Mister Herner blew through the hall like a gust of wind, only nodding with an assuring smile to acknowlge Sunshen's existence. Nataniel apologized and excused himself as well, leaving Sunshen alone in the giant empty space.

Unsure of what to do, Sunshen instinctively reached for the pipe in his pocket and packed it with the tobacco he had bought earlier today.

It would be highly inappropriate of him to vander through this house, he knew. So he opted to wait. Customs were important for the higher class and Sunshen wanted to impress the people that were to gather here.

This mentality stayed with him through the first pipe-full, the second, the third...by the time he was about to pack it yet again, Sunshen decided on two things. First, he would have to go by Bert's shop again, because the tobacco was great and second, that he had enough staying in one spot.

The moment he had pushed off the wall he was leaning against, the door on the opposite side of the room opened, revealing a space devoid of light within.

Even without anyone's say so, Sunshen knew very clearly that he was to enter the room. Though he really wished he did not have to. He took a peak inside first, but the majority of the room was completely covered in pitch black, not allowing even silhouettes to reach through. The only way was lit by small candles. Small enough only to show themselves in the sea of darkness and not reveal anything around them. The candles were arranged in two rows, seemingly forming a path through the dark room.

What games are these? Sunshen thought, but the promise of better days kept him going through the dark room.

"Stop. Not a step more." A loud voice roared through the room. It was enough to make Sunshen jump.

"Identify yourself."

"My name is Sunshen Gureth." Sunshen replied, trying to search the darkness for the origin of the voice.

"Sunshen Gureth, the young lord of house Gureth. What are you searching for in these halls?" The voice thundered all throughout the room, as if it's source moved, encircled Sunshen.

"I was to come here for a meeting. I was invited my Mister Herner."

"A meeting? Of what sort?"

"Of a sort private to me and Mister Herner." Sunshen stood his ground.

"You wish to join in on Mister Herner's dream Sunshen?" the voice asked.

"Yes."

"Why should we believe a person such as yourself?" asked a different voice, though it's cadence and strength were nearly identical.

"Because I myself dream of a change and have dreamt of it my whole life." Sunshen brushed his left hand with his right. "I want to be different. Want to be in a different environment."

"A road to change is laden with difficulty." spoke yet another voice. Though loud and ever-present like the others, this one was gentle and inquisitive. "Difficult roads often require sacrifice. Sacrifice one does not want to commit. Tell us, are you prepared to make those sacrifices?"

"Definitely."

"And how much would you sacrifice?"

"Everything."

This felt right. Sunshen had never said any of these words to himself, but he was sure of them. He was ready to pledge his life, do his utmost to change what the world around him was.

"I doubt that." The first voice said angrily. It's harsh tone growing in loudness even further. "You have no idea what it is to lose. You are a spoiled little brat. You had lived your entire life in luxury and safety. How could you know of sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Sunshen felt the wooden prosthetic weight on his left limb. "I never had to let go of something, true. But I definitely know what it is like not to have. I lived my whole life as a cripple. My hand eating the nutrients from my body, yet not working. Like a tumor. I know what it is like to live in a world where something is missing, where I was rid of what I deserved. I want to right that wrong."

"Do you possess the strength to do so?"

"I..." Sunshen thought about it. He knew that answering in any other way than positive was ill-advised. Whatever situation he was in, it was obviously a test. On the other hand, he felt like lying would be as bad if not worse. But the pride in him would not let such a challenge go unnoticed. "I will." he said defiantly.

"Would you kill for it?" asked the gentle voice again.

"Yes." Sunshen replied.

Silence took hold of the room, only a slight gust of wind and an unknown clang of gears keeping Sunshen company.

"You pass." the voices sounded in unison.

Lights erupted in the room, blinding Sunshen for some time. As he blinked, three golden smudges slowly gained structure and shapes. There were three people before him, all wearing the golden knight armor that Herner revealed just days prior. And the knight in the center took the helmet off.

"I apologize for the theatrics." Jack Herner said as he started climbing out of the suit. "We like to scare the newcomers into submission." A sly smile appeared on Herner's face. "My idea."

"Worked fairly well." Sunshen mused.

Now that he could see in the room, he realized that it was very similar to Herner's study. Rows of bookshelves, luxurious armchairs and many fun accessories. The only difference was the space. This room was a mansion compared to the little study Herner took him to before. Sunshen was standing in a circle of wood carved onto the ground. As a design choice, Sunshen liked angles more than round arcs, but it was still pretty.

"Just so you understand, this was only the first test" said the man still in the golden armor.

"Don't you want to get out Percy?"

"Why...you?" The suit moved angrily.

"If Sunshen is to join us, he would have to learn of all our members sooner or later." Nataniel said as he jumped from the huge suit bottoms. The third man let out a grunt, followed by the sound of cogs and steam releasing from the suit. Then it started to open. The man inside it was noticeably older than Henrer and Nataniel. Instead of a well-maintained body of a thirty year-old, the suit has revealed a man no younger than fifty, with a soft plump belly and an angry grey face. Judging by the look on the man's face, he was unsatisfied with Sunshen. Hostile and angry, his face reminded Sunshen of Magnus.

"I am so happy with this result Sunshen. I really hoped things would end up this way."

Now talking to the smiling Jack Herner, Sunshen wondered what would have happened had he not passed.

"Me too, I wouldn't want to cause you trouble."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Taking care of you wouldn't be that much trouble." Herner swatted his hand before turning to the door. "Now get inside, there aren't that many of us gathered here, but there are certainly some."

Sunshen nodded and made his way to the door.

He couldn't help the quick look he gave to the suit that has been now opened fully, Sunshen could truly appreciate the marvel of it's design. The pipes and cogs in the machine were placed meticulously, allowing a person to stay comfortably inside, out of harm's way of the machine's workings.

He was pushed by the man named Percy, who gave him an unapologetic look.

"Hurry." he said.

Sunshen stopped ogling around and quickened his pace.

The group led Sunshen through the mansion, the halls were high and spacious, making Sunshen somewhat uncomfortable.

The three of them walked in what was mostly silence, broken either by Herner's quick explanations, that Sunshen mostly did not understand, or by Percy's complaints.

Sunshen cared not why Percy seemed to hate him so much, but his quips at his expense made Sunshen decide that they would never be brothers-in-arms.

"Sunshen." Herner started, a smile creeping on his face. "Welcome, to the rebellion." He opened the metal double doors to the garden.

First he noticed the trees. No darkwood oaks, but healthy and strong green trees. Their trunk too wide for him to reach his hands over. The green leaves providing shade from the strong light of the Niatra's above. Then he noticed the tents and the sounds. People were gathered near small fires, talking and drinking, some where standing over papers, discussing strategy. Tents were of various sizes, some for a couple or just few people, some big enough for a bigger group to sleep comfortably. A building was at the very end of the back-garden, surrounded by high fence and trees. It was the size of a small home, the kind where the whole family lives in a single room.

Sunshen Realized that Herner's mansion laid in the very corner of the city and the very top of the hill. Only fog and the wild down bellow.

The garden was simply beautiful.

"Like it?" Herner said, his smile growing further. "It took a lot of effort to make this place what it is."

"Yes. Yes I do like it." Sunshen said, feeling aghast.

"Glad to hear it. The seeds cost me a fortune." Herner looked around, before he put a hand over his forehead. "Sorry Sunshen, we will have to leave you here. We have to go." He

started quickly pacing over to one of the tents. "Socialize, meet people, get comfortable! Later, we will have an important meeting!" His voice slowly disappeared in the leather tent.

Sunshen walked through the different groups assembled in the ridiculously huge back-garden of Jack Herner. Most people were quite pleasant, though some seemed not to understand what he was saying, but all in all, Sunshen felt disappointed. He expected battle-hardened men, scarred and experienced warriors, that came here to support the cause for better tomorrow. Instead, he found people that were common. A middle-class family there a banker he knew here, Sunshen simply expected a bit more.

That was, until he noticed a rather buff man with a very small stature hauling a crate of metal fittings and cogs into his tent. He must have had a fire inside it as well, as a lot of light was escaping from it.

Bored as Sunshen was, he did not think twice before entering the small man's tent. The inside was cramped, crates with junk on crates with even older junk. Parts of metal plates and gears thrown onto a pile in the corner, glass bottles lying on the floor, many broken. But one place stayed clean even here, the giant stone table in the middle of the space.

"If you're gonna snoop around, you might as well help boy. Hand me that thing." The small man said, examining a small iron gear in his hand, while pointing at a crate with the other.

Sunshen bent down, but the crate was too heavy for his sole arm to haul.

"Sorry, too heavy for me."

The man gruntled as he put the gear back on the table. He flashed Sunshen an annoyed look before hauling the crate himself.

"What are you here for, hm? Trying to gauge the skills from the Dok are you?"

"The Dok?" Sunshen asked, unaware of what that was supposed to mean.

"The very man. I knew you had heard of me." The man said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Yeah...yeah." Sunshen replied.

"What of my intentions do you admire the most?" The Dok asked, moving his gaze from the tinkering he was doing on the table to Sunshen. Though his hands did not stop moving.

"Well...uh...A hard question sir! I'd have to say that...maybe the..." Sunshen really tried but he had never before met the man.

The Dok's brow slowly deepened into an angry expression, as Sunshen stood with his mouth open, completely at his wits end. There was only one invention that occupied his mind since the showing from few days before, so he opted to say at least something.

"The fog filter?" Sunshen said as more of a question.

"Right you are!" the burly man laughed and slapped Sunshen across his back. "I knew you would know!"

"Yes, the knights were very impressive sir."

"The knights? Ah!" The Dok spat at the ground. "The knights are shite. That was all Herner's idea. I always told him, you got to focus on the fog! Fog Herner! Not the steam! Your machines and knights are sparkly and impress the local populace, but they are ordinary! That is what I told him boy. But he is blind, blind to the possibilities. The fog is hiding an incredible amount of energy, energy that is sure to be harnessed some way. But it is too dangerous he says. As if he did not waste a few dozen men on those knight prototypes." The Dok shuffled his hand in a crate full of junk. Various screws and gears, corroded or otherwise. His arm was quick as he shoveled the scrap to the side without care. Sunshen wagered that the mans arm must be cut at least three dozen different ways already. But he pulled it out pristine.

"This is the future boy." He opened his palm and handed him a small machine part. It looked alike to the engine itself, but it was much smaller. The pipes were thick and rough, but nothing clang, all the parts fixed perfectly. "This is a filter, a fog filter, the only design of it's kind. Made by me. A technological marvel, truly."

That it was. If what Sunshen understood correctly, this was the device that allowed a person to breathe air stricken with fog, to move in the dark, without losing themselves to the fog.

"And Herner makes a suit with it. A suit! Nothing else." The Dok threw it at the ground full force. The device made a crack in the floor, but otherwise seemed fine. The Dok's temper explained the rough shape of the device perfectly now.

"My question is boy. Are you as stupid and blind sighted as he is?" The man watched Sunshen from behind his circle glasses. The construct around him puffing white smoke in suspense. "What would yo do with this? With the knowledge?"

"Well, if the fog can be filtered...it can be moved? It could be used to divert the fog from places. streets, people's homes. Maybe even their bodies if it was quick enough."

"Yes, good start. But let's put this savior act aside. I want to know what you would do with it, not what should be done." The man pointed his wrench at Sunshen expectantly.

Sunshen thought about it, but it seemed that the man before him was waiting for a clear answer. What he would have done with it? In what ways was he special, how could he...

His mangled arm came to mind.

"Make a prosthetic for my arm?"

"Those can be made with steam too."

"Yes, but they are unwieldy, heavy. You basically have to have a whole suit to hold the one arm in the air. If the fog has energy, I could use that energy to keep the hand afloat."

"How?" Asked the Dok, his face unreadable.

"I don't know that yet."

The Dok's mouth erupted into a smile, showing the plethora of metal teeth, with a few originals of bone here and there.

"Yes! That is the right answer! A new discovery means new options!" The man almost jumped in his excitement. "Herner does not think like that. For him, new discovery is just a new tool for what already exists, but you! You, my friend, are a on the right path!" He almost yelled. Then turned to a different crate and started fishing for some other part to use.

"Oh thank you." Sunshen replied sheepishly, the man's excitement made him happy, but he still found it difficult to talk to the man.

"You would not be able to make something like that by chance?" a sliver of hope rose in Sunshen, but was shut down instantly.

"Unfortunately no. Not right now." The Dok replied. "But I tell you what. If I find the time, I might look into it! Good ways to think should be rewarded. Don't expect anything anytime soon though."

"Okay, thank you. That is very...nice of you."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you met me now me-boy, you should go to the meeting before the man gets his panties into a twist. He is awfully angry when he has to wait for long. So shoo shoo." He shooed Sunshen with his hands.

Sunshen said his goodbyes and left the hot tent. The Dok was certainly an interesting man, even if he seemed to have a few screws loose.