After a month of travel, the Berus arrived at the great city of Oreana. As soon as they entered the city through the city checkpoints, they were greeted by a large city with towering skyscrapers and various other buildings of different shapes and sizes. Most of the buildings were either square or rectangular shaped, but there were a few buildings that had a triangular shape to them as well. Every building had large glass windows and the edges of them were decorated with bright neon lights of various colors and billboards advertising various luxuries. The buildings themselves were also mostly a silver-white color towards the center of the city where the large capitol building was, and the buildings that were more away from the center were in various colors of black, yellow, blue, etc. Some of them made of bricks and others made of wood. Near the center of the city was a circular, Gothic-style building made from stone and bricks. The building was large, allowing up to at least six hundred people to fit inside before being too crowded.

The roof of the building was a large dome that had a tall tower in the middle of the dome, stretching at least four-hundred-and-ninety feet feet in he air, two windows on each floor on all four sides of the tower. This building was known all over Oriana as the Tower of Xenith, which was a church for the main recognized religion of Sorim, called Daw. Beside the building was an empty area where another tower of Xenith stood when the city was first built.

The roads of the city were wide and divided much like our roads are, but instead of just lines dividing the wider roads of the city, they were divided by orange colored, metal dividers with yellow neon lights on the top of them so drivers could see them at night.

And the transportation of the city was unlike anything John and Aoi had ever seen before. Instead of carriages, the people of the city traveled in futuristic vehicles that you would normally see in sci-fi games or movies. Rectangular-shaped cars drove down the rode with roaring engines, box-shaped trains traveling down the many overhead tracks, and flying, black vehicles with red and blue flashing lights on the roofs. What the hell kind of future did I step in!?" John internally screamed.

The people of the city were humans with almost all of them having some kind of cybernetic enhancements covering their bodies, like arms, legs, eyes, etc; all of them going about their day, not many of them paying any kind of attention to the Berus and their outdated mode of transportation.

The Berus then made their way to a part of the city that wasn’t as beautiful as the part that they had entered into. The part of the city that they had first entered was known as the upper city, and the part of the city they are in now is known as the lower city.

The upper city was built on a tall incline of land while the lower city was built on a decline of land, almost like a castle that was built on a tall hill, overlooking a large town which made the lower city look like it was almost always night due to the upper city keeping the sun from shining on the lower city for most hours of the day. The lower city was also built near the Sea of White, a body of water that Oriana depends on for its shipping and fishing industries.

The upper city with its bright and magnificent buildings is very wealthy and profitable; the people of the upper city were dressed in fine clothes, some of the clothing was even lined with precious metals like gold, while the majority of what they wore was just clothing you would see today, some had sci-fi elements mixed in, like neon lights and other flashy things, while others were just plain.

John and Aoi were amazed with what they saw in the upper city, but with the lower city however, they saw another world. People that less privilege and status lived. Many of the buildings were similar to the buildings of the upper city, but they were built out of cheaper materials and the roads of the lower city were much narrower than the ones in the upper city. The look of the lower city was much like a fancy slum, the streets being littered with, trash, graffiti, and unprepared streets and sidewalks. There were tattoo parlors, strip clubs, and bars on almost every corner.

Since the lower city was built near the sea, its economy (and the upper city’s economy) relied on things like the fishing industry, international shipping with countries on the other side of The White Sea (which the upper city relies on the lower city for), and the city’s navy. The people of the lower city were mostly human like the upper city, except that there was a plethora of demi-humans living among the populace as well. The demi-humans had mostly human futures, but also had cat-like futures, like long tails and feline ears. The people also wore clothing that was made out of leather and metal, some outfits had neon lights on it while others just looked like ordinary leather jackets and cotton-made shirts and pants. The people also had various cybernetic enhancements like the people of the upper city, but most of them were crudely made.

The Berus arrived at a tall red-colored apartment building located near a part of the city that was near the sea docks. The Berus rented an apartment room on the top of the building; the room was nothing special, just a mostly empty room with the exception of a stove, a small bathroom, working electricity, two small bedrooms, and a single closet.

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“Well, kids,” John’s mother said with a light sigh. “This is our new home.”

“I’ve lived in worse.” John said to himself as he walked into the room and looked around, trying to accept this place as his new home.

John’s father headed back out of the apartment, “I’m going to go sell the carriage and find a job on the docks. I won’t be long.”

“Ok, be careful.” John’s mother said.

John’s father left the apartment and drove the carriage to the docks. John, Aoi, and their mother all started unpacking; John had a bedroom (which was a small room with a tiny closet and a window) all to himself while Aoi shared a bedroom with John’s parents. In John’s room, John had just finished unpacking his belongings; he then leaned up against the window that looked over the city from the end of the block where the apartment was located on the left side, and the front facing direction of the window. The left side was mostly blocked by a pillar of the bridge. John looked out over the lower city, “Well, looks like this is my new home. I mean, it doesn’t look that different from Osaka, except that city was cleaner, and this city looks like it’s on the brink of destruction.” he said to himself.

A year passes; John’s mother gave birth to a son, John’s father acquired a job at the dock and was able to provide fir his family, John and Aoi are home schooled due to the almost non-existent nature of schools in the lower city, which gave John and Aoi plenty of time to explore parts of the lower city that was close to the apartment.

At the docks during nightfall, John’s father was showing John and Aoi around where he worked at the docks. The boats at the dock were a cross between a wooden sailing ship and a modern ship. They then came to an empty section of the docks, revealing the vast Sea of White.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Aoi, “What do you think is out there, Mr. Beru?”

“The country of Taril, the homeland of the demi-humans.” he answered.

“Can you take us there someday?”

John’s father then chuckled and said, “Sure, when you’re older.” he then looked at his watch and said, “Look at the time, your mother’s going to worry if we keep her for too long, let’s go guys.”

The three started to make their way to the apartment. As they were close to the apartment, a tall, dark-skinned man, Approaching John’s father. The man wore a black-colored suit with a golden-colored pin on his lapel, there was something written on the pin, but it was unreadable due to the lack of lights near the apartment. The man also had a cybernetic left arm.

“Are you Mr. Beru?” the man asked.

“I am.” he answered.

“I know that you might be busy, but I need you to come with me for a few minutes.”

“For what, If I may ask.”

“For some questions, this won’t take long.”

Mr. Beru agreed to answer the man’s questions, he then told John and Aoi to go inside of their apartment. He then walked with the man down to the end of the block where the man then asked his questions. Meanwhile, in the apartment, John and Aoi rush to john’s room and looked out of the window and faced the end of the block. They watched as the two men talked until they noticed Mr. Beru expressing shocked excitement as he shook the man’s hand and quickly walked away to the apartment. He then opened the door and beckoned his wife to come to him so he could tell her something. She then walked over to him, carrying her baby as she walked.

“Yes Dear, what is it?” she asked.

“I was just offered an opportunity that will set us up for a chance at better living.” he responded happily.

“That’s wonderful!”

“I know. All I have to do is work on a ship that is delivering some cargo to a port in the northwestern part of Oriana called, The Port of Lux, but we will also be making stops at the neighboring country of Taril.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“About a month if the ship takes the safest route.”

“When will you need to leave?” she asked.

“They said as soon as possible since they are offering this job to multiple people and they only have enough positions for a few extra workers.”

“But, I need you here; I can’t take care of three kids all alone in these conditions. The lower city is filled with street gangs, other types of criminals, and corrupt police officers. That’s one of the reasons we left Oreana. Plus, if they find out that you, John and the baby are half…”

“I know, I know,” he quietly interrupted. “The city is slowly becoming more accepting of people like me. But I need this.”

“I take it you’ll be leaving tomorrow then?” she asked with a slight sigh, looking away from his face.

He then put his hands on her shoulders, “Yes, I have to take this job or else we’ll be stuck here in this apartment.”

She agreed and went with his decision and said, holding back tears, “You better make it back.”

“I promise.” he said, kissing her and the baby.

The next day at an hour just after dawn, John, Aoi, and John’s mother and infant brother said their last goodbyes to Mr. Beru. Mr. Beru kneeled in front of John and Aoi, setting his bag filled with provisions by his side. “Goodbye, you two are gonna have to be good and mind your mother while I’m gone.” he said putting one of his hands on Aoi’s shoulder and his other hand on John’s, “John, you’re the man of the house now, look after the girls and the baby. Don’t let anything happen to them, you hear?”

“I promise.” John said.

“I also like that necklace you have.” Mr. Beru said.

“How did you know about that?”

“I see you wearing it sometimes. And I also notice you bringing it wherever you go like a good luck charm. I also know that it’s in your pocket right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there’s no shame in that though. I used to carry a charm with me wherever I went when I was younger. Hold onto It and never let it go, it might come in handy for you one day.”

Mr. Beru moved over to Aoi, “Keep John out of trouble for me, kiddo.” he said, gently brushing Aoi’s head and winking at her.

“I will.” said Aoi, with a grin.

Mr. Beru then stood up and said his last goodbyes to his wife before hugging her tightly and kissing her. He then made of to the ship and boarded it, waving to his family as the ship set of for its long journey. John watched as the ship faded into the horizon before walking back to the apartment with his family.