Prologue
It wasn’t always like this. The world wasn’t always divided between Society and Ferali. We weren’t always the powerful rulers of the world. Humans used to be the majority. They were the ones who constantly took the world to the brink of destruction and back. And with the dawn of the digital age, it became more and more difficult for our kind to hide. So we decided to stop; when hiding had become more of a hindrance to those in power, it was decided that the time had come to take the world back from the humans and their self-destructive natures.
When the world learned that all the fabled beings, all the monsters, all the nightmares creatures, have actually existed since ancient times, panic spread like a plague. The humans tried to unite, in an effort to "cleanse" the world. Millions were slaughtered in a manner of days. It was far too late. Centuries of unchecked population control allowed us to thrive from the shadows. Many were powerful enough to protect themselves from the humans and their attacks, others were not so lucky. Many species went into hiding for fear of extinction. This forced world leaders to step in. Something had to be done before more species were wiped out, humanity included. Martial law was declared across the globe. All forms of government still existed, but the human puppets that spoke for their masters had no further use. The United Nations tried, but peace talks failed. Political views regarding human social status, accepted as equals or treated as natural resources, caused dissent and furthered the panic across the globe.
Several smaller “cleansing” attempts were tried and failed. Chemical, biological, even psychological attacks were all made against us, and all attempts failed. The nuclear attack was the final straw. We still do not know how such a unified attack was planned. Over two-thousand nuclear missiles launched from every corner of the globe. The display of power that followed finally broke the unified human resistance. Not one missile detonated. Those that already saw humans as less than equal were furious, but those who saw them as equal stood to their defense. It took only nine days for it to occur; World War III would decide the fate of all humans. The war engulfed entire generations of humans. The only ones brave enough to fight, became known as Paladins. The Great Unification War, as the history books would come to call it, lasted for centuries and it seemed it would never end; until one day, a young sorceress made an incredible discovery. She found an ancient tome filled with spells and incantations. It spoke of a time when humans ruled the world; and how all that exists began with a group of brothers who disobeyed their father. She tried to tell her elders about the book but all who heard her tales laughed at her; all save for one human boy. He would listen to her stories from the book; he may not have believed them, but he was fascinated by the young sorceress.
As time went by, she continued to study the tome unlocking powers and abilities that no other sorceress possessed. Eventually, they would come to fall in love. When the boy became of age and was given orders to join the Paladins in the Unification War, he notified his beloved at once. She told him of a spell that she had been working on ever since she found the tome. It involved evoking an ancient power, a golden flame, which would grant eternal youth to its bearer. She would have him wield the flame as she joined him in battle for wherever he went, she wished to follow. The flame brought many victories to their cause and he quickly adapted the name “Paragon” due to his upstanding nature and severe intolerance for injustice. The war raged through the centuries as the Paragon and his beloved would protect each other battle after battle, never aging. The stakes continued to grow as death became greater and soldiers became fewer until the final battle’s stage had been set. The remaining forces of both sides gathered at the Bering Strait. Earth mages on both sides raised the ground above sea level to reconnect the two largest continents on the planet, and set the stage for the final battle.
The ensuing battle would last for days, until the Paragon, seeing precipice of defeat for his people, gathered all of his strength and with the ultimate power of the flame, struck the world. Hours passed before the golden flames would subside, both sides suffered casualties so great, the war had to end. It would take years before we realized the full extent of the Paragon’s act. The Bering Plains no longer existed as the Paragon’s strike left the world marred with a scar so deep that a wall of golden flames several miles wide now separated the eastern and western hemispheres.
As time passed, the leaders of both civilizations would come to an agreement; those that chose the way of the ferali would remain in east, while those choosing societies’ ways would remain to the west. The Paragonian Treaty would be enacted marking the official end of the Unification War, its terms and conditions would be re-evaluated once every century. No one has seen the Paragon since that fateful day on the battlefield. Centuries have passed since last we saw him. Now cursed with eternal youth, and health from the golden flame spell I casted, I know in my heart that the Paragon is still alive. I can still feel his presence from time to time, so my search for him continues.
Chapter 1: Fractured (working title)
Paranoid schizophrenia, my mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. I didn’t know any better; to me she was just mom. All the homeschooling, the lessons on vampires, lycans, witches, ghouls, and every supernatural creature that could be a threat, all part of a normal day for me. Some days I felt like I was going crazy. Is it still considered cabin fever if you’ve never been outside? “Mom, why can’t I play with the kids outside?” I asked. “It’s not safe Aaron,” she responded dejectedly. “Nothing’s ever safe,” I uttered under my breath. I could see the sadness in her face out the corner of my eye. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, but she was being crazy. My dad was a research scientist for the government and he traveled a lot. He usually made sure we were stocked up on food. He had even taken me with him a few times to the store against the vehement wishes of my mother. This time dad was gone for almost a month, and we were almost out of food. The store was within walking distance, but mom wouldn’t allow us to go. “Your father will be home soon Aaron, go to your studies,” is all she would say when I would insist on us going out. Mom usually fell asleep for a nap whenever I did my studies so I devised a plan. I would sneak out, run to the store, and return with food before she ever even woke up.
By the time she fell asleep, it was already getting late. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, I thought but I pushed past it. A memory of my parents arguing flashed in my mind about her not letting me grow up. If I could show her that I could handle myself, maybe she would relax a bit. As soon as I opened the front door, I felt a rush of wind hit me. It sent crackles of static dancing across my skin. Weird, I thought, but I had no time to dwell on it. I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and took off running for the store. It only took me twenty minute to grab some milk, bread, and eggs, pay the cashier with the money I took from my mom’s drawer…don’t make that face, it’s not like I was spending it on junk. Like I said, it only took me twenty minutes to get the food and start making my way back home. I was home free. Just one more block and I would have shown my mom that I can handle the outside, that she was worrying for nothing. Just as I bank to corner to my street, “Aaron!” I heard my mom scream as she dragged me into a nearby alley.
I dropped the groceries and was spun around by a frantic, crying mother. “Oh my God, Aaron! You’re ok!” she screamed at me. I didn’t know anyone’s voice could hold such a rainbow of emotions until just that moment. Joy, terror, disappointment, fear, they were all there at the same time as she patted me down for injuries. “Why would you do this to me,” she said. Her voice now a whisper, yet somehow still yelling. “I woke up and you were gone. I thought something had happened to you. I told you it’s not safe out here…” “Mom! Stop! Calm down,” I tried to grab her arms but she flailed in every which way, completely ignoring me. “I just went out to get,” and as I pointed to the cracked eggs, and gallon of milk now pouring out onto the street, I saw the color pour from my mother’s face. I had never seen her look like this before. “No,” she whispered as she turned and looked at me, tears streaking from her eyes. “Mom? What’s wrong?” I asked, desperate for, for, anything that would make sense of what was happening. She grabbed me by the arm, and started running deeper into the alley half dragging me along with her. “Mom! Ow! You’re hurting me,” I pleaded with her just as she stopped near a dumpster. She opened the lid and a vile smell erupted from inside. She knelt down in front of me and hugged me fiercely. “I’m so sorry Aaron. I should have prepared you better than this. I thought I had more time. I’ve failed you. I love you so much,” she whispered to me. “Mom?” I couldn’t help the cracking in my voice and the tears running down my cheeks, “Time for what? You’re scaring me.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a vial filled with yellow liquid. She hugged me again lifting me off my feet. “Listen to mommy now,” she said. Her voice changed. This was the not the voice of the frail, panic filled woman that I called mother. This was the voice of a fighter. “If things go…bad. You are to open this vial and pour it on your head,” she said. “But, what is…” “Do you understand?” she commanded an answer out of me. “Yes ma’am,” was all I could say before she slammed me into the dumpster with the rotting things. The smell overcame me and I threw up on myself. “Good,” she said standing taller than I’d ever seen her stand before, “that’ll help mask your sense as well. Remember all the things mommy has taught you.” And with that, she slammed the lid down on the dumpster. I sat up slowly to notice that the lid didn’t close all the way.
I peered through to slit to see my mother slowly walk over to pick up our groceries. Suddenly, two figures appeared next to her. They didn’t seem to startle her at all. She tried to walk away but the tall one grabbed her by the arm and dragged her deeper into the alley. He slammed her against the wall in front of my dumpster so hard that her head cracked against the wall with a sickening sound. As close as they were, I should be able to hearing everything they say but I couldn’t make out any of their words. And then it happened, my mom spat in the face of the vampire holder her against the wall, and he loses it. His mouth clamped down sloppily onto my mother’s neck. Blood splattered across the wall several feet high. I had to hold my mouth to keep my screams at bay. This is bad, this is really bad, I thought. “If things go bad…,” my mother had said. I uncorked the vial and poured its contents onto my head like mom had told me. Hisses and screeches exploded into the air as if the vampires were now in pain. I leaned forward, terrified at the thought of what I might see. The vampires’ bodies had become deformed. “Lycans,” I heard one of them screech right before they took off running.
It was over, too terrified to move I sat in the dumpster for the longest seconds of my life. Nothing could move me, until I heard a deep exhale. “Mom!” I yelled as I jumped out of my garbage shelter. She was sitting with her back against the wall. Blood pumped out of the gaping hole in her neck in streams. “What do I do? What do I do?” I asked. But she just sat there staring at me, a smile on her face, and tears down her cheeks. She reached for me. Her hand dripped with blood. I leaned forward and she drew something on my forehead. She took a deep breath, and said “Promise me you will listen to your uncle?” I nodded, the lump in my throat prevented speech. “No more hiding my sweet prince,” she rasped, “Now…you…are...safe.” And just like that, she was gone.
As it turns out, the symbol she drew was permanent. No matter who we talked to, or what we tried, it just won’t come off. I lifted the hair from my forehead to show her the mark… “Are you crying?” Sasha Baker, the shifter who sat next to me on the cliff we found overlooking the forest below, was on the edge of tears. She shook her head as to deny it, but the movement caused the tears that had welled up in her turquoise eyes to escape down her cheeks. “That’s, so, sad, Aaron,” she muttered out between sharp breaths. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea,” she apologized for pushing me to tell her the story behind my mark that I always hid. “It’s ok Sasha. I’ve never told anyone how I got it,” I confessed. “But now you see why I never want to talk about it?” She nodded quickly. “Besides, it happened a long time ago. It doesn’t really bother me anymore,” I lied. Truth be told, I still blame myself for getting my mother killed. If I hadn’t left the house that day, she may still be alive. But I wasn’t about to unload that weight on anyone, let alone Sasha.