Kael frowned. "And everyone has... abilities? Even the children?"
"Most, yes. This place is home to over three hundred thousand ascenders. Raventhorne was one of the first strongholds built after the Dark Century. It's not the capital, but it's one of the safest cities left."
"And how many of these strongholds did you say there were?" He asked again.
"Around five at the moment. But only three are considered cities like this one. You would be even more surprised if you saw the capital."
"Oh? What does it look like?"
"It's the closest thing to the cities you remember, combined with dream crafts. Oh, dream crafts are essentially crafted equipment that utilize dream energy to function, such as the communication device Draven uses. They cost an arm and a leg, though, so they are mostly given to high-ranking order officials."
"So, Draven is a high-ranking official?"
"Not as much as you'd think, but high enough."
They stopped at an extravagant mid-sized structure, sturdy, with wide windows and a balcony overlooking the valley below.
"This is our quarters," Luke said, stretching as he walked ahead. "Guest rooms are down the hall. Kael, you'll take the one at the end."
"You guys all live together?" He asked.
"Yeah, free of charge, benefits of being a member of Draven's cohort. You are welcome to stay, well, I would like to say for as long as you want, but that's not my decision to make." Quan replied to him.
Kael hesitated at the threshold."You're letting me stay?"
"If you want to," Elara replied. "Until you figure things out, you're safe with us. So don't hesitate. I won't lie and say you won't have a difficult time here, but at least while you are here, you can rest easy."
Elara smiled again, softer this time. "And you're not alone anymore. That counts for something." She brushed off a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear.
Kael could not help but think of how Elara seemed to play the older sister role very well. She looked like the type who was very good at taking care of other people.
And he was grateful for that. She was exactly what he needed to bring him down to earth, to somewhat restore his deteriorated mental state.
"Hmph," Rhenae snorted and walked into the house. Kael paid her no heed. The rest of them retired to their rooms. They were most likely all tired.
He stepped inside and walked to the room he had been assigned to. The interior was clean, functional, a blend of hardened practicality and comfort.
His room was simple: a bed, a desk, and a small screen mounted on the wall.
The window overlooked a portion of the inner city, where a line of ascending buildings traced their way up the mountain wall.
He sat down on the bed and finally exhaled.
Five hundred year coma.
The birth of Ascenders.
Dream Energy.
The Fall.
And now… Raventhorne.
His fingers touched the band on his wrist.
He was still having a hard time believing everything. Maybe he needed a little push to bring him down to earth.
And yet, somehow, a part of him knew this was just the beginning. He had a gut feeling that more was coming.
A storm.
The room dimmed as the artificial lights of the cityscape pulsed gently outside the window.
Kael sat on the edge of the bed for a long while, staring blankly at the buildings that scaled the mountainside, their surfaces crawling with lines of faint flickers of the lights.
He had thrown out all the items he had made on his journey through the ash fields. He didn't need those anymore.
Sigh!
He let out a loud, audible sigh of relief, his tense muscles finally relaxing. But then, a quiet knock came at his door.
"Yeah?" he called out, a bit startled from his thoughts.
Elara peeked in.
She held a small tray with a simple meal, some sort of dry loaf of bread, root vegetables, and a cup of steaming dark liquid that smelled like herbs and something faintly metallic.
"Thought you could use something warm," she said, stepping in and setting it on the desk.
Kael smiled faintly. "Thanks. Not sure I have the appetite, though."
"Eat anyway. You'll need your strength. Trust me, adapting here is a marathon, not a sprint. The food is not the best here, though. Good food is hard to come by, and it's also expensive. Most can only afford the dry bread and veggies for stew."
"Thank you, I'm grateful." He replied, but his tone lacked the warmth one would expect. Instead, his gaze seemed somewhat lost and unfocused.
Kael stared at the food, then at the room again. He had questions. So many questions. But he started with what was probably the most important going forward.
"Say, what did you do at my age, and what is expected of someone my age in this world?"
"Hmm, I guess you are more serious about your situation than you let out. Uhm, so I'm sure you've noticed how there are no kids in their teens in the city?"
"Oh, now that you mention it, you are right. What is the reason?"
"When you turn twelve, you are expected to join the military academy, whether you are an ascender or a regular. You can also decide not to go. But that is rarely seen, if ever. That's what I did."
"A military academy, I could not have guessed, and kids go at that young an age. I guess able-bodied people are far more important than you let on?"
"You should drill it into your mind that the most important resource right now is people who can fight, or contribute something, in your case. If you want, you can ask Draven to have you enrolled; late entries are accepted, though you will definitely have a harder time catching up. They have a whole curriculum and everything."
"I would like that, not right now though, I'll take my time settling in and recovering to a hundred percent, though I do plan on trying my hand at crafting, the sooner the better."
"Sounds good, I'm off duty for two weeks so I can get you acclimated to moving around, and getting to know the city."
"Thanks, I appreciate your help. You're being here really makes things easier for me."