A Grim Morning

Saxington, Fedondria

Inside of a cozy two story Victorian styled home on the second floor was a robust man. This man's toned tan body glistened with sweat as the morning rays at the crack of dawn hit his skin. His crystal clear bright blue eyes were locked on a punching bag swaying around the room. With every hit on the bag from this man's fists beads of sweat heavily fell off his drenched dark hair onto the floor.

This man had been working out for the past hour in a room filled with all kinds of knick-knacks, history books, models, and personally hand-drawn maps all with the same name Nathaniel Hawkins elegantly signed on the bottom right. The cluttered room filled with all sorts of stuff had seemingly no organization whatsoever. Only the owner of that mess would be able to find anything there.

Despite how cluttered the place seemed there was an elegance to the mess. Items in the room had mixed designs of high society and machinery though most of it did look like random trash from a junkyard it was the details in its craft that gave these overly completed items their beauty. Practically all things in the world are this way. Be it fashion or any other form of industry the notion of minimalism isn't sought after for everything. Instead, people like to go over the top with the things they do and add all kinds of odd things from different fields to give homage to their god, The God of Steam.

The god of steam is a faceless god there is no one image that could describe it since it is incorporated into the depth of this society's culture and infrastructure. This is a world of iron and fire, steam is the driving force of this world. When the gears stop spinning is when this world falls.

Nathaniel punched the bag with the same amount of force he had been for the past hour. Not losing an ounce of steam as he kept the same pace as unleashing his relentless furry onto the bag. Which is nothing all that impressive because he is a Leshman the dominant race on planet Korroth. Leshman look and sound human in every way, but they have a far greater endurance and resistance to cold weather. Nathaniel stopped his routine once he saw the time on an ornate clock decorated with moving gears fitted on the outside with a crow on top. Soaked from head to toe in sweat Nathaniel went to bathe in a refurbished tub in his bathroom and came out well dressed ready for work.

Nathaniel wore a 3 piece suit a dark-blue long sleeve shirt which was under his striped double breasted vest. His coat was left open and hung low enough to reach his knees. It showed off the rest of the lean figure on his lower body along with a pair of matching high waist pants. Nathaniel wore no hat because he felt that it would ruin his combed hair. The only thing he did take was his wallet, keys, and a unique walking cane that looked like a smaller version of a lamp post. The cane was both for fashion and defense. Many people walked with them it was normal, but not mandatory to have in any regard. People liked to express themselves with their clothing that's why many people have their clothes custom made by their tailors. Well at least people in high society that could afford such a regular expenditure like himself. A good tailor is like a good barber you treat them like family and don't piss them off.

Outside his house, Nathaniel gave off the aura of a charming young bachelor masked in a scholarly visage. He had the appearance of 25 year old with the stamina to match but in truth Nathaniel was 50. It's one of the perks of being a leshman. A longer youthful period and dying at the average age of 200 isn't a bad deal. It gives one time to improve upon oneself and explore new horizons and like many free spirited thrill seekers before him Nathaniel was now dead set on exploring.

Outside next to Nathaniel's feet was a small crate of milk bottles sealed inside a glass container. His daily shipment of milk from the milkman had arrived without him noticing. Seeing this Nathaniel took the package inside and placed it inside his fridge before walking back out.

With a steady pace, Nathaniel made his way to his car that was powered by a conventional combustion engine plus twin-sided engines built on an advance on the steam engines. These powerful engines are concealed under a hood of dark wood, copper, and brass. The seats where imported crocodile leather from a behemoth of a beast that wondered to close to a city in the central continent. All together it was indeed a luxurious car that most people couldn't afford. Without fanfare Nathaniel got in and drove down the street with his eyes occasionally shifting from the paved road onto the busy city around him.

Nathaniel was currently in an urban area, homes around his neighborhood didn't exceed more than 2-3 stories. Almost all the homes had a Victorian theme to them and were painted with metallic colors like brown, copper, silver, and accents of gold. The people around didn't all wear suits and dresses everywhere they went many of them wore looser or simpler clothing that still carried traits of industrialism. These could consist of goggles on a top hat, ripped leather pants, or even an obscene amount of belts strapped to one's self. There is no one simplistic way to describe the style choices of another and people love that because it frees them from a few social constraints.

The hum of the engine drowned out the noise on the streets allowing Nathaniel to lose himself in the scenery of the city that passed him by on his journey to work. High rise buildings stood tall in the distance light from the sun reflected off their surfaces making that part of the city look like it was made of gold. Blimps flew in the sky above them like artificial clouds advertising all sorts of business to the people below. Tired of looking at the advertisement that threatened to block out the sun Nathaniel turned on the radio only to be confronted with the same thing he tried to avoid.

"Good Morning Folks! I'm your host ALI!!! I know that you've missed me and my Mischievous ways. A few hours may not be long but for my true die hard fans that need a hit of me everyday to keep their rager going. That's enough time for them to wake up, get a cup of coffee, smell the roses, and realize their life sucks without me in it.

You can't deny what's true so just accept it and move on. Now I know it's early but I've got a few special announcements for you all that will jolt you awake. As Everyone who hasn't had their head stuck in a gutter must know today in the afternoon is the scheduled date for the public execution of a savage pirate known as Slack Jaw. This man is currently being held in Ashgate prison the most notorious prisons in the city under lock and key. If anyone listening knows even the most basic history about Ashgate then you already know what fate awaits him. This fiendish criminal had a bounty of 5000 skrill for plundering the goods of hard-working men and women to satisfy his own greed.

His crimes even go as far as assaulting a member of the Public Utilitarian Guards or Pugs as we all know and call them, along with attempted murder of a civilian. It's a great thing that our city's Pug force caught him. Their actions saved who knows how many lives from the clutches of this mad man.

It's even better that psycho didn't get into a car with a Flowes engine or else no one would have caught him because unlike most other motor engines Flowes engines give you the best performance, gas mileage, and reliability better than any other engine. Remember folks if your ride doesn't flow like Flowes then you'll never get on the go. You can purchase your ticket to Slack Jaws public execution at any government approved red box in advance or at the venue on the day of the execution. I recommend you get your tickes early if want any of the good seats in the splash zone.

On a lighter side of news, we have word the famous singer Saxington's own Sweetheart the king of drag herself Natalie Grand, daughter of Gregory Grand is going to be the main performer at the ... "

Nathaniel was getting annoyed by the host's constant spiel, so he turned off the radio. The announcer's words did make Nathaniel look back at the high-rise buildings in the distance or more specifically The Twin Grand Towers the two tallest buildings in the city capital and most luxurious hotel resort around. A long train of thought went through Nathaniel's mind when he did he only stopped thinking about it when he suddenly had to slam on the breaks to avoid hitting a car parked in the road. Nathaniel's carelessness almost made him crash his car, but it didn't stop him from angrily honking the horn at the driver in front and communicating with him in the local tong by shouting at him out the window to figure out what was going on.

"Aye, move your ass some people actually got a job".* HONK* HONK*. "What's the hold up".

The man in the front car shouted back, "the fuck you want me to do I'm canned in here like a fish. Look in front there's a line of cars 2 miles long take a hint jack ass and shove your complaints up where the sun don't shine".

Nathaniel sucked his teeth in annoyance then checked around and figured that whatever was blocking the road wasn't going to clear up any time soon. Which is annoying because he likes to go visit his mom that owns a shop in the shopping district by the pier like he does every day. Too much time wasted might make him late for work which is something that he never wants to have happened again because of what happened last time he was. Not wanting to break his routine Nathaniel did an illegal U-turn into a different street before another car jammed him in and parked his car there. The road that Nathaniel was on was the main road and he knows that it being blocked means that all the other streets will be affected as well. Knowing a different way to get to the pier on time Nathaniel left his car there and booked it to a different street.

A few streets over Nathaniel found a train car unaffected by the chaos below because the train ran along an above-ground track that was about 15+ feet from the ground. By the time Nathaniel got there, a train was there ready with its doors open. This happened not only because of his luck but because in this city a lot of train cars run along the same track with a few minute gap in between each of them. This was possible because for the most part the trains were automatic and controlled by a computer in the central station.

While boarding the train the conductor tipped his ribbed hat made of copper wire and brown leather towards Nathaniel as a greeting. Nathaniel nodded towards the man and didn't spare him another glance since he finds getting overly familiar with a stranger on public transport annoying. There was no charge to board the train because only public transport that goes deeper inland costs money.

It wasn't long after Nathaniel arrived that the train set off. The jostling of the three connected train cars on the rusted tracks soothed his weary body and calmed his spirit. Nathaniel griped the faded metal armrest and laid back on the splintered wooden seat as the other passengers carried on with their own business. The world zoomed past the smudged window of the train car while the scene inside stayed still. Nathaniel always liked seeing this when he rides in vehicles because to him it felt as though he was in a time capsule traveling through time to the distant future. The world may change outside but the past stays the same and he was bringing a bit of the past to the future. Nathaniel isn't much of a religious person, but sights like this can't help, but make you believe in the god of steam even just a little bit.

The gears that turn forged in fire kindled from his devoted followers pushing inanimate objects to unimaginable lengths. The end product carries those followers to new horizons, sparking new dreams, inventions, that will carry the Leshman race even higher. This train car is no different from a house of worship the same as every other building and tool in the world. No matter how simple, they are divine items that people have spent untold ages cultivating to create. Nathaniel looked at these works of man with respect, then bafflement, and worry.

Nathaniel nearly sprung from his seat as his stop neared and the cause of the traffic jam became clear. Hundreds of people far more than usual flocked to the port like a tide. They covered the street like a swarm of ants all to see a massive ship that clearly shouldn't be there. Other passengers on the train observed with gaping mouths at this spectacle.

"What in the world is an A-class battleship doing in this port military vessels have their own port?". Nathaniel uttered with a hint of confusion in his voice since A-class battleships are the largest most powerful ships created to date and are well looked after.

The conductor who was nearby replied in a gruff but respectful tone, "I never saw the thing for myself, but I heard a bit about the situation from some of the passengers that boarded earlier. From the looks of it that ship belongs to The World Navy it came in earlier this morning when it was still foggy out and crashed into the pier".

"So, the captain lost his bearings because of the fog and crashed that's understandable". Thinking that was just the problem Nathaniel didn't see this accident as all that important.

"No, the ship crashed because there was no crew to man it. You see that ship just came back from The Rim and whatever they faced there slaughtered everyone. There was so much blood and guts on that ship the people that came here earlier said the deck was practically painted red. A vigil was started in honor of their sacrifice at the port by the onlookers. If you're headed to the port you should pay your respects to them as well. Not all of them may be our countrymen but they were brave enough to adventure into the unknown and fight off those monsters that plague our world. Even their captain though he was a filthy Osman he guided the ship back to the known world with his guts hanging out. That's a man I'd serve under any day, so each one of them deserves respect".

Nathaniel's eyes opened wide at this shocking news the same with the other passengers that overheard. The Rim is a dangerous place that borders The Edge. The Rim is one of the breeding grounds for lanshi which have been the sworn enemy of the leshman race for as long as their history books could recall. Lanshi are disgusting aquatic creatures that can stand even taller than men, have sharp claws, jagged teeth, obscene strength, and have mixed forms, so not all of them look exactly the same. That place filled with those monsters is where The World Navy goes to battle practically all the time.

The World Navy is the joint military might of every nation in the known world. It is not controlled by any one country but by the majority vote of all the nation's kingdoms. This enormous organization is never used to combat any other country its sole purpose is to wipe out the Lanshi population or suppress its growth. Rarely if ever is the World Navy also used to combat the growing pirate population.

As Nathaniel was pondering the implications of the conductors words another man in the back had already came to his own conclusion on the subject.

Following the conductors words came a loud scoff that could be heard throughout the car a man spoke with condescension in his voice. Nathaniel turned to him he didn't look like anyone special. Just another face of countless thousands that you see on the street but he was aged to the point that you knew he had a little something to say about everything.

"The Rim are you brain dead or have you just been inhaling to many fumes that the factories spew out. The Rim isn't just some place around the corner to the park. From here it would take a few months of travel on a good day. Yet, you're telling me someone steered a ship through treacherous waters like that with there guts out. That's quite the pile of manure your trying to ram down our throats. At least let us take a sip of water before you continue.".

The conductor squinted at the man and gave back a glare that told you he was holding something back.

"I never went there myself I only spoke of what I heard in passing from others that took this train before you".

The man blew off the conductors explanation without a care. The conductor wasn't the target of his soon to be rant it never was it was the navy that drew his ire.

"That's nice and all from you to clear that up but that doesn't change the problem. Look right out side and you will see. For some they may see fallen hero's but for me all I see is failure. That ship was attacked in our waters and not a single one of you can deny it. The proof is as clear as day. The world navy was suppose to keep those things in the Rim at bay from the rest of the world but here they are at our shore. How much longer before their horde arrives at our front doors. What's the point of paying taxes if this is what it gets us".

The strangers words were harsh and heavy but they rang true in the ears of everyone within earshot. For many the mixed feelings of fear and doubt with their own government that many have kept buried for years drudged up. With those few words just like a stone tossed into murky waters the idea spread. But not to Nathaniel he didn't have time for such nonsense.

Once the train stopped Nathaniel got off and made his way to the battleship to see the situation with his own eyes. Nathaniel squeezed through the gap of every man and woman there till he reached the front where the colossal body of the battleship loomed over him and hundreds of others. Nathaniel stood under this behemoth of a ship's shadow where he got a clear idea of what everyone who sailed on that ship went through.

On the reinforced hull of the steel ship, countless claw marks ripped into the ship's lower body. Each gash dug at least 5 inches deep. Large dents from constant striking also were clearly present. Though the ship held together it was ruined. Grinding against the sharp rocks at the bottom of a reef would have left the ship in better condition than what Nathaniel saw.

In front of the ship, multiple bodies were laid down in a line with tarps covering them done by the local Pugs. The Pugs uniforms consisted of a dark grey tailcoat with high collars to counter garroting. They also wore thick gloves, hard weather-resistant boots, and an assortment of uniquely styled hats each of which paired well with the uniform and that were optional to wear. Recently because of the whole industrial revolution, many Pugs started wearing small portable respirators that only covered the bottom half of their face. This was because air pollution in some areas was so bad that the public guards have been seeing more death from that than actual crime.

As the Pugs laid more people down many people offered prayer to these soldiers the best way they knew how. They all took a scalding hot iron ball and clenched it in their hands while preying before passing it next to the next person. Nathaniel while not all that religion followed this tradition as well. He took a still glowing orange piece of iron handed to him by a random man who fished them out of a pot of burning coals with a pair of tongs.

The red hot iron grilled his hand but Nathaniel didn't flinch. He clenched the iron ball tightly while offering a silent prayer. Done Nathaniel passed the still hot metal to a kid standing next to him that barely even reach his waist. The little girl took the metal without hesitation and did the same. The girl's mother standing behind her saw all this but didn't care this was a common religious act that everyone saw as normal.

Everyone that finished with their prayers took a clean cloth that was also passed around and wrapped their wound. Nathaniel not having the time to lollygag in this place anymore went off to see his mother.