They set out on their final journey

The silent, sleeping woods around them, their path untrodden before.

A solitary blackbird wails in the sky

As the pack of mortals silently tread upon dead leaves

The will to flee overpowering their instinct.



Numerous days go by, numerous nights in the dark of the forest

Their warm daylight path slowly transmutes to

Reflect the cold darkness of the Firmament’s Robe.

And under the stars they make their way

To escape the fate that they invited upon themselves.



And in the night, there was a presence

A certain being, watching, waiting in silence

Ever watchful upon the unlikely crew of mortals

That ventured to set foot in his swamp

And awaken him.



They struggle with the brambles, they rest upon the fallen leaves.

And as the Sun declared His arrival one morning,

The weary wanderers arrived upon the The Lagoon

Its cool turquoise waters shining above the morning haze

And the young, orange Sun lit up the Heavens

As they stood, mesmerized by the Blue.



The Being watched them, as they stumbled upon the Lagoon

His wonder mounting readily while He watched

As they set their tools to work upon the jagged rocks

That lined the shore, ever seeking some prize.

The Sun left the sky, the Moon took his place

And in her serene light, the Water was set alight

As the pale moonlight reflected off the Blue

And the weary travellers were soaked in the dazzle.



They searched, they scrounged

For seven weeks, but it was not found

The Item of their Quest, the Object that they required

Eluded them again, as it had done before

But they continued to search

Under the Watchful Eye of the Being.



He knew not what they looked for, little did he care for

What kept puny mortal fools alive

For was He not the Master of the Lake?

He laughed; a cackling, resounding phenomenon

That filled the air, the cold forest breeze adding to the

Chill that ran down the spines of His Unwelcome Guests

As they felt the clutches of fear at their hearts.



Yet, they did not stop, and once again stubborn will won over intuition

Who would not like to live on forever when all it entailed was breaking open a Jewel?

Who would not like to bask in the soothing calm of the Blue?

While their foolish brothers fought meaningless wars over silly pursuits

Theirs was a higher calling to be answered, so they believed.



And as the Moon rode across the Heavens one night

A green glint was seen on the far bank

Embedded in the soil, it lay

The Jewel of Infinity, silently waiting to be claimed by

Those who were destined to possess it.

A young lad was the first to see it shine,

He hastened to wake his father, their search was finally complete.



And as they ran down the shore, the Being watched , not willing to interrupt.

They feasted their eyes upon its unworldly light,

The elders were then called to decide,

How the Fruit of Immortality was to be shared.



It was then that they realised

Not all of them could partake from the Fruit

Only he who broke the jewel would be rewarded with Endless Life.



They stood in confusion, as the Being chuckled at their plight

It was time to extend His influence on them and claim the Jewel for His own

And He smiled in glee and revelled in His witchcraft

As He planted in them, the Beginnings of Greed.

And it took them over, a malevolent longing to possess the Stone

Raged throught the hearts of them mortals

While a furious wrath was awakened in each man to claim the Jewel.



And the Being watched silently as His work was complete

The mortals lay dead upon the shore, each killed by the other’s hand

Their longing for Immortality lay shattered

Like the blades and tools of their dark undertaking.

And now He finally arose, shedding His disguise

An old, old man bent over with age, He hobbled noiselessly

Amidst the bodies. He walked silently to the young lad’s corpse

And the Jewel that lay clutched in his dead grasp, finally found a new master

As the Old Man stood in the Lagoon and shattered the Jewel upon his palm

And so began His endless existence…

The Ever first creature to walk his land

Single greatest being of His empire

And his mighty subjects bring tidings to him

Tidings of valiant rebellion against his dark brutality.



The General of His Forces, sent forth to sought out the traitor

Upon winged beast he rides through the barren wasteland

Ever watchful eye on the hunt for the rebel

And the sorry being was found, cowering ‘neath the rocks.



The Dark Master himself attended to

The sacrifice of the rebel-lord, and the corpse of his being

Left out in the open for the carrion-birds

The elegant remains of grisly justice.



And so it begins, the mysterious cycle

Of hatred and vengeance upon the kingdom.

The Dark One gracefully eliminating them,

They who try to question his terrible Power.



In the darkest hour, He attains the zenith of his ferocity

And in that hour, one arises against him, one he cannot destroy

One who defies everything He stands for, one who brings hope

That vile promise of a better world, now rampant in his rule.



He seeks to destroy this mortal, a weak and puny smite under his rule

But for reasons arcane and beyond His control

Try as He may, the ****** mortal lies beyond his savage grasp.

And so, He calls upon the Dark Gods of His sacrifice

To bestow upon Him the Might of the Feral.

His invocation rings repercussion through the desert

As they descend upon Him, honouring His ****** sacrifice

He lies broken upon the Altar of the Elders

His flesh torn from his being, in mockery of his offering.

They descend upon him, feeding off his Lifeforce

As they reduce their Mighty Disciple to skin and bone



He finally rests upon wet sands, His savagely torn torso

The terrible remains of the Last Boon of  His Gods.



The irony hangs heavy in the air as

The One that brought about the end of the Mighty Emperor

Throws his Offering upon the Altar

Pledging eternal allegiance and servitude to the Dark Gods…



And so it begins again, the old arcane circle

Of  jealousy, rebellion, ****** and power

And so it has been, and always shall be

As the Masters of Chaos decide our fate

And they laugh…

I sit down in front of this piece of paper, pen in hand, the wind through my hair and a single dim light’s reflection in my glasses. I close my eyes, tired of repeatedly trying and failing to write an article. I wearily rub my eyelids and sit still for a while.
And that’s when I see him.

He stands against the backdrop of a waterfall, the green grass gently caressing his bare feet as he walks slowly towards the calm, turquoise lake. A sudden whiff of tulips assails my sense of smell as he walks into the water, his composed steps mirroring the complacence of the cool blue he walks into. He wades in till he is waist deep; birds chirp in the distance, trees sway in the wind and everything the sunlight touches melts into a golden brilliance.

As he walks in, ripples branch out from his torso, tattooing themselves upon the surface of the water. They move forward with him, each with a colour that merges into a thousand new hues as two of them meet. I stand there watching in stupefaction; he does not acknowledge my presence as he continues to walk forward, his eyes fixed upon the blue-gold sky over us.

All of a sudden, he climbs out of the lake and begins to hurriedly hunt around, muttering to himself
‘It has to be here somewhere.’ He darts off between the trees, with the raw agility of a young impala. As he continues to fly over the many shrubs and roots in his way, I chase behind him panting and puffing as the entire forest falls behind in a blur of green and brown. And then we hear it, the scream tears through the woods and the sky explodes into a whirlpool of colour; he turns back and looks at me, his eyes wide with horror and disbelief. I skid to a halt before him and I realize that we had reached the outcrop of a cliff. I turn to him, my back to the massive drop from the bluff, a quizzical look in my eyes as I find myself unable to articulate the words in my mind. He puts his hands on my shoulders, the fear etched deep in his wide eyes. And he pushes me off the cliff.

The air whistles past my ears as I fall to the ground; it seems like an eternity has passed before I finally rest my head on the hard ground beneath me. Every bone in my body feels like I have walked headfirst into a moving train, I gingerly raise myself off the cold floor to see him standing over me. He raises a finger to his lips, signalling me to follow him. We walk forward cautiously, the fear of an unknown disturbance still hanging heavy over us. We walk through an open field of wild grass, the pale silver stalks dancing in the breeze as the moonlight lit up our path. He doesn’t say anything to me; I walk alongside his shadow as his shadow. We come to a clearing with a single tree standing proud in the middle of a vast expanse of nothing. He gestures to the tree, we make our way there with haste. I walk into the cool shade of a massive oak and collapse under its mighty protection. He walks around the tree and returns with a figure in his arms. Next to my tired form he lays her down, a look of gentle calm upon his hard features. The moonlight dances upon her face and her shallow breath rattles through the night. Her stormy grey eyes lie wide open as she continues to struggle against an unknown force so as to keep breathing. He stands at a distance, silently watching the two of us on the ground; one battling for her life and the other silent and still like the great oak tree above us. Her lips part slightly, a single droplet of light rises upwards into his palm and she falls into a silent stupor. He gazes at the pinpoint of white in his hand, bringing it slowly to his mouth. I watch on as he proceeds to swallow it, confused about the events transpiring before my eyes. He throws his head back and looks up to the pitch black sky and a million tiny lights wink back at him in response. His eyes open wide, his jaw falls low and a burst of brilliant white light breaks through his tall, proud form. I see the mouth move, I hear him speak a few moments later. The voice rings loud in my ears, resonating from everywhere and nowhere and he says to me, “The path you seek is straight ahead. Do not deviate from the road and you should be fine.”

My head falls back against the firm bark of the oak as I witness my guide disappear into thin air with no evidence of him ever having existed. My eyes close of their own will and I embrace the comforting darkness of slumber enveloping my mind.

My eyes fly awake as a sharp ray of light dispels my drowsiness. I wake up to find myself looking towards a convoluted, winding path leading into the woods. Against my will, I find myself rising and walking down the dusty road. I try to hum to myself, no sound greets me. I try to dart into the woods, but something brings me back to the same path no matter which direction I turn. The sun beats down hard upon my head, and in the distance I hear the faraway call of an eagle. Resigned to my current fate, I walk forward taking in all that I see around me. The sunlight dances between the shadows of the twisted trees, the brown floor beneath my feet gradually begins to evolve into a lush green lawn and the air I take deep, calm breaths of is painted with the scent of rain. I brush aside a shrub and stop in my tracks as I take in the view before me.

I stand before an ocean. The sand twinkles against my eyes, giving me a psychedelic glimpse of a million pinpoints of colour every time I blink. The tide rolls against the shore lazily as the sunlight bounces off the surface of the water. The sky lies mirrored before my feet and my toes play with the fine grains as I walk onto the beach. I sit against the onslaught of the slow tide and feel the refreshing spray of water upon my tired form. The sun begins to drop gently from the sky, retiring to his home beneath the vast expanse of water. I watch the sunset, I watch as the sky is painted by the whims and fancies of the final rays of sunlight as they herald the appearance of a single crescent sliver of silver hanging delicately in the sky, casting a dim white light on me. An ethereal breeze gushes past me, and I find myself obsessed by an urge to enter the water. I stand up, the waves breaking around my ankles as I walk into the water with an oddly familiar slow, composed gait. I walk forward calmly, the waves breaking against my torso as I begin to feel the ground sink below me. I let the ocean cradle me; I surrender myself to the mercy of the sea as she carries me in her lap. All emotion begins to wash away from me; I do not feel the familiar wave of fear as wave after wave crashes over my head, pushing me down beneath the surface of the water. I feel no panic as I take in the water in deep gulps, I feel nothing but a calm of certainty as I feel the ocean filling up my lungs. I smile and close my eyes as I begin to plummet down under depths. I embrace the vast nothingness that spreads out before me and fall unconscious.

A blinding pain flashes behind my eyes, as I gasp and sputter to find myself on a jet black rock, sprawled out like an empty carcass. I look around, unable to find my bearings, and my eyes fall upon a massive, emerald green pillar. It stands on the shore, firm and unmoving even as the ocean tries desperately to push it off its pedestal. I lift myself off the rock with difficulty and force my sore feet to stumble towards the pillar. I fall at its base, every bone in my body feeling like a deadweight. I rest my head against my arm, panting and coughing when I feel a hand upon my shoulder. I look up to see a small boy smiling down at me with an odd benevolence, the light of ages of wisdom alive in his eyes. He puts his hand to the pillar, and I watch in awe as it begins to crumble to a vibrant green ash. I look at him in plain bewilderment, and though he chuckles silently, I hear his deep, rumbling voice in my head. “You have nothing to fear from me, I am merely here to deliver to you what you have been looking for all this time.” I hear his voice tell me. He walks over to the shimmering green pile of dust and pulls out a piece of paper. He places his hand on my head, clasps the paper in my hand and smiles. I see his small head throw my face into shadow as he blocks the sunlight falling on my face, and I sit still, relishing the cool shade.

I open my eyes in front of this piece of paper, pen in hand, the wind through my hair and a single dim light’s reflection in my glasses. And on the paper, I see this article.