Darklight: Precipice

Part 2: The Lordwars

A few hours after Soran went for his early morning walk, High Patriarch Alexander Draz was strolling through the quiet streets of early morning Utopia City. Citizens of the city were just about waking up and preparing for their early morning commute. It started getting busy around six thirty AM, but that was an hour away and Draz was enjoying the quiet. He was wearing his tailored grey suit with an open-collared white shirt beneath it. The suit itself had black lining over the pockets and seams and it hugged his slim frame, the work of a master taylor - it was one of his favorite suits. His black leather cuban-heeled boots clip-clopped and the large silver buckles jangled with each step he took along the marble floor. He was ready for his working day to start but today was a special day, and he felt that he had to go on this walk - it was his duty. 

He was walking through the financial district of the city towards a memorial that was erected a year and a half ago. The memorial was a circular dome held up by six pillars, stretching upwards for two stories. Hanging down from the middle of this domed roof was a chord on which was suspended a model of their planet, Saxosis. The entire structure was made from a pale matt beige marble, including the planet itself. The floor that he walked on was a mottled-effect shined marble that reflected the lights that illuminated the area twenty four-seven.

He brushed one of the large pillars with one hand as he walked into the structure. On each pillar were names of each person who had died at the hands of the six people who the pillars represented - six of the former Lords Of Utopia.

Shortly after Draz’s coronation there was dissent amongst the Lords. Draz ordered peace between Skry and Humanity and started investigations into Rammachandra’s shelter deep beneath the Undercity and in the crust of the planet. He knew that Rammachandra had used the Forefather technology she had discovered there to build herself a new body, so there was clearly a treasure trove beneath their feet. This exploration and research along with his new Administrative rights over the entire CCN meant that Draz also had access to Rammachandra and Vittoria’s private servers, and so he knew everything. He knew about their pasts, what Rammachandra had done to Arcadia, how Utopia was founded and what their plans for the future were. And he despised them even more. Their arrogance was unmatched and he was glad that they were both dead.

But Draz’s vision for a united planet and his new position as High Patriarch had not gone down well with the Lords Of Utopia.They felt that Draz was taking away their power and rights of rulership to Utopia. After a few months the ever persistent voice of Lord Regina became louder and louder until she decided to strike out. Even the new Lord that Draz had appointed, a young orphaned man called Lord Andre Klein, had turned against him. In one of their morning briefings Regina had pulled a gun and attempted to assassinate Draz where he sat in the new High Patriarch’s office. Of course there was one who stood by Draz through thick and thin - Ana. When Regina attacked Draz was without the Darklight Axe, which was in its display cabinet nearby, and so he was defenseless. Ana’s reflexes reacted so lightening fast that Draz wasn’t too sure what happened at first. She raised her hand and deflected the bullet so quickly that she was a blur and then Regina was flung towards a nearby wall with an arc of electricity from her outstretched hand. This time Ana had saved Draz’s life. Regina limped to her feet and, with the rest of the Lords, ran out of the office as Ana’s attacks rained down blue arcs of destruction upon them all.

In the weeks and months that followed, Lord Regina headed an insurgent movement against Draz’s new vision of Utopia. At the same time Draz instigated a change in Utopian governance, appointing a House Of Speakers which was made up of elected officials from each echelon of Utopian Society. Without the Seven Lords Of Utopia the nation was now a democracy rather than a dictatorship. Draz remained as High Patriarch, the position of head of state. Ana Corvus was given the title of Curator Of Utopia - Draz’s second in command. But as these positive changes were being made the remaining six Lord’s were recruiting people to their cause. They were mostly wealthy benefactors who lost much political power and wealth in Draz’s reforms now that they couldn’t bribe the Lord’s into following their wishes, people who wanted a return to the old Rammachandran Utopia. They had all disappeared into the dark fringes of Utopian society. The problem with having a vast mechanical city so big was that there were always plenty of hiding places - even for an army of Lordships.

Finally Regina’s attack came. It was a dual assault. The location of Eresmai had been discovered by one of Regina’s spies within Draz’s staff. The relations between Utopia and Eresmai had meant that Draz had been given Eresmai’s co-ordinates as a matter of good faith. The bomb was planted within the central spire a few floors away from the Command Centre. After the explosion Regina’s cloaked Lordship descended and her battalion started their attack. Simultaneously Lord Solomon, Lord Aida and Lord Hunt opened an all-out assault on the new Corporation HQ building, their Lordships emptying their salvos on the congregated House Of Speakers. Draz was present and managed to save the new Utopian government from the attack and single handedly ripped apart Lord Aida and Lord Hunt’s Lordships with his Darklight Axe’s power, killing them both in the resulting fireballs. But Lord Solomon’s ship limped away and cloaked before Draz could exact his vengeance. Legions of Lord-supporting separatists flooded the streets of the city attacking anyone that stood in their way. They screamed of Draz’s left-wing sympathies, the evils of the Skry and how that Rammachandra would be turning in her grave. Draz hoped that she wasn’t just turning, but that she was rotting.

Thousands of Skry and Human alike were killed thanks to Lord Regina’s insurgency, including Soran’s close friend Yasmine Danes. The tentative relationship between Draz and Soran was forever scarred as Soran blamed Draz’s lack of leadership for his friends death - and Draz couldn’t disagree. Soran was in a Utopian hospital at the time and so he couldn’t exact his vengeance upon Lord Regina before she slipped back into the darkness from which no one had seen her, but his rage filled the streets as his powers literally vaporized vast members of the separatist army.

Finally, between Raine’s military forces in Eresmai and Utopia’s cloned army, the main assault of the Lordwars was over. Even to this day there were small guerrilla style attacks, but there were no more major assaults.

As Draz stood at the memorial, his knuckles white as he gripped the pillars and read the names of dead Skry and Humans on them, his eyes streamed tears.

“I did this” his voice rasped with grief. “I killed them all”.

Draz fell to his knees, his guilt overwhelming him. No one knew that he held himself personally responsible, not even Ana.

If Draz had been a religious man, he would have prayed as he lay on the cold marble floor - body shaking with every sob.