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Notes: Here is the first chapter. I think it will be one of the more lengthy ones. It's about 2 times as long as the prologue, although I don't think it will be a problem, because people will be listening to it, not reading it. I tried to use a descriptive style of writing for the narrator(reason for the lengthiness), so as to set up the places, characters, etc. It may need proofreading for some little AC facts which I made up. Please comment and report any problems that it may have.
I will also be posting MOCs for Gaia, Avi, and Makuta that I made later.
- Spoiler:
- As far back as Angonce could remember, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen was the sunrise of his world. Spherus Magna’s sun rose in the east with majestic beauty, the great ocean playing tricks with the colors. It was at this time of the day he could see the farthest in any direction. He often went out on these early trips to view the natural wonders of the home he loved. Of course, he had no need of walking. He was one of those sentients which the inhabitants of the planet had long ago reverently named “The Great Beings”, and as such he had many abilities strange to lesser species; one of which was the gift of teleportation.
Angonce(thinking): But where’s the pleasure in that, when I can stretch my legs and gaze freely around me?
Many days Angonce let his stride take him where it would, his mind wandering with it. On this morning, he ended up at the great city of Atero, where the Arena Magna was located. He effortlessly shapeshifted to take the form of a member of the Preliator species, who made up most the warrior class on the planet; they were usually lean and muscular, sporting old battle-scarred armor; generally referred to as Glatorian in the sports arena or in times of unrest; the word meant “brave fighter”. The former rulers of Spherus Magna had never been ones for public appearances, and after the coming of the Element Lords, there was no longer any need of their public presence. Besides this, the Agori, and even some Glatorian had adopted a view of the Great Beings that bordered on the mythological. Not many of Angonce's brothers minded this, but it still unsettled him that these same people had once called him a king. Angonce ambled into the seating area of the city’s large arena. The stands were filled with a moderate number of beings who had come to watch a cart race. “Cart” was probably an understatement. Technologically advanced vehicles were often used, in contrast to past wagons pulled by beasts, making the races very fast and dangerous. Climbing up the steps to an upper row of seats, Angonce sat down beside a certain Fire Agori. The Agori species were shorter and stockier than the warrior class on the planet, but made up most of the population. But this particular Agori was no stranger.
Angonce: The race seems to be a close one. If I were a gambling being, I would pick that Kaxium cycle that doesn’t ever lose much ground.
The Agori look up, recognizing Angonces voice.
Kyry: A wise choice. But from you, what else can be expected?
The two beings sat and watched the event for a time in silence, the sun getting warmer. The Agori raised his eyes from the spectacle below and spoke.
Kyry: I suppose you’re not here on official business, but I do have news on the situation of the Iron Tribe.
Angonce nodded. Kyry had been an excellent currier for the Great Beings. He had never once failed at his duty since he had pledged his life to their service. Angonce had the utmost respect for the little being.
Kyry: Since most of their tribe was wiped out by an elusive plague, only a few members of the Iron Tribe have been sighted. Their ostracization from the other tribes is probably the reason for this. But I have found one. See, down there on the track riding the Baranus vehicle? He’s painted his armor orange as a disguise, but I can recognize the armor as Iron Tribe made.
Angonce*sigh*: I regret that my brothers and I could never find a cure for that wretched disease. I can’t imagine being slowly driven insane by some unknown virus. If that one down there has the plague, there is nothing we can do for him. If he doesn’t have it, we would be doing him no good by drawing attention to him. Why don’t the Element Lords do something about this problem?
Kyry: Well, you have to remember that they are not scientists like you and your kind. They are simply overseers.
Angonce: Yes, just overseers. How could it have come to leaving the rule of this, our home, to impulsive beings like them? But I suppose we deserved it, because of our lack of foresight with our radical experiments.
Kyry: Don’t be too hard on your race, Angonce. Your nature is to seek wisdom, just as it is the Element Lords’ to rule. They are impulsive, but they are also honest and straight to the point in their dealings. And they were hand-picked by the Great Beings, so it’s not like we weren’t left in good hands.
Angonce: Morkoth… so reclusive, that one. I guess years of bending the elements to obey the will of a being will do that to you. But, I suppose you’re right. And at least we still have our experiments. But let us not dwell on such things, friend. It promises to be a fine day.
Kyry: Speaking of that, don’t you need to be at the council chamber today? The Elder called an assembly of the Great Beings.
Angonces eyes widened, and he chuckled.
Angonce: Ha! Well, I’m certainly glad I had you to remind me, Kyry. I don’t know how it could have slipped my mind.
Without another word, the Great Being vanished, or did he seem to melt into the stone floor? Kyry was never sure. While Angonce was one of the wisest Great Being he knew, he was also the most carefree Kyry could name.
***
Angonce reappeared I front of the Great Tower, home of his brothers and sisters. The location of the tower was known to only a trusted few, like Kyry. Rain poured down as he walked through the wall of the thousand foot-tall tower; another of his species’ many abilities. He had forgotten that the great size of the planet made the weather patterns diverse, meaning that a clear sky over Atero was a cloudy one over the home of the Great Beings, which was hundreds of miles away. Angonce shook the rain off as he hastened to the council chamber. Standing near the doorway into that chamber was a being he recognized well. She looked up, a quizzical expression on her face.
Angonce: Oh, sorry.
Realizing he was still in his alternate form, Angonce morphed back into his usual one. The Great Beings had no true physical form, or at least none they could remember after living for hundreds of millennia. Each simply used any bodily appearance that suited his or her purposes. Angonce preferred the form of a Skrall, the tall species populating the Rock tribe. Like many of Spherus Magna’s inhabitants, they were a mixture of metallic implants and organic material. They were taller than the usual Glatorian specimen, and had an uncanny taste for black armor. The particular figure that Angonce used was about 6 feet tall, with moderate features; nothing imposing. While this was an unorthodox guise for a Great Being to use, he had grown to don it more than most. The being in front of him smiled.
Gaia: Much better. What have I told you about alternate forms, Angonce?
Angonce(obvious joking tone): That they are quite useful?
Gaia: Come on, you know what I meant.
Angonce: But you could simply read my mind. You know that Gaia.
Gaia: I don’t want to invade your privacy. That was one of the first things you taught me.
The mention of their first meeting brought the past rushing back to Angonce. Gaia was a female Skrall, most of which gender had an almost supernatural power over their own mental capabilities, which included such astonishing feats as reading other minds, and controlling them if the concentration was great enough. But nothing remained a mystery to a Great Being, once discovered. Gaia had found him some millennia ago, seeking to increase the knowledge of her own gifts. Angonce had quickly seen experimental opportunity. He had helped her unlock hidden portions of her mind that had lain, not useless, but unrealized. Sometimes she could even perform telekinesis. But afterwards a strange thing had happened. She had wanted to stay with him, and his brothers. She had wanted to become like them. And who were they to deny her? Having met Angonce first, a close friendship had been there from the start.
Angonce: Ah, yes. But you’ve come a long way since that, and your mental capacity far surpasses any of your sisters.
Gaia: And for that I will always be thankful. But the greatest gift you ever gave me was restraint. However, I think you need a lesson in keeping time. You’re late for the assembly. You’d better hurry.
Angonce: Thank you, my good friend. You read my mind!
Gaia laughed as Angonce pushed the large double doors open and entered the circular meeting chamber. She remained outside, as only Great Beings could be present at an assembly. The first sight that met the Great Being’s eyes was The Elder seated upon his stone chair at the far end of the room. The chair, like all the others in the meeting hall, was elevated several feet off the ground by a stone column. Similar seats were placed in a circular pattern, following the curve of the wall. The room itself was showing signs of decay and neglet. The metal fixtures and works of art covering the ceiling were worn down. Angonce thought that the same could be said of his dwindling species. So few were left after the old wars… the failed experiments… the decision to relinquish power and instead turn inwards. Angonce bowed before the Great Being in front of him. Of all Angonce’s fellow brothers and sisters, The Elder had always been the wisest and most respected. “The Elder” was a title held by the council leader. The one who held that title now had been head of the council for a long time; no one ever questioned his position, because nothing but the wisest and best decisions were ever made by him. The council itself was just a gathering of all the so-called “Great Beings”, which amounted to twenty one in all.
Angonce(thinking): A small number for such a powerful race. Time has done this, as much as all that has happened.
In the end, Angonce didn’t care. He guessed that none of the others did either. Science was their life now, and they had always only wanted that… or was it always? As Angonce he raised his head, and was about to speak, when The Elder raised his hand for silence. When The Elder spoke, he did so in a calm tone as he never failed to do.
The Elder: There is no need for an apology, Angonce. I am sure that you were delayed by some important business. Lets us proceed. I have called this assembly because there has been a discovery of a new vein of exsidian metal in the White Quarts Mountains. As you all know, we are running low on exsidian for our experiments, especially Heremus’s mechanical labor prototypes…
The Elder’s voice droned on in Angonce’s head.
Angonce(thinking): Not that I question the Elder’s wisdom, but sometimes these assemblies could be such mundane things.
Looking around the room, Angonce studied his fellow beings. He knew them all of course, but if he had learned anything from teaching Gaia how to read minds better, it was the art of observation. An empty seat drew his eye. It was the place of a former brother, Invidior. That Great Being had been the original designer of a gargantuan prototype robot that had stood millions of feet high. That experiment had failed miserably, killing many Agori workers in the process. Invidior had never been the same. Becoming reclusive, he never sought to be with others. It was said that he had become obsessed with his failed project, even to the edge of sanity. Eventually, the council had had no other option than to turn the mad one out into exile. He had never been considered a threat, but insanity was a liability to their precious science. Every once in a while, though, villagers would hear strange noises in the wastes between Tesara and Atero, but Agori were superstitious anyway.
Angonces gaze swept around the room to Heremus. He was doubtless paying close attention to The Elder’s report, as his experiments needed the precious metal. In contrast with his humble personality, Heremus’s guise was over eleven feet tall with four powerful upper limbs. The larger form was a great help in his more cumbersome projects, such as his new robotic labor machine, which was still being worked on.
Turning from Heremus, Angonce saw Morkoth in the corner of his vision.
Angonce(thinking): Now that is a being one could wonder about.
Morkoth’s eyes seemed to be fixed on The Elder, but Angonce could tell they were just staring into space. Unlike Invidior, Morkoth’s face was hard to read.
Angonce(thinking): For disturbed mind holds few secrets.
Ever since he had started work on the preparation of the Element Lords, Morkoth had been, not reclusive like Invidior, but less social in general. Whenever an envoy to the Element Lords needed to be sent, Morkoth was usually the one who volunteered go.
Angonce(thinking): Maybe he is like Invidior. Maybe he is just obsessed with his creations.
The Elder’s voice came back to Angonce.
The Elder: ...And who will we send to the Ice Lord to request a confidential shipment of exsidian?
Heremus: I put forward that we send Kyry. He has been useful to us in the past. I do not see why we could use him again.
Morkoth: I have an objection!
That, Angonce was not expecting.
The Elder: Speak, Morkoth.
Morkoth: As Heremus said, we have used Kyry often. Too often. Kyry has had perhaps too many dealings with us for our… privacy to be maintained. I propose that I go as a medium to the Ice Lord.
The Elder: I see your point Morkoth, but Kyry is a trusted servant. He is known and respected as our envoy. What is more, he is an Agori. That gives him an advantage over any of us in dealings with the population in these times, even with the Element Lords who are in our presence frequently. But enough arguing brothers. A vote will settle this quickly.
The raised hands showed that The Elder’s view was clearly the popular one.
The Elder: Then we will send Kyry to negotiate a deal for the exsidian. Assembly dismissed.
Rising, Morkoth walked coolly off, followed by the others going their separate ways, most to their personal labs. Outside the assembly chamber, Gaia and Heremus were in conversation. Gaia turned to Angonce.
Gaia: We were just discussing whether I could help with the artificial intelligence for those robots Heremus is designing. I think I could use my mental powers to help create a better simulation of a real brain.
Heremus: I appreciate your offer Gaia, but their neural network is not designed to be that complicated anyway. They won’t be made to think, just to do a job. But perhaps you could still help with making the electronic control system faster.
Angonce spotted Morkoth walking their way, and decided that he would retreat to his private lab and chamber a bit sooner than planned.
Angonce: Not that I don’t love getting bogged down in technical terms my friends, but I think I should be going. Experiments to complete, you know.
Striding up the long winding staircase in the center of the tower, Angonce reached his destination. The door had no physical indication on it that it was to his room, but he had had plenty of time, thousands of years in fact, to memorize its location. He opened the door. The heat from a small forge in the corner brushed him. The familiarity of the varied tools, devices, and parchments seemed to welcome the Great Being. As he walked to a large stone desk, 2 lights flickered to life in the shadows. He made no sign of alarm as two small mechanoid figures emerged from those shadows, and he was not surprised when one of them spoke.
Avi: Welcome home master!
The one who spoke had a single glowing photoreceptor near the top of its box-shaped torso, was short in stature compared to Angonce, and had lanky arms and legs. Angonce smiled down at him.
Angonce: That I am, and I am glad to be back Avi, and you Makuta.
The second mechanical figure stepped forward. He was similar to the other, except for being larger in build, and having a larger and more advanced photoreceptor. He bowed his head respectfully.
Makuta: Thank you master. It is good to see you so soon. We did not expect you back until later today. I hope you are pleased with the work that we accomplished while you were away.
Avi: Yes! We were able to finish forging your Mask of Power. We used a mixture of exsidian and iron, and the controlled environment is already set up.
Angonce smiled again. They were so diligent and eager to help. He knew of few real beings like them.
Angonce: I eagerly await the results to our work, my friends.
The two automatons that Angonce now conversed with were of his own creation- Artificial Intelligences conceived and built in a great spurt of creativity many millennia ago. He knew not what had brought that creative surge, but its product had been his most proud invention, and his most secret one. Only two individuals knew of their existance; Gaia and Kyry. This might have been against the scientist’s code, but he had felt a strange protective feeling for them. They were things of strange beauty, both outward and inward, and he prize them more than any mere experiment. He knew every circuit path in their bodies, yet every day they seemed new. Angonce thought of the irony of Heremus struggling with a simple command program when, when he had made something close to a sentient.
Following Avi’s gesture, he turned to a small glass box on a stand in the room. Avi pressed a button that was linked to the container and something else. The second intelligence, Makuta, brought that something forward. It was a mask-shaped metallic object with a funnel-like opening near where the forehead would be, two eye slits, and three curved openings down each cheek. The mask object started to glow, and as it did, electricity ran through the wire and into the contained box. Sparks flashed. Suddenly a ball of glowing energy appeared inside the controlled environment, and then disappeared. The mask’s glow faded into non-existence.
Makuta: We followed your instructions, and aligned the atomic structure of the air molecules in the container to your calculations, using the special singe-poled magnets that you found. Also, the mask was exposed to high magnetic and electrical forces, using the element-bonding technology that you gave us.
Angonce had to remember to thank Morkoth for inventing that. He also had to remember to tell Morkoth that he had modified and used it. At least it had finally found a use other than making all-powerful titans.
Avi: Yes, it was quite useful. This time we didn’t have to implant circuitry into the mask. It all came down to the magnetic forces that hold the atoms in the container together. As you can see, the mask succeeded in creating a force-field this way in the specialized air. But somehow it couldn’t sustain it. I don’t know how we could have failed.
Angonce: It is no fault of yours, Avi. Hmmm… I think the problem lies in the simple fact that air does not transport magnetic impulses as well as metal. The mask is perfect as a conductor, and may even work without the help of an electrical current. But air? Not a chance.
Avi’s counterpart raised a hesitant suggestion.
Makuta: Perhaps if the two materials were both made of different molecular versions of a complex atom?
Angonce: We have never found a substance which can be fashioned into such diverse things as air and metal, or anything else, for that matter. Until we do, I fear that this experiment is purely theoretical.
But weren’t most experiments? Such was the life of a scientist seeking knowledge. No all-encompassing material had ever been found, or even proven in theory. Even the Element Lords had to be bonded physically with their element to gain mastery of it. It was ridiculous really to conceive of such a thing.
Angonce(thinking): It was ridiculous to think of a magnet with a single pole… Ah, well. A victory gained in the mind is better than none at all.
***
Miles away, in those same mountains of the Ice province, a liquid metal pushed up from the planet’s core. It had no name, for it never been seen by a living being before. It pushed up and up, until it at last reached the pressure-free surface. If an inanimate material could be said to have feeling, this one felt free. It bubbled, boiling from the heated temperature fathoms beneath the surface crust, and spread out into a small pool. Cold air temperatures cooled the hot substance. The newly formed pool lay at the back of a cave on the side of a mountain. At that moment, two Ice Tribe Agori happened to be resting in that cave as a shelter from the snow storm outside. They had never seen what was at the heart of Spherus Magna. They were about to.
I will also be posting MOCs for Gaia, Avi, and Makuta that I made later.
Last edited by GoldenTahu on 9th March 2012, 12:57 pm; edited 11 times in total
