Earthen Empire (1)

[Phoenixan]

I have a prequel of sorts for Born of Shadow. It's name is Earth Empire. It comes from Alucian's point of view from the beginning of his life to the end of the revolt in Rintu against Mr. Dark. This contains some spoilers for the story so far, if you haven't read what's there.

Earthen Empire: Alucian's Revolt
The Old Tribes of the Desert, Where All Rays Were Born

- The Hunters, the Ak Rau, or “Of the Twin Brothers” or “Of the Twin Stars,” Rivals of the Ak Lanoon
- The Sorcerers, the Ak Lanoon, or “Of the Twin Sisters” or “Of the Two Moons,” Rivals of the Ak Rau
- The Tradesman, the Er Erqui, or “On the Water,” the Traders of the River Lifeblood
- The Farmers, the Ak Sandria, or “Of the Sands,” the People of the Land
- The Visual Artists, the Ak Vika, or “Of the Mirage,” the Great Arists
- The Musicians, the Ak Indra, or “Of the Wind,” the Great Musicians
- The Inventors and Metalsmithes, the Ak Kavikria, or “Of the Underground,” the Source of Rintu's Great Technological Expansion
- The Warriors, the Ak Anbrusia, or “Of the Arrow,” the Most Warfare-Driven of them All
- The Philosophers, the Ak Xariquia, or “Of the Thought,” They Thought, but did not Do
- The Healers, the Er Granidia, or “On the Plain,” They Befriended Anyone
- The Religious Zealots, the Ak Leptys, or “Of the Leptys,” The Worshipers of the Bird God, Derived from the Knaaren Culture
- The Explorers, the Ak Arin, of “Of the Distance,” Those that Ventured the Furthest Away
- The Compromisers, the Ak Rintu, or “Of the Fire,” the One that United them All

Chapter 1

I am Zei Onyx Alucian, or as it could otherwise be spelled, just for the sake of proper pronunciation, “Zi Onicks Aloose-an.” In Rintu's customs, family names come first in one's given name, and my family name is one of the most notable. The Zei Onyx family is a long line of hunters, warriors, and generals, arching all the way back to the old tribal days, before the thirteen desert tribes were united under a single banner. We originally fought under the wing of the Ak Rau clan, or the Tribe of the Twin Brothers, but even after they were driven into near-obscurity, my family name continued as a name of honor and privilege. As you can imagine, a lot of burden has rested upon my shoulders because of my name, but I am not one to run away from it. I accepted it, and I embraced it.

My residence began in the Noble District of Rintu, a desert city-state. I was born to Fotios and Nadra; Nadra died during childbirth. Fotios, my father, is the only parent I've known.

“Son,” Father always said to me, “you are destined to do great things in your life. You hold the world in the palm of your hand, and you can receive anything you ask for, but don't squander any of it.” The way his voice always was when he spoke to me, I could tell that he treasured me close to his heart. I was all he had to remember Mother by, besides a few dusty pictures and some memories. When he told me to be careful, to not wallow in my family's success, but to uphold them, I knew he was just being a good father: a one that cared, and I loved him.

I was different than the others my age, and it wasn't just my family name. While the other children, even within the Noble District, played, laughed, and danced, I spent my time in my father's library. I read book after book. I read about Rintu's history, the thirteen tribes, the wars they fought, what each did, and about the uniting of them all. I read tales of adventure and romance. I read all about the sciences of our world. I read all about the magic.

Nothing else interested me more though, than war and history. I read each and every one in my family's library, and wondered if there would ever be a day when I'd write my own, or when someone would write one about me. “Ah yes, Alucian,” they'd say. “He was the first to climb that mountain. He was the first to travel the entirety of the southern seas, and he discovered that group of islands there on our maps. He was the first to establish trade with the fairies. We despised them so until he came about.” Yes, I did dream such things.

I learned to play Chess, and I played often with the servants within our household. I also played a few other games based upon war and strategy. I attempted to make up some of my own with some cardboard and paper cut-outs, though none of them ever caught on with anyone else. Though, I do wonder if any of the servants decided to bring anything home to their families, their children. My father even made the time to play these games with me, when he wasn't away, working. He did the best he could, and I loved every moment he was there.

I had a flute made of brass that I played, and I enjoyed it. I actually became quite good at playing it, if I must say so myself. I never played it in front of anyone, really, but I didn't play it to gain popularity among others. I simply enjoyed it. There were times when I'd find a book of songs in the library, and I'd give a few tunes an attempt.

My father eventually taught me all of the constellations of our sky, as months passed and a brand new one shown itself. I was told where the planets were. I was also taught how the moons changed phases, why we had seasons, and even why the Great Valley was always such a dry place. With it, he told me about the climates of other places on the world, and how the constellations were different at various locations around the world. It just made me more eager to travel around the world one day.

When I was old enough to carry the lightest of weapons, I was taught how to fire a gun, simply because I showed so much interest in what Father did and where he went. From this point on, there were times when I practiced hour after hour, when my father was away. I always wanted to show him what I could do when he got back. I spent round after round into target after target. Sometimes, they were paper targets. Sometimes, they were just things like balls or toys that the neighbor children accidentally threw over my fence. I got quite a kick out of their faces when they found a hole through their favorite ball, doll, or toy soldier.

“Aluce, you're going to be quite the marksman some day!” Father would exclaim. I could tell, he was so proud of me.

By the time I was the age of 12, the fateful day came when Mr. Dark, the nation's leader, issued an order for my father, to hire a mentor and trainer for me. The military-driven portion of my education was to begin. Usually, before this time, children of my stature in society had private teachers for the basics I already knew and learned through my father and reading. Father knew I was smarter than the others, and that I didn't need to be given a teacher until this point in my life.

Father was given the freedom to choose anyone he wanted, that was already approved by the government, of course, but not many, even of the generals, had the ability to select who they wanted. I wasn't exactly told who he chose, or what the person looked like. All I knew was that the person was female, and I was told she wasn't a part of our species. She wasn't from this country, or any known portion of the world for that matter either, but she was the mentor my own father had before he was allowed into the military ranks.

I was so excited, and I expected to hear a lot about wherever this person came from. I just had to make the best impression possible the day she arrived.

Just whisk me away to the lands beyond our coast, beyond our mountains and rivers.

The day she was supposed to come home with Father, I had a set of paper targets, empty bottles, jars, and a couple of the neighbors' balls, which ended up in my yard again. I knew they tried so hard to stay away, but these things tend to wander, or rather, I should say, they sometimes just come within a hand's reach outside my front door. I just decided to go ahead and nab them while they wandered inside. I laughed to myself as I carried them through the house and to the firing range behind my house. I couldn't wait to see the shock on their faces again, that was, if they happened to be around before I would leave.

I made sure all my items for travel were packed and prepared in the front room before I grabbed my favorites of Father's rifles and pistols. Each time I walked into his armory, there was a one particular weapon that hung on the wall that always grabbed my attention. It was simply there among all the others. It was the Desert Eagle.

The Desert Eagle was such a heavy weapon, and it packed a punch. Really, I was too light to much-less carry the damn thing. And when I did manage to lift it onto a table and fire it, it knocked me on my rear-end. But I thought it was such an elegant weapon. It was such a simple, yet beautiful, design. No extra décor was attached to it. It was just silver all over, with such smooth, simple curves and angles all around, with a soft black rubber grip on the handle. It carried the largest ammunition ever manufactured for a handgun: ammunition designed to penetrate armor and kill with the least amount of suffering involved thereafter. It wasn't designed to wound, stun, or cause an animal to suffer and bleed to death. It was meant to drop something and kill on impact.

I walked out with the lightest rifle and handgun, with a couple of boxes of bullets for each. I looked back before stepping up to the already open door, standing upon the woven rug on the wood floor. “Maybe some day when you prove yourself to be Dad's worthy successor. He'll be so happy.”

I had all my weapons set up on the table outside, in the open firing range behind my household. The windows of my own bedroom were behind me, along with some bushes and flowering desert plants behind me. It was spring, but the Twin Brothers were high up in the sky. It was hot, and I felt sweat drip down my brow, and my red hair stuck to my wet forehead. I guess it could have not just been the heat, but the anticipation of meeting someone from somewhere so far away. Finally, someone other than the naïve kids that knew nothing more of the world than playtime and the occasional “boring” math and history lessons. Finally, someone other than the servants, though they were interesting to hang around, I'll admit. There was one person I was going to miss though: my father.

I took the rifle in my hand and began to fire at the targets furthest away. My patterns were slightly off. I guess I wasn't concentrating enough.

What I guessed was at least an hour passed by. I lost my time in target practice. I regained my concentration and temporarily forgot about what was ahead of me. I instead tried to think about the targets being animals for the hunt.

I was out in the wilderness. I needed to survive. I had to gather food for myself and my friends or family.

Something with clawed feet was stepping up behind me.

I had my handgun, and I emptied all eight bullets from the clip in rapid succession. My victims were two bottles, a jar, and a can of old, rotten tomato sauce. Yep, we're certainly eating good tonight. Afterward, I shot holes through four pennies I had lined up on a stand roughly twenty yards away.

I set my empty gun on the table and turned around to see who or what was there. My heart leaped again. Was this my mentor?

I couldn't help it. My eyes widened. It wasn't so much from shock, but just amazement.

Before me was a monster. A combination of a dragon and bird of sorts, I guess. Really, she was quite nothing I've ever seen or heard of before. She was tall, at around eight feet, compared to my then-short four feet. She had a large snout and a mouth full of razer-sharp teeth that could rip my skin off in seconds. Sharp green eyes glared at me, staring into my soul.

Her skin was dark purple in color, and her feathers around her face and hands were a slightly lighter shade. The feathers at the end of her tail were white, as her feathers along other portions of her body turned white at the end as well. She whore khaki clothing, covering her lower body and feet.

THIS was my father's mentor?! How does that even work? She didn't even have close to the same physical build, so how can she exactly know my limits? Though, she did get Father through, and with top markings in everything concerning physicals, I might add, so if it worked for him, it should certainly work out for me. I couldn't wait to see how it would go.

“You're a nice shot, kid,” she said in a sort of grumbling voice with an added smirk, “but you can certainly do a hell of a lot better than that!” She seemed to eye him, examining his stance, physical stature, his clothing, everything. “You're no where near fit enough for a fight. Very much a disgrace. Very scrawny, nothing to keep the sun out of your eyes besides that short hair of yours. No way you're surviving two miles past your border!” She laughed at him as she held up two fingers with sharp white claws on the end. “You are definitely not your father's son.”

This wasn't anything like Father's praise, and it hurt me inside at first. No more did I have dreams of hearing tales of far away places. No more did I have dreams of going to the cold mountains to the North or traveling the seas to our South. But she told the truth. I could do better. I simply nodded, covered my face with a plain expression, and bowed my head out of respect.

She was my teacher now.

[Holy Crap]

From what little i read this looks good. I'll read more later when i have time.

[Holy Crap]

fantastic, i can't wait for the rest.

[Phoenixan]

Thank you. I have a few sketches that'll probably go with this too.

[Holy Crap]

I see you've put alot of work into the culture and history of the people. I quite like that.