A Chapter 1 The Spark(1)

  12th, Blue, 2043. 11:05AM

  Bantu Continent, Dugavu state, Mazi city, Outside the Southern gate.

  Ril Milena(POV)

  My heart was an easily swayed organ, something I was uncomfortable with at this point in time. Why was it hammering in my chest? Why was it disrupting the balance within my body? Well... My mind was the factory of the thoughts that were the causing its erratic fluctuations. Just like a ravenous ferocious beast, I was having trouble controlling the damn thoughts... After all, I was about to meet a man I had only read about in articles, seen pictures of, in the newspapers, or even heard his voice, on the radio. If I was like this even before I saw him, what would happen when I finally laid my eyes upon him? Would I faint? Now that was a social death I wouldn't want to live with.

  I fiddled with the collar of my jacket while my eyes traveled out the car's window. It was before noon, yet the heat was raging. The formal clothes were things I hated, yet, diplomatic visits required ceremonial attire.

  "Technology has started to go beyond battle." commented my mother next to me, drawing my eyes towards a tractor, a beast of a vehicle that had massive wheels, dragging along something that was turning the soil, preparing it for seeding. I covered my mouth with my hand to prevent the smile that accompanied the swell of my chest with pride.

  Dugavu, just like Milena, was looking beyond the war. Though, it appeared that this state was pivoting faster than ours, owing to the fact that it's leader, my idol, was a visionary.

  "The beasts are gone from this continent." I had almost forgotten to say something back.

  The beasts! I hadn't experienced the battles, but all those who had, had been left with scars, and loss. The whole reason we humans had managed to win was simply because someone in Dugavu had invented the Spirit Crystal circuits.

  "It is surprising that they are creating farms this close to the city and the lake shores."

  I turned to face my mother upon her words, my eyes falling into her golden pupils, a match for my own. The lines of age were prominent on her face... I dreaded the moment she would breathe her last, as that would bring a lot of things crashing down onto my small shoulders...

  "Aquatic beasts rarely breach onto the surface, not to mention the fact that now, this state is strong enough to deal with any that do." I explained, though with the knowledge that my mother had already figured out the answer.

  "What about the city? Population is going to blossom, now that there are no external threats. Shouldn't this land be for expanding the city?"

  My gaze once again fell outside, where the scenery speeding outside the window was filled with stretches of budding greenery in the shallow waters beside the road. Could this have been a swamp before? Otherwise, they wouldn't be planting rice in this season. Wait...?

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  My heart jumped, and my eyes widened as I plastered myself upon the glass, gazing intently at a patch of land where an emerald energy was enveloping the plants, which were visibly growing!

  Have these people discovered yet another frequency?!

  "Even I hadn't expected that." commented my mother. I could feel the awe in her voice. Were these people developing this fast?!

  I sunk into the depths of my mind for a time, only surfacing when the fortress walls loomed before us. We had finally reached Mazi city, the capital of Dugavu state.

  "With them advancing this fast... Do you think we should commission something for the observatory?"

  "Mother! You should also think of the other sectors! Your obsession won't develop the state!" I said, resisting the urge to face-palm.

  "You're right, my mind shouldn't be in the gutter." she said with a smile.

  Beneath the walls, right before the massive open gates, many people were gathered, either standing, riding all manner of engine powered and human effort vehicles, waiting for inspection to enter the city.

  As our convoy passed by, I noticed more than twenty, carrying banners, with even more, either wearing shirts, or other manner of things depicting humans slaying beasts. The smiles upon their faces were wide, and the hope in their eyes was unmistakable. There were those with missing limbs and scars, a testament to the war before. Though I only heard stories, these people were ones I felt respect for, including my mother. They had led humanity out of the dark age and into this new one where I got to go to school and have the freedom to choose what I wanted to be. So, even though they couldn't see me, I dipped my head in a bow as we passed by them before feeling my mother's palm come to rest upon my back.

  "How did you mature so fast?" My mother asked with a gratified smile etched into her features, one that elicited a burst of warmth within me.

  "It is what every human being should do. You, and every one else put in effort for us to enjoy this present." I said even as the shadow of the entrance above gave temporary relief from the scorching rays above. The reason we weren't held back, was simply because we were being escorted in a convoy.

  Upon making it into the city, a cacophony of sound greater than one before the city gates, greeted us. People were shouting, vehicles were whistling, the streets were crowded... It was simply chaos in motion. Though, if you focused on a single person, you would see that each had a goal, a place they wanted to be, yet looking at this from the perspective of the many, all I could see was chaos incarnate.

  But what spoke to me the most, were the buildings, and the construction sites. Were these people chasing the sky? The observatory was a marvel of engineering, yet what my eyes could see was even greater than that. Steel and glass meshed and rose into the sky in all manner of contortions, with some even looking like they were challenging gravity itself! The people entering and exiting the constructs had a gravity to their gait that differentiated them from those outside the city, as if every step they took was leading them to a goal only they could see.

  Trendy outfits dominated the scene, and I even felt my cheeks warm upon gazing at woman whose skirt hem ended in the middle of her creamy thighs.

  "Was Dugavu state always this developed?!" My mother's voice dripped with amazement.

  A few minutes later, we were circling the martyrs square, a place etched with names of people, those that had fallen in the war. The etchings were so tiny that unless you were standing right before the granite wall, you wouldn't notice them otherwise. A silent blanket was enveloping the round about, one which I allowed to smother me as I gazed at the etchings.

  How many people had died since the first rebellion? No one could answer that question. But, what I was certain of was the fact that they had paved the way for the victory. Humanity had almost reclaimed all of Bantu continent.

  The rest of the journey towards our destination was uneventful, with I only getting increasingly intrigued by the city's development. The more I saw, the more I yearned to see the visionary behind all this. It also made me eager to go back and implement them in our state. War technology had been the mainstream, yet it seemed that we, and every other state, would have to pivot to more mundane means in order to become prosperous.

  The car finally came to a stop before our destination, with the driver hopping out, and circling to my side, where he opened the door, and held it out for us. I stepped out, finally feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin after such a long ride. I squinted my eyes to adjust to the brightness before they settled onto the two people waiting on the red carpet. A crowd lined the sides, shouting, waving, and curiously drinking me in. Nerves took over while I plastered a fake smile upon my lips and waved back.

  "You're too stiff! It should be natural!" said my mother, her hand on my shoulder stabilizing me somewhat. The fact that we would have a public reception had escaped my mind, and now, I was just a hairbreadth away from running off.

  Disgust welled up inside me when I saw one of the two men on the red carpet, the one clad in a dark suit with crimson patterns at the ends of the sleeves approaching. A Lutalo clansmen was someone I didn't particularly love to interact with, so I dimmed down on my fake smile and frowned to try and have him back off. Though, judging by his same plastic smile, and enthusiastic gait, it wouldn't work. So, I braced myself for conversation, making sure to ignore the chill radiating from behind me.