The Enchanted Realm: At Journey's End

Prologue

 Only the whisper of air survived the flames of destiny. The old wooden home, the home that had sheltered many, burning to a crisp with just the spark of the past. Some had wished it burned, others didn't. Either way, it burned down, one little chip of bark at a time. The flames roared within the secluded forest, threatening its power to all. Metal machines stumbled along the old, dirt tracks that once led to this house, now a maze. Men in red and orange mocked the flames with their shiny nozzles that spewed water. With contrasting forces, and help on both sides of the battle, the fire spread just as quickly as the water put part of it out. More metal beasts rolled down the road, with their flashing lights calling out to the others, "Hey, over here!" Leaping from tree to tree, the fire cackled as it hypnotized the sky with dark smog. The expanse of trees were fresh kills for the fire, only serving as fuel. The faded dirt tracks were overloaded with red metal machines and their desparate, feeble attempts to lull the fire into a never-ending sleep. More blue liquid doused the trees as the fire whined and screeched into its stable demise. With the sky growing darker with both time and smoke, blindness was weakly fought with the artificial lights of the metal beasts. The fire glowed within the darkness, beyond the fog. It skipped from tree to tree, dancing along the forest and watching as the tiny, fleshy men and women cried and feared. The Great Fire of Maine had begun.

Elsewhere, a hospitalized woman lay unconscious. Wounds decorated her defeated body. Wires and white bandages patterned her skin. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The stable condition of her was unlucky. Hearing everything around her, but unable to move or see, the woman cried within her own subconscious. The thin puddles of darkness kept her from seeing her hands, her chest, her legs. They were bound by sorrow, drowned in fear.

"Please, let me free!" She begged, her tears unable to escape. "What did I do wrong!? Please!"

"Come now, my darling." Someone shushed. Now, the woman could see. Her body was being lifted by the one she loved so much. "We have peace now." Her love smiled. The woman's body floated within her love's arms. "No more suffering." Her love's voice echoed as her body rose up. A void, lost of darkness and dread, opened its gates and reached out towards the woman. "No more suffering." The voice continued, slowly fading outwards, as the woman took the pale hand of an angel. "At least, for you, my dear..." Beeeeeeeeeeeee...

Between the stable concrete of buildings, Jay and Alex leaned against the walls impatiently.

"We only have so much time." Jay complained, his partly translucent foot tapping against the hard, flat ground. His impatience slowly built his anger. "Where's that damned fox when you need him?"

"Calm yourself, Jay. The Commander shall arrive soon." Alex sat across from the ghostly figure with peace as his shield. Alex's unkempt, shadowy fur only did more to disguise him within the darkness. His gleaming blue eyes poked out from the shadows.

"We could be spotted by humans any second. Who knows? We don't need that kind of attention." Jay protested in a soft whisper. His body was concealed within a dark hooded shirt and belted jeans. A ghostly mask depicting "Ghostface" masked his face. "Besides, I don't exactly trust him."

"He's the leader of the 8th Brigade of the TSC. Why wouldn't you trust him?" Alex returned.

"We both have our secrets, okay?" Jay's rage only grew and grew. "Some of those secrets we have to keep to ourselves." The duo both fell silent. Night began to fall quickly. With the sun dropping the light into a low-mood orange, the shadows only grew. It was then that a shadow-colored anthropomorphic fox turned a corner and entered the alleyway. The white of his eyes had matched his fur color, his pupil shades were inverted, with a dull white gaze exiting his eyes.

"Ah, Commander." Alex dipped his head. "A pleasure to meet you."

"At ease." The fox settled. "While it may be, pleasure is something your home will not experience if we do not act swiftly." The fox's gaze scanned across the two. "Within the recent months, many things have changed."

"So we've noticed." Jay replied.

"One including the potential resurrection of The Corrupt One." The fox added. "Your previous association with the cultist group known as 'The Star' has earned you a reputation among the people of your home. Unfortunately, it isn't a positive reputation."

"Trust me, I know." Jay answered. "Anyway, we need some sort of plan if we're gonna take them down."

"Exactly. Luckily, I have a plan to make a plan." The Commander explained.

"What?" Jay seemed confused.

"We will venture around the area of Detroit in search of a human." The Commander began.

"Why do we need a human to help?" Jay's anger slowly seeped into his question.

"This particular human has ventured to your home before." The Commander continued. "His appearance may have changed during his absence."

"Well, how long has he been gone?" Alex wondered.

"This individual has not visited the Realm in over two years." The Commander easily replied. "He is the son of Oliver and Jane Darkheart–rest her soul– and sibling to Jared Darkheart and Cassidy Darkheart. Our target is Orion Foxro Darkheart."