Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 21: Weathering the Storm

Being back on flat land after the constant bumps and bounces of the dunes felt strange, but the streets of Azuris provided Alek with a welcomed respite from the erratic jolts. The cobbled roads, though rugged in appearance, offered a remarkably stable ride. As they ventured further into the sonorous city centre, he settled into the snug seat and the tension gripping his body began to melt away. His eyelids hung heavy as the pleasant sway lulled him and the filtered air cleaned the lingering sand granules from his lungs.

A stray sunray bounced off the wing mirror and into his eyes, momentarily resurrecting the image of the monster in the cave. Gangly arms extended and razor maw snarling. Blood spilling between fractured, yellowing teeth. Insatiable appetite desperate for another bite of living flesh.

"You all right there?" Rhena asked, stealing a swift glance at him before diverting her focus to the road again. With a flick of the gears and easing up on the pedals, she seamlessly blended into the sluggish crawl of traffic.

"Yeah." Alek adjusted his position until he was sitting up straight, stifling a yawn while taking in the commotion and activity outside the vehicle. Heat licked the roads in a fluctuating mirage, and shadows consumed the citizens as they weaved in and out of the shade.

"Looks as though you were about to fall asleep."

"I was... uh..."

"Resting your eyes?"

"Something like that," Alek sighed. Up ahead, a screeching car tore apart the quiet buzz and rumble of low-level engines, and he startled in his seat. "Definitely awake."

"Probably just some show-off trying to be louder than everyone else," Rhena griped. "I wish garages would stop agreeing to overwork people's motors. It'll short everything out if they're not careful. Though I suppose they see it as more work in the future if those idiots do end up crapping out their engines."

Although he didn't fully understand, Alek hummed along with her observation. While Solgarde had motorised vehicles like trains and trams, most travelled by clicker horse or walked. "You don't have to go through all this trouble," he said. "You can drop me off here and I'll find a medic. I've only got a few cuts and bruises."

"It's no bother," the driver assured him, a hospitable expression lighting up her freckled features and scrunching the bridge of her nose. "There's enough out there that can do plenty of harm, so in here, we look after each other. As long as your intentions are good, you're welcome anywhere in Eternity."

Alek had experienced an abundance of their goodwill to be able to trust in her words. He wore the evidence of Eternity's generosity, and he wasn't sure where he would be in that moment if it hadn't been for their kindness.

In hesitant movements, the traffic started to gain momentum. Determined not to wander into napping territory, Alek secured the mesh over the window and savoured the fresh breeze. Approaching the central business district, blackened smudges stained many of the buildings, pale, speckled stone tarnished as though someone had haphazardly launched paint over them. "Did the sun do that?" he asked, pointing to the marks in question.

"What?" Rhena peeked at the marred exteriors. "Ah, no. That will be from the rebellion a few years ago. Got rather nasty towards the end."

"Were you a part of it?" Alek questioned, awakened by a sense of intrigue.

Rhena's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Everyone was. I did a lot of driving, getting people away from hit areas and occasionally stopping supply vehicles from reaching the upper city. That sort of thing. It's how I met my girlfriend."

"Was she in the rebellion too?"

"Not quite."

Alek noticed her awkwardly scratch the nape of her neck, eyes unblinking and fixed on the motion of traffic ahead. He went to speak, but restrained his curiosity until an appropriate time arose to ask more. Even after months of travel and research, he realised he had only grazed the surface of Eternity's past and its extensive, sand-swept history.