The Atlas Sid
> ”It’s probably not as fast as a plane, but it sure is fancier than one.” ~Frein Nivan, the Visitor
Frein entered a different world…again.
He managed to hold every bit of enthusiasm and childlike joy he had as he stepped foot aboard the platform. It was a simple, circular hovering podium, meant to carry around ten to twenty passengers aboard the Atlas Sid, though they have this one in exclusivity. But even just this simple thing was enough to give him too much anticipation. The lack of sleep and the strain on his back helped ease his excitement. Not to mention he was slightly Art fatigued, not enough to render him unable to Draw.
“Are you okay?” Frill asked. She wore a sleeveless shirt with pink frills laced around the hem. It was layered with a thin, cotton jacket, matched with a pair of short shorts and sandals. A frilled strap wrapped around her right thigh, which was an eye-catchy albeit odd choice for fashion. She also arranged her hair in a beautiful bun, affixed with seashell ornaments.
She was ushering Stiry and Fittey. The two yumas were obedient enough that they didn’t need a leash. Enza melded out of her Nature’s Favor and snuggled up to her parents. Frein could hear them catching up like they haven’t talked to each other for a long time, despite seeing each other a few days ago.
As it turned out, Elizzel hadn’t returned last night. She was too bothered by all the intimacy between him and Katherine dripping onto their Tether during the entire evening until sunrise. So Enza stayed up late as well to accompany her. The faunel returned a few hours ago bearing some news but was too sleepy to be in the mood to share. In any case, she went to sleep inside his Mind Palace.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Frein replied finally. “Kat sucked the life out of me last night.”
He looked at Katherine who was busy talking with Bennie. The Lady of the Void was practically blooming. Her black tank top, short enough to reveal her scarred navel, emphasized her glowing skin. She had a nondescript cap on, allowing for her long, radiant, hair to slip through the back like a ponytail. Like Frill, she wore a pair of short shorts, revealing a little too much leg for Frein to ignore. She covered some of it with her trusty coat, wrapping it around her waist to wear it like a skirt. Apparently she also wore a strap around her right thigh with a simple black and red design. Even the meiyal orbited around her with joy and elation.
As if to feel his gaze, she turned towards him and stuck out her tongue. He made a face in return. Bennie saw it and the two girls laughed at him.
“Gross,” Kristel said, appearing beside him. “Don’t tell me you guys didn’t sleep last night?”
The Princess was in a summer outfit as well. She had a sleeveless, blue one-piece which she layered with a translucent, long vest. Underneath her skirt, she had a barely visible pair of short shorts and then slippers. At this point, Frein was convinced that the three girls agreed to wear a sort of garment around their thighs. Kristel’s was a blue and white strap with a flower ornament.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you the details, young Princess,” Frein laced his words with light sarcasm while nodding slightly. “Maybe in a few days when you’re old enough.”
Kristel’s face twisted in disgust and she strolled away, Testra close to her heels. They went and talked to the person in-charge of their boarding.
Xiv lurked behind Frill and gave him a thumbs up. In response, Frein subtly nodded towards the Aria in Red, careful enough for her not to notice. The Vyndivalian was immediately on guard.
That gave him a mild giggle, strong and sudden enough to overstimulate his back. He winced and arced slightly forwards, massaging his back.
Katherine joined him, massaging his waist with a Drawn Samesia. “Thought your Siffera can help you recover faster now?” she asked.
“I need four-meiyal for it and the sudden shot of awareness will wake up Eli, I think.” His backpain quickly vanished. “Thanks.”
The Lady of the Void pecked his cheek and whispered, “No, thank you for last night.”
Bennie soon joined them. The innkeeper gave him a warm basket and passed another to Frill. They were both filled to the brim with various baked goods. Amazing fragrance wafted from within. Frein didn’t hesitate and dug his hand inside, rewarding himself with a toasted egg sandwich. The crunch was followed by the filling egg along with a strong taste of garlic.
“For the journey,” she said. “Nothing too fancy.”
“Thank you,” he replied in between bites while Frill responded with a hug.
“We’ll miss you,” she said, squeezing the innkeeper a little too tightly.
“Me too!” Bennie said. Despite the mild suffocation, she did her best to return the embrace. Her glasses skewed a little off to the side. “We can chat through M.O.B.I.L.E. when we have the time.”
“I’ll be sure to keep in touch,” Frill said, finally letting go. Bennie made a sigh of relief, but she was smiling ear to ear as she alighted the boarding platform.
“Alright folks,” Kristel called from in front of them, waving at the boarding officer to pass a signal. “Time to go.”
Frein was filled with anticipation once again. He concentrated on Bennie, waving at her as she waved them goodbye. The platform hovered off the ground. He was thankful for his Siffera providing him balance as he and the rest of his company were lifted up towards the Atlas Sid. Soon enough, the innkeeper was nothing but a speck on the Flat Lands. He turned to see the floating, inverted mountain up close.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Atlas Sid was a city, a metropolis. There was no denying it. A complete turn compared to the province that was Minaveil. As soon as their platform landed aboard the grand carrier, he was immediately greeted by a variety of smaller, flying aircrafts zooming past him, none of which looked anything like the jets or planes he was used to seeing. A fleet of yumas followed closely overhead. In fact, an entire aerial traffic of beasts and machines combined encompassed most of what he saw before the landscape captured his attention.
The first, the most obvious, was the spire in the middle. A massive tower stood tall, a giant compared to its neighbors. Frein assumed it was the central hub of the entire floating facility. Which meant it was also their destination.
“You’re not talking,” Katherine said, nudging him. “Usually, you talk.”
“I, uh…”
He was too busy looking around. Massive floating crystals the size of entire buildings orbited about the edges of the Atlas Sid. There was one right behind them. He Drew his Mesiffera, and poured four-meiyal on it, not taking any chances. It was already too late when he remembered it might overstimulate Elizzel. Fortunately, the faunel was too tired to be bothered.
Sure enough, these massive crystals were made out of pure meiyal. But it also contained an impressive supply of Nightmare meiyal.
“The Atlas Sid was made in the Nightmare Lands,” Katherine explained, following his gaze. “At least the entire floating mechanism and the protective zone that it uses. Any mechanical device or structures without any stabilized Nightmare components are susceptible to the influence. The rest were made in Irista Nation, with the latest iteration designed by our Master Midan Goldes. They should be functional as long as they remain inside the protective zone.”
“Yeah, I know…” Frein said absentmindedly, his jaw agape as he looked around for more amazing stuff. “I read about it…”
“You’re like a kid on a field trip,” she commented, giggling slightly.
“Yeah…You can say that again.”
“I know it’s pretty exciting and all, but we should settle our rooms before anything else,” Kristel said. She mounted Testra and turned her to face the whole group. “Flying’s faster.”
Frein raised his hand. “Enza and I haven’t tried it out yet.”
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Katherine replied. She mounted Stiry, taking the seat behind Frill. Even Xiv easily sat over Fittey.
“Easy there, friend,” he said as the yuma made a slight growl. Ultimately, she allowed him under Frill’s request. “Thank you,” he said to both the yuma and the Aria.
“Come on, Frein, we can do it!” Enza hopped beside him, her giant tail whipping back and forth. “Frill gave me a saddle, just hold on tight!”
“If I fall, you catch me,” he said. He placed one foot firmly on the saddle’s stirrup and pulled himself over using its horn, swinging his other leg over the other side with relative success. It was his first time, but with three samples in front of him and his Siffera to guide his balance, he was able to avoid embarrassing himself.
“Hey, you’re pretty light!” Enza commented. “You sure you’re eating well?” She strutted in place just to test it out. Frein held the horn and reins with all his might while doing his best to hide his desperation. The naughty yuma laughed at him.
“You…” Frein rapped his yuma’s forehead. “I’ll feed you nothing but vegetables tonight if you throw me over.”
That calmed her right down quickly. “Killjoy.”
Frein held on for dear life as the four yumas lifted off the platform. Enza was still smaller compared to her elders, but her growth spurt still shocked him. In just one week since he bonded with her, she had grown large enough to carry him and keep up with the others in the air.
They flew over tall buildings, swooping past a large dome to their right and fields of agriculture to their left. Frein wanted to study them all in detail but they were in a hurry. In the end, he concentrated on the feeling of flight.
It was exhilarating, to say the least. The wind pushed against his face, which he tolerated with Siffera, and the speed was beyond his expectations. His excitement filled to the brim and eventually overflowed. The thrill dared him to let go of the saddle horn, and he did so while locking his legs firmly around Enza’s sides.
He lifted his arms and allowed his screams of joy to surface. The wind greeted him with the same enthusiasm. The others had a moment to turn to him before Enza’s overzealous personality took over.
She folded her wings slightly and leaned to a side, causing her to roll over. A rollercoaster couldn’t even compare. Frein felt his legs slip due to the sudden change of momentum, but he recovered quickly thanks to his Siffera. The sudden relief just spiked his adrenaline even more.
“Whu—?” Elizzel stirred awake and had a single moment before realizing the aerial maneuvers that Frein and Enza were doing. Her screams were much less excited, leaning more towards terrified. Thankfully, she was inside his Mind Palace.
Frein didn’t let the thrill get the best of him. Not by a lot. His mind raced with different stunts he wanted to try with Enza, but it wasn’t the time to practice them.
“Let’s try some more moves next time, Enza,” he said, patting the yuma’s head to calm her down.
“We should!” she said and returned to formation.
They landed on another platform, this time on top of the spire. Somewhere during the flight, Elizzel had fallen back to sleep. She must’ve been pretty exhausted.
The platform was connected to the main bridge through a narrow passageway between two pairs of automatic doors. Frein saw a number of people fiddling with various screens and panels and talking through their M.O.B.I.L.E.s. Oddly enough, if he ignored all the magical parts of this hub, the setup resembled a typical mothership bridge.
Admiral Garm Militia greeted them. Behind him were the four Guard Knights he had sparred with the day before. Maffelyn, the elf, was the first to speak.
“Welcome, Princess Kristel and company, aboard Atlas Sid.” She made a bow and the rest of her group followed suit. And that was the end of the formalities.
The felintine Sharron approached Kristel and held her hand. “Are you all better now, Princess?”
“Yes, Sharron. Thank you.” Kristel rubbed the felintine’s forehead.
While the Princess talked to the four knights, Admiral Garm approached Frein.
“Impressed, I take it?” he asked.
“Very much,” Frein nodded. “I haven’t even explored anything yet. It’s like a different world out here compared to Minaveil.”
Garm grunted his agreement. “The province focuses primarily on their tradition and agriculture. Simplicity and comfort are their greatest charms. Liquor too.
“What you will see beyond this point, here in the Atlas Sid, in Central, or even in the High Palace, will be unlike the tame, cozy Minaveil. You’d best be prepared.”
Frein only grinned and nodded in excitement.
Garm smiled his approval. “Well then, Maffelyn and her friends will escort you to your rooms. I’ve prepared five, one for each of you, but I’m guessing you only need four?” He pointed towards Katherine.
“Three,” Kristel interjected. “Frill and I can share the same room.”
“Ah, that means only Xiv here is the unlucky one.” Garm placed a comforting hand atop the Vyndivalian’s shoulder. “There are a lot of pretty ladies out here aboard Atlas Sid. I’m sure they wouldn’t pass an exotic find like you.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” Xiv said. “But I don’t think I’ll be allowed outside without supervision.”
“Ah, ‘tis a pity.” Garm laughed as he returned to the bridge. He sat on an exquisite chair at the center and barked some orders before turning back to them. “We take off in one hour.”
Pretty sure Xiv prefers it that way, Frein stopped himself just in time. Instead, he focused his attention towards the windows, admiring the systematic metropolis as the elven Guard Knight guided them to the lower floors of the spire.
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