The Watchers Chapter 1

Yesterday is Tomorrow
ONE THOUSAND THIRTEEN YEARS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF RECAB, KING OF DISHON

The Iceler stood above the fallen body of Haket, reviling in it's victory. "Get up and fight, you coward" it screamed out. Haket struggled to his feet, his muscles aching from endless battery, his head swirling. No sooner had he gotten to his feet then he was too weak to keep his balance, and fell back into the snow. The Iceler laughed, "You pathetic creature. I'll show you who is master of the mountains." With that, the Iceler picked up Haket, and tossed him effortlessly down the slope.

Haket had grown up as a prince in his father's castle. His father, also named Haket, was the king of Gowron, a rather large kingdom by the Appien Ocean. The elder Haket was a kind ruler, who genuinely sought to keep all his people happy and provided for. However he was rather naive when it came to ruling, and ended up making things harder for the people through his blundering decisions. Finally he was assassinated by his own brother, who sought to take control of the throne. His brother tried to kill any possible rivals, and young Haket, only seventeen, was forced to flee with a small band of friends.

As they were fleeing the country, they found it necessary to cross the Coler Mountains, a largely unexplored and totally unsettled range of mountains which formed the barrier between Gowron and it's neighboring country Durant. The mountains were cold and harsh. It was thought that nothing could survive in its brutal climate. Haket and his friends found otherwise.

The journey across the mountains was one Haket was obviously unprepared for. In his hurry to leave, he had neglected to bring many supplies, among them food, mountain climbing gear, and although they had some clothing, not nearly enough to combat the temperature. In particular they lacked gloves, and warm footwear. He and his companions would almost certaintly have been killed by the elements, but they were never given the chance.

They were hardly two hours into the mountains when they were attacked by Icelers. Icelers are creatures which resemble humans but are made completely of ice. Although it was well known that these creatures existed in parts of Fabulae where snow and ice stretched on seemingly forever, few had expected them to be in a place like Coler, where the mountains where only about five kilometers wide, and a length of 100 kilometers.

Several Icelers had leaped out of hiding, and before Haket could react his band was scattered, and he himself received several blows which left him sprawled in the snow. It is here we joined him, at the beginning of this tale.

After being thrown, Haket allowed himself to slide slowly down the mountain for about two or three dekameters, at the end of which he was gently stopped by a large boulder. He forced himself to stand up, and began to run away from his rapidly approaching foe. The Iceler was used to the mountain, and bounded down effortlessly after Haket. By comparison, Haket was moving slow and awkwardly. The Iceler soon caught up.

Haket unsheathed his sword and turned around to face his foe. As the Iceler ran towards him, he swung his sword at its head. The Iceler's arm flew up to take the force of the blow. Haket was expecting the arm to shatter or be cut in half, but instead only a dent was made in it. A large dent, but just a dent nevertheless. What's more, the Iceler was unfazed by his wound, and proceeded to hammer Haket with its fists. The first blow sent Haket flying through the air, and he landed on surprisingly compact snow. Before Haket could regain his orientation, the Iceler grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air. Haket struggled violently against the icy hands. It was then that the snow beneath them gave way, they fell a couple meters through a tunnel, and tumbled out into a warm underground room.

It felt like a blazing hot summer's day in midafternoon. The Iceler immediately started to melt, and tried frantically to climb back up the tunnel. This was impossible since it was three meters wide and built straight up and down, with sides as smooth as glass. Haket waited about five minutes as his enemy was reduced to a puddle of water. Then he collapsed with relief and lay on the floor several minutes, until he had completely caught his breath.

Finally he sat up and looked around him. The room was filled with switches, buttons, monitors and lights. He lay down again and for the first time became aware of how warm it really was. It had taken time for his body to warm up, but now he was actually beginning to sweat. "Deka, its Hot"

"Temperature adjustment required?"

Haket leaped up. "Who said that?"

"It is I, the teacher."

Haket tried to discern where the sound was coming from, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere. "Who?"

"The teacher. I am part of the information network. I will teach you how to use the equipment. Temperature adjustment required?"

"Uh, yeah, could you bring it down about fifteen degrees Celsius." Immediately the room cooled off to a pleasant temperature.

"Is there anything else you require? I can tell you anything you want."

"Could you tell me where my friends are?" asked Haket in a hesitant tone. He was sure the teacher would not know what he was talking about.

One of the largest monitors clicked on. It was about three meters tall and four meters wide. It showed Haket's friends beaten, bound with rope, and tied together in a group. They were surrounded by Icelers. A couple of his friends even looked dead. Beside the monitor, a separate screen displayed a map which showed where they were on the mountain, and also where they were in relationship to where Haket was. They were actually just a few dekameters away, not counting the five meters Haket was underground.

"I've got to help them," shouted Haket.

"Rescue mission is in planning." The voice that answered this time was different from the teacher's voice.

"Who is this?"

"This is the Executer. Specify method of rescue to be used."

"The quickest one." Haket was not sure what was happening, but he was eager to help his friends.

As Haket watched on the monitor, the ground under which each individual Iceler was standing became red hot with heat. The Icelers fled in terror. As soon as all the Icelers were gone, the ground underneath Haket's friends opened up and swallowed them. The next thing Haket knew, the ceiling opened up and his friends landed beside him.

"Deka, what just happened?"

Haket looked at the friend who had spoken. "I'm as confused as you are," he said. Suddenly, Haket's attention was grabbed by Daved. Daved lay lifeless on the ground. His face was blue, and dried blood was caked around his mouth. "Is he alright?" he asked.

One of Haket's friends opened his mouth to answer, but shut it as soon as he heard the voice of the teacher. "He is badly damaged, but still alive."

Then came the executers voice. "Repair injured?"

Haket would have answered with a vocal response, but he forgot himself and just nodded his head. To his surprise, the executer was able to understand him anyway. A small sphere came out of the wall and hovered over Daved. The sphere seemed to absorb all of his injuries. When it was done, it vanished, and Daved sat up, stunned but completely healed.

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"Hans! Hans, wake up." Hans head shot up with a jerk. "Hans you idiot, you fell asleep at the computer."

Hans sheepishly looked around him. "I must have fallen asleep while reading history last night."

"What where you reading ?" Asked Rodens, trying to make conversation.

"I was just reading how this place was discovered one thousand years ago."

"No kidding. Not a very exciting story, is it?"

"No, I guess not, but I like it anyways. You remembered to turn the heat down?" Rodens nodded, and the two walked in silence as Hans thought. That had been one thousand and twenty three years ago to be exact. Since that time, Haket and his friends had been taught many things by the teacher. Although the room Haket was in stretched on for as far as the eye could see, the teacher told them of a secret passageway which led into a huge underground city, big enough to rival any of today's Metropolises. The artificial light and environment made many parts of it look and feel like a forest, or a grassy field. There were plenty of giant buildings also. The whole city was filled with computers and other technology. A ceiling existed about half a kilometer above the ground, and the artificial environment made it look just like the sky. The computer was able to make food, weapons, and in fact it could synthesize just about anything. Haket and his friends, (of whom incidentally there was an equal number of men as women) never left the city from the day they came into it. Their descendents followed suit. The Coler mountains remained unsettled and so nobody else discovered the city.

(Although now the Coler Mountains were no longer part of the country of Gowron. They were ceded after to a war to Durant, and Durant in turn was conquered by Grarap.)

The teacher had taught Haket and his descendents everything, from how to work the computers, to astronomy, geography, history, and everything else. Unfortunately, the dwellers of this underground fortress were somewhat Xenophobic, and although they watched the whole world through the monitors, they avoided contact. That is why they gave themselves the name, "The Watchers".