I turned to the Chief. “Vazanklav policy on religion will be very strict. Anyone is free to exercise it, but it should not, in any away, affect anyone else. This status will be reviewed if one’s personal beliefs diminish their or someone else’s fighting ability. A church will be allowed, but such a structure will serve as a gathering place for all religions. Said church is also not to, in any way, collect funds through donations. And there will be no charity tolerated. Understood?”
The Chief looked satisfied, seemingly more content with my stance on the issue than the permission he was given. “Yes, Mr. Frost. Thank you, Mr. Frost. We won’t let you down.”
“Fort is your overseer. Talk to him if you need anything, or want to contact me or the General.”
Always nice to shift responsibility on others.
Next stop, the Union army. Hundreds of vehicles, hundreds of people, all tired and weary from the ten-day march through the wilderness, assaulted by Beasts and Nova traps. They were being housed in the north-north-east triangle-sector, near the vehicle base. There wasn’t much to do here - all were actively disassembling their gear, packing each vehicle in preparation for transportation to orbit. A massive automated launcher with Union markings was already being loaded. The bill for moving so much gear through space had to be massive, but it was their only choice, short of traveling for weeks across high-Class wasteland - a madman’s trip.
What happened to the Union troops themselves, as well as the few refugees that chose to leave, was even simpler.
Suicide implants were standard on the Waste Ring.
They were polite enough to leave the Comfort Dome first.
But apparently there was one madman who, despite the distance and danger, made the trip. Not only that, but he made the trip to us, rather than away.
I was sitting on the hill the next morning, leading against the Monument and watching the wall of light in the distance approach from the counter-orbit side of the Ring, bringing with it ‘sunrise’.
“Mr. Frost, an airship is approaching from counterorbit.”
“Is it Rarus?” I yawned.
“Negative, the airship is transmitting Ice Wall Mercenaries identification and requesting ground passage for two to the Monument. I have positively identified Jim of Ice Wall Mercenaries, formerly part of your defense team, as one of the two individuals onboard.”
“Jim came to visit, huh? Patch him through.”
<Mr. Frost?> The mech’s voice was somewhat dulled - he was talking mentally, through his Menu.
“Hello Jim! Long time to see. What brings you to my little hideout?”
< am sorry to disturb your peace Mr. Frost. A… the commanding officer of Ice Wall has requested I escort him to ensure access to the Monument within your walls. He is… unhappy with your presence here.>
“He is welcome in.”
<Thank you, Mr. Frost.>
It was too early to get excited or think hard about anything. I had let myself relax, for the first time in days. Nova were deflected. I had a deal with Enmity Reach to sell my inventions. The fortress had enough of a population now to count as a small village, and I would soon have the funds to start working on new and interesting projects. I thought about the eternity ahead of me, that I would live forever now, and that brought sadness for all those that died in my arms, all those who would never get to see this heavenly future.
In thought, I watched the wall of light wash over the land, comfortably warming the skin through the glass-like Comfort Dome overhead. The narrow window of light above was a pleasant rarity in this new, hellish climate.
For the first time I fully grasped why Class 8 zones were considered so completely inhospitable. The atmosphere might have remained breathable, but that did little to improve habitability beyond the Comfort Dome. The fire and ash failed to hide the land rising into the sky all around us. The Hotzone stopped growing towards us overground, instead spreading down, through the bedrock surrounding Vazanklav. Now, as gravitational Anomalies of incredible size were lifting million-ton chunks of land into the sky. The deadly underground forest worked to anchor the chunks, creating an impossible landscape of floating mountains held together by roots. Fire and sunlight painted the incredible scene with raging shadows and red light, the four-kilometer radius around the Monument seeming like a haven in a sea of biblical destruction. Explosions, wind and rock beat against the Comfort Dome, the dull echoes shaking the ground.
But now a new sound now permanently decorated Vazanklav. It was the sound of grass moving in the wind.
I had finally managed to make grass grow in hell. An ancient dream, a strange hope that my grave would be dug in a valley of grass rather than under the ashen skies of Earth, was satisfied.
Two pairs of footsteps sounded up the hill behind me, on the other side of the black obelisk. One, a Human in heavy boots but without armor, and a large mech. Jim and his boss. The heavy whine of motors stopped a distance back, letting the Human approach alone.
The sound of leaves, branches… perhaps flowers hitting the ground barely registered in my mind. I was too relaxed, too sleepy to think on why someone was leaving flowers at the Monument. I just listened. Only a minute later did the guest speak.
“There’s grass growing here.”
Silence from Jim. He could not know about my project.
“Jim, I understand you know the owner of this… establishment,” said the gruff, low, calm voice. “I would like to meet them.”
“Right here,” I called out, not bothering to sit up.
The boots audibly broke rock as the man stepped around the pillar. I glanced to my side to look at him.
Handsome features, artificially white hair. Four glamorous black horns going around his head. A face unbroken by scars, but eyes telling of great age, greater than any I have yet seen.
Golden eyes. Those flashed, answering a query of my own. I felt the massive Fall Coefficient then, stronger than mine by many magnitudes.
My own eyes were growing wider by the second. Without horns, with black hair and several terrible scars across his face, the man would look almost like my…
“Brother?” Asked Gale Frost.
Lists and Tables
Hi.
Thank you for reading. I put a lot of work and love into this book, and I hope you are as satisfied with the result as I am.
I would tell you about myself, but I don’t think you care. You came here for the character’s story, not mine. And, frankly, I don’t think I want to tell a bunch of strangers what I do in my free time, where I work, what sort of tea I like and what my favorite pizza is.
So, instead, I offer you these pretty tables.
Enjoy.
PS I : My editing is incredibly spotty. If you find any mistakes, tweet @SirHighrs .
PS II : Thanks to some of the readers I have eliminated a few bugs and cleaned up some things for your pleasure. Updated on January 1st, 2020.
TIME
Earth
Standard
Ring
Standard
Second
1 Second
1 Second
1 Second
1 Second
Minute
60 Sec
100 Seconds
100 Sec
Hour
60 Minutes
3,600 Sec
100 Minutes
10,000 Sec
Day
24 Hours
86,400 Sec
10 Hours
100,000 Sec
Week
7 Days
604,800 Sec
10 Days
1,000,000 Sec
Year
365 Days
31,536,000 Sec
100 Days
10,000,000 Sec
GEM OUTPUT
Parrot (P) = X Jewels per Second
Class
Parrots
1
1 P
2
2 P
3
4 P
4
8 P
5
16 P
6
32 P
7
64 P
8
128 P
9
256 P
Author’s note: We are assuming that a parrot is an arbitrary unit, an output multiple, and that we are comparing Gems of identical size. Therefore, a Class 1 Gem would output 1 Parrot of power, while a Class 3 Gem would output four times that - 4 Parrots. This should give you a sense of just how power higher-Class units have at their disposal - and why they cost so much.
GENERAL CLASS BRACKETS
Class
Tech / Beast examples (fractional list)
1
Primitive, modern-day tech: Combustion engines, crossbows, microwave ovens, swords, chemical guns, Kevlar armor and paper books.
2
3
Plasma and Particle accelerators, gravity control. Shadow: Shimmer.
4
Gravity and Fusion Lances, Predictive/Counter-predictive systems.
5
Teleportation; Teleporting munitions. Shadow: Shade.
6
Advanced stealth.
7
Disruptor, Antimatter, Energy Blades.
8
Slipstream.
9
Scorcher, Phase gear. Shadow: Dark.
10
Shadow: White Specter; Things You Can’t Even Imagine™
Author’s note: This list is far from complete, but it should give you a general sense of things. Note that the Class of something does not limit its utility, power output, or destructiveness. The Hacksaw use Fusion Lances, a Class 4 weapon, but they pump the output of Class 8 Gems through them, easily matching most Class 8 weapons.
RINGS
Layer (Outer -> Inner)
Name(s)
Type
1
Green / Life Ring
Lush, continental; minimal metals.
2
Water / Storm / Blue Ring
Islands, oceans.
3
Ice / Crystal Ring
Sub-zero, frozen wasteland.
4
Desert / Dead Ring
Minimal life; high-temp desert.
5
Acid / Ruin Ring
Dissolving, storming; mountains.
6
Night / Black Ring
Eternal night; zero visibility; rocky.
7
Hades / Waste Ring
Random, extreme weather, metal-rich.
RING MONOPOLIES
Name
Area
Demeter Imperium
Agriculture, food produce.
Enmity Reach
Weapons, infantry armor.
General Utilities
Civilian industry, comfort products.
Permanent Services
Transportation, logistics, mercenary support staffing.
Air-Land Battalions
Vehicles, mechanized armor, naval and aircraft.
NAMES I
Drake Frost
Human (Corporate); Main character; Technomancer.
Rarus Merladosh
Inson (insectoid); Gladiator; Organizer of a training battalion on the Hades Ring; Outside reach for Vazanklav.
Pessi
Cockroach; Grenadier; Assistant and co-commander to Rarus.
Inna Kenet
Human (Syndicate); Syndicate refugee; Lady of War, Innkeeper, Class 9 Infiltrator; Renowned Champion; General of Vazanklav.
Villi
Human; ‘Villager’; Assistant to Inna, Cafe owner and manager; Armory quartermaster.
David
Human; ‘Villager’; Support mechanic to the villagers, engineer.
Jim
Twenty-unit combat robot battalion. Vazanklav hired help.
Fort
Anomaly; Spontaneous entity that manifested within the Vazanklav defense grid; Fortress commander for the Vazanklav fortress.
Ranger Nemisar
Human; Union official, mobile detachment; Liaison to Vazanklav.
Sylvester Ember
Human; Class 8 Defender; Core Vazanklav combatant.
Swivel
Sirin; Mage; Vazanklav recruit.
NAMES II
Mesharlia Varson (VII)
Human; Assaulter; Mechanized siege unit; Vazanklav recruit.
Chief
Human; Leader of refugees.
Vallow
Human; Refugee strategist.
Ekteron Makinsalt
Human; Commander of Vazanklav mechanized battalion.
Gregurmar Vaughntross
Human (Corporate); Enmity Reach - Senior Special Affairs Specialist.
Union
Alliance uniting most of the Hades Ring nations and entities.
Nova
Distinguished outer Ring nation-state; Renowned spies, infiltrators and covert operators.
Corporation
3rd Combatant of The War; Dictatorship under the rule of Director Fall; Creators of the Rings.
Syndicate Empire
1st Combatant of The War; Dictatorship under the rule of Conglomerate Kenet; Home nation of Inna Kenet.
Imari
2nd Combatant of The War; Dictatorship disguised as an oligarchy; Technological state.
Monopolies
The 5 supercorporations holding patents for most products on the Rings.