After the entire ordeal with the sea bandits, the rest of the trip went by without much trouble. Elias was even a bit surprised, as he expected something else to happen due to how bad his luck had been so far.
The young man even felt like he wouldn't be too surprised if a random sea creature ended up attacking the ship out of spite, or if the weather suddenly changed, shifting from clear blue skies to violent oceanic winds.
Lars taunted him playfully, amused at how Elias had lost his natural optimism in the span of a single morning. Elias had simply ignored his brother's teasing, focusing more on revising what he had previously learnt before the assessment.
The ship continued to glide through the waters of the Naric Sea, its sleek form cutting through the waves with gentle ease as it continued to travel through the Estican sea route. Elias looked down at his worn-down pocket watch, heaving a sigh of relief when he realized that he was still on schedule, even with the wasted time that had emerged from the previous altercation.
He then proceeded to busy himself with reading, conversing with Lars or just generally enjoying the scenery, as he really liked the way the sun reflected upon the ocean surface, enhancing the allure of the azure blue sea.
An announcement from the ship's captain rang out through the ship, indicating that they had entered the Estican sea territory. Elias rushed out of his cabin and headed to the bow, gazing onto the horizon and trying to make out the image of the island city.
What he saw utterly stunned him, the city looked nothing like expected!
Elias had heard numerous descriptions of the island city from people who had visited it, with the common denominator being the city's lavish architectural designs. A lot of people had used words Elias didn't even know existed to describe the city, causing him to chalk it down to nothing more than regular exaggerations.
Even if he was excited to finally see it for himself and confirm the rumors, he ultimately decided to keep his expectations low, since he wasn't really keen on believing everything he had heard before.
Now that he saw the city's silhouette from afar, he felt like those people didn't do a good job describing the city, and not because it paled in comparison to the description but because it far surpassed it, the rumors didn't do it justice at all!
The city's architecture looked way ahead of its time, making Elias feel like he was gazing at a scene from the future. The city had a large circular dome in its epicenter, making it seem like a piece of the moon was cut and dropped on the island.
The dome's surface was coated with a non-reflective silver-like material, grand and vast, emulating the size of an exaggerated colosseum. Elias couldn't quite tell from where he was if it was a building or a representative symbol of the city, but he felt like whatever it was, it wouldn't take away from its outstanding profile.
It simply did not look normal!
Elias also noticed 4 monolith structured towers standing erect around the dome, their forms resembling tall and slender spires reaching out into the sky. Their designs appeared a bit gothic, but with a more modern touch to them, entirely different from what Elias was used to in Lowe. He even felt like it wasn't supposed to be Gothic at all, with its entire architecture looking a bit less ancient and detailed than the regular Gothic designs.
He also noticed that all of the residential buildings were aligned outside the periphery of the towers like they were acting as a boundary to prevent people from building close to the dome. Overall, Elias felt like he was in a brand new world, Estica definitely surpassed all of his expectations and he hadn't even gotten into the city yet!
The other passengers were also staring at the island, the new arrivals communicating their disbelief to their travel partners, while the other group of people that had previously visited were seeking affirmation from their friends and family, clearly holding a grudge at how they weren't believed while describing the city in the past. Estica totally paled the descriptions!
In fact, the city looked so grand and majestic that the usually aloof Lars had a shocked expression on his face, his mouth hanging open at the sight of the pillared dome. "Elias pinch me, I think I'm dreaming..."
Elias continued to gaze at the island, his eyes sparkling with anticipation at the city which would be the start of his new tomorrow. Eventually he turned towards Lars with a chuckle, taking one long last look at the route they had come from, before making his way back to his cabin with firm resolve etched on his face.
He could feel it, the city represented a vital point in his destiny and he was ready to embrace it!
...
Tyrell and the captain stood at the bridge of the ship, gazing at the image of the grand city which was getting closer and closer.
Tyrell had changed from his previous bounty hunter outfit to a standard sailor uniform, hoping to blend into the crowd of workers aboard the deck. Some sailors cast suspicious glances at him due to his unknown face, but inevitably turned back to their various activities when they noticed him standing close to the captain.
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The way the strange man and the captain stood made it seem like it was quite natural for the man to be there, causing them to quell their doubts.
Tyrell studied the visage of the island city, before chuckling and turning to the captain. "This is my second time visiting this island, but it still looks so unfamiliar to me. It was so awe-inspiring to me before and even now, it makes me hold my breath. I can't even imagine how the new arrivals must be feeling, gazing at this grandeur sight for the first time."
The captain solemnly nodded, offering a response to Tyrell while stroking his rough-looking beard, "That is what makes Estica a bit more unique than other regions. Its development never stagnates and improvements are made from time to time. I have traveled through the Estican route for years and the city always manages to look different each time. Aside from the Sapphic nation of Lyvaria, I don't think any other region can contest with Estica when it comes to general development."
Lyvaria referred to a region that stood to the northeast of Berlin, acting as the territorial home of the Sapphites, one of the 4 major intelligent races within the worlds ecology. The Sapphites were a race that shared a lot of biological similarities with humans and were praised for their naturally high intellect. Their average life span was 50% more than the average human, and they were also naturally smarter, comparable to how dolphins are naturally smarter than other aquatic species.
Due to how smart they were, they naturally developed faster than every other race technologically, with their region being the first to reap the benefits. It was no wonder that even with how grand Estica was, it still couldn't light a flame to the infrastructure of Lyvaria.
Tyrell hadn't been to Lyvaria before, so he couldn't say much about the captain's closing remarks. He decided to stay silent in the end, watching the silhouette of the floating city grow closer and closer.
The captain was the one to inevitably break the silence, doing so while gazing at the ship's bow. "So how do you plan on getting onto the island? I'm sure you wouldn't take the risk of docking with us, you might be flagged by port security. Or do you have a better alternative?"
Tyrell appeared calm, obviously unbothered by the idea of getting caught on the docks. The young man's calm appearance made the captain heave a sigh of relief, as Tyrell getting caught might put him under unnecessary pressure.
Tyrell looked at the captain, patting his back as a gesture of reassurance. "You don't need to worry about that... I have my ways."
The captain smiled and returned to silence, tacitly avoiding the subject of the 'ways' that Tyrell was talking about. As long as it didn't concern his ship and crew, it didn't concern him. His job was only to get him to the island, which is what he was going to do. He didn't need to concern himself with unnecessary details.
The two men continued to gaze at the approaching island city, enjoying its grandeur in perfect silence.
...
Elias watched as the cruiser ship successfully docked, taking in the image of the organized scenery of the port. The Estican port looked way more neat and organized than the port in Lytton, with port officials patrolling the grounds with trained security hounds.
The organization of departing and arriving ships was also very meticulously arranged, with the port being separated to accommodate both vessels on different sides. This was done to prevent mix-ups and rowdiness and appeared to be working very well given the present state of the port.
Elias could also see a massive signpost at the entrance of the port, introducing the island city with the title, 'Welcome to Estica, the island of neutrality and research!’.
Elias almost couldn't contain his excitement, but eventually reigned himself in, as he didn't want to seem uncivilized to the other passengers. Not like it mattered much since most of them also had anticipated looks on their faces.
Elias got to the security check, showing them his ticket and identification documents, to which both were cleared, granting him access to the port. Elias secretly said a prayer of thanks to the Benevolent Mother, relieved at the fact that he had gotten to the island city safely.
As he was about to leave the port, a sound of commotion came out from the cruiser ship as 2 barrels of oil apparently caught fire out of nowhere, throwing the orderly scene into chaos.
The port officials were busy scrambling to restore order, while the ship's crew were trying to put out the accidental fire. Elias shook his head at the scene, obviously aware of the cause.
It seemed like the Rogue Apostle on the ship was trying to slip off amidst the chaos. It was a simple but thorough plan, one that didn't need the existence of too many external variables. Elias and Lars had talked about how the Rogue Apostle might try to get off the ship previously, with Lars bringing this up as one of the potential options.
Lars scoffed at Elias, his voice laced with an air of aloof superiority, "Told you so... simple yet very effective, exactly how all plans should be."
Elias ignored his brother, not in the mood to take part in petty bouts of jest. He had an exam in less than an hour!
Elias then walked away from the port with calm steps, observing the port's brilliant infrastructure while moving towards the train station.
...
Estica had an exclusive train station that operated primarily within the city, allowing its inhabitants to have a quick and easy method of transport. Most of the people within the city didn't make use of the horse-coach system, as the trains were faster and more convenient to use. The only people who still used coaches for movement were people who couldn't afford the train fare since convenience usually came at the expense of more money.
The train station had 4 sub terminals around the city, situated close to every major city landmark. One of the landmarks was very close to White Helm Academy, so Elias decided to just take the train, as he didn't want to arrive late on his first day.
As the train sped past, Elias had a closer look at the city's detailed structure, marveling at its exquisite detail. He just couldn't believe that this was an actual city and not something from some fantasy novel.
The domic pillars looked, even more, awe-inspiring from up close, resembling a fortress built to defend the last remnants of some precious forgotten history. He could also see people moving in and out of the dome, making Elias realize that it might actually be a research facility rather than a signature piece of the city.
The people moving in and out of the dome also looked peculiar, garbed in all-black formal attire, with the only non-monochrome clothing on them being a gray featureless mask and overcoat. The way they carried themselves screamed professionalism and organization, making Elias wonder about who they were and what their role in the city was.
While Elias was preoccupied with his inner musings, the train moved away from the region of the dome, going deeper and deeper into the city, where a grand and majestic academy could be seen from the distance.