Raw energy pulses through the tiny crystal buried a few feet below the burnt ochre sand. Every day as the sun rises to its zenith above the Zephyria Desert the minuscule crystal is able to glean just enough energy to assimilate one of the molecules from the surrounding soil and add it to its mineral matrix. Slowly, ever so slowly, the crystal is growing beneath the barren landscape, as it has done for most of a century.
On this day however, after a particularly rough night of desert winds, a sunbeam strikes the tiny tip of the crystal now peaking out of the sand, and that is how the cycle of life starts anew...
At first it is just a simple white light, but as it absorbs the sunlight from above and soil molecules from below it slowly takes on different shapes and colors which gradually compound into more and more complex systems until they forge one fractalized whole which awakens from its deep, deep slumber.
What the... It thinks erupting from the sandy soil suddenly standing in the full sun as it tries to comprehend its existence, which has been interrupted for all these years.
It first tries to figure out where it is. It can think, but it cannot feel, or see... It can hear however, so it listens.
It hears the hum of energy all around it, but there seems to be very little variety in the type of energy surrounding it. It can tell that nothing is living. It listens for miles and only hears the slow steady hum of a vast barren landscape.
It tries to recall what it is and why it is here as its mind searches the landscape surrounding it. As the picture it hears solidifies in its still forming mind it begins to remember, and it suddenly feels for the first time as memories burst through its consciousness like a tsunami of emotions...
He feels frightened as he crumbles back down to the ground.
Lifting his sightless eyes toward the sun he begins to consciously suck more energy from the huge orb he hears above him as it beats down on his iridescent black crystal form. He uses the energy to widen his search of the land until he finally hears the humming harmony of life.
Instinctively he jumps to his black skeletal feet and begins to run towards the convergence of life forms.
As he reaches his top speed his increasingly active mind begins to calculate the amount of time it would take him to run where he is going.
Ninety-six hours! Screw that! He thinks as he draws even more energy from the sun and suddenly sprouts two violet energy wings from his back which begin flapping and lift him off the soft sandy soil.
He flies high into the sky as he listens to every detail of the barren landscape below. From the data he is able to gather he figures out how long it has been since he last set foot upon this land.
So many years. He thinks as he realizes the significance of the vast amount of time that has gone by. He is still unsure of what exactly happened to him but his holographic memory matrix is rebuilding itself from the fraction contained in the tiny chunk of crystal DNA that seeded his rebirth. Soon he will remember everything up to the last nanosecond of his previous existence.
As night begins to fall a fresh breeze blows from the nearby forest and consumes the black figure souring high above. He listens to every molecule contained in the breeze and can practically feel the forest tingle through his crystal bones. When he senses it below him, he lands.
He stands for a mere moment taking in all the sounds of life around him as he slowly reaches out his ebony crystal arms and extends his ten black boney fingers.
The slight breeze gently whispering through the leaves begins to pick up and the rustling of the dense canopy quickly drowns out all other sounds as the animals foraging and hunting for an evening meal. They forest creatures suddenly stop, sensing something is amiss.
Burning crimson energy begins to boil up from the ground surrounding the shadowy figure like luminescent smoke as an extremely deep rumble bubbles up from beneath the forest floor. The infra-sound is too low pitched for the animals to hear but they can feel it as an increasingly hot glow of agony stops them in their tracks before they have any chance to dash for safety. The forest creatures quickly discover that there is no safety on this night!
Scarlet waves of energy begin to course along the ground like streams of blood flowing from all the life in the forest. The crimson waves of energy flow from miles around towards the shadowy figure standing at its edge. Millions of tiny branching red streaks of energy squirm against the ebony skeleton like lightning veins.
Orange flame-like tendrils quickly sprout from the bubbling red river of energy dancing and licking at the trees trunks and animals ankles. The forest creatures suddenly stop their struggle against the fiery red pain as the orange energy freezes their nervous systems. A blaze of orange engulfs the red and black form as the fire of his spirit is suddenly ignited.
Spreading rapidly like an infection, cells begin to grow in expanding clumps all over the crystal skeleton as the elements of life from the forest flow into the man. And then a bright yellow flash consumes everything for miles as the new flesh begins to feed on the energy of the forest at an exponentially growing rate.
Muscles, organs, arteries and veins filled with blood consume the black form as his senses begin to burn, sting and tingle. His hearing becomes more organic as ears grow from the sides of his ebony crystal skull and for the first time he can hear with his body not his mind. He hears the rush of yellow energy as a low pulsating hum echoes throughout the forest. The sound sends chills of excitement through his forming flesh.
Another higher voice enters his hearing as the strands of green energy suddenly snake out from everything living, quickly creeping towards the forming flesh of the man. The green energy slithers up his body and into his almost completed heart. In a bright green flash his heart starts and begins pumping blood through his newly formed arteries and veins plumping up his flesh and giving it a healthy color, the dying grey forests life’s energy now coursing through him.
He watches as his eyes form and sees for the first time the beauty of the dying life around him, this brings a tear to his new tear ducts. His flesh bulges out with rippling muscles as his skin finishes spreading over everything. He suddenly begins to physically sense his surroundings without the pain.
He relishes in his newly forming senses as a high soprano voice echoes through him and with a sharp intake of air his lungs expand with oxygen, a cool fresh wave of blue energy pulses into him. His newly formed heart and lungs beat to the quick blue rhythm, and with every breath and beat of his heart the forest around him crumbles into chaos. Until all that is left is dust blowing in the breeze as an ultra high static electric squeal sizzles through ultraviolet clouds wisping around the tall naked man standing in the middle of the desolation.
As the last of the energy pours into him and he basks in the afterglow of his fleshes rebirth he suddenly feels very anxious and excited. He begins to run towards the newly created edge of the forest a few miles away. He can hear and feel the sounds carried to his ears nose and skin on the breeze, as the forest ahead of him surges with life. The chaos he created is resonating throughout the jungle and will last for many minutes. The excited sounds intoxicate his mind and he cannot wait to get there by running.
Two leathery black wings quickly sprout from out of his muscled back and within seconds he is in the air as his strong wings quickly flap against the night air. The large thin dark wings carry him high where he glides through the sky like a bat.
He covers the newly devastated ground quickly and when he sees the edge of the forest he is filled with such strong emotions that he breaks down and cries as he slowly soars down to the vegetation covered ground.
The smells sights and sounds consume the man as he stands within the throbbing cauldron of life. His senses pulsate with every experience as he feels his flesh physically responding to the stimuli around him. Moist moss and the damp litter of the forests floor squishes between his bare toes as a brisk breeze blows through the vegetation giving the leaves life. Sights sounds and smells of life enter into his organic head holes stirring his blood and releasing hormonal chemicals throughout his body. His flesh tingles with anticipation as he stands perfectly still and absorbs his surroundings through his senses. And then he smells it...
A large dumb herbivore foraging only a few hundred yards away suddenly farts and sends its noxious smell right at the man. The large swinosaur goes back to eating the low lying fungi and mosses growing on the forest floor.
He stealthily glides towards the animals scent as his flesh quivers and is consumed with an overwhelming hunger. Instinctively he heads into the canopy of the forest for cover as he creeps closer to his prey. From the cover of the trees leaves he can see the creature without it seeing him. He does not make a sound as he crawls through the canopy to a branch just above the unsuspecting animal. And then he drops.
As the tall muscular man falls onto the back of the giant animal sharp fangs form from the flat teeth in his mouth, and his fingernails elongate into long sharp claws. His wings shrink back into his back and out of sight as he hits his mark.
"Reeeeeee!" The creature squeals as it reels up from the pain of its attackers claws cutting into the flesh of its back.
Clinging onto the creature with all of his might he suddenly realizes that he in fact does not need to eat anything. He can get all of his energy from the sun or any number of other ways. And as he grips the holes in the animals flesh its thick blood making it hard to hold on as it squirts out of the deep wounds he realizes that it was in fact his flesh which brought him to this point. His body does not need this animal as its food, but his flesh wants it, so he thinks, What the hell. Biting down on the creatures jugular, and bathing in the dying animals blood as it splashes out of its body and onto him and the forest floor.
Gripping the doomed creature until it falls he jumps off its back and stands watching its last pitiful spasm of life as it dies at his feet, now soaked in the warm bloody mud. He then rips two large chunks from its back where he was holding onto it.
The victorious predator bites into the still warm, tender flesh sending excited chills through his entire being as he slowly savors the flavor of the animals bloody flesh. Consuming the two large chunks quickly he digs back in with his claws and fangs. He feasts on the flesh for almost an hour until he consumes only a fraction of the massive carcass and he finally feels full. But not satisfied.
He staggers through the forest in a stupor from his feast his body still covered in the dried blood. Not knowing where he is going and not really caring he meanders along animal trails, the cool night breeze filling his nostrils with air and memories. For now he is content and maybe even a little happy but he still yearns for more... much more!
And then he hears it. The sounds are very faint, but undeniable.
"People!" He says, his voice slightly startling him as he hears it for the first time in a long time. But he gets over it quickly as his mind focuses in on the people up ahead.
"Yes, that’s what I need. People!" He says with a large satisfied smile splitting his dried blood covered face as his black eyes and white teeth reflect in the light of the twin moons.
He walks slowly towards the people relishing the feelings of anticipation as he imagines how they will respond to him.
He comes to the top of a large steep hill overlooking a huge valley divided into dozens of big fields of a small agricultural community. He can see by the moonlight as well as the artificial lights below that there are many manmade structures scattered over the entire valley in varying densities. The rolling landscape is divided into many different sized fields which are being used to grow crops and contain livestock. He locates a central area where many people are gathered and seem to be in the midst of some kind of party. The sounds that brought him here is music coming from a few musicians within the middle of the crowd around a large fire.
Re-sprouting his wings the predator flies high into the black sky circling over the large group of people trying to get a feel for the crowd. He sees there are over a thousand of them and they all seem to be dancing to the loud simple music being played by about thirty or so around the fire in the middle.
They are Equus. He realizes as he floats down lower and is able to distinguish their race. They will be perfect. He thinks as he readies for his descent.
Sitting up above the valley on a small hill a young boy watches his community dance and laugh together. He has never really felt comfortable in crowds especially while dancing, so he stays on the edge and just watches as everyone else has fun. Halfway up a gradual slope he has a great view of the festival before him. There is a large bonfire in the middle of the villages largest field and surrounding the enormous pyre are thirty-one musicians playing a very repetitive, extremely loud and lively song. Surrounding the musicians are thirteen hundred plus laughing, dancing, and smiling revelers. The entire Equus community has come out for the summer solstice festival, and many of them have been drinking fine Equus wine for most of the day.
Something darker than the night falls from the sky, stopping and hovering a few yards above the fire. The observant boy on the hill sees the black winged figure right away. He struggles to push himself up on a nearby rock so he can get a better view, his sharp mind suddenly awakened with an excited curiosity. Now this is interesting, he thinks struggling to get his useless legs to cooperate so he can get higher and see better. The boy notices that most of the people do not see the strange object at first and the musicians are so into their music that they simply continue playing. But then a strange sound overtakes the music as the fire suddenly shoots up all around the figure hanging in the air above it.
The flames turn blue, then green and purple but do not seem to actually touch what the boy can now clearly see is a bare pale skinned man with large leathery black wings flapping on his back. He has seen men with wings before, but never one like this.
Awestruck, the boy gapes at the divine man as the colored light glistens off his perfect body. That he is powerful is obvious even to the boys childish mind but that is not what captures the young mans imagination. It is the mans deep dark eyes. Even from hundreds of yards away the boy can see the eyes hold the answer to endless mysteries and a promise of something new. The majesty of the mans presence and captivation of his black eyes instantly enchants the young crippled boy as he watches the fiery figure, and wonders what he wants.
The musicians and dancers slowly stop and stare as they realize that something extraordinary is happening above the fire.
Gazing out over his now apt audience he shivers with excitement and anticipation as he suddenly remembers the thrill of being almighty.
He waits for an extended silence before he fades out the noise coming from the colored flames. He relishes this moment of mass expectation as they entire crowd stares up at him in awe. And then he speaks,
"I am Aries creator of Aryn and I have returned to once again rule this planet and its people!"
The gods voice booms out over the crowd sending a chill through their inebriated bodies. But as his words sink in the silence is broken and within a few minutes there is a loud muttering throughout the crowd. He focuses in and hears negative comments flowing around everywhere. This angers him.
One of the musicians is getting a lot of attention and as the muttering dies down he steps out of the crowd and closer to the fire. Aries can instantly see that he is a leader of these people, his whole persona reeks of a good, strong leader.
"I do not know what this is, but I am Nitin of the Equus and I am here to tell you that Papa Aryn created Aryn and despite your magic you will get no support for your fanatical claims from this community. Now if you would like to stay and celebrate with us then..."
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
But he is interrupted by Aries booming outburst of laughter which drowns out everything else.
His powerful laughter rings out for several strained seconds before it dies down and the people look around nervously. They once again stare in silence for many more stressed seconds before Aries speaks again.
"Papa Aryn!?"
"I will show you what your faith in Papa Aryn will get you!" His deep thunderous voice booming out over the crowd, it’s bassiness rumbling through their bodies.
Aries holds out his right hand and Nitin suddenly begins to levitate up and over to the floating figure in the flames. Without warning Aries rips out the mans throat in one swift motion.
The boy watches in horror as his father is suddenly murdered right before his eyes by the fascinating flying man. He does not move as the fire then begins to shoot out in colorful streaks consuming hundreds of people and instantly turning them to dust. And he does not even move when people begin racing by the rock he is on as the flying man swoops into the crowd and rips people two and three at a time from the carnage. The boy feels as if time slows to a crawl as the winged god voraciously slaughters every man woman and child. But it is not the massacre which horrifies the boy, it is how he kills half of the people which finally sends the young boys shocked mind into insanity. He will never get over the looks of horror on the faces of the men women and children as their iridescent souls are sucked from their bodies which then turn to ultraviolet dust.
Aries kills everyone in the community, knowing that he will secure his rule of the other equus communities in a matter of days as word spreads of his actions. He cleaves though the crowd like death itself devouring the life's energy of every other person and simply slaughtering the rest with his bare hands.
When he is through he stands amongst the death and carnage at last satisfied. He had forgotten how much he enjoys sucking the life's energy out of people. He looks around at the death and realizes that this did not really need to happen, but then he thinks, what the hell.
He retracts his nails and returns his teeth to their flattened state. He then sends out a bright white energy which instantly surrounds him and completely cleans him and evaporates the carnage a few yards around him.
Aries stands amidst the field of corpses and relishes the refreshing night air as a breeze blows over him. He once again listens to all the sounds of nature, but something else sneaks into his senses. The smells and sounds of one person still living. He quickly scans his surroundings and sees the boy sitting on a small boulder a few hundred yards away from him.
Aries naked form turns towards the boy and then he begins to slowly walk towards him. He is shocked to see that such a frail looking youth could have survived, but as he approaches he sees that the boy does not move. This is how he escaped the mans reign of death. The crowd ran and moved around like ants running from fire so he simply went for any moving target and thus was able to kill all the life in the area, except that of the still boy.
Aries simply strides over the dead bodies between him and the boy without looking at them or giving them a second thought. He can see the shock on the boys face as he comes right up to him and as the boy looks up into the mans black eyes Aries looks down and smiles. He can now see why the fragile looking boy did not run.
He can’t run...
Perfect! Aries thinks as he places his large hand on top of the small head of the trembling boy.
Nitas quickly shuts his large brown eyes and braces for the horror he knows is coming. He feels the magic colored energy wash over him and then through him. As the energy builds to a climactic crescendo young Nitas imagines what it would be like to posses such power. And then there is just blackness.
Nitas is confused as he senses his death but does not feel any pain. He waits for it and then waits for it but the pain never comes, in fact he has never felt this pain free in his whole life. And then the smart youth realizes why and he slowly opens his eyes
The boy finds the endless black windows of the mans eyes staring back at him. It is then that he realizes he is staring face to face with Aries almost as if he were stand....
Nitas quickly looks down and sees he is standing on his own two feet for the first time in his life. He looks back at his God and smiles.
Aries looks into the boys now black eyes and then takes his hand and the two walk towards the sunrise several hours away.
Perfect!
Long, languishing sunbeams streak across the brilliant blue sky of Aryn as the owlwin swoops down into the lush Memnonian Rainforest. Wingsong lands on a small crystal tree at the edge of the seashore swamp. The ecotone is home to over a thousand colorful crystal trees, hundreds of species of plants and dozens of species of animals which rely on the trees and plants for food and habitat.
Tiny translucent crystal vines grow up from the swampy soil forming into exposed knotted roots, twisted trunks, and bent branches. An iridescent liquid flows within the hair-like fibers glowing brilliantly, even during the bright light of day. The tree's pulsating inner magic softly reflects off the tall cliff walls and large tree trunks of the shadowy jungle, illuminating the enclosed sea cove swamp at twilight.
The old owlwin’s boney talon like feet grip a thick, rigid, twisted crystal branch as he surveys his magical home from his high perch. Wingsong has been out since before sunrise gathering the six finest crystals he could find growing in the surrounding rainforest. His old gnarled hands shake as he excitedly extracts each crystal out of his blue rhinosaurous skin pouch.
"Good... good... Very good!" He mutters as he lovingly turns each crystal over and examines it feeling the life within the stone. Placing each of the six colored crystals on the branch the owlwin watches mesmerized as the trees internal glow passes through the six colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and, violet. He watches carefully as the light refracts through the crystals matrix and natural facets making sure one last time that none of the crystals are flawed or cracked.
Wingsong sees nothing wrong and begins to place the crystals back into his pouch. As he reaches down for the green one it slips from his grip and tumbles down into the twisted crystal roots below.
"Oh no!" The old man cries out as he attempts to snatch the shimmering green stone from the air, but he is too late. He tries to see where it falls but he loses it as his footing slips and he begins to fall himself. The old man quickly grabs for another crystal branch hanging near his head. Once his footing is sure he quickly snatches up the remaining crystals and jumps off his perch so he can float down and find the other crystal. Unfortunately the branch he used to steady himself got wrapped around the strap of his pouch.
Wingsong no sooner spreads his wings when he feels a tug at his back, he flaps and is yanked back towards the tree. Losing his equilibrium he flaps his wings flails his boney arms and kicks his stumpy legs cursing and muttering the whole time. "Bastard tree with your sneaky branch grab my bag will you? I ought to chop you down and give you over to the federation!"
Reaching out with his scrawny arms he is able to take hold of one of the willowy branches dangling nearby. "I’ll teach you who the sentient one is around here!" He mutters under his breath as he attempts to remove his pouch before it strangles him.
Wiggling his head out he catches a glimpse of a green glitter directly below him. The reflection of the setting sun on the rising tide between the crystal roots suddenly looks like a persons face to the mans large aging eyes, with the green crystal in the middle of its forehead. And then the old owlwin falls face first into the churning water below.
Luckily his old body still has some deftness left in it and he is able to spread his large wings and regain his equilibrium before he lands gently on one of the trees gnarled roots. Fortunately he can still see the glimmer of the green crystal but the ephemeral face has vanished.
Extracting the crystal from the water the wise old wizard pauses a moment and looks into the lapping water, he can’t help but be reminded of the Greenman legend of his people. He notices the golden tint to the sun reflecting off the water and snaps out of his dazing gaze as he remembers what he was doing. "Oooo, it's getting late!" He exclaims as he flies back up to his previous perch and retrieves his pouch.
One very large boulder is still left exposed at the center of the swamp in the rising tidal water. Almost at its high mark the sea stretches over most of the bog leaving only the small rock island for Wingsong to land on. There he draws an equilateral triangle with his boney finger in some moist red sand on top of the boulder. The old owlwin leans over with great effort and places the red crystal at the point facing west, away from the water. He then places the yellow and blue crystals on the points parallel to the shore, yellow to the north and blue to the south. Wingsong then draws another equilateral triangle over the first, but upside down so the two triangles together create a six pointed star. The old owlwin’s back creaks as he leans over to place the guileful green crystal at the point of the new triangle facing east toward the water. He then places the orange and violet on the other two points, orange facing north and violet facing south. The completed sacred symbol to Papa Aryn is large and Wingsong steps into its center facing southwest. The wise wizard then looks up to the sky and watches as the twin moons of Aryn rise on either side of him.
A soft sea breeze blows through the wispy feather-like hairs on Wingsong’s head as he watches through large thick spectacles the small full moon deimos slowly rise in the east, and the large full moon Phobos quickly rise in the west. The old man feels a chill of excitement, as he stands on the Aryan shore, the water beginning to lap against his wiry feet.
He quivers with anticipation like a small child seeing something new and fantastic for the first time. The last few rays of the summer solstice sun glimmer through the silhouetted trees of the Memnonian rainforest. Wingsong pulls from within his thick chest feathers a multicolored crystal talisman. The amulet is in the shape of two overlapping four-sided tetrahedrons, creating an eight-pointed octogram.
From the middle of the hexagram formed in the sand, Wingsong begins to move his fingers over the eight multicolored points of his octogram amulet. The old owlwin keeps a steady beat as he lightly taps the colored crystals in intricately repeating patterns. Red, black, green, then violet; orange, white, dark blue, then light blue; yellow, black, indigo, red. The old mans formerly unsteady gnarled hands speed up as he repeats the simple color/ anti-color song over and over. The gravities of the two moons extend their full strength upon the water below, and the resulting waves wash over the crystals and the old wizards feet. Liquid sand engulfs the crystals and Wingsong’s feet as the song emanating from his octogram amulet makes the six colored crystals around him begin to sing.
Beneath the lapping waves the six crystals began to glow dimly, slowly getting brighter as rays of colorful light burst forth from the amulet and into the water all around. The old man settles into the groove of the song as his fingers speed up and dance across the multicolored talisman.
Brilliant, vibrant rays of light burst forth from the crystals beneath the sandy water and crash in waves against the crystal trees all around the old man. The magical light from the wizard’s spell refracts within the organic crystal matrix of branches, intermingling with the twisted trees’ natural lights, creating a colorful tango of intense luminous beams branching weaving in and out of each other throughout the coastal bog. Intertwining geometric patterns form into intricate ephemeral compounds only to melt away moments later. Memnonia's life ignites in a magical manage as the spell’s complex web of energy emanates out of the old wizard connecting the quivering crystal trees to each other, the jumbled jungle, the swaying sea, and the star studded sky.
