Star Warden Book 2: RQ Chapter 3

 Prince of Eden

“His Majesty, King Ronan of the House of Tara, First of His Name. Cordially invites you to attend tomorrow night's royal feast.” The first line of the invitation said.

This invitation was technically a formality but it was at Kaguya and Queen Reiko's insistence that the invitation was to be sent. Sam had informed His Majesty of the plan to eliminate Daimos. He waited two days before informing him as the Enchantress needed to determine the next stage of his quest. Which was to travel to the planet Ramia and acquire the hardware that will be needed to search for the eight rings. King Ronan decided a celebratory feast was in order, not just to see him off but to celebrate the fact that they now had a clear path to the end of the war.

Royal feasts were normally attended by nobility of all ranks with a tradition that all leftover food and wine would be donated to the common folk afterward. The practice was revived by King Ronan as the Mystic Woods ensured they would not be lacking for food, and to keep morale up. The tradition of giving the commons food was still practiced but with a new twist a festival was held outside as a way to thank the hard work everyone was giving to the war effort.

The feast took place right at the start of sunset at Castle Camelot. The Castle was the oldest, with the Silver Spire possibly being older, building in the entire town. It had the gleaming white metal and futuristic designs on the surface, but the wings and towers of the castle were grown from the tree it was built into. A symmetrical mixture between organic and non-organic materials. At least he assumed the metal was non-organic, he could never be sure with the Tuatha.

The heroic couple was dressed in black tie attire: Sam in a dark blue buttoned tunic and trousers. Since he did not have wings he made do with a cape in the design of the Betsy Ross's flag, that Kaguya was able to sew together fairly quickly. The Princess herself was in a white dress that was tastefully low cut. Sam made sure to get an eyeful every once in a while as a form of appreciation.

Most of the food were fruits and vegetables but there was still enough meat to serve as the centerpiece. Instead of a pig with an apple in his mouth, it was a big winged shark with its teeth extracted. The creature was able to convert Aetherium's gasses into oxygen to breathe which lead to its organs creating certain oils that could be converted into fuel or other chemicals. This left the tissues which could be consumed as meat product while its teeth were historically used as jewelry.

“Let me guess you proposed to Rose with one of the teeth.”

The fiery skinned and blonde faerie laughed. “Don't be daft, Sammy boy. I made an entire ring out of teeth!”

The deep sea blue female faerie laughed as well. Her hair was red but light enough that it could be confused for pink. Along with silver eyes that matched her dress. These two were Daniel and Rose. Samuel's godparents. Daniel was once a pirate who Eli Bailey captured and later aided in his rehabilitation. They became close friends which led him to become Sam's godfather after Hannah's passing. He was the captain of the Marauders now, the “navy” of the Free Realms which was a collection of former pirates, merchants, and anyone who had an airship that could be equipped with weapons.

“I had to talk him down from bringing the whole shark to my parents,” said Rose. “my father would have taken it as a challenge considering he's a fisherman himself.”

“I think that would have made getting his blessing easier though. If I had beaten him in a hunting contest.”

“He would have said you were a cheating pirate and trying to steal me away.”

“I wouldn't mind becoming a pirate again if you were the booty.”

Rose playfully pushed him away. “Hush you. You're embarrassing our son. Speaking of. How are you, Sammy? You haven't been getting homesick, have you? Kaguya taking care of you? If not you let me know and I'll give her an earful lady to lady.”

“Trust me she takes care of everything. I don't go out into the field without her. War or not wouldn't change a thing.”

Rose nodded and smiled. This is the first time she had gotten to see Sam since he came to Aetherium. The destruction of Castle Bailey had nearly caused her to lose sleep worrying, only staying strong for her twin girls Maev and Jane. The Star Warden stuff made her feel better but she still worried. Seeing him now happy despite what he has gone through made her feel at ease. More than that she was happy that her son was doing well and yes he was her son.

Born on a distant star and alien DNA didn't matter to her.

“Do you still have the nightmares?”

“Not as frequently.”

“Well if you are still here tomorrow perhaps I can cook you a special breakfast. I think I read about certain kinds of foods mixed the right way can give one sweet dreams.”

“There is an easier way to get sweet dreams or so I'm told.” Daniel smirked.

“Honeybunch. That is your answer to everything.”

Sam chuckled. “I mean that's a pretty good answer. Perhaps I'll try out your theory tonight, see what it gets me.”

“I swear, Eli may have fathered you but my husband raised you.”

“Well you're not wrong, Rose.” She pouted at the mention of her name. “Sorry, Mom. He partway did raise me. I wouldn't be so good at shooting a ray gun if he wasn't there. He was like the crude uncle I always wanted.”

“I'll drink to that. To crude uncles and their alien nephews!”

Sam joined him in the toast and so did Rose even if her face said she was disgusted.

“How long are you going to be here, Mom?”

“As long as the war goes on. I'm here for good.”

“You finally convinced her to move out of the Icebox?”

“Well it has become more of necessity to move all civilians to Camelot.” Daniel's voice became somber as he continued. “Domain war rockets have been increasing patrols up north. Some not too far off from the base.”

“Maybe you should start pulling out as well. Find a new base.”

“Only as a last resort. We have a hidden kingdom of forges and resources far north and that can't be undefended. We lose that and Camelot loses access to a lot of metals and fuel for the war and we'll need them more than ever thanks to Avernus.”

“We finally, find out what was in that Avernus file?”

“Avernus is Daimos's spaceport and it dates back to before Solarium fell. It has an active Celestial Mirror and heavily defended.”

“Well you can't insult his work ethic at least. So is he already in space?”

“Aye. He probably was getting it back to working condition before he started his conquest. Taking other worlds while we were hiding and re-organizing. No detailed information on what other worlds he's been to. Much of the data got fragmented when Peace got nicked.”

“Bah! Now we're back on the war talk.”

“Well there is something I wanted to tell both of you.”

“I'm finally having grandchildren?!”

Sam laughed nervously. “That's still a ways back on the agenda.”

Children was a topic that Sam wish he could resolve. The question wasn't how but who would raise them. He wanted to raise them himself and he wanted to make sure they had both parents. He had always told himself there would be time after the war, but even with the plan, it could still take years to find the rings. He was in his 20s for now but age would catch up with him and that would make having children much harder. It would also make fighting Daimos much harder, but one problem at a time.

“No. The Enchantress wanted to tell me something the night before the feast.”

“Alone.” Daniel made a faux shock and horror expression. “Careful, Sam, nobles like their rumors.”

He yelped in pain as Rose pinched his ear. “I was just joking with the lad,” he protested.

“So what did she say?”

Sam recounted the conversation.

Nearby one of the many lakes in the Mystic Woods the Enchantress held an item in her hand. It had a chrome surface, sleek and smooth, with a circular screen and two black bars on its side. A buzzing sensation filled Sam's head as she explained it was called a Talisman.

A Talisman was effectively a software library, the equivalent to a wizard's book of spells. It could open Celestial and World mirrors. Generate programs that created physical constructs in battle. All powered by ambient Bifrost energy drawn from the Codex through a secure link.

He looked at it intensely. Amazed by the alien device.

“If only we had more of these things.”

“Sadly the biometric security functions would prevent their use. They were designed for Tuatha physiology and for the individual they were constructed for. This device is for your use only. Due to your Tuatha genome.”

Sam stopped looking at the Talisman and turned his head toward her. A stoic gaze hid his shock as she continued to explain. Sam's body possessed a genome only found in Tuatha physiology. Specifically, it was a genome expressed only in those of the Royal Family of Eden.

Making him a Prince of Eden.

The Enchantress discovered this during Sam's month of healing in the Spire. The Medical technology allowed her to collect extremely detailed knowledge of him.

“We did not mean to deceive you,” she said. “the information was deemed not relevant when we believed Daimos to just be an Abyss influenced individual. Now that we know the truth we had to inform you so you could learn to use Tuatha technology properly.”

“Okay,” he said calmly. Sam continued to process what he was hearing, avoiding jumping to any conclusions. “Which side of the family?”

“You are not a direct descendant of any Tuatha. If not induced artificially this would make you a far distant relation to the royal family. The genome only allows you access to their technology otherwise you are human.”

“Okay so I'm related to some ancient alien royalty. Normally those reveals happen at the beginning but okay. Just add that crazy to the pile. By the way, you said the Talisman is only usable by the person who it was made for.”

“Do not be concerned. I transferred the security protocols to you.”

“Wait, I?” Sam gave the Enchantress a puzzling look.

“Yes, It was mine long ago.”

“Curiouser and Curiouser.” Daniel rubbed his chin in thought.

“My boy is a prince!” Rose had stars in her eyes. “Our grandchildren are going to be royalty on both sides now.” She grabbed Daniel's arm and squeezed as she squealed in joy.

“I guess so.” Sam shrugged. Prince or not. He at least had an understanding of the strange feeling when he encountered the tech. Once he left for Ramia he would soon have a better understanding of how to use the tech reliably. He would track down something on the planet that would let him understand the Tuatha language. How else would he read all the instruction manuals?

The voices in the feast hall grew quiet as horns began to play. “All rise for His and Her Royal Majesties!”

All rose from their seats and turned their heads as the King and Queen of the Free Realms entered the hall with glasses of mead at the ready.

“Lords and Ladies of the Realms. This feast is to commemorate our Champion, Sir Bailey. He is to embark on a quest that will end our long struggle against the tyranny of the machines. If all goes well he will soon have the means to finally defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. So I invite you all to raise your glasses and toast to the Star Warden. May the Powers guide him safely and swiftly to victory!”

The Lords and Ladies raised their glasses. “To the Star Warden!”

Chapter 4

Chapter 2

Star Warden Book 2: RQ Chapter 2.

 

The Codex

Sam, Kaguya and Peace stepped out of a mirror set in a golden archway built into a wooden wall. The mirror turned into rainbow light and shrunk into a white ball then vanished revealing the wall behind it. The three had arrived in the Mystic Woods but instead of Camelot, they walked into Fort Aquarius. A ring fort built on a lake that had a beautiful view of the skies beyond the island. The fortress was busy with activity as Sam returned the rock device to one of the men-at-arms.

Fort Aquarius was used at first for converted individuals to be studied but since reconnecting with the Order of Lancelot it has expanded into a research and development facility. Thanks to the Order they not only had new weapons and armor and a growing radio network but also access to the organic material that made up Joyous Guard. Fort Aquarius new walls were all fully grown with their seeds and roots planted in the lake below them.

But the most important development was the activation of the World Mirror. It was a scaled down version of the Celestial Mirror technology. The World Mirror allowed for instantaneous travel across the planet and a network of such mirrors existed on this world. Joyous Guard had found one of these mirrors years ago and brought it to the Woods after Monmouth was liberated.

It was powered by energy from the Weave; an extra-dimensional realm that acts as the collective unconscious of the world's ecosystem. It was also the domain of Cerena in the Celestial Realm and afterlife for the Sprites. Priests of Cerena and Sprites draw upon the Weave for elemental spells. Powering technology could be done with it but the Sprites were the only living beings with the knowledge to do it safely.

Many of the Sprites were skeptical at first, they did not approve of the Weave being used in such a matter, but Sam managed to convince them to assist. The World Mirror network would give the Free Realms a quick and safe way to travel. It would create a logistical and communication infrastructure across the planet. Allowing better organization for all that still resisting the Dark Lord. The fact that it was the only power source in Camelot that was strong enough to power the Mirrors was another factor in the decision.

The last thing remaining was to find and connect to other mirrors or find a reliable way to open a mirror from any place in the world. The stone device could do that due to being Tuatha technology and it was the only one of its kind. If it was not for the extreme need to rescue Peace the device would have remained in the Woods.

Sam found it strange how it only responded to him. When he first saw it he felt a certain instinct in his head which allowed him to activate it. That same instinct he felt when he managed to absorb the energy of Daimos's electrical cage. The same thing he felt when he first came in contact with Dawnbringer. He was connected with this tech, with this world, somehow and perhaps his dad was as well.

Peace was being debriefed as the Sprites escorted Sam and Kaguya back to the Silver Spire. The Enchantress had sent an urgent summons along with a request to send any data recovered from Peace's mind to her once acquired. The escort was mostly for navigational purposes. Aquarius was someways out from Camelot and the Sprites ensured people could travel between them safely. The Mystic Woods can lead people astray if not careful and get them lost.

Many stories were told of people stumbling into the woods only to discover months or years had passed on the outside. There were also stories of those who had entered only to never leave again. There were areas of the forest trapped in perpetual starlight, or where summer lasted for years on end. One story even told of an eternal feast hall where maidens ply food and drink on a weary traveler. The traveler would become portly and sleepy, unable to resist as the Mystic Woods would devour him in turn.

The last one Sam learned from Bridget who stated she watched it happened herself. He was inclined to believe her as her story contained too many graphic details for it to be fake.

Once at the Silver Spire, they traveled through the torch-lit corridors and arrived at the grove. They found her sitting in the gazebo but slouched over with her hair disheveled. A faint smell of sweat and blood entered Sam's nostril, something he never expected from her. For the first time, Sam saw her out of her composed and controlled state and he couldn't help but blurt out.

“Ma'am you look like crap.”

Kaguya was about to object to Sam's outburst. When the Enchantress spoke. “We feel similarly.” Even her voice sounded strained.

“Enchantress. What has placed you in such a state,” Kaguya asked.

The Enchantress got straight to the point. “We traveled to Pandemonium.”

“Alone, Enchantress?” Kaguya's shock was evident.

She nodded. “To investigate a theory. We had the Sprites looking into all the reports of the Dark Lord's sorcery. They found no accounts of any Abyssal energy, demonic tones, or leftover artifacts of the traitor Tuatha. When the Champion informed us that the Dark Lord was an artificial intelligence. It gave us pause for thought and brought forward an idea we would not have originally considered.”

“You think he found some way to get his hands on the same magic Kaguya uses?”

“No. We believed he found something else, another way to gain magic. Depending on how one uses the word. So we left to investigate his mainframe to confirm or assuage our fears while also determining its defenses for a potential future attack.”

The Enchantress stood up and returned to proper posture. Her hair set itself right as her face shifted to stoic composure. She summoned a simple wooden staff with a large flower blooming from the top and waved it across the waters. A large crystal ball rose from its depths.

The ball filled with an image of a massive complex covered wall to wall, ceiling to floor, with something not quite metal but not quite organic as well. It pulsed like a heartbeat and shifted like it was breathing. The image began to play like a movie finally stopping when it reached a large box object attached to the wall. It had a gold surface and some crystals sticking out of it where buttons would be, otherwise, Sam and Kaguya had trouble describing it. Looking at it also caused Sam's head to get fuzzy and he felt that instinct once again, which made it clear it was Tuatha connected.

“What you see before you is a Codex Terminal. A piece of Tuatha technology that was lost to the mists of history. Considered myth by the highest members of the Celestial Faith. This is where Daimos's true self is hiding. His mainframe and robotic bodies are no more than avatars of his will.”

The Enchantress put a hand up before Sam could ask his question. “We will show you.” She closed her eyes and in a split second all three of them were in a black empty space. Lines of code began to form and the environment became blue. A humming sound similar to computer startup music could be heard while millions of holographic screens lined with code surrounded them. Circles, squares, and triangles floated in the sky or appeared on the ground at random.

They were now in the Codex. A quantum supercomputer network created by the Tuatha via direct manipulation of dark matter, the building block of the universe. Powered by dark energy that transmits tachyons on quantum strings that make up the foundation of the physical plane. All of the network hardware were non-physical multidimensional constructs and thus could exist even if the mediums in the physical plane were destroyed.

Due to its nature, the Codex could take a piece of Cyberspace and map it over the local reality of the users choosing. Creating the pocket dimension that Sam and Kaguya were currently standing in.

“Wait should we be on the network?” Sam kept the practical side of his brain running. He knew he could not let down his guard just yet. “Daimos might see us.”

“The terminal is set to private and not connected to the greater Codex. We are safe here.”

The child half of his brain took over as Sam took in everything. He was utterly speechless as he was the first human to know about the Codex and the first to enter an extra-dimensional space. Kaguya was in awe at the technological marvel she found herself in and did not sully the moment with petty words. The Enchantress respected the silence and merely altered the environment again. She re-created Sam's childhood home in Reno and place them in the backyard with the stars shining in the black. The seamless transition and the sensation of a gentle night's breeze on his skin would have fooled him into believing this was reality.

The moment stretched on for a few more minutes and then their business resumed.

The Enchantress continued explaining that the Codex had the ability to alter physical reality through its calculations. One known use was for terraforming worlds, no need for physical machines when one could just write a program. Once executed the Codex would manipulate the matter and energy around said planet to the program's exact specifications. It was this level of power that deluded some Tuatha into believing they were gods and led to the civil war and fall of the Tuatha.

“Wait, why would the Tuatha then take advice from the Abyss? Surely they wouldn't listen to the dragons if they believed themselves, gods.”

“The story that is told is not the whole truth. The Abyssal dragons did not sneak into our universe. They were invited in by the fallen who believed they could be controlled through the Codex. But we digress.”

Eventually smaller devices were created to draw energy and data from the Codex to project into the physical realm for personal use. Instead of drawing upon the Celestial Weave to create fire, one could just download the fire application. The Celestial Mirrors were another one of these inventions. Called Bifrost Gateways by the Tuatha, for their word for dark energy was translated into English as Bifrost. They created stable portals into the Codex allowing faster than light travel by converting an individual or starship into a compressed data packet.

Sam got a chuckle out of hearing that. “Will wonders never sense. A faster than light zip file.”

It was clear to Sam why Daimos would be considered a sorcerer. The Codex's technology was nearly indistinguishable from magic, Arthur Clark's third law made manifest. There were only three known limits; that it could not raise the dead, create sapient life, or alter time. But these cosmic limits did not stop a skilled programmer from overcoming someone trained in the mystic arts.

“What I would like to know is why did the Codex not stop him. I am sure the Tuatha installed security measures to remove rogue or malicious data.”

“They normally would, your Radiance. However, Daimos entered through a recognized terminal. If Daimos kept his presence hidden then the security programs would be fooled into believing it was an ordinary program not detecting his Abyssal code until it was far too late.”

Sam shook his head in disbelief. “Wait a minute so the reason we have to deal with alien Skynet is because someone forgot to logout?”

“A small mortal error can lead to large consequences. There is the possibility that this terminal was deliberately left open for Abyssal agents to use. That or Doctor Daimos managed to decipher a means to re-activate the link.”

“Either way. Once he got in he most likely made his own private network inside cyberspace and started building his resources. This explains that freak storm that knocked out Castle Bailey's sensors and why Solarium's tech turned against them.”

“The good doctor.” Kaguya could not have said the words with more bitterness. “Also uplifted much of our technology in the first place. It would not surprise me if he left various backdoors in our systems. Similar to the ones he had installed in the palace during the coup.”

She slammed her fist upon her thigh. “We allowed ourselves to believe that we could not be attacked due to the advancements were given. Our hubris cost us dearly.”

Sam put an arm around her. “Your family was grieving and nobody even knew the Codex existed. Much less that Daimos was going to rise from the grave as a demonic computer set on revenge. It was nobody's fault.”

Kaguya took a deep breath. “You are correct. Logically.”

“Hey, Sunshine.” Kaguya giggled as she was caught off guard by the use of her childhood nickname. “You feel that smile you're putting on? I want you to keep that in mind as the smile you are going to wear when we delete Daimos once and for all. That is an order, sailor.”

Kaguya's smile grew ever brighter and she saluted him “Aye Aye, Captain.”

If the Enchantress was not in the room she would have thanked him for cheering her up with a kiss. Sam on the other hand did not care who watched and kissed her anyway. The Enchantress herself kept quiet at the display of affection, beneath her stoic exterior she was glad to see that their relationship had not suffered during the war.

They would need each other in the trials to come.

Once Sam moved away he turned back to the Enchantress. Kaguya was blushing heavily but if that was from the kiss or the impropriety of the public display of affection she could not say.

“So, I'm guessing we can't just reboot or shut down the Codex?”

The Enchantress shook her head.

“No. Of course not. That would be too easy.”

“There is an easier solution to our dilemma, we will write a program specifically designed to eliminate him. A program that will need to be installed and executed in the Well of All-Stars where the Command Matrix is located.”

The Command Matrix serves as both the firmware and operating system for the Codex. It also houses the source code which allowed anyone with admin access the ability to alter it and thus the Codex at large. Its exact location in the Codex was unknown and under an always updating encryption process. The Dark Lord could not brute force his way past its defenses

The only people who had full access to it would be the holder of the Cosmic Ring. The Enchantress summoned an image of a white ring with a large photonic crystal embedded within. It was the user interface for the programs in the Command Matrix and thus only the High King of Eden or the Hand of the King could use it.

The image of the white ring changed as it split into eight rings. Each one a different color of the rainbow with the eighth one being a light gray. Then each of the rings changed into a compact disc that shared its color then slowly became a uniform color. The Enchantress explained that the Hand of the King divided the program of the ring and hid them in Spellscrolls to keep the Command Matrix out of the hands of the traitors.

For the past year and more Sam had been looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. He couldn't find it but he knew it was there. Now he had a pathway to that light, those eight rings, those eight discs. The path would be long and arduous but he didn't care, the fact of the matter is he know how to get to the light.

He would lead everyone to the light and banish the darkness.

Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Star Warden Book 2. RQ Chapter 1

 

Opening Moves

1

Esras the former capital of the Kingdom of Gorias was a city built in and around a mountain range in the highlands from Valaheim. It was a city of levels with people divided between the High, Middle, and Lower sections with a rumored underground city. Where people lived and died never having seen the sunlight. That city was gone as its walls, shops, homes, and estates were now rubble. The entire city no more than a work camp dedicated to mining the resources of the mountains and guarding the Spire.

The Spire was built by the Tuatha and the old city was built around it. It had a gleaming white metal surface with a futuristic appearance undamaged by time. The uppermost levels served as the center of the city leadership and now the center of administration for the Domain's occupation. Two towers carved from the peak of other mountains served as Sky ports and were attached to the Spire via bridges.

Inside the Spire the Star Warden was climbing its elevator shaft using his magnetized boots. The shaft had been spared most of the damage from the passing of time. The rest of the spire was not so lucky. Many sections were buried under rubble or in states of extreme disrepair with other parts still functional but disconnected from outside control. This made navigating beyond a certain level hazardous as any number of things could hide in them.

This what allowed a rebel cell to form right underneath the notice of the machines. Using the mountain tunnels for navigation with a base in an underground section of the Spire. Led by Peace; a faerie who was converted into a labor unit only to regain his free will through a freak accident though with severe memory loss in the process. Taking the name Peace he used his cybernetics to pretend to be loyal to the Domain while acting as a mole.

It was during a mission to the upper levels where he was finally was discovered and captured by the SWAT-bots. He was attempting to uncover more detailed information and confirm various rumors and reports that reached King Ronan. Reports that spoke of a new type of labor unit that started appearing not long after the Dark Lord announced there would be “extensive maintenance” to all conversion centers. There was also something called Avernus that was showing up in Domain intelligence chatter. It made Peace's rescue a top priority for the Free Realms.

The Warden reached his destination and with magically enhanced strength pried the elevator doors opened. He spoke into his radio.

“Honey, I'm on the detention level heading to his cell now.”

“We're in position, Sam, just give the word and be careful.”

Digging into his pockets, he pulled out small silver darts each one equipped with an EMP charge. He threw them into several security cameras and drones deactivating them. Repair drones would focus on them while he took another route to the cells. It would also distract any curious SWAT-bots if they decided to sweep the area for a security breach.

Sam reached Peace's cell thanks to the sub-dermal tracking device in his cybernetics. Which was modified to allow the rebels to find him while hiding from the Domain's sensors. He was nearly completely cybernetic to the point that only his face and his neck remained of his original body. The back of his head was filled with microchips and ports, his eyes were now photoreceptors.

The Warden pulled out the last dart and injected it into the nearby console. Once the security was down he kicked the door in. The noise woke up the cyborg Faerie.

“You're a little short for a SWAT-bot.”

“Oh I'm just an intern bot. Looking to get some credits for my college course. Just a hundred more and I can graduate.”

Peace shook his head as if he just heard something crazy.

“Tough crowd tonight. Okay, my name is Sam Bailey. The Star Warden.”

“Star Warden. That name has crossed my feed.” Peace looked past him. “Where are the guards?”

“Probably seeing why the cameras are knocked down.”

“No. There are always guards here. The Dark Lord would not let someone like me slip through his fingers. Something is wrong.”

Peace's optics expanded. “Warden, look out!”

Dawnbringer was drawn from its scabbard and Sam blocked an incoming sword swing. A blade of hard light replaced the SWAT-bot's right hand. It pressed its attack fighting in tandem with its built-in ray gun. Peace intervened and crushed the robot's skull and ripped off the robot's arm. He began attaching the gun to his own wrist.

“Weapons discharge detected on the detention level. Bioscan commencing.” The voice was artificial but it sounded female. 

Sam pressed a button on his wrist sending a signal to Kaguya. Explosions rocked the building and Klaxons began to blare. “Priority one alert. Human life sign on the detention level. Warden Malware detected. Priority one threat. Terminate on sight.”

“What is our escape plan?”

“Same way I came in. Follow me.”

The two rushed back to the elevator while Kaguya and the other rebels were providing a diversion. Sadly no plan survives first contact with the enemy. As they found the elevator doors blocked off by an electrical barrier. A barrier Peace made physical contact with when he was shot from behind. The insulation in his body saved him from death but the field was strong enough to knock him to the ground and leave him dazed.

Sam evaded the SWAT-bot fire as he grabbed Peace and ran. On foot the SWAT-bots would easily be able to keep pace. But the Warden had a new trick up his sleeves or in his boots as the case may be. Flames burst forth as he was propelled forward by his rocket books. They made it look like he was skating as he moved across the floor.

One the machines caught up using their own rockets. As it grabbed him the Warden twisted his body and kicked its head. The flames condensed into a beam that burnt through the head causing it to shut down. He fired upon the second robot causing it to take cover and giving him time to flee.

“Kaguya, the elevator is a bust. Starting Plan B.”

“Understood.”

“Plan B?” Peace's voice was groggy 

“We're going to escape via the towers.”

“You have a hovercraft prepared?”

“Not exactly. But we got an escape method planned.”

“Then we should make haste. Put me down and I'll show you a quicker path.”

The path to Peace's shortcut was not easy as SWAT-bots swarmed the detention level. Peace was forced to do re-programming under fire so he could utilize the stolen robot weapon. There was a security program that prevented it from being used on an active SWAT-bot to prevent rebels from turning their weapons against them.

When he finished and fired the weapon the shots were weaker than expected. Every shot bounced off their armor including their helmets. Peace discovered there was a secondary fail-safe designed to regulate the power of the weapon in case the lockdown was removed. Still, he could use it to bludgeon the enemy and did so adequately.

Once the Warden carved another SWAT-bot into slices with his sword they reached a run down section of the dentition center. Peace punched in the wall which leads to one of the various tunnels. This tunnel Peace used to help prisoners escape before they could be converted.

“I must say I was surprised by a secondary security system. The Dark Lord certainly leaves little to chance.”

“He's a cagey one all right.”

“We shouldn't be far from the Sky port. Any ideas what the others are doing?”

“Kaguya should be leading the other robots on a wild goose chase through the tunnels. Meanwhile, some of your guys are going to knock out the power generators the machines set up.”

“What were the earlier explosions for?

“That was to keep security off us. I was hoping they would check them out and be caught off guard when fired upon. But I guess they're more focused on killing me first. Still, if they are chasing us that means the others should be able to knock out the generators without too much trouble.”

“Either way you're forcing the machine to strain itself through multi-tasking.”

“Bingo. All systems have to deal with limited resources. Make it deal with a thousand things all at once, something will slip through the cracks. I just hope all of them make it out or at least as few as possible die.”

“I was getting worried for a moment. War can make one callous to lives lost due to death becoming mundane. While we as leaders must sometimes send our warriors to their deaths. We must never waste them or fail to honor their sacrifice.”

“Amen, brother.”

The tunnel led them to a ladder and they climbed their way up to the surface. Opening a hatch they arrived at top of the tower. From all the stacked boxes it appeared they entered a storage facility. They stepped out onto the landing pad and were confronted by a SWAT-carrier blinding them with floodlights. It opened fire on both of them before they could run, but they were saved in the nick of time by a barrier of magical light.

Kaguya was flying in from the second tower blasting strong winds at the carrier. She had made her way up through the tunnels knowing that Sam would head there. With the carrier turning its fire upon her Sam took flight and activated the fusion cannon on his right arm. The radioactive particles caused the carrier to explode into pieces.

Sam and Kaguya fist bumped in celebration. Then they joined Peace as they watched the mining facility below the Spire darken. Peace had been patched into the radio and he got confirmation that his rebels managed to escape back to base. A few had taken the initiative to destroy the backup generators. Those that went sadly did not return the only other casualties were wounded.

“Well that should give Daimos a black eye for a while.”

“While I am happy about our success. It won't be long until they re-group. You said you had an escape route that does not involve a hovercraft.”

Sam looked at Kaguya. “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Oh, no please go ahead.”

Sam pulled a small device no bigger than a stone from his pocket and aimed at an empty space. Pressing on the black liquid in the center a small white ball appeared in the air and then expanded into a large vortex. Inside that vortex, a bright rainbow light was being emitted. All three of them walked in and the vortex closed behind them.

******

Nightshade hissed as she looked at the holographic screen in the throne room. Excavation site 419 was attacked by rebels. Power was completely out along with the backups and the former labor unit calling itself Peace had escaped.

“That human needs to be hanged by his entrails.” Daimos scratched under her chin which caused her to purr. While not as emotionally volatile as his pet, he was equally annoyed at today's events.

“Sonia, what did this bug-riddled labor unit pilfer from my databanks?”

“Many files were copied including ones connected to the Soul Extraction project. Along with the operational files for Avernus.”

“What about Project Archon?”

“Negative, Master.”

“Is this bad,” asked Nightshade.

“Somewhat. Avernus will alert the rebels to my other plans. Fortunately, they have no means to leave this world. Sonia, focus on updating the security around the island and deploy a Floating Fortress as well.”

“Acknowledged.”

What truly worried the Tyrant of Aetherium was the fact that the rebels were getting close to the truth. As there was a recent raid by the Enchantress herself into Pandemonium. Through her arcane subterfuge, she entered into the city's historical zone, an area of the city that contained all that remained of old Solarium. There was one building in particular that he hoped he could have led the Star Warden into. That was the old solar power plant from which the city earned its name.

The fact she went, and escaped despite his best efforts, meant that the trap he had planned would be foiled. He hoped he could play on the desperation of the rebels, now that they knew he was an AI they would try to go and destroy his mainframe for the quick win. They would have all been fooled and easily killed, their efforts in vain. The Enchantress however is the only person who could suspect his true existence and know exactly what she needed to look for to prove it. 

Now she was free to tell it to the Warden and the Princess. They would know not only the source of his “magic” through the Codex but also the truth of his existence. Daimos had long held the advantage through the ignorance of his enemies and now that advantage would be gone. A part of him kicked himself for not tracking down Samuel's corpse after he burned him alive. He should have confirmed the kill. Now there was a chance, no matter how infinitesimal it was, that he could be killed by the son of the same human that killed his past self.

The Dark Lord knew now he had to press what time remained on his tactical advantage. With the Soul Extractor working he now had access to the souls of Aetherium which he needed for his second project. Project Archon; the next stage of his grand design. A new type of machine, a weapon of mass destruction beyond all others.

They would not be created through simple programming. They would be the Dark Lord's vision of life, crafted by his hands to serve his will. Dark angels forged in titanium, wielding blades of dark matter, and flying wings formed from graviton particles. It had been a vision long in the making but somewhat impossible. As his own creation was a freak accident that could not be replicated, due to Abyssal energy being capricious at best.

But thanks to the Soul Extractor he had more detailed knowledge on the nature of the connections between the soul and body of mortals. They were not separate, the body and soul were one and the same and if one went so would the other. He also learned he could not recreate one fully as that was in the domain of the Gods. But he could manipulate the ones he did have now that they were data.

Their memories, personalities, and skills were either erased or altered by Daimos. Anything erased was replaced by a specific set of behavior, skill, and loyalty programs. These programs took the form of glowing circuitry that wrapped around the soul like a shell creating the Soul Matrix. It was a shadow of a true soul as it lacked the divine grace needed for life. While it would make an Archon appear from first glance to be sapient. In the end, it would be no more than just an extremely advanced puppet with no true will of its own.

The first Soul Matrix was installed into a quantum computer that took the form of a black cube no bigger than a human's fist. This dark cube lit up as it activated and the first Archon came to life. A pool of liquid metal began to churn as a suitable form begin to be forged for the new warrior.

Chapter 2

Prologue

Star Warden Book 2. RQ Prologue

Star Warden Book 2: Ringquest

By

Donavan F. Walker

Copyright©2021 by Donavan F. Walker

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Prologue

Deep in the Steel Acropolis, a facsimile of life flowed into a new body. Black and red plating with bits of gold. A black crown with red gems sat upon a red helmet and mirrored faceplate. A black and gold sash went across its metal chest. Underneath those plates, an artificial heart thrummed to life and a black cape was attached by remote manipulators as the body fully activated. The Dark Lord Daimos had taken physical form once again.

This body was long in development due to a combination of various ideas. He wanted a more openly mechanical look combined with the flare of his military uniform and the crown that designated him as Tyrant of Aetherium and Lord of the Stygian Domain. But more importantly, he wanted a worthy body for his quasar generator. The power of a superluminous black hole flowed through the artificial muscle. All systems were green and stable on his heads up display.

“Master. I love the new look.” Nightshade flew in and landed on Daimos's shoulder. The she-dragon gingerly touched the metal.

“Naturally. It is a body fit for a king.” He scratched her chin with a clawed hand. Nightshade was part of a species of dragons with butterfly wings. Hers were yellow with black spots which matched nicely with her purple and black scales. Nightshade was the result of Daimos's bioweapon experiments. While he preferred machines, organics had their uses and he wanted to ensure he could take advantage of their strengths.

While Nightshade was no weapon she was sapient thanks to his efforts. She also amused him with her thirst for blood and pain so he kept her around.

“What's the plan today. Going into battle?”

“Not as of yet. But today is a special occasion. A project that has been in the works since I conquered the Summer Empire has successfully passed all tests. Now I can use it on a special prisoner. Sonia. Status Report.”

“The Soul Extractor is prepared and fully charged, Master.”

“Send in the prisoner. I will be there shortly.”

Daimos entered a room whose walls shared the dark metals as the corridors he passed through. This room was spartan save for a slab, a ceiling-mounted projector, and a console. Two SWAT-bots walked through a sliding door as they brought in a faerie dressed in ruined blue robes. He was a priest of Mira and his body was bruised and emaciated from months of torture.

During Daimos's conquest of the world his forces raided various monasteries, convents, and cathedrals. The Celestial Faith had collected much information on the ancient Tuatha magic, and technology. That knowledge was under heavy encryption by the Priests of Mira in various digital, physical, and magical ways. Daimos had so far managed to crack through the information under digital encryption. But the other two methods ensured the rest of it remained beyond his reach.

He had interrogated many Priests to get his hands on the cipher needed to decrypt the information. But many of them either died or refused to give up the information despite the torture. Using the conversion process on them and downloading their memory was also not an option. Due to the brute force nature of the procedure, it could corrupt the memory files after completion. But now he had a more efficient means of conversion which would finally allow him to acquire the cipher.

The machines placed the priest on the slab and restraints appeared on his arms and legs. He looked up at Daimos eyes blazing with defiance.

“What iniquities do you seek to inflict upon me this day, evil one?”

“One you will sadly not recover from. I can however be generous and spare you this fate. In exchange, well you know exactly what I want in exchange.”

“My answer has not and will not change.” His voice was deep and strong showing no signs of the horrors inflicted upon him.

“Oh, I am fully aware. But formalities must be observed. You are about to be denied the afterlife in a few short moments. You are also, out of all the people I've tortured, are my favorite. Never once did you break or despair, or cease your prayers. So, Father Bruno, I grant you the honor of having your soul extracted by the Dark Lord himself.”

“Mira shall protect me and take me to the Golden World.”

“I assure you none of the Powers will protect you from this. Sonia, activate manual controls.” Daimos walked over to the computer console near the wall. A section of it opened up and a lever rose out of it.

“Any final words before sentence is carried out?”

“Get on with it.”

Daimos sighed. “What a disappointing choice of last words.” He then fell into a sinister chuckle as he put his clawed hand on the lever. “But as you wish.” He pulled it down causing the projector to light up.

A stream of energy flowed from it and onto Father Bruno, at least to the naked eye this was all that could be seen. But the Dark Lord's vision allowed him to witness the nanites inside the stream enter the priest's body. Bruno's face started to twist and contort in pain as his body began to break down. His organs liquefied into grey goo and were slowly rebuilt, blood became electricity, nerves became wires. Slowly everything that was once organic became a machine even the grey matter of the brain transmuted into motherboards and circuitry.

Bruno screamed in pain but his voice began to distort like a broken soundcard. The last thing before he witnessed before passing out was his vision pixelating. When he felt himself wake up he saw only darkness before him. He could not feel his body and had the sense that he was floating somewhere.

“Have I finally expired?”

“Your body yes,” said Daimos. “But your soul remains here. To be accurate your body has been re-purposed.”

An imaged flashed in Bruno's thoughts showing him the room with the slab. A robot now laid where he once did.

“It is designed for mining and demolition. Your body has become the first of my Servitors; fully mechanical labor units with none of the drawbacks of my earlier conversion process. While the body is transformed your soul remains here. Thanks to my Soul Extractor technology everything you were, are, and would become has been digitized and downloaded into my databanks.”

"You can't put a soul into a computer. This must be a test by Mira or some fabrication by the Abyss.” His voice started to shake as if he was trying to convince himself and avoid acknowledging an awful truth. He thought of a prayer to steady himself but he could not feel the warmth of the Celestial Realm. Just a cold empty void that caused his heart to panic in despair.

An evil electronic laugh filled the space as a bright red light burst forth in front of Bruno. A figure emerged as the light faded away. It had six wings in the form of black flickering tendrils which surrounded a red eye made from code and wires. A twisted broken halo made from strange shapes and odd angles formed above it. Surrounding the space around this image and Bruno were uncountable lines of red code moving up and down, back and forth.

“Neither the Powers or the Abyss have any authority here.” Daimos's voice echoed with each word he spoke. There was both a demonic and divine pitch to it and the voice shifted between them randomly. Various smaller indistinct voices continued to speak in tandem with random bursts of electronic noises while Daimos was silent.

“No,” he said in disbelief. “Is this?.” An idea popped up in the priest's head. All the imagery behind him had reminded him of something from his past studies. If he took Daimos at his word, something he loathed doing, then he was not in the Abyss to be tortured or in the Celestial Realm for his rest.

“Indeed. We are in the Codex. My own plane of existence. No magic will be of use to you here. No prayers shall be heard. You have nothing now, not even your body unless I command it. You are not even Father Bruno anymore. You are nothing more than whatever my whims wish you to be. But you do have the honor of being the first mortal to gaze upon my true form with all of its magnificence, glory, and majesty. Rejoice! For you are in the presence of power incarnate!”

“What have you done to me!” Bruno clearly sounded panicked and Daimos laughed even louder. This moment was made even sweeter to Daimos as Bruno made sobbing sounds as he started to realize the truth of Daimos's words. For years and months, he had been the one to keep the faith and bring hope and resolve to his fellow prisoners. Now he wished someone could do the same for him at this moment.

“Is it finally dawning upon you, insect? Are your eyes at last opened to the truth!? Can you see now that there is no afterlife for you! The peace and eternal life you worked for is denied! You are mine! Body and Soul!”

Bruno did not respond to his words. The evil AI had found a way to trap his soul in the Codex. Something that was considered a myth to even the eldest of clerics. But the fact he could no longer feel his spiritual connection to the Celestial Realm was more proof than words could convey. His soul was screaming for that familiar presence, that warmth, that motherly comfort his gods could provide.

Dark hands reached inside him and dragged away the cipher needed to decrypt the tomes. Daimos assimilated the knowledge of the cipher and with a simple digital impulse ordered remote manipulators to begin opening the tomes. He wrote an algorithm with the cipher data and pushed it forward into the physical plane. Appearing as a bolt of lightning from a computer monitor and striking the tomes causing their magical seals to evaporate from their pages.

The Dark Lord was now free to plunder all of the physical tomes and scrolls for their knowledge which would soon be digitized as well for safekeeping. As for the priest, he was assimilated into the manifestation of Daimos. He joined all the other souls that Daimos had taken, the earlier test subjects for the extractor. Each soul still aware but could not express their dismay through words or wails.

For they had no mouth and could not scream.

Chapter 1

Book 1: Chapter 18