1 The Cataclysm

Strikes of lighting painted the sky white and thunder claps reverberated into the air. Calista looked up into the sky in contemplation before deciding to head home. She put away the circuit board she was working on and made sure to wrap it in delicate cloth so the rain wouldn't ruin it. As this was her first work, Calista couldn't wait to surprise her father with it.

From a young age Calista had an obsession with technology and mechanic's, she loved watching her father tinker about in his workshop discovering new processes and upgrading his inventions. Distracted in her haze, Calista suddenly flew back into a wall. She screamed as she felt a sickening crunch in her shoulder.

"If it isn't the the mechanical halfwit herself." A large boy said as she smirked in enjoyment. he was unusually large for Calista's age group and could easily be passed for a 17 year old let alone a 12 year old.

"Please let me go home, Darin" Calista said as she looked at the ground.

"Give me what's in your pocket first." He snapped.

Calista raised her head " I can't this is for my fa..."

Before she could finish a thunderous strike went against her face. She spit out the blood from her mouth and turned to look at him. She gasped in shock as her hand went into her pocket, but no matter what she did her trembling fingers clenched onto the circuit board and placed it into Darin's meaty hands.

"That's what I thought." He said as walked away.

Calista made her way across the urban sprawl of Randall in defeat. She wondered why everybody was so mean to her even though she was so nice and most importantly why didn't she fight back. But as she arrived at her battered house her mind went blank, something seemed awfully wrong.

Without any further hesitation Calista ran into the hut and let out a blood curdling scream. Her Father laid on the floor in a pool of his own blood and her brother Ian sat in the corner shaking with a lifeless look in his eyes. Letting out the moans resembling a dying animal she rushed to her father trying to pinpoint his injuries.

"My love, it's too late for me I have lost to much blood." Her father weakly smiled.

"What happened to you." She asked him as tears streaked across her face.

"A noble named Devin Rein, came asking me for my research. I don't even know how he knows… the only person I told was your mother. I fear by not giving him this I have doomed this city, he said our reckoning has come. I know this is the only home you have ever known but you need to leave Velis."

"Mother? She always hated me but she wouldn't do this?" Calista thought. "No I can save you, Where are you injured, Mika come get the banda…"

"CALISTA!" Her father yelled shaking her to the core. "Listen to me, it's to late go in the back cabinet and give me the syringe in the safe. The code is N9TT-9G0A-B7FQ-RANC"

Calista went to the cabinet and sure enough there was a safe in there. She put in the code and retrieved the syringe and a curved dagger. The syringe was blue in color and sparkled like diamonds dancing in the light.

"Good girl." Her father smiled warmly, "It's almost time for me to go, put your head down"

Calista looked at him curiously but then followed his request. She suddenly felt a pinch in the back of her head but then it was replaced by a warm sensation. Then the attack on her mind began, Calista felt as if her head was being split open by an axe and as though thousands of knives were stabbing her brain. It was brief but very painful.

"Cybermind integration- Welcome I am your AI, due to mandatory performance optimizations, I will shut down until further notice." A voice rang out in her subconsciousness.

"Father… what is this."

"You will understand in due time," He heaved a sigh of relief. "It's finally time for me to go. Promise me you will protect your brother and your mother. And avenge me my child, the quickest way is to join the military and climb the ranks, our enemies are in high places your only chance to survive is to reach those same heights."

And with his last breathes he beamed into a radiant smile " I love you, live on"

Calsita looked at her lifeless father and cried over his corpse. After sometime she got up and left the went for the door.

"Mika, get up we need to go." Calista urged but her brother didn't respond.

"You heard father, we need to live on. Now get up!"

Mika reluctantly stood up and meekly followed behind Calista, witnessing his father's death at a young age most likely shattered his mind.

The duo ran out into the streets and headed for the western gate. As they headed closer for the gate the narrow streets became dense with people. Calista and Mika bumped there way through the crowd and hurls of insults followed them.

"What is going on? Have people caught on something is not right?" Calista thought to herself.

She turned and looked at a snobbish merchant at the head of the crowd. He seemed to be arguing with the Captain of the guard.

"We demand to be let through! We known something is going on, all the nobles have left the City. Don't leave us to be damned." He roared, inciting anger among the hordes of civilians in the streets.

The Captain and the guards around him looked dumbfounded. Granted they were skilled enough to take out a few dozen people, the masses would easily overwhelm them with numbers and crush them.

"Where's the damn military," he whispered, silent enough to escape everyone but Casita who sneaked her way to the very front.

She looked at the Captain in sunken gaze. The situation has gotten to bad they need the famed military to handle it? "Oh father what were you researching." She sighed under her breath.