Dungeon Robotics: Prometheus Book 1 Decade Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Good Morning my friends! I hope the weekend treated everyone well! I was working on Dungeon Robotics and basically slamming my head against a wall. I may or may not be redoing what I have so far of book 10. Anyway, while I was doing that going through my notes and whatnot, I had a cool idea for a Prequal. Normally, I would flush out my ideas a bit before posting it for you guys, but I wanted your opinions on it. The POV is Arin, the celestial that sent the Flame of Knowledge to Earth before he became a celestial. For now, if I do move ahead with it, I have 3 books that I plan to shoot for between 140-160K words, about double my normal book-length. My biggest question and this is more because it's Dungeon Robotics, is whether I should have a second POV and any other opinions you might have.

Either way, tell me what you think!

Dungeon Robotics Prometheus: Book 1

Decade

Prologue

They looked out over the span of everything. The multiple universes, the tiny galaxies, even the most insignificant star. They observed it all. Watching wasn’t all they did. They had a goal. To create the prefect balance. The balance between Creation and Destruction. The two had been at it since the beginning of everything. They would be at it until time ceased and everything returned to nothing.

“Another dud,” Creation said as the universe in his hand faded into nothingness. This wasn’t the first one, and it would no doubt be far from the last.

Creation cast his gaze over to his other half. Destruction had no trouble with her task. Every intelligent life they had created so far had more or less caused their own destruction. If he had the emotions of a being like he was trying to create then he might have been dejected, but that wasn’t in his ability to feel. He could comprehend it, but feel or bother with it, not so much.

He turned back to his work. There was no measure of time that was large enough that could track how long he had been trying to balance the destructive nature of the free-will that Destruction had established, effectively breaking the order that was instinct. She had wanted to see what a lesser being would create given the choice. Ironically, that might be why the races tended toward destruction.

“Perhaps I should try my hand at it as well,” he mumbled then turned to one of the newly created universes. He pulled it over to him then ever so slightly dipped his finger into the universe. A few moments for him, a few centuries for the universe, an asteroid hurtled toward one of the planets that contained life.

Creation watched as one of the strongest beings, the alpha of the planet, the Primordial Dragon, appeared to sense the chance he had implemented. As the strange rock burned through the atmosphere, it chased it determined to destroy it. He snapped his fingers allowing the rock to split into several copies of itself.

As the dragon ate two of the copies, the remaining struck the ground. There it sank deep into the ground, far from the danger that was the dragon. For centuries the rock sat there as it was intended, but eventually, one of the races with intelligence dug it up. Creation observed as the stone burst to life as a bright golden flame. The people that found it received knowledge on how to better themselves.

Creation was tempted to look ahead, but when a timeless being had an immeasurable of time to wait, it was interesting for him to just watch. His little flame suffered through many dangers. The Primordial Dragon returned to try and destroy it, but the races had increased their strength, unlocking the power known as mana that had been the sole right of the dragon. They fought back and managed to win. They sealed him away.

Eventually, the race that found the flame left for the stars. To spread their seed of life to many more planets. They left the flame to the next race that found the flame. They were called the Gnomes by the peoples of the world. They lagged behind the first race, but only slightly. What the Gnomes didn’t know, was that the first race leaving called to other dangers that wandered the universe they called home.

Chapter 1

A light streaking through the sky fascinated me. Something told me that it held a great importance. Something life changing, but more than that, I thought I could feel all the beauty of the world in it. I was sure I could stare at it for hours, even as it was cresting the horizon and would soon be out of sight.

I did find it odd though, as for some reason I was as tall as the building next to me. I reached over to touch the roof then felt like I was falling. A pain in my arm and leg told me that I had been dreaming and that I had rolled out of bed. Groaning, I pushed up from the ground blinking the sleep from my eyes.

“Arin!” The voice of my little sister, Avera cut through the fog of my still waking up mind. There soon followed a heavy impact as the girl launched herself onto my stomach. “Momma says wake up.”

“I’m awake, you goblin,” I said falling back to the ground with a yawn.

“We’re going shopping! She wants you to help!” I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or just in her nature, but each word gained volume making my head hurt.

“Alright, alright. Let me up so I can get ready,” I said pushing the seven year old off me.

“Momma said if you go back to sleep, she be the one waking you,” Avera said with a smug tone. I peeked at her through my cracked eyelids to see her mimicking a foot kicking me.

Sighing, I sat up. “You win.” She gave me a wide grin and a crazy laugh before she ran out of the room. I rubbed my neck, it was a bit sore from my trip to the floor, before getting up and heading to the washroom. Mother or father must have gotten up earlier, as there was water already drawn. If any of us possessed usable mana, we could have gotten one of those fancy gnome faucets. If we lived in a city, then the goblins might have installed plumbing, but those were also dreams that would likely not come true anytime soon.

I washed my face then stared into the mirror. Blond hair that I inherited from my mother, cascaded over my face. I grabbed a piece of string and tied it back before checking my face. I wanted to complain that my facial hair still wasn’t coming in. I was tired of hearing my friends call me baby faced.

I finished up in the bathroom and moved to the kitchen. I was thankful that my father had a decent job that allowed us to have a sizable house. Even if he was the one that built himself, as his job was being a woodsman. Mother had been charmed by his muscle and left the city for him when they were younger. Glancing at my rather thin arms, I took after more than just her hair.

The smell of eggs and bread reached me as I sat at the table. Even if it was what we ate most mornings, I never got tired of it. My mother set a plate in front of me, and I dug in. “When are we going to town?” I asked between bites.

“As soon as you finish eating,” she answered.

I finished off another bite. “And what exactly are we buying?” I asked with only some dread. I knew we were getting low on some of the things around the house.

She gave me an evil grin that Avera quickly copied. “A little of this, a little of that,” she replied in a singsong voice.

“Hurray!” I cheered mockingly before finishing off my food. It looked like my day was going to be backbreaking.

As promised, we left as soon as I finished eating. I tried and failed to keep my eyes off the girls as we passed through our hamlet, but I would be turning sixteen this year, and with that came the prospect of marriage. I’m sure my parents have been discussing it since I was born. If I was going to be married off and never have true freedom, then I might as well get my fill while I still could.

We left the hamlet and the next hour passed boringly. The only town in the area came into view. Sounds of yelling and work, smells both pleasant and disgusting that accompanied colorful stalls and shops got me into a better mood even though I had seen it hundreds of times. Avera was even more excited, and mother had to grab her dress collar to stop her from running off.

“Where to first?” I asked stretching out my back mockingly.

“The general goods store. Your father says his rope is close to snapping.”

Almost three hours later found us, or rather me with almost my weight in stuff. It was a good thing I brought the back harness. It would have been a nightmare to carry this in my arms. “This is our last stop,” mother said, and I groaned until I saw that it was one of the taverns in town. “We’re eating lunch in town today.”

“Yay!” Avera cried shooting through the door before my mother could grab her.

“Avera!” she exclaimed rushing in after her. I laughed and entered as well.

Mother scolded Avera as the other people in the shop laughed or ignored it. I found an empty table and put down the pack with only a slight groan. Mother and Avera soon joined me. We enjoyed a good meal. Mother got caught by some of the town women that she was friends with. I entertained Avera as best I could in the meantime.

“What’s that?” Avera asked and I raised my eyebrow.

“What’s what?” I asked not sure what she was asking about. I looked around but didn’t spot anything that might illicit a question.

“Something loud is coming,” she said.

I tried to listen through the talk of the tavern, but it was impossible. “Stay here,” I told Avera then rushed outside. Without the clamor of the tavern, I could make out something that almost seemed to be caught on the wind. I tried to pinpoint it but to no avail. The only warning was screaming from the edge of town before several buildings exploded into a cloud of debris and dust.

More followed moving in a straight path through the town. I rushed back inside. “Mom! Avera!” I ran over to my little sister right as the back wall of the tavern exploded. I could only react as I swung my hand up and squeezed my eyes closed. There was a thud as it something slammed into a wall moving much too fast.

I peeked through my eyelids and looked in horror as a boar the size of a carriage struggled against something invisible. I went to take a step toward Avera, only to fall to my knee. I felt like all the energy was being pulled from me. There was a crash behind me then several men dressed in leather armor rushed around me. They didn’t even pause, taking their spears and stabbing the boar dead.

I dropped my hand and part of the building shifted as whatever I had been doing vanished. I tried to stay awake, but all the energy in my body was gone. At least before the world went dark around me, I saw that Avera was unharmed even if she was staring at something with wide, terrified eyes.

~~

A bright light burned my eyes as I felt something messing with my head. I twisted and blinked as the image of the town doctor came into view. My father soon came into view though he was limping and half of his body appeared to be covered in bandages.

He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a big hug. I felt tears hitting my face. “Son! Thank the Gods!”

“Father,” I said then the memory of what just happened flashed through my head. “Avera! Mother!?”

“Avera’s fine,” father said but something in his voice sounded off.

“And mother?!” I demanded.

His hug only grew stronger, to the point that it almost hurt. If he wasn’t answering, that was the answer. I screamed as the realization washed over me. I grabbed his shirt as tears of my own burned paths down my cheeks. Father held me until my throat was hoarse. “Let it out, son. Let it all out.”