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Last page update: 7.21.98
A single being would rise to destructive power. Of this the Prophets were certain. This premonition sparked the fear within them for the transgressor whose arrival was synonymous with the morbid oracle. At first they were uncertain of the full implications of the prediction, but they understood there to be devastation on its way which would harm those whom resided within the World of Affliction.
They immediately called for the death of the transgressor as a preliminary precaution against their terrible premonition even before they could completely understand it. As the weeks passed, they were able to explore their concerns more deeply and begin to fathom this threat they had foreseen. As far as they could now tell, a single being would begin to multiply his strength at an extremely alarming rate. In doing so, he would somehow harm the banes he came into contact with in a way which would disallow them to be reborn after their immediate deaths. They foresaw this being harming nearly every bane in the Bane World before an event which was now understood to be an actual tearing through the limits of the microcosm and escaping the World of Affliction altogether. They were now absolutely certain that this creature had to be stopped for the sake of all of the banes.
They were also equally certain that the one who entered the Bane World from the outside was integral to the events they predicted. The Prophets ordered their followers whom had been scattered across the world to double their efforts to find and kill the transgressor who possessed a power to him unlike any they had ever sensed. No one could be at rest until this horrible premonition of the Prophets was decisively averted.
Tim swallowed the last hunk of the loaf of bread he'd acquired from Undecided's house more than two weeks before, the day after he'd become mortal. He'd managed to bring himself to kill the young creature his two companions were now devouring around the fire, but he would need much more of his self control, a force which was completely foreign to the Bane World, if he was going to bring himself to eat the meat without a painful conscience. Once more, however, the boy's hunger got the better of him, and he later found himself despising the immoral deed of eating his kill.
It was noonday when the trio reached the tower where the Builders resided. Psycho declared that they were lucky to arrive while they were not at work for someone constructing a building or for some task which required them to be away from their dwelling. The presence of the Builders was noted due to the thick stream of dark, billowing smoke which poured from the peak of the monument. Tim was shocked by the numerous technological discoveries these banes must have made, but he was reminded that they each had a compulsory need to create and to perfect themselves in their ways ten times that of a human, and that more than a few of these advancements were made after viewing Earth's use of them on the City's screen.
"If the screen was their greatest achievement, why do they live so far from it?" asked Tim.
"The tower has actually been here longer," replied Psycho. "The screen was built where it was because that is the site where we all landed upon our entry into the Bane World, and the Dark Prophet who commissioned the project believed it to have a kind of dimensional potential or some such jargon as that. After the project's result of a viewing portal, rather than one for transport, they did remain there for awhile building the newly conceived buildings for the populous which traversed there almost immediately, but they left once the more fearsome and angry banes threatened them to give them all a way home. They returned here and made it clear to all that any further requests for a way to leave the Bane World will not be serviced."
"After that," continued Drum Boy, "many lost faith in the Builders, but Psycho believes they'll help us to get to the city."
As they approached the structure, Tim became astounded by its size. It only had seemed to be the size of Pisa's Leaning Tower from a distance, but as they grew near he realized that its base alone matched what he'd originally assumed to be its height. "It's immense!" he spoke aloud.
"You may compliment them on their work and offer them suggestions," explained Psycho. "Those they are happy to receive, but I warn you not to discredit them for anything or tell them that they have failed, no matter what they produce for us. What we need is a vessel, but should they develop something completely unrelated in the process of working for us, they are only to be praised. Their greatest accomplishments have been while they were trying to make something else. It wasn't until I selected a spot away from the river that they stopped building me better and better mills and finally constructed the castle I'd asked them for."
"You mean we might not get a boat?" Tim queried.
"I'm not even going to ask them for a boat," replied Psycho. "I imagine that to be what they will build for us, but then again, they have once devised transport by that screen. I plan to tell them what we need the result to be and let them devise the way to accomplish it."
"You mean to get us to the City," spoke Drum Boy.
"And back as needed," added Psycho.
Tim could hardly wait to enter the tower to learn of the many wonders it must contain, but the initial result of the visit proved to be disappointing. Rather than entering the large, brass doors at the tower's facing side, Psycho merely pressed a button and an image of a long-haired teenager appeared on the metal surface. "Dude?" spoke the kid.
"Local project," stated Psycho to the door. "Passage for three to and from the City on an unknown schedule and to other places following, possibly. Painless travel with minimal risk essential. Speed and possibility for more and or less passengers of lesser priority. Result of request preferred within twenty-four hours but has no essential time for completion."
"D-Dude!" spoke the kid. His image flickered away as suddenly as it had appeared.
"Now we wait," declared Psycho. "They've already assembled and begun a kind of brainstorming session for our project."
"You mean we don't even get to go in?" asked Tim unhappily.
"Not since hostility began after the screen was created. I remember when the one making the request was part of the design phase. It's not as though you could understand their language, but it was fun to watch them all create their sketches and then look over one another's before making a master blueprint. And this all took them only four minutes, tops."
"He looked so young!" commented Tim.
"They all look the same, like a human teenager," explained Drum Boy.
As the time passed, Psycho and Drum Boy explained the many creations the Builders were responsible for in the Bane World. Psycho showed Tim a few more fundamentals of wielding a sword without asking the boy to actually practice before them, for which Tim was more than grateful.
A few hours passed and Tim began to feel hungry once more. He was also becoming uncomfortable sitting outside the tower waiting for their project to be completed. He was just beginning to wonder if going to the door and commissioning a waiting room would slow down the process for their first request when suddenly, the doors to the structure swung open and a half-dozen Builders emerged speaking unintelligibly and enthusiastically in their dialect. Tim, even with all his godly knowledge of all languages, could not make out a single word of the babble.
The three were escorted within the tower. Neither Psycho nor Drum Boy said a word, so Tim stayed silent as well. While the outside of the structure was majestic and perfect, the inner sanctum was a complete mess of tools, incomplete projects and food. There was a smell of heat, as best as Tim could define it, and sounds of hammering and cutting echoed throughout the spacious rooms.
The Builders who were leading them came to a halt. The boy wondered what it was they were waiting for when Psycho spoke in astonishment, "Amazing."
"What? Where?" asked Tim, bewildered by Psycho's reaction to something.
"Is that what it looks like it is?" asked an astonished Drum Boy. He was looking toward a large platform lined with what appeared to be rotating blades and with an overhead canopy.
Psycho whispered something to one of the Builders who pointed toward the door and made a circular motion with his hands. Psycho nodded and thanked him.
The other Builders boarded the platform and all began moving levers and turning cranks in succession, each one explaining what he was doing in their baffling dialect. "Do you follow all of this?" asked Psycho of Drum Boy.
"Everything except for how we power it. Are you sure it's safe?"
"I specifically cited safety as an essential prerequisite," answered Psycho. "I believe the power source is replenished by turning that crank there." The Builders all nodded at this statement.
"This is our boat?" asked Tim. The Builders all became silent and looked at each other.
"No," spoke Psycho. "Much better than a boat." The Builders all smiled and appeared to be exuberant over Lord Psycho's appreciation for their masterpiece. "Thank you, every one of you, and let your companions know that all three of us are... excited to have this flying device to suit our needs."
The Builders began to dance and left the room to partake in a ritual celebratory banquet. Tim was astonished. "A FLYING device? Really?"
The other two only smiled and boarded the platform.