Lennier didn't know how he had come into darkness, but he rather suspected
the blow to his head was at least partially responsible.
Pris had attacked him, she had surprised him and knocked him out cold. As he had hit the floor and went under, he saw Pris attack Anne, going for her neck, but he was unable to help as the blackness took him.
The implications of this were disturbing, as it was surprising that this should happen. What had happened to her?
He thought of the idol, the effigy, and her nightmare, and the way she had stared at it. Did it have a mental influence then?
His thoughts became lost as the darkness began to lighten, and recoalesqe into lights, and patterns, and soon into images, objects.
He was in a room, a large room, it was huge, with high ceilings and walls that seemed far away, or maybe they were closer? Such were the dimensions of the place, nothing could be certain.
It looked like a crumbling mess, great pillars which were holding the roof aloft seemed to be losing bits off their sides. Rubble covered the floor, and the walls were covered with faded pictures and murals.
Lennier moved to one of the walls and tried to make out what the pictures were. They seemed to be depicting a battle, with a great monster at the head. It didn't take him long to recognize it, it was the same creature that the effigy depicted.
He felt suddenly, that he wasn't alone. There was something else here, but it wasn't an evil presence, it wasn't something malicious, instead it felt comfortable, friendly and, oddly, familiar.
"Marcus," he said, as he turned around, and saw, indeed, his long-gone friend.
"In the flesh," said the ranger with a grin, "or perhaps I should say, in the spirit?"
He started to chuckle, iliciting a slight, but sad smile from Lennier.
"So!" he said in his usual cheery fashion, "you look better, not all shot up like the last time we chatted. How you been?"
Lennier opened his mouth to speak, but it was difficult. After all, Marcus had been his friend, and had been dead for over a year, so it was strange that he be standing here now trying to make small talk.
"Don't worry about," the human said with an idle wave of his hand, "we need to talk."
He then grabbed Lennier by the arm and started leading him around the temple.
"Bloody aweful mess you and your friend have stumbled on," he mused, "really unfortunate. But, at least here we have a chance of stopping it."
"What is this place?" Lennier asked, "what happened here?"
"Little place in your sub-concious maybe?"
Lennier looked doubtful.
"Ok," Marcus said, "this is a place in reality, it's several thousand feet below where you're lieing on the floor."
He walked around about with Lennier following him, interested.
"All this, is all that's left of an ancient civilization. One of the first ones, hell, even for them they were old!"
They came to one of the murals, another one like the effigy, "Ugly brute ain't he? His name is unpronouncable in our tongue, but some of the old ones refered to him as Turaka, or Turok, depending on the race you're asking."
"The race's name is unknown to this time, long forgotten in the annals of history. The other races tried to destroy them, fearing their great mental powers. They could control others, and were messing around with the younger races, making them worship and grovel at their feet. They altered several of them, simply by their will, to suit whatever need they had.
When the others destroyed the homeworld, a few escaped to every corner of the galexy. A couple may have ended up on Earth, a few on Mars, all over the place. The Vorlons hunted them, wherever they went, and destroyed them, or imprisoned them if destruction was not possible, or neccessary. For some reason they let this one live, and simply sealed him in under the ice, in a chamber like this one."
Lennier began to realize what had happened to Doctor Kynes and his team of scientists. They had disturbed it's sleep. Somehow, they woke it up.
"What about the creature that attacked us?"
"It's servent, it can make it out of living tissue of a willing deciple."
"A willing deciple?" Lennier thought about this, until it hit him. They had only found nine bodies, there was still one missing.
"Doctor Kynes," Marcus said, sensing his thoughts, "the effigy is a focal point of Turok's will, he was studying it, he slept near it. That's how Turok's power influences other's, in dreams."
He waited while the implications of this to sink in. Lennier soon realized what he was driving at.
"Pris!"
Marcus shrugged, "It wants to replace it's servant, she's beginning the change already."
"How do I stop it?"
"I don't know if you can," Marcus said with regret, "you may have to kill her."
"No," Lennier said quickly, shaking his head, "there has to be another way."
Marcus looked at the picture, "You could destroy it, that may save her."
"How?" Lennier was starting to feel desperate.
Marcus looked like he was going to speak, but suddenly the room darkened, and a cold wind rushed in.
"Oh dear," Marcus said quietly, "it looks like this conversation is over."
"What is happening?"
But Marcus was gone, the room was fading away, melting into nothingness. Darkness took him again, and he felt like he was falling into the void, losing himself as he went.
Blackness surrounded him, consumed him, absorbed him, he was nothing now, no substance, no spirit, just a conciesness, floating in the abyss. Time seemed non-existent.
Then there was a small point of light, infinitesimal in the blackness, but growing. Soon he was blinded by it as it drove away the darkness and engulfed him within it's glow.
Pris had attacked him, she had surprised him and knocked him out cold. As he had hit the floor and went under, he saw Pris attack Anne, going for her neck, but he was unable to help as the blackness took him.
The implications of this were disturbing, as it was surprising that this should happen. What had happened to her?
He thought of the idol, the effigy, and her nightmare, and the way she had stared at it. Did it have a mental influence then?
His thoughts became lost as the darkness began to lighten, and recoalesqe into lights, and patterns, and soon into images, objects.
He was in a room, a large room, it was huge, with high ceilings and walls that seemed far away, or maybe they were closer? Such were the dimensions of the place, nothing could be certain.
It looked like a crumbling mess, great pillars which were holding the roof aloft seemed to be losing bits off their sides. Rubble covered the floor, and the walls were covered with faded pictures and murals.
Lennier moved to one of the walls and tried to make out what the pictures were. They seemed to be depicting a battle, with a great monster at the head. It didn't take him long to recognize it, it was the same creature that the effigy depicted.
He felt suddenly, that he wasn't alone. There was something else here, but it wasn't an evil presence, it wasn't something malicious, instead it felt comfortable, friendly and, oddly, familiar.
"Marcus," he said, as he turned around, and saw, indeed, his long-gone friend.
"In the flesh," said the ranger with a grin, "or perhaps I should say, in the spirit?"
He started to chuckle, iliciting a slight, but sad smile from Lennier.
"So!" he said in his usual cheery fashion, "you look better, not all shot up like the last time we chatted. How you been?"
Lennier opened his mouth to speak, but it was difficult. After all, Marcus had been his friend, and had been dead for over a year, so it was strange that he be standing here now trying to make small talk.
"Don't worry about," the human said with an idle wave of his hand, "we need to talk."
He then grabbed Lennier by the arm and started leading him around the temple.
"Bloody aweful mess you and your friend have stumbled on," he mused, "really unfortunate. But, at least here we have a chance of stopping it."
"What is this place?" Lennier asked, "what happened here?"
"Little place in your sub-concious maybe?"
Lennier looked doubtful.
"Ok," Marcus said, "this is a place in reality, it's several thousand feet below where you're lieing on the floor."
He walked around about with Lennier following him, interested.
"All this, is all that's left of an ancient civilization. One of the first ones, hell, even for them they were old!"
They came to one of the murals, another one like the effigy, "Ugly brute ain't he? His name is unpronouncable in our tongue, but some of the old ones refered to him as Turaka, or Turok, depending on the race you're asking."
"The race's name is unknown to this time, long forgotten in the annals of history. The other races tried to destroy them, fearing their great mental powers. They could control others, and were messing around with the younger races, making them worship and grovel at their feet. They altered several of them, simply by their will, to suit whatever need they had.
When the others destroyed the homeworld, a few escaped to every corner of the galexy. A couple may have ended up on Earth, a few on Mars, all over the place. The Vorlons hunted them, wherever they went, and destroyed them, or imprisoned them if destruction was not possible, or neccessary. For some reason they let this one live, and simply sealed him in under the ice, in a chamber like this one."
Lennier began to realize what had happened to Doctor Kynes and his team of scientists. They had disturbed it's sleep. Somehow, they woke it up.
"What about the creature that attacked us?"
"It's servent, it can make it out of living tissue of a willing deciple."
"A willing deciple?" Lennier thought about this, until it hit him. They had only found nine bodies, there was still one missing.
"Doctor Kynes," Marcus said, sensing his thoughts, "the effigy is a focal point of Turok's will, he was studying it, he slept near it. That's how Turok's power influences other's, in dreams."
He waited while the implications of this to sink in. Lennier soon realized what he was driving at.
"Pris!"
Marcus shrugged, "It wants to replace it's servant, she's beginning the change already."
"How do I stop it?"
"I don't know if you can," Marcus said with regret, "you may have to kill her."
"No," Lennier said quickly, shaking his head, "there has to be another way."
Marcus looked at the picture, "You could destroy it, that may save her."
"How?" Lennier was starting to feel desperate.
Marcus looked like he was going to speak, but suddenly the room darkened, and a cold wind rushed in.
"Oh dear," Marcus said quietly, "it looks like this conversation is over."
"What is happening?"
But Marcus was gone, the room was fading away, melting into nothingness. Darkness took him again, and he felt like he was falling into the void, losing himself as he went.
Blackness surrounded him, consumed him, absorbed him, he was nothing now, no substance, no spirit, just a conciesness, floating in the abyss. Time seemed non-existent.
Then there was a small point of light, infinitesimal in the blackness, but growing. Soon he was blinded by it as it drove away the darkness and engulfed him within it's glow.