"Are you ready, Steamy?"
"Give me A Minute Grandma..!" I yelled, "It's been so long since I stepped outside of this forest, this place will always be kept a special memory in my heart. Goodbye Dayson…"
Let's go Grandma, I'm ready.
"Alrighty then, we'll be riding in this!"
"What's this?" I asked,
"Oh um… It's a carriage,"
A Carriage?
"It's something that uhh… It's A Vehicle With Wheels That's Pulled By Horses!"
Horses?
"Yes horses, and this is Sow, a servant of mine."
"Sow?" I felt like I've heard that name before.
"Anyways Steamy, Let's Get Going!" She said with excitement…
According to what Grandma said, it's been 3 years since Dayson died. Thinking back on it just hurts my soul too much, so I tend to stray from thinking about him. So for now, I intend to road trip with Grandma. Though I don't know where we're going, I trust that Grandma has a plan for this adventure of ours…
"To tell you the truth Steamy, I really don't know where we'd be going."
.
.
.
Huh?
Wait Grandma, What do you mean?
"Yeah, I just kinda took you because you looked so sad… So um, till we get to my place, I want you to read this book."
She gave me a book that was more like a diary, and told me to read it… I know, right? How am I supposed to read a book when I can't even see the faces of the people right in front of me? I got her to read it Lol. Anyways, It tells the story of a Society far more advanced than us…
'They had cars that could fly in the sky, and had wars with things called guns. The people in this time lived and worked in towering skyscrapers that reached up into the clouds. Everywhere you looked, there were advanced technologies and gadgets that we could only dream of in today's world. It was so different from ours, but that's what also made it so exciting. Every day learning about how they lived and what they did was an adventure, there was always something new to discover. One of the most fascinating things about this society was the way they used technology to enhance their everyday lives. They had robots that could do everything from cooking dinner to cleaning the house. They even had virtual reality technology that allowed them to create entire worlds that they could explore and interact with. The people in this society were always pushing the boundaries of what was possible, and it was truly awe-inspiring to witness. Though despite all of these advancements, there were things that remained unchanged. The people in this society still had emotions, and they still experienced all of the highs and lows that come with being human. They fell in love, they experienced heartbreak, and they faced challenges that tested their strength and resilience. But what was remarkable was the way they persevered through it all. They used their technology to help them overcome obstacles and to connect with one another in ways that were truly incredible. Even in the midst of war and conflict, they found ways to come together and to support one another. It was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and it left a lasting impact on all who witnessed it. Yet there were still some things that remained a mystery. There were stories of ancient artifacts that had been lost for centuries, and of secret societies that had been hidden from the world for generations. The people in this society were always on the lookout for clues and hints that could lead them to these hidden treasures, and they were never afraid to take risks in pursuit of their goals. It was like a giant scavenger hunt, with the fate of the world hanging in its balance. And yet, even in the midst of all the danger and uncertainty, the people remained hopeful. They believed that they could uncover the secrets of the past and use them to build a better future. It was a powerful message, and it inspired other generations to come along with it. The most remarkable things about this society was the way they approached art and creativity. They had virtual galleries where artists could showcase their work to the world, and they had tools that allowed anyone to create their own masterpieces. It was a testament to the power of human imagination, and it left a lasting impact on the world that followed after it… But with all of these advancement also came its conflicts. The society was divided into factions based on political beliefs, and they often went to war with each other. The weapons they used were incredibly advanced, with guns that could shoot through walls and bombs that could level entire cities. It was a constant battle between progress and destruction. As the years went by, the people of this society grew increasingly weary of the constant fighting and destruction. They began to realize that their society was not sustainable, and that they needed to find a way to live in peace. Slowly but surely, the factions began to come together. They 'Trusted' a possible solution. It was a difficult and emotional process, but eventually they were able to find common ground and come up with a plan for a new society that would be based on cooperation and mutual respect. It wasn't easy, but the people of this society were determined to create a better world for themselves and for future generations. As the factions worked together to create this new society, they faced many challenges. There were still those who clung to the old ways and were resistant to change. There were also many practical considerations to take into account, such as how to distribute resources fairly and how to ensure that everyone was treated equally. But instead of becoming discouraged, the people of this society redoubled their efforts to create a better world. They knew that it would take time, but they were willing to put in the work. And as they worked together to solve these problems, they discovered that they were capable of achieving things that they never thought possible. They discovered that they were capable of creating a world that was truly just, equitable, and sustainable. And they knew that as long as they continued to work together, there was nothing that they couldn't achieve…'
"But Trust Steamy, is always on a whim. Because of one faction, and one faction alone. It almost caused the whole world to be completely destroyed."
"What were they called?" I asked
"They were called the Foundation, Foundry, and Facility… Or The FFF for short." Grandma said followed by a strange laughter.
"What? Who would call themselves that?" I questioned, swinging back into the soft cushions of the carriage that caught me from my fall.
"Ohh, don't judge a book by its cover Steam Dear. Let me continue."
'This faction, though seemingly small compared to the others, was actually the only 'old way' faction that was left at that time. They planted seeds into the hearts of the other factions around them, and when those seeds sprouted, they devoured the others without any hint of hesitation. And if it wasn't for us, the Gardeners, the world would have become a sterile wasteland.'
"Us? Gardeners? Just what did we exactly do to become their Gardeners?"
"Ahaha, glad you asked" She said, "We, the Ven Solitudes pulled out those weeds all by ourselves. One By ONE!!" She said with overflowing passion.
Grandma talks like she'd seen this all first hand… "Grandma." I asked ," Just how old are you?"
"Ah-" She sighed, "Don't You Know It's Rude To Ask A Woman Her AGE?!?!" She screamed, shaking my head so fast I thought I'd die. "Sigh~ I'm too old Steamy. Too old…" Grandma said, sitting back down.
From what Eyeball could see, you'd think grandma would only be in her late twenties to early thirties. She has nice and long wavy hair, the color of fresh spring leaves, and her blue eyes were so captivating that they seemed to hold a world of secrets within them. "Grandma, you look nothing like father or mother." I blurted out without thinking of the hard repercussions I'd might have to endorse. But she didn't encore me, instead she said, "It's because your mother is my great, 900th granddaughter. It'll be awkward doing anything in this day and age…"
"Master, you got a letter…" Sow said, handing grandma a letter.
"Mhm…" Grandma sighed
"Grandma, you seem displeased. Are you okay?"
She ignored my question,
"Anyways, that'll be all for today, get some rest, you'll need it to build up your bone structure."
"Well, okay Grandma, see you soon." My bone structure huh? Why would she bring that up right now. No, more importantly, did she just avoid my question?
The next 3 weeks were very boring. Grandma hadn't read me her book about the ancient societies in a long while, almost like she'd entirely forgotten about it, or made it was her way of avoiding it?
But in return I had a lot of time to think to myself, then grandma started teaching me more about what we have now in this day and age. It's called Magic! Here's what I know.
'Your magic, and your Ability are two different things, yet they are both connected like how our sight is with taste. Anybody could use the same magic as everybody, your body acts like a charger the more your mana you have, the more magic you get. There are multiple different types of magic, some similar like water and mist, and some unordinary, like Time and Life. What's interesting is the purer your magic affinity is, the more you could add into your magic. For example, if I had purer magic than Grandma, then I could do things like making an ice dragon, producing blue flames or flying in the sky on top of a cloud. In other words, 'purer' is just the pretext to your mind's creativity. Although you'd have to uncover your creativity, magic has no attributes limiting its potential. Except for Abilities. Your ability… think of it like this, if magic represents the dreams you have of for world. Then Your Ability is the dreams the World has for you. The world has no filter for your ability, meaning whatever you have is whatever you get, but the good thing is, your ability is something solely unique to you. Anything could be an ability, to controlling bees or to making your own little world, your ability could even be just magic in itself. Now skipping off to skills, 'cause magic and skills are like 1 and 2.' They are something any person can do, whether it's something simple like reading, writing, and walking, or something powerful like splitting the sky with just the slash of a sword. It is something anybody, with, or without a Will can obtain. Something that can be obtained by experience or simply by chance. That is what Skills are.'
005, if magic and skills are basically the same thing, but Abilities could be anything, then what are the differences that oppose each side?
"Hmm… I'm not the best guy to be talking to about this but let me give you my intel.. For you to use magic you need mana, okay. But for you to use mana you need to have some sort of understanding of what magic is."
Ok
"So if you take that out of context, Skills are for those who don't have mana. Though they need an understanding of what those skills are. For example, if I were a swordsman, for me to learn the skill 'Heavenly Slash' I would have to understand how the sword works."
"The same goes for Magic, if I wanted to learn the skill 'Wind Cutter' I would have to understand how wind works. But here's where it gets tricky… You could also learn the skill 'Wind Cutter' with your sword if you have an even greater understanding of the sword than others. Nowadays, people think that magic and skills are the same thing. And with a high enough understanding, it could be true, but it's not. It's very hard to explain the differences because the powers of the world are very complex, so it's better to stop here for today, don't want your brain to get fried you know."
"Ok okay…" if 005 couldn't explain it then I doubt anybody else could explain it any better. This road trip to grandmas is very long and tiring. Most of the day I'd just be sleeping only getting out of the carriage for some fresh air with grandma. But by the end of another 3 weeks we made it to grandma's place.
"Steamy… Steamy Dear, Wake up. We're Here."
Oh… huh…? We're here? "Eyeball give me Vision please!!!"
"It's Huge!" I said looking at an almost never ending row of windows and grass. "Grandma, you live here?" I asked looking around to see the huge courtyard and every fancy thing you could imagine. Grandma, just who is she? I mean, I knew she wasn't a normal person, being related to ancient history and all that. But her house was not that of a normal person, nor that of just any well-known person for that matter. I mean look at it! It's A Whole Castle!!!
"Your majesty…"
"Your Majesty?!?!? Grandma, just who are you?" I asked while she was helping me get into my wheelchair.
"We'll talk later, Steamy, for now let's have Sow be your personal maiden."
Sow: "Yes your Majesty."
"Now please, Sow her around." Grandma said, while laughing at her own joke. "I have some 'business' to take care of, so please Steamy, wait for me."
"Yes grandma, see you soon." Business?
I have so many questions to ask, and yet I feel like only some of them would actually be answered. I need time to rest, time to reprocess all the information I've received for the past few weeks. But right now, I need to know who Sow is.
"Ms. Sow, can I ask you a few questions?"
"Go ahead, milady"
"Then my first question is, who exactly are you?"
"I am her majesty's trusted servant"
"Then were you sent as a spy by grandmother to watch over father?"
"You could say that…"
This is tough, not only is she answering my questions with simple yet explicit answers, for some reason it feels like she's getting to know more about me, rather than me getting to know more about her.
"Why were you watching father? And why didn't you tell Grandma about me sooner?
"...I'm sorry…"
"You're not just any normal servant, are you now..?"
She smiled, and with a big and scary grin she said, "No…" It sent shivers down my spine, That Ominous Dark Red Aura, it's a skill called 'Killing Intent' the pressure you feel when you know that someone has the intent to murder you, is insane. How much longer is she going to keep up at it?
"Ms. Sow?" She stopped, Thank God…
"Yes milady?"
"What was that all about? Why would you ever use such a frightening skill on a child?"
"It was just a simple test, milady."
"A test? What kind of test involves killing?"
"A survival test, milady." I mean she's not wrong but, but it was any other kid my age, they would've leaked out everything before even knocking out.
"Ms. Sow, can I ask you my final question?"
"Yes, go ahead milady."
"Who exactly is my Grandmother-"
"We're here milady." Sow said, abruptly cutting me off.
Huh, What do you mean by here?
"At your room milady."
"My room..? Eyeball!"
With Eyeball's vision I could see the huge door that blocked me from seeing my room. "2-35 please open the door." A big 'Woosh!" flew in when the doors opened, and with the help of 2-35 I flew in. Forgetting about the questions I wanted to ask Ms. Sow, I flew around the room looking at all the furniture before lying down on the bed. 'This isn't a room, it's a house.' It has its own bathroom, living room, and bedrooms, equipped with all sorts of different carpets, chairs and tables. It has an office, and even a Kitchen!?!? Just who is Grandma? I looked out the window. "Huh, A balcony?"
"Ms. Sow, I have a question."
"Please speak, milady."
"If there's a balcony here, how did we get up the stairs?"
"It's simple milady, I carried you."
"You carried me? But how, and with me still sitting on the wheelchair!?!?"
"That was a joke, milady."
'A pretty dull joke,' I thought to myself.
"So then how did we get here? I asked, turning over to look at her.
"It's simple milady, we used an elevator"
Weird, for some reason even with Eyeballs sight, I couldn't see Ms. Sow's face. "005, is this what you're doing?"
"Child, I think it's best for you to not see her face."
"So it is your doing!"
"No, child, it is of their will that they don't want to show you."
"Oh, if that's the case then there's nothing that can be done about it."
"Milady, can you hear me? Milady?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Sow. I must have dozed off there."
"Yes, it seems like you're still a bit tired from the long trip. Go, Rest now"
With no further a due, I went to sleep for the rest of the day. But because I had a lot on my mind, I woke up at midnight and heard two maids gossiping loudly outside of my room.
"Have you heard that the person that's in this room now is the very great granddaughter of Her majesty?
"Yes, but I wouldn't be surprised. Legend says that she's been the ruler of this nation for well over a millennium."
"Don't be so absurd, Isa. Her majesty's the 1st and 'sole' ruler of this nation."
Isa: "Still doesn't mean she's not old though. Right Lathenia?"
Lathenia: "Ah, Guess your right… Oh, Have you heard that the nation of Saga declared war on us?"
"Oh I've heard, the crown prince and the second prince's factions are fighting over the throne because of the King's long absence. Apparently, the crown prince lost the battle allowing the second prince to become Saga's acting king."
*Creaking Sound*
"!!!"
"We should get going, don't want the head maid to get mad at us now."
"Yeah, most definitely…"
Well, that was an experience. I've gained lots of information from those maids, but with that I have even more questions that urgently need to be answered. Like how is grandma so old, and how far am I from Vinline?!? It's a pain just thinking about these things though, so I might as well just go back to bed.
"AAAA!!!"
A scream?!? And from the direction that the maids were going? "Eyeball, 2-35!" ""On It!""
Flying down the hallway I see one of the maids cowering in fear and the other swinging a broom around in the air. "What's Wrong?" I asked them, searching the hallway for any broken glass or anybody that doesn't belong here, but I saw nothing. "A Spider! It's A Spider!" The cowering maid ran towards me. "A spider?" All of this screaming for just a small spider? "Here, I'll kill it." Flying towards the little bug I raise my hands to it, but getting ready to smack it, a voice comes over my head, "Please don't kill her, !SAVE IT!"
"Ugh!" I yelped, dropping to the floor, my weak legs collapsed making me hit my head on the cold stone floor. I whispered, "2-35, bring me that spider please." Closing my eyes, I could hear the sound of grandma calling out my name. But I couldn't care, for some reason I was suddenly really really tired, so I just ignored their voices and fell asleep.
"Thank you, I really thank you," A voice whispered in my sleep. "Holder of Souls. Without you, this child would've been slaughtered already. So in return and for the pain that I've caused you, I grant you my name. I am Saenathea, 'Queen of the Arachnids.'
Monsters with names are rare, but only because for a monster to have a name, they must live up to its meaning. And the entity that names them has to have some sort of 'Divine Will,' so for a monster to have a name such a name, and is bearing a respective title, means that they are of omnipotence. And that only makes me wonder, what has father done to me, what has he done to the world, cause without these great powers and forces to keep our world balanced, how is our world still stable?
4 days latter,
I woke up, it felt like I was in the center of a spider web. I could feel the things around me, moving things, living things, I could feel emotions, heat, walls, doors, people, and insects? Is this part of the power that Saenathea gave me? It's a hard feeling to explain but it's like having multiple visuals around you, but the further something is, the less you could feel it. It's like having multiple Eyeballs, looking at everything around him, instead of only looking at one thing he sees in front of him. But it feels like I'm missing something… Something that Saenathea said, something about a Holder?
'Saenathea, where is Eyeball?'
"He seems to be in a deep slumber for now, child."
"005? Where is Saenathea?"
"She… Is playing with her child right now. Child I believe someone is coming."
Yes, I can sense them, "Grandma."
"Steamy!~" She said crying while running to embrace me.
"Steamy dear, I'm so sorry I made you wait so long. I was so caught up with work that I unintentionally forgot about you."
"It's okay grandma" I reached in to accept her embrace, and while sensing through grandma, I could tell that she had been restless for many days. "How long have I been asleep for grandma, you seem worried."
"Oh Worried I am" She replied back, "You've been sleeping for almost 40 days now"
'Wait 40 days!?!? But it's only been four right 005?'
"..."
"Steamy, from what the maids told me, you felt from trying to save them from a spider. Is this true???"
"Yes, Grandma"
"So then how did you get to the maids without your wheelchair?"
I scoffed, "Grandma, have you forgotten what I am?"
"Hm, it seems I have, I guess old age is catching up quick to me." She said with a concerned look on her face, "Steamy, I've set up a schedule for you to keep you busy for a while. Once everything is in place, I could spend my time with you okay sweetie?"
"Okay Grandma," She handed me the schedule
Steamys Schedule - From Grandma
Touring the castle
Have Breakfast
Learning 'School' From Sow
Have Lunch
Meeting the workers of the Castle
Physical and mental health therapy
Dinner
Massage from Sow
Goodnight rest.
"then good bye then."
It was clear that this schedule was just a way for grandma to get me away from gossip and rumors, so I didn't mind taking it in. In fact, I thought it was quite thrilling. I got to meet a lot of great people and I learned lots from them. A few months went by quickly and my 'Schedule' changed time and time again, but I finally got some time to spend with grandma again.
*Dinner time with Grandma*
It's been so long since I've actually talked to grandma, she feels like a completely different person to me now.
*Click*
"So what have you been up to?" Grandma said.
"Nothing much grandma, I've just been living on the dot for the past like 6 months"
"I can tell that you're mad…"
*Stick*
"You know I'm not an idiot grandma, so why do you still keep secrets with me?"
"I… I'm sorry Steamy"
"Grandma, I'm not mad at the endless cycles of schedules you put me through, in fact I enjoyed it. Yet what I'm mad about is how your lack of communication has led to you always avoiding your problems. So Grandma, please tell me your problems, because I am all here for you."
*Click*
"I- *Sigh,* Steamy, has anybody ever told you're way to mature for your age?"
"No grandma, no one ever told me that. But thank you."
"Hm, Well then, let me be the first to say this,"
" Happy! Eleventh! Birthday! Steamy!"
*Tick…*
End Of Chapter 4