The plan was simple.
Silently sneak through the window amongst the dead of the night, and carefully weave through the trees and covered areas of the farmlands until reaching the wall. Next, cautiously fly up the side of the wall while keeping a cool head.
And finally… Stare into the distance at – directly at what the towering walls were keeping out of this kingdom.
Elijah was focused on psyching himself into believing he could pull this off. Surprisingly, there were weeds of doubt that even when pulled, grew back without hesitation. Was it the feeble and youthful mind that could not hold the complexities of his past?
Or was it truly fear?
The wind softly rustled against the loose fitting clothes of Elijah. Many times over, he had to hold onto his pants to avoid an awkward situation if he were to be caught red-handed. Although, one thing Elijah had noticed about this kingdom was how every single person took care of their sleep whenever possible.
Weaving slowly in between the trees, cautiously looking left and right into openings that could have caused him to be found out, and speeding close to a river that sparkled in the moonlight caused him to end up at his destination. Control was not something Elijah had worked much on as he had just gained initial control of figuring out what allowed him to fly. The weaving through the trees sped up quickly as he figured out the most efficient way to maneuver his body. And while flying close to the sparkling river, he dragged his head against the cold water while also noticing a large pile of bloody bones.
The dots were unable to connect in Elijah's mind, and eventually he began his traversal up the wall of hidden truth, which looked much taller when standing close to it.
Badum Badum
Badum Badum
The closer he became, the louder and faster his heart began to beat. A large breath was taken just before his eyes laid sight to what was in front of him.
In the far distance was the start of a curved mountain range that mirrored the suspected shape of the mountain a mile behind Elijah's humble home. To the right was the beginning of a towering forest full of trees that looked overgrown as their leaves and branches dropped to the ground. However, this was an observation from afar – more than likely tens of miles away from the wall.
"AHHHHH! HELLPPP!"
A hoarse and violent scream that occurred just below him jolted every cell in his body from the magnificent view in front of his eyes. In fact, the same mountain range that likely curved around the kingdom was also to his far right – albeit only the seeable beginning.
Below Elijah was a group of a dozen or so soldiers creating flashing lights of fire and rumbles of earth and wind. Their attackers however, were these monstrous looking lions with a beard of fire that was continuously in motion as if alive. Visibly, Elijah watched as a wide breath of fire incinerated the last of the soldiers fighting for their lives.
From this point on, the feelings and mentality in Elijah had completely shifted. In fact, memories of his past floated to the top of his mind as if they were memories he had completely forgotten about. Over the past two years, Elijah had slowly been turning into a child again – as were the harsh consequences of a more than a century old man inhabiting the body of an infant.
What seemed like rainbows and sunshine was a flashlight shining through stained glass…
This wall was here to protect the people from these beasts… No…
Magical beasts.
Unfortunately for Elijah, freedom was an ideology that was endlessly chased in his past life. There was nowhere he was not able to reach, no person that would not have a simple conversation with him, and nothing that he would stop himself from accomplishing.
In this kingdom, he was trapped. There was no sense of freedom, but only a lingering fear of the idea that one day… these walls would be no more and result in the end of his life.
Elijah did not have a single fear besides lack of freedom. Some would call him a perfectionist, but Elijah would simply call himself a normalcy breaker.
"If this world has what I think it has, then I must grow stronger… I must not become what I have witnessed just now…" A single tear of determination slipped down Elijah's cheek. A tear that would brandish his goal to not just become stronger, but also explore.
Exploring would give him the questions he would need to answer.
…
Knock Knock
"Elijah?" Are you awake yet? It's time to go!" Don was slowly opening the door to not disturb his child. If the boy did not wake, it looks like he would be venturing to the wall himself.
Funny enough, Elijah had fallen asleep amongst the silence of the night sky. The cold stone reminded him of the need for discomfort – a catalyst for doing difficult shit.
Don found Elijah walking to his window from inside his bedroom after noticing his child was not in bed. "Elijah! Were you already awake?"
"Yea. I was just excited to go to the wall so I went to the forest to stretch and wake up." Elijah was lying through his teeth, but with a child's body, it was as easy as squeezing lemons.
Don took notice of Elijah's effort and led him to an open wooden carriage. This carriage reminded him deeply of the renaissance period. Tall wheels that kept a square box meant for sitting intact. However, this carriage had four wheels and was pulled by a single horse as there was not a single ounce of cargo.
Conversations were exchanged, and it eventually led to Elijah asking about the kingdom. Specifically the layout.
"That is a good question. Pretty soon you will find all this stuff out anyways with the books that you will be introduced to, so I might as well tell you now since I can tell you have a bright mind."
"To start, The Kingdom of Astraea has 10 zones. Four in the outer region, four in the inner region, 1 underneath the inner region, and lastly, Centerpool. We live in the Outer West. To reach the Inner city, you have to travel through one of the 4 tunnel gates. The Inner city has its own 4 zones that wrap around the center of the whirlpool that sits underneath Centerpool. The King's castle is in the very center of Centerpool. Just make sure to not jump in the whirlpool as there is no saving you. The Catacombs are the cave systems that we have partly inhabited due to not having enough space. However, The Catacombs are extremely dangerous in places without people that are the homes to an uncountable number of beasts. The reason why we have it under control is due to the hunters that protect the people. And to help you picture all of this in that smart little head of yours, there are two sets of walls that give us safety. The outer wall that we see everyday, and the inner wall that is made from the mountains behind us. Some people say something fell from the sky and created the hole that Centerpool sits on top of, and some people say it has always been this way."
A whirlpool, underground caverns, and a potential meteor that created the geographical layout! Elijah had many questions that had just entered his mind, which was his goal. The only task now was to answer them.
While Elijah had just been atop the towering wall, he had never traveled by carriage to what Don described as the western gate. While staring into the lush pastures and newly planted farmlands, Elijah took a moment to stare down the long and straight road that led to the tunnel gate: the entrance to the inner city.
'That is my goal. I need to at least see inside there next!'
"Alright! This is Richter's outpost. He is not someone who mans the gate, but acts as support for any hunter squads going outside the walls."
Before they had even stepped food on the porch of the a-frame outpost, the wooden door slid open with an "oomph" that signified heavy emotions.
"R-richter. What happened?" Don questioned while staring into the teary eyes of a clean-shaven and black haired man whose blue eyes were soiled by the glossy finish of tears. Don himself felt his own heartbeat palpitate as he knew Richter was a tough man known to never shed a tear.
"Please… Come inside."
Don grabbed the hand of Elijah and hurriedly walked inside. Strapped to his chest was a bag of glass vials that rattled with every step. As soon as Elijah entered, he noticed a railing that looked over into the small area where they were standing.
Richter walked to a wooden cabinet behind what looked like a counter meant for storage and weaponry. "Thank you for bringing the potions, but I have some bad news to share… Xander, well… died last night."
"What are you talking about?!"
Just from Elijah looking up and into the eyes of his father that began to grow small beads of tears in the corners of his eyes, he knew this man Xander was someone important to them. Also, Elijah himself had seen the massacre. The breath of death that likely incinerated even the bones of the poor souls that ventured outside the walls.
Richter dove into his feelings. "You know what I am talking about Don! He is dead! And for the love of the kingdom I can't even fathom the reason why we are being sent outside these walls even if it means magitech production stops! DAMMIT! Things outside the wall randomly seemed to get so much worse almost four years ago. It makes no sense!!"
"I… I can't believe this. Why does this have to happen… After all he went through, he gets shoved to his death outside the wall! Was my sacrifice worth nothing…"
"Sorry that you have to hear this kid… Hopefully if you decide to follow along the path of magic, you won't be forced outside the wall for the benefit of whoever makes the most coin…"
"Elijah. Can you please wait outside? I'll just be a few minutes." Don calmed his emotions and kneeled down to ask his son a question whilst his voice began to show signs of shattering.
Too much was happening for Elijah to say anything as he resorted to a simple nod of the head. The door was softly closed, and as Elijah sat down on an uncomfortable wooden chair, his head began to ache with not just pain, but memories.
Death was a phenomenon difficult to process, and this instance had brought back memories of his parents, grandparents, and even siblings. Lukas had lived until the age of 122, breaking many records in the process. He even outlived two children of his, which was with a body full of disadvantages that he spent decades trying to reverse.
Even the nondescript voice of a woman asking to be saved entered his mind, which he now remembers was heard when he levitated for the first time. So many questions that had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
What was the situation outside the kingdom?
What is Magitech?
Who was the voice inside his head asking to be saved?
Was the world always ridden with beasts?
What caused the hole in the center of the kingdom to form?
Biggest of all… Was reincarnation the natural course of life, or a one of one phenomenon created by something unknown?
"Elijah?" Don had been asking for Elijah while waiting inside the carriage as if he almost forgot his child.
"Oh. Sorry… I am coming." Elijah grabbed his fathers hand and was helped into the wooden storage carriage. The ride back was bumpy and filled with silence, but when they arrived in front of the humble home, Don made a statement that filled him with joy and sadness.
"Gather a couple pairs of nice clothes, blankets, and dried fruit for all of us. We are going to Centerpool tomorrow to visit an old friend for a week. We leave in the morning…"