The Dead Zone Sovereign

Chapter 7: The Amnesiac Core

The room was really quiet except for the sound of water dripping from a broken pipe in the corner. Valen sat still on a crate his arms crossed, staring at the girl on the table. Her silver hair was spread out like moonlight on the stone. Her hazel eyes were wide looking around the room and then at Valen. She seemed scared.

Who am I she said, trying to sit up. Her voice was shaking. She pushed against the table. Her arms were weak. Valen did not help her. He just kept looking at her.

Valens system was checking her.

Target: Autonomous Vessel 04 (Disconnected)

Level: 1 (Suppressed)

Health: 110/110

Stamina: 15/15

Mana: 0/0 (Celestial Core Dormant)

Status: Severe Cognitive Dissociation, Identity Void, Network Deprivation.

The system said she had been reset. The thing that was controlling her was gone. Valen had cut the connection. What was left was her body, like a computer with no program.

You are what the Solarian Empire calls an Autonomous Vessel Valen said. You were sent to do a job.. I stopped you. You are not connected to their system anymore. You do not have a job to do.

The girl looked at her hands moving her fingers. A terminal she whispered. I remember halls. I remember a humming sound. Many voices singing the note.. I did not feel any pain. Why not?

Because they took away your ability to feel pain Valen said. The High Church does not want their weapons to hesitate. They took away your memories, your feelings and your name. You can be called Noa if you want.. You can choose something else. I do not care.

The girl looked around the room at the doors and the sword on the wall. Four she said, shaking her head. No. That sounds like a box. I do not want to be a box.

She looked at Valen. You cut the wire she said. You stopped the voices in my head. Why did you not kill me? The knights said anything in the Dead Zone must be destroyed. They said anomalies are bad for the world. If I am an anomaly why am I still alive?

Because a dead weapon is useless Valen said. In my world we said information is very important. You were connected to the level of the system. If your memory is gone your body still has information. I will take that information, piece by piece. In return you can stay here. You will have food, shelter and protection from the things outside.

The girl looked at Valen for a time. She found no lies in his face. It was a comfort. After being with people who said they loved her but locked her up Valens honesty was nice.

I accept she said softly.. I need a name. Call me Noa. It was a word I heard in the white halls.

Noa Valen said. The name updated on her status screen. Well Noa. Sit still. This might feel weird.

Valen put his hand near her head. He did not touch her. He let his power go into her mind. His stamina was one hundred and eighty points.

System Valen thought. Take the information from Noas mind. Take the concept of Celestial Mana Conversion.

The screens began to vibrate. A warning came up. Warning: The information is encrypted. Taking it will cost stamina. Do you want to proceed?

Proceed Valen said.

A thread of light came from Noas head wrapping around Valens fingers. Noas eyes went back her breath caught in her throat.. She did not scream. She just endured it.

Valens stamina went down fast. One. Seventy. One. Sixty. One. Fifty. His mind was filled with equations, symbols and pictures of golden spires. He saw how the Solarian siphons worked. They took mana from the earth but most of it was wasted. Only a little was turned into Holy Light.

The Dead Zone was not a disaster. It was a result of the empires work. The wasteland was a dumping ground.

Valen stopped the extraction. His stamina was at eighty points. He had a rectangular piece of mana in his hand.

Item Acquired: Schematic of the Siphon Vector.

Valen put the piece in his inventory. He looked at Noa, who was resting on the table. You did well Valen said. Rest here. The barrier outside will keep the things out.

Valen left the room. He found Zarek waiting for him. How is the vessel? Zarek asked. Is she still a threat?

She is disconnected Valen said. Her name is Noa. She has no memories, no combat programming and no connection to the High Core. Treat her like a civilian.. Watch her.

Zarek nodded. Understood. What about the prisoners we found? They are, near the wall.

Let us talk to them Valen said.

Valen and the others walked across the open courtyard. The change in the fortress was already clear to see. The dark stone walls, which now had silver and gold lines on them from the territory array seemed to have a soft defensive power. The pale silver dome of the Sovereigns Cradle went up into the purple sky holding back the thick rolling clouds of bad air with total control.

Purple fog hit the outside of the barrier. It just turned into harmless shiny air when it touched the dome. Near the wall thirty beastmen were sitting in circles around the three captured carriages from the empire. They were unloading the supplies. Stacking up boxes of good food salted meat and strong iron plates in neat rows.

When Valen came near everyone stopped talking. All the eyes whether they belonged to cat, wolf or bird-like people looked at him with a quiet focus. Garrok, the wolf-like beastman who was in charge stood up and bowed his head. He showed respect to Valen. The supplies have been counted Garrok said. The empires vanguard had food to feed twenty knights for six months. For us this is a lot of food that we have not seen since the winter when we move to find food.

We are not here to keep all the food for ourselves Valen said. We are here to build a community that the empire cannot touch. The food belongs to everyone who works.. To keep this safe place we need to have rules. Tell me about the areas outside this valley. What is beyond the three-mile ridge where we stopped the convoy?

Garrok stepped closer. Used a piece of burnt wood to draw a simple map on a box. The Dead Zone is divided into three areas, Valen. We are in the Iron Basin, which is named after the strong buildings that were left behind when the Great Wall was first built. To our west ten miles through the black canyons is the Ashen Depths. It is an area where the bad air is twice as thick as it is here. No human can survive there with special lights. It is where the strong mutated beasts live. Things that have eaten the stuff from the core for a hundred years.

What is to the east? Valen asked, looking at the lines on the map.

To the east is the Scourged Ridge Garrok said, his voice low and serious. That is where the empire has mining places. They do not just take energy from the special rocks; they dig deep into the earth to find Aetherite, a rare crystal that can store holy energy forever. The convoy we stopped was coming from Outpost Nine, which's at the base of the ridge. They were taking us to the labor camps near the Great Wall to work in the refineries.

Aetherite Valen said quietly his mind quickly understanding the importance. If these crystals can store energy forever they can also store other ideas. They are the material for his techniques of taking and mixing concepts. If he can get a supply of Aetherite he can make special batteries, weapons that do not need him to be present to work and strong armor for his growing group of fighters.

How many guards are at Outpost Nine? Valen asked, looking at Zarek.

A normal outpost has a sub-captain and thirty standard guards Zarek answered, using his knowledge of the military.. With the vanguard convoy destroyed the local soldiers will be on high alert. They will expect a group of demons or a tribal uprising. They will lock down the area. Wait for help from the Great Wall.

Then we do not give them time to get that help Valen said. Garrok, choose ten of your warriors. Those who have experience in combat or heavy work. Zarek will give them the weapons and armor we took from the knights. We will attack Outpost Nine before the sun sets behind the fog.

The beastmen looked at each other. A murmur of shock and excitement went through the crowd. For years they had been the ones being hunted like animals by the empires patrols. Taken to the interior to die in the energy camps. The idea of attacking an empire outpost. Of being the ones in charge. Was exciting. Made their wild blood burn.

We will fight, Valen, Garrok said, his teeth sharp in a grin. We will take the stone from their walls.

Get the group ready Valen commanded. We move in thirty minutes.

Valen walked back to the supply boxes thinking about what they needed to do away. He had a body but his equipment was still basic. He looked down at his shirt, which still had a shine from his first time taking out the bad air. It had helped him. Against strong empire magic or physical attacks it was not enough.

He put his hand on a box filled with strong iron plates that they had taken from the central carriage.

System Valen thought. Look at the properties of the material.

The material was Imperial Structural Steel, which was not very special. It had density, low magic and moderate weight.

Valen needed something than moderate weight. He needed armor that let him move fast and stay safe.

Take out the concept of Weight from the iron plates Valen commanded.

His energy went down a bit. A dark cloud came out of the metal turning into a small black ball in his hand. The iron plates changed, becoming white and hard like stone.

Valen then took his shirt. Laid it on the white steel plates. He reached into his storage. Took out the black piece of strong beast hide he had taken from the Miasma Hound.

This was going to be a process. He needed to mix the metallic fibers of his shirt with the weightless steel and the strong beast hide.

System Valen thought, focusing hard. Start mixing the materials. Use the shirt, the weightless steel and the beast hide. Make the boundaries disappear.

A deep hum went through Valens chest as the system did what he asked. His energy went down. He felt okay.

Under his hands the three materials started to dissolve turning into a fluid mix of silver, black and white energy. The energy went around his body turning into a form-fitting set of combat gear.

It was not a bulky suit like the empires knights wore. It looked like a high-tech uniform with a metallic weave that caught the silver light. The shoulders and chest had overlapping plates of weightless steel giving him total protection without adding weight.

Valen moved his shoulders feeling happy and cold inside. The gear felt like a skin, weightless but stronger than any steel the empire could make. His energy was already coming back going up point by point as he stood in his place.

Zarek came up with Garrok and ten beastmen warriors. They had changed, taking the armor from the fallen knights and using Zareks special sword to remove the empires symbols. They wore the leather undergarments and carried the heavy steel swords of the empires guards. They looked raw, dangerous and totally loyal to Valen.

The group is ready Valen Zarek said, hitting his chest with his fist. The earth drakes have eaten the empires food. They are. Can pull the empty carriages to bring back the Aetherite crystals.

Then we move Valen said, walking towards the gate.

When they stepped out of the place the thick purple fog closed in around them like a living thing. The air got cold, smelling of sulfur and wet ash.

The beastmen did not falter. They kept their formation looking at the cliffs as they followed Zarek through the twisting labyrinth of the Iron Basin. Valen walked at the front his gear making a tiny clean area, around his body. He did not need to use powers to clear a path; the metallic weave of his clothing acted as a shield keeping the bad air away.

They marched for two hours the ground rising as they approached the base of the Scourged Ridge. The rocks here were different; the black glass gave way to veins of a pale sickly green stone that seemed to pulse with a low bad energy.

Stop Zarek whispered, raising his hand to halt the line.

Valen and his people dropped into the shadows of a stone ridge. In front of them the purple mist was swirling around. They could see the edge of Outpost Nine.

The outpost was like a blockhouse, made from big white stones that had special holy marks on them to keep them from getting damaged by the bad air. There was a golden light on a tower in the middle making a bright circle of light around the outpost that kept the bad air back.

On the walls of the outpost there were seven guards from the group walking back and forth with their crossbows ready and their silver armor was shining under the bright light. At the gate there were two big Earth Drakes, covered in dust from the mines.

Valen looked at the way the outpost was defended. He thought about how to get in. The golden light was the problem because if they tried to force their way through the alarm would sound and the people inside would get ready to fight.

Valen told Zarek to take some of their people and go around to the back of the mines. If anyone tried to run with the special crystals they had to stop them. Valen would take care of the gate and the tower with the golden light.

Zarek asked Valen if he was going to drop the lights again. Valen said no he was not going to do that this time. This time he was going to use the outposts power against them.

Zarek. He and the other warriors disappeared into the purple mist. They moved quietly like hunters. Went around the edge of the golden light.

Valen waited until Zarek and the others were out of sight. Then he stood up. Walked openly towards the outpost into the golden light.

One of the guards on the wall shouted, "Stop! Who are you?". Valen did not answer. He just kept walking his boots making no sound on the ground.

The guard looked at Valen carefully. Then he shouted, "Raise the alarm! We have an enemy!"

The alarm bell rang out. The guards on the wall got ready to shoot their crossbows at Valen.

Valen reached the edge of the light and he put his hands on it. He thought to himself "System I want to change the way the golden light works."

The system responded, "Are you sure you want to do that? It could cause a problem."

Valen said, "Yes I am sure."

The golden light started to shine and then it changed. It did not break,. It started to push the air inside the outpost very hard.

The people inside the outpost were thrown around. They could not breathe. The walls of the outpost started to break. The ground was shaking.

Valen walked into the outpost through the gate. The golden light was. There was a big cloud of dust and broken stones. The guards were lying on the ground trying to breathe.

Valen did not waste time on them. He went to the central tower, where the special machine was. Inside the tower there was a room with silver and gold machines and a big crystal that was glowing with a bright light.

Valen touched the crystal. He thought, "System I want to take the power from this crystal."

Before he could do that something strange happened. Valen felt a sensation in his chest like someone was holding onto his soul.

The crystal stopped glowing. It turned into a black mirror. Inside the mirror a face appeared. It was not a face but a face made of golden lines and shapes.

The face. Its voice was like a loud bell. It said, "You have gone far. You have to be stopped."

The system spoke to Valen "You are, in trouble. You have to get out of here. You will be deleted."

Valen had sixty seconds to think of something or he would be gone forever.