Author's note: I can still remember the first time I saw an Everwatch unit. There were two types on the first day. The six foot reptilian synthetics were called Prowlers, Lizardmechs were covered in sharp blades and equipped with magnetic bolt launchers which they used to easily pin the bodies of their prey to nearby walls, and that's if they didn't take you prisoner or decide to eviscerate you from up close. However the real threat were the Sentinels. 

Easily ten feet tall, these hulking behemoths tore through houses like they were made of paper. Armed with twin shoulder mounted ion canons and a gravity rifle, there was at least one for every twenty Prowlers which showed up. We figured they functioned as squad leaders, though we honestly didn't know which to fear more. They could easily take out an entire police force in minutes and left nothing alive in their wake except those they kidnapped. We assumed to perform experiments and killed later.

Fall of Man A.D.X

Page 2 of the Sage Chronicles

August 11, 2112 Fifth Day of Godfall

Things were truly bad for humanity. There weren't many of us left at all and the Everwatch seemed determined to use the rest of us as entertainment. We weren't really sure of anything except we wouldn't survive for much longer. I can still hear the cries of our next door neighbors maid as she was cornered by a pack of Prowlers and an Alchemist and painfully torn apart and tranformed into a cyborg. I thought it was just dumb luck I still had my whole family when others had lost most of theirs. Little did I know I would lose everything I hold dear. 

So far we had seen around ten different types of Everwatch units, each one more twisted and more cold than the last. We had been able to fight off total extinction once we reconfigured some of their tech from fallen units, but hope was fading fast. After breakfast it was up to me and my brother to go out and search for scrap to repair our defensive wall around the camp. Of course it was dangerous but we were really good at hiding. 

They said the Aurora Mall was cleared out during the last run, but I knew there was still a nice stache of candy and our sister had just lost her best friend yesterday. Everyone could honestly use a pick me up and nothing like the sweet taste of sugar to lighten the mood. We would have plenty of time to search for scrap, or so I kept telling Adam.

Now that I think about it, even if we didn't go to the Mall there would have been nothing we could do to save anyone. By the time we had gotten back from our run, our base had been completely taken over by a new model of Everwatch. Red Widow's we would call them, they silently slipped in to camp and left a horror scene in their wake. I never got to see what they did to my family, we never got the chance to search through all the cocoons before Adam was snatched right beside me by an Alchemist accompanied by three Red Widows. In the distance I could hear the howl of Prowlers and the stomps of a Sentinel slowly approaching, perhaps to gather all the victims still left alive. I thought this was it, until the roar of jet engines came rushing over the horizon and then the explosions came.

The army found our camp and I was saved by a few well placed Smart Missles which knocked me out of the way from the Everwatch units but also me out cold for hours.

Author's Note: Alchemist, Everwatch unit used to assimilate organic species into the their ranks with the use of nano-bots. The process is quite painful as a victim is slowly turned into a cyborg gathering whatever tech and metal that was around and fusing it to their bodies. My brother, the last time I saw him he was being converted, his blood-churning cries still haunt my dreams to this day.

Red Widow's though are by far the worst. Humanoid Arachnid hybrids which always seemed to be female in appearance, wrap their victims in a metallic silk which was almost impossible to break through. It was almost like the Everwatch chose this unit specifically for me as my fear of spiders was legendary in my family. They were about six feet high, six lower limbs, two arms and a humanoid upper body wielding razor sharp claws which shot out jets of acid. The most distinctive is there crimson plating and set of emerald eyes.

Fall of Man A.D.X

Page 3 of the Sage Chronicles 

August 12, 2112 Final Decent: The Last Gods Fall

When I awoke after being knocked out I found myself utterly alone. It took awhile to remove the rubble crushing my chest but I somehow managed to free myself. There I stood, in shock over what little I could see. The entire neighborhood was destroyed. Amazingly enough there were quite a few Prowler and Red Widow bodies all out of commission. The first thought in my head was run and hide before they sent more. But I couldn't leave without being sure my family was gone for good. 

I ran through the ruins of camp, cutting my hands trying to peel away the webbing of what Red Widow cocoons I could find not completely destroyed. I was sorely disappointed, but gave no mind to the fact at any moment a second wave of Everwatch could fall and kill me, or worse. What I should have been paying attention to was the condition of the units around me. A Red Widow had sprung back to life and stalked me as I searched. However thanks to a loose brick, I heard her crawling along the side of a nearby apartment complex. I ran for my life past the edges of camp the whole time hearing the clank of its legs beating the street behind me. 

I tried to find a good weapon from the bodies of soldiers or resistance but most were completely destroyed if not two damaged to work with. To this day, now that I look back, I am honestly not sure what side of luck I fell on once I got cornered in that ally. As I looked down at a crack in the street I saw a flickering light and as I moved the broken pavement I saw it.....the Library. It took a hexagonal shape, like the cell of a hive but damaged. Just then the Red Widow revealed it's twisted maw over the corner. Acid dripping from its fangs, I had never been so scared before. But just as it was about to pounce on me the little object sprung to life and shot a beam of energy at it seperating its head from its body.

For an Everwatch unit to be dispatched so easily, I was in total awe. Then I heard its voice. I suppose it chose that of an older woman because I was such a mama's boy, but for the first time in days I felt hope. 

"Avatar discovered....subject-080690....Damien Smith. I am the Library, your story....starts here."

Authors Note: That was the first thing the Library said to me. Oddly enough it was the last day the Everwatch toyed with humanity. Their full occupation would begin but that was also the start of humanity's rise from the ashes. We were gonna win....at least that's what I wanted.

Fall of Man A.D.X

Page 4 of the Sage Chronicles 

August 14, 2112 Second Day of Silence

I had to thank the Library for it's ability to cloak my signature from the Everwatch. For the first time, I could actually mourn the death of my family. Yeah I had lost friends before, but not all of them. Not all in one day. Somewhere between searching for food and looking out for survivors, I had time to think about Uncle Cross and Vexia. Those two were strong, deadly, much more suited to this than I ever was. We lost contact right before Final Decent as they were on a trip to Japan. I really hope they're still alive, they're the only family I have left.

Today I whiped my tears and decided to get to know this thing called the Library. I found an abandoned underground garage and conversed with it. I had no idea what this thing was and it was in no position to fill me in. Apparently it was damaged in a battle before it came to my Earth. Now that I think about it, it never mentioned exactly where it came from, nor what it meant by my Earth. However as I began to tinker with it I started to...sense things. Multiple minds that were linked somehow. 

One of the first things I asked was why her voice sounded so familiar to me. Like a voice actress. She said when I came in contact with her, she was tuned into my subconcious and chose the voice I would find most comforting. Apparently Mary McGlynn is like a mother figure for me. I didnt really understand but I did feel safe around her. She hates when I refer to it as a woman but can you blame me. She told me about all the Everwatch which had come to Earth, their mannerisms and function. For some reason they didnt gather their dead. If a unit was destroyed it was defective and they didnt tolerate failure.

Authors Note: It was after this day I came up with the nickname L. She said it isnt good for me to see her as a person or even alive because in her collective mind she wasn't. She had no soul and everything about her was programmed. She didnt view being sentient and alive as the same. I dont care what she says, she's all I have right now and I could really use a friend. I miss my family....I miss them so much.

Fall of Man A.D.X

Page 5 of the Sage Chronicles 

August 15, 2112 Third Day of Silence 

When I dreamt, it was of the things I sensed before taken shape. It was as if there were other me's out there and they all were aware of me. There were six in all. Six different lives. Six different Damien's. I never really thought it possible but there we were. Sharing only common traits given by the Grave side of the family one of us wasnt even fully human. There were no actual words exchanged yet we understood everything we wanted to say.

When I awoke I felt dizzy and weak. I forgot to eat the past couple days and I couldnt do it much longer if I wanted to survive. I found great comfort in the garage but I figure I had lain low for long enough. There was heavy fog outside and judging by the outside temperature it was still morning. To add to the overall sense of fear and hesitation of the situation it was insanely quiet, the usual level of quiet just before the camp got ambushed. Every step was taken with extreme caution though L kept a constant scan on the area.

To my great luck I stumbled upon an only slightly damaged 7/11 which still had a few bags of Lays and some candy on the racks. Must have been completely passed over during their normal runs but I was all too excited to find a bag of chili cheese fritos which were only slightly opened. Taking that, a half empty bottle of water, and some skittles I sat behind the counter and plotted my next move. As far as I was concerned there would be little hope I could get in contact with anyone left in Colorado but I didn't have a means of travel. Taking a car would only paint me as a load moving target and on the off chance I did find a radio I wouldn't have the means to hide any transmission I made.

It was somewhere near the end of the bag that L finally broke silence from scanning. "Damien, if you would like I can teach you how to combat these Everwatch. This is not my first time coming across them, though I do not recognize these models." My immediate thought was why didn't she say so before but she was quick to reply that I didnt ask. Nonetheless if there was anything I could do to prolong my life here and find some way to contact any humans left I would take it. Little did I know the type of training I was about to recieve would alter the way I saw everything and would lead down a path I wasn't ready for.