Steampunk stories from the alternate universe world of Zahn. The world is a mix of steampunk and fantasy where only the simplest of mechanics work without magic.
Ouihan is a street orphan with an unknown past. Unknown even to himself. He has be...
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The Orphans:
Like Clockwork
1) Their World as They Know It (Tick)
Grandeur City was the center of The Civilization. This city was not only the political and cultural center but also, more importantly, the industrial center. Over a hundred and fifty years ago it was nothing but another city state among all the other city states on the North Continent. What changed? The short answer was clockwork.
Granted examples of clockwork magery go back to times of antiquity, but these were examples of works by individual mages who, although very talented, were still quite limited. No one knew why nowhere in the world machines could not be made to work without magical intervention. However, now with the right mix of magic and engineering, one could make the most amazing machines.
Some of the earliest examples of Clockwork were the clockwork sentinels which still guarded the Empress of The Civilization. They were Imperial family heirlooms which were handed down from generational ruler to generational ruler for more than a thousand years. Yet, no one knew who created these magnificent and quite intimidating machines.
Around 150 years ago the Viceroy of Grandeur City, Viceroy Camden III, was a mage with a talent for clockworks. One day while walking about the city he happened to see a small girl playing with a makeshift steam engine which, at the heart of it, was a simple pinwheel which was being spun by the steam coming off of her mother's kettle. When he asked her how she made the pinwheel and the pulley system, she showed him what he deemed the big breakthrough in clockworks.
Seeing her explain the engineering feat she had accomplished; the Viceroy began to realize the key to clockworks was also beginning training the talented at a young age. The other revelation he had while looking at the young girl's apparatus was the gateway to efficient clockworks was concentrating the magic to a master cog. He also discovered steam could be a powerful driver for these mechanical wonders.
From this point forward, he sought out from all the families who were known to be talented those children which were clockwork inclined in their talents.
Since then, nobility and gentry would have their children tested, as a matter of form, on or before their fifth birthday to see if they were inclined. Even the yeoman class of people could spend ten silver Talons to have their children tested. Once a child was determined to be talented, they would attend anywhere from 6 to 12 years of Higher Learning School. From there they would then vie to go to The Clockwork Academy. Even if a HLS graduate was not accepted to the Academy they had an opportunity to begin apprenticeship with a master or barring that, they could take their place somewhere in one of the many great factories which built machines which had brought together and expanded The Civilization.
2)Ouihan (Tock)
Ouihan was tinkering with his spring semester final project in his second year at Halinar's HLS. His path to the most prestigious HLS was by no means the normal route.
