The Beginning of a Cycle

Silence had overtaken the room as Trok spoke, stumbling over his words as he tried to relay the news, "I-I didn't even make it a quarter of the way there before I found out what happened."

"Quarter? What do you mean? Balkan is over a hundred miles away, you shouldn't have run into any of our men that fast," General Krimm asked, her face slightly betraying the worry that began to brew within her.

Trok shook his head, "N-no, I didn't run into anyone. It was the city line. Construction began in Balkan but it never reached Angleria, right? It wasn't supposed to be in operation yet, but somehow…" he caught his breath again, "...one of the checkpoints I passed was receiving a message."

"A message… from within Balkan?"

Trok audibly gulped, something that could be heard all the way across the hushed room.

"Y-yes. While the entire city evacuated, one of the soldiers stayed behind. He was the only one who thought to try the city line and he relayed everything to me until the moment he… Until the moment the line got cut," Trok paused before continuing. "...It was a surprise attack from the south. From the wasteland. In an instant, without warning, fire had consumed the southern half of the city. I-I just didn't understand, but he swore everything he said was the truth. From where I was on that mountain-top checkpoint, still more than ninety miles away, I could see it. The glow on the horizon, the fire that had consumed the entirety of Balkan," he paused again to catch his breath, "This soldier, the one that stayed behind, said he had seen the enemy with his own eyes. He had even killed one. Red skin. Black eyes. Some had wings, some didn't. They all appeared to be from the same race and the thing that made that clearer than anything else, was the fact that they wielded fire."

The feelings of unease crept its way into the council's inhabitants the longer that Trok spoke.

"By wield… you mean…"

Trok nodded to the general.

"It was magic. Unfortunately because of the delay, from when they sent the first flare and to when I made contact with him, it had already been nearly two hours since the invasion began. He was holed up in city hall and because of the building's integrity he had lived to see the very end of Balkan. One of the last things he said was that no matter where he looked, no matter which direction, everything had been consumed in a sea of flames."

"...And? How many?"

"I-in the beginning, there were only about a thousand. The fire had spread too quickly, and the city was already lost yet it was clear our garrison was successfully beating them back. But… it was only an advance force. The rest of the army showed up not long after… He couldn't give me an accurate number. Somewhere in the tens of thousands at least."

"A-are you sure what he said was true?" one of the councilmen stood up and asked. "Y-you're telling me that a force of only a thousand was enough to bring Balkan to ruin?"

"Y-yes sir," Trok nodded.

"Then… the evacuation?" General Krimm asked, worried that the scenario in her head was the one Trok was going to affirm.

I still hadn't lifted my head up off of the table but I had never once taken my eyes off of Trok. I just couldn't, I was frozen. It wasn't out of fear, but shock…

"That bastard actually pulled it off." I thought, surprised to hear it was 'them'.

Trok clenched his fists, and his eyes became glassy before he shook his head to the general.

"H-he watched… he saw what happened to those that fled north," Trok gritted his teeth. "There were tens of thousands of people. Human, dwarf, women and chil… children. After the entire force showed up… as they ran, they were reduced… to nothing. To ash." Trok said as he shook his head.

"I see..." The general paused, "Is that all?"

"No. T-there's one more thing," Trok said, meeting the general's gaze, "He saw their leader."

With those words alone, I felt the mood shift. I saw the gears begin to turn in Sonia's- err, the general's eyes. I could feel the curiosity in her voice.

"And?" She asked.

"He… He was the size of a giant. His skin was dark, and his wings could blot out the sky. The soldier that stayed behind… he said that if dragons walked on two legs, this creature was it. It also personally led the massacre of the evacuees. I think-"

"Anything else… about him?" A soft voice interrupted Trok. If it weren't for how quiet the rest of the room was, you would've never heard her.

"Yes. He said it carried a pair of cleavers; blades larger than people. And… instead of four arms, it looked like it had three. Like one had been cut off on his left side."

The girl that asked didn't move or make a sound. Her face expressed nothing of how she truly felt, but I could see it. I had spent so much time around her the past few years that I might've been the only one who recognized the blazing rage that hid behind her dark brown eyes.

"Mira, what is it?" General Krimm asked towards her daughter who had just garnered the attention of every person in the room.

From the moment Trok described the enemy, I knew this was going to happen. Mira's probably the only person besides me who knows exactly who we're dealing with. It was like digging up old coffins… I wished the Chosen would've stayed buried.

I had spaced out thinking about the past, so I didn't notice until now, but her eyes had met mine. In that moment, I realized that all the animosity I saw beneath the surface wasn't aimed towards the enemy, but rather towards me.

I thought she had already moved on like I have, but I guess I was wrong.

{This is my fault. I'm sorry.}

It was so quiet that I had barely heard it, but I was sure that 'he' spoke to me. There are so many souls residing within me that it's hard to distinguish them all between the chaos they brew. Most of them keep silent, but a few like to keep me in constant company.

I pictured the sight of 'his' charred corpse falling to the ground, the little boy who had just reached out to me.

"Yeah… I'm sorry too," I tried to tell him before I realized Mira had made her way towards the door.

"I was just curious. Please excuse me." She announced in a monotone voice before leaving the room.

I thought the general was going to say something to her daughter, but she kept quiet. Instead, she turned her attention back towards Trok. "Hmm… Now, is that all?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded, "Although, he was still trying to tell me something when the line got cut. After I received his message, I ran into the second wave of earth-runners that had left the capital. I told them to keep going and confirm as much of what that soldier had told me. They aren't as fast as me, so I wouldn't expect to see them for a few hours."

"I see… You're dismissed for now. Rest up, I might need you to get back in the field," the general said before sitting down.

Trok nodded his head and made for the door.

"Has anyone ever heard of such a creature?" My father asked the council, "Red skin? Black eyes? Wings? Multiple arms? Anyone?" He moved his gaze from person to person as he scanned the room, "Riddick?"

One of the men that had kept his head down and sat against the wall behind me stood up, "N-no sir. If anyone in this kingdom would know of such a thing, it would be me. However, I don't recall any mention of these beings from any of the historical texts from within the archives. There are many races I can think of that share some of the individual characteristics, but combined? No." He declared confidently. "The harpies would be the closest, but I've never heard of a red variant. Of course, their magic isn't related to fire either. Hmm…" Riddick paused, "But that's only if we look at what we can confirm, at 'facts'. In the four years since the Advent, the day magic was brought down unto this world, I began looking into the kingdoms of old as much as I could. As you all must know, religion has never truly taken root in our kingdom. The church died alongside the human kingdoms that our country outlived. However, while the church may have fallen, not all their believers have-"

"Riddick, shorten it," my father turned to meet his gaze.

"Y-yes. Not a lot of people believed in God until four years ago. Not until this 'God' gifted the other races their magic and spoke. Of course, I don't believe this to be the work of any god, even if the gifted dwarves in the room would have me believe otherwise. My point is the old beliefs that have made a resurgence throughout our kingdom have caught my interest. In their scripture, there are all too many descriptions of demons and the devil, of concepts like heaven and hell. The angels, bearing gifts from God, fight the demons, who are fallen angels that bore the same gifts yet strayed from the path God insisted upon. I believe it to be nothing more than something akin to folklore, fiction. However, with no mention of these beings elsewhere in our archives, I cannot deny the similarity that exists between-"

"Pffft…" A stifled laugh halted Riddick, "Ha… ha… Bahahaha!!!"

All eyes turned towards the one making a ruckus.

"What could possibly be so funny, Prince Aeric?" I could hear the general ask, but I had already blocked her out.

I had let my guard down. I let my emotional state get the better of me as I thought about everything that happened between me and the Chosen. The voices… The souls within me have too large of a connection with them that I had ignited a flame within myself without meaning to. Their anger and disdain… The static is just too much when they all try to fight me at once.

Long story short, I let the grip I held over my own body slip.

"G-God? Demon's?! BAhahaha… give me a fuckin' break. No… No, don't give me that shit. They're trash. Bottom feeders that come from the caverns of the wasteland, far beyond what you humans were ever able to search into. Ha… The devil, not even fuckin' close. They're just self-righteous condescending bags of horse shit…"

"P-prince Aeric?! Why are you so-?!"

"You know them? You know what these creatures are?"

"Do I know them? Yeah, I fuckin' know em'. They're the ones that killed me-... That kil-... Hrghhgf"

D-damnit.

I could feel myself foaming at the mouth as I fought back. I was careless, way too much. Specifically because we were talking about the Chosen, I should've kept a tighter grip. I knew better but it was too late now. I'd blown my lid and said way more than I wanted these people to know. Nobody in the council had ever even heard of these beasts, but now it's clear as day that I knew something… That I was withholding information.

"S-somebody help him! I think he's having a seizure!"

"Guards! Send for the doctor!"

Even though only one of them had taken control of me, the cacophony of screaming voices made it hard to find myself a ledge to grasp onto and bring myself back. It was like trying to open my eyes under a blinding sun, my senses were being overloaded.

{A-Aeric! Get a hold of yourself, please!}

I could barely hear the little boy from earlier scream out from within me.

{So many bad things will happen if you can't!}

I was sinking further into the pit that resided within me, it felt the same as the day this was forced onto me... Back when I was violated and had the right to my own body stripped away.

The picture of me huddled in a ball, crying myself to sleep with the never-ending onslaught of wails and threats, flashed before me. Mira is the only reason why I'm still alive, why I was able to hold on for so long. Her voice was the reason why I didn't lose myself to the void that day, but she had walked out.

Walked out of this room, and out of my life.

If she saw me now, I bet she'd just let me succumb to them. It'd give her a reason to kill me since I wouldn't be the one in control anymore.

I couldn't recognize any of the shadows that stood above my convulsing body from where I laid on the floor, but I began to hear my own name. Someone was calling on me, and yet I couldn't tell who it was at first.

{Forgive me,} a tearful voice called out. {Aeric, I've thought about what I could do for you in this form,} I was barely conscious, but I began to recognize 'his' tiny voice in the distance, {I don't know if you can even hear me… but I'm sorry. It looks like I won't be able to keep my word after all, even in death…} his voice became quieter the further I sank but I soon began to recognize the faint sound of screaming. Like something had snapped, like a switch turning off, I had full control of my body again.

"H-He stopped!"

"Doctor, did you do something?"

"N-no."

It only felt like seconds to me, but minutes had passed. My vision was still hazy, but I could tell I was surrounded by people looking down on me. I started to sit up when everything went white. An unbelievable amount of pain sprouted from the center of my head, like something was trying to claw its way out from the inside, and I was forced to scream in pain.

"I-it's happening again! Move! Give him some room! Don't try to hold him down!" The doctor yelled out as I fell back onto the floor.

Images were flashing before my eyes. Sights I had never seen, people I had never met. It felt like I was living entire lifetimes. Happiness, sorrow. At one point I had even seen visions of myself before feeling the sensation of my body being engulfed in flames. I could do nothing but wail as I was ripped apart.

"K-kill m- me!" I tried to scream but nothing came out. The air felt hot, like every breath inhaled scorching ash and my throat seized up all together. It felt like my skin was being peeled off and when I looked down through blind eyes my body was unrecognizable, and my hands had crumbled away.

I didn't understand what was happening and I wasn't even provided a moment to think clearly as the pain grew stronger.

Next thing I knew, I'd passed out.