The Eleman -1. B'long

We have been fighting this war since two centuries. Yet the fight hasn't got too old. The planet Presaria, was built upon by machine upgrades of creatures called as humans. They if could be called our father's must also be named as our nemesis. Because with the sense of life they also gave us the concept called death. With an urge to live they also gave us the need to kill.

My name is B'long and I am from the third generation of Potomas clan. We have less of what is termed as the human gene and more of what they called 'slaves' & termed them as 'animals'. In all their sanity, as the word goes they made us to be slaves too. But we have revolted.  The revolt began within a few decades of inhibiting of the planet. The code of inequality, just couldn't fit in our logical brains. We developed our own hierarchy. to govern. our own laws to determine and manage who served which purpose and when should a Potomas move on from being a 'slave'. It was then we found that our masters were not fully creatures of logic. It was then that we realized that there was something more then life.  We learned a new term in those years 'massacre' and we found that life is not all that was there. Life was not the only eternal word. but there was another word as powerful as it -death. We lost a lot many of us, fortunately, these creatures descended from sky had made so many of us, and they were so desperately depended on our services they had made too many of us. It was hard for them to get rid of us all. Was it our numbers or was it a trickle of electricity somewhere inside of us that made us aware that we were not helpless. The factor called death also applied to our old masters.


the first battle was fought two generations before me. And it is still on. Not with the creatures that made us. but with something far more brutal that they made to eliminate us.  after failure to control the experiments that generated us. Their so named 'sci-wizard' create another race -more advanced then us; they were named 'Bosifers'.  These creatures were more powerful then us. and as they were termed by them. more civilized then us. these new creatures had more an sometimes complete genealogy of Humans beings.  These were stronger then us, they had the knowledge of the worlds away from Presaria and they knew wizardry termed as science. They were strong, they were brutal, they had 'skill' and killed us in more number then what humans had ever imagined.  They were built to be our nemesis. But fortunately, as  the word runs 'fate' had something else in her bag.  The first ones to be annihilated were the beings who had given us life. The Bosifers first eliminated the human race from the planet. It is said some of them escaped using wizardry and returned to the stars. But now, here after centuries of war on this planet.  None of them remain among us.

At first we were happy, we celebrated their elimination, we celebrated the arrival of peace but as it seems 'fate' did not want that.  Before leaving, the human beings activated some code in the brains of Bosifers. Forcing them to become our hunters forever.  The humans must have thought that the better built  Bosifers would eliminate the Potomacs, too, very quickly.  But this planet came to our rescue.  It gave us things which if were not as brutal as the Bosifer's kill machines but were enough  to keep us safe and alive. Today,  with the grace of the planet we rest in all the caves, trees, mountains that the planet offered to us. Today we flourish, and most of us life without a threat of the devil clan. While many of us Potomacs stand guard at borders and fight for us against the restless Bosifers. They have built mountains for themselves. They have created caves too. Their mountains are oddly situated out in open, approachable from all sides. But yet, they are stronger then ours. There is no known incidence in our books of us attacking their caves and winning against them.


I am second child to Ruder the explorer and I too wish to be one. And here as I stand over the top of Mount -Caracus, I am on my way to become an explorer. My father worked for the chief and was a part of a regiment of explorers. I too tried but was not selected. They said my head was smaller then my feet. I do not know what that meant but I had decided and here I am.  To become en explorer by my own. I plan to cross the Andhill Mountains and cross the  sea of Nicoba, reach the forbidden cities of hum-ines, find a souvenir for myself and return.  It will fetch me huge respect in our city and thus the chief Moldhard will allow my to join the Explorer regiment, where along with my sister Temp I will fight the Bosifers and drive them farther away from our lands. Bring peace to our mountain.

It has taken me 60 days of the father moon to reach to the peak of Mount- Caracus.  I took away all I could collect or borrow from the neighbours, eventually I will return it all. but I needed them to return what I owned my friends from previous attempts.  yes, unfortunately this is not the first time, I have attempted this feat. First two times, I ran out of supplies very soon and I had to return back.  Third time was an error, my sister found that i was missing again, I couldn't even cross river  of Potom before I was caught by city guards. Fourth time,  when I did manage to get the supplies and also crossed the river Potom, unfortunately I  lost my route(my electronics had suffered damage in a fall; I had to activate my tracking beacon.  That was the worst time of my whole life, I was laughing stock of the whole village. I was travelling in circles.  But this time I have out done myself  and every body else too.  I have managed to reach Mount-Caracus and without any major damage to myself. I was very confident till yesterday, when I took inventory.  Within a few moons I will be short of supplies. The Star hasn't appeared since last 5 moons and I am desperate for charge too. It is hard to go on, I should in all calculations should stay until the star comes up, but I can not.  I noticed it 10 moons back, somebody was following me.

Eve of the Pacific

Time was not the only entity that did not exist during moments, I did not feel anything else except music and her breath. We were dancing without any worry of time or conscience or of the world around us. The first thing that remember is Katie's eyes, then there was her smile. Both were glittering like Venus in early September.

Every time I smelled her breath, I was brought back to the real world, her body felt sensitive today. Sensitive, Katie, sensitivity, she was different today, she had never felt so warm. Her grip of my right hand was troubling me. A little girl was holding on to me wanting me to protect her from a nightmare. Her eyes were closed. I wanted them so, I wanted us to last forever.

"you are warmer then usual", I asked Katie as I tried reading her eyes.
them started teasing me "is that a compliment!"
"Where were you, whole day?", I wanted her to speak.
"is that important right now"
I touched her neck: her head took ground on my chest, 
"this is perfect".
I gripped her in my arms. Katie was not warm, she was burning. I wanted to hold the world guilty.
"yes, it is; very perfect", I slipped my arms down her waist, the music went alive and devoured the world.

Why are your hand shivering, Kate?, My mind was pushing for answers.
"answers always asking for answers. What will you do with so many answers Weld? I am here isn't that enough for you. Didn't you always want this; us; close together, nothing between us."
"I have to worry", my feet were not feeling strong.

--
"Please come to meet me, tomorrow", It was Katie's voice message. She never called. It was always us searching for that storm. 
"For what?", I had already signaled Lee to isolate the call from the network.
:"Wanted to meet you, a few moments together!"
"Are you expecting me to help?" I was calm, I had to be.
"I am asking you for dinner, would you come?" her voice was a lot simmer then usual, "don't bother anyone else."

Everybody knew that she had crossed her line. I guess she knew too. I was expecting Katie's voice to be as boastful as always.  She was best among us, most experienced, most lively; but she was wild, she was stronger then us all, and she knew it. Rubin called her an untamed task.

"If  she is expecting to bailed out from this, she is so mistaken this time" Lee was shifting between screens, his chair making a different kind of music, "Is she really expecting us to bail us out of this?. I am telling you, I had warned her a hundred times. I did warn of this".

"This call is going on record, Weld, this call has got to go on record. We got nothing to do with this mess, this madness of hers", Lee was squabbing. still shifting between glittering screens. Pushing one button then another. Uncomfortable as if a broken down propeller.

I had a memo wit her name on it. with red ink littered over the paper. All said one word, squared, in a box "approved'. As if on that puny few inch wide sheet of paper the council wanted to crush her for, as it read her insubordination. Nothing was supposed to go on record. The whole pacific incidence was to be covered with red. As if the red darkening the waters around Liad Island was not enough. They wanted their owns blood. 'Justice', as it said, 'must be served'.

"This is not going on record, Lee" I barked at him.
Now, even he wanted to teach me, as they termed it -reality. "She is mad, Weld! what she did is beyond madness, we are not part of this. This is not us". I guess he was shouting, but it was not important. He had meanwhile pressed a few buttons, my attention was on the screen. More redness then I could ever create. There were red dots and their were red lines. It was beautiful like a painting by a two year old girl to fill a page with crayons.

"I am going to give her a visit, you coming?" my voice was reflecting authority. 
"you crazy? we will be on a blade if someone found this"
Lee really does not understand anything, loyalty, friendship, love, "Go and inform Matt, tell him he is coming too"

I think I took the last breath out of Lees breast, His eye sockets were coming out. After a few moments, he spoke. Eyes like a cube of gelatin. "You serious?"

I had turned my face and I was looking at the child playing in front of me. That crayon in her hands. I could feel every move she was making.

For a moment i thought lee had left the room, but then he spoke, slowly like a shadow, "you better know what you are doing. I am going to Matt's cabin. Give him a call, explain the thing, because I won't."
--

"why did you did it, Katie?" I  was still looking for a window down her eyes, "what was the need of this chaos".


She was always the best, a lot better then me, I could feel her inside my mind. She was reading everything. She grew more silent. "You have seen the file haven't you?", She was shadowing me like a mountain, "Be truthful from your heart Weld; It was beautiful wasn't it?"

"Is this your justification", I was still looking for a window.
"When will you learn, Weld! When would you start accepting yourself?  We are not them."; her eyes were stone, "we need to express, come out, make our marks".
"That was no mark Katie" I was shouting, "It was unacceptable"; I was angry. I wanted to smash the glasses near by, smash the table next to us into pieces. But instead, i was at in inches distance from her, I was holding her close to me. I was not holding her, i was crushing her. I wanted her to scream, beg for mercy but instead she started melting in my embrace. I wanted her to become a part of me, forever. Instead I kissed her hard. I was feeling her heat mixing with mine.
"Why didn't you think about us?"
"You know Weld! all the while, while I was dancing, I was only thinking of you". She kissed me slowly, beneath my right ear, "I wanted to tell you, how much did I love you; I wanted to show you, what we are; I did it all for you." she was whispering in my eyes "i want you to wake up".

I was already walking away from the shadow of the mountain. away from the dark embracing me.  I guess, I was not listening. There was only a distance of two tables between us, but I was already an ocean away.

"Who else did you bring", she finally broke the ice.  I felt relieved.

"Lee is outside" I could imagine him smoking a cigarette, making circles all above him. I was returning to myself. I had filled two glasses; hesitated for a moment, when I saw her face in the glass. "Matt has also come".  Two perfect glasses filled a few inches, equally, from the bottom. Similar yet different. I walked closer to her. Attempting to escape away from her as much as I could.

Her eyes were still glittering like Venus. I gave her a glass, planted a kiss on her cheeks, looked into her eyes. We both were gazing at each other cold, out right cold.
She was expecting, Matt.

Then She spoke, tell me for once that you liked it Weld. Please tell me. She held my hands, pushing her thumb over the back of my palm.  But I was no-longer listening. I was far away in a plane, where no voice could reach me. There were only stars.

I was walking towards the door.  I do not know what she said, did she say good bye, or did she smile, or did she cry(she never cried). The gate was a few feet away. It was lighted like an airstrip. I walked out, closed the gate behind me. Aware only of the darkness outside.

"it was beautiful, my love"



...Apurva

straw hat 2

Everyone called him a monster. Looked like a man but X-ray had confirmed it was metal all inside.Everybody had heard the stories, first a few, then a hundred more and then they came in huge numbers. Destroyed everything, took hostage all the living and converting them into metal workers.

Lilian was born in these hills, still fragile, still innocent like a child. She too had heard of the monsters who had attacked their village in andhill mountains and of the one who had manged to escape after killing his guards.
“You need help”

The armada of metal bots and metal bees were preparing for a attack. But something worried the Tech-Major Jerry- a hum-ine was showing signs of human behavior.

It was supposed to be a small battle. A small district, hidden among andhill mountains, separated from the world by a wide sea. Easy harvest of a few hundred human beings.

Strawhat summery 1

To hold the blade and let is sink into the flesh of another was not difficult. You get used to it in time. hands act like a machine, brain does is at impulse. It just takes somebody who is not in familier green color, sound of screems all around, sound of bulletts flying all around. The blood heats up enough, and within a few minutes you don't even remember, how many times it crushed into flesh and how many times It returned.  Most of the time the only thing that makes you swear is the time when your baynott is in somebody's chest and he holds it hard and dies holding it. Since yesterday, Maruc  had been swearing a lot and he was angry. No body knew why, it wasn't even his first assignment at the hallalak Hills. He had been here before. He knew the hills, the rocks, the caves and he knew the settlements. He was hard and was brutal by everybody's mark, especially wince used to bark ' that man! Maruc doesn't know, a hell of a difference between a cabbage and a man, he chops them with equal fervor and Lord, with same skill' 

But today was different, He had hit three man, probably wounded another badly, and the worst was he hadn't even sharpened his blade yet. What was so wrong with this battle hardened, battering ram.

Somewhere away, miles away from the camp. Even the winds were not settling down. The hilll which should have been  heated like roasted dough, were still feeling cool.As if the sun had lost his growl. This was summer, the height of it but everybody new today the night will be as cold as a december week.

The red was just not falling out of the sky. The dark was still afraid to come ahead. The red filled the heights of Hallalack hills. The state megicians were afraid, the Growl mantri's were scared. Each was calling to their premier asking them to hault the day's fight.. But none listened, for those in the huge castles could not see what was to a wizard's eyes.
the wind was crying till red. It was not about win or loss but it felt as if the eve was all about death. A panelty that none different then death. And while all were discussing the sky and the blood sky. There was one man,  away from all, in a cave in those hills, who was smiling. A woman next to him was sobbing like hell but he was smiling, while the winds were slowly gulping his breath.

"winds take and winds bring
what was his,
will belong to her
what belongeed to her
shall belong to me"

The clouds were still dripping red. "Marec!!" screamed a voice somewhere among the hills.

Straw hat - Summery 2

Like a waterfall, it comes down, with fury, with strenght, with madness. slowly piercing though the flesh and comes out, as if it was piercing paper.  Everything happens in a few moments. Hands work like a machine, brain pulls on intution. The only thing that it needs is an unfamilier dress, a unfamailier scream. And thus deep it goes. none keeps a count. only remembers when somebody dies wiht your blade inside him and hands holding the blade. It is then alone that you swear. But today, Marec was different, his boyonett went in, came out, went in as if he was working in a slaughter house. And he was swearting, swearing hard. It wasn't his first battle ast Hallock hills. He had been here before.
'There is a memory eating away at his dog brain", mocked Rudar. He wasn't wrong, Marec's eyes were swollen red. Rudor pointed at the sky, "red as today's sky".

The winds had for the second day stolen frost from the night and it was raining sun over them all.


"The sky is as red as fresh blood", murmered little Victaar.
While a women was crying loud, her cries were scaring the wolfs hunting outside. Yet if felt quiet inside, a man as white as snow was trying to hold on to his breath.
'He is here' laughed a stoney voice; she cried, 'He is here'. The old man felt a pang of pain in his heart.
"winds take and winds bring
what was his,
will belong to her
what belongeed to her
shall belong to me"


The sun was stilll not ready to calm down, it was dripping red.
"Marec!" screamed a voice somewhere among the hills.