The Oathsworn

by Liandra Jake

  "Repair." Arend replied grudgingly. "It's the only thing I didn't learn from a book or from the Nexus."

  "Why are you being so grumpy?" Corenden asked as he hopped onto Arend' head.

  "Because repairing Matrices broken by idiots isn't exactly thrilling work!" Arend replied.

  "That's suck a useful skill though! I can't tell you how much I've spent on repairs over the years." Michael said.

  The edge of the city was in sight. "Yeah, but repairs alone aren't what are going to make me famous. If my shop is going to succeed, I need to know how to create the tools and equipment I need to make the world's first all round Korvan shop." Arend said.

  "What about Jacob and the others? I'm sure they could teach you some things." Corenden suggested.

  Arend poked Corenden's arm. "Regardless of the help they could provide, I need to know everything I can about Korvan. A successful weapon is a lot different from a T.V or a pair of headphones. It has to withstand stresses and never falter when things get bloody. The Dragon Drive was too powerful for the design I had. While it's a miracle within itself, I have to do all I can to maximize its strength without sacrificing any of its power or usability." Arend replied.

  "You've got some lofty goals, kid." A man said from behind them.

  They all glanced back. Corenden ducked down slightly behind Arend' head. The man looked somewhere in his mid-twenties, with long dirty-grey hair that was braided down his back. His bangs were parted in the middle and were braided around his head and into the rest of his hair. His coat was charcoal black and made out a stiff, thick material. Four zippers on either arm allowed him to pull up his sleeves and let his arms move freely. The coat stopped about four inches past his waist.

  Underneath the coat was a series of bands wrapping around his torso and over his shoulders in two different spiraling layers. His pants matched his coat in terms of material, with similar zippers to help make taking them off easier. His boots were think and cumbersome, reaching far up his calves. He was pulling a large, simple wooden wagon behind him. A large variety of materials were stacked on top of it, including sheet metal and trimmed logs still covered in bark.

  "Then again, I've got quite a few loft goals myself eh Arend?" He asked with a smile.

  "Tommori! What are you doing here!?" Arend exclaimed, turning completely towards him.

  The two preformed a brief, complex handshake. "What are you doing here? I'm just on my usual run for supplies. What finally got you out of that back room?" Tommori asked. "Looking for more information?"

  "Nope! That's just a benefit. I joined a Guild a while back and I'm out training." Arend replied.

  Michael stepped forward and introduced himself. "I'm Michael Fastern, originally I was just going to interview Arend on his fight with the Black Monster." Tommori's eyes shot up and he glanced over to Arend briefly. "But on his request, I'm taking him to gather parts for his weapon and writing instead about his adventures in his training."

  Tommori nodded and casually pointed Michael's way. "Guild Ruled right? I enjoyed your work about the Clockwork Jungle." Tommori said.

  "Thank you! I worked hard on detailing the mechanism as best I could." Michael replied.

  Corenden popped up over Arend' head. "A Pog?" Tommori said quizzically.

  He followed up with a string of incoherent babbling. Corenden was surprised, replying in the same manner. Arend tilted his head. "It's my native language." Corenden explained.

  "How can you speak it Tommori?" Arend asked.

  "I'm surprised you accept that a Monster race can have a language." Tommori said with a half smile. "I've got a few hundred Floxes that work for me. Having intelligent workers that can fly is an invaluable asset."

  "We need to get moving; we're wasting daylight." Richard said as he started forward.

  Everyone else followed. "Since when did you know Richard Griffin?" Tommori asked.

  "It's a long story." Arend replied.

  "Well get started then, we've got a while before we reach the city." Tommori replied.

  [X]

  "Yo Rusty!" Nate called from under Guang Blau. He was replacing the shocks on the rear axle.

  "What?" Rusty asked, sticking his head down through where the Drive would be.

  "Do you think we'll be done by tomorrow?" Nate asked.

  "If we want to race, but don't worry! All we have to do now is stiffen the frame and prep it for harsh terrain at high speeds. It shouldn't take too long." Rusty replied before returning to his work.

  Guang Blau was currently spread about Rusty's garage. Its frame and axels were all that was left to hang from the ceiling. All four doors were being repainted, sanded, lightened, and stiffened. The current bill for all the alterations was approaching 70,000 Ere. The windshield was replaced by a lighter plastic polymer, but had to set in with edges in order to properly support itself and the roof of the car. Jacob had the idea of installing anchoring points so they could strap a cooler down for the ride.

  Vladd was working on an air conditioner at Hunter's request. It was going to be installed above the windshield, so he was also charged with making sure to cut the right sized hole. Tawny was furiously rebuilding the Drive off of notes that he copied from Arend. There was three sharp knocks on Guang Blau's frame. Rusty popped up from his welding.

  Malkex, one of the technicians at his garage, was waiting patiently by the rear f the frame. He was stout, with shorter-than-average arms and legs. He was half a head shorter than Rusty, with short blue-dyed hair and dirty red-orange eyes. He had a pencil tucked between his head and ear. He was dressed in average street clothes with an orange jacket pulled over his tee shirt.

  The collar of the jacket half covered his sharp chin, popped up about two inches. The sleeves were held tight to his wrists by thick elastic bands. He had a pair of low ankle cut dark brown hiking boots, stained by grease and motor oil. His jeans had various patches covering up old holes.

  "The tires are taken care of. Somehow we found some that can withstand the car and the terrain." He said.

  "You're a lifesaver man! Thank your friends in the GTS for me!" Rusty replied before returning to his work.

  Malkex was still waiting ten minutes later when Rusty finished reinforcing the frame. "Malkex? Why are you still here?" Rusty asked as he slid down the wheel arch.

  "The GTS requires a member to observe any and all modifications outside the Drive. So far, everything is legal. Though I don't know why you need anchoring points on the inside of the car." Malkex replied.

  Rusty reached back into the frame to retrieve his welding torch. "That's so the cooler doesn't fly around back there. I suggest you go check on Vladd. He's not one for following the rules. You can only imagine that he's doing to the air conditioner." Rusty said as he hung up the torch.

  Malkex nodded. He paused mid turn. He looked back at Rusty. "Do you know where that kid is? I heard he's a genius with this stuff." Malkex asked.

  "Who? Arend? He's off training with Richard Griffin." Rusty replied.

  Malkex stopped mid nod. "Richard Griffin?"

  "Yeah! I know!" Rusty replied with a knowing laugh.

  Malkex shook his head as he left the garage. "That kid has friends in high places.

  [X]

  "Tommori! I've got that buggy ready for you!" A dirty faced child called out as he passed into the south side of the city where the buggies were kept.

  Tommori and Arend' group walked over to meet him. "Good work Ilse; it's the model I asked for right?" Tommori asked as he continued past the boy, dragging the wagon behind him.

  "Yes." Ilse nodded rapidly as he walked alongside Tommori.

  He glanced over at Arend and his group curiously, but didn't say anything. The buggy they spoke of had massive tires and an equally massive engine positioned directly over the back axle. The only structure to the buggy was a skeleton of black pipes worked into the shape of a car. The front lip of the frame came up at a sharp angle to get the proper clearance over any massive rocks; or anyth
ing else for that matter.

  Tommori hitched up the wagon and set to work strapping everything down. Richard looked for a buggy to rent as Arend wandered about. A space between to garages was piled high with scrap metal and broken parts. A few looked only out of date as Arend began to pick through them. He found a few cracked Korvan as he dug deeper.

  "Arend!" Richard called out. "They don't have any buggies left!"

  Arend dropped a pile of parts at Richard's feet. Ignoring his objections, he faced the mechanic who Richard was talking to. "What do you have? I can throw something together if you let me use a welder."

  "You? Really?" He asked with crossed arms.

  Arend shoved the broken Drive at his face and shook it. "I don't need an engine. Just a welder and some parts."

  "Chh!" The mechanic tutted as he walked back into the garage. "It ain't gonna be free!" He called back. Arend smiled triumphantly and glanced sideways at Richard.

  Richard paid the man and Arend set to work. "Corenden, I need more pipe. Michael, get me some proper tires for as cheap as you can. Richard, some seats would be nice but not nessicary."

  The mechanic and his buddies laughed as Arend' group scattered at his command. Tommori jumped down from his readied buggy and helped Arend by placing the pipes Corenden brought into the bottom frame for the buggy.

  "Yo ! Why are you helping him!?" The mechanic yelled to Tommori.

  "He's the one who provided the schematics for what saved your ass when you were messing around up in mines!" Tommori shouted back.

  The mechanic was taken aback. 'This kid came up with a low-power hyper-speed hydraulic hammer with just the parts Tommori had with him? He said he was a sort of genius…' The mechanic rubbed his chin as he watched Arend work.

  Arend had his own pair of goggles from out of his bag, and Tommori had a pair of sunglasses stowed away inside his coat. The sun was dipping close to the horizon when Arend had finished. The custom buggy took a little over an hour to finish, complete with comfy chairs for them all to sit in. Arend was fitting in the Drive while the others settled in.

  "Does he always do stuff like this?" Michael asked.

  "I don't know. I haven't spent that much time with him. I assume he doesn't know that normal people don't build entire buggies when there aren't any to use." Richard replied.

  In total, it cost around 5,000 Ere to build the buggy, opposed to the 15,000 to rent one. Richard was glad at the cost and how they didn't have to spend the night in Loushin. Arend climbed over the top of the frame into the driver's seat.

  "Here goes nothing." Arend said as he started the Drive. The Dragon Drive arced electricity as it slowly began to spin. A thin shield surrounded the buggy. "Huh. I was expecting it to explode." Arend said as Corenden placed a plastic shell over the Dragon Drive.

  "Now that's really unsettling." Richard grumbled to himself.

  Tommori started his buggy. The entire frame shook as the massive engine roared to life. Tommori led the way as they tried to leave Loushin as quietly as possible. Arend drifted to the side to avoid the slight dust Tommori kicked up. Once they were full out of the city, Tommori floored the accelerator. The dusty earth rooster tailed high into the sky. The wagon's wheels squeaked rapidly as Tommori quickly pulled away.

  "What the hell is he doing!?" Richard exclaimed.

  "Not getting away." Arend replied as he drove his accelerator down until it clicked against the frame below.

  The wheels didn't spin as much as Tommori's, but accelerated a hell of a lot faster. Tommori backed off enough so Arend could pull alongside him. "If your little toy can do that broken, I'd like to see it when it's fully functional!" Tommori shouted over.

  "It's suffering from a massive power leak! This is even less than it could do even in its current state!" Arend yelled back. Sparks arced between the gaps in the frame surrounding them.

  The fur on Corenden's body stood on end. "Arend, are you sure it's safe?" Richard asked.

  "It'll sting a bit, but hurt no more than licking a battery!" Arend called back.

  "Who the hell licks a battery?" Michael asked Corenden. Corenden shrugged.

  They traveled quickly across the dark desert, occasionally lit with the light from the electrified buggy. Richard, Arend, and Michael cycled throughout the night so they each could get some sleep. Corenden was too short to reach the pedals so he slept peacefully on their luggage.

  At dawn Yitkin was in sight. Black clouds from the foundries darkened the sky above the city, but were swept up high in the sky as if by strong updrafts. The slight particles of metal could be seen sparkling in the clouds as the rising sun cast its light onto them. Everyone was relieved to have reached the city. Ilse and Tommori had switched only once throughout the night and the small boy groggily woke up Tommori before passing out.

  - - Race - -

  Rusty raised a hand to block the light from the morning sun. He lowered his hand briefly, before repeating the process until Hunter tapped on his shoulder. A group of people in red, blue, and orange racing suits gave Rusty a thumbs up.

  "Like Malkex said; everything's legal." One of them said.

  Guang Blau, along with the thirty other contestants, was parked at the starting line south of Sareville. Various groups of the GTS members in their colorful uniforms were checking out the contestants vehicles as a last measure against cheating.

  A small group of seven teams had to stand separate from the rest. Their vehicles not built for land use, exceeded the GTS' limits, or were never powerful enough to win in the first place. Vladd and Nate were pacing up and down the line to look at the competition. A few were polite enough to show them around, but most kept a tight lid on their Drives. Hunter had hopped into Guang Blau, napping in the back seat.

  Rusty obsessively checked and rechecked each of Guang Blau's parts until he was interrupted. A young man about seventeen with grey-white hair streaked red on one side poked his head under Guang Blau to see Rusty. "Quite a monster you've got here." He commented.

  Rusty glanced away from the frame he was inspecting. "Who are you?" Rusty asked.

  He slid under next to Rusty. "Just a fan of your craftsmanship." He replied, tapping the secondary engine's gas tank.

  Rusty slid out from under his car. The man followed. He was three inches shorter and had a less defined chin than Rusty. His face was clean and smooth, lacking stains from oil, and pretty much anything else. It contrasted Rusty's grease smudged face and the prickly beard that had grown in while he spent all his time on Guang Blau. His eyes were a muddy grey, with small orbs of brilliant green that popped up only when you glanced away.

  His hair would settle just outside his line of sight no matter how he turned his head. He was dressed in a simple grey racing suit with six different colored lines cutting diagonal across his chest. A red and silver dot were placed on the right side of the diagonals. His shoes stood out; orange and blue with green laces. 'This should be fun…' Rusty thought, noting the shoes.

  "My name's Finch Goldenberg. I'm the driver of the C.R. car." He pointed down the line.

  "It's the red two door sport roadster. It's quite quick." Finch said.

  "Five Minutes till Race Start." The announcer had a thick Indian accent that made his speech almost unrecognizable.

  Finch bolted. "Tell Arend I said hello!" He called as he disappeared into the sudden chaos of people. Rusty and the other Dragon's Den members clustered around the car to discuss a game plan.

  "The first minute will be rough. They said we have to use either half power or a non-Drive back up source. Since the duality of the system can never handle anything but full throttle, we've only got a tiny two stroke to keep us going." Rusty got everyone's nod of confirmation on the situation. "If Hunter or I can't continue for whatever reason, Kyrel can ferry some replacements so we can keep moving. Pike, Duke, keep an eye on our supplies. I don't want to spend 10,000 Ere on replacing stolen parts." The pair nodded.

  "Alright! Everyone ready!?" Rusty asked.

  "
Aye!" They cried in unison. Rusty did a last minute check of the Drive before getting behind the wheel. A steady chant filled the air.

  "Dra-gon's Den! Dra-gon's Den!" Hunter peeked out a window. High above the starting line, a massive flock of Floxes were chanting in unison. The Indian man had to shout to be heard over them.

  "Five, four, Three, Two, one…START!"

  Twenty nine vehicles rocketed off of the starting line, Guan Blau chugging along with its tiny secondary engine. Dust blocked out the sun as kick-up from all the tires filled the air with shredded earth. Rusty was blind for almost the entire minute. When the dust finally settled, everyone else had pulled far ahead. When Rusty was radioed the okay, he started the Drive.

  He started gently, lightly tapping the accelerator. "Screw it Rusty floor the damn thing!" Hunter exclaimed.