Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - World of Le'Tayah: Chronicle 1

[Galahad]

Slowly the doorway to the tower opened. He peered in and cautiously took a single step.

He wasnt obliterated on the spot.

A sigh escaped his lips as he took another step in. His confidence grew as he pulled the rest of his body into the single room that made up the tower. The door began to shut behind him but he quickly grabbed the edge and wedged his shoe in it to stop it shutting. He wiggled his foot out of his shoe before he took the time to look around the room.

Tables covered the inside of the wall, littered with dryed bits of paper too difficult to read now. Rocks were strewn about and what seemed to be some alchemy appartii filled with a sticky brown residue sat by itelf. He couldnt identify the substance from just looking at, whatever it had once been had changed with the turning of the ages. Everything within the room reeked of age. Not just the age of finding something that belonged to a long lost relative. But age that made him think of coal turning into diamonds.

His hand brushed over a diamond that resting atop a pile of the frail paper. He looked at its perfect sides, staring in awe, but left it where it was. He was in no mood to disturb the belongings of someone long since dead. Though, as he thought about it, the realisation came to him that they might not be dead. Others he thought long dead had started talking again, and not just the babble of restless spirits. He removed his hand from the table completely, lest a slight touch cause something to disintergrate.

The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise as his spiral around the circular room brought him closer to what he had come for. Energy buzzed in the centre of the room where a strange contraption had been built. He looked at it carefully, examining its design.

A mound of dirt and grass and various rocks had been built up from the ground, the pavers of the floor stopping well short of it. From the ceiling reached a metal contraption, covered in cables and pipes that twisted and writhed around it like snakes. They reached towards each other and stopped about a foot apart at chest height. Sitting delicately between the two pieces of inginuity was a gemstone, crystal clear, floating equal distance from the mound and the strange ceiling contraption. This was where the energy emanated from. Power from the gem seemed to be sucked up the pipes and cables and fed upward.

He knew where it was going. This room was just a small part of the tower, but it was the only part accessible by humans. The tower itself stretch a hundred meters or more into the sky. The top of which was shaped somewhat like a three toed claw. This is where the energy was directed, into the points of the claws. The energy was then directed into a crystal roughly the size of a wolf, which was lifted into the air until it struck a certain height. The height everyone called 'clock'. A beam of energy would then pass through it at this set height and form a 'clock line'. That was the sole purpose of this gem, to lift the crystal into place.

The sole purpose of one of the most powerful items in creation. Even the crystal it lifted paled in comparison to the gem itself, and he wondered why they hadnt taken more precautions in securing the tower. If all the other towers were his easy to break into, then he would have no trouble obtaining the other four gems. His master had told him the gem clocked in at about half a sun. There were only two items in the world that were more powerful, and both were unobtainable due to their sheer size. Where as this gem could fit in the palm of your hand.

Gingerly he reached out to it, stretching his fingers forth. He could feel the power emanating from it, causing his fingers to tingle. He assured himself it wasnt dangerous to touch. He closed his hand around it and felt the strength of the power that was flowing into the strange contraption above it.

With a sharp jerk of his arm he pulled the gem from its resting place. There was no resistance. He listened closely, but he couldnt hear the sound of traps starting to click together. He smiled though at what he did hear. The contraption in the ceiling had been humming deeply, but now that was starting to stop.

Quickly he made his way to the door and stepped out. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun he looked up to see the crystal slowly lowering itself to rest on the claws. The clockline above the tower blinked a couple of times then vanished.

The deed was done. He went back to the towers door, slipped his shoe back on, and walked away.

The door to the tower swung shut on silent hinges and clicked locked.

[Galahad]

Hi Megimi yawned as she lounged on the rails of the transport ship. She looked out over the countryside that was travelling below her at speed. It always made her queasy to watch it, but it was also so beautiful. She didnt like travelling by the Clock Ships, but at least her fathers yacht was luxurious.

She turned from the railing and made her skirt lift up slightly. She smiled at the thought of her fathers dissapproving gaze at the short, simple skirt, tight fitting top, and open jacket combination that she wore. He didnt like her dressing like that at all, it just wasnt proper. He thought she should dress like a person of her station, all flowing gowns and hair done up above her head in tight buns.

What's wrong with my hair anyway? She thought to herself as she brushed a hand through it. Her blonde hair fell down below her shoulders and two stray strands framed her face, though they tended to get in the way of her eyes if she wasnt careful.

She enjoyed the way her looks made the older ministers turn away and blush while the younger ones stared with mouths agape. She gigled, and it was the sound of a wind chime, light and harmonious.

She collapsed onto the lounge that was sitting in the middle of the upper deck and looked up at the sails.

There were two of them, the bare minimum. But that was alright, as they werent carrying much. She had seen a cargo ship with eight sails before. The sails on the yacht were pulled taut as the Clock Line streamed through them in all its glory, giving them momentum and holding them in place in the sky. Something seemed odd though.

The Clock Line flickered a couple of times before vanishing. This was something new, Hi had never seen a Clock Line dissappear before. She stood and took a few steps forward as she waited for it to return.

It didnt.

The yacht suddenly started to arc downwards as the energy holding it in place was gone. Hi ran to the hatch but it was locked tight, no amount effort could open it. She screamed and ran to the front of the ship, watching as the ground was suddenly right in front of her rather than below. She started sliding and hit the back rail, which she grabbed onto for dear life.

Hi closed her eyes as the ground came closer.

[Galahad]

Ho Gosha leant on the shovel he had been using moments ago and let his mind wander. His head turned upwards, looking past the wheat that grew up around him, past the forest that started not too far away, and even up past the Tower that stood there in all its glory. His eyes lingered momentarily on a transport yacht zooming by on the clockline before continuing on to look at the eagles circling high overhead. He wished he could be up there with them.

"Get off your lazy arse and finish turning that dirt!"

The crackly voice startled Gosha and he dropped the shovel. He turned to where it had come from a bowed a few times quickly.

"Sorry Uncle, so sorry. Wont happen again."

"You say that every time Gosha, but you've been working on this one patch of dirt all morning."

"I know. I am trying Uncle," Gosha let out a long sigh, "just cant seem to keep my mind on it though."

"Of course you cant! Its because you daydream all the time. But I'm serious now Gosha. If I come back here in an hour, and the dirt isnt turned, there no rations for you tonight!"

Gosha jumped into action, reaching down he grabbed the shovel then stuck the end of it into the dirt.

The hairs on the back of his neck started rising. An odd feeling settled on his shoulders, and he couldnt understand what it was. His Uncle Ryoma was walking away. The others in the field were still working. Something was out of place though. He closed his eyes momentarily and found what it was he was looking for. Or more to the point, something that should have been there wasnt.

The hum that told everyone the tower was working had stopped. The world was eerily quiet now without the background noise. He glanced over at the tower in time to see the Crystal that marked one of the clock points decend into the grip of the top of the tower rather than float above it. The clockline which had been flowing through it flickered a couple of times before going out.

"UNCLE!" Gosha yelled with his arm pointed towards the tower.

Ryoma turned to Gosha, "What is it no..." the retort dying in his mouth as he looked where Gosha was pointing.

A thought occured the Gosha and he looked to see where the transport yacht was. It had travelled a little further on now, but without the clockline to provide it with power it had started to freefall. The direction it was travelling looked like it would land in the forest not too far away.

"Whats happening Uncle?"

"I... dont know, Gosha," Ryoma stood with his jaw nearly reaching his chest as he looked at what was going on.

The transport crashed into the forest and a flock of birds flew up into the sky. This wasnt an irregular site though. Gosha had been witness to a number of daredevils who had tried to do tricks along the clockline, only to find themselves deviod of power and come crashing to the ground.

"Gosha, run into the forest, find where that yacht landed and do it quickly. I'll get the men together and we'll be right behind you. Direct us to the crash site before the bandits get there."

"But, Uncle, what do we do about the clockline?"

Ryoma pushed Gosha towards the forest a little.

"Look, theres nothing we can do about it. The Grand Council will have to deal with whatever is happening. We better get to the crash first though, so we can scavenge all the good bits before the bandits get there. Hurry, go!"

Ryoma gave him another push and Gosha dropped the shovel and started sprinting in his bare feet towards the edge of the forest. The forest wasnt far away, and his Uncle was right. If the bandits beat them there, then there wouldnt be any good things left to sell off. The village was down on supplies as was. They may produce an abundance of food, but rarely did they get to keep any of it. Selling parts off such a dignified yacht would fetch quite a good price. Maybe even enough to buy a gem to power the grain harvester, then they would all be saved some work later in the year.