The Rooted Child

This story - The Rooted Child was written in 2017. It was written for the fictional world of Escafeld, which I co-created with Mathew Presley and Chris Joynson for Sheffield Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Group to use as a shared world to set anthology short stories in. I have listed the world prompts that I used in the story at the bottom of the story. The group no longer uses this world and the anthologies are no longer available.

Please note, this is my last version I used before it was submitted to the anthology - so any errors in it are mine. Also please note, this story is NOT young adult. I hope you enjoy it.

The Rooted Child

“Shh, you need to be quiet,” Lily whispered into the bundle that she had hidden under the cloak. But Warren just wouldn’t listen to her as he let out another small cry. “Shh,” She whispered again. “We’re not out of the city yet.”

            She tucked the little bundle closer into her, holding the baby tighter and settling him a little as he snuggled into her. His lower half had been wrapped up to stop his feet jabbing her, but his head and chest pressed directly to her skin, warming himself from the night air. She smiled; just like his father, Warren liked to be the centre of everyone’s attention. She placed her hand into her cloak, stroking his black hair, letting him suck on her finger and calm down. And just like his father had been, Warren had become the centre of her world.

            Lily glanced over her shoulder, checked that her son’s call hadn’t alerted anyone to their presence. Slowly her heartbeat slowed to almost normal; no one jumped out of the shadows to join them on the darkened street. There looked to be no one else out her. She let out the breath that she had been holding, relief easing a little into her body, but at the same time she upped her pace. She couldn’t let herself be caught out here, not walking the streets in the dark without an escort, and not with Warren.

            She took in another breath, looking down at Warren’s little face. The baby looked straight back at her, locking eyes with her. Her tension easing, with just a look. Her breath steadying. Her heartbeat slowing again. And that feeling that she was being watched disappearing. Nothing mattered right now. Just Warren.

            She looked up, tension returning again as she looked away from the baby. She needed to get out of here. Her heartbeat quickened and she turned the next corner; with Warren settled and a familiar path to take, her thoughts wandered.

            Who would have thought that heading down to the Ratter’s Guild with Daisy, to listen to the older stories of murders and crimes, would’ve come to this? That the forgotten tales of old Escafeld would have lead her into Shemeld Forest, to see if the supernatural aspects to those stories were true. And who would have thought that she would’ve found such charming proof?

Lily offered Daisy a smile as the pair of them looked up from their needlework. Her sister sent her a conspiratorial grin back at her, before the pair of them looked down at their needlework. The boys may have gone down to inspect the mine with Father, but they could hardly have the conversation that they wanted to have with Rose, Poppy and their mother still present. They were already in enough trouble for getting in late last night with no real explanations of their actions.

            Lily picked up her needle again and started sewing a series of flowers into her piece in a particular pattern, so that if you looked at it in the right angle, the flowers spelt out ‘fuck this’. After half an hour’s painful and boring work, she held it up to show her sister, causing Daisy to laugh and for them to receive another look from their mother.

            Their mother got to her feet, glaring at her youngest two daughters, “Rose, Poppy, dears, let us go and collect the luncheon.”

            The two older girls rose with their mother, headed to the door. The door closed behind them and lock clicked. It was good to know that their parents trusted them. Lily jumped to her feet and looked out the window.

            She turned to look at her sister, “I’m going to check out the forest.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “I want to know if the stories from last night are true.”

            “And you think the answers will be in the forest.”

            “Better there than anywhere else.” Lily smiled. “Do you want to come?”

            “On a pointless mission that will lead to more trouble? You’re on your own with this one Lil.”

            “As you will,” Lily pushed open the shutter of the window, “have fun with the needlework.”

            Lily climbed out the window as Daisy made her way over, “be careful.”

            Lily smiled back, “I always am.”

            Forcing herself out of the window, she made her way onto the ledge and then jumped to the nearby tree. Ripping her dress, she climbed down the tree and then broke into a sprint. Running through the streets, barely paying attention to those going about their daily task as she headed out of the city. She only paused as she reached the edge of the city, well away of anyone that may come after her.

            She started on the forest path, not daring at first to leave it. The myths had all sort of creatures living away from this path; the sun-fearing Shadowmen, the Great Wolf, the River that Drank the Horse. Lily took a breath, drawing on her courage. Those creatures were just what she had come to see. It wouldn’t be worth risking the trouble that she would go back to just for a walk on the well-trod forest path. Taking another breath, Lily stepped off it.

            Trees loomed over her and the light started to disappear as she weaved in and out of the trees. Her curiosity increasing in equal measure to her nerves. Looking for myths wasn’t a sensible choice. But then her mind had hardly let her have a moments rest since last night. If she could just find a way to dismiss those stories, then surely she could return to the city satisfied. And that had to be better than always wondering ‘what if’.

            “Hello miss,” a man appeared almost from nowhere as he stepped out from between the trees, “now, you are a long way out of the city.”

            “That was the plan.”

            “Interesting,” he said as he came fully into view.

            Lily fixed her eyes on him, blushing as she let her eyes trail up and then down his body. It was so toned. The look of an actual man, and not the boys that went to the Imperial Balls. She looked back down him and settled on staring at his crotch.

            “Do you see something you like?”

            “Yes,” Lily spluttered out.

            “Well let me show you the rest of it then.”

Foster was tall, pale and ever so alluring. He had longer hair than hers, which he wore in a long dark braid and had piercing blue eyes. Dressed in tight fitting gold trousers, an open black shirt and a red cloak, it had so easy to follow him when he had offered to take her deeper into the hidden parts of the forest and tell her more of the tales.

            For three months, she had headed out from her father’s grand house, through the outer Escafeld boroughs as she had gone to meet Foster. On each visit, Foster had been waiting for her, just at the edge of the forest, flowers in hand. Afternoons of wine, would follow as Foster would eagerly ask her about her family, their dealings that he insisted her family still had with the dwarfs, the Empire’s new mines and automatons. And on each visit, she ended telling Foster more than she had intended, even stealing books and documents for him to add to his personal library. His methods of persuading had known no bounds, from the treats he had offered to the kisses that he dropped down her neck, to their trips to the bedroom. She had sworn after each visit than she wouldn’t return, but the following morning, she would wake up and head back out there. How could she have ever let Foster down when he was always so keen to see her?

Lily rolled over and looked at Foster, taking in every aspect of his body. Lying in his bed, it was easy to see the differences between them now.  In his own domain and out of his glamour, it was hard to imagine that he was ever human. His tall shape had the look of the oak trees he’d shaped into his home. His solid body had branches springing from his waist, his shoulders, his hair and his long fingers. His face was pointed, from his chin, his sharp eyes, to the tips of his ears. But still, despite the strangeness of Foster’s non-glamoured form, there was no denying that he was the most handsome man she had ever met. And didn’t he know it as well.

            Foster stirred and smiled as he reached straight for the wine. He poured out two glasses from the decanter. “Watching me again.”

            “I can’t help it.”

            “It was an observation, not a judgement. Here,” he gave her a glass, “Nectar of the gods, from a god himself.”

            “I shouldn’t, we must have already drunk a couple of bottles each this afternoon.”

            “Yes, you should,” he placed his hand on her chin, focusing her eyes in on his, “now drink.”

            Blushing, Lily took a sip, warmth sweeping through her the second that the wine touched her lips. Why was it that she could never lie to Foster? That all her knowledge and feelings just came pouring out of her with a single look? One look and she was quite simply his and willing to give him much more than she would give anyone else. He was Foster, and what he wanted, he got.

            She took another sip, the warm liquid filling her. The wine he offered was so much better than the ones that sat at her father’s table, even those bottles from the finest vintage that he brought out when trying to impress the Imperial family. This wine lifted her entire being, sending her to a place of pure blissful illusion where, for once, anything was possible.

            Foster stretched as he glamoured back into human form, “No one can blame you for watching.” He pulled on his black shirt but left it unbuttoned so that she could see every muscle of his toned chest. “Even for my kind, I am spectacular.”

            Lily chanced a smile. “And very modest with it.”

            “And that is a negative quality?”

            “No, not with you. Never with you.” Lily laughed, “My family had a dinner last night and the boy I was seated with believed that he was the Emperor’s gift to Escafeld. Nothing could have been further from the truth. And to think, my father expects me to marry one of their sons as their fathers are experts in SIC-B experiments.”

            “What’s that?”

            Lily paused, her father had made it clear that they would share nothing about the new experiments with anyone else in Escafeld. But then Foster wasn’t part of Escafeld. He looked at her with that patient gaze, like he knew she’d tell him sooner rather than later. Lily took another sip of the wine and smiled.

            “A new take on the automatons. It’s meant to control people’s thoughts by taking over their nervous system, so that the mine workers will function like machines without, as father puts it, ‘complaining that the mines aren’t safe’. Which they aren’t.”

            Foster didn’t look surprised to hear this, instead rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That’s interesting.”

            “Hardly. I mean, we’re years, decades, maybe even centuries off making it work, there’s just so much that we don’t know. At the moment they are just playing mad scientist, destroying people, cutting them up with no chance of progress, so that we might get a better workforce in the future. It’s pointless. People would be far better improving the conditions of the mines, but that would cost so called ‘unnecessary finances’.”

            “That is one thing you could say for the trolls,” Foster said distantly, “when they were in charge of that power, they treated their workers well. Maybe you shouldn’t have stolen it from them.”

            “We discovered it, we didn’t steal anything.”

            “Of course, you didn’t.” He said, refilling her glass. “So other than the painful dinner, life in the city is well?”

            “It’s exceptionally restrictive. You must be here by this hour. Do this by this hour. Be seen with this person. Be watched by this copper, for my protection of course. It’s incredibly frustrating, and the thing is, they are very good at it either; they think that the worst I get up to is heading down to the Ratter’s Guild for a tour. It’s nice to get the freedom and be me down here, not the proper lady that I’m expected to be.”

            Foster smiled, “You are always welcome to come here and be yourself anytime you need.”

            Lily smiled. “What the catch?”

            In one swift movement, Foster took the glass out of her hand, placed it on the side tablet and pinned both her wrists to the bed as he positioned himself above her. His knees tucked into her ribs, holding her in position, “You have to do everything I say.” He leaned in and kissed her neck. “Do you agree?”

            “Always.”

All that had ended when she had found out that she was pregnant, and her father had locked her in her room. He would not have a member of his family disgraced like that. He’d spent so long trying to build up the Goldharker name and to integrate them to receive personal favours from the Imperial Family. Her only company had come from the boys, beaten black and blue, that he had dragged up from Pauper’s Vale as he had tried to find which boy had been responsible for her condition. His fury had grown with each denial of each boy, as he refused to listen to her simple explanation that she had not touched one of his workers, but rather a man from outside of Escafeld. On some days he had come close to throwing her out the house, but then people would have found out that she had not gone for schooling in the southern states. But then the baby had been born. And from her first look into Warren’s tiny innocent face, and seeing how much he resembled Foster’s unglamoured form, she had known that this walk was going to be inevitable.

            “Who goes there?” A copper shouted as the call drew her out of her memories. “What are you doing?”

            Lily tucked the baby into her tighter, and prayed that he would both stay quiet, and the copper wouldn’t get too close. She could really do without getting recognised and having a copper run back to her family and escort her home. Not that that would be the first time for that to happen. But every other time, she had been on her own. She may have received a bit of a lecture after those encounters, but then she hadn’t had Warren with her on those occasions. She pulled the hood of her cloak up as she took a step backwards. She could hardly have a member of the Imperial Law Enforcement see this baby, especially given the Emperor’s attitude to purity and the Registry’s obsession with clean bloodlines.

            “I know you,” the copper said holding his light up to see her face. “What are you doing out here, Miss Goldharker?”

            “Fuck.” Lily swore under her breath.

            She may have been out of society for almost a year but her face would always be recognised. She had made such a point of being visible before she had met Foster. She had to be at every party, ball and at any other social invitation that got her away from the house and the mine. She’d been focused on pure freedom, fun and frivolity. She had been determined to show that she wasn’t her mother and would not be settling down and producing a new member for the Goldharker family every other year. Reporters had followed her, desperate for their piece of Goldharker gossip. She took in a breath. She had been caught out on the streets by coppers before. She just had to stay calm and hope that Warren followed her lead.

            She took a breath, cleared her throat and did her best to smile. “We need the workers in early tomorrow. A new order has come in from the Imperial family, and we can hardly keep them waiting, so I have been sent out to let the foremen know.”

            The copper stepped closer, frowning at her, “And why would Goldharker send his youngest daughter to carry that message?”

            She kept her smile; she had been so used to lying over the last year it was almost natural to fall back into this exchange. She just needed to stay calm. “I’d love to know the answer to that myself. Trust me, I’d rather not have to leave the dinner table to run an errand, but no one else was home and when father’s temper has been piqued, I’m not going to argue with him. But you feel free to take me back to the house and have that discussion.” Her smile grew. “I’m sure that would work out just great for you.”

            “No, no.” The copper’s face slipped, and Lily hid her smile, as he stepped back, making now harder for him to see Warren. Having the Goldharker name and knowledge of how her family could treat others was for once going to work in her favour. She was almost grateful for her father’s legendary temper. “That won’t be necessary.”

            “Good.” She let out an impatient sigh. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to go. He told me not to be long, and I wouldn’t want anyone testing his patience.”

            The copper stepped back. “Of you go then, just don’t stay out too late, Miss.”

            Lily finally released the breath that she had been holding. Air refilling her lungs and easing the tension in her chest. That had been close. Too close. She turned down the next alley, and opened up the bundle to look inside. He was still sleeping away solidly, looking as peaceful and as beautiful as he ever did when he was tucked into her bosom. But he wouldn’t stay like that for long. Just like his father, her beautiful boy came alive at night.

            It would have been so much easier to have headed out to the forest when the baby was more peaceful during the day. But then she would have been seen. They both would have been seen. And with her name. Her background. Her spine chilled despite the warm summer air. If the Whispering Mask got hold of this story, it wouldn’t just be her life that was over.

            She had been waiting all day for it to turn dark. It was one thing ending up pregnant and having the baby out of marriage. But it was another completely when the baby had a look of a being which was believed to be extinct for the last few hundred years and could only be found in the rarest of history books. Most books dismissed all knowledge of the fae as myth. But she knew better. And each day that passed her son was looking more like his father. His fingers were already growing longer than his hands, and hidden in his dark hair were small green shoots. There was no way that her father would have been able to sneak him into the orphanage system now, not with the keen way that the Imperial Registry was being monitored. If only the Conclave that Foster had spoke about was still around. But if the last year had taught her anything, it didn’t do to dwell on ‘if only’s’.

The moonlight fell on them as they stepped away from the built up houses, Lily glanced up on it as the baby stirred again. He was waking up. And she had to keep him quiet. Softly and looking directly at his captivating little face, she started to sing.

“Some days when things are bad,

and things look blue

I wish I had a prince, just like you.

Someone with a heart so sweet,

Someone who I could call my own

If you were the only boy in Escafeld,

and I the only girl

Nothing else would matter but being held,

No dragons, no trolls, no worries but each other

A home made just for two

With nothing to get in our way

Oh I would say how much I love you

And there would be amazing things to do

If you were the only boy

and I the only girl.”

Lily ended the song as Warren stopped his wailing, successfully soothed. She paused, not starting another song as she heard the footsteps on the corridor outside her room. The lock on the door clicked as she placed the baby back in the makeshift crib. ‘We ain’t wasting brass on that brat, when he’s going to entered into the workhouse as soon as we can get a wet nurse.’ Her father had clearly stated on his only visit to see her, less than hours after she had given birth.

            And that was the last time that she had seen a member of her family. The last time that any human had stepped into the room. Instead she had spent the last month under the care of automatons, who came three times a day. They could hardly have some humans leaking the news of the disgraced Goldharker, especially when the plans were to reintroduce her to society at the next Imperial Ball. Lily wondered sometimes if the machines that served her were once humans, now automated by some mad experiment. The robotic maids had human faces and glassy eyes; they were more unnerving than the steam-driven faceless ones Lily had seen in the mines.

            The door swung open as Lily turned away from the crib, turning ready to steal the bedroom key from the machine, only to pause as her oldest sister stood in the machine’s place. Rose was pushing a trolley which contained her usual simple meal, a jug of water, a glass, fresh clothes for her (if not for Warren) and the latest reading intake that was to be part of her re-education.

            Rose offered her a smile. “Mother says that we have finally found a nurse that we can trust. We should be able to rehome him in the next few days and finally end all this.”

            “And what did father say?”

            “That you have been out of society for too long as it is now and there’s no need for that to continue any longer. The terms are ending at the universities and that we don’t need anyone asking more questions. He’s ending all the talk with the right marriage.”

            “And he thinks that I’ll just go along with this? Give up my baby to some random stranger and then marry someone that I’ve never met? I’m not Poppy.”

            “I don’t think that you have a choice, Lil.” Rose offered her little sister a smile. “He has found you a good match. A little old and boring, not your normal type, but much better for you, and a decent enough man with the right background. He’s someone the whole family approves of, even Grandpapa.”

            “I’m not interested.”

            “Lil, if you want to stay as a Goldharker, you’ll be interested. And what other choices do you have? Would you really swap all this for a life on Pauper’s Vale with that boy’s father? It’s grim down there. People starve. They die. Why would you swap your life for that? Give up the baby and just put all this down to a mistake and we will all try to forget it.”

            “Warren isn’t a mistake, Rose.”

            “Oh, why did you give him a name? Mother said not too. It will be so much harder to give him up now.”

            “Rose,” she looked straight into her sister’s eyes, “Rose, I’m not giving my baby up, he’s not going to Pauper’s Vale and neither will I.”

            “Where will you go?”

            “Warren’s father’s. And you’re going to help me to get there.”

            “Now, Lily, this ain’t my mess.”

            “All I’m asking you to do is to forget to lock the door when you leave.” Lily went over to the crib and picked the little buddle out of it. Smiling at her son, she placed her finger in his mouth for him to suck on. “He can’t stay in Escafeld, any more than I can.”

            Rose frowned. Her brow creasing hard as if it was the first time that she had been made to think about a problem, but then Rose had never been known for her wits. She was always so willing to listen to instruction and go along with whatever the family asked without question. Lily smiled, and that was probably why she had been sent down her to talk to her.

            “Why?”

            “Come see.”

            Lily sat down on the edge of the bed as she invited her sister over. She slowly unwrapped the bundle, letting her sister see Warren’s full form. Rose blinked twice as she looked at the infant, glancing between blinks as she processed the baby in her head, taking in his human and non-human aspects. His long shape. His extended fingers. The pointed tip to his ears. But most tellingly were his feet, that ended with five roots in place of toes.

            “What’s wrong with him?”

            “Nothing.”

            “Lily, he doesn’t look normal. He doesn’t look human.”

            “He’s not. Well he’s part human, part fae.”

            Rose paused. Seconds passed. Minutes passed. The silence filling the room was suffocating. “Lily, just what did you do? Who’s his father?”

            “Someone I met in Shemeld Forest. You must see now how we have to leave, at least until he grows into his shape and then he can glamour if he needs to. You need to leave that door open and I need to take him to the forest.”

            “And what will you do then? Will you leave too?”

            “I’m not sure.” Lily looked at her sister, a pleading quality in her eyes as she flashed her sister a look that had never failed her in the past. “I just know that I can’t stay here with him. Will you leave the door open?”

            Rose nodded. “You be careful, and if you come straight back, you can still be part of us. I will tell Father, that you have taken the baby back to his father so you can meet the match that he has arranged for you. That would please him. Please Lily think about it.”

            Lily smiled. “Perhaps, it might be fun to change the odd habit of a lifetime.”

Lily took her familiar path through the forest, it was almost like stepping back in time. If it hadn’t been for the baby, then she could have almost believed she’d gone back to how things used to be. She weaved in and out of the trees in the forest, getting deeper and further away from the established path. The trees loomed over her as the baby stirred again as they headed past the old oak tree where she had used to meet Foster.

            “Do you want to see?” She asked the baby as she shifted him in her arms. “Is this home?”

            The baby gurgled as he looked around, taking in his new surroundings. Lily continued deeper into the forest, now struggling with her memories. Foster had always taken the lead at this point, and she had just followed, giggling and laughing like a school girl, running through the forest, who was finally escaping parental restrictions. She turned at another two marked trees and arrived at a large wooden door that had been shaped into a tree. Taking another long breath, she knocked.

            Seconds passed and Lily knocked again. Her heart beating faster as she waited for Foster to answer. He had never kept her waiting before. The moonlight above her changed, and the night air suddenly felt a lot colder. Finally, after a solid couple of minutes had passed, the door opened, and there he stood. The same tight golden trousers. The same open black shirt. It would be so easy, too easy to get lost staring at him, but she wouldn’t let that happen. She was in enough of a mess as it was.

            She couldn’t stay here, let herself get lost in his glamour again. Her father would search for her, especially if he had already bartered her in a marriage; Goldharkers didn’t lose out in deals. And she couldn’t let either Foster or Warren be found. She’d have to go back. It didn’t matter what she wanted anymore. She had to protect Warren. She would have to go back and agree to go along with that marriage. Damn, Rose, being right as always.

            “This is Warren, your son.” She offered him a small smile and she showed him the infant. “Warren Goldharker.”

            Foster looked at the child, taking his time to stare at her son, before looking straight up at her. “And why would I care about that? He’s your mistake, not mine.”

            “He’s your son.”

            As Foster looked at the child again, Lily saw his eyes were suddenly cold. No, she thought; his eyes hadn’t changed. The coldness had always been there. You just chose to ignore it, and fix upon the warmth of his body.

            “I don’t care about any of the others that are my sons. Why would this half-breed be any different?”

            Lily looked at him. Why was she even having to justify this? Why wasn’t he just jumping to see him? How could he not instantly fall in love? Just like she had done. She took a breath. It didn’t matter whether Foster loved him or not, not yet. All that mattered was that he could protect Warren. And she just had to make that happen.

            “He’s a Goldharker. Warren’s a Goldharker, he’s your access back to Escafeld. You can teach him to appear human, and he’ll be part of a well-connected family.”

            Foster paused again. He took his time as he looked at the boy again, seconds passing into minutes. This time he smiled as he raised his head to look back at her. “That is a valid point.” He stepped out of the way of the doorway, allowing them to enter. “Pass him over.”

            Lily passed him the baby. “Be careful.” She said as Foster raised the baby into the air, letting his sheets drop the floor as he took in his image. “He doesn’t like being held away from you.”

            “He will like what he is told to like. He will play his role.” Foster examined the baby. “Not as handsome as his father, though that’s a high standard. But he should still have the charm.”

            “Foster?”

            “Be quiet,” he waved his arm, gesturing to the decanter of wine, “have a drink.”

            “I don’t need a drink.”

            “Of course, you do.”

            “No, I don’t,” Lily took a breath. This was going to be so much harder than she had ever thought. “You will look after Warren?”

            Foster looked slightly bemused at this, as if he’d been asked to feed a neighbour’s dog. “I suppose.”

            She made her way closer to them and focused her attention on her son. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to take in his every detail. She could look forever at that face. Get lost in it. But if she was to protect him, if she was to get back to Escafeld, she was going to have to leave now. She’d just have to be strong.

            “I promise to visit as often as I can.”

            “Visit? Where do you think you’re going, Lily? I can’t raise a child.” He handed the baby back. “The boy will need his mother’s milk. I will sort out a room for you until he becomes an age to take his position.”

            “I can’t stay here. My parents don’t even know I left for the night. I need to get back before they check my room.”

            “Well then, you both need to leave.”

            Panic flooded through Lily, her chest tightening and her quick shallow breaths taking over her as she tried to unsuccessfully calm herself down. “But I can’t take him back.”

            Foster smiled. “Then you both will stay.”

            He opened another door and lead her down a series of stairs and they headed further underground. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Foster unlocked another door. Lily paused as she glanced upstairs. This didn’t feel right. This felt so far from right. She should run. They could survive this. Without Foster. Without her family. She glanced down at the baby again. No, she couldn’t take that risk. She couldn’t leave him. Foster pushed the door open and led her into a corridor.

            “Please take room number seventeen, Miss Goldharker.”

            Lily walked down the hallway before pausing in front of a red door with a gold number seventeen painted onto it. She pushed open the door. The room was fully furnished with bed, crib, desk, chair, even its own bathroom. Slowly she stepped in as she heard an infant cry. She looked down at Warren, he was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

            “Who was that?”

            “Another of my sons.” said Foster dismissively, “Or daughters; I can’t be expected to keep track of them all.”

            She stared at him, reality hitting for the first time. “You planned this from the start.”

            Foster smiled at her. “Of course I did. You thought you were the first, and had all my glory to yourself? We fae have been around for centuries, and we will return to our rightful home. The children of Lyral know how to survive.”

The End

Prompts:

·       AGE OF HAMMERS (Steampunk Victoria gaslight horror alt-history dieselpunk gothic fantasy new weird) The northern continent is now unified under Imperial rule, and begins an age of discovery and invention. Old magic is replaced by new science, and these innovations lead to expansion beyond the southern coast; airships can cross the equatorial oceans with ease, opening up the far southern continent. The northern city of Escafeld is an industrial centre for the Empire, and fuels the southern Imperial City’s conquests. The Age officially ends when the empires finally descend into open war; with resources like coal and oil rapidly depleting, new methods of science and political movements turn Terra into a world closer to modern-day Earth.

·       Escafeld City: Now part of the Great Calshani Empire, Escafeld’s unique position in the continent means it’s an industrial centre, with the boring matters of leadership and governance delegated to the fetid boroughs of Greater Calshan County. When the Dwarven mines were sacked, Escafeld was in the perfect position to overtake their industries; coal and iron ore are continually belched from the mountains, down to the village-sized furnaces and cogworks. Former Elf forests are now part of the Escafeld Civic Arboretum, which aims to be green and lush, but for most of the year is sulphurous.

·       Advances in Technology: At the Age’s beginning, there’s a renaissance after discovery of Dwarven tech. Steam engines, coal power + rail travel spread throughout Empire. As mining + chemistry progress, gas extraction possible; first airships built. Further south, steel hulled ships traverse equatorial oceans; southern continent discovered mid-Age. Diesel/petrol leads to more efficient engines; no. of airships in Empire increase, leading to air superiority + faster travel. Near the Age’s end, coal + oil reserves dwindle; airships no longer viable, replaced with planes + cars.

·       The Imperial Family: The ruling Calshani family became figureheads at the middle of the Age, leaving governance to a fledgling parliament. Instead, their wealth was focused on military and colonial expansion. Imperial armies are the best equipped, Imperial ships the fastest and strongest, and Imperial flags are the most readily waved and saluted by cheering Imperial crowds. Notable Imperials include the ‘Southern Queen’ Titania I, in whose honour the first Oceanic Expeditions were launched, and Prince Gustaf IV, whose medical discoveries eradicated screaming cough and the deadly Alley-Cat Sweats.

·       The Goldharker Family: ‘Where there’s muck, there’s brass, and Goldharkers trade both’. This merchant family is so sprawling and omnipresent that any port or border-town without a Goldharker is considered the lesser for it. Many would have you believe the entire family were cut-throats, swindlers, conmen, smugglers and slavers; indeed, the Goldharkers only cultivate this rumour, because only poor people would believe such rubbish. That said, wherever there’s a coin to be made, there’ll be a Goldharker involved somewhere. They were originally from Mathar, the transport vessel the Golden Harkener arrived on the northern coast just as the Shemeld canal began construction. As the canal cut its way inland, the Harkener was dragged behind, gathering labourers as it went. Once the canal reached Escafeld, the Goldharker family were perfectly positioned to deal with trade barges and tolls, and to pick up whatever contracts were delivered from the south. Sensing where the profit was, the Goldharkers reinvented themselves from the crew of a slave transport ship into a merchant family, and spread out across the Escafeld trade routes.

·       Goldharker Mining Corporation: After the dwarven mines were overthrown and looted, Imperial General Magnus Goldharker was perfectly positioned to claim and reopen the mines in his family’s name. Goldharker Mining runs throughout the Copperspine mountain range, harvesting much of the nation’s coal, gas and oil; unlike other, more scrupulous, business models, Goldharker mines are often penitentiaries as well. Prisoners in the mines are released once they’ve repaid their debt to society; the Goldharkers offer prisoners chance to have their sentences reduced, but these deals never work out well.

·       The ‘Goldharker Hotel’: Although Goldharker mines often run as prisons, not everyone there is guilty of a crime. Goldharker owned slums and dosshouses are notorious for gangs running ‘recruitment drives’, taking away those who wouldn’t be missed, or who can’t make rent payments. Although gang leaders are tried and convicted, nothing links them to the Goldharkers, and the Empire does nothing to regulate the productive mines. When someone mysteriously disappears, people often say someone’s ‘staying at the Goldharker Hotel’.

·       The Whispering Mask: Printed on defective presses and funded by non-Imperial activity, the Whispering Mask is an underground newspaper. It prints anti-Imperial rhetoric, from valid criticism to frothy-mouthed howling, alongside stories of pure fancy. Ghost stories are rife, as are the ‘lost heir’ stories. If you believed the Whispering Mask, half of Escafeld were the displaced rulers of a long-lost kingdom of miners, pretty tree-lovers, or some other ridiculous notion. No-one remembers where the name of the paper comes from, nor the emblem on its front page; a smiling face decorated with flowers.

·       Imperial Law Enforcement: Known as coppers (after the copper badges handed out to officers), the Imperial Law Enforcers were formed in the mid-to-late Age, when the military was required in national defence. Without the full combat training of an Imperial soldier, the Enforcers were expected to mediate and report as much as prevent criminality; as the cities grew, so did the need for a multi-layered, convoluted police force. While the Knights Executor are long disbanded, coppers took on a similar reputation; when they turn up, it’ll end badly for someone (although, unlike the Executors, it’s not likely to end in someone getting killed.)

·       Automatons: Originally discovered in Dwarven forts, Automatons were a secret weapon that never got deployed. Resembling a dwarf in full battle armour, the first Automatons were dismantled, and Imperial scientists back-engineered most of the mechanisms that move and control them. The one part of them engineers have yet to reproduce is the elaborate cogwork of their command module; all attempts to study and dismantle one result in its destruction. Luckily, an Automaton’s module can be fitted into any number of new designs, and the Empire commandeered thousands of modules from the Dwarves.

·       SIC-B Experimentation: Ever since the link between electricity and brain functions was established, medical scientists have experimented, often illegally, on controlling people’s thoughts. One such experiment resulted in SIC-B, a biological agent that replaces the victim’s nervous system with steel infused organic wire. Whether this controls the victim’s thoughts, or just their movements, isn’t entirely clear. Over time, the entire body is replaced by this metallic infusion. As the full horrors of this came to the surface, the Empire destroyed all knowledge of it, and their connections to its funding.

·       Imperial Registry: Although no longer concerned with racial heredity, the Imperial registry still audits the growth of the Empire; now, it tracks the movement of workers, keeps a census of available workforce, and tracks class of work; skilled workers earn more than unskilled, and a new pecking order appears, with social climbers and nouveau riche occurring more often as grafting industrialists mix with old establishment. As the Empire covers the whole northern continent, the ‘Imperialisation’ of names is commonplace; the Registrars are overworked and notoriously lazy, and think Imperial names are better anyway.

·       Orphanage System: With the expansion of the Empire and the consequent wars, Escafeld and Calshan City slums are often magnets for unregistered children. Rather than turn them away, the Imperial registry rounds them up, assigns them names and an approximate age, and sends them to unisex orphanages. Once old enough, children are apprenticed until their sixteenth birthday. Having no registered surnames or family records, orphans can’t be legally married to each other or anyone with an orphan in their family; the registry treats orphans as batches, and can’t guarantee individuals are related.

·       Ratter’s Guild: Carrying their traditional ratting pole and a switch-flash lantern, the Ratters of Escafeld know every corner of the slums inside and out, and can navigate the hidden spaces with sinister ease. Despite their reputation, the ratter’s guild are sought after as storytellers; during the day, ratters will conduct tours through the older parts of town, telling tales of grisly murder and crimes, or more supernatural stories if the crowd knows the password…

·       Filcher’s Green: Although the Empire is much stricter on superstition in the south, the Escafeld coppers have enough trouble beating down regular crimes without chasing down harmless storytellers. So long as they don’t cause trouble, Filcher’s Green is left alone. The alleyway is filled with curio shops, greasy-spoon canteens, musty bookstores, and distrustful glares. The entrance is hidden to prevent ‘mundanes’ from accidentally wandering in; Filcher’s Green can only be accessed through an abandoned coal mine in Pauper’s Vale, and even then you need a special candle and lantern to navigate safely.

·       Pauper’s Vale: The lowest valley that Escafeld spills into, Pauper’s Vale was land too poor to farm, too soft to build on, and prone to flooding. All these things are even truer since Goldharker Construction Company bought the land and filled it with cheap housing. Despite living under a permanently smoggy cloud, with cramped alleys and a wide variety of vermin and iniquity, the slums take pride in their close community, and keep old traditions alive. The Rustharker Street Festival, which began in the scrap iron district, is one such tradition that Escafeld has formally adopted.

·       Unelma, the Dreaming One (Age of Dreams): Highest of the known Dragons, Unelma explored the world, and from his dreams he formed life to dwell there. He dreamt of mountains, and the dreams became Dwarves. He dreamt of forests, and the dreams became Elves. He had nightmares, and they became monsters. After the monsters came, he stopped his dreams taking shape, yet he still dreamt of many things. He dreamt of nobility, corruption, greed, humility, arrogance, deference, poverty and riches. These dreams begged to be real as the others before them. Unelma finally took all these disparate dreams, and they became Humans.

·       Goblins (Age of Dreams): Children of Nightmare, goblins are the cave-dwelling, sun-fearing enemies of the Dwarves, who lives as bandits and scavengers in the abandoned places of Terra. Goblins hate pretty much everyone, including other goblin families; they curse Unelma for making them this way, they curse Calsharon for leading purges of the southern clans, and they curse each other for not bowing to their family’s obvious superiority. Their only saving grace is their foresight; they aren’t very smart, but can plan ahead with superhuman ability.

·       Dwarves (Age of Dreams): Children of Stone, Dwarves live either in vast underground halls, or in mining towns on the surface. They’re in a state of constant battle against goblins, dwarves are renowned as armourers and soldiers in addition to miners. They’re somewhat standoffish with humans, only trading with Escafeld clans, and having a distrust for Elves and the southern lands of Calshan. They’re also obsessively secretive about their crafts; since humans stole metal from their fallen soldiers, they’ll never send any weapon out of a stronghold unless they can guarantee it’ll return.

·       Elves (Age of Dreams):  Children of Wood, Elves live nomadic lives through the forests, never staying too long in one place, usually because they’re too busy chasing trespassers and cutting them down. Elves claim to be the first of Unelma’s creations, and so are clearly his chosen people; everything that followed, be it Dwarf, Goblin or Human, are the result of the Dreamer’s nightmare. Humans often romanticise and misunderstand Elves; yes, they’re beautiful, attuned to nature and live free. No part of that means they’re in any way nice.

·       Trolls (Age of Dreams):  Children of Nightmare, and akin to Goblins. Instead of cursing the world as the Goblins do, however, Trolls are much more adaptive; their bodies spontaneously change to their environment. Even Trolls of the same family can appear different; Bark Trolls have tough, woody skin and green hair, while Coast Trolls grow webbed fingers and slimy coatings. Superstition says that some trolls even adapt to villages, and appear as humans, learning to speak and behave as civilised humans. No troll, however, can stand the ringing of bells, and so villages ward off interlopers at hourly intervals.

·       Fae (Age of Dreams):  Children of Lyral, the mother of nightmares. Unlike the other misbegotten creatures of Unelma’s feverish dreams, Lyral intentionally made the Fae as things of horror and malice. While their creator and leaders were banished from all memory, many Fae were allowed to remain in the hidden places of the world. Tied to a certain location, and only able to manifest at dawn or twilight, the Fae appear deceptively beautiful, with eyes that reflect no light. The Fae trick mortals with promises of youth and splendour, and steal man’s gifts from their own, be it a shape, a voice, a breath or a soul.

·       Innocent Wheel (Age of Dreams):  With the Empire’s intolerance to magical races, child abandonment is rife, even with fully human but unregistered offspring. Rather than cast them out, the Mayor of Escafeld set up a special room outside her meeting hall, with a cradle in a revolving cylinder and a bell to summon the garrison. Mothers could leave children to the care of the town elders anonymously and without repercussion. These children are typically indentured to the service of the town, but are fed, taught and sheltered, and marked in the Imperial Registry as ‘Wheelborn’.

·       Conclave (Age of Dreams):  While the Innocent Wheels operate in Escafeld City, occasionally the Empire cracks down on ‘false registry’ and commits all Wheelborn for examination. When this happens, townsmen arrange a caravan to evacuate any child who wouldn’t survive Imperial scrutiny, be they non-human or, conversely, so human and healthy they’d be conscripted. While some are sold or adopted along the north road, the caravan’s destination is Conclave, a hidden village in a mountain valley. Conclave isn’t a paradise; residents are expected to work hard and be self-sufficient, and protect their village from humans and monsters alike. But for those shunned by all other society, it’s a place to call home.

·       Alfredan/Shemeld Forest (Age of Dreams):  Sprawling from the southern Ousedon River to the northeast Copperspine mountains, the Alfredan Forest marks the eastern boundary of Escafeld. Home to the Elves, the forest is only safely entered during the day; intruders at night are killed by elven bandits. Despite several Calshani logging camps along the forest’s southwestern edge, there’s never any fewer trees; a woodcutter can fell ten trees in a day, but the elves can magically cultivate twenty in response. Further north, nearby villages have half-elf citizens; while humans think of half-elves as beautiful, elves see them as children of traitors.

·       Lyral (Age of Dreams):  The Mother of Nightmares. Lyral was a dragoness who decided, rather than cast out the twisted pieces of her Master’s dream, to instead control them, and use them against the humans who sought to destroy Dragonkind. For her perversion of Draconic power, Unelma condemned her to the worst punishment; not to die, but to live forever outside the Dream, forgotten and powerless, along with her warped and miserable creations.