“Pinnacle Kolya sure has rather…eccentric tastes,” Gaius muttered, as he led Isabelle and Nakama out of the Information Brokers’ shophouse. After forking over a hundred gold for a whole bunch of information about the North, this was the conclusion the boy had come up with after skimming through the file he received.

“Eccentric?” Isabelle asked.

“Apparently, the man likes to wander through the streets incognito, participating in the revelry in Lower Elysium. Last year, he even joined a circus and performed in it for around a month or so, until one of his fanatics spotted him,” Gaius explained. “Other odd things include the invention…uh, bringing over of that Ferris wheel over there, the funding of research into the bodily and mental processes behind the emotion of joy, and trying to push for a holiday where everyone wore white shirts with black stripes.”

Isabelle tilted her head. “What’s with the last one?”

“He was probably trying to make a statement,” Gaius replied. “But I don’t think anyone knows what he really wanted. From the sounds of it” —he lowered his voice— “I think he’s going for a stereotypical prison outfit from Earth, but I’m not sure why.”

“That’s an odd fella, to be sure.” Isabelle shook her head. “But it’s undeniable that the Pinnacle has incredible influence in the North.”

She looked at her surroundings. Gaius had never gone to the Southern Capital, save for that few minutes in which he destroyed the Divine Ladder and took the city with it. However, he had a feeling that Isabelle was comparing both capitals...and no particular feat of ingenuity was needed to guess which one she looked more favourably upon.

“You like it here?” Gaius asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “It’s…relaxed here. Everyone’s acting freely and whatnot. In contrast, the whole of Empyria was like an intense version of Upper Elysium, where everyone’s prim, proper…and scared. At least I didn’t feel any fear in Upper Elysium.”

“Sounds like a bad place,” Nakama said, her eyes blinking innocently.

“It is, if you ask me,” Isabelle answered. “But in Upper Elysium, the silence there…I feel that it’s to be considerate of the other residents, rather than the fear of catching the wrong eyes.”

“Catching the wrong eyes?” Nakama asked. “What eyes?”

“Oh, it means to…get the attention of bad, weird people,” Isabelle explained, after taking a few seconds to think through her words. “If they decide they want you, they’ll steal you from your family, and you’ll never return home again.”

“Oh, like those…kidnappers?”

“Yes, but worse,” said Isabelle. “Kidnappers want money. Those…bad nob— people just want you, and would do horrible, unspeakable things to you.”

Nakama trembled, and Gaius rubbed her head to calm her down. “There, there. We’re in the North now, and don’t you know who your brother is?”

He laughed, the sound banishing the fear on her face.

“Now,” said Gaius, “how about a ride on that giant wheel? After all, I promised you two a ride there…although it is rather crowded. I suppose it’s the effect of a Friday.”

As the got closer to the amusement park, Gaius realised that ‘rather crowded’ was quite the understatement. The place was positively brimming with people. Most of them were enjoying the attractions, which ranged from a high-speed flight show by Knights to shooting galleries with what looked like Straight Shots. There was this distinct military theme to it, all in all, and the Ferris wheel, alongside other traditional attractions, seemed to have been added as an afterthought.

It seemed that the military-esque attractions didn’t hold much appeal to Nakama and Isabelle, however. Making a beeline to the Ferris wheel, the two pulled Gaius into a moderately-long queue, and then began to explore their surroundings happily.

Most of the queue was made up by lovey-dovey couples, which meant that there wasn’t much conversation of substance to be eavesdropping on. In general, the main topics that Gaius overheard was about the upcoming ball that Pinnacle Kolya was intending to hold.

It was good that they now knew his name, but the specifics about the man himself was still unknown. Whether he was a Paragon, or even a Demigod…no one knew. The Pinnacle had never exerted his martial might before — he was a rare specimen in that he ruled the Mortal Light Dynasty and opposed the great gods through his own intellect and will.

As for his motivation to oppose the great gods…well, that was also part of the seven great mysteries of the North. No one said that the ruler of the Mortal Light Dynasty had to inherit the Brilliant Pinnacle’s will, and indeed, there were some instances in which relations between the North and the now-destroyed Central Circle had warmed up slightly.

“So, this ball,” began Isabelle, rousing Gaius from his contemplations, “what should we wear for it?”

“You’re starting from there?” Gaius asked. “Shouldn’t you start off by pondering whether we should attend it in the first place?”

“Nope,” Isabelle replied. “Nakama wanted to attend. And I’ll never hear the end of it if we don’t. Therefore, we are going. That decision is final.”

“Urgh.” Gaius rubbed his head. “Fine, we’re going. What you guys want to wear…we’ll stop by a clothing shop later and see what we can grab from there, okay?”

“You heard him, Nakama.” Isabelle smiled.

“Yay!”

The boy shook his head, and watched as the line continued to shorten. Most Now that he was incredibly close to the Ferris wheel, he could see that it was a complex of artefacts, each one linked to the other. Unfortunately, Nexus had insisted on educating the newcomer to the sentient artefact group, but if it had been here, Gaius had little doubt that the sculpture would have begged him to tear the whole thing down for study.

Gaius himself had entertained the thought of multiple linked artefacts, but Nexus had told him that only a true maestro of the art would be able to pull it off. The Library of Ancients was one such artefact, but it seemed that there was a genius of artificing in the North.

As the three entered their capsule, the attendant that had taken their payment said, “There’s a single passenger that has been waiting for his turn. Can he join you?”

He gestured at a young man with a monocle, who was staring enviously at the queue. Gaius glanced at the long queues filled with couples, and felt some pity for the person. “Sure, why not?”