The orange pigmented recliner chair seemed like something sent from heaven in the eyes of Niko.
On the contrary, Elijah did not feel too excited about a relatively short night of sleep. While Niko immediately dozed off into his sleep, Elijah stared at the ceiling with his eyes open — unwilling.
Soon enough, the body of Elijah was not able to handle the exhaustion and thus entered a deep sleep.
…
Cold and rough were the first words that came to Lukas' mind the moment metal cuffs were tightly fastened around his wrists. With the morning as beautiful as ever, the expectation for what had walked onto his doorstep was something akin to a random and unexplainable death.
Lukas' eyes immediately turned dark. The grayish-blue color they once held was dimmed into a dark gray – subservient to his captor.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time."
The word's of the FBI agent that had come to arrest Lukas had a voice similar to someone without a soul.
Subsequently, after hearing the Miranda Rights being voiced, he cursed himself out in his own mind.
Everything happening was set up in advance, a ploy to halt and hopefully stop the peace that was about to come…
"There will always be sick people in the face of a brilliant light, people who cannot fathom that what they believe is wrong. What you are doing is removing a brilliant light… Or at least trying to…"
An overweight police officer quickly responded with a hard punch to Lukas' shoulder. "Your ideas are a cancer to this world… We already have evidence of you connected to the Peaceless Murders, which is what we call it now. You may not be the assassin, but you are surely the kingpin."
"Dammit Jordan! Can't you learn to keep your mouth shut?" Exclaimed another slightly overweight police officer who shook his head in embarrassment.
Lukas was brought into the back of an FBI undercover cruiser, and taken quickly to the FBI building in Texas. All it took was one step inside the United States of America to send thousands of alerts for an arrest. Of course, Lukas knew everything would happen the way it did, but still decided to battle it head on.
However, he was not innocent, but was also not guilty.
Slam!
A full day later, Lukas finally made it into the jail cell. To his right was a platter with processed and enriched bread that sat on both sides of a 'plant-based' burger. All it took was a single bite to realize the kind of people he was dealing with.
The people who were against the removal of disease and the understanding of what it takes to live a healthy life.
…
Donning classic white knitted pants and a long sleeve black button-up shirt, Elijah walked outside of Richter's flat.
Over the past five days, Elijah spent his time struggling with his sleep – recounting memories of his past within his short dreams. During the day, Elijah would spend time at the library specifically learning about the history of the previous kingdom, and the history and origin of the magical beasts that roam the Wildlands.
One interesting fact about Geriston – The name of the previous Kingdom, was how they didn't dare to venture into the beast lands simply from being underpowered. Likely due to not possessing runic technology. Unfortunately, not much information was revealed besides the unimportant descriptions related to how the kingdom operated.
On the other hand, magical beasts were greatly detailed – including the green and brown dragon that was seen atop the floating island. Apparently, it was named as "Terrador, Dragon of the Wild". Nothing related to the seeds that supposedly create the beasts were mentioned, but did mention the hotspots that beasts come from.
These included the Northern Fjord's, Divide of Lanc, Caverns of Mammalia, Goblin Lake, and so many more.
Elijah was distraught at the fact there was not a single map detailing the surrounding area, which made Elijah think Gion was trying to hide something…
…
The previous night filled with fireworks, drinks, and laughter was not an abnormal occurrence, especially when considering it was the final night of the 8th fortnight.
Even while walking down the steep and long staircase that changed directions every so often, Elijah was able to peer into the market district to see the leftovers.
"Are you sure the attendant said to show up at the dorm we received today?" Elijah asked while holding onto the handrail — his back facing Tavenas
"Yep. She said we will be getting our key card to enter our rooms, but also get a chance to tour the campus as a way to familiarize ourselves with our class locations."
"So… This is really happening…" Elijah said softly.
"We may not be in the same room, but we are in the same building!" Niko felt Elijah's dismay.
"That's not what I mean. I just am having a hard time believing that we are going to school."
Truly, Elijah was mentally divided. The idea of returning to 'school' was something he actually felt excited for, but at the same time, was also dreading the emotions that would come with the familiarity.
And the progression of his life…
Over the past fortnight, he was able to feel his emotions becoming harder to control. Whether it be the impulse that resulted in them joining a Protection mission that they caused, or the embarrassment he showed a similar aged kid who had cut him in a fruit stand line.
It was clear, Elijah was unstable, but at least he realized it…
Desperately, Elijah had wanted to stalk the streets of Sefrah to figure out why the murders had paused ever since that day.
Niko and Elijah boarded the Orneas Waterway after paying ten Genny each, and relished in the breeze once walking up the stone staircase of the Education Terminus.
To enter the Northern Sefrah Academy, they were forced to catch a carriage to the southern region of the Education District. This carriage took them directly through a large silver ornamental gate that had used the violent patterns of the ocean as the gate design. Although the academy was not 'walled off', to officially enter the campus, it is required to pass through the gate.
The Education district was not just filled with schools, education, and informational buildings, but also markets, restaurants, residential sections, and other education and business buildings. The education district had its own style of architecture that leaned towards victorian – mixing with the tropical and bright coloresque that Sefrah holds dearly. Tall spires shoot up into the air with a blue layered brick roof on nearly a quarter of the buildings in sight. Heavy amounts of wood claddings on the sides of each building were the biggest difference.
The feeling that the simple and straight rows of streets gave off was fundamentally changed because of the architectural changes that aimed at organized chaos.
Perhaps, scattered minds — Attention Deficit Disorder minds — were meant to thrive here… Elijah thought.
Once inside the campus, Elijah looked out of the autonomous carriage powered by a magically enhanced combustion engine. Bright green hedges, fountains, and tall white buildings made with a bright white stone. Even blue white and gold banners were revealed – hanging against the walls with a slight flutter.
Directly in front of him was a cylindrical structure similar to the Education Hall, but far bigger, and adorned with tall white towers in methodically placed positions. The roof was bright blue just like every building he saw nearby, but was gazed at longer by Elijah due to the small slits of glass that he just barely saw.
Elijah took his notebook out from 'inside his jacket', and began to flip to the section related to his specific classes. Apparently there were eight different buildings dedicated to a specific path, alongside the skill advancement and elective courses that took place in every building.
According to Elijah's notebook, his potion mastery class is located on the edge of the campus. While it is suitable, the walk would be relatively far from his dorm — especially when considering the class takes place after dinner.
A large amount of space is in between each majestic building. Public spaces, specific purpose buildings like a library and dining hall, as well as tons of walking paths that moved ever so slightly across small hills. At least the buildings were arranged in a way that rounded the center-most building.
In fact, just as Elijah was nearing the central cylindrical building, he noticed there was a moat with four bridges — freezing on sight.
Instantly, a glance between Elijah and Niko signified their acknowledgement.
"That better not be a whirlpool…"
Niko replied after a few seconds as his body was tensing and trembling from the sight. "Elijah… For the first time… I understand exactly how you feel…"