The Eternal Empire

Chapter 1

The young boy barely reaching the age of 14, grasped the rifle's slack and swung it onto his shoulder so that the bud of the sniper rested uncomfortably against his ass. He attempted to bury his mouth and nose into his arm, with sand being brushed off the dunes by powerful winds. Each grain that brushed against his light clothing felt like a rock being pounded against his body and the strong winds made it more difficult to walk forward. In a country diseased with continuous wars and rebellions, the barren wasteland out in the middle of nowhere, despite its hazardous environment, felt more like a home than anywhere else. His travels often took him across dangerous lands and mostly into life-threatening situations. Even though he never wanted to harm a soul, the world is often cruel and a can force a young boy's hand. On this side of the world you have to grow up fast and be prepared to protect yourself, kill or be killed. Walk a soldier's path, or be buried six feet under dirt.

The winds began to pick up even more now, he decided it was time to find shelter before the sun performed its disappearing act. He found a small rock to lay behind so that he could sleep without being disturbed by soaring sand. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn picture. In the middle a tall Caucasian man wearing a suit and tie, with a very strong jawline, and gelled back hair, stood as straight as humanly possible, very proper. Next to him was a short women in between a white and black complexion. She wore clothes that draped down her very defining features. Gold encrusted gems hanged from her neck with earrings and bracelets to match. Finally in both of their hands a small child, extremely tiny, with one bright green eye and a baby blue color characterizing the other. Long, groomed, pitch black hair dropped to the child's back. He flipped the picture over and in tiny print it read:

Abaddon, Orion, Elizabeth; family portrait, Empire's capital, City of Ash, 700 A.R.F

He remember the day clearly, he and his parents, Abaddon and Elizabeth, got seats to attend a party at the royal palace. They were celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Republic's demise. As he set eyes on the 7 year old princess, Sophie, a group of men rushed the palace with guns firing killing everyone above five feet tall instantly. A bomb from underneath went off to the left of him, tearing a hole in the wall. He attempted to run but was stabbed with a bayonet in the shoulder, and was pushed to the ground. The cold steel from the gun's blade sank deeper every second. Orion tried to clench his eyes and shrug off the pain but it was unbearable, he let out a loud scream, embodying the true sound of horrific pain. He opened his eye just enough to see that one of the man's comrades was killed by the royal escort and his body laid next to him. Orion grabbed the gun that his comrade was previously armed with and swiftly pointed the barrel in the middle of the man's forehead, only and inch separated him from the barrel. Blood splattered on Orion and tears began to stream down from his wide eyes. Bombs and guns continued to go off everywhere in the City of Ash. Everyone was beginning to act chaotic and anarchy reigned.

After the tears ran dry, Orion stumbled to stand and search for his parents. His randomly chosen path was made apparent by the blood dripping from his shoulder, confused and scared he wondered aimlessly just hoping his parents managed to stay alive. However, he tripped over an infant's lifeless body and his head landed right on his father's back, underneath Abaddon, his mother Elizabeth. A through and through blaze of bullets devastated their bodies leaving multiple holes that poured out a pool of blood. They were all dead, except for the Emperor, his royal guards fought fiercely to escort him to safety while the others were shot down. While pondering on that day, the winds grasped the laminated photo and stole it away, Orion reached for it impulsively but quickly redrew his arm knowing it was pointless to try, it was gone, like his parents.