The Lonely Ones

Prologue

There was a man. Taller than trees, stronger than mountains, this man stood on his own staring into the night sky. He was quiet, his lips barely a line on his face. His long arms quivered, but his legs were unmoving pillars of strength. The man exuded an aura of strength and of weakness; he embodied everything. Every emotion, every thought, every doubt any man or animal experienced was trapped inside his body.

He had no face. At least not one any being could see. Those who tried to catch a glimpse of his face only saw a shadow, constantly moving and shifting to ensure the best protection. In addition to his face, his whole body looked to be draped in a cloak of shadow; so dark no amount of light could penetrate it.

Never seen most of the time, the man was only seen during the few hours he stood in the field in the middle of the night. It was routine. Once darkness purged the sky of all light, the man would emerge from the shadow of the trees, shaking the ground with every step. One step cleared one hundred meters, and within three he would be in the middle of the clearing, into the same spot worn so deep it would become a small lake after a heavy rain.

Never any variation; no change in pace, pose, place, or time. He never talked, his breath the only sound which escaped his lips.

This day was no different. Once it was too dark to see, the man appeared following his routine to a tee. No noticeable difference in his facade except his arms shaking, his hidden lips in a thin line. The silence settled in, and the atmosphere became heavy.

As if a ripple slowly went through his body, the man let his head fall. Then his shoulders drooped and then his legs gave out. As his whole body crumpled into itself, as his body tipped towards the earth as if gravity was too strong for this powerful man. He let out a wail so quiet you had to strain to hear, but then the volume suddenly increased, his voice so loud the earth rumbled and the sky shook with fear.

His yells reached higher and higher, unconscious of Earth's creatures running around in fear – for what else could be happening besides the end of the world? Too lost to care about the meaningless beings, the man continued to scream until it was the only sound in existence.

The scream was blue in color, with swirls of green and specks of red. Translucent at first, it almost like colored water. As it reached higher, the color darkened, until it looked like congealed blood.

So quickly, the height of the man’s yell reached the top of the sky, not stopping and constantly growing. It passed the clouds, it broke the atmosphere. Soon it danced between the stars, and still it kept on going. Reaching for some place no being has every reached. The color at this point was dark and ugly, blacker than the universe, and every inch it moved it got darker.

Finally it reached a point beyond human thought and capabilities, to a place no brain could even imagine. For a second it almost looked as if the scream wouldn’t make it, as if the man didn’t put enough power into it. With a sudden burst of energy the scream tore through, and then all of a sudden, it stopped.

As if emerging victorious from a vicious fight, a white light suddenly began to consume the man’s scream, and with the speed of light began its descent back to earth. The white light didn’t lose its luster as it stretched out; instead, it seemed to get brighter than any star or sun.

The moment the white shadow entered the Earth’s atmosphere, the light replaced the night sky and attracted the attention of all living beings. Like a spear the light struck the man through his heart, and all time stopped.

Suddenly a booming voice was heard, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once, and in a language never witnessed spoke to the man:

“Why have you called me?”

Exhausted, the man trembled. Empty. Yet he felt so warm so loved, and soon tears flowed down his face in rivers.

“My God, my God. Help me. Please… I am so alone. I am too powerful for these defenseless humans; I scare them. I have never felt the love of a mother or father, of a friend, a lover. My God… help me.”

The light got brighter with every word the man spoke, and soon it drowned everything out, until just the man remained, floating in white space.

“You are so dark, my creation. So haunted by your thoughts. I have been waiting for you to ask me what your heart desires, and I will not fail you. I will give to you a whole world filled with people as strong-”

“No! No.” Tired, the man tried to shout at the top of his lungs, but he had no strength. Calling God was exhausting. Slowly, as if struggling to remain in place, his shadows slid over his body and into his heart.

No words could describe the man. Every person saw what they wanted to see: some saw a male, some saw a female, and some saw someone neither. Even burdened by sadness, he was ethereal.

“God, I have struggled for all the hundreds of years I have walked your Earth. I have struggled with the power coursing through my veins, and I am tired. No being should ever have so much, and I shudder to think of a world filled with beings like me. Power is evil…

Even at this point the man's ears tinged red, his stomach trembled, and his hands grew sweaty. Tongue tied, he could barely get his words out.

“Instead I ask of you, oh God, to take for me. From me, create a new class of beings! Beings with power who will protect this Earth and all which lives on it. Let my essence flow through each one of them, and let them always remember me. Destroy me, God.”

The toll of so many words was too much for the man. His vision began to swim, his heart beat became sluggish, and his body gave up. If not for the light speared through his body, he would have fallen into the white abyss.

The light became silent and unmoving. Pulsing with life and love before, now it remained quiet and still, contemplating the words of the man.

Suddenly a scream tore out of the man’s throat. Louder than the sound which called God, it reverberated in the space, building on top of each echo, until it created a symphony of pain. The man was being ripped apart from the inside out. Devouring every ounce of blood and power the man possessed, the light resembled a starving animal eating for the first time in months. Escaping from every ripped seam and open hole, the man shone from the light.

Fading quickly and painfully, through the haze he heard God speak.

“I will grant your wish. You will soon feel all that you have been missing, and much more. For all beings are fickle, and even those with knowledge fall susceptible to wounding emotions. Your people will face trials you have not yet foreseen, and will become divided from differing ideals. They will face discrimination from the humans who already walk the earth, and possibly even death.

But don’t fear. For every test there will be those who will overcome it. They will be the ones who truly embody you and all which you stand for. They will be your creatures. They will be Maniks.”

The man was at peace.