2 The Technician

Pushing himself away from the crafting table. Midael sighed. Five hours with no result.

"Argh!" One swipe and the table was cleared of its occupants. He stood up and stretched. "By the name of Galath…" He winced. How could the mortals bear such a body, or should he put it, this shoddy vessel, weighing them down. It was like a flawed instrument. The design was too inferior. Too perfect. And the master behind it all… He shouldn't be thinking about the Worker now. The Worker was gone, defeated by Ausar. No one has heard from him ever since. Some say he went into hiding. Others believe he was still out there…Somewhere.

Grumbling sounds from deep within interrupted his thinking. When was the last time he had eaten? One day. Maybe two days. Even the memories were clouded.

"Pathetic mortals!" Memory loss sucks. Midael punched a few codes and the steel door of his bunker slid open. Cold dessert air smacked him across his face, quickly he put on a sand mask. It was a welcome gift given by the villages of this sector. Sector 33 was just like any sector. Nothing special. Poor. Crowded. Dusty. Established by Raidriar the God King during the Warlord's Dynasty. Midael pressed on against the unforgiving weather, the sound of his footsteps were muffled by the snarling wind. Raidriar had certainly built this sector in the wrong place.

"Grrrrrrrr." And now he had a more pressing matter. He would have breakfast at that pie stand near the market. After all he was a frequent customer. One more visit and he might even get a discount! Who knows? The stand owner, Tor. The lively man in his 40s had befriended Midael the first day he arrived at the sector. Midael on the other hand was always a man of few words.

He was just a random technician. That was all the villagers needed to know. No one asked questions, everyone went about minding their own business. Except…

"Hey Midael! Wait up!"

Then there was Nymph. The 13-year-old pain. She was most certainly Tor's daughter with dark hair and brown eyes. Not only did they resemble in appearance but also shared the relentless volubility.

"What's with that cylinder on your belt？" In a heartbeat Midael's hand shot out with inhuman speed and intercepted Nymph's reaching fingers.

"And a good day to you, too. Young lady." He sighed.

"Is it a scope for watching stars? Is it a secret device?"

"No."

Nymph suddenly jumped up like a little burnt cat. "Ohhh! I know! It's a super high-tech alien weapon, right?"

Impatiently Midael unhooked the cylinder, holding it out for Nymph to see. A tiny lever was carved onto the side, fingers flicked at it eagerly. There was a "click". Nothing happened.

"See? It's nothing!" Clearly disappointed, Nymph plodded along but didn't say another word. She kicked at some pebbles occasionally. This time it was Midael who broke the silence.

"How did you cut yourself?" He motioned to a small cut on her cheek.

"Oh, I got into a fight with some of the boys yesterday." Nymph said flatly. "They tried to take away my book-"

"Did you win?" Midael cut her off, suddenly interested.

"Seriously? Duh? Of course I won!"

"Under the sand mask, Midael's lips twitched slightly. "Serves them right."

"Yeah!" Then, turning serious, "They try to take everything I have! In fact, a week ago…"

"Let me see that book you just mentioned." He said quickly, sparing himself from half an hour of unstoppable chit-chat. A hard-cover book was handed to him, it was quite heavy but he balanced it with one hand. The sun wasn't up yet, making him squint. On the cover was an armored warrior slashing at his enemies…with…two red swords. How peculiar. Above the picture was words written in Pangean. Midael knew it well, he translated:

"Tales of Ryth the Invincible"

Midael stopped right in his tracks, and Nymph bumped into him.

"It's one of my favorite books. My pa gave it to me for my birthday. But you can keep if for a few weeks if you want to."

"This Ryth person…You must really like him."

"Uh-huh. Ryth is my hero. I've got a dozen books about him! Some say it's all myth, but I believe he is real. Do you think he is, Mr. Midael?"

For a moment Midael was out words. Then he smiled.

"I don't know much about this 'Invincible Ryth'…but who knows? If you live long enough you might even meet him one day! Now let's go and find that father of yours, it's been a long time since I've had a decent meal!"