Author Topic: Darkest Truth of Chaos (NaNoWriMo)  (Read 3223 times)

Seian Verian

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Darkest Truth of Chaos (NaNoWriMo)
« on: November 02, 2010, 03:44:30 PM »
...Maybe I shouldn't type this in Word. Because ARGH formatting not carrying over and having to be redone in BBCode... Anyway, I'm really not sure how great it is, but whatever.

Darkest Truth of Chaos[/b]

By ShiningDrake
   

Prologue

The Birth of Chaos


It ran through the woods. Or at least, as close to running as whatever it was could manage. It had no destination, only fear of all around it, just as all around it felt fear of it. Every shadow, every bit of movement, was something it could not comprehend. It could comprehend nothing, and in its confusion, its fear existed. It barely seemed to have a shape, it was as chaos itself, and its movement simply seemed to be merely as if it was shifting through space.

It wanted something, but it could not think what. It had no words for these feelings, just merely knew that they were there. With nothing else to guide it, it continued to run, both toward and away everything it could not understand, and thus feared. But there was also something that felt familiar? And that was what it pursued. It wished for something that it could understand, and thus it pursued. But it did not even realize this.

Scraps of images, concepts, flowed through its mind, though it did not understand nor connect them. Slowly it took some form, these ideas having some effect on it, but it still was nothing that could be recognized. If one could read the thoughts of this pitiful yet horrific creature, one might see that these thoughts were memories? Or at least, scraps of them, though even they could not make sense of them. One might wonder what had happened to it, to turn it into what it was now.

The feeling of familiarity grew, and its source seemed to get closer. Then, suddenly, it was far away, in a different direction. The thing stopped, confused. It didn?t understand this either, and it was afraid because it knew nothing. Then, it sought that which it felt again, and pursued it.

It kept moving. Every time the creature got close, that it sought would disappear and reappear somewhere else. It went through forests and deserts, across mountains and valleys, unceasing. But it was getting frustrated. It couldn?t stand how what it sought was out of reach, and eventually, it lashed out, against everything.

It destroyed everything in its path, and felt pleasure in the fear and suffering of all the living creatures it destroyed. And then it consumed them, feeling its first hunger, a hunger that would not cease. Plants, animals, humans, beings both with and without intelligence were consumed indiscriminately. Even the land itself was not safe, and many holes in it were made by this creature.

As it destroyed, consumed, it continued to take a more defined shape. Many heads and limbs, vicious claws and teeth, huge wings? It looked like the perfect hunter, able to chase down prey in the air or on land, and do terrible things to it before devouring. And indeed, it did these things very well, ceaselessly, tirelessly.
   
However, it never forgot the one purpose it had started with. To find what it knew, to understand. It never stopped trying for this, even as it consumed everything in its path. Eventually, there was only one place on the continent that had remained totally untouched by him.  Eventually, nearly everything else lay in ruin, and finally, it stopped. It was not tired. Indeed, it seemed that the creature was not capable of that. It simply had nothing else around it wished to destroy. And it could not sense that which it sought?

Now, it stood on the ruined battlefield that had once been a city. There was no true storm, but the sky was grey, and the wind was unusually strong, blowing away the smaller fragments of the ruined and shattered buildings that lay crumbled on the ground. It was getting dark now, at the time of sunset, and it seemed all the dimmer with the grey clouds.

Eventually, something else came. It was what this creature had sought all this time, the one thing that it subconsciously felt could bring understanding. It was a woman, black haired and clad in black, an air of evil about her that unnerved even this. And she was right in front of the monster now, speaking to it.

?You have done well.? One who knew more than this creature that she spoke to might have detected a hint of mocking in her voice, but all that the creature heard was affection. ?You are what I wish you to be? How deep madness runs within the minds of sentient beings, how instinct alone can cause suffering. But do not worry?? She smiled a smile that unnerved even this creature. ?With me, you shall learn again.?

Somehow, it understood her words, even as it had understood so little else. It felt anger, and fear again. But it did not fight, nor flee. With the fear was a sort of respect, and a feeling of being bound to whatever this woman said. ?Now, my dark truth, my Caliga Verum? You shall observe the one place that remains untouched. And you shall find someone that you know??

And on this day, the creature took a new form. It? No. Not an it. Now, it was a he. Caliga Verum was what those who would fight it later would know him as, what he himself would call himself. Now, his form was something humanoid, but certainly not human. He had dark green hair with a single golden streak, pointed ears, golden fur and dark blue scale in places on the body. His skin was tanned dark in the places where the fur and scales were not, but the only section of his body that had little of this was his face, where a single patch of scales remained on his cheek.

Now, he spoke, though he had not realized he knew how to until this moment. Neither did he have any idea from where the words he now uttered came. ?I shall do as you say, for I know nothing, and you everything.?





Chapter One

The End of the World


The young woman looked up to the sky, and sighed. This is it then? We?re all that?s left? So we must be next.  She didn?t know what to think anymore. She?d been scared when she?d heard of the first city to be attacked, especially as it had been not far from this city. By the accounts of the few survivors that had escaped it, the creature had clearly been nothing natural, seeming a formless mass of blackness. Perhaps some abomination created by foul magic? Or? Was it perhaps something worse, a sign of the world?s end?

But now, she couldn?t be scared anymore. She?d worn herself out with fear, and she was sick of it. Now she was just angry. Her life had been happy until now, for the most part, and then that thing had just come out of nowhere. Sure, the world hadn?t been perfect, but there hadn?t been anything really bad until it had come. She?d heard about its terrorizing the land, devouring everything in its path. But? Supposedly it had been changing. There still had been a few survivors, as the creature hadn?t been able to chase down everyone from every town.

Now this was all that was left. Nothing but scattered fragments remained of anything else on this continent, just this single town. It wasn?t even a very large one, certainly not large enough to qualify as a city. Truly, it seemed this must be the end of the world?

Suddenly, another thought struck her. What if the world had already ended, besides this city? Could the creature have come from another continent? The first place to be attacked had been a port town? Had it swam to this continent after consuming everything on the other? Or even just an island? The thought was terrifying? This was probably the end. It was only a matter of time before it came here. True, there wasn?t any sign of it now, but wherever it was, she doubted it would stay there.

Of course, she wasn?t the only one who thought like that either. There was mass hysteria, and many people had even tried to make rafts to take out to sea. They wouldn?t get very far, but of course, those she?d warned hadn?t listened, even though she?d been raised by a sailor and a boat maker?

Then again, she supposed it was because many people still considered her an outsider. The people of this town mistrusted foreigners, though she would admit that they had good reason to. The nearby port town that had been there before that creature came got many people from many different places passing through. Few of them took the route through this town, as just about everywhere else was more interesting. Most that had come through here were thieves and other sorts of criminals, who came here because they expected to find easy targets.

The woman herself was a foreigner in a sense, though she?d been raised in this town. No one knew where she?d come from, she?d simply wandered into town one day, confused. That had been about ten years ago, when she?d been thirteen years old. However, she hadn?t remembered anything about her past, and she hadn?t known the language of the land either. The only thing she?d been able to tell anyone was her name: Yukiko.

She wasn?t like the other people of this place. Nearly everyone here had dark skin and light hair, while she had black hair and pale skin. She also was rather short? Not so much that one would think her a child, but a bit shorter than most of the others in this town. True, it wasn?t that exceptional, but it was one more thing that made her different than most. And the features of her face were a bit different from anyone else?s too, not ugly, but?

She shook her head. Even with everything that had happened in this town, she still thought it foolish that they would shun her. She?d done nothing worse than any of the others in this place, and indeed, there were many people she?d hardly call saints. But still they obviously wished nothing to do with her. Even when she?d tried to warn them that what they were doing was suicide?

Well, she supposed that if the world ended, it would be no big loss for her. She didn?t expect that death would be much worse than watching everyone panic. Maybe it would be a nice change? Then again, it hadn?t been that bad, really. She?d been kind of happy with her peaceful life, xenophobia aside.

She shook her head. There was no point in such morbid thoughts. She decided that she?d go back and try to help her parents out. They?d both been rather busy. Those who wanted to leave by sea and at least had the foresight to try to use an actual boat rather than a raft had swarmed her mother?s business, trying to get boats made for them. Her father had been forced to help out as well, with his wife?s guidance, since there were just too many people asking. 

Yukiko had left in order to get away from all the people who were shouting at her parents to hurry up and finish making the boast. She just hadn?t been able to take it? And she knew it would take days to get all of the boats made, even if they could find the wood to do so. Of course, all of those fools refused to understand how difficult it was?

She got to her knees and then stood up, as she?d been lying on the grass near the edge of one of the cliffs near the village. It was far enough away from the town and everyone?s over the top panic that she could get some peace and quiet, but not so distant that getting back would be a problem.

Suddenly, a chill wind blew, seemingly from nowhere. Yukiko shivered, and felt a sensation of unease come over her. It felt like something was wrong?  What was this feeling of dread that was coming? She felt as if something far worse than the end of the world was about to take place? But what could possibly be worse than that?

She shook herself. She was being ridiculous. If the world was going to end it would, and imagining that it would somehow go beyond that was ridiculous.  She needed to just get on with doing what she could, and stop thinking about it. She turned to walk down the hill, and back to the town.

As she walked, the feeling of dread didn?t go away, and she found that she was getting rather annoyed at herself.  She decided to try to distract herself by thinking about other things. Idly, she wondered where she was from? None of the few foreigners who?d come through town, nor anyone she?d seen at the port, had looked like her. And no one had seemed to have any theories on any specific country either?
   
It shouldn?t matter that much. But she had vague scraps of memories from those old times. Nothing coherent, just bits of feelings, a few words that may have once been said to her? But she felt that she missed something. Something from her old life, she longed for. Maybe that was why she didn?t feel attached to this place? ?Maybe even not this world. But could that really be??


***


Caliga looked at the town from atop one of the cliffs nearby, though a different one. This was where he would find the next clue to understanding, according to that woman. How would he go about this? Perhaps? He should merely observe, for now. He didn?t sense the one he was looking for, but maybe he would recognize them when he met them.

He jumped from atop the cliff, into the middle of town. The stone bricks in the square shattered as he landed on them, and he saw from the corner of his eye, as well as smelled, blood somewhere nearby, and heard a cry of pain. He glanced around, and saw that everyone around was staring at him. One person had bits of rock embedded in his flesh, especially his torso, and he was holding his stomach to stop the blood from flowing.

After a moment, this person shouted out, ?Monster! Kill it before it consumes us all!? Many voices suddenly cried out, and he saw people lifting objects to use as weapons. Suddenly, he felt something in his mind? A memory. That was what it was, certainly.

You?re a monster.
You shouldn?t exist!
Be glad that I let you live, and don?t you dare beg for freedom!


He felt weak, his knees giving out and his head pounding with a flood of memories and feelings, even as people around came forward, attacking him but doing nothing. He felt hatred, fear? He was trapped, oppressed, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn?t take it any longer! Now, he lashed out uncontrollably, screaming, and then lost his form, and became something else again. He was as vines of darkness, growing everywhere through the city, and everywhere he was, nothing else would be.

And then he regained his shape, drawing the ?vines? together, as well as everything they were touching, returning to his humanoid form at the same time he consumed all the corpses. He was still on one knee, and his hand was pressed to his forehead. He groaned with the pain. I was? Always hated? This realization was strangely crushing. He?d always been something different from everyone around him? He remembered, vaguely, being enslaved, but not by whom. Vicious insults were thrown at him frequently, and he?d been treated as a tool, his only value being in how he could be used.

Then he stood up. That memory didn?t matter? What could hatred do to him? It couldn?t harm him now. And it wouldn?t override this need to understand. This need to find what he?d once been? That was all that mattered, and he would not stop searching.

He looked around, at the ruins of what mere moments ago had been a city. At the blood that was on the streets, the rubble of all the buildings. It had been the last settlement on this continent? And now, it was in ruins. Something in him felt that this wasn?t a good thing, but he didn?t pay attention to it. It was irrelevant right now? But was this the proper reaction to anything that might be a threat? To destroy it?

His pondering this was interrupted by another thought. Having destroyed this city, and all in it? Had he killed the one he was searching for? The thought was too much to bear, and he collapsed to the ground again, losing his shape once more. Like an accursed fungus he spread across all the ruins of the city, making everything look like an eerie darkness that somehow covered the ground.


***

Why wouldn?t this idea leave her mind? Could she really be from another world? And if she was, what did that mean? How had she gotten here? And why couldn?t she remember it? Some of these questions had always applied, but something about the idea of having been from another world was? Just so different, and it seemed to make these questions so much more important.

And somehow she had the strangest feeling, this absolute certainty, that it was true. And this scared her all the more, for she feared that she must be losing her mind among all the stress. She supposed that the possibility of the world ending might do that? But she certainly hoped that she wasn?t losing her mind. That? Would not be pleasant. Then again, maybe it wouldn?t be as bad as being there for the world to end?

?Okay, these thoughts need to stop. Now. She was getting more than a little irritated by now. At all of these ridiculous thoughts that kept coming up, and wouldn?t go away. It was ridiculous, and she was getting utterly fed up with it. And that strange feeling of dread hadn?t gone away either? Surely it wasn?t that-

Her thought was cut off as the town came within sight. ?Or at least, the darkness covering it did. ?Wha-? What??? She stared, open-mouthed, at this sight. ?What? What happened?!? This was too much. Really, it was just too much. Was this it? Was this the end? The last town on the continent was gone, and everyone she knew with it. ?She decided then, that she would simply step into the darkness, and end it. She would not simply stay alone on this continent, just waiting to die, and there was no way she could make it across the ocean even if there did happen to still be people elsewhere. This was the only choice she saw.

She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. I?ll see you on the other side? Everyone? And then she started running.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2010, 05:06:25 PM by ShiningDrake »