POV: RANAN TETHYS

  Most of my days start the same. I wake up, grab something to take a few bites out of, and open the shutters for business. While my shop is open for its regular hours, I’ll be in the back working on something special. Something that will change how my world works forever. All eight days of the week, this is my life.

  But today is of a special kind, which only occurs once a year.

  “Happy birthday!” I exclaim to myself in the mirror. My teeth are less white than last year.

  In the corner of my desk lies a photograph of my family. It’s been ten years since I last saw or spoke to them. And I know that while today is special, it won’t be one of miracles. It doesn’t matter that I’m twenty now; they wouldn’t care if I was one hundred.

  With some clothes on and final checks made, the shutters are now open. I lay a gloved hand over my special project, beautiful as always. In the metal reflection, I see the handsomest young man living in Xenoview…for now, anyway. One day I’ll be living it big in another part of the world, like the Colustian Empire.

  Across the streets, others do the same as me. I see Lazarus open first as always, forever seeking the most coins of any of us on this block for his so-called “magic fruits”. Karth and Cena open almost immediately after I do, showing off their book collection yet again. It’s thanks to them that I know so much about our world of Varuna, but I do wish they’d dust the place more often.

  Further down, Ogel and I exchange glances with each other. I wish his motley crew would move to another sector and stop interfering with my business. So what if I’m the only solo engineer in Xenoview? It makes me special, like today is.

  “Yo, squirt. Ain’t it about time you pack up and move on?”

  To my left, Gordon is already looming over me from the edge of my shop. He’s one of Ogel’s boys, though he acts as if he’s the one in charge. That slimy green hair running down his face puts my stomach in a twister. No fighting rules are strict here after all that’s happened, and I’ve already been warned by the local authorities. Still, I can’t help flicking a bent screw in his direction.

  “Ouch! You’re killing me!” Gordon feigns injury, hobbling around on one foot like a jabbit. “Ogel will never take you back now, punk!”

  “It’s Ranan,” I groan. “And if Ogel can’t keep you where he can see you, why would I join back up? He clearly has his hands full already.”

  For as tough as he looks, Gordon can’t take it well. “Oh yeah? Well I oughta take some of that burden off of him. Square up, squirt!”

  My eyes narrow in annoyance, and a part of me considers finding a means to teach Gordon a good lesson. But then my eyes veneer towards something more important: a “no fighting” sign.

  I put that there for myself to help avoid future…problems with the authorities. But it isn’t just for me, as tapping it makes the dark brute lower his fist.

  Now, he tries a different approach. Turning his vested back towards me, he laughs over his shoulder. His ash gray skin makes him blend in with the cloudy day we’re having. “Hah…I don’t have to do anything to you. Everyone on this block knows your cash is drier than the Fexel Desert.”

  “Did anyone ask?”

  Gordon sneers but walks away, frustrated that his favourite playmate is uninterested. He and I started off as friends before Ogel cast me out on my own for failing to fall in line with his leadership. Ever since then, Gordon’s taken a lot of pleasure in egging me on, though he’s not very creative in his methods. He’s thankfully never stolen anything.

  Ogel gives Gordon a hard smack over his back as he leads him back into their shop. It rises twice as high as mine does, and I know they have an underground living section too. Five people can’t all live in one shop without it smelling like a Fexellian musk cat.

  No more interruptions. I slap on my goggles- my own design, by the way -and crank open a maintenance panel on my dream project.

  For as long as anyone has remembered, transport between the major lands of Varuna has been difficult. It was the Kingdom of Ghaspar who began taming their wild animals to serve as mounts and brought the idea forward first, but the other nations found themselves unable to do the same. The Hortulus Dynasty instead put their focus towards improving their magic for individual transportation, though their magical arrays can only bring the user to places they’ve been to before which leaves them relatively contained. And as for the Colustian Empire, they prefer to keep to themselves with their industrial technology. I still don’t quite understand how their golems, the Primes, function autonomously.

  And us regular folk here in Xenoview? We walk or use public transit; our cities are so small that personal transport is rare and considered a luxury most cannot afford. It’s mostly reserved for the government officials and authorities. My shop is generally located close enough to get what I need, so it’s rare for me to travel far.

  But that’s exactly why I’m building this: a gate. The first of a whole system, they’ll be installed across Varuna for public access with governmental supervision. Once perfected, people will be able to travel across the world instantaneously!

  I sure wish it was working right now, though. My prototypes are imperfect; whenever I emerge from one I’m buzzing and twitching for a good ten minutes or worse. There’s an instability in the power regulator that affects the user. After exhaustive research I believe that the material I need to stabilize it is a Colustian Red Crystal, none of which have made it here still. I’ve been very patient about material coming in through the trade routes, but it just hasn’t happened. None of my alternatives have given me the same results that the Red Crystal would, meaning I can’t complete this gate without it.

  Of course, when I do I’ll share it with all our world leaders. The revenue will make me rich enough to escape Xenoview and live a life of luxury in the Colustian Empire. It’s every engineer’s dream to work there.

  That’s the plan; unfortunately, as it stands I remain strapped for cash, as Gordon mocked me for. What savings I do have left are reserved for my living conditions; my store doesn’t get frequent buyers. Even so, I’m open for business every day and put the most into any service that I can provide. But today seems like another dry spell; two hours go by without a single person stopping in.

  Long periods of quiet like this suit me well, however. Without people tapping my shoulder to ask if my bags of rivets really are rusty, or if I’m old enough to be on my own, I get a lot of work done. While the power output is an issue I can’t fix without the crystal, I can continue to polish up the exterior design. I spent a lot on this metal to make it look attractive!

  The idea of gates for Varuna isn’t a new one; many have tried to make them work over the years, and all ended in decommissioned failure. The design I made is based on the most recent one with personal tweaks that I’ve been making. Those old prototypes usually made people gravely ill after testing; if I’ve gotten it down to seizures then surely the answer must be not far off.

  Standing back up after a polish, I admire my handiwork. It’s enough to make a man cry. My good future may be a long way off, but I’ve brought myself one step closer to-

  “That’s it, lady! I’m done with ya! Get away from me!”

  The sudden, unfamiliar yell pulls me out of my brief moment of pride. I don’t know why that made me so curious, yet every muscle and bone in my body pulls me outside to the street view. Other vendors peek out of their shops as well. Given how quiet things can be around here, a loud commotion like that will draw everybody’s attention.

  “Where do you think you are going? Return to my side at once!”

  “No way!” A hulk of a plantman runs past me, apparently a mercenary judging by his bandolier of weapons. He looks big enough to beat all five of Ogel’s crew at once. “You’re way too much of a hassle for any sum of money, lady! Just find somebody else here, if ya can!”

  “Lady…?”

  Down the block, far enough yet plain in sight for all of us to see, is a woman. But not just any woman that I’ve seen before, because she’s beautiful. Her skin is creamy white, smoother than should be natural. She’s got ice-blue hair flowing down her shoulders, with bangs cut perfectly straight across her forehead and topped by a dark headband. A large sheathed sword sits horizontally behind her waist, which looks valuable enough to solve my money problems forever. And just look at those jet-black clothes!

  She is definitely not from Xenoview.

  I gotta say, she’s a model of what one would describe beauty as; for a brief moment everyone on our block seems mesmerized if not outright smitten with her appearance alone. I can't even peel my eyes away.

  “Scoundrel! You will regret abandoning me!” She yells to the plantman, no longer in sight at all. She’s pouting at her predicament, looking at the others watching her now. Her voice raises in volume as she asks “Well? Who is going to help me? Volunteer yourselves; this is of dire importance for the kingdom!”

  Some return to their business. Others tell the woman to buzz off, some even throwing random tools in her direction without actually landing a hit. In the midst of all that Ogel, Gordon, and Mara approach this newcomer, casually surrounding her. She’s not intimidated by them, despite being smaller than they are.

  I should mind my own business as usual, but this is so different from the usual lack of events around here. So I keep watching.

  Ogel is the official leader of this block, elected by us to handle the greater ordeals of living in our designated area of the city, and so he takes charge of the situation. He looks this beautiful girl square down in the eyes, all business. “Can we help you, miss?”

  That girl scans Ogel, his companions, and a few others in the vicinity with her sparkling red eyes. She puts a hand to her sharp chin; I like her form-fitting gloves. Her clothes have a black-and-red ice pattern going on, so I’m guessing that she hails from the northern lands.

  “Do any of you know who I am?”

  Gordon and Mara shake their heads. Ogel gives her a once-over, crunching his chin intensively.

  “Definitely not from these parts. I take it you’re lost?”

  “Ah yes, someone with a brain in their skull.” The new girl rests her hands along her hips now. Spunky. “I am, indeed. And I wish for someone to return me to my homeland.”

  “Where might that be?” Mara ponders.

  The ice-haired lady points northward. “Why, the Kingdom of Ghaspar, of course! I am its crown princess. Now get yourselves ready; Mother and Father await my return.”

  I blink twice; what is a princess doing here alone?

  “The Kingdom?” Gordon laughs, ignorant of what the girl just revealed about herself. “How would we get there?”

  She glares at my former friend. “Do you not have legs with which you use to walk?”

  “Sure I do, sweetheart!” Gordon pats down his knees like a galloping buck as Mara begins to chuckle. “But none of us want to walk all the way to the Kingdom and back! We’ve got our own business here.”

  “In this drab establishment?” She remarks, breaking eye contact with all three of them ignorantly. “Surely your aspirations extend beyond the bowels of Xenoview.”

  “Not particularly.” Ogel speaks with an edgier tone, his arms folded over his broad chest.

  Ignorant of the effects her comments are having, the girl simply continues her train of thought. “Oh, but we must detour towards the Hortulus Dynasty first. I have royal business there. Come now, you must be eager to escape from this wasteland.”

  That sets Ogel off, for he’s fiercely proud of what we do here. “Watch your tone. Our work here is the reason that all of the other lands- including your precious kingdom -prosper today. Looking at your fine clothes, I think you’d be aware of that already…Your Highness.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  I know he won’t start a fight, but I’ll bet that he wished he could.

  The girl bites her lip. “That sounds like a ‘no’ to me, then.”

  Ogel shrugs. “I need all of my people here to work. But perhaps you can find someone else who might want to walk you all the way around Varuna.”

  “Wait a second.” Mara chides back in, “Aren’t you Ghasparians the ones who use mounts to get around? Where’s your lionbeast, lady?”

  That question seems to stifle the ice-haired girl, and she turns away to start walking down the street. “Your time with me has ended. Good day, and thank you for nothing. You idiots can return to the bowels, or whatever it is you do down here.”

  “Hey!” Gordon lunges for her as Mara steps in his way. “You take that back, little lady, or I’ll send you home in pieces!”

  She ignores his bellowing completely, walking proudly down the road with her eyes alert.

  I sigh, turning back to my gate system. If Ogel doesn’t want to get involved with that mess, then I certainly don’t either. Besides, I don’t want to visit either of those lands; neither place has the Red Crystal that I need! That obnoxious girl’s likely to pass me by if I’ve got my back turned with concentration placed on my work, so I refocus myself.

  Today’s my birthday; I don’t need that kind of interruption, cute girl or not.

  My hand reaches once more for my wrench. I need to run a maintenance check on the second gate, maybe see if there’s something I missed that would bring the exit seizures down to only nine minutes. Any small improvement is worth the effort here.

  “You there! Turn around and face me!”

  Without any consideration for myself I do just that, and beholden I am to that same annoying girl standing in my shop. Her arms are folded across her chest.

  I’m surprised, and also annoyed. Why does she have to pick on someone like me? Is it because I’m alone?

  “Do you live here alone?”

  Natch. Just as with Ogel’s crew, she’s pretty demanding. Still, I answered her question anyway. “Yeah, just me. The only solo engineer in Xenoview, in fact.”

  Instead of responding, she glances around to see what my shop is like. Many small creations hang or sit in plain sight, on discounted price tags. On the desk behind me lay my tools, wide in diversity as they are. Engineers can’t survive without them.

  Judging by the look on her face, she seems unmoved by what I do.

  “So, uh-”

  “What is that behind you? A gate?”

  Wow, she actually noticed what I’ve been working on. I step to the left to let the princess view the prototype in full. It’s a silver device with two main components, as well as a control panel for setting coordinates to a portal destination of choice.

  “Yup, it’s my current project. I’ll be the first engineer in Varunian history to make fully functioning gates that’ll let people travel around the entire world!”

  “Pfft… Ahahahaha!!”

  I said that with as much pride as possible, and this royal snob’s only response is to childishly laugh at me.

  “Are you a fool?” She smiles at me devilishly, probably assuming that I’m no smarter than the wrench still in my hand. “It is common knowledge in our history that gates will never work as intended. That is why each country focused on their own methods of transport. Besides, if all the other engineers who attempted this failed miserably, what makes you believe you won’t share their fate?”

  My hazel brows furrowed together. Where does she get off, walking into my place of business and judging my work like that?

  “Get out of my shop.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  I point towards the street. “If you’re just here to laugh at my expense, then I suggest you go bother someone else. I’m not doing this for anybody’s amusement, not even a princess.”

  Instead of obeying my command, she becomes more interested. “Oh? So you do know who I am?”

  That flips me off-guard. “What? No I just overheard-”

  “You’ll do.” She stretches one hand out to me, probably expecting some kind of knightly vow in return. “Take me to the Hortulus Dynasty, and then the Kingdom of Ghaspar.”

  My brows pinch even further together and I take a step back, saying “No. I’m not doing that.”

  “What reason could you have to say no here?”

  “You’re laughing at me.”

  “Because your gate is a false hope!”

  I snarl “You think this doesn’t work?”

  That cuts off her mockery. “Does it?”

  “Watch this.”

  With a swift turn of my back and some input into the operating panel, swirls of purple energy generate between the machinery, then transform into a large projection before them. The resulting portal is large enough for the two of us to step through together.

  “See? It works!”

  Her eyes widen in the portal’s glow, “So it does…And now I see my way home. Farewell, cretin!”

  The princess attempts to push ahead of me, but she’s not the first to attempt something so stupid. I block her path.

  “You really don’t want to do that.”

  “And why not?” The scowl worn over her face is traitorous to her lovely features. “I hate being in such a foul part of Varuna.”

  I hold up a finger to silence her, and then stick that finger in the portal. When I pull it back out, it’s twitching violently.

  “There’s aftereffects. You may want to get somewhere else, but you don’t want to be having a seizure for over ten minutes.”

  “Wh- Ten minutes?!” She takes a step back, arm up to protect herself from the apparent risk of touching that portal.

  “I timed it.”

  Seeing her discomfort, I deactivate the gate. "Sorry, but no one is allowed to use this until it's safe. Not like I have the coordinates for Ghaspar, anyway..."

  Now she sighs with a droop in her posture, looking rather longingly at the inactive machinery. “Why couldn’t it be that easy…?”

  Her face chips me into taking a potshot at her misfortune, “What, not used to having to work for something? It’s the norm here in Xenoview.”

  “Hmph! Were we in Ghaspar, you’d be thrown in the dungeons for disrespecting the crown princess!” She sighs again, bringing some fingers between the icy-blue bangs covering her forehead with closed eyes. “Neros help me…does anybody here respect my authority?”

  “Well maybe I would if you’d bothered to introduce yourself at all!”

  Those words flew out of my mouth like a speeding Zictodactylus. In a flash, her eyes re-open with those crimson irises drilling holes into my face, and her skin seems to whiten unsettlingly. She takes a breath, eyeing me like some kind of adversary before choosing to calm down.

  When she speaks again, she’s standing much straighter. With her fingers laced together, she starts over. “Very well. Tell me your name first, and I will tell you mine. An exchange.”

  From rudeness to politeness. This girl is sending me a lot of mixed signals; as pretty as she looks it’s not a good match for her arrogant behaviour.. I’ve never met any royalty before, as the leaders of Xenoview are just a bunch of elected officials. The other lands barely recognize their authority; to them we may as well not exist at all.

  Nevertheless, I tell her who I am.

  “I’m Ranan Tethys, solo engineer of block 4554 in Xenoview. This is my shop, The Crucible.”

  Now the girl does a more thorough once-over of my place, though I fail to see a change in her expression. “Yes, that much is apparent.”

  “So what’s your name?”

  A prideful smirk slips across her lips, and the girl places a hand over her bosom with a small pose to match. “I am Princess Aurora Helix Lancez, daughter of King Barrett and Queen Forina, first in line to the Ghasparian throne.”

  Hearing that, I have to ask: “And what’s a princess doing all the way down here in this ‘wasteland’?”

  Aurora folds her arms again, apparently flashed by my use of her word to describe my homeland. “The tale is a frustrating one. My escort of knights was bringing me to the Hortulus Dynasty on a mission of diplomacy, when we crashed unexpectedly. I emerged as the only survivor, and wandered here as it was the closest major land. And I wish to be out of here as soon as possible. Now escort me!”

  That information just makes me skeptical. “No. And really, why the need for an escort?” I take a look down at her weapon, clearly a royal treasure. “With that sword, you shouldn’t need anyone else to protect you.”

  “Inverno has nothing to do with this!”

  I didn’t expect her to yell, or look as annoyed as she does. If looks could kill, I would definitely be a dead man. She’s leaning close to me, and suddenly the shop is a bit cold.

  What’s with this woman?

  POV: AURORA LANCEZ

  The nerve of this boy! All I wish to do is find someone capable of helping me with my duties. Given my royal authority, he should be doing as he’s told! And that’s what I told that plantman earlier, only to see him run off like the scoundrel he revealed himself to be. Tch.

  …Wait a moment. Perhaps that’s why he ran off: I wasn’t offering him a substantial reward beyond money. This is a place of business, and so I must speak their language. It is what I’m trained for, after all.

  I retract myself from the vicinity of this boy. He looks rather cross with me.

  “Please pardon my outburst,” I say, doing a small curtsy to express myself. “Let us negotiate the terms of our agreement. That is what your people do here in Xenoview, is it not?”

  This boy rests an elbow on his gate prototype. He’s wary of me, and I suppose that is understandable. Those who do not appreciate royalty always come around, I find.

  “Well, I understand that you want to get things done and be back home to your parents,” He speaks with scrutiny. “Heck, I’d feel the same if I was stuck in Ghaspar trying to make it back to my shop.”

  Anyone would want to stay in a place as grand as Ghaspar over this disaster. I so dearly miss the frosty castle, snowy hills, sights of white mammoth herds…and the comfort of my family.

  “Still, why do you think I’d go with you? I have no business in those lands.”

  I see my opening. “Oh? Is there something you’re looking for outside of Xenoview?”

  Skin on his face creases in.

  I press harder on this topic, adding “I can get whatever you need if you help me.”

  The boy hesitates, but ultimately admits his desire, “I need a Colustian Red Crystal, which is only found within the Empire to the southeast of here.”

  Hm. The Dynasty lies southwest in the opposite direction of the Empire, and my homeland is up north. Xenoview lies at the center of it all, supposedly the land of all our origins according to holy scripture. There’s no convenient way for us to travel across all three lands at once, although…

  “Are you certain that a Red Crystal will fix your problems, like the seizures?”

  “Well I’d have to run many more tests and checks, but as far as my research has shown me…yes, it will.”

  Intriguing. If they did work properly, we could gut all conventional means of transport and simply warp to the place of our choosing. This technology could be vital for the future of Ghaspar, ensuring that accidents like mine never occur again. Perhaps it's fortuitous that I’ve stumbled down here, onto such a prospect. While this concept has failed more than once, I believe the advantage of having this technology first would push my country to greater status and value. Only after that would we share it with others.

  Time to make my offer. I splay my hands out to make sure I have his full attention. “Here is what I propose.”

  He cocks his head to his left. “I’m listening.”

  “The two of us head to the Dynasty first so that I can complete my diplomatic mission. Once that is done, we travel to Ghaspar, where I can reassure my family and subjects that I am safe.”

  “I’m not really seeing my own benefits here…”

  “Hush! I have not finished.”

  The boy scratches his neck with one hand as I continue on. “After things have settled in Ghaspar, I will secure mounts for us so that we may ride towards the Empire and claim a Red Crystal of yours. With your desired resource in hand, you can complete the development of your gates and debut them in Ghaspar.”

  He’s rather surprised at what I’ve said. “Wait, hold on. Are you saying that you want me to install my gate technology in your kingdom first after helping you?”

  “That is correct.” I place one of my own hands on it. “With royal funding and my own personal involvement, Ghaspar could go down in history as the first land to own fully functional gate technology.”

  “You mean Xenoview.”

  “Hm?”

  The engineer points to the ground beneath us. “Here. Where I was born, raised, and built this thing. It only makes sense to finish what was started here, right? Plus, if I give this to any ruling land first there’s probably going to be a war over it. You do remember what happened four hundred years ago, right?”

  I sigh, remembering how often this was lectured to me in my youth. “Yes, the Undying Wars. All three territories built up their lands while trying to claim each other’s, and only when the peace treaty was collectively signed was Xenoview then erected here, over old battlegrounds as a neutral territory for trade and commerce.”

  “I see you know your history.” The boy winks at me. Creepy!

  “But regardless; without my help, how will you ever attain what you seek? You clearly aren’t in the best of times.” I hold up an odd item to my face. “Seventy-five percent off, and still no sale? Your chance at a future worthy of your talents lies in my hands.”

  I let the following silence play out, watching as the freckled boy twists his lips around in thought. I think I’ve made a very strong argument for my case; he would be foolish to reject my proposal.

  My hands fold over my stomach neutrally, “So, do we have an accord?”

  “Let me think about it. I need to double check my schedule and make sure food won’t spoil. Wait here in the shop; you can keep looking around, and maybe buy something while you’re at it.”

  I’m not impressed by his thinly-veiled plea for a sale, only watching as he exits through a door that I presume leads to his living quarters. Nor am I interested in his products, only this gate.

  Despite my lack of technical prowess, my hands run themselves along the smooth surface of the device. So well-polished is the metal that I can see my own reflection within, with a scowl to match.

  I admit that he is right about something: Ghaspar having these first would potentially bring conflict back to Varuna. And as I am an advocate for peace, I will think of a way for this technology to be shared equally- hopefully without Xenoview’s involvement.