The Mechanical Era

Neon Furner woke up as the sun began to rise. He had a bad week so far, getting fired from his farming job and struggling to find a new one, he was in a desperate position and went out to find work in a different field.

Neon turned out to be one lucky man, as he heard that a new place was in need of labor nearby. Naturally, he went over to sign up for the job, along with other young men his age. They called it a 'factory' where they were going to help Prince Kant in producing his product called 'cement.'

He got out of bed, cleaned his messy black hair, and put on his clothes which were a tunic and leggings made of hemp, and brown shoes made of calfskin. His wife had already prepared some food that included dry bread with cheese and some vegetables.

"So today is the day you are headed off to work?"

"Yes, to a place they called a factory. They produce something called cement there."

"Cement?"

"They say it is a material used for building."

"How does it work?"

"I don't know, they haven't told me much about how it works. Apparently, someone will come down to explain it today. I do know who made it though."

"Who?"

"Kant," he said.

"Is that so? Then why did you waste your time to even applying there?"

"They offered a good wage. I couldn't say no."

After gulping it all down with a cup of water, he headed out. But not before kissing her goodbye.

"Take care dear!"

He walked along the dirt road to get to his new place of work. The path gave him a view of the gorgeous wheat fields planted all over. After about 25 minutes, the building was visible enough for Neon to tell it was made out of mostly wood, used to be two houses that just got connected to the factory.

There were knights stationed there, elite knights. They blocked his way of entering and asked a bunch of questions. It was to confirm his identity and that he works there. After a quick inspection to see if he carried any weapons, he was allowed in.

He entered the building to find a lot of people there. All were inspecting the equipment that was inside of the factory; the furnace, the mortar, the forge bellows, whatever. What caught Neon's brown eye, was whatever that was covered underneath the large hemp cloth, guarded by a knight.

Everyone had been gossiping behind the knight's back about the prince. Neon himself even joined in. Poking fun at his rumored awkwardness and his lack of magic without having the knight notice.

"Who do you think that they will send off to teach us?"

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure, that coward won't be coming here. He might shit his pants."

"Maybe they will send someone with the instructions written on the paper."

"What if he did come though?"

"If he did, he will be stuttering all over. Anyone wants to bet how many?"

"I say about 12 times," said Neon.

From the outside, the sound of horses could be heard. One of the knights shouted to get everyone's attention.

"EVERYONE GET IN LINE! PRINCE KANT HIMSELF IS COMING OVER!"

Everyone stopped gossiping. The shocked workers felt their hearts stop for a minute. They had not expected him to be the one to come. Following the knight's orders, they got to a line.

Kant walked in wearing his royal black suit, with his left arm covered in a cloak, along with his black pants made of expensive linen, and hands covered in black gloves. Everyone got a glimpse of his face, noticing his creepy silver hair paired with his soulless jet-black eyes.

There was something strange, something eerie about his appearance that made everyone's heart start beating faster, breath heavier. Kant looked at the knights and nodded. On command, they all left the building, stationing them outside, except one.

"Good Morning everyone. My name is Kant Maybale. It is a pleasure to meet you all. Tell me, what are your names?"

The group exchanged their names with the prince.

"I would like to thank you all for being here today, on arriving on time at the factory. Before we continue, I would like to show the product we will produce."

He walked over to the hemp cloth, and finally unveils it. What lay underneath, were a bunch of stone bricks, connected together with a gray mortar. On top of it, was a hemp bag, filled with something. Kant takes the bag and opens it up. Inside was a fine gray powder. Kant looks back at everyone.

"This is cement. Or more accurately, cement powder. Mix this powder with 3 parts sand and water, we will get a mortar paste we can use to stick bricks together, like here." he pointed to the hardened mortar.

He got a knight to demonstrate its strength. As he struggled to pull it out, Neon's head was a bit blown. He had clearly underestimated the prince, but a question lingered in his mind. Where did he get the idea for it? How come nobody else came up with it?

"Does anyone have any questions before we start?" Kant asked, after having the knight leave the premises.

Neon, realizing his opportunity, quickly took it.

"Excuse me sire. How did you manage to come up with it?" Neon asks. Kant looked at Neon.

"That is a good question, Mr. Furner. To answer that, we need to go a while back. When I was around the age of 10, I read a history book on the Asteria Imperium. On its pages, I stumbled upon something that caught my eye.

It mentioned the use of some kind of mortar that was used for buildings. I asked my parents what it was. They informed me that it was a composite material that the ancient Asterians used to build their castles and homes quickly, which was unfortunately lost to time.

But I was a bit stubborn. I dedicated myself for months on end to trying to discover it. Though I did not get exactly what I wanted, I got something even better. This..." he pointed at the cement.

"When I went to inform my parents of my discovery, it happened to the day when they had enlightened me of my... unfortunate situation. I was shocked, it slipped out of my mind.

It remained in my head until about 8 days ago when I managed to recreate the cement powder. Now I hope to produce a large quantity of it. With it, we will be able to build homes, defensive walls, wells, tunnels, roads, and many more structures a lot faster for a cheaper price."

Kant took a deep breath.

"Any other question?"

"I do sire." A bald man asked.

"Yes, Mr. Murray?"

"What is the Asteria Imperium? I have never heard of such."

"The Asteria Imperium was an empire that stretched over the entire Pixie drainage basin that lasted for about the first 2 and a half millennia. They are the inventors of many of the items we use today. Did anyone work as a farmer here?"

Nearly all raised their hands.

"Good, so I think you know about the 3 crop rotation, correct? Well, that method was discovered by the empire, which allowed it to grow more food to feed its population. They had also invented a lot more, like the sewage system, the city grid, and yes, even the cement right here.

Their empire however collapsed about 2 millennia ago. The reasons are because of high corruption within the system, many famines, rebellions, and many more. It was also when the first true magical kingdoms started to establish themselves. Their empire was balkanized into many city-states, and here we are today."

'The first magical kingdoms?' The facts that kingdoms were without magic were an alien concept to him and the rest of them. He felt inclined to ask another question but was afraid of doing so.

"If you have multiple questions, it is fine. I am happy to give an answer."

"Sire I have one more question."

"What is it, Mr. Furner?"

"Sire, you mentioned the first magical kingdoms?"

"Yes. For the majority of the Asteria Imperium, it is believed that people gifted with magic are more demon than human. It was a time when magic was seen as a curse, then a gift, and people brutally murder anyone who would show signs of it.

However over time, people came to accept mages into their society, and the two groups flourished alongside each other. Though it has benefited humanity overall, their integration has had the unfortunate effect of leading people to all believe that anyone, without magic, is inferior to the ones who so."

Kant took in a deep breath.

"For example, before my arrival to the factory, you have all been gossiping, mocking me of my character, of my strengths, of my personality. All because I lacked the ability to cast magic, something that was assigned at birth."

"..."

"Am I correct in making that judgment?"