Page 1 of Souls of Steel
Prologue
It was the year 2034. Earth was struggling under the weight of increasing poverty, pollution, and economic and political distress. With tensions on the rise, very few were prepared for the arrival of an even greater threat.
There was no warning. The extraterrestrials—who later became known as Sun-Dwellers—came out of nowhere, destroying everything in their path.
In desperation, human nations turned to their last resort, nuclear weaponry. Too late did they realize the missiles would only kill humans, and not the aliens that had invaded our planet.
Having originated from the center of a star, the Sun-Dwellers were immune to nuclear energy. Humanity’s efforts to stop them were met with increasing loss, failure, and disaster. Humans, creatures, the very earth—everything perished under the fire of our dread. But the Sun-Dwellers did not.
When all seemed lost, the latent magic of Earth awoke. Practically inaccessible for millennia, it returned to humanity, in the form of two bloodlines—Gaia’s Priestesses and Tartarus’s Chimera Warriors.
From this magic, a powerful resistance was born. The women wielding Gaia’s Gift gained the ability to heal the earth that had been destroyed by the Sun-Dwellers and humanity’s own stupidity. The men who’d received Tartarus’s Fire were granted weapons called chimeras, metallic beasts able to withstand the high temperatures the Sun-Dwellers emitted.
Together, the two bloodlines formed an unstoppable combination. Together, they managed to chase away the Sun-Dwellers and slowly began the process of healing our broken world.
But not all was well, and in the wake of the war, the gifts granted to humanity were easy to exploit. And to this day, no man has ever wielded terra-forming magic, and no woman has ever piloted a chimera.
That is all about to change.
The Great Riddler
Selene
Two hundred years later
“Selene, this is a terrible idea. We’re not supposed to be here.”
“Of course we’re not. But no one is ever going to know if you don’t say anything.” I pinned my hair back with a pair of sturdy clips, then pulled on my hood, hiding my face as well as I could. “Now, stop fussing and tell me. How do I look?”
Louise shot me an exasperated look that spoke volumes of her opinion of my plan. “Like a girl trying to look like a boy because she wants to get close to giant robots. Selene, this is crazy.”
“Yes, but we’re doing it anyway.”
It was the first time in my generation that The Grand Judiciary was bringing in one of the legendary chimeras to my hometown. Their reasons for the presentation were unclear. The machines were always kept in space and very rarely brought to Earth. Even so, I’d wanted to see a chimera ever since I’d been a little girl. I’d been broken-hearted when my father had told me Chimera Academy was an all-boy school, one I didn’t have a chance of ever seeing, let alone attending. Today, though, I could at least get a glimpse at one of the legendary machines. Even if I wouldn’t get to do more, just seeing it would be enough for me.
Well, no, not really, but it was better than nothing.
“Come on,” I told Louise. “The presentation is about to start. We can’t miss it.”
“We’re going to get in so much trouble.” Louise whimpered. “We’re going to get arrested, killed, or worse.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not illegal to be here. Now keep your voice down and move it.”
I couldn’t blame Louise for being wary. Sure, our presence here wasn’t technically against the law. If it had been, I wouldn’t have allowed Louise to come along. I might be willing to take the chance, but I wasn’t selfish enough to endanger my friend so much. Even so, our traditions dictated that women needed to stay away from the chimeras. Only men were allowed to pilot the metal monoliths, so women had to keep their distance.
I thought the rule was very stupid. We couldn’t use the damn things, no, but that didn’t mean we should be banned from approaching them. By that logic, men shouldn’t have been allowed in the fields Gaia’s Priestesses restored.
But whenever I pointed out that hypocritical tidbit, my mother shushed me, so I’d stopped arguing with her altogether and did what I wanted, when it was in my power. Case in point, this little adventure.
My friend and I were currently hiding inside a multi-gender public bathroom that was a mile away from the stage where the chimera would be waiting. The presentation was held in a plaza in what was officially the multi-gender area of the city. Unofficially, everybody knew that just men were supposed to attend. At present, there weren’t any guards between us and the plaza, but there would be a crowd, countless men having gathered from all the nearby settlements to gawk at the chimera they’d never get to use. In some ways, they were just like me, except they didn’t have to hide their presence because of their gender.
I zipped up my jacket a little more tightly and flinched. I’d bound my breasts to keep them from being too visible, but I’d received quite the blessing from Gaia in that department, so it was uncomfortable as fuck. Louise, who had smaller breasts, would stand out less, but me? I was less lucky in that regard.
I didn’t let my discomfort deter me. I’d come here to see the chimera, and that was exactly what I’d do. “Okay,” I told Louise. “Let’s go. No matter what, stay close. If you have to say something, keep your head down.”
Louise straightened her back and nodded. She might be trying to hide it, but she was a little excited too, if not for the same reason I was.
This chimera was probably the closest she’d ever get to her longtime crush, Prince Brendan. He lived high up in the orbital space station of Tartarus Base. Like many of the members of Chimera nobility and royal family, he rarely came to Earth. Regardless, Louise collected every newspaper clipping of him. I thought it was a hideous waste of money, especially since paper was so damn expensive. But hey, what did I know? Everyone needed a hobby.
