‘Please remain calm’

Julian gripped the armrests of his chair as the voice spoke, knuckles turning white. Remain calm? How was he supposed to remain calm? He wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what the flickering lights had meant.

‘We will be continuing our journey shortly. A minor rift has opened on to the west, forcing us to stop in compliance with Kingdom safety regulations. Our Mage has confirmed that the threat to the train is negligible, and has notified the Guild of its location. We apologise for the delay, any complaints can be directed to…’

The young man felt himself relax as the train began to move once more, the rhythmic clicking of the pistons becoming faster and faster. Trains like the one he was one were reminders of the world that humanity had lived in before they took back magic. Originally powered with engines that guzzled coal, in recent years the vast fleet of steam engines owned by the Railway Guild had been retrofitted with mana cores, in an effort to keep up with the growing teleportation industry. Luckily for the Railway Guild, dimensional mages worth their salt charged extremely high rates, and so their business continued to thrive.

He’d realised just how out of his depth he was. Growing up in Vardenton, he’d lived in probably one of the safest places in the country outside of Stravenium. Sure, rifts still opened on the outskirts of the town, but never close enough to be even noticed, and they were dealt with swiftly. Vardenton was built around one of the most valuable mines to the Kingdom, afterall, and that meant the government had good reason to keep that process going unimpeded. Of course, this wasn’t the same for all towns along the line, and judging from some of the stories he’d heard, he should be glad that he didn’t have to get off of the train.

Soon enough, the rhythm of the train enveloped all of his thoughts, and Julian felt his eyes begin to drift shut.

*******************************************************************************************************

He awoke with a start, face flushing red with embarrassment as he realised he’d slumped over in the seat, drooling onto the head cushion. The sun was now high in the sky, and as he checked his watch he realised it was just after midday. A terrible growl came from within him, and he realised that he could feel a familiar pang in his stomach.

He was starving.

Luckily enough for his aching belly, the train boasted a buffet car, and so the young man quickly cleaned himself up. Exiting the comfortable apartment, he looked up for the sign which spelled out the words for buffet, a little icon of a plate with a knife and fork embossed onto the wood. Making his way through the carriage he saw more compartments, some left open, others shut while people slept, ate, studied, or simply enjoyed the journey to the city. He crossed to the next carriage, which was filled with rows of seats for those undertaking shorter journeys. After making brief and awkward eye contact with a few of the train’s passengers, Julian passed through, into the buffet carriage. All things considered it was quite nice, a simple countertop which displayed what was on offer, behind which he could see into a small kitchen, with mana powered cooktops and freezers. The train’s kitchen staff were hard at work inside, preparing the array of lunches and snacks that he could purchase. His parents had bequeathed him with some money to tide him over until he could collect his stipend from the Royal Mages’ Apprenticeship.

“What can I get for you son?” said the cheerful man behind the counter. He was a huge bear of a man, black beard and huge muscles utterly at odds with the clean apron and small white hat he was wearing. He looked again at what was on offer. Some sandwiches, a small meat dish with some sort of vegetables, a roll of what looked like pastry and meat…

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He looked back at the man. “I’ll have the roll please.” he said, as he pulled out the necessary currency. The Kingdom of Straven used a simple decimal system of currency, coins of varying sizes all with a hole in the middle, so that they could easily be carried on sticks in large quantities. Julian preferred to use a simple pouch for the amount he was carrying around. After counting off the money, he held a steaming hot roll that smelled absolutely fantastic. His stomach growled, and the young man raced back to his compartment to devour the meal.

One delicious meat roll later, and his hunger was sated. He licked the last of the pastry of his fingers, and sat back in his seat, turning his eyes once more to the scenery outside. The train had begun to climb up the hills that led to the capital, the place that was to become his new home. Left with nothing else to do, Julian counted random things that flew past him. He got up to seventy-three interestingly shaped rocks before the train was plunged into darkness, the faint sounds of the outside world vanishing in an instant. Shocked for a second, he quickly realised that they’d entered the tunnel that would cut through the mountain range that ringed this side of Stravenium. Soon enough, the train would punch through the other side, and begin its descent down to the city. Almost too excited to sit still, he kept his eyes fixed on the window, waiting for the first hint of light to pierce through.

It was a subtle glow at first, an orange haze that began stretching towards him. Suddenly they rushed out of the tunnel, and the world was bathed in light once more. Even though it was only about 5 o’clock, the sun was already beginning to set, setting the sky afire in a dazzling orange display. It would have been an amazing sight on its own, but Julian barely noticed it.

A huge structure pierced the skyline, blackstone bricks stacked up to the heavens that were shot through with a blue glow. It was a huge arch that utterly dwarfed all the other buildings near it. While it would have been a miraculous sight to see even bereft of context, he was in awe simply because of what it meant.

The Anchors were what had saved all humanity. Scholars today still didn’t have the magical knowhow to even begin building something as enormous or as magically complex. This Anchor was what had saved his people, and he felt a particular sense of pride as he beheld it. The grand portal to the old world was what served as the staging point for all of the Kingdom’s expeditions into their former home. Whether they were delving into the ruins weathered by time, or reliving the history of the world through Echo Rifts, the Delvers of Straven were the most elite group of adventurers in the nation.

Julian could only hope to join their number one day. As the train curved around one more bend, his excitement only grew. Soon enough they hit the city outskirts, and the landscape whizzing past went from trees and rocks to houses and shops. They made a few stops before the final destination, Stravenium Central, and he could only peer out the window in amazement at the city. He knew he looked stupid, some country bumpkin who’d never seen civilisation before, but it was almost true. He’d never seen so many people. He’d never had to take in so many things at once. Everywhere he looked was something new.

Finally they made it to the end of the journey, the cool voice from before reminding passengers to exit the train. He gathered up his various belongings, ensuring he’d left nothing behind. Swinging his simple backpack over his shoulder, Julian picked up the two suitcases on the floor of the compartment, and stepped into the carriage. Stuck behind some of the other passengers, he had to wait a few more minutes until the way was clear.

But then it was, and he stepped out into a world of vibrant sound. People were laughing and chattering, embracing friends on the station. He froze for a second, the wall of sound that had hit him being almost overwhelming.

‘Now where do I go now…’ he thought, as he realised he actually had no idea what to do next. He looked around, slightly lost for a second, before noticing that many similarly aged young men and women were heading towards an information desk near the platform. Deciding that they had a good idea, Julian resolved to become a great mind, and think alike with them.

As he got into the queue, he looked around once more and took a deep breath in. This was it, this was his home for the foreseeable future.

This was where he would become a Delver.