Ch 8: Unbelievable Truth

Leaving the forest after an unsettling incident, Grey grows impatient to hear what is behind Serius' appearance and Alexander's words. Yet will he or Amy be able to accept the reality of things?

            “I assume that you both know the legends from the civilization that existed before the Dark Age? The stories of Angelorum Lux and the Sages of Light that sealed away the God of Darkness?” said Alexander as he drove the hover car south from where they exited the forest. At first, Grey and Amy wondered how the ancient legends had anything to do with the current topic, but then Amy remembered the names of the three members of Angelorum Lux. Amanus of the Infinite, Gabriel the Immortal, and Serius the Unbound. In realization, Amy thought, “Whenever Alexander addresses that man, he calls him Serius…” Hesitant to say something so absurd, Amy slowly asked, “Alexander… You can’t mean to tell us that guy you call Serius… is Serius the Unbound? The Lord of Mautau, the world of the gods?” Alexander laughed, an ear to ear grin on his face as he said, “You must have been quite the good student Amy! While he is not so much a god, the person you both met, who is now resting within me, is indeed Serius the Unbound, the rightful Lord of Mautau. He says it’s a pleasure to finally be properly introduced to you both.” Amy and Grey simply stared at him with a stunned look of disbelief. After a moment of silence, Grey said, “You can’t be serious, right? Wouldn’t he be like… 600 something years old?” Again, Alexander laughed as he said, “Oh he’s much older than that. Mautauians can live to be about, 2000 years old was it Serius? More…?” Alexander started getting a bit off track as he conversed with Serius. Grey and Amy looked on in bewilderment, listening to the one sided conversation until Alexander finally said, “Ah, right you can’t hear him. He says his current age is 1114, so he’s getting up there… I lost track of mine a long time ago, but it can’t be far off considering…” 

Once again Grey and Amy seemed confused, both unsure what his last comment meant, and Amy asked, “Lost track of what?” Realizing he ought to explain everything if he was to make any sense, Alexander replied, “Well you see… Hmm, where should I begin explaining this?” Then with a slight chuckle he continued, “I suppose I’ll start at the beginning!” Clearing his throat, Alexander said, “It was more than one thousand years ago I believe. Two human brothers, both rather talented energists, lived a rather sad life in a civilization that greatly discriminated against-” Grey interrupted at this point, saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it! I know enough to know energists didn’t exist in this world till thirty years ago! Are you trying to say there was a civilization of humans with energists among them living over one thousand years ago? Where?! This Mauita place or whatever it’s called? Why the hell are you telling us something like this any-” 

            Now it was Alexander’s turn to interrupt, as he said, “Grey, I know this will all sound confusing at first, but if you just hold all your questions till the end it should make sense. It is correct, however, that energists did not exist on Teramis before the Cataclysm of Noctivagus. The seals that were placed here to strip the God of Darkness of his power and seal him within the planet also absorbed the excess EDE that would normally encompass the world in order to power themselves perpetually. It was through the use of Origin’s power that Angelorum Lux and the Sages of Light were able to create Teramis exactly one thousand years ago for the purpose of holding him here, separate from the worlds of Mautau and humanity’s homeworld, Gaia. It would serve another purpose as well though, as after the battle with the Dark God was over and the seals were in place, there was a bit of an argument among the mautauians. It had been through the actions of humans that the Dark God had been released upon the world, and to settle the argument over their punishment, a year after the Dark God was defeated Angelorum Lux used Origin’s power to banish humankind to the world of Teramis. A small colony of elves came to this world to assist in guarding the only gateway connecting it to Gaia, which is located in a discreet place somewhere on this planet, but other than that humanity was left to itself." 

            Unseen from behind his shades, Alexander’s eyes narrowed a bit, shifting away from them somewhat regretfully as he continued, “Yet humans have always been known for their intolerance for others, and once separated from the other races, they turned on each other. They prospered for several hundred years after becoming accustomed to their new home and improvising new fuels to take the place of EDE, but eventually humanity started a war that ended when their advanced weapons brought about the calamity that plunged them into the Dark Age. No records of the past survived, and those who survived either were too young to recall or had lost their faith in gods, forsaking their past, acting as though it all was nothing but a dream. There are those who suspect, those who know the truth and will tell anyone who will listen, but if anyone were to propose such a theory… Well I’m sure everyone would believe them to be as insane as you probably think I am right now! But I digress…” Alexander was grinning once again as he could feel them staring at him again, this time in total disbelief.

            Her logic clashing with his absurd story, Amy said, “Um… You can’t really expect us to believe this? Humans existed in the billions on Teramis, and the ruins of our cities are all over the world. How could this world only have been created just a thousand years ago? What could do that?” Alexander simply said, “The power of Origin.” The hover car continued to zoom along as the debate within it raged, Grey was saying in a demanding tone, “What kind of answer is that?!” Alexander just laughed and said, “Yes, well, I suppose it’s a little hard to fathom. Just try to use your imagination for a moment, assume that the impossible were suddenly possible. That is the kind of power Origin possesses, a power it never exercises because no being should ever possess such power. However, when that power was needed so long ago it chose a single being to be its will, and that brings me back to the story I was about to tell before…” Alexander glanced at them as silence filled the hover car, and with a mischievous grin he said, “No one feels like interrupting? Good, good… Now as I was saying before, these two human brothers, who lived before humanity’s banishment to this world, set out to gain power in their quest to end the discrimination faced by those who were different and bring equality to the world. In pursuit of these idealistic goals, they learned of a great power sealed away long ago upon the creation of the world. They sought this power, and they found it. Using their own gathered knowledge and abilities, they opened the seals binding the being that would come to be feared as a God of Darkness, the Nameless One. Tempted with promises of immortality and power, the two brothers willingly gave themselves up to him, and became little more than possessed puppets under the Nameless One’s control. They were indeed granted power and immortality at this cost, and it was not long before much of the world came under their control. They commanded armies of twisted creatures, destroying all who dared to oppose them under the banner of the Dark Crusade. Then for the first time since it was used in the creation of the world, Origin unleashed its power. It did not interfere directly, for since the world was born, Origin had decided it was not its place to do so. It merely used its power to maintain the balance of the world, selecting a champion of light to face the champions of darkness. Amanus of the Infinite, the Herald of Origin’s Will.”

            Clearly spicing it up at this point, Alexander’s voice was dramatic like that of a storyteller as he continued, “Born among the ethereal race known as the mautauians, he came from the world of Mautau. Traveling to Gaia, he fought together with Serius the Unbound against the hordes of dark minions that served the Dark Crusade, and one day he faced the elder brother in combat. However, he sensed a wavering within the brother, a speck of light within him still, suppressed by the will of the Nameless One. Amanus struggled to save him, risking his life, and he succeeded. The elder brother sought to repent for what he had done, and became Gabriel the Immortal, named as such because he still possessed the power and immortality granted to him by the darkness. Together they faced the younger brother, and attempted to free him as well… but they could not. In the end Amanus called forth a gift granted to him by Origin, and used its power to seal the younger brother and the Nameless One. The first seal was temporary, but along with a group of energists, the Sages of Light, Angelorum Lux created another world in which they could seal the Nameless One permanently. Teramis. The gift was used once more to banish humanity there as well, and then it was decided it should be sealed as well and returned to Origin, never to be used again.”

            Having finished his grand tale, there was utter silence within the hover car. After a moment, Alexander said, “Well I may have embellished a bit here and there, but that’s about the gist of it.” Amy did not know what to say, the absurdity of it all was as incredible as the story. Putting aside whether he believed Alexander or not, Grey said, “What does any of this have to do with what we were talking about before? I thought you were supposed to be explaining what you meant when you said something about having ‘lost track’ or some such. What does all this have to do with us anyways?” Alexander laughed again, and he turned to look back at Amy as he said, “I’m quite amazed he got to it before you did.” Both Grey and Amy once again looked at him in confusion, and Alexander said, “You see, it all seems irrelevant to our situation when you don’t have the one bit of information I happened to leave out. The names of the two brothers. Gabriel the Immortal was a name merely used by those who revered him as a hero or a god. He had a name of his own before that, and that name…” Alexander paused a moment, as though for dramatic effect, and then said, “…was Alexander.” Stunned, their eyes wide in disbelief, Grey and Amy said nothing as he continued on to say, “And the other brother’s name… was Alastor. Alexander Bastille and Alastor Bastille are the ones ultimately responsible for the current situation. I’d say that’s relevant, wouldn’t you?”

            The hover car swung back and forth across the road, as inside the vehicle an enraged Grey had grabbed hold of Alexander’s collar and was shouting, “B*****D! Are you honestly his brother?! All that crap you’ve been spewing, is this some kind of joke?!” Attempting to control the situation, Amy exclaimed, “Grey stop, stop already! We’re gonna crash if you keep this up! You guys are friends, don’t do this!” Grey didn’t seem to care, saying, “After all this time, you just now have the decency to tell me?! Do you have any idea-” Alexander cut Grey off there, as he slammed on the breaks and turned to look at him, he said, “Whether you accept this truth, whether you like it or not, whether you never want to see me again, I must ask you now Grey…” Grey was subdued by his tone and listened silently as Alexander continued, “What do you intend to do? You have just barely escaped from certain defeat after facing Alastor. No, you were defeated, clearly powerless to do anything against him. It was only with the help of your friends that you were not taken back by Altera Veritas." 

            Grey grimaced slightly at this statement, but Alexander direly continued, “Now, consider this and my story carefully. What do you intend to accomplish by heading to Abnoct, by pursuing Alastor and Altera Veritas, when you currently do not have the power to do anything against them? At present, due to Serius’ weakened condition, both he and I are shadows of our former selves, unable to stand against him.” Alexander looked away from Grey, staring out at the road for a moment before finally saying, “You have power you cannot begin to imagine Grey. Your potential is something Alastor fears, something he wishes to control. You ran off after learning a few new tricks from me, thinking you were ready to challenge him… Will you repeat your mistake?!”

            There was silence between them for a moment, and then Grey said, “I understand what you’re saying Alexander, but…” Grey turned to look out the passenger side window as he said, “I’m not going to run and hide. I’m not going to stand back and let Altera Veritas and Alastor have their way. If I had done that, stayed and trained with you…” He turned around to look at Amy as he said, “I don’t want to think about what he’d have done to Amy.” Amy looked back at him with respect, whispering, “Grey…” Grey turned to face Alexander as he said, “I’m going to Abnoct. You’re welcome to part ways with me if that’s what you want, but I could use your help Alexander.” Quickly, Amy added, “I’m pretty useless in a fight, but I’m not running either! I’m going too!” Alexander crossed his arms and stared out the front windshield as he sighed and said, “I don’t think you understand how reckless you’re both being. Just what will we do if Alastor is waiting for us in Abnoct?” Grey simply smirked and said, “Actually, I’ve got an idea. He’s strong, but he’s got weaknesses like everyone else! I noticed something back in Celestis that I think we could use to beat him.” It was Alexander’s turn to show a look of disbelief. Then after a moment, Alexander stepped on the gas and continued to drive to Abnoct, grinning slightly as he said, “I suppose I already expected you’d choose this path Grey. It’s just like you, charging forward no matter what stands in your way. Very well, I will accompany you to Abnoct and continue to do everything I can to help you. Serius says he will do his best to aid you as well.” With smile, Grey raised a hand up, and taking the cue Alexander gave him a high five. Amy laughed, relieved that everything worked out, and said, “Abnoct, here we come!”

            Sitting comfortably at his computer terminal, Alastor was looking through a video recording from the Imperial Library in Celestis, taken by the security camera in the restricted archive. Watching Grey on the recording as he searched the archive’s computer terminal, he reduced the window and opened up another program. Fast forwarding through the recording till Grey got up to leave, he paused it, and then he zoomed in on the restricted archive computer terminal’s screen. Finally he had zoomed in to where he was able to view the screen, but it was too blurry to read. He began to enter commands into the other program, and little by little the blurred image became clearer and clearer. Finally he had adjusted the image’s focus to where he could read it, and he quietly said, “I see. Well done Mr. Greyson. I do believe I will have to make sure no one else finds those records, and destroy all copies of this recording as well. However, that can all wait. After all, I must hurry to prepare a proper welcome for you in Abnoct…” He activated the intercom on the computer terminal. A woman’s voice called out from the speakers, “Yes sir?” Alastor, sifting through files on the computer now, said, “Please prepare my latest project to be dispatched to Abnoct. Make sure it’s understood that I want both Mr. Greyson and Ms. Grant alive. I also want any confrontation with my brother avoided if possible. Whether he likes it or not, I will have a civil discussion with him when next we meet…” The woman simply replied, “Yes sir.”

Reviews

[Ryan Henderson]

Only one spelling error: Grey saying in a demanding tone, “What kind of answer is that?!” It should be 'Grey Said' or 'Grey was saying' but other than that, no spelling errors. And omg! Alastor and Alaxander are brothers??? This was certainly a twist, this makes me like Alaxander even more, he is cunning and super damn powerful! This book is so original, it is amazing! I love how Alaxander seems to be arrogant and knowledgeable, and Gey seems to be short tempered and cocky. Very likable characters in this book, awesome work!

[KeithKVH]

Thank you for that correction. You're right, it should be "Grey was saying". I'll fix that in my copies as well. Also glad you like the twist, you'll find a number of them in this. ;)