PART 1. CLOAK OF DECEPTION
PROLOGUE
He awoke in darkness, slowly drifting within the Void. He could see only deep, inky blackness, and sense nothing about him but the dry chill of oblivion. The frail beating of his heart and soft tingling in his ear left a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could feel his head spinning wildly.
He didn't know how long he had drifted in this mysterious purgatory, but he knew that it had been far too long.
A torrent of emotions raged through him—anger, embarrassment, envy of those who had evaded the enemy's wrath.
Most of all, there was sorrow. Sorrow for those who had depended upon him to protect the city, and sorrow that they had suffered because of his failures. He thought of his mother, the one who had cared for him, the one who had given her all to help him in his impossible quest. He thought of how she had suffered, how her life had come to a sudden and brutal end by the ire of Rancor.
Drained of power and emotion, the fallen soldier continued to drift, aimless.
He had failed them all. He deserved this end, he knew, deserved to drift the endless expanse between life and death, forever.
[I envy you, my son.]
His father's voice echoed through his head, a voice that he felt more than he actually heard. With what little energy he had left, the drifter lifted his head wearily and peered into the darkness.
A light had appeared off in the distance, a lone, twinkling star. His eyes widened at the sight of the first evidence of existence in the Void. He wondered what was there, and what was waiting beyond the tiny flame. It reminded him of the spark of life in his mother's eye, when he was young.
The voice returned, as clear and resonating as a clap of thunder. [You are forgiven your sins, Numara. You were misled by the enemy, not by your heart.]
"Father..."
[Rancor lives, my son. While you have been forgiven by your people, the Elders charge you with locating and destroying Rancor, to prevent further malignancy. The Elders have decided that you might retain your citizenship in return for his termination.]
"But how do I find him? I do not even know where he is."
[The Elders have been working feverishly to locate him for you.]
"How do I face a being like that? He controls me...he knows me better than I..."
[You are your own man, Numara. Rancor played us all for fools. Now it is up to you to end his reign of terror. You will not be alone on your quest, however. The Elders have agreed to lend you the Gem of Ages.]
From the darkness, a flash of crimson energy appeared, and a dark, blood-red stone, about the size of his fist, slowly took its place. Numara gazed in awe at the gem for some time. He held out his hand and caught it easily, felt the power instantaneously surging within him. He came alive inside, felt the numbness evaporate; the sickness deep inside followed suit.
"The Gem of Ages...but this is a sacred stone," the drifter murmured. "I am nothing but a fallen crook."
[Nonsense. Despite your crimes, you are still my son. I see opportunity in this, even if you do not. The gem will give you untold power. If you refuse, you can never defeat Rancor, and in turn, never return home.]
No sooner did his father finish then the twinkling light before him began to grow.
[Rancor is here, in a realm known to us as Earth. Destroy him, reclaim your birthright, and you can return home.]
"I do not feel right, taking the Gem of Ages. It belongs to the Elders."
[And it is their sacrifice made to offer you the chance to stop Rancor. If you don't, many more civilizations will suffer just as we have. Now go, go and avenge our people. Reclaim your birthright.]
Numara looked to the stone with mixed emotions. "I will avenge our people. I will not stop until he is dead, or my very life drains from me." He took a deep breath, speaking to the apparition that was his father, though he could not see him. "You have always believed in me, Father, even though I have given you no reason to."
[Go, my son, and good luck.]
Setting his jaw in determination, Numara turned to the growing light that would lead him to Earth, and flew like a shot toward it.
He could feel the power in him. He would do as his father asked, he would avenge his people. Rancor would suffer for the damage he had done, for the people he had killed.
Numara would avenge his mother.
PROLOGUE
He awoke in darkness, slowly drifting within the Void. He could see only deep, inky blackness, and sense nothing about him but the dry chill of oblivion. The frail beating of his heart and soft tingling in his ear left a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could feel his head spinning wildly.
He didn't know how long he had drifted in this mysterious purgatory, but he knew that it had been far too long.
A torrent of emotions raged through him—anger, embarrassment, envy of those who had evaded the enemy's wrath.
Most of all, there was sorrow. Sorrow for those who had depended upon him to protect the city, and sorrow that they had suffered because of his failures. He thought of his mother, the one who had cared for him, the one who had given her all to help him in his impossible quest. He thought of how she had suffered, how her life had come to a sudden and brutal end by the ire of Rancor.
Drained of power and emotion, the fallen soldier continued to drift, aimless.
He had failed them all. He deserved this end, he knew, deserved to drift the endless expanse between life and death, forever.
[I envy you, my son.]
His father's voice echoed through his head, a voice that he felt more than he actually heard. With what little energy he had left, the drifter lifted his head wearily and peered into the darkness.
A light had appeared off in the distance, a lone, twinkling star. His eyes widened at the sight of the first evidence of existence in the Void. He wondered what was there, and what was waiting beyond the tiny flame. It reminded him of the spark of life in his mother's eye, when he was young.
The voice returned, as clear and resonating as a clap of thunder. [You are forgiven your sins, Numara. You were misled by the enemy, not by your heart.]
"Father..."
[Rancor lives, my son. While you have been forgiven by your people, the Elders charge you with locating and destroying Rancor, to prevent further malignancy. The Elders have decided that you might retain your citizenship in return for his termination.]
"But how do I find him? I do not even know where he is."
[The Elders have been working feverishly to locate him for you.]
"How do I face a being like that? He controls me...he knows me better than I..."
[You are your own man, Numara. Rancor played us all for fools. Now it is up to you to end his reign of terror. You will not be alone on your quest, however. The Elders have agreed to lend you the Gem of Ages.]
From the darkness, a flash of crimson energy appeared, and a dark, blood-red stone, about the size of his fist, slowly took its place. Numara gazed in awe at the gem for some time. He held out his hand and caught it easily, felt the power instantaneously surging within him. He came alive inside, felt the numbness evaporate; the sickness deep inside followed suit.
"The Gem of Ages...but this is a sacred stone," the drifter murmured. "I am nothing but a fallen crook."
[Nonsense. Despite your crimes, you are still my son. I see opportunity in this, even if you do not. The gem will give you untold power. If you refuse, you can never defeat Rancor, and in turn, never return home.]
No sooner did his father finish then the twinkling light before him began to grow.
[Rancor is here, in a realm known to us as Earth. Destroy him, reclaim your birthright, and you can return home.]
"I do not feel right, taking the Gem of Ages. It belongs to the Elders."
[And it is their sacrifice made to offer you the chance to stop Rancor. If you don't, many more civilizations will suffer just as we have. Now go, go and avenge our people. Reclaim your birthright.]
Numara looked to the stone with mixed emotions. "I will avenge our people. I will not stop until he is dead, or my very life drains from me." He took a deep breath, speaking to the apparition that was his father, though he could not see him. "You have always believed in me, Father, even though I have given you no reason to."
[Go, my son, and good luck.]
Setting his jaw in determination, Numara turned to the growing light that would lead him to Earth, and flew like a shot toward it.
He could feel the power in him. He would do as his father asked, he would avenge his people. Rancor would suffer for the damage he had done, for the people he had killed.
Numara would avenge his mother.