Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 3: 002 - Reigina and the Red Engine

Read chapter 3 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

Despite being called the Lowlands, this Province contrarily had the highest points in all the realm, with star-touching peaks that both towered over the populace and were the source of the many rivers and minerals that sustained it. It had been many years since Elijah had returned here, and he observed the amazing mountains and took a deep breath of it in. Despite his long absence, these citadels of nature had not changed at all, and their permanence in contrast to the seeming transience of everything else moved him in a way that it was hard to put into words. As the omnibus navigated its way through the wide roads, he took in the scenery with interest, his usually bright but uninterested eyes shining with deep attention at his unexpectedly poignant reunion with this familiar city he barely knew. The roads, covered in their black, parched tar and faded markings, led him through the complex architecture that was to be expected here. From their steady velocity, he marvelled at the haphazard mixture of styles which tried (valiantly but futilely) to resolve the clash between the archaic Reiginian style and the more recently imported and yet widely popular Human architecture. The grand arches and steeply pitched roofs described the style that the Humans had named after a Queen Victoria would run into the curious shorter yet airier red clay buildings native to this land. This small and perhaps inconsequential clash of styles was, in its own way, an analogy for the state of the realm as a whole. Half drawn to its roots and half drawn to the new way of life introduced by Humankind. Yes, despite the untold races, large and small, in this land of Reigina, the Human was not a native but rather a visitor who had taken deep roots in the land, as the surroundings evidenced. If one was looking for more tangible evidence, though, they needed only to sit next to our young subject and feel the hum of the engine beneath him. Red Governor Engines, elsewise shortened to Red Governors, were a new form of energy manipulation introduced to this land by the mysterious race sometimes called Man. These combustion engines spread like wildfire, transforming all forms of life in the realm… the results of this were clear to see: the extended sprawl of urbanity; vehicles with power and consistency dwarfing all beast-drawn carriages and a world split between the old and new. Despite the grand diversion created by the new yet familiar scenery, the trip was gratefully drawing to an end. As they pulled into the station, he sighed with relief before making a swift descent, his large load of luggage clinging to his small body as he landed softly, barely stirring the dust on the uneven ground beneath him despite the obvious heft of the high-stacked bags and cases. It was a while before even the conductor, who was interested in the young boy and hence wanted to chat a little (he had since repented of his harsh treatment of the child and wanted to make amends), noticed that he had disappeared down the road. He had been making calculations and talking to his supervisor about how much extra Red Engine Crystal they’d need for the trip back and to check the state of the omnibus’s wheel and axle and in his preoccupation had lost the chance to do what he resolved in his heart to. The man sighed a little in disappointment but decided that it was probably for the best. Even if osu were people, they weren’t necessarily people one should have much association with. Outside the busy station, the sight of a young boy with such conspicuous luggage and the clear marks of an osu drew glances, but not for long, as everyone looked at those like him as potential harbingers of misfortune and thereby thought that letting him leave of his own accord as soon as possible was more desirable than delaying him. The osu were a taboo in the realm of Reigina. The word meant outcast. They were a walking contradiction. Living men who had no part in the world of the living. Dedicated to the gods an