"WAKE UP!!!"

Lian rubbed his eyes awake. Something inside jolted him from his sleep as if someone suddenly shook him upright. When he sat-up, he immediately felt weak, like he had been sleeping for days or even weeks. His vision seemed unfocused and rattled yet Lian could tell he was somewhere in a city. Somewhere between buildings, at least that’s how the blurs appeared to him. Lian could smell the faint scent of grilled meat in the distance and he could hear a faint crowd chant in the distance. The smell alone could’ve lifted Lian upright on the ground.

“Food? From...where? Where am I?” thought Lian aloud. Lian scanned his surroundings for any landmark to indicate where he was. He found himself in a mysterious clearing at the crossroads of many brick-lined amber-lit alley’s. At least seven counted Lian.

"So this it. The Adventure worth lifetimes." Lian thought to himself with a heavy sigh.

“WAKE-UP! No sleeping outside the des-de-de-des-IGNATED- designated area! Go back to the festival ch-ch-ch-ch-child.” Instructed a razzled electronic voice just behind him.

“What kinda voice...?” Panicked Lian in an attempt to speak aloud. Instead, his voice simply fizzled out in a long wheezing cough.

Lian pushed every ounce of strength to stand but fell harder each time despite the strange voice growing over him louder and louder.

“No sleeping outside the D-D-D-D-D Designated area! Species identified: M-M-MOUSE! ERROR! R-A-T! ERROR! Hu-hu-human! Age: unknown. Gender: Female. ERROR! Male. Male civilian! Under the rules and regulations of the Primarian Arc, you must come with me. You have been recognized as unusual and thus...a potential threat to the city of New Dwarden. Error!” Commanded the strange voice.

Lian tried again and again to obey the mysterious voice but after several unsuccessful attempts to stand, his limp body left him glued to the cold brick road below him, forcing him to squint upwards at the night sky above. However, though his vision still blurred, Lian came to see a bit more clearly. His surroundings began to emerge like a distant skyline coming closer. Strange buildings of all kinds peered into his vision. Some riddled with unique combinations of large and small balconies, some with huge intricate circular windows, and others with shining metal pipes sprouting from every crevice. Lian rubbed his eyes once more. The buildings all had intricate piping strewn all over there base with huge steam clouds bursting out of most them, almost synchronously. While incredibly tall, each building was meticulously decorated with flora and metal etchings that resembled paintings of forests. The buildings were so strange in fact, Lian had nearly forgotten someone or something was speaking directly to him.

“Second warning: Civilian fe-MALE! ERROR! Male...er-r! Child! Please come with me.” Commanded the voice once again.

Of-course, Lian attempted to stand once more but his body crumbled right under his waist. His head remained fixated to the sky and buildings around him.

“I’m sorry. I feel...so weak.” whispered Lian faintly under his breath.”My mother was an architect...she was so beautiful too. Her beauty was the foundation for every building she built, or so they say. Even so, I’ve never seen buildings like these.” He continued muttering.

“Alert: the likelihood of adverse drug-related paraphernalia side effect 65%! Side effects include: … short-shortness of b-b-breath, dilated pupils, slurred and sl-sl-sl-stammering speech, weak-we-weak, weakness, and…imminent death.” Observed the voice. “Alert! Initiating adult male therapeutic electrotherapy!” Rushed the voice.

The electronic voice was beginning to drown under a cloud of blurring weakness. Lian felt like he was waking up from being knocked out over and over again. He wanted to focus on calming his churning stomach and avoiding his pounding headache but nothing seemed to quiet his body down. He quickly became desperate to anything that would distract him of his discomfort but nothing would align in his mind; his thoughts felt progressively lost and irretrievable. He could only stare-on at the sky-scraping structures as his muscles began to weaken once more.

Lian's eyes began to close once more. It wasn’t hard to give in to the sleep as all he could think about was his mother as he gazed upwards at the buildings. His mind escaped into that of an architect as he began dreaming with his eyes open. The buildings had eerie similarities to flutes and instruments like that at home. He thought about how his mother would often show him blueprints of upcoming and current buildings in Embrace. Even as a child, Lian was interested to know the how's and why's of the buildings. His mother found humor in Lian’s naive yet unyielding curiosity as she held him tightly and continued to describe her creations as overly-descriptive bedtime stories. Oddly enough,...Lian remembers falling asleep to them just as easy as any fairytale. He remembers smiling dearly as his mother's words wisped him away into a peaceful sleep.

“WAKE-UP!” demanded the voice.

Lian could feel his once limp body thrust forward at the sudden impulse of electricity flowing through his veins like a rushing river of energy. “Deuh-AHAHA-AHA-HA. MOOOOM LOVES BUILDINGS!” Blurted Lian. “DWUEHUEH AH-AHHHH-AHHHHHHHH!” He shouted with enough intensity to shake the air around him. Lian sat-up straight, his body now twitching and hopping on it’s own. First he noticed his hearing coming back alongside the sound of rickety gears and rusty metal scraping against one another. Then his double vision seemed to fold into one. Finally, he felt his muscles flex into place only stronger than he ever felt them. He could feel them pulsating, like after an intense work-out.

"Gotta figure out where I am!" Plotted Lian aloud, his finger pushing up onto his lower lip. “Why am I so loud!? I can’t think in my own head!?” He continued to shout in a panic.

Vitals: stable. Mental health: questionable. Final warning: New Dwarden protocol #1010-337 details the required compliance with authority in the event of suspicious activity.” Explained the voice towering directly above Lian. Lian quickly jumped to his feet and turned to match a face to the voice behind him.