Chronicles of Infiniti (Book One of the Tempest Trilogy)

Not all is as it seems.

I don't remember how long I was falling for.
All I remember was hitting the soft grass, hard.
It looked to be day, wherever I was. Trees were everywhere, and it looked like I fell in an open area where the sunlight poured in. Deer elegantly leaped away from the location of my grass belly flop. They sadly didn't stick around to score my landing.
I pushed myself off of the grass, seeing that it went to my knees. The area was beautiful, but that didn't mean that danger couldn't lurk within the woods. The Tesla was still slung over my shoulder, the bulky lighting gun hanging from my shoulders. I grabbed it and held it loosely in my arms, ready to point and shoot at anything that came my way.
I picked a random direction and started walking towards it, walking surely and making sure I didn't step in any holes or stir anything that did not need to be stirred. As I kept going, it looked like Earth, with plants and animals that I recognized, but it looked like it was untouched by humanity. No cars, no streets, no smoke for miles.
Am I alone? I thought to myself.
I was walking for hours, and at some point, my feet started to throb with pain. I found a small cavern, more of a nook, really, and I searched it for any animals. None were found, so I tried to make some kind of bed out of leaves and sticks inside the cavern. It wasn't much better than the one I was on in the facility, but it was something. I laid on it, hoping to rest my body and be ready for the next day of traveling. Sleep came quickly, like a silent wraith of darkness.

I woke with a shock to the sounds of clanking armor and the clomp of hooves. I shot up, realizing that I was in a cage of wood, being held up upon a wagon that was being carried by horses. Two men in full armor sat atop the two horses, brandishing swords.
So there are people where I am at.
My weapon lay outside the cage, out of my reach. I knew I couldn't bust out of the wooden cage, because of two things.
One, it was wood. I can only manipulate types of metal.
Two, it seemed well made and I thought it wouldn't break from the inside. Only the outside.
My only option besides sitting there was to try to get information from my captors.
"Where am I?" I asked the two armored men.
"Why, you are in the Wildlands!" Said the man on the right horse, "The region is owned by the Leaf and Forest nations, so long as they are in harmony."
"Wait, what other places are there?" I asked. Confusion rolled through my mind like a thick fog.
Did I jump to a different planet? Or worse yet, a different UNIVERSE?
Parallel dimensions? This one is where the world is in medieval times still?
"Well," Said the man on the left horse, "There are the Wildlands, and an island not very far from our coastline is informally known as Steel Island. They produce metals to almost anyone. Then there is the Ember Nation's old land across the sea, also known as the Lost Plains. No one goes there anymore, especially after the war that broke out. Some believe that spirits wander those lands, haunting anyone that comes near." The man on the right horse snorted at the proposition of spirits. I didn't know a damn thing about this world, so I kept that note in mind.
"Finally," The man on the left continued, "There are the five worlds. We only truly know about one of them, and it has been heavily documented. It is known as the Dark World. No light is emitted from there, and torches burn out quickly there. Even with this, people populate its lands, known as the Dark Nation. They are said to have great power, but they haven't reared their heads in a long time, so it's tough to say."
"Wait," I asked, "Are you saying the portals might be to parallel universes or something like that?"
The man on the right horse chimed in, "It's been a theory for a little while, but I don't think people want to believe it. We don't want anything crossing over."
Fair.
Silence filled the area, except for a few twitters of birds and a light wind. I observed the surroundings, seeing the beautiful and magnificent world that I was in. It looked like we were traveling in a valley, water trickling down in a small stream that was to the right of the horse driven carriage I was in. Steep rock walls were high on the left and right of me, their stone surfaces glistening in the sunlight. Grass with bright green flowers and plants dotted the landscape.
And so too did soldiers.
"Ready weapons!" Lefty said. (Yes, I nicknamed him that.)
"You can't just leave me in here! I will look like a pincushion after they are done with me!" I said. I meant them with no ill intent. If I got out, I would fight for them.
"We can't risk it." Said Righty, "We don't know if you will be on our side. We will fend them off as we go, and try to protect you. If things go really bad, then we might let you go."
There were about six or seven soldiers out there, armed with swords and bows. They weren't armored like how Lefty and Righty were, but that didn't mean they couldn't do some serious damage. I was a little worried for the duo. One of them let out a war cry, and all of them charged.
Lefty and Righty calmly hopped off their steeds, grabbed their swords and shields, and readied themselves for combat. The opposing soldiers took out shields, and went shoulder to shoulder. Their weapons poked out of the gaps between each other's shields, and they became a wall that faced Lefty and Righty.
"Phalanx formation!" I said to the two soldiers, "Don't let them intimidate you, and rush them!" That seemed like a good idea.
And it was.
By rushing the wall, it threw the soldiers off guard, and they couldn't move out of the formation hastily. They fumbled a bit and a couple fell over. The soldiers disarmed them, trying not to damage them too severely. In the span of a few minutes, the opposing side had given themselves up. They had no weapons and no defense.
"Who do you all work for?" Righty said, not giving any buttering up to the situation whatsoever.
"You wouldn't believe us." One of the men said.
"Well say it regardless. We have ways of finding information." Lefty said.
"Ember Nation." The same man from before said.
Lefty and Righty went stone silent. They sheathed their swords, put their shields on their horses, and left with the soldier's weapons. They said nothing, and took the wagon to what looked to be a detour to their base, hidden by vines and brush. A sloping ramp of sorts met us on the other side, and the horses grunted and pulled the carriage all the way up.
A huge castle met us, of gray beauty. It seemed silent on the outside, apart from the bustle of people moving in and out of the castle's entrance. Soldiers stood on the top of the wall, and I could see bows and swords gleaming from behind the merlons. They gave a nod to Lefty and Righty, and gawked at me. I simply waved, trying to look friendly. Green banners were set outside the entrance of the castle, which had a genuine moat and drawbridge.
The bridge was lowered, and four armored guards let us in.
The inside of the castle was lush with plants and a few roaming animals with collars round their necks. From horses to pigs, they had them all. Flowers and fruits of varieties I've never seen before were being sold in wooden stalls, along with many other wares. Soldiers stood guard as silent sentinels, watching and silently protecting. They occasionally spoke to one another, but nothing more. They eyed me warily, some of them with hands on the hilts of their swords.
The carriage stopped, and there was a sharp pop as the cage I was in unfolded like a lotus flower. Lefty and Righty immediately seized my arms, holding them with a tight grip. Righty grabbed my gun as well, taking it with him. A large bastion stood before us, dark of stone and with the same banners as before flying high. The gate opened, and bid us entry.
People around us started speaking in low, whispering tones. I heard a few of them.
"He looks just like the one known as Guardian,"
"Is he going to kill us?"
"How is he here?"
I stopped listening when Lefty and Righty came to a slow stop. I looked forward and up, at who I presumed to be the king.
His beard was a white-ish gray, with little flecks of black, like old memories clinging on. He had a kind face, with smile lines near his cheeks and the crows feet of his eyes. I would've guessed he would've been around sixty or so. His hair was nonexistent on the top, but it was a little more grown out on the sides of his head, on his temples. On top of his bald head was a modest silver crown. He wasn't incredibly large, but he looked comfortable with his size. He wore robes of forest green that billowed over his iron throne. The image of him told me one thing; Leaf Nation prides practicality over theatrics.
He looked down upon me with a benevolent smile, and said in a hearty voice, "What is your name, and what is it that you desire, boy?"
I hadn't really thought about it. I mainly just wanted to escape Macabre, and now that that was done, I didn't really know. I took my best guess at what I wanted. "Infiniti, and freedom?" I said.
"Wise choice I see. Why exactly would you want freedom?" The Leaf Nation King asked.
What is this, introspection 101? "So I can make my own choices without being shackled and thrown into a cell just for being outside?" I said. It took me a minute to realize that this was the honest truth.
"Normalcy?" The king asked. I nodded. He stroked his beard, and said, "Do you swear, under the Oaths, that you will not cause us harm?"
"I don't see why I would hurt you." I replied.
"Then," The king said, looking at Lefty and Righty, "I don't see why we shouldn't just let him go. We are the kingdom of hospitality, after all."
I felt Lefty and Righty's hands come off my wrists.
"That weapon of yours, however, needs some proper investigation before we let you have it back." The king said. Lefty grabbed the Tesla, and brought it to some other soldiers who took it away.
"Now," The king said, "There is no free lunch. You need to prove that you are on our side."
"Are you asking me to do a mission, or is this more like probation?" I asked.
"A little bit of both." The king replied, "There is a mighty beast that needs slain near our people's horse routes. It stops us from getting the valuable minerals we require from our mines."
"And you want me to kill the beast?" I asked.
"If necessary. I'm not saying you have to, but..."
"If it comes to that." I said, nodding.
"Good luck." The king said, and he gestured to Righty, "Take him to the armory. He needs something to fight the beast. The plan is that you take the beast down, and a second team will come in to take it away. Once you take it down, wait for a second team to come in and take it back to the castle. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." I said.
Righty nodded and looked at me, "Right this way... Infiniti."
Righty led me down a cobblestone path to the right of the king's castle, and it went to the entrance of a stone brick building. Two guards stood watch, and nodded at Righty, opening the door and letting him and me in.
Inside the building was a torchlit room filled with different kinds of weapons. Swords, bows, even some maces and clubs. Righty gestured to the various weapons hanging up on the walls, and I retrieved a short sword with its respective sheath and a shield.
I couldn't think of anything else I could want, so I nodded at Righty and said, "I'm ready."
He led me to a covered wagon, with an unfamiliar leaf symbol painted on the side of it. It was made of wood, and attached to two powerful looking horses. Two other people in civilian garb, a man and a woman, hopped into the wagon with swords and shields. One of them, the woman, grabbed the reins of the horses, and kept them in place. I hopped into the back of the wagon, the duo looking at me dubiously. The lady still spurred the horse, and we got moving.
The man in the back looked at me weirdly, but said nothing.
Could I stop this beast? I thought to myself as the wagon trundled along.
The wagon was meant as a disguise, and it seemed to work for a little, until two metallic claws slashed into the canvas roof, and lifted the freaking wagon into the sky. Suddenly, I felt weightless, and the floor of the wagon left me. The wagon hit the ground with a crunch, and me with it.
When I finally got up, the wagon's axles were destroyed, and the two horses carrying the wagon had nothing left but saddles, the two who I thought were soldiers fighting for their lives, one on the ground with her sword raised, protecting the other, that was facedown in the mud. The beast that stood before us struck fear into my heart.
It was a massive beast, with scales of steel that glimmered in the afternoon light. Its legs were powerful and had sharp, dark claws on each paw. Its wings were a shining chrome of scale and skin. It looked like a mix of a dragon and a lion, painted in chrome. Its eyes were an amber orange, and they quickly followed me.
Crap.
I took a fighting stance as I had when fighting Macabre, right foot behind the left, 50/50 weight, holding the shield close to my chest and the sword to the side of me.
The chrome beast charged with a roar that sounded like a freight train slamming the brakes. Its powerful claws furrowed through the ground.
You really get a good scale of a monster when it charges at you as fast as it can. The thing was the size of a greyhound bus, and had a hell of a lot of momentum, especially when it looked to be made of heavy metal.
At this moment, I glanced around at where we were. It was a decently open area, but there were some rock outcroppings I could use as cover. One of those was directly behind me. I leapt to my right and heard an echoing boom as the rock behind me became pulverized gravel. The beast roared in pain as it pulled away from the rock.
I've got to get moving.
I sprinted out of the way as fast as I possibly could, hearing the beast roar in absolute fury. I felt a flurry of wind strike my back, and I dove to the left to dodge its next attack. I tried to look over my shoulder to see where the beast was going, and all I got was white flames that were awfully close to me.
I quickly realized that the thing had flame breath, and my back was reporting a nice forecast of white hot pain. I dove to the ground as the beast leaped forward to presumably take my face off, and I rolled on the ground, hoping to put out the fire. Once it was extinguished, I looked up to see the metallic beast charge, fire curling around its mouth.
I had lost my sword somewhere in the commotion, but I knew it wouldn't matter. The metal would strike metal, and my sword would've just bounced off its hide.
Wait. I can manipulate metal.
Look, when you spend about 3 years hiding your power, sometimes you forget you have it, ok?
I reached out with my hand, trying to sense the metal that made up its scales. I could feel it, if barely. I was used to manipulating things I was touching, but I thought I could pull it off. I pictured the beast's metal melting down its legs and turning into chains. I had to trust my gut and pray that I could pull it off. I felt immense energy leave my body, and I felt how weary I was from running from Macabre bearing down on me.
Nonetheless, I heard a heavy thud, and the beast fell onto its face, stopping with such force that it felt like a light earthquake. Its body, without metal, looked more like an actual animal than a chrome ball of pain. The creature's chains were done well, and it struggled against its weighted binds. It took a lot of strength to not pass out from this immense task.
I looked over at the beast, and its amber eyes almost looked pleading as it squirmed in its confines. I simply just shook my head. Now look, I like animals, but this thing had killed many people who didn't deserve it, or even knew they were trespassing on its land. And I wasn't one hundred percent sure this thing wouldn't turn me around and bite me in the neck. So I left the beast be, and checked to see if anyone I was with was still alive.
I walked over to the duo from earlier, and checked them. They weren't hurt too bad, a couple scratches and bruises here and there. They seemed suspicious of me, but when they saw the chrome beast on the ground, they understood. I helped them get a small fire going, and as we were sitting there, I noticed a couple orange lines from the wilderness.
Probably just that big chrome beast I fought earlier. He can't move, so it won't matter.
I reiterated that last one as I looked at the beast that was right next to me, and not in the bushes.
"You see that?" I asked the others in a hush tone.
The one sitting to my right looked and seemed to have seen what I was looking at, because she got very pale, very fast. She nodded slowly.
"Don't make any sudden movements." The man to my right said. I never really paid attention to the duo, but now on edge, I tried to think of how they would be good in a combat situation. The woman looked stronger than I expected, and she was defending the man when he had fallen, but she wasn't warrior status by any means.
Neither of them were.
"Wait. Who are you guys? Why were you sent on this mission?" I asked them.
The man looked at me, and said, "My name is Eli. I was a hunter, until I brought in an infected deer." He looked over to the woman, "Her name is Jess. She tried some of that magic stuff that the Dark Nation likes to use." He turned to me, "Why?"
"Because I think this might've been a suicide mission." I said softly.
Look, I know I'm not the king's favorite, but c'mon. A death mission right after meeting me?
The woman's face lit up in realization and she said, "And we were all just sent here to die?"
"More to soften the beast up for the killing blow." The man said, "But why would they send the being calling itself Infiniti with us?"
I stopped for a moment to think before then saying, "Because if you guys didn't make it, then it would make me out to be a murderer. But now that we have this thing gone..."
"We might be redeemed." The woman said.
"I'm still not happy I got suckered into this thing." I said.
"It's better than a death sentence." The man said.
"How do things work in the Leaf Nation?" I asked, trying to keep things normal for whatever might be in the bushes, so it wouldn't know we detected it.
"Well, it is mainly the king that makes the final decisions, but the people do get to come up with things to help the kingdom. They don't have much else going on. We generally try to be self-sufficient and not take any imports or send any exports." The man said.
"That makes sense." I said, and I got up, stretching a little. I looked at the duo, then at the fire and said, "I'm going to go get firewood," I winked one of my green eyes at the last word, "you two stay here and keep watch."
I knew that no matter what, someone was going to be attacked by whatever was in the woods. If I went out there and was attacked, it would go far better than one of those two going out by themselves to do it. And if they camp by the fire and keep a good eye, they can signal when whatever it was is coming to attack them, and I can race back and take it down while it's unaware.
I calmly walked into the woods, not being quiet but not being overly loud. I found a nice, dry, dead tree, kicked it over, and started gathering sticks and chips that came from it. Everything was pretty normal, until I tried to head back.
Pain exploded from the side of my head, and I quickly dropped to the ground, landing hard. I felt something tighten my wrists together as a booming female voice spoke with an Australian accent.
"Who dares to attack these innocent people, and cage this beautiful beast?" The figure asked.
"I was ordered by the king to catch the beast, and I am simply getting firewood!" I all but yelled.
Look, I didn't know who this person was, or what they could do. She certainly didn't sound like she was from around here. I tried to move and get a better look at my captor, but she pushed me back down when I tried to move and turn.
"Then who the hell are you?" She asked.
"My name is Infiniti, and I come in peace I swear!" I said.
"Wait, Infiniti?" She said. She let off a little weight off of me, and let me turn and look at her.
She stood at about five foot seven inches, and she wore a cyan blue jacket, with the hood up. It looked remarkably similar to my own jacket, and when I saw her face, I was more floored than I already was. She had oval eyes like mine, but they were a bright orange, and they glowed from beneath her cyan hood and bleach white hair.
"You're like me..." I said, feeling a wave of new emotions.
Does she have powers? How did she get here?
Her boot lifted off of my back, and she held out a hand to help me up. I gratefully took it and she helped me up with surprising strength. She looked over at me, and she undid my bonds.
"I'm Guardian." She said, looking at me, "I never knew there were other beings like myself out there."
"Same here." I replied. She seemed nice enough.
"What are you doing on a mission from the king?" Guardian asked.
"It's so I can live in the Leaf Nation for a bit." I replied.
"And taking down a Steelscreecher?" Guardian said, and she chuckled, "That's practically a death wish."
I looked at her seriously.
"Oh bloody hell." Guardian said.
"Well, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when I get back." I replied.
"You mean we." Guardian said.
"You want to team up?" I asked her.
"Why not." She shrugged, "Got nothing to lose, and you seem like a nice bloke."
I nodded, and we headed back to the camp. The two other people sat by the fire, and they looked shocked to see Guardian. I assured them that she was friendly, and we got to work by the light of the fire and various lamps to rebuild the broken wagon.
The next day, after a night of sleeping on the ground (a semi improvement from last night), we headed the wagon back to the castle, using the Steelscreecher as our own personal horse. It tried to resist a bit, but we ended up feeding it some smaller animals on the way to motivate it. Within a bit, I had broken it in, like you would a horse.
Except it weighs a thousand pounds and eats rocks for breakfast. I thought.
We made it past the castle walls, nodding at the guards at the gates, and both them and the civilians seemed surprised to see us. They let us through, and we all hopped off our wagon and headed into the main castle to meet with the king. The guards stood at the gate.
"Didn't expect to see you here. Guardian, nice seeing you." One of the guards said.
"Yeah, well maybe you shouldn't send people on suicide missions without thinking that they could possibly survive!" The woman we were with said. I leaned back to face her and shook my head disapprovingly.
"Look, we just want to see the king. We did what he asked." I said.
The soldiers looked in disbelief, but they obliged, letting us in, and taking the wagon and the beast to a stable. They walked the human duo off to their homes, but another group led us to the king. Something didn't feel right about the situation though. They seemed heavily on edge, some with hands on their swords, ready to draw them out. Guardian and I kept going, and I tried to ignore their threat.
We walked into the castle, and met the king on his throne once again. He looked surprised to see me again. I spoke before he opened his mouth.
"Kingdom of hospitality my ass! You sent us to die without a second thought!" I all but yelled.
"Now now boy, listen to my perspective for a moment, and maybe you will understand." He said back calmly,
"Our men went out on a scouting mission and found you, the Ember Nation, and a weapon beyond our comprehension. All in one neat little present. The people were obviously angry that I let you in, and they hated me for it the second word got out that another being like Guardian was around and being let in. The best move I could've done was sending you out there on a very difficult mission. If I sent some guards with you, they would've just simply killed you and blamed it on the beast, and if you were to defend yourself, you would be outright attacked. By sending people who, most would say, should be banished, it kills two birds with one stone. And even better, with Guardian allied with you, it shows trust in our kingdom."
I stopped, and realized he was right on the money. It was the best move. Albeit not very morally ok, but still, good for him and his people.
"Oh, and by the way," The king said, "It's good to see you again, Guardian."
"It's always a pleasure to stop by." Guardian said back, warmly.
"Now, where would you two like to stay? I have excellent sleeping quarters in this castle." The king asked.
"That would be fantastic!" I said, and Guardian nodded in agreement.
"Good. I will send some squires with you to make sure you make it to your rooms safely." The king waved his hand at a boy about my age clad in emerald green armor. He introduced himself as Axel, and led me and Guardian to our respective rooms. Guardian had a room that was across from mine, so we bid each other our goodbyes, and headed into our rooms.
The room was quite nice, typically what you would expect from a hotel in the universe I was in first. There was a nice bed with billowing comforters and soft pillows adorning it. The room was mostly filled with eggshell white colors with some splashes of green and black here or there. There was a soft lounge couch that I sat on for a moment. I looked around at the torchlit room, and noticed a large leather bag on the bed. I opened it slowly, and I retrieved the Tempest device. Its weight felt good in my hands. I set it aside for a moment, and sat on my bed, thinking.
So, if Guardian and I were 'sent down', by who? What is our purpose here?
A searing swath of white hot pain raced from the top of my head, and down my body. The pain was so immense I don't even remember curling up into a fetal position. Three crystal clear words rang through my head when the pain incline was over.
Stop them all.
I didn't know I was screaming until Guardian came in worriedly.
"Hey! You alright?" She asked, rushing over to me. I couldn't move. My body just felt like it went through a pinball machine of pain, and whoever was playing just got a world freaking record. I tried to say something but it was just a wordless noise.
"Look, I'm gonna try something, alright?" Guardian said. Her hands glowed a bright orange, and she gently put her hands on my arm.
You ever wonder what a blood transfusion with a god would feel like? Because I know now.
Instantly, the pain evaporated like hot water in a huge desert. I felt a few minor wounds patch over and heal, and I noticed that quite a large sniper round came out of my shoulder. It felt like the waves washing over the sand of a nice beach. A reset of all that was bad.
I looked up at Guardian, and she looked relieved to see me better.
"So that is your power? Healing?" I asked, sitting up and dimly noticing her hand still on my arm.
"Among other things." Guardian said, and the bottom right corner of her right eye and the bottom left corner of her left eye were edged a little bit. Like a smile, but without the mouth there. I thought it looked cute on her. She took her hand off of my arm, and sat next to me on the bed. She paused before saying, "What happened?"
"I was thinking about what our purpose is, and I suddenly had that white hot pain, and the words 'stop them all' beamed into my brain." I said. I looked at Guardian and said, "Do you know what it means?"
Guardian brushed some of her white hair out of her face, and said, "I think that is our purpose, to stop something?" She shrugged, "I haven't had that happen to me at all."
"But why the pain?" I asked.
"Maybe it's a way to keep the message in your head. You'll remember it better that way?" She said.
We sat there for a moment, not saying anything. Just sitting on my bed, thinking. I don't know what Guardian was thinking about, but I was wondering who I was meant to stop.
All I wanted to do was have a nice home where I could be left alone and in peace.
I looked over at Guardian, and realized I had something good. She was like me. Maybe the answer wasn't to strike it out on my own, but to have a friend by my side while I live my life. Or to fight for other beings like me.
I mean, if me and Guardian exist, then there must be others.
And maybe those are who we have to stop. The thought sent shivers down my spine.
Is Guardian the one I'm meant to fight?
I didn't think so, but I couldn't let my guard down. I looked at her for a moment. It didn't seem like she would hurt people, but I didn't know her very well. Guardian looked back over at me, and smiled without a mouth again.
"I'm so glad I'm not alone." She said softly.
I nodded and said, "Me too."