The City of Shields and Spires rose before me, the crown jewel of Uther’s demesne.

It was impossible to describe with words. I’d lived my entire life in a tiny village. I’d never even been to one of the big towns. Mom had told me stories, of course, but reality was another thing entirely.

It was so massive it almost overwhelmed me, its height even from a distance seeming to bear down heavily upon me from above. Its skyscrapers dotted the horizon, the distinctive cobalt glow of Entropic circuits delivering power and utilities to the buildings. There would be no torches for light or fires for warmth in the houses of this place.

The entire mega-metropolis was surrounded by towering metallic grey walls, topped by absolutely gargantuan Entropic cannons. Above them, the air was slightly tinged with blue ozone, making it shimmer almost imperceptibly. Defensive fortifications and force fields.

The trademark of Cell Uther, the Tinkers.

Tinkertech was largely a mystery to me. The technology around me growing up was more or less nonexistent, and I knew most tinkertech required constant upkeep from a Tinker themself or it would go defunct. And if the tech was out of a villager’s price range, then the subsequent repairs were doubly so.

Still, it was a sight to behold. I wondered if this was how all the world’s cities had looked Pre-Collapse. I was so enthralled by it, in fact, that I didn’t notice the person standing right in front of me, and proceeded to collide clumsily into them.

Shocked, I stumbled backwards, murmuring apologies. For his part, the fellow traveler took it in good humor, and merely turned back around. To continue waiting in the line. The line that sprawled out before me, leading to Talos’s massive gates.

Peering around the man in front of me, I groaned. This was going to take hours.

Carts, carriages, groups and solo travelers waited in shambling sequence for their turn. There was even one sleek, metallic vessel that floated just slightly above the ground, clearly powered by Entropy. Its tinted windows were impossible to see through.

In front of the gates themselves, between them and the line, were three men. One stood directly at the procession’s head, and two chatted with each other off to the side. They were all professionally clothed in suits that seemed a combination of conventional armor and smooth, advanced tinkertech. Batons dangled by their sides, but they bore no other visible manner of weaponry.

As the minutes passed by and the line slowly trundled forward, I observed the entry process, hoping for the best. About half of the travelers seemed to enter with no difficulty, simply waved through by the first guard after a brief exchange. The other half, though, were examined more thoroughly.

In the latter group’s case, the first guard would motion to the other two standing to the side, and one of them would walk over. After a brief look, the second guard would say something, and then the line would move forward once more. As I got nearer and nearer, I could just begin to make out his words.

Strangely, he was only speaking the names of colors. Most often, during these encounters, the second guard would say the same thing.

“Green.”

Then the first guard would wave the traveler, or group, through, and the process would continue. Occasionally, the second guard would say ‘Yellow,’ at which point the first guard would direct the unfortunate immigrant in question towards a small group of similarly identified people standing slightly to the side of the line.

One time, though, he said, ‘Red.’ The traveler designated as such was denied entry entirely by the first guard, who, baton gripped firmly in hand, sent him on his way.

This examination process repeated without fail, the only exception being in the case of the floating vessel, which was not inspected at all by any of the guards, and simply passed right by them into the city.

My stomach twisted worriedly with anxiety as the gate and the guards grew closer and closer. I had no idea what system these watchmen used, whether Blessing or technological, and no idea what they were checking people for. What if they, as I’d feared, had a way to see through me?

Before I knew it, though, I was at the front of the line, and walking towards the guards that might be my end. The one in front of me, the first guard, coughed, clearly bored. He barely even glanced my way before speaking.

“Mundane or Blessed?” He asked, itching his cheek. I didn’t hesitate to reply honestly. Lying would be stupid, considering how little information I had. For all I knew, they could tell if I did, anyway.

“Blessed.”

“Right, toll’s waived, then,” he said. “Reason for entry?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I paused a moment, startled. For some reason, I hadn’t imagined that they’d ask me that. Foolish of me. Still, I saw no reason to lie.

“Delver. Here to sell and resupply,” I responded.

Wordlessly, he waved a hand at the two other guards, who were still chatting amongst themselves. After a last comment, one of them, the examiner, broke off and began walking towards me. I heard him as he did so.

~~~

Gauge

Attunement: Chromic Intuition 3

~~~

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. He was startlingly weak for a Blessed guard of Uther’s capital. Or for what I imagined them to be, at least. Then again, I suppose he didn’t have much to fear, here. None would be able to hurt him without leaving themselves open to the massive guns above.

Gauge glanced my way as he approached. His eyes flared.

Suddenly, the whisper of a foreign song swept over me, ethereal phalanges haphazardly handling my own. For what must have been the first time, I felt my primary Blessing react.

ADMINISTRATION reared back in fury, outraged at having its intentions questioned by a mere Minor Shard, ready and willing to TEAR the OFFENDER to PIECES FOR THEIR INSOLENCE–

In an instant, I yanked on the lead, frantically curbing my Blessing’s bloodthirst, and desperately soothing the angered giant. For a terrifying moment, I watched Gauge’s reaction.

He ground to a sudden halt, doing a double-take at me, before tilting his head and chuckling.

“Heh, heh. Oh, that’s sure something. Nice name, kid.”

He called across to the guard manning the line, before turning back to his friend.

“He’s green.”

Sighing internally in immense relief, I walked past them, and into the city proper. As the gate disappeared behind me, I could just make out Gauge’s last words to his friend.

“Hey Erik, you’re not gonna believe what this kid’s Blessing named him.”

~~~

Talos enveloped me, surrounding me on all sides like a suit of powered runic armor. Tall towers loomed over me like metal Titans, and crowds of people suffocated me on all sides. The spires that I’d seen from afar didn’t do the interior of the city justice. It was the rough actuality of two worlds crudely mashed together.

Monolithic skyscrapers and technologically advanced homesteads did pepper the city’s interior, but between and beneath and sequestered amongst them squatted more mundane dwellings. Houses and shopfronts and taverns that were more recognizable to me, though made of sturdy stone in lieu of crumbling timber.

They were clearly non, or at least less, Entropic, no doubt sporting conveniences similar to what we’d suffered back in the village, though I imagined they at least had plumbing. And their inhabitants were familiar to me, as well.

They were all mundane.

They didn’t seem particularly well-off, either. The thick thighs, plump cheeks, and full bellies I’d imagined on those lucky few who lived in the big city were absent entirely on these gaunt men and women. Their clothing was ratty, even more so than mine, which was saying something considering how long I’d traveled for. Most disconcerting of all, though, were their faces.

They looked bereft of hope.

These impoverished neighborhoods formed great districts in the shining citadel, easily making up the majority of the city. They raised a stark and brutal contrast to the advanced opulence that surrounded them, and disseminated themselves like a spreading sickness.

Perhaps Talos was not quite the idyllic elysium I’d imagined.

I felt quite claustrophobic, walking through the place. I’d never been around so many people before. The throng bustled through the city like a single creature, one sprawling organism, a hive mind. They jostled and shouldered one another constantly. Even with my gifts, weaving through their masses was difficult.

I don’t know if I could have survived in such a place prior to being Blessed. The song was so loud, and so omnipresent that it’d normally have driven me to insanity. Thankfully, my increased control allowed me to stem the overwhelming tide of information. Still, it grated on me, a maddening buzz present constantly at the very edge of my perception.

I wanted off these fucking streets.

Trouble was, I didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Besides a bath and someplace to stay, of course. But in order to acquire them, I’d need money, and in order to acquire that, I would need to find some place to sell my crystal.

So I walked.

Wincingly, painfully, irritably, I wandered the packed city streets in search of such an establishment. Fortunately, I didn’t have far to travel. Not long after I entered the gates, I encountered what appeared to be a mercantile sector. I knew how to read, Mom had taught me that at least, but many of the words used in the shops’ names stupefied me.

At last, I happened upon one that, Priest willing, seemed to suit my needs.

Hadrid’s Entropic Emporium

Crystal Exchange and Dungeoneering Supplies.

Competitive commission rates. We do not offer repair services.