Techno

Techno rode his horse through the parts of the empire furthest from the capital. Techno was well-versed in geography, so he knew this specific area was known as the Permafrost Duchy. If he wasn't sure why it was nicknamed that before, he could understand now that his horse was crunching against the silvery green shards of grass while the sun beat down on him. He wasn't far enough south that the summer season actually meant overbearing heat. Techno didn't care about the temperature, though. He was making good time getting to Pogtopia.

He was supposed to be traveling with the military caravan. He had rode ahead a few days before. Techno wasn't a particularly social person. He could tolerate people, but it drained him. He had enough to deal with. Alex and Steve had followed him along for his journey. They had not stopped talking, not even when Techno had been trying to go to sleep. His horse, Carl, had stared at him weirdly as Techno yelled at the gods who inhabited his mind. Another reason was simply that he was part of his own unit. He could travel with the caravan if he wanted to support the unity of the Antarctic Empire, but he didn't care so much about how Pogtopia viewed his homeland. He didn't even want to fight in this war. It was Alex and Steve who had manipulated him into doing this for their own sick amusement. Techno would simply arrive before the rest of the army. Pogtopia would have to be okay with that.

"Techno! Look over there! Is that a person?" Alex said, floating above Techno's head, pressing her chin onto his shoulder. Techno swatted her face away, but she had disappeared by the time his gloved hand reached where it should have been. Techno pulled the reins on Carl to slow his horse down into a simple canter. He allowed his dark eyes to find the source of Alex's curiosity. True to her word, a hooded figure was sitting against the side of the road, their back pushed into the wooden signpost. A creature was curled up near the figure. It was obviously the person's mount, but Techno couldn't quite tell what it was from the distance they were at. It wasn't a horse.

"I believe that the creature near him is a drake. They are a species that crossed over from the dimension known as the End millions of years ago. They were originally dragons which meant they were much larger and had wings. Over the millions of years that they remained in this dimension, they have adapted to being much smaller creatures without their signature wings or mystical breaths. They are still rare to find, and even harder to tame. I am surprised that this person could make a drake into their mount. They might have some End heritage," Steve informed Techno. That was one of the good things about having Alex and Steve with him. As deities, they knew a lot about the world. No matter how much Techno studied, he would never surpass either of the twin gods. They would always be more experienced than Techno could ever hope to be.

"Excuse me, traveler, might I inquire what you are doing resting at this sign?" Techno said as he came to the wooden post. The person startled to attention, their head turning to face Techno. It was a young man. He had pale skin that seemed unused to travel. His hair was split down the middle- one side being ebony black and the other being as white as snow. He possessed heterochromia in his eyes, as well. One of his eyes was ruby red and the other was an emerald green. He was a lanky fellow with long limbs wrapped in beggar's clothes covered by a dark cloak that seemed much higher quality than the rest of his clothes.

"Oh my," Alex said. She walked around the side of the horse. She leaned down in front of the young man. He, obviously, couldn't see her. She took full advantage of this to look around his face, getting all in his personal space. Her hands came up to touch his face. She ran her fingers along his skin before bringing her fingers up to the part of his hair that split in half. She seemed completely fascinated. Techno had never seen her gravitate towards something other than violence and bloodshed like this.

"He seems to be a direct descendant of the End. Perhaps his mother or father was an Enderman who had crossed the dimensional line. His other half seems like someone from a different dimension entirely. It is the place that Alex and I were created in: the Nether. He is certainly an anomaly. I am surprised that the gods of this world have not found it fit to banish him to one of his parent dimensions," Steve further explained. Techno's grip tightened on the reins of his horse. The twin gods had explained to him once about how the universe worked. They told him about the three separate dimensions: the End, the Nether, and the Overworld (where he was). Each dimension had their own rich culture and people. Each dimension had their own dominant species (human for the Overworld) and Mobs- monstrous creatures that wreaked havoc. The three dimensions were separated, however, and they had been for a long time. There was a way to hop from dimension to dimension, but that would require either immense power or long forgotten artifacts. The twin gods told Techno about the portals that had once existed. End portals took someone from the Overworld to the End. Nether portals took someone from the Overworld to the Nether. A Rivulet portal took someone from the Nether to the End. All the portals had been shut down because of a war that had occured between each dimension's gods a long time ago. The portals could be temporarily opened, but that was an extremely rare occurrence.

"Where are you heading?" Techno rephrased his earlier question when he realized that the young man wasn't answering. The drake lifted its head slightly to gaze up lazily at Techno, but the creature didn't show any signs of hostility. The young man looked down at his stead. Perhaps the young man and his mount shared the same level of trust as Techno and Carl because the young man relaxed as he saw the drake's dilatoriness.

"I am heading to the kingdom known as L'Manberg. I was told that following this path southward would get me to the capital city," The young man said, gesturing down the wide dirt path that they were currently on. This particular road started in the capital city of the Antarctic Empire, but it did not end anywhere close to L'Manberg's former capital. Whoever had told this young man that information had been lying.

"Aww, he's so naive!" Alex said with a laugh. Techno resisted the urge to call her bipolar since he didn't want the young man to think he was insane ( he wasn't, no matter what Alex would tell anyone ). Alex was as chaotic as the war she held dominion over. One moment she would be demanding blood sacrifices, and the next she would be gushing over how adorable the mobs being slain in her honor were. It made sense when Techno applied the duality principles to the twin gods. Alex was fire and air- action and movement. She was twisting and sparking and loud and chaotic and quick to come and go. She was the morning and the sun. She was bright, luminous, and bluntly honest. She did not hide anything, and she made sure to reveal what was hidden.

"Or just stupid. Why did he choose to travel without a proper map?" Steve rolled his eyes. He was Alex's opposite. He was water and earth- reaction and stillness. He was patient and clever and methodical and deceptive and good at lying in wait. He was the evening and the moon. He was mysterious, intelligent, and knew the value of withholding information. He wasn't purposefully a liar; he just merely understood that the truth was not always the correct answer. He was the master of illusions, and he was renowned in the empire as being the patron of spies and intelligence gatherers. Together with Alex, the two of them covered every part of war- from the triumphant to the defeated, from the gorey blood to the political intrigue, from the weapons to the soldiers who carried those weapons. Techno could attest that they did little more than that.

"L'Manberg no longer exists. Are you trying to get to Manberg, or are you searching for Pogtopia?" Techno said, sliding off his saddle to get closer to the young man. The drake's tail flicked against the ground to create a cloud of dust. Techno raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the creature's strange habit. The young man looked down at his mount with a confused expression. He turned back to Techno before looking down at his hands.

"I don't understand. Why has L'Manberg been split into two?" The young man asked. Techno snorted beneath his breath. He thought everyone in the continent knew about the international war that was breaking out. Almost every country was getting involved in some way or another. It would take a heavy toll on the common people's livelihoods, and the nobility would suffer, if only a little bit.

"Because we've blessed this sacred battle!" Alex happily replied, standing back onto her feet. She tossed some of her red hair behind her shoulder as she positioned herself to have the sun shining behind her. Techno refused to give her the satisfaction of looking. He could see her pout in his peripheral vision.

"Because humankind are power-hungry creatures," Steve said with a shrug. Techno would rather go with his answer. It was not just because he agreed with the sentiment of most men and women reaching for power that did not belong to them, regardless of who languishes because of their decisions, but also because the twin gods had not blessed the war. They inevitably would, but they had not done so yet.

"One of the noblemen fancied himself a dictator, and now he is attempting to stage a coup to put himself into power. The true king of the land has gathered his allies and forces to reclaim his kingdom. Most of the other nations of the continent have decided to participate in the war on one side or the other. I am from the Antarctic Empire. We have chosen to fight with the blood-chosen ruler in Pogtopia," Techno responded with the most simple of all the answers. He had studied up about the war after the twin gods had pushed him into declaring the empire's allegiance. He knew exactly how it festered, when it broke out, and what noble houses fell where (Pogtopia, Manberg, or neutral). Techno shared this information with the young man because even if he was faking a naive act and was really a spy for Manberg, Techno would not lose a fight against one hybrid and his draconic companion. Techno was given the holy name, The Blade, for a reason.

"I... I guess I'm also going to Pogtopia. I received a letter from my friend a few weeks ago. He invited me to come stay with him over the summer season at his estate in L'Manberg. I don't know which side his family falls under, but he has always been a loyal sort. I'm sure he is fighting with his king!" The young man said with shaky confidence. Techno breathed out his nose. Alex and Steve gave their opinions around him about the young man being ill-prepared, being adorable, or being a terrible spy. Techno blocked them out for a second. He didn't see any use in bringing the young man with him. He would not lose a wink of sleep over leaving the defenseless late teenager to young adult to the wrong path or the bandits roaming the area. Techno had places to be. He already had enough voices in his head with Alex and Steve. Still, there was no reason not to take the young man.

"If we're headed in the same direction, we might as well travel together. The person that told you to stay on the main path was lying. That road will branch off into the Greater kingdom," Techno explained. He pulled himself back onto his horse. Alex sat in front of him, leaning her head back onto his shoulder to tell him how glad she was with him for doing something kind. Steve sat behind him, his chin tucked on Techno's other shoulder to warn him not to make any rash decisions (though, there was pride in his voice). Techno rolled his eyes. He hated when they invaded his personal space to pretend to ride Carl. They could fly and teleport. They had no need being this close.

"Oh! Thank you so much for telling me. If you will allow me, I would be honored to travel with you. My name is Ranboo. This is my friend, Pearl. She's allowed me to ride her just until I get to my destination," The young man said. He mounted on his drake without any sort of saddle. The drake stood on all four of her feet. Her dark eyes stared at Techno for a long moment before she came up beside Carl. She was shorter than his battle horse. She was about the height of a pony. Even with Ranboo's incredible height, he did not meet Techno. All the better, the older man decided, he had the upper hand should a fight break out.

"The name's Techno."