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Post by Jisui on Aug 9, 2011 0:48:42 GMT -5
The moon, so gloriously emblazoned in the night sky, was frozen today. And its brilliant night shards that pierced the heavens sharply like dagger points, were obscured by the freezing cold winds of winter.
So thought Sael Leras, the solitary beastkin in a sea of pure white snow as he began a slow march to the mines of Ferin. Today was a rather heavy snow day, not a blizzard, but rather fierce, and so most of the mine workers had not shown up to work this day, complaining profusely about the mass of snow that had amassed outside their houses. He rolled his eyes, the ice and dirt at his feet crunching softly with each step he took, his swallow clanking on his back as if begging to be used for work. What children... even among his fellow beastkin, he had only seen less than half on his route to the mines today. The lamia, eagerly awaiting the task of mining underneath the stone and gravel of the underground mines, had nearly arrived in full. And the humans? Barely any, of course.
"Hey, wolf-boy! Make sure to dig long and hard in there, alright!"
Sael sighed, a long, wispy breath extending from his pale lips and gently caressing the cold mountain air before dissipating into nothingness. To his right, a human, dirty and pale with blond hair was heckling him as he leaned back on his wooden rocking chair, his mouth screaming other foul obscenities that Sael didn't particularly care enough to repeat. Perhaps long ago, he would have cared enough to do something, but now, a large pitiful feeling arose in the depths of his chest, a mixture of apathy and self-loathing arising from his many emotions as he turned away from the man, continuing to walk.
Sael looked up, the moon almost a tinge blue throughout the night sky, snow petals softly rolling down from the heavens as they peppered the beastkin, covering his leather jerkin and messy jet-black hair with a fine layer of frost. The moon tonight was frozen... and so was its light that had enveloped him in moonbeams from the gods. This town, and everyone in it, despite looking otherwise, was frozen inside. It was frozen, and so was his heart, caged away in this slave pit for humans.Turning his face slightly down as he approached the mine entrance to hide his disdain, a swath of miners bumped into him as they went into the mine shaft below, causing him to grunt as he stumbled across the stone steps.
Sael wasn't one to think of the future. At least this place had food, and shelter, and he wasn't stupid enough to throw that away. But one day... with the pay he had been saving up from years of work, he would move out of this accursed city into the world. Perhaps Great Divide City. Perhaps Arkus... the elves would take him surely. But, he thought as he stepped on the mine shaft lowering him into the pits of the deepest mining area, anywhere but here. Here, the moon was frozen.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 9, 2011 1:09:21 GMT -5
"So this is what Kageru was too lazy to look for..."
Franz was no stranger to cold weather. However, adapting to the snow peaks up to this point was kind of a novel experience for him. His suit kept him warm and his gait didn't wear out in the snowstorm. As he trekked his way into the mines, the dank scent of the caves became rather obvious.
"Well, this is the place....guess I gotta find people here, yeah?"
Franz's rather quaint voice indicated a very slight, subtle sigh of relief. He was by no means that afflicted by the cold earlier; he was a little used to it, even. After living a good chunk of your childhood wearing tattered rags through the night, wearing such comfortable armor through any weather doesn't seem that alien after all. No reason to complain, really. But it still felt nice to reach the destination he was looking, where he was likely to find signs of life, and, hopefully, people to recruit out of the monotony of mine life.
Franz continued to take a few normal, composed steps across the earthy mine floor. After taking a quick survey of the area, he guessed that there would be someone to find here. Mines were usually good places to find strong, sturdy people who were too used to the maw of the earth; to them, the mines were an atmosphere that conditioned them well. But just as they had a task at hand, so did Franz, after so much travel.
"Hope this works. Kinda no need to worry about anything at home right now, I got a mission to complete." With that solemn sentiment, Franz entered the mines with certainty that his mission would be fruitful.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 10, 2011 22:55:35 GMT -5
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The steady beat of the pickaxes striking the hard rock became a steady beat in Sael's head, his own pick finding the hard dirt and stone with each swing of his arm, the young beastkin easily finding a rhythm to hit the rough stone walls of the mining cavern. Despite rather indifferent about mining in general, there was something soothing in the repetitive nature of the sound of pick on rock, it was constant, something that drained out the stress of his thoughts and replaced them with simple, idle noise.
Despite this, he found his monotonous pattern of life somewhat... amiss tonight. Perhaps it was the arrival of a miner, donned with an odd blue suit that he had never quite seen anywhere before. Perhaps it was a newcomer... but something about the man was... odd. Compared to the low stooped, drudging forms of the opposing miners, his pose was tall, prideful, almost as though he had a definite purpose here. It was somewhat... refreshing somehow, to know that there was someone here with more self-dignity then these others. without realizing it, he realized he had been staring, and looked away quickly before the man had seen him, continuing to bite through the rock slowly with his tool.
The idle chatter of the miners continued to fill up the room in addition to the clang of mining tools against rock, with one subtle exception. Sael simply kept silent, keeping his eyes glued to the rock as he silently swung his pick against the wall.
"..."
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 10, 2011 23:23:44 GMT -5
The clang of the iron as it met with the solid earth was one of the first signs that Franz set foot on life in this mine. Pretty typical life, at least. Everyone seemed to look pretty similar; tattered mine clothing, strong arms, hard at work. All the characteristics that Franz expected. No surprises there, at least.
Taking another quick survey of the belly of the mines, Franz figured he may as well casually loiter around until the miners were on their break. There appeared to be only a few in the audience worth grabbing their attention. And those were the ones that showed signs of disinterest. Of course, Franz didn't care that much for mine etiquette, and didn't really know all about it, but it couldn't be that dangerous to break. Still, he may as well play nice.
"Alright, so first thing's first: Who sucks at their job, and who really doesn't like their job?" He muttered with a tall and composed walk straight ahead.
Franz trusted his "bottom of the barrel" philosophy to help guide his search in the mines. Usually, the weaker and more naive workers were the ones that were most flexible to grow, and typically the easiest ones to coerce. It was mean, but sometimes, sacrifices had to be made. And in these times, as Kageru hinted at him, all the more support, the better.
Probably the first person to catch Franz's eye was the beastkin miner, who seemed a bit immersed in his pickaxe at the moment. But as he noticed walking in, it earned him much stress and yelling. No biggie for Franz, but for this miner, he probably deserved better. That, and he probably was the first person to notice Franz walking in.
Franz played fair with his words and spoke cordially without any sense of urgency. He honestly didn't even seem that worried about recruiting anyone in here, so chances are, he didn't worry about this miner at all. Rested and arms crossed, he then asked, "Hey. Sorry to bug you, but do you have a minute?"
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Post by Jisui on Aug 18, 2011 22:17:03 GMT -5
...Hmm? In the end, the mysterious man in blue had walked over to him, and he assumed that he was walking past him, inspecting the mines. Sael had assumed this odd man was a mining operative or something of the like, he certainly didn't like a miner. The yells and noisy chatter of the mine slightly dimmed down a bit as he approached Sael, as if in an attempt to eavesdrop on the oddly costumed man and the beastkin's conversation.
Sael's arm stopped swinging at last, his toned muscles slightly flexing as he grunted, placing his trusted tool over his shoulder and stopping his tedious work. As the beastkin lifted his head slightly to look at Franz, the blue costumed man saw a cold, deep shade of cobalt blue eyes pass over his figure, Sael letting out a deep breath, slowly exhaling as sweat dripped down his face. The glance the beastkin sent Franz was interesting, not cold or detached, no animosity or distrust evident in his facial features, but it was as if Sael was keeping a cool distance from Franz, a certain glance of guarded emotions...
"...Hello. Is something wrong?" Sael asked softly, his voice coming out as quiet and reserved in comparison to the stranger's more confident, upfront tone. He wondered why this stranger had decided to talk to him, of all people. Had he done something wrong, he pondered, wiping off a bridge of sweat at his eyebrows.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 18, 2011 22:52:35 GMT -5
So Franz's "bottom-of-the-barrel" intuition was pretty much right; score one in his mind. The first person he approached seemed mentally, if not physically reserved, and was probably not used to new company. No matter, he had to start somewhere.
Franz didn't really change his composure very much when Sael noticed him. He was still pretty composed, if not a little absentminded because he had a hunch this probably wouldn't be very successful. His body language didn't falter much; his arms were crossed as usual. His ambivalent mug wasn't very convincing, but it was pretty honest.
As soon as Franz heard the beastkin speak, he picked up his timidity pretty quickly. Shy, quiet, and at least somewhat focused. The kid was probably not that used to new company in the mines, because everyone else seemed to focus on their job just fine, despite the volume change. Though with everyone piped down, Franz could at least compose his thoughts a little more smoothly.
His facial expression surprised Franz just a little though; given the quiet voice of Sael's, Franz expected the beastkin to be taken aback a bit, but he didn't really show any signs of hostility. In any case, it was time for the usual talk.
He chuckled slightly at Sael's soft-spoken nature to start them off. "Heh, don't worry, nothing's wrong. I was just looking around this mine to ask some people a few questions, and decided to start with you. That alright with you and everything?"
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Post by Jisui on Aug 19, 2011 0:07:04 GMT -5
Suddenly, Sael's nose twitched, his nose slightly flaring as it took a few quick whiffs at the air. That smell... it was different from most, but Sael's eyes narrowed slightly, this man smelled like a...
"Yeah... go ahead." Sael answered rather brusquely, his demeanor seeming to suddenly shift as the beastkin leaned back against the rock wall, his eyes seeming to slightly shy away from Franz as if he were afraid to rest his eyes on him. Perhaps this man was a prospector from Devoid. That would explain why he was asking Sael questions about the mine. Regardless, his shift in attitude was noticeable, it was slightly colder, less welcoming, Sael's body language becoming more guarded and less trustful then more. Still, there was no hostility evident on the young beastkin's face, it just seemed more weary, less welcoming of this stranger's presence then before...
Still, he seemed different then most. This man felt different from the others at the mine, there was something special about him that separated him from the rest... and at the very least, he at least had a friendly tone. He would see what this human had to do with them...
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 19, 2011 0:21:34 GMT -5
And so Franz was probably quck to judge. After seeing the beastkin taken aback, he presumed that he acknowledged Franz's human origins. Now, granted, humans up north don't seem to have very good relations with the beastkin; however, Franz was pretty different. Working with beastkin for so long, Franz knew how to interact with them for the most part, and keep them calm. After eliciting such slight emotional response from Sael after a while, he felt that it shouldn't be hard to get a few words out of him after all.
He couldn't help but notice the change in tone though. Nonetheless, Franz was almost a model in calm composure. He didn't really change his facial expression much in response to Sael's sudden hostility. Rather, he decided he'd be a little introductory, for he had no reason to be indirect in a place where so many beastkin workers could probably ambush him.
"A'ight, so just to clear up a few things, I don't work for anyone up north. The armor's manufactured from Devoid, I'm not. I aid beastkin in Rellinis, pretty sure most humans wouldn't fib on that."
Franz was teetering between being formal and being just utterly laid back. He didn't show any sign of unease when talking; he just felt like sharing a few things with Sael and the miners and keeping his peace by his side. No biggie in his eyes. That much said, Franz began his usual shpiel of asking a few questions.
"So, guess I'll start us off. I'm Franz Secari, I work with the Minami division in Rellinis. Nice to meet you, yeah?" Quick with his words, he gave a simple nod with his head to indicate that he really didn't intend to harm anyone. He then continued, "Anyways, first thing's first, what do you or the miners think about the Kigan pirates? Or just about Rellinis in general, I guess."
Franz felt a bit like a surveyor at this point, and he himself didn't really like the formality very much. But still, he was too used to recruiting that asking questions like this became rather mechanical to him. He said his words in a rather casual tone, giving off the impression that he was pretty open to any answer.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 19, 2011 22:30:46 GMT -5
(Rellinis... this man's come a long way then...) Sael thought with a degree of interest, the blue suited man seemed to not be associated with the miners at all. Interesting... who was this man?
Despite his revelation to the race of the man, there was something about the stranger that got Sael to ease his stance somewhat, his features notable relaxing a little, yet still retaining a somewhat wary glance at Franz. There was something... different about the human, the way he spoke frankly without any fear or hesitation, a certain honesty to the man that he really hadn't seen before in humans... or any sort of person besides a few really. But still, it was such an odd question that he was slightly taken back, suddenly he was being asked about the Kigan Pirates and Rellinis? That was a land on the other side of the world... however, he had heard stories of them from a certain friend in the mines, and the stories had become greatly exaggerated over such a great distance over Kyril.
"...Not much to be honest. Ferin and Rellinis is on the opposite sides of Kyril. It's natural that we don't get much news." Sael started to explain, his tone somewhat easing up from the tense, brusque tone he had shown before. "But, I've heard rumors about the Kigan Pirates. An assortment of races all banded together on a massive machine cruiser... or so they say." The beastkin muttered, although the stories had been exaggerated somewhat, he was sure that this part at least was true. There was rumors of the ship containing almost every race in full, led by an ave captain dressed in shining armor... Sael had never really put much stock into the whole idea, they were almost considered legend in the isolated mines of Ferin. But now this man was asking him such questions... why would this stranger ask him such a random question, and go such a long way to do it? Another thing was troubling was how much Sael was talking to this man, a few miners were whispering in awe at how much this random stranger had got Sael to talk. When not talking to her, Sael never truly found any reason to speak to anyone, so he got a reputation as the silent beastkin around the parts. Why, he pondered, was he speaking to this man so much?
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 19, 2011 22:53:36 GMT -5
So some of the features on Sael's face seem to relax a bit. His expression seemed a little less contorted as Franz spoke to him; that was a sign that Franz's effort was a success. Score two in his head. His stance nonetheless stayed put, for he was sure this level of confidence and mostly lax demeanor would earn him some more words out of the beastkin. The hostility in the mines seemed rather low, too; no weapons pulled on him or anything. T'was a sign that he might as well stop talking to Sael as a customer, and more as just another person.
"Cool, cool." Franz said somewhat modestly. "Yeah, I'unno. I guess you could say I've come a ways to get here. I've trekked from Lower Rellinis, talking to other beastkin and folks along the way about this stuff. Needless to say, our personnel in Minami is running low, so I chose to help the cause a bit."
Catching himself on some of his words, Franz chose to relax his arms a bit and hover one around his waist. He chose to stretch his left arm by moving his hair up a bit before it drooped too low down; then, his left arm also hovered over his waist. "It's no skin off my back, really. I get used to it. So I'll cut to the chase."
Franz turned his head back to the snowy mountainside, to where the exit was. "To put it simply, the Kigan Pirates screw around in the skies of Kyril. They engage in theft and have made causalities of some of the people in Lower Rellinis. We try to keep them out of our land, and take back some of the loot they've been taking."
He then turned his head back to Sael, a little moderate on the body language. He wasn't looking to make a show for any of the miners; rather, he was just there to give intel. So he may as well finish off his intel, simple and swiftly. "The mines seem to be a good place to find people interested in our cause. So, do you or any of the miners want in?" Cutting back on the formality, his tone of voice immediately became solemn again. Not much else to say, so he may as well play it safe on his words.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 20, 2011 0:17:42 GMT -5
"So... a police force?" Sael muttered, his eyes slightly downcast as he leaned back against the rock surface, his head resting against the hard stone exterior. This man... was looking to conscript troops. An anti-pirate troop to be exact... and it seemed as though he was interested in Sael. It was a fairly noble cause to be sure, but throughout the stranger's briefing on the situation, Sael found himself less and less interested by the man's offer. He wanted to get out of this place, for sure... but stop pirates as a job? He would be paid, but the truth was, he wasn't that reckless. Help protect Kyril? It sounded cold, but those people the pirates were harming? Sael would probably never meet a single one of them in his life. And the bitter, self-centered truth finally came out from his mind at the end, what did he care about them? Even if he did make a difference in their lives, what would it do for him? Those people would probably never even know he helped them.
A torrent of jaded, confused thoughts arose from his mind, and Sael hated himself for them. He hated himself at the moment for not having the courage and kindness to simply accept because it was the right thing to do. In the end, he was just a coward, the same as the rest of these miners who would labor away in this spot for the rest of their lives.
Sighing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck, Sael looked back at Franz, his decision already made. "Sorry, but I-"
"Sael! There you are! I was waiting for you for like an hour outside your cabin... you could have at least told me you know." The quickening steps of leather boots interrupted him as an upbeat, bright female voice cut him off, Sael's eyes widening as he turned around to find a young elven girl his age behind him, a frame of light brown hair slightly covering her stunning lively forest-green eyes. She oddly wore a dark emerald-shaded green dress that flowed down past her knees, a light brown belt going across her waist to hold an odd estoc with green vines decorating the hilt. It was odd to wear such a long dress to a mine, it would usually get dirty, but the elf had not a speck of dirt on her, only a chipper grin on her face that seemed to die a little once she saw Franz.
"Oh... sorry. I interrupt anything?"
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 20, 2011 14:37:49 GMT -5
The doubt on Sael's face was pretty obvious. Typical signs, really. Deep in thought, the "sorry" he got cut off on, and the sense of trepidation that led to his words coming out. Clearly, the beastkin was not a very decisive person and Franz had to spread around some more. Albeit, the awkward silence in the room was conveniently cut off by what appeared to be a girl in Sael's interest...she was pretty, no doubt. But she screamed "forest elf" somehow. Sael's friend, probably?
Franz asserted his role in the situation by lightening up on the formal talk and tilting his head in the girl's direction. "Oh, nah, it's totally fine. I was just talking to your friend about helping me out with something. I'unno how much he really wants to be in the mines, anyhow."
Franz then proceeded to turn his head back to Sael, and slouch down a bit with his knees. "But, yeah. It's not a police force, really. I guess it's more of a faction, but that probably doesn't influence you much. You don't seem interested, so maybe I should continue along my merry way."
Franz's conscription efforts would just have to continue elsewhere. Not too surprised that he landed on somewhat of a dead end here, he was pretty satisfied for making it this far at least. The moon looked very beautiful tonight, so instead of dwelling around on the job, he took the liberty of switching his thoughts to something more pleasant. Set on walking back outside, he turned his back on Sael, gave him a quick wave, and walked towards the exit. There were probably some other miners here, but stuck in the monotony of their job, they probably can't think very clearly right now. So maybe the snow doesn't sound like a bad idea for the time being.
But before he got far, he turned his head a bit and lifted his head back to Sael. "But before you say anything else, make sure you make up your mind, 'kay?"
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Post by Jisui on Aug 20, 2011 15:25:40 GMT -5
"...Yeah, sure." Sael muttered, the girl looking a bit confused as she glanced between the two. One part of him wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, where the sky was obscured by low rock caverns and cold biting winds. He wanted to see other things besides this place. But really, what would he of all people be able to do against things like the Kigan pirates... it was asking too much of him. And of course, the other reason he was apt to decline was standing right in front of him, with a perplexed look on her face as she picked up a pickaxe from a nearby rack, the nearby miners shouting greetings with a grin upon seeing her. Smiling slightly as she waved back with a hand, she looked back at Sael, frowning a bit as she observed his face.
"Something wrong? You're quieter then usual... that's saying something you know." She said with a laugh, her voice coming off as smooth, lively and energetic as always. It managed to put a slight smile on Sael's face, who took another look over his friend. She was an attractive elf to be sure, always deflecting date requests left and right while in the mines, but Sael had known her for years now... it wasn't her looks that were attracted people most of the time, it was her personality. For an elf, the joking, energetic girl had always been a charmer to everyone she met, even the most taciturn of people unable to resist even a slight smile when she spoke. Ah right... he had forgot to give her something today.
"Hey, Valyria... here. I don't know how you managed to lose it, but here." The beastkin sighed exasperatedly, handing the sheepish elf what appeared to be a bracelet made out of loose grass and leaves, multiple different colored strands coming together to make beautiful patterns and vibrant colors.
"Eh?! You found it! I was afraid I'd have to make another..." Valyria laughed apologetically, she had made the bracelets a long time ago. Sael was wearing a twin set... she had convinced him to wear it a long time ago, although the beastkin was rather embarrassed to wear it, he caved in eventually, although he received some teases about the gift from his fellow miners.
"Anyway..." The elf aptly changed the subject with a smile, sliding the leaf bracelet back securely on her wrist. "Who's the guy in blue? How'd they even let someone who looks like that in anyway?" She mused, taking a look at Franz form as he left. "You'd think they would check him first."
Sael sighed, straightening up and brushing his back of dust from the rock wall, he didn't want to make her worried about anything. And he wasn't even going to accept the offer anyway, so it's not like the elf needed to know about the offer Franz had gave him.
"It was... nothing. He just asked some questions about the mine."
Valyria raised an eyebrow, staring at Sael for a moment before nodding, heaving her smaller pickaxe up slowly. "Alright. Just talk to me if something's up, alright?" She smiled again, giving Sael a quick wave before she walked away into the deeper portion of the mine, her light footsteps echoing behind her as she walked.
Sael sighed, looking as she left and rubbing the back of his head. He had a feeling she knew, in a way. He generally didn't hold many secrets from her, but she wasn't one to push the subject when he did. This morning was proving to be a rather large headache all in all...
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Aug 20, 2011 15:51:46 GMT -5
Franz didn't bother eavesdropping on their conversation. Chances are, he knew Sael wasn't interested so there was little to note about what he said afterward. Plus, Franz just didn't care. After going this far and finding enough people along the way, he didn't really care much where he ended up by now. Besides, he kind of wanted to go to Ferin. The cold? Psh. He was used to that. The beauty of the white snow obscured any unkempt thoughts from Franz's mind, and allowed him to compose himself more easily. So few people outside, the whistle of the cold wind, and a frozen moon glaring at him. Just perfect.
Franz walked outside to the front of the mine and simply glanced at the moon. It gave him some solace in simply just reflecting on the situation at hand, which wasn't very beckoning of deep thought. He crossed his arms and then thought, "Hmm...alright. I think I got a pretty good number of people for Kageru. I think that one kid will learn quickly enough. As for the other people in the mine, I might as well check back in a sec."
He turned his head and left the rest of his body kind of immersed in the snowy weather. He had little to hide, really; he was there for something, so he may as well ask another person before heading out. Although, as nonchalant as he was about the situation, he wondered for a moment, what if there was more to the mines than all the ores on the outside? Maybe, y'know, the miners have something to fight in the earth or whatever.
Eh. It was wishful thinking, at least.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 20, 2011 21:30:47 GMT -5
Clang. Clang. Clang.
After Valyria left, Sael glanced at his pickaxe as he swung, quietly restarting his work that had been interrupted by Franz. But he found his normally automatic rhythm to be erratic, slow, confused... maybe it was Valyria or the stranger, but his mind he couldn't concentrate on work at all. Working a bit longer before finally giving up, placing his pickaxe back on his toolbelt as he closed his eyes, brushing the sweat off of his eyes. Damn it... he couldn't think at all right now. He had already decided against the offer, why was he so bent out of shape about it still?
...
The moon was out right now... perhaps some fresh air would clear his mind. Shuffling his feet, the beastkin began to head towards the exit, sighing as he glanced upwards. As he left the rock caverns, the beautiful blue sky and winter air assaulted his vision, the giant moon in the sky obscured by the winter air as if frozen in place. How beautiful... If there was one thing in the world that was just naturally beautiful, it was the moon. It let out a soft shine, illuminating the night air with a peaceful glow. Ah... ahead was the same stranger from before, looking upwards. Perhaps he was looking at the same thing Sael was, the object that connected all races together in it's eternal beauty...
THUD!
A loud, crashing sound assaulted him from inside the covers, and afterwards was the sound of rocks crumbling and falling as they struggled to settle. Ah... an implosion charge. It was a relatively new technology made to replace the old explosive charges of old. They were much less dangerous, instead blasting the rocks inward so that any nearby miners wouldn't be hurt. Of course, the same problem of cavern collapses were there, but it was all just a risk of mining after all. Sael had never seen an explosive charge go off before... he had heard of the outdated technology once, called TNT and dynamite and the like... now, they were forbidden because of the risk they posed. Outlawed. Implosion charges would become the new mining staple of the future.
"Ah... much better." He muttered to himself, placing his hands behind his head as he gazed upwards. His thoughts always seemed to clear away, his mind and body becoming soothed under the rays of the moon... even with the stranger near him, even near this mine which he wanted to escape from, he felt at peace here under the moon.
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