O.C.s at first; consider it an Atmos history lesson and everything gets better :)
Rated T cause he swears...twice...at one point...but that's about it.
I have NO idea about the genre, it's not really horror, angst, drama(?), misery...forget it, just read and pick your own genre.
Evil Essence
Lightning lit the red sky for a few brief seconds, illuminating the figure of a tall woman. She was running, flashing past the windows of the palace, her cape flowing behind her. Anyone would have seen that this woman was out of place for running, her bone-thin stature, regal features, her clothes suggested it. Finally she burst into the main hall of the palace, throwing the doors wide and striding in at a now brisk walk.
"Fabian" She announced, "it is ready."
Fabian turned around from his place at the back of the room, his face half in shadow.
"Excellent. Now we must find the catalyst."
He turned to one of the guards standing at attention beside him,
"Prepare our transport."
The guard nodded and ran out of the room.
Fabian embraced the woman, "Ave, my wife. We go today to make safe the world for our child," he pulled back and looked into her eyes, "so what is it you fear?"
Tears ran down her face as she replied, "We go to make safe the world for our child, but is it so much as a kinderworld without her father?"
Fabian's face hardened and he released his wife. Turning away from her said, "It is not a pleasant choice, but a necessary sacrifice. I must."
From the doorway came the voice of one of the guards, "Sir, your ship is ready."
He bowed and left the room and once again Fabian embraced his wife, "You understand that I must do this?"
Ave nodded and kissed her husband one last time.
"I will meet you on the ship."
Their ship hovered over the newly founded Terra Atmosia, the one safe place in their entire world. Only months ago a crystal scientist had stumbled upon a one-of-a-kind crystal hidden deep in a bottomless gorge. Striking blue in colour, this crystal cast a saving light, holding back the Darkness that threatened to destroy the Atmos. Now, Fabian Cyclonis gathered the leaders of the various other Terras and explained his plan.
"Fellows, long have we been plagued by the Darkness. Three hundred years ago it emerged from the hearts of man and beast, feasting on their life forces. Nothing can kill it, nothing can hurt it. Many have tried to banish it, to free us. All have failed. I…would have one more try."
Everyone in the room stirred at his words, a few even cried out in opposition.
"This Terra is large, yes, but it cannot hold all of the people in our world! Nor can Aurora's crystal bring light to everywhere at once! We must get rid of the Darkness! Make safe this world for our descendents! Who among you would have your children grow up in the world we have when there is chance at a better one? A brighter world, safer and," he glanced at his wife briefly, "kinder than the one we have known?"
As Fabian paused, one of the men at the back of the room stood up, swishing his long, blonde hair back from his eyes and said,
"If you do have some sort of," he swung his hands around in the air as if trying to generate ideas, "miracle solution," he managed, "then why haven't you used it yet? Why call us all here and waste time?"
Fabian rubbed the back neck uncomfortably, "Well," he started, looking at the floor as he paused, "I…" he sucked in a deep, painful breath, "…need a volunteer."
The room erupted into angry shouts as people jumped to their feet.
"What do you mean a volunteer?"
"Volunteer for what?"
"Are you insane?"
A burst of white energy silenced the room. Fabian lowered the stone held in his hand and stepped forward once more, "Many of you, I can see, are greatly opposed to this idea, though you've no clue as to what it is yet. One among us is the answer, the only one who can save the Atmos. They alone would be strong enough and willing enough to comply, to accept this proposition."
Once again the room rang with shouts of the various people gathered there.
"Please! Let me explain!" Fabian cried and again the room went silent, "We," he gestured to his wife, "have a way to determine the catalyst of our plan. If you wish to know who it is, form a line so we can test you. If it is pain you fear than shame upon you! You are the self-proclaimed leaders of the Terras, but if anyone had sensed that you were not strong enough to lead they would have overthrown you. The people of Atmos have put their trust in all of us and each of us must play our part to prove them right! Do not show cowardice at this time of need; do not show the people weakness! They need heroes, and we must give them heroes! Can you say no to that? I would like to hear you say it."
Fabian glared at them all and slowly, as his words sunk in, they lined up under his fierce gaze.
"There will be no pain for this, but an absence of everything. For a few moments you will feel nothing at all, see nothing, and hear nothing. It will not last and it is only to test your soul. Have no fear." He held up a small orange crystal and touched it to the heart of the first man in line. There was a moment of silence as the man's face grew blank and a glowing aura surrounded him, then Fabian released the man. He shook his head and the man staggered away looking relieved. It was only a few minutes later when Fabian began to lose hope; each person so far had been rejected and only three remained. He held his little crystal to the heart of the next man, his best friend. They smiled at each other and nodded in greeting before Fabian's crystal overcame him. Unlike the others, this man began to glow a pale yellow whereas the others were varying shades of red and brown. When the man stopped glowing Fabian nodded again to him and said,
"Tylur, my friend, are you willing to hear my plan?"
Tylur smiled, "Fabian, if indeed I am your friend, you should know I am willing to do much more, no matter the cost."
"Indeed." Fabian agreed but added in a whisper, "That you are the catalyst is both a wonderful revelation and a pain in my heart. If only I did not have to…"
Fabian sighed and straightened up and led Tylur to the back room where Ave waited to explain their plan and where they could not be overheard.
Tylur fell to his knees. He sat prone for several moments thinking over what Ave had told him. Silently, tears began to slide down his face and he lifted his head to meet her gaze, "All of them?"
She nodded and backed away as her husband walked forward to kneel beside Tylur.
"My friend, you know I would never ask this of you if I believed we had another choice."
Tylur shook his head, "It is not fear for myself, but for…" he swept his hand across the horizon. Fabian nodded and placed his hand on Tylur's shoulder,
"I understand that you could never hurt anyone willingly. But if you should not do this then many more than your family would suffer. Consider this: I too must make a terrible decision. I have chosen to leave my wife and child and to give my own life to stop the Darkness. If you despise having to cause others pain, then know that I do also. Especially people I know, people I love. But others need our help. Think of everyone you can save, everyone who will not suffer…because of this."
Fabian stood and extended his hand. Tylur glanced at it for a second, then wiped his eyes and took it. Fabian pulled him to his feet and hugged him.
"You are like a brother to me and now I have put this burden on you. Forgive me."
Tylur smiled weakly and hugged back, "You were forgiven long ago, brother. Come, we have a world to save!"
They released each other and Fabian reached back to take his wife's hand. The three made their way outside, pushing past all of the curious leaders. The blonde-haired man, Harrier, ran up behind them and forced Fabian around,
"You can not just call us all up here, tell us you have a plan to save Atmos, pick one of us and then go off without explaining it to the rest of us! I demand that you-"
Tylur and Ave shrank back from Fabian at Harrier's words. Seeing this, Harrier faltered and he looked back at Fabian. He jumped backwards, landing on his back in the dirt as everyone around him took a large step back. Fabian loomed over the man, his expression horrifying; a dangerous show of fury, offense and agony, it stunned everyone into complete silence.
"You demand?"
Harrier whimpered, terrified.
"If you really wish to know" Fabian hissed menacingly, his voice carrying over the crowd, "I called you all here to test you, to find someone with a pure soul. Someone so pure and good they could contain the Darkness! Once I found that person I would need to recruit them to this plan and summon the Darkness. And when the Darkness takes a form small enough I will take this crystal," he held up a small triangular crystal and glanced at it for a second before turning back to Harrier, "and seal it in Tylur! Seem simple enough? Well, this little crystal cannot do all the work by its self, it needs more energy; it needs my life essence. So in order to save your high-and-mighty ass, I need to give my life to trap a being of pure evil inside my best friend. I need to leave my pregnant wife to raise our child by herself and if you think that is an easy decision on my part then think again! And what about Tylur? Do you also demand to know what his sacrifice is?" Fabian was, by now, shouting, shaking his Answer at the crowd. "Tylur not only has to harbour the Darkness," he said sarcastically, "which may or may not cause him physical pain, but also condemn his whole family to it! In order to keep the Darkness locked away it needs to be passed from host to host, father to son! Do I need to explain that part to you too you arrogant bastard?"
Fabian remained hunched over, breathing hard and glaring as, slowly, Harrier raised himself to feet.
"Forgive me" Harrier breathed, "I did not mean to degrade or insult you in any way."
Fabian whipped around and stormed off, eventually followed by Tylur and Ave. Behind him Harrier heard a hushed whisper,
"I never knew Fabian could be so…scary!"
Fabian and Tylur stood alone at the crest of a small hill at the edge of the Terra. Behind them Ave, Harrier and Tylur's wife, Alicia, stood at the far bottom of the hill, about 500metres back. Fabian stood with his head bowed and hands folded under his chin, staring at nothing in particular, deep in concentration.
"You do know how to summon it?" Tylur asked.
Fabian nodded, "I know several ways: destroy the Aurora Stone and/or commit a truly evil act."
Tylur grinned, "We could always kill Harrier," he said jokingly.
Fabian smiled briefly but did not look up.
Tylur gazed out at the scene before him; black sky rolling with thunder and flashing with lightning, angry clouds roiling below, and in the distance red flames rising from the nearest Terra. Then Fabian grunted in pain and threw back his arms, arching his back. He fell to his knees moaning, swaying slightly.
"It's…coming" Fabian gasped, trying to stand.
Tylur helped him to his feet, not bothering to ask about the circumstances. Behind him he could faintly hear Ave crying and Alicia whimpering. He understood their fear but did not share it; instead he only felt faint apprehension and excitement. He glanced up at the sky. The clouds above the Terra were slowly swirling down, gathering above them at the Stone's perimeter around the Terra in a cyclonic fashion.
He heard Ave cry out and turned around again. Harrier was using his full weight to restrain the woman. Tears were leaking down her face, staining her dress as she reached for her husband. Alicia was helping now, tears pouring down her face as well, as she watched Ave. He could tell she felt the other's pain. He looked back to the Darkness, feeling strangely hollow. The Darkness had changed into a different form; it was small and solid looking, about the size of a large man. It had no eyes, only two red slashes looking for all the world like bloody rips leading to endless suffering, pain and fear.
It's voice was worse, echoing in their minds, clawing at their ears, reminding them of all their pain, all their fears,
"I do not make deals, Fabian Cyclonis."
Tylur looked at Fabian amazed to see him still standing tall, as he asked,
"Then why did you come here?"
The Darkness laughed, without mirth, in cold disapproval,
"I came to take you. You do not make deals with me, but I expect your soul, as you offered."
"I think not!" Fabian sprang forward, using surprise as he jumped off the terra and through the Stone's barrier, stabbing his crystal into the heart of the Darkness. Both screamed on contact, Fabian disintegrating like smoke in the breeze. Tylur instinctively lurched forward, stepping out of the protective perimeter to the edge of the precipice. Left alone on hill and closest to the Darkness was enveloped in it. Darkness swirled around him, disappearing into him. He could feel it, tearing at his mind, his being, and it hurt. He screamed in pain as much as confusion, the Darkness clouded everything, everything but the pain. Then for a few moments there was nothing, as there had been during Fabian's testing. The next thing he felt was Alicia holding him, and he saw through hazy eyes as the world spun, the clouds breaking and true sunlight entering their world for the first time in three centuries before he passed out again.
Ave was traumatized. She stayed kneeling at the edge of the precipice, eyes wide with disbelief, her hand outstretched, reaching for her husband. She seemed to be staring past what was in front of her, through the rational world. She didn't move except that her reaching fingers would twitch, waiting for what wouldn't come, waiting for the warmth of Fabian's touch. Eventually she broke down, hugging herself and crying out her heart. Hours, she stayed like that, letting no one near her, refusing all help until finally she fell asleep out of pure exhaustion. Her dreams were filled with glowing red eyes, horrible sounds and the constant feeling of fear. She saw again and again Fabian being taken from her, each time his killing became more twisted and horrifying.
Eventually the dreams stopped and she entered into the white mists of semi-consciousness, her mind calculating, working furiously. She blamed Fabian's death on the people of Atmos. If they had killed the Darkness sooner, her love, her comfort, would still be alive. She would not be alone as she was now, in some strange and cold place. Atmos owed her, she reasoned. She opened her eyes and looked around, taking in the soft-coloured walls and pale sunlight filtering through the window. Gently she reached down and caressed the life within her, whispering softly to her baby,
"Atmos owes us, my child. They will give us what is rightfully ours. They will give us Atmos!"
"How are you feeling Tylur?"
"Sore."
"Not particularly evil or anything?"
"No, just my head hurts. Where are we Alicia?"
"Terra Hail, but do not worry, I found a safe spot deep in the jungle (1)."
Tylur sat up, looking around slowly, shaking his head. He placed a hand over his eyes.
"I feel different somehow."
Alicia chuckled nervously, "Of course you do! You have being of pure evil inside you! Did you expect to feel the same?"
"Thank you for reminding me!" He laughed too.
Their quiet laughter cut off as they heard something rustling in the bushes nearby. Tylur grabbed a stick lying by his side, reached into Alicia's pack and jammed one of the energy crystals on top of it. He stood in front of his wife, cautious of whatever might live on this new Terra. The crackling got closer and they heard a small squawk. Suddenly the thing crashed through the last of the bushes and fell into their camp. It looked like…they didn't know. It had long ears, perhaps a little longer than a rabbit's, a long tail slightly more furry than a monkey's and strong bare fingers. Its fur was a pale green, its eyes blue. The creature scrambled upright and made a cute squealing sound before brandishing its fists defensively. Alicia exhaled quietly, her shoulders relaxing as she took in the creature's tiny, not-very-intimidating battle stance. Tylur wasn't going to lower his guard; he stayed as he was, with the crystal-infused stick held toward the little creature.
"Tylur, you are too suspicious. Look at it! So cute and intelligent-"
Suddenly Alicia stopped talking; her went back ramrod straight and she seemed paralyzed. A moment later Tylur felt it too; a sharp poke in his back and he felt his muscles freeze, rendering him unable to move.
Out of the bushes crawled five dark-skinned men with paint on their faces and spears in their hands. Another man walked into the clearing, stepping around Tylur, who noticed he held a crystal and decided that this was the man who had frozen them.
The natives formed a loose line facing the paralyzed intruders and examined them curiously. The man in front bent and patted the little green monkey-creature's head; it backed away from the touch, growling. The man was dressed as a traditional shaman with a bone necklace, long, furry animal cloak, and various scars due to his practices, an excessive amount of paint on his face.
He stepped forward into Tylur's face and demanded something in an unfamiliar language.
Tylur didn't move, though he could feel the crystal's effect starting to wear off on him. The shaman glared at him and repeated whatever he'd said, louder and more insistent.
When Tylur again didn't answer he moved to Alicia and repeated his demand to her instead. The shaman was becoming agitated that neither had answered him but he didn't seem to realize that they couldn't understand nor move even if they did. He motioned to one of the other natives and he seized Alicia around the waist, lifted her onto his shoulder and started back for the jungle.
At this Tylur felt the crystal's restraints fall off of him completely and he darted forward toward the man. Grabbing his arm, Tylur spun the man around and punched him in the face with hand that still held the crystal and stick. The man flew backward into the dirt and laid there unconscious with Alicia half under him. The remaining natives, minus the shaman, converged on Tylur with spears held out in anger. He held his ground, calculating his chances. On one side there were the natives with spears on the other was a still-frozen Alicia and the jungle. Lightning fast and suddenly, he brought his knees up, his hand down, snapping his weapon in half. He gripped each end like an individual sword, spinning them in his hands and falling back into a defensive position, hoping to intimidate his attackers. Their eyes widened but still they advanced and Tylur jumped with amazing agility over the natives. Landing behind them he swept his mock blades under their feet, blasting them with his crystal as they fell. They didn't stir as he stood upright and turned to face the shaman.
He was blinking rapidly in disbelief that all of his men had been defeated by one. Tylur glared at him, breathing hard, resisting the urge to destroy him. The shaman began to back away, never taking his eyes from Tylur's until he was deep in the jungle where he turned and ran. Tylur threw his weapons to the ground, disgusted that he'd had to resort to violence and walked over to Alicia. Her eyes followed him but the rest of her was still paralyzed, he picked her up awkwardly.
"How are you still frozen?" He asked. He didn't expect an answer and he didn't get one.
Tylur sat down, putting his wife's head in his lap. He stared at her as she did him, marveling at the depths they could each see in the other's eyes.
There was a tiny chirp and Tylur looked up to see the green creature in front of him.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded of it.
It blinked at him then motioned with its arms, pointing at him and Alicia and then running with its fingers across the air. It chirruped and tilted its head, asking for confirmation. Tylur didn't move so it continued, pointing at him and Alicia and then itself and again motioning the running.
"You led them here and now you want to come with us?"
It nodded excitedly, coming closer. Alicia twitched in his arms, distracting his attention.
"Oh…" she groaned. Her muscles seemed to protest as she brought her hand to her head making her move in jerking spasms.
"Can you walk?" He asked.
"Yes…I think so." She whispered.
"Good. We need to hurry; I think that shaman went to find others."
"You fought!" Alicia remembered, "You fought those people…"
"It does not matter, more are coming. Run!"
They lurched into the jungle Alicia, at first, jerking slowly but soon her stride became faster and more fluid. They ran as fast as they could in the foliage to where Alicia had hidden their sky transport.
Suddenly there were shouts behind them and blasts of energy sailed past their heads.
"Do not stop!" He told Alicia, stopping himself.
"Trust me!" He pleaded to her.
Tylur grabbed at a low hanging vine and pulled. It broke off and he tied one end around the trunk of a nearby tree. Reaching for the other end he realized it had already been tied by the green monkey-like animal. He smiled and it grinned in return.
Tylur stretched his arm out and the creature ran up his back to cling like a living pack on his shoulder. He stood up and ran after Alicia, still dodging blasts of crystal energy fired from behind.
He noticed the light thinning ahead and sped up.
He tripped suddenly on a log in his path, landing heavily on the ground his hands digging into the soft dirt. A pulse of raw energy ran through him as he slid to a stop and it continued across the ground, killing the foliage as it traveled over the Terra (1). He picked himself up, shaking his head to clear it, and ran into a clearing to the transport.
As they lifted off the natives crept slowly out of the deadened jungle to stare in fear after the airship.
"Tylur that wave of energy-" Alicia started.
"It was nothing; forget that any of this ever happened."
"Tylur, I want to write this down, so our children will know the whole story. Besides, with Scope now a part of the family I do not think that will be possible." Alicia winked at the green monkey creature.
"Scope?"
"It seemed like a reasonable name. If indeed it found us for the natives it must have a good natural radar sense, no?"
Tylur shrugged.
So? What'd ya think?
(1) Um, yes, Terra Hail is a creation of I Love Storm Hawks, but they told me I could use the Terra. They said Terra Hail was pretty much a dead Terra and that all the different groups of natives live in suspicion and distrust of each other and outsiders; I guess I invented the reason why. Hope that doesn't get me in trouble.