The tragic life of Stork - Stories from the barrens[Kenshii]

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(Edited)

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He or she for little we knew about. For the sound of the name found upon the rise from the sleep we shall refer to him but the most freedom is given to the reader to replace wich whatever suits best is ideas.

Stork woke up on arid day close to the small encampament called The Hub in the Holy Nation domains, little did he knew about politics and races other then after a bit of walking around the city he could tell that he was different. There were many humans, there were many dark skinned humans, many Shek and just some peole from the hive, very few but still a few. He was the only one.

He got treated well though people from The Hub seemed rather indifferent to the races and colors that went by as long they were not bringing headaches and problems to the balances of the city.
But in that place Stork could not find any answers of were he was from and how he was brought there he wanted to travel and find with his three eyes what he was and were he was from, problem was that Stork had a faulty leg and with his walk speed he would have become rust before reaching the next town.

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So he went to the market seeing how many gears and machinery that looked like a less refined version of his limbic system. There he could find a whole lot of useless things such as food, water, grains, books, weapons and armors. Then the merchant nudged at him probably thinking that he stopped working right in front of his desk and asked what he was looking for? Stork didn't emit a sound, his language module was deteriorated in the desert and so he showed the merchant his leg.
The merchant straight away took something under the counter and showed him a Skeleton repair kit.
So that's how his race was colled maybe thought Stork. A Skeleton, sound nice for him. Then he was presented the bill and he did not have one single Cats on him.

Angry in his mind went out of the city gates with his first new raging feelings watching the sunset. There a man came running with all his breath followed by seminude mens running for him. When closing on the gates the vision become cruel as the guards of the city started mauling down the hungry bandits with their metal swords. When the carneficine was over Stork was looking at the guards bringing the corpses out of the city and dropping them on the barrens, he noticed that some of the items on the dead bodies were present in the market shop and so when the night arrived he sneaked up on the bodies and stole all the stuff he could before earing other footsteps coming over the bodies. He silently withdraw and from the bushes he could see the same man that was running from the tribal men now taking their stuff just as he did.
Thinking about this Stork waited for the morning to come.

When the sun started to shine over the market of The Hub, Stork was already there with all his dirty stuff. The merchant reluctacly accepted the offering in exchange for the repair kit but the stuff that Stork hoarded was so much that even if a junkpile it was still a pile and that mattered in that place forgotten by any god.

The crippled robot walked out the city and there perfomed his robitc surgery on himself without even thinking or processing he instantly started working finely and with expirience repairing all the parts as if it was a daily routine for him. And maybe it was just like that.
Now with his newfound strenght Stork moved south, without knowing he was on the road to the Strand.

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As the sun rose and the fell he walked incessantly in between giant cactuses and sand expanse without breaking a sweat and when the night fell he could see far in a great rock formation shining lights popping up. There is where his next stop will be. But when he was close enough to see the siluhettes of the houses taking shape he heard noises of steps just behind him. Before he could tell he was hit by a metal rod. Then voices complimenting each other for the big catch of the night. Stork was flat on his face as the aggressor were closing on him. In a matter of seconds before the bandits were ready to tear the Skeleton for parts he started running, the oil was pumping and they could not even dream of catching up and so Stork arrived at the Strand.

There he was welcomed by vivid atmosphere, traders were still doing affairs after the market were closed and the big wind turbines working tirelessly thanks to the strong winds that were gathering in the tunnel of rocks were the city sprouted from.
But those novelty weren't drawing Stork attention, he was still thinking about the aggression and how now he could find some use to those weapon that The Hub vendor had on sale. If I want to travel I need to defend, tought.

And with his cogs and nodes mubling he found himself infront a tall building before the opposite side of the city, right next to the southern gates. The insigna showed a backpack and other traveling necessities. Stork entered the building. There he was greeted by mild dark skin man that after receiving no answer from the Skeleton stood there watching as the broke client was browsing the wares. Stork took some repair kit, oil and a shining blade and put them into a backpack taken from a rack full of those fancy bags and brought everything to the counter. The merchant was watching his late night customer easily deducing that he had no currency and like child no clue after having expirienced his first fear of the darkness.
Stork was standing at the desk while watching the merchant taking all his shopping away and giving him a pick. Stork was confused. Then he showed him a piece of copper and the gesture of mining from the rocks. For how confused Stork was of the way of this newfound work he understood that there's always an exchange and the vendor wanted apperently some rocks for the stuff he needed.
He didn't give a second thought, took the pick and went out of his way to break rocks.

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Stork was a natural born miner but with his little knowledge on where and what to dig took him same days of work to collect something worthwhile for the merchant. And so he kept digging and mining more and more precise. The vendor could see him getting better at an unparalleled speed for any living being. He saw an opportunity in having a Skeleton friend, so rare these days.

One night when Stork was coming back with his collection of coppers the merchant asked him what he was looking for. Stork stood motionless for sometime, then started gesturing some defensive stance with an imaginary sword in his hands. The salesman that was a very sharp man used to many different ways from so many different people that traveled those frontier lands invited the Skeleton to walk up with him on the spiral staircase. There they stopped on the second floor were puppets were standing like crucified on big metal bars. For Stork the next days were all about sword training and ore mining while the merchant was wondering about his luck of having finally found a reliable, cheap and trusted worker.

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After days of endless work only one thing was still on the mind of Stork. Why? And like an impatient child he was and seeing nothing in the city pointing to his answers he worked harder and harder to be ready for travel as soon as possible. But he was tricked by the merchant as he offered the wares in exchange of the same weight in copper, but not the chunks that he brought back from the land, the refinied quantity after that each ore has been processed. If the merchant did the math well and he did the Skeleton would take about two years to match his payment.

One night after just before the sun was setting and Stork was ready to get back in the city for the sword training he heard some voices coming down from the valley and the curiosity brought him close to a firecamp were Sheks and Greenlanders were sharing a big meal. He noticed the shining armors and the big amounts of treasure and Cats in the camp and got closer. When he was almost behind the back of a guard on watch duty he turned to see how far he was from the Strand. 2 kilometers was the estimate. So he punched the guard throwing him close to the campfire giving the alert to all the camp, then he took the most shining stuff he could and started running towards the city.

He was fasters then most of his pursuer and brought them to the gates of the city were he signaled for help. And so like he saw happening in The Hub he baited the rich merchant or thieves to the city guard alerted were in all this chaos started fighting with the pursuers while Stork hid behind some big rock formation coming out to collect some of the armors ad weapons of the fallen.

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Stork did not have any emotional attachment, or atleast he didn't develop it in his life span because the same night after he collected a giant sword and some of the best plated armor that a warrior could hope started traveling without saying a word to the merchant nor to the city that has been his home in this very harsh days.
Without a word he ran away to west, free.

With the first rays of the morning blessing the horizon Stork noticed a bluewhite reflection on the edge over the sands a giant pond of unknown. There was his next destination.
And so he kept running among giant palms after all the days of work and training, he was made of metal with no fatigue or hunger, he kept running.

Once the sun was stuck in the middle of the sky he noticed that someone else was traveling close to him. On his left, 200 meters or so from the Skeleton a Shek woman was running on the next mountain ridge, they would meet in about two hours if they kept the same route.

With the sun arching down and the giant moon taking up half of the skydome the two strangers were very close now to have their routes intersect but the Shek stopped suddenly and started scanning the landscape. For some reason Stork stopped too and soon it was revealed to him why that Shek halted his travel.

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A squadron of Berseker were patrolling the valley just below them with their huge chunks of metal on their back and the imposing figure were able in a way to instill fear even in an heart made of oil and iron.

Crouching and sneaking Stork moved along his route as silently as possible, he knew that even if he had trained hard he was no match for those warriors. He knew almost nothing about his skills in reality has he tested those only on inmate puppets. And so he walked as softly as botpossible. Took a peak to see if his distant companion was still on sight but no, probably she vanished just like him.

Then after a few seconds howls and barks broke the silent afternoon and Stork saw the Shek running towards the Berserkers. The event started rolling down putting the bot in a confusional state, analyzing this situation left the Skeleton stalled.
After a few more seconds a pack of hounds were trailing the woman. The Bersekers alerted started drawing their swords. The Shek then took a slight turn barely dodging a fendent from a berseker.

While the bersekers start to fight with the pack of animals and the Shek is getting some distance from all this madness Stork is staring. Trying to understand how to fit in this situation and while he think a low row reach his back and a bite cut his wires on the left arm.

For him too is time to run, the circuits pumps the oil and just like adrenaline for living beings he is crossing the barrens again.

While the two travelers are bounced away like the balls on the edge of the pool triangle followed by dogs, the bersekers much like the balls that make the center stand and fight, making short work of the beast with their legendary swordmanship, so fast actually that they are now trailing the two fugitive too.

The afternoon has reach his middle part and just in a bunch of hours the sun will explode in a sunset and so even the most daring warrior start to put back his weapon setting his mind for the dinner and the day to come. The Bersekers are done with the chase and Stork and the Shek with no name are now running for their life but a slower rate. Only one hounds his behind them. Something strikes their thoughts, was it the same thought that they had Shek and Machine thinking alike. Teaming up sounds like a good idea so that they could be done with running and have some food and resources to sell that night. Maybe it was like this or maybe was a trick of fate.

The turned back and draw their weapons, Stork was ready to test his new skills. But as the beast came closer the idea shattered in smaller and smaller pieces, the hound was big and had the fiercest of the looks. It was to late now to run away one more time.

The beast jumped on the Shek first, she defended herself and cut the beast on a rear leg. But soon the hound charged again biting off part Shek leg. Stork hit first with the sword then with a kick throwing the beast some meters away. He took some of the medicament he had stealed the day before and patched his new companion hoping to have her back in the fight. The beast was charging back and as Stork was getting ready to the deflect the animal pierced through his chest. Stork felt immobile on the sand as the hound bited down the Shek neck and suffocate her.

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The moons observe without expression, Stork circuits are faulting and the repair kit lay some meters away forever out of reach. He's disconnecting, zapping as the hound drag away the Shek.
Before the sunset Stork has passed away and the cold wind start to breathe over his rusting skeleton.

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Now the deck is back on the sands and the hand of fate shuffle is that unforseable illusionist trick as fast as the river turn into a sea or slow like plains that turn into a mountain. Sometimes black and lost as the cold, still vacuum of space.
Rest in peace Stork

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Hope you enjoyed the story, it was almost 100% gameplay from Kenshii with just some little narrative changes(the last run with the Shek didn't go excactly like that but it was way too chaotic to understand and remember for me, so I hope that I have give the idea well!

Will correct the many grammatical errors tomorrow, have a goodnight!



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