Daniel M Smith
Stories (6/0)
Erelmach's Prime
It had all happened so suddenly, like something out of your worst nightmares. 3 had been listening to the reports the messengers had been bringing from various corners of the empire. Cities and settlements falling under attack by mysterious forces - never leaving more than a few survivors to tell the tale. Every time they went out to investigate the remains they found the same things: utter destruction, and no bodies. It wasn't until their fifth survivor of such an attack brought them a valuable piece of intel that they began to understand the severity of what was occurring. The bodies of those who fell in the attacks were distorted, and drained of almost all color - leaving a mere whisper of the features they had when they were alive. The rich mahogany and olive tones of the desert dwelling Sethis were reduced to ashen grey, and their various hair colors washed to near white - a pale imitation of their previously bright exuberant color. The most disconcerting part of this change though, was what happened after they had died.
By Daniel M Smith7 days ago in Fiction
Erelmach's Prime
"Please...MERCY!" the attacker begged - his gruff voice now hoarse from pleading. "Don't worry, everything will be fine." 3 said in a calm monotone - as he drew back his fist and drove into the side of the man's face, sending him crashing to the floor. As the rush of battle left him, a silence settled over the room and without sparing a moment he rushed back to the spot he had left Kassim covered behind the throne. Dropping his shield and hammer to the floor he gathered the bundled cloak up in his arms. "Are you hurt my prince?"
By Daniel M Smith7 days ago in Fiction
Erelmach's Prime
"Form up! Go again!" the instructor's command rang out in the brutal afternoon sun that tortured the guards during their training regiments daily. 3 evaluated the men and women he was training with, and noted the common signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration among some of them. "Instructor, it would be most prudent of you to allow them a moment's respite for water and shade. I fear some of them may suffer an extended malaise if they are pushed much harder." The guards grimaced, after 3 years of training alongside them they knew he meant nothing by it - however 3 did not experience the sensations of hunger, thirst, sweat, heat or dehydration, and his training partners couldn't help but resent him for his resilience on days like today.
By Daniel M Smith7 days ago in Fiction
Erelmach's Prime
A few weeks had passed, and 3 had grown accustomed to walking the palace grounds with his father. His thoughts were often quiet, and the constant high-pitched ramble of Erelmach "thinking out loud" gave him something to concentrate on. There were times where he would go off on tangents so long and specific that 3 would simply nod his head along and try to make sense of words like "alchemical transfusion", and "catalyzed reactions," but other times he would simply remark on the architecture that was involved in the construction of various buildings. He found that he took at least a passing interest in these discussions, when his father would explain things like "The walls are ridged and slanted in that fashion to disperse the force of siege projectiles in order to minimize their impact in the event of an assault," or "The entrances to the castle are placed strategically so that if enemy forces storm the keep the soldiers would immediately find themselves in choke points, leaving them at quite the disadvantage." These were simple concepts to 3, and he felt a surge of pride whenever he understood the concepts his father deigned to discuss with him. It did not take long for him to understand that Erelmach's mind was clearly a world apart from most others around him, and 3's mind usually had to run just to keep up.
By Daniel M Smith7 days ago in Fiction
Erelmach's Prime
He awoke to the sound of whirring gears, hissing steam and crackling electricity. "There we are, nice and easy now." A nasally voice whispered. As his head turned left to right, scanning the room - his eyes came to rest on a short thing standing on some manner of stepladder, with big eyes and bushy hair over its mouth and chin, and the slightest puffs around the sides of its head. "That's right, take in your surroundings - calm and smooth." The little thing said while it scribbled away furiously at what appeared to be a stack of paper in its hands, mumbling to itself all the while. "Right! Now let's get you up," it called out as it scrambled down and out of sight. A brief sensation of loosening near his ankles, and he felt himself begin to lurch forward. On instinct his right leg flew forward and caught his momentum, the impact of his metal foot nearly cracking the stone floor he landed upon. "Not particularly graceful, but a far cry better than your brothers! Neither of them caught themselves the first time." More scribbling on the paper stack. "Now tell me 3, how do you feel?" Without long enough to think about how he would even begin to respond, he heard his own voice for the first time.
By Daniel M Smith2 years ago in Fiction