Arcane Vessels

Silence pervaded the room.

Kaycee stared at Theo, gulping loudly as he took in the boy's evident determination. He opened his mouth to speak many times, but words failed him. His mind was a torrent of many thoughts, and his vocabulary was lost in the storm.

'Combat Division members go on dangerous missions outside the Guild… and not all of them return alive.' He shuddered. 'There aren't even many in the Guild. Out of over ten thousand active members, less than a thousand belong to the Combat Division.'

That showed not only how unwilling many were to risk their lives, but how high the standards of the Ak'ashi Guild was when it came to selecting members of the division. Most people who chose the Combat Division usually had no major prospects in the Non-Combat Roles, but someone like Theo could have a very respectable position in the Armament Repair Division—especially since he had some connection with the Zenith.

So why… why would he willingly choose to risk his life?

"Don't worry too much about me. I'm a lot stronger than I look." Theo broke through Kaycee's thoughts and gave him a confident smile.

"A-ah, it's not that I doubt you, but…"

"You want to know my reason, right? Well… there's a lot of them, but I suppose you could say that the Combat Division seems more fun to me."

"F-fun…? You really…?"

"Yeah! Isn't it interesting? Maybe it's because I had never left my home Nation until recently… so staying in one place might get boring for me rather quickly." Of course, this was only a surface-level motivation. 

Theo wasn't sure he wanted to reveal his full intentions to Kaycee just yet.

"I-I see…" Kaycee's expression appeared conflicted. It was obvious he wanted to say more, but he kept restraining himself to the point he bit his lip and clenches his fists. Theo noticed this, but remained quiet and watched.

"I suppose I can't stop you, huh?"

"Nah! But thanks for worrying about me." Theo once again bumped Kaycee's chest with his fist, collapsing on the bed once he was done. A broad smile formed on his face as he closed his eyes to feel the warmth and softness of his mattress.

With his eyes closed, he was unable to see the look of mild envy and regret on the tall boy's face.

'Back then… if only I had the same courage you do…' Kaycee's thoughts trailed, but he quickly shook his head and resumed his awkward smile.

"I should leave now."

"Really? You can stay a while longer, though… I mean, if you want to." Upon hearing Theo's offer, he beamed—clearly glad he didn't have to leave so soon. 

"Okay!"

"And sit down this time." Theo sighed. "I don't think I feel comfortable seeing you stand for so long."

"Hm… alright."

The two boys sat opposite each other, Kaycee still having an awkward demeanor whenever he addressed Theo. The latter pretended not to notice and simply kept talking to him normally, smiling and laughing as they conversed.

'Even though they look nothing alike… why does he remind me of Edward?' A sad, sweet smile formed on Theo's face as he had that thought.

"So where are you from, Kaycee?"

"Ah, me? I grew up in one of the small, unrecognized nations north of Yabamiah. We were fish-folk, and the Great Nation was poisoning our waters with their industrial waste gunk. The Ak'ashi Guild helped us get justice and restore our waters. I sort of admired them… so I decided to join the Guild once I became an adult and become like the guys who helped my people… ah, I digress." He snorted awkwardly. "What about you, Theo?"

Theo shook his head, telling Kaycee it was no problem at all as he answered the question. "Sarvos. The Zenith rescued me on what I assumed was one of their missions."

"My goodness… how bad has the war gotten?"

"War, what war?" Theo was puzzled at this point, raising a brow.

"You're from Sarvos, right? Isn't that where the civil war is taking place? Between the Royal Family and the Revolutionary Army."

"I… have never heard of that." Theo mumbled. "Maybe it's because I was staying in the Capital. That's where they rescued me…"

"A-ah… I guess that makes sense. I don't think the war would have reached the Capital yet, but I'm surprised you haven't heard of it at all. It's apparently a very big deal."

Theo wanted to explain to Kaycee that he was imprisoned in a fortress where information hardly ever reached prisoners, but decided not to go on that tangent. Instead, his mind was squarely focused on the news of war. Since he never heard of it, the civil war had to have started after he was imprisoned.

Upon asking Kaycee, he confirmed it to be true.

"It's been going on for two years now… and I hear it is only going to get worse now because the 3 Revolutionary Kings—leaders of the resistance—are planning some big move."

'A revolution, huh? Why am I not surprised.' A sigh escaped Theo's lips. 'Sarvos has always been riddled with crime, corruption, and injustice yet the Royal Family never did anything about it. There was a lot of clamor from people about these issues before I got caught for stealing.'

There was no use thinking about such matters, though.

'My friends could be in danger because of the war, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. Maybe if I rack enough merits, I can refer them to stay in the Ak'ashi Guild. They should still be serving their sentencing now, though, so that will have to come later.' He nodded to himself, returning his gaze to Kaycee.

"Thanks for the info."

"U-um… no problem." He beamed. "I can tell you everything I know about it if you want."

"Please do."

"Okay! So it all started when the Red King rose up with an Armament, and…" The conversation continued for hours, with Kaycee slowly getting more articulate as time progressed, talking comfortably with Theo.

The two only stopped due to how late it had gotten, promising to continue where they left off the following day. It wasn't just Sarvos they spoke about, as they discussed several matters about the Ak'ashi Guild and some of the things Kaycee knew about other places in the Mainland. Once Kaycee left Theo's room, he lay on his bed—several thoughts consuming his mind—before finally drifting off to sleep. 

As for Kaycee… he walked home that night with a conflicted expression all through.

***********

"As promised… I'll show you around my workplace today."

Theo nodded to those words, already fully dressed by the time the tall boy arrived in his room the following day. Theo wore yet another sleeveless white shirt, with brown shorts and the same slides he had on the previous day. His hair was still rough, but he made an effort to straighten it out before Kaycee arrived—failing miserably at the task.

Kaycee, unlike Theo, was dressed exactly the same way as the previous day. His long hair cascaded down his head, and his bangs obscured his eyes from being visible. His black and white overalls were slightly baggy, perfectly fitting his frame.

His smile this time was more natural, and most of the awkwardness in his demeanor had vanished. Theo was glad to see this, and so he nudged him, walking out the door in excitement.

"Come on! Let's go already."

Kaycee nodded, and the two walked out of the fancy suite. Once they stepped out, Theo was too occupied with taking in the fresh breeze and feeding his eyes with the beauty of his surroundings that he failed to notice Kaycee hailing a passing vehicle.

"Hm? Is that—?" His eyes widened the instant he noticed. 

"Yes. It's called a S'ub." Kaycee smiled, referring to the hulking vehicle made almost entirely out of metal. "My workplace is a bit far, so it's best we use the public transportation system."

Theo bobbed his head and followed Kaycee into the belly of the mechanical beast.

The S'ub had a large cubic body, with tires beneath it that served as legs. It also constantly hummed from its engine, which was fueled by certain minerals. It had windows within its bowels that allowed passengers to see their surroundings, and there were over two dozen seats which people could occupy.

'Reminds me of the R'acs that I used to see in the Sarvos Capital.' He thought. 'But only the few privileged people had access to those. Everyone else used carriages or walked.' 

The reason why was that technological wonders like these were only surpassed by Armaments in rarity and luxury. They had strange mechanics, and no one but the manufacturers in Yabamiah could produce them. Purchasing just one of these would cost a fortune, and experts had to be called from Yabamiah in case of any repairs, which was also very expensive. As a result, these strange vehicles and other technologies that spawned from Yabamiah were reserved only for the wealthy.

'Yet, the entire Guild is littered with these vehicles and pretty much everyone uses them as a regular means of transportation. In fact, carriages are the rarity here, as very few people use them.' Theo silently marveled.

He had found out on his tour with Miller that R'acs also existed in the Guild, but those had to be rented or ordered beforehand, and there were only a handful of them. While S'ubs were considered public transportation, R'acs catered to the private.

Those who couldn't afford R'acs but still desired to maintain their privacy, ended up using carriages.

'What a weird system…' Theo smiled. 'But I like it!'

"The ride costs half an Arca, by the way." Kaycee interrupted Theo's pleasant thoughts, causing the latter to notice the fee collector receiving money from the passengers per row, slowly advancing to their seat.

"I… erm, I don't have any—"

"No, it's fine." The boy beside him smiled. "I'll pay. I'm just telling you in case you want to board on your own next time. You saw how I hailed the S'ub, right? You have to stand on the box outside your building and wave down two times."

"Oh, okay… thanks."

"Waving down once means you want the bus to stop moving, so you can cross, and waving three times means there's something wrong with the bus." Kaycee continued, bringing out a white coin that glowed with a dull lustre.

The coin had lines that split it into four equal parts, and Kaycee tugged it by two sides until it split into two. He handed one half to Theo, keeping one for himself.

"They collect fees separately, so we have to do it like this." Kaycee explained, and Theo nodded, staring at his half-piece Arca. It was half a circle, and it had a line at the middle that separated two equal sides.

If Theo pulled the sides apart, his half-piece would turn into two quarter-pieces.

He could also place the separated sides next to each other, and they would stick together. This could also be done with separate pieces, as long as they were quarter-pieces, half-pieces, and so on. Combining quarter-pieces from four different Arcas would still result in an Arca, without any issue.

This applied to white Arcas and other higher forms of the currency.

"But isn't this too cheap?" Theo mumbled, handing over his piece to the fee collector as he glanced at Kaycee.

"The price is subsidized by the Ak'ashi Guild, so it's affordable to everyone. Normally, a public ride like this would cost a Red Arca, if not a Purple one… but the Guildmaster's policy is to make sure everyone in the Guild lives a comfortable life."

"That's… amazing."

"Indeed. Isn't it great to see your tax being put to good use? It's not just transportation, but also education, medical facilities, housing, and many more. They're all subsidized for the betterment of the people." Kaycee continued. "Honestly, if only every Nation was like the Ak'ashi Guild…"

"Right?"

The two kept discussing about the greatness of the Guild, and just how different it was from other Nations they had heard about until they arrived at their destination.

It was a right behind the Grand Palace—a massive structure that had several smaller buildings around it. Theo felt intimidated when he looked at it, estimating the main building to be at least a dozen storeys, but Kaycee casually walked to the building and encouraged Theo to do the same.

Once they got to the entrance, they were stopped by guards who asked for identification. Kaycee brought out a card and also introduced Theo as a premium guest whom he was in charge of. One of the guards went in to check the records while Kaycee was made to sign a form—one that most likely placed liability on him in case his 'guest' caused any sort of trouble in the visit. Kaycee signed without hesitation, and not long after he was done, the guard returned and confirmed the records.

"Let's go." Kaycee told Theo, who nodded absentmindedly and followed behind him.