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SkyEarth 1: Stratos Rising (Act 1) Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

The Storm



           CRACK!

           Thunder rumbled after white tendrils of lightning flashed in the metallic gray clouds. The mechanical city of Granoden faced one of the harshest storms of the year, as rain and wind buffeted the boroughs and neighborhoods, most of which were flooded from knee-high to chest-deep levels of rainwater. Most of the population stayed indoors, but there were a few others, more so in the poverty-stricken Outer Ring, taking the full force of the storm, struggling to stay alive. Some of those people would die, either from drowning in floods or from sickness from the cold winds or contaminated floodwater, but one boy had other problems than those two.

           Fortunately he lived in one of the higher ground boroughs of the Outer Ring, but it was also one of the more dangerous ones where two rival gangs would often clash. The boy needn’t worry about that. His steps were careful and agile over the slippery cobblestone streets like he’d been treading over wet stone floors for most of his life. As he was about to take a left turn to the alley he almost slipped, but managed to recover for the cost of having his left hand cut from the recovery. He would treat it as soon as the deed was done.

           The boy came across a dead-end of a dirty alley. On second thought, dirty doesn’t begin to cover it. The place was a mess of filth and garbage and grime, with overflowing dumpsters, animal fecal matter, and some discarded strips of cloth (probably loose bandages of some leper). Even the pounding torrent could not mask the smell of sweet horrid stench of filth. The boy ignored the scent and walked closer to an alley corner.

           In a glance, it’s just a brick corner where two walls of buildings meet. But on the cobblestone floor, the stones were curved, like one-fourth of a circle was shown while the rest where hidden behind the walls. It’s also big enough to fit at least two or three people cuddled together tightly, and the rubbish and grime helped conceal it so no one would check it. It was a doorway to Granoden’s oldest and most mysterious secret, and the boy knew how to get there.

           The boy stepped in the pie-shaped corner space. Around his neck was a necklace, but instead of jewelry a key was dangling from the metal chain. He fished out the key, which he put it in the tiny keyhole in the space where the two walls meet, activating the hidden tumblers and mechanisms, thus opening the door. The walls began to move, and so was the floor. The whole thing swiveled and the boy was taken inside a dark and damp tunnel with wall sconces as sources of light. Below him was a set of steps spiraling down. Somehow the rainwater managed to seep through the walls and made the stairs slippery. Bad enough that the stairs were at uneven height but one slip up might break his neck when he falls. Carefully he descended the wet uneven stairs, the light from the sconces showing the way. So far, he hadn’t slipped and fallen, and if it comes to, he would hold on to one of the sconces to stop the fall. Five minutes later, he’d reach the end of the stairs and into a dark brick corridor.

           The corridor, dimly lit by sconces, went two ways: left and right. The boy, who’d been living underground for most of his life, had no problem where he needed to go. He basically had a map of the whole underground tunnel system inside his mind, so he took the left corridor. Straight ahead was a crossroad going forward, left, and right. The boy took the right corridor, stopped at the fifth sconce of the left wall, muttered something in Latin and the wall where the sconce was slid down, revealing another dark stairway tunnel down. After climbing down the stairs, the boy walked through the dark corridor until he came across a wide circular chamber with four large double doors. The boy went to the space between the second and third set of double doors, pushed four bricks that signify the four cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west in that order) and the wall swiveled, revealing a secret room. The boy walked through the hidden door and it swiveled back into place, closing the door.

           The secret room more liked a cell for the hopelessly schizophrenic that was given rolls of paper, jars of ink, newspapers, and leather-bound books every single day of his life. All four walls were covered in incoherent drawings and writings. Piles and stacks of leather-bound books litter three of four corners of the room, with a small homeless person den made of cardboard, newspapers, and scraps of cloth at the farther right corner. At the center of the room a bronze statue of a tree stood on a dais.

           The bronze tree had beauteous wings on the side of the trunk. The roots snaked around the dais as if it had been planted there years ago. At the front of the trunk, a bronze shield gleamed between two scrolls. The top scroll’s motto was written in Voynich, which said, ‘Harmony and Balance above all.’, and the bottom scroll, also written in Voynich, said, ‘The sky is endless.’ As for the shield, it had a big checkerboard pattern with only four squares. On the top left and bottom right square were letters ‘S’ and ‘E’ done in Old Gothic lettering. On the top right square was an olive branch, and the bottom left was a set of scales. The shield is the SkyEarth coat of arms, and the tree is the mythical Yggdrasil, birthplace of SkyEarth’s five major deities.

           The boy stepped on the dais, stood on his tiptoes to reach the branches, and he began to feel on the holes and bumps carved on the branches. Closing his eyes, the boy moves his bony fingers on the branches, reading Braille, the writing system for the blind and the visually impaired. His right hand was covered in multiple skin lesions and felt numb. Soon he would lose one hand, but a prosthetic was ready made for him when that time comes. He was looking for the word ‘switch’ among the bumps and holes, and after minutes of touching and feeling he felt the Braille letters S, W, I, T, C, and H in a row, and he pulled the branch.

           There were clicking sounds coming from the inside of the bronze tree statue, and then a loud snap. The shield snapped open, revealing to be a door to a roomy compartment inside. And hanging on a hook was a piece of chain with a bronze and silver amulet that depicted the Yggdrasil tree and the SkyEarth coat of arms on it. The boy took the amulet from its hook and took a good look at it. If looked at the side, Voynich lettering could be seen. It said ‘Follow the Prongs and Wings. Awaken the Lost One’. The boy looked scared, as if he’d seen his own life thread being cut by the shears of death.



           “Oh Granos….” muttered the boy. “I hope I’m ready for this….” He wore the amulet around his neck and closed the compartment door of the hollow bronze tree. He then went to the wall where he first came in and pushed the bricks the same way he did on the other side. The wall swiveled and the boy left the room, the door automatically swivels to a close. He then went to the double door at the far right of the chamber and opened it, revealing a spiral staircase to the surface. He then closed the door behind him and climbed up the spiral staircase to the surface in the dark.
First chapter of Act 1: Summer. Anyone interested in doing a cover for my story (because I suck in making my own covers), please notify. We'll discuss the terms...

Act 1 chapters:
[you are here]
[Chapter 2]
[Chapter 3]
[Chapter 4]
[Chapter 5]
[Chapter 6]
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