New World Day 0

  A large black figure stood facing an empty metal frame. There were pieces of obsidian scattered about around the empty frame. The area was silent except for the crunch of obsidian under the feet of the figure. The figure had hands that ended in short sharp claws. It tapped certain spots along the edge of the frame. Pitch black runes appeared wherever the claws touched. When 10 runes were lit all along the door frame, the figure stepped back and knelt down on one knee. Darkness filled the empty frame. Looking at the frame now, it was like looking into a dark hole or an abyss.

  A cacophony of voices broke the silence. It was like a dozen different people all speaking the same words at the same time. The voices said, “The merge is now guaranteed, and it will begin momentarily. All of you will be weakened for the first few years after the merge. That time period is when you will face your greatest danger. Be aware that the others have arranged a way for a select few to gain great power in a short time. All for the purpose of hunting you down during your period of weakness. Do not underestimate these individuals. Beyond that there are no other warnings or instructions. Now go forth and play till your heart’s content our children!”

  Thousands of voices responded as one, “Yes, my lord!”

New World Day 1

  One second the black figure stood next to the metal frame and the next the world broke apart around him and rebuilt itself so that he stood in the middle of an ancient forest. The metal frame and obsidian was nowhere to be seen. Humming to itself, it stretched its long lithe frame. Sunlight shone off of the figure’s smooth black skin and bounced in odd angles between its two twisted horns as it worked the numbness out of its arms and legs. If there was a human that saw the figure they would no doubt compare its skin and horns to that of an insect’s smooth black shell. When the figure finished stretching, it yawned and revealed row after row of sharp needle like teeth. More rows than should have been possible to fit in a mouth of that size.

  The figure stopped yawning and shoved its arm forward straight in front of it. The arm disappeared up to its elbow in thin air. As the figure drew its arm backward, its forearm reappeared and a long black cloak came back with it. The figure pulled the cloak on and drew the hood over its head and horns. The only part of the figure visible beneath the cloak were its two red eyes shining in the center of the hood like a pair of bloody rubies.

  The figure disappeared from the floor of the forest and re-emerged at the top of the tallest tree. It stood there perched atop the tree for the entire day and night. The next morning the figure shifted to stare in a different direction for another full day and night. After four days and four nights, the figure jumped from the top of the tree and floated down to the forest floor. Any observer would have found it odd that its cloak refused to flutter in the wind as the figure floated to the ground. It was like the wind feared the figure and flowed around it instead of into it.

New World Day 5

  The cloaked figure leaned against a tree and sat on the ground. It stared at the branches of the trees that surrounded it and observed the wildlife. Several days passed before the figure moved again.

New World Day 8

  The figure shoved its arm forward in front of it once more and its forearm disappeared just as before. When it drew its arm back, there was the handle of a large wooden chest in its hand. The wood of the chest was a deep emerald green with the slight streaks of orange and red that stabbed through the heart of the wood. The wood was sanded and smooth and the angles flawless. The hinges and handle merged with the natural swirls of the wood so that one wouldn’t even notice their existence unless they knew where to look for them.

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  The figure placed its thumb on a streak of red and orange on the front of the chest. A rune flashed white under its thumb and there was a click as the lid of the chest unlocked. The figure and lifted the lid open wide and raised up the multiple hinged shelves that lay within the chest. On the first few shelves, there were tools placed in outlines of the exact shape and size for each tool in question. The bottom few shelves were filled with an odd assortment of rocks, metal, crystals, wood, and bone. There were no outlines on these shelves, but each piece of material was wrapped in a soft black cloth.

  The figure surveyed the bottom few shelves before it picked up a piece that looked to be a mix of bone and crystal. Long thin fingers topped by sharp black claws rubbed and examined each side and facet of the crystal bone. The figure reached into the top shelf of the chest and removed a small carving knife with a tiny whisper thin blade. The figure held the knife up to the light and examined the blade before it began to carve the a rune into each and every facet of the crystal bone.

  When all of the runes were carved, the figure returned the carving knife to its proper place in the chest, lowered the shelves back into the chest, and closed the lid. The chest locked with a light click, and the figure picked up the chest by its handle and extended it forward into the air. The chest and the figure’s forearm disappeared again and this time when the forearm reappeared the chest was not with it.

  The figure placed the rune carved crystal bone on a smooth rock in front of it and used one claw to slash open its palm. The figure placed its wounded hand over the bone, formed a fist, and squeezed so that the blood from the cut dripped down on to the bone. The blood dropped onto the bone and sank into the runes. When all of the runes were filled with blood, the figure opened its fist and the cut sealed itself up and disappeared in a split second.

  The figure chanted for hours over the blood soaked bone. The runes glowed brighter and brighter as time went by until it was like there was a red sun illuminating the forest. When light reached its brightest point, the figure clasped its hands together as if praying and slammed them down onto the bone. The bone shattered into thousands of little pieces that flew in all directions. A normal everyday robin emerged from the ground where each piece landed. The figure glanced at the thousands of robins and said, “Go, be my eyes and ears in the world.”

  The flock of robins bowed their heads to acknowledge the command and flew in every direction to follow their orders.

New World Day 14

  The figure stood atop a tree and stared to the south. One of its robins had identified a promising individual. The young man had created an impressive skill without any of the education or knowledge that would normally be needed to learn such a skill. It was all done by theory, intuition, and willpower, but that young man had a flaw. There was a streak of darkness at the core of the young man’s mind. A streak that could be exploited at the right moment. He would make an excellent lieutenant.

  The figure watched and waited until the young man was at his weakest, at his most vulnerable before he made his pitch, but the young man’s mind proved to be more resilient than expected. The figure was not discouraged by the failure. Such things were a matter of course. Besides, it had located a few feral tribes, and there were other promising individuals to the north. Including one that had already shown interest in what he had to offer.

New World Day 29

  The figure abandoned its temporary home in the forest and headed southwest towards the next largest city in the area. Those individuals that its lord warned it about had arrived in the city to the north. The figure took its lord’s warning to heart and left rather than face them despite the fact that the individuals didn’t impress the figure in the slightest. It thought that if all of those recruited by its lord’s enemies were like the four that had arrived then it would be a simple matter for it to execute its plans. Those four had done almost all of the work for it after all. All muscle and no brains. The figure smiled and revealed those impossible rows of teeth. Things were going well. Very well.