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Many years later, the Frontier Skies. |
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It's been quite some time since I have physically written out any sort of diary. The last entry I posted was signifying my death as a human and my rebirth as a true Mechanical Child. There was nothing in the human world left behind for me to care about. Shortly after the last entry, both my parents decided that it was time to be reborn also. In Durem that could only mean one thing; to leave your life behind as a mortal and step into the realm of the Vampires. It was a lot easier to leave them in the dust of my memories if they did the same to me. We were never really close. At least, my mother and I weren't. Can't help but wonder how she convinced my dad to follow her down the path of high class Duremite tradition. I managed to send them a card to express my happiness for them, and farewells. But I secretly mourn the death of my father every day.
Four years have passed since I wrote that last entry. I had stopped writing by hand and had since been making notes into my virtual log. But this warranted physical evidence.Many things have changed. This cyborg body of mine becomes more complex and beautiful every day. With each improvement provided by eager mechanics all over town, and being funded on occassion by some of Aekea's more prominent residents, I grew stronger and stronger. Not just in body but in soul. I haven't regretted turning my back on human flesh and I don't think I will.
But I digress. The reason I am writing this is because I had been given a gift by an orc shaman known only as Makawee. I have never seen this woman face to face, only in my dreams and occassionally in reflections or deep within the flames of a fire. When she gives you a gift though, you know it is her. I don't know how, but seeing something from her stirs something deep inside you, something you can't explain.
This gift was left on my kitchen counter one morning. It was a rather large seed, the size of a walnut when I first saw it. It was smooth and had a dark brown coloring to it. At first. When the morning light hit it, I stared dumbfounded as it reflected a metallic sheen. I had heard of these seeds, Casimir Tree seeds, from Kanoko and Radio Jack while I shopped. The store they worked in existed on an floating island, which floated due to the Casimir Tree that stood there. There had been talk of the burning demi-god, and people using these trees to take flight, but....
I had just started to turn to Retrostacja's bed to ask his opinion, when there was an odd noise in our bathroom. After a moment or two, the noise repeated itself. It was such an odd sound, and I couldn't place it. Just when I started to approach the door, the bathroom door was jerked open and a very naked young man came stumbling out. To be honest, stumbling would be a graceful word to describe what he did. It looked more like a frantic newborn fawn struggling to escape a predator. The look in his eyes was sheer panic. Those large crimson eyes were so scared, and they were pleading for me. "Help," the man yelped as he fell to the floor, disoriented and lacking any form of coordination. I had never heard that voice before, and by the expression on his face, neither had he. It was shaky and rough, and the gruffness of it did not match the more soprano tone. It almost sounded grated, like someone trying to make two gears mesh when they were the wrong sizes.
But I knew those eyes, and would swear my life on knowing that very unique undertone of his voice. Stepping forward, I helped Retrostacja to his feet before he could fall again. Already I could see dark bruises forming on his skin where he had fallen. A faint smell of smoke came from him, and there was no doubt that the shaman had given me more than just the seed.
A few minutes later I had Retrostacja at the kitchen table, clothed in a stained work shirt and a pair of oversized sleeping boxers. I sat next to him as he shoveled food into his mouth. When he had first come out, he was holding himself in such an awkard position I couldn't tell exactly what he looked like. But now that he had calmed down I could get a better look at him. Just like in his real body, this human form was slightly stocky. His jawline was strong and stern, but the rest of his face looked playful. Or at least what I could see of it, considering a thick unruly mop of metallic silver hair hung in his face at wild angles that almost seemed to defy science. Then again, he was magic, and that in itself defied science.
"Dunno," was his answer when I asked him about what happened. "Sleeping. Funny feeling in my stomach. Fire smell. Poof!" As he emphasized the last word with an enthusiastic gesture with his arms, Retrostacja lost his balance and fell out of his seat with the equal lack of grace that he had in his original body. While he struggled to get back to his seat, he nodded to himself with a confused expression on his face. "Kinda like that."
It's been days since he mentioned that smell, and he still smells like it. Also learned that he hasn't gotten rid of the mecha fleas. No matter how many baths he gets, they still recognize him as a mechanical creature. They leave me alone, which is a relief. The two of us sleeping in the same bed is oddly comforting. Tomorrow we take off in our Airship with my friend Willamena. There isn't enough space to describe how that small seed turned into a ship. The intricate metalwork on the ship came from Willamena, and the organic magical and mechanical specifics from Retrostacja and me. Some of my fellow Aekeans have also acquired these Casimir trees, and we all are departing the town together as a fleet. Writing this, I am almost shaking with excitement. This trip will be something I will never forget, and will change all our lives forever.
Frontier of the Skies, watch out. The Mechanical Children will show no fear.
 PQ and Retrostacja · Sun Aug 15, 2010 @ 04:54am · 0 Comments |
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