<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #00BFFF">Isidore</span></div><br/><br/>The ambient noise in the Idarien restaurant lolled him into his own thoughts. Really, Isidore couldn't seem to tether himself to reality since finding out this morning that he was now an "Exile-In-Exodus."<br/><br/>"You haven't touched your pizza," His uncle said quietly, finally bringing Isidore out of his thoughts.<br/><br/>Pizza was his favorite food by far. It was hard to find good Idarien pizza parlors this far north in Oldin, Idaria District was far to the Southeast near Est District, where the Eastern Gates to Outwall were. Est was supposed to be very beautiful and that the gates themselves had a unique design on them. Some people called the Eastern Gate the Heart of Murum - the heart of the Wall. The other gates to the north, west, and south had their own etched designs, but none were said to compare to the beauty of the Eastern Gates. He would never see those gates now, because he and the rest of the exiles would be ushered out through the South Gate, otherwise known as the Exodus Gates. They were the most direct routs to Outwall, since the closest civilizations lay to the south. The North Gate, Fahr, was hardly ever used because it was located a significant distance from the shore and you had to ride out on a ferry or Airship to the Fahr station. Old texts and stories say that there are dark creatures and demons to the farthest north. Oldin was farthest north for civilization and beyond Oldin, it was said that the world simply dropped off into oblivion. Now a days, most people don't think that. It's likely just an enormous expanse of ocean that leads back around to the southernmost tip of Alamere. Tele-scoping didn't work too properly as anything outside the wall just looked really blurry if you looked through it. You had to use old fashioned far-seeing devices without the aid of advanced interpretation software. It wasn't always clear what exactly determined could and could not work outside of Oldin, but Airships were absolutely out of the question. They'd drop from the sky like bricks and plummet into the ocean. Boat expeditions done long ago, the old fashioned way of using manual labor to propel the ship, were sent to chart the Fahr Waters. No one ever came back and eventually the expeditions stopped.<br/><br/>"I'm not really hungry," Isidore said.<br/><br/>His uncle sighed, "You might not get another chance you know?" There was silence, and then he realized what he had said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"<br/><br/>"It's alright. I'm an Exile uncle. I'm marching out that gate whether we say it or not." This made Isidore almost cry. Oddly, he hadn't really felt like crying, only numbness and a severe case of existentialism. He now wondered if the Murum worshipers were right that worshiping Murum would have kept him from being chosen. Then he remembered that Murumists were not exempt at all from being drawn and that quite a lot of them had actually been chosen over the years since most have never been an inch above the Wortherance Line.<br/><br/>A pop song played over the radio. Well, there's a plus, no more damned pop songs.<br/><br/>They paid and made their way home in his uncle's car. It waited for them outside the pizza parlor. It asked them if they wanted to go for ice-cream.<br/><br/>"Sure," Isidore said after an inquiring glance from his uncle.<br/><br/>Once home, Isidore and his uncle packed away his things into a light backpack. He didn't want to take too many things. He had gotten a mail through the holonet that suggested one type of outfit for different situations, like cold, warmth, shorts. It also suggested not taking any food at all from Oldin. Anything that was made using machinery or anything modern was completely out of the question as it would rot the instant they stepped outside the walls and could kill you if you ate it - it's happened. The "tips" also mentioned that food made without the use of any modern technology might be okay - emphasis on might. That "organic" stuff was very hard to come by and expensive though, and it was no guarantee that it would be safe to eat as even the smallest use of technology would render it inedible.<br/><br/>His uncle was leaning on the doorway. "That's not gonna survive," he told Isidore.<br/><br/>Isidore was putting a picture of himself and his parents in his pack. Isidore just shrugged, "might as well try it out."<br/><br/>"Come here," his uncle said and embraced Isidore in a great fatherly hug. "I'll see you in four years alright," his uncle said.<br/><br/>"I might not pass the re-entrance exam," Isidore said.<br/><br/>"No. Don't even think that way. You ace that damn exam."<br/><br/>"I don't even know what it going to test me on," Isidore protested.<br/><br/>"Doesn't matter. Make sure you learn something. Make sure you get some invaluable information, or something of use. Those politicians," he really hated politicians, "would probably love to know more about the state of things in Outwall. One of the only exiles to pass the re-entrance exam two centuries ago brought a very complete map of Alamere. It's very outdated now so if you chart the outside you can bring them a freshly updated map."<br/><br/>"That means constant traveling and danger."<br/><br/>"Did I not teach you anything, Isidore!"<br/><br/>"Well, yeah, but-"<br/><br/>"You're not superdude, yes I know, but you're not completely defenseless either. I want you to fight," he was almost crying now, "I want you to fight!"<br/><br/>Isidore remained quiet for a moment before responding. "Ok," he said. Then he let the tears flow without hindrance.