53 A Place To Call Home (1/2)

Soaring through the open air was a ma.s.sive dreadnought forged from heavy steel, forming together to create an enormous vessel. A flying s.h.i.+p, sailing through the sky as multiple large engines rumbled in the background, pus.h.i.+ng a terribly hot tornado of flame out, gliding the s.h.i.+p forward. The city of Direfell was quickly coming into view as the s.h.i.+p pa.s.sed many landmarks at a breakneck pace.

The cities' ancient and towering walls lumbered ahead, pus.h.i.+ng away the dark desert sand and making way for civilization.

Nothing of significance had changed since this vessel had been here last. The citizens continued to hustle from one place to the next, while the commerce was relatively unphased by the events that had transpired during the casting out of an entire clan.

Orion had been a powerful and influential beast throughout many portions of Direfell, but even their control was quite limited when in comparison to the entire cities' ecosystem.

”Radio tower communications channel seven, reporting in,” a static voice spoke out from the console, ”Permission for landing approved, welcome back flags.h.i.+p.”

The computers that crowded the s.h.i.+p let out numerous low-toned beeps as several mechanisms unlatched across the console board, turning green. One of the men sitting within the s.h.i.+p's command bridge ordered back, ”Confirmed, landing on platform E2. Send word that we need a labor crew ready for our arrival, don't be late.”

”Roger that,” the static voice replied, ”I'll send word to the workshop to be ready. Welcome back to Direfell.”

The pilot turned in his chair as his attention fell upon the consoles in front of him. He pulled on multiple axis controls, twisting and turning them as the s.h.i.+p mimicked their movement. He called out across from him toward another man who sat to his opposite, ”Bring us down slowly, we've been approved for platform E2.”

”Aye sir,” the other man nodded his head as he ripped up toward several switches above him, flicking them into an on position.

The heavily armored vessel they were piloting was the flags.h.i.+p cruiser of Direfell's ill.u.s.trious military captain, sir Roch Cresswell. The outer armor was slick and black, with numerous closed compartments where heavy armaments could be unlatched in mere moments.

The city below had a nostalgic air to it, one that had caused the numerous soldiers and pilots within Roch's s.h.i.+p to let out an exhale of breath upon returning to. Many of these men considered Direfell to be their home, and so had found refuge and comfort in such a place.

One of the pilots within the command bridge turned to face another man as he ordered out, ”Take us down and prepare the landing gear.”

Their s.h.i.+p slowly descended toward the ground, as it did so an enormous amount of both dirt and sand kicked up into the air, tossing about recklessly. ”We have landed, I repeat, the DV Aurora has landed.” The man seemed almost self-congratulatory about the whole affair as he clambered out of his seat and released the hatch locks.

Somewhere within the DV Aurora, a group of pa.s.sengers readied themselves to disembark.

Evelien led their group as Reinout, Droh, and Deus all followed closely behind her. She seemed rather accustomed to everything, moving comfortably through the cabin and down toward the exit.

Deus let out a heavy yawn as he stretched his arms behind his head, twisting himself this way and that. ”Ah, it feels so good to move around again.”

Droh chuckled in response, ”Right, you tend to lose track of time when you're flying… I did my fair share of flying when I was in Orion, but since then it's definitely been awhile.”

”I'm not sure I can ever get used to it… these flying s.h.i.+ps have always seemed so out of place here… like they don't match their environment or tech.”

”Heh,” Droh simply let out a loose sigh in response, dropping his shoulders and loosening his joints after their long journey.

To travel from the tower hidden within the emptiness of the desert back to the iron city of Direfell, several days were spent. It had been a long and boring journey but had allowed Deus and Droh to re-familiarize themselves with their next move and recalling past experiences.

After all, one needed to remember the past so as to grow in the future. If Deus simply shrugged off past experiences, he'd never advance to a point where he could reliably fight on the same level as what he had witnessed previously.

The strength that was shown by individuals such as Androma, Rol'an, even Roch… they were beyond his expectations, and he knew that a fight like theirs wasn't the last he'd see.

Evelien approached them as she wrapped herself from her neck to her shoulders with this beautifully crafted shroud, almost acting as some type of cloak to hide her skin.

”You two will be staying within quarters that we'll prepare for you, but before that, you'll come with us to report back into the Spire.”