Rin follows the large man a few paces back away from him with the aura of wind around her. The station is practically bare in the way it’s presented. The colony cities are still fairly new so development is still very young in this area. The majority of the platform had small grooves carved into it to act as a drain to help one walk across its surface. How the whole continent doesn’t simply flood over is beyond Rin but she sees it as just another mystery of the world that can’t simply be read about in books.
The transport she’s led to is a fairly large one to be able to traverse the moistened ground of the continent. Blocky in nature, but well guarded against the rain in its design so nothing gets into the vehicle. Protruding from its base were six legs with large bases at the bottom for leverage. A team of three other Hunters were on board it to power the vehicle through their Aura. The gears on it grind in an awakened noise as the transport vehicle lowers for Rin and her Commander to step onto it. Their boots made a soppy clanging noise on its metal plated floors when they made their way deeper into the insides of the transport. It was fairly hollow on the inside as the vehicle had been repurposed from being a war machine to that of a transport and had a few areas made into seating areas for passengers. Closer to the front was where the driving crew sat with hands resting on rods of steel for their aura to be transferred into the vehicle. Within the Hunters were teams of three or more humans that are gifted in using their Earth Aura to control the large metal bodies of the machines.
Rin makes herself comfortable to prepare for another long ride, the metals creaking when the Transport rises into the air for its walk across the soft earth. The trees, while green with life, look beaten and bent into a shape it struggles to keep against the winds and rain. The few viewports out of the steel were hard to see through the curtain of water dripping down the glass. Her attention otherwise turns to her Commander, who had sat across from her, smoking a pipe.
“How long have you been stationed here, sir?” The idle chatter from Rin helped with some of the anxiety that had built within her.
“Hm. Give or take ten years, Kazashi. The Colony Cities have been around much longer and the fighting about just as long.” His wisened eyes looking distant as he spoke, telling of the amount of time he’s been part of the skirmishes.
“What started all of the fights?” A silly question from her. Rin knew why the fights started, the same as most fighting between forces. Either for land, resources, or from simple hatred for the other. In this case, all three were at play for control of the entire continent and neither side seemed willing to give in.
“What started it? Hmph. More than likely idle boredom.” He takes a big puff from his pipe and furrows his brow. “Be what it may be for political reasons like land or trade...but truly? The Human government hates the Kraeka Council through and through and the same could be reflected from the eyes of the Kraeka.” He closes his eyes and puffs on his pipe once more to fill the room with more smoke. “Be nice if it stopped and we could focus on the treaty again. The fact we keep being used like some advanced fighting force is an embarrassment to the Hunter name.”
“Oh!” She simply nodded slowly. It certainly wasn’t the kind of answer Rin expected from her Commander. “Suppose I also would have rather worked on protecting the treaty… but I was told my skills could grow here, Sir. If that means protecting important trade cities then so be it.” She holds onto her sword tightly. It was true that she wasn’t sure if constant fighting was something she was prepared for, especially in an area that other elite Hunters were stationed. “I’m not going to stick out too much am I?”
“Your skills will shine brilliantly here, Kazashi. I was the one who personally scouted you out of the other recruits back in the Capitol. The way you hold your blade in your stance is a marvelous amount of fierceness and focus of which I’m not used to seeing in someone as young as you. The skills you have at your age is the most impressive thing I noticed about you. Many train for years to reach the point you’re at.” The man chuckles as he takes in another puff of smoke. “You’ll do fine kid.”
Rin wasn’t as confident as he was about being stationed here. The clang of the large metallic feet as the transport walked across the land and towards their destination was drowned out by the constant storm. The constant swaying wasn’t exactly helping her nerves either so she decided to spend this idle time meditating with her auras and closed her eyes. This was one of the few ways Rin relaxes when in a stressful or anxious position, and for one being in a new place that is entirely a warzone is very much stressful.
She began with the one she was weakest with so as to feel it’s refreshing powers. Rin reached deep within herself to feel the flow of her Aura and acclimate her body to the feeling of Water. The cooling rivers run through her blood system to instill it’s magic to calm her mind and nerves. Water Aura was majorly healing magic, but it was also majestically strong when it’s frozen power is unleashed on your enemies. This feeling creeped slowly through her body, from the center of her chest and then reaching out to the tips of her limbs. Once her breathing had deepened, Rin then began to focus on another feeling within her Aura. Her senses open up to the vibrations of the solid metals used in the transport and let her aura seep into the transport. She solidified these senses as if she had grasped the vehicle with her aura and was unwilling to let go. Because of this she could feel the ground beneath them clearly as the sensation travelled through the metal. With Earth Aura, she felt like an immovable object sitting within the insides of the transport. Rin allows this feeling to balance her center before she straightens her back and with another deep breath begins to flow into the next sensation of her Aura. The air around her swirls again as she focuses on the energy of Air Aura, allowing her mind to feel light and loose. Her hair flowed a bit more freely and her body feels more limber and energetic. Occasionally a small zap of electrical energy arcs between her body and where she was seated. With Air Aura Rin was as free and nimble as the wind and as energized as the lightning it inhabited. She now moves on to her most familiar Aura. Rin let’s her inner passions build at the pit of her being. The spark made by this passion inside let a heat flow through her body until she shimmered with it’s red glow. With the cycling of Fire Aura her inner passions fueled her strengths. Embers floated softly from her skin during this process and with a deep satisfied sigh Rin looked truly relaxed for this part of the process.
The passage of time is lost to Rin as she meditates, not realizing the large transport had stopped until her Commander tapped her shoulder.
"Up and at em Soldier. You'll be living in this area for a while so we need to get you acquainted fast."
The disruption was more than enough to pull Rin out of her meditative state. The embers stop floating off her body like a wave as she stops her aura from floating about her body. This process was as simple as shutting off a faucet, for Aura flows from the soul as easily as when one breaths. Rin gave the man a firm nod once she finished, promptly getting up from her seat and gathering her belongings. Rin remembered at the last second to allow her Air Aura to flow around her once more as she followed him outside of the cabin of the transport and onto the transports viewing deck. Before her was a sprawling base built inside a batch of trees in a way to help alleviate some of the wind and rain from the storms. Ceilinged walkways were set in between buildings and objects designed as storm bunkers were scattered about with extra foundational support of strong metals and stones. Being a city girl of Erocia the sights were new and exciting, at the very least, and have helped Rin keep that essence of wonder as she looked all around her.
The transport stooped low for its passengers to carefully get off and step into the damp grass and Rin took a deep breath of the heavy air. Following behind the older man, she kept her eyes and ears peeled to the sights and sounds, both listening in an alert fashion but also trying to get used to the noises.
The news that the Commander was returning with a new soldier for the base had traveled well ahead of them. All about the walls and windows you could see the heads of fellow Hunters looking on in curiosity as they make their way through large iron gates. With a slow creak, they opened up with a small batch of Hunters standing in salute behind it. Unlike the low-rank uniform that Rin adorned, the group before her wore deep navy blues and was garnished across the chest with golden ropes with a cloak emerging from the waist to wrap around their legs. Rin knew enough about this uniform and current stature to attain that they were all Officers and saluted at once to their presence. Not receiving any acknowledgment she allowed her eyes to wander for a moment to the other Hunters that had gathered along the wall. She pales a little bit when she sees no one in a lower ranked uniform.
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