“The silence before a storm, the stillness of the night,

A whisper of darkness is born to corrupt the glory of light,

A sight to behold, when the world you see, is what I mold,

Beware my Whisper’s Might.

In a darkened room Axis woke up with a jolt, the same soothing voice, the same poem, and the same nightmare. It had been 6 months since he had been listening to this poem in his dreams. When it all began the frequency of the dream was low, but from the past week he had been hearing this poem every night. Axis got out of the bed and looked at the wall clock, it was 5 in the morning, and on a look outside it seemed to be raining.

Axis was a 25-year-old junior apprentice working for Cyclops Mechanical Workshop. He had graduated from Ettic Central University with a Degree in Ancient Mechanical Designs and Engineering. It was a dying field of study but it was the only branch he was able to apply through scholarship. It mostly focused on obsolete designs and their contribution to modern mechanics. The world had changed in the past 200 years. Now almost all the machines operated on Steam Energy rather than Oilrum crystals.

It was the 7th Era now and the world had come a long way. Axis earned around 20 lyt a day, with 10 lyt equal to 1 Aur his weekly salary was 14 Aur. Axis was not the best student in his class but also not the worst, the boss of Cyclops took a liking to him during an internship and after University offered him an apprenticeship under him.

Axis took a towel and went to the bathroom to get ready. Axis was of average height but was of a particularly sturdy build, he liked an active lifestyle and his field of work was both mentally and physically demanding. He was not that good-looking but had an amicable appearance and would usually sport a bright smile. He had light brown hair which complimented his light brown eyes which always had a profound depth to them. After working in the company for 2 years, he had starting sporting a light beard which gave him a look of an intelligent researcher.

He started the shower and a blast of chilled water hit him, completely breaking his early-morning stupor. He realized that they had forgotten to pay for the monthly Steam receptacle and thus there was no Hot water.

Coming out of the shower he wore a light cotton shirt and his home pants and went to the payment booth outside his house and put two 10 Aur notes inside the machine it made the regular noise and a green light appeared confirming the transactions.

Axis lived with his parents in the Chillton Furrow Building complex. Chillton Furrow was situated in the Eastern District of Ettic. Ettic was a mid-sized city closest to the capital city Oakengulf in the country of Silversage. Silversage was one of the largest and most prosperous countries on the Eastern Continent and was in the Southern part of the continent. Silversage had two neighboring countries to its north. On the North-eastern side was the country of Allfentien, a militaristic empire that covered most of the eastern part of the empire, and on the North-western side was The Republic Alliance called Volruk. The northwest had always been a chaotic region until the last era because of its mountainous terrain and cold temperature until the various tribes formed a Republic somewhere around the 10th year of the 7th Era.

Ettic was an industrialized city known for its Markets and businesses. There was a famous saying in Silversage, “As long as it is not love, you can buy anything in Ettic.” Because of this Ettic was over-crowded by people trying their luck, business tycoons, workers, and even criminals.

Chillton Furrow was relatively safe and decent and most people with stable income lived here, but it was nothing compared to Blaclberg Furrow or the Brewbar Furrow in the Eastern District where relatively wealthy people lived. On average the monthly rent in Chillton Furrow was 30 Aur. The complex where Axis lived was owned by an old friend of his Father so they paid a rent of 25 Aur.

Axis’s father was a retired soldier by the name of Bertand, he was the reason for Axis being physically fit and since his childhood drilled various combat principles to him and his mother worked as a History teacher in Ettic #2 High school. It was because his mother Axis had an interest in history and learned not only Sagic, the language of Silversage but also Allien and Duraktar.

Duraktar was an ancient language of the Great Durak Empire that ruled most of the Eastern Continent from the early half of the 5th Era to the middle years of the 6th Era. Durak was the empire that brought the great mechanical revolution and the current system of currency. It was named after the First queen of the Durak empire Auriela and now even in the 7th Era all the countries still followed the same system. Duraktar was also the language in which many rituals and mystic books were written.

As Axis was coming back inside he saw his father sitting alone in the lobby with a lost look. He greeted him, “Good Morning father, it seems you were also unable to sleep well last night.” His father didn’t reply for a second and as if been waken up, looked at Axis and said, “It’s just my age, you don’t have to worry for me. Go help your mother in the kitchen or else there will be no breakfast and you will be late for your work.” Axis chuckled and went to the kitchen to help his mother. By the time they prepared the breakfast and ate it, it was 6:45 am and so Axis went to his room and put on his formal white shirt and brown work trousers and tuck his pocket-watch, which was a gift from his father, and wore his worn-out leather boots and took the rain-coat from the rack and went to work.

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Cyclops Mechanical Workshop was in the Western District or the Academic District and was a 30 min walk from his home. But as it was raining Axis opted to rent a mechanical carriage. It was a modification of horse-driven carriages in that it was smaller and ran on Steam. A driver drove the carriage from the inside. It cost 5 lyt to the workshop which was something he gave begrudgingly.

Axis worked on the first floor of the workshop along with a Senior apprentice of his called Benson. Benson was a tall heavy guy who was 3 years Axis’s senior. He had started working a year before Axis but was already promoted to a Senior Apprentice. There was a rumor that he was only promoted because he was the Boss’s nephew but Axis and the people who worked with him knew the truth that Benson had a knack for Mechanics. Benson never got a professional degree and right after school he worked odd jobs at various factories but it was through these jobs he developed a love and knack for machines.

Benson saw Axis entering the workshop and waved at him enthusiastically and said in his loud booming voice, “ Hey Yo Axis!! Pretty Shitty weather right? I heard from Boss that some important guests are coming to the workshop and he wanted me to tell you that you will be needed when they arrive. When the Boss calls for you, leave whatever you are doing and rush to Research Room #3 on the Second floor. Also Axis I have got Fried Fish and Rice for lunch, if you want some, look for me in the mess.” After saying this Benson started dismantling a piece of the device he was working on, completely focused.

As Axis stood before his workbench and start working on the engine for a cooling system, he started thinking, “ Boss needs me for help? He even allowed me to come to Research Room #3 and even when important guests are coming. I am a bit nervous now but Axis don’t lose focus and use this as an opportunity to show Boss how much you have improved and maybe get promoted.”

Cyclops Mechanical was the biggest and the most popular Workshop in Ettic. It was only second to Silversage Military Workshop when it came to the quality of research in the whole of Silversage. It was situated in the Western District near the Ritto canal. Ritto canal was the local canal system that ran in between the Eastern and Western District and was also the local source of water. Cyclops Mechanical was a 2 storied complex which was situated in an area of 2 km squares. It was among the very few buildings which had an underground construction permit. It had 4 levels. An underground level where the main workforce and construction were situated. A ground level where the Main Office, Mess, the Showroom, and waiting area was situated. The first and the second floor were the places where most of the research, development, training happened. Only technicians and Apprentices along with the Masters were allowed to enter the 1st or 2nd floor. There were a total of 3 research rooms where the technician was not allowed and was allowed only for apprentices and masters.

Just as Axis was completing his work he heard Benson telling him to go upstairs. Axis left everything and ran upwards and entered Research room #3 and saw a group of people standing there.

Boss Cerkin Coutman was standing at the front looking stern as usual. Boss Cerkin was a small man of wiry build. He had sharp features and a mane of shiny white hair. He always wore his Bone-Rimmed spectacles which were made from some beast’s bones and would always be in a Three-piece suit with 4 buttons and a Tie. He always looked ready for a formal gathering but had the Sharpest eyes Axis had ever seen.

Cerkin welcomed Axis with a warm smile and introduced him to the guests, “This is Axis who I was telling you before about. He is one of my youngest apprentices but also the one with the most potential.” Then he told Axis in a low voice, “I saw on your University Report that you are fluent in Duraktar and these people are from the Central Archaeological Divison from Ettic University and they have come across a unique piece of artifact while digging some ancient ruins to the north of Ettic. They have commissioned Cyclops for research of the artifact but were worried that there would be no one fluent in Duraktar, fortunately, I remembered about you so it’s all on you.” With that, all the people in the room looked at Axis.

Then one of the guests, an elderly lady came forward and with a blank expression told Axis to handle the artifact with care and along with the rest of the people left the research room. The Boss then as he was leaving told Axis, “From today onwards you have permission to work in Research Room #3 and I want you to focus completely on this artifact.”

Axis nodded and went towards the workstation. At the work, the station was a perfectly spherical object made out of bronze which approximately had a diameter of 3 meters and was really heavy. There was only a small inscription in Duraktar which was written on it. The inscription said, “Everything begins from Nothing” and Axis thought about the old Duraktar quote which was used by their military and said, “Everything begins from Nothing and Everything ends into Nothing” in Duraktar. As he said it, the sphere started vibrating and the sphere transformed into a battle companion from the late 6th era. Axis was shocked but also excited as they were one of the topics covered in his degree. The battle companion looked fine and without any damage but at its center where the Oilrum Crystal should be present was only the remnants of an exhausted Oilrum crystal in form of a violet powder.

Axis took the powder and looked under a microscope and saw that his theory was correct and this was Oilrum dust. As he looked at the companion something piqued his interest. The companion's inventory box was locked. An inventory box was a medium compartment that came with the companion which could be used to hold rations, medicines, or ammunition. Axis took a steam-powered drill and dismantled the inventory box, to his surprise there was only a small and thin notebook inside it. He opened the notebook carefully so that he doesn’t tear the pages but to his amazement, the pages were made from reptile skin. The notebook piqued his interest as he was also a history buff so he kept the notebook in his pocket and started analyzing the companion.

By 7 in the evening the analysis was complete and he called his Boss. Cerkin was happy to see that the hard work was not wasted and praised Axis for his in-depth analysis. He told Axis to start dismantling the companion from tomorrow so that the research division could easily study it and transport it. Axis did not mention the notebook and walked back to Chillton Furrow.