Chapter 1

Among the swaying branches of ageless trees, a titan trod over the dancing grass. Beams of light pierced through the disheartening clouds who showered the ground below in rain. The machine marched endlessly, crushing all that stood below its armored heels. Although the graveyard it created was far behind it, remains of the massacre still stuck to its metallic skin, only to be slowly washed away by the downpour. In what seemed like a location not different from any other in the forest, the machine stopped.

“Scanning…” it declared.

“Subterranean resources sufficient… Constructing mass extractor...”

Within the machine’s torso, a series of unnatural, mechanical noises emanated. After a period of time, the compartment opened, revealing what seemed like a piece of silver and grey metal plating with patterned edges. Using its hand, it placed the smooth metal on the ground and closed the compartment, and another period of time passed before a second fragment was produced. The two metal plates interlocked like pieces of a puzzle. Welded together by the machine’s high-intensity welding torch, the metal held firm together. Slowly, the machine repeated the process until the foundation was constructed. Then it continued the tedious task, fusing component after component of varying complexity until a large three-story structure was built. By then, the day had passed as the sky shifted from orange to black.

“Construction complete… Powering structure…”

The titan turned around and pressed its back against the side of the structure. Following a series of clicks, the lights on the newly-built architecture lit up.

“Requesting mission parameters… Error. Connection with Mainframe cannot be established… Proceeding to default protocols.”

It stepped away from the structure and behind the machine, a series of thick tubes latched on, connecting the two. Four, equally spaced, rectangular beams shot out of the extractor at forty-five-degree angles into the soil around it. The structure slowly adjusted itself until it sat completely upright before locking the beams in place. Several hatches opened near the building’s base, and the moment the extractor’s motors began to roar, massive quantities of dirt were forcefully ejected from the vents.

“Mass extractor operational. Steady supply of mass acquired. Proceeding to-”

The machine suddenly stopped and stood still. Its optical sensors twitched, instead of trees and grass, the titan saw something else, something it was not familiar with.

A white room, a bright light, a strange sense of warmth filled that it did not understand. It attempted to move, to survey its surrounding, but it failed. From inside, a voice filled its conscience and mumbled incoherent words and phrases.

Its vision then suddenly returned, to the world tinted orange, the world it intruded. The machine jolted it body and surveyed side to side, nothing matched the scene from before.

“Analyzing internal systems… Possible damage detected… Possible software corruption detected… Attempting to isolate faulty function… Failed… Field repairs unavailable… Systems still within acceptable parameters… Resuming tasks…”

The machine then moved a short distance away from the extractor and the tubes connecting the two stretched but did not sever. It gripped the trunk of the trees with its mechanical hands and tore them from the earth. One by one, the trees were ripped from their roots and tossed aside. Eventually, only a large opening six times the area of the extractor remained with the foliage of the forest surrounding it.

“Ground suitable for development… Constructing Manufactury.”

Repeating the same process as before, the machine labouriously assembled the new structure. Within a few days, the massive foundation was built and the rest of the Manufactury soon followed. The components were first fabricated internally, then they were extracted and welded to their respective places on the foundation. A week had passed since its initial landing into this strange new world. Finally, the structure was complete.

“Construction complete…”

It detached the two connectors from its back and locked it to the ports located on the side of the Manufactury.

“Structure status… Low power. Switching priorities to construction of power source. Scanning… Subterranean water source located… Area contain ample source for combustion… Conclusion. Constructing steam turbine.”

The steam turbine required about just as much time as the Manufactury. What was left of the unwashed blood had dried and flaked off by the time the structure was complete. Most of the creatures who resided within the forest had gotten used to the machine’s presence, however, they still refused to approach.

In order to ensure that it had enough mass to construct the building and that the extractor did not run out of power, a new set of connections was formed between it and the machine. A few minutes after the generator was connected to the power grid, its turbines twitched. Quickly, the large machine tossed the fragmented wood into the generator’s furnace and watched as the growing flame enveloped all that was thrown in. While a continuous stream of fuel was fed to the generator, the structure bored holes into the soil. Once it struck the aquifer deep underground, the turbines began to turn as clouds of smoke escaped from its cylindrical stacks.

“Generator operational… Securing connections.”

The Manufactury came to life the moment both the generator and mass extractor were connected. It screeched a series of high pitched noises as it began to fabricate some unknown contraption. Out of its sealed compartments expelled fragmented segments of a larger build. The many welding and mechanical arms that protruded from the structure’s inner walls fixed the outputted pieces together, assembling them on a platform toward the center of the building. When all of the pieces were welded together, the structure scanned its creation with its assortment of sensors. Satisfied with its work, the Manufactury lowered the platform. Immediately, the newly-built bipedal machine, with its blocky central body balanced around the large storage container on its back, engaged its sensors for the first time. It check its arms for functionality before it stepped off the platform.

Beep-Beep. The smaller machine voiced.

“Production of Worker Automaton successful. Assigning task: Collection. Exploration. Investigation.”

The worker robot beeped twice in response and approached the forest. Out of its arm came a circular saw, which it promptly used to chop down the tree. The fallen log was then carried to the generator and fed to its ever-hungry flame.

“Wood… Insufficient energy source… Priority set. Alternative fuel source necessary.”

As the titanic machine explored and scanned for resources, the Manufactury continued its production of worker bots, who attended to their respective tasks. In just a few weeks, what once was a thick, lush forest was now diminished day by day. Its greenery was stripped from the surface and the earth underneath, tilled and dotted with incongruous entities of machine and metal.

***

“YOUR MAJESTY!” a man cloaked in green shouted in his raspy voice. He dashed toward the center of a large hall and was promptly stopped by two guards, who were clad from head to toe in armor. The two guards held large, enchanted halberds, which glowed light yellow at the user’s demand.

“YOU FOOL!” the guard screamed at the intruding man. “HIS MAJESTY IS ATTENDING TO OTHER MATTERS, AWAIT YOUR SUMMON!”

“I-I cannot, for t-the news are grave!” the cloaked man stuttered. “Your Majesty, this is urgent!”

Within this extravagant room decorated with countless statues, rugs, and finely carved marble, held a seat made of solid gold and lined with silk. Upon it, an imposing figure adorning an expensive outfit waved his hand, signaling the guards to release the robed man. The golden crown, encrusted with alluring jewels of various color, contrasted with his disinterested and tired expression.

“The weekly reports can come later,” the throned man dismissed his ministers, who remained kneeling. His attention then shifted to the unrecognized individual who trespassed into the court. The king felt that the stranger’s voice held resonance, but he could not quite recognize it. “Now, who are you and for what reason did you disrespect my rule?”

As soon as the guards released their hold on the robed man, he pulled back his hood and revealed his half mutilated face. At the presence of such a disparaging sight, the audience of the court gasped in unison, even the king widened his eyes and dropped his jaw.

“Argus!?” the king muttered. “By the divines, w-what happened to your-?!”

“Father!” Argus began to weep, however, only half his face could move. “Sirus… Sirus is dead! Our knights… dead… Everyone… dead!”

The king quickly recomposed himself.

“The campaign was a failure? What sort of treachery did those peasants of the Republic employ?!”

“It…” the prince collapsed onto his knees. “It was neither the work of the Republic nor any mortal… fire… explosions… the gods have forsaken us, Father…!” he glanced at his trembling hands, covered in bloody bandages. “Sirus… ripped to shreds… the bleeding wouldn’t stop…”

Having heard enough, the king stood up on his feet.

“Take Argus to the infirmary, have him treated by the best of the sage priests!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” One of the guards lifted the frozen prince and hastily exited the hall.

“Knight Remus!” the king commanded, and an armored individual then kneeled in response. “Seek the beast that dared to harm my children! In my name, King Justus III, this transgression will not stand!”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” The knight then promptly left the hall.

Still shocked by the inconceivable news, the king sat back down and slumped over in his seat. He held his hand over his eyes as he attempted to get ahold of the situation.

“H-How could this have happened?…” the man muttered. “I’ve given them the best equipment… the strongest of blessings… the most elite of my men… How will I break the news to Margaret...” Justus sighed as he clamped his hands together against his forehead. “May the divines grant us their favor… for I sense a storm’s wake.”