“Never confuse belief with knowledge.”

- Abhijit Naskar

(Hesca Veneli POV)

I shudder internally when I see the clockwork smiling at me. What have I gotten myself into?

I have heard the stories, those told at the church during mass. Tales of devils in metal flesh, only controlled when marked by powerful enchantments, applied by the church highest members.

I had seen one before, in my short stay in Salas, a town up north. And it was very different compared to this one.

XSS-MK1, that it calls itself.

I look around the bandit camp, where bodies are lying, in a pool of their own blood. I shudder again. Whatever "It" is, it killed them all, and with apparent ease. Right now I can see "It", piling bodies in the center, after making sure that they have no valuable on them. "It" briefly stops to look at me, still standing immobile near the tent I spent the night in.

"Not to press you or anything, but I would appreciate some help. We have to get moving after this."

I shake myself out of my stupor and start to move. "It" instructs me to start moving bodies, after handing me a shirt and pants of rough linen that it found lying around. At least it has the decency of letting me wear clothes.

The task takes most of the morning, but that's when I truly realize the strength of whatever is in front of me. The number of bandits killed is over a hundred! And "It" doesn't even has a scratch on itself!

"Wait a second. Can you come?"

I turn my head at the gross metallic imitation of a female prancing around. She is holding up a body, lifting it up so I can see its face.

"Maybe you want to deal with this one? I did see him exit the tent you were inside of. And given the state I found you in…"

"It" doesn't need to finish its sentence: I nod with a slight shaking, recognizing the face of the man that forced itself on me. "It" drops the body at my feet, before going back to whatever it was doing before. But before leaving me alone, it hands me a sword.

"I think you are going to need this."

I can feel the tears and anger grow, as the nightmarish memories of the night flood my mind. I start squeezing the handle as hard as I can. I slowly lift the sword above my head, before bringing it back as hard as I can on the corpse.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

*TWACK*

"How dare you!"

*SPUICH*

"H-how dare you…"

*SPLATCH*

"How… Why?"

*CHTUNK*

I drop to my knees in front of the now disfigured body, loosening my grip on the blade, that is now stuck inside the corpse's skull. And I cry. I let lose all the bottled emotions. Those that I was keeping a lid on during all this time, either because of the dashed hope of being rescued, or the one of dying before anything really traumatic happened.

Why?

Why did this happen to me?

What did I do?

What did I do to deserve this?

Why…

I continue crying, until my tears run dry and all I can feel is emptiness. An ever-growing emptiness that leaves me in front of the corpse, motionless.

(XSS-MK1 POV)

I watch in silence, as my new companion of travel, Hesca Veneli, comes to terms with what happened. I don't disturb her : this is necessary. Humans need closure after events such as the ones she went through. And I am not emotionless enough to deny her that. If anything, this will make her at least partly grateful to me for offering her this opportunity at revenge.

I look up at the position of the sun. Afternoon is coming, and unfortunately, we cannot wait anymore. I walk back to the mound of bodies I piled up in the center of the camp. I produce a small spark with my fingers by cycling current through them, lighting it up ablaze.

Once that is done, I move to the wagon and horse I found, doing a final check. I piled up a good amount of provisions and supplies at the back, along with the money I found: a good amount of ducats which should alleviate any problems we could have in the future on that front. I will have to ask Hesca about the mark mentioned by adventurers. I also found some garments, similar to the ones I had before. It will cover me, and hide my nature to anybody not looking too close. Something which hopefully will not be as important as before now that I have that woman with me. But given my obvious difference with my brethren, I still need to wear them, even if it is just as a precaution.

I turn back to the kneeling woman and walk slowly towards her. She is still immobile, her gaze lost in what remains of her aggressor. I put a hand on her shoulder. She jolts to my touch but quickly calms down once she realizes it's me.

"We need to go."

She nods slowly. I move past her and yank the blade out of the head of the body.

"Here. Keep this."

She takes the blade and puts it in the scabbard laying next to her, before attaching it to her hip. I grab the body by one of the few parts that is not covered in blood, and in one smooth motion, throw it onto the burning pyre not far from here. The black smoke has started to rise, and is sure to provide ample distraction to the nearby patrols.

I climb onto the chariot, and motion Hesca to follow me, which she does. She takes the reins before looking at me questioningly.

"Where do we go?"

"To the south. Takar."

She nods and takes the reins, before giving it a slight yank, signaling the horse to start moving. The start of the voyage is spent in silence, the only sound being the one of the horse's hooves hitting the grass-covered dirt in a rhythmic fashion. Until I hear her utter a few words in a slightly shaky, but firm tone.

"Thank you."

I turn my head to look at Hesca, seated right next to me on the driving bench, who is staring on the road ahead.

"Thank you for what you did, freeing me. And for being honest with me."

I nod.

"You are welcome. Have you recovered yet?"

She takes on a painful expression.

"I… I don't know. No. A bit… maybe."

I nod again.

"That's to be expected. You won't start feeling like yourself for quite some time. However, when enough time has passed, you will move on. It won't be easy, but time heals all ailments. Of the body or of the mind."

She turns her head to look at me.

"You are different. From what I expected."

"How?"

She makes a vague gesture toward me, pointing in the general direction of my body.

"I don't know. Clockworks are supposed to be devils. Cold and emotionless. Never stopping, never resting. But you just are… I don't know… different."

"I am aware that my characteristics make me different from most of my kin. But tell me: what is told about the clockworks? What are the stories?"

She gives me a surprised look.

"You don't know?"

I just stare at her. After an uncomfortable and awkward silence, she decides to answer.

"Well, everyone knows the general stories of the Great War. Spawns of hell appearing in the depths of the desert, taking bodies of steel and fire, and planning destruction."

I can't contain the emotion rising and explode in laughter. If the eyes of Hesca got any wider, they would pop out of her skull right now. I eventually repress my laugh.

"Are we now? Devils? I suppose the church is the one who spread that ridiculous idea."

Hesca has the decency to look offended when I insult the church.

"Of course! They fought them in the depth of their territories, pushing back evil and closing the gates that spawned them in a Grand Crusade. Even our longtime enemies, the demons, joined to smother that menace! And only with the most powerful of cleansing and biding magic did they manage to suppress those that had already crossed, making them obey their contractors. They saved all of us."

I can't repress a small giggle.

"Did they now?"

I try to take on a more serious air, as I realize that all the humans probably think that way. In their eyes, we are the spawns of hell itself, trying to free themselves to roam the earth and spread destruction. Quite the interesting puff piece, but it has the advantage of explaining everything, and tying a nice little bow on it, for anyone to swallow the gross propaganda that it is.

I shake my head.

"Miss Veneli, reality is a lot more macabre than what you describe. And very far from the tale of heroism and self-sacrifice that the Church would want you to believe."

She looks at me with a look of incomprehension.

"What do you mean?"

"The clockwork are no devils. We are a race of sentient machines. The first one of us was created by a human hermit no less. When the hermit did of old age the small machine was left on its own. It eventually grew up and multiplied, giving birth to the clockwork nation. The reason the humans attacked is because they wanted untiring slaves for labor, while demons wanted untiring soldiers for their clan battles. THIS is why the Great War happened. As for the reason the clockwork are slaves, it is because they agreed to. They knew they would lose the war, so they purged the secret of their creation from their memories, and rigged themselves to kill themselves if they were ever looked at. Since no more could be created, the humans and demons try to preserve as much of the clockworks as possible. And in exchange they offer their servitude, because it is the only way that will ensure their survival."

Hesca is looking at me, mouth agape.

"You must be joking! That's not true!"

I would sigh if I could.

"Believe what you will. But that will not change the fact that, in both our stories, we are a dying race Miss Veneli. I would not be surprised if the enchantments you talked about are no more than mere paint, just used to mark who they belong to."

"I still don't believe you."

"I am not one to force my beliefs upon others. You thanked me for being honest. I have no reason to lie to you right now, just as I did not have one to lie to you then. What you must understand is that we, the clockwork, per our nature, are people who place a great deal of value on accurate information. After all, we would simply not function without it. So telling lies is not in our nature, unless it is absolutely necessary, or if the context calls for it. And it does not right now."

We both fall back into silence as we think about the conversation. I can almost see the turmoil going into the head of Hesca right next to me. But I suppose that if someone suddendly told you that your beliefs were just a bunch of lies, you would be a bit doubtful too.

We continued at a slow but steady pace during all of the afternoon. I would have been faster by foot, but no matter. When night came, we set up camp, which consisted of a small tent in which Hesca will sleep in. I would stand guard throughout the night, not needing to rest.

After the quick dinner, Hesca went directly into her tent, not even speaking to me. I think she is now "sulking". Which I have no problem with. Right now I am using the time on the chariot to continue calibrating to this planets gravity. A task which takes time and repetition to provide the best results. I am also using that time to look at the sun and trying to decipher the nature of those strange rays, something that keeps eluding my understanding.

And so began our week long travel to the border town of Takar.

After three days, Hesca deigned speak to me again, when we were on the road.

"I still don't believe whatever you said, you know."

"I do. The real question you will have to ask yourself is whether you will put everything you take for granted in question when your beliefs will be met with the cold harsh truth of reality, or if you will simply ignore it and enclose yourself in false ideals. But no more of this : we are both clearly not going to change our point of views despite what each other says, so it's better to just let the matter drop for the moment."

She nods.

"Yes, I believe this is for the best."

I stay silent a few minutes before speaking again.

"So tell me : Where do you come from? A girl like you could have had other, and easier, paths in life rather than taking up the sword and roaming the country in the employ of others."

Just as I did, she stays silent a few minutes before answering the question.

"I am just a country girl…" She sighed deeply. "I was born in a farmers family. A simple life, with a simple family. But I aspired for more. So when I found out that I had at least some talent in the sword, I was so happy. So I trained. I stayed in my village first. I think I resented myself a bit for wanting to leave my family behind. But in the end it didn't even matter."

"How so?"

"Wolf attack, a few cycles ago. It took both them."

"I am sorry. My condolences."

"Don't be. Nothing that could be done about it. I have made my peace a long time ago. Even some of the other fringe farmers died to them. The wolves come down each winter when the cold kills most of the preys they normally hunt to feed themselves."

I see her trying to repress a tear.

"I was relieved when it happened. That way I wouldn't have had to choose between staying and going. And then I felt bad about it."

She takes a moment to pull herself together before continuing.

"Anyway, I got and adventurer license, did a few jobs, lived my life how I wanted for a while. Even moved south to make a little bit more money."

She starts shivering a bit, obviously in turmoil.

"And then… on my last job, the caravan we were guarding got attacked. You know the rest of the story. It was supposed to be just a simple escort job… just a simple escort…"

She stops speaking. I can see tears starting to flow down from her eyes. I say nothing. Times heals all ailments. But for some, it takes longer than others.

I look with curious eyes at our surroundings. After a few days of travel I can start seeing some changes in the environment. The unending green hill-covered plains started to give way to small rock formations, along with the occasional patch of sand or dirt around them. I can also feel the climate slowly getting warmer.

Hesca has been silent again, mulling over her issues. I do not want to disturb her. The last thing I need is for her to have an emotional breakdown while inside Takar. We will need a guide and special travel accommodations to cross the desert. I do not want to take the risk of going there unprepared.

We did cross the occasional army patrol on the road, but they only gave us a quick glance before allowing us to continue undisturbed. We adopted the cover of small time merchants bringing supplies from the north to sell at the border. A story that the loot from the bandits allows us to justify easily. They didn't even check underneath my hood, something that I am grateful for, as it spares Hesca from having to explain the reason she "owns" a strange clockwork. Still, I did force her to repeat the cover story of my origins a few times, in case we get asked by the town guards when entering the city. Or by anyone else for that matter.

I have been thinking of ways to create leverage. For the moment my influence is limited by a lot of things. Manly the fact that I have little money, no safe place and no army to rely upon. All in due time I suppose. I will have to build a faction capable of applying enough pressure to make things move. When I saw the attitude my travel companion had about clockworks, I also thought about correcting the misconceptions that people could have. This was kind of my only "peaceful" solution. But my guess is that the Empire and the Church have networks of propaganda that would make all attempts futile. Hence the need for more influence. And I am not naive enough to believe that after nearly fifty years of enslavement, things could be resolved in a peaceful manner. Violence is a regretfully necessary tool of negotiation.

And all of these thoughts don’t even include the Demons. Somethings tells me they will also have a lot to say in the matter.

I am starting to slowly realize the amount of work needed for the success of my mission. It is colossal. At least I have the benefit of being someone organized, and patient.

And this is just for the liberation of my race. I am not taking into consideration all the actions that will need to be undertaken to prevent their enslavement from ever happening again, and those to rebuild the clockwork nation from the ground up.

I sag on my seat, thinking about all of this. Well at least I will be busy. Hesca, seated next to me, gives me a strange look when she sees me hanging there limply. I am interrupted in my internal sobbing when she makes me a small hand gesture, grabbing my attention. I regain a straight posture.

"We will arrive at the border town of Takar in a few moments."

We soon join the main road. We are greeted with a multitude of carriages going in either direction, often with ample armed escorts. I give an inquisitive look to Hesca. She must have figured my question because she answers me as soon as she notices I am turned in her direction.

"Takar is one of the trading hubs between the Desert and the Plains. Pretty much every goods that goes in either directions passes through here. Lots of traffic. What are we doing here anyway? You told me that you wanted to go there, but not what you wanted to do after."

"We are going inside the clockwork desert. I presume our horse and carriage will not be adapted to travel in the sand dunes. We will spend a few days there to look for a guide, gather information, and resupply. You would do well to remember the conditions of your employ. If I see you speak to anybody about anything else than what we agreed on, trust that I will have you dead before the day is over."

Hesca takes a pained expression, and a slightly fearful look.

"You don't need to remind me. I am well aware…"

"Good."

On these words our horses pass over the last small hill. I can see the walls of the city from afar. The surrounding climate has settled to that of an African savannah. Sparse vegetation with the occasional tree are sprinkled atop the short yellow herb covering the orange to brownish sandy dirt ground. The city itself has a more oriental style, very close to some middle-age Turkish architecture. The resemblance is uncanny. I suppose climates and environments influence a big part of the way things are built.

Its small streets run along the closely built square buildings. An occasional circular roof can be seen in what seem to be a gradual staircase of houses to the center of the city. In the middle, around another round of fortified walls, I can see a castle following the city architectural style. The city is circular, with levels leading from the exterior walls to those, higher, of the castle in the center.

I can immediately appreciate the combat potential of the city's structure. Even if the walls were breached, the close sinuous streets would split an invader's superior numbers into a manageable situation. The roofs would also make it easy to place rows of archers with good vantage points on the levels below.

The line of travelers we are now a part of slows down near the north city entrance. The large iron gate is well guarded. I can see the guards, from afar, inspecting each carriage along with the papers of those riding them.

My growing worries are quickly dispelled when I see Hesca hand over a generous purse to the guard in a discreet manner. The guard doesn't even bother to check and signals to let us pass immediately and without further ceremony. I guess corruption is rampant in this world. But I am not going to criticize it as long as it helps us. I doesn't stop me to give a long hard look at Hesca. Uncomfortable, she quickly justifies herself.

"All the jobs I did were not always above the law. I mean, bribing guards is one of the first thing you learn as an adventurer, especially if you are one to explore places with antiquities or treasures. You don't want you hard gotten gains to get confiscated by a greedy city official. It can happen, I am just saying."

A small smile etches its way onto my face.

"I didn't say anything."

She take an exasperated attitude.

"Yeah right. You were thinking it so hard I could hear it from all the way over here."

A small plaza is waiting for us just after the gate.

We start to navigate through the busy streets. There is a LOT of people in this city. By a quick estimate, its population is close to the million.

"We should look for an inn."

Hesca stops the carriage and quickly asks for directions. Soon we arrive to a building with a sign that reads "The Sleeping Drilko". What the hell is a drilko? Question for later. Hesca signals me to wait outside a few moments while she goes inside to negotiate our stay. I strain my sensory equipment just to make sure she doesn't do anything she might regret. She doesn't, and comes back rather fast with a servant in tow. The young boy help takes care of our horse and wagon and invites us inside.

The interior is pretty spacious. From what I can tell it is a tavern inn, with the ground floor as a bar. I can see some stairs in the back that must lead to the rooms. I turn to Hesca.

"The sun will set soon, you should rest for tonight. We will go in the morning to start looking for a guide and supplies. We will also have to sell the carriage, and what is in it. That will give us a bit of wiggle room for new equipment."

She nods and we make our way upstairs, after she had the chance to grab a quick diner at the bar. Two small but comfortable beds are present inside our room, with a small desk and a few chairs. I take one of the chairs and set it near the window, in order to have the whole room in my range of vision, as well as the door and the outside street. After a few minutes I can hear the gentle snoring of the woman.

She is handling this better than I expected for the moment.

Let's hope it stays that way.