Eirsen City

Prologue

Tin-din rang the air. People marched off to their mundane lives. It was a beautiful sound. Tin-din- a metallic ring heard everywhere in Eirsen City. A rustless, restless city with the core being Train Eir, Eirsen City was the highlight of the continent Sorpia. Most didn't think of it that way though, especially those who grew up where I did: Rollingoff. It was a nickname that was given due to the lackluster appearance and overall slagging nature of the Eirsen City neighborhood. And it stuck ever since. Though that was decades ago, way before I was even graced upon this place.

I struck my shoulders higher. Cadet Alpha was about to be named and somehow I knew it was for me. The emotion in my gut swam high as I listened to the loud speaker voice my name.

Rollingoff wasn't always a piece of slag. The streets were once sleek and shiny metal. No rust in sight. Cars lined the streets amongst the coppered skyscrapers. And people actually smiled. That was the hard part to believe. Mother claimed it, though she never saw this to be true. She heard it from her mother, who heard it from her mother. So on and so forth. The place was rusted, dented streets with rusted, dented buildings, and even rustier, dented inhabitants. Broken doors led to broken homes and broke people. Rollingoff was not a place to grow up in. The air was smogged and held high contents of red. It brokered the sun in hues of fire.

Somewhere in the distant past, I was brought into this world by a whimsical romance that lasted long enough for me to be conceived. Dead upon arrival, I lived like any other in Rollingoff: barely able to stand myself and my position. It was a dreary childhood. But I never lacked in anything. All one needs is love. It brought peace, and a general well-being even if my clothes were rat-bitten. I often thanked my mother for her contributions to my life. If not for her, I wouldn't be here: Train Eir; a better future for myself.

My mother's lackluster approach to life gave me a whole definition of incompetence. She was a fine mother, but a horrible human being. Her incompetence was developed way before I had – and it never lessened as she raised me. I know she loved me; she fed and clothed me for love's sake. But she lacked in empathy and understanding. She wasn't content. Not that I am content; well, was that is. For here I stand, in the waiting position. Granted the name Alpha. Leader of the pack, of the whole herd humans that are now beginning their training in Flight.

I raised my chin. Tears almost ran down my cheeks; I straightened that out. Today was the first day of a new life for us all. I took the stage, strolling across. To be a Flighter, that is my dream. Day 1 began now.