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There were only two types of housing in Precipice, unless you wanted to hike out into the pine forest around the city and build your own log cabin. There were the tenement buildings: huge haphazard monoliths with tiny square windows where single people and seasonal workers slept. Every room there had three beds, and every bed was $20 a week. $25 a week if you wanted a room with a window. You could buy more than one bed for yourself if you wanted, but you were always going to be sharing a single bathroom with the whole floor, and more often than not, the plumbing wasn’t working.
The other type of housing was found further from the railyard and town center. A row of small houses that sat crooked on the slopes and had roofs pitched at sharp angles. Laundry lines hung between windows, weighed down by coveralls and thick coats for the coming winter.
Charlie’s mother, Harmony, lived in one of these small houses. There were only two rooms: a kitchen and a bedroom. The outhouse was outside in the back and shared between houses. For her whole childhood, Charlie had slept in a corner of the bedroom sectioned off by blankets hanging on string.
Charlie knocked on the door. Inside, dishes clattered. Footsteps clunked across the floor, and the door shook in its frame while Harmony wrestled against the warped wood. She flung the door open with a grin, looking every bit the happy homemaker despite her shabby surroundings.
Harmony’s bright smile turned brittle as soon as she saw Charlie.
“Hi Mom,” Charlie said.
“Hello, Charcoal!” Harmony practically sang, as if lilting her voice would hide the fact she was lying, “Oh I am so glad to see you. Come in, how are you?”
Charlie stepped inside and accepted her mother’s hug. Harmony’s nose wrinkled at the smell of grease. “I’m okay,” Charlie said, “I just have some stuff I’d like to store here.”
“Of course,” Harmony said, “your old room is always open. What did you bring?”
“Just some cans,” Charlie lifted the heavy canvas bag from her shoulder. “Food.”
“Food?” Harmony asked. She watched Ozzy come in with his bag. He gave her a passing smile before he followed Charlie to the back.
Harmony closed the door behind them. “Why are you storing food here?”
“It will get stolen in the tenement,” Charlie said. “My storage box isn’t big enough to hold all of it.”
“Yes, but why food, Charcoal?”
“Because it’s almost my Remembrance Day,” Charlie said.
“Well,” Harmony said slowly, “yes it is…” She was probably counting the days even more closely than Charlie was. Her whole life was probably waiting for her obligation to Charlie to end so that she could finally get started on her own life.
Harmony was a new soul. This was her first ever life. She should have been running all over the kingdom exploring, but instead she’d gotten involved with a man right after her Remembrance Day, and before his. And Charlie had come along, and tied her mother down in Precipice, where Charlie’s grandparents, a couple who were both in their second lifetimes, could support her.
It turned out that Charlie’s father wasn’t in his first lifetime after all. He had obligations to return to. Something so important that a young mother carrying his child didn’t even compare. Privately, Charlie had always assumed that he had another family across the kingdom to get back to. Harmony remained convinced he was involved in some noble work, which was too secret for him to speak of. Growing up, she had always told Charlie her father was a mage who worked on the Guardian of Souls in Freetown. Charlie hadn’t believed that lie since she was six years old.
“Charlie thinks we’re going to get fired from the railyard,” Ozzy said, bringing Charlie back to the present.
Harmony tried to hide her delight, but it was obvious for several seconds before she managed to pack it away. “You’re going to get fired? Oh, my dear,” She gave Charlie another hug, pulling her away from storing the cans to do it. “It’ll be okay. There are plenty of other jobs you can take here in the city. Or, after your Remembrance, you might have somewhere else to go.”
Charlie fixed a false smile on her face to match her mother’s. “I know, but I hope I don’t. I like the railyard.”
Harmony stepped away, holding Charlie’s hands in hers. She looked down at them. The coal dust gave Charlie’s nails a black outline, and the calluses on her fingers were thick and rough. Harmony’s hands weren’t much better: a lifetime of laundry and sewing for money had left her with calluses of her own. Already the railroad was taking its toll on her body.
“I know you do,” Harmony said, “and I don’t want to keep you from what you like doing, but I think if you went elsewhere, you might have better luck with, you know, meeting people.”
Charlie glanced over towards Ozzy. His shoulders had visibly tensed.
“I meet lots of people,” Charlie said. “Travelers, engineers, and train staff. There’s even an Arcane Engine from outside Regalis right now.” She should take the opportunity to examine that engine while it was in Precipice.
“That’s not what I mean,” Harmony said, “You should be exploring at your age, that’s all. You’ve only had one job. I just think you should be having more experiences.”
Charlie smiled, “Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t make the same mistake you did.”
Harmony recoiled like she had been slapped.
“I like the railyard,” Charlie went on. She poked Ozzy to get him to step aside and took over stacking the cans in the corner. “And I can go anywhere and do that work.”
“What about you, Oswald?” Harmony asked, “Do you have any greater aspirations than being a day-laborer?”
Ozzy looked like he wanted to sink through the floor, “I don’t know, Mrs. Newsoul. I might, but I’m kind of just waiting right now, you know?”
Charlie straightened up from the stack of cans. “We won’t have to wait much longer at least. It’s only 15 days away.”
“That’s right,” Harmony said, “we should talk about Remembrance Day plans.”
“Right,” Charlie reached into her pocket. She handed the envelope to her mother. She gathered the empty canvas bags as she waited for Harmony to read through the invitation. By the time Charlie turned around, all the blood had drained from Harmony’s face. She tried to smile, but it wasn’t convincing.
“This is why you think you’re going to get fired?” She asked.
“Harry was pissed when he heard about it,” Charlie said. “He said he didn’t want the mage to do any more damage to the city. Basically said we were tainted.”
Harmony swallowed. “Well it is scary. I don’t like the thought of you being so far away on your Remembrance day.”
Charlie quelled the spasm of fear in her chest with a slow breath. “It’ll be fine, Mom. It’ll be uncomfortable, sure, but we need to find that mage. I just don’t understand why Harry had such a bad reaction.”
Harmony frowned. “Sit down. I’ll make some coffee for us.”
Ozzy followed Charlie to the tiny kitchen. He took a seat at the table. Charlie sat beside him, taking the wobbly chair and leaning forward so it wouldn’t shake.
Harmony set the kettle on the stove and pulled out her can of coffee and the pot. Charlie waited impatiently, tapping her fingers on the table, while she brewed the coffee. The only milk available was a can of evaporated milk, but Harmony brought out the little bowl of sugar cubes, so it was tolerable.
Harmony said, “It’s not something that we really talk about, but the Steam-Powered Mage died in Precipice.”
“The what?” Ozzy asked.
“That was the royal mage’s title,” Harmony said, “Steam-powered. Such a strange title. I never heard of them doing anything with steam either.”
“They died here?” Charlie asked, her eyes wide.
Harmony nodded, “He did. He was a man, at least in that life. After he betrayed the king and imprisoned him, he fled across the kingdom to Precipice. We are one of only three gateways out of the kingdom, so he was trying to get away. I always thought he meant to jump a train here and stowaway. Other people think he had friends here waiting to help him escape Regalis. That was just talk, though. No one knows for sure.”
“What happened?” Ozzy asked, “did the royal guard catch them?”
Harmony nodded. “They did. They caught him as he crossed the bridge over the railroad tracks.”
The bridge she meant was near the edge of town. The railroad entered a short tunnel, passing through a large stoney hill. The footpath had originally just been for lumberjacks crossing into the forest, but as Precipice had expanded, buildings had sprung up on both sides of the tracks, and the footbridge expanded to accommodate carts. It was old now, rickety and worn, and it shook when a train went beneath it.
“There was a struggle,” Harmony said. “A fight, they said later. It was just the mage and the guardsmen. A guardsman managed to capture the mage, or they got too close. A train was passing below the bridge, and somehow, whether they jumped or were pushed, the Steam-Powered Mage fell right in front of it.”
Charlie shuddered, “That’s an awful way to die.” She could imagine it. The bridge shaking and the shrill whistle of the steam escaping the engine. Maybe the wooden railing, old and rotten, had broken. Maybe the mage had jumped. Either way, the whistle would have screamed along with the brakes, and the single headlight would have consumed everything before the steel of the engine hit him going fast enough to splatter him all over the underside of the bridge.
Beside her, Ozzy also shuddered. “He wouldn’t be the only one to fall from that bridge in front of a train,” he said.
“I know,” Harmony glared at him. “For almost a year afterwards, there were special guardsmen, investigators, and even another mage, all over town. The railyard and station were the most scrutinized, obviously. Everyone assumed the Mage had meant to use it to escape Regalis. I even had someone come talk to me about it, especially since Charcoal was born on the same day the mage died.”
“I think my mom said something about that once,” Ozzy said, “being interrogated about whether or not I was born silent or screaming?”
Charlie and Harmony shook their heads. “Ridiculous,” Harmony said. “The first thing they tell you about being reborn is that proximity doesn’t mean anything.”
Outside of Regalis, there was no way to know where anyone was going to be reborn. The whole world was a free-for-all. You could live a whole lifetime on one continent, and then the next all the way across the world. It made it almost impossible to build any lasting legacy across multiple lifetimes.
Regalis was the exception. Anyone who died within the kingdom would be reborn inside of it, and no one born outside the kingdom could be reborn inside. That was what made it so much better than the rest of the world. That was what allowed people like Harry Steamsmith to specialize in his job and hold a single position through multiple lifetimes. That was what made true legacy, true empire, possible.
Of course Regalis was only this way because of a powerful magic. The source of this magic was a piece of arcane technology, the Guardian of Souls, located in Freetown. It had been built by the founder of Regalis, Wonard Regalton I, father of the current king, during his final lifetime. Regalton I had passed away and ascended before his vision for Regalis had been realized, and his son had been on the throne ever since.
The exact location of the magic machine wasn’t public knowledge, but there was a replica on display in the public part of the palace. Charlie had always wanted to go see it, but it wasn’t cheap to get to Freetown from Precipice. She had never been able to afford even a one-way ticket.
Harmony sighed, “They really were trying everything. The royal mage even came to see you as a newborn, Charcoal. He asked me all sorts of questions. I went into labor very soon after the Steam-Powered Mage died. I didn’t know that though. I only woke up when my water broke, and your poor father had to run for the midwife in the middle of the night.”
Charlie sighed, “Well I get why Harry is so freaked out by this now. The police probably made his life hell.”
“Yeah,” Ozzy sighed.
“We should get going,” Charlie said, “we don’t want to keep you.”
Harmony’s smile seemed more real now, “Yes, you’re both very busy, I know. Work and friends, and now this Remembrance gathering. Lots to do!”
“Exactly. Is it okay if I need to swing by to get some of the cans?”
“Of course, Charcoal! Anytime!”
“Thanks, Mom.” Charlie got up from the table. Ozzy followed suit and went after her out of the house. They went back down the hill towards the tenement.
Two hours later, as dusk was slipping into nightfall, they leaned against the new railing on the footbridge over the railroad tracks, watching the sunset.
“It’s always crazy to me that we can see the border of Regalis from here,” Ozzy said.
“You can’t really see it,” Charlie said, “it’s invisible. And behind trees.”
“You know what I mean.” Ozzy kicked a pebble off the bridge and onto the tracks below. “The Steam Mage—”
“Steam-powered,” Charlie said.
“The Steam-powered Mage,” Ozzy said, “got so close to escaping. They almost evaded the royal police. Can you imagine if they had escaped? It would have been complete chaos. Regalis might not even exist anymore.”
“I had the same thought. If the king was imprisoned forever… Or worse, if that mage had managed to kill him, what would we do?”
“They must have thought of that already,” Ozzy said, “King Regalton has died before. He’s spent three lives on the throne. They must have a way to wait for him to come back without everything falling apart.”
“But what if he ascended?” Charlie suggested. “Three is the number of lives where it starts to be possible, and the king is wise and good. This might be his last lifetime ever.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes. The last sliver of sunlight dipped behind the trees.
“Well, I guess it’s good the Mage died inside of Regalis,” Ozzy said finally.
“Yeah it is,” Charlie said, “but it’s causing us problems.”
“A free trip to the capitol isn’t a problem,” Ozzy said. “It’ll be fun! They’ll probably question us after our Remembrances to make sure we aren’t the mage and then let us go.”
“I guess,” Charlie said. She didn’t think it was going to be so easy. She was going to have to plan escape routes for both of them.
The whistle of a steam engine echoed down the tracks. The bridge began to shake. The train, an engine carrying tons of lumber towards Paradise and Freetown, lumbered towards them. Along the tracks on either side, people stopped talking, as the roar of the engine drowned out everything else. For seconds the world was nothing except the train. It filled every sense. The ground shook and the whistle shrieked, and hot steam and coal smoke choked the air. The headlight flashed through the slats of the bridge in spasmodic patterns.
Charlie and Ozzy turned to watch the engine churn away on the other side of the bridge. Conversation and movement resumed all around them.
“No matter how many times I experience that, it’s still amazing,” Ozzy said.
“Yeah,” Charlie said softly. Neither of them moved until the train disappeared around the curve of the mountain.
