R 8 - normality

The playtime on the second day went about the same as the first.

I never played the boardgame that the two girls had before, but the rules were simple. One just had to make a full lap on a board with tiles that each have a little challenge. To move, a player uses two ten-sided dice.

A simple game, but actually very fun.

The challenges could affect the board, like one field that just sets you a couple of tiles back, but also could affect one personally, as there is for example a tile that forces you to make a handstand until it's your turn again.

I simply had fun with this game and the time just vanished. It should be around noon, when the doll like girl announced the same rule as before.

Three more games and if I can't win, I have to go.

I won before, we all use the same pair of dice and everyone is watching, when one moves their figure. So it should be impossible to cheat.

I honestly thought that…

Of course I was wrong.

Oh, and how wrong I was.

After the rule was announced, I got destroyed.

Especially the tired looking, smaller girl obviously cheated.

She always rolled high numbers, always landed on tiles with barely noticeable effects and of course always won, while my figure just started the leap.

The problem is, how?

There was no indicator at all.

I saw the dice roll.

Saw them coming to a hold and showing the perfect numbers.

Of course saw the girl move her figure too and naturally she just used the number of tiles that the dice allowed.

This is beyond perfect luck, but I have no real proof how or even if she cheated, so I couldn't say anything, while my own rolls were as bad as possible.

Of course I had to go and leave them around.

With a soured mood I just searched for something to eat and listened in to a couple conversations that didn't really catch my attention.

When I deemed the time to be late enough, I asked a small purple maid to bring me back to my room, were I played some games on the phone that I left there before.

Weirdly enough, my phones services won't work at all, so I could neither contact anyone, nor use the connected net for anything.

Well, at least some simple puzzles from an App that I could count as games were possible.

When I entered the big festival hall the next day at a later time than on the second day, the atmosphere seemed different.

Way more pressured and with an aura of importance.

There weren't many discussions and instead some people made loud announcements or gave semi-heroic speeches.

It felt off, but this is probably the part, that will later get told in stories.

I don't really listen to them.

The previous days made it obvious – I don't really belong here.

Sure, the experience is nice and I could land a job here that actually turns me into a political bargaining tool, but most of the topics are just on a level that I can't deal with.

So the only really interesting part for me is the odd duo of girls.

Well, getting to know them was an experience in itself.

My steps naturally lead me to the red cord, were they already seemed to wait.

"We don't have much time today.", the girl with the pretty, doll-like face announced. "So let's see if a seasoned woodkeeper with superior physical strength can at least win, when the game is a physical contest."

She is obviously mocking me, but I won't give up without even trying. "Sure, bring it on."

In the girls hand is a weird device that looks like a thick, 15 centimetre long bolt with a nut screwed up to the top.

The girl smiles. "This is actually a tool to train the muscles in your hand. You just have to take off the little ring as fast as possible and it will tell you the time. I'll start."

Without waiting a moment she instantly screwed off the nut with ease.

The moment there was no contact between nut and bolt anymore, a small number was glowing on the nut, showing that the girl took a bit less than two seconds to fulfil the task.

She hands both parts over to me, so I can screw on the nut again and start my turn.

The tool is made out of massive metal and way heavier than the girls handling made it look. This wouldn't be as easy as I thought.

I took a deep breath and started unscrewing as quick as possible.

Exactly two seconds is really not bad, but sadly a few milliseconds slower than the previous attempt.

"This is harder than I thought.", I murmured while seemingly unconsciously screwing the nut back on.

Of course this was intended, as now my time to cheat a little has come.

I screw the nut on as firmly as possible without making it obvious and hand it over to the small, weak looking girl.

She can't possible win this, can she?

The girl stared at the tool for a moment.

Then she just broke off the massive tools top and plucked off the nut. A quick flicker and the time of 0.01 seconds was presented.

I could just blink.

The other girl bursts into laughter. "You stupid genius!", she giggled. "I should have clarified that you have to screw off the ring and not just take it off, but with the set rules you obviously won!"

The pretty girl still laughed for some time, while the other one looked at her with a face that seemed unsure if she made a mistake or not.

I just leave them.

There is a weird feeling of shame inside of me and I don't want them to see my face right now.

I lost, so I have to leave anyway.

But maa~n, such frustration.

Could I have done something like that too?

The tool seemed very solid, but maybe it actually wasn't.

Even then, I just never thought of that.

Someone just beat me in a game by just thinking outside of the box.

I want to scream, but instead just gloomingly stare at the floor while walking around.

Tch.

While I was in a bad mood, the mood at the feast of champions only got brighter.

The speeches got more and more heroic. More and more patriotic. And far more fantastic.

The festival seemed to near it's end quickly.

Suddenly the music stopped and everyone fell silent.

An old man, who I recognized as a high ranking minister for global security, was standing on a small stage.

Lights centring around him, he got everyone's attention easily and started to talk.

A big speech about humanity and past victories. About the bonds between humans and how we can reach for the stars.

Words fluently flowing into each other, created by a wise and strong voice. Already singing the tale of a proud victory with the surest of battles.

And yet…

I can't remember a single word that was said.

After what felt like an hour, the man ended his speech and bowed once while being showered in applause.

The white haired host of the event joins him on the stage, they shake hands and talk a few quick words. Then the old man leaves.

A strong, but charming voice that makes it hard to resist the words resonated, as the white haired man opened his moth.

"My dear ladies and gentlemen.

Newfound friends in arms and rivals in trade.

As we stand here united as one, sharing room and meal, without any borders or timewasting formalities, let me just share these few words with you.

Ten thousand years have passed.

Ten resets of the world without a step in one direction.

But now it is finally time!

We will finally show our potential.

Finally discover the truth hidden within us.

And of course, we will win.

Ten thousand years…

Ten circles just passing.

This is it…

The last rebirth-day is upon us, as we will claim the world within the next rotation!"

Tremendous applause nearly overshadowed the last passionate words.

Even I, who wanted to sulk the rest of the day began lifting my hands, filled with motivation and the urge to do something, I wanted to clap.

But I didn't.

My hands still in the air, I watched as Anna Vrega took the stage.

The white haired man bowed elegantly and left, to give her the spotlight. She just glared at him.

They didn't exchange a single word. Didn't shake hands.

She looks over the still cheering audience.

"WE will win!"

Just three words and the cheering grew even more intense.

I didn't cheer.

Something was off.

Why did she pronounce the first word so hard?

I still have it in my head, as if it was yesterday.

Of course it wasn't.

The feast of champions ended seven years ago...

I park my car in the underground car park beneath the apartment building that I live in.

In a society that acknowledges one as an adult at the age of fifteen, I obviously got my licence two years ago.

Because it is very important for the job, I actually tried to get one sooner, but wasn't allowed.

Maybe back home in Fae, with my family vouching for me, it could have been possible. But I haven't been there in almost seven years.

I should try calling home later.

Usually I talk with my parents at the first day of the week, but for some reason I couldn't reach anyone yesterday. They probably just had a big overnight job.

A quick chuckle escaped me, while thinking about my grandfather forcing everyone to their limits until they just collapse into their beds after the job.

With a nostalgic feeling I thought back of the last time I saw everyone.

The feast ended kinda quickly and Solah brought me back to my families home.

There I had to do a lot of explaining. Of course I didn't tell how much I was just playing around with the girls, because if I did, I would surely get scolded, so that's my little secret.

A few days later the city exploded into a great festival.

Giant magics of entertainment, beautiful fireworks and an enormous outdoor barbecue, that the whole town took part in. And apparently loads of alcohol.

I only got to sleep when the morning was already announcing itself and was woken up just a couple of hours later.

The overall mood was still light, but way more in order than the day before.

All the towns inhabitants were brought to old houses and places, that apparently weren't changed in the last thousand years.

We were handed some simple clothes that got preserved by magic and then just did nothing but wait.

My family, including Lumina was staying in the most central marketplace.

I just observed some people who looked at the simple clothes in their hands with disgust and refused to wear something like that.

Then it happened.

A weird tremor in the ground.

The odd feeling as if I had blinked, even though my eyes were wide open.

Everything was different.

The marketplace looked the same, but in some way newer. Refreshed.

The tall buildings all around vanished into nothing and made place for simple brick houses.

And the fancy clothes of the complaining group were gone without a hint. I turned my gaze away out of decency.

Then everything got hectic really fast.

I was handed a very simple sword and a small one handed shield, introduced to a group that got equipped with simple axes and saws and then had to accompany them for their safety, as they gathered resources.

My father was assigned to a simple group of hunters, Lumina went with people who would gather fruits and mushrooms and my mother and brother each accompanied a mining group.

Only my grandfather stayed behind, directly protecting a collection of mages who could use engineering magics or create helper golems.

Sacrificing a lot of sleep, I spent two weeks with the woodcutters.

Every day we set out into the lush forest and every night we would return with as much wood, as the simple waggons we got could carry.

We had a lot of beasts and even monsters attacking us, so I was happy to see a huge difference in the city whenever we returned and each day our equipment got changed into something better.

After just those two weeks, Fae already was a safe place again, even though it was way simpler, than before.

Because of the quick progress the mining groups were merged into one and my brother took over protecting the woodcutters.

I was introduced to a second uncle of Alexis, got paired up with a bunch of people with simple weapons and then barely had any time to say goodbye to everyone, before we set out for the trade of memory keepers.

I once visited the next city with my parents, when I was 4 years old. The trip took nearly two days and I slept in the car most of the time.

Without that technology, our trip took about three weeks.

The plan was for us to actually take a little longer, but because nothing of interest happened, we arrived pretty fast.

Of course the city named Treant was also just starting to be rebuild, so I was quickly assigned to a hunters party and had to help and protect them.

It only took a couple of months until Treant looked like a modern metropolis again, so I could have gone back home, but I chose not to.

I became good friends with the hunters group, that I was assigned to as a kid. Because I saved them at more than one occasion, they never really treated me like a child.

There is also the local woodkeeper family. Or to be precise, there are two within this city.

I work together with one of them and already am counted into their ranks. The family barely uses any weapons and instead has a fighting style that is completely reliant on magic.

I wanted to stay a couple of years to learn from and with them and because this is the kind of growth that my grandfather supports, I was allowed to stay without a problem.

I chuckle as I enter the lift to get to my personal apartment. The couple of years turned into seven in the blink of an eye.

And even though we call on a weekly basis, I still miss my family and old home. I should ask for a few days off, to at least pay a visit soon.

Yes that's a good idea.

I leave the lift and take a single step towards the aimed door, but then come to a halt immediately.

A person is sitting on the floor in front of my door.

The legs pulled up and their arms around them, the person was resting their head on the knees. The position alone gave a sad impression.

I know that person, even though I hadn't seen her in person for a few years.

"Lumina?"

The young woman looks up, as I call out to her. It confuses me, that she looks exactly the same, as I have her in my memories, but what confuses me endlessly more is the fact, that tears gather in her eyes the moment she looks at me.

"Rell,", she whispers interrupted by a hiccup. "Fae got – hic – got annihilated."