At this point of the day, the sky looked a bit more gray than blue. The sun couldn't be seen directly, though remnants of its warmth could be felt, even as the concealing clouds heralded the approaching storm.
Each of the buildings in the complex seemed worn out, cracks ran through each and every one of them and dried paint rolled up and fell of their sides. The shadows cast upon them and the monotonous silence of the surroundings belied the presence of any form of a life.
As the clouds drew closer, a slow shuffling could be heard in the background, breaking the ambient atmosphere. It was as if the introduction of sound brought in a bit of color to the surroundings.
As the shuffling drew closer, it's source became clearly visible. A figure of about 173cm clothed in a gray raincoat with the hood up could be seen coming into focus, said figure was dragging an unknown tightly bound bundle across the floor of the complex. The figure paused for a while to catch it's breath and surveyed it's surroundings, glancing through the abandoned buildings and at the approach of the coming storm.
With a short swear under it's breath, the figure resumed it's ascent up the stairs of the building, opting for higher ground, an odd choice in light of the upcoming weather event. As the figure safely reached his destination, a somewhat secluded unit on the second floor of the east end of the complex, the bundle was gently placed in a corner. The figure resting it's back on one of the walls, slowly slid down, sighing out of exhaustion, proceeding to stay in a seated position with it's back against the wall, listening for any signs of approach down the corridor.
'Looking at the time, it seems I'll have to spend the night here... I'd better start hunkering down for the moment'.
The figure removed the raincoat, revealing a young man of about 15 years of age clad in a faded leather jacket, washed out grey denims and some unidentified boots. He had light blue eyes, dark hair and a slightly pale countenance. He proceeded to unwrap the bundle placed on the floor earlier, removing some old culinary equipment which had definitely seen better days, and reached in once again to retrieve a pound of beef and some spices.
He then brought out a lighter, but unlike a normal lighter, this had a set of carvings drawn into it with multiple ignition points by the side. The lighter had no liquid gas present within it but rather had an opening through which air could be drawn in. He proceeded to apply the spices to the beef and placed it by the side, then by turning on the third ignition switch, light blue particles were drawn into the lighter and passed through the engraved carvings before being released as flames in a continuous burst, however these flames were dark blue in color.
He then set up a grill using the equipment he retrieved earlier and placed the lighter below it. Leaving that aside, he moved to the bundle again and removed a lantern with similar design to the lighter.
Woosh, the lantern came on with a click spreading a dim blue glow on the surroundings and forming a barrier within the confines of the room, chasing away its inherent shadows and highline its state of disrepair.
Turning his attention to his already prepared meal, the boy shifted his focus to finishing it with the aid of a tin of water sourced from his trusty bundle. Finishing up in a matter of minutes, he then proceeded to clean up and sought to secure the said bundle once more.
'I better check the surroundings once more, just to be sure' he thought.
Using the aid of the lantern and its associated barrier, the boy took a short patrol of the east end of the complex noting possible exit points for a quick getaway. After this short after meal exercise, he returned to his place of refuge and sitting down, became lost in his thoughts replaying the words he had heard earlier in the day.
'Axiel, this particular journey to Starforge City is very important, as you know most of the current seedlings we possess do not mesh well with the aether in their surroundings due to the current weather changes. It's important for us to retrieve the Spring batch before the rains become fully consistent. Remember, the success of the next harvest produced will determine the grade of the Astral Drive you will be able to get'.
The words of his father echoed in Axiel's mind. He had the reached the age of viability for his Aether Synchronization and while he had no hopes of getting his hands on a Metallic Drive, his family had already pooled together enough credits for him to obtain a Colored one.
Colored Drives ranged from the lowest ranked Red to the highest ranked Violet. To understand the grading of these Drives, one has to know what they are and their purpose.
In this world, the ever present Aether could usually only be seen but not physically handled or manipulated in any form. Aether, in its pure form was, while a higher form of energy compared to the fossil fuels used in the past, useless except for use as a battery source or as raw explosive material.
The introduction of Drives allowed for the manipulation of Aether into its elemental forms. Drives enabled an individual to use Aether to manipulate the physical properties and laws in their surroundings. At this point in time, most household tools and appliances were outfitted with drives in order to harness the raw Aether in the surrounding for conversion, examples being the lighter and lantern used by Axiel earlier.
However, the materials used in the creation of Drives were made of Aetherores and the remains of Aetherbeasts. Aetherbeasts, as a species were a product of increased evolution speed as a result of the introduction of Aether. Unlike a vast majority of humans, Aetherbeasts had the inherent ability to manipulate Aether without aid, and as such became akin to walking disasters and scourge on mankind. Thus hunting them served a twofold purpose, the empowerment and ensured safety of humans. Aetherores, on the other hand were incredibly hard to mine, due to their instability, and the incredibly hard conditions for their formation.
Thus, while low grade drives like the Red Drive were commonly seen even in household appliances, Green and Blue Drives were basically only used for military installations and personal synchronization. The higher ranked Metallic Drives were only available to those who dwelled in the cities, even then their costs made them th exclusive properties of the Upper Class, the so-called Elite.
The process of Aether Synchronization which was undergone by every child of 15 years and above, simply involved the merge of a personalized drive into the human body, specifically the cranial region. The process granted the individual Aether manipulation abilities equivalent to the grade of the Drive used for the merger. So with a few exceptions, talent was almost irrelevant to one's ability to handle Aether.
As Axiel ruminated on his Father's words, he heard the first raindrops of the storm patter outside his room, huddling his jacket closer to himself, he proceeded to grab a discarded blanket from the corner of the room.
Closing his eyes, he had one final thought. 'The Rainwings will be out in droves tonight'.