"Thirty...." He stared down at a single wood piece standing in place while holding an axe. Taking a deep breath, holding it in until the right moment, while grabbing the end of the handle with both hands. One full swing into the center of the wood was all he needed to split it perfectly in two. "Thirty-one..."

At times like these, he feels most at peace. Sorrow, fear, despair, all these feelings drift away when his mind is distracted, focusing only on what lies in front. He was tired of all the memories of his past. Just the thought of it would feel like a nail hammered into his heart.

He hated almost everything, the people in the neighbourhood, the Varyion's Order, his current life forced to go forward with no faith in the future. The only thing that kept him going, was his debt to the man that saved his life, a sixty-eight-year-old man named Yen although he would usually call him a lazy geezer.

The wood he was splitting was also meant for Yen's sake, he cared less about himself. It wasn't cold yet, but as always, Winter is coming. The moment it comes, you'll need some fire. 

"Ryuzo," the lazy geezer said. "Don't you think that's enough with the splitting and stuff? There's plenty of wood already and I could always do it myself when I need to."

"Yeah right, and when would that be? During Winter probably when you're regretting postponing it," Ryuzo said with a grin on his face while splitting another wood piece. 

"Shut up boy, I'll postpone it alright, but not that long," Yen said while letting out a laugh. "Now come inside, this little ol' man is bored sitting in his chair alone."

"Uhh...fine..." Dropping the axe in its place, Ryuzo retreated to the chair next to the old geezer. They chatted for a bit before Yen started changing the topic. "By the way, have you heard about the intruders from yesterday?" 

"Well, I heard the alarm alright, couldn't ignore it since it was loud and all," Ryuzo said. "Don't think it was anything special though. Probably a false alarm or something, cuz nothing happened afterward." 

"Well, I've heard the rumors that were going on from Yona Greavy and her husband Yano Math this morning. They're doing pretty fine nowadays with their shop. Anyway, apparently, they said one of the intruders was a young lady. Can you believe it?"

"What?!" Ryuzo couldn't believe his ears. Varyion City has prevented danger for centuries, but some woman just broke in? He's seen the wall and knows its strength. If a person broke it, then this city wasn't going to last much longer, he thought. "That shouldn't be—" he stopped his own sentence, thinking about the possibility. If the wall has broken or an intruder broke in, would the Order announce such thing? They wouldn't, at least not very early, Ryuzo thought. That would raise unnecessary fear in the city, something the Order would refrain from doing. 

"What did you wanted to say?" Yen asked while his mouth stayed open. 

Ryuzo hoped he wouldn't experience big trouble in his lifetime, hoped that would be a problem for the future generations. More than anything else he wanted Yen to be safe. If the wall was crumbling, he needed to know. "Yen," he said with a serious tone. "I'm going to inspect the walls for a bit." 

----------------------------------------

Following Ellyia outside the building, Ayuki kept staring at how beautiful and elegantly the butterfly was moving, going up and down in a soothing pattern. The wings were flapping so slowly, it was actually a surprise to see it floating in the air. She has seen it in the beginning too, talking with Zefrick.

Its voice was quite light and pure, like that of a young girl. It made her wonder whether Ellyia was a human or something like an artificial intelligence. "So, Ellyia, how should I address you with?" she asked. 

"Just Ellyia is fine, it's fast and less distracting to me."

That sounded like something a human would say. "Okay. Ellyia...what are you exactly? I mean, are you really a butterfly?"

"No, this is just a projection to show people that I'm there. Some people do think I'm a butterfly though." 

Ayuki tried touching the butterfly without any hesitation. Her fingers passed through it, proving that it really was a projection. "How does this projection work?"

"I'm using a device that helps people to perceive me whenever I'm mind traveling. It was Rave's idea to program the manifestation of a butterfly whenever I use this."  

Ayuki didn't really get the programming part, but the other answers she got from asking more questions related to Ellyia's mind traveling was pretty impressive. So basically, Ellyia's ability is to travel her mind wherever she pleases, while still being able to see, think, and communicate. This allowed her the possibility to be present in various locations in a shorter amount of time without breaking a sweat. She would be the perfect spy for any mission, Ayuki thought. "Is it possible for me to do this kind of thing too?" Ayuki asked, desperately hoping to hear a positive answer. 

"Sorry, I don't think so. Mind traveling is part of my power. This device only supports my ability. You wouldn't be able to use it unless you have a similar kind of power as I do."

That was a disappointment to hear, but that wouldn't mean she would have no other abilities. If I'm a dangerous threat then I might have an incredible power after all. "Hmm, Hyo Ravendell also said something about power. Is it the same as magic?"

"Correct, it's an energy we use for countless things in this city actually."

So it's normal for people to have magic abilities and it apparently has a wide range of usage too. "Can you tell me more about magic?"

"Yes, like I said before, it's an energy that can take different forms but it all comes from the same source. We call it Fes. The nature in this city produces a lot of Fes that we can freely use. Our body has the potential to process that Fes into an unlimited variety of power. And so, basically, what kind of magic you can use is up to you."

Nature is the source of their magic? That was unexpected to hear from a city that's positioned in a wasteland with hardly any nature outside of it. "Cool. Is it hard to learn?" Ayuki asked. 

"Well, that depends. You basically learn inheritable Fes or indirect Fes. Inheritable Fes is Fes passed down from your ancestors. The Fes power from your parents, for example, comes naturally and is relatively quick to learn."

"Ah— I see..." Ayuki couldn't really rely on that option if she doesn't know anything about her parents. Thinking about her parents was actually another issue. Where were they? 

Ellyia continued talking, disrupting Ayuki's thought. "Learning Fes indirectly, however, is very hard. To actually use it well, takes years and years of daily training. The Fes ability you desire is free to choose, but to actually achieve it within your lifetime takes serious hard work."

"Yuck...sounds like a hard job."

"That's why most people decide to mostly stick to learning and developing their inherited Fes."

When they progressed through the markets, Ayuki couldn't help but notice the behavior of the people around her. Most people greeted Ellyia and Ayuki with big smiles, but some of them would immediately stop their greetings the moment they saw Ayuki's face. They seemed to act very cautiously towards her, talking with other people behind her back and even pointing their fingers towards her. She could guess what they were gossiping about since some people did witness her intrusion, but the feeling of being unwelcome, uncomfortable, or even hated, couldn't be suppressed.

Once past the market areas, Ellyia stopped moving. "By the way...since this still is a tour, don't you want to know more about this city?" she asked.

"Oh, hehe. Sorry, magic sounded a bit more interesting."

"That's okay. I agree with you, but since it's important to know your way here, let me share you the information through magic." Ellyia flew in front of Ayuki's head. "Please put your right hand behind your ears."

She did what Ellyia told her to do. "Like this?"

"Here it comes."

It all happened so fast. In just a matter of seconds, all kind of information poured into Ayuki's head. She saw enough images to understand the structure of the city, which food to buy where, the place she will reside in, even the names of the area. She learned all the correct honorifics and when to use them, the important events that are being held in the city, the money currency they were using, and a lot more information concerning the city. 

"This should be sufficient for a basic living," Ellyia said. 

Ayuki blanked out for a few seconds. "That was incredible! I feel like I've lived here for a week", she said, bewildered of what just happened.

"This is called E-link, it allows me to share information that's been stored with other people. I don't think I need to explain how it works, but you can see how useful this can be."

They can save information and instantly share them, how convenient! "You keep amazing me Ellyia. Thanks for this E-link thing."

With the knowledge she had now, she could tell they were walking in the Maverick Road, just a couple minutes away from her new residence, The Center Borrow. She would need a key to access it, but the reception on the first floor is probably willing to help her with that. Let see, what else do I know? The Observers were lower positioned than the Hyonims, Ravendell is one of them. So the Hyonims governs this city, and the Observers support them with it. Then you have the Varyion Order, an organization responsible for protecting the people and maintaining order within the city. It must be a big organization since it sounds like a tough job. Zefrick is definitely part of them. Is Ellyia too?

The moment they arrived at The Center Borrow, another voice was heard, coming from Ellyia's direction. "Ellyia," the voice said. It sounded like a woman at least.

"Yes, Faye?" Ellyia replied, and the butterfly projection disappeared into thin air, leaving Ayuki baffled for a bit. It looked like another person was in the same location as Ellyia since a conversation seemed to have taken place.

Ayuki figured she had to wait a bit so she stood there until Ellyia returned. "Okay. No problem," Ellyia said, and reappeared again as a butterfly projection. "Ayuki?" 

"Ah, uh, yes?"

"I have a message from Rave. He said that you should come to the Outer City park tomorrow morning at ten. You know where it is now, right?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

"Good. He arranged something for you. Don't be late."

"Something arranged? Can't you just tell me what it is? I don't like surprises anymore..." Ayuki said, with the traumatizing Defarin memories popping up again. 

"Sorry, he didn't tell me. One last thing, as you may have noticed, there's a key in your pouch. That will open the door to your room. 

Oh, I didn't notice that. "The Center Borrow?" Ayuki asked while shoving her hands into the pouch she received from Ravendell.

"Yes, number 978. Good luck tomorrow."

 "Okay, thanks." The butterfly vanished away now. "Wait, why good luck?...I have a bad feeling about this—"