Innovator and Desire (Book 1 in the Last Lineage)

By H. Lee Morgan, Jr

Do you have the ability to use magic? The main character never will have a chance at all of using it the conventional way. He is being ostracized because it is nothing new. There are always routes around any obstacle if you know how to figure it out. All you really need is a sharp mind, power tools and weapons!

• Language: English
• Publisher: H. Lee Morgan, Jr
• Release date: Aug 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370487608

H. Lee Morgan, Jr

I'm Lee, As a child I've always had a vivid imagination, but it wasn't until I was in a swimming accident and becoming paralyzed due to having my neck broken at the age of 14 that I could bring my imagination to life, through writing. My life has undoubtedly been harsher than others, being forced to live in a wheelchair and all, but my imagination, personality and drive to continue has helped me to write. It's impossible to know if I'd still write if not for being a quadriplegic, but I've come to enjoy writing and sharing my passion and stories with others.

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Innovator and Desire (Book 1 of the Last Lineage)

Published by H. Lee Morgan at Smashwords

Copyright 2017 H. Lee Morgan

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Thank you for downloading this free ebook. original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author.

Thank you for your support.

Any character names are purely coincidental.

This book is loosely influenced off my favorite classic computer game, Septerra Core. With my own twist of course. And FYI any capitalized words are intentional and specific to this story and not an error.

Enjoy!

Prologue

Oi, Son, where did you go! Kendrick yelled after finding his only child not in his room. The father didn’t get an immediate response and smiled while shaking his head. Damn boy just won’t give up. He’s got the itch at least.

Kendrick lifted his mechanical wrist to look at the energy readings on display and nodded. Plenty of power to get there and back. He took a deep breath and activated his right leg’s function from indoor power to outdoor. He lost his right arm and leg thirty nine years ago in a fight with a Savage. A powerful creature called a Worlg, it has lupine features that attacked by ambush decades ago. It may have taken two if this man’s limbs, but Kendrick had taken its life and pelt in that exchange. The man grabbed his dark red pistol, holstered it on the prosthetic leg and took the walking cane to go outside where dusk was beginning to ease the oppressive heat on the arid landscape.

Off to the right of the farm floated one of the few Savages that could possibly be domesticated. A Quarlak. It resembled both that of a horse and a fish from ancient stories. It has the thick neck, body and tail of a horse, but instead of legs the Quarlak had large, translucent fins that acted like wings or sails it uses to be pushed around by the wind. It has a dome shaped head with a pair of sharp tusks jutting around its head like a bull’s. Its dietary needs were merely hay, water and some fruit as a special treat. And they were invaluable as a beast of burden, source of meat, a warning system against deadly Savages and calming because at every sunset they began to sing like they were doing now.

It may have not been a songbird’s melody, but the deep humming was as soothing as a protective father’s voice to a scared child. It was defensive, saying in no uncertain terms that they would keep bad things away, even if they were natural cowards in reality.

Beside the Quarlak corral and barn stood a large enough greenhouse for a small family to grow all the food they would possibly need. For two men that was more than enough. The greenhouse was a necessity considering water constraints way out in The Wastes. They couldn’t let their water simply evaporate. Speaking of water he checked the readouts and connected to the sensors in the water reservoir to find there remained thirty percent. They would need to take another trip to exchange scrap metal for more water in about a month or two.

Kendrick squinted in order to stare uphill at the massive scrap heap to smile when he saw the power was on at his shop by a lit lamp. He didn’t go there at all today and he never wasted power by forgetting to turn it off, even accidently after closing up. He then moved to the long ramp made up of rusty sheet metal and began to climb the slightly steep incline rather than go over to the stable, saddle up a Quarlak and have it float them both up to the workshop. He needed the exercise anyway he decided after patting a small bulge of his belly to then grimace and rubbed his chest for another reason entirely. He wasn’t necessarily fat, but neither was he as skinny has he was in his youth.

The massive scrap heap was more like that of a small mountain. There were many such places around The Wastes due to huge magical and electromagnetic emitters which draw in falling solar debris so that nobody gets seriously hurt from fools of the past or those living in the sky cities. The fields make sure falling debris strikes the heaps and not on some poor fool’s head. The end of the cane rather loudly tapped on the metal pathway, but he needed it for stability. For all the good a prosthetic leg he designed could do, it still required a cane for the times it ran out of energy or malfunctioned. And the cane had a trick of its own so there was no danger to him that he couldn’t defend against.

It took twenty minutes and at last he eased up relying on the cane to sneak. He approached the workshop built halfway up the heap mainly as a midpoint for effort. Things at the bottom could be brought up on guide wires and the stuff at the top could be more easily brought down. That thought had Kendrick pause for a moment and scratch his short black, red-tipped and gray beard. Hmmm, that might be what I need. He turned back to the shop’s cavern entrance where a lit bulb illuminated the cavity. Strong, reinforced struts, rafters and pillars upheld the ceiling, walls and floor to protect this part on the heap in event something truly massive was brought down from the sky.

The burly father entered the hole and switched his leg back to ‘indoor’ to conserve power, delved almost forty yards and was quiet as a mouse, ears listening for the telltale curses of frustration, gears grinding or electricity sparking. Kendrick heard none of it. Expecting to find his son outside the bulkhead trying to come up with a new plan, the last thing he expected to find was the access panel open and the door ajar. Kendrick’s chest swelled with pride as he look upon his ten year old son who for just a year had finally gained access to what his boy always called the ‘Inner Sanctum’.

Titus stood in the center of a vast room stunned to the point he still couldn’t move more than wide silver eyes. Kendrick stared at his son’s lean back where he was dressed in dark brown leather both as a jacket and pants. A greasy white shirt had several burn marks while his face was still beginning to change into that of a strong young man. Titus’s hair is as Kendrick’s once was. Midnight black with bright red tips proving they were indeed father and son due to the inheritance of that rarest of rare genetic markers, but unlike the father, the son kept his hair short, nearly buzzed.

Took me two years when my old man told me if he wanted me to help I had to break in. You bested me by a whole year. If I wasn’t so proud I’d be jealous.

Titus jumped at the suddenness of Kendrick’s deep voice and spun. Dad! What time is it? I mean, Look! I made it in!

He. He. Kendrick chuckled as he opened the door more, came in and tightly wrapped his arms around his only child. I can see that, My Boy. He leaned back, both arms gripping Titus’s smaller shoulders that were considerably larger than before, such is a child’s rapid growth to a parent’s eyes. Sit, you’re looking a bit pale. A large metal stool soon became Titus’s seat while his big father grabbed the only other and plopped down. So, what do you think? he indicated the room of gadgets, gizmos, weapons, tools and gear. Among the heaping piles stood a smelter to melt down scrap metal, a press to turn it to ingots or sheets, a plasma cutter and basically everything a mechanic, smith and inventor may need to get the job done was all here.

It took Titus a good thirty seconds to find his voice. Dad, is this nirvana?

It certainly is close. Kendrick lectured as merriment danced in his eyes. "Nirvana though is a bit different. It’s finding that one woman or two who can curl your toes from across the room and do other things you’ll learn when you get a bit older. More than the brothel women I visit in town. Finding the woman or women who complete you as a man… That is true nirvana, but this is our haven. A place where we work to earn a living or come to relax and fool around to make something useful from something useless. So before we get started on your tenth birthday which you must have forgotten is today, how did you break in?"

Oh! When Titus had a problem that involved something technical he could focus much easier and avoid all outwardly distractions such as this room was doing to him. Well after I gave up trying to crack the code I finally found you keep changing on me Kendrick couldn’t hide a smile at being discovered. I made this. Titus lifted something that resembled both a flat knife and a hook that had cloth and tape around where someone could grip it without their hand slipping and cut themselves. With this I managed to pry off the access panel without breaking the alarm circuit. Quite devious by the way, Dad. I found stunners imbedded in the floor had I just torn off the panel to get to the guts.

I deactivated them when I told you to break in so we can end your lessons in Haven and let me teach you how to be a man. You already proved you can read, write and are best in math at your age. As for the stunners, I’m not going to fry my only son now am I? it was rhetorical and meant as a joke. All you would do is piss off the Quarlak with an annoying sound if you tripped the panel’s alarm. But you’ll reengage that shocking surprise before we leave to keep out riffraff. Continue.

Okay… Ummm, well after getting to the panel’s guts I spent all day after classes up here trying to follow the gears and wires to find which ones were those that would open the door to the Inner Sanctum. There were dozens of fail-safes and even more traps that led to the stunners or would lock-down the door at the end and would draw vacuum till I passed out… after isolating each wire and gear to mark the traps and whatnot I hooked up my TV’s generator to the lead wire and added the Frequency Manipulator I took off your nightstand to gradually increase the generator’s watts till I made the door pop.

Kendrick’s smile faded. "You interfaced with my spare Frequency Manipulator to manually trigger the correct electrical signal which opened the bulkhead?"

Excitement faded at this line of questioning and Titus’s began to hunch over, expecting to get a paddling. Maybe… if you tell me what you mean by interfaced.

The father wiped his face, stood and said Wait here. He went back outside and found both the dismantled generator and Frequency Manipulator hooked up to the innards of the access panel. Kendrick saw the power readings and felt the energies of magic from the generator as if it was needed to keep the bulkhead open. Since it wasn’t required he deactivated both and returned inside to set them on the workbench, pushing items back for some room and sat down again. He reached over to a screen hanging off the ceiling and pulled it closer to attach small red and black clamps to nodes coming from beneath and tapped a few programs after wiping the screen so he could see clearly. Normally children aren’t tested for magic ability or manipulation compatibility till they turn fifteen ‘round these parts, but I just have to make sure. Titus, grab the Frequency Manipulator and turn on the generator for me.

Seeing his only parent focused on the screen where on display was two sets of readouts. One said ‘Power Output’ with a 0.000% beside it and below was ‘Power Loss’ with the same percentage. Titus was a dutiful son who loved his father so he grabbed the measuring tool that didn’t have any buttons, but he could actually feel the energies flowing from the generator to the Frequency Manipulator. It was a tingly feeling that felt relaxing and exciting at the same time. But he felt the item was blocking the full forces contained in the spherical generator so as to not cause a surge. It was a misnomer what his father said. Generators were always on unless faulty or broken. But he understood. Titus let a trickle of the energy slip through the Frequency Manipulator like a circuit breaker.

The ‘Power Output’ went from 0.000% to 0.005% and the ‘Power Loss’ flickered on the last 0 with a barely read 1.

Titus, I said give it power… or are you intentionally holding it steady? Kendrick turned after the readouts didn’t fluctuate for a full minute.

I’m blocking the release like I’ve seen you do at the bazaar when you sell your weapons and tools to the Rangers and common folks.

His father raised a single brow and his own silvery irises almost glittered. I do it so I don’t hurt others at the market when testing a weapon or shield system. I want you to increase output as slowly as you can as consistently as you can… for five minutes after I check wattage fluctuations. A third display was added to the screen showing Titus was producing merely a single watt of power. Titus complied and Kendrick was dumbfounded as the wattage didn’t flicker even a little as power output steadily increased and power that was lost remained nominal. Okay, bring power up to five watts per second and hold it. The tests on the power went on for a long half hour. Son, how much energy remains in the Core? Can you tell by touching it?

A child’s hand with long fingers wrapped around the sphere with severed wires jutting from it after being pulled from their television. Ummm. I guess it has enough power to let me watch something for about a half hour before I have to turn it off so it can recharge. It feels this way after I watch a few shows.

Barely could Kendrick believe his ears and never had he had it so hard to school his facial features when he would rather be jumping up and down like a drunken lunatic who won thirty thousand gold in a lottery and a sexy woman as part of the deal. So you can feel it if you touch the screen eh? Titus merely nodded. Okay then, it should have enough juice to fry my screen. Open the flow as wide as you can as fast as you can without hurting yourself.

"You want me to fry your computer? On purpose? Titus couldn’t understand it. His whole life he was taught to respect machinery and magic. Breaking a machine on purpose was only done by Rangers when attacked by malfunctioning machines or those who go against their artificial intelligence programming. But…"

Yeah, I told you to respect our tools. And what you break I can always fix, repair or repurpose. And this is a test like breaking in here. Do as I say. I won’t be mad even if you break the generator while you are at it. I promise.

A promise these days meant a great deal. And his father’s promise was worth more weight than the entire mountain of metal they were inside. A lot of excitement to let loose made Titus open the proverbial valve of the machine in his hands and like a great flooded rush came the power that drained the Core in an instant.

Simultaneously the Core made an awful cracking sound just as the screen blew and all the plastic shattered like tempered glass as behind it a plume of black electrical smoke instantly flew up to the dusty ceiling. I’ll be damned… that trick took me five years to learn. Let me see your hand, Boy. Kendrick pried the disc-like item from his son’s frightened hand and aside from it being a little red, wasn’t damaged for first aid or a Healer’s hand. Just one more test… Kendrick stood and went to one among many shelves stuffed to capacity and completely a random mess to the untrained eye. Now where the hells did I put that damn crystal… he rummaged around two more shelves before locating the pink quartz about the size of a man’s thumb and is completely uncut. Ah ha! Found you. Back sitting and facing his tanned offspring he held it out. Try to interface with this like you did just now.

Titus took the stone covered in decades of dust and immediately said Dad, I don’t feel anything like I do when I touch things powered by Core. Am I supposed to?

Not in our bloodline. I’m not surprised you can’t use magic like a Mage or Cleric. But you are like me, our compatibility with Fire is the same.

Huh?

It’s a testing crystal passed down from father to son, according to my old man, that dates back to The Ravaging about eight thousand years ago. Well after the Banishment. See how it is a reddish pink? Titus nodded dumbly. That means Fire. It would be blue if you were Water, Green for Wood, White for Air and Brown for Earth. This means your gear needs to be Fire oriented in order to properly function. Son, do you have any idea how proud I am of you? His heir shrugged absently. "You are a genius manipulator of tech. You have a grasp of power I’ve never heard of in just a ten year old. What you did by frying my screen took me years of practice to overcome the surge protectors. You must feel the energies naturally. And just regulating output took me months and months. You are so many years ahead of your peers it isn’t even funny. I always knew you had a knack fixing doohickeys, but this is unreal. You’ll never be able to gather magic, but I think I’m sitting in front of the future’s greatest creator of technology.

And because you finally broke in here, I can officially start teaching you everything I know.

Like now! Titus’s excitement came back in full force.

Take it easy, but not tonight. Tonight is your birthday. I planned to give you a normal present for a ten year old boy, but now that I’ve seen what you can do I think it is time to start turning you into a man. Kendrick rubbed his chin in deep contemplation while scanning the messy room to stop at the back where another door laid. Come with me. Son followed father to a much neater and cleaner place where two beam weapons followed them by sensor. Identify new user as Titus. Never open fire. Merely stun him unless I die or give verbal consent to access the weapon containers. The lasers settled back and aimed at the open bulkhead.

A series of numbers and a retinal scan opened the door and behind it was a carefully organized area split in three sections. Kendrick pointed from right to left. "Projectile weapons. Melee. Defensive. For your birthday I want you to select one from each section and think hard. Soon as you make a selection they will be all I give you. You will use them often I’m sure when the itch for adventure starts calling. When they break, you will fix them. You will care for maintenance and depend on them. And they will save your life."

Thanks, Dad! Titus hugged his father hard enough to knock the wind out of the man before shooting in the room first to the projectile area. Pistols, shotguns, rifles, bows, blasters, beam weapons and more were on full display and organized by the five elements. After a quick realization, he stayed by the Fire compatible shooters. Like any ten year old he first went to the massive blasters, but soon as he picked it up he grunted under the strain. It had to easily weigh fifty pounds. Forgoing something with tremendous firepower, he quickly realized those that would be a bigger problem than they are worth. Every gun though was top quality even if they showed a small amount of rust. Each weapon was made from melted scrap and hand forged by his father and ancestors considering some of their ages.

After twenty minutes of doing a pro and con list he narrowed the projectiles down to three. A beam, pistol and rifle. He knew Rangers rarely used beam weapons because of a long charging ability in response to great damage. In a heated battle, a delay of even an extra second may be too late. On the opposite spectrum was a semi automatic long barreled pistol that what it lacked in a punch allowed for near instant repeated fire. And in combat with a tough opponent, all it would do is piss them off without a bigger kick.

It left the rifle. As an added function it had semi and full auto. At full auto it could sustain a thousand rounds per second for five seconds before it recharged in about two minutes per round. On semi, it fired a slight slower than a pistol, but had greater damage potential and could lay down twenty five accurate shots. It was his favorite color blue, was twenty five inches long from barrel to butt, a sturdy construction made it six inches in depth that allowed easy access to its insides for maintenance and upgrading. This bad boy had a lot of potential.

Titus put the other two back and laid the rifle at his father’s table, where he watched, before going to the close quarters weapons. There it was arranged similarly by element too. Knives, short swords, standard and long swords, bladed gauntlets, whips, spears and so on were displayed. This selection was easy. Titus always loved the elegance of a dagger. Easily able to stay concealed under a jacket and could be used as both a weapon and tool. And since he was still growing he opted for a larger single edged. It had an eight inch blade with a five inch grip and came with an adjustable sheathe with a clasp so it could even hang upside down on a belt at the lower back if needed or clipped to a boot. Within two minutes, selection was over.

At the defensive section laid shields, staffs, bracelets and assorted armor. This section took longer because a shield on the forearm may have been common, but was usually coupled with a sword or spear, not a dagger. And like the guns and dagger, each item gave off a feeling of power that would encase the body in protective energy. He tried on just about every item in the Fire section and rejected those either too heavy or power consuming. Titus wasn’t a soldier so the likelihood of war was minimal. He read labels on the dozen favorites, taking his time on deciding on what would best suit him later in life.

He came to a decision on something easily carried. A pair of shoulder mounted silver pauldrons. They were a bit blocky, but sturdy.

Done?

Yes, sir! a cheerful grin split his energetic face.

A plasma emitting gauss rifle, a bowie dagger and pauldrons. Not bad. I’d charge eight thousand gold for all this equipment. Now to make you earn their trust. Kendrick touched his leg which opened a compartment where he held many well worn tools and with a master’s hand removed a power Core, engine, relay systems and the buffer that holds the refined energy to shoot the gauss rifle first.

Dad, what are you doing?! They won’t work without a Core let alone an engine and buffer!

Damn right they won’t. He grunted as he gutted the rifle of everything except a barrel, casing, stock and grip. He then started disassembling the knife. "You honestly thought I’d give a ten year old boy a deadly weapon he could kill somebody and likely himself with? Think again. You aren’t ready for that kind of responsibility. You proved your immaturity grabbing a heavy shoulder-mounted cannon first. Can’t say I didn’t either when my old man tested me… You should have only asked for a shield item to keep you safe. I wouldn’t have stripped it if that is all you wanted.

"I’ll not see you get hurt if you leave my sight for target practice and blow yourself up being thrown back by recoil or have the buffer melt and explode, killing you. One day you’ll thank me. Just not today.

"You’re still a boy who can’t properly appreciate the responsibility of this stuff. Just last week I had to pick you up from your math studies for breaking that Favored Lorn boy’s nose. Be thankful Lorn’s father and I are old associates. If he were anyone else I would have had to watch you be whipped three times for striking a Favored, even a lesser noble at that. If he were a greater Favored you’d get more lashes or lose your head. You are a normal boy even considering what you did earlier to get in here. I’m sure if you had this knife rather than your fist, Lorn would be dead or ministered by a Daughter of Clanna for magical healing.

"You don’t yet deserve a fully functioning weapon. I’m more than enough protection for this house. I didn’t become Haven’s best gunsmith merely because I make the best arms. I was a Ranger once upon a time remember? Who found my Lock. Rest her soul…" Kendrick sent a quick prayer to his departed woman who died three years after giving him a strong son. He’d never take another woman home after losing her. Couldn’t.

But how do I earn that right? Stop fighting? You know how those who don’t fight back are treated. I’m a loner as it is, Dad! If I don’t keep them off…

Steely eyes stopped Titus from ranting. "We’ve had this discussion before. And I don’t want you taken advantage of so do what you need to keep the bullies off your ass. Boys are supposed to play rough. I didn’t raise you to be a damn pushover. I know I bloodied plenty of noses when I was your age so I’m not a hypocrite. And besides, you want a woman to know you can keep her and your own spawn safe. If you don’t stand up for yourself, they’ll leave you for being weak. The weak don’t live long in this world. Now listen to me very closely, I never said you couldn’t power your new tools. Ahk! I’m talking. Titus snapped his mouth shut. If you want these toys of yours to work, you need to figure it out like I did when my father did this to me when I turned twelve and did this just like I did to you tonight.

"You will create your own Core from scratch to gather ambient magic in the air and change it to power the weapons systems. You will start from scratch and create just like every one of our ancestors. Our family follows Prino, god of innovation and craftsmanship for a reason. Every member of our bloodline has had higher than average compatibility with technology based magics. And you already proved it. Few even know who he is anymore, but we are his followers because his temple is where we get to tinker. Not some established building where people bother us forever. Believe me, I’m glad my father disassembled my first weapons. Kendrick laid his flame pistol down. This was my second choice when I was allowed back in his workshop."

Why are you grateful, Dad? Titus picked it up as he had many times before but he still couldn’t squeeze the trigger. Nobody could use another’s well established weapon. He wasn’t recognized and therefore not the owner.

Because your grandfather made me appreciate the pride I felt when I, and I alone, designed my first Core and made it fire that first time a year after I got this handgun. Had he given it to me as is, it would be a gift. A toy. Not a priceless treasure I built with my own two hands… well when I did have two hands that is. The right wrist spun around quickly with a playful whirl. Believe me, this will make you appreciate just what we are capable of as men.

Then if I make a Core, which should I do first… The pauldrons, dagger or rifle?

Personally you should practice with the knife. He said as he destroyed the inside of the dagger’s grip and a really long wire was pulled out, having been inserted up through the blade’s insides itself. Fewer moving parts to screw up and less mistakes can be made. I did it for my old sword I lost with my arm and leg years back. I nearly broke my pistol going for it first… and done. Kendrick finished by eliminating what lay inside the shoulder protectors. He then rapidly screwed everything back except the sensor relays. Now it is time to eat and light the candles on your cake.

Titus was still excited even as he shouldered the much lighter gauss rifle, dagger and held the pauldrons. They left, but not before his father taught him how to reconnect the electrified plates outside the bulkhead, fixed the access panel and went outside where night completely enveloped the landscape void of much vegetation, but not quite desert yet close to it.

It was called The Wastes for a reason.

Oh, before I forget, our first project you and I will work on in the morning is enlarging the basket and reinforce the guide wires on the delivery cables. We’ll make it easier climbing up and down our treasure chest of goodies. We’ll do it together for once now that I know how special you are. Your apprenticeship with me starts at first light.

Back in their home Kendrick enjoyed the glow of his son as they shared the rare treat of sweets. He wasn’t rich by any means, but a cake and sugar was expensive so far out here. He nodded, knowing his son really was something special. He would be surpassed in very little time. That is how it was meant to be. Each generation build and surpassing the previous generation.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day now that he opened himself up to basically answer any question his son had. It was time.

A strange noise roused Kendrick from sleep and checking the time showed it was just five in the morning. He sat up and reached with his left arm to attach his right one to the shoulder, pressed a button to get the arm working and with two available hands attached his right leg. From there he put on pants and a washed shirt to open his bedroom door to be struck by a cute sight. His son had completely disassembled every single part of the knife, gun, protectors and carefully laid them out in an ideal sequence. Titus had his back to his father’s room and was so focused, didn’t hear anything. Kendrick watched his boy had a bowl of rusty water situated beside a bowl of oil with cleaning rags, steel wool and a dozen tools. The odd sound came from metal being scraped, polished and oiled. At the moment his offspring was working on a removed stock while everything else had a new shine. Not even a freckle of rust could be found on the already completed work.

Up all night? he finally voiced as he came into the main room to sit down at the dining table and picked up the ten inch long barrel of the gun, put on a pair of glasses and looked it over. You must be my son. Not even rust dust.

Morning, Dad. I’m sorry if I woke you, but I couldn’t sleep… my mind wouldn’t shut down and with nothing to watch I had to do something. So I decided to take your advice and take care of these. I don’t like rust so I pulled them all apart and scrubbed off all the corrosion. A shame the Favored hoard lots of chromium. With it steel doesn’t rust.

Let them keep it. Regular maintenance makes us less prone to misfires since they neglect their gear. We don’t do lazy in our family. And since you obviously have been at it after I went to bed, I’m sure working with your hands helps eat up the time since you no longer need to continue your studies and get to work with your old man.

You know how much I want to learn and tinker. I want to be just like you.

And I want you to be better. But I can’t blame you. I miss working with my dad on a project. I couldn’t sleep either when he started teaching me this trade.

Can I start asking my questions now, Dad? Please! Titus put down the stock after applying a little protective metal oil.

You may during breakfast. But now go clean up and do your chores. I’ll bake some bread and fry up some Quarlak and an egg for both of us. Leave all this on the table for now.

Giddy at finally being allowed to ask his questions, Titus went to take a quick hot shower to clean up and after dressing went outside to check the Quarlak pen for large eggs each the size of his hand. There were three laid overnight and since there were no males they owned, none were fertilized. The floating creatures bobbed as they partially slept, ignoring him because they recognized him. After grabbing the fresh eggs he went over to the greenhouse to snag a few fruits. Fruit was the only sweet thing that was readily available. Candy and cakes were expensive to the point most people only buy those goods for very special occasions.

By the time Titus returned his father already infused their home with the scent of fresh baking bread and sizzling sausages. He gave over the eggs as he grabbed a knife to begin breaking the hard outer shell to access the fruit’s delicious meat. Dad, I checked the water levels after filling the Quarlak basin for the day. You’ll need to trade scrap for more water soon. But we’re good for at least three more weeks. The green house also needs a new filter. Plants were barely getting water. Just a tickle.

Not a problem. I’ll be done in about five more minutes. Clear up your station.

Not even a quarter the way through putting just the pauldrons together did a plate appear. Work came to a pause as food became involved. Besides playing with tools, Titus’s favorite thing in life was to eat. A lot. The meat, eggs and fruit was good, but bread was by far the best. Soft, flaky and warm. It didn’t even need butter. After washing it all down with a cold glass of pasteurized Quarlak milk he went back to putting the pauldrons and rifle back together again because his father was still eating and it was against the rules to talk at the table when someone ate. But soon as Kendrick’s fork hit the table Titus asked tentatively Now?

Fire away. Kendrick loved the enthusiasm. It was both refreshing and infectious.

How do Core’s work exactly? How do they power small gear? Are Cores how some cities fly and airships…

Easy, My Boy, easy. Don’t blurt it all out at once. He chuckled as he sipped on a cup of coffee. "One at a time. We’ve got all day and years to get you ready for adulthood. Cores are the primary power source for most weapons and tools. They work by drawing the energy of magic that surrounds us all the time, stores it and converts it into electricity which then spins an engine that in turn charges up a buffer that is bound to just a single person in time, but they can only power small machines. The Core’s energy is converted inside the engine which turns it into one of the five elements. The type of engine design in weapons gives the elemental nature. We use ambient magic to live for our needs.

"As for Cores used in the flying Favored cities, not a chance. If someone made a Core big enough to power a city it would drop from the sky like the scrap we have behind our home. It would suck every scrap of magic from the local area and still not be enough to float an entire city. Cities require Magi who are powerful to the extreme. Tenth Level magic users. In other words, Favored. Those blessed with an overabundance of magic they themselves produce. Those touched by the gods themselves more often than not reach such heights. It usually takes just twenty Favored Mages of Seventh Level to keep a city aloft with their Air magics. Or two Magi.

Same goes for Haven. Cores cannot meet the needs of an entire town. It is why you see windmill turbines.

But if the Favored are so strong, why can’t they charge a Core?

A smart question. And the answer is simple. Though magic and energy are technically the same thing, those who use them are mutually exclusive. It was a decree of the universe to balance the scales of power. Yes the average person can use both magic spells and a gun, but a person can’t infuse their own magic in the gun or pull the magic from a Core. Nor can a Tech manipulate a Mage’s gemstone. But here is a secret of our family. Kendrick leaned forward to make sure this wasn’t forgotten.

"While we may never be able to use magic, activate cards or that stuff, when we interface with our weapons… we can attack far longer than the average shooter due to the fact we have an advantage. Power loss is far less than normal meaning if two identical guns were fired by you and another boy, you can shoot almost double the rounds with more impact because you are more energy efficient. It is the same for Mages and Clerics who have the same magical aptitude, but are more efficient with spells.

"Before we had cake I measured how much you lost to the power you let free. Normally a person has a five to ten percent loss of energy. You had way less than a one percent. This means that because you don’t have magic, any Core you use will gather magic faster and deplete slower than anybody else’s."

So if I make a Core large enough I can shoot indefinitely.

Ah, the ignorance of youth. Kendrick shook his head muttering the thought aloud. "No, Son, nobody can make a Perfect Core. Not even Prino did when he taught humans unable to cast spells how to defend themselves from Savages, Mages and so on. Core magic absorption is slow. If I deplete my pistol, it takes two minutes to fire a single round again. Knowing limits makes a person more effective. And even at full capacity you need a buffer to safely contain charges or the Core will overload from feedback. Only melee weapons aren’t subject. It is even more devastating since our buffers become Fire oriented. A Fire based Core detonation is two times more deadly than two Grenades spells blowing up simultaneously.

That is the truth how my dad, your grandfather, died. His Core overloaded… Kendrick paused in the explanation as he heard something. In a few seconds he realized the Quarlak were awake and becoming restless. A few more seconds and the entire pin of five creatures began resonating low and deep as a kind of growl to warn off predators before sounding their unique distress call.

Kendrick and Titus stood up to go to the window and the former picked up a scope that gave a detailed reading on distance. Guess I can demonstrate on them so you never forget how bad an overload can get. Bring me the Core from yesterday you used to get in my lab. It should be charged up enough to do what I need. Titus came back in a few moments and handed the sphere to his sire. Kendrick knew he had a few minutes to spare so he attached a spare engine he always kept in his leg with his tools and prepared it before grabbing his pistol and cane. Stay.

Titus grabbed the scope and worried naturally for his father’s safety as he went outside to face a roving band of bandits not being subtle in the least. There were three buggies kicking up a trail of dust in the early sunrise. He counted five masked men in ratty clothes who likely hadn’t groomed themselves in months. The buggies weren’t in the best condition, but were outfitted with racks of weapons. Immediately Titus knew it was the Grit Gang, thieves, murderers and rapists who terrorized The Wastes, but weren’t very organized. They weren’t allowed in any town or city, but that only made them more dangerous. It wasn’t the first time this happened. In fact, it was growing mundane. Idiots never learned.

Three vehicles whirled to a dusty stop, brakes locking up and gouging the ground. The leader of this group jumped out of the driver’s seat and took aim with a sadly maintained pair of pistols held sideways as his boys grabbed their own weapons. Each end trained on a man standing in front of his house completely relaxed, both hands resting on a walking cane. Give us your guns and we’ll let you live, Gunsmith of Haven.

My. My. My. Five strapping men against a man who lost an arm and a leg. And is that opium I smell? Such a sad day my day is. Held up at my own home.

Shut up old man. Just give us what we want or we kill you and take it anyway! threatened another.

And has your gang of bandits ever once stolen from me and lived to tell the tale? If you want my goods, buy them like I make everyone else. If you have the gold you may get the goods.

We’ll take your gold too! the greedy leader leered after hearing about gold. None too bright if he had to be prompted.

Here, catch. Kendrick lobbed the Core after initiating an overload and the moron actually dropped both pistols in order to catch it. The man was only momentarily surprised. Bye.

‘Boom!’ the Core released every bit of accumulated energy and the whole upper torso of the man was blown to tiny chunks. Kendrick then casually reached for his own pistol and stared firing. The others shot back at him in response, but the cane’s power threw up a defensive light blue barrier that blocked each shot though each block drained the energies a little each and every time, but his pistol packed a bigger punch than their weapons and though the others had defensive barriers too, they paled in comparison to what the cane threw up automatically as it detected dangerous projectiles. Kendrick’s gun fired deep red rounds that exploded a little as another guy shot liquid bullets and another three were Wind types.

When each man watched his barrier dip drastically while their target didn’t so much as flinch they scrambled before their barriers failed and the man’s bullets reached flesh.

Bandits were all bigger cowards than Quarlak and soon as they realized they were outmatched and going to die if they stuck around, they fled tail lodged deeply between their legs as they jumped into the two buggies and used a little magic to cause a smokescreen in order to escape.

Come on out, Son. And see what kind of damage a Core can do if you don’t take care. Titus came outside and gawked at the devastation and gore. Now we got you a buggy to fix up. Nice. Drive it up next to the house. We’ll continue your lesson after I char the remains and get to work on making that basket.

And like that it was another day in The Wastes.

Chapter 1

Titus, now twenty one years old as of six months ago, sat tightening a bolt on his dune buggy he fixed up better than when it was initially built. He checked the Core of the vehicle by mere touch to find it fully charged since he hadn’t driven it in five days, then the oil level for proper gear lubrication. He then capped everything and hollered Hurry up Dad or all the pretty girls at the brothel will get taken before you get there!

I’m not picky you little bastard! Get over here and help me with this damn hitch or we won’t have any water for the year. Besides, them girls fight over me like they did you before you got that stick up your ass. Nareene was asking why you don’t come around anymore. Oh and I finished activating the traps while we’re gone.

A long groan came from Titus as he came around to help his father attach the hitch to the buggy’s rear. The trailer was actually a collapsible tank, but right now was filled with a few thousand smelted ingots set for tribute in exchange for a load of water. What did you tell her, Dad?

That you can’t get it up anymore. Kendrick laughed loudly at the horrified expression of his roguishly handsome and clean shaven son. Kidding! I told her the truth that Lirra broke your heart when you caught her in bed with two other men all cuddled together. I told you that girl wasn’t interested in anything except gold. Most brothel girls look for a rich man. She doesn’t want a man. She wants to use her body to support herself. That girl is about coin, nothing more. Whew, nice haul we got this time.

Why did you tell them my business, Dad? Titus pleaded. He hadn’t been to the brothels in a year and gossip was bad enough as it is in Haven. Now they’ll laugh or worse pity me because I’m a romantic fool like someone else I resemble, but with more gray hairs.

"Quit your whining. I told you to trust your heart, not the little brain. Don’t worry none, you’ll find the gal who curls your toes. We always do. Now let’s go, we’re burning daylight. Oho, I see you made new springs. Did you break them in yet?"

Titus took a look at the springs supporting the buggy to the large rubbery wheels with plenty of tread to scale just about anything. Put them on before bed. You’ll have to suffer right along with me for telling the girls my business, Old Man.

On second thought I’ll ride Thumper. Kendrick abruptly went towards the Quarlak pen, but was thrown over a strong youthful shoulder.

Over the years Titus grew and filled out. He stood six foot three and weighed two hundred twenty pounds of all lean muscle. Muscle even his father envied. The elder swore and fought, but the youth merely laughed it off. This is how they managed to still be close. They fought and made fun of each other day in and out. Titus though built his own place when he was fourteen so they technically didn’t live under the same roof. Both men were too independent in personality, but supported each other as a close family does. Kendrick and Titus came to blows many times but after a few beers they were back to being best friends.

The smacking of the walking cane was halfhearted at best against Titus’s backside before the elder was thrown into the passenger’s seat. Stay! Good boy! Titus patted his father’s head like a dog, but managed to avoid a real swing that would hurt. Still, the old man stayed in the comfortable seat.

Titus slid in the driver’s seat with a chuckle after securing his blue gauss rifle and steel staff that had a multitude of hidden features. The dagger had long since lost its novelty and just a regular knife was sheathed in his right boot. The staff had a flat, inch and a half wide end at the bottom, but at the top with a single specific current could bring out a spearhead that actually was a deceptive multipurpose wrench and what’s more, with a flick it collapsed the shaft from a neutral six foot down to a single foot so it fit in a round holster on the hip so it wasn’t too heavy. It took three years to design and work after breaking the old dagger. The pauldrons though remained the same as ever, sewn into the leather jacket he now wore for the past year.

Hanging around the neck was an elastic pair of darkened protective goggles that worked both when welding and as sunglasses for driving. At a touch the buggy fired up with a soft hum of coursing electricity coiled and ready for release. Titus didn’t floor it like usual because he’d snap an axle considering the tonnage being pulled.

Open land that rarely changed lay before them, but remained beautiful nonetheless and gradual speed increased till the hot summer winds and blistering sun cooled. The mostly flat terrain and trails made driving easy, but it remained bumpy due to newly forged springs being tested for the first time. The old ones were long overdue to be replaced. What better way to work them in than to pull several tonnes of metal. Dust followed their path for two long hours during the pleasant ride where the only thing to break up the arid scenery was distant mountains and three small metal mountains just like the kind they owned.

Eventually civilization came in the form of Haven. A rather large Junker town where there was no law except that of the people. Killing was commonplace as was theft, but it was the only town within a hundred miles lush with trees and greenery and that was because it was built by the Refinery. A place built on an underground lake that never ran out of water because it was linked to the ocean hundreds of miles away. But there were well guarded sections that a person paid good coin for security. And around Haven was a massive defensive wall manned at all hours to fight Bandits and Savages. Few were actual Rangers on the wall. Most did it for fun, boredom or for free. The best entertainment outside brothels and bar fights was shooting those who mean to kill for no other reason than chaos.

Spinning round and round day and night were windmills rotating turbines that generated power to all Haven’s two hundred thousand or so local residents. Many of the windmills were a gaudy patchwork from unskilled workers, but it got the job done. The newer ones needed less repair and luckily The Wastes was never lacking in wind.

Moisture in the air was a welcome relief as they gradually slowed in order to gain access like others who live outside Haven. They got in line behind a group of Quarlak bobbing up and down being checked for contraband such as smuggling children, deadly drugs, invasive pests and more. Soon as the group moved in, the buggy slowed to a gentle stop and Titus felt that the two hour jaunt pulling such a heavy haul drained about ten percent of Core power.

Well if it isn’t the best two gunrunners. Welcome back you two. Said a gatekeeper as two henchmen checked the trailer. Going to refill your tanks I take it?

Got it in one shot, Tredt. How life as a grandfather?

A whole lot better than when I was a father. Now when the rug-rats start to give me a headache from screaming I just ship them back to their parents. So any other business this time, Kendrick?

We’ll stay the night. Not peddling arms this time. I’ll be at Bent Broad after I get my water and enjoy the comfort of a woman or five. We’ll head out no later than an hour or so after noon I think. If you’re out that way I’ll buy you a beer and we can catch up like the old days. If you got info that is. Kendrick winked eliciting a laugh from the gatekeeper, Tredt.

All clear, Boss. Just ingots.

"Carry on, Boys. Next rider to town will be drifting in in about five so take a piss or cool off in the shade. And I’ll find you when I’m relieved here, Kendrick. Oh and by the way, steer clear of the south quarter. Lorn and his posse are stirring up trouble. Again."

Grateful for the advice, Titus produced two gold coins to the man who took it readily. He put it back in gear and drove through the main street where people milled about. Bounty hunters sat around playing card games. Legit Rangers though were few and far between, but they preferred to stick to the shadows

Reviews for Innovator and Desire (Book 1 in the Last Lineage)

[Dylan Becker · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In need of serious editing. Consistent grammatical problems that can make it a challenge to read and generally annoy anyone who knows how to write "would have" instead of "would of". Honesty drove me crazy. However, the world is interesting and some of the characters are cool, but the tropes seem to build on one another as it goes. If I hadn't already read a significant number of pages before the grammatical issues started to annoy, I wouldn't have finished.