Princeps

The night sky over Altenkau was shrouded in a thick blanket of clouds, blotting out the moonlight and casting the city into a near-total darkness. Only the occasional flicker of lanterns below and the distant glow of fires betrayed the sprawling metropolis beneath the night’s cover. High above the twisted alleys and crumbling buildings, a lone figure darted across the rooftops with the agility of a predator on the hunt.

Princeps moved with calculated precision, his mechanical limbs whirring softly with each leap and bound. The clockwork-like machines in his joints allowed him to spring effortlessly from one rooftop to the next, his motions fluid and silent, like a shadow against the night. In his hand, he clutched a small, leather-bound case, its contents far more valuable than its unassuming appearance suggested.

He paused briefly on the edge of a dilapidated tenement, his glowing eyes scanning the streets below. The gangs were out in force tonight, searching, hunting him. He could hear them, their curses and threats carried up by the wind. They knew he had stolen something precious, something they desperately wanted back. But Princeps was not about to let them catch him, not when he was this close.

A shout echoed from a nearby rooftop, and Princeps ducked low, blending into the shadows. A group of thugs, their faces masked and their weapons gleaming in the dim light, appeared on the roof he had just crossed. They were getting closer, their pursuit relentless.

Keeping low, Princeps moved swiftly along the edge of the building, his mind racing. The case was heavier than it looked, and he could feel the strain in his mechanical parts. But there was no time to rest. He had to reach the rendezvous point before dawn, before the city fully awakened and his window of escape closed.

He reached the end of the tenement and spotted his next target, a narrow gap between two buildings. It was a long jump, even for him, but he didn’t hesitate. With a burst of speed, he launched himself into the air, the ground far below a dark, forbidding chasm.

As Princeps soared through the air, the gap between the buildings seemed to stretch wider in his mind, the darkness below threatening to swallow him whole. For a moment, he was weightless, suspended between the rooftops, his mechanical limbs outstretched. Then, the edge of the far building rushed up to meet him.

His foot slipped on the rain-slicked surface, the ledge crumbling beneath his weight. Panic flashed through him as he scrabbled for a hold, his fingers grazing the rough stone. But the momentum was too much; his balance tipped backward, and he plunged downwards.

The fall was swift but brutal. His body crashed against a metal fire escape, the impact shattering gears and sending sparks flying from his limbs. The case slipped from his grasp, clattering down ahead of him. Princeps hit the ground hard, the force of the fall driving the air from his lungs and leaving him in a twisted heap on the cobblestones.

Agony flared through his body as his systems struggled to compensate for the damage. One of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle, gears grinding painfully within. His arm, meant to bear the weight of his body, sparked and twitched uselessly. The clockwork-like mechanisms that powered him wheezed and stuttered, their usual precision lost in the chaos of the fall.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Princeps forced himself to move. He reached out with his good arm, dragging himself across the filthy alley floor toward the leather-bound case that had tumbled a few feet away. His fingers closed around it just as he heard the distant shouts of the pursuing gang. They were close, too close.

With every ounce of strength he had left, Princeps pulled himself into the shadows, his body leaving a trail of oil and blood on the ground. He found a narrow gap between two buildings, a space barely wide enough to conceal him. He wedged himself into it, the cold, damp stone pressing against his back, and clutched the case to his chest.

His breath came in ragged gasps, his systems strained to the limit. He could hear the gang members spilling into the alley, their voices sharp with anger as they searched for him. He was too injured to fight, too damaged to run, and the clockwork mechanisms within him were failing fast.

But he wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet.

He pressed himself deeper into the shadows, willing the night to hide him as he tried to quiet the whirring of his broken parts. If he could just stay still, stay silent, he might survive the night. The hunt would continue, but for now, all he could do was hold on and hope the darkness would be enough to keep him safe.

#OpenRP #FeraRP #FantasyRP #LewdRP