Greetings!

I’m not really sure what to say. Some of you know me and some of you don’t. I’m Kitai Matsuru, author of Advocate and A Light in the Dark. This is the newest story I started working on, a project I began for the NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) contest. I’ve decided to go through it and begin posting. Hopefully I’ll be able to balance two stories at once, but it’ll help that a good portion of this one is already written. It just needs some major proofreading since it was written so hastily.

When I first posted this at Christmas, I had the prologue and the first chapter as one entry, but I decided to divide it so that this document wasn’t so ridiculously long. So this is the prologue and the second part is chapter one.

For the people who know me and my stories, this one will be significantly different. You’ll probably understand what I mean the further along you read.

This entry as well as chapter one has been proofread, but if there’re any big problems, please feel free to point them out. Do not question the grammar, as that is most likely accurate unless there was a typing error on my part, but other than that, I’m open to opinions. No flames though, please.

Something I like to do is what I call mindset. Basically it’s the song I was listening to while writing. This time around, I was listening to Hinder’s “By the Way”. It doesn’t have much to really do with the chapter I guess, but it’s a great song.

I know that on the summary I said that the full summary was inside, but I can’t present it in a way that won’t sound cliché (I’m terrible at summarizing). I will admit that the very basic idea might be cliché— the whole future and past thing—but the storyline itself isn’t. I can most likely promise lots of foreshadowing, some well-developed characters, plot twists, and probably quite a few cliffhangers. I will not offer a complete summary, but I shall give you something.

I think that’s about all I want to say. I hope you enjoy my story :)

Onward!

Summary

On the planet Aram, there is a door that seals away the six gods—creatures sealed away by the creator; creatures so powerful that if ever released, it would mean the end of the world. Every few years, a key—a syphon—is born to Aram, but most are never discovered and none try to open the door. There are people who want to use the power of the gods, but none have ever succeeded. Very few know where the chamber of the gods exists, and no living creature is able to determine the existence of the syphons. The door is to remain closed forever so that Aram won’t be destroyed.

Varon: an esper lord—the last of three—and the keeper of order on Aram; a man chained by duty and the missions assigned to him. Luka: a young humanoid known as a cheraph; a girl with no memory of who or what she is and with no means of finding out. Rylin: a fox-like humanoid called a ravasv and a self-proclaimed gatherer of information and treasure; a woman who wants nothing more than to escape from the very thing that drives her. For all of them, chance comes in the form of a boy known as Shay, a young man with unparalleled faith and determination. However, when given the chance to change things, one has to accept a single truth: the shackles known as fate can never truly be broken…unless one was never bound by them to start with.

Prologue

“…It won’t be long now…”

An old man stood in the center of a spacious white room, staring out at the world beyond his window. He marveled silently at how high up he was compared to the trees in the distance. The structure he inhabited was amazing, reaching into the blue skies above. Years had been spent building his “sanctuary,” and yet at that very moment, it didn’t seem all that worth it. Perhaps that time would have been better spent on something else. The perfectly white building built entirely of stone seemed like such an accomplishment. The facility housed hundreds of people, all researchers in their own way. However, even with all that concentrated knowledge, none of them had been able to predict that a day like this would come, nor had they been able to stop it.

Onyx eyes took in everything located behind that wall of glass. He watched in quiet worry as the blue sky above began to darken with unnatural clouds. They were forming in the distance, accompanied by a wall of smoke and fire. It wouldn’t be long before the sky was completely covered and the forest below was engulfed in flames. The time had finally come, and there was nothing that could be done to prevent the disaster from falling upon them.

“…Grandfather!”

The old man turned around, his dark eyes meeting blue. Standing in his doorway was a young man—a boy, to be precise—no older than sixteen. He had sand-colored hair that fell to his ears and navy-colored eyes. He was dressed from head to toe in shades of brown. His pants were a dark brown, his shirt sleeveless and tan. Draped from his shoulders cloak, and his feet were clad in brown boots. He simply stood there instead of entering the room, staring with frantic eyes at the old man before him.

“Shay, what is it?” he asked gently, his expression softening at the sight of his grandson.

“Is it true?” the boy asked. “Did someone really…?”

“I’m afraid so.” He cast his gaze to the floor, a sigh escaping his lips. “Someone opened the gate.”

A silence settled over the room. Neither one of them said a word, both focusing on their own trains of thought. The gate had been opened—the gate to the gods. The six higher beings would soon descend upon them and wreak nothing but chaos. It was safe to assume that the one who set them free had already become nothing more than a casualty in the destruction that was about to begin. The six gods cared not for the lives of anyone, and no amount of gratitude would ever be spared even for the one who set them free.

Heaving a sigh, the old man was about to speak, but Shay cut him off before he could even get a syllable out.

“I’ll go,” he said, his eyes laced with determination. His stature and expression alone showed that he was dead serious.

“Shay…”

“I know it’s risky and that the spell is still experimental, but there isn’t another option. We have to at least try.”

“There’s a good chance that the spell will fail…”

“When the gods attack, I’ll just die anyway. What difference does it make? The decision was already made. We developed that spell for this exact reason, and I volunteered to go if we ever had to use it, so please…just give the command.”

The old man frowned deeply, refusing to meet his grandson’s steady gaze. What he had said held a lot of truth. The spell in question had been made incase the gods were to ever be set free. He had simply had a feeling that something like this would one day happen, and so they had all needed to be prepared. However, he had never dreamed that the day would come so soon and that Shay would be the recipient for such a spell. There was a lot of risk involved, but his argument held water. He’d die anyway in the attack. The right course of action seemed so easy, yet the old man couldn’t bring himself to give the command.

“It’ll be alright,” said Shay, causing him to finally look up. There was a smile on the teenager’s face, one full of faith and confidence that was of a level he himself could never reach. “I know it won’t fail, so please grandfather…issue the command.”

“…Very well.” The old man took in a deep breath and chanted a short spell. Before him appeared a wavering bright sphere. He took a step closer to it and inhaled deeply yet again. It was time to give his followers the instructions they had probably been waiting for. “This is high counselor Gregore Altier. As most of you are well aware, the gate has been opened. It seems our greatest fear has become a reality, and we have very little time, I’m afraid. We shall deal with this just as we practiced. All able mages should work on reinforcing the barriers while the summoners and contractors stand by. I’m also issuing special orders for research group T. Please gather in the underground chamber. It seems we’ll be making use of ‘that’ spell. That is all.”

The sphere before him disappeared, fizzling away into nothing. He looked to his doorway only to find that it was vacant. It seemed that Shay had already left. He was undoubtedly heading for the underground chamber. Despite the situation, Gregore laughed a bit, allowing a smile to cross his face.

“That boy really is something,” he mused aloud. “I’m sure he’s already reached the underground chamber. It seems now all I can do is pray…that this was the right decision.”

The high counselor walked out of his room and made his way down the long stretch of hallway. It didn’t take him long to reach the end where a lift was located. He stepped onto the metal platform and whispered a quick spell, and in no time at all the lift began to move downward. It carried him down a long shaft, one that stopped at every floor. However, he simply made it continue its long drop until it reached the last floor available: the underground chamber. When he stepped off and entered the room, he wasn’t at all surprised to find it in chaos. This room was where everyone was gathering. It was where they all intended to make their last stand. People were scattering everywhere, their words filling the room…as well as the first sounds of the approaching threat. Explosions could be heard off in the distance, even from a room so deep beneath the complex.

Then, just like that, the explosions weren’t so far away anymore.

“…We have to hurry!” Gregore heard someone yell as they ran past. He simply lowered his head, staring into the white tiles that covered the floor.

“We’re running out of time…” he whispered, just as a loud explosion echoed through the room, accompanied by many more. The entire structure shook violently, and eventually pieces of the white stone walls and ceiling began to crumble and fall away. Each tremor was equivalent to an explosion, and it seemed that each one served to force the reality of the situation into the minds of everyone present, even Gregore himself. His followers were all in a panic, some running around in hopes of coming up with something that could be done, but it seemed that nothing was going to come to them. There just wasn’t much that really could be done. They were under attack by a force that no mortal could deal with. It was impossible for mere humans to stand against the gods.

Gregore began to look around the room, taking everything in. He was searching for one person in particular and he wasn’t at all surprised as to where he found him. In the center of the spacious white room, separated from the chaos, stood a group of men aligned in a perfect circle. They were all dressed in the same black pants and brown shirts, each one adorning a white coat and fingerless gloves. Approaching the group was none other than his grandson. He watched the boy walk purposefully up to the group and take his place at the center without any hesitation. He silently wished that that quiet confidence and conviction wouldn’t fail Shay. The boy seemed so certain that everything would work out, despite the lack of faith that was written so clearly on the faces of everyone else.

The structure shook violently again, and a few people let loose cries of terror as pieces of the ceiling crashed loudly to the ground. It wouldn’t be long before the entire room caved in, and the whole building would undoubtedly follow. If something wasn’t done and fast, they would all fall along with their crumbling home.

Knowing that it was time to proceed, Gregore moved himself from the corner he had been standing in and began heading towards the center of the room. He folded his hands behind him and held his head high, giving off an air of professionalism. He had to remain as calm as he could. His people relied on him to be the pillar to support them, especially in times of chaos. However, anyone who knew him well enough knew that it was all a façade. His old eyes harbored a sorrowful look, but when they landed on the men in front of him, as well as Shay, he couldn’t help but feel hopeful, and that feeling left just the smallest glimmer of hope in his onyx eyes.

Everyone in the circle turned to him as he approached.

“Have the preparations been made?” he asked gently.

“Yes, sir. We’re ready to start.”

His eyes strayed to the blue ones of his grandson. The boy offered him a smile, one that spoke volumes. It was a silent reassurance that everything would work out. He had so much faith in something so experimental that the final decision was easy to make.

“…Then let’s begin.”

There was a unanimous nod of affirmation before they all turned to face the center of the circle again. Every one of the men raised their arms, placing them straight out in front and parallel. They closed their eyes, and in unison, each one began a quiet chant. Together they moved their hands so that their palms were flexed and facing the middle of the circle. Every movement they made was completely in sync, a feat that only came with practice and wisdom. The spell they intended to cast couldn’t be done alone, and each one was very much aware of that. If they broke their synchronization, then the magic would end and the spell would fail, placing all of them in great danger. They couldn’t allow for a single mistake.

Gregore slowly lowered his head, staring down at the tiles beneath him. He simply watched as his white robe swept across the floor, practically blending in with the color. The tiles were so pure and so perfect that he could see his own reflection within them. He furrowed his brow as the building shook violently again, the sounds slowly starting to get louder. Their attackers were approaching at a rapid rate, which didn’t bode well for them. In order for the spell to be completed, they required time and complete concentration. This situation was anything but ideal, but they were never going to get an ideal situation. This was literally their last resort. Only because the situation had become so dire had he made the final decision to resort to something so extreme.

“Will there be enough time?” he mused out loud, raising his eyes to the circle of men before him.

Just then, another explosion rocked the building, this one being much more violent than the last.

“The first barrier is down!” shouted a distant voice, drawing his attention to the doorway. There was a group of men and women standing there, all in a panic.

“We have to set up another one, quickly!”

“It’s too late. They’ve already passed through the border!”

There was a moment of silence before one of the men opened his mouth, raising his voice.

“All remaining mages, summoners, and contractors are to assemble at the main entrance!” he shouted, and instantly half the room began heading for the doorway. They all left the underground chamber, all on their way to reinforce the barriers. Gregore only watched them sadly, knowing that nothing they did would prove useful. No one could stand against the force decimating them. The men and women who had just left wouldn’t be coming back. The second they had went beyond that door, their fates had been sealed.

“Sir!”

He turned around to face a young man who had come running up to him, a curious yet frightened look upon his face. “Has the process started?”

“Yes. It has already begun.”

There was another violent explosion, bringing down a small portion of the ceiling.

“The second barrier is down!” shouted the man at the entrance, causing Gregore to furrow his eyebrows once again at the news.

“It won’t be long now…” he whispered.

“Has the location been secured?” the man beside him asked, looking towards the men who were casting their spell. The two of them looked to Shay, who was now covered in a soft white light.

“Yes. The magic level is strong enough. It should work,” he said, although he wasn’t one-hundred percent certain. With such experimental and risky magic, nothing was ever certain.

A loud roar, followed by a deafening explosion shook the complex.

“The third barrier is down! It’s only a matter of time before they’re upon us!”

A sigh escaped the high counselor as he lowered his head a bit, once again gazing at his reflection on the white tiled floor. Everything suddenly seemed so hopeless.

“Who could have been foolish enough to open the gate…?” he asked softly, sighing for a second time. “I can only pray that this same fate won’t befall Aram again.”

The man beside him was about to say something, but there was another explosion, this one much louder and more violent than any of the previous. That could only mean one thing, and they both knew it. All of them were painfully aware of it.

“The fourth barrier is down! We’re out of time!”

“This really is the end,” the young man whispered, lowering his head, “and not just for us…but for all of Aram as well.”

“…Done!”

Gregore looked towards the group of men and saw that they had stopped chanting, their arms now at their sides. Shay was now completely enshrouded; not a single feature could be made out in the mass of light. That only meant one thing: the spell had been completed. Now hopefully it would succeed. The rest was up completely to chance.

“The void should open…now!”

Just then, the light in the middle became intense, blinding them all. Accompanying it was one more explosion, one that filled the entire room. This was it. Their time had come. The gods were now upon them, but at least they had managed to buy enough time for the spell to be completed. This had been their last chance, their final move. Now all they could do was pray.

In his last moments, Gregore reached up and wrapped his hand around a small locket hanging around his neck. He flipped open the cover, looking down at the face of his grandson, a boy with unrivaled faith and determined, untainted eyes.

“You’re our last hope. Stay safe…Shay.”