Vapos Vita

Vapos Vita

Gabriel French

Published by Gabriel French at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Gabriel French

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Sweet mother of invention

Chapter 2: Meet the resistance

Chapter 3: Sun down, gear up

Chapter 4: Battle for Nimbus City

Chapter 5: The quest begins

Chapter 6: Stepping stones

Chapter 7: Battle for Nimbus City (part II)

Chapter8: New Garinth and the secret machine

Chapter9: The encroaching shade

Chapter10: Consequences

Chapter11: Choices

About the author

Prologue

In the beginning, there was Terranav. It was the world of man, and magic. Humans were only just emerging as a civilization. They made ritualistic pacts with the gods in order to gain good favor. For the most loyal of followers, the gods granted magical powers. The magic was very helpful, but limited.

Man knew its full potential was not yet fulfilled. Again, The makers of Terranav extended their reach. Golems were gifted to man, constructs of the very earth itself, rising up to obey. Golems would aid man in the fulfillment of this potential. Using their unbridled power, the constructs would build the first great kingdom in the center of the land. Things were shaping up excellently but there was no accounting for the darkness in the hearts of men.

One man had borne a dark design for the golems. He used dark magic to corrupt and twist some golems to his will. A dark sect arose with a leader claiming to be Bartholomew, king of the golems. He had twisted his own mind in the process, cementing his ideals into an unchanging resolve.

Bartholomew’s army marched on the grand city in an attempt to increase his power, but before he could claim his place, the gods intervened again. It’s said that because of man’s incomplete nature, they were stripped of their blessings. The land was torn asunder and man was separated from everything it had, man to the west and golems to the east. Until man could become whole, they would ever remain isolated and left to their own devices.

Hundreds of years passed and the human race drew more and more inward. They lost connection with their old gods and replaced them with advancements. People let go of their pasts and looked toward a promising future. They expanded to all corners of their newly formed continent which they named Teravapos. The emptiness humans had was quickly filled with technology. They advanced from simple life exponentially and into an age of industrialization. After that, it wasn’t long before things like locomotives and flight piqued the imagination of thousands.

People’s representation had manifested into two world superpowers, the United King’s Federation, and the National State Provinces. The United King’s Federation felt that people didn’t know what was best for them and that they should be guided for their own good. The National State Provinces thought it would be better if everyone had a direct democratic say in how they conducted their lives. Tensions rose to the boiling point and conflict was inevitable.

Because of the structure and inability to quickly respond, the National State Provinces were quickly and easily crushed. The United King’s Federation spread across the land and reformed itself into a new government ruled by a small High Council. This High Council was also partially led by one man, like a king in the shadows. From here the high council extended its reach, stemming out and enforcing new statutes and taxes for the world to reluctantly accept.

Now it is the current day. Two years have passed since the Great War and the subsequent founding of the High Council. Nimbus City, a newly occupied territory of the council, stands as the largest sky port in the known world. It stands in the northeastern part of Teravapos, facing the vast and unyielding ocean. Nimbus City is a finely crafted and polished gem, much different than the other cities which are dotted in factories and smelting plants. It’s still full of hope and waiting for a spark to ignite the fires of retribution.

Chapter 1

Sweet mother of invention

All was anything but quiet on this fine morning in Rivel Avenue, the shop owners down at one end pedaling their wares of spinning gyros and dancing dandies. It more resembled a market than an actual street. There were more people on the pavement talking to vendors than there were automobiles, but this seemed about right, because this area was in the upper part of the slums, not a great place for people who could even afford automobiles. The taxes put in place by the high council, as marked by the half torn posters all along the walls, kept people poor while the rich stayed rich in the noble’s district in the inner circle of the city. Nobody would admit it but everyone had fantasies of going up there and robbing the nobility blind. All as well, the people were content for the most part.

One house on Rivel stood out from the rest. This house was built not of brick but of shining copper and magnificently crafted moldings of gears and cogs. The house stood half a story above the rest with its upper level housing smoke stacks and steam vents galore. The front of the house had two very large gears and a belt around them. They never seemed to move which drew curiosity as to their purpose. This house was home to none other than Thaddeus Q. Aries who was a leading scientific mind back in the day and had even designed some of the machines in Teravapos. Thaddeus always wore a white lab coat with a large prominent line of buttons up the side. His face was somewhat tall and well defined in the cheeks. He always wore some set of copper goggles with a bowler cap that had a small gear on the front for decoration. As prominent as these effects were, he also had more subtle ones such as the aviator pin on his coat which resembled a gear with wings. He had a goatee and a thin pencil moustache which gave him a somehow more intelligent appearance than he led on.

Up the stairs of this cluttered house, past all the expired newspapers and through the smell of oil, was the door to the room of one Smythe Fletcher. Smythe was a young man of 17. As a younger child, his parents being the activists they were, left him to the care of an orphanage so that they could protest the escalating tensions of the superpowers. Since then, Smythe has moved out of the orphanage and into the watchful possession of his new guardian, Thaddeus. From out of his bed and the piles of clothing strewn about his room, Smythe put together his ensemble of a pinstripe shirt and pants, along with a vest which held his timepiece. Across his forehead of spiked brown hair, he wore his own set of goggles. Very rarely did he put them over his eyes for they were in his words, Strictly a fashion statement. He looked over to a large quiver-like holster made of finely cut leather from which protruded a handle to what was most likely a gun of some sort and said to himself, No, not today, and then exited his room to go downstairs. As he poked his head into the quaint room with two couches and a fairly complex resistor telescreen, he couldn’t help but notice Thaddeus tinkering with some contraption on the table. All around him were tiny components that he had never seen before, all complex and mysterious.

As Thaddeus put down one tool and was reaching for another that looked like a battery of some sort, Smythe interrupted him. Good morning Dr. Goggles. Need anything when I go out?

Thaddeus almost lost control of the items in his hands upon hearing Smythe’s voice. He had been accustomed to silence and the ticking of the clock, Blast it boy! Don’t you have anything better to do than to interrupt somebody in deep concentration? And stop calling me Dr. Goggles, that isn’t my name.

Sorry for that, I was just joking.

Now that you mention it though, would you mind picking me up some sparkplugs from our mechanic? It’s an important matter.

But we don’t even have an automobile.

You live under my roof, yes? Do I have to shelter you from the council’s eye every time it comes snooping in my house? No. I would suggest that you give me some more respect if you plan on staying here past next week. Also, if you cleaned up after yourself more often, then maybe I’d tell you now go place the order. Smythe looked as though Thaddeus’ words had put him in a daze. Thaddeus almost never spoke to him like that so he knew that something must have had him in a tizzy. He didn’t stop to question. He walked over to the rotary phone and dialed the mechanic shop.

After a moment of getting a connection, a voice picked up on the other side, Hello, you’ve reached J&G mechanic shop, this is Gene speaking. How may I help you today sir?

Yeah, hey Gene, it’s Smythe Fletcher, the doctor needs some spark plugs.

Gene responded, I’ll just assume a box will suffice. That’ll be 30 Zenz, and have it ready this time. In the background, Smythe could make out the sound of the door opening and ringing a bell. Gene resumed talking, Oh, we have some other business to attend to so I’ll have to let you go. Give our regards to the doctor and we’ll see you soon. The sound on the phone went silent. Smythe looked at the ear piece and shrugged.

He then turned and walked over to Thaddeus and said, 30 Zenz. The doctor reached into a drawer on the desk next to him and pulled out a note which had High council is our friend printed on it along with the number 50 and two Z’s.

I want my change, he said before sending him out the door.

Back across town in the mechanic shop, Gene stood at the counter looking over at the figure in the doorway. He was tall, statuesque, and clad in military attire. The Military wore green thickly woven coats with a lapel-like flap on front to cover all of the buttons that close it. The coats also have epaulettes with up to four stars to signify ranks of the high council’s military enforcement along with special hats to mark men of higher authority. This particular man had two stars and one of these specialized hats so Gene knew immediately that he was not the type to be taken leniently. The man also had a sharp goatee and an absurdly animated moustache that seemed to jet off of his face and into a spike on each side.

He noticed that Gene was staring at him and finally announced, Hello, my name is Alexander Goodman and I am here on behalf of the high council to investigate some complaints about this little shop of yours, if this IS indeed a shop at all.

"This is most certainly a shop and why are we subject to the government sweeps? We’ve done nothing wrong."

Alexander began to look over the shop without even looking up at him, So you say. What I would like to know is if you two are mechanics, then how do you keep in business with no machines to fix? He stopped to relish the moment because Gene was less than equipped to answer his question. Nevertheless, the council has built up quite the record on you. If there is even a scrap of anything not up to par in your name, then let’s just say that you won’t have to contact us to get our attention. Gene looked down as though he had been put on a firing range and it wasn’t that far off because if Alexander found anything, then gene probably would be. "May I have a look at your record log? Goodman said almost delightfully. Gene nodded and slipped through a curtain and into the back room while Alexander was looking over the front of the shop. He quickly found his partner and fellow mechanic Jake working at a bench in the back. Jake seemed to be tinkering with what looked to be a small radio.

What are you doing? Gene said, We have a government snoop in front and I could use your help to get him out of here.

Jake turned to Gene with an almost wicked grin and said, I can do that.

At this time, Smythe had turned onto the road of the shop. He was walking down the side of the street towards the shop when he noticed something over in the distance. As he got closer, he learned that it was a soldier of the high council. He could only see the soldier’s back but from this angle, the soldier was slender with black hair and a pair of swords at his sides. Smythe got curious and snuck closer to hide behind a postbox so he could get a better look. At this point, the soldier stopped walking and turned to his right. Smythe ducked back down behind the postbox so as not to be seen. The man’s gaze became fixed on a person over in the nearby alleyway. He walked over to the person and kneeled down to look upon their face. The person in rags was a middle aged woman.

The soldier said softly, I know what you deserve. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out some of his money to hand to the woman. Smythe was shocked to see such a sight for all he had ever known the soldiers for was wrecking the city and harassing the locals.

Just then, Smythe heard a rather loud explosion and he directed his gaze to the mechanic shop. The front door of the shop burst open and out flew Alexander followed by Jake, Gene, and a rather large plume of black smoke. It seems as though Gene and Jake caused the small explosion to force the inspector to exit the building. All three of them were coughing and wheezing on the smoke.

Alexander, tearing up from the smoke in his eyes and coughing, began yelling at the two mechanics, What in all of hell was that! Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’ll tell the high council and they’ll still have your heads for this! You two are insane!

Jake looked up at Alexander and then said in sort of a laughing way, What?! I thought everyone enjoyed a little barbeque now and then. Alexander looked infuriated as he began to clear the smoke from his throat and collect himself. Smythe then noticed that the other man had stood up and was casually walking over to Alexander.

Raymond, Alexander said, Where were you? I told you to meet me here nearly fifteen minutes ago! I had to start the inspection on my own, and look what happened. He pointed over to the large amount of smoke still escaping from the mechanic shop.

The man said, I’m sorry sir. I was- Alexander cut him off.

You were what? Taking in the scenery?! You’re just as big an idiot as these heathens behind me. I don’t care what your excuse is; let’s just get back to the headquarters. I’d like to send in my report as soon as possible." The other soldier Raymond looked at Goodman with a brief glare. The two then paced up the street and exited around the corner. Smythe looked over to the woman and noticed that Raymond had given her a considerable amount of money. Smythe’s attention was then once again focused on the two mechanics laughing and coughing outside the shop. He came out from behind the postbox and hurried over to them.

Jake! Gene! What was that all about? Smythe asked. The two mechanics looked up to him as they were gathering their breath.

Oh hello there Smythe, I had almost forgotten about you, said Gene smiling, That man was Alexander Goodman, a council officer in this area. He was looking for something to hold against us so we could be put to trial most likely. A small explosion was the least we could do to get him out of here without finding anything. Gene smiled and motioned for Smythe to follow them inside and despite the smoke still escaping. Smythe followed them in, but only after evaluating the claim that an explosion was ‘the least they could do.’ As Gene stepped inside, he tapped on Smythe’s shoulder as to get him to watch, which was difficult because of the smoke making his eyes water. Jake pulled a secret lever on the wall behind the desk and then suddenly the smoke cleared from the room via large air vents. I’m guessing that you are confused about what just happened. Gene walked over to Jake and turned around, Back When Alexander walked in, I told Jake to pull the lever. The smoke wasn’t from an explosion; it came from vents that lead down into our furnace. We had the vent system be able to exit into this room in just such an occasion, smart thinking, eh? Smythe was forcing a grin from the fact that this only made Gene and Jake look crazy, and shady. Gene looked at Jake and nodded. He then turned back to Smythe and said, I do believe it is safe to say that those men will come back and look over every inch of this place until they find her. Smythe looked puzzled as to the use of ‘her’.

Jake turned to Gene and said, Well he does live with the doctor and we’ve been doing business with him for two years. I think we can trust him to do this thing for us. He then called out, Amelia! Come out for a moment, will you? After a few seconds a door opened and out came Amelia. Amelia was a young woman of 20. She had long red-brown hair that had the slightest curl in it. Her face was almost perfectly symmetrical except for a light mole above the left side of her lips. She stood at about five foot ten and her figure was average. There was modesty about her appearance. She wasn’t exactly the most beautiful of women but at the same time, she was stunning. She was wearing a dark red dress that hugged her closely and went all the way down to her ankles where it was a tad dirtied and torn. Smythe looked at her blankly and then back to the mechanics.

And what were you expecting me to do with her exactly?

Gene walked Amelia over to Smythe and said, Well if she stays here then her cover is blown and she’ll be on the run from the council once again. Her parents were put down as traitors when they wouldn’t bow to the regime.

Amelia spoke out, And that means they want my head as well.

Smythe started to step backwards as to keep a distance between him and Amelia and said, Hold your horses there you two, I didn’t sign up for anything of the sort. I came here expecting to get some spark plugs and go home. This girl is not on my ‘To do’ list.

Jake saw that Smythe was disinclined to accept their burden and said, Please Smythe, you don’t even have to watch her. You can just hand her over to the doctor when you arrive home and he’ll take care of this. Just grow up a tad, will you?

Alright fine, I’ll take her to the doctor, but I’ll have you know I’m no child! Amelia suddenly grinned and casually walked over to Smythe.

She leaned in closely so that their faces were mere inches apart. If you’re good, then maybe I’ll even give you a reward. She then chuckled and Smythe let out a sarcastic laugh. Amelia’s playful expression left her face and she said, Oh don’t be a squeaky wheel.

Anything else you two want while I’m at it? A fresh pie maybe?

Gene replied, Just go, and try not to cause a riot in the streets, will you? Smythe left through the door and Amelia followed behind him as she looked back to the mechanics.

I can’t thank you enough. You are the greatest. The door closed behind them.

Gene looked to Jake and said, Well at least Amelia is safe. What do you think the doctor will think of it?

Jake couldn’t help but form a small smile, Oh that old dog will be perfectly fine with a new face after nothing but Smythe’s ugly mug, especially that of a young woman.

The wind was blowing ever so gently through the streets and things seemed calm. Smythe and Amelia were walking along the roads and alleyways when Amelia became tired of the silence and began berating Smythe with questions.

What’s the doctor like? she asked. Is he a mad genius like Gene and Jake say? He must ask your help for all of his projects. Smythe began to grumble to himself as he had a very low tolerance for being bothered. Amelia continued her rambling, Why are you so quiet Smythe? Is something wrong? Smythe stopped walking in front of an alleyway and turned around with a look of animosity, his face pink from anger.

What’s wrong with you?! he howled, Doctor Goggles never gives me this much of a headache. By the way, you want to know about him? Well here it is, he’s rude, he’s never invents anything anymore, and he drowns himself in alcohol. He’s all washed up! Smythe was flaring at the nostrils. Amelia just stood there speechless, eyes wide staring at Smythe with mouth agape. It took a moment for Smythe to realize how cruelly he just spoke of Thaddeus. He analyzed his actions and began to breathe calmly again. I…didn’t mean to say that. I’m sorry. Amelia stepped back and crossed her arms with a glaring look.

"You don’t have to get so snippy about it. You have some anger management issues,