Standard Disclaimer. The song "When the Angels Fall" by Sting belongs only
to him and has been modified to fit this chapter.
Chapter 3: The Battle for the Underground
Dawn came early for Sieca and Rissick. They packed their simple belongings and began their trek down the steep sides of the cliff towards the Ivory Temple, shrine to Illianna, prison to her half-brother. Sieca's eyes were shadowed, rest had not come to her in many nights and the visions she had been experiencing were growing worse each night. And now the sense that she was somehow tied to the Sun Prophecy, the old wives tale told to frighten children and explain the world....she could only recall a small piece of it, the rest of the words hanging just outside of her memory....
........When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us al
When the angels falll....
As they walked, she fell further into thought, the story reclaiming its place in her mind fully. Sieca remembered...
.
Thousands of years before the footsteps of humans or of Fae graced the
worlds below or the worlds above, a race of pristinely beautiful,
insanely vain creatures graced the world Underground. Said to have
been birthed from the very heart of the sun itself, their wings had
carried them here on the warmpth of the sunlingt and, they lived in
peace in the Underground alone for uncounted years, led by the
stongest and oldest of them all, Innix fel Sollustries Minum – Innix
of the Sunlit Midnight. When a new race entered into the Underground,
the Fells, possessive of what they had to themselves for thousands of
years, and led by Innix, became insanely jealous, afraid to share, and
they turned upon the new creatures, waging war upon what they deemed
to be a foul infestation upon the graces of the magical realm
slaughtering them by the scores, their white wings were said to have
been forever stained red by the blood of the hapless. It seemed as
though the merciless killing would never find its end, that the thirst
for blood would forever remain unquenched – the once peaceful,
beautiful Fells now thrived on the hunt, yearned for the kill, the
most ruthless, their once serene leader, Innix fel Sollustries Minum.
It was said that he murdered woman and child while the father watched.
It was said that he cut the tongues out of babies and watch them
drown upon their own blood. It was said, the in these creatures, he
saw an unattainable perfection, and it had driven him mad. Many of
the creatures fled above, where their children still dwell, the
offspring of their ancestors, their only remembrances of their once
home lies now on the edges of their dreams. But a few of those
remained behind, stayed within the Underground, absorbing her magic,
becoming stronger, and searching for the very center of the
Underground, for their, they believed, they would find the source of
power they would need to end the persecution of their kind, to end the
war, and to find a way to live in peace with the Fells. They were led
by one, known only in legend as The First, his name lost to the ages.
They found the center, the very heart of the Underground, but not
before Innix and his strongest followers had chased them down, intent
upon slaughtering them, and thus ensuring the Underground would
forever be theirs alone. It is said, that The First laid his hands
within the life flow of the Underground, just as Innix drove his
jagged midnight blade into his heart, and that because his lifeforce
now drained onto the soil of the underground, that immortality and
magic replaced his own blood, and he became the first Fae, who gifted
all of his fellow-kind with his light, allowing the magic to radiate
from his form, until he was no more, his sacrifice creating all Fae.
With his sacrifice, a battle ensued, the Fae, blessed with magic from
the Underground herself, drove down the Fells, the Fallen as they
became known. Hundreds of Fells lost their lives that day, fewer were
the casualties of the Fae, not one bore even a scar upon their now
ethereal beautiful faces. One Fae in particular, rose to offer the
few remaining Fells a choice, banishment or eternal disgrace. Innix,
broken, his wings torn from his bloodied form, stood before that
single Fae, and spit upon his face, remarking that the Fells were not
through, that they would again rise to reclaim the Underground and all
that was theirs, and that their leader's line would never know peace,
that when the Fells again rose, the first sacrifice they would offer
up to the Underground, would be the heir of his lineage. And with
that, Innix plunged a crystal blade into his own heart, and fell to
the ground, his form turning to mist, the Prophecy of the Sun filling
the ears of those gathered with its eerie tune sending chills to very
souls of the Fae gathered..
Underneath a bridge of stars
You dream in safety's keeping
But perhaps the dream
Is dreaming you
When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us all
When the angels fall
A shadow still remaining
We shall see you fall
And all the rugged souls
Looking for their lost homes
Shuffle to the ruins
From the leveled plains
To search among the tombstones
When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us all
When the angels fall
When the angels fall
When the angels fall
These are your feet
These are your hands
These are my children
And this is my demand
Bring them down, my angels
Cast them from my sight
I only want to see
A million suns at midnight
Your hands are empty
The streets are empty
You can't control us
You can't control us anymore
When the angels fall
Then only silence remained. The prophecy floated away from the torn
plains of the center of the Underground, and the leader of the Fae
again offered up the same choice to the Fells, unwavered by the song
that still hung in his ears. The other Fells, of which there were so
few, less than two score, who could not face the Aboveworld, could not
bear to leave the beauty of the Underground, agreed to remain, in
disgrace, never to rise against another again.
As the childhood story finished its recall in her memories, she looked up to find herself standing at the silver gates to the Temple. She was awestricken at the beauty and serenity of the building. With a deep breath, she pushed the gates open, and the two lonely companions strode forward towards answers.
Chapter 3: The Battle for the Underground
Dawn came early for Sieca and Rissick. They packed their simple belongings and began their trek down the steep sides of the cliff towards the Ivory Temple, shrine to Illianna, prison to her half-brother. Sieca's eyes were shadowed, rest had not come to her in many nights and the visions she had been experiencing were growing worse each night. And now the sense that she was somehow tied to the Sun Prophecy, the old wives tale told to frighten children and explain the world....she could only recall a small piece of it, the rest of the words hanging just outside of her memory....
........When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us al
When the angels falll....
As they walked, she fell further into thought, the story reclaiming its place in her mind fully. Sieca remembered...
.
Thousands of years before the footsteps of humans or of Fae graced the
worlds below or the worlds above, a race of pristinely beautiful,
insanely vain creatures graced the world Underground. Said to have
been birthed from the very heart of the sun itself, their wings had
carried them here on the warmpth of the sunlingt and, they lived in
peace in the Underground alone for uncounted years, led by the
stongest and oldest of them all, Innix fel Sollustries Minum – Innix
of the Sunlit Midnight. When a new race entered into the Underground,
the Fells, possessive of what they had to themselves for thousands of
years, and led by Innix, became insanely jealous, afraid to share, and
they turned upon the new creatures, waging war upon what they deemed
to be a foul infestation upon the graces of the magical realm
slaughtering them by the scores, their white wings were said to have
been forever stained red by the blood of the hapless. It seemed as
though the merciless killing would never find its end, that the thirst
for blood would forever remain unquenched – the once peaceful,
beautiful Fells now thrived on the hunt, yearned for the kill, the
most ruthless, their once serene leader, Innix fel Sollustries Minum.
It was said that he murdered woman and child while the father watched.
It was said that he cut the tongues out of babies and watch them
drown upon their own blood. It was said, the in these creatures, he
saw an unattainable perfection, and it had driven him mad. Many of
the creatures fled above, where their children still dwell, the
offspring of their ancestors, their only remembrances of their once
home lies now on the edges of their dreams. But a few of those
remained behind, stayed within the Underground, absorbing her magic,
becoming stronger, and searching for the very center of the
Underground, for their, they believed, they would find the source of
power they would need to end the persecution of their kind, to end the
war, and to find a way to live in peace with the Fells. They were led
by one, known only in legend as The First, his name lost to the ages.
They found the center, the very heart of the Underground, but not
before Innix and his strongest followers had chased them down, intent
upon slaughtering them, and thus ensuring the Underground would
forever be theirs alone. It is said, that The First laid his hands
within the life flow of the Underground, just as Innix drove his
jagged midnight blade into his heart, and that because his lifeforce
now drained onto the soil of the underground, that immortality and
magic replaced his own blood, and he became the first Fae, who gifted
all of his fellow-kind with his light, allowing the magic to radiate
from his form, until he was no more, his sacrifice creating all Fae.
With his sacrifice, a battle ensued, the Fae, blessed with magic from
the Underground herself, drove down the Fells, the Fallen as they
became known. Hundreds of Fells lost their lives that day, fewer were
the casualties of the Fae, not one bore even a scar upon their now
ethereal beautiful faces. One Fae in particular, rose to offer the
few remaining Fells a choice, banishment or eternal disgrace. Innix,
broken, his wings torn from his bloodied form, stood before that
single Fae, and spit upon his face, remarking that the Fells were not
through, that they would again rise to reclaim the Underground and all
that was theirs, and that their leader's line would never know peace,
that when the Fells again rose, the first sacrifice they would offer
up to the Underground, would be the heir of his lineage. And with
that, Innix plunged a crystal blade into his own heart, and fell to
the ground, his form turning to mist, the Prophecy of the Sun filling
the ears of those gathered with its eerie tune sending chills to very
souls of the Fae gathered..
Underneath a bridge of stars
You dream in safety's keeping
But perhaps the dream
Is dreaming you
When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us all
When the angels fall
A shadow still remaining
We shall see you fall
And all the rugged souls
Looking for their lost homes
Shuffle to the ruins
From the leveled plains
To search among the tombstones
When the angels fall
Shadows on the wall
In the thunder's call
Something haunts us all
When the angels fall
When the angels fall
When the angels fall
These are your feet
These are your hands
These are my children
And this is my demand
Bring them down, my angels
Cast them from my sight
I only want to see
A million suns at midnight
Your hands are empty
The streets are empty
You can't control us
You can't control us anymore
When the angels fall
Then only silence remained. The prophecy floated away from the torn
plains of the center of the Underground, and the leader of the Fae
again offered up the same choice to the Fells, unwavered by the song
that still hung in his ears. The other Fells, of which there were so
few, less than two score, who could not face the Aboveworld, could not
bear to leave the beauty of the Underground, agreed to remain, in
disgrace, never to rise against another again.
As the childhood story finished its recall in her memories, she looked up to find herself standing at the silver gates to the Temple. She was awestricken at the beauty and serenity of the building. With a deep breath, she pushed the gates open, and the two lonely companions strode forward towards answers.