Monsters (Rp u/c; announcements updated August Eleventh)

[TheAwesomeJenna]

Background

In beginning, there was chaos. Evil conquered the outer regions of the different universes and plagued each other in the dark. Then one day, a good individual stepped forward and brought an end to the chaos. When all the evil creatures sensed this, they protested and sought to destroy this one rebel, but to no avail. They clawed and snapped aimlessly in the inky black void, unable to decipher what they were battling. There was no sense of time, only infinite labor as the millions of immortals fought in the first war. Then, in an attempt to end the fighting the one pure creature attempted to view his enemies by creating light. He gathered all his energy and mapped out every aspect of how it should be and this was how the first star came into existence. This small pin of light in the vast blanket of dark allowed him to see his cringing enemies, trying to flee from the light. With one mighty swipe, he gathered the writhing evil beings and, disgusted by their appearance, thrusted them into an alternate universe where they would be locked away for all eternity. The chaos had ceased momentarily and at the same new elements developed from the star the good being had created. Seeing these things come to existence on their own, he was inspired to try and create more elements capable of sustaining and evolving by themselves.

Being thus inspired, he created a universe for himself that was full of light and warmth. It was hear that he invented new elements, mostly known to humans on the Periodic Table of Elements. Pleased with the new place he had created, the pure creature spent leisurely time surrounded by his inventions. After a while, however, a feeling besides warmth began to filter into his mind. It was the feeling of loneliness and the pure being found it unbearable and unnecessary. So, to ease his pain he created the beginning of a perfect race similar to himself. This race was fair and full of goodness and they evolved to fly far above the pettier feelings and emotions of the things at the surface of the universe. There was no sense of time in this universe either so this species stayed young no matter how their minds matured. He created them to serve his every whim without question or complaint and they carried on in this way for what may seem as a long time to even the most long-lived creatures of earth. Unfortunately, even with his divine servants the being longed for something more, but he had no idea what exactly he longed for. He passed the threshold back into the plain universe that was only inhabited by a single star. To begin, he made more stars and scattered them throughout the universe in patterns that would allow them to sustain themselves in an organized manner. He then began to make stars that did not burn, but shone from long distances. It then occurred to him to create a new race on one of these extinguished stars. So, by the first star ever created, he set a new race on its course of existence. Not being able to tend to it himself all the time he created a different aspect that would allow the race to age and mature on its own. So began time. In order to watch over this race, he crated a portal that would allow him to watch it at all times without being detected. Also, through this portal the eternal souls inhabiting the bodies of the creatures could pass into the realm where he could be with them for the rest of eternity.

The flameless star flourished with life as it grew in size and splendor. Exotic plants grew across the masses of lands and intelligent life sprouted from the vast waters that covered most of the planet. As time took its course the creatures stood up straight and learned to communicate in the language taught to them by the god. They adapted to their surroundings hastily and their intelligence excelled beyond any human's wildest imagination. They learned how to use the resources of the ground and liquid they inhabited and soon grand cities were erected in their creator's honor and named their planet after what they called him, Kaxorid. Their abilities to adapt their bodies grew; eventually they were capable of morphing into any shape and form and even increase or decrease their mass by gathering other items or shedding their skin. Because the changing process was painful, however, they remained in one form for most of their long lives. As their race conquered the planet, transforming it into one towering city in a long painful process not unlike their own changes, they grew arrogant. The devout worshippers grew fewer and fewer in number and one day one Kaxoridian stepped forward and urged his fellow morphers to rise against the oppressive believers. He gathered a group of rebels that sought to bring down Kaxorid's empire and start a new monarchy that he was ruler of, the organization became known as the Wings of Transcendence. Not everyone joined the rebel group, despite the persuasive rebel leader Calix. Instead, they aligned themselves with the church and on one fatal day, began the first crusade. The brutal war lasted for over a century. With the race's ability to reproduce at an alarming rate and their, neither side lost resources and generations knew of nothing but war. Calix, surprisingly enough, did not die or even appear to grow old for that matter. It was as if he had Kaxorid himself on his side, keeping him young and allowing him to win repeatedly. Another twenty years passed before the most brutal of all the battles unfolded. During those twenty years Calix had transformed himself into something not unlike on of the evil beings that Kaxorid had banished to the alternate universe. Horrified by his strength and defiance, the mightier being was forced to strike down upon the extinguished star trapped in turmoil. Mighty crimson storm clouds gathered above the oblivious Kaxloridians and the immortal struck down, tearing the flesh of the children of the first planet. Their powers were stripped from those who survived and the Kaxloridians who died were sent to the alternate universe where the other evil beings were instead of the pure being's garden. The planet was completely destroyed, leaving no chance of any survivors, or so he assumed. Calix and a few choice followers managed to deceive the almighty being and escape to one of the distant moons that orbited the planet and there they weighted, in the form of soil so the superior being could not detect them. Saddened by the race's failure, the ultimate being went into a deep slumber in his timeless realm and didn't emerge for what would seem like a millennium if it happened in the human world, but only lasted for a second in reality.

Refreshed and inspired, the ultimate being set out to create a new planet and plan a different race that he was sure would not betray him the way the Kaxloridians did. On the far side of the universe, the superior being gathered together the elements that would make a planet with continents far enough apart to prevent the mass building and industrialization that the Kaxloridians put into use. The new race could not transform as the old one could nor could they adapt as quickly. They were, however, extremely intelligent and longed to be one with the earth instead of yearning for power and forcing their ideas on others. The Supreme Being did, however, give them the power to mold their surroundings and their own bodies to some extent as long as nothing was harmed in the process. This new race grew far more slowly than the other one, but they grew fair and wise until they were developed into a immortal fearing race that dwelled in the forest and oceans of their planet. Using their powers, they formed houses and palaces out of stone and foliage and soon instigated a monarchy from the most gifted of their race. They flourished and spread across the planet, each new ethnicity gaining unique characteristics. The city it all started in, however, was where the Royal family lived. The city was deep in the heart of the forest and traded with all the other members by way of water routes. The race knew everything there was to know about their planet and respected every inch of it from the vast purple sky to the smallest fire beetle. They lived their lives in a way much like humans will millennia later different only in their abilities, wisdom, and respect for the one that gave them their abilities and the planet they so loved. In honor of their creator, they erected a tall, white spiraling place of worship with a pointed white tower that spiraled toward the sky the way their beloved trees did, at the opening of the building they named their planet Flarijek meaning 'the fairest of all' in their language. One day, however, a shadow fell on the tower and sand fell from the sky. The race sought shelter in a panic, wondering why their creator was punishing them in this way. The sand fell on top of the tip of the tower of the worship building and molded itself into a dark winged figure with handsome, rigid features. Three more winged figures of fair skin landed at the foot of the building and looked around at the flustered race with evil smirks on their face.

It took Calix and his gang two days to learn the new races language. They told the citizens that they were descendents of their creator and should be treated accordingly. After several weeks of much needed rest and pampering, Calix requested to meet with the royalty and insisted he go to them instead of the other way around. Little did he know, the so-called creator of Flarijek watched the whole ideal and, instead of standing idly by, he decided to take action. He sent his favorite servant, Lucifer, to inform the only princess of the planet that she needed to marry and have a child. That child would prevent chaos from emanating from these falsely praised newcomers and bring peace to their planet once again. The princess accepted her duty and married a strong beautiful man whom her father picked out for her. To make sure nothing would happen to her while she was pregnant and to ensure she wouldn't be tricked by Calix, the ultimate being created a new creature. This creature's intelligence exceeded even Calix and the wisest winged servant of His garden. The creature didn't need to speak, but communicated with the power of its great intelligence and could even converse with the almighty Himself. Besides this, the animal could change its appearance at the blink of an eye as long it maintained its petite size and could even turn invisible. The immortal creature appeared to be so alien yet so perfect, that only the wisest intellectual wouldn't go insane at the sight of it. For this reason, it normally maintained the shape of a common pet or beautiful wild bird. The creator sent two of these animals to the newly impregnated princess and told them to guard and educate her and her child in the ways of the universe and prevent the Kaxloridians from taking over and wreaking havoc on the happy planet.

Two years passed and the princess gave birth to a beautiful baby girl christened Astra. The little girl was hidden away in the confines of maze-like castle, in a place that could only be found with a map. She was left there with the animals the Supreme Being created and the only copy of the map that led to her hiding place. There was a garden grown for food and beauty and it was here that the small princess learned the ways of the world and the evils of the Kaxloridians. She grew to despise the traitor who transformed himself into the evil beings that used to roam the universe. With the help of her super intelligent tutors, her knowledge soon exceeded that of even Calix. She befriended her tutors, affectionately calling their species Gnosi, after the word for knowledge from a future species' language. She was not only educated in history, future, and present, however, her tutors trained her to use many different weapons and battle tactics should reasoning not prevail over a battle. As she grew, Calix and his fellow Kaxoridians persuaded the king to accept them into their race. After much pestering and eventually threatening, the king of Flarijek promised Calix his granddaughter’s hand in marriage and named him the next ruler of the planet. Soon after the proper documents were inscribed in the planet's oldest tree the Kaxloridians murdered every member of the royal family and began to delve through the palace libraries and the guards' memories in search of information pertaining to the hidden queen to be. They spent three more years in search of her, unbeknownst to the hidden princess while she finished her training. The Gnosi, on the other hand, were well aware of the turmoil taking place within the palace walls. They began to tunnel out of the palace with Astra's help and they finally made it to the tree of manuscripts where the documents explaining the pact between the Kaxloridians and the late Flarijekian could be summoned. They all studied the writing, warily trying to find a loophole, but to no avail. With no other option, they addressed the Almighty creator for assistance. The creator urged them to follow through with the king's promise and have Astra marry the traitor of worlds, then have her control the planet and his actions with simple suggestions. Then the Supreme Being bestowed the power of mental suggestion onto the worried princess, allowing her to communicate with people through her thoughts as the Gnosi thereby giving her the power to influence others in a way no other mortal could.

With confidence, the princess approached the palace despite the two Kaxoridian guards at the front gate for she knew that the Supreme Being was on her side. The two guards ignored her, believing her to be a simple Flarijekian maid or servant who didn’t live in the palace. From the gate she proceeded to the main hall, led by the creatures that raised her. The hall was painted black with marble pillars holding the high starry ceiling. The walls were adorned with crystals and diamonds made to look like stars and lines of green jade ran up the pillars only to sprout out in beautiful stone leaves and vines. The most predominate item in the room, however was the giant yellow diamond made to look like the dead planet of Kaxorid behind the white marble and gold throne lined with crimson silk. Astra gazed around in awe; everything was exceedingly beautiful, but extremely cold as well. Everything was icy and stunning, including the Kaxoridian glaring at her from the large throne. Astra felt as if her heart was about to leap out from her chest, it was beating so hard she felt as if the thumping could be heard from the farthest corners of the universe. She began to glisten with her perspiration and the evaporating sweat gave her chills that made her entire body shudder. ‘Evaporation is a cooling process,’ her reason comforted her, but her heart argued that it was the Kaxoridian’s stare that made her shiver instead. As if sensing her stress, the invisible Gnosi rubbed up against her bare legs in an attempt to give her strength and confidence. She approached the dazzling throne with a fake air of poise until the handsome creature occupying it impeded her with a raised hand. He said nothing, only looked upon her with mild inquisitiveness. With one deep breath she let her voice resonate throughout the room, “I have come to fulfill the contract you forced upon my father many years ago,” her voice was meant to be strong, but it came out shaky and weak and barely traveled to the throne in front of her. As if interested now, the Kaxoridian raised an inquiring eyebrow before he spoke in a strong deep voice; “I have made many contracts on this planet young lady. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific.” He sounded strong, but his eyes looked exhausted for some reason. Astra stood there for a while before she realized that it was her turn to reply, the Kaxoridian was still staring at her as if his emerald eyes could penetrate her earthly body and see into her very soul. “My name is Astra, and I am here to perform the marriage my father’s contract has bound me to,” she said, her voice finally powerful as it echoed through the sparkling hall. Calix stood up from his chair and steadily strode over to the girl. She was the perfect combination of her parents, her hair was soft and golden like her father’s, but her eyes were the trenchant dark blue of her mother. Her skin was lightly tan and smooth; the only interruption in its loveliness was a small, star fashioned birthmark on her abdomen. A flowing blue gown that mimicked the sun reflecting on the ocean at dawn concealed most of her skin, however, except for her face, neck, and collarbone. Calix was directly in front of her now; he bent his tall frame over to look into her eyes, but with nothing remotely like affection or love. His eyes were discerning, trying to verify or fling her statement aside. “You are not the first to claim this title, my dear. The princess, Astra, is hidden in a labyrinth that can not be accessed without a map,” he stated, his eyes appearing exhausted and bored again. He started to make his way back to his throne, but immediately halted and turned back around at the sound of rustling paper. “Do you mean this map Calix?” she said his name as if the syllables would make her spontaneously burst into flames. With lightning speed, Calix fell upon her and clutched at the map with his stalwart hands. Astra was too quick for him however, and tucked the map away again before the cruel monster could grasp it. His fierce eyes bore into her now, no longer bored or exhausted in any way.

Astra raised her chin higher, despite his frightening gaze and laughed in his face. In his fury, Calix clenched her exposed neck in his muscular hand and lifted her off her feet while the Gnosi stood by, unable to do anything but watch. He was equally matched, however, and because this had never happened before he was caught off guard and didn’t see her strong leg kick out into his gut. His hand automatically loosened enough for Astra to breathe, an action which she took advantage of by kicking again and again with rapid precision. Before long, she was safely on the ground and Calix was bent over before her in an involuntary bow. Now Calix was forced to look up at her, “Never underestimate your opponent,” she said with a cruel smile. After a few moments Calix raised himself up to his full height again and began to grow claws where his fingernails were. The talons were black, shiny, and obviously sharp. Though Astra had been aware that Kaxoridians were capable of transforming their appearances, she had no idea they could do it so fast, or maybe only Calix could morph so fast. She stared at the growing claws in terror as they grew and sharpened until a small scream emerged from her lips. Calix smiled now, a cruel foreboding smile that exposed sharp, elongated teeth that had changed like his claws. With one hand he held Astra in place, bringing her up against his strong form to make it easier; he brought his other hand to the princess’ abdomen, making her quiver in disgust and panic. Then his razor sharp claw ripped the fabric of her dress and began to make a horizontal slit across her abdomen. He was planning to turn the gown into a shirt and skirt, but he was compelled to stop by some unknown whim after making a cut no larger than three inches. His claws immediately disappeared then as he wrenched the girl away from him and examined the fresh rip. Astra had turned into a fleshy statue without even noticing. Calix proceeded to open her dress with a cold and determined look in his eye. Then, with a brutal laugh, Calix spotted the star shaped birthmark that Astra’s mother had named her for. Astra began to perspire again as Calix rose to his full height again with a perceptive look in his eye and a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Very well princess, I’m sure your father will be proud to know his daughter is not an evasive imbecile like he was.” With one swipe of her hand, Astra slapped her fiancé across the face as hard as she could, leaving a red mark where she struck him.