Chapter 1: Child of the Stars
Deep across the vastness of space, a deep purple asteroid slowly glided past Loreon, a small planet outside of Gaia’s orbit, lifeless and barren, Lore is much like Earth’s moon. Slowly glowing red as it punched Gaia’s atmosphere. The citizens of Gaia rushed to their windows as the great ball of red and purple broke apart into 6 smaller pyres of light.
“Hey, do you see that?” ask Alyx, a small elven boy, looking up at the clouds,” a shooting star!”
Shooting stars were rarely ever seen on Gaia, the elves believed it was a message from the gods. Five at once, however, has never been recorded, and must mean big change was coming, and fast.
“Yeah, beautiful,” said Lin, Alyx’s sister. The two were twins, something considered unique in the Elf community. Alyx, a tall muscular boy, contrasted strongly with his short, skinny sister. Both were skilled with different weapons; Lin, the bow and arrow, and Alyx, the sword. It was not uncommon for the elves to learn the ways of weaponry at a young age; this would prepare them for service when they were older.
“I wonder if we could find bits and pieces of it,” said Alyx, sitting up, his bright eyes trained on where he thought the meteor had landed.
“No, it probably landed in the water,” said Lin, walking toward a giant oak tree. Lin was the more cautious of the two, always thinking before acting, it was not uncommon for her to question often before acting.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” said Alyx, standing up. He slowly walked in the direction the meteor had fallen, leaving his sister behind. Sitting up, she quickly ran after Alyx, not wanting to be left behind.
“Over there,” said Lin,” see that?” The two walk over to a burned patch of ground, small plumes of fire and smoke poked through the grass. Several trees lay snapped in half, a large gaping hole protruded from the side of the hill where the shooting star hit.
“Ooh,” exclaimed Alyx, craning his neck to get a better view.
“Stay away from that!” yelled a man in a grey cloak.
“Who are you?” asked Lin, looking over at the piece of meteorite, and then quickly back at the man.
“I am Leon, commander of the Cross Borders Army,” said the tall man in a gruff voice,” and right now, you two need to move along, this area isn’t safe for you kids.”
“We were just leaving,” said Lin, She and Alyx turned back toward Barton, murmuring to each other.
Barton was the main village that the elves and gnomes came together in the woods. The exact origins of how Barton came to be are unknown; many think it was the first settlement of the elves after the Great War, eons ago. Still, Barton is widely recognized as the home of the every-man, a place where people can come to enjoy time with friends and family.
***
Later that night, the officials of the Cross Borders Army gathered around in the chambers of King Das. They met in the library, the largest room in the whole castle. It was comprised of massive arched shelving, each decorated to match the theme of books it held; a dark theme for horror, a bright theme for those with joyous endings, and even an aged shelf for scholarly books. King Das was known for his love of books; when he wasn’t on duty watching over the kingdom, you could guarantee that he was reading some form of literature.
“My king, they have arrived,” said a man in uniform, scurrying into the room.
“Good, have the maids set out some wine,” replied King Das, laying his book down on his ornate reading chair.
“As you wish,” said the man, walking out of the room. The meeting commenced as King Das, Queen Evylen, and Commander Leon gathered at the table.
“Reports are coming in of a large number of everyday household objects coming to life,” said Commander Leon, looking down at a sheet of paper. He had spent the day calming everyone, and his tired expression showed through is gruff facial features. Even so, he talked with an almost casual tone.
“This does pose an intriguing problem,” replied the King, sipping his tea,” have the animated shown any signs that they are a threat to our people?”
“Not yet, they seem to be keeping to themselves at the moment,” said Commander Leon, “although the gnomes at the southern end of the gate appear to be almost hive-minded toward some goal. One I am not certain of.”
“We should keep watch over them,” said Queen Evylen,” just in case.”
“I agree,” said Commander Leon,” something about them, I just don’t trust them.”
“What should we tell the citizens?” asked Queen Evylen,” obviously they will begin to panic when their household items come to life as well.”
“I propose we send a team to investigate,” said King Das, setting his cup down.
“I second this,” said Commander Leon.
“Very well,” said King Das,” Leon, pick from the regiments the best of your men.”
“On it, Sir,” replied the commander. The meeting came to a close as they finished the last of trivial
matters in everyday life.
***
“I wonder what that was about,” said Lin, she and Alyx were walking back to their house.
“Not sure,” replied Alyx, skipping a stone,” whatever it was seemed pretty important to have the Legion over in this area.”
“I know, maybe Old Man Gupp will know something,” said Lin, walking into the house.
***
The next day, Alyx and Lin headed out toward Bass’ken Lake, home of Old Man Gupp and his quirky little fishing shop. A meteor had struck near his shop and he spent the morning putting the fires out.
“Hey kiddies,” said Gupp as the twins approached his counter. Gupp was an experience fisherman with stories that could liven up even the most monotonous of moments. He has literally seen it all and not much out there that can surprise him anymore.
“Did you happen to see the shooting star that hit last night?” asked Alyx, toying with a fishing lure.
“Nope, I must’ve been asleep,” said Gupp, walking over to the fishing poles,” although I am missing some of my fishing jackets.”
“Oh, well we wanted to ask you something,” said Lin,” something about why the Cross Borders were there so fast, it’s like they knew where the meteors were before they hit the ground.
“Huh, well something probably just spooked ‘em is all,” said Gupp,” you know how they are. Every time something small happens, they always want credit for it.”
“Well, they wouldn’t even let us look,” said Alyx.
“Probably for your safety,” said Gupp, sitting on his chair, he motioned for the two to join him.
“Well, what could have been there that they didn’t want us to see?” asked Lin, sitting across from Alyx.
“I don’t know, maybe a fire broke out,” said Gupp,” You know fires can be very dangerous.”
“Well, we didn’t see any fires,” said Lin.
“Look, you two should probably be heading back to your dad, I’m sure he could use some help around the yard.”
“Okay, see ya Gupp,” said Alyx. He and Lin left the store to go back to their dad. Meanwhile, Gupp hurriedly went to the back of his store, opened a secret underground door, and left the store.
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