LightReader

Gearborn

Morpheuss_
7
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 7 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Every Solstice, beams of divine light descend from the skies. The rich call it the Trial. The poor call it the Harvest. Silas Calder, a boy from the slums, Armed with only his mind and the strange power to build machines within his own mental realm, Silas is thrust into a world forged by gods and haunted by beings no one should have to encounter.
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Chapter 1 - The Harvest

*Clang! Clang! Clang!* The noise of a hammer rung through a dreary cabin made of rotten wood and bolts which looked like it could come crashing down at any time.

Inside was a boy who looked no older than 15 hammering down onto what looked to be some kind of contraption. All of a sudden the boy stopped hammering, put down his hammer and lowered himself down grabbing a weathered and battered picture of a man who's face was no longer recognizable.

The boy looked at the picture and exclaimed.

"I did it! I finally did it dad! No more will I have to live my life out here in the slums! I couldn't have done it without you. This little guy is going to change the world I just know it!"

The boy laughed breathlessly, still clutching the photo. The tiny machine on the table whirred to life — a faint blue spark flickering within its core.

"I'm gonna name you Silas junior!"

Outside, the wind shifted. It always did before the Solstice. It was said that this world was chosen by a God some believed to be long dead whilst others believed he was still out there.

The rich called it the Trial. They trained and prepared themselves for it since the day they could walk.

Here in the slums it had another name.. The Harvest.

Silas had seen people taken by the beams of light for many years. He had seen how little returned with his own eyes.

His father had been one of those few.

Before the sickness took him, the old man had told stories of what he'd seen beyond the light- battles that warped the mind, a world that devoured the weak and remade the strong.

In less than an hour, the second Solstice would begin.

********************

Silas was in his cabin holding his newly made contraption as wind began to howl through the gaps in the cabin walls, bolts rattling and wood shaking.

"Please not me, not me." Silas whispered looking at the roof of the cabin coated with a metal sheet to keep the rain out.

Suddenly the air changed. There began a humming growing ever more loud until the tools on the crafting bench began to tremble violently and his bones began to tingle.

Outside, a single shaft of light pierced the clouds—so bright it turned the dark night to a radiant silver.

It was beautiful.. One by one, other beams split the sky, falling like spears across the city. Screams began to echo in the distance.

Silas's heart was pounding against his ribs. Silently praying for a God he knew deep down would not answer.

The automaton in his hand gave a sudden mechanical crank, gears spinning of their own accord. Then its gem like core flared a bright blue color.

Before he could react the light had found him. Immediately he was pulled up with an immense force so heavy he lost consciousness.

The last thing he felt was the automaton's hum vibrating in his hand. Then everything went black.

Silas Calder – Chosen of the 84th Solstice.