Fantasy The Gears of War

[Folly-Derrezzed]

There was nothing but metal under his gait, heavy footsteps shuffle along the city streets near the edge of the block. Humans minding their own business while walking to their jobs or handing out newspapers. Mostly senseless and overestimulating.

Heavy, agitated breaths left his nostrils as thry flared from a snarl. Outside of his tginking was the loud clacking of gears and fans, metal against metal. The screetching of pulleys and cogs echoed through the elevator as he descended from the council building, the platform rattling like teeth. His wing made a crack as a ratchet joint bent from his weight. He felt defeated and betrayed. His name is Krosis, a wyvern. Like him, people all over the Isle just wish to live in peace and prosper.

However, that isnt the case. Not now and forever, conquest will drip from the tongue of marauders previously unknown to these sea and islands. They now hunger for our world and homes to fill their bellies. And now one of the Isles biggest powers have declared isolation from the war.

Not all hope is lost, however. Kingdoms from all over have unified to fight back the Khenkari Nation. Some have retreated past the Jagged Path, free from the threat. Cowards, the dragon thought past his heated stride.
Chordling

 

[Chordling]

A tall young man wandered through the steam and smoke of the city streets with flyers burrowed in the hold of his arms. He paused mid-stride just for a moment to admire the vessels fastened with wings and balloons drifting overhead with coughing engines that added to the daily sounds of society. Landon, the young man, had lived on this island his whole life and he still felt the same sense of wonder and awe from the developed technology every day. He returned his attention to the task he set out to do that day and made careful steps along broken cobblestone pathways while also taking care not to bump into any of his fellow pedestrians and cause any embarrassment. Luck would have it, Landon made it through the crowds without a scuff and faced an overcrowded bulletin board.

"Excuse me, coming through, thanks," he muttered as he pushed forward through the mass of bodies. Every day in the city was sparked with new developments in the approaching war. The bulletin was the easiest way for lower-class citizens to keep with the times. Today, pamphlets painted images of the wanted, asked for donations to various causes, and revealed the disheartening state of the nation. King Griswold declared isolation from the war. Officially. Landon had a feeling he knew what must be running through the minds of the people. Daily life just wouldn't be the same after today. Landon made one final squeeze through a pair of touching shoulders and slapped his own flyer onto the face of the news board. He had made just enough flyers for every bulletin in the city. One down, eight more to go.

Landon managed to place six more of them through the city, to his alarm, at an efficient rate. Perhaps he would be able to join his parents for lunch that afternoon. He overheard his mother discussing plans to make sandwiches which would be devastating to miss. Mom always made the best sandwiches. Suddenly, Landon felt himself lurch when a street officer grabbed onto his free arm just as he was about to reach the board in front of the council building.

"I'm sorry sir, but we're going to have to stop you. We've seen the flyers. We can't have citizens involving themselves with the war. Isolation laws have denied citizen actions," the female officer spoke. "We'll need you to turn in the rest of the flyers to us please." Landon physically refused to give the flyers to the officer out of frustration but couldn't get away from her grip. He turned and stared at her with his own brown eyes with every intent to argue back but he stopped in the middle of taking in a breath. The officer's eyes had a softness to them. She understood his anger. He could just tell. She was only trying to do her job for the city.

Landon relaxed and gave the remainder of his flyers to the officer. She in turn released his arm. Landon considered himself lucky, he supposed. The officer could have tacked on an official, legal note to his clean record. Landon released a short sigh and placed a hand through his hair feeling filled to the brim with regret. He sauntered towards the stairs of the council building and rested himself on one of the pristine concrete steps. Landon knew he had to come up with a better action plan to fulfill his personal mission, and thinking outdoors was when he came up with his best work, but the mood wasn't present.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

The dragon growled down his way past the council buildings sign. "Scientific Council and Law Administration", it said in worn bold paint that hung from over the door to the tall cloud cutting building littered with windows and pulleys for ongoing renovation. As he stomped down to the paved streets of this kingdom, he passed by a small blonde human. In his still frustration, he let out a thin deep rumbling growl from his throat. "Out of my way, human." He barked, moving around with the clicking of his left wing against the cobble path. His tail hung low and swayed with his movements.

Krosis soon approached the curb before a strong wind carried the daily litter. Foam cups, bags and paper flew across the busy roads. One rather bland paper smacked the dragon dead on his eye. He grabbed the sheet with three small phalanges of his good wing, lifting a goggle spec with his knuckle to read it more clearly. Just trash. The text smudged from the humidity and wind. He unconsciously stuffs it into a satchel hanging around his neck before crossing the street, adjusting his goggles as people looked at the massive winged reptile with curiosity and disgust. A dragon roaming free once again?

Krosis sighed before spreading his wing and flapping them down, lifting himself up into the air and climbing a building. There was only one place he could run off to now to make something of himself now--his thoughts interrupted by a young woman, yelling commands and gesturing him down. "Quiet wench! You are no longer my rider. Make use of yourself elsewhere." He growled, jumping off of the building to glide down and pulling up.

The Overwatch is the kingdom of the sky, a floating island completely made of machinery with steam as its life blood. The constant grinding of massive gears have silenced over the years, with those who were born here having it become white noise. For Krosis, it was a achievement greater than any other known to either dragon and humankind. Now its a symbol of power and condescendense. Gondolas rattle on railing between different sections of the city. Krosis thought about what he could do, finally deciding to visit the lower class sections for the bulletin. People were packing up as others came in from the western side of the kingdom. Refugees and the like, believing they are safe in these walls.

The dragon slowed down his flight by rolling his weight so he stands and flapping his wings out. Hid flight ended on top of a apartment complex with a thud as his hind legs made contact with the brick edge.His automail rattled and whistles as the wing cut the air. Those who crowded the public bulletin took left the thing cleared except for a few strange requests. Krosis slid down the length of the wall before turning his head around the corner, his long thick neck cracking as he grabbed the corner of the neighboring building to support himself. Rice delivery, some adds, and a similar flyer that Krosis recovered earlier. He grabbed it, retreating into the dark alleyway with a light stomp. His shoulders squeezed tightly against the walls as his scales met brick and mortar.

 

[Chordling]

Landon's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the vibrations from heavy metal footsteps through the concrete. To his surprise, a dragon colored like the smoke from the rooftops emerged from the council building and sneered at him. Landon jumped and scrambled from his seat to make room for the large, bronze adorned Wyvern. His heart pounded against his chest with excitement. Landon had been around dragons all of his life but there were very few encounters like this. Seldom did dragons wander the streets so free. Moments passed and Landon finally collected himself. He noticed that the dragon had taken to the streets of the floating city. Strange curiosity got to the best of him and Landon decided to trail after him.

To his surprise, Landon found himself jogging through the streets. The dragon moved much faster than he had anticipated. He couldn't help but wonder whether that was because of the fake wing that was installed on the creature's back. Surely there was a weight difference. But nevermind that. Landon shook his head to remove himself from his own thoughts and flitted his gaze around the city to search for the Wyvern once more. Landon peered around the corner of a brick building to try to see what the dragon was putting into his satchel when he finally caught up to him but sighed when he didn't have enough time to make anything out before they were on the move again.

Haunches bunched and wings were spreading. Landon knew the clear signs of a dragon taking off for flight and took haste to search for cover. He found sanctuary behind a telephone booth as dust and litter whirled throughout the surrounding area. The chaos was brief and Landon turned his head to watch the mysterious dragon scale up one of the city's buildings. A nearby woman yelled, jumped, and waved her arms about in the air to grab the attention of the Wyvern but she came to an immediate silence when the dragon spoke back to her. Landon had to guess that she was a novice dragon trainer. Dragons never responded well to negative energy like that. You couldn't just command them. They needed to be communicated with. Landon would have offered her his advice but figured that it wasn't his place. He guessed that she was part of the High Gears League based on her outfit. Landon's footing struggled and he found it much harder to keep up with the dragon's pace now that he had taken to the sky but at least he was still in view.

"Hey, that's my house," Landon realized to himself when they started to approach a residential area. He used a burst of energy to run towards his building but found himself too late. The dragon disappeared from his sight and likely found cover somewhere in the cracks of the alleyways. Landon rested himself over his knees to catch his breath when he discovered just how tiring it was to chase a dragon through the city. He slicked his hair back with one hand and took his time walking to the apartment where his parents lived. Their window must have been open because the smell of fresh, warm toast and roasted meat was starting to make him drool. Landon enjoyed lunch with his folks but they didn't seem to understand what he was talking about when he mentioned a large dragon landing on top of their building. The unique event filled most of his thoughts. Landon almost forgot about the real reason why he ventured into the city that day but those ideas managed to creep back into the front of his mind as well. A lot of the day wasn't making much sense but at least mom's sandwiches could bring him some comfort.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

Krosis moved throughout the alleyway of the humans home complex, a tall brick building with a balcony. The screeching of his folded metal wing against the wall of the building rattled some pie tins across the kitchen window of the neighboring building. Krosis felt quite embarrassed, fueling his anger to made near growling sobs and he muttered to himself. Curses and the like as he raised his head, peering into the kitchen of Landons home. His red goggled gleaming in the darkness of the alleyway. He saw that human from earlier. "Is he following me?" came to the front of his mind. Krosis dismissed the thought as a coincidence. Although those sandwiches did look good. He stuffed his snout through the small window best he could, extending his tongue would wrap around one of the goods stacked on a platter on the edge of the kitchen sink. He retreated back into the darkness, only leaving the scent of oil and spent gunpowder in his place. He lowered his head, moving along before his tail swung into view of the window as he swallowed the bread and whatever meat--wait..this is actually good? None can cook at the scientific council. "Dragon food", he scoffed. The dragon was searching for something it would seem, sniffing the corners of the four way spit that was wide enough for the wyvern to comfortably move around, clawing at a small unsuspecting crack in a smaller buildings foundation with his two metal phalanges before pulling something that would make a clicking sound.

Before long, the four way split opened under him with the whistle of steam. The cranking of gears and pulleys chewed at the ambiance of the residential areas. A large tunnel appeared, the dragon descending on all fours before the aperture closed back up as the concrete slid back into place, concealing the strange pathway that seemed to disappeared beneath the surface of the city. A labyrinth of pipes and gears and machines strange to ordinary. The tunnels was wide enough to fit the wyvern, almost as if it was with the thought in mind. Some pipes carried water and would leak from the sweat condensing around the joints, causing the entire length to be humid and cold. He dodge a loose pipe, taking a left on a the part split. It would have been impossible to guess if it weren't for the scratches on the path he took. Deep and jagged. The Sound of gears became eerily unrepresented in the underbelly of this section of the city, replaced by the dripping of pipes as the ringing of his ears. The tunnel eventually became a boiler room, with a massive furnace tucked into the corner. The room itself looked like a scaled up stable and laboratory due to the dragons size, with chalk boards filled with strange equations and even stranger runes. Some tubes filled with fluids, and a couple of shelves decorated with dolls, cubes, bones, puzzles, books, and glass figurines.

The dragon collapsed into a large pile of hay and cloth, strands flying into the air only to fall back into place. He looked at a map that hung above the entrance, labeling all the pre-existing kingdoms with multiple notes tacked onto it to update fallen kingdoms and the ever growing territory of the Khenkari. "Fools, all of them" he said in a low growl. There was a time, not that long ago that his hopes in the people would be about the peace of the world, not just within the walls. "'Spose I'm a fool for believing otherwise. Sigh...what to do--what to do?" He said in though aloud, rapping his head with the knuckle of his phalanges. Maybe he could go to the unified kingdoms? They are preparing to fight back, with everything they have. Maybe he could be out there fighting...no..his place was never on the battlefield, he thought to himself. It was always in books or in contraptions. Maybe tinkering with his arm would help him think. Krosis stood, stumbling over to his work station and wrapping ne of his claws around a screwdriver, jamming it into a crevice between the armor plates of the prosthetic.

 

[Chordling]

"I could have sworn that I made an extra sandwich," Landon's mother pondered when she returned to the kitchen. The plate she assumed to be ready and prepared with an additional serving was actually empty but something seemed off. A trail of crumbs were present and she smelled… was that oil and gunpowder? The poor woman shivered to think that they had mice and rats infesting their home again. Their cat, Dexter, was the sweetest thing but didn't care to chase rodents in his old age. Exterminators were the other option but they never had the manners to adhere to house rules. Furniture was moved about as if a tornado struck the last time they called for their help. Rodents. It always meant a losing battle. Landon couldn't help himself and peered out of the window when he heard the news about the disappearing sandwich. He saw the end of what looked like the tail of a dark colored dragon slipping into the crevices of the brick buildings. Landon brought himself closer to the window and caught sight of the dragon sumberging into the ground. A secret passage.

Landon knew of secret tunnels and paths throughout the city but the one which the dragon disappeared into was a new one he had not yet discovered. That was odd considering it was close to where he and his parents lived. Landon wouldn't lie. He did consider following the dragon but knew it would be too invasive despite how tempting it might be. Entering a dragon's personal lair wasn't the most intelligent decision either. That was one of the easiest ways for people to get hurt. Landon finished his meal and helped clean up the kitchen mess. It wasn't as exciting but Landon figured that he had experienced enough of the day. Mom and dad left the flat to go for a walk around the city. Landon took off to his study room hidden away in the corner of the unit. Papers with various notes were scattered across the floor and the desk. Stacks of books were piled onto each other afraid that any motion might cause them to fall. It wouldn't surprise anyone. This was where Landon laboured the most on his personal projects.

The young man took a seat by his desk and stared down at the old flyers that were scattered across the surface. "Protest for the Overwatch" the bold header screamed but the law wouldn't ever allow it. Landon thought back to the look on the officer's face. He could tell that she shared the same thoughts as he did. Isolating the nation would only avoid the issue and the resolution. The Khenkari would gain victory as long as the Overwatch sat like a hopeless duck. Landon allowed himself to light a cigarette and snapped open a bottle of beer from the cooler he kept in his hidden hovel. At first he was sure that the flyers would have been a success but the failure was eating away at his confidence. Peaceful options to aid the Overwatch felt limited. Landon started to wonder if he would be forced to rebel inorder to protect the home he loved.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

"Bloody..get up." He groaned, rolling onto his side and clamoring to his bookshelf of items. Fobs, haunted objects, ect. He picked out a book of matches and placed it in his satchel around his neck. He then made his way down the corridor of steamy pipes. He had a plan. The red glare of his goggles illuminated the darkness as his confident stride sang dirges to his previous neurosis.

...​

The tunnel opened once more, now more quieter as the gears had spun and loosened from its dusty shackle. The dragon soon crawled out, fishing his tail from the closing gate before looking up one of the taller neighboring buildings. He climbed up it with a heavy thunk at first as his claws sunk into the brick wall. Krosis scaled the building as if it were a ladder. He crawled to the edge of the building and cleared his throat. The sky darkened, rain fell lightly as thunder cracked like whips in the clouds. The dragons mouth sparked before he opened his maw, releasing a stream of concentrated purple lightning into the atmosphere. Now that hes started, he begins shouting to the streets about a flyer he found. Like a senile old man, he shouts, points, and chokes on his own spit. While in his coughing fit, the sky brightened as the dragon spat profanities of many colors.

Police were eventually brought in, shouting at the dragon to come down before force is used. They seemed shocked when the dragon returned, with coherent english, that shes a hag and time aged her like milk in the summer sun. Despite it being a twenty year old man. They called in for more officers while the wyvern croned about their cowardice.

 

[Chordling]

Landon's eyes opened with blurred vision. The images were not quite coherent yet but it was clear to anyone that Landon had fallen asleep in his study during the middle of the night. Three empty bottles of booze rested themselves on the desk in various tipped over positions. The smell of cigar smoke still lingered in the air and on his clothes. Landon let out a groan and wiped away the residue of drool from the corner of his mouth as he sat up. He looked down at the collection of papers that were strewn across the surface of his desk. Whichever method of organizing he decided to use last night was long forgotten. Landon couldn't tell what anything was or whether he should even be looking for something specific. The inside of his head also pounded with incredible pain and the sound of the thunderous weather from outside echoed through his ears.

The intensity of his headache was almost debilitating but Landon managed to emerge from his study and become part of the main section of the residence. Sounds of roaring mixed in with the clashes of the thunder. Landon moved closer to one of the windows and tilted his head to get a view of the scene occurring outside. It was the same dragon he spotted in the city from yesterday. Profanities spewed from the dragon's speech and it mentioned the flyer Landon attempted to post on the city bulletins. This could only mean more trouble, Landon thought. The kind officer let him go the other day based on her understanding and generosity. Now the whole area would know about the flyers. But at least they didn't know that they were Landon's- yet. Officers swarmed the scene as it continued to unfold. Landon observed what he could from the comfortable distance of his window. None of the standing officers or any of the reinforcements looked like they knew what they were doing. He didn't blame them of course. They were only required to be trained to handle human to human interactions. It was silly for society to expect them to know how to calm down a dragon.

Landon couldn't believe what he was about to do. There was a big part of him that wanted to nurse his hangover but he knew that it wouldn't be good for his conscious if he let the dragon rage on. Or maybe relaxing the dragon would cure his hangover. Nonetheless, he threw on the slicker and rainboots that were next to the doorway and lept outside. A large source of thunder and lightning erupted near the dragon. This time it wouldn't be so hard for Landon to track him down. He rounded the corner of his street and sped down the block. Landon maneuvered his way through more and more people as he approached the commotion. The yells of officers were more clear now but it was still difficult to hear most things over the barking dragon. He made one step closer to the group but was brought to an immediate stop by a man in a uniform.

"Get away from here!" the man yelled. "This dragon is out of control. He could damage anything at any moment. Citizens need to evacuate this area, now!"

"I'm a dragon behavior specialist. This dragon won't cause any violence. He's just upset," Landon tried to explain over the ruckus. "Please let me communicate with him. This could be over in a few minutes." But the officer only insisted that Landon should remove himself unless he wanted to face legal consequences or death. The latter option wouldn't have happened because of the dragon. Suddenly, Landon had an idea. He turned away from the group of officers trying to work their opinions against the dragon through the storm and chose a perpendicular street to walk down. Landon turned his head over his shoulder every few moments to check that the dragon could still see him from the apex of the building he roosted on. He stopped at the intersection in front of a bakery and stopped to face in the direction of the dragon one last time. He brought two fingers to his lips and let three wet whistles scream through the air.

"Hey, this way!" Landon screamed before releasing another set of high pitched calls. "I'm over here!"

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

The dragon roared, becoming lost in its emotions unintentionally. Its ironic how hard a beast will try to be civilized and ultimately fail. Krosis looked to the crowd of police and huffed, flapping his wings out to create a gust of wind. His goggles glowed a deep red from his anger, and his snarl became a grimace as he was called by a human. That same exact human. He scoffed, lightning sparkling from his nostrils as they called out to him. Offended by this act of luring, he sought out the calls by hopping from rooftop to rooftop with heavy crunching, climbing down from the buildings into the streets to hunt for the whistles.

He went into the streets, lumbering towards the human with his metal wing scraping against the pavement. The flyer was tucked in his lip, flapping against his cheek. The dragon seemed much smaller than before, nearly the size of five average human males from snout to tail tip. Their scales a deep black with a grey countershade. Krosis huffed out sparks, lowering his head. He didn't care about the police or the threats that loomed over his wellbeing. Krosis never cared for humans. Too much demand and superiority. "What" he growled, the paper falling from his lip to the street.