A Beacon Of Hope

The Birth

What is the most powerful force in nature? The answer to this question probably leads to an unending debate every time. This has been the scenario for billions of years until the philosophers stepped in. The power was judged by strength and numbers. Thirst for power led to chaos and the world suffered for it. Kingdoms rose and fell. Some species were eradicated from the face of the planet. While some went into hiding, others became dominant and suppressed every other creature. They were either enslaved or murdered. At times like these, when hope dies and faith fades, who would believe in the power of love? But make no mistake, the thing that seems insignificant in the present time might become a key to ending the indifferences and chaos and restoring peace one day.

----*----

Xynix is a planet filled with species of all kinds. Natural, mutated, cross-bred, you name it. It is filled with horror, bloodshed, and hatred. Everyone has to hold a weapon for their survival. If you do not learn to fight, then you will be exterminated. It had become the survival of the fittest.

When life first started in Xynix, some species got along while others didn't. Some had a predator-prey relationship which made them natural enemies. The differences between the species that were created during the initial times were carried down to the present generations. The current generation are taught to hate their enemies while growing up. They read the tales passed down by their ancestors about how cruel other species were to them, which implanted a seed of hatred in their minds, which grew into a huge tree as time passed.

Factions tried to establish their dominance over weaker factions, either enslaving them or slaughtering them. In a place where individuals only understand the language of violence, what can love do? Love has become a feeling that has been forgotten. If someone helps you, they expect something in return. Help only comes your way with a hidden favor. Life only exists if there is a balance between everything. If the order shifts, the imbalance would result in obliteration.

----*----

In a dense forest, enveloping the land of a sacred and forgotten tribe, a couple were running for their lives. The forest was so dense, and the structure of leaves was so flat and wholesome that light never touched the ground. There was still 1 ghat left for the sunrise. The man was sprinting ahead, carrying a blanket wound around something. He clutched it close to his heart. The contents inside the drape must certainly be valuable to him as he was protecting it with his life. The woman was running behind, not that she wasn’t fast, but her attire made it difficult to move swiftly in the terrain they were in, but she ran as fast as she could.

The couple frequently looked over their shoulders to check how much their pursuer gained on them, but all they could see was darkness as if the pursuer is invisible, but they could hear the growl. An eerie growl that strikes terror into the hearts of their prey. The couple was barefooted, covered in bruises, torn clothes, and bleeding as if they were sliced by a sharp object repeatedly. But nothing stopped them from the evasion.

The time flew by, and it was time for the sunrise. The sun rose, but it did not change anything, everything was dark underneath the blanket created by the innumerable groups of trees. After 2 ghats, the couple found a place that looked like people lived there. This led to a moment of halt in their escape, and the anonymous chaser quickly minimized the distance between them and made contact, beheading the man, and slitting the women’s neck, which led to their instant death.

Moments before knowing that he was about to be killed, the man tossed away the drape as far as he could, towards the place they had witnessed. The drape landed on the rough terrain of the forest just beyond a line, which appeared to be a boundary of some kind. The border between two places, or a marking establishing one's territory.

The blood spilled like a stream of water soaking the dried leaves on the ground. The chase finally ended. The creature behind the murder of two people came to rest near the headless body and its eyes wandered around in search of the drape. Since it was dark, its appearance was not clear, but it was certainly huge with the appearance of a wild beast. Its vermillion eyes were the only things visible in that pitch-black environment.

The eyes of the beast finally laid on the blanket which still seemed intact, concealing its contents. The beast slowly progressed towards it and crossed the marking. The moment it stepped on the marking, the zephyr turned into a violent gust, and the trees moved vigorously, not that it bothered the beast, but it was a notable change in that peaceful and tranquil environment.

All of a sudden, the trees which overlapped one another and acted as a shield to the incoming warmth of the sun, began to move away from each other, creating a path for the sunlight to reach the ground in such a way that the rays of the sun were converged to the point of the beast’s position. The moment this phenomenon took place, the beast got startled. It detected danger. Before it could realize what was happening, the faint rays of the sun which would lighten up the day of life forms, acted like flames of justice, scorching the creature instantly. The creature turned to dust; momentarily the trees repositioned, and the place turned dark again.

Two Nymerians, each at least 7 ft tall appeared out of nowhere.

‘Why have you waited this long? ‘

‘I wanted to see how long they would have survived. I had never thought that they would make it past our boundary given the kind of beast hunting them. ‘

‘What do we do with it now?’

‘It has been so long, Akaza. I feel disconnected from life. Looks like this is our way back into living our lives, an escape from the exile. ‘

‘Out of us all, you were always the softy one, Silas. ‘

Silas picked up the neatly wrapped draped and held it on his left arm, while his other hand opened the blanket, revealing a little Armadian girl, who was sleeping peacefully amidst the tense situation.

‘We do not need this now, Silas. ‘

‘There is never a better time for anything. We delayed many things, and quit many practices in order to remain hidden, and in that process, we are beginning to forget who we really are. It is better to die than to live a life like this. We Nymerians have one goal and if we die without fulfilling it, we are a disgrace to this world. ‘

‘There is a reason why we chose to live like this. If we start questioning what we once believed to be right, life will not make sense. You would only end up contradicting your past self. Nevertheless, if you choose to raise that kid, I am not going to stop you. ‘

‘Thank you, Akaza.’

Nymerian species were once a respected and feared species that lived with a purpose. They believed that their destiny was to fulfill their sole purpose. But a lot of unknown variables came into play which shrank their numbers and they were forced to hide for a plethora of reasons. Silas is one of the strongest and kindest Nymerian, who other Nymerians look up to. All this time, he could never take a firm decision to return from hiding, because of his people, but finding the little girl acted like an external shove which helped him make up his mind.

Will this decision reshape their lives back to how it usually was and aid them in realizing their destiny or exterminate them once and for all? Time is the only thing that can answer this question.

----*----

‘Why did you have to bring your kid here, Damour? Look how he is crying because of the clamoring of the hammers. ‘

‘I have no one to care for him. After his mother was dead, everything fell apart. But I am doing my best to give him a better life. ‘

‘Marry some broad. I know you don’t want to, but at least for the sake of your child. ‘

‘My boy is strong as hell and all these sounds and the heat will only make him stronger. I alone can take care of him. ’

Damour worked for King Arthegon as a swordsmith. Patently, a forge is a place that has higher temperatures because of the molten elements and fire; it is also noisy because of the clamoring of steel. But young Viskus had to spend his babyhood in such a harsh place. Maybe that was for the best. All these conditions could be a blessing in disguise, which might shape his future in a way no human had even begun to imagine.

The human species were one of the weakest species because of which every other species hunted them, enslaved them assaulted them for their pleasures until a group of humans banded up together to retaliate. One aspect where humans had the upper hand was their ability to think. Their creativity and the ability to invent stuff with the resources they possessed, helped them in their survival. Humans became one of the dominant species because of a witch’s curse. The details are a blur but because of the curse whichever species harms a human would face a consequence of the same magnitude. Initially, no one cared about the curse but witnessing the aftermath of the species that inflicted harm to humans, scared the other species, and during this time humans grew in number and power.

Even though humans gained dominion, the territories they occupied were restricted. Different species ruled different parts of Xynix. Some species had the upper hand in the woods while some are undefeatable underwater, some lived in extremely hot temperatures like volcanic regions, while some built their homes in freezing temperatures. As long as they stayed in their habitats, their population numbers were stable. But when one faction tried to conquer another, both of them experienced a steep downfall in their population.

----*----

‘I can no longer sense the wild mutt, sire. I am afraid this could only mean one thing. ‘

‘Those weaklings are not capable of something like this. It is impossible for them to outrun that lowly beast till the sunrise. There must be someone behind this. We need to retrieve it, Shan Marji. We can not let the prophecy come true. I don’t care if it requires a horde of merciless beasts to capture it. I want it, dead or alive. ‘

‘I will personally make sure to fulfill your desire, sire. Leave it to me and your minions. ‘

----*----

‘ My Lord, we have been hearing rumors about a group of factions forming an alliance and plotting against humankind. ‘

‘They must either be arrogant or foolish if they think they could outnumber us. We have larger forces than all of them combined. ‘

‘While it is true, my lord, it is not advisable to make more enemies than we already have. It could turn out to be problematic one day. ‘

‘Are you suggesting that we take care of the problem when it is at its roots? ‘

‘Yes, my lord. ‘

‘Find their hideout and take as many soldiers as required and destroy them all. Their mere existence is polluting the Xynix. ‘

‘I’m afraid you grasped the opposite of what I was going to suggest. Instead of going to war, we can find out what their needs are and tend to care for them. It will improve our relations with them. ‘

‘ I, Lord Arthegon, the sole ruler of humanity, will not form an alliance with the likes of them. If they attempt to attack us, we’ll just s*******r them, good riddance. ‘

‘I know, Lord, but if you just think about it for a minute, these species do not hate us for who we are. They only resent us for all the facilities that we have. Good farms, good shelters, treasures, and endless streams to quench the thirst of humans for generations. They are looking for hope, which we can provide, my lord. All they wish is to survive and lead a good life. ‘

‘Enough of your sentiment towards those pathetic creatures, zuzu. If I keep hearing bits of advice of this sort again, you might lose your position as my councilor. ‘

----*----

Zuzu and Damour were childhood friends, but their lives turned out very differently. Damour always wanted to work closer to the king but ended up being a single father and working as a swordsmith, while Zuzu wanted to lead a simple and peaceful life but ended up becoming a councilor to the king. He was a smart lad right from childhood. He always behaved so maturely for his age. Without any special effort, he became one of the most influential personalities, which sometimes may be perceived as a threat to King Arthegon himself.

‘How was your day, zuzu? However, it was, it might definitely be better than mine. ‘

‘Well, that’s where you are wrong. Everyone who lives and works outside the castle thinks that it is heaven inside it. But it is not. Those lavish structures, grand halls, and scenic gardens are only a feast to the eye. The truth is most of them aren’t really human, they are ugly inside. ‘

‘What happened, zuzu? Did the king disregard your opinion again? ‘

‘Yes, he did. There have been rumors that some of the factions are banding together to strike us. I advised forwarding a helping hand rather than going to war with them. But he wants to crush them. ‘

‘Violence everywhere, huh. Who are these factions if I may ask? ‘

‘I am not certain, but probably the Grumps and the Balanga. ‘

‘As far as I know, Grumps are ugly-looking dwarf-like creatures who are formidable; definitely stronger than humans, but they do not like violence, do they? Also, they are interested in living a peaceful life like you, doing agriculture and stuff like that. ‘

‘True. But we cannot blame them for making such irrational decisions as we are directly or indirectly responsible for that. We drove away every creature from these lands to build an empire. For the people inside, Supremus may be a wonder, but for the outsiders who we drove away from their homelands, it is a cursed structure. ‘

‘That’s sad to hear. What is this Balanga creature? I have not heard much about it. ‘

‘It mostly lives underwater. It has the head of a fox, and the body of a merman or mermaid when underwater. But when it comes out onto the land, its body turns into that of a human, or it becomes a complete fox except it is not a small one. The shortest Balanga in complete fox form is said to be 6 ft tall. I have never seen one, though. ‘

‘Does that mean, we should be afraid of the outcome if the war does happen? ‘

‘No. Our numbers are far greater than theirs. We might suffer some losses, but it is insignificant for Arthegon. ‘

‘I don’t want to hear any more about these wars and creatures, zuzu. Have a good night and I hope you will find a way. ‘

----*----

Meanwhile, the armadian girl was raised by Nymerians. Many of the Nymerians were skeptical about raising an outsider in their secret hideout, but since it was Silas’s decision, they believed it was the right thing to do. Akaza was also not pleased with this decision, but he helped Silas in any way possible. He knew too well that things like these would create indifferences between them and that will be the beginning of impending doom to their race whose population was already sinking in numbers.

The Nymerians named her Anastasia. Nyme was the first word that she uttered when she was three years old, which won the hearts of many others who initially were disappointed about her staying there. Silas started to train her at a very young age. He told her stories of the past. Wars, curses, the hatred between different species.

When Anastasia started to realize that her appearance differed from that of Nymerian women, she asked Silas about who she really was. He could not answer much because he only knew what specie she was. He knew nothing about why a wild mutt was hunting her or how their parents ended up in the woods of Myst. The stories that Silas said to her always involved violence and atrocities and it made her wonder where the kindness went. She never heard words like kindness, gentleness, and love.

One day she asked Silas, ‘Silas, I listen to each one of your stories with great interest. But today, could you tell me a story that does not involve killing and fighting? ‘

‘Remember one thing, Ana, the place outside the Myst, the individuals who live outside this place only understand the language of violence and obeys only fear. The reason I am training you every single day is that, when you attain a certain age, we are going to enter the world outside these forests and if you wish to survive, you need to be strong. The outsiders only respond to power, and if they sense you are weak, they will devour you mercilessly. It’s either kill or be killed. ‘

‘What is the point of going out there, if you have no choice other than to kill? ‘

‘Not all of them are bad, Ana. But most of them are. So, until and unless they are put down, the world shall never know peace. Once you witness the horrors outside the Myst, you will begin to understand how the world functions. ‘