From afar Corrigan could pick out the edges of the city of Botta. Once he would step through it's gate he knew that it marked the end of a long journey and the start of a great adventure. Wearing a robe that was a little too big he had crossed the desert, it wasn't the most comfortable however it is what had kept him from burning up. Deeply covered in the hood, it was probably hard to recognise him as the boy that he was when he had left.

It been a long time since he'd seen his parents. Looking forward to the event he would probably cry on his reunion with them. He figured that if it wasn't for his eyes, they would probably not recognise him. It brought a smile to his face.

In a steady pace the city became larger and larger, it was so close that he could make out the other walls. Now he was so close he thought back to the times behind him. He had gotten so familiar with the island of Orealis that returning here was like starting over. Most of it was probably totally different. It had been eight years afterall and he had only been eight at the time.

He pulled up the bag that contained the few possessions that he had brought with him. He returned with the little items he had when he left, with some new things here and there.

At this point he could make out that most of the city was still the junkyard it had been years ago. It seemed to be somewhat bigger now however it was hard to be sure.

After a total of four days travelling, he had finally reached the gates, the lower levels was still the scum-filled pile of rubble. By the looks on people's faces and they way they looked up, Corrigan figured that it wasn't often that somebody would come to the city on foot even. Before he could blink several traders were swarming him trying to sell of there water. In the hot desert water seemed like a good asset to have. Unfortunately for them, he had plenty. He waved them off and they vanished, seeing that there wasn't anything to sell.

He repeated that several times as he passed through the city, people either wanted to sell something to him or looked at him with disgust. If they only knew that he was disgusted by them as well. Instead of days, his home was only hours away now.

A bell rang out across the city, bringing with it news of the hour and to the more experienced of Botta inhabitants, news of a freshly dumped off batch of tourists. The streets that Corrigan walked began to pick up, traders and thieves sensing their opportunity and rushing to meet the clanking machine that brought travelers from the outer reaches of the Order's empire.

"Sunadokei won't know what hit them. I've seen enough of this place." A young boy muttered gleefully as he pushed past Corrigan. Another rich hopeful, by the looks of it, who was sent out by his parents to get a look at the world. Judging by the way his fellow let out an aggravated sigh and shifted the weight that the boy had not offered to help with, he had hardly done more than glance out the window before returning to his comic books.

They were moving fast, eager to get past the usual Botta dirt and stepping past the guard who stood next to the transport to the upper levels where the train to Sunadokei resided.

The guard himself was apparently having his own troubles, facing off with an old man who muttered incoherently about the insignia on his left shoulder; the sideways hourglass had been picked up as an unofficial sign of Sunadokei membership. The old man's one eye not hidden by the few bangs he had glittered as he glared at the man, more strength in it than his body by the looks of things.

"You soldiers...You don't question a thing, do you? Just take orders. You're like sheep. Mindless and pathetic."

The soldier barely winced as he endured another jab with the bony finger into his chest and kept his arms folded, staring silently at the man and hoping he'd back down and go away.

Not one to pass a good opportunity, the boy wasn't the only one who was able to walk passed the guard unnoticed. It was none other than Dysphoria, a demon who lived a good sixteen years in Botta. She knew the city well, there was no place she hadn't seen, except Sunadokei. It's not as if she wasn't able to, the demoness just didn't care to. She'd heard the history along with many stories and it just wasn't something of interest to her.

It wasn't until just a few days ago that she realized that living in Botta peacefully didn't suit her at all. She was bored with it, the same routine everyday, the same surroundings, same people, same happenings. Like anyone, she wants something new, in search of something to keep her occupied for a lifetime, or eternity in her case.

She slipped through the people, weaving in and out of the crowd with ease. As a serpent demon, her movements were naturally smooth, almost as if she were dancing past the violent shoves as people pushed their way onto the train.

Dysphoria mixed in perfectly with the nobles in the way she carried herself. She wore a silky, long, and white tunic embroidered with gold thread. It fit her in a way that it appeared to be a dress but upon closer inspection, it was obvious that she wore shorts under it. With the dull, bored expression she always wore, she finally got into the train unnoticed, just to be pushed into the center of another crowd.

To Corrigan this crowd was something he hadn't seen in a while. Where there was a crowd it was usually not very adventureous. This had to do with people being lazy and cowards. He had dropped the hood, not wanting to attract that much attention as he moved through the crowd. Like the many he too was going up, hopefully to more quiet places, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

His eye caught the man that was talking to a guard, by the look of the insignia on the man's shoulder and the way he was reacting he was probably trying to convince the guard to let him up without paying for it.

He moved through the crowd towards the old man till he was almost standing next to him.

"Is there a problem, sir?" The young demon spoke hopefully attracting the attention of the old man?

The old man whirled, both his eye and his finger focusing on Corrigan. He seemed more worked up by this point.

"Problem? Of course there's a problem. These Sunadokei dogs have overrun our city!”

He had begun to enter full on rant mode, which the guard shot Corrigan an apologetic look for. His attempts at pulling the old man’s arm and diverting his attention were met with a smack on the wrist. The old man had more strength than he guessed.

“I’ve lived in Botta my whole life and only lately have people been disappearing and mysterious things are showing up to attack people at night and even yesterday my grandson was carried off by one of your damn botched experiments and you just let them loose and don’t care, do you?”

He had spun to rant at the guard once more, seemingly not noticing the way the guard stiffened when he was halfway through his long run-on sentence, muttering into his collar.

Over his head the whistle sounded, announcing the warning for ten minutes to the departure time of the train. More people began to hurry, pushing for seats.