Chapter 2: Mirage

Wafts of smoke rose from the lowest pits of the forge. Escaping through vents, suspended in the morning air. From higher up, in what may as well be called a city, a stained fist lowering. Dirt brown knuckles began to chip as piles of material decompressed. Liquid metals flowing like lava poured over the platform. All of this had been nearly silent from where Tobias stood. Sparks flew and traces of embers flashed and vanished on Lydon’s glasses. Stone faced he had to wipe away the dust that settled on his frames. Rising against this sector, giant crystals hummed and changed color. Dirty but still magnificent all the less, they slowly moved along the ground. Under the platform of smashed materials, that energy was recycled. Every few moments there would be a slow buildup of light from stones. Then it would fade. A breath in and out. Giving life to all of Mare Clausum. Lydon carried the small Ovorothian Box in his hands. Glancing at the generators here, it gave him a brief comfort. The crystals that found their way into his home may have been some kind of elaborate prank. A chipped off piece from one of these maybe. Who would even bother? Helix was the only one not a part of the group. Still in the navy. No way he would do that. Soot covering his eyes, Lydon took out the orange crystal.

Holding it up in the light he hoped to see something. First taking a long scan over it to see if any piece had been chipped off. Yea right. Looking at this, then the crystal, it was a rather daft comparison. There was no way any of these had been a part of something. Each of them felt unnatural. Clearing his glasses he peered at the crystal. Right through it in fact. It was not catching any of the junk in the air. The orange staying a steady shade, as the setting sun. It almost seemed to lighten the whole area the more Lydon gazed into it. Soothing yet confusing at the same time. Out of one eye something caught him off guard. The heavy metals being melted down, flowed and for a moment took shape. Before he could focus on that what, Grants voice rang through his ears. Grant was coming over to him, with the welding helmet off.

“You doing okay over here?”

“Yeah, yeah just checking to see if the crystals had been taken from here.”

“That’s why I brought you here. Seeing anything so far?”

“Nope. Let’s keep checking. One thing I will try is this.”

Lydon held the stone above his head, aiming it at Grant. Peering in all directions he looked through the crystal. Focusing on the shining bald surface. Grant immediately caught on and folded his arms.

“Had to check if there was a clue, or treasure map underneath that shining surface. Ya never know.”

The welding helmet went back on, and he walked away. Onyx barked as Grant made unintelligible grunts.

Tobias came over and snatched the purple crystal out of the box. Lydon squinted at him as he dropped the orange one in and closed the box. “You just need to hold onto something or what? It could be a good luck charm.

How about rubbing it like a genie lantern?”

“That may not be a bad idea. There are currently plenty of things though that could escape. Would rather not.”

“Point taken. You can ask for a re-do on things like that can’t you?”

“I don’t believe so. Depends on how generous the entity inside was.” “If something goes terribly wrong, I will offer up just about anything as an apology.”

“Will be keeping your word on that. May just have to ask for all your insight into these crystals to be removed.”

“That would certainly help me sleep at night. Going to have to pray that comes to pass!”

Tobias gaze fell into the crystal as they moved into the heart of the forge. The sound of static filled his ears. Somehow, he managed to avoid bumping into others while staring into his palm.

“Where did this come from?” he asked, unable to take his glance off it. What about it, is so alluring?” He thought. The clock rewound and he found himself with the Thara people. From when though? He recognized the place. Their homes, deity like statues, mountains, cloths, and the smell. Their garments were different however and they spoke in a language he could not understand. A bell rang off through the forge, notifying it was down time. This was used for all the machinery to reduce their likelihood of failing. Looking around for the noise just confused him. It was like another lucid dream. Mountains rose off in the distance and the sound of wind rushed past earlobes. That all to familiar sense of dread kicked in. Lungs tightened and air could not escape for a breath.

“What is this…What is the crystal trying to tell me?” He thought.

Wanting to speak aloud, he could not. Eyes fell on him from the Thara people. His vision became blurrier as he tried to get a grasp on the surroundings. All just watching as they encircled him. One did not step until they were in front of him. A hand reached out to his face. Being unable to move, it went right through his skull. No pain, nothing. Their hands moved silent yet methodically. Afterwards, fingers reached to the sky as they stared at their palms. Like a chain had been taken off, Tobias moved back just a bit. Moving one hand through the other. He was free to move once more. The figures of the Thara, dark silhouettes, attempted to speak to him. So, he thought. As they opened their mouths, no teeth or slime graced their figure. Just a deep darkness and sound rang out. Cupping his ears he yelled out in pain. As the sound became deafening.

Grant and Lydon’s voice both rang out as he yelled. Slowly coming back into view was the forge. His two friends and groups of people were just watching. Onyx pawing at his ankle.

“Hey you! If the smoke and grinding of gears is getting to you, you shouldn't be a here!” Someone yelled.

“Wow. You okay their man? Sounded like you were being murdered.” Maxwell asked, grasping his shoulder.

Tobias shook his head looking around. The crystals blinding his vision, he forcefully moved forward, trying to shake off this daze. Tobias thrust his hand out in front of Lydon.

“You can hold on to this for a while. It’s giving me quite the headache.” Pushing it into his hands. Tobias kept walking forward. Lydon, glasses over his nose gave a questioning look to him. Then back to Grant, who just shrugged. Giant pairs of airplane wings began to get squished together. From an outdated model. Several large submarines groaned across the top of the forge as they moved to be demolished into smaller parts. Tobias eyes fell quietly on a pile of parts. Pieces of humans, androids, cyborgs, whatever was the correct phrase. Out of a burning fire, a claw-like object came out and drug them into the flames. Eyeballs, shoulder, and knee sockets creaked and burst. The faces of animals and obscure objects melting away. A figure hollered from atop the structure surrounded by metal tubing.

“First batch of power to the southern sector is ready to go! He smacked the metal tubing. In that instant, the melted parts slowly made their way up. Inside as the liquid made its way through, was constantly melted. Those ran extremely hot and were constantly breaking down material. Looping their way around, some of it would go straight to the generators if they began to get low on power. Giant magnetic rings made their way to where the parts got scooped away. In between the clashing field, more parts dropped and spilled. The small man jumped off right down into it. With a smash, two metal legs kicked scrap, as he stretched his back.

“Ah the fresh smell of oil, guts, flame, and machinery. Just the way to get the day started!” The man said coming to Tobias, who had stopped to watch the flow. Watching chunks of molted melted move through the muck, he was oblivious to his surroundings.

“Hey! You! - You alright in there!?” The smaller man speaking up.

“Oh yes, sorry just got lost there for a moment.” Tobias said.

“If you keep on getting lost there, one of these days you are going to find yourself attached to one of these giant suction contraptions or being burned alive in the street. Keep your wits about you!”

“Don’t plan on either of those, thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem. Now that we got that covered, how can I help you?”

“Help me? I apologize don’t need any help, just wanted to watch the cogs in the wheel keeping the forge going.”

“I know it is a magnificent site isn’t it! My absolute favorite. Now most people who stand or approach my domain surely need something. Shoot give this aging man a bone, will you?

Tobias looked to his side and did not see Lydon or grant in the immediate vicinity. His glancing did catch the reflection of the flowing magma like flow bouncing around the area, more specially from Grants helmet. Behind them was a lean person with a cloak that covered their whole frame. Tobias couldn’t make out the face because of the dark brown hood draped over them. He did notice mechanical hands messing with some Dials. They must have done some kind of trade, or just decided to be kind this morning. As they made their back over to them Tobias leaned toward the smaller man and looked around. Making sure no one was following him; not like he was that attentive at the moment anyway. The small man leaned in anticipation.

“Say, how much do you know about strangely colored crystals that can possibly make you see things?” Tobias asked.

“Oh? That sounds like a good time. It really depends on where they are from. The shape, color, and size. I would really need to have them in my hands and take a closer look.” The man said.

“That sounds fair, let me go ahead and ask these guys what they think.”

“Think about what?” Grant said standing next to him. Dirt gathering on his helmet.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Did you get any information already!?” Grant, leaned asked as he leaned in.

“No, no! Keep your voice down. We don’t need shouted to all of Mare.” Tobias said.

“How about we just come inside my home here? Promise no one will follow you. When the gears get really cranking in the afternoon, it can be nearly impossible to hear. Unless you guys are as sketchy as you seem.”

“Yes, let us go inside. Sooner better than later. Could use a break from all the soot anyway!” Lydon said, giving Grant and Tobias a strange look.

“Excellent follow me right this way!” Just above where had jumped off, he stopped in front of flowing colors and a metal building ahead of him. With a quick tap from of right foot, the dust covered ground he was on slid open. “Come on down, right this way! His small frame disappearing under as soot fell like snow in the morning air.

“Tobias, you know this is not the Forgemaster or Grant’s contact, correct?” Lydon said.

“Well, I do know that much at least. It has been quite a while since I have been here! He seemed rather pleasant and seemed to know a little bit about the crystals so why not take a look?” Grant said.

“You told him about the crystals already!?” Lydon leaned in, the four of them looking into the dark.

“That is Hannigar, Hannigar Cutwallow. An old battle veteran and now one of the keys to keep the forge running. I hope he doesn’t melt us down for fuel.”

Inside was disastrously hot, the three almost instantly started wiping sweet off their heads as what light had shone down in, was gone. Begrudgingly going down a long flight of metal stairs, they stepped into almost a giant underground cavern. The anger from being drenched in sweat faded almost instantly as it was nice and cool down here. A giant fan sits atop a gray colored wall and spun the threads that would keep them sane. More pipes dug their way straight up as even more snaked their way underground. Machines buzzed and lit up as Hannigar looked at a giant screen, monitoring this section of the forge from the looks of it. He turned around to greet them with two stomps into the ground with his metal feet and called out.

“Alright boys! Let’s see what you got here. The name is Hannigar. Nice to meet you. I’ve seen the one with the welder helmet around these parts more than a handful of times, never got to speak with you till now!”

“Good to meet you sir. I know all of the work you do down here and how difficult it can be to keep this section of the forge running. I’m Grant Phaisemar.”

“I’m Lydon and the knucklehead who were speaking to is Tobias.” “Nice to know you now on a name-to-name basis! Now let’s get straight down to business here. Sounds like you guys have stumbled upon some crystals that can make you well, a little out there. Don’t tell me you are a bunch of addicts looking to get a fix.”

“Not like that at all sir!” Lydon said laughing scratching the back of his head. “What the hell did you say to him Tobi!?” He whispered to Tobias making his way over to the giant monitor.

“Good, that better be the case if not I’m going to either turn you into the CAD or melt you down right here in the forge. Depending on how crazy you all are.” “We are honestly insane, but we still have a decent amount of self-awareness. We just really need to kno-”

A decently sized hammer was hurdling towards Lydon face as he reached into his pockets to take out the crystals. With a quick step to the side, the hammer flew by and smashed into the ground leaving a smaller crater in its wake.

“Nice try. I would make light of that but I’m not really in the mood to be surprised.” Lydon said seriously.

“You are not currently out of your mind and still got your wits about you I see! That is good to know. A small test if you will. Just in case those crystals have got to you. Now bring them here. Let’s see what you got!”

All of them gathered close to each other and Hannigar motioned to put them on a small steel table just in front of him. With caution he took out the crystals and placed them one by one on the table. Hannigar watched him suspiciously the whole time, eyebrow raised and a small grin, revealing more than 1 soot colored tooth. That expression faded instantly as he saw what Lydon had placed on the table.

“Where did you get these!? He looked around furiously and picked up what seemed to be a double-barreled shotgun. His metal hands clenched angrily on the gun. It looked to be slowly charging up from inside the barrels, cracks of electricity began to form. Grant slowly walked over to him; gun pointed right at him. With his big hands he slowly moved the aim away from them.

“Do not worry. This is why Tobias was whispering to you back there. We are not sure where these came from. Going to the Forgemaster to see if he knows anything about them is our plan. You do seem to know something about these. Care to share with us, what you know their friend?”

“Those are..how?! Ovorothian crystals. It has been some time since I have last seen one.” Hannigar dropped the shotgun and leaned into the crystal’s eyes peering over them. His eyes looked strange as the pupils and iris began to move against the white of his eyes. Spinning in circles as his face got closer. Tobias quickly went over and gently pulled him back by the shoulders.

“Careful! We do not understand or know what they do just yet.” Tobias said.

“Ah no need to worry about me sonny. He said looking back up at him with his eyes slowly returning to normal.

“Just scanning and getting a read on these beauties.” Now reaching down carefully to pick up one of the crystals, the white one specifically.

“Such a wonder these are. Would you look at this! Ahh a ribbon, not actually. That’s not it. It would come right off it were, more like a welded decoration right into it! Usually these are plain, not decorated as these. Very interesting indeed. Where did you come across such a wander?”

“Well, you see…” Tobias thought briefly for a moment. Deciding if this man was trustworthy or not. He hadn’t blasted them into bits or turned them in yet so that was a positive. That was enough to tell him just a little bit. Them tracking down the Archveil beast, finding the Ovorothian armaments and how this had somehow made its way into Lydon’s home. Lydon gave him the eye the whole time and spoke up to interrupt Tobias, when necessary, to not give away all his home’s security secrets.

“Thank you for such a wonderful tale. Fills this old soul with excitement. During my time in the Clausum Mare defense force I never got to see Ovoroth for myself. Have gotten the chance to meet many high-ranking officials when they would come to us for spare parts or need help with some trouble at sea close to their homeland. Always just out of reach and sight I’m afraid.”

“Did those you meet have these on them? Or have you heard anything on winds about these by chance?”

“I have certainly seen these before, just one the others were in different shapes.”

“Different shapes? Now you are getting to the good stuff old man.” Lydon said.

“Yes, I have indeed even though my eyes have been heavily modified, I will never forget.” He gave him a quick jabbing motion with his fist at Lydon.

“Feisty.”

“The ones I saw the most often came in the shapes of Spheres. There had been many others as well in the shapes of triangles, cubes, dice, sometimes a skull or cylinder. These ones you have found though, only once. He was a high ranking official, of course. One of the heads for their navy if I remember.

correctly. He had been asking if we had any parts from an old ancient place or places, preferably, Archveil.”

The Three shot glances at each other.

“Now at the time we had not any. That was about forty to fifty years ago I believe. Yes, that is because we had been given a special shipment. You wouldn’t believe it. Was something those ole’ Thara had. It was like a giant gear. Not too heavy but you could hold it in the palm of your hand. Once you traced a finger across it, would burrow straight down. Luckily, we didn’t manage to rip a hole straight through our hands.”

For a about a minute more Hannigar kept on about his time in Clausum force and here at the forge. Some days with no power. Crystals breaking and not being placed correctly. Stray machinery causing chaos. Amusing but the three had been lost in thought.

“Did you ever see anything like that when you were summoned by the Thara Tobi?” Lydon asked.

“No, I did not. Maybe in the library while searching though those books? Would be too hard to till if it was apart from one of those creatures.” “Yea, no. I doubt it. Something like that is too vague. It could be from the Tuelere for all we know.”

“Did you catch anything about what they were going to use it for?” Grant asked.

“I did not. All of that was out of my reach. Not really my business, you know, it being classified information for them. We did get compensated well with dials though.”

“Was worth a try.” Grant mumbled.

“I can leave you kids with a little more information though. Each crystal was said to do something different. Now if this is just superstition or not, I could not tell you. First off let’s start at the top, these Generator-like crystals you have here, are told to grant Ovorothian people some kind of power. Anywhere from enhanced strength to, heck even some kind of magic! Tobias slowly crooned his neck. Pictures of turtles caught his eye. Hannigar and two turtles. One on each shoulder. It was distracting.

“Next and last, is every other kind of crystal. Like their superior, it is believed they would also grant power but not as strange, of course. They could be used to power buildings, heal others, cure sickness, give off light, influence, and store memories. That is all I remember anyway. I’m sure they can give out a whole bunch more. If it isn’t a bunch of spit.” Hannigar finished. Liquid splashed down his face as he drained a foul looking glass.

“Well, that is news to me!” Lydon said, having sparks of curiosity race behind his eyes.

“Now there, you dreamer. You said you saw something in one of these crystals.

Mind if I take a look?”

“Sure, be my guest. The purple one be-careful, as you almost got lured in the first time.” Tobias said, folding his arms in nervous anticipation.

“Don’t you be worrying about me now. This old bag of bones can take care of himself just fine.” Hannigar took off his rusted color looking gloves covered in soot and scorch marks. From the knuckles up burn marks ran their way up. Deep cuts accompanied them. Skin bruised, from all the work. Tobias spotted what looked like to be the start of a tattoo in the middle of his hands, one on each side. The start of a spiral. Cautiously his outstretched fingers tapped against the crystal, following that with the rest of them taking their spots on the crystal. Leaving a little dusting of soot. Gripping it tightly and bringing it towards a pair of curious eyes, he began walking around the room mumbling to himself.,

“I doubt this is anything more than a myth. Just fancy decorations for an age long gone. Sure, everyone has their secrets and tricks. Bah! Just illusions to keep you guessing!” he said under his breath. The three just watched him as the grinding of gears and vents released heat and steam, drowning out any chance of picking up on words. He stopped, the words in the air fell silent as the pressure from the surrounding mechanisms gently let out a breath. Time seemed to stop. Averting his gaze from the crystal, his chamber had been turned into a blur. Silhouettes filled his field of vision. Those three young ins’ apparently gone from sight.

Is this finally the end? He thought. Feeling a crushing sensation, buckling forward, he fell to one knee. With one hand on the ground used to catch the fall, he felt himself sinking. A familiar feeling as shadows next to him flailed widely. Trying to reach the surface. Then, he knew exactly where he was. Sinking deeper into the floor, briefly closing his eyes. A grip seized him by the arm and pulled him up. It was not one of the kids, however, a remnant of the past. In the room, his feet paddled to keep himself above “water”. Looking down was an endless expanse of darkness. He could move again. He shot a glances side to side in angst. Before him wading in water, was someone he knew too well. The brief outlines of a dark blue and brown on a uniform before him. Even though this being was featureless, he knew. In the blackness of the presence that helped him, something began to take shape. Tendrils of darkness began to take shape. It felt otherworldly to him, something that was not there in this memory. In a last burst of light, brown and blue blocked his vision as a gigantic vessel shot barrages of missiles and fire power. The weight of this person slumped against him. Specks of light emerged from the figure. Blood leaking out as holes pierced the flesh. They collapsed back into the water. Hannigar watched as his friend sank face first into the depths. He tried to reach out, but it was futile. There was nothing to reach with.

He shot up with a jolt. Metal arms and flailed legs. The three young men tried to hold him down. A single scream filled the room. Hannigar’s chest rose and fell. Breath haggard, each breath feeling like the last.

“Ok old man. I don’t think we will ask you any questions. Seems like you are on deaths door.” Lydon said.

“I would be grateful.” Hannigar said, gears churned as he tried to stand. White circles blotted out his vision. Steel caressed where his shoulders and legs had been.

“Go see that Forgemaster of yours. On your way out, come back here. Should have my bearings back and we can speak more.”

Hannigar grasped at a chair made from bolts and sat down. The three quietly said their goodbyes. Gears hummed and sang as he sat alone.