Prologue

The child ran with her brother through the forest under the cover of darkness as the distant screams began to recede further and further as they went.

"Wait brother!" the little girl cried tugging her brother to a stop. "We can't just run and leave! What about everyone else? What about Mama, and Papa? They need to come with us!"

The young youth stopped and knelt down to his sister's level, his dark green eyes and black hair contrasting against her green aqua eyes and hazel brown hair. "I know. I know we shouldn't leave them. But they told me to take you, and to flee to the furthest Colony, deep inside I want to stay and fight alongside them, protecting those I can. But right now I can only protect you. And I will do so until my dying breath."

The searching sound of a monstrous roar drew his attention back to the Colony, though they were now deep within the forest, hidden from the cover of trees he could still see the large towering walls of what used to be his and his sister's home.

Followed with an orange glow that came from a raging fire that threatened to consume everything in its path, the inhabitants who lived there along with the raging monsters that attacked those who lived there in peace.

"We need to hurry!" he said, his voice drawn tight as his expression turned with pain, he did not wish to flee, but he had no choice but to run. To run as far as they could until they were safe from this horrible disaster that fell upon them.

A cloaked man stood on the top of the wall, his eyes watching below as he silently commanded the beasts to destroy all that's there, eyes of the color of ice narrowed as he turned to look out towards the forest. With a wave of his arm he sent one of those beasts to scout the woods, no one was getting out alive. That was the monster's soul purpose here.

The youth now carried his sister on his back, she had fallen and twisted her ankle and could not run any further. His own legs burned from the constant pace that he kept, his heart drumming wildly in his chest.

"Something's coming…" his sister whispered in his ear that sent the hairs along his body to rise, quickly he ducked in behind a nearby tree and kept low, he pressed his fingers to his lips telling her in silence to remain quite. Nodding in response she covered her mouth with both of her hands and pressed herself even closer to his body.

The creature soon appeared, hovering just slightly off of the ground, the beast had no eyes to speak of, at least none that were able to be seen, as it hovered along the ground absorbing the ether in its path.

The youth knew right away what this beast was, at first he wasn't sure since all that happened with his parents telling him to take his sister and flee. He wasn't fully aware of what was happening, but now, now he knew.

The beast was a Telethia.

A monster that consumed ether energy and could destroy almost anything within a matter of minutes, from what he had heard, such monsters used to be something else, but now no longer had minds of their own and went wild.

But this one was small, close to the size of an average Homs man.

The beast was looking for them, he was sure of it.

But he knew that his sister couldn't run, at least not in the condition that she was in at the moment. And he couldn't fight it ether, he had a sword yes, but it wouldn't be a match against this creature's power.

He could only hope that it would give up and move on, which after what felt like almost an eternity, finally had and went in another direction. He took this as an opportunity and moved past the beast, fighting now was not an option. If he could get near the next Colony and warn those who lived there as to what was going on, then perhaps their home could be saved.

But the thought of that was slim, he didn't know how many Telethia were there, or how many knew how to fight and defend themselves. He had thanks to his father, a man that he always looked up too, and hoped deep in his heart that both his father and mother would survive and join them. Yet a tiny part knew that it wouldn't happen, they would do all that they could to protect the Colony and those who lived there for as long as they were able.

A sob choked him as he bit the inside of his lip to repress his urge to cry. However, he was not the only one. Looking over his shoulder he saw his sister silently sobbing, her tiny hands digging into his shirt and flesh, his own sadness washed away as regret and sorrow took root inside his heart.

"We'll go back," he told her softly. "One day, we'll return to Colony 4, I promise Meyna."

His sister looked at him with a tear filled gaze. "You really think so?"

He smiled even though he didn't truly know. "I do, we will go back one day and bring back our home."

"Grithiff…" she leaned into his back once more and wrapped her small arms around his neck. "You'll be strong then right?"

"I will."

"And the same for me right? I can fight alongside you?"

Again he smiled. "One day you will, but we must keep going." When his sister nodded once more, he felt his own strength reaching a new height, he didn't know what held in store for them, but if he could keep her safe, then nothing else mattered to him.

Not even his own life.

Moving faster, he kept his guard up, straining his ears for any kind of sound that might be heading towards them, a number of times he saw the Telethia but made his way past them in silence. It surprised him just how many there were in the forest, he began to wonder if they were really looking for them. But when he felt the grip of his sister's hands, he knew that they were. Though she was young she could almost sense what a creature's intent was on another being. It was something that he never took as a joke.

The night grew darker still, the light of the moon shining brightly casting shadows from trees in every direction, making it easier to avid the beasts that searched for them.

Slowly the numbers of them decreased, fewer and fewer of them could be seen, he thought that maybe they were in the clear now, that they could reach Colony 5 with minimal to no trouble, sadly that was not the case.

The air around them rushed forth, causing the boy to be knocked off his feet; quickly he turned his body to fall on his front so his sister would not be crushed by his weight. And as he raised his head he was soon met with the horror of something he knew that not even his father could defeat.

A Telethia Donnis.

A beast far larger than the small Telethia, five times the size of him, and immense power that could destroy anything with one attack of ether.

Blood drained from the boy's face, he could nether move nor speak as he looked onwards at the massive creature. That soon changed however when he felt his sister remove herself from his back and limp several feet to stand before it.

"I am not afraid of you," she said clearly, sounding much more angry then afraid. "If you think you can scare me then you're wrong, I don't care how strong you are, I know you're after me. But I will say this now; you do anything to my brother then you will regret it."

The Telethia Donnis growled low in its chest as a dark purple light began to form around itself, the grass underneath dying and withering away to an ash-like state.

Grithiff knew what the beast was going to do, it was charging up for an ether attack; quickly he ran towards his sister, pulled her into his arms and made himself out as a human shield bracing himself for impact as a sudden white light engulfed them all.

The cloaked man shielded his eyes as he witnessed the blast from where he stood; the shockwave of that light was so immense that it knocked back the Telethia that was in his command. He grounded his teeth in anger knowing fully well that that light meant.

This wouldn't end, not any time soon.