Realms of Vrimestria (The Apotheosis Chronicles)

Realm of Dawncross – Present Time

The waves of the sparkling blue pool smashed against the sides of the massive abyss. A red flame slithered across the top of the water causing it to boil and steam on contact. It flickered for a moment and fangs of pure fire formed from the flame itself. Then it struck, thrusting down into the water. Bubbles burst with a roar. A giant hand made of water reached out towards the flame only to be wrapped up by it and constricted. The watery hand shot into the air, soaring upwards with the flame still latching on. Claws of jagged metal grew from the fingertips. A mouth formed on the palm, immediately inhaling everything it could. Chips of rocks flew from the walls of the abyss, sucked into the open mouth. Strapped by flames and all the hand continued to ascend, reaching for a single object floating in the middle of the abyss.

He sat on the edge of his rack staring through the hole in his cell floor, watching as a flaming watery hand grasped at air right beneath him, only to fall back to the depths below. The chain connecting his shackled ankles dragged along the floor as he stretched his legs. He reached up and brushed his black and gray hair, from an overgrown afro, out of his eyes. Brown patches of dirt and dust, the same color of his skin, stained the once white uniform he now wore. He bent over to pick up a jug and shoved the container to his mouth guzzling great gulps, causing water to spill down his long thick beard.

Eleven years? The jug shattered as he threw it against the wall. The man bowed his head, covering his face with both hands. It’s only been eleven years yet already it feels like an eternity. He sneered and rotten chipped teeth flashed from between his lips. They’re still laughing at me, I know it. Smiling and patting themselves on the back. Oh, thank the laws he’s gone. The city is so safe now. His hands clinched into fists, veins bulging down the knuckles. And that woman…I HATE HER! How could her power rival mine? He began breathing heavily, gasping with every breath. She beat me? Defeated me? No, she tricked me. I underestimated her, that’s all.

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his fingers. I can’t continue like this. It’s been the same thing every day since I’ve been locked up in here. I keep reliving that duel with her. I need to think. I need to stay focused. If only I could…

The entire cell shook, sending the man crashing to the floor. He crouched up on his hands and knees, sneezing and coughing from the cloud of dust now raining down from the ceiling. Crawling on all fours, he made his way to the crack in the floor, pressed his eye to the hole and immediately jerked away. “Impossible!” He peered through the hole again and the same sight met his eyes…impenetrable darkness. “This is Genado, the shadow spell. But who…” The cell suddenly dropped, freefalling downward. The man was lifted off of the floor and slammed against the ceiling by the force of the fall. He flipped and spun, clawing and scratching for any type of grip on the ceiling as the cell continued to plummet. Just as quickly as it began, it stopped, and he collapsed with a thud onto the floor.

He sat up slowly, rubbing what was now a bruise forming on the left side of his forehead. He winced and sighed several times before urging himself to move over to the crack in the cell floor again. Hand over hand he crept up to the crack, chain and shackles scraping the floor. He reached it and peered down only to find a thick mat of black and gray hair blocking his view. He parted his hair and prepared to look down again, but before he could even take a peek the cell jerked sideways sending him rolling into the opposite wall.

The cell crashed to a stop, once again throwing the man across the floor. He lay there, still and unmoving, listening intently as the sound of grinding and crunching met his ears. Rising slowly he glanced over his shoulder and watched as a crack began forming in the wall he had just been thrown against. Etching its way through cold stone, the crack lengthened and expanded, giving birth to hundreds of others. Each new crack took its own path, crawling in every direction along the surface of the wall, chips and flakes of stone popping and falling to the ground with every inch continuing to be covered. The man stared on as a black mist began spreading through every crack causing the wall to shake and crumble. With one last tremor the wall shattered.

He slowly stood up, scanning the other walls and every foot of the cell before moving towards the opening. Step by minute step he crept up to the edge and gazed out. The entire cell had landed on the stairs connected to the side of the abyss. Stretching the chain of his shackles to the limit, he leapt out onto the stairs. Cries and shouts rained from above out of the thousands of cells, similar to his own, locked to the walls of the abyss. The holes of every cell were filled with eyeballs looking down upon him. Prisoners laughed and spat in attempts to hit him.

A black fog formed a few steps ahead. It moved up the stairs then stopped. “This way. Come.” The fog then began flowing upwards along the stairs again.

Why not. At this point I have nothing to lose. He stood there for a few more moments, watching it go, then shrugged, looked down at the ground and began taking chain length steps up the stairs, scowling as a wad of spit landed on top of his head.

Keeping his eyes focused on the stairs in front of him, he continued following the black fog. Every few minutes he reached up and wiped a new coat of spit off of his face, each time pointing at the prisoners above then using two fingers to point at his own two eyes. This sent them into a frenzy. They cupped their mouths near the holes and shouted curses at him. He smiled to himself and continued making his way upward, always keeping the black fog in view.

This is obviously the work of a powerful culsionist. The Genado spell, mixed and made strong enough to crumble a cell in Darkwater Prison. He licked his lips and grinned. I didn’t realize I still had allies strong enough to pull off such a feat.

A rock tumbled across the stairs in front of him then zipped over the edge. Soon after, more rocks and dust began sliding across the ground before reaching the edge and being sucked over. No! He leaned against the wall and grabbed onto a stone, squeezing his eyes shut. The chain connecting the shackles lifted into the air and began yanking towards the edge of the stairway. He tightened his grip on the wall. His legs rose into the air and fully extended out towards the edge. He gripped even harder. The slab of rock he was holding onto began tearing from the wall. All around him loose debris was flying past. Then it was there. A giant hand made of sparkling blue water, crooked metal claws grown from its fingertips, an open mouth formed on its palm, all wrapped up by a red flame. The mouth opened wider and wider, inhaling everything that drew near.

He screamed and grunted with every attempt to pull his body nearer to the wall, his legs flapping in the air. Fangs of fire grew from the flame and it struck at the man, just missing him. Up above, the prisoners had their eyes rammed against the holes, shaking and roaring with laughter at the sight below. The slab of rock he had been holding onto gave one final crack, and the man landed on the stairs. All around him bits of rocks and dust fell from the air onto the floor. He opened one eye, then both, and looked over to see the black fog forming a wall between him and the edge. “Move now. Quickly.” He sprang up and began climbing the stairs as fast as the shackles would allow, risking a glance behind him. Yes, a powerful culsionist indeed.

The black fog traveled on his side along the edge of the stairs. With the watery hand having fallen back down the abyss, the man moved forward without pause. “Stop here and follow.” He halted in place and turned around just in time to see the fog disappearing into a long crevice in the wall. He walked up to it and began reaching out with his hand. As soon as he drew near, the crevice began rippling like water and his hand disappeared. He smiled openly, showing a full set of rotten teeth, then jumped forward, and his entire body disappeared through the crevice.

A full blue moon hung in the night sky, casting rays of blue light down upon the world. The wind whooshed between the trees, ripping off a single prickly leaf and carrying it away. The leaf flipped and tumbled through the air, soaring past a nest of small chirping birds hidden among the trees. It swooped down just above the ground weaving between plants and bushes before nicking the ear of a rabbit wrapped in vines, causing it to bleed. The rabbit shuddered for a moment as the vines tightened, and the cut on its ear healed. It tucked its head down and returned to chewing on blades of grass. Curving upward with the wind, the leaf ran smack into a wooden sign staked into a path through the woods that read, “DARKWATER PRISON. THIS WAY.” It skid across the edge of the sign then took to the air once again, flowing off of the path and into an opening in the brush. With a low moan the wind faded away and the leaf fell onto the grass below. The air rippled like water as a man came bursting through nothingness and stepped on top of the leaf.

The man stood there in the night, staring at the world around him, listening for a sound of anything nearby. I’ve escaped? He looked up at the sky, bathing in the light of the blue moon. “I’ve escaped!” Falling to his knees, he erupted into fits of laughter. He reached down and grabbed a handful of grass and tossed it into the air, watched as it flittered back to the ground, and continued with his shouts of joy.

“We’re pleased to see that you are excited with your newfound freedom, Councilor Farenles. Of course, after all of the hard work we put into breaking you out, the many months spent analyzing the security of Darkwater Prison, we would have been highly disappointed if you felt anything other than absolute elation.”

Councilor Farenles stopped in mid laugh and closed his eyes, releasing a sigh. “Absolute elation? Yes, I suppose you could call it that.” He bowed his head, looking downward. “These last few years now, I have stared at these hands day in and day out, wondering how my life could have led me to such a disaster.” Rising to his feet, he turned around. There in front of him stood two figures, hidden from the moonlight beneath the shadows of the trees. “I’d like to thank those who are responsible for setting me free.” He raised his hand and gestured towards them. “Come now, step into the light.” The two figures began moving forward, slowly coming into view under the blue light.

Long thin dreads swung over the shoulder of one of the dark brown skinned boys, the beads on the dreads flashed in the moonlight. A breeze sent his collared white shirt, completely unbuttoned, flapping in the wind, showing off a symbol of a six point star on the left side of his shirt in the center of the breast pocket, and a symbol of a scroll on the right breast pocket, also centered. A sheathed sword hung on his side down the length of his black dress pants. As he moved further into the light a red ghostly creature could be seen just over his right shoulder. It appeared to be only a small head with arms floating in the air. Sharp dagger-like teeth could be seen lining its mouth. It hovered there, swiping at the air with its tiny claws, constantly turning and staring intently in every direction before leaning over and whispering into the boy’s ear.

The other young man stepped completely out of the shadows of the trees, both hands tucked away inside the pockets of his black dress pants, smiling as he made his way towards Councilor Farenles. The moonlight hit his eyes and they gave off a golden glow for just a second. He stopped just short, twirling a finger through the curly hair of his sharp faded haircut. Only the top button lay undone on his collared blue shirt, a symbol of a six point star on his left breast pocket, and an eye on his right, showed clearly in the moonlight. Flashing with every contact from the light of the moon, a silvery mirror-like sword, both in sword and sheath, hung tightly by his side.

Councilor Farenles studied the two dark brown skinned boys for a minute, squinting in the night while staring both of them up and down. Soon the left corner of his mouth began twitching, and a grin slowly formed. He tilted his head back and burst into an all-out laughter, slapping his thighs and pointing at the two boys. “School boys!” Councilor Farenles leaned over, holding his gut, and continued shouting with laughter. “You mean to tell me that two school boys broke me out of the most secured cell in Darkwater Prison!” He straightened up, wiping away a tear. “Two school boys freed me? Ridiculous!”

“Indeed.” The young man in the collared blue shirt continued smiling and returned his free hand back inside of his pants pocket. “Although, I suppose it is still too soon to say that we have completely freed you, now isn’t it?” He glanced down at the shackles chaining both of Councilor Farenles’ ankles together, then turned to the boy with dreads. “Milsic, would you please be so kind.”

Milsic pointed his finger towards Councilor Farenles’ feet, and the shackles started glimmering with white and green light. Cracks began forming and growing all along the edges, then they shattered.

“Thank you, Milsic.” The young man looked up at Councilor Farenles and nodded with a smile. “There that’s better. Your powers have been sealed for far too long. Quite unfitting for the one known as the most feared dark xenalis of our time. Wouldn‘t you agree?”

Councilor Farenles ignored the young man and looked over at the other with dreads. “Milsic?” He noted the symbol of a scroll attached to the boy’s shirt, and the little red creature hovering above his shoulder. “You must be Milsic Harbros, son of Councilor Harbros.” Councilor Farenles sneered, chuckling to himself. “A culsionist just like your father I see. That must have been your handy work back there in the prison.” He gave a flick of his hand while rolling his eyes. “I guess I’m somewhat impressed.”

“Well I must say that I am truly impressed. You held onto that slab of rock quite gracefully back there, Councilor Farenles. For a second, I didn’t think Milsic would need to come to your rescue.”

The councilor tensed up for a moment and returned his attention to the smiling young man. He glanced at the symbol of the eye then smirked. “I see you’re an incogicist like myself. Quite the mouth on you as well. Tell me, what’s your name boy?”

“Oh, my name?” The young man straightened up, staring directly at Councilor Farenles with that same smile on his face. “My name is Gracen…Gracen Nestros.”

Councilor Farenles froze and stood there, glaring at Gracen, his afro blowing in the wind. “Nestros?” He licked his lips, then returned Gracen’s smile with a smirk of his own. “Ah yes, I remember your father, your mother too, and that little brat, she must’ve been your sister.” He closed his eyes, took a deep a breath, and then opened them again, continuing to stare at Gracen. “I murdered all three of them.” Councilor Farenles raised his hands into the air, clinched both of them into fists then released them, laughing. “And you were there weren’t you? The little boy hiding in the closet, too afraid to do anything but peek through the crack of the door. Oh, I see. Yes, I get it. You want revenge now, don’t you? After all of these years the little boy wants to avenge his family’s honor. That’s it, isn’t it? You actually broke me out of Darkwater Prison to exact a poor man’s revenge. Oh, how sweet. How…”

“Please. Do not think of this as revenge. Think of it as me completing the circle of life and death that you began.” Gracen continued smiling, both hands tucked away inside his pockets.

“The arrogance, it’s disgusting. You think you’ve gotten this all figured out, don’t you? Yes, look at you. Like a young pup, over there wagging its tail, proud of its achievement.” Councilor Farenles raised his right hand and pointed at Gracen. “But you really don’t understand anything at all.” A small black orb of energy formed at his fingertip, golden sparks popped and snapped all around the orb. Flashes of golden lightning lashed out, whipping the air and ground around Gracen. Leaves from an overhanging tree branch, insects flying about, blades of grass, all hit and instantly turned to dust. A single chain of golden lightning curved around Gracen, popping just in front of his face. The air thickened as a cloud of dust formed in the entire area.

“How remarkable. You have such splendid control as well, but…” Gracen snapped his fingers. The lightning faded away as the black orb disappeared from Councilor Farenles’ fingertip.

“What!” Councilor Farenles looked down at his hand, a snarl forming on his face.

“You shouldn’t be so shocked. I’m sure it was just luck. Honestly, if I had to guess, I’d say that your powers haven’t fully recovered after having been sealed for so long.”

“Don’t patronize me!” Councilor Farenles spat on the ground and pointed at Gracen, then pointed two fingers at his own eyes. Gracen smiled and began walking forward, moving within a couple of steps of Councilor Farenles. He took one last step and stopped, locking eyes with the councilor. You’ve made your first mistake boy! The two stared into each other’s eyes, neither blinking even once. Councilor Farenles gritted his teeth, tears pouring down the side of his face. He gave one huge exhale then closed his eyes and dropped to his knees, breathing calmly.

The councilor dreamed of himself sitting at the desk in his old office, going through a collection of papers. He tossed aside the book, The Four Fathers, Incogic Edition, and began unrolling a wooden, black cased scroll labeled Commandments of Trespasses and jotted down notes inside of it. His mind flashed through thoughts and images, time and places. He found himself standing in the chamber of a great palace, jewels of every color littering the ceiling and walls. A lady with long black and red hair began approaching him, her red dress flowing at her ankles. She reached over with one of the spider-like legs protruding from her back and cupped him under the chin. Again his mind flashed, images zooming by in a blur. He pulled the woman’s hair, yanking her head back and looked over at the fallen man, his blood spreading across the floor. A little girl ran up to him, kicking and punching him in the legs, screaming to let her mother go. He knocked her away, jeering at her. As he turned back towards the mother he caught a glimpse of a little eye peeking at him from the crack in the closet door.

Blue moonlight shot between the clouds, revealing bits of the world below. The tree branches swung back and forth, bending in the wind. Every chirp, every whisper, magnified in the silent night. Councilor Farenles’ eyelids began fluttering, his face partially illuminated by the light. He brought his fingers to his eyes and began rubbing them while yawning. “What have I…?” The councilor leapt to his feet and looked ahead at the young man standing in front of him, his eyes slowly widening. My mind? He broke into my mind? Impossible! Councilor Farenles balled his fists, sweat dripping down the side of his head. He clamped his rotten teeth together so tightly that they cracked. His entire body began shivering, and a single drop of blood oozed from between his lips.

Gracen took a step forward and Councilor Farenles jumped back, stumbled along the ground, and fell over. He cursed and began pushing himself up onto his knees. Gracen’s smile faded. He stood there, hands in his pockets, studying Councilor Farenles. “What’s wrong? I thought you were fearless, unflappable. Why change now? Kneeling there, quivering like a little child.”

“Some young pup, questioning me? You don’t know anything, boy!”

“On the contrary, it is you who does not know, do you? Would you like me to…enlighten you?” Gracen closed his eyes and removed his right hand from his pocket, placing it just over his face. “Everyone has a mask that they wear at times in order to shield themselves from the rest of the world. Hiding their faults. Displaying imaginary strengths. Forever attempting to withhold the truth from others.” He reached down, grabbed the hilt of the silvery mirror-like sword and began withdrawing it from its sheath. The sound of the sword being withdrawn cut through the night air. Sparks erupted, flashing around the blade, then vanished. “But there is always one moment when that mask will never fail to crack.” Sword in hand, Gracen began walking over to Councilor Farenles, stopping just in front of him. He raised the sword above his head, his grip tightening around the hilt. The moonlight reflected off of the blade directly onto Gracen’s face, causing his eyes to glow golden in the night. Councilor Farenles knelt there, entire body shaking. He latched onto patches of grass, veins bulging through his fists as he stared upward into Gracen‘s eyes. “You see. The true nature of all beings is revealed when in the presence of death.”

Welcome…To Dawncross!