The Aspiring Archivist

"Why would we need a guide? You bunch are the only otherworlders to arrive in a decade, and no one ever came before Edmund. Also, stand up. King's private office, please." Instantly, everyone in the circle felt a lurching as they shot up, the various levels of the tower blurring in front of their eyes. They arrived faster than what would seem possible at the second floor to the top of the tower. They found themselves standing an an identical circle to the one they had entered. The sight here was very different. All of the walls were painted blue, with a simple hardwood floor and white ceiling that somehow seemed to illuminate the room despite the absence of a light fixture. On each side wall was a massive bookshelf, neatly organized and adorned with various odd trinkets. Against the back wall was a large but simple desk covered in papers, books, and random fidgety objects. Behind the desk in a simple chair sat the king of the realm. Edmund looked remarkably young for his position, likely only in his twenties. His hair was gray, just as Mell's was. Other than that, he looked very average, dressed normally, fair-skinned and somewhat short with dirty blond hair. His arms were covered in small doodles made in pen. He looked up from his papers, smiling as he saw them, his eyes sparkling with a deep blue that matched the walls and the flowers. "Hello, General. And hello, fellow otherworlders."

"Alright. That leaves the other one... what's their name?" @Channelknight Fadran

The room was mostly white and empty, with one wall occupied by a registration stand with a pleasant-looking man behind it, and another with various waiting chairs, one of which was occupied. At the far wall, four glowing circles were on the floor, each with a plaque behind them naming a location. General Lobby. Police Lobby. Court Lobby. The fourth circle was marked simply Private. Mell beckoned them to this one.

Moments later, a sound like and electrical spark sounded behind the wall, and it rippled, shimmering as it apparently disappeared. "That looked like it hurt," Mell remarked, standing in the doorway with a metal rod in her hand. She spun it between her fingers skillfully. "Am I ever glad that this thing is fixed. Come on in."

The girl nodded and ran off. Soon, the group arrived at the central tower. There was no door, instead a tall triangular frame that appear to surround nothing but solid wall. Without a moment's hesitation, Mell walked through as though there was nothing but air.

"Must have been Theodore. I guess he figured you wouldn't be so hasty with throwing yourself into the void. I do wish he had kept it to himself and the king, though. The flower is called the Lumont, and is has some heavy symbolic significance to the people. Recently it has become a symbol of the king, who naturally is an otherworlder as you are."

The group arrived at the bottom of the hill. As Mell had said, many people stared, pointing and whispering. One small girl of about seven years old ran up to them, offering Kareena, Jove, TAAron, @Nameless, and @The Halcyon Girl each a flower in turn. The flowers looked very odd, with long, straight stems and dozens of petals alternating between white and a deep blue. As they watched, the blue seemed to shift subtly, though not in a way that was easy to describe. Mell looked surprised. "They knew we were coming."

"I guess when everyone wakes up? I don't know, it wasn't actually my idea."

What does that mean? What is a tac?

"You look like otherworlders. That type of clothing is not typical of our realm. Mostly, people here wear those colorful robes with Edmund, Theodore, and I being the main exceptions as the King, his husband, and the general."

"Just a human adventurer. There's thousands. I've been around here for a few days now."

"I didn't. Don't usually sleep."

"Good morning," Antin said softly. He looked wide awake, poking the remains of the fire with a stick. "How was your rest?"

"I don't know if I would say fun. it'll certainly be interesting. Let's head down. Also, you're going to stared at a lot, with me and looking like that. Just... ignore it."

I think my favorite color is blue. It was green for a while, but I think I like blue better.

Mell tensed at the joke. "I am aware. Now, before we go and start building your little void bubble, I'm taking you to Edmund. He will want to hear about you and your party."

"Well, you would kind of hope so. This is the only city in our realm, and it has all of our homes, workplaces, shops, and government. I don't think anyone would want to live here if it didn't look decent." She pointed to the far side of the city, where the shortest buildings stood. "That is the housing district." She pointed to the area nearest to them, where the most people could be seen on the streets. "That is the financial district. It has all of the work buildings and shops." Finally, she pointed to the huge tower at the center. "That is Turrim Fidelis, our government building. The lower section is for public offices and police, the middle for lawmaking and court, and the very top is the Office of the King. It's where Edmund... or I should say, His Majesty lives, works, and governs. The third level to the top is his public office, the second his private office, and the third is his private living quarters, where only three people have been: the king himself, Theodore, and I. At the top there is the sword he used in the prophesized war against darkness, forever standing as a beacon of light, yada yada. Okay, any questions?"

Minutes later, the group reached the top of a hill, and the Capital came into view. It was a stunning sight. Enormous, shining buildings painted in a rainbow of colors formed a staggering skyline. Few were simple rectangles, instead formed of rounded and tapered edges, often with elaborate pointed peaks. On the streets below, people mulled around, going about their days like any would, in colorful robes that were nothing like the simple shirt and trousers that Mell and Theodore wore. Right at the center stood an ornate white tower that towered over the rest. At the very top, something shone with a brilliant light.

"I'm fine. Let's keep going. It's just that... when people are getting angry at each other, I can feel it. It's not a good feeling."

"Please, calm down!" both TAAron and Mell yelled in unison. Mell just looked annoyed, but TAAron, who had been following silently until that point, was on the ground with his hands on his head as though he had an awful headache.

"Cameras... Edmund has told us about them, but we have none here. Not that one would do much trapped in a metal ball, I assume."

"Yes... but you would still need the larger container to get you all out of here eventually, would you not?"

"You have an odd way of avoiding the majority of my questions. I don't see how a smaller container would solve any of those problems."

Oh, sorry, missed that.

I don't think you did vote for cinnamon