Yerive, Parton, and Tepmodus hurried along the alleys of their neighborhood. The earth-like cloud supported their steps as well as the whole district. Above their heads a big sail stabilized everything while providing some comfortable shades.
As Tepo ran behind his friends he looked left and right, seeing many houses similar to his own. Some were bigger or smaller with a few stores here and there, but all in all this place resembled a typical family friendly district.
This was even more apparent by all the kind faces smiling at the trio from time to time. Naturally their neighbors knew that today was the first of xenay in the year 2532 of the twelfth era.
It was the time for the biannual awakening ceremony. Many of the neighbors came out with their younger kids to wish the hopeful sixteen-year-olds good luck.
Hearing so many voices, Tepo couldn't deny that he was a bit touched. Such a lively scene was unthinkable in his old world. Not many had the spare strength to look out for others like this. Well, on the other hand there weren't many occasions to celebrate.
"You are still lagging behind, Tepo! What's going on? You were always better than me at running. Are you really scared today?", asked Yerive playfully while leading the trio.
Infected by the joyful atmosphere Tepo smiled lightly. He took a deep breath before quickening his pace. He noticed how much potential his young body had. After a few moments he had overtaken his friends.
"I just didn't want to shatter your confidence before the big ceremony, but you asked for it."
"Tsk.", clicked Yerive his tongue. "Nothing can shake me today! I will definitely get a mighty core! This will be the start of my rise! One day everyone will know the name of Yerive, King of Swords!"
As Parton and Tepo laughed at their friend's boasting, a kind voice reached them form the side.
In front of a small inn sat a friendly looking grandpa. He had long, white hair and a wrinkled face. He wore wide, green robes not characteristic of the Carrying Winds World. Ever since the old man arrived five years ago, the trio had often visited him. He was one of the many storytellers traveling through the world.
He played a major part in inspiring these youngsters.
"That's the spirit!", encouraged the old man happily. "I hope I will one day tell stories about you. About all of you!"
The trio's eyes lit up. With great enthusiasm Yerive shouted back:
"Just wait, grandpa Radac! You definitely will!"
"Haha, I am looking forward to it. Good luck all of you!"
Almost out of range the friends did their best to reply:
"Thank you, grandpa!"
Still a kind smile on his face the old man watched their disappearing backs before calmly walking back into the inn.
The trio was in high spirits as they imagined their favorite storyteller singing their praises. Especially Yerive had always dreamed of becoming famous. He wanted to live the life of an adventurer, spreading his name beyond this world.
Parton on the other hand was more stable. He would be content with being some sort of guard or maybe a member of a small force. All he wanted from life was a small family in a stable world. He was always a bit concerned, though, as his wish didn't match that well with those of his two best friends.
It was obvious that Yerive would be traveling a lot, but even the old Tepo was always excited to explore some dungeons. Not for the money or fame, but purely for the thrill of it. This meant that after today the three friends might take different paths in life.
Parton sighed as this thought came to his mind. But the young man quickly shook his head. He forcefully remembered all the fond memories they made during their time together. The youths were often told that it was important to keep a confident mindset during the ceremony.
Although the awakening of a core was mostly random, a healthy body and mind will still influence it to a certain degree. This was one of the major points the children here learned in the six years of preparatory school. Next to combat tactics and some general knowledge.
But even after six years of training solely for this big day many youths were still nervous. Thus, it wasn't surprising to the three friends when they saw many small groups in a hurry like them. For a lot of youngsters this morning was chaotic due to their anxiety, costing them a lot of time.
When Tepo, Yerive, and Parton reached the edge of their cloud, many panting youths were already waiting there. But a few were still hurrying along the streets, seriously afraid of missing the ceremony. Such cases happened every time, forcing the unlucky youths to wait for half a year until the next ceremony.
"Made it!", exclaimed Yerive happily. He looked left and right, scanning the other youths, searching for anyone they were close with.
Meanwhile, Tepo ignored the excitedly chattering boys and girls around him. His eyes went wide as he looked at the incredible sight before them. Standing at the edge of the cloud, a big gap was right before their feet.
A few hundred meters in the distance Tepo could see another inhabited cloud with more even further in the distance. Above and beyond those big clouds some smaller ones were also floating around. They carried only a few or sometimes even a single building, hanging in the air through big sails.
It wasn't quite easy to see how all those clouds were connected, but Tepmodus quickly understood. Paths of extremely fast-moving winds flowed between the many clouds. Tepo frowned slightly as they appeared too orderly, but soon found in his memories that these paths were mostly artificial.
Although these storms already existed for a long time, they were brought into form by powerful warriors or specially created artifacts. Since then, they were aptly called wind channels. These channels spanned the whole of the Carrying Winds World, connecting different cities and places.
Full of wonder Tepo stared at these ingenious creations. Right now, many people raced past the youngsters, using the wind channels to fly. Some of them looked elegant, some had a lot of fun. Gliding freely through the air they traveled from cloud to cloud, going after their daily business.
Tepo was eager to try out this way of travelling, but sadly now wasn't the time. From the chatter of the small group Yerive had dragged his friends towards in the meantime, Tepo understood that they were waiting for a ship.
In his old life the investigator had also seen old ships. Unfortunately, none of them were in a state where they could fulfill their purpose. They were just parked on dry land. Those which hadn't been looted clean yet were treated as reserve storage.
However, for the Tepo growing up in the World of Carrying Winds flying ships were the standard means of transport. Even right now many smaller ships of all forms were traveling along the wind channel, transporting people and goods.
Just as the young man was prepared to rummage through his memories for the ship they were waiting for, he realized that there would be no need for this anymore. Many eyes turned towards the massive behemoth which just appeared in their vision.
Coming from a wind channel further below, it traveled at speeds which one wouldn't expect, rapidly approaching the waiting youths. A few seconds later the big ship parked in front of the cloud.
Contrary to its name the ship didn't look much like those Tepo knew from his old life. It didn't have any sails, but a blue shimmering barrier above its deck to offset any forces.
The ship's body itself had a triangular shape with curved sides. It was a few meters thick, made from some sort of wood and painted in white with a blue symbol on it. A few windows allowed the passengers to look at the outside.
Below the wooden body a few strange tubes were built closely to the hull. Right now, they were turning around, using some form of energy to keep the ship in place within the wind channel.
A loud alarm suddenly caught everyone's attention. Used to this, the youths calmly took a few steps back. As if teasing their impatient brains, the ship's hull opened slowly. A big part of it unfolded, sinking down. After a few seconds it built a bridge towards the cloud, inviting its passengers in.
Together with the crowd Tepo, Yerive, and Parton slowly moved forward. Feeling the solid wood below his feet, Tepo had to admit that he was glad about it. Walking on the unfamiliar, soft clouds felt rather strange to him.
But who knew how long this feeling would last…