The sun rises to a new day. Encephalon’s inhabitants will roll out of its sandy bed per usual, but for the Sixth child’s heralds, this is a day unlike any other. Few are allowed to witness a God Child rise into ascension, and for lowly heralds to be among that exclusive group is an unprecedented event in on itself. They’ve each received a year’s worth of Elric Zaitsev’s combat and psychological conditioning, running through what felt like an endless series of scenarios to prepare them for the unexpected. And not everyone passed. The group of heralds huddled inside The Sky Mariner are the cream of the crop. It’s also their first time together, under one roof…
A blue aerial transport scuttles across Snowstone's clear skies. At the helm is an enhanced-hume named, Albert Gentry, The Sky Mariner’s seasoned Captain. Don't let his age or compact size fool you. Old Al still has a spring in his step, likened to a feisty ball of energy that can keep up with any young whippersnapper worth their salt. Behind him are the newly appointed heralds of the Sixth child, randomly seated at the passenger cabin.
Albert is brimming with pride, honored to have such precious cargo aboard his modest ship. He spent the last few days making sure his vessel was problem-free, tirelessly repairing old hiccups and replacing makeshift doodads until he was satisfied. The last thing Albert wanted was for the history books to say, ‘The Sky Mariner crashed and burned before it even reached The Lotus Mirage, destroying all of Encephalon’s hopes and dreams along with it.’
The atmosphere in the passenger cabin was relatively quiet at first, so Albert played some acoustic music on the overhead speakers to fill the silence. He also turned on the ceiling projector. It relayed a feed from the cameras installed along the ship's exterior, displaying a holographic view of the large canyons down below. Upon closer inspection, aerial and surface traffic can be seen veining throughout these expansive crevices. They commute to and from the major city locales, stopping and going along the white outcroppings of Snowstone buildings in between; peeping out from the sides of these deep gorges like ivory-colored spores.
“Hey there, folks. We've just cleared lift off, so you're free to roam about the cabin.” Albert said over the intercom, momentarily cutting off the background music. “Restrooms are in the back. If you want some refreshments, make an order using the interface on the arm rest of your chair and the drones will bring it over. We've got aqua fresh from the Guidewater, along with a decent liqour selection from the finest Oasis vineyards and breweries. But, uh, I'd chug those to a minimum. Don't want the God Child to wake up to a bunch of glazed drunks now, do we? We’ve got about an hour or so before we reach The Lotus Mirage. Sir Elric will be waiting for us at the hangar bay."
NACIA JARNO
The passenger cabin of The Sky Mariner was cool and well-ventilated. The ship’s Zyphan engines were surprisingly quiet, allowing Nacia to hear the full acoustics of the song playing on the overhead speakers. It was mostly instrumental, but every now and then a peculiar voice interjected. It sounded like a long chirp from a baby aviat of some kind, harmonizing with the background strings in a rich, but calming tone.
Nacia surveyed the faces of her fellow heralds. She recognized some of them in passing between her trials back at the Snowstone facility, but there was never a moment that allowed them to be in the same space like this. Introductions were being made if they hadn’t already, and the awkward silences were slowly fizzling out. Mostly. Nacia still hasn’t said a word to anyone since they boarded.
She half-listened to the small talk being tossed around; Her main focus were the God Child gifts some had in their possession. They were either neatly packaged, or displayed openly, showing off the fact that at least some kind of thought and effort were put into their presents. Nacia looked down at the clear, pill-shaped capsule in her hands and cringed at the fact that it contained a rolled-up finger painting. She tried not to overthink her choice gift for the Sixth child. Such a formality felt utterly meaningless to her anyways, but she obliged nonetheless. It’s not like my herald status will be rescinded if the Sixth doesn’t like my gift… Right?
She turned to the person next to her.
“Hey, what are you giving the God Child?” Nacia abruptly asked, hoping the answer was a rock with a ribbon tied around it, or something else just as equally ridiculous, just to feel better about herself.
