Hey everyone, had an idea for fanfiction. One set in WW2! It shall be quite ambitious to say the least, obviously history won't be 100% accurate. This here is the prologue and I originally wasn't going to start the story this way but I decided to add it in to provide some backstory to how Eragon has immortality and his abilities. I took a famous legend and made it something else for the purpose of this story but the gist is very much the same.
Hope you enjoy!
Brom P.O.V
The seas raged all around him, in all his life he has never felt so afraid. The intense storms and rising sea made the situation obvious, the island was sinking. The winds blew people off of their feet and sent them tumbling down the streets of the city.
He feared for the lives of his two children, Eragon and Saphira. He was going to try escape but he refused to try leave the island without Selena. No matter how much he tried, she was nowhere to be seen.
He raced through the streets, shielding himself from the hail that fell from the sky, smashing into the ground causing panic and havoc. People got knocked out by the rock sized ice and he knew their fate was sealed when they were out cold.
There would be no escape from Gûntera and Kílf's wrath. The city had sinned against the two gods and now they were paying the ultimate price for their actions. Many didn't believe in the existence of the gods until the messenger came. He could still remember the day when all ridiculed him for his words and sealed their city to its fate.
The priest of the gods stood in the city square, his voice boomed across the square and capturing everyone's attention.
"My dear people of Atlantis! You have committed foul acts in the sight of the gods! Repent now or suffer their wrath!" He cried out. Many just stood there and laughed at him.
A tall strong man with one blue eye and a black eye stepped forward.
"The gods don't exist! Your words are mean nothing here. You preach of our doom, is that a threat I hear?" He yelled out. Some people growled at the priest with clubs in their hands.
He felt hatred for that man, his friend that he looked up too. He once respected him but when he took Selena for his own desire in the dead of night, he wanted nothing more than to slit his throat. Unfortunately, there was no way of punishing him for he was a general in the armies of Atlantis and his position allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Brom stepped forward to defend the priest.
"Shut up Morzan! Leave this man be" He said darkly. Morzan looked at him in surprise and then sent him a deadly glare.
"Watch yourself Brom, I might just cut out your tongue for speaking such things. This man comes to our city, our island and claims we will be destroyed. I take that as a threat, a scare tactic to bend our will to the 'gods' and priests. They want control over us, we won't let them have it!" Morzan growled. That last part was directed at the crowed before them and it worked.
They were getting restless and angry at the very thought of someone daring to enter their home and threaten them. They yelled shouts of agreement and some people even threw food at the priest. But to his amazement, the priest did not falter. If anything his resolve seemed more determined than before.
"The religious rulers have no desire to control or threaten you. Your people and their ways have been shameful in the eyes of the gods, repent or their wrath will be incurred!" The priest shouted.
Morzan looked at him with a deadly look in his eyes.
"Got a problem with the way we live now do you?! Where is our freedom to live as we please? The gods don't exist, their 'wrath' is nothing more than a sham. As I said once, a scare tactic to subdue the mighty people of Atlantis! A threat!" Morzan shouted and the crowed echoed in agreement. They slowly started to move in on the priest who didn't seem fazed.
"Go ahead, kill me, do what you wish. But know this people of Atlantis, it will be the last thing you will do! For surely I am under the gods' protection!" The priest shouted. Worry made its way to Brom's face as Morzan and the crowd began to smirk and close in even more.
"And it is confirmed, a threat. Under the gods' protection aye? Let's see about that" Morzan grinned and smashed the priest in the face.
The rest of the crowed rushed in with their clubs and whatever else they could find and proceeded to kick and bash the priest relentlessly. Blood poured through the street as the priest was unrecognizable after the beating and he died on the pavement but not before uttering three final words.
"So be it…" He said and passed away, his body went limp.
The crowd cheered and desecrated the body of the priest by doing horrible acts like urinating on it. They were all laughing before the sky thundered loudly catching everyone's attention. A drop of water fell and touched Morzan on the face. The crowd of people gathered seemed uneasy and nervous. Morzan also looked nervous before his face became as hard as steel.
"Just a bit of rain, this means nothing! Everyone go about your daily life now! Move it before I before I decided to make you join our friend here!" Morzan growled out and he spat on the priest's body before taking a torch and lighting it on fire. He quickly left the scene.
People still stared at the sky and noticed the waters had picked up in pace. What had they done?
That happened a month ago and the weather had only gotten worse. Now the time had arrived, the storm was at full power and was going to destroy the city once and for all. Tornados started to pick up on the ocean and land adding to the mayhem and destruction. Lightning continued to assault the city and killed hundreds of people.
Screaming and absolute panic was all that ran could be heard. Ships that tried to get away were swallowed up by the sea, crushing his hope of escape. He held his two children by the hand and they ran trying to find their mother.
Suddenly a massive bolt of lightning struck the centre of the island, cracks began forming all along the island, breaking the island apart and allowing the water to come and start to drown the city of Atlantis.
The hail got bigger and eventually reached the size of boulders and crashed into houses, crushing them and shattering, sending shards of deadly ice in all directions and impaling people.
He frantically looked for cover when he spotted it. A man wrapped in a dark cloak was standing by the door of a temple just simply watching the event taking place. He stared into the figure's eyes and saw they were just swirling pockets of darkness, he knew instantly who it was and he felt his blood run cold but he ran to the temple anyway with his two children.
He made his way up the steps of the temple, the figure watching them the entire way. When they were finally in front of him, Brom bowed and gestured for his children to do the same.
"Lord Angvard, please have mercy on my family!" Brom shouted over the noise of the storm.
Angvard just looked at them for a moment with an expressionless face.
"And go against my brother's wishes? Why should I save you?" Angvard asked.
He looked into the god's eyes and no matter how much he wanted to look away, he continued to stare into the eyes of Death.
"I came here to witness the deaths of all those who sinned. But I sense something in you and your children, innocence. Well as innocent as a person from Atlantis can get. You tried to protect the priest didn't you?" The god asked and he simply nodded.
The god looked at him thoughtfully. "I see… To be honest I am lending my power to my brother to help destroy this place for what is more powerful than death and life? With every soul that dies here, I become stronger. My brother and I are equals, Gûntera created life and I take it away. I shall spare you for your deeds. You have two hours to escape, after that it will be too late. But I cannot allow you to leave with no punishment but I shall also reward you for your deeds. If you leave, you and your family will be cursed with immortality. You shall no longer be human but something else, something better. You shall be stronger, faster and have access to magic like no other human on this Earth. But immortality will be with you and you shall have to watch the world die around you. It is possible for you to die by sword but not from age, remember this, you are not invincible. Anyone, no matter if they are good or evil, shall receive the same curse and gifts if they manage to escape also. You may ask why I would give them the same thing, it is because that anyone who can escape the wrath of the gods is worthy of a gift but for defying fate, they shall too bear the curse of immortality and so shal their children and their children's children. Now go, you have two hours" And with that the god disappeared into the darkness.
Brom looked outside to find that the waves calmed a little, they stilled raged but it wasn't enough to destroy vessels anymore, now was his chance. He grabbed his two kids and sprinted across the city to the docks. Awaiting him at the docks was someone he never thought he would see, a woman with curly brown hair was just sitting on the boat like nothing was happening.
"Angela!" He yelled out. The woman looked up and gave a wave. She was a mysterious woman that randomly appeared on Atlantis a few years back. Many believed her to be a goddess, he personally didn't know what to make of her.
"Ah Brom. You made it! I knew you would. Making a deal with the god of deal, you are an interesting one" She mused. He just stared at her in disbelief.
"How did you know?" He asked. She gave him a knowing look.
"Ah, I can't tell you that, ruin all the fun" She said smiling.
Before he could reply, the ground began to shake. Buildings toppled and the island broke apart, cliffs fell into the water and the water rose up onto the land. Angela had a much more serious look about her now.
"If you want to save Selena, you are going to have to be quick about it. You will find her with the one you hate most" She said. Instantly his blood boiled and anger built up in him. He pushed his kids onto the boat and put them in Angela's care.
He took off through the streets of the city. He had to avoid the falling buildings and the riots that were happening across the city. The dock he went too was private and not known by most around the city, the public docks were teaming with people crawling over each other trying to get into the boats. Many killed each other just to try save their own skin. Lightning would occasionally strike at the boats or the crowds of people that fought to get on.
It took him an hour to traverse the city and make it to Morzan's estate. He panicked as he realized he only had one more hour to grab Selena and escape this doomed place. Drawing his sword, he made his way into the home of the man he once called friend.
The place was relatively intact with minimal damage but he knew that would change very soon. He slowly walked through the halls of the massive building, being careful not to alert Morzan to his presence. When he made his way into the backyard where Morzan had a private dock and ship, what he saw made him explode in anger.
Morzan was standing there with a knife to Selena's throat and was grinning like a madman.
"Ah! Brom, so nice of you to join us" Morzan sneered. Selena had a look of terror planted on her beautiful face, he would make sure that Morzan died a slow death.
"Let her go!" He growled. Morzan just laughed. Suddenly two scared faces appeared from Morzan's boat. They sent pleading stares at Brom and he realized that they were terrified of him. That only served to make him even angrier at this pathetic excuse of a man.
Morzan too looked at the two kids and he grinned.
"You know what happened all those years ago when I took the lovely Selena here for a rather… 'Romantic night' shall we say?" His blood ran cold remembering it all too well.
He and Selena had feelings for each other but Morzan desired her and saw her extreme beauty as a prize, something to be conquered. He took her in the dead of night and raped her.
Brom was locked up in prison for a full year before being released though he never got to figure out why. But now everything was so clear. Morzan had locked him up for one year exactly for one reason only, spite.
"Yes I see it in your eyes. You know why I locked you up now don't you? Why it was only for one year? Why I didn't just simply kill you and be done with you? It was because this beautiful creature right here got pregnant. She had twins. Brom my dear old friend, meet Murtagh and Thorn" Morzan said and gestured to the two children on the boat.
They had obviously been abused, he could tell by the looks of terror they had whenever they stared at their father.
"It can't be…" He said.
"Yes, my children are your children's half-brothers. Such a shame that neither pair of twins will get to really know their mother" Morzan grinned. His heart dropped in his chest as Morzan slid the knife across Selena's throat. Her eyes went wide in fear and pain. His blood ran cold and time slowed down as he witnessed her slowly falling to the ground. Her last action involved reaching out towards her kids and then she went limp as her blood poured onto the ground.
Rage and anger filled him nothing he had ever known or seen before. His vision went red and he let out a pained yell before charging Morzan in a blind rage. He brought his sword down only for it to be deflected by the dagger he held in his hand. Morzan was no opponent to trifle with, he could easily cut down even the most trained opponent with ease.
Quicker than he thought possible, Morzan grabbed his sword hand and twisted his wrist, making him drop the sword. With his other hand he quickly brought the dagger speeding towards his chest. He only just managed to lean back and use his other arm to smack Morzan's weapon away. Both reacted at the same time and brought their legs up and smashed each other in the chest. Both went tumbling to the ground.
Brom quickly got up and watched Morzan quickly recover as well. Both were crouching on the ground eyeing off their weapons. Like they had performed this many times, both launched for their weapons and launched an attack only to have it blocked by the other. Mozan smirked.
"I see our training had paid off. We think alike you and I" That set him off. In a burst of rage, Brom lashed out for Morzan's other dagger and stabbed him in the leg before he could do anything. Morzan growled in pain but before the madman could do anything, Brom's fist connected with the side of his skull, a satisfying crack was heard and Morzan went tumbling into the ground.
He spat blood out of his mouth and crawled pathetically along the ground.
"I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Brom roared in rage. Morzan just smirked and before Brom could react, a dagger went flying and lodged itself in his side.
He doubled over in pain and fell to the ground only to find Morzan slowly getting to his feet, he was about to make his way over to finish his rival off when hail smashed into the ground near them and their attention was brought back to the storm. It had picked up in power and the water was rising even further. Lightning struck all over the place and the ground started to shake.
Morzan almost lost his footing but he limped over to his ship and cut the ropes that held it to the dock. Soon their ship was sailing and making its way out to sea.
"This isn't over Brom!" Morzan shouted over the roar of the wind and the last Brom saw before the ship was out of sight was the horrified looks on the boy's faces. He felt guilt well up in him as he realized that he failed those boys.
He picked himself up and made to leave before stopping by his lover's body. He wanted desperately to take her with him and not leave Selena here to be claimed by the storm but he had no choice. If he tried to carry the body, he wouldn't make it back in time and his kids needed him.
He ran as fast as his wound would allow him and weaved through the streets. Dead bodies were everywhere. The winds were making it hard for him to stay on his feet but he managed to get across the city and make it to the private dock, Angela and his kids were waiting with serious worry etched on their faces.
"Hurry Brom! We only have minutes before the two hours is up!" Angela shouted as she prepared the boat for travel.
He raced for the boat and dived aboard. As soon as he was on, the boat took off, the powerful winds launching them out into the sea. Looking back now that the time Angvard had given them was up, he saw tornadoes and tidal waves forming around the island and proceeded to wreak havoc across the landscape. The screams of the last people alive could be heard as the island broke apart and finally sank beneath the waves.
Angela walked up beside him and checked his wound.
"I can fix that up for you, just wait here a moment… If you don't mind me asking, what happened with Selena?" Angela asked. Brom just sat on against the railing of the ship closed his eyes as the pain rushed to him. He felt broken, empty. The one woman he loved was taken away from him for spite. A single tear made its way down his cheek.
"Dead…" He croaked out and Angela gave him a sympathetic look. She left to find what she needed to heal his wound.
His children ran up to him and embraced him, his heart filled with warmth as they did so. He stared at his children and brought them into a hug once again, no matter what, he wouldn't let them go, he wouldn't fail them. After seeing the fear etched on Morzan's children, he vowed to them and his kids that he would kill that man in the most painful way possible. For the horrible things he did to his kids and killing their mother. Before he died, he would see that bastard go to hell for what he did.
Enjoy life while it lasts…Morzan, I'm coming for you.
What sin did Atlantis commit? I will leave that open for interpretation. Whatever they committed is up to you to decide and go with. So this was really just the backstory. This is going to be ambitious and fun :)
See ya all at the next chapter!