Prologue

Prologue

The air was electric now, dried out from the barrage off unnatural lightning that had terrorised and set aflame the small village.

The awful mechanics hovered ominously overhead, the whirring of their engines and their blue glow, slowly shifting to red, permeated the senses of all those of the ground, no starlight or moonlight as they blocked out the sky, no escape now.

A single figure descended from the sky on an obsidian platform, clad in deep black armour contrasting his frayed and graying hair flecked with darker shades. The platform came to rest in the main square. The nodes in his armour began glowing red, he raised his arm…

“Move, get up”

… a wide arcing energy blast careened through three houses, they were obliterated in an instant, sending scorched tinder flying. Air rushed in from the surrounding area to fill the vacuum, sending the flames into an inferno. Turning, the figure began walking deliberately toward the town hall. As he walked several more platforms descended carrying more hellish ground troops.

“Run, just get up and run”

A barrage of explosions rang out across the square sending shrapnel and shards of oak flying in all directions, The sound of a child’s terrified cry rang out, there was no-one left brave enough to answer it. They knew too well that what had happened so far was a mere demonstration of power and cruelty. The real attack would come if anyone interfered or even so much as showed themselves.

“Stop crying, get up, run, hide.”

The grey haired commander reached the hall, the nodes on his armour began glowing, this time brighter than before, it gathered the energy from his surroundings, the lights in the armour of the others began to dim and the wind rushed in from all directions towards him, dragging the flames that had been set at the edges of town closer to the centre, they were beyond all control now.

He let lose the energy and completely vaporised the hall, a ball of red energy pulsed and bulged in its place, he brought his hands down to the floor and the energy followed his motion, the earth cracked and blasted through, he raised the diminished energy ball back above ground level revealing a crater in the earth hundreds of metres deep. His comrades didn’t hesitate, jumping into the crater and out of sight.

“….Looking right at me”

He was alone now, he turned his head to look back over his shoulder and with a flick of his wrist he casually sent what was left of the energy ball cruising back to toward the village, he saw the panic stricken face of a child scrabbling for cover through the rickety door of a small outbuilding.

“The earth around him screamed in unison with the child as they were both torn apart instantly. All went silent, and I don’t remember anything after that."

(Chapter 1 to follow!)