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Post by Blindside Tex on Oct 28, 2017 19:38:10 GMT -5
Aldora stared to where the projection had been. She slowly brought her eyes to Nadine whom rambled on about the ancients, how she was a reincarnation. No. This wasn’t it. Something told Aldora that there was more to this than the eye could see. She glanced to Nadine as she walked off, searching for more information. Aldora moved into a room that looked to be a lab. It was dusty, lights flickered on and screens turned on as she stepped into the room. It was incredible to see these things. The life was still here, from how many years ago? What ran it? How was it still functioning?
Aldora moved through the halls, she brushed dust from old books and tried to make out the words. She’d touch an old piece of clothing that hung on the wall, only for it to crumble into ash. Who was that woman? The question kept running through her mind. She found herself in another room that was large, a gathering area perhaps? She looked over how tidy and neat the place was. She sat down on a cold metal chair and closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it must have been like. She sat like this for several minutes before she let out a sigh and stood. It was impossible, it seemed, to imagine such a place that the ancients lived in.
She stood and placed her hand over a focus. A transmission was pulsating like a beacon from another room over. She brought her brows together and moved toward it. Aldora stepped into the room, a bed was in the center of it, a huge lamp above the bed. Metal tools upon a cart. She reached onto the cart and lifted a Focus into her hand. She’d never found another focus that wasn’t damaged. Suddenly another projection came from it.
She looked to people that stood around the table, a body lay on the table. Beeping in the background. “9 Blade.” The voice spoke. “Good, with this I can see everything. This advancement Dr. Henderson has given us is incredible! How did she do such a thing?” The woman that held the blade in her hand seemed to marvel at the body.
Aldora stepped closer and looked to the body on the table, all the veins, the heart, the organs, the vitals. Everything was visible. It was absolutely incredible. Then Aldora jumped back when she heard Nadine’s voice, she knocked into the cart of equipment and took in a quick breath. “Hades…” She scrunched her brows. She shook her head. “I’m not so sure…” She looked to Nadine and held the focus toward her. “I found this.” She gave a gentle smile. “It should help you to see some of the things I can see, it’ll help keep you safe, and…I just saw something from it, it seems to show you vital things about someone that you are healing. It should be helpful.” She gave a nod as she took the book into her hands.
“Hades…” She spoked again and brushed some of the dust off of the cover. She flipped through the pages, her focus allowed her to glimpse at bits and pieces of the book, but none of it made any sense. She shook her head. “I’m not sure…we should look into this though, if this is the answer to the machines, that would be amazing.”
Aldora then turned and walked down the hallway. She stepped forward and stopped at another doorway.
“Authentication required.” It stated just before it began to scan her body. It ran a bright blue light up and down her body a few times. “Access granted. Welcome Dr. Henderson.”
Aldora watched as the door opened slowly. She looked to tool marks where someone had tried to get in before. “I’m not…” She shook her head. “Who is…she?” She questioned and looked to Nadine. She bit her lip slightly and stepped deeper into the ruin.
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Post by Raven on Oct 28, 2017 20:14:37 GMT -5
Nadine look to the small triangular device that rest in Aldora’s palm. She picked it up and marveled at it for a moment. It had a tiny green light in the middle. “So I…. put it.. right here?” she question and pressed it against her head, just by her ear. It seemed to stay in place, however it did. “And how do I?” she reached up and tapped it with her finger. A green haze shot outward and she stepped back slightly.
She turned her head and looked the tools on the cart. Just above each item read ‘9 blade scapel, 6 blade, 7 blade, forceps…’ she then glanced to Aldora. The green gaze scanned over Aldora and above her head read ‘Pulse 74, 97.5 F, 124/81’ she reached forward and tapped the numbers, sliding them over – the list continued, oxygen levels, white blood cell count, liver levels… everything. “What… is this? How?” she whispered. “What does this all mean?” she whispered. She then tapped a button that showed before – ‘show organs’ – suddenly she could see all of Aldora’s organs in the center of her body. She then tapped ‘show veins’ then Aldora was a being of all veins. She could see the blood flowing – the heart pumping…
She removed her hand and then took in a deep breath. “This is…” she shook her head. “How could the ancients die out? This is beyond anything I could imagine, this opens such possibilities. It scares me to think of whatever killed them… is that threat the same for us? Why are we here? And they are dead?” she whispered and shook her head. “If they can create this… the weapons I imagine.” She shook her head.
They continued forward – Nadine clicked her focus on and off, looking over all the options. As they walked she scrolled through the views… muscle, nerves, tendons, bones… she could see every scar on Aldora’s body, and the impact on her muscles and bone. Was there some kind of way she could learn more… there was so much here she knew nothing about…
Nadine gasped when the door opened. “A locked room… must be something special in here…” she spoke and they continued inward. “Perhaps we are the first to enter this room..” she spoke and they came to another door. The door opened and a gust of air pushed forward. Nadine looked to Aldora and then moved forward.
The room they entered as in mint condition, it was airlocked. There was no dust or dirt – no dead bodies in this room. It seemed perfectly preserved. Nadine slowly entered – and then the lights turned on. It was a bright room, with pale egg white walls. There was 2 desks in the center of the room. On it was a large blue paper. Blue prints. Of the focus. She stepped to it and placed her hands on the parchment. “This is that… Focus” she whispered.
Nadine looked up and saw a few binders stacked. “Aldora” she spoke and stepped over. Two of the binders were empty, but 2 had papers in it. It was a thick stack…. “Have you… seen anything like this?” she whispered, holding up the printed paper. “This writing is so perfect and neat. I can’t imagine who had the time to write this all out…” she opened the binder and looked to the pages.
She looked down to the table and saw a blue card like gadget. She touched it and a voice started to speak. “Dr Henderson…” A Female voice.
“Please, We’re alone… you can call me Ayla you know” Dr. Henderson’s voice...
“You should… take a break.. focus on some …. Other things. You know. Our days are dwindling…” the voice was calm, slightly seductive in a few spots..
“If I don’t stay focused, who will?” Dr. Henderson joked slightly and then sighed in to the microphone.
“Do you remember… what.. almost 2 years ago now? You and me… in that electrical storage room?” the woman laughed then and seem to come closer.
“Mmm… That was a fond memory. I always regretted leaving for Sanction that week… I wanted to stay with you..” Dr. Henderson spoke softly.
“But I am here now, aren’t I? I came on your request. I wanted… to spend my last moments with you. I always have… I knew since the day I was assigned to your group back in college” the voice grew softer. There was a silence and then they seemed to kiss.
“Alright… you win…” Dr. Henderson spoke softly.
The recording ended then… Nadine was blushing wildly, her imagination crafted the scene. She saw Dr. Henderson standing over her blueprints, and some mystery woman come up behind her. Nadine cleared her throat and then looked to Aldora. “Well then…” she whispered and opened the binder again. “It’s going to take some time to read through this… We should probably take them with us on our journey. We could learn something…” she spoke and then looked around.
There was still coffee cups sitting out, empty, papers and pens. A white board off to the side had scribbles all over it – thoughts, ideas, calculations. “Why does none of this make sense? Why would we choose to opt out of this knowledge?” she spoke and shook her head. “Their ability to record conversations – history is so defined here. We should be thankful they did this – we might get a chance to understand more. Why are the machines here? Why are they attacking us? What happened here?” she shook her head.
“Find anything?”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Oct 28, 2017 21:01:28 GMT -5
Aldora looked around the pristine room. She stepped over to a filing cabinet and pulled the drawer out. Empty. She stepped over to Nadine’s side and looked to the binder full of typed pages. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t want to learn any of this.” She stepped over to the board looking at the calculations. “Why didn’t the ancients warn us? Leave us something…to tell us why they are all gone…why their buildings are falling apart…why the machines are becoming so deranged.”
Aldora let out a soft sigh. She glanced around the room. “They must have moved somewhere…Dr. Henderson…we have to find out who she is.” She spoke softly. “Why do I look like her?” She questioned. She pushed forward into the hallways of the airlocked chamber. Bodies were not in this area. It had been sealed for years and nothing had been inside. It looked brand new. The lights all functioned. The monitors came up as Aldora walked up to them. She stood before one of the screen and scrolled around on it, so many calculations. “Project New Dawn…” She spoke softly. “This is all over everything, even in that binder.” She took a step back as a projection came into view. She looked up.
“Welcome to the beginning phase of Project New Dawn. You have been hand selected for this project. If you choose to participate you will inevitably save humanity as we know it. We do not have much time, so every second counts. If you would like to learn more, please come to the address listed on the envelope that this hologram was sent to you with. You have been chosen as my Alpha Group Dr. Ren Tylers, I do hope to see you soon, humanity depends on it.” The projection was Dr. Henderson, she stood in a white lab coat, her hair brushed to the side much like Aldora wore her hair.
Aldora held a small device in her hands, it was what had caused the projection. “This is amazing…they could record anything.” She spoke softly. “Whatever killed them…” She looked to Nadine. “It scares me to even think of it.”
Aldora then moved forward through a tunnel. “We have to figure out what this all means.” She came to another door with a circle on it. Aldora reached forward and rotated it. On the other side of the door they came to a stairwell. Aldora climbed it and soon they stood in the middle of a field. Aldora glanced around, they were far from the other entrance. She watched as the ground moved back into place once again. The sun was nearly gone from the sky now, the orange hue clung to the horizon. “We need to get to the next city…” Aldora spoke and glanced to Nadine. She looked around hoping to catch a glimpse of something that looked like civilization. “It isn’t good to be out here at night….”
Aldora pushed forward, she constantly scanned the environment for threats. She would tell Nadine to lay low as she rushed forward to take down a watcher or two. Nothing too big. Somehow they were lucky. Aldora sighed slightly, “How could we not know of the ancients? Why have we been blocked from this knowledge?” She questioned and shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
As they crested a hill Aldora smiled finally. She could see the walls of a Kanzu settlement just ahead. “Finally.” She spoke softly. They moved along until they made it to the walls of the settlement. As they approached the gates Aldora rushed forward. The settlement was under attack from machines. Several Jagged Tooth machines were attacking the village. Braves lay on the ground. “Get to safety Nadine!!” Aldora called as she rushed in. She scaled up the back of one and slammed her spear down into it. Sparks flew and the creature fell to its side. Aldora leaped off of the carcass and ran to another she tumbled on the ground and pulled her bow. She released several arrows before she rushed forward and stabbed into the creature. She was rushed from behind by one then and slammed into the dirt. She let out a cry as she felt it slice along her back. Aldora flipped and kicked into the creature and scrambled from beneath it. Aldora rushed forward and stabbed into it with her dagger several times, piercing into the thick armor of the creature. She was slammed from the side by another and she fought with it. She gasped as she was pinned against a boulder. Aldora grit her teeth as she slammed her dagger into the eye of the creature. It was as if the machines wouldn’t stop coming. She took down half a dozen before it was over.
Aldora stumbled backward and nearly fell into the arms of a Brave. “Seeker…” He held her up, his eyes wide. “You…saved us.” He looked to his men that were injured upon the ground.
Aldora leaned into him, her breaths quick. “Why did they attack like this?” She questioned.
“They just came as a stampede from over that hill.” The brave spoke and nodded toward the hill. He looked to Nadine as she approached. His eyes widened. “Lady Nadine.” He bowed his head. “This is truly a blessing from the Great Spirit, your arrival couldn’t have come at any other time.” He looked to the gates. “Open the gates!!” He called as he stepped forward.
Aldora looked to Nadine, a bit of blood dripped from her nose from the harsh impact against the boulder. She brushed the blood away and held her side. Her breaths were still fast. “I’ll help get the men inside.” She spoke as she made to step off with other braves that came from the village.
“No, you will come inside.” He spoke, “Our Lady can tend to your wounds, or Lady Nadine can.” He spoke as he pulled her along. The Brave led the two inside of the village and up into a lodge that was built. It had great architecture. The logs were pieced together perfectly. The brave sat Aldora down on a bed, “I am War Chief Salem.” He spoke, “Thank you for saving our village.” He then looked to Nadine. “Please, Lady Nadine…” He bowed his head. “We have been attacked for days in a row…without the machines letting up…please help us in healing our wounded. Our own Lady cannot keep up with the wounds of our Braves.”
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Post by Raven on Oct 28, 2017 22:10:21 GMT -5
Nadine followed Aldora through the building… they watched the video together. She had been asking the same questions Aldora thought out loud… “The Patriarchs said that the machines were not for our kind, only for the chosen by the Great Spirit. They feared if the knowledge and power fell into the wrong hands – it could be very … dangerous. Which is true… but if we were to learn from all of this – then that threat would not be there. At some point someone said no… for fear, or religion or however. The only thing I can say is that… generally we do not face war with other tribes - because everyone is dealing with the machines. I would sooner destroy machines than man..” she spoke softly.
Soon they were outside. The air was crisp and smooth, unlike the musky damp air that was the ruins. They traveled swiftly – Aldora was quick to eliminate the machines… It was all too soon that they were amongst the machines – braves laying on the ground…. Wounded, or worse. When Aldora yelled for her take cover, she ignored the comment. She ran over to the nearest wounded and dragged him up to a tree. “It’s okay” she whispered and touched her focus.
He had a large slash from his shoulder to his hip. He was bleeding out. She grit her teeth and quickly packed the wound. She pulled his armor off and ripped his tunic off. She took out her dagger and sliced the tunic into long strips, which she then tied together. She wrapped it around the bulk of the wound, where it bled most, and tied it down.
She then stood and crouched low – she saw another brave near by. She moved over and grabbed his hand, dragging his body away to the tree as well. “Bruising…” she tapped her focus to see bones. His neck was broken. She grit her teeth and shook her head. “I’m sorry dear brave” she whispered. She leaned down and placed a medicine ball in his mouth – he wouldn’t feel pain at least. “Talk to him – he…” the other brave simply nodded – he knew what she meant. He wasn’t going to make it.
She stood and tended to one more, before the battle was ended. She approached the war chief – who was begging for her aid. “Of course, I will help” she nodded and then looked to Aldora. “I take care of my guardian first, and then the rest” she placed her hand on Aldora’s shoulder and guided her to their healing tent.
As they entered – Lady Vyrul was tending to a wounded. She stood and then gasped “Lady Nadine” she bowed her head. “I’m so glad you are here…” she spoke and then continued with the brave, who had a broken arm and several cuts.
Nadine set Aldora to sit down on the bed. “By the Great Spirit..” she whispered and peeled back her armor, which was crunched in several spots. She clicked on her focus and viewed her. “Nothing too serious…” she whispered and then nodded. “Lay down.. I will make this swift” she spoke and then held her hands over Aldora’s chest. A wave of white light washed over her body. At the same time – her nose began to bleed slightly. She reserved her powers for Aldora. Her guardian came first… then everyone else.
“Rest…” she spoke and then stood up. The braves began bringing in the wounded. The entire tent was covered… the most injured was in the bed, the less so were on the floor. Lady Vyrul gave Nadine the hardest cases, while she took to the less so. “So is there no Mystic of this village?” Nadine questioned, her hands were handling a needle with ease, sewing a wound shut.
“Our Mystic passed almost a year ago now. I… do not have the training I need to take her place” she spoke softly and then sighed. She was wrapping a leg wound, tying it shut. “When I return… Mystic Aerwyn spoke of becoming a traveling Mystic. I will make sure she comes here… so you can get the training you need” she nodded. “Speaking of which… make sure you stitch that wound like I showed you. Keep it clean and tidy, less risk of infection” she nodded and moved to the next man.
She spent the next few hours tending to the wounded. It was in the younger hours of dusk that she came to the ill. She sat next to an old man, who had a high fever and fluid in his lungs.. She sat next to him, holdng his hand as his eye lids slowly open and closed. “The Great Spirit is a woman?” he whispered, smiling. “Such a beautiful face..” he let out of a gut wrenching cough. “There was.. this girl that looked much like you. A real sweet heart” he chuckled “In the arms, I remember her. Real sweet like you…” he paused “she used to bake these loafs of bread that the entire village would go crazy about. We would ask her the secret and she would say… with the love of the Great Spirit” he laughed then. His eyes opened and he glanced to Nadine.
“I am one with the Great Spirit… he has always been kind to me… My sweet Lady…. Is there… any way I could rest? And see him finally?” he questioned softly, his eyes begging to her. Nadine looked around… It was not acceptable for a healer to do that… to kill. Nadine shut her eyes for a long moment and then smiled softly. “Tell me another story.. .about that woman…”
The old man smiled and nodded “This… one time.. she came to me and asked me… to go out and pick her some flowers. Down by the river… white flowers with these little red lines in them… so pretty.”
“Sweet Rose” Nadine spoke, smiling.
“Exactly that… what I came back she took them from me… and then handed them right back. She said she got them for me, for being so kind to her” he chuckled. “We plucked each petal off and chewed on them… they are sweet…” he smiled then.
Nadine moved to her bag and pulled out the rose and held it up to her nose. She kneeled back over and handed him one. The old man grasped the rose and then plucked a petal off and handed it to Nadine. Nadine chuckled and took a bite, and then handed him a petal. “Thank you… my Lady” he whispered.
Nadine smiled and placed her hand over his forehead. “The Great Spirit is waiting for you…” her hand began to glow… The Old man smiled and then let out one long breath… and then he was gone. Nadine stood slowly and pulled the sheet over to cover him. She stepped outside of the tent and waved to a Brave, who then entered after her and took care of the old man…
Nadine stood outside and glanced up to the moon, which was full and bright. She let out a long sigh. That woman he spoke of … maybe it was her mother? She wanted to ask at the time.. .but then again… those days were long gone. She had to stay focused on the problem at hand, not her family…
“Aren’t you tired?” A Brave spoke, standing guard. Nadine glanced to him and then chuckled. “Yes.. but..” she sighed. “I can’t get my mind to stop, you know? Leaving home and traveling.. I’ve learned a lot.. about myself, about the other tribes, about the machines… it’s just… I worry” she spoke softly. The Brave looked to her for a long moment and nodded. “Fare enough” he spoke softly. They both stood for a long moment – enjoying the breeze, the moon, the air…
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Post by Blindside Tex on Oct 30, 2017 20:41:37 GMT -5
Aldora lay back on the bed, she grit her teeth. “Nadine, I’ll be okay, I’m fine, really.” She spoke softly. “They need you.” She took in a slow breath as she felt the warmth of Nadine’s magic move over her body. With that she relaxed, her eyes fluttered shut and she was fast asleep. Her mind raced in her sleep. Going back to the woman. Dr. Henderson. Who was she? What happened to the ancients? Her mind never wanted to know more than it did now. She remembered as a child she’d ask Allister…and after so many times of asking…and so many times of being punished for wondering, she stopped asking and only wondered in silence. The last time that she’d yearned to learn more about the ancients was when she found her Focus, the one and only time before she’d been in the ruin. A forbidden tomb of the ancients, she wondered if what Nadine said was true, it was forbidden because the Kanzu were afraid of learning, of moving ahead, of discovery. Her people felt trapped in a past. She’d seen a few traders from other tribes, when she was out with Allister, they looked different. Dressed different.
Savages. That’s what other tribes called the Kanzu. Dirty Savages. Though, were they really savage? She tossed and turned as her mind spun. Suddenly she was woke to a loud commotion, an explosion. She sat up quickly in her bed, it was dark. Flickers of flames could be seen through the windows. Aldora rushed from the lodge, her eyes wide. “Nadine!” She called. Aldora was shaken as another explosion pushed her back against the lodge, she raised her arms up, the main gate to the village fell.
“To Arms!!! Sound the Alarm!!! Every Brave on the line!” War Chief Salem screamed as he rushed down the embankment toward the front gate.
Aldora glanced around again, her breathing quick, it was then that she saw one of the corruptors come through the rubble of the main gate, followed by men. Humans. Working together with the machines. Corrupted machines. Were these humans the means of the corruption? Aldora pulled her bow from her back, another explosion faltered her steps and she stumbled. “Nadine!!!” She screamed as ash fell from the sky.
Women screamed. Children wailed. Braves were already in the dirt, their blood mixing it to a dark thick mud. It was a massacre. Aldora looked over the devastation. It happened so quickly. Machines rushed into the village. A Jagged Tooth, a few watchers, a bull horn….snap tooth…and the corruptor to take the cake. Along with a handful of men. They were dressed differently. They wore black pants and thick boots that had metal buckles. Some had bows, others swords. The braves were putting up a fight. The men wore masks over their face that looked to be stained in blood.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Aldora rushed into it. Each piece of information raced through her mind, her Focus highlighted the critical spots of her targets as she aimed in on the human targets. Headshot after headshot her arrows flew through the air slicing through the eye of one and the forehead of another. She then tackled a watcher to the ground and slammed her dagger into it before she rushed forward. She felt a sharp hot sting in her side as she heard a strange clattering sound from ahead. One of the men that rushed into the town, he moved slowly, he had a large metal device that flashed with each clattering sound. It was loud, like quick tiny explosions. She felt another slice in her side, her arm. Aldora didn’t stop. She pulled her bow back and released the arrow. With incredible precision it cut through the air and sliced in between the eye holes of the man’s mask, causing him to slump forward over the device.
Aldora turned just as a watcher jumped her. The corruption seeped from this machine like acid. She fell back to the ground roughly and rolled out of the way as the machine attacked. She lifted her spear as it lunged again, just in time for her spear to jab into its heart. Aldora turned her head just as she heard a cry. The Jagged Tooth had a woman with a young child cornered. Aldora rushed forward, she shot arrows as she ran. The beast snarled and turned on her. She released three more arrows and it came skidding to a stop just a foot in front of her. Then suddenly she was tackled from the side. Aldora tumbled through the dirt down the hill with a man and ended up harshly pinned to the ground.
He stared down to her, his eyes dark and full of blood lust. A red glow showed from his ear. Aldora choked as she stared to the glow, she writhed against him, jabbing at his side as she could. She clocked him in the side of the head harshly and flipped him onto his back. She pinned him down with her staff over his neck. “Who are you?!” She cried. “Where did you get this?” She asked and ripped the focus from his ear.
The man chuckled, “It doesn’t matter who I am, only that I serve Hades.” He spoke with a sickening depth to his voice. “We will rise and the world will become cleansed again.” He grabbed her then as she was off guard and slammed her to her back. Aldora struggled and slipped her dagger into his ribs. The man’s eyes widened as he leaned down. His breaths shook. “A shadow will cover this land, taking back what is…ours…you will die…” His breath gave out then and his body fell limp.
Aldora shoved him from her, she still gripped the focus in her palm. She glanced to it before she shoved it into her pouch and rushed to help others. She’d taken down most of the machines before she’d been attacked by that man. What he said. It shook her. She rushed forward as she heard the cries of the war chief. He was pinned by a snap tooth. She slammed her spear into the machine and ripped it out, wielding it to silence. Aldora then offered her hand and helped the war chief to his feet. Blood ran down her arm. She looked to him and took in a breath as she turned. She saw the last machine. The corruptor. It caused all of the explosions.
Aldora ran forward and pulled a ball from her pouch she lobbed it at the machine as she slid beneath it. It clicked onto the metal and she rolled to the side just as it exploded into several tiny pieces. Aldora rose to her feet slowly, she glanced around the village. Devastation. She stood in the midst of ash and flame as she looked around. She held her arm as she looked to the wounded, to the women and children covered in soot from the fires. Braves rushed about grabbing the wounded and pulling them toward the lodge for mending. Aldora took in a slow steady breath and blinked. Suddenly War Chief Salem stood before her. His words were muddy at first as he held her shoulders. She looked up to him as the ringing of her ears began to fade. She’d been so close to the explosion. It had dulled her hearing. She had strange round entry wounds one in her shoulder, one just above her hip and another in her thigh. The hot pain. The slicing feeling she’d felt. The strange device that the attacker held. Was that what caused the wounds? “Where’s Nadine?” Aldora asked. “Nadine!” Her eyes widened. Each glance she’d made, she’d been looking. Aldora went to rush forward only for the war chief to wrap his arms around her.
“Seeker, Lady Nadine is safe.” He spoke slowly. “She’s safe.” He repeated. “In the lodge. The machines didn’t get to it, thanks to you.”
Aldora looked to the wounded around her. Her breaths quick. “I have…to find her…” She spoke, “It’s my duty…” She pushed against him and sprinted up the embankment. Aldora rushed into the lodge, Braves had already started dragging in wounded. “Nadine?!!” She glanced around quickly, her voice full of fear.
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Post by Raven on Oct 30, 2017 21:12:21 GMT -5
Nadine turned from the guard and found herself crawled up in her bed, sleeping away what little night they had left. The morning came swiftly when someone barged into the tent and began shouting. “Lady Nadine, get up. Quickly, we must get you to the lodge!!! Up!!” he shouted and helped her up.
Nadine’s eyes were hazy, her vision clouded. She stood and was practically carried over to the stone building just a few buildings away. She turned – her eyes looking out to the wounded that she had healed, they were being carried over swiftly. Her head turned just in time to see an explosion of red muddied sand – a body flung into the air, followed by a scream.
“Lady Nadine, it is for your safety!” the brave struggled against her hands, which fought to get away from him. “Please!” he shouted and finally pulled her inside. He barred the door, both of the Ladies stood In the room with the wounded.
“You have to let me out! If some of those braves don’t receive attention immediately they could- “ she began to panic.
“They could die, just as you – the only one in this world that can heal like you can.” He spoke and crossed his arms. He then turned and pulled his bow, holding it closely.
Nadine could hear the screams, the shouts, the fire blazing and crackling the homes near by, the explosions of some kind. She gripped her staff and stepped forward to the Brave. “I’m sorry” she spoke and then kicked him in between the legs. She winced, and then slipped past him, outside.
Right as the door opened – there was an explosion. She dodged the flying dirt, dashing forward as she could. She grit her teeth and rushed forward to a brave, who had been blown to bits by shrapnel. “Hold on” she whispered and tied off his arm, which was mutilated. She looked up just in time to see a masked man coming after her.
Nadine held up her staff and caught his blade with her staff. She struggled against his strength. Suddenly her Focus lit up and she could see several dots on his body, glowing. She reached forward and with two fingers she stabbed at his shoulder. Suddenly his blade dropped and he gasped. She stood and tripped him easily with her staff, which then she brought the staff down on the back of his neck, there another point pulsed. Pressure points. She turned and then ran forward, as a machine came towards her.
She dodged to the side, falling down as she did so. She laid on her back - looking up to the raptor who scanned her with his giant eye. It glowed brightly, and then went to snap down at her. She slipped her hand to her waist and pulled her dagger. She reached around and sliced several thick wires around his throat. A splash of red fluid hit the ground and the lights flickered out.
Nadine rolled over as it collapsed onto the ground. Her breathing was heavy. She looked now to the center of the town – her eyes looked over Aldora as she slayed the men, the machines – with ease. Her eyes looked to the bodies of the brave - who struggled to stay alive. The haze of explosion. Soot and smoke filled the air. She grit her teeth and then gripped her staff.
She stepped forward and slammed her staff into the ground. The large crystal on the head of the staff glowed brightly and then exploded in a huge white light. Starting at the center of Nadine – a giant white light shot upward, and then began to grow outward, creating a dome. The white light traveled over the ground, the town, the buildings, the people. The fire was snuffed, the grass and tree’s began to grow green and the flowers bloomed. The men who fought for their life were slowly healed, the more the light grew. Soon the entire village was surrounded in this glorious dome of white light.
Nadine’s nose began to flood with nose, pooling into her mouth. She strained against her staff, her hands squeezing hard. After a long moment of peace – the white dome disappeared in a slight white explosion. The Crystal in the center of her staff shattered completely, leaving a deep indent in her staff. She fell to the ground and gripped her staff, holding it close as she lay, her cheek against the fluffy grass.
Slowly the man from earlier – whos arm was practically destroyed – stood up, fully healed. She stepped over and picked Nadine up in his arms. He held her for a long moment – as the entire village began to swarm around her.
“What was that?” one called out.
“Was that Lady Nadine?!”
“By the Great Spirit!”
“Make way!” A woman shouted, the other Lady came forward. She stepped forward and placed her hand on Nadine’s neck, checking her pulse. “She is alive, but she needs to lay down. Hurry!” she shouted and the brave carried her to the tent.
Within moments Nadine was surrounded by flowers, tokens, favors. She rest on her bed with a wet towel over her head.
“Aldora, guardian… what.. happened? Can you tell us why we were attacked? How did Lady Nadine do that? What is happening?” The Chief spoke as she stood next to Nadine, who was resting quietly.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Oct 30, 2017 21:56:16 GMT -5
Aldora ran out of the lodge just as the white light appeared. Her eyes wide. “Nadine….” She spoke as she rushed forward. She watched as metal round bullets were pulled from her arms by the magic. She shuddered slightly. The moments after were filled with chaos. She couldn’t get to Nadine as the people of the town surrounded her. All praying and thanking the Great Spirit for this blessing. Aldora finally knelt by Nadine’s side, her breaths shuddered. “Nadine…” She breathed. She looked to the blood as the other Lady wiped it from her nose. “You…you can’t…do that…” She whispered, her eyes filled with worry.
The war chief spoke then, begging the questions. He lifted her from Nadine’s side. “She is in good hands, the Great Spirit will tend to her with the help of our Lady. Come.” He pulled her from the lodge and out to the village over look. “Tell me, Aldora….what was that?”
Aldora looked to Salem her breaths still shook. “Lady Nadine is blessed by the Great Spirit. She has so much to offer the Kanzu, through the will of the Great Spirit…” She spoke softly and shook her head. “Beyond the will of our Great Spirit I cannot put to words what she does, she works miracles, she saved me, more than once now.” She spoke softly. She looked out over the village. Mended. She couldn’t believe the power that Nadine was capable of. Great Spirit or not, it was incredible. “Salem, didn’t you say you’d been attacked by the machines and bandits more and more lately?” She asked and looked to him, her eyes curious.
Salem gave a slow nod, “Yes, it seems as though with each attack we became weaker. But…why? How? How were they working with the machines?”
Aldora took in a breath and shook her head. “I…I’m not sure.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve never seen anything like it, it was as if they willed the machines to attack the city…they got in from the explosions of the machines…” She then furrowed her brows. “That…device.” She took off down the hill to where she’d shot the man. His body still lay slumped over the strange device. She pushed her heel harshly into his shoulder and knelt next to the device, looking it over. “Have you ever seen such a device, Salem?” She questioned and looked to the War Chief whom had chased after her.
“I…” He shook his head and stooped down next to her, pulling at the bandolier of bullets. “What are these?” He questioned. “This is the work of demons…” He spoke lowly. “Those men brought a demon into our village. The machine you blew up. It was a red eyed demon.”
Aldora looked to the War Chief and let out a slow breath. “This is a tool, a weapon of destruction.” She spoke, “If we do not understand it and we are attacked again what if they bring something stronger?” She searched his eyes. Aldora grabbed the handle of the heavy device and lifted with a slight grunt. She grit her teeth. “I need to be at Lady Nadine’s side. I will figure out why they attacked you, War Chief.” She spoke as she lugged the heavy gun up the hill. Many of the Kanzu looked to her with wide eyes. To use metal devices was forbidden. It was a tool of the ancients. Aldora set the device down on the deck of the lodge. She pondered over it for hours, looking it over, she took it apart and put it together. She checked in on Nadine over the course of these hours, her eyes worried.
Eventually she sat at Nadine’s side. She fumbled with the focus from the other man. She flipped it over in her fingertips when suddenly she winced and an image shot up before her eyes.
“System Threat. Eliminate Target.” The voice spoke, it was cold and metallic.
Aldora was staring into an image of herself as she struggled against the man just before she ended his life. Next to her an image lined up, the image of Dr. Henderson. It spun around, modeling her face, comparing the two. 99.87% match. It read it green next to the two images.
Aldora dropped the focus as it shocked and a bit of smoke came from the device. It shorted out. Or so it seemed. She stared at the device for a long moment before she tucked it away and crossed her arms. She stared to Nadine for a long moment before she looked up as Salem stepped into the lodge once more. She gave a silent nod and stood. She was led up the hill and into the house of the Patriarch.
“Guardian.” Patriarch Meredith spoke. The woman stepped forward and cupped her hands on either side of Aldora’s cheeks. “We are blessed to have both you and Lady Nadine in our presence in such a time.” She spoke and looked to the war chief. “Salem says that you know why these demons attacked our village?”
Aldora took in a breath, she thought back to the words the man spoke to her. “I think they aim to destroy the Great Spirit.” She spoke softly. “One of the soldiers, he spoke of something called Hades, how it would cast a shadow over all of us and we would all die as they take back their land.”
Patriarch Meredith gasped slightly, her eyes wide. “Guardian, you must save us.” She spoke quickly.
Aldora gave a nod, “It is a part of Lady Nadine’s mission to cleanse the corruption from the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit has asked for the corruption to be cleansed and it is Lady Nadine whom has solely taken on that challenge, with my spear at her side. We will bring peace to these lands again.”
“Oh thank the Great Spirit!” Patriarch Meredith spoke. She cupped Aldora’s face again and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Guardian Aldora, our city rests its debt in your hands. You and Lady Nadine have saved us and will protect us from this corruption. Praise the Great Spirit.”
Aldora bowed her head and took in a slow breath. “We will do our best, Patriarch.” She spoke as she was led outside by War Chief Salem.
“Hades?” He questioned.
“That is what the man called the being that those men are following. I do not know if it is a human…” She shook her head. “I’m not sure what to make of it…I have never seen machines attack like that, under the will of humans.”
Salem stopped and looked to her, he took in a breath and looked to the valley. “Are we safe now?” He asked.
Aldora glanced over the valley and gave a slow nod. “I believe so, though, I’m not sure. We will check over the ridge, where you stated the machines keep coming. As we depart, we will go that direction. If hostiles lay over that ridge, I will eliminate the threat, or I will come back for help if it is more than I can handle without guaranteeing the safety of Lady Nadine.”
Salem gave a nod then. “Thank you, Aldora.”
She gave a weak smile, her mind still racing. She had to make sense of all of this. It felt like she needed to make sense of it quick. The answer she’d given them, she was sure it wasn’t the proper answer, but it supplied them with something they could believe in, something they could instill faith in. Faith that Lady Nadine would cleanse the land…
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Post by Raven on Nov 4, 2017 17:34:57 GMT -5
Nadine was placed on a matt, where she rest quietly… Eventually she woke – and the Lady of the Village reviewed her over. “I am fine… I just need something eat, some water…” Nadine whispered in a soft voice. Her body felt like she had been ran over by a buffalo, and then twice again. She slowly sat up and reached for her pack – where she plucked out a roll of medicine. It was pain medicine… she split the dose and then popped the ball of leaves into her mouth, where she chewed slowly.
A brave stepped inside, bowing his head. “You saved me… us.. my family” he knelt before her, so that he was her level. Nadine smiled and nodded her head.
“Of course… it is my duty” her voice was soft, like she had been shouting for hours… “Can you give me an update of the village?”
“Of course… No casualties, all those that were hurt have been healed. We face minor damage to a few homes, nothing that cannot be rebuilt… The Patriarch, War Chief and your Guardian are speaking now… I believe to understand what is happening…” he reached over and took the cup of water from an aid, and held it to Nadine.
Nadine leaned forward and accepted the water, sipping on it slowly. “I see…” she nodded.
“Lady Nadine… may I ask… could I receive the honor of fighting by your side? You saved me, and I owe you. I want to help cure this corruption” the Brave spoke with a pleading voice.
“What is your name, Brave?” Nadine spoke in between sips.
“Grandin”
“Grandin….” She smiled and lowered the cup. “In these times of peril… where we cannot explain the vicious attacks of machine and man – we must cherish every second we can with our loved ones, our family. If this village is attacked again…. Who will stand here to protect them? We… all play our role, yes? My Guardian and I will venture into the dead ruins looking for answers, out into the expanse, far from those we love, to find an answer. The Great Spirit has shown me the way. I see a path for My Guardian… and me. And you.. will stay here and make sure your people see tomorrow, hm?” she took a sip and then tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “While you may feel in debt to me… it is not me you serve – it is the Great Spirit. So, I urge you to stay here. Protect your grounds. I will figure it out, I promise” she nodded.
The Brave looked to her for a long moment and then smiled in return. “Your words are wise and true. I understand..” he nodded and then pulled a necklace from his wrist. It had tiny conch like shells embedded in the twisted twine. “Please… take this as my token of thanks. My father wore this when he battled a Great Speartusk, which was terrorizing the forests – long ago. He saved our village, and later passed to the Great Spirit. This is bathed in his essence, may he give you strength in your time of need…”
“Grandin…” she reached forward and accepted the necklace. “Thank you… His Spirit lingers with the Great One. I urge his soul to guide me too” she wrapped it around her wrist and then clasped it. “Thank you” she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
Grandin stood and then bowed, leaving the tent after. Moments later Aldora entered the tent. Nadine looked to her and then slowly stood. “You did well – you saved this village” she spoke and then reached her hand up to Aldora’s cheek. She held her hand there for a moment and then smiled, her hand lowering. “I know you are trying to figure out why, and how… I saw you fiddling with that machine. It appears they are using scraps from the dead to create weapons, hm?” she clasped her hands together near her waist, fidgeting with her fingers as her brain buzzed about it.
“Those people were not Kanzu. I have not seen a tribe like them before. I am curious to know why they were here – and their purpose of attacking.” She glanced to Aldora and then they both slowly walked out into the village. “My Crystal shattered during the healing… my remaining crystal is not very charged. So until we venture across another – I may be weak in my abilities…” she then nodded.
“I am rested enough… We should go… perhaps if we follow their trail, we can find clues as to why they attacked.” She spoke and then walked into the Tent and retrieved her pack and staff. She came out and then nodded. The War Chief and his braves, other folks – lined the path out of the city, at the gate stood the Patriarch.
They walked to the gate and the War Chief stepped forward as well. “Thank you, Lady Nadine. We wish you the best on your journey.. the Great Spirit resides within you.” The Patriarch bowed and nodded. The War Chief smiled and nodded. “I would give anything to have a Brave like you, Guardian, but I am glad it is you with the Lady… you two may be the only ones in the blessed lands who can do this. I am honored – to have fought by your side.” He bowed to Aldora. “You both… your story and deeds will whisper through the Kanzu for eternity.” The War Chief spoke. “For tonight we will sing and dance about the fire, songs of your tribute” he then opened the gate, allowing them to leave.
As they stepped out – Nadine chuckled as they were slightly out. “I know… you are not quite the religious one but, you play the part. That is important. Though, some of it… is so formal, so… cheesy” she laughed then and stretched slightly. “Now just us again…” she smiled. “I like it that way, you know… You are… real.. down to earth. I don’t have to act a certain way, and that is pleasing” she looked to Aldora for a long moment, and then back to the forest.
“I saw they wore Focus’ too, Red ones… did you figure out anything about it?”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Nov 4, 2017 18:59:44 GMT -5
Aldora took in a breath when Nadine touched her cheek, she blinked her eyes slowly. She always felt this warmth with Nadine’s touch, something she’d never quite felt before. “I did my duty.” She gave a soft smile. “I can’t stand by idly and watch others suffer, it would be torture for me to watch them suffer like that.” Aldora glanced to the weapon that sat assembled on the ground. She furrowed her brows. “It is a tool of the ancients, it scares a lot of people, but, we need to understand it in order to know how to fight against it. I’ve never seen a weapon like it before, it fires with tiny explosions…” She pulled one of the bullets from her pouch that had been in her abdomen. It was crunched up slightly from the impact on her body. “I’ve never seen these.” She rolled it around in her fingertips, “They aren’t Kanzu, you’re right.” She gave a nod.
Aldora looked to the empty hole in the staff, “I will keep us safe, don’t worry.” She spoke, “We will find another for you.” She then fell silent as they walked out of the village. She bowed her head to the war chief. “You’ve plenty of amazing Braves here, the village is safe now that everyone is healed. May the Great Spirit watch over you all.”
As they left the village Aldora glanced to Nadine, as she spoke. She let out a soft chuckle. “I hope it isn’t too obvious.” She gave a soft smile. “Though, I must say Nadine, you have changed my view, you give me hope that there could be something greater than just us versus the machines.” She looked ahead as they walked down the pathway. She took in a breath when Nadine mentioned the focus, the voice seemed to echo through her mind. “I saw myself.” She began, her voice soft. “I got it to project an image and it said ‘system threat detected’. It had an image of me when one of the warriors had me pinned to the ground, and it had an image of Dr. Henderson….I don’t know who this woman is, but I…” She paused for a moment. “Is it silly to hope for her to be alive? What if…she’s alive…is she my mother?” She then fell silent and shook her head. “How long ago did she exist? Who was she?” She continued on and sighed, “But, we have larger matters at hand besides a dream that I have hunted my entire life. Finding my mother is a small scale compared to the corruption that we have in front of us.” She pulled the shorted out focus from her pocket, the metal was blackened from the heat of the sparks that came from it. She turned it over in her fingertips before she handed it to Nadine. “I’m not sure what happened to it…sparks came from it and it stopped working.”
Aldora paused then, she held her hand up to her focus. “What is that…” She looked off into the forest. A strange signal was catching the attention of her focus. It beeped as she looked to the source, it was a ways off of the path. “Unknown Origin…” Aldora muttered, the words were popped up next to the signal with the view of her focus. “Come on…” She brought her brows together and stepped from the path into the forest. The canopy of the forest caused it to be hard to see as Aldora climbed over a fallen tree, she helped Nadine over carefully as she moved forward. The zig zagged through the plants until they came to the edge of a cliff. Aldora crouched as she looked down on a gaping hole in the earth. Men moved around within the hole. A dig site. “What is this…” She breathed as she looked to where the signal was.
A man stood with a tool that sent sparks flying in all directions, he wore a helmet. They were trying to break into a ruin of the ancients. It wouldn’t let them in so they wanted to force their way?
Aldora looked around the dig site, corrupted machines guarded the camp. Tents had been erected. They’d been here awhile. Was this where the attacks were coming from? She watched as others dug with shovels, searching for something. What was within this ruin? Why were they so pressed to get inside? Aldora stepped back from the edge. “The man that tackled me to the ground. He spoke of Hades.” She looked to Nadine. “He said a shadow would engulf our world and kill us all, that they would rule this land….” She spoke quickly. “I don’t know what is in that, but, we have to stop them…if these men are the source of the corruption there is no telling what will happen if they get their hands on what is within that ruin.” Aldora paced as she thought, her mind racing. “I’ll take them out…there has to be something.” She went to the edge again, crouched, she glanced over the scene before her with her focus. Looking for weak points. Anything to help.
“There…” She spoke. “Explosives…I’ve seen these. Allister told me about them.” She pulled her bow and lit an arrow on fire. “It’ll distract them…” She released the arrow and it sliced through the air. It stuck into the side of a barrel and seconds later a huge explosion rocked the side of the mountain. Aldora watched as bodies and machines flew away from it, flames engulfing them. Most of the men that manned the site were near that pile of barrels. “Okay…” She whispered, her breath shook. “Stay here, please.” She looked to Nadine. “If…” She bit her lip slightly. “If something happens, just stay here.” She then pulled a rope from her back, it had a hook on it. She ran toward the edge of the cliff and leaped into the air. In a swift motion she tossed the hook and it wrapped around a branch. Within seconds she was on the ground below.
Aldora rolled into tall grass and snuck up behind one of the men. She stood and sliced his throat easily before she lay his body in the grass. Aldora moved swiftly through the camp she pulled herself up over a crate and released an arrow into the forehead of another before she sprinted and climbed up the side of a cliff face. She loaded another arrow and shot another down. She moved swiftly, taking several men down before she was snagged by the brute that had the device that he was using to open the door. He held her up by her neck, a deep chuckle came from his chest. “Just my luck. Hm?” He walked her over toward the huge door. It had dings and scrapes on it. “Hades was looking for you.” He snickered before he shoved her forward. “I’ll get us into this tomb and then kill you. How does that sound Kanzu girl?”
Aldora spun toward him, her dagger pulled. “Who is Hades?” She questioned. “What does he want?”
The brute chuckled deeply. “Maybe I’ll just kill you now then?” He stepped forward. He had thick plated armor.
Aldora grit her teeth, she rushed forward and jumped up, her knee landed square in his chest. She slammed her elbow into the side of his head and jumped back before he could grab her. She dodged him and then leaped into the air and kicked him in the back sending him to his stomach on the ground. She moved quickly and jabbed the dagger into the side of his neck. He writhed for a moment and then life left him. Aldora ripped her dagger from his body and stepped back. Blood dripped from the blade to the ground. She glanced around the camp. She’d cleared everything. Aldora walked back over to where she’d come down she found grips and worked her way up the cliff until she came to Nadine’s side. She took in deep breaths, “Alright.” She nodded. “Let’s see what is so important about this place, hm?” She then looked to the cliff. Aldora bit her lip slightly. “Trust me, okay?” She wrapped a rope around Nadine’s waist carefully and then she attached a hook into a tree. “Just hold on tight.” She wrapped an arm around Nadine and took in a slow breath. Allister used to rappel with her as a child when she couldn’t do it yet. She then gave a nod to Nadine before she stepped off the edge. They moved down slowly as she held the rope near her hip, she fed it carefully until they were safely on the ground again.
Aldora gave a smile to Nadine before she walked toward the door. She helped Nadine up the ledge and then looked up to the huge metal doorway. She stepped forward and the blue scan moved over her body. She waited as it analyzed her and then it welcomed her as Dr. Henderson. She looked to Nadine for a moment and then they stepped through the huge doorway. As they stepped inside the door closed behind them, keeping anyone else out. Aldora looked to the hallway before them. This place was different than the other ruin. Blue gentle lights lit the place as they stepped forward. “Alright.” Aldora spoke, “Let’s see what’s in here, hm?” She gave a gentle smile, the signal was deep within the ruin.
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Post by Raven on Nov 4, 2017 22:47:18 GMT -5
Nadine hid her gaze from the burst of flames – the men shouting as they were consumed. She glanced to Aldora and then nodded. “Be safe” she spoke and then hid into the grass. It was a little time later and Aldora returned. She slowly stood and looked to the empty campsite. “Interesting” she whispered. As they came to the cliff side – she slowly glanced down and then gave a slight sigh.
She looked up to Aldora – as she tied the rope about her waist. She raised an eyebrow and then reached forward and wiped a bit of blood from Aldora’s cheek. “I don’t even want to know what you did down there…” she then wrapped her arms around Aldora, and then they lowered down.
When they landed she glanced to the giant door, to which they stood before shortly. “This Dr. Henderson… She must be very important – to have accesses like this. She was delivering that speech like she was the Patriarch of the people. Whoever she is… I am sure we will find out more as we go.” She then stepped forward as the door opened.
When they came in the first thing she saw was a big board. She touched her Focus – mimicking Aldora, maybe she’d see something. As she approached the board it lit up – it showed a series of halls, rooms, a map to the entire underground facilities.
“Hmm… Looks like we’ve come across a big one…” she spoke softly and made her past the board. She stepped into the large circular room in the middle – which lead off in 4 hallways, going North – South – East – West. She came to the podium in the middle and tapped on a small device. A woman appeared before the podium -both hands on the metal sides.
“I am Dr. Henderson” she spoke clearly and then looked out to what would be a crowd. “Today we embark on a journey. A journey that not everyone is willing to take. But we are here – as the only ones who will, and can. Our goal is to preserve the history and culture of humanity and provide a boost to the new world to come. For our time is dwindling…” she took in a breath and then smiled weakly. “Many believe we should be out living our last seconds to the fullest. But to us.. this is our fullest. We are scientists, engineers, buildings, managers, our success is our life. Our work will live beyond us – we may not be remember, but we can sleep peacefully… knowing we did all we could” she then held her hand up.
A projector behind her lit up: New Dawn. “We know we have approximately one year until our Doomsday counter comes to an end. We know that everyone will be wiped clean. We cannot go into the past and change the mistakes humanity has made. But we can preserve the future – to keep it from happening again.” She nodded. “We have divisions planned, each to create a template for the future to succeed. From Engineering, Electronics, Knowledge, Language, Medical, everything we can think of…. So… If you look on the back of your badges – you will have a color coded sticker. This sticker will tell you which Division you will be working in. We have the color Green, the Freya Division – for the agriculture, White – Aceso – Healing, Red – Hades – Warfare….” She continued with the listing, but quickly the vision became fragmented, glitching out.
“Memoir ending – File Corruption detected” Dr Henderson disappeared and the room grew quiet.
“Doomsday…? They all… knew they were going to die? And then tried to … I don’t think I follow” Nadine crossed her arms and shook her head. “I want to find the Medical area… Aceso? I wonder… if I can find more out about the crystals…”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Nov 4, 2017 23:44:58 GMT -5
Aldora had winced slightly at the comment Nadine made about not wanting to know what she’d done. She’d done what she needed to do. To keep them safe. Right?
Aldora looked to the board of hallways. The map. It was huge. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at it. “I never imagined these things could be so huge…” She whispered softly as they continued into the ruin. Aldora watched as the memory played. She analyzed the woman. The features of Dr. Henderson were so amazingly close to her own. When the memory glitched and turned off Aldora looked to Nadine. Aldora thought for a moment before she gave a nod. “Let’s find the medical wing huh?” She looked to the four hallways and held her hand up to her focus looking to the signs that now illuminated above the halls. “This way.” Aldora spoke as she led Nadine forward. They came to a set of double doors and then they descended into the structure on a set of metal stairs. They went down several flights before the came to another set of doors. Aldora stood at the doorway as it scanned her.
“Good morning Dr. Henderson.” The voice spoke. “Welcome to Aceso.”
The doors slid away and air gusted into the room. It had been vacuum sealed. Aldora looked to the large square room. It was white with several work stations. Aldora stepped into the room, it was pristine. The lights flickered on as she stepped forward. She stepped up to a work bench and looked at the glass vials and tubing. She pulled on the drawers of the bench and pulled out an electronic journal. As she pressed the button it began to play back.
A long drawn out sigh began the transmission. “I don’t know if anyone will ever listen to this. So here goes. It’s the final night, the military has nearly fallen, I know it won’t be long now before we are the last left alive on the entire planet. Does that excite me? No. Not at all. These machines.” A pause. “My only regret is not killing Evan when I found out about his machines. Would it have changed anything? Certainly not. But I would feel better knowing he was gone. He is locked away in his safe home nearly 100 miles from here and all I can think about is how he caused this. He killed us all.” The voice paused again. “If we hadn’t been so obsessed with war, this would have never happened…”
“Dr. Alexander, Dr. Henderson was asking for you, we are all headed up to make the final arrangements before we head to the prime and lock everything down. Are you ready?” Another voice spoke.
“Sure, sure, give me a minute, I’m recording.”
“Oh! I’m sorry! I’ll see you up there.”
“If there is one thing I could say to you, if you’re from the future and you’re listening to this. Don’t let this happen again. We can’t even guarantee this is going to work. We didn’t have enough time…there is never enough time to preserve life…is there? Good luck…” The transmission clicked off then.
Aldora stood motionless for a long moment as she stared to the recorder. “The machines…” Aldora finally whispered, she looked to Nadine with worried eyes. “They had machines in their time…” She took in a slow breath. “Whatever happened to them…is that what is happening now? Are we going to face the same death? Whatever the death was…I…”
Aldora glanced around the room. “We have to find answers…” She muttered softly. “Did they create the crystals?” She asked. “What exactly did the machines do that killed off everything…everyone…when they talk about it, they sound so afraid…” She moved to another desk and opened the drawer, looking for more clues.
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Post by Blindside Tex on Nov 5, 2017 0:12:04 GMT -5
Nadine followed Aldora into the bright room. Her eyes looked over the space… it was like nothing she had ever seen. She stood next to Aldora as the recording played. Nadine fiddled with a vial as she listened, looking over the materials on the desk. She didn’t understand how this was medical. There were not herbs, no bandages or such. She turned and leaned against the table slightly – the recording had finished up…
“Wow..” she whispered. “Aerwyn said that history has a tendency to repeat itself… even within the Kanzu tribe. If we don’t stop… and pay attention – it will never end” she stepped forward then. She made her way to the center of the room, where a glass box rest. Inside was a crystal… Nadine reached forward and touched a panel.
“Soul Crystals… or so we call it” A woman stood in a lab coat. “A magical thing that I wish we could have discovered sooner…” she lifted the crystal and held it in her hand. “It does not operate with just anyone… Very few people can actually use this. You see… we have not fully unlocked the full potential of the brain. There are very few people who have activity in a very tiny portion of the brain called the Mandolium. This is typically an inactive part of the dark matter of the brain, however some use it. The full capabilities of the Mandolium is unknown. With the discovery of the ability to actually draw out Endorphins and store them… we develop this Crystal. Packed full of Endorphins, those with active Mandoliums can absorb this and use it to over-drive this part of the brain…. The results have been slightly different per person. Very sci-fi fantasy sort of reactions…” she set the crystal down. “In each site we have different groups developing and advancing this. Some are trying to see if certain mixtures of Endorphins create a different response to the Mandolium. These super hero like powers could have the potential to save humanity - before our extinction….”
Nadine reached forward and picked up the crystal… it was about the same size as the one that was in her staff… “Endorphins?” she questioned softly and then pushed it into her staff. “So… my brain has something others don’t?” she shook her head. She chuckled “So not the Great Spirit’s gift?” she grinned. “I suppose it is his gift that I have this… Mandolium” she bit her lower lip and then stepped to a desk. She touched a small electronic device – and a voice played over:
“It seems we have been hacked.. all of our data storage for the Library has been corrupted…” A male.
“We need to make a third back up. Send the copies out to other sanctuaries…” A female.
“Its that Damn Hades…. They can’t seem to get their shit in control. Their Beta testing is failing miserably, We’ll be lucky if Steven and his team can get it together.” The male again.
“Relax, they will get it. It’s just a small glitch. That is why we make back ups.” The female again.
“Well… We can only hope that next time they don’t go hunting for it- and destroy it all. There is no way a primitive species could keep up with this level of technology. We need to make a back up plan to the back up plan.” The Male.
“We don’t have time for that… lets just.. .focus at the task. If we do this right – we wont need to.”
Nadine looked to the table… “Hm…” she turned and looked to Aldora. “I have a bad feeling about Hades… Let’s see if we they have that division in this… sanctuary?”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Nov 5, 2017 18:51:31 GMT -5
Aldora stepped over and watched the projection as the woman spoke of the crystals. She let out a soft chuckle when Nadine mentioned the Great Spirit. “Maybe it is by the will of the Great Spirit hm?” She smirked slightly and then sighed. “Hades seemed to be the root of everything. The cause for destruction. It’s like the recording said, they were obsessed with war. It seems that humans are still obsessed with war…” She moved along and stepped from the room. She pulled up one of the maps on a board. “That is on the other side of this ruin…” She looked to Nadine. “Alright.” She gave a nod. They began through the hallways, zig zagging and making their way through the complex. They passed living quarters, completely empty. They had evacuated this place, unlike the others she’d been in. There were no skeletons here. The recording mentioned leaving for the prime. What was that?
Aldora stopped to look in one of the rooms. Something with a bit of glimmer caught her eye. She stepped into the room and grabbed the audio log off of the neatly made bed.
“This is it. Huh? No fireworks, we aren’t going out with a bang. This is our last trip to the surface, we will see the lands that have already begun to wither away. I’ve seen pictures from Charlie, my husband. He is a captain in the Army…I…only wish I could see him, once more, before all this is over. I wish that Ren could have found a way to stop it, Ren and Alya have always been a strong team…I thought that…maybe our luck would come through you know? We stopped so many things before this. Plagues of disease, chemical warfare…we stopped the machines made by our enemies, their super soldiers. To think, if I could have told myself that it would come to this. Destroyed by our own love of destruction. We’ve always had the best, the biggest, the strongest…” The sound of an alarm over the intercom sounded then in the background of the recording. “Time to saddle up, with any luck this will be played, far in the future. Just know, the sacrifices that we made and please, don’t allow this to happen again. This is Dr. Alexander, I’ll make one final recording after we’ve activated Terra Prime. Good luck…”
Aldora walked down the hallway as they listened to the recording. Her eyes were sad. “They gave up everything…they knew they would die but they did their best to build something for a future…how…how do our people not know any of this?” She looked to Nadine. “Where is all of this knowledge? These things they have, the machines, the tools…other tribes call us the Kanzu savage people…are we the only tribe that isn’t delving into the ruins and learning of our ancestors? Did we miss out on something that they left for us?” She was visibly frustrated. “If we do not learn what killed them, how will we stop it? What if it is happening again? We are blind to it, how long will it be until our end of days?” She fell silent then, she was breathing a bit heavily. “Why….do I have so much resemblance to Dr. Henderson?” She muttered after a long moment as they rounded a corner.
They stood before a door with red accents, “Hade’s Division” was labeled above the door. Aldora paused for a moment and looked to Nadine. “I hope this door leads to answers, because with each door we’ve passed I only find myself to have more answers than before we entered.”
Aldora stepped forward and watched as the door scanned her in and welcomed her as Dr. Henderson, she glanced to Nadine once more before she stepped into the room, the lights flickered on. She looked around to the work stations. “Okay…” She breathed. The work stations weren’t as neatly kept here. Papers were on the floor, piled on the desks. What happened? It seemed they left in a rush. Aldora gasped as she looked to a huge machine that was suspended in the center of the room. It had the weapon that the man that attacked the last city had. It had four of them, one at each corner. It was square and had legs that seemed to be reinforced. Aldora scanned it with her focus, her jaw loose. She stepped forward and placed her hand on a button.
A projection lit up and a woman stood before them, she was shorter with long hair, she wore a lab coat. She glanced to the machine. “This monstrosity behind me is why we are here. This is why we are in the Hade’s Division.” The woman spoke. “It is what will ultimately lead to our end.”
Dr. Henderson stepped into the projection, a soft smile on her lips. Sadness showed in her eyes. She looked to the woman a moment. “Or, with luck.” She looked back to what would have been a crowd of people at the time. “We might be able to crack the code and end this, before it ends us.” Dr. Henderson turned and touched a button, a monitor came up and began scrolling through letters and numbers, symbols. Gibberish. “These machines are running on their own, they are not in control of Rigor Corp anymore, they’ve gone rogue. Evan Rigor created these machines to defend us against our enemies, however…something corrupted the main file of the machines, they can replicate faster than our military can kill them. The worst part of these machines is they are destroying everything that is biological around them. Anything with life. Trees, animals, humans…” Dr. Henderson sucked in a slow breath.
The other woman gave a smile then. “We can stop it.” She spoke, “We just need to crack the code and shut them down. We will first need to hack into the mainframe…to…….up………out………just…..”
The projection began to flicker and skip. “Memoir playback ended. File corruption detected.”
Aldora sighed as she looked around the room. There was a tool sitting on a desk, a small square. She stepped over to the desk. ‘Dr. Ren Mathews’ the placard read. She reached to the small box. It was rectangular and held a series of buttons on it. She flipped it over and over in her hands.
“I’ve done it!” A voice spoke. A voice came from a log on the desk that Aldora bumped when she picked up the device. “Ayla! I did it!”
“Ren…” The voice was soft, sad. “It’s….it’s too late…we have to go…”
“But…I…it’ll work, I promise.”
“The world it…it’s nearly gone, I’m not even sure there is enough of this planet left to sustain life anymore. We are leaving in 10 minutes to go to Prime and activate it’s core. That will activate all of the sanctuaries that we’ve built. One day after all this is over, humans will walk again on this earth, but…now…it’s too late…”
“But…Ayla…I…I finally…” Her voice quivered slightly.
“I wish we could stop this, Ren…I wish we could have known when Evan made these things that they would kill us all, but we’ve done it…we’ve created a blueprint, something for the future civilization to build from…knowledge, food, our technology, they will thrive…”
A sniffle came over the recording. “All of this…was for nothing…I cracked the code…finally…I can control them, I can stop them…”
“I know, I’m sorry Ren. Come on, we need to load up and get to the prime.” The recording clicked off.
Aldora looked to the device in her hand. She moved around to the other side of the desk. This was the most well kept desk in the room. She pulled open the drawer and found a folder labeled ‘Control Switch’. She pulled it and thumbed through the contents, her focus reading things out to her. “Nadine…” She gasped slightly. “This…can stop them.” She looked to the small device. “They cracked it, but it was too late, this can control the machines.” She grinned.
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Post by Raven on Nov 5, 2017 21:11:02 GMT -5
Nadine had followed Aldora, listening to the memoirs as they came across them. She found herself rummaging through papers, scribblings… notes. Everything she laid her eyes upon was so advanced – it was like a different language, a different world. She felt wrong – like she did not belong, a trust passer to these ruins. Some thing in her stomach churned. Perhaps it was he culture – the forbidden act of venturing here. Or perhaps it was all of this knowledge. Everything she knew had been crushed in just a mere few hours.
“Our existence is so petty. They tried to install a foundation for us, but we rejected it. It makes me wonder what went wrong. How did things end up this way?” she whispered out loud. This was more than just ruins – the more they rummaged. These were people. Who fought until the end, despite knowing the outcome. People who were afraid and suffering. Whatever terror they faced was surely much worse than their own. The constant reminder – Do not repeat our history. What did that mean? How could we repeat it.
“I fear for the worst…” Nadine spoke. “These people are advanced and powerful. Whatever they were scared of… we haven’t even seen it yet. I know it. The machines we fight… I don’t think these are the ones they are worried about… There has to be something.. bigger. The corruption is just the tip of the iceberg. Do you think…. Do you think that this mission is bigger than us? Can we actually do this? What are we actually trying to solve?” she crossed her arms and then looked to Aldora for a long moment.
“What we found is all that is here… this place was moved to this Prime location? We are only getting bits and pieces… surely the Prime is where the answers are. The only question is…. Where is the Prime? Theres nothing left here… we’ll have to find another ruins and see if we can find out more.” She spoke and then turned. She walked up to a class container, the only container that had anything left.
She tapped the button and then stepped back.
“Hello… I am Dr. Ren Matthews. If you are watching this … This” it glitched slightly “Then you are from the future… and we are long gone. If everything was completed properly then you already know. Project New Dawn is to install a foundation of technology, knowledge, and history for new mankind.” Ren flickered for a moment. “But if everything didn’t happen as planned. Then you may be very confused… very lost. This will not … be easy for you to grasp” she held her hand up and a world appeared. The image zoomed into giant bustling cities – tall buildings, flashing lights, signs and screens… “This is our world. This is New York City, one of thousand giant cities of America. Your world… is much bigger than you think. And perhaps you are not advanced like this. That is okay. One day… your people will be. You will.. discover electricity invent weapons of war, medicine, flying airplanes… but if we failed you… that day could be very far away. If we failed you… your world will be nothing but ruins, rummaging Robots and Machines will rule the forests. Mankind will be struggling to survive. I was told… not to make this message… but – but I am worried that this day dream of Ayla has… is flawed. People are… angry. I… I can only hope for the b-best. Go to the Prime. Go to our hub, where our greatest invention waits for you. Gaia.”
Then the glass box opened and a small square device was retrievable. She reached into the box and picked it up. A pinging sound came from the device… Nadine touched her focus and it instantly scanned it. Instantly a map appeared infront of her, created by her focus. Pinging in red were moving targets, each had a description. Machines… a tracker. Nadine stepped over to Aldora and handed her the device “Scan it with your focus… it appears to be some kind of map. I can see…. Machines. All of them… There are… so many… and all of their buildings like this. There… Prime… take a look.” she whispered and then moved her hand from her focus, the map disappeared.
“This should be helpful…” she spoke and then nodded. “It seems Prime is far from the Kanzu Lands… very far. The temples… they mean nothing now. This is our goal. This is where we need to go.” She spoke and then took in a deep breath. “Let us go.. it seems we have a big journey to accomplish” she spoke and then the two head back to the entrance.
As they left – the giant doors opened. Just as they did – there was shouting. The bright light of sun blinded her.. and slowly she then could see. A giant crowd of men stood, machines behind them. “So you made it in huh? Then you’ve got it. The Map. Hand it over!” their leader stepped forward. Swiftly he grabbed Nadine by her hair, pulling her close – against his chest. He held a blade to her neck and looked to Aldora. “Give it to us. Or I’ll slice your pretty maggot in half…” he grinned – his teeth were rotting and horrid. It matched his terrible appearance. “Don’t think I wont… Boys – retrieve the map”
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Post by Blindside Tex on Nov 5, 2017 22:04:33 GMT -5
Aldora stood next to Nadine, as they watched the projection of Dr. Ren Mathews. Why did their plan fail? What was lost that they were in the state that they were, when they could have this technology this knowledge. Aldora took the small device as she slipped the other into her pocket. It scanned into her focus and her jaw loosened as she looked to all of the machines and ruins that pinged on her map. “Oh…” She breathed. “This is…there are so many…this world…it’s like Dr. Mathews said…it…it’s huge…I never…” She looked to Nadine. “We…we can do this, Nadine. We have to.” She gave a nod. “We will make it, it’s just going to take time…this place, it’s really far…it looked to be high in the mountains too…”
Aldora walked with Nadine toward the exit. “Those buildings that were in that…those are the ruins in the valley, those tall metal bars that reach into the sky. Those used to be square buildings, huge…I would never imagine a building being so large…I wasn’t sure what those were when the ancients were alive. Those shells buried in the ground transported them, and airplanes….what are those? Flying?” She shook her head. “There is so much to learn…so much that…I wish I could grasp and understand. What caused their plan to fail…Dr. Henderson seemed so sure, so positive…she believed this would work…but as Ren said, if we are confused…if this is hard…clearly Ayla’s dream was broken…somehow.”
The doors opened then Ayla held her arm up, blocking the light from her vision. Everything happened so quickly. She stared with wide eyes to Nadine, the blade against her throat. A small trail of blood came from where the blade rest against her skin. It was freshly sharpened, begging to kill. She stared to the man then, her eyes calculating. “This?” She asked as she pulled the small box from her pouch. It fit into the palm of her hand. She took a step back.
“Don’t try anything, I’ll kill her!” The man that held Nadine said roughly, he gripped onto Nadine tighter then.
“If you kill her, I can guarantee you that I will not give you this device.” Aldora responded. “I will crush it, it’s a fragile thing, much like the Focus that you wear.” She noticed he had one on, but the others, his men, they did not. It seemed that only the leaders carried the focus.
The leader grit his teeth as he watched Aldora hold the device up, her fingers curled around it. He glanced side to side and gave a slight nod. Three of his men rushed forward toward Aldora. “Hold her there.” He ordered, he began to step back. He snickered then and held Nadine closer. “You are coming with me.” He whispered in her ear, his voice had a sickening inflection. “We will see how well your friend tracks, hm?” He took the hilt of his dagger and slammed it against Nadine’s temple to knock her unconscious before he tossed her over the back of a sprinter easily. He then climbed on. “You have 24 hours to find me, Kanzu girl, I’ll make you a trade you and the cartographer for your precious healer.” He cackled. “That is the only trade I will allow.”
Aldora rushed forward only to be caught in some type of netting, she tumbled to the ground. Shock waves rushed through her body from the device that wrapped around her. She tried to fight against it but her muscles wouldn’t allow her to move. The three men that rushed her soon were gone. Leaving her there. Darkness soon swept over Aldora’s body as she lay there electricity surging through her muscles. It wasn’t until several hours later that she woke. Blood dripped from her nose.
Aldora whimpered slightly as she realized the situation she was in. To save Nadine she’d have to sacrifice herself. These men would have it no other way. Unless she could get to Nadine undetected….
Aldora fought against the thick netting and tossed it to the ground. She took in quick breaths as she fought back tears. She’d failed Nadine. She’d let her get taken. She’d allowed harm to come to her. She stepped over to Nadine’s staff that lay on the ground. “I promise you, I’ll get you back…” She whispered softly.
Aldora looked up to the sky, the sun had set and the stars twinkled happily, not a cloud in sight. Aldora rushed outside to the dig site, she began rummaging through their tents, looking for clues as to where they might be. She held her hand up to her focus and scanned the area. “Come on…” She whispered. It was then that she spotted the tracks of the machines leading away. “There…” She muttered. “Okay” She took off in a sprint, she had to hurry.
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