Across the world, each developing culture created their own myths and theologies in an attempt to explain the world around them. The earth, the sky, the water… all of them governed by a spirit or deity. A being that resembled themselves that provided a scapegoat for the unexplainable events happening around them. Natural disasters, instances of karma, the basic mechanisms of nature had to be the work of some higher being. This was their undeveloped minds coping with the mechanisms of the world around them.

Then things changed. Human beings became more advanced. They developed their own, more logical explanations for things. Theories of evolution, space, and relativity. A new age of humankind that no longer relied on blind faith to make sense of their surroundings. And so the Old Gods were forgotten. Their stories and powers were reduced to mere myths of a time before humans could truly think for themselves… until the world ended.

The end of the world as we know it has had many names over the centuries. Armageddon, the Apocalypse, Judgement Day, Ragnarok. It’s all the same in the end. The end of all. Humanity had developed itself to the very peak of science and technology. It still didn’t prepare them for doomsday. It was a disaster caused by the primal origin himself. Chaos, the the spark of creation themself, had grown bored of what his power had created. It was time to start again. Humans, who had abandoned their faith in favor of development, were powerless. Even the unification of all regions of the world didn’t have the power to come together and defeat the origin of creation itself. They were helpless. So what other choice did they have?

Humans abandoned their ideals that centuries of development created, and turned their pleas back to the Old Gods they had once worshipped. The original creations of Chaos, those that govern the very nature of the world. The Gods are known to be notoriously fickle in their aid… but the situation spelled the destruction of them as well if left untouched. And so for the first time in thousands of years… humans and gods joined together. The gods offered boons of power to create demigods among the human population. These demigods were humanities heroes. Given authority over a portion of a gods power allowed humanity to evolve to a place further beyond what science and technology ever allowed them.

The gods and demigods went to war with the monsters of Chaos. A war that spanned a thousand years. The war stood in a deadlock for a thousand years until the gods made the decision to combine their powers across theologies, creating a single pantheon of gods with much greater power. The powers granted by the new gods proved to be the turning point in the war… and Chaos was defeated. He was banished to the furthest reaches of his creation where he was locked away, never to be seen again.

Where does that leave humanity? The few survivors of the Thousand-Year War were stuck with the ruins of a world and no one to lead it. And so a new era is ushered in. One not reliant on technology of the past but the divine-power of the future. The demigods unite to create a world in which the powerful prospers… leaving the pitifully powerless to scrounge for their scraps like packs of rats. Those chosen by the gods used their powers for personal gain, often at the expense of those unchosen. An almost medieval system of peasant and nobility took form to fill the gaps in leadership. And that is the world I find myself in today.

I ask myself often… are we better off this way? The weak would say no. But the blessed were enjoying power and riches beyond anything humanity had ever seen. What is the weak’s opinion to those who control them? The one overpowering human trait that remains prevalent through all of human history is their greed. Once power is acquired then some may seek to use it for the good of all… but an overpowering number would use it for the good of themselves. The weak can moan all they want about the unjustness of the powerful’s selfish actions but the fact is, if given that same power tomorrow, they’d likely act no differently. And so humanity has hit a standstill. It’s times like this where drastic changes come forth. And this time, it all begins with a frail, dirty boy with black hair and violet eyes.

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I watched through the bars of my cell as bits of ash fell through the sky like snow. Not that I’d ever seen real snow before. This was Sun God territory. The ash came from the fiery plains that burned ceaselessly, creating never-ending flurries of endless ash. It truly was a sight to behold for those who knew not what it represent. The heat was constant and unbearable without a Blessing to protect yourself. The small hut that served as my cell was a short relief for the shade it provided. Not that I’d be here long. I’d been caught taking water from a Blessed. This was a crime that would likely result in my death. Not that it was my fault. I’d been lying in the street… too dehydrated to move when the woman had offered me a drink. I knew better but having no other options I’d accepted it. It was my luck that a Sun Noble and his guards happened to be passing by and saw it happen. The woman was nice enough to try and cover for me but her pleas fell on deaf ears. She was only delaying the inevitable anyway. I’d resolved to die in this place after all.

I felt kind of sorry for the woman. I’m sure that my death would weigh heavy on her. It lightened my own soul a bit to know that there was still a few people lucky enough to be Blessed that still had some compassion for their fellow man.

I’m not sure how I got here but I know that whoever left me here must’ve been some kind of demon to leave me in a hell such as this with no protection. Sun God territory was notorious for it’s overwhelming heat and literally melting the skin of those who are left in the open long enough. Even those with a Blessing often travel this land wrapped in hoods and shawls to protect themselves. The only ones who don’t are the ones Blessed directly by the Sun Gods themselves. You can tell who they are by the often revealing clothing they wear in the sun to signify as a symbol of their allegiances. If their pompous attitudes don’t give them away first.

“Oi, boy. Get up. It’s time for your sentencing.”

Speak of the devil. A dark-skinned man wearing an open tunic that thankfully covered the important bits banged on the bars of my cell with a long staff. The sun at the end of the staff meant he was likely a Sun Magician. These people had the power to manipulate fire and cast it at will. I wasn’t sure how I knew this but the information came to me like it was second nature.

I slowly raised myself off the dusty ground and was pulled out of my cell by my arm. Out of my cell I was once again at the mercy of the sun as it’s rays immediately felt as if it were roasting me alive. I thought the heat might get me before we reached our destination but I was quickly pulled into a large temple. There were many people gathered both outside and inside the temple. It was rare to see a non-Blessed person in these areas given the risks. It was even rarer to see one tried for a crime such as this. The non-Blessed were supposed to revere the Blessed as the Blessed do the deities that give them their power. Most of the non-Blessed were taken on as slaves and servants, which was the most favorable outcome for the unfavored. The others were left to fend for themselves… like me. I wasn’t sure how I ended up in the Sun Gods territory and I couldn’t remember much before I woke up here. The vague memories I had were of being taught about the ways of the world and the many gods who govern it. I’d also been taught many things like history and language and writing. I knew about the war that changed the world and a little about what life was like before everything changed. I think this place that was now known as Rapol, the land of the Sun God, was once a place called Aireezoneah… or something like that. That was long before the war, little records or evidence remained of the time before the Blessed. The entire planet had nearly been razed to the ground during the never-ending battle.

After being dragged through the temple I was placed on a seat and had my legs and arms shackled. Before me sat a large man, wearing a red robe with a tall hat emblazoned with a sun. His seat sat a ways above me so I had to crane my neck just to see. My mind told me that people dressed like this were usually emissaries, or ones that passed along direct messages Gods. These people couldn’t speak with the Gods directly but were the ones who received their divine proclamations, when they could be bothered to give them that is. A raise of his hand silenced the bustling chamber of those waiting to see how the trial unfolded.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Young boy, it is my understanding that you disrespected a Blessed through an act of theft of water, is that correct?”

He looked down upon me awaiting a response but I couldn’t even muster up the strength to speak. My mouth and throat were so dry that I found it nearly impossible to even open my mouth properly. The man could tell this as well but he obviously didn’t care.

“No defense then? A shame. You look no older than ten. What a waste of a young life. I shall leave it to the court to decide your fate but I give my recommendation of the maximum penalty of dea…” And the man froze. He quickly looked to the sky and the already silent room grew even quieter. No one dared to breathe. They recognized this as a sign of a message being received. After a few seconds of absolute stillness, the judge finally snapped back.

“Our Lord ShunRa himself has graced us with a resolution to this trial. The boy shall be publicly executed as a means to appease our God. Let us rejoice and celebrate our wonderful Lords proclamation.”

With that the chamber erupted in cheers. My life had been reduced to fleeting entertainment for a bored deity. It was disgusting. I was hoisted out of my seat by two guards, chains and all, and pulled out of the temple and back to my hut cell to await my execution. As I was dragged from the temple I noticed in the crowd of cheering worshippers a young woman holding the hand of a young girl watching as I was taken. It was the same woman who had given me the water. She had silver hair, likely born into a Blessed lineage. Water God, maybe. She seemed visibly upset with my fate. I wished I could comfort her and tell her it wasn’t her fault but rather the unjustness of our world as a whole that I ended up here but sadly I was in no such state to do so. I hoped she could understand the forgiveness I attempted to convey in my eyes.

The time of my execution came swiftly. I was tied to a large wooden pole, the stake I was to be burned with. The setting sun provided a little relief in that I wasn’t going to be baked alive by it before being baked alive by these cultish Sun followers.

I was given a last meal and some water at least, which was likely just so I had the energy to scream as the fire roasted me alive. Sick bastards. Before me was a large group of people, some cheering, some looking on in horror, some looking on in intrigue. I’m sure ShunRa was among them, disguised as one of his own followers and ready to enjoy a front row seat of the show he had arranged. Sick bastard. The fat emissary was seated on a throne in front of me, chugging down a large bottle of wine. After polishing off the bottle he stood and raised a hand which caused the crowd to quickly grow silent.

“Let us not forget to thank our Lord ShunRa who graciously gave us a reason to celebrate his benevolence with the sacrifice of this sinner. Let us all make a prayer to him to keep guiding us this way in the future.”

Everyone took to their knees, raising their arms in a bizarre prayer form. Only one person remained standing but went unnoticed by the others. The same dark-skinned man who had dragged me from my cell stood in the middle of the crowd looking directly at me. The fact that he went unnoticed by all others proved that it was only I who could see him there. A sick smile grew on his face. This was ShunRa himself, come to watch my execution. I offered him no satisfaction in a reaction from him revealing his presence. I remained silent and unmoving. The only acknowledgment I gave him was the hate that in my gaze as I stared back at him. This was obviously not the reaction he had been hoping for as his twisted smile quickly grew into a more menacing scowl.

The emissary rose and with him so did the rest of the crowd. ShunRa disappeared in the mass of people but I knew he’d remain somewhere watching. Gods couldn’t interact with the physical world for the most part but some found loopholes in this rule. The most popular one being possession of one of their Blessed followers. The bodies would eventually burn out as the human body can’t handle that amount of divinity for long but the particularly sadistic Gods didn’t really care. Some even made it an honor to die as a vessel for their God.

“With the lighting of this torch we offer this sinner as a sacrifice to our Lord ShunRa. May he grow even more powerful with this offering.”

A Sun Magician ignited the end of his rod. He turned to me. The fact that I was to die in the next few moments finally hit me. I struggled in my chains but it was no use. I wasn’t strong enough to escape. I wished I remembered a little more about my past, maybe just my name at least. It seemed useless to die having only remembered the things I’d been taught and not even who taught me them.

Just before the staff lit me ablaze, a shard of ice came flying and knocked it away. The crowd was stunned and quickly parted, revealing a young girl with silver hair, probably around my age, standing with her arm outstretched. The same woman I had seen earlier quickly made her way through the crowd and scooped up the girl.

“Worshippers of the Water God dare to interrupt a ritual of the Sun God?!” The fat emissary shouted angrily into the crowd.

“I am so sorry for my daughter. She doesn’t understand. We will leave right away.” The woman quickly bowed and backed away, her daughter in tow.

“But Mom, they’re going to kill him!.”

“Sweetie this isn’t any of our business. We need to go now.”

The mother and daughter retreated quickly from the angry shouts of the emissary and the crowd of people. At that moment, the last rays of the sun fell below the horizon and the sky went dark. Or it seemed that was the case. The sun had only just begun setting but now it was completely gone from view. The sky had turned a deep shade of black, darker than the Sun Gods territory had ever seen. All the torches went out and everything was thrust into darkness. The sudden blindness that overcame the crowd caused panic to quickly set in.

“Everyone remain calm! Magicians!” The fat emissary called out.

The sun magicians all cast a ball of fire that gave some visibility to the panicking crowd. Everyone huddled together, waiting for instruction from the emissary.

“This must be the work of some enemy magician. I’ve never seen magic like this. Come out! Whoever cast this spell of darkness show yourself!”

Nobody showed themselves… because this wasn’t the work of a magician. From the sky, a woman draped in veils of shadows fell slowly. Her skin was porcelain white and the shadowy dress she wore sparkled with the stars of the night sky. Her appearance caused a stunned silence among everyone present. Even the emissary didn’t have the courage to speak in the presence of this woman. Her presence entranced me even more.

I watched as she descended and came to a stop, floating right in front of where I was strung up. I couldn’t remember Her black hair was long and shone like the moon. Her face had a sculpted look to it that no artist could ever hope to match.

“You were born with my eyes, young boy. We must’ve been fated to meet. Under my guidance you will find great power. Is that what you want boy?”

I struggled to speak, not only because of the physical state I was in but the presence of the woman before me was suffocating. It felt like coming face to face with a force of nature herself

“I… I… want to… know who… I am.” I managed to choke out.

She looked puzzled for a second but seemed pleased with that answer.

“Very well then. I shall give you an identity. You will henceforth be known as Kieran, son of The Night, and emissary of the Darkness. In your darkness the world shall find its salvation.”

The Night took my face in her hands and stared deeply into my eyes, where her gaze found my soul. She wasn’t lying, it felt as if I were staring directly into my own eyes when returning her gaze. The shades of violet in her irises were the same as my own.

Looking into her eyes was the last thing I remembered before my vision went dark again.