《Atlas Awakens》Chapter 17- Azure Dreams
Advertisement
Kye's plane was beginning its descent onto the runway of the Kingdom of Speria's royal airport. Dillon had gotten in touch with Tyson and he agreed to meet Kye and Sebastian at the airport to take them to a hotel run by the Wild Mares where they would be staying until business concluded. Kye was wearing his armoured jacket and had his hair in a messy style as Kye was informed by Dillon that Tyson was someone who talked with his fists more often than not and would likely agree to the plan off of the results of a fight and Dillon's good word. Kye's greatsword was still being worked on by Hephaestus so his only weapon was his gauntlet and magic, which may not be enough alone as Tyson was blessed by Tyr, the norse god of war and justice. One would rightly ask why a gang leader would be associated with a god that had providence over something like justice and law. The answer that Kye was given when he asked the same question was that the Wild Mares were a gang in name only and that their main 'underworld' activity was maintaining an iron grip on certain hunting grounds in the Sperian Plains where certian rare monsters appeared. This gave the Wild Mares exclusive rights to many valuable monster parts that blacksmiths and artisans clamoured over. With this, they set up a financial base of many auction houses to sell off these materials to the highest bidder, often being rich families who would stockpile these materials to get famed artisans on their side, or to commission powerful weapons from prolific blacksmiths. This was one of the reasons Kye wanted to bring the Wild Mares onto his side, as having access to these materials would allow him to give his vassals more powerful equipment than what their families could likely afford, but also because the Wild Mares had many powerful combatants who regularly hunted large and dangerous monsters. Even though Kye knew that he wouldn't be able to aquire the entire gang, just having a handful of these hunters would make his future plans much easier.
The plane touched down and the stairs descended. Kye walked out onto the runway with his briefcase and Sebastian followed behind with two suitcases. A tall man with a rough brown beard and a shaved head stood flanked by four armed men in suits. As Kye and Sebastian approached, the tall man walked forward to meet them.
"You must by Kye right?"
"And I presume that you're Tyson?"
The man nodded and stuck out his hand. Kye shook it as Tyson continued speaking.
"I've heard a lot from Slate but not enough for me to be satisfied right now. I trust his choice to follow your plan but to be frank, I don't have any faith in your own strength to actually follow through. I'm fine with doing muscle work, but I need to know that if shit hits the fan, the boss is going to be there with everyone else and not hiding in some ivory tower."
Advertisement
"I can understand that. I'm willing to prove my strength to you through whatever test you deem necessary."
Tyson nodded and waved his hand to one of the guards. They stepped forward and presented Kye with a silver card.
"This card is to one of the vip suites in the hotel 'Azure Dream', which is where one of our auction houses is. Please use that room while you're here and get some rest. I'll have you undergo your test in two days time."
Kye nodded and took the card from the guard, placing it in his pocket.
"See you in two days."
Tyson turned his back and walked away with his guards falling in line behind him. Kye looked to Sebastian and gave a grin.
"Looks like this'll be more than politics."
"Indeed young master. It appears that you will be forced to display your strength here."
Kye looked up at the sky. He wondered how many times he would have to prove himself in this life but before his thoughts could wander too much, he shook his head and made his way for the private airport terminal garage where a car would be waiting for them. Because Kye was going to be enrolled in the Divine Academy at age 15, he would be legally considered an adult the day he turned 15. This meant that he could legally drive, drink and do all things age restricted to those under 18 years of age at 15. With Kye's fascination with machines, he had already bought a car and worked on it endlessly as a form of relaxation. Sebastian would often allow Kye to drive when it was just the two of them on business as he could legally supervise Kye's driving. It was a black sporty muscle car with heavily tinted windows and doors that opened upwards instead of outwards. The inside was upholstered in a dark red and muted grey. The entire car was reinforced to be bullet-proof and had a deployable weapon system built into the chassis that would turn the car into a battle vehicle should the need arise. Kye was excited to get to drive it once again, even if it was just to the hotel. Sebastian placed Kye's brifcase and the two suitcases into the trunk before climbing into the passenger seat next to Kye. Kye started the engine and released a blissful sigh as he ran his hands lovingly over the steering wheel.
"Heavens I missed this."
Sebastian smiled and let Kye enjoy his time driving as the car pulled out of the garage and made its way down the narrow airport streets until they reached the highway. Kye was a very skilled driver and high speeds posed no problems for him but he stuck to the recommended speed limit even though the open highway of the Kingdom of Speria had no legal limit on speed. The drive was short but Kye had a big smile on his face the whole time as they cruised their way towards the hotel. Kye pulled up at the front of the hotel where a concierge came and met them.
Advertisement
"Welcome to the Azure Dream. Do you have a reservation or a pre-arranged card?"
Kye pulled out the silver card he got from Tyson.
"Pre-arranged card. Could you also arrange for a valet and bellhop?"
The concierge inserted the card into a reader mounted on his wrist and after confirming the card was legitimate, he bowed towards Kye.
"Of course sir. If you would kindly hand over the keys to your car, I will have the valet take it to the vip parking lot. The bellhop has been called and will be out shortly to take your luggage to your suite. We hope you have a pleasant stay with us here at the Azure Dream."
The concierge walked away as a young man with a trolley came out of the doors and took their luggage. Kye and Sebastian followed the bellhop to the room. They went up 40 floors before the elevator came to a halt and they stepped out into a small room that had one door that led to the suite.
"Here we are sirs, where should I put your bags?"
"Just here will be fine thanks."
The young man placed the bags on the ground and Kye handed the man a white coloured chip. Due to the climate of the continent, several currencies were in circulation just a few years ago but due to a push from the trade focused nation of the Democratic Rebublic of Colondia, a new universal currency system was adopted by all those with ties to Agartha. While the Democratic Rebublic still used it's own dollar for internal transactions but doing business outside was all done with these chips called 'aurum' became the standard. This was done because some policies prevented the Democratic Rebublic's companies from not regionally pricing goods, and they were forced to offer equivilent prices or suffer further trade tarrifs. With this new form of universal currency, the Democratic Rebublic reaffirmed its position as the economic powerhouse of the Divine Continent. a white aurum chip was worth roughly 47 dollars which would equate out to around 75 spica, the currency in the Kingdom of Speria.
"For your troubles."
Kye gave the man a smile and he bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much!" and he left down the elevator.
Truthfully, the introduction of aurum was partly one of Kye's ideas. He had positied the idea to his father who had massive pull in the Democratic Rebublic's governance. With his lobbying and spotting the potential for greater profits, many other large companies got behind the idea and pushed for the legislation to pass. After some problems, the aurum currency was estabilshed and used for all trade along with regional currencies. The value of the aurum was directly dictated by the Democratic Rebublic's own dollar value, as the circulators of the currency, they had the right to set the peg on what material the aurum would be made out of. Deciding on a gold alloy, the standard of the aurum was placed on the global gold price, with each milligram of gold used in the aurum deciding it's value. A 1 miligram aurum was coloured bronze and equated to around 9.4 dollars. The chip Kye gave was a white one with 5 miligrams of gold in it.
"Was that much an appropriate tip young master?"
"Better to be generous now while we can afford it. I don't want people to think i'm doing this for the money after all. Showing a bit of generosity now will help spread some good will."
Sebastian nodded. He took the bags and entered into the suite with Kye following behind. Kye gave out an impressed whistle as he entered the suite. It was very luxurious with high ceilings and a very stylish layout with an open kitchen and a fancy living room with a very large TV mounted above a magical fireplace. The floor was a white stone tile that was smooth and polished to perfection. Kye walked to a room on the far side of the massive living room and opened it to find the master bedroom. It was a beautifully minimalist room with a very comfy looking double bed. The walls were all a stark white with no funishings hanging off them. The bed was adorned with white pillows and a white quilt. It was designed as if anything other than monochrome was something to be feared, which certainly appealed to Kye as it was ideal to sleep in. Nothing to distract one from the task of resting was something that was stressed to Kye by Thanatos, as meditation required no outside interferance, having bright colours could cause distractions. Kye poked his head out of the doorway to talk to Sebastian.
"I'm going to take a short nap before we go and do some things in the city. Take a break yourself alright? You might only be 50 but I don't want you to overwork yourself."
"Certainly young master. Shall I wake you up?"
"In three hours if you would. Thanks Sebastian."
Sebastian gave a bow as he went to prepare a drink for himself. Kye closed the door to his room and jumped onto the bed face down. The pollowy sensation of the bed slowly overcame Kye's weary mind and he fell into a deep sleep.
Advertisement
Operation Abaddon
A rip in the fabric between this dimension and one of horrors releases dark entities and forces into our world. Alan Preston commands a small band of specially chosen mercenaries in an attempt to contain them and search for a means of closing the rift at the same time as he and his wife Anne must face their own demons from their past.
8 321Dragon, Knight
When one becomes a knight, they accept a certain standard befitting of one. Well, mostly. Volsten is a knight that isn't all that knightly. He's young, handsome, and quite gifted with a blade. His problems, however, aren't physical. He's rude, greedy, and a womaniser to his very core. Unfit for courtly life or the rigors of the king's army, he wanders the world in search of gold. That is, until he meets a mysterious dragon girl. This chance encounter changes the course of his life-for better, or worse.
8 118Chronicles of Ard : The Silver Demi-Dragon
"Wielders", or those born with ability to change the physical world around them through runes and a mystical force known as Ard. The world changed over a millennium ago when the High Mage split Ard. It stopped a rebellion but changed the way magic worked. Two people are now required to wield Ard, the ConArd and the WizArd. The ConArd acts as the source for the Ard that the WizArd wields. In the days of old there were those that bonded to miniature Dragons, Demi-Dragons, to increase their power. The demi-dragons have long since disappeared from the world but they are returning and with them they bring change. Book 1 is the journey of discovery of a young man as he makes an amazing discovery that will change his life forever. A bond will be formed that will lead him to leave his home and journey across the country to try to fulfill a destiny he is not sure he wants. This is my first attempt at writing and this book has been in kicking around in my head for over 5 years. Let me know what you think.
8 146Dark Orange: Revive (Biweekly updates)
22 years ago, a storm of darkness fell over New York City, forever shrouding it and coating its buildings in obsidian casts. Making matters worse, some people have become Grays—mindless and strong variants of themselves. Now The Numbers—nameless young adults trained to fight in the city, must set out to change it back, lest its current change brings something far worse for the few survivors.
8 200Gamemaster's Adventures in another world
It's your typical "I got transfer to another world by death or some virtual reality game," but this time it's the Gamemaster who gets transferred to another world. Fortunately, he gets to keep his powers. (Think of this like light novel, The New Gate.) - - - - - - Verden Kyler is a gamemaster of a Game Master in a virutal world called Avant-Garde’s Mirror Sky. For unknown reason, he's been transported to another world that appears to be Avant-Garde’s Mirror Sky, but thirty years have passed and the players who once roam the world are considered distance legends. Fortunately, Verden gets to keep his powers as a Game Master only unrestricted now. What shall he do?
8 81One Man Army
Leveling up, kicking ass, and taking names are all just a part of the challenge for Star. The more difficult the game the more motivated he is to play it. Warfare Online, the most notorious of all FIVR games on the market had offered that challenge. Now among the best of the best players, Star finds himself transported to another world still inside of his game avatar. War, Violence, Lust, Crimes, and Conspiracy push Star to do things that he'd never thought he'd ever do in real life.
8 99