Cias Buril stood as the pride of the country of Urdha. As one of the premier centers of technology and its accompanying research advancements, it was often regarded as the forefront of the Wheel. Unlike most other cities, it could accurately trace its history to the fourth cycle of Order. Established through the collective efforts of numerous merchant caravans, the city quickly gained prominence as more and more parts of the world entered the fifth cycle of Exchange due to its close proximity to the Tenzian Sea.
Pointing to the study of onomastics, "Cias Buril" could roughly be translated as the "White City" in Common Rynthian. The name extended even to its infrastructure, for much of the current buildings and even the four-sided alloyed walls were painted white.
The city proper was split into sixteen districts. About six of those were designated as residences for the approximate nine million residents that called it home. Three were delegated to be a mix of different specialties, ranging from shopping centers that sold products from all across Rynth to vast, sprawling artificial parks crafted to simulate a predetermined weather schedule, or even entire cultural stations like museums displaying priceless artifacts and treasures retrieved from the eleven cycles past, while the last seven were dedicated to all manner of governmental, academic, industrial, and financial facilities.
All linking these districts was a vast web of interconnected railway systems containing hundreds more of interspersed trains that frequently reached subsonic speeds and arrived at their destinations the exact minute of their estimated arrival times. For the people prone to motion sickness, there existed a whole slew of other methods of public transportation: flying cars propelled by condensed Jati, rentable hoverboards that activated from its users' thoughts to assist with maneuverability, or even the more technologically advanced teleporters inside transportation centers that relied on high-tiered spells and wards to send travelers across vast distances at a steep cost of money. Few but the upper class relied on the last due to the prices or simply because losing the ability to blame tardiness on external circumstances didn't sound that much appealing.
Raoul hinged on the trains more than any other. Horizon District was opposite San-Selto on the city map, so while it was the most convenient option for travel to his school and back, it did still take around half an hour on the seats.
He leaned onto the rigid, hard-plastic seat of blue, breathing a deep sigh of relief. His student card still functioned as a free access card to all of Cias Buril's districts, meaning his mother hadn't taken to calling the school to cut him off. Graduations were happening in a few days, so there was a good chance she was focusing on making sure it went by smoothly. Which, consequently also meant that he likely didn't have much time before he would be locked out of using the trains. It was already a few hours past Nyxia's descent, and much of the windows behind him displayed the mesmerizing array of lights that glimmered from the center of the city in the horizon.
He didn't bother taking much of his belongings with him. A few spare changes of clothes, the essentials, and some of his closest belongings were all packed unceremoniously into his durable nylon backpack. He didn't have that much money, either—Merlin never really saw any reason to reward him with an allowance considering his entire life was being paid for. The few hundred bills he had saved up all came up as a result of frequently working part-time at convenience stores so as to stay out of the house for as long as possible.
Running away from home was a new experience. He had only read about it in books or seen it in movies, but he never considered the possibility that he would be the kind to do it. There was a strange sense of liberation in the feeling.
He quickly pulled out his phone and swiped to his Messages app, reading through the five-phased text chain Krocko had sent him. The fourth caught his eye, and he focused intently on it.
Three other people who'll join me… He thought to himself. I'll see if Krocko can help me find those three.
His fingers made quick work, tip-tapping on the keyboard.
Raowl: If you want to apologize properly, then would you do me a favor?
Raowl: I need the locations of three people. They're my closest friends, and the ones I want to go adventuring with.
He watched as Krocko's usertag flicked 'Active'. Within seconds, a speech bubble popped up, and his reply followed soon after.
Krockodile: Shouldn't be a hassle. Give me their names, what they look like, and where they used to live.
Raowl: The first is Idri al Simón-Hector. She's a year younger than me, fair-skinned, petite, and used to have long, flowing white hair. At least, that was when we were still children. Accounting for the years that have passed, she should be seventeen. And as for her residence… I don't know. She's an orphan, so she didn't have any parents to live with. Oftentimes she would sleep in our friends' houses, or mine.
Krockodile: Shouldn't be too much of a problem. But really, what a unique name. Never heard of an "al Simón-Hector". Must be foreign. And the other two?
Raoul pinched the bridge of his nose. They never did ask where her name came from.
Raowl: Avil Laertri Genesise is next. He's the son of the Burilan Trading Company's current president. He used to love wearing monocles. Short, frizzy black hair.
Krockodile: Whoa, the BTC's heir? I heard the president's loaded. Must be nice to be born into luxury.
Raowl: He's anything but lax. Avil's the most meticulous person I know.
Krockodile: Behind you, I'm assuming. Anyway, he shouldn't be too hard to find. And the last?
Raowl: Calliope Kierstein Babelei. She's Avil's personal maid, and part of a lengthy line of servants that are raised from birth to serve the corresponding generation of Genesise children. Long, green hair. Often wears a maid outfit. She's three years older than Avil, which would make her twenty-one.
Krockodile: Man, and a maid too? Eat the rich, for real.
Raowl: Is that enough for you?
Krockodile: More than enough. Give me a day or two. In the meantime, you should focus on getting used to Driving. It'll help you majorly once you get out of this city. If you've got time, head to Westjir District. They have dozens of open parks where you can meditate. Make sure to reconcile yourself with the new, improved Raoul. You'll get stronger once you learn more.
His eyebrows furrowed themselves. Driving wasn't exactly blessed with the same degree of accessibility that Magic was, so it stood for a good reason that he had next to no clue on how to proceed. Life had thrust into his hand lemons, so he was going to find the best way to fuel the juicer with his conviction.
Raowl: You never taught me more on Driving beyond simple belief. Is there a concrete plan I might follow so I can know where I am on my journey?
Krockodile: Well, I'm not the one who decided to up and leave the moment the explosion died down. I'm surprised you even got home with all those scars and injuries.
Krockodile: But fine. If you're the kind who works better when your workload's space out into little, bite-sized chunks, that's no problem.
Krockodile: All Drivers have this thing before them called "The Path". It's a manifestation of the journey of your life, and shows up differently for everybody. Hell, sometimes its Drivers don't even call it "The Path", but something else.
Krockodile: Anyway, once you get to Westjir and start meditating, you're going to want to tap into that feeling of conviction from a few days ago. You felt it, right?
Raowl: I did. I felt like I was on top of the world. Like I could do anything if I put my mind to it.
Krockodile: That's a common point for most Drivers. Recall that memory. Analyze what caused that feeling to feel that way. Then, once that's done and you get deeper into your meditation, you should start feeling detached from the environment and begin to enter into your own world, literally.
Krockodile: I won't be able to help you from that point on. The Path, as I've said, will show up differently for all Drivers. What I can tell you is that you ought to figure out how to continue moving forward.
Raowl: Where did all this come from?
Krockodile: Driving, or The Path? Either way, the answer's probably Sefis Everat. She's the goddess of the Rynthian Cycles, so most Drivers just attribute the whole shtick to her being ruler over the notion.
Krockodile: The Path's supposed to be some literal metaphor for the journey of your life, and once you've reached the end, it means you're done. Dead. Nada. No way to change it. You've reached the end of your journey, per se.
Raowl: That's bleak.
Krockodile: I personally think it's a load of baloney. Who am I to say, though? I've never died.
Raowl: What does your path look like?
His response was delayed, as if he wasn't exactly keen on sharing.
Krockodile: That's a secret.
That was enough Krocko for the day. He languidly slid his phone back into his pocket and breathed a closed-eyed, heavy sigh that carried both the stress of solitude and freedom that came with it. He was happy.
His first order of business was to find a place to stay until Krocko came back with more information. Thankfully, he already had a location in mind.