Old Story (Part 1)

"We can't make this too elaborate, but let's start from the beginning", I said to myself. The first task at hand was the course starting section. The course could begin pretty much anywhere, but an appropriate area would allow for better design and easier work. After much deliberation, I decided to start from pretty much the entrance. There were two benefits of such a location. People wouldn't need to travel around just to have a go, and the course would be visible from outside.

The designated course area was mostly circular in shape. Therefore my course would be circular as well. 'I'll start from this wall here'. Wind Element was a viable option for me, since it was present everywhere. Fire and Earth Elements were also present in large quantities, the Water Element not so much. The use of Wind Element wasn't unique anymore. Woody's Course had that incorporated throughout. Obsidian Mountains had a few other options available though.

Excluding the Wind, there were two other Elements widely available. namely Fire and Earth Elements. Of course to make pottery, water was required, but my idea wasn't to use pottery this time. 'From what Ama told me in the past, wet soil and fire will make pottery. Dry soil… or rather sand paired with fire will produce glass. We will need sand'.

That was the first material required, since soil wasn't good enough for that process. Fortunately, the Obsidian Mountains were relatively close to the Land of Sand. The clue was in the name of course, the land was full of sand. "With their reach and power, they shouldn't have any issues getting 'some' sand. Though there is a slight issue with that approach. Glass is fragile, even though it can last for many years… There might be a way around that though", I said to the clueless Curly.

Building a course from glass alone would be… pointless at best. My plan was to coat the earth slides, obstacles and whatnot, with glass. That way, the strength required would be there, while slickness and finish of a glass surface would add to the overall charm or uniqueness. There was another approach thought. One that'd make the course look like a natural part of Arangard, and that was the use of stones. Same colours used for the stones in three sectors of Arangard itself.

That idea wouldn't be so cheap. I'd require a lot of stone, as well as workers who'd help me shape and place these stones. My Formations couldn't simply make Obsidian, Earth Element didn't work like that. We'd have to cut them to size, shape by hand, which of course meant a longer period of time for the course completion.

'I guess these two options are viable. I'll mention both of them to my uncle, and see what they come up with', I figured. The next stage was to design the course. Since originality was my aim, I didn't want to make obstacles and sections look similar to that in Sedon. The start had to be different, but thrilling at the same time.

A few ideas came to my mind, though one of them stood out from the rest. Obsidian Mountains were known for smithing, volcanoes and basically fire. Since fire was integrated into their everyday life, I decided to make some fire obstacles. Simple fire streams were too basic for my taste, I needed something more elaborate. Fire pillars, fire rings or fire traps, these sorts of things were a must. No matter the materials, the obstacles had to have the Fire Element incorporated.

The next part of the design was avoidance. This required specific slides and tunnels. For some of them, glass would be perfect. People would see the fire traps or obstacles, and avoid them. Stone had its charms as well, since it wouldn't break or melt due to hot temperature. 'Perhaps combining the materials would be even better... That gives me a range of obstacles, not just one path'. That option was certainly viable, and I'd present it to my uncle as well. Either way, I had to account for different materials, therefore different designs were necessary.

There would be no more than four sections. The first and starting section would feature a simple hole in the ground, at least simple at a first glance. The hole would be in fact a tunnel, allowing people to gain speed and reach other parts of the section. I planned to position three fire rings at the exit. The rings would differ in height, or rather get progressively taller. That was to account for the angle at the exit from the tunnel.

After the opening obstacle, a loop-slide would await them. Normal loop-slide would be boring, but there was a solution. The latest addition to the Woody's Course had a maze-like section. Of course my plan wasn't to copy the maze, but rather use the same concept. There would be multiple slides, with two different exit points. This meant two separate obstacles had to be designed for such occasion.

The Section 1a would branch to a slide-jump. A series of slides unconnected with each other. Whereas Section 1b, would branch out to fire walk. Though that section was impossible without the Wind Element, a single use like that wouldn't make the course less unique. These two branches had to meet at a certain point. That point would be the beginning of the second section.

The second Section was a mystery to me. The first section alone took me a while to design. Moreover, I had to account for glass, stone or combined solutions. That was my first day, and a few such days awaited me. There was no need to overexert myself, so I headed back. 'The first section can be already drawn. I'll get to it after a bit of rest'.

Uncle Lazar's house was empty. Leran left to either meet his friends or practice his performances, while uncle always worked too much. "There's no way we'll find Leran in Arangard, therefore uncle it is… Are you hungry, Curly?". Curly ate a few snacks during my work, but we didn't have a proper meal yet. "Arf!", she barked, confirming my suspicion. 'Why did I even ask?', "Let's go then, there are a few places where we can eat. Thankfully, I have my money with me".

People recognised me while walking around the city. They were always nice, but my little title must've had something to do with it. Sometimes, they were surprised about my casual behaviour, since my approach to others was always friendly. Though my presence was unusual, Curly became a sensation. Especially with females.

They really like Curly, and pestered me where I got her from. Once they heard about the Endrosian Empire, they'd give up. Though rare and strong creatures were sometimes exchanged with Humans, they were not available to just anyone.

I hadn't noticed during my first trip, but the place lacked any Grey Lizards. Mostly red or perhaps some black Lizards walked around everywhere. Grey Lizards were simply absent. This was weird, but not impossible. When the Royal Lizards showed me the areas available for my project, we made a very brief tour of Olrad and Erandar.

When I asked about that weird detail, things got even weirder. "Oh, them? Well, they live at their own place… Who knows where… Oh! I'm sorry, it isn't my place to say… I have to go now". My casual approach usually got something out of them, but they really refused to talk much about Grey Lizards. 'Since no one wants to talk, I'll ask my uncle. His wife is a Grey Lizard after all', I thought.

"Hi, Anna. How's your project going? Any progress with that plan?", uncle asked. "A bit. I have the first section figured out, just need to draw it. Other than that, I'll need to know what sort of materials they want to use. I don't have the plans, but you can ask whether they'll go with stone, sand or both… Let me explain…", I said.

After explaining the different materials and their use, uncle nodded before replying. "I see… Thanks for letting me know, I'll ask them later. Now that you are here, I can give you the keys to our house. Just take any available room you like". "Thanks, I was there already, but Leran wasn't in… There's is one question on my mind, albeit not about the course", "Sure, what is it?", uncle replied.

"You see, I haven't seen any Grey Lizards walking around here. That seems a bit weird, doesn't it? Others refused to tell me much when I asked about them. Did something happen?", I asked. "Aah, yes. Indeed, something happened in the past. Grey Lizards don't live with us, because of the Royal Lizards. Long story short, Royals forced them to walk away. Not because they weren't welcome, but because of Hydra. Hehe, these idiots wanted to control that thing, and use it to rule the North… That was many years ago, now they are much more timid. Anyway, Grey Lizards didn't return and they probably never will. Though who knows? Future is future, right?".