The Outborn

The stillness of the outlands surrounded Avea Maxwell as if holding its breath. Hidden in the shadows, she watched the full moon cast its light upon the fractured terrain. Battling between shadow and light, the dualities fractured and reformed in an entwining dance, never at a standstill. "My sensors do not detect the underground tunnel network," the robotic voice pierced through the darkness. Avea rolled her eyes as her bot flew out of the shadows into the moonlight. Small and spherical, the bot hovered beside her head. Its exterior is tinted orange from rust, with dull antennae and uneven robotic limbs hanging flimsily from its bodice. "The tunnels are close, and I can feel it," Avea said, eyes fixed on the sky. The bot stared at Avea, sparks flying from its antennae in annoyance, "…the tunnels are not in the sky."

"I'm aware, Bebop," Avea said, slightly irritated. Her bot's bluntness tended to grate on her nerves. The blanket of stars stretched across the night sky, but Avea kept her gaze on the full moon. Her brows furrowed in concentration, "the moon is almost at its zenith," she murmured. Bebop tilted upwards, trying to follow her line of sight. Watching Avea's pointed finger trail a pathway as if carving into the night sky, she bent down to grab a stray stick and nearby stones. Fumbling as she held the stick upward to the bottom of the terrain, the top of the stick facing the moon, she turned her head slightly to read the shadows cast outwards from the stones. "The sky can always show you where to go," Avea said, concentrating on the line between the two stones as the moon's trajectory shifted.

A straight line of shadow formed between the stones. Avea didn't let Bebop see her sigh of relief. "See, this is the east-west line", she said, pointing to the line of shadow formed on the terrain. "Just like a…" "Compass," Bebop finished hovering beside Avea's head, its robotic lens zooming in on the clear-cut line on the terrain. The stick acts as the centre. "That means this is south, which means …," she said, throwing the stick into the air and pointing it directly in the other direction where the land slanted and dipped unevenly. "We're heading in that direction."

"Pointing a stick at the moon is not an accurate measurement for navigation." "Guess we'll find out," Avea shrugged as the streaks of moonlight bounced off the metal disc strapped to her back in a refracted array. Pivoting in the direction that the moon declared north, the two began striding past the skeleton plants, their frail white branches becoming sicklier the deeper they travailed into the outlands. The very sight of them made Avea feel unsettled, their delicate pale branches reaching in a feeble attempt to grasp onto life. Rooted in the cracks, they were scoured across the expanse of the Outlands. Their presence annoyed Avea immensely when she realised she couldn’t fly over them without drawing too much attention to herself, forcing her to walk through them.

"It must be nearby?" Avea murmured, hearing the faint sounds calling out to her in the distance. Trying not to stumble over her feet, as the two began venturing further into the outlands until those faint sounds became shrieking, howling laughter, shattering the still silence around them. Avea reacted, grabbing Bebop and diving behind a nearby bundle of skeleton plants. "Ow" she yelped in pain as a sharp branch jabbed her side.

Shifting uncomfortably, she peeked out from behind the frail branches shielding her and Bebop. "There it is," Avea whispered, unable to conceal the awe in her voice. The sight of swarms of racers scattered along the large plateaus of rock sent an unexplainable thrill through Avea. She assessed the crowds with predatory intent, as she recognised racers from every clan in the Valent quadrant with hoverboards strapped to their backs. Each hoverboard was unique in design, much like the racers they belonged to.

Crouching behind a tangled cluster of the skeleton plants, her eyes kept darting to all the chaos surrounding her, to the bets going down, fights breaking out and all the savage dancing. All blending as one, her heart beating in time with the movement around her as though the pulse of the outlands was calling out to her, and her heart responded longingly. "We should turn back," Bebop said. "We're not going to get caught," Avea said, keeping her voice low. By decree of the core council, the outlands were forbidden territory. Those who broke the sacred laws of the core council by venturing out into the outlands were branded as deserters and imprisoned on the outskirts. To compete in the forbidden underground tunnel races was not for the faint of heart, in fact it was for the utterly insane.

"No outborn has ever competed."

"Well, someone has to be the first."

"Why does it have to be us?"

"Because we can win this," Avea said, her voice held with steely determination. She felt her chest tighten, almost as if there was a fist clenching around her heart. She peeked out at the crowd from between the crooked branches, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold herself back much longer. "I still think we should turn back" Bebop's static hissed at her. "Okay sure you can go back and tell mum that we've snuck out to compete in an illegal hoverboard race" Avea whispered back not taking her eyes off the swarm of bodies in front her. There a beat of silence that passed, "thought so" Avea replied. "I promise we'll be back before the border shuts," she said, flashing her bot a cheeky smile, before leaping out into the clearing, unable to restrain herself any longer. Chasing down the feeling of flight and freedom that she desperately craved…she needed to feel that rush. The exhilaration coursing through her veins igniting something deep within her very being. "AVVVVVVEEEEAAAA" Bebop called after her, who flew close behind her looked like it might blow out its circuits.

As they reached the plateau, they were immediately sucked into the whirlwind of chaos, with all the sounds and colour swirling around them. Avea was immediately captivated by the electric atmosphere, she could now see of the hoverboards up close now. Her eyes glancing over each of the unique circuits and rotary boards. As well as all of the rumored racers of the Valent, standing proudly among their clans not a tense tick among them. Avea glanced back at her own hoverboard. It was by no means as grandiose as the high-tech flashy hoverboards surrounding her. To the untrained eye, it looked like a rusty heap of junk, utterly unimpressive and unthreatening. But Avea had painstakingly rigged it to be able to compete with the best. After countless failed attempts and rebuilt models, she had finally perfected it, and now she was here.

That's when she felt the sensation begin to take hold, a surge of energy coursing through her veins as every nerve began firing inside her. Her mind sharpens, and an instant and overwhelming clarity takes over her, and it's like she can see through everything. For a brief moment in time she feels transcendent. That was the feeling of thrill was what she craved more than anything else.

She always felt this way before she raced, she'd never told anyone this before but sometimes she thought she could feel something reaching out to her. An unseen force that beckoned her forward, almost compelling her. Her mother had told her, "sometimes our unspoken desires have a way of calling out to us in our quiet moments, but you must alway be in control." Avea didn't know what she meant by that, but the look in her mothers eyes was enough for her to never bring it up again. The moment was fleeting however, as an abnormally large racer from the one of the grifter clans staggered into Avea, reeking of guzzler."Out of my way runt" he slurred, shoving Avea to the side, with no care that she'd almost taken a nosedive to the ground. "No civility what so ever, this must be Valent clan racers" Bebop replied curtly, "this is exactly what I imagined" Avea breathed.

She could still feel the metal curvature of her racer pressing into her spine, a reminder to her of why she was here, and what she had to do. The outland races were legend in the valent quadrant, a deadly feat where the clan most fearsome competitors went head-to-head in the underground tunnel labyrinth.

To win this coveted race was to be able to stand against all the clan's best racers. However, for Avea this was a chance to prove herself to the rest of the Valent clans, to become something other than the girl from the Fray. She didn't belong to a clan of any kind and so she'd snuck in as a rogue racer. Which in the midst of the tightly knit factions of clan racers, her mere presence made her a liability for them. It was dangerous, and even reckless but Avea didn't care.

Now she was finally here, standing amongst all the clan's best racers. Out of the corner of her eye, Avea noticed a couple of the smaller clans glance up at her, whispering in a huddle. She turned her back on them, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. Instead, she let her attention wander to the chanting crowd gathered around an intense hoverboard battle. Her eyes latched onto the two opposing racers switching boards mid-air, each trying to knock their opponent off. Every nerve fired within her, taking in the sight before her. In a blur, Avea's eyes kept darting around, barely glimpsing the surprise attacks from every direction. Bebop and Avea packed in shoulder to shoulder, cheering with the crowds as one of the racers did a difficult flip, intentionally kicking dust into their opponent's face. "This is insane," Avea laughed, enthralled by the combat between the two racers lunging and dodging in midair so swiftly, completely untethered from the ground beneath them. The symbols of the opposing clans branded on their helmets flashed to the crowds as they circled each other, readying for the next strike.

Avea couldn't hear herself over the crowd roaring as she cheered and heckled at the racer's demonstrations along with them. "Bet you, Razeridge takes down Voltstrike," Avea said to Bebop, keeping her eyes on the foot positioning of the Voltstrike clan rider. "Voltstrike outmatches Razeridge in the speed and power," Bebop countered. The Voltstrike rider was hunched forward, feet planted on the charged board with electrical currents firing for maximum voltage. The rider's suit had inbuilt blasters that shot out electric bolts towards the Razeridge racer, who deflected the shots with metal shield contraptions. The Razeridge scooter was slower and sturdier than the Voltstrikes board, but the precision of their strikes outmatched the Voltstrikes blasts.

The metal contraption morphed with every blast, completely impenetrable. The Razoridge rider kept countering the Voltstrike rider's attacks. Unleashing sharp circular discs embedded into the scooter. Voltstrike dodged the discs swiftly, his board cutting through the air. The crowds grew louder as Avea moved closer to the front, now feeling the woosh from the hover vehicles. Avea kept her eyes on the Voltstrike rider's footing, watching as they barely avoided their opponents vicious attacks, trying with all their might to throw them off their board and into the dirt to claim victory. "Voltstrikes gearing for another attack," Bebop said.

Sure, enough, the electricity sparked along Voltstrikes suit, sucking into the blasters, but then the crowd roared as those discs flung back, sticking to the board. Voltstrike stumbled, unable to control the board that had started moving erratically in the air, jerking uncontrollably beneath its racer. The discs were high-powered magnets that stuck to the board, draining the electrical power. Voltstrike tried to blast Razoridge, but Razoridge was too quick, flying and swinging the back of the scooter, hitting Voltstrike off the board. The board fell to the ground beside the Voltstrike racer, who threw their helmet onto the ground in a fury.

The crowd cheered and cried out in rage as Razerigde dismounted the scooter in a boisterous show of triumph. "I can't believe we're actually here" Avea laughed, elated. "Me neither," Bebop said, the bots antennae sparking."Well, it seems someone's strayed from the border… are you lost outborn?" a sneering voice said from somewhere within the crowd. The crowds grew silent. Avea gritted her teeth at the word 'outborn,' knowing precisely who the voice belonged to. The crowds parted on command as a slender figure walked through, with two bodies following closely behind. Straightening her spine, Avea dug her nails into her palms to stop them from shaking. The chanting crowd turned to face her; their ferocious passion turned to savage amusement. Cyrus Elrod halted. Avea held back her grimace at the grotesque sight of the sharp steel rods penetrating his skull. As the leader of the Skulldagger clan, he ruled over the valent quadrant, the outer quadrant of T'lalli.

"What are you doing so far from the border?" Cyrus said, his voice low and chilling, and everyone went deathly still. "We came to race the same as everyone else," Avea said, staring down Cyrus. He seemed taken aback, his eyes trailing Avea and Bebop up and down in disgust, "There is no place here for outborns in the tunnel races or anywhere in T'alli…now crawl back to whatever scrap heap you climbed out of," Elrod's cronies snickering behind him as they turned to stalk back into the crowds. "The clan factions laws state anyone from the valent quadrant can compete…even those not claimed," tension shifted through the crowd. Catching the slight unease flickering in the eyes around her at the defiance. Avea's heart began pounding against her ribcage as she braced herself. Cyrus's hunched posture turned, and a snarl escaped his lips, "smart girl" he crooned, stalking closer.

She refused to lower her eyes, keeping them on Cyrus's. She knew he couldn't argue with faction law, especially in front of the clan leaders. Who had now parted through the crowd, staring in silence and allowing the gravity of their collective presence to emanate into the crowd. "The outlands are neutral territory decreed by the valent quadrant, no clan has a claim over it which means a racer can compete without a clan." It was a weak loophole that Avea hoped held enough weight to let her compete. She could hear Bebop's scrap metal rattling so loudly behind her.

The crowd instantly hurled insults at her.

"Stay in the dirt."

"Scrapper."

"Outborn."

"Valent filth."

There was nothing merciful about the crowd surrounding her. The mutilated bodies had been surgically merged with cold metal machinery to the point where some no longer looked human. Digging her nails further into her palms, fighting every instinct to turn and run. Terf. Control. Power. It was a battle for status, all the clans competing for control of the valent quadrant. Avea didn't belong to any clan and had never been outside the border, but she was one of the best racers. Cyrus knew it, too. She'd swindled many of his clan members into placing wagers to race against her and endured their taunts and insults only to walk away with the winnings gleefully. He'd gone out of his way to make her an enemy of the Skulldaggers, always keeping his eye on her. Avea felt a flicker of smug satisfaction, that she'd gotten one up on him.

Cyrus's thin, pale lips turned upwards into a cruel smile that promised violence. " You're right. It does seem unfair that the measly outborn be excluded from the race," he said, turning to face the crowd, his voice carrying louder. After all, the risk is the same for everyone," he yelled out, earning a roar from the crowd, but Avea caught his wicked grin before he dissolved back into the crowd.

"No turning back", Avea muttered under her breath.