N:Era: Off the Tracks

Off the Tracks is the third N:Era Novella, following N:Era: Where We Lie and preceding N:Era: Fangs of Liberty.

Off the Tracks follows the N:Era girls on a mission where they take a train.

## Releases

Part 1: September 7th, 2022. 2103 words.

Part 2: September 14th, 2022, 2103 words (sic).

Part 3: September 23rd, 2031 words.

Part 4: September 30th, 2956 words

Part 5: October 7th. 1697.

Part 6: October 15th, 1620

Part 7: October 24th, 2244 words

Part 8: October 30th, 1851 words.

In total 16605 words.

## Summary

The story starts with Ahmond at lunch rush with her accidentally giving everyone the wrong orders. A customer kidnaps her and holds her at top of a roof, until Cyras intervenes. (However, she accidentally lets Ahmond fall from the top of the roof.) Cyras and Lilu reveal they're getting Ahmond on the train to a mission in Rosaberg, where Ahmond reveals the rest of her family is coming along to see if they'll move.

At the train station, Cyras complains about how loud the train is, while Baynana appears. Ahmond seems off-put. When Lilu finds out Ahmond's with Baynana, she says the trip should just be them girls. Ahmond fears that Cyras will have a worse reaction and tell Baynana her comics suck.

Cyras sits by the club car. As Cyras notes the train is moving, she hears someone say "yeah genius" only to see Rosod. Cyras shoots back with "I didn't know they exiled people for being annoying, though I have pushed for that measure." Both girls call a ceasefire verbally as Rosod reveals her parents sent her on the trip because she scammed them out of money for a field trip (Back in Where We Lie). Baynana finds Cyras and Ahmond finds Baynana, with Baynana asking, "Wow a Wilder. Do you really sniff butts?" embarrassing Ahmond. Cyras admits, "Unless people sit on stools." Meanwhile, Rosod realizes she lost her mirror.

Empress Owlis is reading the news, until she finds out no one is in the palace. Wanting food, she realized she must get fast food. However she admits this might be tasty.

The train goes through temperate forest, as Cyras is in the club car. Baynana tries getting Rosod into reading a comic known as "The Grass is Greener". However, Baynana finds out she misplaced a comic book. Lilu sets off to find out who took the book at Cyras accuses her of just hating dancing.

Owlis blends in with the local scenery, and when she comes back, she gets a phonecall from Jazmyn. Owlis pretends to be a Twayt answerer just so no one knows she's alone, when Jazmyn rants about the twayt. Owlis then pretends to be Cyras and insults Jazmyn before hanging up.

The girls approach Ahmond first, asking for the comic. Ahmond says she didn't steal the comic, and Baynana says no one said the word steal, but Ahmond points out, that obviously they must have thought she stole the comic. Rosod also admits she doesn't want to keep reading the comic but Baynana assures her the comic is awesome as Lilu learns her parents are swindlers.

Lilu finds a book on the floor near a twayt, who recognized her. However, Cyras smells the book and says that that has Rosod's scent and she must have knocked the book over trying to steal the reading material. Cyras goes to fight Rosod.

Rosod is in the room with the train attendants knocked out. Cyras and Rosod fight in the furnace room but Cyras begins singing in jazz before knocking Rosod out. Cyras finds Rosod's diary and is about to read, until Rosod stops her and accuses her of trying to steal books. Both girls realize they got the wrong person.

During dinner, Lilu suggest the next person they investigate is the ticket taker. Rosod talks about how silver and mirrors help hold negative spirits, and how she sent out psychic waves, while Baynana brings up she wants to learn ice magic, with Rosod saying "good for you". Ahmond glares at Rosod. Rosod also calls out Cyras for eating quickly when she has a gourmet meal. Baynana makes Rosod keep reading the comic book.

A flashback occurs as Kryyk asks Cyras why she doesn't believe in higher powers. Cyras says she thinks nature is enough. Both question how big the world is.

The flashback ends in Owlis' palace as she feels lonely herself, only to find herself getting attacked by a blue fox. However, she counters his attacks until purposefully plunging his knife in herself. She then asks for his name for his hospital bills.

Owlis attacks Kryyk, however Kryyk enters a room with Ryvoh's portrait upon the walls. Both of them begin talking about Ryvoh and Cyras.

Kryyk explains the events leading up to and in between Call of the Wild. Then explains he was found by a village of Violets known as Saint Owlis where some of the kids tortured him, but a druid saved him.

Rosod notes someone has entered the furnace room. As they investigate and see no one, Cyras meanwhile tries stealing the person running the train's sandwich. When Cyras comes out, Rosod calls her out for making a joke of the whole operation. Cyras shouts back that Rosod's parents only got rid of her for a "dogdang vacation". Cyras then accuses Rosod of never apologizing.

Rosod demands she takes that back and both face each other in a game of Towers as Rosod claims she gave up her sot for Cyras back in Call of the Wild.

Both girls play, with Lilu not taking teams. Cyras beats Rosod. Rosod asks how she lost when Cyras never plays. Cyras says she plays with Ahmond and Lilu all the time and Rosod mutters she's not part of the friend group, as Cyras wonders if Rosod wants to be part of them.

Owlis tells Kryyk that he is an ascended. Owlis says there was chaos, until the first fox, Time, stepped on the planet. She begot her parents that begot the four seasonal cousins. Owlis explains that Sumhyr owned a seventh kingdom until she fell in the Civil war.

Back at the train, Ahmond supposes that if all the train attendants are sleeping, they could perhaps be astral projecting and Rosod explains they could have tripped Rosod's tripwire by floating past them. Baynana talks about one of her comics, and how ghosts would summon the god of death, and the train stops.

Owlis shows Kryyk her fight against Ryvoh with Ryvoh dropping an entire skyfull of water on her, but Owlis soon hits her with a tornado of lightning, fire, and nature. Afterwards, Owlis banishes Ryvoh to the radiance realm. Kryyk asks if Cyras knows, but Owlis says no. She offers Kryyk a job, but Kryyk refuses and reveals he has a mimic who was copying Owlis' governess. Kryyk's attack begins.

The train halts in Spectris Woods and passengers look out, only to see zombies. The runner of the train admits that his soul and resting place were disturbed after his murder. Cyras leads the passengers off the train, hitting with Nine Tails, as Baynana explains these are Thelosts, a drowned zombie type. Three spirits arise ruling over Thelosts. Mosor attempts Empathy on the three spirits.

Baynana suggests burning their books as books have little gold flecks that rule over spirits and perhaps are empowering them. However, Lilu realizes one of the books she got from the Twayt was actually from Rosod.

As Kryyk tries murdering Owlis, Owlis summons fire, lightning, and earth. She fuses fire and earth to make lava, lightning and earth to make glass, and lightning and fire for plasma. Kryyk escapes as Owlis destroys her entire lawn and the outside of the palace before she reforms everything.

Lilu interrogates the Twayt Olivine with Mosor's empathy and they find out his grandparents are the murderers of the spirits and they kept stealing his spiritual power by taking the train over his bones with lots of books. However, the spirits clearly found vessels.

Cyras and Lilu go digging as everyone else wards off the zombies. Lilu tries sniffing and finds the bones and Cyras ninetails them. The burn redeems the bones, cleansing the spirits, so long as they are buried properly.

Olivine is trapped in a car, presuming he'll be arrested, but instead, Lilu says Cyras will be dealing with him as Cyras remarks she hasn't had much to eat on the entire trip.

Rosod and Cyras at the club car begin singing. The song is about playing a game. Lilu leaves during the song, obviously perturbed.

When the girls get off the train, Cyras gets news of the attack and says they all must leave. However, she finds Rosod alone. Alone with Baynana. Baynana tries to get Cyras to read a comic.

Cyras says she's not a fan and Baynana tries to get her to read more, but Cyras refuses, amazing Rosod. Both talk then about why Rosod is so mean and Rosod admits everything that has happened is catching up with her. She then tells Cyras she's running away. She thanks her for inspiration as Cyras sits at the bench, numb.

## Trivia

* Unlike the other novellas, Off the Tracks was strictly released weekly, first on Wednesdays, but then on Fridays, and once on Saturday.
* Off the Tracks occurs over the shortest period of time of all novellas, taking only a day.
* Off the Tracks has the most flashbacks, with two from Owlis (if you count Owlis' flashback to her battle with Ryvoh as a separate flashback), and Cyras' flashback of Kryyk, and Kryyk's flashback of Saint Owlis.
* This is actually the shortest story in terms of time between first part and last part, as well as for time in story, as this story was written within 53 days.
* Every title references a Fleetwood Mac song. Mostly "Rumors".
* A lot of the Russian dialogue is purposefully mistranslated. In reality, Да что с вами обоими козявка-едами не так!” (You kids are better, more well-trained than that.) is actually, (what with you both booger-eaters not well!) like, what is wrong with you booger-eaters.
* И в следующий раз, когда вы двое приблизитесь к нему, я сверну ваши маленькие шейки", (And this occurrence ends, perhaps I'll tell your parents, so they, will ground you)(And in next time, when you two come near (come near is one word) to him, I twist your little necks) like, next time you come near him I will wring your little necks.
* This is book 2 that references the title in the text. "Cyras sat on the bench, numb. A lot was happening this year in her life. Everything went off the track."
* This story takes place in the season of Autumn.