“As long as there exist people who are being protected, there exists weakness, and there exists a weak spot, and safety is not guaranteed.”
—Tenos
Orsus, the land of the mighty and the land of the free, is protected by the strong for the weak. With rivers running through its territories, a vast sea, and a breath of fresh air, children roam with no fear. They scream, shout, laugh, fall, and cry. We sleep at night with no worries that disaster might appear, even as we live within its presence.
The Essence: Orsus was the first world to be granted life by it, and therefore it resides there, protecting it from all who might pose a threat. It grants the chosen a ring to bear and a power to use to protect themselves and us—or so it seemed.
To be honest with you, I'm lying. We aren't happy, and we aren't safe. Maybe they are, but not me. It has always felt like I never belonged here, and they definitely made me feel like it. I was like a man lost in a vast wasteland. Maybe it's because I lost my father, or maybe because I was born in the year of the cursed. Enyos, our protector and the strongest to ever walk among us, truly the one blessed with the light's gifts, died the day I came to this accursed place. I was shunned all my life, as it was the year we lost my father too, and many others. I was shunned for the marks I bore when I was born, and for a place that was protected, we never knew fear like that day—the day a gate opened right above my home. The battle trembled through the kingdom. I could swear, as an infant, I heard their swords slashing and the blood dripping as if I was there, witnessing it—their attempt at an invasion. The weakest of them is known to be as strong as three average ring bearers, so we thought that we'd win if we brought numbers. Little did we know how naive we were. Living a privileged life within these gates made us numb to threats, unprepared to wage a war. Although we knew of their coming one day before the invasion, it didn't help. We had brute force but no mind to use it. They came at us with numbers. My mother told me there was at least one witness to each ring bearer. Many died that day, but many lived to tell the tale, all thanks to Enyos. He sacrificed himself, amplifying gravity until they were stuck in their place and unable to move. But it seemed it made it hard for him to move as well. He gave the ring bearers a chance to escape as he stood there, holding them down, and in the end, they took him with them as they went back through the gate. The gate closed as our ring bearers escaped. No one was left at the scene but Enyos. He was taken to the wastelands where the Dark Bright rules, an antithetical energy to the Essence, and where the witnesses reside. We mourned this loss, and it seemed like we never got over it. The rest of the Emperors comforted us with words, but we saw fear in their eyes. We saw them tremble. They had enough power to kill us all and crumble our homes like they were made out of feather and clay, but they were scared, and that in itself made us terrified.
But enough of that. I'm pretty sure you're like, "WHO THE FUCK IS A WITNESS, AND WHAT THE FUCK IS A RING BEARER?" I get it, man. Calm down, sheesh. I'll explain; no need to get all feisty on me. Let me explain us first: Orsus. The Essence emits something called "The Light." It grants those it deems worthy a ring. Most of the time, that ring provides a power, although sometimes it doesn't. And even if it does, most of the time people don't have the magnitude to hone the power enough for it to be useful. And that's what we call output. Normally, ring bearers' output ranges between 10%–20%. "What the fuck does that mean?" I'm sure that's what you're saying right now. So let me explain AGAIN, and don't FUCKING cut me off. Output is the measurement we use to measure a ring bearer's strength. Output can be reflected in two things: physical prowess or the actual power part. Sometimes, you're too powerful, and your power consumes most of the output, leaving you as a scrawny little bitch who can't even lift a couple of tons. But sometimes, you don't even have a power, and you end up being a dumb guy who's got nothing going for him but his strength. But the output of Emperors is different—it nears 70%–80%. And Enyos was the only person to surpass that, and at his peak, his output was 99%. An Emperor Candidate ranges between 50%–60%. Yes, pretty impressive, I know. So now that I explained what a ring bearer is, let me explain who a witness is.
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A witness is an otherworldly humanoid whose home was engulfed by the Bright Dark. All that he loved and all that he knew were destroyed and suffered under his feet. The Bright Dark is cruel and only knows how to take and devour all that is in its way. But it leaves witnesses, gives them a body strong enough to withstand the hellish wasteland that they once called home. It leaves them there as proof of its power and might. They do not sleep, and they do not eat. They live as a reminder of what occurred on the day the Bright Dark felt hunger. They know nothing but pain, as they saw their loved ones die not in peace but in pain and agony while they stood there helpless. They lived life strolling the wastelands, looking for what they thought was hope, until they discovered gates.
That was the point of no return, and it seemed like the day they discovered the gates was the day our fate was intertwined and set in stone. A gate is the result of the Essence and the Bright Dark energies clashing and serves as a door between both realms, allowing the witnesses a chance at the Essence for exactly seven days before it closes and they get crushed by the Essence's power. The ring shines bright one day before a gate appears, but the bearer won't know the location of the gate, and that in itself is the cause of many deaths as the witnesses attack in surprise. With the weakest of them having power comparable to a ring bearer with an output of 25%–30%, the ring bearers always carried casualties, and sometimes the witnesses did too, while the rest went back before the gate closed to avoid death. Although the Dark Council wishes to pass through the gates to fight themselves, they aren't able to, as the Essence always tries its best to stop the stronger forces from coming to Orsus—at least that was what used to happen.
Orsus consists of eight territories with eight Emperors—seven of them active and one deceased—that make up the Light Council, each Emperor ruling over a territory of their own. The capital is under joint rule. Enyos used to rule the capital, although after his death, the Emperors decided to rule it together as a place where people meet and cultures mix.
Outside of Orsus exists another "kingdom," if you want to call it that. It is located in the wastelands created by the Bright Dark. That's where the Dark Council rules over the witnesses, as they are witnesses themselves but survived the first wave of the Bright Dark. Their power compares to the Emperors and sometimes surpasses it.
This is a story—some might say the Legend of Atenyos. And a week before the day when the Light chooses its bearers, widely known as Selection Day, where every person who turned 17 goes and touches the Essence in hopes of being blessed by the Light, Trise, an Emperor Candidate with the ability of divine revelation believed by many across the land to be the word of the Essence—and which earned her the name of "God's Tongue"—saw a prophecy that echoed through the land and caused a ruckus. Although some called it propaganda and lies, most believed and feared the prophecy as it came from God's Tongue.
She stated: "A Prophet will come, one born of two antithetical energies, and will be the last bearer of a ring, he will be the end of our world and will be the bearer of a new one. Shall you follow the Prophet, you'd meet your demise following the Light. Shall you defy him, you'd meet your demise following the Bright Dark."
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