Aisge – an hour in earth
Lanelde – equivalent to 1.25 days in earth, sum of Jotun(time of redness), Intis (time of moons), and Feysac(equivalent to day)
CHAPTER ONE: THE EDGE OF THE WORLD , I
----------------------------------------
The sky was clear, light seeping and filling into, in the true essence of Feysac. Feysac is the period of time that stretches for six aisges*. It’s the time when darkness yields to the first rays of dawn. It’s when the Cynsian Star illuminates the planet, with its marvelous bright light.
After feysac fades, the Cynsian star disappears without any trace, as if it had never existed and is replaced by Vaenysrin, the red star, to welcome Jotun, a period of four aisges.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
…
He snapped his eyes open, realizing that he woke from a dreamless sleep as usual.
In the Eastern Continent, a night of dreamless sleep was a dreadful and unspeakable omen.
He never had dreams. It was his secret that he fiercely guarded.
----------------------------------------
…
Aeigen reigned supreme as the most prosperous empire in the Eastern Continent, a landmass shared amongst four distinct powers. In the east lay Ethracia, while Aeigen claimed the northwest. Ehyr was in the heart of the continent.
And in the north, nestled in the lap of the Aethelspine Mountain Range, lay the remnants of an ancient empire, a silent sinister testament to the passage of time.
Aethelspine, also called Edge of the World, dominated the northern landscape, soaring above world. Its immense stature was such that all of its six celestially crowned snow-capped peaks, could be glimpsed from the farthest reaches of any landmass within the Eastern Continent. It served as a constant reminder of the humbling vastness of the world and the enduring power of lost empire.
Dreams in Aeigen were believed as the holy whispers of Divine. As slightly reformed from the former, dreams in Ethracia and Ehyr were symbolized as the sacred land of Deities. There were three venerated Deities of Slumber worshipped in the Eastern Continent ___ Nu, Fa, and Ryn.
In this continent, a single dreamless night was a chilling omen, not merely signifying potential abandonment by Ryn, but also the terrifying possibility of being touched by the taint of Foul, the embodiment of all that is wicked. These could be only treated in Nurnen, which was in the outskirts of Aeigen, by the Anchorites from the Temple of Infaena.
However, for the dreamless-born, the situation was far graver. They were deemed to be very offspring of Foul.
They couldn’t be cleansed. Condemned to oblivion was their fate.
However, there had never been any dreamless-born.
…
Wisradon, in the Yanxev Ministry of Defense.
Anehan Cressen sat quietly at the back of the room, surrounded by fellow listeners, his attention keenly fixed on the crucial intelligence recently gathered from the scouts regarding the Edge of the World. He cloaked himself in a dark azure hood, concealing his facial features, though his eyes glimmered with a striking shade of violet.
The leader of the scout team stood tall before the assembly, his countenance stern and his features weathered. With a clumsy appearance marked by high cheekbones, messy dark hair with blondish near ends and an unshaved light-brownish beard, he proceeded to recount their patrol's journey, originating from Rouxet Village at the northernmost borders of Aeigen.
A couple of weeks prior, the defense ministry had received a mysterious telegram of unknown origin, untraceable back to its source save for its contents indicating it had been dispatched from Rouxet Village. The message carried with it a chilling plea for aid, detailing the dire circumstances engulfing the village within a series of mass suicides. Despite the tragedy, a handful of survivors managed to seize a fleeting opportunity to dispatch the telegram. The cause of such drastic action remained mysterious.
Though the letter imparted a peculiar revelation, which gave off chilling sensation in the back of the spine to everyone present there ___.
This unsettling news rattled the core beliefs of the ministry, resulting the case to be undertaken with utmost privacy and priority. Following a day of meticulous research regarding the telegram, the ministry unearthed historical records of Rouxet Village, revealing it was destroyed at the hands of the lost empire under the Mountain, during the Second War, 470 years ago.
‘Lost empire, eh’, Anehan sighed as he thought.
The chances for this being a random hoax or mischief was ruled out because the letter had the crest of Aeigen I, which was only accessible to certain levels of high ranked authorities sharing the imperial lineage or peripheral inheritance. According to the records, Rouxet Village was under the rule of a direct descendant of Aeigen I, the youngest prince of second generation, Leidenarv Rouxet Aeigen. It was also the reason why Rouxet Village was not under the constitution of Aeigen Empire, but only remained as a part.
After three Laneldes* had elapsed since the telegram's reception, the scout team was dispatched. Estal Rodrinns, a prominent Council-head of Wanderers, led the expedition. Joining him were eight individuals, prepared for the task ahead, all of them were Aethons, while Rodrinns was a Ciel.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
It took thirty-nine aisges on steam engine train for them to reach the nearest branch of ministry in the outskirts of northern borders. It was dark late intis, when the company arrived before the deserted snow-covered moon-lit northern land. The six peaks of Aethelspine loomed even larger than it appeared in Aeigen.
The snow was deep, nearly reaching the knees. They had left the nearest railway station, half aisge past. It was the last station in the north. The nearest city was five aisges far by the crow’s flight.
The main road leading to the building was cracked, and weather-beaten. Its cobblestone surface bore the marks of numerous journeys. Spruce and fir were scattered in this snowy-barren land.
Old tall columns and towering pillars were rooted in the entrance of the ancient structure building as they entered the snow-covered building.
Thaerch branch, Northern Borders.
The deputy chief of Thaerch Branch was Anne Cohen. She was a volunteer elder of the council of Wanderers. She was a tainted victim, before she was enlisted as a wanderer.
There were very few officials working in this deserted branch, counting only about nineteen, all of them volunteer. Among the nineteen volunteers, Anne was Venerable Elder Wanderer. There were three Aethons, eight Ciels, seven Aenix Rangers, including the elder, and one Ravenceer, each of them ranked Edain (abstract ranking, nearly as strong as council head).
Aethons were skilled wanderers, excelled in collecting information. They possessed formidable senses, ranging from precise hearing and long range visions. Each Aethons had their own ways of implementation, like stealth techniques, cunning deception, walking unseen and a very keen and lethal precision. They were masters of traps and would require to be prepared before any field work.
Ciels were masters of sorcery, wielding formidable combat arts fueled by their unpredictable powers. Among their ranks, some specialized in the intricate art of illusions, weaving deception and confusion to confound their foes. Others possessed the ability to commune with the spirits of nature, commanding the elements to their will with primal strength. A select few were blessed with the rare gift to summon mythical creatures, unleashing beings of legend to aid them in battle.
Aenix Rangers were raised within the sanctified halls of the Temple of Infaena, their energies infused with the profane flames of Heilschen. Though their connection to this profane fire granted them certain abilities, they remained overshadowed by the Anchorites in wielding its power to its full extent.
Among all the wanderers, there were two of the rarest types, Ravenceers and Shadowceers.
Anne welcomed Rodrinns into her cabin.
Anne Cohen had a fair complexion, her eyes had shade of bluish grey, with a gentle gaze and neatly shaped eyebrows, her nose was straight and well-defined, her cheekbones were prominent contributing to her sculpted appearance.
Her lips were dark crimson. She had long flowing white hair that cascaded down past her shoulders, with the ends adorned with dark blood color.
She was wearing a long, flowing black outer robe with wide sleeves with maroon borders, extending down to her feet, where one could see the black leather boots. The outer robe was open at the front over her chest, underneath it was inner white underdress, similar to the outer robe.
Clinching the waist was a belt with a silver crest in the center, emphasizing her slender figure. There was a quiet power that surrounded her, it was the aura of profane fire she wielded.
The cabin was dimly lit by pale light of three lamps on the ceiling. All the walls in the cabin were filled with the ancient scriptures and murals. On the left, it depicted Temple of Infaena of yore times, its grandeur structure and the legendary figures of Anchorites. It specially detailed strange flames burning, within it was the Temple itself.
On the opposite wall were the murals that focused on a bygone war. It displayed the alliance of House of Aeigen and House of Aehyrs, and a mythical dragon, all theirs eyes staring at the grand door of Hell. The door of hell was made up of strange flowers, which had pupils in its petals. Within the door itself, was nothing but void through which one could feel an ominous gaze.
In the middle wall was the portrait of the founder of Thaerch Branch. Below it were bookshelves, and shelves filled with mystical herbs. In the right corner of the same wall, a door beckoned, leading under stairs.
Not delaying and under the arrest of urgency, without any words, Rodrinns handed the telegram bearing the crest of young prince of yore, to the volunteer elder, while he found himself a chair to sit on.
Anne accepted the letter, and while she analyzed its content, her eyes dilated. With a grave expression, she looked at Rodrinns.
‘We lack the power to cross the forest. Rouxet Village lies on the other side of the river across the forest. On the other side of the river is the world of ruins. It lies in the deep shadows of the edge of the world. It is impossible to comprehend that there could be any civilization on the other side.’
‘We must act. We don’t have much time. We can’t delay anymore. We need your aid. Please consider out request.’ Rodrinns bluntly replied.
The grave expression she had didn’t even flinch, while she scanned the letter once again. She told Rodrinns that there was a report on Rouxet Village in her possession.
This report dated back to nineteen years in past and was documented on the account of last scouting of Ruins of Rouxet Village. Since she knew the dangers, she strongly advised Rodrinns to give up on thoughts of crossing the forest. It would mean meaningless sacrifice to achieve nothing at the end.
----------------------------------------
The letter:
Please, anyone who finds this, we are writing this from Rouxet Village, in the northern borders.
Hell has erupted. Villagers are committing mass suicide. Some have burnt themselves with their children, some have hung themselves in the spire of village. The church is promoting death. They distributed the poisons made of tainted Aethelspine snow.
It has been six laneldes. We are hiding underground of the Derek’s cottage. You can find the cottage behind the graveyard. It is abandoned building, the only building behind the cathedral.
You can see the church when you cross the river, at the high point. And behind it lies the cottage sheltering us.
We are eight of survivors. We don’t have enough rations or water. We have made a special barrier around this shelter. Even the Deacon of church cannot pass through it.
Yes, yes, the deacon is alive. He is the only alive person in the village save for us.
Warning, please don’t enter any of the houses in the village. There lies grave dangers in each households. More importantly, do not enter the church. Sueve said that, ____ there are two giant corpses hung inside the church. The dead bodies of Nu and Fa.
----------------------------------------
…
At the fifth aisge of feysac, a tall figure cloaked in a black overcoat that fell just above his knees knocked on the door. It was in the Alton Street, in the southern periphery of Wisradon. Wisradon was capital of Aeigen.
Alton Street in the Southern Port.
The door creaked open, revealing a young maid. The tall man entered what seemed like a very old house.
A grand staircase, illuminated by a shaft of light from above, dominated the entrance hall. The remaining areas were shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to discern any object that lay there. From what it seemed like shadows, from the first story, a sound came.
‘How was the investigation?’
The tall figure knelt before the unseen speaker, not daring to raise his gaze. His voice, low and grave, echoed in the dimly lit hall,
‘Messengers of Tesrtha were annihilated. Aryne had to descend …
‘Nu and Fa were killed by Nyhais Ryn.’
Silence followed. With a sigh, the unseen speaker responded,
‘Author’s Plot?’
----------------------------------------