Prologue
clink… clink. The soft clink of metal striking stone echos through the moonlit corridor. A woman shrouded in a verdant cloak sprints through the passageway, with each step a distinct clink can be heard. The woman comes to a abrupt halt in front of a set of large stone doors. Two sentries clad in ornate armor stand unmoving as the woman steps forward through doorway. From under her cloak a dimly lit red glow emanates as she peers upwards, her red irises pointed towards the man sitting upon the throne. The cloaked woman states “Your majesty, we have found it”
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Chapter 1: The Shard
A vengeful wind abruptly pulls me from my slumber. I peel my eyelids open, and the chilled air strikes my vision. A dire situation becomes immediately clear as the distant landscapes below come closer with each passing moment. I’m plummeting through the sky, flailing desperately. I let out a visceral scream. No sooner does the sound leave my lips than a fuzzy warmth appears within my fingers. My tear-soaked eyes dart toward this sensation. Perched upon my outstretched palm, a large orange cat wearing a top hat and monocle stares back at me. Its piercing gaze cutting into my soul. The cat’s mouth opens unnaturally wide, revealing its sharp maw as it lets out a robust “BEEP BEEP BEEP.”
Disoriented and confused, I peel open my eyes again. The alarm blares loudly in the room. Quickly snapping out of my haze, I slap the clock, silencing the damn alarm.
“UGH, Oliver!” my wife stirs from under the covers beside me.
“Sorry, Nora. Go back to sleep,” I whisper as I kiss her cheek.
Reluctantly, I get out of bed and stumble into the hall, mentally preparing for another day of work. Shuffling into the bathroom, I splash some water on my face and glance into the mirror. A remarkably average-looking thirty-three-year-old man peers back at me. My weary eyes catch the few gray strands starting to peek through my curly brown hair. I sigh in dismay and mutter to myself, “Holy shit, time really does fly.”
After a brief moment of silence for my lost youth, I stumble further down the hall and crack the door to my daughter’s room, peering inside. Eluna is hugging her stuffed lizard plush, sleeping soundly. “Love you, El,” I whisper to myself as I gently shut the door, taking care not to wake her.
The next few moments pass in a blur as I quickly get dressed, grab my coffee, and hop in my truck without much thought.
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Living a few miles into the countryside has its perks, but driving in the middle of a thunderstorm is not one of them. The rain pelts the windshield as my truck drives down the gravel road, my wipers working overtime. Lightning cracks across the air, briefly illuminating the early morning sky. The resulting thunder resonates throughout the vehicle, startling me with its intensity.
As an especially intense thunder clap subsides, the faintest flash of green flickers into view in my peripheral. I turn my head toward the green flash expecting something there only to find nothing but a dark cloudy sky. After a few moments spent staring at the sky I am ready to completely discount it as a visual hallucination. Just then another brighter green flash sparks into existence.
“What the fuck was that?!”
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I pull over at the nearest approach. Looking up through the car window, I again just see the dark sky, with the occasional lightning streaking across. I really need to get more sleep.
No sooner does that thought enter my mind does another thunderous crack resound. This time, lightning doesn’t accompany the bellowing sound. Instead, an encompassing green light shines down through the clouds, drenching everything in its hue. An icy calm pierces the dark as the rain simply ceases to exist. The dark clouds abruptly split open, revealing the source of the light. A large obsidian shard with glowing green tendrils flickering into existence upon its glassy surface. The air seems to ripple around it like oil on water. The shard plummets toward the earth. My mind is screaming at me to run. Instincts telling me to fear this unknown.
Utterly flabbergasted, I yell out “What in the hell is that?!” as I stare at the spectacle before me. I flinch as a plume of dust is kicked up all around, obscuring my view. Once the dust settles, there in front of me me is this strange shard, just floating above the earth spinning slowly. I feel my heart beat loudly in my chest as anxious jitters assault me.
Taking a few moments to regain my composure, I step out of the truck and begin walking slowly toward the strange hovering shard. I know I should not just walk up to this strange shard like an idiot. I should slowly get back in my truck and drive away. In the end my curiosity wins out. With each step towards the shard my mind races with deep worry, fear, and excitement. Soon, those thoughts fade as I hear nothing but the slow churning of the wind.
As the shard comes into clearer view, a sense of uneasiness creeps into my mind. This object seems too unnatural, too alien. The more I stare at it, the more it unnerves me. Looking upon its dark surface confuses me to the core. I cant tell what is solid or what is liquid, where the shard begins or ends. Slowly and methodically, I walk closer to the object. Eventually, I reach my destination. Now within arm's reach of the smooth surface, I can’t resist the urge to reach out and touch the crystal.
The moment my fingers graze the surface, a jolt surges through me, setting my mind aflame. Within my mind, a kaleidoscope of colors contorts in chaotic madness. Geometric shapes meld together, pulsating in a strange vortex as all logic is lost. A massive eye stares down at me, folding in on itself as darkness and light intertwine. Colors swirl in strange formations before quickly dissipating. I find myself surrounded in a veil of colors and sounds, the screams and laughter originating not only within myself but all around me. I find myself as blade of grass in an open field as I grow and wither away within my mind. A green flame forms within my essence as my mind throbs with incomprehensibility. Then my mind goes blank.