Ambere Chronicles Volume One: Kaurine Dawn [UNABRIDGED EDITION]

Chapter Eight: The Regnant Masterworkers

[Kaur'Ainda Fortress, Frostcap Mountain Range, Haldios IV, 32nd of Solaerch, 5011 TE]

[Cewa]

I watched from the side of the pad as the transport landed, bouncing slightly on its landing gear as the antigrav landing thrusters had their power cut. As the sound of the engines winding down from the lack of power hit my ears, I hears a whispering shuffle of a sound, and turned in curiosity at the sound, only to see Boltz coming to a stop as the friction of the floor on his shoes finally overpowered the momentum of his skid, and he hopped a couple of times before taking off running past me again, a massive grin spreading across his face. I frowned in confusion, right before the door opened to allow Chit'Eiwu to step out of the craft.

As soon as she noticed me, she nodded happily, and I returned the gesture. Then she looked down and I saw her face flush a rich blue as she saw Boltz, and she practically leapt down the exit ramp and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug, and, a small grin forming on my face, I deliberately found the nearby opposing wall incredibly fascinating for a few moments as I waited for them to join me. As they reached me, I half joked to Boltz,
"I hope that this romantic blossoming won't affect either of your work..." Boltz's face flushed red and Chit'Eiwu's face rapidly deepened to a rich blue color.
"Chit and I will still manage to do all the work we need to..." Boltz eventually said, and I nodded.

The two, now slightly embarrassed, lovebirds walked inside together, talking animatedly about some plan they were working on in relation to Chit's shop. I shook my head with a grin, and watched the transport take off again. I leaned against the wall, waiting for another transport; Chit was not the only guest arriving today...

[Half an Hour Later...]

[Cewa]

I was just starting to doze off, the wall seeming to have gone slightly soft against my back, when Aerrin walked up and wrapped an arm around me in greeting. I opened my eyes and looked at her, and she said,
"You won't believe it, Cewa! She's apparently a Synth!" I blinked, and replied,
"She?" Aerrin nodded, and said,
"Yeah. She was apparently just floating around looking for a challenge to work on, but one that also involved some history, and I managed to catch her eye." As Aerrin spoke, the transport finally came down, and I stood up straight, watching it land. As soon as the door opened, the form of a Draekkus, seemingly garbed in shiny bronze, and her wings bounced with every step as though she were an Organic Draekkus. However, the perfect bronze scales and the glider mesh wing membranes ruined the illusion. Of course even if it weren't for those elements, her eyes would have given her away as a Synth in an instant. Her gaze was amethystine in coloration, and as she walked down the ramp, she scanned over the half-reconstructed facade of the legendary Fortress of Kaur'Ainda.

As soon as she saw me and Aerrin, her eyes swapped to a blue color, before slowly fading back to purple again. She bounded over to us, and, in a voice that sounded like a gravel pit being stirred,
"So... You are Lord Aerrus, the mysterious sentient behind the restoration of Kaur'Ainda..." She paused, looking me up and down with a suddenly golden gaze, which then snapped back to purple again.
"Mysterious indeed... Your bioscan indicates that you are... Made of energy?" The confusion was evident in her voice, but I forced my face to remain neutral, even though I shared the confusion. In an incredibly measured voice, I replied,
"And yet I have all the drawbacks of an Organic body... I need to eat, sleep, drink, and still have certain biological instincts that can be programmed out when designing a Synth Shell." The Draekkus dipped her head in acknowledgement, before saying,
"Well, all I can tell you is what my onboard scanners tell me in turn. Oh, and my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Archiates. I have heard rumours that you are trying to reconstruct the Knights of old... Some may prefer they remain buried in the sands of time of course."