A Shattered World

The Upper District and The Intruder

The train to the upper district came to a screeching halt, as it had arrived at its station, Arin slowly awoke from her small nap. The ride was somewhat long, being almost an hour in length, she got up with her things and stepped in line to enter the upper district. Everything felt so much more off to her, it felt less lively, despite how vibrant she remembered the upper district being, people never spoke that much. Only a few did and their conversations went silent rather quickly, it already felt isolating to her. It was like she wasn't welcome here in the slightest, though she wasn't sure why she felt this way, maybe it was just her youth that blinded her from how cold this place felt compared to the kind, and warm middle district. Was it recent political unrest or is it always like this?

The line began to move, it took almost ten minutes for her to just get off this train. Luckily she left in time before the train departed. The city looked different from when she was just a little girl, the buildings got taller, and the capitol felt so much further away. The buildings stood over everything, looking down upon its many children. She felt like everyone was looking at her the wrong way, the upper district being so different made her rather anxious. Like thousands of eyes who are always judging. No...it was something else,  something  that she could sense rather sharply, it was so faint, but it was a distinct feeling. She shrugged it off but she felt uneasy.

There definitely were far more business oriented things, practically as soon as you entered the city, multiple buildings containing well dressed men going in and out, doing whatever upper class business men did. She continued to look around, just barely spotting a man in a distinct red coat. This man stood at about 6 feet tall, he had short, blonde hair and very pale skin. He had a very clean and distinct look overall, unmistakably a man who is a higher up in the Avilov empire's military.  The man looked over to her, his gaze powerful and sharp, he motioned for her to come over to him.

This must be the man her grand uncle  had set up for her to meet once she got here. She wasn't entirely sure, but she still decided to approach. As she approached the man adjusted his coat and turned to her to reveal the pin he had which was an insignia to the Avilov Empire, she knew he'd be someone who was part of the Empire's military, but it was comforting to know she was right.

He began to give a greeting, his hands crossed at his front, standing in a very formal way, and his speech pattern was just as professional and formal as he appeared "You must be Arin Marshals, well, Arin, I was told by Avery Marshals to meet you, you have a rather important assignment that we will be asking you to attend as soon as possible."

Arin nodded, looking up and down the man once more, "I see, you're Nikolay's brother, Iosif...I'm guessing this involves Nikolay in some way or another."

"You'd be correct, though I can't exactly reveal the information to you quite yet. We need to be in the safety of a home. Follow me, and  I will guide you there.." Iosif said, motioning to Arin for her to follow.

Arin nodded calmly, following him just a couple feet behind him, looking around once more, she still felt anxious but she was unsure why. Was it just this new person that made her feel this way? Or was there something worse, something sinister? She just felt uneasy, unsafe, she feared something was just watching them, stalking them like grazing prey. Though she could turn and look as much as she wanted, she wasn't seeing anything, so she did her best to ignore these feelings.

As she continued on she still felt uneasy, and her anxiety only heightened. These feelings were making her paranoid, and they were driving her nuts. Looking around seeing all these people, trying to discern any danger. Her mind was looking for a reason to be scared, though she just simply didn't see anything. Nothing could be discerned from the crowd, so she just took a deep breath in and a deep breath out, feeling a bit calmer, coming down from her high of panic.