WISDOM

Rise To The Occasion

Who here will be the next big star at Tomorrowland? Have you always dreamt of playing on one of the sixteen stages of the festival, or are you curious about what buttons all your favorite DJs and artists are pressing all the time up there? Then head over to the Coke Studio, where Coca Cola has lined up a battery of DJ gear and turntables for you to take a test drive. Take some basic lessons from renowned DJs in how to work the material, play your first track and maybe slip in a loop or a special effect! If you’re more comfortable on the other side of the DJ booth, never fear: you can step inside the kaleidoscope for a dance with your own doppelganger. And if you’re a bit tired, there’s even a booth where you can let other people’s legs do the dancing for you, and an opportunity to take a panoramic picture from the rooftop. As an extension of the search for talent in the Coke Studio, the line-up at the Rise Stage by Coca Cole features up-and-coming talents throughout the weekend. Curious? You can find the Coke Studio just across from the Rise stage, next to the CAGE.

Water For The Soul

Literally everything about Soul Water’s cargo bike bar tells you these people absolutely love planet Earth. You’ll find them at DreamVille in the morning and as the day progresses, the friendly bartender slowly starts wheeling it towards Tomorrowland. The people behind Soul Water remember its inception very clearly – it started with a bright epiphany: the idea that everyone should be able to enjoy clean drinking water without worrying about harming our planet. Therefore, Soul Water isn’t served in plastic bottles but in cans, which are more environmentally friendly. Admittedly, they say at Soul Water, filling up a reusable bottle from a tap comes with an even smaller ecological footprint, but the truth is that what’s best for Mother Earth isn’t always feasible. It is in these situations that drinking water from a can is the right thing to do. And it’s not just for show – a percentage of Soul Water’s proceeds goes to charities such as JustDiggit, Movement on the Ground and Ibiza Preservation.

Dream Baby Dream

Anyone’s dreams will come true at Tomorrowland, we know. Life on the Holy Grounds is a dream. Yet it is still possible to wish for more! Interested? Surely you are! Head to the Freedom stage then, where you will find Budweiser’s Dreamcatcher fountain right outside the entrance. Hidden inside is an ancient book of wishes which has the power to realise the impossible. Simply write down your wish on one of the pages and arrange yourself and your friends in front of the Dreamcatcher for a professional, awesome-looking photo taken by Bud’s friendly staff. Each day, Budweiser and Tomorrowland pick two to three dreams to be made true on the very day you visualise them. What did Vanga (24) from Belgium wish for? “I didn’t have to think long: I just want to go to Tomorrowland again next year.” We’ll cross our fingers for you, Vanga!

ADSCENDO, ARISE!

The story of Adscendo is also the story of Ro, Ameris, Tomas, and their mythical winged friends – the main characters in ‘The Rise of Adscendo’, the first ever full-length Tomorrowland novel, which records the events leading up to Arcadiana’s present society. This weekend, every day, we reveal a few pages of the book’s first chapter. If you want to experience the whole epic story – all 374 pages of it – the second printing of the book can be ordered through the online or onsite Tomorrowland Store, while copies last. And rumour has it this is only the first of many Tomorrowland Tales…

Part 4/4

Chapter One

Her life had changed after her brother Matias was arrested and Ro turned down the offer of marriage from Grayden Mistral which most people would have killed for. Half the Windriders wouldn’t even look her in the eye anymore. Far more than half. When her parents died, she knew she would never receive another offer of marriage. She lingered at the bottom of the Windriders’ hierarchy and there she would stay. True, she could seek out her brother Saran and beg for his help, but the thought of that made her flush with shame. He’d asked her to join him in the Birdsingers’ Guild but she’d said no. She couldn’t go running after him now. Not when he was fast becoming the universally adored protector of their people, the one everyone looked to. She would look pathetic.

Her hand trembled and she dropped the tapestry.

“What are you doing there? Put that down.”

The harsh barking voice made her spin around. A Flight Officer bore down on her, a thin, little, weasel-faced man pulled up on his position.

Eno Hale. He’d been friends with Grayden in the Academy. She cursed under her breath.

“Ro Swift, I might have guessed. Leave that alone. The owners are here to collect.”

That wasn’t right. She faced Hale before he could walk away.

“Procedure says they have to be documented and the ownership papers matched to the manifest back at base so someone doesn’t just—”

He leaned in over her, pressing uncomfortably into her personal space. He smelled of too much aftershave and stale breath. “I said the owners are here to collect them. Step away, before I write you up for looting.” He growled out the words and Ro felt the skin at the back of her neck tighten in disgust and outrage.

For a moment she just stood there, and felt her hand slowly ball into a fist. It would only take a fraction of a second to draw it back and bury it in his stupid face. He turned away from her, not even concerned that she might react with anything other than deference.

Another hand closed around her clenched fingers, not tightly but firm enough to stop her.

“Not worth it,” said Tomas on a breath. She released her fist and turned, startled to see him here. He didn’t even look at her but stared past her like the perfect servant, his hand still curling gently around hers, behind her back. “Forgive us the interruption, Flight Officer Hale. The Weavers are most eager to collect their cargo.”

Hale scowled at Ro, and didn’t even deign to acknowledge Tomas Harper, a mere Labourer. “We’ll talk about this later, Swift,” he said and stalked away towards two brightly dressed men who had pulled up with a horse and cart.

“Tomas? What are you doing here?” she whispered.

Tomas just grinned, that same old dazzling smile which made her breath catch in her throat. His coal black eyes sparkled beneath the fall of his dark hair. “Keeping you out of trouble, it seems.”

“I don’t think you succeeded, but thank you for trying.” She shook her head, then glanced at her superior officer. “He’ll report me anyway, even though he’s the one breaking the rules. Malicious little—”

“Ro, stop. It’s okay. The Weavers are the owners, I promise. I came with them. Let’s leave them to it.”

“Aren’t you meant to be working? I presume you’re here as their muscle.”

He flexed one of those spectacular muscles at her. “What else is the Labourers’ Guild for if not lifting and carrying? But they’ll understand.”

All that was left to do here was the mundane gathering of debris and scavenging anything that might still be of use. And making sure that any surviving goods made their way to their proper owners. The grunt work.

The jobs the Windriders gave to those who ranked lowest in the hierarchy of their own guild.

People like her.

She was sick of it.

And trapped by it.

Tomas had a way of making her forget about this, almost. He threaded his fingers through hers and she smiled up at his face. Tomas was the one bright thing in her life.

“I’ll be paying for it later anyway,” she told him. “I might as well deserve it.”