Dissension (3 page)

The Lost Prophecy

There was no such thing as night, not in Elisia.  Every bit of the city glowed with Zaspar, the same material that was used to create the portals.  It bounced from the onyx floors and echoed down the hallways like a lost cry.

Here in the immortal city the universe's collection of the substance was in full display.  It was the most powerful of all the known elements and only the Elementals could control it's infinite capacity.  The sparkling material could rip holes in the dimensional walls, opening gateways to other planes of existence.  It's power was beyond human comprehension.

Lupercus moved quickly down the silent halls.  He’d sent Tarian and Daviathan along with Cleonicus on a mission to verify what he was certain was true.  His only concern now, was the protection of the prophecy.

It had been ages since Milicent had told of the oncoming war.  It was the same night that the visions of the rebirth had come to her, the reincarnation of the fabled Trinity.  Three elementals unlike any others, far more powerful than the entire race combined.

She’d said dark days were ahead, that their race would be tested.  That the very portals they protected may very well be their undoing.  Lupercus feared he was seeing her prophecy become reality.

“Brato, Eliana!”  Lupercus whispered urgently.  “Where are the children?”

“Lupercus, what is it?”  Eliana asked as she made her way into the living room.

Eliana was the perfect example of flawless, Elemental beauty.  Her brown hair flowed like a river rushing to the ocean.  Her bronze skin was accented perfectly by the halo of light that danced off of the walls.  She moved with the grace of a ballerina, but with the certainty of an assassin.

“We need to move the children.  I don’t think Elisia is safe anymore.”

“Are you certain?” Eliana asked, the smile fading from her face.

Lupercus nodded grimly.

“Brato, bring the boys!  It’s time,” Eliana yelled.

Emerging from the backroom was a tall, bushy-haired man with a broad chest and deep hazel eyes.  Like Eliana there was a glow to his skin, but where she moved with grace he hurled forward with determined purpose.

“Lupercus.”

“Brato.”

They both nodded at one another.

“The boys are playing Eliana.  What could be this important?”

“I’m sorry old friend,” Lupercus interjected.  “The time we have all feared may be upon us.

“Lupercus you swore…”

“There will be time for that later.  We must move the boys now.”

Brato paused for a minute and then disappeared back into the room.  When he returned, he was followed by a tangled mess of wings and red hair.  Standing not much higher than his waist, was a trio of young boys that looked more like dragons than humans.

They were all roughly the same age.  Their eyes glowed like flashlights as they snapped and clawed at each other with eagle-like talons.  Their wings, enormous in relation to their size, beat powerfully, blowing chairs across the room.

“They…they have ascended this early?” Lupercus asked in shock.

“Weeks ago.  They’re just starting to control it.”

“This is amazing!” Lupercus elated.

Suddenly the walls shook violently and Lupercus was thrown backwards into a table.  A chandelier swung then fell from the ceiling, shattering into millions of pieces.

Eliana darted forward, swooping all three children into her arms.  “Lupercus, where do we take them?” she gasped.

“The council has a portal.  We will make for Earth.”

“Why not create one here?”  Eliana asked in confusion.

“It is feared that the master portal has been taken.  If that is the case the sister portal is the only way out.  Besides that, they are too young to travel through one of our own.  We must make it to the great hall.  Follow me!”

Quickly scurrying to his feet, Lupercus tore off into the courtyard with Brato and Eliana on his heels.  The looming pillars and clusters of Zaspar crumbled to the ground all around them.  Cracks shot through the onyx flooring, jarring the ground apart like splinters of wood.

Ahead of them a fire ravaged the walls as it spread down the corridors.  Screams and cries of panic echoed in the distance.

“Lupercus, what is this?” Eliana screamed as she pulled at her children’s hands.

“Spectrals!” Lupercus responded grimly.

“In the city?  That can’t be!”  Brato exclaimed.

“Eliana, hide here with the children.  Brato and I will clear a path and return for you.”

Eliana was lost in his words.  She stared up to the dimming ceiling as dying Zaspar disintegrated and fell to the ground.  It was their legacy, the very life blood of their beautiful city.  To see it all decaying into nothing was mind numbing.

“Eliana!” Lupercus yelled.

She jolted from her trance and turned to him.  His orange eyes flared like the fires ahead of them, flickering wildly like a horde of angry dragons.  There was a sense of urgency, a look of unwavering determination on his face.

Eliana nodded and huddled the children back into their home.  They no longer looked like little creatures, but scared little boys, cowering in their mother’s arms.  Brato knelt in front of them, patting the tallest on the head as he cleared his throat.

“Be calm and keep an eye on your mother for me,” he said and smiled at the boys, trying to reassure them.

Turning to his wife, he winked then stood up and joined Lupercus back in the courtyard.

“What is this?” Brato asked.

“Daviathan tried to warn us.  He said the spectrals were trying to invade the city.  We sent him back to get proof.”

A ballad of screams suddenly rushed down the halls into the courtyard.  A thundering rattle shook the walls.  Lupercus’ eyes flashed.  He looked towards the screams then turned back to Brato.

“I know you laid down your sword in trust of the prophecy.  But Brato if we don’t do something now, it will all be lost.”

“What hope does the city have now?  The only protectors we have are spread across the universes safeguarding the portals.  There’s no time to call them back,” Brato declared.

There was a loud pop and a sudden vibration in the air.  Brato and Lupercus spun around simultaneously and found Daviathan charging across the room towards them.  In one hand he gripped a shimmering bronze dagger in the other a decapitated head.

“He’s right Lupercus," Daviathan grumbled.  "We’ll never assemble the few protectors we still have in time if any are alive.  And our armies have been sent to slumber for years on the orders of this fool.”  He slung the head towards them and it slid across the floor coming to a stop at Lupercus’ feet.

“Cleonicus,” Lupercus whispered.  “Daviathan what have you done?”

“What have I done?  What have I done?  Lupercus your protégé has doomed us all.  He opened the portals, the Spectrals are here.”

“No!  Cleonicus loved this city.  He would never do it harm,” Lupercus retorted and shook his head in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t he?  His desire for power has always outweighed his ability to see reason. He was in allegiance with the Spectrals.  I think he intended to merge our kind.

“Blasphemy,” Brato stammered.

Lupercus looked on in disbelief.  He wanted to deny it all, but the dawn of reality was slowing etching across his face.

”He killed Tarian, and was responsible for the deaths of Abrax and his wife.  We can only hope that the master portal is still safe,” Daviathan went on.

“Abrax never knew its location,” Lupercus finally spoke again.

“He…he was charged with its safe keeping, was he not?” Daviathan asked with a puzzled look.

“Many at the council thought a traitor may be in our midst.  I hid the portal and let it known that Abrax would protect it.  Only I ever knew its true location.”

A loud explosion suddenly blew a wall apart and smoke spiraled into the corridor from the gaping hole.  Chunks of debris fell to the ground, shattering into tiny daggers.

“We must get the children out of here.  They are the only ones that can retrieve the master portal and awaken the guardians,” Lupercus said as he began to head into the corridors, ignoring the fire.

“Brato, get them to the portal.  We will hold the spectrals off as long as we can,” Daviathan yelled as he followed Lupercus into the raging flames.

The War Has Begun

Bodies littered the ground like trash.  The charred floor smoldered as smoke drifted into the air, making it almost impossible to see. Lupercus and Daviathan moved like ghosts through the fog, undaunted as they headed into the fray.

“Pray the portal is still there my friend,” Daviathan whispered.

Lupercus nodded, his eyes surveying the damage to his beloved city.  Elisia was the home to all elementals.  They had thrived there for centuries.  It was a place inaccessible to all except those that could manipulate the dimensional portals they protected.  No other race had stepped foot within its gates since the Relusian Détente’, more than a thousand years ago.

The corridors were expansive, dome-shaped labyrinths that spiraled throughout the city.  In the center, connecting them all like a nucleus was the great hall.  Now that the city gates had been breached it would be nearly impossible to make it there.

Daviathan slowly peered around the corner before waving Lupercus on.  The walls around them slowly crumbled to ash as chunks of the ceiling crashed to the floor.  Something long and shadowy slithered by and disappeared into the smoke.

“We have no time for this,” Lupercus said with an exhausted voice.

Before Daviathan could question what he was talking about, Lupercus spun around and took off, deeper into the black cloud of destruction.  Breathing hard, Daviathan followed after him.  Running at full speed to keep up, he dodged holes and falling debris, trying not to choke on the rancid air.

As Daviathan emerged from the thick smoke, something grabbed his ankle and he tripped.  His face slammed into a wall before he crumpled to the ground.  The warm trickle of blood pooled under his gums and he spit onto the floor.

“This is my kill!” a crackling, demented voice called from behind him.

Daviathan rolled over just in time to evade the double sided axe that hacked into the floor.  Jumping to his feet, he staggered back until he was pressed against the wall.

In front of him stood two creatures that were almost indescribable.  Dead, empty eyes swirled like tiny black holes.  Long, muscular necks rose up from broad shoulders, casting a shadow over Daviathan with their enormous frames.  Their heads were more animal than human, long dog-like snouts with gnarly teeth jutting out from their black gums.  Their ears stood erect, turning like satellites picking up any sound.  They were the visions that Egyptians wrote about on walls, the inspiration of the mythical Anubis that haunted pyramids for centuries.

“Spectrals!” Daviathan snarled.  “You don’t belong here.”

He curled his fists and gritted his teeth.  The air around him started to shimmer as he focused all of his energy.  His skin crackled, turning to a blue spiked armor.  A white glow emanated from his eyes, piercing through the smoke like a spotlight.  His hair shot upward like flames turning into a brilliant red.  As he unfolded his hands, deadly claws gleamed under the faint light.

“A challenge?” one of the spectrals laughed.

Daviathan made to move, but before he could, a hand much like his own shot through the spectrals chest from behind him.  The spectral collapsed to the ground and Lupercus rose up from the smoke, gripping the spectral's beating heart.

The other spectral turned to attack, but he was too slow.  With one swipe Lupercus tore out his throat and he dropped to the floor as well.

“I told you we don’t have time,” Lupercus spat.

Turning on his heels, he stormed off.  Daviathan stared down at the dead spectrals for a moment.  Their kind had once been allies in the same war, now it seemed fate had set them against one another.  With a long sigh, he turned and then followed after Daviathan.  They emerged from the smoke-filled corridor into an open area and froze.

Ahead of them a furious battle ensued.  The spectrals were enormous, powerful creatures and they flooded the streets.  They descended upon anyone they saw like a swarm of angry hornets.

The people of Elisia were ill-prepared.  They were not warriors, but peaceful folk.  Mostly scientists and philosophers, the vast amount of the residents were unable to defend themselves.

Hordes of angry spectrals dragged people from their homes.  They ripped children from their beds, butchering their parents’ right in front of them.  A mass genocide was underway and without the guardians, there was no one to stop it.

Metal clanged in the night as a few of the men attempted to fight back.  A small group of elementals clambered forward swinging their swords wildly.  Untrained and ineffective, they were quickly overrun and torn limb from limb.

“This is where we must meet our end,” Lupercus said grimly.

Daviathan stared at him through narrowed eyes, glowing white with power.  “Then let us take these filthy dogs with us!”

Together they sprinted forward, diving head first into the sea of death.  Lupercus grabbed one of the spectrals, slinging him into a wall before driving his fist through another one.  Daviathan swirled through the mass of creatures spinning his sword like angry tentacles.

“This way!” he screamed as they fought through the spectrals clearing a path for any that could still walk.