Syn followed the boy that lead him the Old Man’s home. He could not fathom why he would be summoned at this time of night, especially with the way the city’s population were degrading in their moral standards. Syn thought it must have been important though, the Old Man would not have sent for him if not.

As the boy lead Syn through winding alleys and back streets, he observed his city. Ateris, the oldest city in the 7 States. Legend says that the First God crafted the magnificent city, as a gift to the race of Men. Looking around, Syn was saddened by the state in which he saw his beloved city.

As Syn and the boy passed through an alley, Syn saw flames in the streets. Citizens had begun to riot, loot and burn down local shops. Things were getting at of hand fast. The local guards on post were no more than leaves in a river to the mobs festering in the streets.

As the boy lead Syn around a corner the Old Man’s home came into view. A dusty, old looking house marked by the decades it lived through.

"Hurry!", the boy shouted as he pointed to a group of people down the road and taking off at a full sprint, without hesitating Syn followed suit. As they reached the front door it creaked open on its rusty hinges, revealing a wrinkled face that was full of silver hair and bright eyes. The Old Man shut the door, closing out the noise of the mob outside behind them. The Old Man lead Syn to a table, motioning for him to sit as he grabbed a cup to add to the two already at the table.

Syn looked around taking in the earthy scent of the house, noticing that everything was how it always was, dusty and unmolested by people. Syn had always loved The Old Man’s home, it brought a sense on comfort and safety to him. Tonight though, Syn was anxious. He had never been summoned this late before and knew that something was amiss. Syn wondered if it had to do with the same reason that had the public in an uproar.

Movement caught Syn’s attention and as he turned to see what it was, a middle-aged man in a fine tailored suit approached the table holding parchment, ink and pen. Syn did not recognize the man but did not question him being there.

“You both are here, now we may start”, said The Old Man, handing a cup of ale to Syn and sitting across from the fine tailored man.

Syn’s expression grew confused and he asked, “Start what, sir”.

“A history lesson my boy”, The Old Man said smiling then sipped at the tea he made himself. The Old Man cleared his throat looked at the tailored man and asked, “Do you know the cause of the rioting in the streets of my beloved city Malif?”. Malif nodded his head and spoke.

“The loss of the second Rune Engine has caused an outage in the middle-class sections of the city and the people want it solved”

“Correct”, smiled The Old Man,” and do you know how the Rune Engine functions and why its loss has caused the loss of power for thousands?”.

“Yes, and now”, Mailf replied, “I understand that they are the Source for power but if we still have 5 more, why did it happen at all?”.

The Old Man look towards Syn with an expectant look, “Syn care to answer?”.

Syn smiled awkwardly, cleared his throat and spoke.

“To understand the complex mechanics and functions of the Rune Engines, I’ll start by explaining the conduit technology. Take for example Rama Eyes, a device that lets the individual that wears it, see further, clearer, in the dark, etc. Now this is only possible because when the user elects to use that technology they must visit a Algmatist. The Algmatist then etches the proper runes on each, the user and the device. The thing with rune etching, is that one must know the balance of the runes equation or algorithm, if it is not precise, it will burn out the devise or user. They depend on each other, the person and the devise. They feed each other, the person feed the tech power and purpose and the tech feed its ability.”.

Malif nodded as he followed along, insuring Syn that he understood so Syn continued.

“If the person then decides to use another devise alongside the first, the Algmatist must work through a more complicated algorithm. He must balance the power output that the individual possesses, versus, the tech he wants to use. By adding another conduit to the mix, his body must balance the output for both devises. If the output gets heavy on one side the other won’t work. The downside to added another conduit is that it reduces the performance of both. In this case two conduits most likely won’t burn out and kill the user, but now add 3 more. The person would burn out quickly and probably die as a result.”

Malif looked thoughtful, nodded his head and then asked, “What does that have to do with the Engines?”.

“They work very much the same although the Engines are a more complex build. See each city has its own Kiln, some more depending on the size. Take Ateris, for example, we have four Kilns that feed the city’s power. Now the Kilns are fed by the Furnaces, runes are etched in the side dictating which Kilns each Furnace feeds. The Furnaces are fed by then the Rune Engines, and again are etched with the runes telling what Furnaces to feed. Each State has its needed allotment of Engines that will power its country, here in Galeil, we have two Engines, one of which is the one that just died.”

Malif interrupted, “So we can’t rely on the other Engine or else it may burn out?”.

“In theory”, Syn said, “although it has never been tested. No Engine has ever given out.”

Malif sat back, taking a swig of his ale and thought about what he just learned for a moment. He then spoke.

“I understand now, but I have another inquire.”.

Syn nodded, gesturing for Mailf to continue.

“Where do the Engines get their source of power from?”

Syn shrugged, “No one knows. There are theories and have been for years but no one has yet to uncover their source of power.”.

“Well actually.”, The Old Man said standing to refill his cup, “I do.”.