:]Hiol[:
(Key)
Intro
Bright, beyond what is perceived to be of normal over-luminance for any single being to withstand, showed itself into the open doorways of the eyes of a new born man. He gasped for air as he plunged forward into the staggering light of life, out of the shell from which he so long existed within. His weak legs failed to support him, thus he met his first acquaintance in the new world, apart from the tormenting sun, the ground.
Shielding his eyes and cowering under the star's powerful beams, he crawled forward in search of something - anything, any matter of existence to help him make sense of himself and his being. Seemingly with no apparent luck, he decided to stop and try to stand once more. Slowly, he brought himself up; with great determination and newfound strength, he rose from the ground in an effort to insult gravity.
And with that newfound vitality was born a certain pleasure, that is, to accomplish. In hopes of such feelings of success finding their way to him once more, he slowly opened his eyes. Instantly he was met with the teeth of the sun biting at his corneas. Screaming, he gripped at his face in anguish, shutting his eyes as tears of salt rolled down his cheeks. He waited a few moments only to once again be met with the same distastful experience.
The next emotions he felt unsettled him and caused him to feel an irrational loathing for the sun. That of anger and hate. These new sensations put a step in his foot as he began to pace, frustrated. Soon, before he knew it, another emotion seeped into his mind from the void. That is of fear. It came like a parasite seeking a new host to corrupt. For a short while it held his heart still, all the while pouring in despair, desolation and pure madness. He began to cry as he stumbled over from loss of confidence, falling once more to the ground.
He stopped crying and screamed as loud as he could manage. He hadn't noticed it before, but all was entirely quiet up until that point. He shocked himself by the sheer volume of his screech. This, for some reason, drove the fear out of his body. With fear gone, anger once again found it's place in his head. That anger, after a few moments, evolved and turned into determination to begin the cycle anew.
He screamed, but not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to be strong, he wanted to be alive. As he screamed he forced his eyes open. Streaks of pain painted themselves deep within his eyes. Still he pressured on and on. White soon changed itself, bringing about a new spectrum of color. And then, low behold, the world stood before him, welcoming him.
Upwards the sky was clear save a few white puffs of clouds. Stars were visible through the thick atmosphere, blinking and twinkling at him. The sun, he felt, was laying on his back - and he so decided to keep it there for now.
He took his eyes off the beautiful wonders above to note his surroundings. What he saw confused him. He stood amongst a thousand or so stone orifices, shaped like giant ovals. Enormous statue-like hands held each oval upright on the ground. Holding his own hand out in front of him, he mimicked the position the statues so righteously portrayed.
As his gaze followed from his hand to his body to his feet, he noticed the earth below him.. The ground had cracks in it, forming perfectly patterned lines. He slowly turned around, minding the sun. Before him was one of the giant ovals, burst open. Dislodged rock lay all over the ground, covered in a thick fluid. A horrible smell punctured his sensory equilibrium, breaking the peace he had temporarily found.
He dare not approach, for a sense of foreboding crossed his conscious. Instead, he turned around and ran, unsure of his abilities at first before giving way to a full sprint. Passing many of the giant ovals, he reached what appeared to be the end of the world. As he got closer to the edge he realized the ground formed small foots-length tiers. Slowly he walked down, step by step, towards the contrasting landscape below, where giant swinging behemoths swayed and whispered their stories with the winds' passing breaths.
Chapter 1
So many sites to be observed; interesting details any normal person would and could easily overlook. The smells, sounds, tastes of the land intrigued the man. Being born not even a day ago, the world was a new place to him. A strange new place. A strange place with strange things in it, things to be looked at and praised for beauty. He was easily fascinated by the most simple of things; from the rapid flapping of the butterflies' wings to the gentle swaying of the jagged leaves covering the mighty trees. Such an alien place, as if it were a dream; a lost dream. Ironically, this was not and remains not so.
Easily maneuvering through the lush landscape, a sense of belonging suddenly filled him. He felt as if he were meant to be here. He felt as if he had been here once ago in a life long past - perhaps then it was a dream. Perhaps then he would forget soon later as if none of it had ever even taken place. But how could it be a dream? Scarcely could he remember his dreams from before. Blurs of colors and movements. One thing he could not recall was such an explicit sense of smell. Had he ever really smelled something in his dream before?
He walked to one of the many large, thick trees and placed his palm on the bark. The very edges were rough, but had canals running vertically that were hollow and smooth. He admired these intricate grooves and wavy lines. A strange humming seemed to emanate from the tree. He made the same noise in reply, as if to sing back. If it were a dream, he might as well enjoy it.
From above the sound of shrieking birds snapped him out of his fixation. He looked up to see a pair of blue birds with long green feathery tails perched on a branch high above. For some odd reason, he was unafraid. He had already seen the birds flying high above the sky and thought nothing of them. This however was much different.
He took his hand off the tree and walked in the direction of the birds, never taking his eyes off them. He squinted, as if he may gain some hidden meaning to their existence. As he got closer and closer, his mind began to turn in irregular ways - twisting the reality before him. He began to feel a poking existence in the back of his head, first subtle but gained in weight as he drew closer. By the time he was directly standing under the branch, he was entirely transfixed. The minds of the two birds sang into his own, intertwining a chorus of mesmerizing sounds.
The birds jumped from the tree and landed on a nearby flattened boulder. As he followed them with his unwavering stare, he noticed that the same blue birds were now entirely surrounding him; perched everywhere, watching. Waiting. Enticing.
Moving closer to the birds perched on the boulder, a steady boomimng noise in the song shook his mind. The closer he got, the louder and stronger the boom.
Reaching his hand out, the larger of the two birds replied by tipping its beak outwards. Slowly they became closer and closer, the booming almost unbearable - ready to make him collapse under the force.
In one small, very intimate moment, they touched. His body instantly gave up and lost control. He went limp, a mix of pain, energy and ecstacy flowing through his body simultaneously. He could no longer tell where he was, for all around him had turned into a racing whirlwind of spectacular colors, scents, sounds! He found much more than just this sensory orgasm as well, knowledge infused into the song found its way into his empty head as well. A million concepts filling in, giving meaning to his breaths. Amazing things like language, mathematics, science and history bound themselves to his open mind. With all of these tools came an even greater understanding of life, an understanding so deep he had no idea what to think of or why.
Of all the things forcing their way into him, it seemed there were still holes missing. His identity and purpose for being eluded him.
Suddenly his flow of comprehensive power ceased and was thus followed by an intense plethora of rich history about lands, wars, peoples, stories. Beautiful places with mountains, rivers, forests, everything. These images and thoughts were so powerful he began to stream tears involuntarily. The beauty of true nature showed itself - all the animals, peoples, wonders of the world.
Just as abruptly as before, this phase ceased as well. Next, he found himself looking through the eyes of thousands of people all at once. Their lives cast open before him. The pains and grievances of life accompanied the joys and wonders, circling each other in a balance. He understood jealousy, hate, greed, anger, lust, and gluttony; understanding morals and the dangers these feelings and sins could cause. He also understood love, happiness, kindness - the brighter side of the story just being told.
And with this fully transformed mind of his, the ritual came to a stop. The colorful whirlwind, which appeared to have been seen through his own eyes, vanished for it was only in his mind. Opening his eyes, he saw the beautiful the stars above, some blocked out by the gigantic trees. He was laying spread-eagle on the soft ground, upon a bed of moss.
He opened his eyes and frowned. He entirely understood the world and all of its people; all of its conflict and history, however he could not identify the place in which he currently remained. These woods around him as well, familiar as they seemed, did not place in any of the geographical locations he had just previously encountered.
He began to stand up, realizing that the patterns on his skin weren't actually pigmentation sequences, but rather runes inscribed onto his body in a language unknown to him.
Slowly he made it to his feet, still dizzy. All around him the birds continued to watch. He turned around to face the bird he touched with. It nodded its head to him, a warm bell rang in his head. He felt a loving compassion for the bird, profound and complete.
A strange desire appeared in his head. It hovered around for a while before slowly moving down to his throat, vibrating with warmth. It was a strange feeling, in fact a very urgent feeling. He decided to give in to it, and spoke for the first time:
"Who are you?"
The bird spread its wings and screeched into the silence. As if commanded, all the other birds jumped from their places of resting and flew into the sky, joining into a massive cyclone whirling about above. They flew like this together for a moment before moving as one single body and converging onto one single spot on the ground. The bird on the boulder joined the mass and was quickly lost from sight.
Slowly the silhoutte of a giant appeared amongst the flock. It built upwards, each bird adding to the size. After a few seconds, every bird had found its place. They left behind a single man, much taller and thicker than any mortal. His muscles were well chisled, complimented by a hard but loving face. He wore nothing but a blue skirt trimmed with gold. All over his body was printed similar runes the man had seen before. However, they glowed with a bright energetic light before dying out and disappearing.
The giant stepped forward and smiled. With a deep and commanding voice, he said "I am Piotus, God of the Living." He raised his heavy arm and gestured about him. "This is my realm, the Domain of Light. We exist apart from the mortals here, where time passes as we command it to."
Awed to be in the presence of such a figure, the man bowed his head. He looked up for a moment to meet the eyes of the giant before asking another question. "What do you want of me?"
The god roared with laughter. Surrounding trees shook under the force. "A worthy question! You are my son of course! You are the very first of my sons and daughters yet to be born. You are are to be the wisest and strongest of them all, and therefore you are to be the one who will lead them and guide them. All will come in time, we have much learning to do here." Piotus smiled.
The man did not know what to say, he simply looked down. He felt uneasy about the future, for it all seemed so clouded to him. As if realizing what he was going through, Piotus stepped forward and touched his finger to the man's chest. The black runes covering his body instantly began to glow with an intense phosphous-blue.
Then, Piotus spoke, "You are Hiol, son of Piotus, Arch Lightbringer, immortal who walks among men, protector of all that is Living, spreader of Light and hope, Forerunner of the Battle." When he finished speaking, lightning crackled across the sky. It spread until it met at one point, building in size until it erupted and fired downward. The lightning found its way to Piotus and transfused through-out his body. It sparked and sputtered around him for a moment, then jumped through his arm and into the man. The bands of electricity jumped and danced about his body, finding their way into the runes on his skin.
Piotus smiled and said, "Now come, there is much to learn."
"Wait," said the man, "You said I am Hiol. What does this mean?"
"Your name. You cannot be sealed without a name. All of that which I said to you is now bound by the runes written across your body. This is called a Seal. It defines who a person is and their purpose during their time of existance. Everyone has one. However, this is a lesson to be taught at a different time. Right now, we will celebrate the birth of my first son. Come."
Piotus turned and began to walk away, clearly pleased with himself.
"Wait," said the man. Piotus looked over his shoulder and gave an interrogative glance. "What did you say my name was?" Piotus smiled.
"You are Hiol."
The man nodded and looked down. The footsteps of the god began again and carried into the distance. For a while the man stood looking at his feet. The runes covering his body were no longer there. Suddenly, he felt what he had been missing before: purpose. A sense of being.
"Hiol," he said to himself before smiling.
Chapter 2
Hiol stood on top of the giant stone egg statue from which he was born. The sun, eternally present, felt comfortably warm upon his back. He looked over the hundreds of statues, knowing each one of them held a brother or sister just like him. But not like him, for he was the first - meant to be the strongest and smartest. The leader. The "Forerunner of the Battle." He sighed. He was tired of waiting, training, and learning. He wanted to apply his knowledge and skills to do good for the people Piotus was so righteously worshipped by.
He jumped down to the ground, landing on one of the pieces of rock from the broken egg. The thick, smelly gel fluid from inside the egg had dried and left hideous green stains. The brown rock was crumbling away to dust.
The entirety of being in this place again brought him mixed feelings. He remembered the first time that he tasted the air and felt the winds upon his back, complimented by the searing sun. He also remembered the pain that came with it all and the distress he had suffered through. He shuddered. He turned his attention to the skies. Here in the Realm of the Timeless, light was eternally present. The winds blew giant rolling white clouds which were smeared about the pure blue sky. It was rumored in the Lands of the Mortals that the Domain of Light (Realm of the Timeless) was so perfect and beautiful that if one were to see it, they'd be driven to the point of extreme insanity because nothing else in their world had ever appeared so immaculate. Hiol often wondered about this, especially because he did not want to hurt anyone or bring about such pain or suffering. He was always so thankful for the things which were given to him - his life, posessions, skills, abilities. Everything.
The skies thundered with a mighty voice, interrupting Hiol's thought, "Hiol my first son, come to me. It is time." It was Piotus, God of All That's Good. The purpose of his summoning confused Hiol... It is time? Time for what? He walked through the forest of stone ovals to the very edge of the monolith and leaped about ten feet into the air. As he began to free fall, a beautiful set of white wings sprouted from his back and carried him away from the ground. Higher and higher he rose - eventually he was able to see the curvature of the Realm. It was shapped as if it were a small planet. In the distance he could see the Magnanimous Fort of Light.
* * *
The golden palace floor wasn't as cold as Hiol expected it to be. The smooth metal felt strange below his bare feet, seemless - without imperfections like everything else. Piotus sat in a gigantic gold-set chair, watching Hiol approach. The throne room was long and for the most part empty. It was open-air, as there were huge open windows lined in the dark red bricks, edged with gold frames. They stretched upwards for what appeared to be at least a mile. Large red oak beams stood against the brick walls, stretching all the way to the top. The cieling, which was indeed quite high up, was painted with the entire history of the battles between Good and Evil. It was constantly changing with each new age that was brought about. Piotus had told Hiol that his age marked not only the birth of a great hero, but a new age in the everlasting war.
Piotus smiled to Hiol as he came to a stop within twenty feet or so from the base of the throne. His dark brown beard was braided with gold ribbons. The wrinkles on his face gave him the appearance of a middle aged man while still retaining a sense of youth. His eyes were a dark gray, like dull diamonds. As for clothing, he wore his usual blue gold-trimmed tunic.
"You summoned me, father?" asked Hiol. Like always, he found it difficult maintaining the god's intimidating gaze. It was if an invisible force were pushing his glance downwards.
"Yes, yes. I have been observing you in your training and thus noted your superior abilities, and more importantly your readiness to implement them," boomed Piotus. His voice projected such an imense power behind it, as if all his words carried one hundred pounds on them. Hiol had gotten used to it by now. In all, he calculated, he had spent approximately 5 mortal years in the Realm of the Timeless.
"I see. What must I do?"
"You are to travel to the Land of the Mortals. From there you will set out and mandate my will where I see fit. You will be living amongst the mortals, and you may present yourself to them in whatever manner you wish. You will have further instruction as time progresses," Piotus answered. It seemed as if he had a constant air of happiness to him, like he was alway pleased. Come to think of it, Hiol thought, I've never seen him display any other facial expressions.
"Okay. When do I leave?"
"Within 24 mortal days, you shall descend upon Grael." Piotus leaned back in his chair. "Which of course, for us, could be tomorrow or mere minutes from now."
"Okay. I should talk with Frae before leaving so I may reassure my knowledge of the mortals." Unfortunately, the transfusion of memories and experiences Piotus gave to Hiol were only temporary - he soon forgot them days later. Piotus wanted Hiol to experience all these things for himself, to learn on his own so he may understand how to more effectively teach others.
"A wise decision," said Piotus as he stood up. Hiol nodded and turned around, beginning the long walk out of the throne room and to Frae's estate. It wouldn't really matter how long it'd take him to get there anyways.
* * *
"Yes, and 4,561 980 times is?"
Hiol smiled, "4,469,780." Together, Frae and Hiol stood in the small hub. Made of simple wetrock, "Frae's Estate" was a humble building. It was very dark inside, only one window was available to provide lighting. At one end of the circular room was a small kitchen, where something was boiling on the range. Frae had always been fascinated with the creations of the mortals, especially their technology.
"Well your mathematic capibilities haven't diminished in the slightest bit," said Frae, shaking his head. He put the partchment away. "What about your cultural knowledge?" Frae paused, testing the silence... his piercing blue eyes contrasted heavily with his old, wrinkled face and light gray hair. "Tell me about Maelstro?"
"Maelstro, one of the five countries in the Land of Mortals -"
"Eh eh eh," Frae cut off.
"UNLESS you don't count the Land of the Forgotten, than four," Hiol continued. "It's landlocked, occupying the center of Grael. It is the most diverse nation in terms of environments as well as exports. The people of Maelstro are known for their merchanting and rare skills. It is also the smallest country."
"Yes, smallest but most diverse. Remember that now. Okay, one more question. Who was Koloce the Defying?" Frae smiled, knowing Hiol would have a hard time remembering the name.
Hiol looked down at his feet. He pondered for a moment before looking back up at Frae -which to his dismay, he answered rather quickly:
"A fallen Angel of Light. He was cast down from the Realm of the Timeless after Piotus had discovered what he had done to himself. Whatever that was, I don't know," he answered. Frae didn't reply, he just looked at him and smiled his old-man smile. He slapped Hiol on the arm before turning around and walking to the stove. A pot of water was boiling furiously.
"Frae, what did he do?" Hiol asked. He had thought about it before, and couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want to give up such a beautiful thing as the life he held here. Frae dumped a box of hard noodles into the water, putting a top on the pot. He turned around to face Hiol.
"He cast his honor into the Sea of Unforgiving by changing the Runes placed about his body," Frae replied.
"Why is that so bad?"
"Hiol," he said wearily, "He aligned himself with a small group of people known as... Those of the Knowing." As if expecting a follow up question, he continued, "They are the ones who failed to maintain a set of morals which would... protect them from looking at existance in different ways. When I say existance, I mean all that which surrounds us. The universe. They were all, at one time, Archangels."
"How many are there?"
"Five."
"And there were only 17 survivors of the Great Battles to date. How can this be? Where are the other 12?"
"Hiol, do tell me, what do you know of the Great Battles?"
Hiol paused, becoming more confused by the second. "Well, they were a set of 28 different wars fought throughout the centuries by the forces of Good and Evil. Each commanded by one Archangel incarnate, birthed amongst the mortals. Only 17 of the Archangels survived to see the end of their war." He paused again. "Actually, I don't really know what happens after that bit."
Frae sat down at the table in the center of the hub, motioning for Hiol to do the same. He spoke, "Once their times were over with, as in the war that which they fought, they would relinquish their powers and became mortal. This was the case for the ones that survived. The others died. Five, instead of becoming mortals and living out the rest of their lives, did the same as Koloce. They changed their runes, which removed the incantations put upon them at birth - that they must become mortal once their time is through. So without these runes upon their bodies to say what must happen to them, they lived on. The first who did this, Sirophios, founded the following known as Those of the Knowing."
Hiol was quiet for a moment, thinking. Frae questioned, "What is it?"
"I don't understand why one would do this? To leave what they have so well behind?"
Frae looked a fraction of annoyed by the question. "Well, you must remember, they were to give up all the power they had. In reality, they were and still are cheating not only fate, but death."
Hiol looked down to save himself from embarressment. "I see, I am sorry. So what do they do now then?"
Standing up to tend to the noodles, Frae didn't answer for a few moments. Hiol watched him, pacient. Finally Frae came back to stand near the table, facing Hiol. He looked out the window longingly before relieving a long sigh. When he spoke, he spoke softly and with great haste.
"They live freely. They have no duties. They are sins of nature. They hold no responsibilities. There is no one to command them. They shy away from chaos, not intefering nor neglecting. Do you see? They are just entities that are reminders for the failures of the Father." Frae's face was red. He was leaning close to Hiol from across the table. "Listen, they're not really the best thing to be talking about anyways. Piotus does not like them for obvious reasons. Neither do I." He stood up right again and tended to the noodles once more. Hiol remained quiet for a bit longer, tracing the patterns on the wood table with his finger. It reminded him of the rockwork from the pyramid where he was born upon.
Finally, Hiol spoke, "So there is more behind the reason as to why I am here." Frae stopped stirring in the pot. "One of the titles that Piotus bestowed upon me was 'Arch Lightbringer.' Am I here because there will no longer be immortal infants born into the world to fight for the Light? ...How do you even go about changing the runes on your body?"
Frae slammed the top back onto the pot. Hiol was startled, he had never seen anyone this mad before. He could very scarcely remember the visions Piotus had shown him, especially the ones of war, but to see it upright in person was much different. Frae turned around and walked over to the table again, this time hostility was set into his stride.
"Do you honestly think I'd still be here if I knew? You really do have so much to learn about our... Father, Hiol." Frae stared into Hiol's pure cerulean blue eyes for a moment. "I think it's about time you are to leave. Piotus is waiting." He spat the last sentence through his teeth, and instantly returned back to the pot of noodles. Hiol was utterly shocked. He hadn't expected Frae, who seemed like such a loving person, to act out in that manner.
Standing up from the table, he walked to the small door and opened it. Outside, the world was just as beautiful as before. He took a few steps out and let the door close behind him. About a few feet away, on one of the rocks infront of Frae's home, perched a bird. Exactly similar to the ones Hiol had first seen moments after he was born. It was blue, with long feathery green tails. It faced the only window on Frae's home. He stopped to look at it. It noticed him and stared right back. Taking a single step forward, the beautiful bird jumped off the rock and headed towards the Fortress of Light.
