Chapter One

The plains danced with the soft wind. Every blade of grass shifted in unison as if marching stationary in a parade. The bull-sheep chimeras bellowed outwards to the clear sky before resuming their meal of the still plants. Their munching added a new song to the breezy serenade. The ley lines resonated with each sound and motion, further composing the ongoing melodious piece.

Then, the giant beast flew past the field interrupting the song of calmness. The screeching of its massive body hitting the wind at blinding speeds transformed the musical air into a horn of war. Simultaneously announcing its arrival as soon as it left. It was not a dragon on the hunt for food or a lighting bird circling its territory. It was a metal giant with wings of light and fire.

The metal giant kept flying in a single direction passing field by field, hill by hill at blinding speed with a trail of smoke in its wake. Two more similar shadows followed leaving their own essence in the wind.

The metal giants whirred and clicked. The low-frequency rhythm inside the giant hummed opposite to their loud rattling combatting the warm air. These were weapons from the gods. These were mechs.

The world of Minadina has a rich history of magic development. One day, centuries ago, there was an explosion rivaling the brightness of the sun. From that explosion, ten metal giants fell from the sky.

Several generations of research and study were executed on the mechs. Countless trial and error experiments were performed to crack the complex puzzle that was the mechs. As the residents of the planet Minadina, there was a low chance for them to figure out this foreign technology. Adding on to knowing what a battery was. Even if they did manage to bring the mech back to life, what the words on the monitors would read. The alien contraption was centuries ahead of what their civilizations could conjure within their industrial knowledge. All the world of Minadina knew was magic.

Regardless of the impossible scientific obstacles, the breakthrough came in the form of reverse magic engineering. Utilizing complex magical sequences as an alternative power source, the mechs once again roared to life.

Ten years have passed since their awakening. And the kingdom of Kailana employs their mechs to her most skilled knights.

Back in the plains of Tirami, the mechs shook violently as they flew past the verdant landscape.

One knight, Vera, piloted the mech in front of the formation. She pulled on a lever and shifted her gaze towards the energy gauge. She then pressed three buttons in sequence allowing the mech to finally stabilize in the air and flying parallel to the ground. The engine quieted down, but the booster persisted.

“Damn it!” she panicked.

As the mech sped up, it veered downward dangerously skidding on the ground. The other two mechs following behind Vera failed to stabilize earlier and began their similar descent. These mech pilots were skilled in air maneuverability, but were not adjusted to the new additions to their mechs. Naturally, the mechs plummeted, kicking up the earth as they slammed and rolled on the grass-covered ground.

The loud sound of the crashes immediately reached Vera’s ears. She furrowed her brows and attempted to take a deep breath, then began to attempt to restabilize the mech. She steered the mech’s flight to the left in an attempt to turn around and check on her fellow knights. Unfortunately, she began to lose control of the machine. Failing to find the shut down sequence for the booster mechanism, the mech continued its unsteady flight. Doing her best to try to level the giant machine with the control sticks, the mech managed to complete the U-turn before havoc had a chance to strike.

It didn’t take long after for Vera to replicate the high speed collision of her fellow knights. The feet of the mech slid on the ground before digging deeper into the soil causing the mech to trip and roll numerous times. The clash of metal and earth melded swiftly as the mech and its pilot lost control of any command of their limbs. After the chaotic event came to an end, the mech’s outer state was grimy at best.

A wall of screens flashed and flared. A language unknown to the people of Minadina automatically transcribed itself through some of the monitor displays. Other monitors showed the frame of the mech with parts of the arm, foot, head and back highlighted in an intense, radiant red. An alarmed beeped softly as the smell of smoke and dirt mixed themselves into the cabin. The cocoon in which Vera was safely encased in was slowly becoming compromised.

But there was no haste in her actions, Vera was calm as the mech automatically conjured a magical circle in the smokey area and dispensed a mixture of liquid and gaseous chemicals creating a foamy substance that put out the harmless fire almost instantly.

As soon as all the alarms and warnings stopped beeping, Vera verified that the mech was safe to exit before reaching to open the hatch to the outside.

“At least the weather is nice.”

Vera rolled her eyes.

She had crashed a few meters away from her compatriots. Exiting the vehicle landed her in the middle of the conversation with the other two knight pilots of Kailana. A male knight pilot in his mid-thirties with a rugged expression, and a female knight pilot in her late-twenties with an exhausted face.

“We’ll let Tevian know that the booster magic was a complete failure.” Gideon, the male pilot said while inspecting the damage to all three mechs.

“But, it’s not a failure. I managed to stabilize it during flight for about five seconds.” Vera interjected, forcibly adding herself to the conversation. She stood a foot shorter than the other two knight pilots. Her ash-white hair stood out with subtle blue highlights.

“Yet you still crashed, like us.” Amara, the female pilot pointed with an open palm at the damaged vehicle behind Vera.

“Whatever, let’s just report our own findings to Tevian when we get back.” Gideon said.

Vera sighed, displeased with the lack of enthusiasm presented by her allies.

“We’ll have to walk the rest of the way. Luckily, it appears the ley line adapters are still intact. The mechs can draw up the sufficient mana necessary to still walk. Keep repairs at a minimum.” Gideon barked up his observations and orders.

Without arguing, Vera walked over to her mech. A machine flourishing with the colors of her kingdom’s flag. Purple, red, and white. She walked over the looming giant and checked for any other damage that the monitor might’ve failed to report or point out.

Just then Vera groaned as an inconvenient headache materialized. Within seconds, the migraine had cleared, so she went to check on the other task at hand before she began on repairs.

“So what? Are we couriers or knights?” Amara complained once more.

“About that…” Vera brought out a large leather bag out of the mech’s outward compartment.