The Oil Wastes. A long stretch of oil lakes dotting the land like geysers. Natural springs just bubbling crude from the ground. Even the sand and dirt were soaked in oil. Everything was barren. The land was like the marshes of Europe, just filled with oil instead. Hardly any plants grew here. Those that did were the kind of heavily plated plants that could withstand the swing in temperature and wind. The Badlands by a better name.
As I wandered the wastes, it was eerily quiet. The small scurrying I could hear was by beasts smaller than my hand. And then, there was the wind. It was deader than a festered corpse rotting in the sun for a week.
"Nothing." I muttered to myself. "The wastes must be very large for Magnus to find a place to hide in all this barrenness." I looked around to make sure no one was watching. "Good. No one for miles." Without a second thought, I summoned Kerberos and Kratos.
"I want you two to split up and search for any signs of humanoid life in these wastes and signal me to your location."
Where do you think Magnus could be?
Where indeed. I could hear Kaddyr rolling his eyes.
I remember the Aethergear people. A'grappa remarked. Long ago, they were created by Esperyn to embody the natural order of life. That was before the little competition. They are a remarkable species that exists in a way that nothing else in this universe can compare.
Right. Gilgahlad interjected. So, how do we stop him? Then, he added like an afterthought. Without killing him.
And you have the nerve to say you are different from me? Tiamat argued.
You both are two sides of the same coin. Uth beseeched. Neither one of you made a life without sacrificing the lives of someone else. After my father took you down, I decided to live a life of seclusion. Neither one of you can go without thinking about violence.
Silence. Lillith commanded. We are not here to argue about who stands for what and why we have made this world a mess. We are here to advise Mara.
Finally, a voice of reason from within my head that wasn't my own. Ironically, it came from Lillith. I was half expecting Kaddyr to be that voice.
I continued to scan my surroundings as I walked. If I stayed in one spot too long, I doubted that anything would happen. I needed to keep on the move.
What do you think is Magnus' goal? The magistrate said something along the lines of Magnus not believing the society functioned as intended any longer or efficiently.
I believe he said that Magnus didn't think the government functioned efficiently any longer. Kaddyr corrected. But, I know very little of the Aethergear. If Sethyr were here, she probably could tell you a little more.
I was there when they were created. A'grappa added.
No one needs information from the before times, dragon. Gilgahlad commented. Magnus' goals are in the here and now.
No. Let A'grappa speak. Lillith abruptly interjected. Perhaps his ancient knowledge of their founding would advise us a little about what kind of structure that the society had before Lucius became the first magistrate. It may even give us insight to why Magnus feels like this system no longer works.
The Aethergear were created to be survivalist in nature. Their structure was deemed mechanical by Esperyn to adhere to the natural order, living by a codex that was not meant to stray from it. Upon the founding of their societies, the small groups of Aethergear settled together by the rivers of oil, creating a system ruled by chieftains. Of course, that was more than fifty thousand years ago. As I see their society now, built up and efficient, I would say that Lucius had to have had a hand in the dismantling of the original system. His new system smells of bureaucracy.
So, in other words, Magnus wants to clear the swamp? I queried.
Something like that. Kaddyr suggested. I think his ideals may be rooted more in the severance of whatever his ancestor created than much else. Perhaps by talking to him, we can define his purpose.
The conversation in my head was the only bit of intelligent life I came across as I wandered. Other than that, a few small plants and creatures were sparsely making the barren oil wastes their home. No sign of Magnus anywhere. Not him or anyone else for that matter. I was beginning to think this may have been a fool's errand. It wasn't like I had a life signature to lock onto.
The Oil Wastes was huge. Far bigger than I imagined it to be. Though, I wasn't quite sure what I expected it to be. The planet had to be about the same size as Earth. I could probably search for months and still come up short looking for him.
Around nightfall, I came to a large walled city in the driest part of the wastes. A group of guards peeked out from the edge, their weapons trained on me. I could immediately tell that this city was different from the place I had come from. It was dingier, dirtier, and poorer than the other. The guards' armor looked cobbled together out of rusted parts and panels. There were transmission fluid stains all over it.
"Halt!" One of the guards yelled. "There is no entry."