Soul Eyes

PROLOGUE: PLANET HOKLEN

 Black smoke billowed from an island village of the mainland of Cyron. A young girl, no more than nine, sprinted past charred and still bodies, most of which she knew. Her blurry vision kept her from seeing their faces clearly however and she just kept running. Running away from the natural disaster chaos that ensued around everywhere. Jaysa did not know that her planet, Hoklen, was dying and had been for eons but now it was on its last leg. The volcanic eruptions throughout the ocean was evidence enough. Large tidal waves crashed into the village and ash fell from the sky, coating every surface in a gray sheen that glittered off the raging fires that had spread all across the island.

The ground shook under Jaysa and she caught herself, skinning her palms on the rocky terrain. Before she could right herself, Jaysa was flung backwards into a few already downed trees as molten rock plummeted from the sky once again. One such rock had landed a few hundred yards where Jaysa had been headed towards. There really was not a good direction to go besides getting off the island and the boats had already been destroyed, whether by the falling rock or the constant crashing of the waves at the docks.

Jaysa scrambled to her feet, ignoring her bleeding hands, and raced away from the village, driven by fear more than sense. She ran as fast as her short legs could carry her, through the burning woods and came to a cliff. She skidded right to the edge, peering down at the foamy, violent waves below. She would surely die on the craggy rocks below and if that did not kill her, the water would finish her off. Jaysa scanned behind her, taking in the view of her burning village. She tried wiping the tears, managing only to smear blood and dirt on her face and the tears still came. What was she supposed to do now? Her parents were most likely dead as they had been out working the fishing nets. Despair coated Jaysa's entire being and she sank to the ground, hugging her legs and pressing her face into her knees as the air around her grew heavier and heavier. It was becoming harder to breathe. Lifting her head, Jaysa tried to take in a gulp of air but her throat was caught by the ash and she was sent into a coughing fit.

While she was struggling to catch her breath an armored hand fell on her shoulder and lifted her from the ground. Jaysa had no strength left and could not even attempt to fight off whoever was carrying her like an infant. She gazed up through the haze but could only make out an oddly shaped helmet before her vision went black.

"You awaken then?" a deep gravelly voice spoke as Jaysa's eyes flew open and she attempted to sit up but his hand firmly held her in place. A glass of water was presented to her and she drank greedily from it. He handed her a napkin before scooting away in a very peculiar chair. It had wheels and no back. Jaysa blinked, taking in the rest of their surroundings.

They were in a dimly lit room filled with items she could not identify. There was a rectangular pad with buttons on it that the man was pressing up and down on and staring at a box on the desk in front of him. She could not make out his face, he still had the helmet and armor on. It was unlike any armor she had ever seen. Granted, she had lived most of her life on the island and very rarely saw any of the king's men but none of them had matte black, spiked armor.

"Wh-who are you?" her voice coming out no more than a croak. He throat was deathly raw.

He did not stop in his angry battering of those buttons as he answered, "My name is Rhies. Overseer of this planet, or what's left of it."

Jaysa's face paled, "What do you mean?"

Rhies stopped his fingers and swiveled in the chair to face her before removing his helmet. He had a pale complexion appearing even more ghostly than it probably was due to the glow from the box and swirling purple tattoos marked his bald head and chin. He tapped his fingers in front of his chin before speaking, "There is much more to this life than this rock you live on and this rock is dying. All the earthquakes, volcanoes, are due to tectonic shifts deep beneath the sea floor. My job is to observe and catalog the events on Hoklen. Hoklen is special because it was never colonized by any known faction. It developed its own life millennia ago and that life still turned out to be human. So, my group has protected it from outside intervention. It was a haven away from the busy space society, out there," he pointed to the ceiling.