Prologue - Broken

Prologue

Broken

Flames engulfed everywhere Annel could see. Smoke burned her eyes. The shields of spirit she had spun over herself were fading. Why were they fading? Kemo, her spirit guide, flickered in the back her mind and she instinctively dropped to the left as a boulder larger than her body skimmed past right where she had stood. She rolled to her left and leaped to her feet again. When she stood up she checked her shield, it was still weakening. All around her bodies lay scattered on the floor. Her neighbours, her friends and loved ones lay dead on the floor. Some had their flesh burnt to the now scorched bone. Some lay on the floor with blue lips and water drooling from their mouths from being drowned where they had stood. Many had their limbs crushed or ripped off entirely from stone and rock hurtling like lightening through the air. One man lay on the floor, wailing, his face actually glowing with damage from the Power of Light and Dark. Her stomach turned seeing two child sized bodies wrapped in vines from the tips of their tiny toes to the tops of their heads. They didn’t move. Just towards her right she saw one woman from her village, her clothes torn and flesh burnt and bleeding. She was sat on her knees cradling another woman, her wife. It must have been Clarine and Sasha. They had been married for over thirty years. Clarine seemed unaware of her own injuries, holding the twisted corpse of her wife. Only the power of Arcane could do that to a body. The woman had no time to help others. She had to find her children and her husband.



She began running down the familiar paths towards her home. The sky was mainly blackened with smoke but flying objects could be made out sweeping and darting through the sky. It seemed that Air Mathrin were carrying Fire Mathrin on their flyers to drop flames from the sky, ruining everything it touched. The sound of metal striking metal and the screams of those dying filled Annel’s ears as she ran up the steep sloping hill. As she reached the crest of the hill, the horror of what she saw almost made her heart give up on life that moment.



From the top of the hill, her hair and torn dress flapping in the wind, Annel looked down at what she once called home. In the deep dome where her city home stood was all she could describe as chaos. Spirit’s flew in the blackened sky trying to escape danger. Some spirits dived down into the burning city and rose with the spirits of humans and other dying creatures. On the far side of the dome, furthest away from Annel, a monstrous creature made from stones of all sizes and colours was fending of Mathrin and soldiers alike from entering the city. The creature was a Tucdal, a stone protector that was being brought to life no doubt from an extremely powerful Spirit Mathrin. The city itself lay in utter ruin. Fire sprouted from windows in the domed buildings. Other buildings collapsed or exploded into pieces before Annel’s very eyes. Men poured through the streets, plunging their weapons into the innocent’s bodies. Mathrin from all the other planets littered the streets using their powers to kill the people of her planet. Water Mathrin plunged water and ice into their victims. Ice slicing away their skin and water simply drowning them. Fire scolded and burnt flesh from the bone within seconds. Stone rose from the ground as dirt or flew from nearby buildings before condensing around bodies crushing them alive. Air Mathrin were flinging people around in gusts of intense wind. Bodies went flying through the air until they made impact with a deadly surface. Light Mathrin blinded their victims or burnt holes in their bodies with rays of light. Arcane Mathrin strolled throughout the streets as if on a leisurely walk, their powers ripping objects to shreds or hurtling them towards others. Finally Annel caught the sight of large tentacles made from vines sprouting from the windows and streets of the city. They slammed into people, wrapped around their bodies, destroyed structures and buildings a like, spewing debris over the running innocents.



Annel drew in on her Power of Spirit. She pulled more of the power than she could possibly cope with usually. Inside she felt dead at the sights of what was happening but the power made her feel more alive. Through stinging eyes from tears and smoke she webbed out a pattern of energy into the ground and within moments a golden spirit that reassembled a snake rose from the soil. The snake like creature looked like it was made from thick golden hairs that twisted to form its being. In between the gaps of the shifting fibre the snake appeared hollow. Annel however, knew this spirit pattern and jumped onto the back of the snake and held her arms tightly around its sides. The spirit plunged down the hillside towards the city and Annel, as she gripped on tightly, began weaving and sculpting attacks for when she reached the city’s centre.



Half way down the hillside someone must have spotted Annel. The ground that her spirit was sliding along began to rupture. Spikes shot from the ground into the spirit. One nearly striking Annel’s leg. The spirit was well designed however, and its body parted where the stone stuck, then repaired its self upon passing. She continued down the hillside riding her spirit. Her hair thrown back in the wind and her clothes pressed against her body, Annel focused on her goal. She had to reach her family, her loved ones, and her life. She had no life without them. She couldn’t live if anything happened to them. Continuing down the hill she pushed two of her strong spirit attacks down the hillside and they sunk into the ground near a group of soldiers and Mathrin. Within seconds the patterned attacks took hold and seconds later two spirits raised from the ground. One, a smaller reflection of the giant Tucdal that was protecting the other side of the city sprouted from the soil in golden fibres just like the snake. It didn’t hesitate to begin attacking the armed soldiers and Mathrin alike. The second spirit also rose from the ground, a large golden spider. It leaped on nearby soldiers and Mathrin crushing them under its weight or wrapping them in threads of golden spirit energy that resembled webs.



Her stomach clenched, her arm hurt, her eyesight flickered as she took a portion of the blows that her creations took. Spirit Mathrin always felt the pain of their creations to teach them compassion for living and the dead. The Mathrin at the bottom of the hill were dealing heavy damage to her spirits and the impact on her own body nearly made her fall off the spirit snake. She grabbed on with sheer will power and forced herself to continue preparing attacks.



As the snake reached the end of the hill Annel allowed the pattern of its creation to unwind. As the snake faded from its tail end, she stood on its back. Just as the head was disappearing she leapt and rolled on the floor at the bottom of the hill. At the same instant she released two further patterns, one into the ground another in the air. The power in the air spiralled and locked into place within a second another spirit formed. Another golden thread beast with impressive wings and razor talons, it’s tail long tail curved from three cable thick golden threads that began curving and pulling the air into a twisted tunnel of wind between each thread. The spirit immediately joined the fray, clawing at men and using its tail to defend from Mathrin’s attacks. The second spirit pattern that Annel pushed into the ground with her arms cause six long golden threaded tentacles similar to the ones ravaging areas of the city to sprout from the soil and concrete around her. They flooded from the ground and shot into the air. Annel altered the pattern for the tentacles ever so slightly while they were still sprouting. Thorns burst along the length of all six, thorns shaper than any knife.

Annel stood on her feet and scanned the unfolding situation quickly. A Water Mathrin was barley holding off the Tucdal spirit on his own and at the same time and an Air Mathrin and Fire Mathrin were struggling to fight off the spider spirit which now had left a trail of armoured soldiers wrapped in its webs. The winged spirit had flown out of sight into the smoky sky above. Three of the thorny tentacles were attacking the men trying to gain a vantage point to cut Annel’s neck, while the other three had begun weaving themselves through the streets of the city. Why was this happening? Why would all the other planets be attacking Oothera? What had the spirit world done? Annel couldn’t waste anymore time thinking about what was going on. She had to locate her family.

Annel seized her moment while her spirits defended her and followed one of the now massive tentacles down the eastern street that lead to her home. Walking became difficult and her chest became tight as she darted down the street along side her spirit attack. The golden tentacle had cleared any possible enemies in the street and now only corpses littered the cobbled stones.

At the end of the street that seemed to go on forever in Annel’s mind, a slender man, short of hair and wearing white clothes that had been dirtied and torn from battling, stood looking lost. When his eyes locked onto Annel’s the vacant look in his eyes turned to fury. For anyone looking for Spirit Mathrin wouldn’t have much difficulty. Spirit Mathrin or just people of the planet had a distinct look and Annel fitted that stereotype. She was wearing traditional large and loose clothes with golden floral designs. More importantly her neck was tattooed with a picture of her spirit guide. Kemo, her spirit guide was currently seeking safety inside her body and was doing his best to help Annel survive by providing her with energy and steady healing. The tattoo of Kemo looked like a slim cat with a beak to anyone who had never seen his species before, and his long tail curved up her neck, onto her face and curled on her left cheek. The blue ink used was laced with Light Mathrin’s power that glowed gold in the dark, which would mark Annel out in a pitch black cavern with a thousand other people.

Annel focused on the man and realized that the spirit tentacle had veered down another street that didn’t lead to her home. Why were the spirits not following the pattern she had planned? She wasted no more thought on why her powers were failing her. Annel allowed the Power of Spirit fully to enter her every fibre. It was a risky decision, because by doing so Annel would have to use her body to create attacks, not just use her mind. A quick punching combo sent spirit energy towards the balding man. Annel flicked her wrists and fingers in the forms she had learnt since she was a child. The energies transformed into the faces of fierce creatures with teeth like spears and plunged towards the man.

It all happened within a second but the man deftly dodged the attacks and they struck the concrete where he had stood. His body moved like a snake or a lion, Annel couldn’t decide. He placed his hands on the floor and twisted his body and legs in a fanciful move and landed back on the feet with one arm behind his head. The arm and hand flew forward releasing… nothing? Annel expected an attack but nothing…

The shattering of Annel’s remaining weakened shield shook her to the core. Kemo screamed inside her body as it rebounded and shook her connection to the power. With no shield, another Arcane attack at that level of strength would shatter her bones to nothing inside her body. Annel wasted no time and hurtled another combination of fist attacks towards where the man stood, and some to where he might move. Fancier finger work than before turned the hurtling spirit energy into green flames that exploded upon impact with the surrounding buildings and floor near the man. Annel didn’t look to see if the man had been hit and followed the tentacle down a side ally, hoping she could find a clear path to her home.



The flames roared in some streets causing her to change paths. In some of the other streets the cobbled paths had collapsed leaving massive sink holes. Annel had to focus her mind and on her task in hand when she saw the dead bodies of her people scattered on the floor. She suddenly found herself not too far from royal quarter and knew she wasn’t far from her home. On her way she had taken out many soldiers without thinking leaving their tattered bodies along the streets of her city. She had never killed before, but the worry for family overtook the shock of taking someone else’s life. Kemo echoed the worry for her family inside her head and sent a shiver through her body. Her entire body was aching and sore from battling, not to mention the extra damage she was taking for her spirit creatures she had created earlier. Annel could feel their patterns fading. She worried again about the Power of Spirit; even Kemo was starting to feel distant inside her head. She pulled in more spirit energy but she was sure it was more difficult than moments before. More difficult than usual in fact, what was happening?



Eight more deaths and Annel finally found herself at the end of her street. Her home stood at the far end. Her throat choked. Her eyes stung. Her mind empty at the sight of home. Windows were shattered, neighbour’s homes in flame. The street was torn apart by Stone Mathrin and more bodies littered the street. Annel started sprinting down the street dodging bodies, debris and fire. She hurtled a ball of spirit energy at the door to her home, it shattered into tiny particles that spread into the hall way, clinging to the walls and furniture inside.

Once inside Annel was almost sick with the sight she saw. Most of the upper level of the house had collapsed into the kitchen at the back of the house. The living room was engulfed in flames to her left. Photo frames had shattered and the pictures of her beloved family scorched away. Her family would have escaped surly. The house wasn’t stable. She couldn’t see bodies anywhere which filled her with hope. Oh her babies could be dead. Her beloved husband could be gone forever. Where are you my spirits? She thought in desperation.

She turned to the living room with tears in her eyes. She focused on the spirit creations she had created earlier and tried to diminish their patterns to prevent her from being injured on their behalf any longer. She had to find her loved ones. She stretched her mind and power back to where the spirit patterns had been placed. She located the spider and the tentacles and went to pull them apart. Even from this distance and without seeing them pulling them apart was not too difficult.

Annel doubled over and was nearly sick. The spirit patterns had rejected her. Why couldn’t she connect to them? What was happening to the power? Instead of worrying over them she again set up a new pattern. Within seconds four golden threaded orbs appeared in the air. They darted around the house and inhaled the flames that were crawling up the walls. Only moments later the house was void of fire and smoke. She tried to unravel the patterns of the fire eaters but again was nearly knocked sideways when they resisted her attempts. All four orbs had a life of their own. She had lost control. They darted around the house like a feral cat before plummeting through a window in the living room. It wasn’t a big worry in Annel’s opinion; they would just continue consuming flames which could only be a good thing. They may illuminate her location to others however.



Annel ran through the remains of her house pulling away furniture and opening cupboards looking for anyone who might have survived and hiding. A scorched doll house ripped her heart in to pieces and she began to accept that her babies might be dead. No she couldn’t think like that.



She left the house after finding no signs of life. Her husband would protect their children with his life. Annel clawed at her mind, trying to think of where they might have fled to. The royal palace would be swarming with soldiers and Mathrin. Why they were doing this to the spirit planet was beyond Annel. She couldn’t comprehend what or why this was happening. Outside she could see the giant Tucdal collapsed still against the ridge of the cliff. The Mathrin controlling it must have been killed. The smoke and ash filled the sky more than ever now, and Annel couldn’t even make out the Air fliers anymore. The lights of spirits that were saving dead souls seemed to be struggling to fly away or were plummeting back down towards the surface. None of it made any sense. Living spirits were practically immune to any attacks. They should be able to pass to the other universe with little difficulty.



It dawned on Annel like a hammer to her face. Her breath became shallow and her eyes vacant as the reality hit her. The power of spirit was being destroyed. Its energy to the universe was being ripped apart. How could the other planets do this? Surly the entire planet would collapse without the power? Surly all the powers would die out if the circuit of power was broken at any point. Ten powers would cease to exist. The oceans would rage without water, volcanoes roar without fire, earthquakes would dominate the ground and hurricanes rip the air without Air and Stone. Plants and animals a like would rot where they stood without Nature. Light and darkness would cease to exist or would spiral out of control. Order would become chaos without Arcane and reality would tear at the seams without Chassic. Worst of all, without spirit the souls of the dead would be no more. Life would be no more. The gods would die. The Creator would die. There would be nothing.



Annel had to do what she could before this all came to be. She had to save anything she could. Her strength in spirit was great but not enough to save her planet, her power tiny compared to all the destruction the other Mathrin were doing every second. Standing in the street outside her house she said a small prayer to the Spirit God. Prayed for her family, her planet, her life and prayed for her soul.



She ran down the street, her eyes gleaming with golden fury. She pulled in the power deeper again. Pulled it so much that she nearly fainted from the sheer force of it all. Men and women, Mathrin and soldier a like fell like leaves of an autumn tree as she ran past them. Some killed before they knew it from sheer spirit energy passing through their bodies. Others were mauled to death by the spirit patterns she made without thought. Malicious creatures with teeth and claws pulled flesh from bone. Annel didn’t look back at the blood filled streets she past.



Annel didn’t know when it happened but she found herself on the floor. She clutched a small body in her arms. Glazed eyes stared back up at her. Soft silver hair that was dip dyed purple at the tips spilled through Annel’s left hand down to the floor. Her young body was still dressed in her favourite dress. A little silk dress that dropped to her ankles decorated with pink blossom embroidery. Her daughter’s body had been lying in the street crumpled up against a tattered wall of a house. She had lost a shoe at some point and her arms were covered in small cuts and dried blood. Her lips were icy blue which hinted at how she had been killed. Annel wept for some time. Screamed till her throat could scream no more and her eyes poured tears until there were no more tears.



It was if the war had stopped in those moments while she cared for her daughter’s body. Life seemed to stand still. Sounds of killing didn’t register with Annel’s ears. No more soldiers or Mathrin came down the street. In some sick sense of irony it seemed that they were allowing her to grieve for a moment. She picked up her limp body and carried her to a house on the street which still stood strong. The garden was free of debris or fire and she laid her baby’s little body on the soft red grass. She raked her fingers through that silky hair to make it look pretty. Her daughter had loved making sure her hair looked pretty and combed it five times a day without fail. Annel fixed her dress and used spirit power to gently lift the dirt and blood stains away. She put her daughter’s arms across her chest and they limply fell into place. Closed her beautiful green eyes one final time and kissed her forehead. She prayed for her soul, told her she loved her and promised that she would dance with her spirit soon before slowly walking away. Kemo wept inside of her.



Annel no longer ran down the streets of the city. She studied every body she passed. Any fear had now melted away and rage coursed through her. There was hope that her older son and husband were still alive. Hope. Hope was all she had now. She saw familiar faces as she walked down a solid concrete road with no side walks. The market street was now a mass of death. Soldiers armour glittered in the flames and bright glowing tattoos of her people still beamed from their corpses. They wouldn’t stop glowing for some time yet. At the end of the street she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks.



At the far end of the street what appeared to be two men were fighting a group of soldiers. Their swords clashed against a sheet of pure spirit energy and bodies fell to the floor as the men hurtled spirit energy at their foes. Annel could see a Nature Mathrin who had taken the form of what looked like a giant lion. It was circling around the group of soldiers looking for a vantage point to strike. A Water Mathrin lay dead on the floor near the two spirit men, easy to identify by his white and blue clothing. A Fire Mathrin was slouched against a wall, his legs obviously blown off, was still hurtling vicious flames at the shield even in his ruined state. Fire Mathrin never gave up, until death forced it upon them. It wasn’t the scene that caused Annel to stop dead. She was staring at her remaining loved ones. Her son and her husband were fighting for their lives. She began running down the street. The Power filled her till she nearly felt sick. Images of her dead daughter made rage burn to the pit of her soul. No one else she loved would die. She would not allow it.



Sprinting down the street she hurtled a solid pattern, stronger than she could have ever dreamed possible leapt from her fingers. It took a second, only a second. Armour, shields, swords, skin, muscle, bone, hair and blood was torn into a spiralling vortex. Everything turned to dust. The men and women didn’t have a second to take another breath, to even blink before they were ripped from existence. Kemo screamed in her head. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or scared but his voice curdled in her head. The attack had brushed past the shield that her son was obviously holding but had caused it to shatter. She had been careless. She could have killed them. The shattered shield had obviously knocked him sideways as he was now on his knees looking disoriented. It didn’t matter. He was alive.



Annel had ran a couple of steps filled with joy before she was stopped dead again. The Nature Mathrin, the giant lion creature had not been hit by the attack. She didn’t think. Nature was opposite to Spirit on the circuit of power and was heavily resistant to most attacks. This worked the other way as well, but the silver teeth and claws could easily tear Annel in two, with or without resistances.



Annel delved deep into the power and spoke to Kemo. Kemo could hear her thoughts, shared her feelings. Kemo in some ways was half her soul. The Nature Mathrin slinked closer to Annel, it had completely ignored her family. It wanted her dead. No wonder, with the amount of power she had just displayed she was clearly more of a threat. “Get out of here my hearts, get safe.” She wailed. “I love you, and I will dance with your spirits soon.” She couldn’t see them past the large creature. She didn’t know if they heard. Tears tried to force their way out of her eyes but there were none left. She prayed they got away safely.



Annel doubled over and her tattoo glowed a vivid red. A soft glow emitted from her entire body and she lost her breath. Within a moment Kemo materialized above her body. He was a small cat like creature. He had silky golden fur decorated with light silver stands that marked his age. He had gentle green eyes like Annel, perky ears with long tufts of hair and a long curling tail. Kemo leapt to the floor and ran straight towards the Lion creature. Annel could feel the spirit in Kemo spike as he closed in on the Nature Mathrin. His size increased with every step. His teeth would be sharpening, claws transforming into deadly blades. His tail would become more deadly than the most dangerous of snakes, in strength and poison.



When Annel recovered from the departing after a moment she glanced to see Kemo and the Nature Mathrin tearing at one another like feral animals. Kemo was slender in his enlarged state, he was agile and quick witted. Annel prayed his age wouldn’t affect him too much. Kemo had made his way onto the Mathrin lion’s back and had sunk those spear like claws into the creature. Kemo’s tail had curled around the hind legs of it, and was more than likely crushing its bones to dust. The creature was not putting up an easy fight however. It twisted its head and teeth of pure silver snapped at Kemo’s face. Annel took the opportunity to help and drew on her power. Without Kemo inside of her she couldn’t drink as much power as earlier, but enough to do damage. She sent small attacks at the Lion’s face being careful not to strike Kemo. The attacks singed and burnt the face of the creature but it shook them off still focused on Kemo.



The battle continued fiercely as it had begun, Annel helped when she could with little avail. Kemo struck his claws repeatedly into the Mathrin. No blood poured from its body. That would spill when it transformed back. The Lion like creature all of a sudden collapsed as the crunch of bones snapping in its legs cause it to give way. The creature toppled sideways into a building and Kemo was thrown into the brick walls as well. Even with broken legs and stab wounds the creature threw its body around to face a disorientated Kemo.



It was a horrid sight and Annel’s heart shattered again, even when she thought it could break anymore. The Mathrin creature plunged its teeth in to Kemo’s throat. Blood spilled over its face but it sunk its teeth further. Kemo’s eyes bulged from the pain but his claws still penetrated the creature in fury. Annel didn’t feel the pain. Kemo must had done something to protect her from his pain. She should have died with him, they were connected. They had been connected. Kemo’s limp body lay on top of the Nature Mathrin’s beastly form which was struggling for breath. Its silver body began to fade and Kemo’s corpse crashed into the ground where it had been. Underneath Kemo’s large body a young woman with glazed eyes stared straight into the distance. Blood gushed from her mouth and from under Kemo’s body, from her stab wounds Annel assumed.



Annel prayed for Kemo but couldn’t waste another second. She hurtled down the street again. Trashed market stalls and building made it difficult to run at a flat out pace. The darkness of the sky was getting worse and the smoke and tears blurred her vision. The horror of what she had witnessed and what she had done filled her with more pain than all the wounds she had suffered.



At the end of the market street she found herself outside the Royal quarter. Annel crashed to the floor. She was dead now. She was dead inside. Her husband and son lay on the floor just a hundred paces away dead. Their throats slit. Annel couldn’t think. Maybe she was seeing things. She had to be seeing things. This couldn’t be happening. She was losing everything. She was losing her mind. Lying on her stomach she lifted her head then crashed her head down again. They were there dead. Her husband had died cradling their son. They lay on the ground side by side. It had only been moments. How could they have died? She had doomed them. She could have saved them. She should have saved them. Why was this happening? Oh Creator why?



Annel stood. She turned away from the bodies of her loved ones. Pain was gone. Emotion was gone. Her life was gone. The other planets had conspired against them. Why? She did not know. She would never know. Annel drew into spirit again. She pulled it in. She drank it like water. Her tattoo glowed so fierce that it blinded her vision slightly. The power felt faint but she pulled at it anyway. She pulled more than what should have been humanly possible. The gods had failed them. Their leaders must have failed them. The other planets had attacked them. The Creator had failed them. The spirit planet Oothera was dying. The power of spirit was dying. Annel drank so much power that her sight disappeared. Her arms spread out into the air. The floor cracked and shook underneath her feet. She could feel nothing anymore. A final image of her family and Kemo flashed somewhere distance in her mind.



A golden wave of spirit energy spilled from her body tearing into pieces. Annel existed no more but the implications of her attack could be seen from space. The threads rushed through streets wiping out life. Buildings turned to nothing. The palace was swallowed whole in an instant. Bodies and rubble; everything was wiped out in seconds. Men, women and children ripped from existence.

The golden wave spread over the city. Over burning fields and tattered meadows, through the smoke covered sky. It ran over masses of water and over monstrous mountains, swallowing them whole. The wave flowed across almost half the planet before finally dying out.



From space the Gods looked down and wept for the loss of Oothera. Olan, the God of spirit filled their thoughts, his death echoing in their minds. A demon had caused all this, tricking humans into this act of horror. A fact they knew too well. It had sealed the planet and Olan from them. All they could do was watch. Olan was slaughtered by the demon early in the invasion and gods could feel the Power of Spirit slipping away with his death. The creator where ever it may be would be weeping too. The flames and death that could be seen from space even made the Gods feel ill. There was shared shock amongst the Gods when a wave of spirit energy spilled out across the land. The golden wave ate everything it touched. The Gods banged on the shield to try and access the planet, to save any survivors from their own planets. As much as they hated what was happening the God still cared for their people. The wave continued to spread. A golden blanked seemed to be covering half of the planet. As it faded the Gods stood still in shock. Oothera lay broken. Half the planet was eradicated almost to the core. The planet of spirit still spun in its orbit. Just a shattered husk of lifelessness and the Power of Spirit was no more.