The Elementalist: Sky City (Book One)

Chapter Ten: The Machine

Be it natural or not, breathing in ash, was as bad for the trees, the sky, and the ground as it was for people. Ben, Wade, and Fred did not know how long ash had fallen on the town of Ariel, but could see the death of nature around them regardless. Trees in the distance dropped and sagged, many dead completely, with only the skeleton of their brittle branches left. The ground shaped and molded to each footstep, the ash-filled snow staining the path it rested upon. Roofs of buildings were a sickly black under the snow, upon close inspection of areas that had been hopelessly cleared.

And the people fared no better, most succumbing to strong fits of coughing every few minutes or so–the kind of coughing that burns the throat like pricking needles and can nearly collapse those too weak to handle it. Even Magma Kingdom citizens, who once lived in the lava and ash of Magma City–a city buried deep in a volcano–could only stand so much ash in their lungs. The ability to withstand fire was limited in what it did for their lungs, and even they had to spend days away from the ash and smoke, or else suffer sickening physical conditions too.

The people of Ariel were most certainly not of the Magma Kingdom though. Their city lay not too far from Sky City itself, and before this they had, quite possibly, the cleanest air there ever was. The Sky Kingdom was renowned for the clean and fresh air, cleansed by the high altitudes and cold breeze. The air had once even been known to cure illness, just by breathing it in for a day or two.

Ben, Wade, and Fred found some townsfolk to further fill in the details the best they could, and the story they told was one they listened to with helpless horror.

It was a little over a month ago that it had arrived. At first there had been quite the panic, as this so-called metal monster spewed smoke and barreled its way down the streets, cracking the cement as it went.

"It was like a haunted carriage from a childhood ghost story" a mother, hurrying to the market with her toddler, declared in a shaky voice. "Only, it was far bigger, made of metal, and invincible."

She recalled that the machine, upon arriving, had marched its way to stand, immovable, in the center of the town square. Merchants had quickly fled its path, some so scared they forgot their carts. The monster would later roll over these abandoned carts, smashing them to kindling with its solid wheels that propelled it forward.

"And the soldiers?" Fred inquired, assuming them to be connected.

"They arrived the same day," the woman said before hurrying off with her young one.

Fred attempted to call for her to ask more, but she continued on, either not hearing or ignoring Fred's yells. In an attempt to question more townsfolk, they found most to be either unwilling to talk, or reluctant at the least. There was a fear at the mention of this monster, and most seemed to prefer ignoring it, particularly when it came to three strange kids asking.

With some information here and some there, the trio could slowly piece together what information was needed.

The metal monster's slender, sloped frame resembled the silhouette of a jaguar—a creature known to inhabit the caves of the mountain range around these parts. Steel, spiked, oval wheels replace where the jaguar's legs would be and the smoke that trailed behind it for miles—creating a constant rain of ash—spewed from where the mouth would be. Instead of teeth, though, there was a thin opening one might fit an arm through, and above is thick glass in the form of two triangles that acted as windows for the drivers of the monster. Though many felt it must be difficult to drive, given that the glass was blacked, charred like everything else by the smoke.

Everyone they talked to seemed certain though that there was indeed a man or two inside operating it. They had seen him the day it had arrived, open a hatch that was atop the monster's back and poke his head out to address the town.