4 The Star of Yllesian/Escape/Intrigue

Deep within the Realm of the Gods, a man of most beauteous appearance which could be mistaken for a woman from behind sighed as he sat in a chair made of the most luxurious of wood. It was inlaid with the finest of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds within an exquisite pattern like that of a forest; winding, twisting, and weaving, almost as if the pattern itself were alive. His silver hair perfectly framed his sharp and angular face which was free from blemish and glowed slightly in the night light. Aside from his waist-length hair, if one were to look into his deep blue eyes, one would feel as if they were trapped within an endless tide of possibilities.

Behind the man was an impressive house made of the same wood as his chair, also inlaid with many precious gems. It was a single story house, and it spoke of an air of refinement and grace, as if the one who owned it wished to live simply. The house itself and the deck upon which the feminine man sat in his chair, rested upon the edge of a plateau at the far end of a green valley. He looked over the valley at the horizon which was purple and angry with roiling clouds of a royal purple color. He of course knew that this was coming, it was foretold and ordained after all, he himself had written of it.

"The Gods were such fools to fight among each other, other than the Child, who now will take up the mantle as our defender?" The man mused to himself, a small smile of scorn appearing upon his face. "As the Realms close one by one, the humans who have long lost contact with us think themselves mighty. They think themselves above the very Gods which they used to worship, yet if they were to compare themselves with the empires of past, they are nothing but ants who don't know how to live."

The man slowly stood up and sighed as he walked into his home. It was a very simple abode. Just a small bed, a chair and table, and a place to in which to prepare a snack if he should be missing the taste of food. He went straight to the kitchen, his movements carried with them a sense of finality, as if it were the end. He slowly prepared a meal made of some sort of exotic greens and unknown meats. Some of the greens were shaped like lettuce with veins of purple and red throughout and others were shaped like broccoli, only golden in color. As for the meat, it was similar to the beef from cows, except that the portion was twice as big and orange in color. The man quickly whipped up a small meal which he brought to his table.

He dined slowly, memories of a far better time could be seen flitting within his eyes, the telltale signs of a far off gaze into nothingness. Days of when the fields were full of wonderful and strange flowers, when beasts that could only be described as two-headed spiked giraffes wandered the fields, grazing the strange and beautiful trees that were now blackened, gnarled, twisted, and perverted by the coming disaster.

The man finished his meal, it gave him many wonderful memories. He walked over to a plain, ordinary cabinet that seemed out of place with all the other furniture in the house. From within the cabinet he withdrew a jade box. He opened the box, revealing the contents therein. It was a blade unlike any other, it had a wooden haft that seemed as if it were woven from the Elvish trees themselves, and the blade was of the finest workmanship. It glowed with an aquamarine color once held. The man reverently took the blade and walked outside. He looked to the sky, his eyes beheld some sort of object beyond the vision of ordinary men.

"It is time," The man intoned, the reflection of sorrow could be heard in his hauntingly beautiful voice. "May the Child grow strong and healthy, that he may take up the mantle in which we Gods have failed to uphold."

Then he whirled around, hurling he blade straight up into the sky, where it struck a meteor that seemed to be just motionlessly waiting there. Once the blade embedded itself in the meteor, it seemed to have come to life, moving across the vast space of the universe. Down below, a man watched, a single tear gliding down his ethereal face while all around him the dense, purple fog closed in.

Elsewhere in the universe, at a castle outside of time and space...

"Hurry Smoke, hurry! The time is upon us!" Arch Magus Renner was in a hurry, collecting a bag and filling it with clothes and necessities.

"I am gathering everything we need! We only get one shot at this! Oh, you're going to need a weapon to defend yourself!" Smoke said, as he rushed about the castle looking for something suitable. It had been seven and a half years since Arch Magus Renner and his friend Smoke had immersed themselves into studying. In that time Smoke taught Renner the ancient ways of Magick, whilst Renner devoured every book in the Library with intense studying. At the beginning of the seventh year, he had finally mastered the last book in the Library. Now, according to the Book of Prophecies, the Star of Yllesian also known as the Star of Prophecy, should be passing by soon to mark the birth of the Child of Prophecy!

"Is that it Smoke?" Renner asked hurriedly, he had long been awaiting this time. Smoke had just brought him a beautiful blade made by the Elves. After reading and understanding the entirety of the Library, Renner no longer thought of such things as myth, but more of past histories. He didn't even flinch at the use of magic for such simple things as bringing him a book off a shelf.

"Yes, crafted by the Keeper himself!" Smoke answered.

"Excellent! To the Tower! All of our preparations are complete!" Renner exclaimed.

The two swiftly entered the Tower, awaiting when the Star would pass. They did not have to wait long, soon a clear blue light shone from the window at the top of the Tower down upon the floor. The uneven stone rose up and formed a tall archway, with runic letters appearing in mid-air.

Who would Time answer to?

"Time would answer to no man, but to one God." Renner replied as he infused mana into his voice. The feeling was comfortable, because mana was everywhere, it made up the life energies of everything. When someone or something died, the energy returned to the flow, becoming a new life, while the body returned to the earth, nurturing new plant growth.

The runic letters flashed to Elvish script before flashing to human language and sinking into the archway. Soon it lit up and a glowing blue portal that shimmered sprang up from the center of the archway to cover the entire arch before them.

"This is it Smoke, let's go!" Renner and Smoke ran up to the archway, pausing to take one last look at the Tower, then they plunged into the portal.

Elsewhere in the world at the center of a large nation known as the Empire of Vaughn...

At the top of a tower, a man was peering through a strange bronze device that was a long bronze tube that was wide on one side and narrow on the other. The wide side had a crystal affixed at the end, the man was peering through the narrow side. Suddenly within his vision flashed a large, burning meteor. He was excited because his duty had been done, after thirty long years he could finally retire! He had to inform his lord. He suddenly ran out of the tower down into the keep below.

In a grand and majestic hall with floors made of marble and pillars made of the finest stone, a tall and handsome man sat upon a throne made of iron and wood. There was a thin mustache upon his face that curled at the ends, and his piercing eyes gave the impression that he could see right through your soul. He had shoulder length raven colored hair and he wore a robe of black and silver, upon which was the crest of a manticore. Suddenly from one of the side chambers burst forth an aged looking scholar who wore tattered robes.

"My liege! My liege! The Star is upon us!" The man knelt before the throne, his head pressed against the cold and smooth marble.

"Rise, and tell me everything." The man on the throne said coldly.

"My lord I was doing the rounds as I do every night and through my lens I spied the Star! I thought it was always a myth or a legend and I had always wondered why you had me search for it, but it is here and it has happened! It was falling towards the west!" The man answered honestly, excitement seen in his face.

"You and your family have done mine a service through the generations, such a service is not forgotten." The man on the throne smiled, "I award you the land east of Trenton, and the Title of Count. Go, I release you from my service, Franklin."

"Thank you, my liege!" The man hurriedly got up and bowed before the throne before walking out. At the door, one of the guards gave him a small weighty sack, and two furled scrolls.

After the old man left, the man upon the throne quickly replaced his smile with a cold expression. "Summon my personal guard, search every village in the empire. I, Sebastian D. Vaughn, Twenty-Third Emperor of the Empire of Vaughn, will become the legendary savior of the universe, and no small child is going to take that from me! All children under the age of three will be brought and raised under my own roof!"

The same thing was seen and happened in many empires and kingdoms across the world as the Star of Yllesian continued it's journey before eventually crashing into a mighty forest at the edge of a small forgotten kingdom at the northwestern edge of the world.