The first sun of Fortegne hit Quétal early this morning. The archeological site, in the south of the city, had been covered by the red sand brought by the storm of the day before and coming from the West, near the forbidden could easily find the place because there was two different types of sands : the red from the peaks and the yellow one from Quetal's desert that was all around the city and beyond. A little group of archeologists had already been emptying the red sand that, when placed on the one from the desert, dissolved realising oxygen. This property was actually the only one know that allowed life on this planet called Convulso. Indeed, in this desert, there was no plant that could grow and nor in the vicinity.

On higher grounds, Shaoun, master archaeologist, was patiently waiting for the path to be cleared and resume his excavations. The unbearable heat of the place required him to wear shorts and a shirt with short sleeves. His old holed cap protected him from the sun and he began to hydrate more. His blue eyes were watching the progress of the workers, protected from the sun by the large tents of the camp. He had hired them in exchange of some of the treasures that they could find on the excavation site. His chapped lips stimulated them and his big nose breathed the air that was burning his lungs. Shaoun was the only archaeologists to stood under the sun that was beating strongly in his back; as if to prove something to his workers or himself.

This Month of Querin was the hotter of the Year opposed to the Month of Benin, the coldest. Older Quetonnes, inhabitants of Quétal, had nearly 240 years because there were only four months in a year: Benin, Anin, Quirin and Zetin. Each month consisted of four weeks into seven days: Loda, Meli, Mulbe, Jola, Viltar, Selun and Sarlin. Some said that it could be a derivative of an ancient language transformed and lost over time.

Some Quetonnes thought that there were other cities, companies and continents whose manners were different and that would use a different time base than they had. However, no one ventured beyond the forbidden mountains because the sages had informed Quétonnes that there, remained monsters that devour intruders on their territory.

The heat was unbearable and despite the shadow he enjoyed, one of the workers collapsed. Shaoun came to his rescue and decided to give up and return to Quétal until it was cooler. They all returned on foot because the quételle technology was not very advanced. It was limited by the sages of the city; it was they who decided whether or not inventions seemed dangerous for the planets Convulso and its inhabitants. Thus, they refused any means of locomotion pollutant and any company releasing a harmful gas.

The clothes they wore were made by generation after generation passed techniques and the tissue was delivered every morning – no one knew where from – and the sages ordered not to ask any questions about their origin. Food, water, and all other things needed for survival were placed in front of each houses' door, according to their needs. Nobody knew who delivered them and, actually, no one tried to find out while it allowed them to live.

Archaeologists walked to the north and came to the dome that protected Quétal from the heat of the sun. It was composed of an old technology that allowed to capture light and transform it into energy. Inside the dome, life was good and Quétal was a great dynamic city divided into three parts. There was a rich neighborhood where you could just haggle including jewelry and treasures bequeathed or discovered during excavations; the average neighborhood where the golden rule was to offer to receive and, in the center of the city, there was the city of the sages. The society was built on a system of exchange: no single currency.

At Quétal, inequality between classes did not exist; there was neither rich nor poor, neither racism nor fascism. Everyone was helping the poorest who helped in return. There was no murder, because there were no weapons and soldiers were useless because nobody violated the laws. These were simple: no crime, no personal fabrications without permission of the Sage and no abuse. That Act included both food abuse, the abuse of pleasure and of water.

The water became a natural resource that, at this time of the year, was sorely lacking. For several years, Quétonnes had begun to make supplies if the month of Querin became too hot. To survive on the meager supplies they had, the Sages had decided to limit the population to a number. The oldest and weakest were exiled in the forbidden mountains to feed the monsters in return for these sacrifices brought water to Quétal. This month of Querin was feared by all, because they were afraid of dying of thirst or even being sacrificed. For some, it was an honor to serve as food for monsters, because thanks to them, their families would be able to survive longer. These were limited to a maximum of two children to keep a constant population. Only a death in the family offered the possibility of having another.

At the entrance of the dome, Shaoun separated from its workers and went to find his house on the edge of the rich and middle areas. He went to his room and lay down on his bed. He looked at the frame on his bedside table, grabbed and squeezed her arms strong. He closed his eyes and dreamed. He dreamed of being with his wife and children playing in their garden, a house full of life, user-friendly meals and watched over full of humor and joy.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and Shaoun came back to reality: no more wife, no more children, no more happiness. He got up and knocked the frame that was on the bed. The archaeologist picked up the debris of broken glass and a tear came to rest on the photo of his wife and his children. The door knocked again and Shaoun went down to open. His workers were waiting and one of them explained:

"The night fell and we await your orders."

"Prepare the materials; I'm comming."

"You all right, sir?"

"I think I ordered you something!"

"Yes sir!"

Shaoun slammed the door and sat on the ground, back to the door. He curled up on itself and shed a few tears, then the archaeologist eventually recovered and prepared to leave. He found his workers at the exit of Quétal and all began their road to the site, torch in hand. It was cold and wet like the sand in which they advanced, but the group had trouble heading into this dark night, darker than a cave.

The excavators arrived at the camp where Saaran, Shaoun's best friend, was waiting for them to finish the work they had done in the morning. Some volunteers were relayed to dig up the site and now, the biggest was done. There were two projectors from the old technology that illuminated the ruins. The top of what appeared to be an entrance was visible and, impatient, Shaoun took a torch and slipped inside without waiting for everything to be clear. There were other torches along the walls of the ruins that looked like to make a big maze.

To find his way, Shaoun began to light one by one each of the torches beside which he passed. He took first right, then left and soon he forgot his way relying on the lighted torches to find the exit. After several intersections, Shaoun arrived in a large room surrounded by ancient engravings and indecipherable symbols. A large well also occupied much of the room, a well that seemed bottomless. There were also two statues on one of the walls of the room, one was a man and the other a woman. Between them, in height, a sentence was written: '' the end of convulso, the Master of Fate will choose ''.

Another thing finished the slab and Shaoun dusted it. He shows the number "two" that seemed to separate from the wall. The archaeologist tried to replace it then suddenly, the wall under the sentence plunged and swung leaving a secret passage as well as a large current of air which extinguished all the torches he lit previously.

With nothing to lose, he put one foot in and one row of lamps lit his way. There was no crossing and the road seemed to extend to infinity. Shaoun engulfed it and walked along the gallery and, after a while, he came to a dead end forcing him to turn back. When he returned to the hall, he preferred to decipher the symbols of the temple rather than seeking out and die lost and unfound in the maze.

These were unlike anything he knew or what he had read in books. Engravings illustrate a kind of ceremony in which indigenous throwing offerings to the bottom of a well for the planet to survive. Shaoun at first worried about the future of convulso before realizing that it was probably only a religion, a belief. Between each of the drawings, there was a symbol and the archaeologist quickly discovered that they were twenty-six and they were all different from each other. He tried to understand what it could be and he remembered that he had read in a book than in the past there was a different reading system than they had now. The pictograms were substituted drawings themselves had replaced the old writing that had once taken up residence on convulso. He began by looking which corresponded to the beginning of the alphabet, but he had hardly time to start because a voice called him from the labyrinth. It was Saaran, Shaoun's friend, who came to rescue him and bring him to the surface.

It was still dark and the explorer decided to return to Quétal to announce his discovery to the Sages and he ordered his workers to further investigate the site they had to dig and its surroundings. He was delighted with his discovery and hurried back to the city to brag that he had finally reached his goal. On the way, the sun rose and Shaoun realized he had spent more time in the ruins than he thought. At the entrance to the Sages' city, a high double door faced him. He knocked and the doors opened. Inside, there was a large building where resident scholars and around, craftsmen made what needed each Quétonnes.

Shaoun went to the dwelling of the Wises, and a man at the entrance of it, brought him to an amphitheater center. The person in the center of the latter could address his audience whose could sit all around on marble benches. Some were more in height than others, allowing those placed at another place not to obstruct the view of another. There was only one place that differed from the others. A seat carved marble effigy of the oldest. The guard asked him to wait as the Wises Shaoun convened for an exceptional meeting. All settled around Shaoun and the oldest of all landed in the seat that dominated the others. One of them began:

"Why have you summoned the Sages young Shaoun?"

"I just made a discovery of the most incredible! Exclaimed the archaeologist. A little while ago, I called you to allow me to make excavations at the south of the city and it all went good."

"Tell us what you've discovered!"

"I found the ruins of an ancient time and a room in which offerings were made to the survival of convulso."

"Is that the only reason you have called us? asked the younger."

"There was something else in this room, a strange phrase, and a number with a secret passage without issues. I think it is from this passage that the offerings were to be delivered, but the access had to be condemned for I do not know why."

The most wise of all, silent from the start, got up from his big chair and spoke:

"Indeed, this is a great discovery that you are presenting, but I fear that it should stop there."

The words of the wise caused the surprise of the amphitheater and some scholars challenged the decision. An unnamed din had settled and Shaoun claimed the silence. He remained calm and replied:

"What are the reasons for this decision as unlikely incomprehensible?"

"We all know that since the tragic incident that still upsets us, you are looking for the Master of Fate! When you introduced yourself to us for the first time, we had pity for you, but it's time it stopped at the earliest."

"This is ridiculous. There is no connection with the death of my wife and my children"said the archaeologist. "I only do it for the culture of Quétal and its inhabitants. Also, I think it is necessary that I continue my research on this place to know if we are in danger or not."

"With your findings, you will create panic. Some Quétonnes think you are crazy, others revere you. You are going to declare a war of opinions and split Quétal into two …"

"... It is already divided in two, interrupted Shaoun."

"Do not be unkind to us, you must respect us. Without us, you'd all be dead. So I decided, for the safety of Quétal, to prohibit you to approach the excavation site and speak to anyone of this. Your employees and your friend Saaran be subject to the same prohibitions and if one of you violate them, you will be banished into the forbidden mountain and delivered to yourself."

"... But this is unfair!"

"Dear scholars, I now ask you to take care of other more important business than this one."

The intellectual left the amphitheater and other scholars went away one by one, looking Shaoun with pity, leaving him alone, saddened by the irrevocable decision of the great Sage. He returned home, head down, and went up to his room to cry in memory of his family.

Several days passed and Quétonnes were worried not to see Shaoun. Since the decision of the great sage, he fled his home and the nightmares that haunted his nights since the death of his family worsened day by day. A Jola of Zetin, Saaran knocked at his door and Shaoun did not answer. He then slipped a letter under the door and the hermit decided to read. His friend and his staff offered him an opportunity to return to the ruins at Sages' agents' shift guarding the site. Saaran and Shaoun had to disguise as guards but he refused that his friend was exiled if the plan were to go wrong. So he decided to go there alone, but agreed that his friend makes him a service.

That evening, before the guards will start from Quétal for the shift, Saaran made a diversion and delayed them. Shaoun unnoticed went directly to the site. He hoped the dark night makes him unrecognizable, but he had underestimated the safety around the site. Spotlights swept the area and preventing the archaeologist to move away undetected. When he turned around, he crossed the two guards and looked down to prevent them to discern the contours of his face, but it was too late. The dim light from projectors already draws him and the two officers recognized him immediately. They took him to the city of the Wises and the sentence became quickly heard. Shaoun was exiled to the forbidden mountains and if he did not go, he would die of thirst in the desert that surrounded the entire city or even worse, executed by a guard. He said goodbye to his friends and he recovered the last memories of his family before heading west.

Leaving Quétal, he took one last look back with remorse for abandoning his friends behind him. The fear of death made him walk slowly, but the hope to find the master of Fate to save his family kept him alive. Downstream of the mountains, a path allowed him to enter the place where lived the monsters of Quétal's legends and suffer his fate. He walked calmly and was not afraid to die, because he hoped deep down that he would find his family in the afterlife. The more Shaoun advanced the more he wondered what kind of monster could live in such a place. Now he was waiting around to see these beings who seemed unwilling to report to him when suddenly a woman's shrill voice out of nowhere and began:

"Hey, it is not convenient to find an exile at that time of year!

"Who's there?" Worried the exile in question.

"My name is Kala!"

"Show yourselves monsters!"

A woman approached him and continued:

"Monster? Do I look like a monster? I am the customs territory of Catania. Welcome stranger!"

"The Catania territory?"

"Of course. You thought that after these mountains there was what? The home of horrible monster?"

"Well... to be honest, that's what I thought!" he confessed.

"That's the Sages! What do not they do to keep their citizens in their beautiful city?"

"Excuse me, but what is there on the other side of these mountains?"

"Further, there is the city of Cata, a quiet town. You come from Quétal but that's strange! Usually, the Wise old man sends exile earlier. You do not look poor though! What Quétal's district are you from?"

"The wealthy neighborhood madam!"

"Please do not politeness us. Considers that now we are friends. You had to do something really bad to find you exiled here."

"I disobeyed orders of the Wise men and..."

"... Wait, you'll tell me all on the way. Kirino! Takes my place, would you? I will accompany this gentleman. By the way, what's your name?"

"Shaoun!" He exclaimed.

"Well Shaoun, let's go see the great Conseil!" finished Kala.

The mountains' monsters were much less scary than those in these legends that were told. Shaoun wondered why the Wise men had hidden their existence to Quétonnes and began to question their authority and the reasons that made him come here. He walked to Cata, accompanied by Kala with which he sympathized quickly by telling him his story. On the other side of the mountains, the landscape was not so different from Quétel desert except that here the sand was red like the one that had covered the excavation site. They walked several kilometers to the west without regard to their surroundings.

2: Chapter II: Force and mind are one, muscles are just a plus.

Chapter II: Force and mind are one, muscles are just a plus.

"The master of fate; Kala asked, what are you talking about ?"

"According to some books, he's the man that determine the destiny of all people on Convulso! Shaoun replied. Since the death of my wife, I swore to understand why she had to die. The Quétels sages were unable to answer me and directed me to their old library. It was there that I discovered what he was and how to reach it.

"So to summarize, you find yourself exiled because of your wife and your children!"

"We can say that !"

"You are incredible Shaoun! Here, look! We're here."

From the outside, Cata strongly appeared to be like Quétal, but inside, poverty was everywhere. Instead of the rich neighborhood, there were abandoned houses, most dilapidated. In the poor neighborhood, traders were looking to sell their product, whatever might be the price. The Catena trading system was different from Quétal. Here, there was only a single currency: the daha. It was it that defined the value of things and determined who was rich or poor. The more a person possessed Dahas, the more he was rich.

"Stop dreaming and follow me!"

Shaoun and Kala crossed the slum as fast as they could to join the wealthy neighborhood where lived the great advisers. They define what an exile of Quétal would do in Cata and how much Dahas he would gain for his work. According to Kala, no native from Cata knew who they were. Meet them was a privilege that few of all could boast known.

Shaoun arrived at the boardroom and Kala ordered him to enter, but she did not entered with him. When he passed the door he found himself in a dark and high cylindrical piece. In its center, there was a lighted chair by the artificial light of Cata dome. In front of it, higher up, the other three seats were also illuminated and in each of them sat one of the counselors. In the first, the one on the far left, sat a teenage boy of about 48 years. In the second, which was in the middle of the other two, an adult took place and finally, in the last, an old man, at least 237 years old. The adult beckoned Shaoun to settle on the chair and the youngest of the three began:

"Welcome to Cata, city of refuges. Although at that time of the year we do not understand why you were exiled here by your wise."

"You will be evaluated by us and we will define the most suitable job for you, spoke the adult. Please explain us the facts that led you here."

At the request of the advisers Shaoun began his story since the death of his family until his arrival in Cata. Although his story was the most incredible, the advisers were very interested to know that he was an archaeologist. They thought that his former profession could solve one of their problems that bothered them for a long time already. Catanian had no knowledge of architecture or archeology and the advisors gave him what they thought to be the plans of Cata. Shaoun then asked how they could live in the buildings if they did not have the skills to make them. There was no answer from them because they judged that this was out of the subjects they could discuss with him

He retrieved the plans and the counselors explained to him the situation. For several years, the catanian suffered outside temperatures inside the dome as if there was a hidden exit or a breach in it. Although the mapping was not his best skill, he tried to remember the courses he had followed with the wise to know how to read such plans. He tried somehow to decipher and lent it a strong attention. He eventually found that the underground of the city did not appeared on the plans, at least not completely. Time, moisture and dust certainly had clear this important information.

He asked the oldest if he knew about it and knew it was there, but the old man did not know what to say. Counselors authorized him a complete access to Cata but forbade him to venture into the reserved area. For he is not tempted to break the law as he had done before, counselors asked Kala to enter and ordered her to ensure that Shaoun respects what had been decided. She accepted a token of compensation that counselors would grant him once the work done.

Not knowing where to start, the archaeologist decided to take a look in these underground. According to plans, access to underground was only accessible through a hatch located in the heart of the slum. Shaoun asked Kala to ensure his safety as best as she could and they went into this place qualified as dangerous. They crossed many streets before arriving at the hatch and when they arrived there, a kind of strange mechanism and a lock, by which a current of warm air escaped, prevented them from opening it. The archaeologist returned to see the advisors to get the key, but they informed him that they had no knowledge of it. Shaoun watch again, more carefully, the plans and discovered a hidden message among Cata representative drawings. "To find the key, it will take cunning intelligence and prove his strength in the Catarian of Destiny."

"Kala, began Shaoun, what is the Catarian of Destiny?"

"It's been a long time since I heard that name, she replied. This is a building located on the northern edge of the district rich, poor and outside of the dome. Its door has been closed for years."

Armed with courage and determination, Shaoun decided to go for a ride. At the entrance of the building, there was a sign on which was written: "the strength of a man is worth that of a woman" Shaoun quickly realized that he couldn't open the door without using Kala. He explained the facts to her and she pushed the door."

"Well, it's done!" she exclaimed, proud to acknowledge that she was stronger than Shaoun.

"It's not what you had to do! replied the archaeologist. This sentence was only one more riddle to reach the key."

Her pride took a serious blow and she apologized for having disrespected him. Amused by the shame of Kala, Shaoun willingly accepted her apologies and admitted that she was not wrong. He never had been a strong guy because he was not used to fight or to perform heavy physical work. They laughed together and went into the house. Before them, there was another door and above its doorway, another message was written. "Reasoning differently, the answer becomes obvious, but appearances can be deceiving." On the door, there were no locks or wrist to open it. Only another riddle and letters to install into three holes were present. The riddle said this: "My first is useful, my second is essential and my last is futile. Place the first letter of each word in order and the road to truth will open."

Kala proposed several answers while Shaoun reflected in his corner. Out of solutions, the bodyguard turned to the archaeologist and the latter, after long reflection, understood the logic of the riddle.

"By itself, the puzzle has endless possibilities, but when combined with the other, it makes sense!" explained Shaoun

"The other riddle?" asked Kala. "The one on the front door?"

"Well no, I think this one is for later. You must use the one that is above the door. It says "Reasoning differently, the answer becomes obvious." As such, the riddle has no obvious solutions, so we are reasoning wrong. However, if we take a distant look …

"... Nope!" exclaimed Kala who had to move away from the door.

Shaoun chuckled and explained what he meant. Embarrassed, she said she knew it and hid her ignorance. The archaeologist had realized that the riddle was actually not one, but rather statements. Based on this reasoning, the answer became obvious actually. Shaoun hoped to be right and began to built the letters following the order in which they were set. The archaeologist hoped that something happens, but the door remained closed. He even thought for a moment and looked again the assertions and the message at the top of the door. He tried to link them and finally came to a conclusion. "Order" already detailed in last sentence should be reasoned in a different way too. It was not the order of appearance, but the alphabetical one. The assertions were both a guide and a trap that was misleading. In fact, to open the door, the second part of the riddle above the door had to be used.

The archaeologist tried his new theory and the door finally opened. It gave access to a staircase that allowed to go upstairs. Up there, there was a large room divided in two by transparent glass. Above, a new riddle was posed to help get the underground's key, placed on a pedestal on the other side of the glass. "Only one man has the strength to operate the lever", said the sentence. That's when Kala remembered the first indication they had seen at the building entrance. She thought she would finally serve and rushed to the lever located below the riddle. Shaoun, worried by the simplicity of the riddle, looked around and suddenly exclaimed:

"Do not touch this lever Kala!"

"Why?" she asked.

"Look around you! Don't you find something strange? There are holes scattered on the walls!"

"I find it normal for a house abandoned and dilapidated."

"Take a closer look. All of them are directed to this lever."

"It's just a coincidence!" She exclaimed

"I prefer not to check it out for myself. Let's think a little more before throwing us into a trap."

Then they began to think on the riddle that was offered to them and those who had been put to them. After examined everything in detail, Kala found no other solution than what she had previously considered. But Shaoun was of a different opinion. He explained that each posed riddles were related, but one of the four riddles was not one; the one on the door was only an assertion that allowed to solve others. So Shaoun though the best he could and ended up giving a hypothesis.

"I think the first is useful: it helps us solve the other two. The second riddle is essential so you have to see things from a different angle and do not take them literally. The last is futile so it does not serve us. If we put them all together with the one from the plan we can think ..."

He had not finished his sentence that he rushed downstairs and Kala joinned him immediately. Shaoun explained that he had seen a strange wall moved when they entered the building. However, he did not mention it before, because he thought it was only a mirage caused by his trip to the desert and tiredness. But now that he had issued his hypothesis, he thought that this wall was the key to the one they were looking for. He walked up to it, held out his hand and discovered it was actually a kind of disguise that concealed another door. The archaeologist took it off and opened the door. On the other side, there was a further lever, but the walls were also strewn with holes.

"The disguise of the door was the answer to the second riddle, but we still do not have the answer to the first one. I think we have to engage both levers simultaneously and if I'm wrong, one of us, or maybe even both, will die or worse. Stay here, and when I cry, you activate this one."

Shaoun was afraid of what might happen and hesitated a long time before activate them. He was afraid of being mistaken on the last riddle. However, he was almost sure that Kala would risk nothing by staying there. He ended up taking his courage in both hands and cried to her to lower the lever at the same time as him.

When this was done, a loud noise was heard and Shaoun looked at the pedestal on the other side of the glass. The key and bracket dug into the floor and Shaoun rushed to the ground floor to find it, placed on the ground. Kala was already there and both drew the gaze. They looked into each other eyes and Shaoun nodded. Kala stepped forward, still looking at his friend, who continued to nodd. She came within reach of the key and looked once more at the archaeologist who this time did nothing. He though about it one last time before advancing towards the pedestal. He looked around and told Kala to catch it both at the same time at the end of the countdown. Three ... two ... one …

Hardly finished counting, Kala grabbed the key and protected her face with her hands, afraid of having triggered any trap, but nothing happened. They jumped for joy, and finally went to the hatch that led to the underground. They passed first by the rich neighborhood as close as possible to the hatch, but not through the dark streets of the poor neighborhood. However, they could not avoid it since they had to make their way through it to reach the entrance of the underground.

Strangely, now that they had the key, they feared for their lives and they were right. It had become an object of value to all these poor traders who were desperate to sell everything that came to them in exchange of Dahas. Barely had they made a few meters in the neighborhood that a man knocked them from behind.

Shaoun then fell into a deep sleep and his dreams quickly turned into nightmares. He began first by dreaming of the day he met his wife. It was during an excavation at a site in the South of Quétal, near the temple that was yet totally unknown. Shaoun had been sent there to find old documents hidden in an abandoned city and covered by sand for years. Shaira his wife was part of another team of archaeologists sent by the sages to help Shaoun. The latter declined at first her presence, but when he saw her face, he changed completely his point of view. Her forms, her voice and her approach made her a fallen angel in his eyes.

Then he dreamed of his life with her and the birth of there two children. It's as if he lived for the second time these pleasures and memories that made him a better man than before he met her. He had no friends until Shaira introduces one of her brothers, Saaran. Since the death of his beloved, Shaoun decided to see him more as a friend than as the brother of his wife.

Finally, he dreamed of his wife and children, but this time, they were lying on the ground, unconscious and lifeless. In his dream, the archaeologist tried to save them, but he knew deep in his heart it was already too late and that he could not do anything else than reliving the scene that changed his life.

When he awoke, Shaoun was alone in this great dark and dangerous neighborhood and the key had disappeared along with Kala. He got up and tried to find help by going to the rich neighborhood, but the blow he had received to the head made him forgotten the path they had taken to get here. He was now completely alone and lost with, for only companion, strange noises from all sides. The archaeologist was immobilized by the fear and loneliness he had felt the day of death of his wife. This blow to the head had back memories more than painful for him. The only person who could comfort him was on the other side of the mountains, far from him.

Alone with his fear, he had to find the courage to move forward into the unknown to find Kala and the key, certainly in her possession. He took his courage in both hands and plunged into the dark and narrow streets of the poor neighborhood of Cata without really knowing where to go.