Morning rays of sunlight beamed in through the open windows, birds tweeted sweet songs, refreshing smell of dewed grass and soil rejuvenated his breath, even Nana’s loud yells were melody to his ears. The world was bright and dazzling, today was a good day, a jolly day—today Ewan turned eighteen.
“Happy birthday, Ewan,” he murmured, stretching on the bed, uttering a comfortable groan.
He scheduled no practice today, no potion brewing, no training, no studying. It would be a day of enjoyment, for his eighteenth birthday only came once.
The Frosthelm festival was a good venue to relish the day; he’d planned for it since weeks ago. But the first order of business was getting a haircut. His hair was getting long, the thin end of the strands already reached the tip of his nose.
After getting ready—a navy blue sweatshirt and black cargo pants with sneakers—he locked his main door, strolled through the residential block, and rode the tram painted in blue and white stripes. The weather remained frigid, chilly wind numbed his face, but the snow had melted away. It hadn’t fallen for quite some time now—the tracks were salty but clear.
The bogie he got in was empty aside from a couple that sat glued to each other. They were at the front, so Ewan chose the back seat; he didn’t want to be the third wheel. The triple-bogie tram moved at its usual pace, about as fast as he could sprint. It wasn’t the optimal choice if he was in a hurry, but it was necessary for long distances.
It crossed the quiet residential block, passing its several zones, and entered the bustling and boisterous market area. And soon, the stink of the fishes and the flies of the meat market forced Ewan to shut the windows. A fork split the path ahead. The left went straight to the skyscrapers—the center of the colony. While the right curved towards the cheap and old but huge residential area zone-D, beyond which lay the farming lands.
“Left?” he yelled.
The boy flirting with his girl turned back towards Ewan and nodded a yes. Ewan selected ‘left’ in the panel beside his seat, and the boy did the same. The tram stopped at this fork for a couple minutes with its doors opened, wintry gusts crossing through. No one got in, it was early morning after all. Only about an hour later would the adults go to work and cram the tram.
The doors closed, the insides warmed up, and the bogie in front broke off to go right. Ewan was in the middle bogie, and it hauled the last one for the left turn.
The now two-bogie tram took Ewan through a protected forest, the residential block zone-C, the Leisure Valley, and finally to the Main Square with high-rise buildings—the couple got off at the residential block.
“Say no to the Severynths! Take down the wall!!” The protestors on the side yelled in hoarse voices while raising their banners.
They’re still at it….
‘Accept Humanity, Reject Monstrosity, Open the Cage’, their banners read. Some distributed flyers, some yelled at the peak of their voices, some sat in the corner and stuffed their faces with cold breakfasts.
“Armageddon follows Severynths! We’re all trapped in a birdcage!!” Another group yelled on the other side of the road.
Ewan clicked his tongue and closed his window again. They were everywhere now, germinating like cockroaches, infesting the colony. The breathtaking and neck craning sight of towers on both sides dampened because of them; the glassed walls mirrored Ewan’s soured face. Soon the tram came to a roundabout with three directions this time. If the bogie was full, Ewan could’ve watched the amusing fight over the direction—it was an irksome flaw in the colony’s tram system yet amusing for those who had time to waste. But he was alone, and this was his destination, so he stepped out.
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“Please wait, dude.” A male protestor who was handing out flyers ran to Ewan. He dropped several of them on the way but didn’t stop to pick any up.
“Sorry, I don’t have time.” Ewan politely smiled him off and went his way.
“It won't take long, please. Do you know how cruel the Severynths are? They don’t even bat an eye when slaughtering us humans.” He kept up with Ewan with the bundle of flyers crumpled in his hands. “They have no conscience and slay us like cattle. Deaths and disasters follow them. They’re monsters in human skin. Please, do you not want to save your family from these heinous creatures?”
“I really don’t have time, please disturb someone else,” he said with annoyance and walked away.
Most of these people were the ones who couldn’t become an Asheva; their souls didn’t awaken, or they didn’t have any other path. Ewan pitied these bitter guys, but he pitied those more who awakened their souls yet chose not to open their soul space. If they knew they could live longer if they reached higher steps, they might die from regrets. Ewan chuckled. Or they might be the type who thought long life was a punishment…
The barber shop was up ahead, empty with a worker cleaning the floors and the tools.
“Just shorten it,” Ewan said, sitting on a chair. While the barber got ready, he admired how ‘suave’ he looked in the mirror. Long hair short hair, it didn’t matter, he looked good in either. He would look good even with no hair, he reckoned, but there was no need to test that.
The comfy chair adjusted its bend according to his sitting posture and made him even more comfortable as the barber worked on his hair. Ewan dozed off during the massage that came after and only woke up when the barber removed the cloth and tapped on his shoulders.
The mirror reflected his new look. Wet short black hair, stylized to his usual form.
Ewan paid the barber after checking all sides, the back side too with an additional mirror, and rode the tram again. He only had twenty-seven Sols left now but since he would receive his inheritance soon, he was willing to spend today.
People crammed the tram this time. He found an empty seat in the back but still had to squeeze in. His destination was Leisure Valley, the entertainment venues area he passed on his way here—it was time to enjoy the Frosthelm festival.
He’d also received several spam messages recently stating there was some sort of tournament there for Severynths. The details mentioned that it was a casual event held during the festival for fun. No veterans would attend it, and Ewan too didn’t see any value in it, but he didn’t mind looking at it while he was there. He had free time on his hand anyway.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [2nd Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 1.3
Spirit: 4.0
Anima: [Fire – 4.0 | Ice – 4.0 | Blood – 4.0]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [2nd Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-1] [Grade-D]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-1] [Grade-D]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-1] [Grade-C]
Equipment: Common Clothes.
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 72
Sol: 27