Mankest.Dedes
Reproductive Fiend Extraordinaire
At the Center of the World, where everything happens, is the city of steam and magic. Know
n colloquially as the Machine City which is the translation of its proper name Kutha Waja, it is the center of all science and magic, culture and tradition. All things descend from the Machine City, and the Machine City descends from its founder. Akukho Kwanto, the last living great hero of the Dark Ages. Founded by an immortal being, the city is an immortal bastion of hope and progress.
To this day, Akukho still works on perfecting magic infused technology. Improving both his own machine body and the city as a whole, never forgetting even the least of his city. From the overgrown warrens below, where all crops and magical plants are grown, to the glorious heights where the perfection of flight is the primary goal. No part of the city is younger than a year, every single segment rebuilt annually to be more efficient and wondrous for all who live there.
Above they live in the sunlight, below they have Suncasters that catch the light of their one and only star and project it down below. Above they have fresh air, below they have the cleanest air because of the Aircleansers that filter all impurities and poisons. Each layer relies on technology to the point that they cannot imagine life for a single second without. This is the world Akukho built, for every friend he lost on the way to this goal. He had saved the world by their side, fighting evil at every level. From interdimensional horrors of incomprehensible appearance, to despots and bigots. They built an idyllic society, and only Akukho lives on. Preserving their hard work, at the sacrifice of his own freedom of choice and movement. At least that's what Akukho tells everyone.
In reality, it is a city that feeds Akukho's magical talents. He draws power from the city, building himself as an immortal god king for the mortals who do not live long enough to see his iron grip tightening. Each generation is born tighter in his grip, where they rely more and more on him. None know his true goals, none know his reasoning, they only know him as the icon he's built himself as. The legends on which the society is built, the heroes who stood alongside him, all were manufactured or manipulated to make Akukho into a much greater hero for these people.
But he is not wicked, or despotic, or even particularly aggressive. Akukho simply wishes to never die, because he is aware the sum total of his sins has not yet been washed away by the sum total of good he has done. Highly doubtful of ever reaching that goal of good outweighing evil. Though he stands ever as a protector of the city, and for some reason his alarm was going off.
Extra loud speakers blared a siren through the high tower on which he watched over the city, klaxon boomed and filled his artificial ears. Were he still organic, this would be agonizing more than annoying. Through the spiral corridors that lead up to the highest point, he moved at a brisk pace and arrived only minutes after the alarm had sounded. Warning screens popped images back and forth to every observer eye he had planted across the city, they showed no image of any figure but something had clearly triggered the alarm.
Through a series of runic inputs he changed the imagery to pick up on different magical or otherwise unnatural means of movement. Invisible, phasing, teleportation, and plane walking didn't pop up anything. Transitioning into interdimensional scanners there was an unauthorized portal being formed near the southern end of the third level, the manufacturing sector where weapons and armor were developed. This was disquieting, for obvious reasons, anyone who wished to enter the manufacturing sector without permission had only two goals. Steal weapons and armor and be a nuisance, or destroy weapons and armor and be a nuisance. Either way, a nuisance was on its way in and he was having none of that.
He looked out the window and spotted an airship, which he took note of. Then towards the table of runes and input a few commands regarding that ship. It was with a casual grace of movement that only Elves really attain that he moved to the window's edge and leaped, soaring from the tower and down to the nearest airship which was passing by. His mechanical fingers gently but firmly gripping to the ledge of the ship, holding him to the porthole so he could knock. The surprised captain opened the hole and Akukho spoke in his vibrating melodic voice, "Please drop me at the Manufacturing Sector, level three. I have given your ship easy pass access through the shipping tunnels, do not worry about the security drones."
Puppy-like, the captain nodded and closed the porthole, turning the side burners on with a rune to twist the ship about face and towards the shipping tunnels. Past buzzing mechanical drones armed to the teeth with magical firearms the ship sailed down into the depths where he weaved through the exiting shipping carriers. Massive, the size of entire buildings, they were imperious in their advance. Anything that got in their way was ignored, and that was why it required special access into the shipping tunnels. People would die if they got in the way.
Several minutes passed without observation of the potential portal, so Akukho got antsy as they approached level three. He signaled to the captain to return back up, and then leaped from the ship and onto one of the shipping carriers, then to another and another. Like some kind of performance of acrobats he nimbly made his way down into the third sector and pulled up an image of the area from memory. Restarting his pathing he moved and waved people out of the sector. Speaking gently but with a volume unable to be matched by normal men. "You are in danger if you remain. Please exit the area, there is a quarantine in effect for the next two days. Manufacturing is not worth the lives of working men and women, no matter how small or great." It was rehearsed, he just didn't want to have to train new workers and wanted to keep the current batch alive so they could train the next.
By the time he had arrived at the entry point it was just beginning to break dawn, an entire workday's worth of productivity would be wasted because of this. He could have spared one day, but this would make for a sum total of three days, one day lost and two days to enact quarantine. What a disappointment.
The portal would open soon, so Akukho reached to his back underneath his cloak and withdrew Whitesnake. Channeling a charge of magic through the handle and locking it into his grip. He waited for the portal to reveal the intruder.
To this day, Akukho still works on perfecting magic infused technology. Improving both his own machine body and the city as a whole, never forgetting even the least of his city. From the overgrown warrens below, where all crops and magical plants are grown, to the glorious heights where the perfection of flight is the primary goal. No part of the city is younger than a year, every single segment rebuilt annually to be more efficient and wondrous for all who live there.
Above they live in the sunlight, below they have Suncasters that catch the light of their one and only star and project it down below. Above they have fresh air, below they have the cleanest air because of the Aircleansers that filter all impurities and poisons. Each layer relies on technology to the point that they cannot imagine life for a single second without. This is the world Akukho built, for every friend he lost on the way to this goal. He had saved the world by their side, fighting evil at every level. From interdimensional horrors of incomprehensible appearance, to despots and bigots. They built an idyllic society, and only Akukho lives on. Preserving their hard work, at the sacrifice of his own freedom of choice and movement. At least that's what Akukho tells everyone.
In reality, it is a city that feeds Akukho's magical talents. He draws power from the city, building himself as an immortal god king for the mortals who do not live long enough to see his iron grip tightening. Each generation is born tighter in his grip, where they rely more and more on him. None know his true goals, none know his reasoning, they only know him as the icon he's built himself as. The legends on which the society is built, the heroes who stood alongside him, all were manufactured or manipulated to make Akukho into a much greater hero for these people.
But he is not wicked, or despotic, or even particularly aggressive. Akukho simply wishes to never die, because he is aware the sum total of his sins has not yet been washed away by the sum total of good he has done. Highly doubtful of ever reaching that goal of good outweighing evil. Though he stands ever as a protector of the city, and for some reason his alarm was going off.
Extra loud speakers blared a siren through the high tower on which he watched over the city, klaxon boomed and filled his artificial ears. Were he still organic, this would be agonizing more than annoying. Through the spiral corridors that lead up to the highest point, he moved at a brisk pace and arrived only minutes after the alarm had sounded. Warning screens popped images back and forth to every observer eye he had planted across the city, they showed no image of any figure but something had clearly triggered the alarm.
Through a series of runic inputs he changed the imagery to pick up on different magical or otherwise unnatural means of movement. Invisible, phasing, teleportation, and plane walking didn't pop up anything. Transitioning into interdimensional scanners there was an unauthorized portal being formed near the southern end of the third level, the manufacturing sector where weapons and armor were developed. This was disquieting, for obvious reasons, anyone who wished to enter the manufacturing sector without permission had only two goals. Steal weapons and armor and be a nuisance, or destroy weapons and armor and be a nuisance. Either way, a nuisance was on its way in and he was having none of that.
He looked out the window and spotted an airship, which he took note of. Then towards the table of runes and input a few commands regarding that ship. It was with a casual grace of movement that only Elves really attain that he moved to the window's edge and leaped, soaring from the tower and down to the nearest airship which was passing by. His mechanical fingers gently but firmly gripping to the ledge of the ship, holding him to the porthole so he could knock. The surprised captain opened the hole and Akukho spoke in his vibrating melodic voice, "Please drop me at the Manufacturing Sector, level three. I have given your ship easy pass access through the shipping tunnels, do not worry about the security drones."
Puppy-like, the captain nodded and closed the porthole, turning the side burners on with a rune to twist the ship about face and towards the shipping tunnels. Past buzzing mechanical drones armed to the teeth with magical firearms the ship sailed down into the depths where he weaved through the exiting shipping carriers. Massive, the size of entire buildings, they were imperious in their advance. Anything that got in their way was ignored, and that was why it required special access into the shipping tunnels. People would die if they got in the way.
Several minutes passed without observation of the potential portal, so Akukho got antsy as they approached level three. He signaled to the captain to return back up, and then leaped from the ship and onto one of the shipping carriers, then to another and another. Like some kind of performance of acrobats he nimbly made his way down into the third sector and pulled up an image of the area from memory. Restarting his pathing he moved and waved people out of the sector. Speaking gently but with a volume unable to be matched by normal men. "You are in danger if you remain. Please exit the area, there is a quarantine in effect for the next two days. Manufacturing is not worth the lives of working men and women, no matter how small or great." It was rehearsed, he just didn't want to have to train new workers and wanted to keep the current batch alive so they could train the next.
By the time he had arrived at the entry point it was just beginning to break dawn, an entire workday's worth of productivity would be wasted because of this. He could have spared one day, but this would make for a sum total of three days, one day lost and two days to enact quarantine. What a disappointment.
The portal would open soon, so Akukho reached to his back underneath his cloak and withdrew Whitesnake. Channeling a charge of magic through the handle and locking it into his grip. He waited for the portal to reveal the intruder.
