A Shadow in the Light: Ch 3

This is the outline to the third chapter of my book. I am writing out of order so the second isn't in existence yet. This is the voice in Rylan's head explaining who he is. Keep in mind it is narrated by the voice and is his recollection of events so it wont contain hundreds of details and perfect flow from one event to the next. Please don't review for grammar yet but simply for story, plot, flow, etc. Thanks {e:delight]}



“My race is what your people call God’s. We are the creators. All life and matter is made through us, though little is known of our own birth. We do not feel the effects of time, the oldest of my kind have been alive since the creation of the first universe. Though we do not succumb to old age, we are still able to die by the fault of others. Unlike your own race, we have no bodily form. We interact through the forces around us, something you may know as magic. A council, consisting of the most highly esteemed of my race, decides everything from job assignments, to laws and punishment, to the approval or annihilation of new universes.

“We are, and have always been, a fairly peaceful race. We rarely argue over petty things like humans do. In the billions of years that we have been alive, we have had only six wars. Our sole concern is to create and maintain new universes and life forms. Once created, we do not consistently watch and preserve the nature of our universes. Instead, we leave them to run like clockwork, checking in for repairs every few thousands of years while we work on new worlds.

“As for who I am specifically, that will take a bit more time to explain. I was one of the most skillful of artisans amongst our race. For millions of years I worked on perfecting a universe more beautiful and serene than any before it. My work consumed every minute of my time. I toiled over each and every detail, from the largest stars down to the smallest creatures I imbued with life. Every planet overflowed with lush green forests, tall misty mountains, oceans of the deepest blue, and more than your feeble mind has capacity to imagine. Eons passed until my masterpiece was finally complete. Its eloquence surpassing anything else in existence.

“The time came to unveil it to the counsel. I had no doubt that they would marvel at its beauty and approve it for existence. I was partially right. Every member of the council was in awe of my creation, except one. Pyro, whose universe had been considered the most masterfully forged before my own, felt only resentment towards my creation. Consumed by jealousy, Pyro used his influence to convince the others to vote for the destruction of my universe. I pleaded for them to reconsider, but their decision was cast in stone.
“They left me no choice; I couldn’t just step aside and allow them to destroy what had become a very part of my soul. I decided to attempt what few before me ever had and stop the unjust annihilation of my years of labor. Little by little I began to mass an army of thousands. All I had to do was show them the beauty of my masterpiece and they became instantly eager to help.

“The destruction date was set for little less than a year from my unveiling. We began to fortify the edges of my universe with the strongest enchantments we could muster. We knew that if our defenses were breached we would fall within days. Unlike your kind, we do not fight with weapons, but with the energy of our being. Each day we poured our strength and energy into special devices called plethorums that would allow us to call upon it during battle. Each night we rested, regaining our strength to further store as a resource.

“Days went by as quickly as minutes until finally the night before destruction arrived. I saw fear in my men. I knew that as their leader it was my job to give them encouragement. I assembled them all to the center of my universe to do just that.

         “‘Tomorrow the council will discover our defiance,’ I began, ‘they will try and persuade us to throw aside our resistance, but we will not, because we know that what they are doing is unjust. We do not fight solely for the perseverance of this world, but for the freedom to create. Each one of those council members knows that they are being used as a tool of Pyro’s resentment, yet still they will try and carry out the destruction of my universe. What purpose do we serve if each time we create something new, something better than what came before it we are forced to watch its destruction? We may all die in battle, but our message will be sent. Your names will forever be remembered as those who stood up to tyranny. Now, let us not linger on such depressing thoughts. We will celebrate, and hopefully we will be able to celebrate once again when this is over.’

“That night was like none other I had witnessed. My men were merry, their hope restored. Music and laughter echoed through my universe. We sang, we danced, and we enjoyed what was to be the last peaceful night of our existence.

“The next day dawned and we watched as the destruction crew arrived, only to find my creation inaccessible. Immediately the council was notified, and just as I had known would happen, a messenger was sent forth to try and dissuade us.

         “‘You have one chance to surrender yourselves and your punishments shall be minor. All who decide to keep up this futile charade will be punished to the full extent of our law. Do not be so quick to throw your lives away for one you know so little.’ The messenger relayed.

         “‘We shall never surrender so long as the council is allowed to continue this ridiculous scheme. Go and tell your masters what they already know.’ I yelled down to the messenger. We all watched him depart, a harbinger of our doom.

“Within hours we spotted an army far greater than our own descending upon us. Their numbers I could not estimate. When they came into distance we began our attack, launching our spells at them and raining fire from the skies. Instantly they returned our attack; I witnessed two fall beside me in the first few seconds of chaos.

“For days we fought, drawing on the energy we had earlier stored in our plethorums. The skies were lit with flame. Smoke engulfed the field of death where so many of our enemies had died. The sounds of agony were all I could hear; but no matter what we did we could not lessen their seemingly endless numbers.

“‘They outnumber us ten to one, kill those attempting to break down our enchantments or we will have no chance!’ I yelled over the den of battle.

“All our efforts did no good, for each one we killed, two stepped up to eagerly take his place. As our outer enchantments began to debilitate, so did the hopes of my fighters. On the sixth day, with a roaring boom, our defense gave way to the force of our enemies. Thousands poured in to my universe, mercilessly slaughtering all in their way. We stood no chance; all around me was death and destruction. Death seemed unavoidable, but the council had other plans for me.

“When I was the last alive, I was subdued and imprisoned. Three days I waited to learn what would become of me until finally my wait was rewarded. Two guards entered my cell, ‘the council wishes to see you,’ the first said to me, not even attempting to hide his disgust. I was brought into a dark room. All that was visible was a spotlight in the center and the dimly lit faces of the council members high above me. I knew it was not a trial I was about to undertake, it did not matter why I had done what I did, to defy the council was blasphemy. I held my head high and waited to hear what devious punishment the council had in store for me.

         “‘Your defiance has not only cost the lives of thousands,’ Pyro began, ‘but has also insulted our good name and caused others to question the council’s decisions. Who do you think you are to defy our orders? Did we not treat you well? Allow you to create as you pleased? And you repay us by rebelling? Your universe, appealing as it may have been, was not approved to exist. You failed to follow protocol, and like all others, your universe was condemned. What have you to say?’

         “‘Protocol? I did not fail to follow protocol, you simply knew my creation was better than your own and could not. . .’

         “‘SILENCE!’ Pyro yelled. ‘How dare you accuse this council of corruption? We are the oldest of our race, the wisest, and who are you to accuse us of blasphemy, you, who are so young and ignorant of our ways? You will regret the day the idea came in to your mind to rebel against us. You will be stripped of all your powers and exiled to a dead universe. It will serve as your prison. You will have an eternity of solitude to suffer for your mistake.’ Pyro said.

“I was horrified. To me it was worse than death, but I would not allow Pyros to have the joy of knowing that. I composed myself as best I could and was escorted back to my cell.

“The next day they brought me to the edge of my universe and forced me to watch its annihilation. My universe was like a piece of myself. I had poured so much of my love and affection into it that to watch it be destroyed was like watching my own death. My soul was torn of all love, all kindness, all passion, and left to overflow with hatred. While I watched the last bits of my universe disappear, I vowed to find a way to come back and avenge it. I vowed to extinguish the life of each council member who had brought this upon me.

“They threw me into your universe, my powers gone. For years I wandered, learning my prison, searching for any sign of life. I found several dead planets, none of which had any conditions needed to maintain life. I began to give up hope until I came across your world. I was amazed that the council had missed a planet so vastly inhabited. I started to watch your race, learn their ways. Even more amazing to me was that it appeared a select few of these creatures had control over natural forces, something reserved for my race alone.

“In the beginning I was happy to have a world I could watch, something to help pass an eternity. It was never my intent to bring suffering and pain to your world, my hatred was reserved for the council. One event changed that.

“Several years passed. The people were peaceful, there was no sin, no misery, no pain. They worked together in harmony to procure food and other necessities for life. One day as I was watching your race, the most surprising thing happened. A man by the name of Cain became extremely angered at his brother, Abel, when their father preferred Abel’s sheep over Cain’s grain. Cain allowed his anger to take control, killing his brother. As Abel’s lifeless body fell to the ground I felt his energy rush into my being along with all his memories and experiences. At first I didn’t know what had happened. I decided to use the little power I had gained to kill Cain. Once again I felt the strange surge of energy flow into me.

“I received barely any energy from each death, but it was enough to restore my hope that I may one day be able to avenge my universe. I began to kill your race for energy. As families mourned their dead I learned that I not only received energy from the death of your race, but also from their suffering. I learned I could farm a hundred times more energy from one creature through his suffering rather than his death.

“I cast all light from your world, shrouding it in darkness. I gave your race the gift of eternal life, a gift and a curse. As I got stronger I was able to further increase their misery. My discovery had pushed your races ability to use magic to the very edge of my mind, something that I would later regret.

“As I told you earlier, when your kind die, not only your energy, but also your memories and experiences flow into me. Relax Rylan, give yourself over to me and allow me to show you through his eyes. . .”