Ananiel

A towering gear shimmered its golden radiance, standing above the highest walls of Idosa. The gear held a glamorous red orb. The symbol of luxury merging with innovation. Throughout Idosa’s history, this gear stands as a memory of King Quiliff’s utopia, which fell during the Gala of Deities.

Lily closes her notebook and glances up at the red orb.Sunlight pierces through the orb, glimmering a dark scarlet hue.

“Some say that Sol, the god of innovation, resides there. However, no one has tried extracting that orb. The gear still rotates, you know?””

I squint my eyes at the looming monument’s orb. A small, sulphurous flame flickers in the back of my eye. Warmth prattles on fingertips as a shiver runs down my spine. Forcing my eyes off the orb, I rub my strained eyes and shake my head.

“Is that where the ticking noise comes from?”

She nods.

“Mhm, you are correct. Whatever mechanism beneath us has long lost its original purpose. But, the Beldonian Academy has learnt that each silver tooth of the gear marks the four seasons. Some even imagine a giant clock face on the gear. But it doesn’t seem to track time that way.”

Looking up, a distinct tooth stuck out on the gear.

“Hey, what about that tooth? The one covered in scratch marks?”

Lily darts her eyes around, eventually locking on that specific tooth and shrugs,

“Maybe weather damage? I wouldn’t know…”

She starts striding joyfully,

“Let’s get going now. We have a long day ahead of us!”

I let out a yawn and begrudgingly followed along.

The streets lined themselves with bright windows, displaying all sorts of clothes, jewelry and merchandise.

“Look over there, and over there!... Come on, there's a store here I heard good things about…”

Like an energetic child, Lily darts around the marketplace, gawking by the many oddities behind the window displays. Playfully tugging on my sleeve, we explore around the market district. Occasionally, we paused our exploration to admire the many oddly designed gadgets. Some clicked and clanked, while others spun around and around.

“Look! This is a compass. It points true north.”

Lily's eyes brighten at a small, gold cyclical case with a silver chain. In the case, a rod painted red on one half, and white on the other, jiggled slightly. Her face darkens as she notices the price tag beside it.

“3 gold coins? That's too much.”

She sighs and we continue onward, looking for more around. Suddenly, my ears pick up a soft bird song. Turning into a winding alleyway, faint sunlight paints the tarnished walls. The soft bird song grew louder with each step forward. Pushing ahead, I arrive at a quiet, tucked away store. Snow built up along the enclosed walls, a sign that this place is still tended to. Click* Clang* I look up to a bird falling from the sky. Whirring on the ground, the bird twists and turns as a young man runs out the store.

“Another failure…”

He picks up the bird shaped construct and glances up to me.

“Hello, The store is open if you want to come in!

A smile traces his face as he turns around and dashes back into the store. Shrugging, I follow into the small store.

***

Lily stops by a store front and looks back.

“Where did Clover go?”

Glancing around, she reaches for a vial of blood and tosses in the air.

“Let's see… Mana, with his blood, guide me to my disciple”

The lid pops open as an arrow suddenly manifests and points towards a wall.

“Did he go through a wall?”

Brushing her fingers on the wall, she sighs and starts retracing her steps. Turning into the closest alleyway, the walls were covered in scratch marks. Lily lets out a sigh and slowly walks down the narrow path. The scent of blood filled the air. Closing her eyes, Lily confidently steps forward.

We do not use other’s essences as a source of mana. We are not heretics or fanatics. We are dignified scholars who burden ourselves for the truth.

“I know, master. You don’t have to remind me.”

Lily scratches the back of her pale palm as a crimson flame swirls around her. Approaching forward, an oversized, spider-like creature crunched on a fragmented bone. Its disgusting eyes glint a murky gray. Tracing a line, a slash flies from the fire. Without a squeak nor a squeal, its head flies from its neck and falls to the ground. The corpse collapses on the ground, twitching, .Getting a good look at the creature, it’s spider-like appearance was only a facade. Human limbs of unknown origin were stitched all around its body. An arm and a leg stuck out from its back, and its face contained many eyelids. Without a hint of disgust, Lily’s eyes fill with pity as she curses under her breath. This creature was man-made.

***

mechanical parts littered the store as I walked in. Many odd creations, each one resembling an animal of sorts. However, these creations stood motionless, staring off at the mounds of rubbish around. The sounds of tinkering filled the air as I awkwardly inspected around the cramped store.

“Dammit!”

The young man shouts in frustration as parts fall to the ground.

“It will work this time, I swear!”

More sounds of tinkering were heard. Striking and clicking louder this time around. Ignoring this, I reach for a bird perched on the desk.

“Hmm”

Gears weave within the internal mechanism, linked together in such a way that connected to a small wind up dial. Giving it a few twists, the gears start cranking. As if life was granted upon the creation, the bird starts flapping its wings. Suddenly, a strong flap propels the bird into the air and soars past my head. With a few pops, the bird disassembles and falls on the ground. Not sure how to react, I walk towards the young man sitting on the ground and knock on the door.

“Hello, can I ask? What are these creations?”

The young man glances up and smiles brightly,

“Everything here is experimental. I have been working towards longer lasting clockwork systems. Wanna hear about it?”

I shrug and look around, wondering where Lily went.

“Uh, sure I guess?”

“Come! Have a seat.”

He pats the ground beside him and starts tinkering. Leaning in for a look, complex chains of teeth merged together, grinding at each other with precise precision. A shell of a bird flapped its wings slightly as parts flew in and out from the bird.

“So, what is this about?”

I ask, slightly overwhelmed with the complex chains.

“Hmm, Starting from here… You link these together, around the central gear. When you stack enough gears together, the central functioning gear will be delayed… Allowing a replication of life!”

He pushes in the winding key and runs out the front door. Following, we both gaze up at the pale gray clouds. The sun barely poked past the veil and hung at an angle, it was around midday. Giving the winding key a few twists, the bird chirps and glances at the young man. Expanding its wings, it starts flapping up into the sky, chirping away a familiar birdsong.

“Will it work this time?”

A look of anticipation stares off into the sky as the bird does a few circles, slightly below the buildings around. Almost expectedly, the bird starts popping and twitching. Sweeping low, it recovers slightly before nose diving into a pile of snow.

“How can I make it return? How can I stabilize it?”

The young man paces back and forth before retrieving the bird from the snow.

“We’ll try again after some food… You hungry?”

“Uh, kinda… I need to find someone first. Is that all right?”

I scratch my head, not expecting the kind gesture.

“That’s fine! I’m Monty, an aspiring innovator for Idosa. My dream is to make infinite motion!”

Monty laughs and brushes some snow off the bird.

“How about you?”

“I’m Clover, a wanderer at the moment. That’s about it really…”

“Nice to meet you, Clover. Let’s go find your friend after I put away this bird”

He rushes to the store and puts away the creation before closing and locking the door.

“Alright, let’s go get some food!”