Rare

Rare Part 1

Dowz, Zed, 1753

Chapter 1, Darkness's reign begins

The Trio had their doubts about their current course of action. They were to see if Earth was an appropriate candidate for their queen's new empire, starting with the town of Dowz. Dowz was the smallest and least developed area on the entire island of Zed, which was apparently the ideal location for the Trio to start their conquest. Zed had been a relatively undisturbed and somewhat hidden gem in those times, located right in the centre of the North Atlantic Ocean. Human conquerors and explorers had been too taken by the surrounding countries of Europe, the United States and Africa to notice or care about a small island about a third of the size of Japan. The few hundred who had noticed and cared about it had decided to live there and start new lives, escaping the relentless chaos and destruction which took place within the large continents.

"I hate this place already," Terrius muttered, kicking aside a loose pebble on the cobblestone street with his brown leather boot. "If I find out the witches made a mistake in their predictions and brought us to the wrong planet, I'll make them wish they were dead." He watched the stone create a large arc as it flew in the air, then bounced a few steps further and finally landed on the ground. Terrius had the shortest temper out of the triplets, and also dressed and styled his hair the most lavishly. Sometimes, though, Emilia would outdo him in all three categories.

 "I'll beat you to it, brother. Who in Her Majesty's name would want to live somewhere so horrendous and ugly?", she whined. Caught quite literally in the middle of Terrius and Emilia's constant bickering, Zentarc was the most level-headed member of the Trio. 

 "This is the right place," he said, "If both of you would stop complaining, you would be able to sense that." It was their first night, and their first few minutes on this strange new planet. Everything looked infinitely duller than it did on their home planet, Van, and infinitely more primitive than it did in Jiparim, the planet of their now sworn enemies, the Jiparimin. They walked down a thin lantern-lit street which was surrounded by grassy meadows on both sides. The street eventually ended and the Trio arrived at a plaza scattered with a group of small, rectangular houses which had pointy roofs and façades made of rough, unpainted timber. They assumed that it must have been quite late, as no house had any light on inside. 

 "We're here," Zentarc said, walking ahead of his brother and sister and stopping in front of a house which was in the far-left corner, isolated from the others. He reached out to open the door, but his sister grabbed his arm. 

 "I'm starving, Zentarc. We better have something delicious to eat soon," she grumbled like a spoilt child, which looked odd considering she had the appearance of a young adult and was actually hundreds of years old. He pried her hand off his arm. 

 "We will," he said, slightly irritated. 

 "It'll be my turn first," Terrius hissed. 

 "No, it will be mine," Emilia retorted. Zentarc glared at his brother and sister. Both of them immediately received the message that it was a warning to stay quiet, but they folded their arms and stuck their noses out at each other in a silent argument. Zentarc gave them a disapproving slant of his eyebrows before returning his attention to the door. With one violent twist of the door handle, he had turned it a full three hundred and sixty degrees and managed to break the lock. The Trio marched into the house, their footsteps so light and soundless that the poor, unsuspecting people inside remained fast asleep in their beds. Zentarc allowed his brother and sister to pick a bedroom each as he waited in the dining room. From the room Terrius had entered, a female's scream erupted, followed by a male's and then silence. From the room Emilia had chosen, children squealed and there was some sobbing and whimpering. Terrius emerged to re-join Zentarc first. He had one of his arms around a woman, covering her mouth to stop her from screaming, and the other locked tightly around a man's neck. He shoved both of them to the hard ground. Zentarc laced his fingers together, looking down at the couple who were on their knees, with a smug, blasé expression.