expression frightened softly, her eyes sparkling for a brief second. He shrugged.
“Eh, we will be fine. We are tourists. Plus, we have gold, don‘t we?” Duran turned to D.J. D.J then pulled out a small, brown leather sack from his right pocket and gave him a thumbs up with his left hand.
“We should be fine.” Duran said.
Duran jumped down, Ariel and D.J following. A small patch of dry land greeted them as they walked towards the gates. Two Guardsman walked forward to greet them a few hundred feet apart.
“Halt! Who goes there?” One of them said.
“We are travelers from Yari, lets us in!” Ariel shouted.
The two guardsmen turned to each other and gave a soft shrug.
“We never heard of that place.” One said, turning back to them. “State your business.”
Duran raised his hand to Ariel and D.J as they stayed frozen. Duran walked forward to the guardsman, looking up and down, inspecting them.
“State your business!” The other shouted.
“Well, I own a small donut shop back home. I sell bread disks with small holes for people lonely at night.” Duran said dryly.
D.J snickered, Ariel slammed her right palm on her face as she let out an audible groan. One guard walked forward.
“What is a donut?” He asked. Duran took a pause as D.J started to snicker harshly in the background, only for Ariel to lodge her elbow on his side.
Duran giggled. “Nevermind. I am here to visit the Nieth Portal.”
The guardsman took a step back, turning back to the other one. The other one nodded, as he backed away, fading away and warping away in an instant.
“You wait right here; we will visit with our minister first.” He said.
Duran nodded as he backed away to D.J and Ariel, D.J still snickering, his face a little red and Ariel giving a look of disgust.
“He doesn’t know what a donut shop is.” Duran said.
“I bet you he has a fun time on Friday nights.” D.J giggled.
“Oh, be quiet you two.” Ariel spat and sighed. “I swear, I wonder why I am friends with you two sometimes.”
“Because you love us?” Duran inquired. Ariel blushed and turned away.
A few minutes later, an aged man appeared. He had a green robe and a wooden, oak staff. He was tiny, and a human. He looked at the guardsman, taking off their helmets. Gray skin, Malditions. Duran raised a brow, was this city multi-species?”
“Who owns the donut shop?” The old man shouted. D.J snickered once more, Ariel slapping his chest and shooting him a glare. Duran raised his hand.
“I do, I want to enter Nieth sometime if that is possible.” Duran asked.
One of the guards whispered in the ear, the old man raising his left hand as he let out a big sigh.
“Can you wait at least until tomorrow? Otherwise, I can let you inside.” He said.
“Do you have drinks?” Duran asked.
The old man nodded. “Alcohol and Cannabis is legal here if you have the silver and gold for it. Just dont cause trouble.” He said.
Duran smiled. “Perfect.”
The inside the city was even grander. The roads were paved with metal and stone, merged with the ground itself. The streets felt cold and callous, yet the buildings were warm and inviting. Tens of people walked down the road, entering shop after shop. All five species were here, shopping around here- a peculiar sight. In the distance, the buildings got taller and taller, similar to a pyramid. He turned to his right, a vending machine selling packs of joints greeted him. He smiled as he walked to it, reaching inside his pocket, nothing.
“Hey, do you got gold on you?” Duran said, turning to D.J and Ariel who disappeared. He turned in front of him as he saw a building with a glass window and the two inside. A crystal shop, go figure.
He walked inside. The two were shopping around shelf to shelf. An old man with a peg leg of wood and a newspaper in hand gave him a gentle glare. He got up from the chair, smacking his wooden leg on the ground as he walked towards Duran.
“Hey, there my boyo! Tourists, ye see?” He said. Duran raised a brow, turning to Ariel and D.J, both occupied.
“Uhh yeah.” He said. The man's gentle smile shimmered like glitter.
“Why Tourists are loved here! We don’t get many these days. Ya got the coin for them rocks?” He said.
“Pick me!”
“No, pick me!”
“I would love it if you picked me!”
He rose his left hand to the side of his head, the ringing of voices filling his head. The man smiled.
“Well, whatever crystal calls you too you and you want, you can buy if you got the cash for it.” He said once again.
He nodded. “I see, thank you.” Duran never thought about buying a crystal. Crystal shops back home didn’t speak; they said nothing. They sat there, often ready to be sold in bulk. He gulped as he turned around. Then he felt a sharp drag to his right side.
“Wanna see Nieth? I can show you the way.”
It rung inside his ears as he rushed towards it. On the middle shelf of five crystals, there was a blue crystal. The crystal had yellow and black spots sprinkled on it.
“What do you mean?” He asked inside his head.
“I can be your guide if you let me. “
Then he saw an image of a black-winged creature, a twisted grin, and a red smile. He had black skin and was muscular, well sculpted. He smiled. He was a Demon Crystal. He grabbed at it and held it to his hand.
“Oh? Can you see me? You are powerful. Maybe you could visit without my help… but do you want too though?”
He gulped once. “Tell me, why do you wanna help me?”
No answer.
“Is there something for you up there?”
No answer.
His interest was peaked, he looked at the price tag momentarily, twenty-five gold.
“Hey D.J.” He shouted. D.J jolted up and juggled a crystal in his hand a few times, catching it mid-fall.
“Yeah?” D.J asked.
“How much gold do we have and silver?” Duran asked.
He threw the sack at Duran, as he counted the gold pieces. A hundred gold pieces and fifty silver. He shrugged.
“Ariel?” He turned. She held a crystal lovingly in her hand, petting the rock as she jolted her head the other way, her face crimson.
“Is something wrong?” He asked.
“N-Nothing.” She flustered. Duran merely turned around to give Ariel her alone time as he dropped the crystal in front of the shopkeep.
“How much is this crystal?” Duran asked.
“Twenty-Five Gold.”
“How convenient.” He said.
Duran pulled out twenty five gold pieces to the man as he picked up the crystal. The man nodded as he threw him five gold coins back. He winked.
“First customers get a discount.” The man said.
Duran bowed out of obligation, a smile wrapped around his face. “Thank you, sir.”
Duran threw the bag back at D.J, who was still shopping around. He edged his head at Ariel. She nodded as the two walked outside to the vending machine. He slipped in ten silver coin
s and picked the pack of ‘Ground Greens’ from the device, dispensing two packages for each of them.
He smacked out a joint, slipping it on his lips, Ariel taking out one from her pack as well.
“Are these even good?” She asked.
Duran shrugged. “Local brand, I guess. Time to find out.”
Ariel new red and black crystal gave a small shimmer as she lit her finger with a flame, lighting both her’s and Duran’s. Duran took a deep drag from his roll, the fire encroaching on the paper slowly. In fifteen seconds, he gave a prolonged, bellowing cough. He felt time slow, and his mind relaxed, filled with euphoria. She grumbled.
“Well?” She asked.
“I like it.” He said.
“I hate it.” She said.
He snickered. “Why do you think that?”
“I feel like my mind is in overdrive?” She said.
“And?” He said.
She shivers. “I feel like everyone is watching me.”
Duran turned to look at everyone. Some stares, here and there. Most of the people were rushing on the trains stuck in tubes or going shopping. More were reading books, and others were playing games. The road was friendly and open for them, yet people were rushing back and forth. He turned back to Ariel, shivering briefly and her eyes vacant. He pulled her and hugged her.
“It is okay, don’t worry about.” He said, rubbing her back a few times before slowly pulling away. She took another drag and sighed, a smile encroaching her face.
“I feel better now.” She smiled.
He sighed in relief and in response. Usually when Ariel was stressed, it made him stressed in response.
The two pulled out their Holospheres, showing the outside world. Duran read through the countless headlines that flooded his feed. Holosphere technically works throughout the globe, but Kulso did have a firewall that he filtered out some news stories, like the other Four Great Nations. The further away you were from Kulso, the less the firewall affected you. He was a good few thousand kilometers away, and seeing news stories from around the world was a breath of fresh air.
Bombing at the Central Tower, SALT depletes ten percent in value
Battle of the West Gate Starts, thousands of Faeries and Elves flee to enter the central city.
Eraz leads the charge on the East Gate, slowing taking sector after sector: some with force, others with conditions of surrender.
He gave a small frown at that last headline before Ariel slapped his shoulder once.
“Do you think we deserve to be here?” She asked.
He blinked once. “What do you mean?”
“Think about it, and we are foreigners. We are also high-level military, and we command legions, you command the entire theater… we are just sitting here, smoking.”
He said nothing, turning back to his holosphere, looking at the news.
Yukari Unmei: The Tainted Knight that Slaughtered Ten Thousand and Ten Commanders
Kragg Declares Neutrality
Human Hate Crime in Zynthia and Kulso increases dramatically
Breaking: Eraz Declares Sanctions on Kragg “If you refuse to ally with us, you deserve no trade.”
Breaking: Nicholas responds “I will sink your continent if you dare impact the world trade.”
He gulped, he no words. “Okay, this politics stuff is going to kill us all.“ He put his holosphere away, his hands shaking and his face white. He felt his body flush with anxiety. He reached inside his pocket, shaking his canteen, only to fumble and drop it.
When he reached to grab it, he felt a warm kiss from Ariel. He darted away, she had an innocent face, her eyes warm and inviting.
“I am sorry.” He said.
“I am just returning the favor.” She winked.
He sighed, he lost the perfect girlfriend.
He moved closer to her; she moved closer to him, ready to kiss.
“Hey guys, I got what I wanted!” D.J shouted. They both darted away, their faces blushing red. Duran felt better though when he turned to D.J and then Ariel.
“What is wrong?” D.J asked.
Duran shook his head. “Nothing, I wanna get drunk now though.”
“But did-” D.J started only for both Ariel and Duran to move down the street, leaving the man behind.
“Never speak of that again.” He said.
“Agreed.” She said.
Duran walked down the streets, his mind flashing back to a hundred years ago. He looked to his right; he saw Mudath, and to his left Eraz. Then straight ahead. One hundred thousand soldiers were rushing at them, with the king laughing maniacally back, a whip in hand. His memory shattered as he returned to the real world, the world of the saddening future.
He turned to his right; Ariel was next to him, then he turned to his left, D.J was next to him. He looked in front of him; there was no army, only a bar. He smiled, he saw no issue with his current lifestyle, this was the ideal for him.
Duran walked inside the bar. He saw tens of tables lined up, with Faerie, Elven, Human, Chisean and Maldition. All five races were drinking with each other. Humans and Faeries were lined up on tables, barrels of booze rushing down their throats. Everyone was shouting, everyone was happy. People were smiling, joking, having fun- and so was Duran.
He walked over to the main bartender table, a male Faerie freely cleaning glasses with water magick, flushing them repeatedly until they were spotless. He turned to Duran, a brow but then a smile raised.
“Tourists from the outer world, I guess?” The bartender said. Duran, Ariel, and D.J turned away. Duran didn’t want to be kicked out of a bar, especially this early in the day.
“What ya want?” The bartender said. Duran sighed in relief.
“Six shots of vodka.” He said, tossing a gold coin into the air, the Faerie catching it. Duran winked. “Keep the change. If you promise us six later tonight.”
The Faerie blinked as he looked at the Gold Coin, tossing it a few times in the Air as he fluttered his wings. He looked confused, as Duran felt his heart race. "I swear if that banker gave me fake gold, I am finding him and teleporting him off this planet." Duran thought, but then Fae smiled, and pulled out a bottle of vodka, pouring shots into three glasses as he passed it to the three. Duran raised his glass, swinging his seat around.
“Cheers.” Duran said.
“For adventure?” Ariel asked.
“For adventure!” D.J shouted.
Everyone downed their shots, passing the glasses back to the barkeep, pouring them another shot for them. Duran raised his glass, a faint buzz in the back of his head.
“King may be wise!” Duran said.
“But the people wiser!” Ariel shouted.
“Next shot in, we will party!” D.J shouted.
The three downed their shots, Duran, Ariel and D.J shook their head. Duran felt the apple flush down his throat, and a faint taste of cinnamon rubbing against his throat.
“What flavor is this?” Duran slurred for a moment, his speech correcting at the end.
“Apple’s and Cinnamon.” He said with a smile, tossing the gold coin the air. “You overpaid by seventy shots.”
“Eh, it's okay! We are pretty well off, could you use that money?”
The Faerie blinked a few times, his jaw-dropping for a moment as he shook his head. His wings fluttered happily for a second.
“I appreciate your kindness.” The bartender said.
Duran smiled. Duran was in the middle, D.J to his right and Ariel to his left.
“Where ya from?” The barkeep asked.
“Well, where are you from?” D.J slurred.
The Faerie laughed. “That's a good one! Here of course!”
“Woah, you were raised here?” D.J exclaimed. The Faerie nodded.
“Fo sho.” He said.
“Fo sho?” D.J asked.
“Pretty sure it means for sure,” Ariel mumbled.
“I mean, it could mean something else,” D.J mumbled back.
“Is it for sure?”
Duran asked.
The Faerie nodded. “Well, we don’t get many old worlders these days, so yes.”
“Who was the last one?” D.J asked.
The man pondered, his fingers rubbing on his chin. “Micheal Ora. He was a fun one!”
“Ora?” Ariel raised a brow. “That is a human last name, was he human?”
He nodded. “Yeah, drank a lot too! He challenged everyone in the bar to a drinking contest!”
“Did he win?” D.J asked.
“D.J, who wins against an entire bar of drunks?” Ariel inquired.
Duran nodded. “When was he last here?”
The Faerie continued to clean glasses of glasses of beer mugs, tens of them being laid at his table every minute, ready to clean.
“Well, I would say twenty years ago.” He said.
He raised a brow. D.J jumped up to his chair once.
“If his last name was an Ora, I heard of that name?” He said, pointing to Ariel.
“Oh?” Ariel asked.
“Rachel Ora. She is called the ‘Flash of the West.’ It is said she is so fast. She can beat a Lieutenant in sheer speed.” D.J said. "The Flash of the West is as fast as a bolt of lightning, using her crystal to blitz through the battlefield like no tomorrow."
Duran raised a brow. “Sounds like a badass.”
D.J giggled. “She is also in a relationship with Daniel Regulas?”
Ariel coughed a few times, pulling her roll away as she turned to D.J
“You mean Daniel, the Damnation?” She said.
D.J nodded. “Yeah, she even helped him with the takeover of Yangpong!”
Duran took a drag of his inflamed joint and exhaling it in the air. A random elf walked up to him.
“Hey, can I have a joint?” He asked.
Duran raised a brow “No, why would I give you a fr-” He thought.
Ariel pulled out one from her pack “Here you go bud.”