Kamavad raced across the farthest reaches of the Sundom and to Barren Light. “I’m sorry, but I’m not opening this gate,” the commander yelled down at Kamavad. “For your information, I took down a Sawtooth that ripped some of our best soldiers in Meridian while you were guarding your little gate here,” he yelled back. After that, a black armored Behemoth smashed through the gate. Kamavad pulled out his spear and dodged the charging machine. Then, he sliced at its side, knocking it down. He then got on his Charger and rode off into No Man’s Land.
Kamavad arrived at a gate guarded by two Tenakth soldiers. “What business does a Carja have here in the West,” One of them said. They both pulled out their spears in threat. “Hold on, I’m not looking to fight, I’m just passing through,” Kamavad said. Before anyone could do anything, an arrow flew at the other Tenakth soldier, and an armored Tenakth jumped down. The remaining guard turned his attention to the strange soldier, who charged Kamavad. He quickly rolled out of the way and fired an arrow, which bounced off her armor. She turned around and swung her saw-like sword at Kamavad. The other Tenakth threw a spike at the soldier, who fled. “Who was that?” Kamavad asked. “Gerrudo, a rebel among the tribe. She was said to be from the Desert Clan, but seems to want to kill all Tenakth,” the soldier replied. He handed Kamavad a dagger. “This mark allows passage into Tenakth lands. If you can, stop by Scalding Spear, the Desert Clan’s capital. If they don’t let you in, show them this. There you can restock on gear and upgrade it,” he said. Kamavad got on his Charger and rode off, before stopping. “Wait, I don’t think I caught your name,” he said. “Tekatto,” The soldier replied. “I’m Kamavad, thanks for everything.”
He arrived at the coast with a new steed: a Fire Clawstrider named Inferno. “All right, this is where we part ways for now,” he said as he pushed a nearby boat into the water and jumped in. Kamavad was closing in on the coordinates when he spotted a Cauldron door in the direction. He attempted to open the door when an artificial sounding voice spoke, “Intruder detected. Deploying unit 152468-APEX.” At that, the door opened and a black armored Slaughterspine stepped through. Kamavad fought tooth and nail until the last arrow in his quiver hit true, striking down the beast. He quickly crafted some more arrows and stepped inside. Inside there was a strange console that he could override. When he did, a voice spoke, “To any human responder, my systems have been compromised by a malware daemon of unknown origin. Traceroutes confirm this entity’s designation as HEPHAESTUS. B--are, HE--A-STU- is m-king ki---r m--hi--s.” The voice from earlier, HEPHAESTUS, spoke again, “Unauthorized transmission. Return to scheduled task.” Kamavad grabbed onto a metal carrier and rode until a wall of energy blocked his path. He made his way through the opening and into a large room. In the center of the room, there was a large node controlled by HEPHAESTUS. Kamavad guided light back to its source and freed the AI. “What are you?” Kamavad asked. “I am ATHENA, a prototype subordinate function. Adept at hacking, superseded by MINERVA,” it replied.