Leostita, a city located in the country of Kernasi. Though it used to be small, it grew exponentially due to the investment of several rich families. Families who built businesses and created a thriving tourism industry in the city. That city was now being attacked, and Sincan had been called in to deal with it.

Sincan had only been a Solik for a precious few months, but the Gear that he had with him at all times helped him rise quickly through the ranks. He was a popular figure now, being invited to all sorts of events by people, many of which he chose to ignore for his own peace of mind. He never would have thought that getting everything he wanted would come with such a heavy chain around his neck.

He relaxed in the cockpit of Okshender, awaiting the migraine that was sure to come. Are you alright, Sincan? Okshender said inside his head.

Just fine, Ok. People need our help here, so let’s just get it done and leave as soon as we can. He said that, but was reminded of the fact that he would probably have to stay a few days, mostly because he had decided to graciously accept the Showal family’s sponsorship.

The city approached on the horizon, with the first thing that Sincan noticed being the small mascot emblazoned across the entrance to a theme park on the pier. So that’s why it’s on top of every single travel list. Okshender’s jets propelled him across the morning sky towards the city. He flew above the buildings, becoming a sight for the people down below. They took pictures of Okshender, something Sincan wondered if the Gear enjoyed.

Finally, they neared their destination after all that travelling. Sincan had the proper documents to enter Kernasi, so he had just decided to fly the rest of the way on his own terms. Okshender landed on top of the police station’s flat roof as graciously as he could. Once he did, he kneeled and opened his hatch, letting Sincan jump out of the Gear. He wobbled a bit on his feet before standing up straight and flashing a smile to the officers who were there to welcome him.

Since there was no branch set up for Soliks here, he was working as an independent investigator for the police. After they were finished clapping, the chief of police came to personally greet Sincan himself. He was a dark furred lyclan man with an aged look about him and dressed in a suit and vest.

“I’d like to personally welcome you to our city, Mr. Tolkin,” he said to Sincan. Sincan noticed how the man looked a bit on edge however.

“No need to call me that. Just Sincan would be fine, thank you,” he replied.

“Noted. I’m the chief of police, Titanis. Now I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but I think it best for you to get settled down first.”

Before Sincan could respond, a crowd had started gathering in front of the station, staring up at his Gear and taking pictures. Sincan shielded his eyes against it to no use. Uh, Okshender, how about you go for a fly?

I’ll return to the top of the hotel if you need me, Sincan, Okshender replied. Then he took off into the air again, much to the chagrin of his newfound audience.

“Can I at least get a small summary of events, chief?” he asked Titanis. Titanis nodded and led him down into the station proper. There, they sat together in the chief’s office as he explained the events.

“This has been going on for a while now, you understand? From what little evidence we have, we know he has the power to paralyze anyone on sight. That, and the fact that he’s… eccentric in a sense,” Titanis told him.

“Eccentric, how? I’ve dealt with a few of those types myself,” Sincan responded.

“He loves poetry. It’d be pretentious, but I think he does it because he knows it is.”

“So, what part of this can I help with?”

“We were assuming since your Gear is non-human, his abilities wouldn’t work. You’ve heard of those types of Wheels, correct?”

“Seems like a rational decision, chief, but Okshender is technically alive. He might be made of metal, but I’ve confirmed him to be alive myself. A friend of mine helped with that.”

“We won’t know if it’ll be the same for this unless we try. Are you willing to allow that, Sincan?”

“It’s worth trying, at least,” Sincan replied. The chief sighed in satisfaction. “I’ve kept you here for far too long. Get rested for the day. The trip must have tired you out.”

“Think it has. I’ll be staying at the Spencal hotel, if you need me,” he said and finally got up to leave as Titanis returned to organizing his documents on the case.

The hotel itself wasn’t hard to find, as it was a popular spot for those willing to spend some cash. Sincan thought he looked out of place in the area, but continued inside regardless. He met with the lady at the register and got his key with relative ease, only needing to sign a single item.

The room itself was luxury beyond anything Sincan could imagine. The comfiest beds, a great view to the outside and anything he could ever want and name. The room overlooked the city itself with its numerous neon lights shining like stars on the street. I’m going to need to thank them for this, he thought to himself. Eyeing his blankets, he noticed a letter sitting on the bed itself.

Sincan opened it to see a letter left to him by Alumn Showal himself. Someone would be here in the evening to pick him up for an event. Of course, there’s an event. The party would probably be more tiring for him than the entire ride over here. Sincan wished he had given Okshender more concrete orders.

So Sincan washed up in the bathroom and enjoyed a few hours in the hotel before his courier arrived. The rest of his friends would probably laugh at the irony of his situation.

****

The knock at the door came as no surprise to Sincan. He had finished dressing himself long ago, putting on the suits that were available in his closet. He took no time in opening it to reveal a handsome young scalin man who eyed him up and down. He seemed to be in formal clothing, wearing a suit that struck Sincan as a bit pretentious.

“Ah, so you must be Mr. Tolkin! Thank you for accepting our invite,” he gestured respectfully to the man.

“No need for formalities. I’m just Sincan.”

“But you’re also a guest. One who needs to be shown respect, no?”

“Fair point. Who are you?”

“Fenis Showal, your courier for the night. The event is underway at this moment, but I thought being fashionably late would suit an honoured guest like you.”

“About that, I don’t think I can attend an event like that. I came here to solve a case, actually.”

“Well, have you any work to currently do in regards to this case?”

“Not really, but I have to stay vigilant. The chief could call me in at any time to do some work,” Sincan said.

“And while he doesn’t, you can instead enjoy your time here, Mr. Tolkin,” he replied.

“Bu-Ugh, fine. If you say so.”

“In your position, one needs to present themselves in a certain way. Now, let’s go, wouldn’t want to turn that fashionably late into a belated entrance.”

“It’s a delicate balance, I’m sure.”

“I knew you’d understand!” he led Sincan down to the entrance, where he had parked an expensive looking vehicle. He said a few words to the driver and opened the seat for Sincan, gesturing for him to go first.

Sincan noted how the man was professional in all manner of speech. He talked courteously with his own driver, even pulling Sincan into the conversation without effort.

****

Titanis had too much to deal with today. Not only was the new celebrity going to be a hassle to take care of, but the pressure from the families was increasing again. If he didn’t find the person guy behind it all, he’d have more to deal with on his plate than he could feasibly handle at a time.

Blot his soul and swear to die, it was going to be a long few days. His phone rang and an officer’s voice came through. “Sir, I’ve found a few suspicious persons approaching the location.”

“Which street, man?”

“Gilver’s Street, sir. It seems to just be a few vehicles approaching, should we approach them?”

If they acted now and were wrong, Titanis would hear no end of it from the Showal family. “No, keep an eye on it however. Might just be guests arriving at the same time.”

****

“Don’t you ever get tired of that?”

“Well, not really. I’ve quite a penchant for these social situations.”

“One way to put it,” Sincan muttered.

“Anyhow, I guess it does pay to be a cobbler after all,” he finished as they finally arrived on Gilver’s street. Sincan was absorbed in the conversation so he didn’t notice the arrival at all.

Walking inside, he was bombarded immediately by the other guests. It seemed as though have of the people in the giant and luxuriously decorated room had gathered around him in an instant. People shaking his hand and asking him questions faster than he could even understand. Worse still, Fenis seemed to have intentionally left him there to do goddess knows what.

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Sincan Tolkin! Or is it Sir Sincan Tolkin?”

“Uh, I’m not actually a knig-“

“Oi, get Sir Tolkin a drink here!” one of the men shouted to a waiter.

“You don’t really need t-“

“How did you find that Gear of yours, Mr. Tolkin?!” another girl asked him. Maybe I’d tell you if you weren’t talking faster than an auction host.

“Is it comfortable travelling in a Gear? I was wondering if my father would get me one.”

“I don’t think it’s something you can just bu-“

“Maybe you could show me how it feels, Mr. Sincan,” one of the women said as she looked at him with a seductive expression.

“Now, look! You can’t just bombard the man with questions as soon as he enters. He’s a dignified modern knight!” said another woman.

The irony of that would kill anyone who knows what I’m like. Without him even noticing, he had made it to his own little corner of the party, with his unwanted group of course. He tried to think of a way to leave the situation before his entire night was wasted being an answering machine.

Sincan looked around for anything that could serve as a distraction. One of the dishes of food was over a burner keeping it warm, so an idea came to Sincan. His own suit covered his sleeves, hiding his Wheels from sight. He looked towards the burner and enlarged the flame over it, drawing the attention of everybody.

Smirking at his own work, he silently threw the drink in his cup to the side, ridding himself of it immediately. If Titanis called him back for any work, it’d be best to be sober for it.

“Aw, it seems I’m inked. Ran out of drink,” he told his impromptu retinue as he pointed the glass towards them. One of them tried to grab it, “Let me refill that for you, Mr-“ but Sincan held his hand back at the right moment.

“No need, I can go get it myself,” he told him and exited from the group. He took a deep breath after being in the midst of such company for so long. Felt nice to breath something apart from twice used air. He walked over to the drinks, disregarding the butlers and waiters who offered him their services.

Instead of going for something with a buzz, he decided on something that wouldn’t impair his judgement. Picking out the ladle from the bowl of fruit punch, he raised it to his glass to get a fill. It was during this moment that someone else decided to show up and bother him. The homlin man didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, dressed in his rolled up button up shirt, but Sincan felt something weird when he began to speak.

“Evening to you,” he said in a heavily accented tongue. That’s… weird? Sincan looked down at his arm and noticed that his Wheels were perfectly fine. That meant that they should have been translating the speech to him perfectly. He’d never encountered someone with a Wheel who didn’t speak like a native.

“Evening to you as well?” he answered back to the man.

“Enjoying the party?” the man asked, his accent still showing. It felt like he was enunciating the “en” and “a”s a bit too much.

“Best I can be. Must be weird to see two people filling their cups with fruit juice.”

“Must be. Say, how does having scales feel?” the man asked as he snatched the ladle from Sincan’s hand.

“Excuse me?” Sincan replied.

“The whole scaled thing. How’s it feel?”

Now Sincan was really questioning where this man had come from. No normal homlin just asked how someone’s skin felt.

“Well, I couldn’t tell you much. Can’t compare it to how homlin skin feels. Maybe like… small fingernails covering my entire body?”

“So, you need to cut ‘em every once in a while?” the man asked as he poured another ladle full into his cup.

“No, they usually just come off by themselves when they need to.”

“I see, I see. Well, nice having a chat with ya. See ya ‘round.” The man went away, leaving Sincan by himself at the table. Sincan was about to turn away when he focused on the man’s arms. Sleeves rolled up… and no Wheels on either arm?

Sincan disregarded it and took his drink with him while he roamed the venue. Groups of people all talked with each other in here, chatting, sharing gossip or just dancing to the band that had been hired to perform. The pillars holding up the room were beautiful marble, carved with intricate designs and shapes. The stage on which the band was set to perform was surrounded by dancers of all sorts, enjoying their times with their significant others.

Sincan tried to search out Fenis in this crowd, but found him surrounded by several men and women who were laughing alongside him. He guessed that the man was popular around here to attract such a following. Lots of people came up to Sincan personally as well, asking him all sorts of questions about his Solik life and giving him their contact information in case he ever wanted to give them a call.

Sincan was signing a toy for someone’s kid, so he didn’t notice the aged scalin man approaching him from behind. After the woman took her child away, Sincan turned to face the man who introduced himself.

“Welcome, Mr. Tolkin! I hope you’re enjoying your time here?”

“I guess I am.”

He chuckled a bit. “My apologies for not arriving sooner, I was preoccupied with preparations for the event.”

“It’s extravagant so I’m sure it took a lot, Mr. Showal.”

“Please, just Alumn is fine enough. I don’t need any honours.”

They walked alongside each other while conversing at the same time.

“It was easy finding you from the guests who came trailing towards your location every few moments, Sincan.”

“I know. Seems like all they ask about is the Gear. Maybe if I brought Okshender around, they’d start bugging him and not me.”

“Well, they think of it as a great honour to have a Gear like that, you see. His appearance does resemble those of our ancient knights, after all.” Sincan perked up at the mention.

“Really?”

“I’ve only seen a few pictures of the Gear myself, but yes. By correlation, they think of you as knight-like.”

“I don’t think I have the same disposition those old warriors did, but thanks for the compliment, Mr. Showal.”

“Of course, you might not have it yet, but you can become like them one day. I, for one, look forward to seeing you live up to the legacy of the knights of Kernasi.”

The music stopped playing as the band left the stage. Alumn looked at his watch and then back to Sincan.

“Oh, seems I should get prepared.” He bid Sincan farewell and turned to walk away, but instead he just stood in place, jutting to a halt.

“Huh?” he exclaimed as he tried to get his feet moving again. To Sincan, it looked like the man was straining against some invisible bindings to move.

“Mr. Showal?” Sincan asked and tried raising his hand, but he felt a strong resistance towards it. It was extremely difficult to move even an inch of his hand. The only thing he could move easily was his eyes. He looked towards the stage, whose curtains were opening up to reveal a tall blonde homlin man in a suit.

Sincan couldn’t get a look at his face, which was behind a plain white mask with a crescent on it. A voice rang out from the man, capturing the attention of the paralyzed audience.

“Welcome all, Welcome here. I hope you enjoy and please, do not fear,” he said as he held his arms at his sides. Sincan wondered where the security was at the moment. They wouldn’t have just let some random man into the event.

“I hope you’re all enjoying your time, eating and drinking, ignoring the grime,” he continued on.

“I go by Alfis, another you’ve disgraced. Now, when introductions are through, it’s time to begin to ransack this venue.” At his command, several men and women dressed like security guards rushed into the building and started to rip off the jewelry of the attendees. Necklaces, bracelets, rings and all, were stolen and stuffed into bags that the men had brought with themselves. They also took several children, tied them up and started hauling them outside.

Sincan watched it all going on, the room silent as the people couldn’t move their mouths to respond. He tried focusing on the man’s hands, but the sleeves of his suit covered them, not giving Sincan any indication of whether the man was using a Wheel or not.

Alfis’ eyes caught Sincan, and he felt that the man was smiling behind his mask. “So, you’re the hero they brought in to deal with me. A pity that you’re useless for all to see.” Sincan felt his mouth loosen up, letting him talk for a moment.

“Why are you doing this? Who’re you working fo-“ He felt his jaw tighten mid-sentence, leaving it gaping.

“None of that now. You speak the way I’ve showed you how.” Sincan felt the anger boiling up inside him. He felt his jaw loosen again but took a moment to formulate what he was thinking?

“Why are you doing this, is petty crime your business?” Sincan asked, hateful at the fact that he was playing along with the man’s plans.

“Revenge, dear Sincan. Though I wouldn’t expect understanding from someone who rides a tin can.”

“Look around at the luxury, sewn into even their sheets. While outside everyone lives in misery on the streets. I’m doing what’s right, getting rid of these rats, ignoring their plight. They did unto my city injustice and corruption; this is just the recompense’s eruption.”

“Then leave the city, find another place, somewhere where I don’t need to see your face,” Sincan replied.

“Oh, even still you’ve got fight. You’d make a great ally, but not tonight. This was my city, my people, my places. They took them all and plastered over them their faces. I’ll return it to what it once was, a place of community, these rich scum will no longer have any immunity.”

After Alfis finished, a short homlin woman trounced up to him and whispered something in his ear. He nodded to her and gestured to his men to leave. They carried their victims with them outside the venue, something Sincan couldn’t stop them from doing. Alfis himself stayed behind, which caught Sincan’s eye. So, he might need to be here for the paralysis to take effect.

“But alas, the night’s activities come to an end. Now be warned,” he said as he turned his back to the audience, still staring at them, “I’m going to show you what happens when justice hasn’t been sent.”

He ran into the stairwell, leaving the people dazed and horrified. Many people screamed out for their children, asking for help in any way that they could. Sincan took only a moment to adjust and ran into the stairwell, trying to gain on Alfis so that he wouldn’t escape.

He emerged onto the roof top just in time to feel the wind blasting him backwards. He looked up to see Alfis boarding an airship, a smaller variety that Sincan couldn’t recognize. Alfis waved to Sincan as the ship started ascending. Sincan tried to move again, but Alfis paralyzed him. Sincan wanted to do something, anything in that situation, so he moved bewl through his arms and into his Wheel, generating a ball of flame in front of that launched towards Alfis.

The fire missed his ship, giving the man ample time to escape. Sincan could only watch it happen. After he left, Sincan sat down on the rooftop and readjusted himself. He can’t stop Wheels, only people. I need to contact Titanis.