November 13, 2111
Castle
Life on a planet called Juster was in a state of change; that was a nice way of saying the local species, the plowsu, were being forced against their will to support the Wersillian Legion. Ever since Steion led an invasion on this planet, an invasion the ARW failed to stop, he claimed Juster for the Wersillian Legion. The plowsu, who were once supporters of the ARW, were forced to give up loads of their natural resources to this powerhouse of a faction. Most citizens gave up hope and just submitted. The few who stood against the legion-- Well, most were made examples of within the view of many. Castle had gathered this information by just strolling along the outskirts of villages. Frankly, he didn't care. He was on a mission, and to him - to anyone in the Brotherhood of Relics - that was always their primary focus.
Deep in a vast forest full of life, trees, and undergrowth, Castle wandered through the darkness of night. He marched past streams, mountains, and villages, searching for the Ghost Town, as the locals called it. One other knight of the brotherhood - Starlight - accompanied him on this journey.
The structure of the Brotherhood of Relics is straightforward. There are five knights of the roundtable at all times, each in command of a faction of followers, called bishops. Then again, that's how it's supposed to be, though Starlight has lent her faction to Brawn, another knight, and he also runs a third faction due to another knight's absence. And yeah, it is strange and confusing to everyone.
Legends surrounding this cult called them ninjas, assassins, and even terrorists. That said, over the centuries, the truth about them has been the same. There has been a single goal they strived to achieve at high costs - to discover all there is to know about the Devisors. Castle and his brotherhood believed the Devisors to be the creators of this galaxy and wished to understand them, study them, and know them.
Months prior, Ghost, another knight of the brotherhood, had killed a man in the ARW for killing one of the Wersillian Legion's warlords. In return for his success, Ghost was granted the furtive locations of most of the Devisor monuments the Wersillian Legion had knowledge of; at least that was what Ghost was told. Nevertheless, Ghost had always had his suspicions as to the motives behind some of the questionable actions the Wersillian Legion had committed. Thus, the knights, during a roundtable meeting, decided to send Ghost to uncover all the information he could find on what the Wersillian Legion was really after. Although for now, Ghost's undercover work led to where Castle was now: Searching for the Ghost Town.
"Stop! Hear that?" Starlight held up her starlight bow. "It almost… yeah, that is certainly music," she shined.
Castle tuned in but heard nothing. Over the rustling of leaves, bumping of stones, and chirping of the wildlife, he failed to hear any music.
"I think you got something in your ears," Castle grunted, taking a knee in the dirt. A curious creature came to sniff him before Castle shoed it away.
"Doubt my ears?" Starlight spoke with a soft, warm voice. Castle couldn't remember a time she ever raised that well-disciplined voice of hers. It truly was a unique gift, especially when she had to deal with him.
"Oohhh, right. I forgot not to question Mrs. Magic Ears," Castle chuckled.
Into the forest Castle gazed. The only light was moonlight. However, this mattered not to him. Through the use of enhancements, members of the Brotherhood of Relics could see at night better than wild cats. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of what they could do with their technology. Most who had heard of the Brotherhood of Relics had also heard it originated from the omelic species - a highly disorganized, extremely sexist species. Kingdoms within the omelics' home world of Omulice are mostly run by males. To that end, Castle had heard a few rumors of female-run kingdoms that made their men slaves. The Brotherhood of Relics, notably, had changed its outlook on what was considered civilized and, therefore, was all-accepting of omelic females and males, given they met certain requirements.
The Brotherhood of Relics has one thing going for them no other species has: Devisor technology. As to how this came to be-- Well, that's a well-guarded secret. Just know that even the legendary Brotherhood of Relics is far from the full truth in regards to the mystery that is the Devisors. That's why members of the brotherhood study what they can and continue to learn what's still unknown to them. Much has yet to be understood, even after learning the Devisor's native language.
Starlight aimed her elegant, silver bow down the tree line. With her spare hand, she reach toward the fabricator strapped on her back. Right before Castle's eyes, Starlight pressed it in a specific motion, and an arrow materialized, which Starlight calls stars. The device is powered by a quantum-materialization crystal, the most versatile and rare crystal in galaxy. The crystal is a Devisor creation and is packed full of energy created from matter-antimatter reactions. This is a reaction between matter and its corresponding anti-matter particles and is one hundred percent efficient, converting all the mass into energy. Because of this pure, versatile energy, technology such as transmaterialization, programmable matter, and more hyper-imaginative technology can be achieved.
Starlight grabbed the star in her gloved hand and placed it on her bow. She pulled back and fired the sonic star. "May the stars light the path," she whispered to herself.
Castle shook his head, making sure she could see him judging her. For some unknown reason, Starlight likes to whisper to herself before firing a star. She's strange like that.
Castle looked at the hologram emanating from the cloth around his wrist to see the geometry of the landscape ahead begin to take shape. Clear as day, there were buildings matching Devisor architecture. The knights had found what they were looking for.
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
In the center of the Ghost Town, within a graveyard, Castle gazed into a well. Mist flowed from the black abyss of the well and streamed over the crumbled, cracked floor. Before approaching this well, Starlight and Castle had looked through all the buildings for leftover technology; nothing so far.
"Nothing remains for us in the temple," Starlight reported from inside a mountain. "Noteworthy: Another empty mantel. Do you theorize the Wersillian Legion or ARW beat us to the object once here?" Starlight asked Castle.
"Haha, ridiculous. Neither of those unintelligent, battle-hungry alliances would know a jewel if it bashed them in… well, their jewels. My bet - and you know I love to bet - is some jackal dosed on in this place and scooped up whatever he could take. Whatever was on the mantel is probably up in some galactic pawn shop or storage facility."
"A farfetched theory, no?"
"In a galaxy as screwed up as ours, nothing is farfetched."
After a while, Starlight returned to Castle's location. She materialized another star and fired it into the well, the only place left to look. "Into the depths, into the darkness."
As the arrow disappeared lower and lower, the energy rope attached to the star continued to grow in length. The star reached the bottom, and Castle leaped down, using his aura field to slow his fall. Starlight followed, grabbing the energy rope to descend.
Deeper and deeper they descended as the darkness and mist engulfed them. Minutes went by, then there was a glow. They hit the floor and stopped. The darkness gave way to a soft glow from the path ahead of them. Castle took the lead down the hollowed-out cave. Mist continued to flow from this path and up and out of the well. It was a short walk. Castle, followed by Starlight, entered a room with a dome ceiling. It was a few heads higher than Castle, and at the end, embedded in a cracked capsule, was a quantum-materialization crystal. It was black and in motion. Streaks of black energy popped in and out of the crystal like a flare on a sun. Mist flowed out of the cracked capsule like colored steam out of a hot pan.
"Those Wersillian and ARW meatheads fought right above the rarest crystal in the galaxy and were none the wiser," Castle said with a smirk.
"Typical brutes," Starlight commented on Castle's insult.
Castle pulled out a brand new capsule and smashed the old one, careful not to touch the crystal. He placed his hand over a control and used his thoughts to force the crystal into the new capsule. It was sucked in like a vacuum.
"With this crystal, we are now blinging out with six." Castle put away the capsule. "When Brawn finds out that we found another quantum-materialization crystal, he'll be reaching for this with his thick, grubby hands. I might have to play keep-away with him and watch him gradually redden with anger, like he always does. You should bring snacks for that show, haha."
"So cruel," Starlight said with a chuckle.
Beep, beep!
Castle and Starlight's wrists buzzed at the same time. It was Ghost calling for an emergency roundtable meeting. Castle sighed and took a seat on the uncomfortable rock floor. He activated the hologram technology on his wrist and projected a table. Ghost and Brawn were already present, and Castle and Starlight joined them, filling four out of the five seats.
Ghost started. "Will she join us today?" he asked, gesturing to the only empty seat at the roundtable.
"Her time is soon. Very soon," Brawn foreshadowed.
"Right," Ghost acknowledged.
"What matters do you bring to the table, Ghost? News, I presume?" Starlight speculated.
"Correct. My previous intuition about the Wersillian Legion may be justified. Mere moments ago, Airra brought forth concerning instructions. Uncharacteristic on her part."
"Are you sure it's not in that thick head of yours, Ghost?" Castle joked.
"I assure you, this isn't a laughing matter. Airra is indeed hiding something from me."
"What leads you to such a presumption?" Starlight pressed.
"Perception and circumstances. She instructed me to back off a target. Never before has she made such a request, leading me to believe she doesn't want me to encounter this individual."
"Then let's assume your intuition is right. What course do you want to take on the matter?" Brawn asked.
"I assure you, my intuition is correct. For our next move, I will investigate this target and uncover what is so significant about him. Meanwhile, I vote to commence preparations for an immediate investigation into the Wersillian Legion in the event my mission gains gravitas. All in favor, raise your hand."
Castle was the first to raise his hand, followed by Starlight. Brawn didn't raise his hand but was outvoted.
"Excellent. Castle, I require a pickup from Garatopia within a reasonable timeframe. By then, I will have all the information I need."
"I'll be there sooner than you think, pal… and with a grand entrance to follow."
"Right. I expect no less from you, Castle."
The meeting came to a close. Castle and Starlight packed up and prepared to head out.