Arden finds himself in an unfamiliar situation.
- 📖 Arden knew that this region of space was treacherous and if the past days were of any indication he now firmly believed it. He reminded himself of that with every step he took on the station, believing something sinister around every corner. His travels had made him paranoid. More than he admitted to himself.
- 📖 The station was used as mostly a trading post, but Arden could also see kids and young people among the crowd. As if the people here formed a tight knit community. So it was to no surprise that they reacted how they did as Arden first contacted them. Protection above all else.
- 📖 As he spent the next few hours in this community he could sense a feeling of hapiness and joy. Unusual. He hadn't felt like that in a long time, he couldn't even remember when. Arden's mind immediately thought the worse. There must be something going on here.
- 📖 "It's an old tradition."
An old woman seemingly snuck up behind Arden. Surprising in two ways: it was one of the few times he actually saw an elder and Arden didn't know what disturbed him more. - 📖 "What tradition?" Arden turned around to the old woman. She was quite smaller than him and he felt that he might intimidate her, just by staring down on her. But she remained calm and smiled.
"The First Light Festival of course.", the old woman said, "And from the puzzled look, I assume you are not from around here." - 📖 Arden shook his head.
"We celebrate the day, the station started its operation and switched on the light for the first time. As simple as that. Some say it is a bit of a silly tradition."
"And what is your stance on it?"
"Tradition or not, it is great to see everybody happy." - 📖 Arden would agree. It was a long time since he saw anybody with a smile on their face. As a matter of fact it was a long time since he himself felt happy. Somehow this joyous feeling was contagious.