Amorlia: Age of Wonder

by Chris Wichtendahl

  The Press Conference

  Mar Dagnae stood on the wide launch field owned by Dagnae Aerospace, one of numerous divisions of Dagnae Industries. They were launching the new supersonic aircraft today. After five years of painstaking design and development, heavier-than-air travel would be a reality. Making the top speed supersonic had been Mar's idea. She'd grown so sick of the complacency of her peers, their satisfaction with the lumbering airships that had been the primary form of air travel for centuries, that she was determined not to just show them the next step, but to drag them to it at the speed of sound. If this design proved feasible -when, she corrected herself- the atmospheric barrier was next. Mar Dagnae did not like to sit still, and often needed multiple projects to keep from being bored. Hence her entry in the race for High Queen. She'd never considered politics, finding business to be far more rewarding and immediate, but the current occupant of that office, Artemis Vega, had held it for one hundred years. "Past long enough for anyone," she muttered to herself, approaching the prototype vehicle. "Mar," a young technician met her at the aircraft, helmet in hand. His use of her first name was not overly familiar. Mar Dagnae had no use for titles, and demanded the use of her name from all her subordinates. That would prove difficult should she win the crown, but she put the thought away from her. That challenge was in her future, there was the more immediate one before her first. She took the helmet from the technician, acknowledging him with a brief nod. "The ship is prepared?" she asked him. He indicated it was, and she nodded again. She did not doubt it would have been. She expected the best from her people and they delivered. If they did not, they did not remain her people very long. She climbed the ladder to the cockpit. "Now remember, Mar," the technician warned her, "you just provide the Spark for ignition. Let the crystals channel the fuel. If you try to power this thing yourself-" "I know," she said shortly, "I designed it, remember? I've no intention of burning myself out today." She was just about to swing her leg over into the cockpit when someone called her name. She turned, muttering a curse at the sight of several people running across the field toward her. She saw the flashes of cameras, and some waved recording devices in the air. "The press," she growled. "Ms. Dagnae," one of the reporters called out, "what can you tell us about this new vehicle?" "Everything," she replied, dryly, "as I'm the one who designed it. But I doubt much of what I'd have to say would make sense to you. Just watch," she told them, "you'll see plenty to make for an exciting broadcast." She bent her head to don the helmet, but was interrupted by another question. "Ms. Dagnae," a young female reporter said from the back of the group, "what is your reaction to the news that High Queen Artemis Vega has ordered the University closed indefinitely?" Mar fixed her with a steady gaze, "It shows her Majesty is clearly out of touch with the very people she seeks to rule. It makes clear to all, I would hope, that new leadership is needed." "And are you that leader?" "That's for the voters to decide," she said, "I have made my positions on all pertinent issues plain." "And what do you think of the fact that Kel Vega, one-time Champion of Vega City, has been apparently exiled from his home, sent wandering across Amorlia?" This question cam from a surly young man in the front. He smirked up at her, hoping for some sort of scandalous reply. She did not even favor him with a look, donning her helmet and securing the straps, "I do not comment on court gossip," she said over her shoulder, "If you'll excuse me." She sat down in the pilot's chair and strapped in. The cockpit closed and she started the engine. After an initial blast of blue-white energy, the ship settled into a low hum. The reporters backed away, their cameras trained on the historic moment. Miles away, a hand reached up to turn off the broadnet receiver, causing the picture to fade from view before the ship launched. The hand belonged to Fanna Otaku, devoted admirer of Artemis Vega. She crossed the room to where she'd chained her prisoner to the wall. Kel struggled in vain against his bonds. Fanna laughed, "Save your strength, Kel," she said, "we've spent years cataloging your abilities. Not even you can break those chains." He glared up at her, mouth turned up in a snarl, "What do you want?" he growled, "and where's Mandhe?" "Your companion is safe," she assured him, "for the moment. If you wish her to remain safe, you will comply with our demands." "And those are?" He continued to glare at her. "Simple," she said, gesturing at the receiver. "You see what lies in store for this world. Your mother will lose this election, either to some radical cult leader or some common industrialist." She shook her head. "This is wrong, Kel, don't you see?" she pleaded with him, "This world was ruled by gods once, gods and the offspring of gods. People were bigger, their lives were bigger, their deeds were bigger." She stood before him, looking down. "We do not wish to live in a small world. We want things as they were, not as they are becoming. And you," she knelt down to look him in the eye, "are going to help us." She smiled coldly. "Or your little friend is going to die."

  A Partial Escape

  Mandhe Pacha sat in the corner of a dank cell, which spun lazily around her as her head throbbed. She found she could barely hold only the simplest thoughts, and even trying to figure out her possible location was too difficult. A man came into view. Mandhe was dimly aware she should know who he was, but the knowledge escaped her. She'd be frustrated, if even frustration wasn't too much effort. The man knelt in front of her and swam in her vision. "Hello, Mandhe," he said, not unkindly. His voice echoed slightly and seemed far away. "H'lo," she slurred, drooling a bit. "I imagine you're wondering who I am and where you are," the man said, almost gaily. Mandhe grunted, mouth slack and eyes half-closed. Following the conversation was hard, let alone trying to participate. "Ah," the man smiled, "or perhaps you're not." He laughed a little. It was the laugh of someone enjoying a joke at someone else's expense when they aren't terribly concerned with hiding it. The man tapped the side of his head. "We know all about your big brain, dear," he said, "so that little machine on your head will keep you from using most of it." Absently, she reached up and touched it. It was warm with pointy bits. Her arm flopped back to her side and she smiled at the man. He was smiling, so she smiled too. "That's right," his voice took on a sing-song quality, "we built a machine to make people stupid. Soon we're going to make enough for everyone." His pleasant smile slipped into a malicious grin. "Isn't that marvelous?" She nodded, then... a thought. A thought entered her mind. No, it told her, that doesn't sound marvelous at all. And that's when it hit her, that she could have thoughts. The thought that she shouldn't tell the man in front of her immediately followed. Then she noticed the slight stinging sensation at the base of her skull. As the feeling grew stronger, she felt herself getting smarter. No, she definitely needed to keep this to herself. She kept her mouth slack and her eyes vacant. "Well," the member of the Order (she remembered them now) said, standing, "just wanted to let you know. Also," he called out over his shoulder as he left, "if your pal Kel doesn't do as we say, we're going to kill you." He walked out. Mandhe's slack mouth tightened into a smile, cruel intellect gleaming behind her eyes. A blue-white spark shot across the machine, causing it to smoke. "Really," she whispered to the closed door of her cell, "are you now?"

  ***

  Kel sat in his own cell, chains hanging loose around him. His head hung low. Fanna had just finished telling him what they wanted him to do. "You understand your companion is helpless, and will die if you refuse us?" She asked innocently. Kel nodded. "Therefore...?" He looked up at her, glaring. "I'll do what you ask," he growled. "Good," she smiled. Fanna knelt to unlock his chains. "You realize," she looked up at him, hands paused above the shackles, "that attacking me, not to mention failing at your task, results in her death as well?" Kel gave her a look made of broken glass, "I'd assumed as much." She unlocked the shackles and the chains fell from his wrists. Fanna stood and hurried back away from him. He stood slowly, rubbing his wrists. "Well," she said, slightly nervous, "you should get started." Kel nodded. As he approached, his hand shot out and snapped her neck. She died without noticing. He looked down at the broken body of Fanna Otaku and scowled. He was making his w
ay up the stairs when he ran into Mandhe. She was descending, her pack slung over one shoulder. Her guard followed behind wearing the device he'd put on her head, drooling and humming to himself. "What's that?" Kel pointed. "A guard," she replied, nonchalantly. "Yes, thank you," Kel snarked, "what is he wearing?" "Ah," Mandhe said, "that's a machine for making people stupid. Apparently these people were clever enough to know my brain was dangerous, but not so clever they learned about all the wiring I've done to it." "Wiring?" Kel kept his ears open for sounds of pursuit. There were none as yet. Mandhe tapped the back of her head. "I've put all kinds of machines in here," she explained. "Well," she clarified, "Conte actually installed them, but I built them." She smiled, "They're designed to protect my brain in the case of technological attack. Once they recognized a machine was attacking my brain, the tiny devices I built disabled it. I've been working on something to protect against chemical attacks, but," she grinned sheepishly, "it's not quite ready yet." "Let me guess," Kel said as they made for the ground floor and the exits, "once your machines disabled their machine, you fixed it and turned it into a mind-control device?" She shrugged, "Wasn't hard." They reached the exit and Kel turned to the guard. "What are you going to do with him?" "I thought about telling him to kill himself," Mandhe said, "but that seems needlessly brutal. I know," she smiled happily. Turning to her captor-turned-captive, she said, "stay here and don't let anyone out this door. Kill whoever tries to follow us. If you survive that, sit here until you've soiled yourself twice. Then you can take off the machine." The guard nodded and prepared to defend their retreat. Mandhe walked out the door and Kel followed. "Now that last part was just mean," he said to her. She walked with her head high. "Hmph," she said, "he attacked my brain," she looked over at him, "no one gets away with that." As they exited where they'd been held, they stepped into a dense forest, like none Kel had ever seen. Most of the old woodlands had been lost at the end of the last Age, though he remembered stories of another. "The Wild Lands," he whispered. "Could be," Mandhe agreed. They walked into the woods, putting distance between them and their prison. Looking behind them, the structure they'd escaped from seemed to be built into a small mountain. Very little save the door was visible to the outside. As they walked, she pulled a smallish device from her pack. It beeped and flashed at her a moment, then she nodded and put it back. "What...?" Kel gestured at her pack. "Think of it as a very accurate compass," she said. "It told me that you're right. We are in the Wild Lands. In fact," she waved her hands to encompass their surroundings, "we are currently four hundred and fifty miles to the northeast of Vega City, farther than anyone has ever explored these Lands." "So, where do we go?" Kel asked, looking around. Not for the first or last time, he really missed his wings. "That way," Mandhe pointed southwest, "for a very long time." He nodded and they walked on, sometimes chatting, sometimes lost in their own thoughts.

  The Bastard Cabal

  First sat on the roof of the University building, enjoying the rays of the afternoon sun. Though he'd walked through, or simply destroyed, any star that had gotten in his way as he dragged himself back to this world, he had to admit he enjoyed them like this. Fourth walked up the side of the building and stood at the edge before First. "The last of them are gone," she said. "The building is ours." "It's been ours," he said quietly, "is it empty?" "Yes." "Are we making our old friend comfortable?" he asked with a smile. "Most certainly," she replied with a small bow and the hint of a smirk. First went back to the sun for a moment, then a thought struck him. He turned to Fourth. "The ape," he asked, "what happened with it? It is old, as they measure themselves, but possibly dangerous. It is a relic from her time." Fourth laughed. "Do not concern yourself with her, One," she said, "I have her well in hand." First nodded, looking away, "Be sure and keep her that way," he waved his hand dismissively, "go entertain yourself with our dear Professor Jat." Fourth cocked her head and put a finger to her lips. "Oh, now that could be fun," she said thoughtfully, "Perhaps another epiphany?" First snorted, grinning, "Given your method of 'revelation', I am amazed the poor creature has not been rubbed raw, Four." "There's no call for being crude, One," Fourth scolded. "Say what you will, the humans have developed a few... entertaining talents." "Just because the monkey does tricks," First sneered, "doesn't mean I want to bed it. Now go," he waved her away again, "I wish to think. Have Two and Three get our old friend ready for me, however." He smiled, staring directly into the sun. "We have a great deal of catching up to do."

  Mysterious Strangers

  Kel and Mandhe walked through towering forests of ancient trees, across broad meadows and plains of scrub grass, around vast lakes, across raging rivers and through a small desert on their trek through the Wild Lands. It was decided that they would only camp if it rained, otherwise they would walk until Mandhe tired, then Kel would carry her until she woke. It made for rough travel, but they were many miles from where they started a few days into the journey. They had left plains behind for forest again and were just about to pause to find food when the attack happened. One of them pinned Mandhe to the ground, her pack flying into the brush, while four others jumped on Kel, preventing him from going to her aid. The attackers were fast, with sharp claws and teeth, and while Kel was far stronger, he did not want to kill them as yet. Years of training from his father told him that there could be legitimate reasons for this attack, and therefore his foes could be innocent. Kel did not kill innocents. Mandhe was face-to-face with the one on top of her, and blanched at the sight of a feline face staring down at her with hatred in its slitted eyes. A low growl rumbled in its throat and it bared sharp fangs. "Where are they?" it snarled at her in what seemed to be a male voice. "What have you done with my sister? Where are my brothers and my little cousins?!" Mandhe's arms were pinned and her pack was out of reach, as was the tech in her jacket. She was helpless. The cat-like man pinning her to the ground leaned forward to sniff at her. She smelled blood on its breath. "Wherrrrre..." it growled in her ear. "I d-don't know wuh-what you're..." she gasped for air, terrified. "Stop!" Kel shouted, trying desperately to fight his way through the ones on him without hurting them too badly. "We haven't done anything! We're just passing through here! Please," He threw one off his back and two more piled on. They kept trying to bite him, but couldn't pierce his unbreakable skin. "Please, if we've trespassed, we apologize." Three more attacked him and he shook one off. "But please don't hurt my friend." "Liars!" Mandhe's attacker roared, "I'll take this one's throat!" Its teeth were inches from Mandhe's neck and she was about to scream when a gunshot rang through the woods. "That'll be quite enough of that," a voice said from the trees. All turned in that direction, save for Mandhe who lay perfectly still with her eyes shut tight. A man stepped out of the trees. He wore a long leather coat and a wide-brimmed hat. He was older, nearing sixty, but seemed hearty and strong. A rough grey beard covered his face, and long grey hair spilled from his hat to his shoulders. When his coat caught on a bit of brush for a moment, Kel saw a revolver strapped to his hip. Its twin was in the old man's hand, still smoking from the gunshot. He made no move to holster it, instead staring at each of the odd cat-people in turn. "Bors, for the love of the Spark, get off that poor girl," he scolded Mandhe's attacker, "Can't you see she's scared half to death? Tia, Kit, Al, stop climbing on the boy. You're all lucky he hasn't mashed the lot of you to paste. Incidentally," he tipped his hat to Kel, "I appreciate the fact that you haven't." The others grudgingly did as they were told. Now they were standing still, Kel could see that his attackers were covered in thick fur of different shades and patterns. Their features were a blend of cat and human, with opposable thumbs and long tails. They looked sullenly at their feet, occasionally shooting a baleful glance his way. He rushed over to help a shaken Mandhe to her feet. She immediately began scouring the brush for her pack. Kel nodded at the stranger, then noticed the slightly tarnished badge on the lapel of the coat. "A Gunfighter?" he gasped. "In the flesh," the newcomer bowed, smiling. He holstered his gun and walked to Kel, hand outstr
etched. "Name's Quin," he said, "Quin Revo." Kel shook Quin's hand and smiled. "Kel Vega," he introduced himself, "the girl in the bushes is Mandhe Pacha. We're trying to get out of the Wild Lands and on to the Valley of Mystery." He gave Quin a long look, finally saying, "I didn't think there were any more Gunfighters. Didn't the last of them all die during-" "The Battle of Drego Pass," the old man said, his voice rough. "Aye, that killed off the last of us. Thirty years ago now, though it hurts like yesterday." He shook his head. "I survived, not sure how, but I must have gone down and had everyone thinking I was dead, because when I came around, I was alone except for the corpses of my nearest and dearest." "I'm sorry," Kel said, "I didn't mean to-" Quin waved him off, "Don't think on it, son. Anyway," he changed the subject, "Kel Vega. Thought it might be you from the look of yeh. I remember watching you on the broadnets years back." He put a hand on Kel's shoulder, "I was awfully sorry to hear about your da." Kel nodded, "Don't think on it, sir," he whispered. Quin returned the nod. "Right. Well, I'm sure you two both got stories to tell, as do I and this gang of ruffians," he smiled indulgently at the cat people, "but we may as well do it somewhere comfortable. Come on, Kit," he said to one of the others, a female, by Kel's guess, "let's bring these two around to your ma." Kit regarded the two skeptically. "Are you sure, Quin?" she asked, "Mother does not like strangers." "She likes me well enough," Quin said smiling. "You are a special case," the one called Bors interjected. "At any rate, we know nothing of these people! For all we know, they could be-" "For all I know," Quin silenced all grumbling, "and I know plenty, these two could be the answer to our prayers. Now let's go. It's getting dark, and I'm too old to be hanging about the woods in the middle of the night." The cat people all seemed to vanish into the forest. Kel had excellent night-vision, however, and could see the strange young people well enough to follow them. Mandhe followed behind him, one hand in her pack, and Quin walked beside him. "What were you talking about back there?" Kel asked, "And what's going on? How are we the answer to anyone's prayers?" "It's a long story," Quin waved his hand, "and it's best if you hear it from her." "From who?" "Those youngsters' mother," Quin explained. "The Queen of the Cats."