A City Beyond
Lucas C
Lucius stared at the man before him, “Who are you?”
The man turned his body to face him. His sharp eyes and scarred face highlighted his fierceness. The dark garments of his robe fluttered in the wind, seeming to swallow the light around him. As Lucius stared at his dignified posture, his mouth moved.
“Who am I? Who I am is not important. But… you, you are special.” The man had a gruff voice; it suited him perfectly. “You came to this forsaken realm, this land without dreams. Even the sky itself has given up on this world, yet you still managed to enter. We haven’t had a visitor in centuries.”
Lucius stared up at the sky. It was gray, as if it were fading. The sun was dim, even though it seemed to be in the middle of the sky. Everything seemed to be faded and old. Even in the forest, no birds were chirping, no crickets singing, nothing. It felt almost as if it were dead.
How did Lucius get here? Well, it all started yesterday.
Earlier, it had been a cold, snowy Thanksgiving Day. Lucius stared out the window at the minuscule flakes of white drifting down towards the fluffy ground. The blanket of snow engulfed the dirt below it, leaving no trace of the once green lawn before it. Lucius, being the energetic and playful boy that he was, wanted to go outside and play in the snow. His mother reprimanded him for this desire, quoting, “foolish and dangerous” in her long scolding that Lucius would have to be out of his mind to listen to.
“Arrrrgh, I’m soooooo boooooooreeed.” His head lay on his desk lethargically. His shoulders drooped while his arms hung down by his sides. The room he was in was dusty and disorganized due to neglect. Eventually, Lucius decided he had had enough of this; he had to do something about his boredom.
He leaped out of his chair in a thundering crash and, newly energized from his recent revelation, he flew out of the room in a whirlwind of energy. Rushing out of the corridor, he decided to take a walk through the house. Then, he saw a door. It was no different from all of the other normal doors in the house. Wood with elaborate designs carved on it, that sat in a neat, clean doorframe. However, what stood out to Lucius was that he had never noticed its existence before. Lucius couldn’t state that he had visited every hallway in his home. He wouldn’t even confidently say that he had gone through half of his house. However, this was a corridor he had passed through every time he went to his room. Lucius scrolled through his memories, as if he were watching a play. Scenes of this corridor rush through his head at high speeds. And yet, it had never been here before.
“I shouldn’t touch it, should I? Dad said not to mess around in this house.” He decided to ignore this door and continue on his way. However, curiosity ran rampant through his head, screaming in a cacophony of gulls to open the door. His foible was his curiosity, and he turned back and threw open the door, rushing through it. He swivelled his head backwards, and the door was gone. He was in a hallway, yet nothing was behind him. The hall was grand and majestic; a towering gallery of brilliantly carved, pointed arches of cold, gray stone loomed above him. Sturdy pillars supported the Reminiscent of a grand, ancient cathedral.
Lucius turned around before realizing that there was nothing but a wall behind him. What happened? Why did the door disappear? He touched that wall behind him, looking for a handle, a door, anything.
Nothing. Resigned to his fate, Lucius turned back to look forward. He realized that beyond the passageway, there was a great gate. The gate, forged from the same stone as the rest of the cathedral, looked almost magical. On it, mystical imprints of miracles and saints were carved. These great doors seemed to draw Lucius towards them. He stared at the drawings in detail. A man splitting the sea with his staff. A saint bringing the dead back to life. A sun formed of swirling blue, red, and yellow falling to the earth. The walls of a great city crumbling into dust. These were just a few of the seemingly hundreds of petroglyphs that were varied and diverse. But one among them was unique.
It was the only one painted with color, an array of red, orange, yellow, and every color imaginable. The stone was smooth, while all the other ones were rough. On it, there was a painting of a city. The white sheet of Winter covered the landscape around it. Yet, inside the city, warm tones of autumn proliferated throughout it. In it, people went about. The city had three rings, separated by perfectly circular walls. The outermost land was filled with farmland. Everyone in it was working hard; not a single one was resting. Inside that ring was the next one. That ring seemed much like a bustling city built of mud, wood, and stone. There were people managing stalls, wielding weapons, standing guard, and even playing instruments. The innermost ring had grand palaces, each of which looked like a utopia to live and work in. Servants were entering and exiting through the main doors. Finally, in the very center of the city sat a great obelisk. Its pitch black color made it seem out of place in the colorful city.
Lucius touched the obelisk. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light. The door was gone. In front of him was a barren winter forest. Frost glimmered on the leafless branches of trees. As Lucius trudged through the forest, he saw a man sitting on a tree stump, looking at him.
That was how Lucius found himself in the situation he’s in now.
He asked the man a question, “Why are you here instead of trying to leave?”
The man smiled at his question, “I came here because I was banished, but I cannot leave.”
“Banished?” Lucius asked, “Banished from where?”
“I was banished from the last city in this realm, Nobilis, the Last Utopia.” The man's face grimaced in disdain.
“Were there other cities before?” Lucius was curious about this world.
“There used to be many. Some sat among clouds in the sky, some submerged in bubbles deep within the sea, and some deep underground, but all of those were abandoned. Nobilis was the only city on land, and the least grand of them all. But perhaps that is what saved them.”
“What happened to the other cities?”
“I’m not sure. No one is sure. It was thousands of years ago, after the Empyreans fled to the stars, the pillars that held up the cities began to fall, and the people disappeared.”
“The Empyreans?” Lucius felt confused. “How would they be able to travel to the stars? Were they gods?”
“Something like that. They were the ones who were born with talent and ability so brilliant that it shone like a diamond. They were the ones truly chosen by the gods; they could do things we could only dream of. It was only because of them that the Heavenly and Aquatic cities existed.”
“If they were chosen by the gods, why would they flee the grand cities?”
“I don’t know, nobody knows.”
“Alright, thanks anyway.” Lucius sighed, “Do you know where Nobilis is?”
“Keep on walking in that direction. After a few hours, you’ll come across it.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Lucius bade his farewell.
“Farewell, young lad, may the heavens and earth shine upon you favorably.” The man offered him a smile and tossed him a bag of olives and fish meat, along with a large, thick cloak. Lucius threw the cloak over his shoulders and let it wrap around himself nicely. Lucius turned away and began heading in the direction he had pointed.
Lucius kept on walking without turning back. He focused on his goal of reaching the city. At school, he played football, tennis, and baseball, and he was quite good at it, too. He was the star of the baseball team and the team captain for football. However, Lucius had never had to walk for hours on end before.
Around the second hour, Lucius couldn’t continue any longer. His stomach let out growling noises while his brain screamed in his head out of boredom and frustration. “When am I going to get there? Ha, at least this food looks pretty decent.” Lucius lifted the bag of food and took out some slices of fish and chomped down on him. The taste was better than he thought. After he felt satisfied with his meal, he continued.
Soon, Lucius finally caught sight of something on the horizon. It was the tall black spire he had seen in the door earlier. He smiled; he knew that he should arrive there soon. He cheerfully trudged on.
Lucius came upon the city feeling tired and hungry. The bag of food he had received from the man was now empty. When he neared the wall, he noticed a grand metal gate on it. It looked quite sturdy and was manned by two guards. Lucius ran up to them.
“Hello!” Lucius greeted them cheerfully, with a nice wave of his hand and a warm smile on his face. It seemed like the guards appreciated his gesture.
“A visitor? Why are you trying to enter the city?” A guard asked him in a soft tone.
“I entered the forest and heard about a city being here. Would it be possible for me to come in?” Lucius asked the guards.
“I don’t see why not.” The other guard smiled and opened the gate with their bare hands. They grabbed the heavy metal bars and lifted the heavy gate. Lucius stared in shock for a few seconds with his mouth forming a large “O” in shock, before shaking his head and hurrying through.
“Thank you!” he called out.
“You’re welcome. May the heavens and earth shine upon you favorably.” The guard smiled.
Lucius entered the city and wandered through the farmland, unsure about what he should do next. Other farmers saw him before ushering him to work.
“Stop right there! Get to work! You can’t act all lazy here!” The farmer shouted.
Lucius ignored him before continuing to rush through the city.
Before long, he reached the next wall, where a guard took a look at him, before saying, “An outsider? Why are you here?”
“I entered the city because I’m looking for a place to live. I don’t have a home anywhere near here.” Lucius calmly explained his situation.
“Ah! I understand,” the guard said with a face that said the opposite. “Wait here, I’ll have to ask my superiors what to do with you.”
The guard left, and before long, another man walked up to him and brought him through the city. He also gave a brief tour of the commoners' city.
Finally, they reached the innermost ring. The man led him through the gate before taking him to one of the many palaces there.
“Welcome,” the man said, “Where do you come from? Don’t worry, just tell the truth, and we’ll try our best to help you.”
Lucius was unsure whether he could trust him, but he decided to tell him either way. “I’m from outside of this world. I come from America.”
“Whoa, how interesting. I suppose you're looking for a place to live now?”
“Yes, it's difficult for me to live out inside in the snow after all.”
“Alright, but if you want to lie, you have to work. The man then led him to the obelisk and brought him inside. While they were on the way, the man explained how the city worked to him. Finally, they entered the obelisk, where Lucius saw a round orb.
“Place your hand on the orb,” the man told him.
Lucius touched the orb, and it soon began to glow a golden color.
“I thought there was something special about you. You truly do have the talent to be a Sovereign.”
Lucius learned the ways of the city. However, everything was different from what he was used to. Why did people have their lives chosen for them right from birth? Why was everything decided by one little light? Why couldn’t they make their own choices or contribute to the Nobilis in their own way? Why must fathers and mothers be unable to raise their children?
Lucius grappled with these questions for years. He changed the society around them and gave people more freedom of choice. When he turned 18, he decided to create a new faction of Sovereigns. He wanted to create a group of people who would advocate for more freedom. But what he discovered was, almost no one in the city was dissatisfied with the life that they lived right now. They all contributed their part to society and lived a happy life. He decided to discuss the situation with a fellow ruler.
“Why is everyone satisfied working jobs that were chosen for them?” He asked his closest friend, Andreas.
“Why shouldn’t we be? We live a happy life. What reason is there to be dissatisfied?”
Lucius found himself nodding his head, but he still didn’t agree, “Why do you call it a happy life? Haven’t you ever found a passion you wanted to chase, or a hobby that you thought you could practice? And yet, instead, you simply do one thing your whole life. Work a single job until retirement, and never get to make the choice yourself.”
His friend smiled, “I suppose that makes sense. I have actually wanted to do something before. Originally, I wanted to be a musician. When I was really young, I thought the compositions that they create could calm people's minds and show them true beauty. I’ll join your cause, and maybe, together, we can do something.”
And do something they did, with the voice of the brightest talent the city had seen in generations. They gave people hobbies, gave them games to play, more books to read, and more music to listen to. The city seemed more colorful than ever.
However, he wasn’t able to set the people in the city truly free.
After many years, Lucius finally accepted the fate of the city. It was a beautiful, perfect city, where every citizen did the job assigned to them to the utmost. Everyone supported each other and treated them as family. It had its slight flaws, but it was the closest thing to perfection that some would chase. That day, a man came before him. “The high king of the city would like to see you.”
Lucius visited him, and he realized it was the man who had brought him into the city.
“You’re the high king?” Lucius asked in shock.
“You’ve done a lot for this city.” The man smiled while speaking, “However, it's about time for you to leave.”
Lucius was no longer a young boy. He was now a wise old man and one of the most authoritative Sovereigns.
Before going, Lucius had to ask a question he was curious about: “Why is the sky outside so gray, the sun so dim, the lands so lifeless?”
“It's because the gods grew tired and weary of our people. They retracted their blessings that they gave to the lands. They took their blessed ones, the empyreans, with them, of course. But for everyone else …” He paused, before smiling weakly and shaking his head, “I won’t continue. It’s still too much.”
“Alright, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me,” Lucius quelled his curiosity before asking, “But how can I return?”
The same way you came, the man smiled and gestured towards a door on a wall. Lucius stared at the door. Throughout this journey, Lucius learned a lot of things, but the one thing he remembered most was how helpless he was by himself. To succeed, he needed support, care, and help from others, and he felt grateful to all the people who had pushed him to where he was now. Similarly, he wished this city and all the people who had helped him a wonderful, happy future. Then, he touched the door, and his vision flashed white once again.
He found himself back in the hallway where he was before, in the same room that he was before. The door he had entered through was gone.
“Lucius! Where have you been? It's already time for supper!” His mother shouted.
“Coming!” he shouted, smiling. The journey was definitely real, and yet, it still felt like a dream.