Land of the Machines
Thread Topic: Land of the Machines
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Alianora started gathering up her stuff and motioned for Rasia to follow her out of the house. Everything was starting to darken as the sun slowly began to settle under the horizon. The lights of the city kept everything aglow, however, with her shining bulbs of bright fake lights. She'd like to admit that nights in the city were quiet and peaceful, but nothing in that city was ever quiet and peaceful.
It was a very short walk to the edge of the market district. Alainora lead Rasia to a small shack with large open windows and a huge counter. There were chairs set outside facing the counter, and a woman inside a very small kitchen. Her arms were completely covered with tattoo's, and she was missing an eye which was covered by an eye patch.
"Ah! My baby Nora!" the woman shouted. "It's good to see you! And you've brought a friend!" -
"Hello," Raisa said and gave a little wave. The woman's cheery demeanor brought a smile to her face. She realized she hadn't smiled in what felt like ages, and smiled even more. She maybe didn't want the woman to shout "And you've brought a friend" so loudly, which would draw attention to her, but she didn't care for the moment. She was glad someone was so happy to see Nora.
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"What are you girls having?" Cassie asked, pulling her dirty blonde hair up into a high pony tail.
"I'll take the chicken tortilla soup please," Alainora giggled. "With the sour cream!"
Alainora pulled her messy hair out of its bun from earlier, sending her red curls everywhere. Going to Teold Enow always made her feel like a little kid again. She remembered on the rainy days when she was cold, Cassie would always make her the best warm soup she could muster. Cassie was a good friend to her and her brother. She stepped in as a mother figure after they had lost theirs.
"Sounds good, and what about you, sweetie?" Cassie asked, turning to Rasia. "We got just about everything, chicken soup, chowder, potato soup..." -
"Actually, the chicken tortilla soup sounds really good," Raisa said. The potato soup had caught her ears, though. That had been one of her favorites. The cook would put ham and cheese in it, and it would turn out so creamy. But she'd never had chicken tortilla soup, and she wanted to try it out.
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"Alright girls, coming right up!"
Cassie then turned around and got to work. Things were mostly quiet around them save for the low chatter of people talking around them and a radio that Cassie had that was talking about all the latest gossip.
Alainora found it pretty funny that the upper class was more interested in petty celebrity drama than anything of any real and actual value. But of course, everything going on in the city didn't really effect them like it did everyone else. She mostly ignored everything being said on the radio, but there was a change in tone of the speaker that caught her attention.
"Breaking news! After a nearly two year long stalemate in the war, the Royal Army has finally made an advancement in favor of Shicicliff! The King and Queen of Citego have been assassinated! The Princess is presumed dead, leaving the city in chaos without a leader. More advancements are planned on being made soon. In two weeks time, the Royal Army plans to make the final push into Citego, ending this war once and for all."
Alainora rubbed her leg.
"Sounds like things are getting pretty rough out there." -
Rasia was silent. An affirmation that her parents were dead. Citego was going to fall to Shicicliff. She needed to get back and claim the throne before the next attack.
But the problem was that she didn't know how to rule. Her parents hid everything from her, thinking that they were going to live long lives, and would be able to teach her later. She knew nothing of how to be a queen, much less a good one. How to save your land when you don't know how? -
"Yeah, I was hoping after such a long stalemate they'd finally call the war quits," Cassie spoke up, dishing up two bowls of the soup. "All it's done is cost resources and lives. Our people are tired. The war takes more than it gives. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here's your dinner, girls!"
"Thanks, Cass," Alainora said, putting a few coins on the counter after receiving the bowls.
The soup was as good as ever. The rich spices of the soup added a wonderful taste, and the thick soup coated her mouth. The fried tortilla strips were a nice crunchy addition to the soup, and Alainora found herself taking some strips to mix with the sour cream and soup to make a nice dip.
"I wonder if this war wouldn't have happened if more people understood the old language," Alainora wondered out loud. -
Rasia took a bite and every cell in her body instantly filled with glee. She found her new favorite. "This is so good!" she told Cassie.
"What would the old language have to do with it?" Rasia asked. She'd studied it. Of course she'd never used it in anything in real life, since her parents hid everything from her. Including the reason for the war. They went on about how she shouldn't worry her pretty little face about it. It's a war! How could she not worry?! -
"It's just that, the entire land was supposed to be connected. In the old language, Citego translates to City of the Gods. My father always told me that it was meant to be the capitol city of Lenmaes. A place for people all across the land to go, the high city of the land that would provide for her people. But the language is now seen as dirty. I mean, people get to pick and choose their sayings in the old language, but no upper class person would dare speak it unless it was somehow related with the new language. Even the Oiri, Officers of the Righteous have their saying of Wian Thego. Wian Ri. We stand together. We stand free. Have we just forgotten all of that?"
Things were silent for a moment and Alainora stared down at her bowl, her eyebrows drawn close together.
"I think you're reading too much into it, Nora," Cassie spoke up. "Large empires like Lenmaes used to be are never meant to stand in unity forever. Even Shicicliff, this huge city we live in, doesn't stand in unity. Why do you think they call us Muhi? Why do you think we're cornered in the parts of the city that we are?"
"It's because we're the unwanted part of the war they didn't expect to have to deal with. I still remember it was the red Shicicliff flag bearers who raided my village! Had they left us alone I would still be home with my parents, and I'd still have my leg! They uproot us from our homes and cast us as rats when we have no where else to go but their home. We're a divided city because they never once tried to include us in the first place."
Silence again. Alainora was loud in her words, but she was just a lone girl, she didn't have the power to drown out the rest of the voices around her in the crowd. Her words fell upon two sets of ears, and two sets only.
Cassie turned to Rasia. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for the conversation to take such a... serious turn." -
"It's okay," Rasia said. She still wasn't going to reveal all of her past, but she could tell a little bit of it. "It angers me too. My parents were recently killed in the war. I've just been wandering around from city to city, not knowing where to turn, or what to do. I wasn't planning on staying here very long either, when I found out how harsh the Oiri are here."
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"The Oiri are terrible," Alainora agreed. "But honestly, staying in the city is probably going to be your best bet."
Cassie nodded her head. "She's right. Word on the street is that once Citego falls, they're dispatching Oiri officers to every village and city in the land. They plan to take full control and the King is bound to become dictator of Lenmaes. Might as well bunker down and become a citizen before they start trying to deem we're too dirty to be alive at all." -
Raisa was silent again. She couldn't do that. That was like saying that they had won already. And anyway, she was the princess of Citego. Becoming a citizen here felt like treason to her. She had to get back to Citego.
She'd leave tomorrow. -
An awkward silence continued over the area for a few moments as they continued eating their soup. Things got continually darker, and more people made their way around the streets. More lights were being lit, sending a colorful array of lights all throughout the area.
Alainora loved going out at night. People always seemed much more relaxed at nighttime. Small business markets were able to open up as the big businesses were closed for the night, people would play music and dance throughout the street without fear of being hit by a steam car. It was one of the most beautiful times of the day.
Finishing her soup, Alainora pushed her bowl forward. "Thanks, Cassie. It was amazing, as always!" -
"Thanks, it was delicious," Rasia told Cassie truthfully. She started snapping to the music that drifted to her ears. She really liked it. She rarely heard much of this kind of music, anyway. And having a full stomach was amazing. She had slowly felt her strength seep back into her with every bite she took. She didn't feel like she was about to faint anymore. She was just in a cheery mood.
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(Sorry if responses are slow/ short im on my phone and today I'm heading out of town so wont be back until tonight)
"Any time, girls!" Cassie said cheerfully, grabbing the bowls to put them away for cleaning. "Next time you'll have to bring Morgan around, its been a bit since he last came by."
Alainora sighed, rolling her eyes a little bit. "I would, but hes an idiot who keeps taking overtime shifts at work."
"Hes still working at the factory?" Cassie shook her head. "Hes going to get himself killed."
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