13 War and Unfairness

The trip from Lowe to Lytton ended up being very smooth and extremely uneventful. Throughout the entire two hour train ride, Elias hadn't experienced anything out of the ordinary, with him mainly occupying himself with internal musings with Lars or admiring the scenary as the train zoomed pass.

Before he knew it, the 2 hour time period for the trip was up and the train had pulled into the Lytton station. Elias cautiously and carefully alighted from the train, showing his ticket and ID to the officer standing in front of the exit. The officer was stationed there to make sure there were no illegal stowaways hitching a free ride, as they had experienced several such cases in the past.

Elias courteously handed both of his items to the officer, before standing aside and silently waiting for him to verify it. The officer politely handed Elias back his documents, before thanking him and wishing him well on his day.

Elias did not intend to waste anytime, so he quickly boarded a carriage going to the port of the city. He had to take the first ship moving out, if he wanted to arrive in Estica on time.

As the carriage moved through the streets of Lytton, Elias looked out through the window, paying attention to the major differences between this city and Lowe.

The city of Lytton was a bit more misty and dull than the overall atmosphere in Lowe, even when compared to the lower district of the city. The streets of the city weren't as densely packed as Lowe would be at this time, with the few people on the streets moving with tense apprehension.

Elias could see traces of fear hidden beneath their faces whenever a carriage moved past them, as if expecting some form of unexpected attack. He could hardly see any of the passerby's engaging in conversations, as everyone was busy going about their business in silence.

A man with a peculiar moustache seated across Elias shook his head at the sad sight, crossing his legs over each other with the etiquette of a noble. The man wore the classic noble attire of a black tuxedo, top hat matched with a silver topped cane, the chain of his pocket watch sticking out of his coat. The way he talked was in the manner of a noble as well, making Elias to feel somewhat amused.

What type of noble would be sharing a carriage with ordinary civilians, especially one so cheap! It was obvious that the man was just trying to act as a noble, as Elias suspected that the man might be at most a banker or cleric in some regional bank.

The man calmly stroked his beard, oblivious to Elias's inner musings. The way the man looked and behaved, Elias doubted if he would even care.

"I will always be a firm believer in an option, any option at all, besides going to war. War is meaningless, and will ultimately always affect the one's that don't have a say in it, way more than the ones that do. Life is truly unfair."

A man seated across from the man, in ordinary workers cloths, couldn't help but chime in when he heard the gentleman's comments. "Indeed good sir, that is how it had always been and how it will continue to be. The farmers, teachers, merchants, blacksmiths and even the fishermen, everyone that doesn't have a say in a conflict of ambition would always bear the brunt of the consequences.

"Civilian workers will lose their jobs, a wife will receive the letter of demise of their spouse who was just deployed and Fathers will have to watch their children starve with no way to provide. War is a game of chess, and we aren't even fit to be treated as it's pawns."

The gentleman nodded his head solemnly, obviously sharing the man's sentiments. "I couldn't have put it better. Lytton used to be the most prosperous economic hub of the kingdom, comparable only to the capital. Now look at the once prosperous city? In ruin and constant fear of attack. It's inhabitants are so scared that they dont even dare to stay out past 6 everyday, imposing their own self curfew.

"The kingdom's military constantly trail the streets, with guns and swords being more common than grapes and apples in the city these days. The citizens are slowly contacting lung diseases due to the constant smell of gunpowder in the air and all for what? Because two ambitious leaders decided to have a territorial tussle, a territory that doesn't even belong to them in the first place."

Everyone in the carriage, including Elias, nodded their head. They all shared the same sentiments, allbeit in their own ways. The details of the territorial conflict between the Kingdoms of Wessex and Berlin were mainly obscured from the public, with some minor details being revealed over the years.

The war which had started more than 150 years ago, was justified by the royal family of the kingdom as being an act of 'territorial balance' and 'authority regulation', with them saying that a kingdom acquiring more territorial jurisdiction would lead to a breakdown in the current power dynamic.

The territory being fought over was the territory of the forgotten Kingdom of Mahlon, a nation founded beyond the limits of modern history and memory. Some time after the start of the current calender timeline, the royal family and most hereditary dukes of the kingdom mysteriously vanished, seemingly out of thin air.

There was no evidence of an attack, supernatural circumstances or mass relocation. It truly seemed like they just seized to exist, abruptly and suddenly.

Elias read about it in the 'Records of old world history', a book very popular for sharing details of historical records. The information it provided was usually sparse and vague, but still gave the reader a general idea on how the world was at some point in the past.

No solid information was ever released to the public about the eerie disappearance of the Mahlone royalty, as the entire situation seemed to be purposely contained. Without the royal family being present to uphold the kingdom's general activities, and provide it with protection and safety, the territory slowly spiraled into chaos, as different local militia groups rose up in a bid to seize power.

This gave the nations neighbors, who had their sights on the territory, the justification to get involved. The Kingdom of Berlin due to geographic proximity, was the first to make the official move. They aimed to increase their kingdoms territorial authority, which would inevitably make them the strongest of all 3 current human kingdoms, if it was successful.

These actions ultimately caused the other nations to react aggressively, with the kingdom of Wessex being the major aggressor. They followed suit to lay their claim on the land, having enough georgraphical and authoritative justification to do so.

The last of the 3 kingdoms, Lorraine, decided to refrain from taking action, as they were too far away location wise to have a valid say. They did however, provide the kingdom of Wessex with tactic support, as their nation also had minor bad blood with Berlin.

With this, the Mahlon territorial conflict officially kick started, running a course of more than 150 years without resolution, with both nations losing lives and infrastructure in the process.

Lytton received more consequences from the war than any other city in Wessex, as the city sat before the horizon of the Naric Sea, the second most vast ocean in the entire world.

The Kingdom of Berlin, which was an island nation, boasted more military superiority when it came to marine operations, surpassing any of the other human kingdoms and territories. They launched regular attacks Lytton over the time span of the war, hoping to destabilise the kingdom's economic activities.

The Kingdom of Wessex were lucky enough to survive that tumultuous period, owing to the presence of other major economic hubs such as Lowe and the nation's capital city, to which most economic activities were relocated to.

This caused the once prominent city of Lytton, to turn into somewhat of a military camp, the entire atmosphere slowly becoming bleak and dull over the years. The city was in ruins and it's inhabitant harbored a ruined heart, a sad type irony crafted by the throes of war and death.

When Elias looked out of the carriage window, he could see a lot of the city's infrastructure which were broken down and damaged, owing to a clash with the Berlin Navy which had happened a couple days before, according to the gentleman at his side. The war had become so common place that the reporters weren't even enthusiastic about covering news related to it anymore, moving onto other hot topics.

Elias was inwardly relieved that he hadn't decided to make his trip to Estica too early, as he could already see himself being squashed to bits by canon shells on his way to the ship. He was happy he decided to stay and work for a few extra days, effectively earning more money while preserving his life!

Elias wondered if Damian truly got to Estica safe and hoped he didn't get caught up in the skirmish, but eventually brushed it off when he realized that it was said to have happened 2 days ago, which meant that Damian, who had left yesterday, would have narrowedly avoided it.

'Phew... It seems like luck is at least by our side. Dying before the assessment would be tragic, as well as very funny'

Elias focused back on the scene outside the carriage, no longer paying attention to the conversation of the two men beside him as he watched the carriage moved past various buildings and broken down structures.

He saw numerous church and school buildings, either still ablaze with subtle red flames, or being totally dilapidated, with numerous people taking cover underneath. People trugged in and out of the buildings, not being stopped by the security personnel who patrolled the streets, allowing them to have some form of shelter.

'well at least the soldiers are understanding of the people's situation... I can't imagine how these people would be feeling, losing their entire lives in a matter of days, hours or maybe even minutes.

'If it was me, I don't know if I'd be strong enough to move past it'

Elias sighed at the heart wrenching sight of the cities inhabitants, before turning his head away with some reluctance. He had to convince himself not to think about it too much, since he couldnt change anything as is. His best way to help these people at the moment was to give them his prayers and work hard enough to become a clergyman of the church, rising up the ranks and enforcing some type of change.

Elias knew that for that to happen, he had to pass the assessment. in order for him to do that, he had to be in an optimal mental and emotional state, and he couldn't do that if he let what he saw get to him. So the young man turned his gaze away, saying them a silent, honest prayer.

The morning sun slowly cast it's luminous glow onto the entire city structure, it's rays managing to piercing the foggy mist of gloom surrounding the city, bringing with it a feeling of respite amongst the heavy mood.

Elias felt the subtle heat of the sun on his face, slowly opening his eyes to return the honest greeting of the beautiful morning.

'Lars hasn't spoken up for a while now... was he really that tired?'

Lars had told Elias he was going to get some rest when they got to Lytton, but Elias expected him to only snooze for around 5 minutes or less. He didn't expect him to sleep for the entire trip!

'Isnt this guy anxious or something? We are in a war zone... What if something happens while he is asleep.'

Elias lightly chuckled at his brother's carefree nature, before closing his eyes to calm his emotions.

Amidst the misty streets of the dark and gloomy city, the carriage moved forward, going deeper, and deeper into the city's depths, vanishing into the morning view.

...

After finally arriving at the city's port, Elias successfully boarded the ship headed for Estica after successfully buying his ticket and getting it cleared.

The ticket was a whooping 15 Nel, 2 Nel more than his budgeted amount. The war constantly affected the prices of things within the kingdom, making the price flunctuate depending on the current situations.

Elias reluctantly payed the price, telling himself that it was a small price to pay for his future goals and aspirations.

The ship set off a couple moments later, slowly and steadily pulling out of the port with ease of grace, it's sleek outline cutting through the clear and gentle azure waves.

The passengers gathered on the bow, gazing at the resending outline of the dark and gloomy city while chattering about numerous conversational topics. Elias, who was among them, stared at now distant outline of the kingdom he had grown up in.

He made a silent promise in his heart to return with positive results, before turning away with a clear and free mind, gazing at the clear oceans horizon while the subtle ocean winds cascaded across his face with a touch of gentle charm.