An excerpt from 'Creatures of Mana', written by Devirin Turin

Perhaps one of the most interesting creatures I have come across in my travels are the created beings known as the Forsworn. They are beings powered by the ambient Mana of their world, composed of gears, levers, cogs, and other parts of unknown origin. I was unable to determine who their creators were, although my suspicion is that it was a forgotten high wave civilization.

Walking through the streets and down towards the docks, I’m once again confronted with the sight of the old luxury craft floating in the water only a mile away from the city. The idea I had toyed with in the past comes back to the forefront of my mind but I brush it away. Better to do so after the initial defense, once people are aware of what I’m capable of.

It doesn’t take me long to reach the soup line, Angie’s shrill voice carrying over the noise of the city’s labor. The lines are smaller and more organized today. Most likely, Mom has instituted some sort of break system that allows work to get done while still giving people enough time to eat. Efficient and also effective, as it removes chaotic lines and inevitable fights that had broken out when I was last here.

Confidently walking next to the line, I push my shoulders down slightly and give off an impression of restrained tension. The people in the line find themselves unconsciously taking steps away, some part of their mind recognizing my body language for the danger it represents. Angie sees this and comes stomping over, freezing as she catches sight of me for the first time since handing me off to Adrian. Her face goes white and, before she has a chance to run, I activate Mana Infusion for a split second, propelling my body forward so that I cross the distance in a heartbeat. A few of the people in line open their eyes in surprise but I ignore them, putting my arm around Angie’s shoulders.

“We need to have a little chat Angie”, I say as I lead her away to the same warehouse that she had left me in.

If I’m honest with myself, I feel disgust at the terror that I’m inflicting upon this poor woman. I know that she sold me out but I’d seen enough in her mind to know that, despite her terrible choice, she had only done it so she could keep feeding everyone. Adrian and the Fishers had helped her start the venture and held that over her head, occasionally threatening to take it all away unless they did as she asked.

She’s not a terrible person, just another poor soul caught up in the chaos of this new world. To my advantage, however, she’s terrified of Adrian and seeing me will most likely make her doubt his power and influence.

We finally reach the warehouse, closing the door behind us, and I’m faced with another choice. The easy decision is to forgive her and let the past lie in the past. The hard decision is to use her betrayal to my advantage, turning her into a source that can keep an eye on things for me. Only fear, and a good dose of mutual interest, will convince her to do so.

Taking a step away from her, I look around the warehouse and close my eyes, taking a breath and reminding myself of what is at risk. Surprising me, she speaks before I can, asking me, “I’m sorry what I had to do but … How are yah alive? Adrian … I was sure he was going to kill yah.”

I turn and face her, trying my best to appear calmer and more collected than I am. I’m fully aware of my limitations regarding social interactions and other people, but that doesn’t mean I can’t improve myself. “Adrian isn’t as powerful as you think Angie. In fact, he will not be an issue for you much longer. The real question you need to ask yourself is where your loyalties lie.”

The confusion on her face is exactly the reaction I was hoping for. I continue onward. “See, Adrian will no longer be an issue but his friends will still be around. They may try and come to collect on your debt. Now, I can protect you from them but I’m going to need something in return.”

She lets out a nervous laugh. “Boy, I don’t care who your momma is, Adrian’s crew don’t mess around. You can’t protect me from them.”

I smile, hoping she would say that. Displaying my power on my own would probably come across as nothing more than intimidation. By showing it to her after offering her my help, I’m hoping it will also come across as protective. I focus for a second and conjure as quickly as I can.

In the span of two or three seconds, a dozen Fireballs appear above me in a circle. A quick thought sends them spinning, faster and faster until they appear as a halo of endless fire. “Are you sure about that Angie? I promise you, they’ve never seen anyone like me.”

Her face may have been pale before but now it is completely bloodless, her eyes panicked as she stares at me in fear. I feel disgusted watching this woman tremble in front of me, wishing I could dispel the fire and just forgive her. She wasn’t a bad person. All she wanted to do was feed the people of Everwall so that no one starved. Unfortunately, I don’t stop. I need her to truly believe that I can protect her while also fearing my retribution if she turns on me.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice is nothing more than a whisper at this point, her eyes unable to stare away from my display.

“I want you to keep your ear to the ground. I want you to keep me aware of what the people are thinking and what they are feeling. I want you to warn me if anyone of power is making a move.”

I then dispel the fire, the quick disappearance catching her off guard. “And I also want you to keep feeding the people. I’ll make sure you get what you need and that no one will ever try to stop you. If you ever need anything, I want you to come to me and no one else. If you agree to help me, I’ll help you.”

It only takes a split second before Angie responds. “Deal.”

I’m disgusted by my intimidation of this woman but I put a false smile on my face. “Now, let’s work out the details.”

It doesn’t take long to work out an arrangement with Angie. I feel awful for intimidating her but I’m fully aware that this isn’t the worst thing that I’m ever going to do, not even the worst thing I’m going to do this day. This new world is one of power, where those with the means to enforce their wills are the ones who get things done.

I can only hope that I’ll always feel guilty about actions like this. As long as I do, I know that I’ve managed to retain at least part of my morality.

Leaving the warehouse, I walk away from the docks and down to a more residential neighborhood. A quick use of Active Search had given me the location of Adrian’s home. Apparently he had taken her there during their first meeting, intimidating her with some goons. It seems like a mistake, but then again he probably never imagined that someone would be able to search a person’s mind for memories. No one can plan for things they can’t even comprehend.

The sun begins its descent as I reach the home, a small house within the more residential part of the city. All the houses bear some form of damage, a broken wall here, a collapsed roof there, but they are certainly in better shape than the buildings in the city center. Angie’s memory of this place had made it seem as if the more influential members of the city lived here.

Unfortunately, I can’t just barrel in. It’s approaching the end of the day and I have no idea who will be home. The last thing I want to do is completely destroy what little reputation I was able to build up this morning.

That doesn’t mean I can’t create a solution to this problem.

Ducked into an alley by the home, I close my eyes and focus on my Field of Mana. While the awareness of my Field always exists at the periphery of my mind, focusing on it brings it to the front and center. The sensory deprivation of closing my eyes adds to the awareness, amplifying it so I can feel it like another sense.

Once I’ve achieved my maximum awareness of my Field, I conjure Sound Mana, feeling it suddenly appear within my influence. Mentally commanding it, I stretch the Sound Mana out around the boundaries of my Field, adding more when I run out. I’m not sure how long it takes me, perhaps minutes or perhaps hours, but eventually I’m able to cover the entire range of my influence within a blanket of Sound Mana. It’s the easiest thing in the world to then focus on that Mana and command it to trap all sound that would normally exit.

Opening my eyes, I’m greeted to a notification, smiling at my accomplishment. Genesis may have completely changed the world, making it a harsher place, but it’s hard to deny that the power it gave me can be pretty amazing at times.

You have discovered the Skill Field of Silence (R-3) Lvl 1! Sound can be your ally but it can also be your enemy, giving away your position or alerting others to your presence. Bending Sound to your will, you have turned it into a tool of silence. No noise will escape the boundaries of your Field. Increased skill level synergizes with Field of Mana to increase its size. Current Size: 8 feet. Cost: 200 Mana per minute.

I wince slightly at the cost, exceeding my regeneration by an immense amount, even with Effortless Presence engaged, but accept it for what it is. Doing a bit of math in my head, I realize that I can keep the Skill activated for just over ten minutes. Hopefully that’s enough to finish what I need to do.

Waiting until my Mana Well is completely full, I activate the Field of Silence and carefully walk across the street, keeping an eye out for any bystanders. Luckily, it doesn’t appear as if anyone is out right now, the sun only just beginning to set. I reach the door in seconds, activating Mana Infusion and pushing with my shoulder. The wooden door, most likely already damaged during the initial shift, easily buckles under influence and swings inward. Inside of the silent field, I realize that, while sound may not be escaping, it is certainly still occurring. The door cracks under my blow and the sound of the snapping wood reverberates within the field.

My entire body tenses up but I force myself to calm down, putting the door back into its place so that no one sees it open. A close inspection would reveal that the locks and door itself have been broken, but I’m positive that no one will come to inspect a door after a long day of labor.

Walking through the two floored home, it is easy to see that it was clearly owned by someone else before the arrival of Genesis. Pictures of a young family are plastered over the walls, displaying a young couple and their innocent looking child. There are children toys tossed into corners, the current inhabitant apparently too lazy to get rid of them or hand them out. A small crib in the living room has been hastily destroyed, forming a pile of painted wood and blankets.

All the guilt harboring within my soul begins to be burned away by the obvious signs of the homes past occupants, my mind imagining the scene of Adrian kicking them out. If these poor people are still alive …

An icy rage building up within me, a furious indignation of unholy proportion, I stalk up the stairs and begin to throw open doors while looking for him. I know that this emotion is probably unhealthy and will lead me to rash decisions that I may later regret, but I can’t get the sight of that young and innocent looking child out of my mind. I’ve always had a soft spot for kids and it’s only increased since I returned. My interactions with Lily unfortunately reminded me that this generation may be the last children to grow up without the ever-present fear of conflict and death.

Throwing open the last door, I catch Adrian as he is beginning to get dressed. Currently wearing nothing more than a button-up collared shirt and a pair of black boxer-briefs, his hands grasp pants that are wrapped around the lower half of his feet. His face pales as he recognizes me, trying to step back but tripping in the jeans, falling onto his back with widened eyes.

I stalk over to him and, within a few seconds, he is fully encompassed in my Field of Silence. Reaching down, I pick him up by his shirt and throw him against the wall, my rage driving my actions. A small part of me argues for caution and questions, trying to remind me of the original purpose for coming here. I want nothing more than to throw this asshole out of the window but I realize, in a quick flash of insight, that doing so would be the easy decision. Giving into my emotions is easy, taking control of myself and accomplishing my goals is harder.

Clenching my teeth in frustration, I take a deep breath through my nose and force myself to calm down. The emotion is still there but I’ve managed to take control of it, not letting it control me.

Adrian screams for help, not realizing that none of his pleas and cries for assistance are escaping from my Field. Crouching down right in front of him, I stare him in the eye as I speak.

“Adrian, before we get to the reason I really came here, I need to ask you an important question. Where are the people who lived in this house before you?” I keep my tone even and level, not wanting to frighten him even more than he already is. I’ve never tried to extract information from someone in a state of complete fear but I imagine it would be significantly more difficult. At the very least it would probably take me a few seconds longer, leaving me in a defenseless state for too long.

Shaking his head and trembling, he responds. “W-what? The couple with the kid? They’re out in the city somewhere, I don’t know. Why the hell do you care?”

The icy indignation of their treatment tries to rear its ugly head but I stamp down on it, making the hard decision to remain within control despite all my urges to let myself run wild for a few moments. “I care, Adrian, because those poor people were kicked out of their home by a criminal. Do you happen to know their names or where in the city they are staying?”

“Of course not man, they were just some random people!” An acrid smell begins to waft into my nose as I look down and realize that he’s pissed himself in fear. I close my eyes for a split second and steel myself to what needs to happen. Hard decisions.

Sighing, I conjure a Mana Blade in my hand and quickly slice the tendons in his legs, ensuring that he won’t be able to run away. His screams and cries of pain cause me to flinch slightly, reminding me once more that I’ve never taken the life of another human being.

Unfortunately, that has to change.

Knowing that he doesn’t have much longer on this world, I decide to speak my thoughts out loud, hoping that they’ll harden my resolve. “I really don’t want to do this Adrian … I really don’t. But I have to. Everwall is going to play a large role in this new world and your people are a toxic cancer in our heart. I’m the only one that can remove you without battle and untold loss.”

He doesn’t respond, gasping in pain from the sliced tendons. Shaking my head, I reach out with my Telepathic Mind and activate Active Search, retrieving all the information that he possesses regarding Doc. The packet of knowledge isn’t particularly large, only taking a second or two to transfer to my mind, but hopefully it will be enough for me to find him or her.

Looking down at Adrian, the icy rage, regret, and guilt fighting out in my mind, I do what needs to be done. Taking the Mana Blade, I quickly drive it into his heart, ending his screams and killing him instantly.

I then turn around and leave the house, ignoring the blood on my hands. I don’t want to be this taker of life but I will do what is needed.