The Apocalypse Game - Prologue

Prologue

4043 B.C. Maya - Premonition of the Gods

The blinding embrace from the East was slowly replaced by the tranquil caress of its nocturnal counterpart. The city of Tepeu, the capital of the Mayan empire, was silently tucked under a dark blanket strewn with lustrous tears of the gods. Within its formidable shell, blocks of stone dwellings huddled around the heart of the city, the imperial palace of Tepeu, which indefatigably palpitated even as the city drifted into its dreams.

That night, even the diligent centre was lazing off.

After an exulting day of festivities for another year of agrarian success, the heart was sunken with fatigue and gasping for a breath. With the emperor’s consent, torches stoking the muscles of the organ gradually blinked out one after the other, eventually letting the tireless machine grind to a halt.

Silence settled over the royal quarters like a veil, covering its eyes from the gaze of heaven. All was quiet, or almost all; only the Astronomer’s Tower left its sparse lamps ablaze, their obstinate flames courageously returning the winks of the stars. The topmost level, however, appeared to be shrouded in darkness for passerby if not for the occasional flicker of a solitary torch.

Accompanying that flame was a decrepit man hunched above a stone tablet, intently scanning its intricate inscriptions and occasionally peering through the immense window to the celestial bodies above. He would quickly scratch into the sand, pace to the reservoir of carvings at a shadowed corner and return to the flame as if he never budged a finger.

The level closest to the sky was the royal astronomic office and observatory, an universally lionized destination in the eyes of scholars and royalty across the realm. It was a chamber which only the Emperor’s Royal Astronomer (and once in a while a few of his most esteemed pupils) had the privilege of entering. The sixty seventh appointed Royal Astronomer was exactly that fragile frame frozen beside the flame.  Despite his bony outline and blanching hair, the astronomer had the vigilant eyes of an eagle, adorned with sparks of wisdom, which none ever had the nerve of lying to.

That night, the pair of dark pearls was tainted by confusion and disbelief.

“Master Muluc?” A melodious call resounded with the pounding of footsteps up the winding staircase.

“Master Muluc? Are you there?” The steps lost their echoes as a dexterous silhouette shot through the narrow doorway to the secluded chamber. The youthful figure swept into the room like a warm zephyr, exciting the lone flame into an exotic dance. Only the astronomer held his statue-like stature with the stone emblems, or appeared to have done so " his furrowed brows unknotted into benign crescents upon hearing that familiar tone and that grim line of a mouth even softened at the edges.

“There you are! What have you found tonight?” a cheerful chuckle approached from the back. A moment later, a delicate visage eclipsed the tablet lain on the floor.

Muluc peered into a pair of lustrous opals bottomless with intelligence and mischief. They lit up the skies of the darkest nights and accompanied him in probing at the deepest secrets of the stars. They were the windows to the soul of his brightest apprentice, Ikan, whom he beheld as his confidant, and dottily, as the grandson he never grandfathered. Regardless of the occasion, those piercing, serene lenses would always retain an ungraspable streak of nonchalance.

That night, there was an additional hint of unsettlement in their depths.

Refocusing on the document at hand, Muluc’s brows rediscovered themselves in a knot. Ikan’s gaze trailed to the scribbles across the patch of sand bridging the gap between himself and the astronomer, landing on the cryptic figures scribed by a refined baton. Realization dawned on his faultless features as the contents of Muluc’s scratches assembled to reveal a familiar concept. Ikan immediately inherited Muluc’s expression.

“This is confounding;” The elder handed tablet on his palms to the student in front, “All the text surrounding this phenomenon seem to have been erased.”

Ikan scanned the surface o the block and met his eyes, “Erased?”

“The records have descriptions of the red star - when it appears, how it appears…”

“But?”

“All of them immediately stop after that. Nothing about what occurred. Nothing at all.” Muluc let out a frustrated sigh. Ikan was surprised at the influx of emotion displayed by those ancient features " his mentor never fretted about his studies; in fact, he rarely frowned upon anything.

That night, seemed like an exception.

“What are you here for?”

Escaping from the clasp of his thoughts, Ikan donned his signature haphazard smile, “I’m not allowed to visit my favourite teacher?” of all the scholars and aristocrats residing within these gilded walls, Ikan was probably the only one audacious enough to converse and joke with the patronized idol, “But Ikan does have news on the red star - I think I may have a few clues.”

“Report.” Muluc reserved the equanimity in his voice, but his excitement was not entirely concealed.

Sensing the importance of his discoveries, the acolyte beamed with pride, “I modeled the appearance of the star. It flashes every time another deity star enters one finger width of it, then the deity star would follow the red star where ever it moves.”

Something stirred at the back of Muluc’s mind. Raising his eyes to the opening of the damp chamber, Muluc spotted the glowering crimson in the place of the North guardian for the thousandth time. He clamped down on the distracting visual surroundings and entered the palace only available to his incorporeal mind. A ghastly feeling thumped through his veins with every heartbeat as he unearthed a relevant memory. With every brush and wipe, the recollection shone brighter, until the diminutive tugging at the back of his head exploded with comprehension.

“The Scarlet Circle!” The old astronomer’s eyes burst open with triumph, his face elongated with exaggeration, “The messenger beckons all the gods as he travels on the journey to…” Muluc’s expressions faltered as he lost all the excitement of identifying the omen.

“Don't stop there! What does it mean?” Detecting his pause, Ikan bustled with anxiety.

That night, the wise man feared for the first time. His frozen features sprung to life, twisting in sheer horror.

That night, was a night of many firsts.

“To… end a Sun Era. Take out the world.”

Author's Note

First time posting a book... Took such a long time trying to figure out how to add a chapter -_-'''
Please review and comment! Thanks :)