Thank you, Viscoun.
Well then, here's the first chapter of my novel.
Chapter 1: Subjugation
Earth, the Green Planet; it was so young, so innocent. In our schooling we learned absolutely everything about it: its vast continents, expansive seas & millions of life forms. I always thought it was so incredible how much this small space rock had achieved in 4.4 billion years. Little did I realize how close I would become towards it.
In a faraway galaxy, beyond Andromeda, beyond the Medusa Cascade, lies my home planet of Gemstania. It was a very unique planetary phenomenon; with a creation date estimated to be about 7 billion years ago, a distant circular orbit from a massive star, and a rectangular prismatic structure, no scientist could comprehend the support of life on its surface. However, they were proven wrong, and so Gemstania flourished; the unique areas of the planet formed, with roaring oceans, searing lava flows, rocky earth, blooming plants, and even whispering plains. From the first life forms to my own time, it had become a very tranquil and powerful planet, filled with many different species, and also many different races, including my own.
Each race had control over specific elements; the Rubefecians controlled fire, the Jethestras controlled metal, the Topasirozarens controlled electricity and earth, the Amethevitras controlled psychic power, spirits and darkness, the Sappherisens controlled air, water and ice, and the Jadelfiers controlled plants and organic toxins.
On the other hand, I was part of another race, one that exceeded all others: the Emerald Royal Family. This powerful group not only was placed in charge of the other races, without protest, but also could control every element of every race, including the rare elements of light and pure emerald. Everyone was at peace and was living prosperously, but then everything changed.
Just 30 million km from Gemstania was a moderately large spaceship; but it was no ordinary ship. It was the battleship of the legendary Vitrolax, the dark leader of the planet Vidraxis. The legends told of him as a skilled swordsman who destroyed his own planet out of rage, and then vanished into the cosmos to learn how to control fate; but no one thought that he existed, or that he would return.
On the spacious bridge of the cosmic brigand, he sat in his command console at the back of the room. He had a rippling body of dark matter, triangular golden eyes and a left hand sheathed in metal. His mythical sword leaned on the wall next to him, his purple cloak wrapped around it.
One of the pilots turned to face him and reported, “Targeted planet inbound, Vitrolax. ”
Vitrolax’s eyes gleamed golden as he heard the news. “Are we within range?”
“Affirmative,” the pilot replied.
Vitrolax rose from his seat and walked towards his sheathed weapon. “Excellent. Activate the transmitters.”
The pilot returned to his console. “Yes, my lord.”
Vitrolax put his cloak on and, holding his sword in his other hand, stroked it with his steel claw. “Soon, the new fate will be sealed. Be prepared, Prince Emerald, for this peaceful day will be your last.”
*
At the time, I was in my private chamber of the royal palace, preparing for the celebrations. It was an important day for me; not only was it my birthday, but I would commence training tomorrow. I would finally learn how to use emerald energy, after 14 years of waiting. I would be the final member of the family to master it, as everyone else had learnt it much earlier. I wore my royal robes, the official prince’s crown and a long flowing cape around my shoulders. Mother had let me keep my hair spiky, but she insisted that my diamond-shaped eyes be outlined and the emerald in the middle of my forehead shined.
I didn’t consider it that important. Every Gemstanian had a gemstone located there; the only differences were what gems they were and their shapes. The Rubefecians had a triangular ruby, the Jethestras had a tear-shaped jet, the Topasirozarens had an oval topaz, the Amethevitras had a circular amethyst, the Sappherisens had a square sapphire and the Jadelfiers had a spiral jade piece. The Emerald Royal Family had a diamond-shaped one, as if a third eye; they considered it as a mental eye, watching over the universe and the planets contained in it. Me, I only considered it as a variation of a common trait that all Gemstanians had. My only interest in that area was of the insignias, which were unique to each Gemstanian. The patterns and combinations interweaved from the original ancestors and their descendants were so fascinating to me, with their intricacies and rune-like qualities. When the celebrations had ended, I planned to create a system to profile these insignias and use them to trace back our nation’s history; I could even discover when in time our different races branched off from each other.
As I was readjusting my cape, Emerina barged through the door. She was also a Royal Emerald, and my elder sister; she was the busiest in the family, and assisted Father significantly throughout the palace.
Her breaths were heavy as she spoke. “Brother, I have bad news. We are under attack; the Amethevitras are marching in military formation towards the palace and one of the observatories has spotted a battleship in orbit around the planet.”
I jolted. “A revolution? What could have happened?”
The reply was sudden. “Calm yourself, brother; it’s not a revolution. We believe the orbiting ship is behind this assault.”
As calmly as I could, I asked curiously, “Did they provide a description of this ship?”
“Yes,” she replied, and her eyes widened. “It had a purple-black appearance and bore an emblem of a triangular golden eye.”
The information struck me like a mason’s hammer. “But that’s impossible; he’s just a legend.”
“Or so we all thought, brother.”
I had no time to lose; I flew out the door and straight to the throne room. Mother and Father were there, sending messenger orbs at maximum efficiency via the large windows. They were both dressed in their royal outfits, just as surprised as I was by the observations.
I walked up to my father. “I presume you have received the description from the observatory.”
My father laughed. “That I have, son. You’ve been informed as well, then.”
“Indeed,” I replied. “But that can’t be possible; he’s a myth. He is a myth, right?”
Father turned to me. “From our observations, he’s more than just that.”
“Father,” I reported, “I also heard news of the Amethevitras attacking. Do we know why?”
Father replied, “We believe Vitrolax is using some form of primitive mind control. The Amethevitras had always been fascinated with understanding the powers that the former ruler had during the thriving of Vidraxis, and so constantly tried to harness it from the planet’s remains; they eventually managed to command darkness at a reasonable level, but then he simply used an unknown form of darkness to command them.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Why is he attacking? What could he possibly want?”
Before my father could reply, the castle walls rumbled. Small stones fell from the ceiling and some of the windows shattered. I had no idea what had struck the palace, but at the time it didn’t matter to me.
I gritted my teeth. “That bastard is destroying our home, our people’s homes, our entire planet! I’m not going to let that happen! I’ll fly up to his ship and kill him myself!”
But before I could take flight, Father grabbed me. “Don’t do that, Emerald. You cannot defeat him, and if he kills you, he will have accomplished his goal.”
I looked at him, perplexed. “What do you mean, I cannot defeat him? That he’ll succeed if I die? I am a Royal Emerald, aren’t I?”
“There’s no time to explain now,” Father said calmly. “All will be made clear in the future. Now go, follow your mother to the emergency capsule; I’ll handle Vitrolax.”
I landed in front of him. “If you have time to handle Vitrolax, then you have time to answer my questions. Why can’t I fight alongside you? What information are you hiding from me? Where is the pride and courage that our family has upheld since the first king was inaugurated? I will not be left in the dark while you can see the light! SO ANSWER ME, DAD!!”
Father crouched down so that his eyes were level with mine and he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Emerald, there’s no time; you must escape this place.”
“No,” I replied, placing my hand on his shoulder. “I will not leave your side; this is my fight as well, and I refuse to run while our people suffer.”
My father sighed and stood up. “Then I am sorry for what I must do.”
He held out his palm towards me and I started to feel drowsy. I tried to stand up, but within 10 seconds, I had fallen on the ground in front of him, unconscious.
*
I awoke in the capsule launcher, ready to be fired. I frantically looked around and saw my mother programming the co-ordinates in.
“Mother?” I said. “Where is Father?”
Realizing I had regained consciousness, she turned her head to face me and told me, “Your father is … dead.”
This shattered me. “What?? I thought he said he could handle any evil, including Vitrolax.”
She somewhat calmly replied, “He has become much stronger; he is now a larger threat than we had originally thought. That’s why we must launch you far away from here, so that he may never find you.”
I couldn’t believe what I just heard. My mother, my own mother, was forcing me to leave my whole world behind, all because of that vile creature that is Vitrolax. My whole world seemed to collapse around me, and the walls shook in agreement.
Shocked, I yelled, “You can’t just send me away from here! If Vitrolax discovers my departure, he’ll destroy this entire planet!”
I tried to lift myself out of the capsule, but Mother gently held me back.
“Don’t be afraid,” Mother replied. “I will prevent him from damaging our home. Gemstania shall live on after him.”
I held back tears as I struggled to move. “Please, let me face him, challenge him to combat. Even if I lose, I know he will be obliterated by one of us.”
“Sweetheart,” she said, a single tear streaking down her face, “You have come so far, but we are doing this for your own good. Only you can defeat Vitrolax, this much we know; and no matter how separated we are in time and space, my love will always burn for you inside.”
She stroked my cheek as she spoke this. A diamond tear crawled across my face. “No… I can’t do it… maybe you could…Emerina could…”
She kissed my forehead. “Never fear, my dear son. For I know that you are capable of purging any evil, no matter how wise or great. Now go, and know that your parents’ love and hope for you will shine forever among the stars.”
Those were the last words I heard her say; as Vitrolax appeared in the open doorway, she slammed her hand down on the panel, and the capsule launched into the distant outer realms of vast space. The last image I saw before my vision blurred from the acceleration was my mother, crying as Vitrolax’s sword stabbed through her crystal figure, her hand still on the launch panel.
As galaxies whizzed past in a blur, even in my stasis form, I thought for certain that Gemstania would be no more; I only hoped that wherever I ended up would be for the best.