An entire legion stood in its tracks, snow pelting across the horizon as far as the eye could see. Yet the army marched farther beyond that snowscape, tens of thousands all marching on. They all followed a single figure, a shape larger than life itself. The legions pounded their feet, they were a countless thousand drums screaming for their march forwards.
But not a single sound was louder than his steps, the pounding of a mountain stepping through snow. Steel echoed with his steps, great plates of armor shifting and crunching under his beastial strength—Until he halted.
It was like the world itself paused in that motion, the legions turned their eyes to each other, countless emotions filled their gazes. The great head of the titan turned, his body lowered while his weight shifted forwards.
A shield crunched through the snow, supporting the weight of the titan while his great twinblade pierced into the ice and soil. No one dared speak a word, not even the howling wind dared to make a sound in fear of the retribution that would follow. For Gulderukk was listening.
The entirety of the North sat in silence, listening for his words.
“A new prophecy, a new fate. It is, unique. Powerful. But it, is young. It, is no worry, yet,” Gulderukk’s words were filled with harsh stops. His guttural speech leaves every word to sound like a command. “We, continue. We, march.”
—
Far to the East, in the land of Apostothren, an entire castle turned colder than ice. The ill-tempered Queen turned her ire to a new direction, away from the lords and ladies under her command for only an instant. Ice spread out around her, armies rushed to grab their weapons—But no command was sent.
Spring raced to leave the room, being chased away with winter at its heels while the Queen grinned. It wasn’t one of joy or pleasure, but one of excitement and sadism.
“Another one?… So a fourth is joining our ranks.” The Queen mused with a pleased grin scarring her lips, the court before her could only flinch at her words.
“A-Another one, your majesty?” The Guard standing only mere feet to her side asked through chattering teeth. Whether it was anxiety or the sub-zero temperatures causing his chattering was hard to tell, but she didn’t care.
“Another Foretold, we’ll have to keep an eye on this one—” Her tone rolled on, a yawn escaping her lips. It was a problem for someone other than her, at least for the time being. “I’d hate for this one to die sniveling at my feet like the last one.”
With a long breath out the Queen let her head rest back upon her throne, one made of silver and platinum. The Queen of Apostothren, Loretta Synclaire.
—
Far to the West, a half dozen people followed in the wake of an ornately dressed, very tired looking man. A crown of gold and rubies rested upon his head, curling around his well-kept hair as if it was shaped exclusively for him. Despite how fast the opulent Kin walked, the court still followed.
“Your Highness, the Nobles of the lower courts are—”
“Your Highness, we must act quickly! Another rebellion has broken out in the western quadrants!”
“Your Highness—”
Everyone around the ornately dressed King fell into an uneasy silence, his steady strides falling into a sudden and absolute stop. His gaze turned to the East, slowly traveling south as a single hand raised upwards.
“Please, quiet for a few moments.” He spoke in a tired, almost uneasy voice. Everyone obeyed his command, some out of respect, while others were silent from fear. Seconds dragged on into minutes that felt like hours until a solemn voice asked.
“What is it?” One of six advisors dared to speak.
“A new Foretold, a powerful one. Just a simple power surge, they are only just awakening… I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.” The Lord of Humanity let out a soft sigh. It was just one more task to keep in his mind. The mountains of work would never leave the King, the first Lord of Humanity; Laurence Gallideon
—
“Cataclysm approaches, the earth trembles. The clouds part, so the stars may watch. The night falls still, three eyes cast their ears to you. The Throne of Cinders lay barren, devoid of any crown. You alone shall ascend, you alone shall wear, The Ashen Crown.”
The words repeated in my ears time and time again. It was a constant, ever present drum of noise—It was the only noise I could actually hear. The rest of the world was quiet, a continuous, deafening silence.
Cold air raced into my lungs, it felt like the first breath to enter my body in lifetimes. Energy, force, will, they all rushed into my body alongside the icy air. I could feel cold stone pressed tightly against my back, pressing uncomfortably into the limbs protruding from my back. I could feel them spread out wide across the uneven surfaces, scraping against them when I shifted with my breaths..
With a slow exhale my eyes opened. Gradual slits welcomed dim light into my retinae, greeting an entirely new world of senses that felt unfamiliar to me. A grand gray cavern filled my vision—It surrounded me on all sides, rays of light were cast in from a ruptured ceiling high above. Long shadows danced along the stone walls, revealing scuttling creatures of all shapes and sizes. Ones with many legs, ones with none at all, ones with wings and ones with horns and tails.
As my gaze traveled lower I tried to focus on every individual detail, every rock that sat slightly out of place. Every stalagmite and stalactite that clung to the surfaces of the cavern, settling only on the sight closest to me.
A great cerulean lake, pure in its azure nature sat only feet away from me. It was perfectly still, impeccably lit, ideal in every way. I felt drawn to it—I felt some kind of connection to the perfect surface that drove me into action, the first true action of my life.
I placed an open palm on the ground, the scraping of my claws digging into the stone sent a dull shriek through the cavern. The perfect silence was broken from my action—But I didn’t care. I took in a deep breath, bringing forth all the strength of my body to push against the stone, stumbling to my feet.
My body felt weak, it ached and groaned with every motion as if they were the very first motions I ever took—Maybe they were. I couldn’t actually think of anything I knew of before this moment, before this place, before this very instant I lived in. Nothing but the echoed words of fate itself speaking in my mind would come to me when I tried to think back.
With great effort I lifted a leg, taking a hobbling step forwards that was quickly followed by another. My legs struggled to support my own weight, I felt the aching pain of the young muscles straining to keep my weight supported. I felt the twanging of muscles shifting and pulling through my body with each step.
The stiff bones along my body cracked and popped from the newfound motions, every soft thump of my feet hitting the ground sent an echo to ring across the cavern before fading away. All until absolute silence took over again once I found myself staring down at a reflective surface of cerulean liquid.
I settled my gaze upon the reflection, taking in my figure for the first time.
My skin was an ashen gray, akin to the color of a scorched stone. My eyes held a piercing gold color, rounded and soft to gaze into—My hair was long, wild and unkempt as it crawled down beyond my shoulders with its deep maroon hue.
And yet, even more distinctly than my hair there were my horns. A series of four spikes that crowned the edges of my skull, crawling around my temples before arching upwards just before they could move before my forehead.
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My eyes move lower with an intent gaze, taking in the furthered details upon my body. Twin wings sat upon my narrow shoulders, spreading out to be roughly twice my own height. Two rounded lumps graced my chest, devoid of any details—All perfectly smooth like the rest of my body, with only a few spaces of hardened skin-like scales outlining a few sections.
My arms were thin, yet despite that I could feel the taut and powerful muscles underneath the skin—My mid section however was surprisingly defined, scales sat outlining thin ridges of muscularity carved into my abdomen before it widened into my hips.
Similar to my arms, my legs lacked notable definition—Simply continuing with smooth, perfectly even skin devoid of any blemishes all the way down to my feet. Just behind my legs a tail sat, crawling out with its lithe shape to extend nearly the same distance as I stood tall.
I continued to stare at my own reflection, taking in the details over and over again until I felt satisfied enough to move on.
Standing up with far more ease I turned my gaze skybound, I could see a distant source of light—Reflecting and refracting off of a distant ceiling.
“Can I reach that?...” I thought slowly. I turned my head back, gazing over my shoulders at the large wings upon my back. I tried to roll my shoulders, moving the taut muscles for a few moments before exhaling slowly—My wings refused to extend, remaining in their half folded position just behind my back.
Looking back to the cerulean pool, I could see a trickling stream leading into it. The stream crawled away to another section of the cavern, leading into a section of cavern that curved away from my view.
With little else to do I began walking, following the trickling stream that fed into the miraculous pool of water. The echoing thump of my feet hitting the ground once again echoed through the cavern, the sounds danced off of the walls until they reflected back into my ears from every direction at once. It was an almost soothing melody in the presence of the oppressive silence otherwise filling the cavern.
The stream widened slowly, expanding from a few trickling droplets that skated along into a steady stream that scattered amongst the piercing rocks of the cavern floor. It descended down from a narrowing passage that was barely large enough for me to walk through without hunching over.
Scuttling creatures screamed and shrieked as I approached them, bustling amongst themselves to escape my path I walked—I barely spared any of them a second glance, none of them could have been any larger than the palms of my hands. Although, for some instances I could almost feel a sense of being watched, if only for a heartbeat.
Sound gradually began to reach my ears, the echoing thwacks of my feet hitting the ground began getting overpowered by a thunderous rumbling that shook the cavern with every step I took. It was a continuous cacophonous howl, one that screamed in my ears with such volume that I couldn’t even think over it.
The trickling stream grew with each passing step until I reached a larger opening—It exploded outwards into a rushing torrent that carved its way through the earth itself, rushing deeper and deeper into another cavernous tunnel.
Turning my gaze I continued to follow the source of the water, the flowing tide rushed opposite of me, sitting mere feet away from where I stood. The torrential roar of water still grew yet louder as I walked, following the spiraling cavern higher and higher still.
The cacophonous roar of water finally reached its peak once I turned a final corner. The cavern flattened out, the gradual incline fading away into a flattened section not unlike the one I had woken up in—Glistening rays of golden sunlight sent looming shadows across a grand, cavernous room.
Crystalline spikes hung from a ceiling hundreds of feet above, clawing and clinging to the walls nearly all the way down to the floor. The crystalline superstructure sat surrounding a large caldera within which sat a spiraling torrent of water.
At the very epicenter of the room lay the source of the endless cacophony of noise—A gargantuan waterfall, pouring in from the ceiling so far above. The splashing droplets of water casting multi-colored lights across the gemstone covered walls.
I let my eyes fall shut, listening intently to the great falls of water—Listening to the sense of peace they brought forth, to the overwhelming silence they wrought from everything else. However, once I opened my eyes I found myself staring face-to-face with a beast.
Sharpened fangs lay inches away from my face, jagged incisors larger than my forearms. They sat attached to a furred lip, pulled back into a silent snarl that couldn’t be heard over the pounding falls. Its face was smooth, devoid of any eyes—Instead having massive, pointed ears and nostrils that could have held my entire hand.
Its body was converted in thin layers of fur tracing along its length. Its entire frame had an almost oily colored sheen, bristling spines rustled along its back while a series of clicking sounds graced my ears. Its four legs all ended in harshly pointed spikes, each one skewered the stone ground with ease.
The hot breath of the beast blew against my face, leaving me acutely aware of every single motion it took. Its body began to sway, shifting away from me marginally—For a moment I thought it was about to leave until it stopped dead in its tracks, turning hard it slammed its flattened head into my torso.
The impact sent my flying across the cavern, rolling and thrashing against the hard stone ground. Warm liquid trickled across my body, my flesh was torn apart from the stone. Fiery pain ached through my body, every fibre of my being screamed at me.
I could feel the rumbling sent through the cavern, I felt the beast approaching me—I could feel the earth breaking underneath its feet with each step it took. The stone screamed as its fang-like legs pierced into it, shrieking its scraping agony into my ears with each step taken.
The beast let out an ear-shattering screech as it raised one of its two forelimbs, it poised the unfathomably sharp limb above my body. I slammed my arms against the ground, throwing myself to the side just as the beast sent its bladed arm through the stone.
I rolled over onto my feet, quickly regaining my balance as I stumbled backwards a handful of steps. My breath was shaking in my throat, tightening after every motion. The beast turned its large head towards me, the spine along its back rippled with hatred while its maw sat wide open—Slobber and drool pooled out of it from just the thought of its next meal.
“I am not your meal.” I hissed out through gritted teeth. I felt rage boil through my blood, I could hear it hiss and sizzle against the ground.
But the beast didn’t care, its rage was profound—Its hunger was boundless. It charged forwards in a galloping motion, its limbs cutting through the earthen ground like nothing was there at all. It leapt through the air, its forelimbs poised forwards to strike me.
The world almost seemed to slow down as the beast came crashing down, I watched the beast’s limbs shift forwards inch by inch. For every passing instant, I could hear the same words repeating in my head thousands of times over.
“You alone will ascend.” The beast’s arms came closer and closer, the foremost tip of its bladed limb began piercing into my hip. The burning white-hot agony pierced through my flesh, but the ethereal voice boomed again.
“You alone will ascend.” I felt heat and wrath boil through my body, the beast’s first limb pierced through my hip entirely. I felt bones fragment and shatter, my legs gave out under the pressure and pain.
“You alone will ascend.” The voice grew louder with each instant, it was a screaming cacophony in my ears—One so loud that even the waterfall was silent in comparison. My eyes snapped together, locking onto the second limb, it was barely a heartbeat away from piercing my chest.
“You alone,” My teeth grit together, biting the pain down my arms came together rapidly—My hands locked onto the limb holding it to a stop so close to my chest that I could feel blood being drawn. “Will ascend.” I let out a guttural scream, forcing my still working leg straight to push the beast back.
Muscles across my entire body strained, screaming for relief from the tension they were forced under. But I refused to let up, the beast shrieked in panic as I stood tall. It thrashed and rolled, but with one limb stuck inside my hip and the other firmly grasped in my hands it couldn’t escape.
In the beast’s panic it lurched forwards, pressing against me with all of its weight—It pushed forwards just as I turned, throwing its captured limb down just before its other. It pierced into the ground at an obtuse angle, scraping through it until a gut-wrenching tearing sound reached my ears.
The bone within the beast’s limb cracked before tearing out of its skin, it shattered from the force put upon it. But the beast barely had an instant to scream, its exposed neck laying only inches away from my clawed hands.
“To wear the Ashen Crown.” I heard the words once more, much quieter this time as my claws dug into the beast's throat. Warm blood gushed out, splattering across my arm and legs while the beast struggled for an instant until it fell utterly limp.
The world around me felt like it sped up again, the fear and panic within my very being faded away. White hot pain rushed in to replace it, dropping me down to the ground with its burning agony. Blood gushed out of the open wound in my hip, torn even wider from the beast’s great claw trying to escape.
Warmth left my body alongside the strength to even sit up, my straining muscles finally gave—I slumped forwards, the world went dark, only one set of words graced my ears in the waning instant of consciousness I had left.
“The stars are watching.”