Sora Kurusu, The First Artificier

'This doesn't look like a Delacour province at all...' I thought, although it was only natural for a very rocky plain to be the ideal location for a Mining province. A bunch of children ran past me, and I was almost disgusted.

The children's bodies looked almost as if they would break if they crashed into something, most of their greater bones revealed due to, what Sora presumes, malnutrition. However, that wasn't only limited to the children that ran past him.

The guards, as he has barely noticed before, had the same extremely limp, pale and dried out body parts as the children, even though they are heavily covered in armor. It was their very high-lighted cheekbones and flattened noses that gave this away. Everyone around him is suffering. But what surprised him most was, they were smiling...

The children happily played around, chasing one another even with their flimsy looking limbs. The guards were enjoying nice flasks of what Sora assumed could be liquor. And women nearby, holding wicker baskets in their bony elbows happily chatted away 'How?' A fist formed 'How can they be like this, even when there is a war...' I looked up again, and before me stood a little girl "Excuse me..." she tugged on my shirt "Do you have food?" I looked at the little girl's face, she was dirty in many spots that would ultimately ruin her womanly appeal in the future "Tessa! You come back here, young lady!" A woman, among those that were peaking earlier, grabbed hold of the poor child's ragged cloak, and separated her from me "I'm sorry for what my little girl did..." She said politely "It's not a problem..." I looked at the girl and winked "We all need the help sometimes..." both women were confused at what I said "Let us go, Tessa..." and the woman marched away, with the child tailing her 'Ah...'

'This reminds me so much, of home...' I said, drawing a singular tear that had abruptly ruined my nostalgia...

'Well, guess I can't stand around here any longer...' I said as I walked down the heavily worn province. It seems as if the problem just gets worst the further I went up the town 'What the heck! I know there might've been terrible lords before, but this is definitely the worst case I've ever seen!' I stopped in front of a large pub, and opened the door. There was no one inside, literally. The place was gathering dust and cobwebs grew in every nook and cranny found in the place, and some of the chairs that are set up on the tables were missing a few legs. 'This has got to be the only pub this place has got, isn't it...' I thought, but then I shrugged and said 'Oh well...' I went up to the second floor, and the rooms were just as equally dirty 'Well, whatever works for me...' I flapped the bed sheets up, causing the sheet to send a cloud of dust flying...

Without a broom, It was torture trying to remove dust from the nearby table and the floor beneath me. As night fell, the candle light barely revealed the walls around me, it just only lit around the rectangular table that it stood upon, and the pile of books and paper along with a bottle of ink and a quill on the table stood idle, but no more. It was tiring just wasting away my time trying to get some rest, even though this place was much worst than any of the other cities, so I've decided to try and do some light reading and a bit of practicing the human alphabet of this world.

I yawned, and closed the book that I was reading. The night is young, indicated by the merry laughs of many people on the streets.

So I decided to go on a little walk, and wore my Hoodie and greeted by another sight that always seem to follow me. Two men in cloaks took seat on a dusty table, and a singular candle light Illuminating their expressionless faces "So you've decided to show yourselves..." They both looked at me, and took a bow. I was lost for words...

"What is the meaning of this?" I said "If you must kindly excuse my escorts..." A tall man appeared from behind me and then proceeded to take a seat next to me, He was sporting a feathered top hat that covered his delicately combed blond hair, a monocle with a black rim, and he wore a tailcoat vest trimmed with gold on it's ends, and a very unsuspected pair of traveler's boots, reaching somewhere above his shins. "I've heard of the man that decimated my entire personal guard, on accident..." He said "But I'd prefer to finally confront you about it rather than send more of my men to their death..." I walked backwards slowly "Haha! No need to be scared, I'm not here to hurt you..." He said "Dear hero..." I was surprised he knew, but then again, I didn't know how he could've possibly known unless...

"You're the noble of this town, aren't you?" I asked "Former noble, but my job as off now is..." "A slave trader..." I raised my left hand slightly, sparks of red were already beginning to fly...

"Now now, Sir Hero, or do you want me to refer to you by your name..." He said as he held out a piece of paper that I took for a flyer, and on it was something I'd never believe those idiotic classmates of mine would've done. It is a Missing poster. A depiction of my face, and my name plastered on it's front. I placed down the paper "So what're you gonna do to me?" He smiled "Well, you've already proven that you cannot be simply contained, even if we were to use our magical chokers on you, you'd still find a way to drain it completely of it's mana supply..." "Mana supply?" I asked "Well, I'd love to explain more, but we cannot speak here..." He said gesturing towards the backdoor of the old and dusty counter "I believe that Miss Vladimyr and I cannot be the only one who has interest in a hero, with that kind of ability, roaming around so freely..."