Sundown, The outer Defences, Ambrosia.

The sun was slowly dipping down towards the horizon. Ambrosia was startin to slumber. The city of hope, the west coast bastion of civilization in a world of monsters and magic. The triumph of human engineering and resiliance. Ambrosia, the city that rose from the ashes. Home to many of the new worlds most influential people. With the odd barking dog, the odd drunken straggler or raving loon being heard from within the city core, outside the walls the quiet was almost oppressing. Even this close to the walls, dangers lurked in the dark. Nightbiters, bat like, child sized and solitary predators could very well hide in the darkness of the woods. Somewhere along the road, a Clanner likely sat under a provisional shelter, hoping to ambush some poor lonesome traveler. All these dangers, and humanity still forced itself to go on.

”This world, Will we ever tame it? Is it even meant to be tamed?” The voice was tinged with the bitterness and cynicism of old age, yet the man speaking appeared no older then his early forties. His scruffy, bushy mustache and well kept goatee had not a speck of white or gray in it. The mans clothes were as weather bitten and worn as shoe leather, yet very little of that wear showed on his skin. Aside from the odd scar here and there, he seemed almost untouched by time. Yet for the first time since the two met, Omega thought Banjo looked worn out. The adventurous luster she once fell in love with was gone from his eyes, replaced with haunted look. He sat upon the very roof of one of Ambrosias outer watchtowers, staring at the blood red sun slowly sinking below the horizon. The crimson light staining the thick green forests before it would leave the darkness of night to claim the hemisphere for the next ten hours. The man known only as Mr Banjo, stared off in the distance. His namesake lying next to him, he plucked at one of the strings absentmindedly.

”You need not be so restless old friend” Her voice was opposite him, warm and gentle. Unlike the cynic and set voice of her companion, Omega spoke with a lofty sense of compassion and grace. Her skin seemed unblemished and porcelain like, her full red lips curled in a smile that seemed sincere only around her friend. Her eyes were hidden by the shadows of her cloak and the long bangs hanging in front of her face ”The mystery of the Magic is yet to be understood. My own pupil walk the wastes a renegade, seeking the means of dominating common folk. Yet we prosper. Yet we stand. Humanity persevere. It is what we do. It is the reality, the truth of our very being.” She brushed a strand of hair from the mans forehead, watching him intently. ”Even as the Clan raid and attack our caravans, men and women fight back. The ADF root them out at the cost of their own lives, driving the savages way from our city. Is that not a sign that civilization prevails?” Her voice softened, her eyes sparkled with something akin to affection beneath her messy hair.

”But at the same time we discriminate and mistreat our own because the magic has changed them slightly? Where is the civility in that?” Banjo shot back, raising a eyebrow.

”That is why I helped creat the Pledge. People fear what they do not undertand. But in time, I will make them see.”

”You are right my sweet Omega. You are right.” Banjo sighed and allowed himself to affix that lazy grin people always saw on his face. ”We still need to urge the Ambrosian leadership to act. ” He made a face insinuating how difficult a task this would be.” The old geezers are quite content with the status qou at the moment. They fear a new shift. A radical change. Unless they can directly benefit from it they will fight it with teeth and claw.” He stared in the direction the massive mountain out of sight of them. The great and crimson crystal formation where once Los Angeles existed before the fall. ”If only they got their heads in the game.”

”Forward as ever my dear Banjo.” Omega mused. ”But I feel it. Like a great wind pulling a tree from its root, change threaten to cast us adrift unless we grow our roots deeper. They will see this if you show them what you found..” She described a circle with tree in it using her finger and white sparks of danced from each digit, remaining visible even as she put her hand back in her robes.

”A new trick?” Banjo asked, curious. He watched as the light slowly faded back into nothing.

”A sign that things are changing. The engineers are saying the same thing. Crystals powers are increasing marginally day by day now. The other mages are generally to weak to feel the change. But those of us with time to harness the connection, We feel it.” She pluck up the two crystals she wore around her neck. One that shone like a miniature star, the other seemingly eating the light around it. ”I shall talk to the elders of the pledge, convince them to dedicate their mages to our cause. Even If I have to punch the old man in the face... Again.” The two shared a moment of silence. There was more said between them within that silence then most people could relay with words over a days worth of dialogue. It was Banjo who finally broke the spell. Clearing his throat.

”Meanwhile I shall ask the others to start securing Ambrosias immidiete problems.” He said as Omega turned to leave.

Before the Mage left she said one last thing. ”I will make them see the light of our actions. You just do what you do best.”

And then she was gone. Banjo watched her leave then took up his old, beaten instrument. Starting to play, he strummed along its strings and sang to the world that he barely knew or understood, He hoped the future would be less cold to his people.


Outskirts of Ambrosia, The Pledges retreat.

Four men and four women watched Omega as she held court. There was a great hush and the tension was palpable. These were people that actively trained mages. She herself was the sole representive of the Pledge at this meeting. This little gathering was as hush hush as they came. The general populace had no idea that the mages outside the Pledge worked together. And now they were talking to the strongest Pledge member there was. Omega smiled upon the others. They sat on chairs arranged in a half circle around her. Her face was mask of serenity and understanding. Underneath she was a boiling cauldron of frustration. For two hours had she argued her point. These old geezers all wanted to sit back. They were more concerned of retaining their followers then pushing humanity forward.

”We need to show them that Mages are integral to the future going forward. And we need to keep ourselves from stagnating.” She urged them. They were all old, as old as her. But unlike her, they aged more or less normally and were far less spry or easy on the eyes. One of them, a man with a big gray mane for hair, spoke. His name was Lou Wong, a light mage like her.

”Encouraging our students to mingle and join the caravans? Magic is volatile Omega. People fear it, they look at us and only see the shard heads who blow themselves up. Not to mention those that are mutants.” His voice was calm, but the edge in it was sharp and unrelenting as a knife to the throat. Again they aimed to shut her down. But she saw her chance. She seized it like a honey badger clamping its jaws around a snakes head. They would not squirm out of it.

”We pick our brightest and most talented. Those most hardy and resilient. We show the settlements once and for all that they need us. I have talked to Banjo. He is getting the old boys on the other side of the fence to kick things into gear. The time is upon us. We will stagnate if we don't move. And we will be forgotten if we do not speak” She breathed out slowly as one of them got out of her chair to counter her point.

Another voice spoke up to shut down the ageless mutant. ”I am a mutant. So are you. Do you know what they have done to people like us in the past. The world is still to scared. The wounds are still to damn raw from the crystal fall.” Her name was Elena. Her red hair was like a unruly nest of snakes the way it writhed on its own. Her frustration was palpable. One of the few people to own and master a actual gravity crystal. But Omega was not to be fettered by their stubborn refusal. She was older them them. More powerfull.

”You feel the magic like I do Elena. You all do. You know it is changing once more. And so must we. The time has come my friends. The time to reclaim our world. Banjo is going to get them out there. They are gonna brave the beasts and monsters. They are gonna wage war on a world that wants us dead.” Elena sat back, watching Omega as she grew more passionate. There were some upset muttering, but each of them were hanging on to every word now.

”The are going to forcefully carve their name into the annals of history while you are content of becoming a sidenote. The people with power to control the elements. To create light out of darkness and move earth and rock with a thought, becoming second class citizens because they refuse to TRY!” Her last words were delivered with such force and punch that some of them grew mute. Then, slowly, it began to dawn on them. The had no choice. It was time to adapt. Omega smiled.

Ambrosian Merchant Hall.

Talbot stared at Banjo. The Guildmaster was staring at his oldest friend like he had gone and proclaimed himself king of the west coast. There was not a speck of sense. Banjo must have finally lost it. There was no way he could expect all these rich and powerful men to do what he said. Around him men and women of differing ages and position in society stared at Banjo in much the same way.

”You want us to do what?” Maria asked. Her face was one of shocked and confused outrage. She was a business woman and one of the shrewdest investors in this brave new world. And even she saw the insanity in this. This wasn't venture capitalism. This was Adventure Capitalism.

”Invest twenty percent of your capital into a reclamation campaign south. Dedicate your resources into a one for all push towards former LA.” Banjo said, not at all phased by the others apparent issues with his plan. He knew this was the only way forward. Before the gathered men and women lay massive blueprints of what seemed like a railroad and very imposing looking train.

”That's a lot of money, people and time.” Elizabeth Bosh spoke as she leaned in to admire the sheer incredulity of the project. She would love to take a crack at building the thing. But this was a project that screamed problems before it even started. They were gonna have to lay track across hostile territory, deal with all manners of beasts and Clanners aplenty.

”Not to mention, a lot of risk.” Goldstein, the major of Alabaster Station said, staring down with incredulity at the massive rolls of bluprints laying before him. The undertaking Banjo was expecting them to agree to was beyond anything they ever done before. But Goldsteins ambitions were resonating with Banjos on a level neither man could really explain. ”Don't get me wrong. I'll be willing to take it. Alberta Station is on the way there. I would demand we be the first to connect to ambrosia via rail.” He shot Banjo a grin that was returned in kind.

”But the rewards far outweighs the risk. We need everyone on this. The hunters are gonna be needed to track down the big nasties. The ADF and the Yellow Vest are gonna be needed to head of raiders. This is the new wild west ladies and gentlemen. We are going to make history.”

The last to speak out was Melinda Choi.

”If we do this. We do it on my terms. The ADF is already dealing with a outright war against the Clanners. I cannot guarantee the projects safety with my boys and girls alone. The Clanners gonna be pissed we are planning on cutting trough their ”territory” with a goddamn railroad track. Not to mention all the workers that are gonna be displaced over this.”

”Oh. Don't worry. I asked a mutual friend to get her people in on this to.” Banjo said. ”The differnt mage organizations will work alongside us. They are aching to prove they function along side normal society. All the nasties, elemental mischief and violent men in the world won't be enough” This earned him a whistle from Goldstein.

”Well then...” Elizabeth sighed. ”Lets get this show on the road.”

The Great Reclemation begins -

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Saturday Morning: Ambrosia Western Gates.

There was a commotion. A great noisy commotion. The kind of commotion that was attractive to merchants and adventerous types. Unbeknowst to most, Banjo had managed in kicking his associates into high gear and now the spirit of pioneering was at sudden and scary heights it had not seen in years. Now the great men and women who made Ambrosia work were all pitching in to push its people to help the city expand its influence. On the Ambrosian Plaza, formerly known as the Union Square, a large podium was erected. Hustling back forth like little ants were the many workers who had helped erect the podium. Now they were rigging all manners of lights and sound systems. Amplifying sonic crystals rigged to relay the speakers every word.

On the podium stood ”The Jarl”. Janne Gustavsen was a slightly pudgy but sturdy man with years as a soldier behind him. Beloved and well respected by most, he now braced himself. He breathed in slowly, then leaned into the mic. As he spoke, not a corner of Ambrosia could escape his voice. The Jarl as he was called, was well liked. A mercenary who turned his crew of motley men and women into caravan guards for the most part, he was a jolly sort who loved his city and who had been integral in the citys survival.

”Men and Women of Ambrosia. Today, I am happy to say a new era is beginning. As of today, I, along with The Bosh Sisters, My wife Gunhildr, Guildmaster Talbot and many others of Ambrosias wealthiest and most influential people have decided to put a large chunk of our resources into a common project. As of today, we begin laying the foundation of a united west coast. We are happy to announce the great RECLEMATION PROJECT!” People who weren't already dedicating their time listening now did. When a simple man such as Jarl started to use big words, big things were bound to follow. Men and women broke their conversations and put down their coffees for a few seconds.

”As of today, we are invoking the "Ambrosian Conscription Rule". Every Hunter is drafted to the project as per Guild Standard 2.15, Every engineer with a contract with any of the major corporations are being assigned secondary tasks. The ADF has of course lent their support to the Cause as well." He spoke with a stern, no nonsense tone now. A natural leader in his element. "But this is not so say you are to abandon your livelihood. No. As of today, we are opening our checkbooks to those who will undertake any of the many tasks that lay ahead." This got some people to start moving. The allure of money already gripping a some. "Many of you will be called upon specifically for tasks best suited to your talents. This is your duty as citizens of Ambrosia. The Signups have already been opened up by the Ambrosian Plaza. God Day, and may god bless you all."

The transmission ended. Elsewhere, The Varius authorities within the mage communities have sent out their own message of support. Pledgers and other sect members being sent to sign up and prepare themselves for the outside world. All over, Hunters and Explorers. soldiers and engineers began to meet up and discuss this new development as other rushed to sign up. Adventure was afoot, you could practically taste it.

Player Info:
All players will find themselves for various reasons around or at the plaza. Any Hunter who wishes to do business is pretty much drafted into service. Engineers are being assigned new places by their bosses or otherwise given the chance to make a fat payday. Adventurers and Explorers of all kind have been given the chance to become legendary frontiersmen if they survive. Especially skilled Soldiers, Mercs and other thugs are worth there weight in cold.

Mages, even who do not belong to a organization has to show up. They are integral to the project and refusal may just lead to exile as none of the big Mage sects will allow a freeloader inside the walls sullying the name of their fellow mages. In short, It's a draft.

Destroy the crystals, or accept that this world will never be ours again.

The consistent whine and crunch of metal on metal permeated the air, alerting all those who passed that they had entered the industrial district. Work never ceased for the engineers running their shops or working for the Company, striving with all their might to regain man’s mastery of fire and steel. The ring of hammers and the uncomfortable sounds of controlled explosions gave the place an aura of being far larger than it was. The noise and activity could almost be described as unbearable for those without ear protection, though most in the district wore fur ear-mufflers or plugs to prevent themselves going deaf or insane. The only thing which brought any solace were the frequent breaks taken, perhaps once an hour, for tea and conversation. If anyone wished to make an order in work hours they waited for this break, and it was during just one of those breaks that a man came to see his Brother.

That man was Leif, a wide shouldered man with a distrustful face and a cheeky grin. He was Erik’s half-brother to be exact and had been in Ambrosia a year longer than him, though they had both lived in the city long enough that it blurred somewhat. He was in many ways the polar opposite to his Brother, talkative and sociable but also deceitful and dishonest. He had a bit of a reputation, not in any way helped by his day-job as a loan shark of sorts. Though he and Erik got along to a degree there was something in their past that still niggled, like a pin jammed into the sole of ones shoe, every so often they’d move in a certain way and receive a stabbing pain, a reminder of bad blood. Still, Leif was in a good mood, and apparently the heavens were shining on him because lo and behold Erik was eating a sandwich and smiling, smiling!

“What do you want then?” Erik asked with mock seriousness, though the brusque-ness of his manner wasn’t feigned at all.

“Does one need a reason to visit their Brother?” Leif laughed as he walked into the small armoury-workshop hybrid Erik owned. All around them were off-cuts of metal and tools, neatly stacked against the walls or on tables. Leif ran one finger along the top of a piece of sheet iron.

“Watch your fingers on that, it’s rough.” Erik warned him a moment too late, as Leif pulled his hand back with a yelp and blood welled up on his index finger.

“Now you tell me!”

“I forget how stupid you are sometimes, brother mine.”

“Harsh.”

“But fair, now what’s up? I know you hate the noise of this place.”

“Heard there’s some business opportunities springing up in town, and out of town, if you know what I mean.” Leif raised his eyebrows. “Not illegal neither, some sort of building project.”

“Building project? Big money then if it’s out of town, what are they building, a new water plant?”

“Word is, they’re building a railway.”

“A railway! Where to?”

“Old L.A… right through Clanner territory.” Leif looked at Erik’s face, his own habitual smile had faded somewhat and been replaced with a serious frown. The big Armourer had a far more poignant reaction, his hands clenched and he slammed a fist down into the remnants of his sandwich, splattering it into pulp.

“I’m going.”

“I thought you might.”



Erik was in the assorted crowd before the podium, his face let on that he was eager to hear the news he had been told about, to make it true. However, it was only when the Jarl said the words “United West Coast” that he finally allowed himself to believe it. They were going to do it, an ambitious project to be sure, but one that Erik was behind with all his heart. Reclaiming the world with iron and steel and human ingenuity, even hearing the Mages were going to be involved wasn’t enough to dampen his spirits, and to top it all off he’d be sticking it to the Clanners as well. This was one hell of a day.

Even though it was a bit strange, and certainly not the popular sentiment, Erik let out his excitement with a yell of ‘Yes!’ that drew the attention of his neighbours. However many others had smiles on their faces. A project like this meant wealth and food on the table, and with everyone getting involved it was hard not to get into the spirit of things. Erik was an individual contractor, so he would have to sign up personally to get involved, however with his skillset he was confident of being taken in. With an added spring to his step he started off to make the necessary arrangements.

”Steady...” He said under his breath. ”Just take the bait...” His eye twitched as a droplet of sweat travelled past it. He lay motionless but for the brief, minute movement of his hand correcting the sight of his rifle. The beast was big, the size of a good size elk. Only its front legs terminated into raptor claws, its head was that of a large bird, and its body that of a oversized turkey from hell. The Hunters Encyclopedia identified the species as Giant, Black Feathered Hell Beak. A subspecies to the common Hell Beak that grew to the size of a dobberman and possed a nasty beak that was drooling posionus sludge. They ate anything it could find but a gun and some patience saw the pests of in short order. Giant Black Feathers however, were tough. The hide under the giant plumage was tough like tire rubber and about as thick. They were anomolies, rare and big problem for Junkers who generally salvaged around areas that the Black Feather preffered as its territory.

The bird may be nasty. But it was just a oversized hen in the end. IT stopped, then lowered it head to bury its beak in the rotten, spoiled meat laid before it. He waited a breath more, thne squeezed the trigger. The loud boom echoed as the Crystal went critical inside the bulletshell. The massive, steeltipped bullet punched right through its abdomen, the wounded bird screeach in and weering around. But he squeezed again. The next bullet went clean trough its oversized eye, blowing its brains out the other side. He rose from where he had been lying among rust, oil and sludge. The black of his clothes had been perfect to blend in with all the industrial wreckage this time around.

He trodded down and grabbed his blade. He couldn't carry the thing. But he could bring unrefutable proof. He grabbed it by its beak, carefull not to cut itself on the razorlike sides. Then he began to hack around the edges. It took a good ten minutes to tget it off, but soon he had the oversized beak in a bag slung across his shoulder.

A thirty minute hike, and taking a lift with the local farmhand back into town for another 20 minutes, he had returned-As he walked inside door of the Local Guild Office, he noticed alot of hushed voiced. Slamming his prize onto the counter, the current bookie raised a eyebrow.

”That the chicken?” The redhaired, tattoed to the maximum, woman spoke. He noted she had the Guild Insignia tattoed on her shoulder. A lifer. He liked her allready.

”One giant Hell Beak less.” He confirmed. ”Why are people so quiet” He sweeped his hand to indicate the hushed conversations.

”Talbot just Closed the Hunters Bulletin...” She said, her voice dropping into a hushed whisper. As if to prove a point.

”What, Why?” The giant killer eyes grew wide.

”He said we will see tommorow” Her voice was almost conspiratory.



”Hnngh” He grunted as the man on the podium proclaimed their new ambitions. ”This is gonna go be big.” He noted to the woman from yesterday that stood beside him. Like him, she was decked out in full gear. Her magitech rifle slung across her shulder. He noted with some respect, that it was a ”Lightning gun”. Like a massive, quickfiring shotgun of magic lightning, it was used to do alot of harm to alot of things in a quick and brutal manner. She was a exterminator, no other hunter would find a use of such a wreckless firearm.

”Shieeeet” She moaned. ”I am gonna be up in my neck with work. That railway is gonna run riiiight trough Jewel Snapper territory.” She rubbed the back fo her head. Jewel Snappers were slow, big and magically capable turles. Harmless if you let them be. But they would be in the way and bite at everything stationary. ”Not to mention all the fucking pests that is gonna flock to the worker camps. Shiiieeet”

”Hnn. I think I am gonna like this.” He mused.

”What?”

”Real Big Game out south. L.A has some real nasties. We driven the worst away from Ambrosia, but there is gonna be many worthy kills out there.”

”You Giant Killers are all the fucking same. Goddamn Size queens.” She mumbled.

”And you exterminators are all foul mouthed” He shot back, neither looking away from the podium. Both were grinning like mad. There was money to be made, things to hunt and a brand new path to follow.

The ale sloshed spilling out over the edge of the tattered glass. The amber color had long lost it's luster, now a dim and muddled color fighting desperately to reflect the lights hanging overhead; the glass rested on a small round table tucked away in the far corner of the tavern. The liquid ran freely down the glass pooling onto the table picking up dirt and other grime as it continued to trickle towards the edge; a drop of it broke free falling down towards the barren floor. The table like everything else in the building seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, if it wasn't for the sound of laughter and the hollow echoes of rolling dice breathing life into the air one could think this place was long forgotten. Tendrils of smoke drifted in and out among the patrons, lit cigars and pipes littering the tables, course language and cat calls mingled aimed at the scantly clad women walking around dropping off fresh ale and small platters of food. A few pinches here and there led to several men being introduced to the floor, a red palm glaring out from their face. Everyone knew that the ladies of Serpent's Tavern weren't to be trifled with but new adventures and merchants always seemed compelled to try their luck.

One of these women, Aria, approached the small table with the lone drinker offering to refill the cup. At the same time the large cat under the table let out a disgruntled growl shaking his head to dispel the drop of ale that had found its way down on to his nose, waking him from his nap. A slow stretch and a nuzzle to his owner' lap assured him that nothing had changed during his time asleep, content his bright eyes peered out from under the table observing the crowded room. The hooded figure shook their head waving the young barmaid off, before returning to watching the bar. It was made of a deep oak, and unlike everything else it gleamed; dusty bottles lined the shelves behind it as worn glasses marred its surface. The burly man behind the bar laughed and smiled constantly wiping down the slab of wood, alternating between threatening to throw some of the louder patrons out and pouring drinks, joking with the flock of women crowding the bar. It was well known that the owner was a well off man, one who recently lost his wife. It seemed that these vultures merely wanted to offer their sympathies and a shoulder to cry on.

"E-excuse m-me...you're that hunter, right? The one who took out that pack of Silversnakes."

A whiny nasally voice pierced her thoughts as sharp eyes focused on the man, a low growl echoing from under the table echoing his masters disapproval.

"I might be, why?"

Arwan made no move to remove her hood or even offer a greeting to the weak looking man, he probably wanted her to help clear out his farm, to help save his lively hood. She frowned letting out a soft sigh, honestly how many of these fools did she have to deal with before they got the idea; she didn't work for free or for food or for simple reputation. No pay, no work; it didn't get any simpler than that. Crossing her arms lightly over her chest she leaned back delicately balancing the stool on two legs, her fingers drumming on her arm.

"Ah, right sorry...will you help me? I don't have much money, just a few coins but please! My farm is all I have, my wife left me, my children are starving...please, I traveled here to find someone to help...'

The man begged, he was dressed in a tattered shirt and pants that were ripping at the stitches, by all accounts his story would hold credible with any Hunter debating on helping him.

Unfortunately he picked the wrong one to ask.

'Of course, another desperate farmer. Tch, if you didn't live so close to the edge maybe you wouldn't be attacked by beast.'

Her annoyed thought echoed in her eyes, the man stumbled taken aback by the open hostility from her. Never having dealt with hunters before he assumed that they all were nice and eager to help out their fellow man. Stunned he stood there as the woman rose, a soft clink of a coin hitting the table, the shadows underneath parted as a large cat brushed past him sending shivers down his spine. Her shoulder slammed into his sending him staggering backwards.

"Find someone else."

Her words were callous and low, floating behind her as she stalked her way towards the door, her mood ruined by a penniless idiot.

Morning At The Western Gate

Dust stirred as Fahd's tail slowly lashed out back and forth, he disliked crowds and the gathering at the plaza was by all means a crowd. His fur brushed closely against Arwan's leg determined to keep next to her and to keep others away. A leather hand reached down affectionately scratching behind his ears, the rest of her was leant up against a stall using it's awning as shade from the hot morning sun. Her head was held at a tilt curiosity burning in her eyes as she listened to the announcement. A railway deep into L.A., now that was ambitious; pair that with the promise of a large pay day and the woman was completely hooked.

"What do you think, Fahd? Go see where you came from?

Her affectionate tone drew a low purr from the large cat, a soft nuzzle to her hand was the only reply she got. She hadn't expected much of an answer, he and her were a pair where she went he would follow. The fever of the crowd was soon at full boil as everyone eagerly whispered and pushed trying to sign up or reach their friends. The taste of adventure was almost addicting, but it was the cold promise of money that had Arwan in its grip, besides it was a chance to find larger beast. The larger the beast the larger the reward.

'Seems, like I'll need to stock up.'

Cynric fell to the floor gasping for air, the sun rays broke through the ruins dazzling his one good eye as it looked at his attacker. He rose slowly defiance in his eyes and spat on the floor. Gerad the man that had punched him looked at Cynric with disgust. "You got some real balls Cynric coming here after the shit you pulled at that village, you think that after being away for five years after betraying us that we're just going to welcome you back with open arms?! Don't make me laugh."

Cynric wiped his mouth looking at the man with contempt. "I never knew how much of a fool I was Gerad. What you do. It's wrong and sick. I thought maybe if I came to you and told you to stop you might see it in your heart to forgive me for what I did. Not a day goes by I don't regret turning on you. But what you do to people it's disgusting." Cynric sighed sadly, this man no all of these people only understood violence. Might was right after all. Cynric drew his sword slowly, Gerad smiled sinisterly reaching down and grabbed his machete from the floor. "Gerad I'm not the boy fumbling with a sword. I'm better then you at this kind of thing. Just give up, I don't want have to kill you."

Gerad replied with a roar of rage and lunged toward Cynric. Shaking his head sadly he back stepped dodging Gerad's clumsy slash for him. He replied with a swipe from his cutlass that cut Gerad across the chest. Screaming in pain and anger Gerad swung at Cynric. However his slashes were wild and untamed allowing the well trained swordsmen to parry them and stab him through the chest. Pulling the blade out swiftly he cleaned the end of it with his handkerchief and replaced it in it's scabbard.

"What a waste. I pray for your soul Gerad may you find Paradise despite your misguided actions and thoughts."

Raising his head Cynric looked at the circle that had formed to watch the fight. "I beat Gerad your current leader which makes me the leader right?" A few nodded slowly. "Does anyone wish to challenge me for the title?" Several stood forward not giving him a chance to draw his sword and drew their weapons. Rolling backwards he drew his sword activating the crystal in the hilt. The red crystal activated humming slightly, a noise only those attuned to the sound of the crystals. The blade became red hot thanks to the crystal, swinging the burning cutlass through the air it took only a few minutes of fighting to dispatched the six foes that attacked him.

The sound faded as the crystal ran out juice the heat of the blade dying down he sheathed his sword and once again looked around. There were seven dead now and the group around him were looking worried. "Relax I only want you to disband and go in peace." There was a murmur of agreement. "Alas I can't tell you what to do. However if I hear that your group has been causing trouble I will be back with the ADF to wipe you all out"

Cynric left the dusty ruins that these raiders called their home and got on his bike that he had parked outside. Lifting the kickstand up he brought the engine to life with the button on the right handlebar. Twisting the accelerator he put the bike in gear and headed off to Ambrosia. It was just beging to get light. Reaching the city gates in a couple of hours he slowed as he approached the gate. He was well known among gate security and was quickly waved through. Parking his bike he walked through the bustling city streets and smiled as he watched the daily lives of the people of Ambrosia. He found his favorite cafe and walked inside the ringing of the bell made the owner a woman name Wendy smile. Her smile turned to a cry of anger when she saw Cynric, picking up a small coffee shot cup she threw it at him. "You bastard! Where the hell were you yesterday? I go round your house last night wanting to ask you for a drink and you don't even answer. No note nothing at all."

Cynric raised his hand and caught the cup approaching the counter he placed it in front of the fuming woman and put her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Wendy I had to deal with some raiders. It wasn't something I could leave alone. " Wendy went from being an angry woman to a pouting child as she made Cynric's coffee. "How about tonight? Drinks are on me."

Wendy's eye lit up at the sound of free alcohol. "Sure free drink is good drink. That's my saying" She finished his Coffee and handed it too him across the counter.

Cynric took the coffee and nodded his thanks. Drinking from the coffee cup deeply he smiled as the coffee filled his body with warmth. "Wendy. Have I ever told you how much I love your coffee?"

Wendy reached over the counter and playfully punched him on the arm."Every time Ol' One eye" Cynric chuckled at her name for him. Finishing the coffee he placed it back down on the counter and waved goodbye leaving Wendy's store. As he left he saw a crowd building around the podium in the plaza approaching it he heard the Jarl begin his speech. Cynric liked the idea of a reclamation project and even heard the sound of a YES! In the crowd. When the Jarl finished his speech there was applause all round.

"Gods bless you too Jarl." Wasting no time Cynric headed towards the signup area, pausing he remembered the drinks he had offered Wendy. Hopefully this job wasn't a drop everything and get moving kind of deal. Wendy would be pissed at him if he didn't keep up on his end of the deal.

---

The morning so far had been uneventful for Ely. The night before was much the same, in all honesty. A week earlier Ely had been in one of the towns on the outskirts playing as a man-of-the-people for those less fortunate than he. In matters of wealth they were equal for Ely had very little coin in his coffers, but in the relations of spirituality, Ely’s pockets were nearly endless. From an early age he had been engrossed in the flows of magical preaching, and for years more he had been a helper to those in need. Despite this all, he was no zealot, but understanding and patient in his movements. He had to be with his chosen, yet unchosen, craft: magic.

While his first exposure to magic was abrupt, catastrophic, and jarring, he had learned to control his preferred element, Air, and held a vast knowledge on the other elements as well. Air was chosen for various reasons, it’s versatility being the most supreme. In one moment he could be casting a cutting burst of wind, in the next he could be shielding himself from harm. With the flip of a dime that defense could turn to offense, or be repurposed entirely for utility. Years it took to develop the expertise in his practice, but that wasn’t the only thing in his repertoire. With him he had a spear; a two-meter-long metallic weapon with a grip fashioned from heavy cloth wrappings. It resembled an ancient Roman hasta in appearance and was one of his most prized possessions, the other two being his vehicle and magical crystal.

He twirled that crystal now sitting in his silver buggy with his boots propped up on the dashboard. The windows were open, allowing the cool breezes of the outside air to funnel in and keep the calm alongside the music streaming softly from the radio. He was in a state of calm, parked outside of the house he grew up in. Inside was his father, a man whose years were catching up to him but he refused to sit down. It was a somber thing, being out there, but he yearned to be home, yearned to see his father. Now that he saw him though, there was a twinge of regret in his mind.

The night before, he had traveled up from the south, travelling through the falling sun, through dusk, to reach Ambrosia by total nightfall. It was a dangerous venture but it was something he felt he had to do. It had been years since he saw his father properly. Now he realized why.

Suddenly the music stopped, a crackling taking over his speakers that brought him pause. He was not miffed because of the abrupt silence, but he was curious. Ely slid his feet of the dash and set them down properly in order to listen to the broadcast. The Jarl, Janne Gustaven, spoke on about how the wealthy were putting their efforts, and resources, into a combined project. The Great Reclamation Project, it was called. Curious still, Ely shifted, leaning into his speaker more readily. Next the Jarl said the Ambrosian Conscription Rule was to be invoked, requiring every hunter, engineer, and ADF agent to heed the call of the invocation.

Ely looked sadly to the house he grew up in. His father was inside resting after a night shift and now the man was being called again but for something else entirely. This was bigger than his usual patrols, this was something on a grander scale. Ely wondered if his old man could keep up with that sort of project, the sudden laying of the foundation of the West Coast. That was momentous, was it not?

Ely sat back in his seat, biting down on his thumbnail in thought. There was nothing said about mages but he knew the Pledge would lend their support. While he was no longer an official member of the Pledge, he still held up their ideals and followed - mostly - in their decisions. He believed he still represented them, at least until he was able to set a stage for himself, if at all. The Pledge would remain a deep part of who he was and, in the recesses of his gut, he knew he would face reprimanding for not signing up.

Almost begrudgingly, he started his car and backed out of his father’s rubble-filled driveway and onto the road. After that he sped on to the plaza where the sign-ups were being held. He parked, braced himself for the crowds, then piled out of his car, making sure the doors were locked before heading off.

Ely’s spear gleaned in the sunlight, freshly cleaned, pale metal refracting the rays crisply. It swayed some small ways about his head as he walked onward through the crowds. The crystal around his neck, the catalyst of his power, swung like a pendulum with each step. The elongated shard trailed down to the center of his belly, bound at the top tightly by metal braces. He lost himself in the sea of people, his shining spear swaying above him the entire walk towards his objective: signing up.

”STOP” Chengs feet pounded against the pavement, his breath tore at his throats insides like jagged flames of fire. He pushed forward ”STOP YOU GODDAMN PUNK” He yelled as he mustered the strength to clear a low fence with a smooth jump. Infront of him, a terrified young man with a leather jacket and a stolen but thankfully uncharged kinetic rifle, ran. The man had stolen said rifle from a gunshop owner who had been sloppy with his security. Unfortunately for the thief, he had chosen to break in just as Cheng past on patrol. The chase trough the deserted night streets was one of much swearing.

”Shiiiiiit” The man, a scrawny fellow, ran right into a pair of trashcans, and tumbled heels over head down a slope. This did not stop him or slow him down, in fact, he was moving faster down the hill then his running would likely have taken him. The man began to pick himself up slowly after he quite painfully had face planted.

”DAMN” Cheng ran down the hill with a bit more care in his steps, but still not far off. He stopped and approached, pulling up his gun and pointing at the man. ”Hands where I can see them dirtbag” He said, keeping his calm. The battered thief groaned as he complied. The chase was over.

--- Some time later. ---

”I need to find another job” David Cheng, Arbiter and chronical whiner, said to his comrade in arms, Elize Molvic. The staut looking, slavic of descent woman shot him a look that could peel paint of the walls. She had a large bruise across her left arm from taking down three drunken miners the other day. She clearly did not have time or love to spare for Chengs pity party.

”You need to work out more. As I am pretty sure only we are stupid enough to hire someone like you” She said with a scoff and a scornfull glare. ””

”Mhmm. And I am glad for it.” Cheng said as he noted a hole in the sole of his shoes. That would be taken out of his paycheck. ”So, are we still on for saturday” He shot her a smug grin. She huffed and ruffled his hair in turn.

”You better not cancel this time, I havn't seen your handsome ass outside your uniform in over a we-” She got interupted by the locker room door slamming open and a redheaded, young man came clonking inside. He huffed as if he had run a marathon.

”Boss wanna see us. We got some serius shit ahead of us.”



”Not a damn word” Elize grumbled. Davids friend was clearly peeved at David having been given a out from their weekly drinking. The arbiter was in full arbiter gear. It fit her better then it did David, she looked downright authoritive and dangerous. Her pissed of scowl did nothing to subtract from it.

”Its not my fault this time.” David shot back. The two stood watching the people gathering infront of the podium and stage. ”Spear, 12 o clock” He noted, pointing towards the man who held a long spear rested against his shoulder. David figured he was a hunter or a mage. The spear was only really used by one out of two kinds of people. Elize confirmed his suspicions.

”That's a mage. I've seen him around before.” Elize noted. ”He won't start anything.” She nodded. ”Heads up. 11'o clock. Two of Jennys boys.” She pointed to two hoodlums loitering at the edges. A third one showed up, smaller then the others. They were classic footpads, dressed in a heavy hoodies that could easily hide any number of blunt weapons and small blades.. The smaller guy would choose a target, stalk him and coral the mark into a alley where the thugs waited. The two arbiters detached from their position by the wall of a inn and sauntered over.

”Excuse me gentlemen.” David said with a grin. The two men turned to face him, a look of worried annoyance on their face.

”We aint done nothing wrong.” The biggest said. He was a Germanic looking fellow with a jaw like a brick and a pair of startling blue eyes that were a bit to close together on such a giant face. David recognized him as Daniel Moss. He shrugged and pointed to the hands inside the hoodies pockets.

”So. I bet you aren't holding a knife there.” H pointed to where the giant thug clearly gripped something inside his pocket.

”nothing illegal with a knife, chief.” The not to eloquent thug started but got rudely shut down by a now tired David.

”Are we going to do this? Really Daniel You have a massive rapsheet. You have to pass licence to carry anything. But tell you what. If you hand over the shiv, I will let you go back to grovel to Miss Dark and Broody.” David shot him a winning smile. The grunt huffed but handed over the rather oversized knife. David noted the heft and tried not to whistle. It was as heavy as his gun.

”Off you three go. Scoot.” He said as the three left.

”Sure we shouldn't tag and bag them?” Eliza raised a eyebrow.

”And ruin the festivities. To much a hassle.” David sait and waved towards a passerby.

Saturday Morning

"No Ravi, you can't have more than your sister just because you are older. You'll all get the same amount, and not a penny less."

The raven haired one chided the small gaggle of children in front of her, as the bustling and yelling of the plaza swirled around her. She could see the excitement and wonder etched into their faces as they waited eagerly to be released; it wasn't often that she got permission to take her charges into the city itself, but apparently something big was going to happen and she had little choice; secretly she suspected the leader of their small village was trying to push her towards bigger and greater things again.

Grinning she swept a strand of hair back behind her ear before nodding once, "Now then, you each have your buddy, yes? And the flare I gave you? Good, now don't go playing with it willy nilly, I'm serious only use it if you're in serious trouble, because if you do and you're not about to be eaten by someone's pet you'll be washing laundry for the next hundred years." Her eyes glinted with mischief as she inspected her charges again, they all were staring at her wide eyed, sincerely believing that she'd find a way to make them do chores for the upcoming century.

"But Misses Elysia, what if it ain't no pet but one of them ADF's tryna take us in for loitering?" The question came from the youngest of the group, Vi, a small girl around the age of 5, she was clinging onto her older sister's skirt startled and unsure about being in such a bright and happy place. Elysia chuckled ruffling the girls hair gently before crouching down getting eye level with the girl. "Now if they were doing that, don't you think that everyone else here would have already been arrested?" She grinned in reply before nodding once, "Half-point for the nice use of vocabulary but your sentence structure could use some work." She winked as she straightened up catching sight of the small girl's smile, bright and innocent a complete opposite of the grown woman's.

"Alright, scram the lot of you. When the sun hits high noon I want you all back here in a single line." The dismissed kids scrambled off, eagerly taking off in every directions to inspect the stalls and the store vendors. What little money their small town had to offer she had given to them to spend, she'd wager most of them would simply end up buying sweets or small toys. The older children might be a little more practical and buy a new hat or a shirt. Grinning she laughed softly watching them easily weave through the crowd, the smaller ones clinging to the hand of their older partner. They were good kids, and she was grateful for the chance to be around a different style of kid raises then what she was raised on.

Stretching she herself looked around wondering just what she should do for the next hour or two, the sword swaying comfortably at her hip seemed out of place amongst all the new age magi-tech and high powered rifles the rest of the courtyard was littered with. Even this early in the morning the plaza was highly crowded, and the hot sun was already beating down on the open area, shrugging she decided to forge into the throng humming softly as she sidestepped around hooded figures, common folks, merchants, hunters armored to the teeth, patrolling ADF, most of them giving her a wide berth on account of her eyes. Deep yellow, sparking and alive, a mutation from her first commune with a crystal, her crystal; it laid humming, singing to her, pressed against her stomach hidden away from prying eyes. The hub of activity seemed to be centered near a stage being hastily thrown together, speakers where being erected, banners and tables advertising 'The Great Reclamation Project' curious she turned inward into the group heading towards the front of the stage. It seems more and more of the ADF presence center around the front of the stage as councilman and big named figures starting filling onto the scaffold, whatever was going on it was big.

”As of today, we are invoking the "Ambrosian Conscription Rule".

A sigh left the mage's lips, she knew a draft when she heard one and if she wanted to keep in good standing with the city and not have them look into her she had no choice but to comply. 'That damn bastard probably knew about this and sent me here on purpose.." An image of the town mayor popped into her mind, he was laughing at her of course, he was always pushing her to become more active in the city. He wanted her to gain support to have supplies and traders come visit and revive their town's economy. 'Guess he got tired of asking...' A wry grin found it's way on to face, a quick glance up put the sun close to high noon. Slipping her way back out of the crowd, she headed back towards where she had first corralled her children debating on when would be best to sign up; a pleased grin replacing her thoughtful look, seeing her charges well behaved mingling in a small circle eagerly sharing what they bought with each other.

"You should put that away before someone swipes it from you." She chided before swiping the new hat of Erin childishly flopping it onto her own head sticking her tongue out at the group, the older girl yelped in surprise before jumping to take her hat back returning the gesture before giggling.

"Miss Elysia, are you gonna help out with the project the Jarl was talking about??"

Ravi asked looking up at her curiously, he didn't want her to go but he figured since she was such a nice person she'd definitely be the type to go out and help expand the world they can live in. He also had complete faith that she would return and teach them all about the new things she had seen. "I was thinking about it, do you guys think it be a good idea? I would be gone for awhile, and wouldn't be able to teach you for much longer." She posed her reply as a question, smilingly softly at the cheer of replies she got in response, after all she really didn't have a choice but if they could grasp it as their own idea then she wouldn't have to worry about them so much.

"Alright, alright. Can you guys wait here a little longer while I go and sign up? After that we'll head home."

Amber had been loitering around near the center of Ambrosia, snacking on some cheesy bread for her morning meal, when she found herself being assaulted by a flying coin from the corner of her vision. Instinctively, Amber whipped her arm upwards to catch the speeding object, though it fumbled in her hand several times before she managed to grasp it, while shielding her face from the potential collision.

“For your services.” A man of average build had been the one to toss Amber the coin. He was a civilian who had enlisted the mage to help him with a small matter concerning an uncooperative ex-girlfriend - the usual kind of problem, it seemed. He only wanted to mess with her for a bit, so Amber was asked to burn a few things here and there, heat some others and let him know so he could watch her reactions in amusement. The story and reasoning behind it were believable enough, though petty and not very appealing nor interesting. Amber never really asked questions concerning the work she was hired for; it was better that way, less messy and more efficient.

“My pleasure,” Amber responded after collecting herself from her earlier stumble, providing an additional curtsy to her words. She laughed lightly, “Remember me again if you need any help!”

The man gave Amber a smile before turning around and leaving silently. More people had filled the roads of the city now that it was getting further into the morning, and most of them seemed to be heading towards the relatively new city square at the west side of town. Amber didn’t often keep herself up to date with Ambrosia’s events - most were rather stale gatherings of old men and important officials discussing topics of politics and others that Amber found no interest in. In any case, she was often out of town either way, normally on caravan protection duty or simply for exploration.

Deciding it were a better idea to walk into a nearby bakery than to follow the masses heading west, Amber browsed the many freshly baked breads. The cheesy bread in her hands from earlier had quickly disappeared into the gaping abyss of her stomach. She had more mercenary duties to attend to later on, and it was a good excuse to eat more for extra energy. Her next few moments were spent deciding between a croissant and a pretzel, while the Jarl’s speech began to play through the crystal-powered speakers that reached every inch of the bustling city.

Her boss’ speech began with the usual motivating, inspirational babble that citizens of Ambrosia just couldn’t get enough of. Amber assumed that the speech would be like many others, but to her surprise she found herself listening intently to his words. This project he announced tugged at Amber’s penchant for exploration which compelled her to the plaza, where the sign-ups were taking place. Well, that would be the more noble reason; she couldn’t deny how pleasing the promise of money was. You could never have too much of it.

Amber had to be decisive if she were to hurry towards adventure and snag a formal spot on the list. The Jarl would most certainly recommend or enlist members of his mercenary group to the cause anyway, but Amber wanted to be sure. She quickly grabbed two croissants from the shelves, abandoning the pretzels, and tossed two coins at the table by the bakery owner before dashing out the wooden doors. Many other qualified members of various Ambrosian factions also appeared to be gravitating towards the plaza. The magnitude of interest surprised her, seeing how it would have a certain level of danger and risk involved. Though it could be safe to say that most of them have gotten used to these things.

Crowds didn’t agree with Amber. The main reason being the buildup of heat the radiated from her figure and repelled the crowds away from her like two identical ends of a magnet. Needless to say, it wasn’t very hard for the mage to progress through the mob - as she leisurely consumed her buttery pastries - and get her name down on the papers.

”I don’t believe it” Goldsteins voice was incredulous. He stared at the masses of people lining up to get their share of the frontier cake. A tinge of pride crept up and allowed itself to manifest in his features, he held himself a little straighter, his smile was just that much broader. At the plaza, People were taking to the idea of reclaiming their old world like it was the word of god that had ordered it.

“You shouldn’t be surprised. These are the inheritors of people who survived an apocalypse.” Banjo mused as the two stood high on top on of the rooftops of Ambrosia, overlooking the plaza. “They need every ounce of grit and determination for what awaits them.” The mutant spoke as he noted a arbiter steering some dodgy looking fellows away from the crowd. He wondered what Jenny and her network made of all this. They had talen this position so that they may discuss what was about to happen in peace, while still having a good idea of what they had to work with.

“The one with the spear.” Omegas voice rang out melodiously from a patch of darkness. Goldstein almost lost his footing as her sudden appearance startled him. He glanced over at her as she stepped out into the light. The darkness that she had stepped from sucked right into her dark crystal. “I’m sorry?” Goldberg asked, not sure who or what she was referring to. “That one. With the spear. He is a former member of the pledge, his integrity is unmarred. “

Banjo appeared to continue her line of thought without needing a explanation. “The eager one as well. Add him to the list for the squad.” Banjo pointed at the man who had burst out with a loud “Yes!” and startled people around him. “The young officer will also be added. That is Officer Cheng yes? They are going to need the authority his badge provides. And he come highly recommended by Commander Mendez.”

Goldstein finally figured out what was going on, and got on the ball. They were handpicking people simply by looking for those who stood out among the masses. “Talbot has picked out two hunters to join your private little endeavor. A giant killer for anything out of the ordinary, and a Tamer, in case we come across a breed that could be properly domesticated.”

“There is two more of my kind coming along. One of fire, one of lightning.” Omega spoke. “I need the ADF to not make fuss about the lightning girls past." By the way she said it, it was clear there was raider history in said girls past.

“There is clemency for former raiders who have taken up arms in the name of Settler protection. One of my people is a former raider. He’s proven useful so far. We are sending him with you by the way.” The ADF second in command spoke. The Germanic looking redhead had kept quiet untill now. Watching over the plaza with intense and unbroken concentration she had only spoken when spoken to or when she had something to add to the conversation. A military type to the core.

“A past is not so easily cast aside.” Banjo spoke. “Not everyone is ready to forgive the crimes of others.” He fingered the knife at his belt as he spoke. There was no harshness in his voice, no rancor.

“True. And the fire mage?” Claudia asked, raising a single eyebrow.

“The Pyromancer is cunning and clever. And a talented Seer at that.” Omega spoke.

“Manipulative to I’ve been told. Burned bridges and her are no strangers.” Banjo said, a faint noise of disapproval in his otherwise cool voice.

“The burly one will work nicely as a counterweight then. From what I know, he does not trust us mages.” Omega snorted as her companion showed his disproval of her choices. This was the game between two powerful and old players. Goldstein was clearly uncomfterble with their conversation taking on a challenging tone.

"Allright. So we have our list. Good." Claudia said. If she was at all worried about the sudden barbs towards one another, it didn't show on ther face. She had allready sent the visuals to her men on the ground and their chosen few would find themselves given a

------------

"Joséf Bartosz" The man at the recruitment station said as he looked the haggard looking hunter in the eyes. The hunter stared back unflinching. He he hadn't told this man his name yet. He was sensing something was up. The powers that be had a interest in him it seemed.

"You've been keyed for the special frontiers group" The recruiter continued, confirming Josefs suspicions. His companion raised a eyebrow at that.

"The what?" She asked the question for Josef who was taking it all stride. Much to the fiery haired exterminators annoyance. Here he was being given special importance and he acted like nothing was going on.

"Special Frontiers Group. I hear the hotshots been putting together task groups for this whole thing. Speaking of which. You have been asked to assembly at the Silos right outside the gate. They have a high prio mission for you guys from the get go."

"Hmm" Josef took the paper and read it over. It appeared they had been handpicked for this Without making a fuss about it he shook hands with the recruiter. "Be seeing ya Ronja." He said as he knocked fists with the exterminator woman. He walked at a brisk and steady pace, curiosity tugging at his boots with every step. The silos were a collection of large, red and tubular buildings that were right on the inside of the gates, all the cities grain and wheat was funneled into them before being redistrubeted.

As he arrived, it wasnt hard to find their supposed contact. Standing by one of the massive containers was no other then Claudia Ulrecht. The ADF second in command. Two ADF soldiers flanked her. The woman was only 5'5 but had the poise and presence of a four star general.

"You are the first to arrive." She stated flatly. "Welcome to the Special Frontiers Group."

----

There was a crackle as someone tried to contact Cheng over the com. He leaned into the walkie talkie and thumbed in the frequency for a private line. "YEs?" He asked, as he kept people moving towards or away from recruitment stations. The air was full of nervous excitment and more then once he had to stop a fight from breaking out as people began to shoving.

"This is Captain Mendez." The gruff voice on the other rang out. Cheng stiffened. The Captain? What on earth could he want with him specifically.

"Captain Mendez Sir. How can I help you." He asked, equal amount baffled and terrified.

"Drop what you are doing nad head for the Silo. You have been asked for by the ADF" The Captain said, not offering any sort of explanation in the least.

"I've been what?" Cheng answered. No less bewildrered then before.

"No time to explain, Move officer Cheng or I will have your badge."

"Roger that Sir."

-Guideline-

Whoever you go to for recruitment, will have been given a description of what you look like as we have been handpicked to spearhead the effort.

Erik, for his part, drifted slowly towards one of the engineering contractors he recognised. The man was sat behind a table stacked high with admission forms and looked thoroughly put out with the task at hand, as a clamour of unskilled individuals mistakenly (or perhaps purposefully) tried to get hired as trained engineers. It was his job to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, and with most of the genuinely skilled workers already being hired out by Company, there were more pretenders than not lining up to meet his appraisal.

The man's worn out face broke into a brief smile of ackowledgement when he spotted Erik lurking in the crowd. The two had worked together before and had a fairly easy friendship so Erik pushed to the front and few people were brave enough to stop him. Once he was within earshot he addressed his friend.

"It is good to see you, Andrew, so you were lumped with the desk work then?"

"Unfortunately." Andrew sighed as he looked up at his broad friend, before flicking through some papers in front of him. He stared at an odd note for a few moments, and then glanced back at his friend. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Erik."

"Hmm?"

"It says 'ere that you've been picked for some sort of expeditionary group, dunno why, good pay though."

"What?" Erik looked perturbed for a moment. "What does that mean?"

"I guess it means you'll be leading the charge, doing all the dangerous work for a bigger pay-out. Could be risky though, there's bound to be trouble with the Clanners."

"So... I'll be paid more to fight the Clan?" Erik looked at him thoughtfully, at odds with the hustle and bustle all around him as his brow furrowed. "Sounds good to me."

"Righty-oh." Andrew muttered a little awkwardly, he knew there was history between Erik and the Clan, so he didn't want to press it. "You 'ave to go outside, meet the rest of the group out by the Silos."

"I'll do that then."

Erik made his way to the large red structures just inside Ambrosia, he was actually fairly familiar with the food storage Silos, having been contracted to carry out some repair work on their exterior a year ago. It didn't take long for him to get there, but even so someone had beaten him to the punch so to speak. There were already a couple of armed and dangerous types waiting, a soldier in the defence force and a frontier type, perhaps one of those hunters. Erik strode over to them confidently, nodding to them but saving introductions as he assumed more were coming.

Daniel had to make his way through throngs of people, elbowing past people who clearly did not respect his badge. It didn't matter. He was more then a little peeved at the whole thing. Random orders were never good. As he stepped up to the group, his eyes widned at the site of Claudia Alrecht, who stood arms akimbo.

"Captain Alrecht. I did not expect to see you here." He said. Eyes glancing over the engineer at his side.Next to him stood a man with a large rifel. A hunter, he'd stake his pay on it. "What is the meaning of this little initiative."

Claudia smiled. It was a cold, dead excuse of a smile. "Is that any way to adress your superiors, Peace Officer Cheng." She turned to regard Erik. "Welcome Erik, I had a feeling you'd accept the commishion."She said the last bit with a wry grin on her lips. " The Silent man next to you is Joséf Bartosz. He is a hunter of some skill. We are still waiting for a few others to arrive. Any questions in the meanwhile?"

Erik nodded politely at the officer, though her smile unsettled him. "No questions, as such, I am sure you will tell us exactly what we are to do when the others arrive." He looked around for a moment. "Except, I would very much like to know why I was picked for this group, I am not a soldier or a hunter. Are engineers not going to be needed for the railway project?"

The redheaded soldier pondered this. You won't be needed for the actual railway until we actually have the lay of the land." She frowned. "We need to set up fortifications along the the way. Hard points. That's were you come in.

"I see. Well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Wise. Its more like a gift dinosaur in any case."

Cynric arrived at the signup desk just before the rush. He was surprised just how smooth things were going, his paperwork had been processed quickly and someone was already walking up to him.

"Hey. Sinner ack." Cynric put his hand up to stop him.

"It's Sin-err-ick."

The man coughed nervously. Cynric smiled. "Never seen someone with an eye-patch before? Look." He lifted the patch showing off his ruined eye. "I can't see jack through it and chicks dig scars. Apparently."

There was a pregnant pause from the man who whistled nervously and flipped through the papers he had. "Well. You've been assigned to the expeditionary group."

Cynric looked at the man confused. "The expeditionary group? Sounds exciting."

The man nodded handing him the papers he was carrying. "You're to head to the silos to meet up with the rest of the group from there you'll be told what you're doing."

Cynric returned the nod and took the papers from his hand. Turning on the spot he headed out towards the silos. He saw there were already several people milling about. "Howdy there folks. Names Cynric."

Erik turned towards the vaguely familiar voice behind him, surprised to see a face he recognised. Though it wasn't the sort one would forget, considering the man was wearing an eye-patch.

"We've met, remember?" Erik grinned at him, for they had indeed met in the past. The burly armourer had done some maintenence on Cynric's bike almost a year back, though they had only talked briefly. The apocalypse had a way of bringing people together, so it was really unsurprising that the two had met before. "It's Erik, if you had forgotten." He laughed, letting the man off easy if he was the sort to forget the names of those he met in passing.

Cynric looked at Erik slightly confused the cogs in his brain slowly processing his words. "My god Erik it's been a long time." He enveloped Erik in a bear hug slightly lifting him off the ground. "Last time I saw you you were working on that hunk of junk you called armour. Thanks for the tune up by the way!" He let Erik down and stepped back to give him some space.

Erik was taken aback by the sudden hug, but he just assumed Cynric was that type of person and shrugged, not bothered enough to let it get to him. If anything, he was glad there was at least one familiar face on the team. Eventually he was put down, though he'd barely left the ground to begin with. He patted the one-eyed swordsman on the shoulder.

"That armour will save lives one day, Cynric, we both know the real 'hunk of junk' is that bike of yours. I was happy to work with it, you don't have to thank me again, though given a few more days the thing would have probably killed you!" He laughed, and with that introduction out of the way Erik turned back to the red-haired captain, expecting more rag-tag individuals to arrive at any moment.

---

The square was crowded beyond belief and though Ely had a hard time with crowds, his determination to sign up for this adventure was far too pressing to allow his discomfort to bother him. The Pledge would have his hide if he didn’t, and he wouldn’t allow himself to disgrace the teachers whom so delicately taught him all that he knew. No, it would be a dishonor to their name, the Pledge, and his own if he didn’t offer his aid here. He was a capable mage; he knew as much. His commendations, while they were few, held a deep tug on his heart. He knew what he could do and knew he had a large capacity for learning more. How else would he learn if he didn’t throw himself out into the world? He wouldn’t, he deduced silently as he walked.

Ely continued on, his spear waving and gleaming in the light until he approached one of the many kiosks acting as a small sign-up stand. The queue seemed impossible, and though he was one of the first waves of people here, it was quickly filling up with more noisy bodies. Standing in line, he hugged himself around his midsection, stepping up when it was his turn to do so. He was surprised to see order in such a disordered place. He heard various names, whooping and hollering, and overall excited chatter as everyone was either signing up or seeing the few who would hold the new world by the reins. Ely was among those few.

Still, as he approached the front of the queue, he felt eyes upon him. He tried to be subtle about searching for the starer, yet he couldn’t find them. There were so many pairs of eyes, so much noise piling atop the other, and the bodies were jostling now. He closed his eyes to the world around him and took several breaths. His fingers began drumming at his side as he recalled the beat to the ethereal sounding music that once streamed out of his vehicle’s speakers. The words came to mind soon after and he whispered them hushedly to himself as his eyes cracked back open to the world. His ears seemingly came with the sight, flooding him with stimulus. It didn’t matter though; the beat was in his head now.

A few more minutes ticked back and he was forward more spaces when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. At first he didn’t feel it, but the second round of taps was enough to pull him from his airheaded realm, something he had been scolded about by his tutors of the Pledge. Ely looked over his shoulder, a man with a stubbled face coaxed him out of line without words. Furrowing his brows, Ely stated he would lose his spot, he wouldn’t get to sign-up for the excursion. The man informed him that there was no need for him to sign up at all. Of course, Ely questioned that incredulous statement. “Why not?” he asked, only to be told that he had been scouted out by leadership.

“Sorry, what?” he questioned, leaning forward to make sure he was hearing the man correctly.

“Your spot’s already been secured by the higher-ups. There’s no need for you to sign up. You’ve been handpicked to be one of the firsts on the assignment,” the man informed, growing impatient. Figuring he no longer wanted to talk to the kid before him, the guard fished around in his pocket for a folded collection of papers. He shoved one of them towards Ely who took it, dumbfounded, then went to wherever he had come from.

Ely unfolded the paper and read it over, his brow creasing and unfurrowing again and again. The guard wasn’t lying, it seemed, and he was to make his way for the silos. The silos, he repeated in his mind, turning back to the place the guard once stood. The spot was empty now, and so Ely stepped out of line into it then made his way back out of the square, thankful to be headed back to his vehicle. Once out of the square, he crossed the road to where he parked his ride, unlocking it with the remote before pulling at the handle to pile inside. He set the paper in the passenger seat then started his car, pulling out of his spot to drive towards the silos, his mind whirling with scenarios.

"Don't worry, we'll have a guard escort them home."

The cheerful and friendly voice did nothing to soothe the mage's disposition, the man's smile was merrily plastered on his face as he vainly tried to deal with Elysia's rising annoyance. It had been one thing after another this morning and all she wanted to do was gather her charges and head home, she couldn't care less about being selected to join an expeditionary team.

Clawed fingers tapped out a quick rhythm on her gauntlet as she stood there glaring at the man, the same glare that had split the lines in front of her making her ascent to the front rather painless though honestly she wouldn't have minded waiting in line if she had known beforehand just how troublesome this entire situation would be. As soon as she had reached the table the cheerful man had all too happily informed her that she would need to report to the Silos to meet up with others who had been chosen for this honor as well. She could tell he was someone who loved Ambrosia wholeheartedly and thought anything to do with it was divined from God himself; the more he talked about needless things the more she wanted to punch him in the face but she had to behave after all.

"They'll run the moment they see a guard, it be better if I did it."

Her voice left little room for argument, but the recruiter just waved his hand as if dismissing her concern.

"Then well send someone who doesn't look like a guard, you really should get going Miss Elysia, I'm sure they don't want to be kept waiting and I'm sure you're actually eager to join in on this aren't you?"

Her eyes started to reflect a lighting storm mimicking the agitation brewing inside her, if this was back out in the desert she would've killed him by now but that was a long time ago and she couldn't lash out as easily.

Fahd yawned in brushing against his mistress completely uninterested in the argument the woman in front of them was having with the recruiter his tail slowly flicking back and forth in the dust. He and his mistress had followed the small woman with the sword as she forced a path to the front of the line, his calm eyes looked up towards his mistress and she seemed amused by the situation in front of them. Her clothed hand affectionately scratched behind his ear before she coughed stepping forward again slamming her hand down on the table making the recruiter jump and gaining a curious glance from the raven haired woman.

"Look, how about we just drop the propaganda, hmm? There are others in line, and no one wants to hear you rattle on about how great this project is. It's a bit of a turn off."

Arwan's cold voice seemed to drop the temperature around the trio as she mockingly plastered a merry smile on her face staring down the recruiter. Seeing him now she could understand the annoyance the other woman had towards him.

"How about you just write my name down as well,and I'll bring her back after she brings the kids home?"

Her words were lost on the man as he scrambled through his papers obviously looking for something, muttering to himself and glancing up at the pair of woman looking at him with such annoyance. Honestly he didn't sign up to get harassed, why did he have to tell people what to do all he wanted to do was write down peoples names and join in the jolliness of this expedition. The list he was given crumbled under his hand as he read it biting his lower lip, a nervous tick, and two strong willed women teaming up on anyone was nerve-racking indeed.

"You're Arwan, right?? The beast tamer! You're suppose to go to the Silos as well."

It came out as a rushed breath but the message got across none the less. Elysia tilted her head taking the time to actually look over her new friend, it was obvious to tell she was a hunter but the news about her going to the Silos as well was strange and caught the young mage's interest. Arwan's eyebrows raised sharply, she was used to being told what to do and where to go but to be sent to join some mysterious group put together by the higher ups was like being toyed with set her nerves on edge.

"I'll get paid the same either way, yes? Then fine."

Her reply was blatantly nonchalant to his eager attempt to get ride of the both of them, sighing she scratched behind Fahd's ears again before looking at the woman next to her, she couldn't get a good read on her not that she could use her for anything at the moment.

"I'm sure you kids'll get back safely, we should go at least see what this is about before turning it down, hmm?"

Elysia sighed not in the mood to argue anymore with the recruiter but didn't care enough to get into another argument with someone else; the line behind them was getting agitated as well. Sighing she let out a long string of unpleasantries under her breath before giving in nodding slightly much to the happiness of the recruiter who quickly called up the next person blatantly ignoring anything else the two had to say or do with him. Arwan snorted shaking her head before tapping the swordswoman on the shoulder.

"Let's go."

Smirking slightly she shook her head before following the huntress, curiously observing the large cat stalking along side her. Wordlessly they walked through the crowded streets, neither one of them bothering to talk or offer up anything about themselves. The large red buildings slowly started to come into view as the pair reached the group both of them falling back to the outskirts, Arwan moving to lean against one of the tubular structures, Elysia merely stood there crossing her arms a look of displeasure clearly on her face.

Pandora sat atop a colossal pine, her legs dangling beneath her. The sun sat high above her, poised in the sky on it's azure, blue throne. It was perfect weather; not a cloud in the sky, yet at the same time it wasn't sweltering hot. She reached into her satchel pack, which sat slung over the tree as well, and pulled out her jerky pouch, which she had just purchased this morning. She gingerly pulled out a piece of jerky, before tying the pouch shut and placing it back in her pack. She pulled the cloth that covered her face upwards from her neck, exposing her mouth and neck. She began to nibble and chew on the jerky as she watched nature unfold below her.

On the ground, about 200 feet below where Pandora laxly sat, was a one-room building. Pandora theorized it was an old forest park ranger's outpost, or perhaps some kind of makeshift dormitory. Pandora looked towards the sun, it's rays bleeding into the horizon. A pack of Piranha lizards would rove through any minute now, and she had made sure she was high atop, in the canopy of the forest. Piranha lizards were nasty little things, although it was the sheer amount of them that made them dangerous. They came in swarms, comparable to locusts, and hundreds of aggressive lizards would storm through an area, eating any living thing they could get their snappy little jaws on. She would also have to be wary of the clanners to the south, as she had just caught sight of a patrol of them making their way towards her general direction. However, if she timed everything right, she would be able to avoid both the bandits and those nasty little biters.

Suddenly she heard the sound of scurrying and and little teeth gnashing carry up to her. She looked up at the sun, then back down to the sea of swarming lizards below her, a throng of little green reptiles surging between the trees. Pandora quickly put the jerky back in the pouch, hastily packing up her backpack. She made sure the backpack was securely strung to the branch of the tree -- she would be back for it later. She turned to the hills in the south, scanning the environment for the clanners she had spotted earlier. She zoomed in on what seemed to be a blob in the distance, revealing a convoy of Clan raiders. If she had to guess she had about ten minutes before they were passing through the area, but if everything went according to plan, she would be long gone by then.

Soon the Piranha lizard pack had passed through, save a few scalene stragglers. She was not worried however, as the viscous little reptiles were only dangerous in numbers; by themselves, they weren't very threatening (although getting bit by one would still hurt!). Pandora began her descent from the tall pine tree, dropping from branch to branch with consummate agility and ease until she was at the base of the tree. She stood in front of the doors of the old outpost, pausing for a brief moment before kneeling down in front of the doorknob of the entrance. She pulled out a two bobby pins from her back pocket, fiddling with the lock on the door. She heard a ker-chunk and then the door eased open. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, her hopes for loot high.

---

Later that day...

Pandora walked up to the center of Ambrosia, her backpack slung over her shoulders. She had founds some good first aid kits and materials in the outpost, and they would fetch a pretty penny. She had some other things left over from trips she had made earlier as well, and as a result she was looking to sell a good amount of her items. There was a large commotion in the area, and she knew it must have had to do with the Railroad project that the town was supposedly employing, but she so far had no interest in participating.

She made her first stop in the back alley of a weapons shop. She walked up to the door that led into the back of the shop, knocking deliberately three times fast, and then two times slow. She waited for what seemed a minute, and a burly man with balding hair greeted her at the door, looking at her quizzically.

"Err.. Can I help you...?" he began, looking her up and down, raising an eyebrow at her garb.

"I'm looking for Keenan," she said shortly and curtly, her voice coming out metallic from the voicechanger.

"Ah, yes, Keenan. I'll be right back," the man said, recognizing what Pandora was here for, and went back into his shop.

A much skinnier dark skinned man emerged from the door way; Keenan. "Ah, my friend, you are back again!" he greeted him, continuing, "I got a worried I wouldn't see you again -- after all, it has been over a month. What have you got for me today?"

"The usual," she said harshly, offering no more information, simply holding out a brown leather sack.

"That's all? You've been smuggling me crystals for over a year now, and you never try and spark anything with me. For christ's sake, I don't even know your name," he said, chuckling. He pulled out a slip of paper with his signature scribbled on it from his back pocket. "Here, you know the drill. Give it to the cashier next time you come in, it'll guarantee you the usual haul," he continued, taking the sack whilst simultaneously handing Pandora the scrap of paper, "So, since I've got you here, what is your name?"

"Somethings are better left unknown Keenan," she responded, before briskly turning her shoulder, and scampering down the alleyway and out of sight.

"Christ," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

---

Pandora had just finished up selling the last of her scavenged first aid kits at the markets, and the sun was begin to sink in the sky like a capsizing sailboat. She closed her backpack, it's contents much lighter from the day of selling, and slung it over her shoulder, ready to head back out into the wilderness to look for a place to stay for the night.

"Hold up there Pandora." A voice gruff, weathered and worn, came from the darkness of a alley. A man, of vaguely native american origin came limping towards her. Jerimiah Talbot, one of the finest hunters to ever live, gestured for her to stop. "Good thing I caught you before you headed out again."

She was stung by the mention of her own name. Very few, if any, knew her name, and she had grown accustomed to never being referenced to by name. She turned around slowly, looking him up and down. She recognized him, it would have been hard not to; despite her absence from civilization for a good portion of her life, she still recognized someone as historical and famous as Jermiah Talbot.

"Mr. Talbot," she said, unfazed by someone of his stature, her voice changer warping her voice, "How odd it is to see you. I couldn't imagine what someone like you would be interested in me for, now if you'll excuse me --"

"You've been drafted." He lifted his hands in a apologetic fashion. "Now. I know you don't go along to well with the rest of us folk. That is fine. We, rather, I have vouched for you to be in a fronteir group. They are all good, solid and reliable people. And you'll be out and away from the big masses. You'll be doing what you always been doing. Just with money and back up behind you."

Pandora had been hearing all about the draft for the past few days, and she had told herself she would have no part in it. Of course Talbot would have known about what she had been doing, she had gotten a little sloppy in recent months and had had some encounters with some hunters. She cursed herself for being so careless, and now the secret in her skills was out. Her mother's words rang in her head -- "People are not to be trusted Pandora" -- warning of the dangers and errs of going the way of the more beaten path. Despite Pandora's best attempts to weed it out, her mother's paranoia had become ingrained in her conscience. Pandora quickly scolded herself, telling herself that her mother was not here anymore, and she was free to do as she wished. She didn't need her mother telling her what to do, especially after how crazy she turned out to be.

"What would you have me be doing?" she said rather crudely.

"Helping the other scout out and mark the way for the new railroad." Talbot said, smiling slightly. He knew this was as much an admission of interest he'd ever get out of Pandora, and rolled with it.

Pandora's inner struggle and turmoil within her conscience made her pause for a second, but ultimately the more adoptive side of her won out. "This is the first and the last time I do something like this Mr. Talbot," she conceded begrudgingly.

"Duly noted. I don't mean to step on any toes. But you are the best of the best when it comes to tracking and avoiding unneccary risks. You'll have my word, that once this is over, you won't be bothered again."

"Good," she said unapologetically, "Where to, Mr. Talbot?"

"They are awaiting you over at the Silos. I trust you can find your way there?"

Pandora offered a simple, "Yes," and then she was off.

---

Pandora approached the hulking, red silos, which were deeply contrasted against the Prussian blue sky. She walked up the gravel path that led to it, her boots crunching on the dirt. She saw a group had already congregated, however, she kept her distance, wary of them.

"So... Is this everyone?" The hunter asked, raising a eyebrow as more people arrived. A motley crew. None of them gave off very social vibes and he could sense the tension already among them. Now he wasn't to social of a person himself, but he knew a team needed cohesion to survive out in the wild. But before he could speak on the matter, CLaudia spoke in that authorative voice of hers. The redheaded, german sounding womans two men stood at attention as she spoke. Neither having said a damn word the entire time.

"Allright. Listen up. You have all been handpicked by the shakers and movers of this new world. You are not just some schmucks who were in the right place a the right time." She narrowed her eyes and glared at Pandora. "No matter how hard I say that is just what you are. Omega and Banjo put this little group together." She waved to Josef."Joséf Bartosz. You have been handpicked by Talbot. He believes that with Pandora here you can track down whatever big game that threaten the project." She motioned to the mysterious woman who showed no indication of her gender aside from her name. "Arwan" She followed up by pointing at the woman with the massive creatur in tow. "Is a exllent tamer. Any beast she deem usefull for us to domesticate. Help her catch it."

She continued, motioning towards the viking of a man that Josef had pegged for a engineer. "Erik. You have a stellar rep among our engineers. And while you no doubt will be needed on the train when the times come, You will be needed in early stages of setting up checkpoints and settlement stations for our railroad workers. WWe also know you have no love lsot for the Clanners. This is good. Becouse I feel you will find that Cynric and Elysia are uniquely tasked to deal with them." She smiled knowingly at this before she continued on.

"Ely. YOu have been picked by Omega to represent the Mages on this force. Your adhearence to Pledge principles despite being independant means you are uniquely suited as a sort of ambassador for mages everwhere." She added after some thought. "No preasure or anything"

At this point, there was a few that had yet to be adressed. One of these were Cheng. The arbiter stood with his arms crossed. A deep scowl on his face. As he met Claudias stare he spoke. "And what, pray tell, is my purpose?"

"Easy. You are a badge." She said. There were no love lost between the West Coast Peacekeeping core and the Ambrosian Defence Force. The former steped on ADF toes all the time with arrests and what not of beligerent soldiers and taking ADF captives to be held to local trials. It was a mess. "A.. badge?"

"You will be dealing with undercutting merchants, Scavenger gangs, druinken workers. The lot. They all respect that badge of yours, for better or worse." With that she leaned back against the silo. "I cannot stress this enough. You are not only given the chance ot put humanity back on the map. But you will go down in the history books if you do a good enough job. Ambrosia and what is left of our civilization NEEDS you...." She tilted her head. "Again. No pressure"

“Yeah, of course.” Erik joked sarcastically at the final remark, no pressure indeed. He’d listened attentively throughout, glad to have the opportunity, wanting to put faces to names as well. There was no need for him to introduce himself, further, the lady had covered the name exchange nicely. It’s not like he necessarily had any better idea of what he was being hired to do exactly, other than some vague notion that they were going up ahead of the main building site. But his main driver was going to be filled regardless by the looks of things, he’d get a little revenge on the damned Clanners, and maybe do some good too.

He was surprised that his issues with the Clan were common knowledge, though perhaps he shouldn’t have been. He did have a tendency to be melodramatic in his anger, enough so that it was not that surprising that people knew of his hatred. As far as he knew no one other that his brother was aware of the reasons though, and they were far more important than the result. His hatred ran deep, and the roots of that vendetta scorched in blood, fire and misery. In other words, fairly ordinary by apocalypse standards.

Now that a few others had arrived he was starting to take stock of the sort of group that was forming. Obviously one was a beast tamer, or whatever they preferred to be called. Erik was nervous around the big cat, at least without any proper weapons on him as he hadn’t gone out that day equipped for a proper scrap. The beast’s owner looked haughty, in a word, but he wasn’t quick to judge. There was also the skittish one, which he’d worked out was a mage from Claudia’s little speech. Normally, he’d have been sympathetic to her and her shyness, which is what he assumed her standoffishness was down to. He might have been wrong though, and more importantly her nature bothered him. Erik feared mages, and for that reason he distrusted them. They were too close to the crystals, too close.

There were others, but Erik wasn’t the sort to spend ages evaluating everyone around him meticulously. He tended to just wait and see what happened, do what he was good at, that sort of thing. His was a practical mind, not a calculating one.

---

Handpicked; the word had been going through Ely’s head since he withdrew from the city’s plaza. He was confident in his abilities but not confident to the point to justify him being handpicked for anything, at least in his mind. It was what he thought about has he drove the distance from the plaza to the silos, careful not to leave his vehicle anywhere in the archaic society they lived in. Sure, there was order but there was always the chance for a slip up – he didn’t want to be victimized if there was. It made him cautious in the city and even more so outside of the city’s limits. As it were though, Ambrosia was his home and his father was one of the order keepers here, so he put some merit in the police’s ability to keep said order.

Ely pulled up to the silos, his music soft before it faded away as his engine died. He looked over the scene. There were already a group of people there but he wasn’t sure just how many others there would be. It kept away the guilt of being late and instead let him focus on figuring out why he was picked to spearhead this grandiose notion to expand the city and west coast civilization as a whole.

With a foot hanging out the open door, Ely pressed the button upon on his dashboard to lift up the hatchback. Stepping out, he rounded the side of his vehicle to the back and grabbed the gleaming half-spear and the backpack, draping it over one of his shoulders. He stuck the butt of the spear in the ground and reached up to close the back. When it clicked satisfyingly he went back around to the front and locked it up, closing the driver’s door now before venturing towards the rest of the gathering party.

There, he was told that he wasn’t just a ‘schmuck’ and he, along with the others, were picked by Omega and Banjo to lead the efforts. Next, he was vaguely introduced to who he was going to be working with. It was almost too hard for Ely to wrap his head around it all, knowing that it was tasked to them to put humanity back on the map of the world and they would be memorialized because of it, so long as they did a satisfactory job.

“No pressure,” he whispered under his breath following Erik’s louder statement.

Again, he thrust the butt of the spear into the ground and put his backpack on properly before he retook the weapon in his hand, holding it off to the side like a walking stick. The person who intrigued him the most was Arwan and her gigantic cat. He had never seen anything like it, at least this up close. He wasn’t that far from it, a few feet, and it made him hope she had a good hold on the beast. Arwan herself was admirable if she was able to tame that thing, and by how docile it looked, Ely couldn’t doubt it or her ability.

As it were, he stood there patiently waiting for the next course of action, the next instruction. He couldn’t lie and say his insides weren’t fluttering with nervousness. They were; the unknown was a scary place and he was being weighed down with a crazy new amount of pressure. Again, no pressure, he reminded himself mockingly.