Souls of the Fallen

P1-E2: Finding the Answer, Introducing the Eon

You have questions? Okay, ask away... Mhmm... Well... I'll try to answer those questions in an order that makes sense. Yes, this world has demons that roam the lands as humans do but they're not all evil as you may have noticed through Caius and Valdis' actions. As for them being connected to The Flow, there are few that have successfully passed into this existence. For those out there now, I'm not sure though... it's become unclear how they can find that link to connect themselves to us. There is no one left to educate them about us in their land. Before Caius, there weren't any that were willing to. After the treaty, there were few demonic deaths due to their high tolerance, long lifespans and lack of battle so many who possibly tried may not have passed yet.

Also, souls have to actually travel here which may have something to do with it. If you can't find the way, you remain in the living world as a source of mana. Both overworlder's and underworlder's souls escape their bodies and become energy for the worlds to thrive on. Whether it be a flower that draws from a soul to blossom or a being that calls upon the power of souls to fuel his magical attacks. These souls are usually not visible to the naked eye but certain areas of this world have become gathering places for those that do not make it here. The souls there may materialize into phantasms, dreams, or visions. Some may even crystallize into organic formations like forests or caves.

As for Caius, I believe he purposely stayed in his world to watch things unfold. That's only a theory though. Oh! And if you haven't noticed, not all of the spirits that travel here have a clear form or figure. The typical soul is a formless stream of energy that can reflect nearly any color. Then there are those that appear as I do. Only those of us that have accumulated a great amount of power or made a great sacrifice for the best of the world are allowed to keep our worldly appearance. Which further explains why I believe Caius decided not to travel here yet.

Me? What did I do you ask? I had the fortune of fighting alongside a great friend to protect my people and our country. We were the first victims of Damien's assault on the world above him. This happened way before he gained his title as Lord of the Underworld. He was merely a scientist under Caius when he came to our land and tricked one of our own to betray us in return for what he called "unlimited power." It was actually an experiment for Damien. He infused our king's advisor, Grier Gusto, with demon blood. Grier later attempted to eradicate most of our race, the Magi (Maj-I) to start a new one with the demonic heritage. I sacrificed myself to create a forcefield that held his attack in a small area that only affected him, myself, and the desolate wasteland we fought in. My friend, Shoda, remained the king of our land and got everything back in order until the events I just explained to you had an effect on the land. Ironically, Shoda shared a similar fate to mine and has joined me here. He's a little busy at the moment watching over his daughter though so we may not get to talk to him for a bit.

Now, if you remember, I mentioned that Salem made a drastic mistake because of this sudden declaration of war from Damien. He responded by sending troops to guard gate towns. Gate towns are normal cities or towns but they have portals that lead to The Underworld. Sending defenses was the right move, but once this started to fail he called for a draft. Normally this isn't a problem either, but there is a certain race of people in The Overworld that had a specific clause in the draft.

He enlisted the help of the Eon. All Eon, from ages eighteen through seventy, were forced to enroll. This caused some entire families to enroll, parents with young children had to either put them up for adoption or leave them with the elderly. This put a fairly large dent in the population of Eon as many fell in battle.

I'll try to justify his reasoning behind making that decision as much as I can by explaining why this race, in particular, was singled out. An Eon is a being that is born already connected to The Flow. Though this is similar to my race, the difference is that a strong soul from The Flow connects with the child and embeds itself into the child's body as a crystal shard. Similarly, my race can tap into The Flow as a resource for energy through glyphs that form on our body through physical training and mental growth. If you ever get the chance to visit The Overworld try not to get the two confused. Due to current stigmas... some may get offended. Over time, the Eon's crystal matures and grants the child access to a power that can alter the world around them. They may gain control over water and douse enemies in a torrent as strong as the oceans themselves, control fire to set their enemies or the areas around them ablaze with the flick of a wrist, and... Well, you get the idea, right? This access can go to the extremes though, which includes altering another being's mind and distorting time and space.

This power isn't available to them at birth. The power it the child controls is unknown until the shard starts to gain a tint of color. From there, it's up to assumption from previous Eon's similar crystals. Once they reach adolescence, sometimes earlier, the shard can activate on its own or the power can be awoken by another Eon. Once it's been triggered, it requires training, exploration, and a deep connection to this world to reach its full potential. To use the powers that lie in the crystal, the Eon drains the souls that are present in the world and causes them to become dormant. Unfortunately, the Eon also suffers a form of fatigue. It is learned through the training what the side effects of using the immense energy is.

After usage, dormant souls tend to have negative effects on the areas they settle in. Sometimes causing the terrain to become desolate while it tries to replenish the source of life that previously fueled it. Worst case scenario, a fierce battle can birth a dangerous phantasm. Obviously, this terrifying power was forbidden from use in normal skirmishes between countries of The Overworld due to the possible damage that could occur.

Regardless, Salem knew that bringing the Eon race into the picture would cause damage to The Overworld's landscape and cultural make-up, but he felt it was necessary. To his luck, this did stall Damien's plans because the young demon lord didn't have much intel on the actions and capabilities of the Eon race. This is mostly due to the fact that a demon cannot bear an Eon shard. Pureblood demons are initially unreachable by those of us in The Flow. There have been cases of their mixed offspring bearing these blessings.

After seven years of battling, losing and recapturing cities, both sides reached a stalemate. Some of The Overworld cities are still currently under the control of the demonic forces and a large portion of the world is inhabited by them. A large crescent gash was left on the world's surface by seven Eon that sacrificed themselves to sink a large portion of the demonic army into a crevice. This area is now known as the Demonic Crescent and is causing weird effects to nearby cities and their people. Other areas have reverted to more primal conditions and removed from the advancements of the world.

As the war slowed, Salem lifted the draft but the damage had already been done. People began to fear Eon and it soon became hard for them to live a normal life. Many adopted Eon children were abandoned and their elderly ignored. Those of the Eon race that made it through the seven years of war were often not welcome anymore in their hometowns, even considering things wouldn't have been as calm as it has become without their sacrifices. In response to this hate, many veteran Eon took it upon themselves to establish their own colonies, vigilante forces, or rebel groups to return the hate shown to them. Calling the other races ungrateful and disgusting, some of the rebels swore to bring forth their wrath when the world least expects it. We have yet to see that come to fruition but I would not put that promise aside so easily.

Like I mentioned when I first met you, The Overworld is in an awkward condition. Most countries have seceded from the united government that was in place before the war. This is due to the different beliefs on what is the correct answer to their problems. Some regions believe surrendering to a demonic rule isn't the end of the world, others are blaming the Eon for their problems, while others believe they have a strong enough military to withstand an attack from Damien's frontlines. Even my people... what's left of them... have sheltered themselves within a magical dome. This dome is so strong that even us here in The Flow can't peer inside. We can only hear their voices as they pray for the world's recovery.

I'm sorry.... I feel like this is a lot to take in so suddenly. Instead of giving you more of a history lesson, maybe it's best to explain it while showing you what I've been keeping up with for the past.... Geez, it's actually pretty hard keeping up with time when you have no days and nights. Let's just say, I've been watching these two boys for some time and their story is an interesting one. Though they are resting at the moment, they've been really busy. Let's see... when would be a good time to start their story. Aha! Just before they... Nah, I don't want to spoil anything. Okay, listen closely because you're in for a ride. This is a story that starts in the small town of Franklin. A story of the brothers, Reno and Riku. A story of love and hate, peace and war, hope and... I can't think of what to say with hope... but trust me you won't be disappointed! At least, I hope you won't. Shut me up if it gets boring.