Prologue

The Ties That Bind

“Every man is his own ancestor and every man his own heir. He devises his own future, and he inherits his own past.”—H. F. Hedge

He stood on the very precipice of lunacy and truth; the smooth stone surface beneath his feet rumbling with the aftershocks of what had just happened. He looked towards the blood-soaked skyline for answers. Thick, black smoke picked up by the slow building breeze clouded his view, its stench coating his nostrils. He squinted through his own tears for an answer that would never come. His soul was battered and his spirit mortally wounded. How could this have happened?

The breeze morphed into a vigorous wind wrapping his tattered battle cloak around his tall frame as the warnings of his father whispered in his ears. The tall man’s gaze fell back upon the sweaty, soot stained face of the young man who lay limp in his arms, the savior of a legacy torn asunder. Despite the prevailing wind, the young man’s short-cropped, stark white hair was pressed firmly against his forehead; a sign of the exertion he had endured to save the few who remained.

Lourous Mirriam, High Leader of the Cri’lin Council shifted his footing. The wounded and dying lay scattered haphazardly around him, their gargled groans tearing at his disbelief. Some crawled, some limped, while others lay crumpled against blown out and cracked walls marking the perimeter of his beloved city. Both friend and foe had not been spared from the unrestrained violence demonstrated on this day, a day Lourous knew would change the course of Akasha’s flow in the universe.

Yet, despite the decimation, Lourous stood before a glimmer of hope whose purpose had previously been an enigma to his people. The dual pillars forming its main structural base extended over forty-seven meters, curving at its highest point. It stopped short of completing a solid arc as the ends split apart to form thin lines extending above and below the tips. The thin lines connected with one another to form a diamond shaped pattern to finally complete the arc’s true shape. Its smooth, turquoise colored stone surface displayed an ageless quality. Runes of unknown origins decorated its surface on both sides up to the highest point. The arc had been here when his people first colonized the planet over four hundred years ago; it had been a beacon to help land their ships and served as an integral part in their development as a race.

The Arc of Rydair framed the horizon overlooking the ocean of Angira, which seemed impervious to the mayhem played out before it. The arc’s runes pulsated a deep blue as a muted hum emitted from the area immediately surrounding it. Both the sound and energetic blue runes cut through the thick clouds of smoke to help those who could still move on their own escape through the stone arc to safety.

The last survivor of his people stopped briefly to make eye contact with their leader prior to stepping into the arc. Her long gray hair whipped around in the strong wind, the piercing nature of her green eyes stabbing at his heart. The nightclothes she wore were stained with dirt and ripped in several locations. He surmised she had been sleeping when the horror had torn her from a peaceful slumber. Her bare feet stood firm.

Through the haze they managed to make eye contact. To his surprise, she smiled and mouthed a silent, “Thank you.” He nodded reverently as she resumed her pace and disappeared.

The grating of loose gravel beneath his feet signaled another shift in his movement. Strangely, the weight of the boy in Lourous’ arms was not sapping his strength, but he knew it would not last if he did not make his exit soon.

He paused and chuckled to himself in spite of the environment around him. At 1.8 meters tall with a slender frame and defined muscle, the figure cradled in Lourous’ arms was by no means a boy. The young man had just recognized his one hundredth birthday a few days prior, but from the perspective of a race whose people live well past the age of eight hundred, he was still just a boy. A rasping sound over Lourous’ right shoulder pulled his attention.

Lourous followed the streaks of blood staining the stone surface with his eyes until he spotted a lone figure propped against a fallen rock wall. They narrowed in focused hatred when he recognized the author of his people’s massacre; Alexis Striken.

“Alexis!” Lourous’ voice deepened with justifiable disgust, “I should kill you right now.”

“As satisfying as that may sound to you right now, I doubt your self-righteous warrior code would allow it.” Alexis coughed laboriously, expelling small droplets of blood in his hand.

“How could you? These were your own people.”

“Spare me your Sy’Arrian platitudes, Lourous. My people stopped being such when they abandoned my father effectively resigning him to his death. If I were not so badly wounded, I would finish what I started!” The veins in his neck bulged with rage.

“The tragedy that claimed your father’s life, Alexis, had nothing to do with us. We did not even know what had happened until after the fact. Need I remind you it was the actions of terrorists who took him from you not our inability to act swiftly?”

“Lies! He would not have been in that situation had your father given mine the support he needed to solidify the Confederation.”

Lourous shook his head in dismay. “Whatever false reality you have chosen to believe, Alexis, it does not justify genocide! If it were not for this young warrior, all would have been lost.”

“Even I am amazed at the sheer power the young one displayed here today. It is like nothing any Sy’Arrian has been able to accomplish–it is a mutation. It must be! Even you cannot deny it, Lourous.”

“What I cannot deny, Alexis, is the vile cruelty you exacted on this day. Merciless, dishonorable and cowardly.”

“Ha! Brave words spoken by countless leaders of many civilizations who faced their own mortality, not fully understanding their usefulness had come to an end. You know what I say about the young one is true. You simply lack the fortitude to do what is necessary to keep the natural order of the universe intact.”

“You are correct, Alexis.” Lourous’ steely admission caught Alexis off guard. “But what is undeniable is your fear of this young man. Indeed, there is something about him I cannot immediately discern and although I am uncertain as to how he fits in to future events, I sense he is the binding tie that will mend the wound you opened so profusely on this day.”

Alexis’ wide-eyed expression was the last thing Lourous saw as he walked towards the Arc of Rydair, resigned to go wherever fate willed him. It was what Alexis screamed next that stopped Lourous’ forward movement.

“You do not defy me, Lourous! No matter where you hide, where the other survivors hide, nor where the mutation cradled in your arms hides, I will not rest until you are all dead!”

Lourous inhaled deeply as he committed the last official decision of his leadership to memory. “So it begins.”

He stepped in to the arc, allowing his essence and the one he carried to be transported across the galaxy to a predetermined location; the screams of prophetic doom uttered by Alexis slowly fading in the cold expanse of space.

Chapter One

Catalyst

“The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”—Lao Tzu

Akasha—the source. It comprises all that is material with a vastness beyond the comprehension of mortal beings: a void where creation weaves the very cord of life. It shapes the four primary elemental forces; earth, fire, water, and air into a cohesive whole, enabling all who connect with it abilities beyond the wildest of aspirations. It creates links, breaks through celestial barriers and gives birth to legends. It is Akasha–with it all things are possible.

Her eyes opened, allowing the pre-dawn morning to fill her senses. The sharp crimson, blue and yellow hues of the skyline spoke to her as they often did since coming to this moon. The sweet smell of the Ezarian pines wrapped in a building wind whisked past her, producing a smile upon a seemingly ageless visage. This was the time she preferred most; it not only set the stage for the whole day but served as a reminder that life was not nearly as complicated as mortal beings allowed it to become.

She stood at the edge of an expansive cliff face, the likes of which she has not seen except for those on her home world. The Vale of Darus was massive, tens of meters below her and spread for several hundred kilometers. Its’ span could often trick the eye to think there was no end to its boundaries. Smatterings of trees dotted the valley floor, many of them stuffed in the craggy mountainsides and far stretching ravines. A lone river snaked its way through the ravine’s middle eventually feeding into a lake; she knew it was there but could not see it due to a dense blanket of fog.

She inhaled deeply, vitalizing both body and soul. This had been her ritual for the nearly two hundred years since coming to this land. The sense of awe never paled. After quieting her mind, she could not fathom how one could not feel a connection to what was displayed before her. It was a bond inherent to her people, a bond that was the truth of their existence.

Suddenly, the wind gushed, pelting her from different directions and flinging small strands of reddish brown hair in her face. The blue two-toned robes she wore plastered against her slender body. Something was coming; a tremor in the cord Akasha weaves alerted her and it was not good.

At six hundred thirty-six years of age, Liara Mirriam was not often prone to fits of paranoia, but considering the reason why she was on the largest moon orbiting the Leesto home world, she felt her feelings in this situation were justified. The more appropriate question is why now? She immediately went on the defensive.

She changed her perspective inward towards the densely wooded area where her modest cottage stood, butted up against a mountainside covered with thick moss and vines. Her vision modes shifted from infrared, thermal, ultraviolet and then back to the standard spectrum. The ability to shift into these modes had developed slowly through the evolutionary course of time with her people, but to utilize them properly took years of training.

After scanning the upper levels of the massive pines surrounding her location and finding no immediate threat, Liara leveled her gaze back to the cottage. She remained guarded for she knew not seeing something didn’t mean it was not there. Her stride began purposeful but steady, so as not to give who or what was studying her the impression she was aware of their presence. The elemental energies around her began to change in tone and intensity. An evil she had not sensed since–

Her senses were jarred, pulled upward to search the pale blue sky for the resonating hum that seemed to vibrate the very treetops. It did not take long for the source to reveal itself as it burst into view, casting a shadow over her and the surrounding area. The ship’s profile was small, but with its smooth lines and rounded hull structure one could easily mistake it for a much larger craft. If she had not immediately recognized this ship, it could have very easily fooled her as well.

It was a standard Tylon light class transport ship, created and deployed specifically by the Telerin Government. Aside from the three ion engines housed seamlessly within its backside, there were no distinct outside features. When she had first encountered this particular ship design, she thought someone had taken a carapace from some large crustacean and made a ship out of it. She had not been far off when she learned its appearance had been inspired from one of the large aquatic life forms from the planet of Altrum, the main production facility of the Telerin Government.

She shelved her nostalgia for the time being to refocus on the present moment. Whoever was piloting the ship adjusted its approach vector sharply. It swung wide to face the entire area where she stood, dipping its bow slightly as the ion engines power cycled. It hovered in one location, light reflecting off its silver metallic finish. This was a standard military maneuver. She knew it was now scanning the area for hostiles. For the second time today, she smiled knowing they would not find any, not with their equipment.

After several minutes, the ship produced three landing struts with extremely wide feet on each end from underneath its hull. Once fully landed, the stabilizers adjusted to the soft earth while the ship settled in to place. Not surprisingly, nostalgia surfaced once again, for where the ship stood now is the exact same landing place of the ship that brought her here two hundred years ago.

Were the increasing sensations of being watched and an unexpected visit from a spacecraft reminiscent of one from her past a coincidence? Liara did not think so. In fact, she was almost positive of who would be beaming out of this ship to greet her. It would seem the quiet, solitary life she had lead up to this point was about to come to an end.

Three translucent, light blue and green tubular shaped beams burst in to view depositing three humanoids. All were male, over 1.8 meters tall and wearing very flexible and form fitting exosuits designed specifically for the caste of warriors indigenous to her people. The suits were primarily black with a dozen small to medium sized gel pockets divided evenly in the torso area. Solid white and gold lines highlighted the sides beginning under the arms down to the ankles.

The two younger ones moved swiftly to take up flanking positions just outside the ships perimeter and began continual visual scans of the surrounding forest area. Like all the warriors of her people, the Sy’Arrians, they had no visible weapons. Everything in the environment had its purpose and could be fashioned for any number of uses. This was their advantage.

Only taller than her by 0.025 meters, the more seasoned looking warrior approached Liara hurriedly. He gripped her solidly by the shoulders, the scar below his left eye almost completely disappearing as he smiled broadly. His dark brown hair had grayed a little, while the soft features of his youth had grown edgier.

“My lady, it is agreeable to see you again.”

“Gray,” Liara patted his hand pleasantly. “Such formalities are not needed especially after everything that has transpired between us.”

“Old habits, my…” he smiled knowingly, “Liara.”

She looked past him, eyeing the two younger warriors curiously. “Only two?”

“The only two I could spare. They are a little green but I fully trust them.” Grayson’s arms dropped to his sides, a somber expression creeping across his weathered brow.

“Alexis?” she inquired instinctively.

“Yes,” his nod appeared defeatist. “Somehow he has discovered a methodology for detecting your location.”

“What of the others?” Liara’s voice remained calm and focused.

“To that end, I am not sure. For now they appear to be undetected, but I cannot confirm it. He has progressively grown more and more paranoid, especially in the last fifty years. I suspect it has something to do with the intense focus he has spent on discovering a way to detect you. Even those closest to him when he seized control have been kept at arm’s length. There are rumors he has been, well, talking to himself. It is as if the very shadows speak to him.”

“You are not far off, old friend.”

Grayson cocked one eyebrow in surprise. “My lady?”

“Let me be blunt, Gray. A great evil has been emerging for some time. It is unlike any I have ever felt before except on one other occasion. When Alexis took control of the Telerin Confederation, massacred all who did not share his vision, and renamed his new order as the Telerin Government, this evil was present.” She paused and began a slow pace in front of him as she recalled the events of two hundred years ago.

“It was subtle–a mere pin drop in the flow of Akasha when I first sensed it. I almost discarded it as an over sensitivity associated with one of the other elements. It was the disgust I felt that made me realize it was not some chance occurrence. Over time I honed my perceptions and began to sense it much more easily.”

“When did you first begin to sense it?”

“It was a few years after James’ death. Why do you ask?”

“Forgive what may appear to be an accusatory question, but why did you not tell someone?” Grayson eyed her intently, slowly beginning to deepen his connection with Akasha. He wanted to be sure the surrounding area was safe, knowing to never make assumptions in any situation. A slow burning began to tug at his senses.

“At the time it was merely a sensation. I was not going to run around the streets of Terakia proclaiming there was evil lurking in every shadow without proof. So, I kept it to myself until I came to a greater awareness. Besides, if I had said something, most on the council would have assumed I was still grieving and searching for an explanation as to why James left me so early.”

“Liara,” Grayson used a more forceful tone to halt her pacing. It worked. She stopped, her gaze keenly focused on his. “James was your life partner. I suspect the council would have given some consideration for that, not a swift dismissal.”

“With the information I was about to convey to them and to the whole Confederation, I could not take a chance on sentiment alone. I was about to accuse the Premier of the Telerin Confederation of serious misdeeds. Platitudes would not have helped me.”

“No, Liara,” Grayson corrected. “You were about to accuse your son. As you often told me long before I obtained full Brotherhood status, titles mean nothing if you do not have strength of character to guide you.”

“You are correct, my old friend. But I am afraid we must save the remaining portion of this discussion for another time.” Liara’s mood suddenly changed. She backed away from Grayson’s location a few paces and stopped to assume a strong, shoulder width stance. He knew what was to come next and readied himself accordingly.

“Ensure your men hold their positions, Gray. As we have been talking, I have slowly connected with the early morning fog, resting peacefully in the vale below. Soon it will overcome our position to give us a distinct advantage.”

Having performed a wide scan of the area prior to landing, Grayson was not surprised Liara could connect with an elemental phenomenon several kilometers away. Liara always preferred to connect with what was already present. It was easier than creating something from scratch.

“Not to second guess your battle techniques, but I am not sure utilizing a blanket of fog in this situation is a very good idea.”

“This is no ordinary fog. I have enhanced it so we will be able to see them more clearly. Until it arrives, I will deal with the two who are now poised to strike.”

Before Grayson could finish his next thought, the flow of Akasha in the surrounding area flashed brilliantly, its multicolored hues detectable only by Sy’Arrians and a few other races. Liara’s body turned ethereal in form, enabling her to move so quickly it did not cause the air to stir.

Grayson was finally able to notice to whom Liara had referred earlier, as the “two” materialized a short distance away from his location. They were distinctly humanoid with black, leathery skin and piercing yellow eyes with narrow slits. Their hands were large with spindly fingers; however, it was all he would have an opportunity to notice.

Liara whisked into view, catching the beings off guard. She solidified her form just enough to catch them both by the legs, using the momentum of the action to swiftly throw them in to the air then slingshot them back to the ground. The earth shuddered and cracked; she was not finished. Before they could recuperate, she spun one full rotation, grabbing the air in its purest form and directed it towards them. The two beings were lifted upward and sent cart wheeling towards her cottage at lightning speed. When they collided, the entire cottage buckled and collapsed sending chunks of debris in all directions. Their bodies hit the mountain face at the rear of the building, broken and lifeless.

“Grayson, behind you!”

It was too late as the yellow eyed monster lunged toward Grayson’s exposed back; oddly, he was smiling. Instead of ripping Grayson in half as intended, the being passed through him. Calculated and decisive, Grayson solidified his form and quickly grabbed the being by its neck, snapping it in one fell swoop. He looked at the crumpled heap in front of him then back at Liara.

“My one to your two. Who is the one that needs protecting?”

The fog from the valley below floated rapidly to the immediate area enveloping everything in its path. Earth, rock, trees and even the space craft all took on a non-corporeal appearance while around them all sound abruptly ceased.

“Not a moment too soon,” Grayson uttered under his breath. Liara appeared suddenly next to him.

“Gray, ensure your two young warriors know to scan the fog in the standard spectrum. Our vision modes will not work on them. Prior to your landing, I attempted all spectrums available to us but could see nothing.”

Before he could issue the order, screams bounced around them, seemingly unable to escape the confines of the fog bank. Not soon after the screams stopped, the body of the young warrior who had been guarding their right flank came crashing down in front of them, thrown by one of their invisible enemies. The young warrior’s torso was shredded; a large hole present where his heart used to be, his eyes still open, blood slowly staining the earth beneath him.

“We must make haste, Gray. There is no chance of winning here today,” she looked back at the body. “What was his name?”

“Darius,” he replied somberly.

“Do not dwell but do not forget his death makes us all stronger. You best bring in the other to avoid him potentially suffering the same fate.” Grayson had heard those words more than he cared to admit. Such is the life of a warrior.

“Satoru, regroup to my location!” He was greeted by silence. “Satoru! Report!”

Both Liara and Grayson looked at one another grimly as they heard the sounds of breaking bones and several resounding cracks. Suddenly, Satoru appeared between them, slightly out of breath, the two bodies of his attackers flew by them in to the tree line ahead.

“Forgive me, Brother,” Satoru responded, his jet-black hair flung in all directions with dirt streaks all over his face. “I was busy with several nasty fellows who were not open to collaborative discussion.”

Satoru’s expression and tone immediately changed when he saw Darius’ body. He knelt down and gently closed his friend’s eyes.

“You have returned from where you first came, my brother. You shall not be forgotten.” Satoru spoke over his shoulder to Grayson. “Are we to leave him?”

“He is now one with the universe, Satoru. What remains is only a shell. It, too, shall give back to the elements.”

“Oh my,” Liara’s exclamation garnered all their attentions as they began to see the fog bank’s enhanced effects on their attackers.

At first it was only a few and then dozens. They appeared as dark red humanoids of light with no discernible features; slender wraiths who invoked nightmares on those they touched. Their ranks began to double while they methodically approached the ship where the three Sy’Arrians were huddled.

“I believe it is time to make that hasty retreat you referred to earlier, Liara.”

“I agree. Satoru, if you would key in the command code to bring us aboard the ship, I would be most grateful.”

Satoru took a standing position by the other two and began to key the electronic code into his battle suit. “Stand by.”

“Sorry about your cottage, Liara.”

Liara waved off Grayson’s comment. “The architecture was all wrong.”

Once aboard the dimly lit ship, Satoru immediately initiated the departure sequence, while Grayson quickly prepared the supplementary systems and engaged the view screen.

The ships deliberately slow ascent afforded them a most troubling view. Upon entering the ship, Liara had released her connection with Ezara’s elemental forces, causing the fog to dissipate rapidly. Below, where they once stood, was an enormous black withering mass of the humanoids who had assaulted them. Liara imagined if one were to project this image skyward, the swirling mass would block out the sun. Seeing them converge on their prior location like a pack of wild Traxsus moor hounds forced memories she had long since buried to resurface, and they were not pleasant ones.

When the Telerin Confederation had been dissolved in 3088 and the Sy’Arrians nearly wiped out the year prior, the loss had been nearly unbearable. Adding salt to those wounds had been the sheer disbelief at finding out it had not been some rogue enemy force that usurped power; it had been her own son. The swiftness and level of brutality he used then was being utilized once again in the present moment.

It angered her. A place she had called home for the last two hundred years was gone; yet another causality of her son’s warped sense of reality.

When the ship was sufficiently clear of the surrounding tree line, Satoru veered it upward, steadily increasing speed. Liara broke her train of thought and leaned over the navigation panel next to Satoru. Her fingers moved quickly over the smooth surface. Once finished, she stood upright and resumed her meandering of the open sky.

“Satoru, please plot a course to the coordinates I just entered and engage the light speed engines once it safe to do so.”

Satoru reviewed the data prior to initiating the course. “My lady, those coordinates bring us dangerously close to the boarder of the Neridian Star System.”

“You are correct, my young warrior. Answers to our questions lie there with a family friend.”

“Understood. Course set. Light speed factor six will engage once we have sufficiently cleared the planet.”

“Very well. And Satoru,” she waited until the young man was looking at her directly, “do not call me, ‘my lady’.”

“What shall I call you then?” He gulped, nearly blushing in the process.

“Liara will do just fine. I am not some princess who is consumed by what title hovers next to her name.” The young man nodded and returned his attention to the ships piloting controls.

She looked at Grayson and smiled. The exact same interaction had taken place when her life partner, James, introduced Grayson to her for the very first time.

“Who or what are those things, Liara?”

“I am not sure, my friend, but there is one amongst our people who does,” she sighed heavily. “For two hundred years I have meditated extensively in search of some rationale explaining why all of this could come to pass. Alas, I have found none and now we do not have the time or the luxury to explore it further.”

“Do not blame yourself, Liara. None of us could have foreseen the level of decay his soul would endure. We all walk a path laid out before us, and it is how we choose to walk it that defines us. I know that sounds a tad esoteric. As a warrior and aide to your family, it is all I know.”

She patted Grayson’s shoulder reassuringly. “Your counsel is always appreciated and never without merit.”

As the small ship cleared the moon’s atmosphere, the canopy of space enveloping it like a warm blanket, Liara’s steadfast expression reached out to the remaining Sy’Arrians who were not present.

“To survive, we must embrace our destiny.”