AEONS: THE GODS ARE DAMNED

Chapter 1

Running through the alley, he came out of the other end and darted straight for the woods. Right behind him was Garrick and his gang of four giving him the race of his life. Garrick caught up with him as he got a little deep into the woods and tripped him, “Where do you think you are going Chase, am not done with you yet”, holding him up by the scruff of his neck.
“You don’t need to do this Garrick”
“You think?” he hands Chase over to two of two goons “I think I need to,; you see your name says ‘Chase’, so I do just that”
“Does my name have ‘beat’ in it?”
“No, but that bit, I added” he drills a punch straight to Chase’s stomach
“You see, Chase, no one and I mean no one pulls a prank on me and gets away with it without a black eye”, he punched Chase’s face and the beating soon became a gang thing. After 10 minutes of perfect bullying, Garrick and his guys left him alone. “Have a good night Chase… if you can”, the other guys snickered as they left.
Chase lay down, resting his hand on the nearest tree; his entire body ached but with all his strength he pushed himself up still leaning on the tree; the moon shone brightly casting an eerie glow on the forest. He tried to walk away from the tree but after a few steps he stumbled and fell as he turned over his eye caught a twinkling object afar on his left, of course it could be water reflecting the moonlight or… he tried to stand, but ended up crawling to the object. As he got to it, he noticed that it was some kind of medallion, half buried in the sand. “The storm must have pushed it to the surface”, he thought; he held it, examined it, the coin had a dragon head emblem engraved on one side and a winged sword on the second side.
As he turned it over again, the coin reflected the moonlight on his face and he was caught in a trance-like state; it seemed like he was in a new body, he witnessed a war, he felt himself move fast slaying enemy soldiers with a sword; he realized that he was seeing it from someone’s eye.
“Korvac! Behind you” he heard and this foreign body moved with unusual speed and sliced through the opponent faster than even Chase could register. The enemies were not humans they looked like monsters brought out of a fantasy novel, with long swords, skeletal bodies, tattered armors and dirty skins.
“I can take them for a longer time but if their reinforcements arrive, they will break through our defenses” a soldier standing beside Korvac said in an unknown language but Chase understood;
“Take your regiment and defend Erevale, Corym, you’re coming with me; we will hold off the dark legion till our last breath”, Korvac said looking at his face on his sword. And with that Chase woke with a start, he dropped the medallion and scrambled back from it. ************************************************************************************************
Kelpas Aleaxetris, the most feared of all Aedens was at the doorstep of the exiled spirits called the soul reavers, the thieves of the darkest part of Maregere and the worst of all assassins said to be owning souls as dark as the Azrott. The Aerian castle was found in the realm Chylnoth that can only be accessed using Aeden magic or very dark magic. The giant doors open and Kelpas walked in with his right hand, Chruma- a Delrach. The halls of the castle were not worn out with age but it was filled with cobwebs. Kelpas could see the throne of Aeris, the King of soul reavers and all of Chylnoth, it was vacant, and when he got close to the throne he saw a dark transparent figure. Red pupils, an overflowing black veil-like cloth with armor underneath. Aeris sat his left hand on his standing sword and rested his right which was placed on the arm of his throne.
“You have come a long way to die, Aeden, not regarding the decree of the gods either”
“The gods can’t keep me away from my ambitions even if they ban all beings from coming to see you”
Aeris’ voice boomed with dead laughter, “you are back from the dead, Kelpas, to be killed again” he paused then continued, “Have we not lost enough from the purge? I lost my freedom, you, your life….”
“I am here to take it back, everything I lost, and they shall pay in blood, even if it is the last I do”, Kelpas interrupted.
“What do you want, Kelpas? You are surely not here to give me the outlines of your villainous plans” Aegis asked, rolling three stone orbs on his palm making a ‘crik-crik’ sound.
“The three plagues, I need it” Aeris was suddenly fuming “my plagues?!” He stood, coldness descended into the room.
Chruma whispered “Master, trouble”, more Soul Reavers materialized from the walls all around them, with menacing looks and worn out armors but sharp swords. Kelpas looked around; he knew there were in trouble and a huge one at that. “… Since you are banned from stepping out of these walls your plagues will be useful to my plans; I can attain my goal easier with it” Aeris was not calm yet “…Just one is all I need for my revenge, I will give you a mouth-watering guerdon” Kelpas wooed.
“What could you possibly offer?” Aeris enquired as he sat. The soul reavers backed down.
“Freedom”
Aeris’ chuckles echoed through the hall “Freedom?! Only the gods can free me from this place, how can you give what is beyond you?”
“I made a deal with Daemeon, to grant me the power to usurp the gods”
“And you believe the titan?” Aeris leaned back, “…you must be more asinine than I hold you for, believing a dark god is nothing but puerile”, he looked away. Kelpas’ hands glowed with a red aura, he raised it in front of him and looked at it; he suddenly closed the palms, a red wave shook the castle. Aeris rose to his feet with an angry look but he didn’t pick his sword. “He augmented my powers to a new level; I can kill any god or Aeon as long as it doesn’t mean am breaking my vow to him”, Kelpas explained.
Aeris sighed “ok; but, if the gods get involved… if anything goes wrong”, he says pointing at Kelpas “…anything at all, you will die, and this time, forever, bound to never return”. Aeris said before he threw the three stones to Kelpas who caught them in mid-air.
“Nothing will go wrong” Kelpas smirked
“Leave” Aeris waved his hand and Kelpas was outside with Chruma. The doors were closed.
“Close” Chruma gave a breath of relief
“Yes, but I still got my jackpot” Kelpas smiled before they used a portal to transverse back to their own realm. ***********************************************************************************************
Chase got back home, luckily his mom was working a second shift; he closed his room’s door dropped his bag at the end of his bed and plopped on the bed exhausted. He didn’t even know when his body was swept away his sleep; he jolted awake to a light shining on his face.
“Hey” his mom smiled as she opened the door completely allowing the light from the corridor.
“Hey” he responds unenthusiastically, as he sat up
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she came in and sat with him.
“Nothing, just another rough day with my all powerful friend Garrick” he said “but am fine, I truly am…just need a good night sleep”
“I agree, you look like you just went through a muddy hell”, she joked and they both chuckled.
“Yeah, I suppose”
“It couldn’t have been that rough though, you look dirty but I don’t think you need an ice bag, just a bath…”, she stood to leave but stopped in the doorway and turned to him
“…you ate yet?”
“Yeah”, he said quickly “yeah, am fine, I will have that both now”
“Ok then, good night”
“Night” She left closing the door. Chase felt okay, no pain or ache from the bullying; he entered the bathroom and saw himself in the mirror, he stopped. “What da?!” He looked closer, the black eye was gone, and so was any other bruise he had although he still looked like he just stepped out of the sand. He ran back to his bag, emptying the content on the bed; the silver medallion landed on the bed, the moonlight from his open window reflecting off it. He held it up “Why the hell did I even pick it?” He weighed it on his palm, must be centuries old, he placed it on his reading table before going back for his bath. ******************************************************************************************
The night went by quicker, as he left the bathroom he wore his boxer shorts and lay down to sleep but his mind was still occupied; the mysterious medallion that might have, no, that healed him of his injuries; where could it come from? Who could have lost it? Who owned it? The medallion didn’t lose its silver qualities all that time in the mud or underground, how? The trance, what does it mean? Did the trance even happen? Was it a vision? Was it… His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that his room might have just gotten brighter. He sat up slowly; tiny twinkling lights flew slowly around the room. The light was a man sitting at the left edge of the bed’s end. The man was looking out the window. He had an old look on his face that Chase couldn’t read, it might have been sad or serious or perhaps a little happy but Chase knew he was definitely at peace. The man had white hair falling close to his mid back section, knotted together at the end. Chase was startled, but the man spoke before Chase could speak,
“Fear not, I am a friend, you can call me Ali”, he then faces Chase, “you are one lucky child”
“If losing my father before knowing him, being bullied almost every day and pestered to annoyance is luck, then yeah I lucky as hell” Chase retorted.
“Your father was a man of honor”
“You knew him?” Chase quizzed with refreshed hope
“I can say he was close to me” Alinar said “The greatest of leaders have chosen you to ride on the waves where no man dare venture or even believe to exist; principalities that can only be imagined”, he pauses for a while and looks at the medallion, he stood and walked to it, his fingers caressed the surface of the medallion on the table. “Tomorrow, you will be caught up to bear witness and to carry on your father’s legacy, Erevale and Maregere as a whole needs you, Chase Peregrine, and it has called to you”
“What does that mean?” Chase stood at the right side of the bed.
“Your mother will be in the best position to answer that” he began to fade away.
“Wait, what does that mean?” But the visitor was gone. He sat puzzled, was it a hallucination or another trance; he sighed. **********************************************************************************************
The next morning he ran down the stairs to eat his breakfast before going to school.
“Morning”, Chase greeted as he sat at the table and poured himself a drink as he pulled the served plate towards himself. “Someone looks like he got a jackpot”
“You could say; but it will be a better pot if you could tell me what Erevale mean”, he flushed the omelets down with a gulp.
His mum paused before turning to him, “What did you say?”
“Erevale, he said after draining his cup
“Where did you hear that?” She dropped the knife
“I don’t know, it’s been playing around in my head for a while; oh, and Maregere”
She cleaned her hands; “you are in the twelfth grade, just concentrate on graduating, not some… Fantasy”
“I will, after you tell me exactly what they mean”
She sighed “I wasn’t expecting us to have this anytime soon” “Soon always changes” She sat at the table¸ “you see, your dad… he wasn’t exactly what you can call a man”
“What does that mean?”
“Questions when through”, he nodded and kept silent, so she continued, “he was a great man, a man that will die for others; but he wasn’t from here, he wasn’t from around here… it might sound weird but he wasn’t even from this world”
“When did you find out?” Chase quickly asked
“Within the first year we met, and when I had… it was a tough time back on his own world…he had to leave, he didn’t want to, but they needed him, they needed a champion…” she had a distant look
“…he never came back, did he?” Chase finished She shook her head,
“No, he never did, his brothers came to…umm, relay the news of his death and that he was buried back on his own world as their customs”
“That’s all?” Chase inquired curious for more
“More or less” she stated, she stood as she said “except you wish to know the explicit parts, get off your butt and get to school, you are running late” “Of course”, he stood, picked his bag a loaf and left “later mum”, he closed the door behind him. *********************************************************************************************
Kelpas stood on top of a hill watching as the Eastern Wyverns destroyed the Moonbeam town;
“I thought you would have you used your more dangerous pets”, Chruma said
“The dragons are for larger places” Kelpas answered
“Like Erevale or Drenghold?” Chruma quizzed
“As long as it is big enough” Kelpas answered again. Afar off a bolt of blue energy brightened over the town, keeping the attacks of the Wyvern flight out. Kelpas noticed, “What have we here?”
“Seems like they have a mage”
“And a weak one at that”, Kelpas shot a single bolt at the shield and it sublimed allowing the Wyvern flight to continue its rampage. **********************************************************************************************
Night fell quick, the day was normal; strenuous school life and bullying-since Garrick found out that he didn’t have the bruises to show for last one. He came home dropped his bag, had a shower and had dinner. When his mom wasn’t back after 4 hours he prepared to sleep when he remembered the medallion. He opened his drawer and took it out, he checked it again, perhaps it will heal him again, but nothing happened, nothing was unusual about it, well, except the unknown language engraved on it and round its circumference. He sat at the table to have a better look under his study lamp. The instant he switched the lamp on, he heard his mum arrive, he left it on the table to make sure; he stood at the top of the stairs.
“You came in late”, he confirmed
She looked towards him, “Yeah, had to pick some groceries” she dropped them, “You’ve eaten right?”
“Yeah, I will be sleeping and snoring in my room if you need me”
She smiled, “Sure, but I doubt am gonna’ need any¸ good night”
“Night”, he went back to his room and closed the door. He sat at the table to continue his research and quench his curiosity, after trying for a while; he switched off his lamp when he tried to find an online translation for the words but didn’t have any luck. As he wanted to stand, he noticed those tiny twinkling lights again but this time there was no ancient man, just the medallion giving off a white light under its own power. He read the language on it although he didn’t understand it, suddenly with a wave of wind and light that the medallion release he was dazed. It still shone but now lesser so he held it to get a closer look, at the words again perhaps he just imagined what just happened. But the medallion was through with him just yet; a bright light shone from it, filling the room, escaping through the window, Chase’s eyes hurt that he had to close them.
.
¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶
I am happy that you chose to read this story, you will not regret it.
.
I would be truly grateful for your votes and comments.
Thanks a lot.