The wind was cold. My leather shoes shielded my feet, though the chill still clung to me, alive and biting. That thin layer of protection was barely enough to keep me moving forward.
I chose to follow the same path, past the wolf, deeper into the foggy clouds. My feet moved fast, my arms swung with them, and the wind dragged against me like a nightmare, blinding me until I could see nothing.
Still, the same feeling pushed me onward—the pull of the unknown. It was hard, unbearable at times, but even if it meant meeting that damned demon bat I had slain, I kept walking.
Time passed as it had before. My steps slowed. Around me stretched only fog and gray light with no direction but the one I forced myself to take.
This time, I had no hope. If the monster lingered, I would not know. My sight was useless. My senses dulled. I was blind to everything but the thought of pressing forward.
At last, the sky broke through. Not empty, but filled with stars—blue, red, orange. They reminded me of Earth, of Mars, of all the worlds above. The fog made them faint, yet still they shone bright enough to pierce the haze.
My hand tightened around the dagger. My senses lay silent, no warning, no spark of power. I half-expected another monster, but nothing came.
Then the fog thickened again. At first I thought I was slipping into madness, but it felt real—like suffocating smoke pressing down on me. The air grew thin, every breath a struggle. I ran, forcing myself onward. My throat burned. My mind clawed for air. From the cold ice that once shattered me into crystal, now came the threat of death by suffocation. I had no desire to die like that. So I ran, and ran, and—
My senses ignited like fire in my heart. Heat flooded my nerves, waking sight, hearing, body. My feet struck nothing, and before me opened boundless mountains—taller than any skyscraper. Above them stretched a vast sky, the sun blazing. I saw it: the frozen world, its endless cold, its brimming breath of fresh air. The wind poured down from the peaks, pulling me with it.
My balance broke. The grip of life loosened. Death's weight settled over me.
I fell into the abyss, into the unknown, into the death waiting below. The wind dragged at me, beautiful in its cruelty, lifting my hair, chilling my shirt. In that freefall I felt calm. My heart was still. My mind was still.
Bang!!
"Ha—" My breath tore out of me as I woke, flung back into the real world. The dream was vast, but now it faded into something beautiful. The morning sun was up. Life had returned. The dream stretched long but ended short, while the morning lingered slow.
This time, I chose to rest. To take a nap, real sleep. I had learned—entering the dream happens only once. After that, sleep is just sleep.
So I lay back in bed, and drifted away...
...
It had been more than an hour since I had slept, and Elliot woke with his body at rest but his mind still restless. He still needed to focus. Now was the time to plan. His mind drifted back to the past, recalling everything Nile had told him.
"The Alden Empire… who are they? Why do they come to our small, insignificant village?" Nile asked me.
"I don't know, sorry," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Okay, it makes sense… but I had hoped you would. If—"
"Just continue. I have work. I need to know, so I can help."
"Alright, alright," Nile said as he looked straight into my eyes.
"Well, this is how it goes. The Alden Empire is a vast empire made of hateful nobles of all kinds. The ones that truly rule over the Empire are the Everetts. My uncle says they're descendants of some god, while others just call them power-hungry monsters. I presume the Emperor himself is an Everett, but honestly, I don't really remember what my uncle said."
He paused, then continued.
"Okay, so the Alden are powerful. But why us? Basically, the Alden Empire is at war. From my understanding, there are kingdoms in the south made up of powerful people resisting the Empire. From what I understand, we are at the center of the war. My uncle calls it the 'No Man Lands,' a place not governed by anything but small lords like our village lord."
"But how does that pertain to—"
"Just let it go. Nile's always like this. He wants you to know everything. It's annoying, but helpful," Charly said.
Scar nodded.
"Okay, I'll move a little faster. Now Elliot, the truth is this war is not just about freedom. The southern kingdoms want more than freedom—they want resources. These resources…"
"Are the crystals, right?"
"Yes, those damn red crystals. These Alden scums not only come into our homes to fight, but they steal our resources. Elliot, they take them! But the majority of the mines are miles away, at the center of these battles. My uncle says if the resources were ever fully mined, then there would be no wars. But he says there's an endless supply—not because it truly is endless, but because a new source of these resources has always been found in the Chaos Belt. They call this place the Chaos Belt. A place made only for one thing, mining and wars!"
"To my understanding, I have no clue what a belt is, or what the Chaos Belt even means. Is it underground, or in the air?"
"But all I know is that there are boundless resources near us, and they are being fought for."
I looked at him, about to ask
"Now you're thinking, how can we profit from this? What can we make of such great powers clashing in our way?"
"Stealing, I would guess."
"So you're not dumb after all. That's a great guess—and a perfect one at that."
"My uncle says, what makes a thief? When one steals, does it mean stealing is bad? We steal the ground's natural home. We steal the trees of Ender and cut them down. We steal the fish from their waters and their homes. Stealing is only what someone names it. I take from you, and you take from me. We are all thieves, deep down. We all steal something. And when we get caught, then we are thieves. When we get caught, then we are criminals. When we get caught, then anger comes. For one thing is true: thieves are not just highborn children of noble blood, but even the worst who live like beggars… and kings."
"Now, Elliot, let me tell you about these soldiers, their perfect bloodlines, their high moral codes, and how they call us 'outlaw children of the Dead Sun bastards.'"
"These soldiers are here for one thing: guarding the crystals and shipping them back. The village is now run by Alexander, and his men control it. Their only job is to receive and hold the crystals for shipment every day. Now, what can we do with this? We have a month of waiting, just like we wait for rations to be handed out. Before the cargo drivers arrive to haul the Chaos Crystals, they must be held securely. What we do is… we steal from rats who try to steal from others. There are containers that arrive every day, most filled to the brim with crystals, each one uniquely labeled. Me and the boys got the idea from another enthusiast—a small-time researcher, a machinist turned runic artist. He needed small amounts for his studies, and we learned from him."
"Our job is to steal from one of these containers. How? One, by being lucky. Two, by distracting them—tricking them. At the end of each week, someone is needed to escort the shipment. We steal from the open cases no one watches. These are believed to be the lowest grade crystals—usually dumped or sent for refinement."
"Refined? What do you mean?" I asked.
"My uncle says the grade of a crystal is its energy level. Some have very little energy. They use these crystals as a source for bio-drugs. There's a small, secret operation running day and night by the soldiers themselves. We follow these people and steal from their containers."
"What, do you know where the hidden soldiers' crystals are?" I asked.
"We were lucky, but we lost track at one point. I almost died following them. But my luck held—Charly tricked one of the thieving soldiers and stole from him, right behind his back, while he was stealing from his own men."
Coming back to reality, Elliot now somewhat understood the main point: Nile was stealing from thieves. Though it was better than stealing from Alexander and his men, it was still risky—just much less so. Not only would they not have to worry as much, but even stealing some crystal from the thieves alone yielded only a little. The risk was getting caught. If Nile was noticed even once stealing from the rats, his chance would drop to zero.
How could they help them? How could they make even more money? Thinking about Nile's words, Elliot remembered: every end of the week, there was a container of open shipments transferred like a golden goose. What others didn't understand was that, for some reason, these shipments always came at night. This only happened at the end of the seventh day of each week of the month.
It seemed there was a collusion between the thieves and the soldiers, as if the shipments were meant to be taken. This gave Elliot an idea: most of the soldiers were likely doing this on purpose, profiting from refining the crystals at the village. Nile said that about thirty containers were filled to the brim, but out of thirty, only twenty actually arrived at the main headquarters of the soldiers in the village.
How did this happen? One: the containers were lifted out of the drives. Two: out of the thirty-five guards who dropped off the crystal, only twenty-five stayed around the drives. Each drive had five containers, each with enough people, and some walking beside them. This confirmed that the majority of the soldiers in the village were scrimping.
Now, the ten that stayed separate not only took the crystals out of the containers but also separated them in the village city. This was when Charly, Nile, and Scar made their move on one of the soldiers. Knowing it was night, Nile distracted him while Charly struck him in the back, knocking him out for just a second on the ground. They only had time to take two crystals because the container was locked and required a key.
But with their best effort, they not only stole the key but also took two crystals, earning thirty silver coins.
This was a great harvest. The thieves could do nothing about it. Not only that, but this seemed like the best option for them. Taking it to heart, Elliot had an idea: if they took the key, could it still work for all the containers, allowing them to be even more efficient?
...
Walking into the village, today was my day off, but I had no interest in doing nothing. What came next was talking with Nile, sharing an idea I had come up with—something feasible. With that in mind, I decided to start looking around the village, knowing I still had time before the meeting.
As I wandered through the streets, I had two goals in mind: one, to find a better place to live, and two, to eat better. With the money I had only copper I used it to feed myself and gather knowledge about the village as a whole. Soldiers were everywhere, walking in their dark blue suits, brimming with authority.
Entering the main stone road, I decided to explore further. Using my copper, I bought a sandwich from a small shop called the Bakery Salt. It deserved praise freshly made, perfectly balanced with lettuce and a thin slice of bread. The look on the girl behind the counter made me feel a pang of guilt she probably guessed I had spent all my savings just to fill my stomach.
But I felt proud. Soon, I would have enough to eat my fill. Most of these shops were meant for soldiers; most were expensive. The five copper I had just spent could sustain me for two days. I walked more, asking various shops what they had. Some gave me odd looks. Today I realized it wasn't just dirt on my face—I smelled like a poor child on the edge of starvation.
The truth was, I was strong, and I believed I would grow stronger. With the knowledge I was gathering, I now knew there were three to five good spots to live. Most were inns reserved for soldiers, but according to the villagers, I could find a decent place for two silver per three or five nights. The inns were not only affordable but good enough for me. One was called Moonshin Inn, and another, Bastrain.
"So you made it," I said, sitting in the original spot where Nile, Charly, and Scar had given me a brief understanding of their heist.
"Yes, now let's get to business," Nile said with a smile that brimmed like the blue sky, his arms crossed as his eyes met mine. And so we began talking…
Author's Note:
Driver: cars that float, mechanically oversized, large and wide.