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.

Today was different though, Erelmach was uncharacteristically quiet - seemingly deep in thought as they walked their usual route. At the final intersection of pathways that signaled they would be home soon, they turned in a new direction for the first time - toward the imperial palace. Today was the day that 3 was to be introduced to The Desert Sun himself - Emperor Zidehon Sethi, as well as his son Prince Kassim. As they strode through the massive archway into the throne room, three resounding thuds gave 3 a start as the man next to the entrance called out in a booming voice "Announcing the arrival of High Priest and Imperial Tinkerer Erelmach Springtorque, and his latest crea-" Erelmach shot a look at the crier that caused the words to catch in his throat. "-apologies. And his third son, 3." The emperor practically leapt from his chair, an unmistakable look of excitement on his face. "My friend you have done it again, each creation more spectacular than the last! Truly Gond favors you and your prodigious mind."

"Ahem. Your praise is gracious as always your imperial majesty, however my SONS are all of equal merit - they simply possess different capabilities. No two are alike."

Surprisingly the emperor blanched "Of course, forgive me Mach I didn't mean to offend." He turned and inclined his head almost imperceptibly to 3 as a means of apology. Just then the high pitched sound of laughter rang through the halls as a young boy came running into the room, followed by a middle aged human woman 3 assumed was a nursemaid of some kind. As the boy turned to see how close behind his pursuer was, he stumbled on a cobblestone and crashed to the floor. He bounced up as quickly as he had fallen, but the grimace etched on his face as he looked down at his skinned knees made it clear that tears were soon to follow. Without thinking, 3 quickly crossed the room and reached a hand out to him. As the guards gripped weapons and the emperor jerked forward to stop whatever this hulking automaton was about to do, Erelmach simply placed a hand on the side of his leg and held another hand up signaling him to wait - his eyes practically aglow with curiosity. As 3 reached the boy and laid his heavy metal hand on his shoulder, a soft glow emanated from the core in his chest Then - for the briefest instant - his hand was enveloped in a nimbus of light as the scrapes on the boy's knees began to knit together, back into smooth unblemished skin.

"Well that's about as fine an introduction as I could have made," Erelmach said with a satisfied grin. After shooting a knowing smile at the emperor, he continued, "It gives me great pleasure, my prince, to introduce to you my youngest son. His name is 3, and he is going to be your most loyal friend."