Deep beneath the ocean, along its floor, a metallic train travels at high speeds within a clear tunnel. Typically these trains are manned by a team of several trained Humans to be able to move via the source of magic in their bodies they called Aura and was a transport between continents that an organization known as the 'Demon Hunters' use. There weren't many actual passengers on it today as the only task it was designated was to drop off one fresh recruit to an active battle area on the continent Commerce, thus it was fairly empty inside the train if not for a single girl sitting inside of a holding bay for passengers. With no one other than the occasional engineer to talk to she spends her travel idly dozing off out of boredom, the sounds of the mechanical gears clunking about in the echoing tunnel under the sea.

"Recruit Kazashi." A stern, masculine voice is spoken from a source in front of her. She stirs slightly, grunting from having this sleep disturbed in any fashion before opening her vibrantly blue eyes to stare solemnly through her red bangs at the person before her.

"Reporting." Her words are weak and groggy thanks to just having woken up.

"Time to wake up Kazashi. The train will be arriving in Commerce soon so you need to be ready for the rise in the seafloor." There weren't many lights on the train outside of a few lamps to help her distinguish just exactly who it was, but it didn't stop the girl from basically jerking herself awake at the thought of sleeping through the climb to the surface.

"Aye, sir!" She salutes the man and proceeds to stand. The uniform she wears is a simple one of dark green cotton that other recruits typically wore. It was a two-piece uniform consisting of a long-sleeved shirt tucked into pants, with a cloth belt holding the waist securely. On one side of her chest were a few decorations from her time training that resembled awards and stature amongst her peers.

"That's more like it, soldier. Now get yourself in the pressure room and prepare your belongings." The figure walks away to head further down the train. He reaches a metal door that seems to open the moment the man puts a glowing hand onto the wall beside it and walks through to it closing behind him.

She steps through various lantern sourced lights and into a different section of the transport train by doing the same thing the man did earlier. She lets the powers inside her flow in an earthen way, like a solid form of the earth itself resided in her system and moved into the metal she touched. It allowed her to connect to it and move the door open as if it belonged to her being. If not for her aura the doors are otherwise near impossible to open. She brings herself to a bag within a room that had her name plastered on it.

Sitting down in a seat nearby she opened her belongings to dig through and make sure everything was accounted for. The first thing grabbed was a long wrapped up item that she always kept close to heart. She unwraps the cloth around it to reveal the sword's sheath hiding underneath it, the family treasure of the Kazashi, given to her the day she was sent forth to try out for the Hunters. Fighting by the sword is in the blood of the family namesake and her wish was to make the family proud as she fights for a cause within the Hunter organization. She clips it to the side of her uniform gently and continues perusing the bag for other various objects kept on her person. When she holds out a metallic object with the Insignia of her family she turns the old flattened coin to look at the symbols that represent equality of life. It was something she consistently wore and it shone brilliantly from the polish as she takes the looped chain to settle around her neck’s base. She continues to fiddle with it until she feels the train shift underneath her to indicate that they were finally making the incline upwards, so she finished gathering her belongings.

The incline back to the surface is a long one as the change in pressure from the deep ocean can be dangerous to the body. As such the train makes its way upwards in zigzag motions to lessen the load on a person while they acclimate to the change. Rin sat patiently in her room for the time to pass as well as finish preparing her equipment and uniform for her arrival. The Officers back in the Capitol had told her that with the way she carried herself through training they were willing to send her to Commerce, which was seen as an honor by some as the more elite Hunters fight skirmishes there, and sent with her a few documents about the situation but was otherwise told she would be filled in when she arrived at her station. Her vision glides to a circular window to look outside the train. Beyond it, and the glass-like stone of the tunnel that acted as a protective dome for the train’s tracks, she could see the light breaking through the deep ocean. Various ocean life can be seen, but otherwise, it was a vast deep blue only stretching on until light could no longer reach. The water’s ceiling was twisted and tossed about in large swathing motions with occasionally a flash of lightning bringing a kaleidoscope of white into the deep sea. It wouldn’t be too long now if the waves were being tossed in this manner.

The continent Commerce, a place currently being used by colonial means by both Humans and Kraeka as a means of improving trade routes around the world as well as keeping footholds closer to their homelands. Above its landmass is a large torrential storm that never vanishes and lashes endlessly onto the bases and cities that dot the area. The perpetuity of it is a mystery to the world, it’s secrets and causes long lost thanks to many wars and lost information. However, despite the constant storms, they have found ways to hold their areas of interest. 

The sound of pattering rain on the metal roof of the train and the howling winds that followed awaken Rin from her dissociative state so that she peels herself away from the cabin’s window. She waits patiently as the wheels grind slowly to a halt before standing up with her belongings and approaches a metallic rod jutting from the wall with a hand. Energy glowed around her again as she poured her earth-aura into it for the doors to slide open with a creak. Fresh air swarms the area around her as well as a blanket of water that causes Rin to shield her eyes lest she be blinded.

“Channel your Air Aura for when you get caught in the torrents of the storm.”

Rin turned around to see the same man that she met earlier when woken up for the return to sea level. The dim light trying to creep through the clouds helped Rin see the man’s facial features more and she quickly realizes that he was the commander of the base she had been stationed to.

“A-aye Sir.” She salutes him and does as he suggested. Quickly a soft, yellow glow surrounds her body as the currents of air travel through her system like a shield against the rain. Feeling much more relief that she isn’t getting completely drenched she smiles at the small victory. “Thank you, sir. Not something I was taught.”

“I’m not too surprised.” He smiles down at her. “Most humans from the mainland never think of it as the rain isn’t as severe in those lands.” He walks in front of her into the downpour as wind billows around his uniform. He turns over to look at the recruit before him and has a more serious look. “New Recruit Rin Kazashi! Stand attention!”

“Sir!” She does this immediately, straightening her back before the man. He looks at her form and nods.

“Welcome to Commerce. Do you remember what your orders are?”

“To defend the colony cities, Sir!”

“Why is it that we need to defend these cities Kazashi?”

“Neutral Land doesn’t fall under the Treaties guidelines, Sir!” Rin stated this fact with confidence. The amount of reading on the Treaties of old she’s done has been extended so that she may act upon it rightly. The big point of it was to be a symbol of peace between the Humans and Kraeka from the last war over two millennia ago, a treaty that’s been held close by the Hunters that guard it. Sadly the peace only pertained to the main continental homelands of both beings and not to the neutral lands of Ibon and Commerce.

“Correct. The future of Human trade rests on how successful we are at maintaining the security of these cities. I’m your Commander for the entirety of your station here in Commerce. The base, in particular, is about half a day transport north-west of this station and is roughly two days transport to the closest city of Tehla.” He states all of these in a factual state and with a raised voice to overpower the winds. “You may call me Commander Phels, follow me to the transport if you please.” He swiftly turns to lead Rin further into the station in this manner, not giving her much time to speak back.

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.”