The Dark Sun

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

      I woke with a start, and for a moment I had no idea where I was. My eyes were closed, but I could still see the brightness of the strange room I was in. I felt the soft silk sheets I laid on, and the light breeze that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Suddenly, I saw horrible visions. People screaming for help, blood pouring down the long streets of my home, buildings collapsing as rows of fire incinerated everything in their way. No matter what I did, I could not escape what I was seeing. I looked up at the sky, desperate for a break from the torment of my mind.

A deafening silence came about, and the wall of flame ceased in their places. I was now looking directly into a large glowing ball of light. This pure light had several large tendrils snaking out from all over it, and there seemed to be wings keeping it in the air. I watched and waited. The ball of light moved closer to the ground. I looked around me. Everyone within my field of vision had stopped to look at this ball as it approached the ground. They seemed to move towards it and away from it at the same time. I watched as it got closer, and closer, and closer. It was then on the ground. for a moment everything seemed to be at peace, the buildings were back, the street was clear of blood, and the people laughed joyously as they walked by. Whatever this ball of light was, it had come with strong tranquility that settled the minds of even the most ruthless.

     Before I understood what was happening, I was hundreds of feet in the air. I was just floating there above the kingdom in which I lived. I tried to scream, but no sound ever left my mouth. I was floating there, helpless. I couldn't take my eyes off the glowing ball in the middle of the city. Then, it happened. The ball of light shot outwards in every direction. I could see it as it started to engulf the whole kingdom, and yet I could also see the faces of the people caught in this every growing light source. I watched as their skin was burnt from their bodies, their skeletons turned into dust in the overwhelming heat. I closed my eyes, but I still saw them. I thrashed around, trying desperately to stop what I was witnessing. I was falling. Falling towards the sphere-shaped light. I screamed. I screamed louder than I thought possible.

      I sat up quickly, breathing heavily. Placing my hands against my chest, I tried to calm myself down. I heard footsteps and a loud knocking at my large dark wooden bedroom door. I glanced up at it, startled.

      "What?" I snapped. I winced at the tartness in my voice.

      "Sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty, but I overheard you scream. Are you alright?" Said the petrified voice on the other side of the door. I gasped as I remembered my dream. "Your Majesty? Are you alright?" She asked again.

      "Come in," I shouted from my bed. There was a moment's hesitation, and then the door to my room opened. "What is it that you need?" I asked the young female servant. She glanced around nervously as if there were traps set up around the room for an unsuspecting person to walk into.

     "I just heard you scream and was wondering if you are okay," she said rather quickly. I closed my eyes and tried to push the thought of my dream from my mind. Forcing a smile, I looked at her.  "I am alright, everything's fine. Don't worry, it was just a bad dream." I told her. She smiled back and started walking towards the door. "wait! there is something I need you to do for me though."

     "Anything for you, your majesty."

     "I need you to get my mother as soon as possible."

     "Of course, your majesty," she said. With a respectful curtsy, she turned and dashed out of the room.

     I collapsed back against the soft white pillows of my bed and sighed deeply. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to remember every single detail of my dream. Mother would want to know everything. While I sat there, I thought about everything that had happened in the kingdom throughout the last couple of weeks, a lot had happened. But nothing that had happened explained why the kingdom was suddenly in such danger.