::Fiction Genre Awards Honorable Mention::
::First Place Winnner in the Prose Awards Fiction Awards 2017 Loco-Lingular Award::
Many years have passed since the Deathless arose. Immortal, invincible they came, they subjected the people and their...
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Jori walked down the ramp towards the barren wastelands around the Worker's stronghold. He stepped onto the dusty ground that was littered with a few brittle shrubs, that could, remarkably, survive this dry climate.
The land was rocky as well, with large boulder-strewn hills dotting the horizon. But the landscape was dwarfed by the massive tower the Worker had erected in this desolate waste. The structure, made of a Helio-iron alloy, loomed threateningly over the lands, with its beige color offset by the glowing sky blue circuit-like insignia in the center of the tower.
The Worker had made the tower well before the Fall of the Planet. Very few survived the collapse, and so the Worker, with his knack for names, dubbed it The Ark.
Jori approached the towering structure and ascended the large steps up to the door. He raised his hand to pound on the slab of Helio-iron, but the door began to open before Jori had a chance to knock.
Peering into the first floor of the tower, Jori saw the dark stone that lined the wall, and the reflection of it in the heavily polished black granite. The walls started slanting inward a meter below the high ceiling. Glowing columns illuminated the small level on which Jori stood, and strange artifacts lined the walls of the level.
On the opposite wall, was the same insignia he had seen on the outside of the building. Scanning the room, Jori couldn't see any stairs or any other way to climb to the next floor.
As Jori approached the center of the room, a low humming sound started. Jori looked up to where the sound emanated and saw a five-meter disk descending from the ceiling.
The humming sound cut off abruptly as the disk came to a halt on the floor in front of Jori. He raised an eyebrow in confusion when he saw the clear, glowing blue center of the disk.
Cautiously, he stepped aboard, glancing up, attempting to judge whether he would be crushed against the ceiling once the disk had risen to the upper floors. Slowly, the platform ascended.
As Jori's eyes rose above the floor of the second level, he saw the Worker, sitting on a throne that was several steps higher than the floor. The Worker's fingers pecked at several holographic screens displayed in front of his face. Like some of the Deathless, the Worker preferred to always wear his armor in the presence of commoners and servants.
The Worker looked up as he heard Jori approaching. The faceplate that covered his face was shaped like a human face, with the lower lip and chin missing, making the faceplate frown.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from a member of the Pantheon?" the Worker asked, in his deep, metallic, voice.
"We need to talk, Galath," said Jori with a little more hostility than he intended.
