The Trains

Lucius blinked angrily against the rays of light beaming in through the train window. He had left the blinds open so he'd wake up with the sun, but that was a decision he was coming to regret. He sighed and stretched his arms and back, sore from the days of non-stop travel. He had been on the move for three weeks, and a deep fatigue had overtaken him. He had heard that centuries ago travel across the continent had taken as long as a year, and that many died from the elements before reaching their destination.

While Lucius was burnt out from the train purgatory he'd been forced to endure so far, he was grateful that those brutal days now lived long in the past. He glanced to his left. The seat was still empty, and it had been for the last two hundred miles or so. Not many ventured out this far; most of his train compatriots had been heading towards Chasm, or the western towns outside Planus. Few took the locomotive to track's end.

Most of his journey had been very familiar to him. He had seen some mountains scattered around the Great River and the capital, but the train mostly passed through flat grasslands. It followed the river closely; partially because that was the best route to lay tracks but also because the majority of the Empire's population lived near it.

Now though, the landscape was changing. For the first time, they had begun to move directly away from the river, shooting north towards the mountains. The grasslands had grown wilder and wilder, and impressive mountains had loomed like stone gods in the distance. But once they passed through these behemoths, things became even more unfamiliar.

The southeastern portion of the Empire was almost devoid of trees. A few were planted in the streets as decorations, and Lucius had taken school trips to the token forests that dotted the suburbs of Salvation. But that did not prepare him for the awe inspiring display of life laid out before him and around him. The train moved through a straight, well carved path, with trees looming on either side.

One could hardly see past the first layer of forest; it rose like a wall of wood, with only blackness lying beyond it. His imagination was aroused with great curiosity but also great fear. Soon fear threatened to morph into panic, and he took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. He would be out of his element here, of that there was no question. But he would persevere as he always had.

Besides, the idea of returning to Salvation invoked far more terror than any nightmare forest ever could. No matter what his family might say, home was dead to him, and he would have to make it for himself in a strange new world. He had to sink or swim, but he would be free to navigate the waters himself. His old world was nothing more than blood and ash, and he could never embrace it again.

His introspection had come with perfect timing, as he felt the intention of departure ripple through the train. He nodded, but did not project an intention back; there were still too many people on the train for the conductor to pick through the noise, so any message he sent would be a hindrance. He pulled out his watch, and glanced at his reflection on its face.

He looked shabby and greasy, having lived on train seats and station bathrooms for weeks on end. But his hair was still jet black and his eyes a soft brown. He shook away intrusive memories of the times that color had fled him, and refocused on the task at hand. He glanced out the window, and noticed that the trees were beginning to thin.

Nestled in the mountain hills was a small city, completely surrounded by dense, unyielding woodland. The city was minuscule compared to the Imperial Heart, but it was much bigger than anything he was expected to find this far out. That being said, the city itself had a very depressing aesthetic.

As the train grew closer, Lucius could see drab grey and brown wooden buildings dotting the hills, dense in some places, sparse in others. There were a few impressive buildings, several stories tall, that stood up from the tired drudgery of the surrounding neighborhoods. Lucius assumed that these buildings were the local military academy and the Cousin's palace, but he couldn't be sure.

Behind all of this was the massive industrial operation tasked with processing all of this wood. Massive smokestacks rose into the sky as wood was constantly burned to process wood. From what he had read these plants were a combination of sawmills and paper mills. This smoke settled over the city like a lazy haze, and Lucius thanked the first emperors for his strong lungs. And around all of the city was the massive wooden wall that protected Ridgeland from the Abandoned.

The city fell out of view as the train's nearness sabotaged his formerly wide viewing perspective. Lucius felt the old locomotive slow, and preemptively got to his feet. His wavesense and ears were bombarded as the conductor of the train made it clear that they had reached the end of the line. He wasn't wrong; Ridgeland was the end of civilization, at least in this part of the continent.

Lucius grabbed his bag and stepped off the train. Few others got out with him; most had left a long time ago. The train station was a shabby outdoor operation, mostly used for exporting wood and wood products. Little consideration existed for the handful of humans that bothered to venture this far out.

When Lucius had applied for the forestry academy, he had been told that his contact would be waiting for him at the station. His train hadn't undergone very many delays, but he imagined that it would be very difficult to correctly time the end of his nearly month long journey. Lucius awkwardly adjusted the pin on his shoulder, adorned with a tree and three diagonal rifles. His contact was supposed to recognize him through this badge, and he did his best to make it prominent.

He looked around fruitlessly, convinced the person they sent had been confused by the shifting of the train schedules. "Hey, hi!" A high pitched voice pierced through the afternoon air. Lucius turned his head and glanced around the station, but wasn't able to make out the source of the voice. It might not even have been calling him.

"Hi!" The chipper voice slammed into his ears again, it's source now only a foot away from him. He jumped back a little in surprise, and then was immediately embarrassed. His would be assailant was a young woman in the dark green paramilitary uniform of the Forest Academy. "Sorry if I startled you! I'm Cantia, but you can just call me Can. Are you the new cadet from Salvation?"

Lucius composed himself as best he could, exhausted and off-guard as he was. "Yep, that's me. I assume you're my contact here?" She nodded. "Yes! It's my job to make sure you get to the academy in one piece. Some parts of the city are a bit unfortunate, and it would be a shame if you stumbled into the wrong part."

"Ok then Can, I'm definitely glad you're here. Getting stabbed was not on my agenda for this trip." Can laughed. "The new guy's funny, huh? Anyway just follow me, it's not much of a walk." I walked at her side as we stepped out of the station and into the badly cobbled streets of South Ridgeland. She turned to me and pointed at the large bag slung around my shoulder. "Is that all you have?"

"I did have to bring this a pretty long distance." "I guess you're right. But that's OK! You'll have plenty of time to accumulate junk over the next few years." I let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds like me." I felt waves of intent wash over me from the surrounding houses and businesses. In Salvation, it was considered impolite, or even illegal, to release intent into the public sphere.

I pinched my temple, the chaotic fury of intentive emotion clouding my thoughts. Feelings darted into and out of me, unattached to words or even ideas. She looked at me sympathetically. "You must be pretty wavesensitive. I am too, and when you first come here, it's overwhelming. You'll get used to it. It's not nearly as bad in the academy district."

"I sure hope not. I'm already exhausted, last thing I need is second hand depression." Can laughed. "Don't stand too close then, you might catch mine!" The joke felt forced and awkward, and Lucius didn't know if he should cringe or laugh. But he was a diplomat at heart, and he didn't want to make a bad first impression on the only person he knew. So he laughed.

The buildings became sparser, and he could see a small set of buildings in the distance, nestled near the walls of the city. They hadn't ended up near any of the massive imperial buildings, so Lucius presumed she had taken him east and then north, skirting around the walls and avoiding most of the heavily populated areas. Her sense of humor aside, Lucius and his migraine appreciated that.

"Is that?" "Yep! Your new home, at least for a while." Lucius had went from the most prestigious school of war in the entire empire to six old buildings in the middle of nowhere. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel excited. He had wanted a new life, and before him was the greatest opportunity of his life; all he had to do now was use it.