Halo: Envisage

Prologue

The air hung still in the vast jungle. There was an eerie quiet that seemed to fill the coming night. There was no song of birds, not a rustle of the trees in the wind, not even the chirping of crickets. The only sound that could be heard was the breathing of a young man silently making his way deeper into the jungle. Necahual checked the quiver on his back making sure that the arrows were secure. He gripped the bow tighter, scanning the impenetrable darkness. There was something out there in the jungle that stirred. Something dark and evil.

Chapter 1

The Yucatan Peninsula

1247 A.D.

The people of the city had gathered at the sacred well in the festival square at the foot of the great pyramid for the annual festival of the king to determine who had the power of prophecy. By sacrificing people to the well, those who survived the fall would have been granted by the gods with the power of foresight. The high priest was to make the first human sacrifice when something caused him to advert his gaze. He backed away from the well and pointed to the sky. The sky grew dark with clouds blotting out the sun. Lighting and thunder clashed in the sky kicking up a strong wind. Suddenly, a red dot appeared in the sky and a low rumble filled the air. Panicked screams started to fill the square as the dot appeared to be a massive fireball, the rumbling soon turning to a load roar. People started pushing and running out of the square but Necahual just stared against the sea of people, mesmerized at the menacing fireball bearing down upon the city. Suddenly he was pushed to the ground, snapping him out his dazed trance.

He felt a chilling fear rise up as he saw the panicked faces of others as this once peaceful city had turned into chaos. He started to run. He ran faster than he ever ran before, dodging terrified people. The roar filled the city, loud enough that he heard the sound reverberating throughout his body. He started to feel heat on his back as the roar grew even louder, shaking the earth. He was almost near the edge of the square and then there was bright flash of light as he was lifted off his feet and then the world turned black.

Necahual blearily started to open his eyes. He found himself covered in dirt and debris. He turned his body till he was looking straight up at the sky, which had turned to a blood red hue. He started slowly to rise to his feet and gasped at what he saw.

He found himself at the top of one of the southern pyramids and looking down at a most grizzly scene. What once was the festival square, a smoldering crater was all that remained. Burnt bodies were littered everywhere. The side of the north most pyramid had crumbled apart with bits of stone strewn across the square. He turned towards the rest of the city, seeing fires starting to spread across the rooftops with black smoke filling the sky.

Tears started to well in his eyes has he thought about his grandfather and wondered if he was still alive, but he quickly wiped the away. Right now, all he could think about was getting to him. Tentatively he started making his way down the pyramid, stepping over blocks of stone and charred corpses. Eventually he reached the base of the pyramid and looked up at the once mighty monument to his people. The entire front side was charred with soot and covered with blocks of stone that had been flown from the street. Peppered black on all sides were the burnt bodies of the festivalgoers. It was then that he realized that he also should have been one of those bodies but as to how this happened, all he could wonder is why he was sparred from the fate of so many.

He then turned and moved toward the crater, standing at the edge of the crater that had been carved by the mysterious fireball. As he gazed down into the abyss, he got an unexpected chill run up his spine, a feeling of imminent danger. And it was at that moment that a strange hiss slowly emanated from the gloom of the pit. He peered closer and he could see shapes moving at the bottom. Then a creature, that resembled a large insect, leaped from the bottom of the pit, coming to rest on the opposite side of the chasm. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out this strange creature but suddenly another one had leaped from the chasm, coming to rest next to the first creature. Before he could react, he heard a cry come up from the other side of the crater. He could see a silhouette of a person waving at him. He could make out it was a man, who just like him, was completely covered in dirt and ash. But at that moment, he saw that the creatures had started to scuttle towards the man.

They seemed to unnaturally glide across the ground, unnerving him as he sensed something wrong was about to happen. He waved back at the man, trying to motion to the strange creatures that were coming ever closer to him. One of the creatures suddenly leaped at him, barely missing its mark. He cried out and started to run from the creatures towards the other side of the crater, with the creatures in pursuit. To his horror, more of the creatures were leaping from the crater as he ran around the perimeter, all hurling them selves towards him. The man suddenly stumbled and before Necahual could blink, on of the creatures latched itself onto the man's chest, knocking him off his feet and laid to rest motionless.

Horror struck, Necahual could only stare at the man's motionless body as the saw the creature writhing on his chest. Then suddenly, he heard a loud crunching sound and the creature suddenly disappeared into his body. He vomited over himself and then he heard a blood-curdling shriek issue from him. He started to writhe on the ground and his arms and legs were bending back and forth at strange angles as if a puppeteer was controlling his limbs. All the while he could hear the screams coming from the man's mouth as strange boils and grows started to sprout all over the his body. He convulsed and let out another horrific scream. Suddenly, his right arm shot off his body and a grotesque fungal stalk streamed out where his arm had been and took the shape of an enormous gruesome pincer. His head then snapped to the side and as more fungal spores sprang from his neck, his head still barely hanging onto his body with the tattered remnants of flesh from his neck. The man started to rise to his feet and what stood there was a sight that would haunt Necahual's nightmares for the rest of his life.

It was not a man anymore but it resembled the appearance of a one with spores all over his body and an enormous pincer that hung limply to the side as if it was too big for it's body. From his chest had sprouted strange whisker like tentacles that seemed to quiver and move about as if tasting the air. The creature slowly turned towards Necahual, like a dog catching the scent of a piece of game. It started to let out a low groan that soon turned into a sickening howl. As if it were a trigger, the creature then started to come barreling towards him. The other smaller creatures also seemed to sense the attack and they also started skittering towards him.

Necahual instinctively turned to run, the sight of what he was just seen was filling his head and he had never been more afraid of anything in his life. He sprinted faster through the city streets, knowing he had to warn his grandfather. He was finally out of the square but he didn't look back as he could hear the scampering of the smaller insects and the roars from the creature. He vaulted over an upturned cart, continuing down the street. Fires were sweeping on all sides of the street as he felt the heat starting to singe the hairs on his arms. He started to see other survivors starting to blearily make their way through the streets but that was when the screams started to fill the air. More people were soon running along side him, all desperately trying to escape from the terror that had come forth from the crater. He could hear the cries of the people being attacked by the insects and the screams of those who were beginning to transform into the grotesque creatures.

He finally reached the house at the outskirts of the city, bursting in on his grandfather was sleeping on a cot in the corner. Outside, more people were running and screaming.

"Grandfather!" Necahual said prodding him awake. He grunted, turning his head towards him

"Hello boy," he murmured. "Next time don't wake me when I am asleep, I'm to old to be startled."

"Grandfather!" Necahual said urgently. "We have to get out of the city!"

His grandfather sat upright in the bed, staring at him with a puzzled look.

"Why?" he stammered. "What is going on?"

He swung his legs out and sat on the bed. As he heard the screams of the running people, a look of fear started to spread across his face.

"What has happened?" he said.

"I don't know Grandfather!" Necahual said as he fought to fight back tears. "Everyone is…is dead. Something fell from the sky and then…."

He turned to his grandfather.

"And something appeared, something horrible"

He could feel the tears flowing from his eyes. He knelt down to his grandfather.

"It changed people!" he wept. "Something grew on them and I saw it all! I don't even know how I even managed to escape, why did I live and so many others die!"

He was bawling now.

Then suddenly, Grandfather stood up he stood up, grabbing Necahual and putting his face inches from him.

"It's as the gods predicted," he said, with a look of horror on his face.

He instantly started rummaging around the room scooping various things and putting them into a sack. Finally he went into the back room and came back with a small package wrapped in thick bandages.

"Here, this was passed down from the first of our family, will need it for the road ahead," he said handing it to him.

"What is going on Grandfather?" he stammered, barely holding onto the strange package.

Outside the screams had started to get louder and he could see the light of the fires coming through the window.

"You remember the pyramid and you remember what I told you?" he exclaimed, barely looking at him as he continued rummaging around the house.

Necahual remembered when he was a child of how his grandfather told of a forbidden pyramid in the deepest part of the jungle. That his family had been charged by the gods to keep it safe and hidden from the people. But when the time came, when all hope was lost, to call upon the gods once again to come to his people's aid.

"Here," he said, laying out sack of supplies on the table as well as a small bow. He also drew out a map and handed it to Necahual.

"This will tell you how to get to the temple. Travel by day and stick to the shadows."

"What about you?" asked Necahual with concern. "You have to come with me!"

"No, I must stay and fight them for as long as I can," he said, gripping his shoulder, staring into his eyes.

"Remember what I taught you. When you get to the temple, you must find her, she is the only one that can stop this!"

Tears were streaming from Necahual's eyes. He quickly wiped them off and grabbed the sack. At the door he turned and looked at his frail grandfather. Bathed in the light of the coming fires. Tears were starting to form under his grandfather's eyes and running into his thick white beard.

"But above all else, stay alive. You must get to the temple!"

He hugged Necahual and turned him toward the door

"May the gods protect you," he said with a half sob.

"Now go!"

Necahual gave one last look to his grandfather and sprinted for the nearby tree line.

He finally reached the hill over looking the city. Black clouds hung over the city, covering the valley below in a thick fog. He could see dim light of the fires spreading through the city and distant screams could be heard in the wind.

"Maybe this is the end of out people," he said to himself. "So what is the point of saving them if everyone is already dead."

He reached into the sack and drew his knife and pressed it to his neck. He knew that taking his own life would be revered to the gods. Then he remembered what his grandfather said about staying alive and making sure the people lived on. This temple that his grandfather had told has the power to stop it and if he could save at least one person from the horror brought by these ungodly creatures, that he would do everything in his power to do so. He turned from the dying city, gave another look at the map and disappeared into the thick jungle.

A steady drizzle started to pour making the air hot and humid. The soft patter of rain gave some comfort to the growing darkness. Necahual knew he was getting close. The pyramid that the ancients had entrusted to the first of his family and to all those who would come after him to keep it hidden and to protect it so it could fulfill its purpose.

He remembered his grandfather telling the story of the first of his family, Izel, who helped build the great pyramids of the city. But one day, he went into the jungle to help find places to carve for stone and before he knew it, he was lost. His grandfather then said Izel came across a strange structure in the woods. It was made out of substance that shown like sunlight hitting water. And when he ventured inside, he heard the voices of the gods and a woman appeared before him. The woman charged him and those of his bloodline to protect this place from being found by others. Grandfather would lean closer.

"She also said that this temple has a special power, a deadly power," he said with a whisper.

"A power that would awaken if ever there was a need for it."

Grandfather would then take hold of his shoulders and look him in the eyes.

"And it would be only be he and he alone, and those of his bloodline, to unlock this power."

He made camp for the night under the root of a nearby tree. He slowly drew out the mysterious bundle his grandfather had given him. He turned it back and fourth, pondering what it could possibly be. He found the loose end of the bandages and started to toy with the end. Suddenly, the front the bandages started to fall to the ground and a sliver of the strange object could be seen. It was made out of something he had never seen before. It was smooth and it reflected the light of the moonlight like wet stones. He quickly pulled the rest of the bandages and soon he was gazing at something truly mysterious to him. They were pieces of what looked like broken fragments of rock but there was something unusual about them. They had smooth edges like they were purposefully cut and some had strange orange markings on them that he couldn't make out. Angrily, he shoved them to the ground and buried his head into the tree.

"How is this supposed to protect me Grandfather?" he said, throwing his fist into the tree. "How could this possibly have been passed down?"

He sat down in disappointment, hap hazardly picking them off the ground, wrapping the pieces again and throwing the bundle back into his sack. He nestled back in the root and slowly closed his eyes and prayed to the gods that day would come.

The sun shone through the wet branches waking him instantly. He thanked the gods that he lived another day. Carefully, he climbed a nearby tree to get his bearings. He reached the top and peered into the distance. Over to the southwest he could spot distant clouds and the faint smoke of the still smoldering city. He was on the right path. He got down and cleared the camp and continued onward.

After nearly an hour's walking, he began to wonder if he was far enough away from the horrific creatures. But suddenly a nearby rustle disturbed the silence and he quickly ducked behind a tree, drawing his bow. He peered around the tree, holding the bow at the ready. Out of the jungle came a gruesome sight. It was another one of the creatures. With the head also hanging askew, the skin looked blistered and bulging, as the growths had seeped out of the creature's body. He took careful aim at the creature. Its tentacles started to squirm on its chest and it shuffled forward toward him, seeming to sniff the air. Before long, it let out a loud roar and started charging toward the tree with incredible speed. Necahual released the arrow with a twang. The arrow flew through the air and lodged itself directly into the center of its tentacles with a loud smack. The creature fell in midstride as it tumbled to the ground and laid to rest at the foot of the tree.

Realizing that it was the creature's weak point he wasted no time retrieving the arrow from the creature pulling the arrow out with a loud squelch and restringing his bow in the process. But before he knew it, something caught him in the back that sent him flying through the air and landing head first into the ground. He groaned and turned to see his bow in pieces on the other side of the clearing. Quickly he gathered his senses and noticed the wrapped bundle of pieces lying next to him, quickly grabbing them, then dove for cover in a nearby bush. He peered around and he let out a gasp.

He could tell it was another one of those creatures, although he couldn't see any evidence to tell if it even was human. It was much larger than the creatures that he had seen for it was as tall and as large as a small tree. It also seemed to be made up entirely of the strange spores. The arms were as thick as tree trunks with a solitary, gigantic claw on each arm. Its head was entirely comprised of the small tentacles with two larger ones hanging from both sides as if they were the jowls of a mouth.

It lumbered into the clearing, swinging its arms like dead weights. It cocked its head back and fourth, desperately trying to sense him. He quickly ducked back behind the bush. His heart rate elevated as he realized that he was defenseless against the beast. But then he noticed a light coming from the base of his feet. He looked and the light was coming from the wrapped pieces his grandfather had given him. He pulled apart the wrappings and he could see that the symbols on them were glowing bright orange. He started to reach for them when two of the pieces had suddenly snapped together and flew into his outstretched hand. He almost cried out if not for the menacing creature only a few yards away. He tried to drop the pieces but they seemed to be stuck to his palm.

He then noticed more of the pieces were slowly starting to move towards his hand. He tried to shuffle back from the approaching shards but they seemed to quicken in pace. Suddenly they leaped up in the air and hovered in place, suspended inches in front of his eyes. Then in an instant, they zoomed to his hand and suddenly started to join with the other fragments. He turned away, scared to what could be happening to his hand as they started to make strange grinding sounds and were convulsing in his hand. Then before he knew it, there was a loud pop and stillness. He slowly peeked at his hand.

He found himself holding a peculiar object. It hummed in his hand and the glowing symbols pulsated with each hum. He tried to pry it from his hand but it still was firmly stuck to his palm. Suddenly, the tree in front of him was uprooted and flown to side as the creature stood directly in front of him, its mandibles dripping as it let out a loud howl. It swung one of its massive claws at him, barely missing his chest and impacting the tree to his left. The force sent him reeling back down as the hand holding the object hit the ground.

All of a sudden, a bright orange fireball erupted from the object. It smashed into a nearby tree and exploded in a shower of sparks and splinters. The creature stopped and turned to where the fireball had left a smoldering hole in the trunk of the tree. It then turned towards Necahual and seemed to stare at the object in his hand as if fear now had started to make its way into its head. He shockingly looked down at the object, wisps of smoke rising from its end. He felt the bottom of the object and noticed that one of his fingers gripping the object was resting on a surface that seemed to move with the movement of his finger.

By this time, the creature seemed to snap out of its trance and let out an enormous roar and smashed its claws into the ground with a force that shook the earth. It charged at him on all fours, making use of its claws as legs. The ground quaked every time the creature brought down one of its massive claws. Before he could think, he instinctively took aim at the charging creature and squeezed the handle. Another fireball ejected from object, hitting the creature in the chest and knocking it back but it still kept coming at him as if the pain from the fireball spurred its resolve. He let loose another blast, this time catching the creature in the side of its head, blowing off one of its mandibles. It immediately stopped its charge and started to throw its arms about and emitting a loud shriek as if it had lost its sense of vision. He fired another one, blowing off the creature's other mandible as it emitted another lurid cry. The creature dropped to its knees, a brown liquid starting to poor from its smoldering wounds. He ran up to the creature and squeezed the handle a final time, this time striking the creature dead center in the tentacles on its head. The shrieking abruptly stopped as it rolled back and fell to the ground with a loud thud then silence.

He slowly stepped closer the creature, holding onto the newfound weapon in front of him. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as he surveyed the damage it had inflicted on the creature. Steam rose from the holes where the fireballs had carved into the creature. From the steaming cavity where the creature's tentacles had once been, a puddle of melted skin and tissue had formed as the head was slowly dissolving before his eyes. He gagged at the stench and had to turn away. He looked at the weapon again and gazed in astonishment at the power that it held. Surely the gods must have given this and this made him wonder what other power that the gods held at this pyramid.

Suddenly, the weapon started to grind and shift as he saw that it had started to come apart again. But instead of the pieces falling to the ground, they converged on his right leg then stopped and hovered inches from his thigh as if it were a strange belt. He waved his hand over them and they immediately flew to his outstretched palm, forming the weapon. This time he let go of it and they again flew back to his leg, forming the belt. He tried this a few times, marveling at these strange powers. He only wished that he could have shown this to his Grandfather.

After awhile of perfecting this strange technique, he set about scrounging for his sack whose contents were strewn across the clearing. Finally he was set and without looking back he continued onward into the thickening jungle hoping that wouldn't run into more of them. But something told them he hadn't seen the last of these foul creatures.

"This has to be the right direction," he thought, turning his grandfather's map over and back again. He found himself in a part of the jungle that he did not recognize. Furthermore, there was something strangely off about this place. He could not hear any of the usual sounds of the jungle. There were no sounds of insects, the sounds of birds, and not even the sound of wind passing through the trees. There was an eerie stillness that seemed to penetrate through the air.

After awhile, twilight had descended on the jungle but what puzzled him was the fact that it was still the middle of the day for when he looked up at the sky through the trees, the light of the mid day sun could be seen along with a bright blue cloudless sky. He descended further into the jungle. He started to notice the faint light seeping through the canopy had started to lessen. Soon he could barley see his hands in front of him as the light had almost disappeared completely. It was as if the branches of the trees had suddenly grown to block the sun's rays reaching the ground below. Feeling alarmed, he quickly started to double back, desperate to try to escape from the perplexing darkness. Suddenly, the little light remaining vanished and he was plunged into complete darkness.

He stopped in his tracks; fear had consumed him as he realized that he was completely blind. All light had seemed to disappear as if someone had placed their hands over his eyes. Putting his hands out, he tried to feel his way through the jungle, almost stumbling over upturned roots and boulders. After what seemed like ages of stumbling in the dark fearing that he would become trapped in the mysterious gloom when he suddenly slammed into something large, his head making contact and starts flashing before his eyes as he fell to the ground. He let out a groan, clutching his forehead. He slowly turned to the side and steadily rose to his feet, his head throbbing. With one hand, he felt the air in front of him, searching for what he had run into till his fingers brushed something unusual.

It was smooth and cool to the touch and seemed to extend to his left and right. He continued to feel the strange object, realizing that it was made of the same material that the weapon was made out of. He started moving further down, his hand firmly placed on its surface and realized what he had run into was a wall than continued to stretch further into the jungle. Following the wall he continued onward till out of the darkness, he saw a in the distance a light coming from a break in the wall. He started to run towards the light, desperate to escape. He reached the break and burst through the wall and into the rushing light.

What he saw he could not believe. Standing in front of him stood a massive pyramid, which stretched higher than the tallest trees, larger than anything that he had ever seen, and was entirely made up of the same smooth material. But it didn't look exactly like the pyramids that he had come to know in the city. It had spindly beams making up its top and its sides were curved inward, resembling a dead insect as it lies on its back with its legs in the air, twisted and contorted in its rigor mortis. He stepped closer, touching its surface and feeling its cold touch. Wondering how something like this could even be built and by whom. He stepped back and surveyed around the pyramid. An unnatural blue light descended upon the complex. As he looked up, the light seemed to fill the sky, blocking the natural sunlight above the pyramid in a bright blue dazzling light. It illuminated the pyramid as well as the wall that he realized surrounded the pyramid as if to form a barrier. A great courtyard stretched from the base of the temple to the small opening in the wall that seemed to be only small enough to fit one person at a time, which seemed odd to him. He also noticed that the light only seemed to penetrate as far as the wall, as if the darkness was also forming a barricade around the pyramid. He tried to look for a doorway or a passageway that lead into the pyramid but it seemed that there was no way in. Suddenly from outside the wall in the deafening darkness, a roar sprang from the gloom, slicing the air like a knife.

He instantly spun around towards the direction of the noise, his hand motioning for the weapon, springing to life in his hand. He stood; aiming at the wall, sweat starting to bead down his neck, his heart beating faster in his chest. Then, across the square in front of him, something leaped to the top of the wall. To his terror, he saw that it was one of the creatures. Only the unfortunate victim's head was missing entirely, with bright orange feathery tentacles sprouting from it's chest and the growths had all but consumed the body with two giant spores growing out of its back, forcing the creature to bend to the right in a grotesque manner. A sight that made him almost retch on the ground. It stood there motionless for a while with its body listed to the side, staring at the light filling the sky as if the light had somehow dazed the creature. He saw movement to his right and he spun the weapon around and saw another one of the creatures, standing stunned on top of the wall. Then he saw more movement to his left and he saw another one leap to the top of the wall and standing still. Soon more of the creatures started leaping to the top of the wall till soon, the entire top of the wall was filled with motionless creatures surrounding the pyramid and Necahual. They all appeared to have the same dazed look and he wondered if this light would keep them from entering the complex.

But as soon as the thought entered his head, somewhere a screech cut the calm surrounding the creatures, snapping them out of the strange trance. They let out a tumultuous roar and started pouring over the walls heading straight for him. He fired into the sea of creatures, taking two of them but it was not enough to stop the tide as hundreds upon hundreds were spilling over the wall. He turned to run, franticly trying to find a way out of the square. Everywhere he looked, he could only see the surging mass of creatures streaming towards him. He looked back towards the pyramid and suddenly spotted an opening that seemed to have appeared at the base. He sprang towards it, firing to his left and right, hearing screams and burning flesh filling his nostrils. He was almost at the threshold, diving inside the entrance. Suddenly he felt something grab his leg and yank him to the ground. He looked back and saw one of the creatures gripping his leg with one of its massive claws through the entrance. He tried kicking it in one of its feathery tentacles but the creature didn't flinch as it continued to tighten its grip. His leg started growing numb and his vision started to cloud as the creatures grip squeezed tighter on his leg, almost reaching the bone. The swarm of creatures were almost upon the entrance when suddenly, a massive slab slammed down from the top of the doorway blocking the entrance and slicing off the creatures arm, leaving it writhing on the ground like a snake with its head cut off. He kicked it away and quickly crawled away from the doorway, leaning up against the wall of the passageway.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He could hear the dull pounding of the creatures outside and their muffled screams of frustration, unable to penetrate inside. He looked down at his leg; a massive bruise had formed where the creature had grabbed his leg. He tried to put some pressure on the leg, wincing a little but he managed to shake it off. He checked the weapon that had disassembled from his hand, still hovering above his hip. But he realized that the sack of supplies was gone, left outside in the escape into the pyramid. He slowly wondered how he would make the return journey but he knew that the only way to ever return home was to move forward. He looked down the dark corridor, taking a final breath and heading into the dark.

As he approached the coming gloom, lights started appearing under the soles of his feet illuminating the hallway before him with each step. He cautiously continued down the corridor, marveling at this magical power the pyramid possessed. He soon came to forks and intersections in the corridor that lead to other passageways within the pyramid and saw that the peculiar lights only lit certain corridors, as if guiding him somewhere within the structure. Eventually he turned a corner and he was met with a site that took his breath away. He was standing in a cavernous room with its ceiling forming a massive dome that was as high as the pyramid itself. As he looked towards the center of the room, there stood a massive pedestal and on top sat something that filled his head with questions and left him spellbound. It was a sphere and it glowed with the same brilliant blue light that filled the sky outside. Its dazzling light played across the room as if he were looking at the sun. As he moved closer, he began to see little wisps of light seeming to stream from the sphere and dissolve into smoke. As he reached the pedestal, the light escaping from the sphere started to grow, as globules of light seemed to froth out the sphere, sending plumes of smoke rising into the air. He stared transfixed and could see his hand reaching for the sphere it as if someone had gained control of his body. Suddenly streaks of light started bursting out of the sphere, rebounding across the room, with some barely missing him by a few inches. He couldn't stop himself as something was pulling him closer to the sphere. His fingers were starting to brush the top. The light ejecting from the sphere seemed to intensify as the room was starting to fill with rebounding light. As his hand started to clasp the sphere, the streaks of light were now swallowing the room, blinding him in the brilliant light. He felt his fingers finally wrap around the sphere. Suddenly a gigantic thunderclap shook the ground and he felt a blast instantly throw him to the ground in a massive gust of air and then silence.

Blinded and dazed he sluggishly rose to his feet, feeling for the pedestal. His vision swam with the light of the sphere but soon a peculiar blue shape started to appear. His vision cleared and where the sphere had once been, a woman now stood staring intently at him. He quickly darted backwards, raising the weapon and taking aim at her. Her presence alarmed him as she didn't look like any woman he had ever seen. She was bathed in the blue light and appeared to shimmer like dappled sunlight. Her nose was flat like a snake's and she stood far taller than he anyone he had ever seen before.

"Do not be afraid, Forerunner of the Reclaimer…" her voice softly easing into his ears that seemed to sooth his mind as he lowered the weapon. He felt his knees buckle as he bowed at her feet.

"Oh, goddess," he said. " I have come to fulfill the ancient promise foretold by my ancestors, to save my people from a horror that has been unleashed upon us.

She waved her hand as if to stop him.

"I am no goddess, Forerunner of the Reclaimer…." she said, as she motioned for him to stand.

"I am, the Librarian."

Thank you all for reading my story! If you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or feedback, I would love to read and respond to any and all that are passed to me! But for me to respond, you have to be a registered user! Or you can send a tweet to my twitter account!

I do want to point out that there are a few grammatical errors and if you could point those out to me in a review, that would be great!

I plan to re-release a more polished version of the story after I write part two and possibly combine both parts!

Expect "Halo: Envisage, Part II" to be released later this year or early next year!

This is only the tip of the sword!

Find me on twitter: zeno64