Sword of Stars

Prologue. The Sword of Stars.

Pain shot down his arm as he hit the cold stone floor, sword clanging loudly beside him. He didn’t cry out. There was no point in crying out. Nobody would hear him. Either way, he knew he would be dead soon. There was a small bit of peace in knowing that the galaxy was safe for the time being. Yet his frustration and anger told him to cry out until his lungs exploded but even that seemed pointless now.

He struggled to stand up, his bloody hand slipping on the dark floor. Heat from the black fire all around made his head spin in throbbing waves as explosions deafened him, making his ears ring a shrill high pitched whine. The dark walls of the Black Castle rose high above him to a half destroyed ceiling.The eternal black and red ash of Mount Abyss blocked the planets sun and moons as it always had. 

His second attempt was better and he managed to grip a railing near the wall to pull himself all the way up. The ground moved in violent jerking movements. His grip tightened.

His mind was a torrent thinking of all that had happened and his vision started to water. He lifted his arm and pressed some of the touch buttons on his communicator. Strapped to his forearm it was a dull grey colour and the screen worked only by the sense of touch, a small second screen filled an area closest to his wrist and it stared up at him, blank. All he could hear from it was a low static but he tried anyway.

"Caili? Li'ion? Can you hear me?" He asked loudly into the device. "Aleina?" He knew Aleina was gone but he called her name anyway. His voice became shaky. "Beel?" Only the static answered him.

Hot rage and frustration welled up inside. His fist hit the communicator and the screen flickered. An image appeared in the air above the screen. It was a planet. Mostly covered in land it was about thirty percent water, though most of the land was man made anyway due to increasing populations. That was before man had begun its colonization of space. It was still the most beautiful sight he had seen in a long time.

"Torvus." He said out-loud. "I'm afraid I'll never be setting foot on you again." As if answering, the image of Torvus slowly lost light and flickered out, the device finally failing. He cursed loudly and did his best to wipe the tears and blood off his face and he started to limp down the long black hall.

“Forgetting something, Boy?” A booming voice filled the broken castle hall.

He spun too quickly, and before he could see who it was he was staggering, vision blurred. Fighting to stay conscious he felt the cold castle wall touch his bare shoulder and he leaned into it as he breathed heavily, feeling a new layer of sweat pour down his face. His eyes tightly closed. No! That voice! It cannot be…

“Problem?” The voice rang out again clear and rich. His ears burned with recognition.

“Father!” He yelled hoarsely as his eyes snapped open.

There he was. Tall, well-muscled, dark hair and eyes, sharp beak of a nose and a well-trimmed square beard, the lip bare. He wore the battle gear of the kings, gold embroidery on this black coat and cape. Snug fitting black pants met black boots turned down at the knee, glinting with buckles and studs.

A maniacal grin spread wide across his handsome face. He followed his father’s eyes down to the sword in his hands. The wooden grip long enough for two hands yet the sword itself light enough to wield one-handed, while the round pommel black as night held a white spiral galaxy artfully crafted into it. The cross-guard was long and slightly curved towards the blade where the ends rounded off. The long blade gleamed despite a millenia of use.

“Father, help m…” His eyes widened in shock as something slammed into his stomach. He looked down to see half of his sword buried within him. He looked again into his father’s eyes.