Zendrius screamed as a billion sights, sounds and other sensations ravaged his mind. He had been in a peaceful dream one moment then awoke to his current state of intense agony the next, he could not see, hear or feel anything but he somehow knew Nessha was nearby.
“Are you alright, my lord?” asked the woman as she helped Zendrius to his feet when the paroxysm passed.
“Yes I’m fine,” said Zendrius as his senses returned and a peculiar clarity came over him.
“Welcome back to Los-Reinar, my lord,” said Nessha as she led him to a nearby balcony. “It means –”
“Realm of Strife,” said Zendrius as he regarded the plane of luminescent maroon rock with a sense of familiarity. There were no structures or any evidence of development for as far as the eye could see, no fauna or flora and the sky produced no celestial bodies. There was only darkness above, it continuously flowed and ebbed, baring a striking resemblance to Earth’s oceans.
“How did you know that, my lord?”
Zendrius turned to Nessha. “The same way I know that you are not originally from this plane, it is as if coming here somehow instilled me with knowledge.”
“I think you are regaining your memories, my lord.”
“Memories? You told me that I was taken as a baby.”
“You were my lord. But when you were still in the womb, your mother told us that you would inherit her knowledge.”
“What, like genetic memory?”
Nessha seemed to ponder the concept. “Yes, my lord.”
“While we are on the subject of my heritage, who exactly are my parents?”
“My lord, may we rather speak of this while we travel? I do not want to alarm you but this place isn’t supposed to be deserted,” said Nessha, her voice betraying her anxiousness.
Zendrius looked around. There were burns, holes and lacerations almost everywhere the eye could see. It didn’t take the skills of deduction of Sherlock Holmes to conclude that there was an intense conflict in the room. “I take it I was supposed to have gotten some kind of reception?”
“Yes, my lord. There were almost a thousand of us, something must have happened while I was gone.”
“What are you talking about? You were gone for maybe half an hour before we came back. What could have possibly happened in thirty minutes?”
“No, my lord. Time flows differently here, more than twenty years passed in Los-Reinar while I was on Earth.”
“What?”
“My lord, you might have lived eighteen years on Earth, but here you’ve been gone for more than fifty-seven omegia.”
Pain shot through Zendrius’ mind before he recognised the term for a billion hours. His thoughts raced as he remembered that Los-Reinar was not a planet, but a plane of existence and thus did not have an astronomical way of measuring time. Instead seconds, minutes and hours were used, with a cycle being a thousand hours, a genus a million and an omegus a billion. He was surprised at his sudden command over mathematics as he quickly did the calculations. “You’re telling me that I’ve been gone for over 6.5 million years?”
“Yes my lord, there is a time disruption between our realm and theirs.”
Zendrius did the math and said dubiously, “That would mean a millennium passes here for every day on Earth.”
“That is correct. My lord, I do not want to nag but we should relocate.”
“What about the rift? Are we just going to leave it open?” asked Zendrius as he pointed to the seemingly 4 ft static tear in space.
“My lord, at its current stage it barely has enough energy to shift a single entity. If we leave it, it’ll close on its own in about thirty cycles.”
Zendrius was about to object when he realised that for the portal to be open on Earth for a minute it had to be open on Los-Reinar for over eight months and that in effect, it would only be open on their side for another five minutes. “Ok, let’s go.”
Nessha led her lord out of the gigantic structure. Everywhere they passed signs of struggle and conflict removed all doubt whether the ruins were abandoned.
Zendrius turned back to the structure as they exited it. There was something inside of him that told him it did not belong, it not only appeared to be built from concrete but seemed a duplicate of what you’d find in the cities on Earth. “Who built this?”
“It was built several omegia ago by the people of Juria, my lord” said Nessha as started across the plane of rock.
Zendrius felt the intense heat emanating from the maroon stone as he followed. “I don’t seem to have any memories of them.”
“That would make sense, my lord. Juria was established after you were taken.”
“They are not from this realm, are they?”
“No, my lord. They are invaders.”
“Invaders from where?”
Nessha stopped and turned to her beacon of hope. “From Earth, my lord.”
Monday 18 July 2011
Sunday 10 July 2011
Fire Child Part 7
“Lord Zendrius!” screamed Nessha.
The rotating serrated edge of the blade was about to carve into Zed’s skull when the sanguine flames solidified, encasing the blade along with Zed in a limpid crimson crystal. Colour appeared to seep from Zed’s irises, dyeing the rest of his eyes in their entirety to a polished silver.
“What is this?” said Father Steven as he futilely tried to pry his sword free from the crimson crystal.
Nessha felt a wave of relief wash over her as she glanced at the protective shell surrounding her lord while dodging a potentially fatal blow. She had thought herself a bloodied veteran, one who would never succumb to her emotions during battle but this occasion had informed her otherwise.
Father Steven saw that the demon had regained her composure and as a result they were losing men, with a grunt of disgust he drew his knife and rushed over.
Nessha parried a blow and riposted, punching right through the man and his SAINT before making a spinning turn which reduced the number of exorcists to ten. Upon having regained her good sense, she had weaved the appropriate signs and now the last of her wounds mended themselves.
“Steven, what’s Warren’s condition?” asked the usually taciturn Father Adam hopefully as their second-in-command rejoined them.
“Not good.”
“What should we do? We won’t last for much longer, she has just become infinitely more dangerous.”
Father Steven glanced back at the crystal formation. “The only thing we can, we have to stall until the rift closes then we’ll retreat and brief the military about the situation. Their weapons might be primitive but she would eventually be overwhelmed by their sheer number.”
“What about Zed? We can’t just leave him with her.”
“We should have killed that abomination the moment we got our hands on it, but instead we were sent here to play house with it. The mission was to keep it here and if necessary, stop it from ever returning. I doubt that demon has the power to open rifts and if they had the capability to open them at will they wouldn’t have only sent her, no this whole mess reeks of desperation. Once that rift closes they lose, and if the cost is all our lives, at least we’ll know that we died protecting our home.”
“What about the native people? They are our ancestors.”
“They have lived in ignorance for long enough, perhaps it is time for them to have a small taste of what our people experienced when they first crossed over.”
Father Adam was about to reply when Nessha killed another of his companions, forcing him to fill the opening which had been left.
The rift had shrunk to a meagre 4 ft when the sanguine crystal returned to flame as abruptly as it had crystallised, freeing Zed to slump to the ground.
Nessha smiled at her unexpected fortune, just when she had finished gathering the appropriate energies to make her move, the only variable that could have thwarted her vanished. It almost seemed like divine intervention.
Father Steven turned back from the unconscious boy to issue new orders when the demon weaved a few signs and shot up into the air with paranormal speed. “Shoot her down!”
Nessha smirked as she easily perceived and avoided the incoming projectiles before sweeping down for Zed.
Father Steven watched with a sense of helplessness as the demon enfolded Zed within her wings before starting a nosedive.
All the exorcists futilely tired to stop the inevitable, some attempted to shoot the fast moving target down, while others struggled to reach the rift before the almost supersonic flesh comet, but none were successful.
“Should we follow?” asked Father Adam as their purpose darted through the rift.
Father Steven almost spat the words, “We can’t, the rift is too small, the SAINTs would never fit through.”
“But – ”
“But nothing! Crossing over without sufficient protection would mean instant death, you know this as well as I. Do you think it is easy for me to just stand here when there’s a door home right in front of me? We all knew this was going to be a one-way trip and I would rather stay here than throw away all our lives because of foolish pride. The best thing we can do now is dispose of our SAINTs and live out the rest of our lives under the radar.”
“Then we have failed,” said Father Adam in resignation.
“Yes we have, but I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll be damned if those two think they’ve won,” said Father Steven as he suddenly marched over to the rift with purpose.
Father Adam watched his superior open his SAINT’s interface. “What are you doing?”
“A SAINT might not be able to fit but a signal will. I’m letting Juria know that we’ve failed and that the Fire Child has returned to Los-Reinar.”
The rotating serrated edge of the blade was about to carve into Zed’s skull when the sanguine flames solidified, encasing the blade along with Zed in a limpid crimson crystal. Colour appeared to seep from Zed’s irises, dyeing the rest of his eyes in their entirety to a polished silver.
“What is this?” said Father Steven as he futilely tried to pry his sword free from the crimson crystal.
Nessha felt a wave of relief wash over her as she glanced at the protective shell surrounding her lord while dodging a potentially fatal blow. She had thought herself a bloodied veteran, one who would never succumb to her emotions during battle but this occasion had informed her otherwise.
Father Steven saw that the demon had regained her composure and as a result they were losing men, with a grunt of disgust he drew his knife and rushed over.
Nessha parried a blow and riposted, punching right through the man and his SAINT before making a spinning turn which reduced the number of exorcists to ten. Upon having regained her good sense, she had weaved the appropriate signs and now the last of her wounds mended themselves.
“Steven, what’s Warren’s condition?” asked the usually taciturn Father Adam hopefully as their second-in-command rejoined them.
“Not good.”
“What should we do? We won’t last for much longer, she has just become infinitely more dangerous.”
Father Steven glanced back at the crystal formation. “The only thing we can, we have to stall until the rift closes then we’ll retreat and brief the military about the situation. Their weapons might be primitive but she would eventually be overwhelmed by their sheer number.”
“What about Zed? We can’t just leave him with her.”
“We should have killed that abomination the moment we got our hands on it, but instead we were sent here to play house with it. The mission was to keep it here and if necessary, stop it from ever returning. I doubt that demon has the power to open rifts and if they had the capability to open them at will they wouldn’t have only sent her, no this whole mess reeks of desperation. Once that rift closes they lose, and if the cost is all our lives, at least we’ll know that we died protecting our home.”
“What about the native people? They are our ancestors.”
“They have lived in ignorance for long enough, perhaps it is time for them to have a small taste of what our people experienced when they first crossed over.”
Father Adam was about to reply when Nessha killed another of his companions, forcing him to fill the opening which had been left.
The rift had shrunk to a meagre 4 ft when the sanguine crystal returned to flame as abruptly as it had crystallised, freeing Zed to slump to the ground.
Nessha smiled at her unexpected fortune, just when she had finished gathering the appropriate energies to make her move, the only variable that could have thwarted her vanished. It almost seemed like divine intervention.
Father Steven turned back from the unconscious boy to issue new orders when the demon weaved a few signs and shot up into the air with paranormal speed. “Shoot her down!”
Nessha smirked as she easily perceived and avoided the incoming projectiles before sweeping down for Zed.
Father Steven watched with a sense of helplessness as the demon enfolded Zed within her wings before starting a nosedive.
All the exorcists futilely tired to stop the inevitable, some attempted to shoot the fast moving target down, while others struggled to reach the rift before the almost supersonic flesh comet, but none were successful.
“Should we follow?” asked Father Adam as their purpose darted through the rift.
Father Steven almost spat the words, “We can’t, the rift is too small, the SAINTs would never fit through.”
“But – ”
“But nothing! Crossing over without sufficient protection would mean instant death, you know this as well as I. Do you think it is easy for me to just stand here when there’s a door home right in front of me? We all knew this was going to be a one-way trip and I would rather stay here than throw away all our lives because of foolish pride. The best thing we can do now is dispose of our SAINTs and live out the rest of our lives under the radar.”
“Then we have failed,” said Father Adam in resignation.
“Yes we have, but I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll be damned if those two think they’ve won,” said Father Steven as he suddenly marched over to the rift with purpose.
Father Adam watched his superior open his SAINT’s interface. “What are you doing?”
“A SAINT might not be able to fit but a signal will. I’m letting Juria know that we’ve failed and that the Fire Child has returned to Los-Reinar.”
Sunday 3 July 2011
Fire Child Part 6
Zed turned and saw something he wouldn’t have thought possible. A group of humanoid machines were propelling through the sky towards them, the mechanical suits revealed their occupants as they touched down and Zed gasped. The exposed faces were those of the men who had watched over him his entire life, it were the visages of men he thought he knew and yet here they all stood in futuristic mechanical physiques.
Father Warren stepped forward, his suit making him but a foot shorter than Nessha. “Step away from him demon and we’ll let you return through the rift with your life.”
“You see my lord, your prison even has guards,” said Nessha as she placed herself between Zed and Father Warren.
“This is your last chance demon, flee or be slain.”
Nessha drew her strange blade. “Judging by your dialect and the outdated SAINTs you pilot, I’d say you’re all from Juria, which means that you all know what I am and my station among my kind. So please stop with the bravado. You know as well as I that even with the twenty-four of you here, your victory is far from assured.”
“Zed, I don’t know what happened here, but what I do know is that the man I raised wouldn’t just stand idly by when he could help a loved one. What have you been doing when you could have helped Alyza?” asked Father Warren as he indicated the unconscious girl in the sea of ash and charred corpses.
Zed turned to where Alyza lay unharmed by his flames. He had been so consumed with rage and caught within the moment that he had completely forgotten the reason for his outrage. But she now seemed less important, ironically so even. He no longer felt the deep urge to protect her nor the bottomless yearning to be close to her. Instead he felt a sense of nostalgia, but regardless he felt he owed her for all her years of kindness.
Nessha instinctively placed a restraining hand on Zed’s shoulder as he started away. “Don’t stray from my side, my lord. They want to separate us.”
Zed regarded the hand on his shoulder with surprise. “Why isn’t your hand burning?”
“I do not know, my lord. Perhaps because you don’t wish me harm?”
“Do not listen to her, her words are poison!” urged Father Warren.
The statement still lingered in the air when a cyan translucent being emerged from the rift. The tear in dimensions had shrunk to half its original size but still towered over the oval shaped life form. The creature was a foot in diameter and seemed to be hovering aimlessly in front of the rift when it abruptly zipped over to Alyza’s sleeping form. Before either side really knew what was happening, it bloomed and used its petaloid limbs to fold the unconscious girl within itself.
“Seize it!” ordered Father Warren and his men instantly obeyed.
The exorcists’ attempt to catch the strange being were made in vain as it quickly became apparent that it possessed a manoeuvrability which far exceeded that of a SAINT.
Zed turned to Nessha as the being disappeared through the rift. “What just happened? Did you arrange that?”
“No, my lord. I have never even seen a being like that, the fact that it came through the rift . . . my lord I beg your forgiveness,” said Nessha before tucking Zed under her left arm and dashing for the rift.
Father Warren reacted instantly. “Block the rift! We just need to hold out until it closes.”
The exorcists drew their weapons, some had large rifles with barrels the size of a man’s fist while others had chainsaw-like serrated swords.
Nessha deftly evaded a downward slash, severing the attacker’s right leg as everyone scrambled for the rift. Those with rifles began laying down suppressive fire for their comrades and Nessha found herself too occupied avoiding and deflecting bullets with her blade to make any significant advance toward the rift.
Father Warren noticed that the demon favoured defence due to her unavailable left arm and ordered five of those with close quarter weapons to harass her.
“Would – you – put – me – down already?!” said Zed as he was yanked in a different direction each time Nessha avoided a blow from her five pursuers.
Nessha now regretted her rashness earlier as she realised that it would be impossible for her to break through the exorcists while carrying Zed. They were well trained and knew how to win a battle even if the odds were against them. Realising that delaying now would only serve her opponents, Nessha pushed the five exorcists back while throwing Zed behind her in a less than gentle manner.
Zed struck the ground with a loud thud and by the time he got back on his feet he found himself surrounded by SAINTs. It seemed that Father Warren had anticipated Nessha to drop him and when she did they were ready.
“Lord Zendrius!” shouted Nessha with panic as the gap between them grew larger.
Zed glanced back as he was hustled away by Father Warren and saw Nessha redoubling her efforts. The tall woman cleaved a SAINT in two before releasing some kind of shock wave with her left hand which knocked over a few of her assaulters. But she was becoming reckless and as a result sustained a few injuries.
Nessha watched with horror as Zed was taken further and further away. “No!”
Zed felt a cold surge when he saw Nessha lose all reason as she just blindly rushed after him, the surrounding exorcists dealt her serious wounds but she just kept on pressing. “Damn it!”
There was a sudden surge in temperature and Father Steven turned as he heard his commander scream. Zed was walking back towards them, heat visibly emanating from him and igniting the surrounding environment. That’s when Father Steven noticed his friend’s SAINT in the distance and rushed over without so much as a thought. As he neared the motionless SAINT he saw that its arms were melted and that Father Warren had brought up its protective helm.
“Warren, are you alright?” asked Father Steven as he knelt next to his commander.
There was a weak reply and Father Steven quickly connected their SAINTs and commanded the helm to fall away. Father Steven clenched his jaw as the smell of seared flesh filled the air. “Enough is enough. I’m going to do what we should have done eighteen years ago!”
“Wait, you don’t understand,” wheezed Father Warren as his comrade stormed off.
Zed was three-quarters of the way back when he heard something behind him. As he turned he saw the blade come down and in that moment he knew he was going to die.
Father Warren stepped forward, his suit making him but a foot shorter than Nessha. “Step away from him demon and we’ll let you return through the rift with your life.”
“You see my lord, your prison even has guards,” said Nessha as she placed herself between Zed and Father Warren.
“This is your last chance demon, flee or be slain.”
Nessha drew her strange blade. “Judging by your dialect and the outdated SAINTs you pilot, I’d say you’re all from Juria, which means that you all know what I am and my station among my kind. So please stop with the bravado. You know as well as I that even with the twenty-four of you here, your victory is far from assured.”
“Zed, I don’t know what happened here, but what I do know is that the man I raised wouldn’t just stand idly by when he could help a loved one. What have you been doing when you could have helped Alyza?” asked Father Warren as he indicated the unconscious girl in the sea of ash and charred corpses.
Zed turned to where Alyza lay unharmed by his flames. He had been so consumed with rage and caught within the moment that he had completely forgotten the reason for his outrage. But she now seemed less important, ironically so even. He no longer felt the deep urge to protect her nor the bottomless yearning to be close to her. Instead he felt a sense of nostalgia, but regardless he felt he owed her for all her years of kindness.
Nessha instinctively placed a restraining hand on Zed’s shoulder as he started away. “Don’t stray from my side, my lord. They want to separate us.”
Zed regarded the hand on his shoulder with surprise. “Why isn’t your hand burning?”
“I do not know, my lord. Perhaps because you don’t wish me harm?”
“Do not listen to her, her words are poison!” urged Father Warren.
The statement still lingered in the air when a cyan translucent being emerged from the rift. The tear in dimensions had shrunk to half its original size but still towered over the oval shaped life form. The creature was a foot in diameter and seemed to be hovering aimlessly in front of the rift when it abruptly zipped over to Alyza’s sleeping form. Before either side really knew what was happening, it bloomed and used its petaloid limbs to fold the unconscious girl within itself.
“Seize it!” ordered Father Warren and his men instantly obeyed.
The exorcists’ attempt to catch the strange being were made in vain as it quickly became apparent that it possessed a manoeuvrability which far exceeded that of a SAINT.
Zed turned to Nessha as the being disappeared through the rift. “What just happened? Did you arrange that?”
“No, my lord. I have never even seen a being like that, the fact that it came through the rift . . . my lord I beg your forgiveness,” said Nessha before tucking Zed under her left arm and dashing for the rift.
Father Warren reacted instantly. “Block the rift! We just need to hold out until it closes.”
The exorcists drew their weapons, some had large rifles with barrels the size of a man’s fist while others had chainsaw-like serrated swords.
Nessha deftly evaded a downward slash, severing the attacker’s right leg as everyone scrambled for the rift. Those with rifles began laying down suppressive fire for their comrades and Nessha found herself too occupied avoiding and deflecting bullets with her blade to make any significant advance toward the rift.
Father Warren noticed that the demon favoured defence due to her unavailable left arm and ordered five of those with close quarter weapons to harass her.
“Would – you – put – me – down already?!” said Zed as he was yanked in a different direction each time Nessha avoided a blow from her five pursuers.
Nessha now regretted her rashness earlier as she realised that it would be impossible for her to break through the exorcists while carrying Zed. They were well trained and knew how to win a battle even if the odds were against them. Realising that delaying now would only serve her opponents, Nessha pushed the five exorcists back while throwing Zed behind her in a less than gentle manner.
Zed struck the ground with a loud thud and by the time he got back on his feet he found himself surrounded by SAINTs. It seemed that Father Warren had anticipated Nessha to drop him and when she did they were ready.
“Lord Zendrius!” shouted Nessha with panic as the gap between them grew larger.
Zed glanced back as he was hustled away by Father Warren and saw Nessha redoubling her efforts. The tall woman cleaved a SAINT in two before releasing some kind of shock wave with her left hand which knocked over a few of her assaulters. But she was becoming reckless and as a result sustained a few injuries.
Nessha watched with horror as Zed was taken further and further away. “No!”
Zed felt a cold surge when he saw Nessha lose all reason as she just blindly rushed after him, the surrounding exorcists dealt her serious wounds but she just kept on pressing. “Damn it!”
There was a sudden surge in temperature and Father Steven turned as he heard his commander scream. Zed was walking back towards them, heat visibly emanating from him and igniting the surrounding environment. That’s when Father Steven noticed his friend’s SAINT in the distance and rushed over without so much as a thought. As he neared the motionless SAINT he saw that its arms were melted and that Father Warren had brought up its protective helm.
“Warren, are you alright?” asked Father Steven as he knelt next to his commander.
There was a weak reply and Father Steven quickly connected their SAINTs and commanded the helm to fall away. Father Steven clenched his jaw as the smell of seared flesh filled the air. “Enough is enough. I’m going to do what we should have done eighteen years ago!”
“Wait, you don’t understand,” wheezed Father Warren as his comrade stormed off.
Zed was three-quarters of the way back when he heard something behind him. As he turned he saw the blade come down and in that moment he knew he was going to die.
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