Early the next day, Jonran showed up at the apartment looking displeased. Sett had already informed his father about what happened, keeping his discovery and consumption of the pill to himself. He didn’t want his father to get caught up in something this big. Sapp just laughed off the thought of his son evading military and police patrols to search for hidden treasure, though the idea of Sett being in the woods after dark worried him.

Jonran gave both father and son a stern talking to about authority, discipline, the law and “thuggish behaviour”, which neither took seriously. Content with Sapp’s assurances, Jonran left with a self-important look on his face.

“Man, what a prick,” Sett smirked.

Sapp laughed. “Silence thug. Respect the authority of Jon 2. He alone maintains law and order in this crime infested town.”

Sett burst into giggles, “He sure acts like it. I don’t think Uncle Jon even talks to you like that and he’s older than you.”

“To be honest, if my parents named me Tecc 2 or something, I’d have a block in my veins too,” Sapp grinned. “That brat took up most of the morning, I don’t think I have time to eat before the grand assembly. Are you coming?”

“Nah, I don’t want to listen to those old guys talk. Plus, I’m pretty sure the red plates will be there and I’m in no mood to deal with them. You’ll tell me what they said anyway. The big man’s going too, so I’ll try to get some sleep in since I don’t have to head to the smithy.”

Sett had been unusually tired this morning, and would’ve slept for a lot longer if Jonran was a little less uptight.

“Okay. Eat something before you sleep. Aba Tecc’s not going either, so pay him a visit when you can.”

That perked Sett’s interest. “Oh?”

“Yeah, probably for the same reason as you. Aba’s been locked up at home since the first soldiers began prowling around,” Sapp said as he walked to the door.

As much as Sett wanted to nap, spending time with Uncle Tecc sounded like a much better use of his time. He waved his father goodbye and headed to the kitchen. He shoved some bread into his mouth, and washed it down with water as he changed out of his tunic. He slammed his fist on Mitt’s door, screaming, “Oi! I’m going to uncle Tecc’s! Eat something when you get up!”

He ran out of the building and hurried towards the commercial district. Sett stopped, closed his eyes, and cursed. He turned around and ran back the way he came, suddenly remembering the keys to the smithy. He had crafted a pair of wood carving knives for his uncle but hadn’t had the opportunity to deliver them. The extra workload on top of Laira’s commission was partly the reason he was so exhausted that week, but this was something Sett had wanted to do for a long time.

He nearly collapsed at the door to the smithy, wheezing heavily. His 10 in endurance was pushed to the limit with all the sprinting he did in the last few minutes. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, stumbling onto a chair and grabbing a jug of water on the workbench. He steadied his breath for a few minutes as his eyes scanned the workshop. The plow he had begun to work on the previous day had been completed. Thane probably came over at some point last evening and finished it. The big man must’ve understandably been stressed, and had come to clear his head. He found his knives on the corner of the workbench with a note that said “take your projects home or I’ll sell them.” Sett grinned and set out to find a nice box to keep them in.

He found himself panting again as he trudged up the stairs to the 10th floor of building 6-7. For all the exhaustion he had woken up with, he found himself running around a lot this morning. He climbed the last step and sat down next to the parapet, promising himself not to run the rest of the day. He clutched a plain looking wooden box in his hand, less adorned than even the box he’d carried Laira’s tools in. He made a mental note to stock up on decorated boxes as he calmed his breathing, and dragged himself up.

Sett could hear his uncle shuffling towards the door after he knocked again. The man had ignored the first two knocks, but Sett had expected that. Uncle Tecc was a recluse at the best of times, and with the unprecedented madness of the past few days, he understandably would have decided to hide away until things calmed down.

“Fuck off, I’m not coming to the assembly,” an exasperated voice called out as the door opened. Tecc Keidum’s rugged beard stared up at Sett. The man’s frustrated expression eased into his natural, slightly annoyed appearance. He was a little shorter than Sett, but he had the air of someone you didn’t mess with.

“Oh, it’s you, kid. Why are you here?” Tecc stepped aside before Sett could answer.

Sett noticed that his uncle’s toned muscles were tense, only slightly relaxing when he saw his nephew.

“I didn’t want to go to the assembly and dad told me you didn’t either.” He held up the box he was holding. “I made you something.”

Tecc scratched his wild, brown beard, and nodded. He accepted the box and opened it, staring at its contents for a moment.

“Carving knives? Thank you.” He nodded again and put the box down on a low floor table in his living room. The floor table and the muted colors were the only things differentiating Sett’s own living room from his uncle’s. The table carried a mess of wood blocks, shavings, sawdust and tools.

“Yeah, I’ve started taking commissions now. I finished one for Laira recently.”

Tecc snorted at the mention of Laira’s name. “Is she still on about how those bastards are better than us?”

Sett sat down on the gray futon and smiled uneasily. “Not really, but she does respect them I guess.”

Tecc didn’t reply, instead opting to head to the kitchen for some tea.

“Did you hear about what happened yesterday?” Sett asked after his uncle sat down in front of him with two cups of tea.

“Yeah the neighbour mentioned it. I’m not surprised those pricks fired into a crowd. That’s what they’re best at anyway.”

“Yeah it was fucked. I was there. The officer had a sword and used an arc attack or something. It was brutal, man”

Tecc sneered, his eyes staring into despised memories. “In officer training, they tell you not to use powerful Ether attacks around civilians. ‘Tell’ of course, but no one would listen. E grades in the military love the fucking power trip. The wretches above know it too, but no one gives a shit do they?”

Tecc was the only E grade Sett knew, one of the rare few in Mupnal, and possibly the only one in all the planet living so detached from his grade and profession.

“Yeah, I don’t want to see that again.” The conversation lulled into a somber silence before Sett perked up again. “Oh, so I went down to the woods to see what the red plates were up to…”

Sett recounted his adventures from the previous day, though this time he mentioned the pill he had found and consumed. The opinion of an E grade with the wealth of experience uncle Tecc had might help him figure out what it does. By the look on uncle Tecc’s face when he mentioned consuming it, Sett started to regret bringing the matter up.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Kid, don’t go around eating random pills. You’re lucky you didn’t explode or something,” the man said once Sett described his experience with the pill.

“Yeah but I didn’t,” Sett grinned. “Do you know what it was?”

“I’m no alchemist kid, how would I know? If it doesn’t show up on your stat page, it’s probably something abstract. Affinity boosting, or health improvement. Longevity. Hell, it could be poison for all you know.”

Sett was beginning to get nervous now, the weight of what he had done pressing on him. The idea that he might’ve eaten some sort of slow acting poison hadn’t really occurred to him.

Tecc’s lips curved slightly, the closest thing to a grin the man was capable of.

“Don’t worry too much. No one would protect or steal a single poison pill like that. It’s probably good for you. Maybe.”

“Should I go see a doctor or another alchemist or something? Shit, then they’d rat me out.” Sett was beginning to panic, his regret quickly growing.

“Like I said, don’t worry about it kid. If you’re fine so far, you’ll probably be fine later too. Getting caught is a lot worse. It’s probably something good but it’ll be hard to figure out what without a better system.”

Sett drummed his fingers on the table nervously, and then grabbed his tea and downed it. He was still anxious, but he had calmed down considerably.

“Yeah, I figured it's something good. Like an ability or something, that’d be great,” he chuckled nervously.

“Abilities don’t work like that. You need a rune carver to carve it into your very being, the materials to make the ink, a bunch of other stuff. I don’t have one, but I’ve heard they’re an unbearable agony, not whatever you went through. And you can see the runes on your skin, that’s why they’re called runes. You can’t just pop a pill for them, kid.”

Sett’s anxiety settled as he listened to Tecc’s description. Unbearable agony was not what he went through, nor is it anything he’d ever want to go through. Either way, uncle Tecc was convinced it wasn't malicious, so Sett relaxed and continued his account of his escape from the forest and altercation with the guard.

Uncle Tecc’s expression contorted more and more as Sett described his altercation with the red plate. He seemed more upset by this than Sett consuming a mysterious pill.

“Yeah, that’s what they’re all like. Arrogant bastards, the lot of them. A private first class, what a fucking joke!” Tecc spat those words out with furious contempt. He continued after thinking for a moment, “Listen kid, I hate the corps, and most of them hate me, but I have a few friends. Let me know if that pig comes asking for trouble and I’ll make a few calls.”

“Oh really? Thanks a lot uncle Tecc, but I don’t think you’d need to. Jonran came over this morning to, uh, lecture me but he didn’t say anything about more trouble.” Sett couldn't help but feel touched that his uncle would deal with people he avoided like a plague for him.

Tecc just nodded somberly and sipped his tea, deep in thought.

“What is our town coming to?”

Sett didn’t know how to answer his uncle, so he just sat there awkwardly. Tecc’s past with the military was a soft spot, and Sett didn’t want to poke it. They sat in silence for what felt like a long time, until Tecc sighed loudly.

“Listen, kid, don’t worry about the pill. You did good keeping it away from those bastards. It was probably meant for some rich prick in the Krakars, so it should be good for you. And don’t worry about getting caught either, most of the red capes aren’t smart enough to do investigative work. The only thing they’re good for is killing, and I’ll give them hell if they try that with you.”

Sett nodded gratefully but didn’t say anything. He watched as uncle Tecc got up and walked to his room. The man returned a minute later and placed a small object on the table.

“I made this for you, kid. Take it.”

Sett picked up the gift and examined it, a phoenix carved into olive green Jade wood. It was so intricately detailed for something so small. Sett could see the fierce expression on its face, the individual feathers on its spread wings, the barbs swirling out of the long tail feathers, the digits on its claws. There was even a tiny looping feather on its head, probably to thread a string through. All this detail on a bird that was smaller than Sett’s palm. He had always been impressed by his uncle’s fine carving talent, but this was the best he’d seen.

“Thank you uncle. I don’t know what to say,” Sett said, his eyes never lifting from the pendant.

“Then there’s nothing to say. Take it. I didn’t know Saecca too well, but she used to come over sometimes to talk. She told me she loved phoenixes, and how they supposedly fly across the stars like flaming red streaks. I mentioned that I saw one streaking across the sky when I was on deployment. I made this in her memory for you. She was a good woman.”

Sett could feel tears welling up again, so he decided to leave. He got up and thanked his uncle again, promising to visit sometime later. He took a deep breath as he exited the house, and ran back home for some sleep and ruminating.

****

Tecc Keidum watched the kid run home and sighed. He closed his front door, and walked to his bedroom. It was utilitarian and drab, only the bare necessary furniture scattered across the room. Except for one object neatly tucked under his bed.

Tecc pulled out his bombardier rifle and stared at it with loathing. A thick and heavy device, its body forged with a black metal, red streaks of alloy interspersed across the stock and barrel to allow for Ether to flow through it, transforming the wielder's energy into bursts of explosive destruction fired out of the wide rimmed muzzle.

Tecc hated it. He hated what he had to do to get it. He had been a talented infantryman, blazing through the levels and ranks, even in times of peace. In his second ever deployment, against a pirate vessel plaguing the route to Resource IV, he mowed down 12 pirates single handedly while covering the retreat of his unit. An action that inflated his rank, medals and ego.

The Military Corps rarely saw much deployment beyond culling beast populations in vulnerable planets, but Tecc still soared to the E grade, going through the painful advancement with the guidance of the system on Krakar I, picking up the bombardier rifle as his higher grade weapon of choice, and earning himself a promotion to Major. It was when he was riding the high of military success when the Miner’s Rebellion of Resource II happened.

Tecc collapsed on his bed as he remembered the sickening campaign. The miners of Resource II had been protesting for better conditions for years now. The world was hostile but hospitable, though it didn’t have an native sapient populations of its own. The Krakars had sent workers by the billions to colonise and mine the planet, initially putting systems in place to make survival easier for the workers. The systems were expensive to maintain, and centuries of cost cutting measures led to the security of the mining population to steadily decline. Finally, when the protests and strikes didn’t provide any relief, the miners rebelled. They took down the Empire’s offices and outposts on the planet, and declared independence.

The Empire deployed an entire division of the Corps to suppress the rebellion, and Major Tecc Keidum commanded a company of 1000 infantrymen. Their first deployment was to Jagged Rock, a city with a population of a million that handled the mining operations in the area. The moment the dropship reached the airspace above the city, and they prepared to land, the bomber accompanying them opened fire. Artillery attacks rained on the city, population be damned. The meagre energy shield the rebels managed to erect crumpled like paper when faced with the ordnance of the Karkarian Military. Tecc watched in horror as buildings crumpled, houses burst into flames, and blood flowed.

He screamed into his communication crystal, demanding an explanation but it was cut off by the signal of his superior, the Brigadier.

“On my orders Major. We are to terrify the rebels into surrendering by neutralizing towns. After bombardment, your company will drop in and execute anyone not wearing Imperial red. These are your new orders from the General himself.”

Tecc’s shock didn’t calm down even after the bombardment stopped and the ship landed. He steeled himself quickly, and gave the orders he would regret for the rest of his life. He stormed out of the ship, and watched as his men slaughtered wantonly, relishing in the rare opportunity to wield their weapons outside of training. He couldn’t bring his rifle up and join the mission, instead he watched the corpses of men, women and children pile up in the streets in horror.

They completed three more similar missions during the campaign until the rebellion surrendered, each one killing a piece of Tecc’s soul. His soul was shaken so badly, in fact, that he found it difficult to circulate Ether through his body for years later. He used that as an excuse to resign immediately after the campaign ended, running back home to Mupnal and never leaving the commune since then.

He sat down on his bed and bent forward, cradling the massive rifle in his arms. He ran to Mupnal to escape from the Military, but they made their way here. They attacked people in the town he came to care for, bullied his nephew. Memories of the campaign flooded him, and he set the butt of his rifle on the floor. He moved the muzzle towards his face and stared at the dark hole. His finger traced its way to the trigger, and he circulated his Ether through it, ready to fire.

After a few minutes, he pushed the cursed weapon away, and collapsed on the bed with tears in his eyes.