《Man from the Machine - The third Order》


 Prologue

    On a warm autumn morning with a gentle breeze blowing, an ordinary youth was cycling on his way to school. As it happened, the youth had overslept. He was in a rush. Having just started university a few weeks ago, he was looking forward to the lectures of the day, as well as hanging out at the bar with his newly acquainted friends, maybe even having a beer with that cute girl from class.


    That was not to be.


    Earlier the same day, a young man had dropped his child off at the school. He, too, was in a rush. His schedule was tight now that he had to drop his son off at school every morning. He would probably have gotten used to it in a few weeks.


    That time had not yet come. He was tired, unfocused, and in a rush. So he took a shortcut across an unknown residential area in order to save just a few minutes, hoping to make it to work just in the nick of time.


    Be it chance, or a twist of fate, the two would meet.


    For just a second, the man stared into the youth''s eyes..


    And then he hit him with his car.


    Colors. Colors is all I remember. I can''t even tell you how long I spent there, I just remember there being colors. It was like a drea-.. No.. Actually, it was more like being feverish. Feverish to the point of hallucinating, except my head wasn''t spinning, and I wasn''t having delusions. It was completely thoughtless. All there was to it was colors.


    Then one day, the colors vanished. I got my thoughts back, though everything still felt like a dream. At first, I thought about where I was. I tried to remember how I got there, and what had happened to me. I got nowhere. God knows I had the time, I was in there long enough to go through my life several times over. But whenever I got close to the end, everything would get hazy. I would have no problem with my childhood, though it was pretty mundane. Played a bit of sports, a bit guitar, and i could juggle. I liked building stuff with my hands. Just didn''t know what to build. I had tried making things out of wood and metal, but it always just felt empty. I couldn''t make anything useful that I couldn''t just buy. What I wanted was to make something from scratch, something that didn''t exist. But I had no idea how, or what.


    I spent half a year not knowing what to do with my life. My parents had kicked me out, so I had to work to pay for rent. I lost contact with most of my friends. They had all moved to the same city for college, far away, so I quickly lost touch.


    Except with John. He would chat with me every day online, talking about his classes. He was studying to become a software engineer. He would go on and on about how to make good software.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I never really cared about computers. Sitting still and doing nothing just didn''t sit right with me. I wanted touch, to tinker, to create. I was much more into creating circuit boards that fulfilled some trivial little task. A randomized dice, showing the results with LEDs, a home made speaker and mic set, logic gates, stuff like that. I enjoyed it, but I was always a bit bored when I did it. I hadn''t even made anything in years.


    Then John visited me just after Christmas. He showed me this assignment he had been working on as a school project. He had been given a micro-controller, a remote controlled model car, and the task of making it stop just before hitting anything. Basically, all he had to do was put a range detector on the front, and keep track of the speed of the car with a sensor on the wheels.


    And the kid just ran with it. He made it shout out ``Danger, danger'''' when it was about to hit something, and he made it automatically dodge obstacles that could be easily avoided by turning, which it would do while playing a recording he found on the internet of someone yelling ``Zoom zoom!''''. The people he did it with was pretty annoyed that he couldn''t just stick with the assignment, but he didn''t care.


    He showed me the code he had written. I didn''t really understand it, but when I saw the look on his face as he explained how it worked, I found myself feeling envious. I wish I had the kind of passion he had. When I told him i wished I still had the energy or money to create something, he suggested I tried coding. He said it wasn''t really that hard, and it didn''t cost anything. There were plenty of free compilers and tutorials out there, and if I didn''t like it I could always just put it down again.


    After a while I agreed. For the rest of the month, whenever we were online we just kept talking about the different languages, and small projects I were doing. He gave me a lot of tips, and I think spending so much time explaining the things he was supposed to be studying to me really helped him. He had been struggling a bit after he spent way too much time on that damn race car, and apparently he was pretty close to flunking his first exams.


    After summers end, I started college, software engineering the same place John goes to. I remember going there for at least two months, but as the days kinda started blending together, I simply don''t know when it stopped. That accident really did a number on my head.


    As I was going through my life yet again, something happened. It felt like a spotlight was put on me, and I was thrown in a lukewarm pool, and then pulled out immediately. I tried to move, but my body wouldn''t listen. I tried looking around, but my eyes wouldn''t open, and my neck wouldn''t move. I tried to scream for help, but all that came out was a cry..


    The cry of a baby.

 The City of Fire

    The carriage rocks back and forth as it abruptly comes to a stop. Inside sit two men, both visibly weary from the long tiring journey along the scorching path that brought them here.


    The older of the two addresses the other with an annoyed voice.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, Nathan¡±


    The Younger man simply holds up his hand in front of him, stretching out two fingers while the rest grip a small crystal.


    With a clearly irritated voice, he snaps back at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to wait two minutes for you to finish that.¡±


    The only response he gets, is the lowering of a single finger.


    Seeing that he isn''t going to budge, Shawn sighs to himself and tries to control his aggravation. After all, it is not his travel companion he is irritated with, and he knows him well enough to not waste time trying to interrupt him. Instead, realizing that he has to endure the heat of the sun baked carriage a few minutes more, he simply close his eyes to focus.


    From the top of his neck a wave of blue and red light gushes down his back, wrapping around his arms and legs. With a small twist of his hands, he commands a small breeze through the carriage, cooling them both. He leans back into his seat, peering out the window.


    ¡°Fifteen years, huh..¡±


    He mutters under his breath.


    A short time passes, and Nathan slowly exhales before cracking his neck.


    ¡°Done?¡±


    ¡°Almost¡±


    Nathan pulls out a chain with a small pendant hanging on it.


    He pushes the crystal into an empty setting on the pendant, and it clicks into place.


    Seeing that he¡¯s done, Shawn release his aura and opens the carriage doors. As he steps out, he pulls his hood over his feathered head to shade himself from the blistering sun.


    As Nathan step out of the carriage to follow him, putting the satchel containing his belongings over his shoulder, the coachman leans out of his seat and address him in a mocking voice.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Do you need a hand with that?¡±


    As if to respond, Nathan turns around and toss him the pendant he just finished.


    ¡°For hot days.¡±


    He says before he turns back around to follow Shawn, leaving the coachman holding the pendant with a confused look on his face.


    When he catch up to Shawn, he is meet with a question.


    ¡°What did you make him?¡±


    ¡°Aircondition.¡±


    He answers curtly.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to simply give those away?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be selling them openly and share the schematics anyways. This way he might be less inclined to harass me at a later point.¡±


    He replies in a detached monotone.


    As they walk, Nathan looks around the city and its inhabitants.


    ¡°These people are nothing like the people in Bightkeep.¡±


    A slight strain can be heard in Shawn''s voice as he answers.


    ¡°No, that they are not. As you might have seen from the few outposts and small towns we passed to reach this place, the culture of Bightkeep is not exactly the most mainstream one. You would be hard pressed to find a man here that would prefer a ballet to a brawl.¡±


    ¡°Suits me fine. I never did like the smug superiority that city oozes of..¡±


    A venomous tone to his voice.


    ¡°So you say.. Nathan, now that we are here, are you sure you won¡¯t change your mind?¡±


    Shawn says with a slight pity.


    Clearly annoyed, Nathan answers.


    ¡°Shawn, I¡¯m tired of repeating myself. I made my decision.¡±


    ¡°But with your.. Condition.. You wouldn¡¯t have to fight, and I could help set you up with a shop in a nice house. I¡¯ll even give you some money to get started. We could really use your talents as a-¡±


    ¡°Shawn. Enough.


    You promised me I could do my part. I¡¯ll do my part, but I will do it my way.


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still work with artifacts, and I¡¯ll share the schematics, but that is not my life anymore.¡±


    A frown appears on Shawns face.


    ¡°So you think it¡¯s that easy? This is not a playground, if you want to be part of the Order of the Dagger you will have to risk your life. There will be no putting your hands up and giving up. Come fire and death, you¡¯re the one to suffer. Your life will be nothing but pain. Are you really ready for that? Why will you not just take the deal?¡±


    A smile appears on Nathan''s face.


    ¡°Ready? I¡¯m looking forward to it. All these years I¡¯ve lied to myself, told myself not to fight back, just stay in the shadows. Just shrink down and they¡¯ll ignore you. Just stay down and they won¡¯t hurt you. But you know what I realized?¡±


    He leans in closer to the Shawn, and continues in what is almost a whisper.


    ¡°I like the pain. It makes me feel alive.¡±


    As he leans back away from Shawn, he can see that the old man lets out a relieved sigh.


    ¡°Good. Your mother would have been proud.¡±


    He says with great relief.


    Shawn turn around and starts walking.


    ¡°This was your first test. You pass.¡±


    Following him, Nathan asks:


    ¡°Test? Seriously? You were the one that wanted me to produce artifacts.¡±


    ¡°Oh I know. But that wasn¡¯t the test. From the second you told me you wanted to fight, I had no intention of talking you out of it. The test was simply that you would be offered an alternative, one that would be more alluring. Help with your business, money, a carefree lifestyle. I still want you to make artifacts for us, but I¡¯ll honor our agreement.¡±


    ¡°So a test of resolve. And if I had taken the deal?¡±


    Having reached their destination, Shawn knocks two times before turning to address Nathan.


    ¡°We cannot allow those who can be bought to know our secrets. I would have had no choice but to kill you.¡±


    He says, as the door opens.

 A challenge

    Inside stands two guards, and a hooded man.


    ¡°Is he ready?¡±


    The hooded man asks Shawn


    ¡°I presented him with the first trial. Put him with the others.¡±


    The hooded man is slightly stumped at this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll vouch for him.¡±


    The man nods.


    ¡°So be it, Sandstorm.¡±


    He answers Shawn solemnly as he turns around.


    ¡°Follow me, boy.¡±


    Silently, Nathan follows him.


    They move through the halls of the building, turning corners, going down stairs, moving further down and into the belly of the fortress.


    As the halls get darker, Nathan notice that crystals are used for lighting. They are placed on pillars along the walls, clearly exposed, bathing the dark halls in eerie blue light. Every now and again a crystal will be dim, or out of power completely. As they turn a corner, Nathan spots a roped man touching one of the crystal, powering it on, before moving on.


    Quickly realizing a possibility to sell a previous invention, Nathan makes a mental note to remind Shawn of their deal.


    As they arrive in front of a great crimson wooden door, his guide stops to face him.


    ¡°We¡¯re here. I don¡¯t know who you are, or why the Sandstorm vouches for you, but expect no quarters from us.¡±


    He opens the door, and lets Nathan pass through.


    Behind it is a large open room. In the ceiling is a large hole covered with a intricate pattern of metal grates, light shining in from above. On the ground is another grate, this one clearly to made to be walked on, but also to act as a drain.


    Several pillars extend from floor to ceiling, holding up another floor several meters above him. On that floor, what appeared to be statues of hooded men were spaced apart evenly, looking down on the central space.


    ¡°An arena¡±


    Nathan mutters to himself.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    This place makes him nervous.He doesn¡¯t mind fighting, but he prefers to do so without an audience.


    In the center of the room, several figures stand in the light coming down from above. One is clearly in command, as he stands in front of the rest of the group, silently facing them. None of them realized that he arrived yet.


    Deciding to wait and observe, he places himself in the shadows, first moving sideways so that the hooded figure in command sees him. After he sees the man''s head slowly move to his direction, he walks backwards, further from the light. The man does not move.


    The group isn¡¯t that large. Five people or so, excluding the silent leader. A single woman, but otherwise men. One in particular seems to be quite confident in his own strength, being two heads taller than the rest and quite muscular.


    After a few minutes, another group of five appear, also with a hooded leader. As he approaches, the first leader gives him a nod towards Nathan, prompting him to look towards the shadows, where nathan quickly puts power into a crystal to make it glow faintly. The two hooded men exchange looks before standing next to each other, addressing the combined group.


    ¡°Attention, recruits. You have all passed basic training and the test of resolve. Your next test will be here, where you will be placed into new teams of five each. These are the teams you will stay in from now on, including your first assignments. We are also going to select team leaders today.¡±


    The big recruit pokes his buddy in the ribs with his elbow, smiling confidently.


    The other instructor continues.


    ¡°We will be pairing you up to spar one on one. How you conduct yourself in this fight means as much as whether or not you win, as we know there is a large discrepancy in your combat performances.¡±


    One of the two women from the new group raises her hand. The instructor that lead her in gives her an approving nod.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there would be two groups of ten sir?¡±


    ¡°Correct¡±


    ¡°But we are only nine, sir.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve received another recruit who has been allowed to skip basic training.¡±


    Low chatter can be heard from the group. Realizing that he will soon be called upon, Nathan leaves the shadows to approach the group.


    ¡°I see sir.¡±


    The girl continues;


    ¡°When will he arrive?¡±


    Nathan stops a few paces behind the group, as the instructor responds.


    ¡°He arrived before you did. Also, he is standing behind you.¡±


    The nine recruits turn around in surprise as Nathan pulls back his hood with his right hand, revealing himself to the group.


    They all stare at him confused.


    ¡°Is there a problem recruits?¡±


    The first Instructor asks, trying to sound annoyed to mask his own surprise.


    The girl that was asking questions is the first to speak.


    ¡°Bu-but sir, his hair-.. It¡¯s black.¡±


    ¡°His paperwork says it¡¯s a dark blue hue. As such, i believe it''s safe to assume that he is a servant of air?¡±


    Nathan nods in response. Air is indeed the only magical element he can use.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a kin like that. Must be a very rare race.¡±


    Another recruit states, moreso to himself than to the others.


    The second instructor brings them back to the matter at hand with a tone of annoyance.


    ¡°If you are quite done playing beauty pageants, do take note of the fact that none of you noticed him the entire time he was here, nor when he approached you. It would seem that our recruits are woefully lacking this year.¡±


    Nathan locked eyes with the other instructor as this was stated, a look of approval in them. They only detected him because he let them. He knew it, and so did they.


    Though the look also told him that they were not people he could have hidden from for long.


    ¡°The matches will begin shortly. First match will be between the newcomer Nightblue Nathan, and Rusthorn Fritz. The rest of you will come with us to the observation platform at the side of the arena.


    The recruits and instructors move away from the light, and onto the dark platform.


    ¡°Distance yourselves from each other, remove your cloaks, and invoke your auras. When you are ready, fight like your life depends on it.¡±


    One of the instructors calls from the platform.


    Closing his eyes to invoke his will, Nathan moves away from the center.


    He knows what is about to happen, but he wills himself to ignore it. ¡°Focus on the fight¡±, he mutters to himself. As he reaches a place he finds suitable, he turns around to see his opponent making gestures to his friend from before, as he loudly invokes his aura, readying himself for the use of magic.


    With disdain in his eyes, Nathan removes his cloak and invokes his aura wordlessly.


    His opponent stares at him for a second, before exploding in roaring laughter.


    ¡°Bwahahaha! Is this your ¡®challenge¡¯?! Is this truly the level you¡¯re willing to accept into your ranks? You want me to fight that?¡±


    ¡°What is the problem recruit?¡±


    The first instructor replies, realizing full well what caused the outburst.


    ¡°You put me up against a kin that couldn¡¯t reach my face with a punch, carries no weapon, has an aura so pathetically weak that I can hardly see it from here-¡±


    He points his sword at Nathan while still facing the instructor.


    ¡°And to top it all off, he¡¯s missing an arm!¡±

 Broken Hero

    Thump


    Thump


    Thump


    The world closes in.


    A chill sweeps his forearm.


    Everything is dark but himself, the floor, and the enemy in front of him.


    Laughter


    Sweaty palm.


    All he hears is his own heartbeat.


    Thump, thump, thump.


    Nausea.


    A stabbing pain in his stumpy left arm.


    His knees are weak, but he takes a stance.


    He¡¯s been through this before.


    Trying to catch his breath.


    His satchel.


    Out of sight.


    Rummaging through it.


    *Weapon.


    Distraction?.. Yes..*


    *Never doubt a classic?..


    Three should be enough.*


    He can hear his own breath.


    Calm down.


    *You only get one chance.


    Don¡¯t lose yourself.*


    *He¡¯s big, but not slow.


    He trained right.


    And he knows it¡­


    He expects to win this.


    Defeat never crossed his mind¡­*


    *First a rush. Magic? No, strength.


    Shock, then feral swing.


    Force him down.


    Finish quickly.*


    In front of him, the big bull-kin of an opponent starts to charge at him.


    The world snaps back into focus. Nathan pulls three crystals from his satchel, and a single dagger. He casts a spell. A favorite of his, taught to him by his mother many years ago.


    The three crystals are loaded with magic and activated, one is dropped on the ground behind him. The dagger is thrown towards his opponent.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    A weak attempt, but that¡¯s all Fritz expects from Nathan. He smashes it aside with his sword, laughing at the pathetic attack. In front of him stands three opponents, where previously stood only one. Clearly, this was a pathetic attempt to distract him, but he will not be fooled by this.


    Still convinced of his overwhelming victory, he snarls as he swipes his sword across the neck of all of them in a single fell swoop.They all pass through thin air, as the three faces in front of him twist into a smile. A fraction of a second later, three rocks spring up where each of the three clones stood.


    Fritz stares at the one in front of his face out of reflex.


    An explosive sound erupts all around him.Blinding lights fill the space,


    A ringing noise fills his ears.He can¡¯t see.


    A spell cast in panic.


    Toppling over as he loses balance, he reaches out to brace himself.


    His leg is swept.A kick to the head.


    Impact.The taste of dust.


    Confusion.


    Weight on his back.


    Something sharp on his neck.


    Chills running down his spine.


    Failure?.. No..


    The chamber is silent.


    Nathan stands on his toppled foe.One foot on Fritz''s shoulder.


    A sword of blue mist held in his hand, pressed against his neck.Droplets of blood on the ground.


    ¡°You can step off him now.¡±


    One of the instructors yells out.


    As Nathan releases power from the artifact, the blade evaporates.


    He jumps back smoothly, staying vigilant in case his foe lashes out in confusion.


    Fritz jumps to his feet, still shocked by the events.


    ¡°What happened?! What did he do?!¡±


    ¡°He defeated you. Clear the arena so we can move on to the ne-¡±


    ¡°NO! I¡¯m am not finished! He got the jump on me, I can still win thi-¡±


    Besides him, Nathan snickers loudly.


    Realizing that he¡¯s being taunted by someone he expected to beat overwhelmingly, Fritz turns around with a freezing look in his eyes.


    ¡°Did you just.. Laugh at me?...¡±


    ¡°Stand down Fritz. Now.¡±


    One of the instructors commands from the platform.


    ¡°No! I refuse to acknowledge this! If this had been a real fight, the-¡±


    ¡°Then that cut would have been a few inches deeper.¡±


    Nathan interjects.


    Fritz turns silently to stare at Nathan, wrath burning in his eyes.


    ¡°ENOUGH! Both of you!¡±


    The instructor shouts, ending the argument.


    ¡°Remove yourself from the arena, immediately!¡±


    Nathan turns his back to his opponent, walking over to collect his cloak.


    Behind him, Fritz grabs his sword harder, before pulling his arm up over his head and swinging it towards Nathan, a look of rage fuelled hatred and arrogance on his face.


    Quickly invoking his aura, Nathan casts the same spell as before, turning him translucent like smoke. A gifted magic used would turn invisible, with a shimmer only visible to those that know exactly what to look for. But not Nathan.


    Around him, several clones that are equally smoke-like appear.


    A combo taught to him by his mother during his childhood, though she would execute it with far more visual success.


    ¡°Stop this immediately!¡±


    The instructors yell from the platform.


    Fritz quickly calls out the invocation for his aura, flooding his back in a deep red aura that lights up the area around him. Wordlessly, he summons fist sized rocks and hurls them at the shadows in front of him in quick succession.


    Above him, Nathan flips in the air, having jumped immediately after casting his spell, using the crystals hidden in the soles of his boots. With a gentle thud, he lands behind Fritz, pulling an artifact out of his pouch.


    Unfortunately, this sound was just loud enough for Fritz to hear.


    Quickly turning around, Fritz changes to a spell that showers Nathan with dozens of sharp pebbles at high speed. Covering his face with the stump of his left arm, Nathan readies the artifact in his right hand. Recognizing that he found the real Nathan, and thereby secured the upper hand, Fritz charges forward.


    Nathan dodges under the swing, striking Fritz in the ribs under his left arm.


    Feeling a sharp pain, Fritz kicks him in the ribs, knocking him into the air, before casting a spell that hurls a rock into Nathan¡¯s stomach midair, throwing him across the arena. As Nathan collides with the wall, he buckles forward and spits out blood.


    With an arrogant smirk, Fritz takes a step forward before hearing a strange sound he doesn¡¯t recognize from beneath him.


    Beeb


    Beeb


    He lifts his left arm to see a small piece of metal imbedded in his rib-cage. He sees that the trinket has two crystals imbedded in it; One blinking, the other cracked.


    Just in time to hear the last beeb.


    The chamber is violently shaken as an explosion erupts from Fritz, tearing him in half.


    In the shadows, Nathan stares up at the hooded figures on the level above them, who despite their best efforts were taken off-guard by the explosion. They erupt into a silent argument, gesturing to each other violently.


    With a grin, Nathan spits up more blood as he loses consciousness.