Even thirty minutes into the trip, flying was still the most magical thing that Abel had ever experienced.

For a young man who had seldom traveled in his life, and certainly never flown, a ride on an airship was like entering another world. First there had been the rumbling ominous and hinting at excitement to come. Then the rise, where the pressure of moving upward against the everpresent pull of gravity had almost brought an unprepared Abel to his knees. Once he had gotten over a minor motion sickness and made his way to a window, he had been struck dumb by what he had seen.

He, and every other soon-to-be student aboard this massive machine, was floating serenely hundreds of feet above the landscape. When he had first looked down, his head initially span, but not from sickness or fear; it was awe that had befuddled him so. A less stern individual might have pressed his face against the glass, restlessly roaming his eyes in an effort to take in every tiny detail in the suddenly enormous world at once. Someone more outgoing than he might have called others over to share in the experience, but Abel had no friends to call on. Vigilance had, after all, been a small school far from here. He momentarily thought about getting acquainted with the other teenagers in the hopes that they might develop into such friends, but being social wasn't his concern. He was here for excellence, to become a Hunter and defend this kingdom as his family had for generations. It was his destiny.

By now, a castle loomed in the distance off the airship's starboard side. When the other kids rushed over to see their future school, Abel was quick to follow the crowd, and examined it passively as some of the other marveled and chatted. He made sure to not get too enmeshed in the group, as his weapon was somewhat of a liability in that regard. While he loved the Ampere, it was undeniable that it didn't lend itself well to casual situations. With no cargo mode or collapsible features, the best Abel could do was leave it in Stave mod and carry it like a walking stick, much like his father had done during his many shifts with his own polearm, a halberd with no name. Still, the Ampere stuck out like a sore thumb.

A look away from the window informed him that he wasn't the only one sticking out. Aside from the cluster still looking at the school, a couple of girls exchanging an awkward silence a couple dozen feet away, there was a boy goggling at some other guy's weapon like it was some incredible artifact. To Abel it looked a lot like a little jackhammer; he had seen plenty of those carried around by repair crews on the length of wall his family guarded, used to obliterate damaged fortifications to make way for renovations and improvements. Shrugging it off, Abel leaned against the wall and looked out the window once more. There was a seat nearby, but since pretty much nobody else was sitting, he followed along.