Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 1 ==
'''11 years later'''

''Fannara''

I sprinted down back alleys and empty streets, bags clutched in my hands. I could vaguely hear the murmur of people boarding the train in the distance. I was going to be late. I increased my speed, mentally noting that the last time I ran this quickly., I was being chased by a crazed man waving a spear over his head. Thankfully, this time, I only needed to focus on getting to the train station, and my life wasn’t in immediate danger. 

I arrived at one of the more crowded streets, and I had to slow my speed as I pushed through the oceantheocean of bodies. I glanced behind me, noting the clock tower proudly pronouncing the time:, ''1:58.''  

''Shoot,.'' I thought, ''I have two minutes''. I kept pushing through people, occasionally tip-toeing to check how far away the train station was. I got to the platform just as the doors began closing. I slipped in and walked to the back of the train. I found a mostly empty car and plopped down at a window, sighing with relief. The train began moving and then sped until the scenery blurred outside the window, the gloomy greysgraey’s melted into dull greens. Spring had been hesitant this year, and even though it was late summer, the trees had never flourished into their vibrant greens that so often came. 

I leaned back, still processing the fact that I was leaving Alithos, on purpose this time. I had won the scholarship from the academy; I had passed the tests, and now I was going to Lathra IV, representing my homeworld to the vast population of the surrounding systems. 

When the Lathran delegates visited Alithos for the first time after establishing a portal, they invited a student to go study on Lathra IV, the most advanced world in literally everything. Somehow, that student was me. I was on my way to the most advanced world we knew of to study at their most advanced university. It was going to be a long eight hours because the Lathran system was pretty far away. We’d have to go through Zora and Earth to get to Lathra IV.

I glanced at the people sharing the car with me. None of them looked like they would get off on Earth, seeing as they were still wearing the Lathinnyan style of clothing. The Lathrans liked to let worlds they discover they exist on their own before making their information trades. The Earthans still denied the existence of life other than on their planet, so the Lathrans were letting them figure it out on their own. However, Earth was a key portal platform to the rest of the explored galaxy, so the Lathrans made an undercover portal. 

Outside the window, the countryside began fading into graey mountains. The portal on Alithos was up in the mountains, but it would still take a while to get there. The roar of the engine echoed off the mountains and back at the train, filling the car with noise. I cringed at the screaming engines and noticed people had started staring at me. They hardly noticed the scream of the steam engine, for them, it was simply a low rumble. 

I leaned back in my seat, teeth clenched behind a feigned look of boredom. People turned their gazes away, and I relaxed slightly. People always stared at me, whispering rumors they thought I couldn’t hear. It made me uncomfortable knowing they were talking about me, but the fact that I could hear everything they said would nearly send me into a panic every time. 

As I watched, the mountains began turning white, the perpetual snow glinting as the train rumbled past. I wished I had a book to read, even if I already knew the plot, anything to distract myself from my brain’s meandering would have been a relief. From the back of the car, a child began wailing. I cringed once more. ''This is going to be miserable''.

☙❦❧

Nearly the full four hours later, the mother had finally gotten her child to be quiet, and we were at the portal. The train increased in speed as the first gasps cameescaped from those lucky enough to see the portal first. A few shrieks of surprise escaped my fellow passengers as we passed through the portal. The tingling in my fingers was nearly comforting. I had a nasty habit of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and ending up in a different world. This was ''not'' my first time encountering a portal, not by a long shot.

The dull mountains of Alithos seemed to explode into the vibrant greens of Zora. I wrinkled my nose at the humidity seeping through the window next to me. Alithos wasn’t pretty, but at least the air didn’t sweat.

Zora was a fairly large planet, full of lush forests, strobe lights, and people who looked like they were covered in toddler crayon drawings. Zorans were extremely proud of their advancements, as if giving yourself a neck ache to see the tops of their buildings was rewarding. 

The train began slowing as it entered the capital city. I turned away from the window, hoping to postpone the inevitable migraine Caileth would give me. The tinted screen windows of the towering buildings flashed advertisements for bath soaps and the next political runner-ups’ campaign. The one-government system on Zora had a nasty habit of sprouting dictators, and no doubt, the man whose face I saw was the size of a small house, and was going to “disappear” before he made any headway. 

The surrounding passengers were having a blast looking at the buildings, never having seen anything bigger than four stories. I grabbed my bags as the train screeched to a halt, once again flinching at the noise. I stepped out onto the glistening stage that was the Zoran train station. The bustle of tourists and yelling shopkeepers only motivated me to find the next train. I once again pushed past people, trying to get to my train. The Lathrans had invented camouflaged trains, and seeing as we had to go through Earth, they were the only ones fit to travel to the Lathra System in this sector. 

The cool air of the Lathran train was a relief from the muggy, crowded streets of Caileth. With a sigh, I plopped into my seat, pleased to find my car empty. Empty, until an entire group of loud Zorans burst into it. They seemed to be high enough in society to feel entitled to respect, but not quite high enough to deserve it. ''Aristocrats''. I never liked high-class people, maybe because they always looked down on people, maybe because they were just flat-out annoying. Either way, I was dreading what they were going to sneer at. 

They began by commenting on the other people in the car, debating what their shoes cost, and not really caring. Then one woman caught sight of me and pointed. The snickering began. Zorans ''loved'' humiliating cans. There had been some feud centuries ago, before communicating fully worked. A communication mishap started the whole thing. Unfortunately for me, I had a knack for languages, and I understood every word that came out of their ridiculously colored lips. Even worse, they didn't know and had no scruples against talking down to me.

They started by debating what shade of green my eyes were, and whether the freckles helped me look less pale. It was mostly negative comments, but I didn’t care. Moving to my hair, they tried to determine if the black color was natural or dyed. This comment made me more uncomfortable. Something always made me nervous when my hair was brought up. I never knew what it was, I just always felt weird about it. 

I was truly getting irritated when they moved on to my height. Yes, I was tall, and no, it was not because of surgery.

Under my breath, I muttered, "I can hear you." It was in Nzoran, but they didn't hear me, they just kept talking a mile a minute.

Honestly, the more they talked about me, the more I realized just how fake their beauty was. 

These Zorans had long hair, twisted intoup in the most ridiculous of shapes, their long ears protruding from beneath it. They covered the ears themselves in earrings on the bottom and decorative tattoos on the top. I don't even want to go into what they were wearing. It was mostly glittery garbage bags, complete with jewel-encrusted belts. Once again, these aristocrats' faces were smeared with neon paint and even more glitter. Yet, even with all their gaudiness, they seemed simple and elegant. Until you see how much of it was plastic surgery. 

After they dwelled far too long on me, I finally snapped. 

"Would you shut up? Some of us don't like being dissected by glittery garbage." The entire group quieted and stared at me. I glared at them, becoming exceedingly irked by their stares. After a full two minutes of silence, one woman burst out laughing and was quickly joined by the others. 

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bags. I was not about to put up with them for the next four hours. I left the car, this time looking for one with more people in it, wishing that for once, I could just blend in, it was a little hard to do that when you're six feet tall, have black hair, green eyes, and a weird name. I just hoped it would be easier on Lathra IV.

Four hours later, the train pulled into the station in Elquar. The air was crisp; the sky was clear, and the building in front of me was ''huge''. It made sense that it would be an extensive building; it was maybe the most important site in our galaxy, the place where the first portal to a different system was opened. It was extremely intimidating, all glass and marble. No, not glass, gems. 

The homeworld of the Lathrans, commonly known as Geterria, was full of elementals. They often hired workers from the Stone Tribe to create structures, making them both beautiful and durable. Nearly everything in Elquar seemed to be of Stone Tribe craftsmanship. It was breathtaking.

I moved farther into the maze of stone, miraculously finding my way to the immigration line. The people in front of me seemed to be native Lathrans, returning home. It’s a strange feeling, being the most noticeable person in the room, and suddenly being plunged in with strangers who took the cake in terms of being noticeable. Lathrans were known for their height, on average being taller than most people on Alithos. I finally blended in. It was such a relief not to be the center of attention. 

I got up to the counter and found myself in front of a woman who immediately handed me a stack of papers with different languages printed on them. She wanted to know if she needed to call a translator. I had been studying Lathran for the last month, but I had never spoken to someone in it.

“No, it’s alright, I speak Lathran.” I said. My practice had paid off.surprised myself. The language came so easily, not like any other I had learned.

The woman was slightly surprised but quickly recovered. “Alright, may I see your ID?”

''Oh, no. Do I need an ID?'' My look of concern and confusion must have puzzled the woman even more than my fluency in her language.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you not from here? Your accent was so good I assumed you were from here. My apologies. What's your name?" I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that I hadn't left something on Alithos. 

"Fannara Harpson, I'm the exchange student from Alithos."

The woman broke out into a smile, "Indeed you are, you can go on through, Ana Keleth is in the waiting area, she'll take you to campus." I waited, hoping I would get more information., I had no clue who Ana Keleth was. “The waiting area is that way.” She pointed a long finger down a corridor, still smiling, but with a hint of annoyance now. I moved in the indicated direction, muttering a thanks under my breath. 

☙❦❧

The waiting room was filled with so many people, I don’t think I could have found Ana., even if I knew who she was. Thankfully, she found me. 

She strode over to me, heels clicking on the marble floor. "You must be Fannara., I'm Ana Keleth, minister of education, but you can just call me Ana." She was a tall woman, seemingly in her mid-forties. She had auburn hair that framed her pale face, laden with two deep blue eyes. She woreIt was a kind face, one that seemed to understand both joy and sorrow.

I forced a smile back at her. Something about her was making me nervous, and I just couldn't put my finger on it. It was like a word you couldn't remember, almost a strange deja vu feeling. There was something wrong here.