Teaser Project: The Aeon Chronicles

This is a teaser project I worked on a while back. One of several. It started out as a plot bunny I realised wouldn't fit well into HoGW. Unfortunately, I couldn't get rid of it. It then haunted me until I developed it into something independent. I stopped myself after three chapters but by then, what I had was something worth developing. Maybe one day...

Check it out!

Synopsis:  

Pride goes before the fall and prideful gods fall very hard.

Kerma had it all, fame, wealth and an empire that stretched across entire worlds. However, being a cultivator through and through, personal power matter more to him than anything else. He was a Dao Lord but that wasn't enough, not when legends existed of a realm beyond even that.

In search of greater strength, Kerma did the unthinkable. He ventured into the eternal void seeking to comprehend its mysteries in the hopes that merging it into his dao would propel him to transcendence.

His failure was monumental. Not only did he fail his objective, he nearly perished. His cultivation is now in shambles. He has just woken in a strange foreign world and there are people he's never met who believe him to be their god. 

What's he to do now?

BK I, Chapter One: Vigil's End

Dain led his brethren, The Order of the Watchful Vigil in kneeling. After centuries of waiting, their vigil was finally nearing its end and their purpose was going to see fruition. His eyes swept his surroundings, hoping to etch the proceeds into his memories for posterity. With contempt, he noted down the faces of those among his fellows who despaired and acted as if the world was ending. 

‘How dare they besmirch this moment?’ He snarled mentally. ‘Was their faith truly so little? This was the hour of their God’s awakening. Could they not embarrass themselves and the rest of the order?’

The earth trembled, groaning and shifting. The ever-present flames that shrouded the Caverns of Rest stirred. Some flaring into gigantic infernos that touched the mile high ceilings of the caverns whilst others sputtered and died. Smothered by either the rising earth or the falling stones. Uncut gemstones taller than men erupted in spires from the ground whilst their fellows either fell from the ceiling or were swallowed by the shifting earth. 

Dain killed what doubtful fear sought to rise in his heart. They had received the visions that their Lord’s awakening was nigh and had journeyed here to receive him. This was to be their glorious moment. The chance to see what many who had gone before them had been unable to see. By his commands, no shield was cast, no ward laid. They were his most faithful and this was his resting place, no harm would come to them. The omens grew stronger. So too did the presence pressing itself on his mind. 

Tessorn, unable to take it anymore leapt to his feet and took off towards the dark passage by which they’d arrived here. 

“Stop! What do you think you’re doing” Dain screamed but it was too late to stop him. 

Tessorn wrapped himself in the flames. They caught in his fur, leaving him a burning, bipedal wolf. Seeing someone make a break for it, a few others faltered. Jumping to their feet, they rushed off, following the same path Tessorn took. Those who could, cast spells of protection, speed or both. Others relied on their burly or swift bodies, calling on that innate speed and strength all lycanthropes possessed to escape post haste. Of their number, only one turned to say ‘Sorry!’

“Forget them David!” one of his companions yelled. “They can stay and die if they want to!”

Dain found himself at a loss for words as he watched them go. The shock of the event was paralysing. He’d known that some were frightened and even wavering but never would he have imagined that they would do such a thing. Especially not now. Not at the moment of rapture. A quick glance around showed uncertain faces surrounding him. Like birds, the flight of a few had spooked the flock. If he did not do something, everything would fall apart.

Quickly, he rose to his feet and begun a chant, raising his staff and weaving together one of his strongest spells. Angrily, he declared to himself that he’d destroy the deserters in the name of their god. However, it turned out that he didn’t have to. His chant fell from his lips and his arms went slack as he and all his remaining brethren stared in disbelief at the events unfolding in front of them.

Tessorn, the werewolf in the lead, had been speared, groin to head by a stalagmite that rose from nowhere. He wasn’t the only one. Two of the others behind him had suffered similar fates. They were speared from the ground up in the most bizarre manner. The ground spikes were just suddenly there, giving them no chance to flee or dodge. The most mindboggling part was that those were the only stalagmites in that entire area.

Everything had come to a sudden standstill. The remaining deserters were now stuck, confused and unsure of how to proceed. They weren’t given a choice. The ground beneath the largest group burst into flame, becoming one of those towering infernos that reached the ceiling. The Brethren of the Vigil watched and listened to them scream as the flames turned them to ash in a matter of moments ignoring whatever protections they had.

The only ones left were David and his friend. They stared in shock at the conflagration for a split second before a thought occurred to David. Turning back to look at Dain and the assembly, he sprinted with all haste towards their side. His friend caught on in a second and did same but he was a second too late. A pit opened at his feet and he fell straight in, screaming the whole way down. He didn’t scream too long though for a gout of flame erupted from it, turning him into dust on the wind.

By this time, the members of the Vigil were certain what was happening.Their god was clearly punishing the deserters. Why else did they face calamities whilst those who remained stayed safe. The caverns of rest had always been dangerous. This was even truer now that it had become a disaster zone. However, no danger was ever present on the path of pilgrimage, something the order attributed to the grace of their god. Today, things were different.

Death had graced the path for the first time in its use and it had targeted those who deserted their cause. They, on the other hand, remained safe. What more proof did they need? These thoughts had occurred to David too. That was why he rushed back towards them with all his might, seeking refuge. Fearful, but supportive, a few members yelled encourage. None were brave enough to go to him but they made their support clear. Alas, it was all for naught. A stalactite fell from the ceiling skewering him before he could even get within ten metres of the group.

“Keepers of the Vigil, restore your spirits! Clearly, the Chimera God has spoken! Some of our number have died but see all of you the reason for their deaths”, he said plainly. 

He was not going to coddle them. They should take comfort in the fact that they had been spared and that they were loyal. As for the disloyal dead, they would have died either way. The order did not look kindly on betrayers.  

“Let us not forget why we are here today. Let us not stray when we are so close”, he implored instead, eyes burning with passion and faith. “This is the final hour of our vigil. We must see it through!”

And so the order waited, keeping their sacred vigil as they had every year since the great find. The only difference was that this time, by the order of their Grandmaster, they would not leave until their god was before them, awake and hale. They knelt on the all too warm ground and waited and waited...and waited.

Days passed and stomachs rumbled but the vigil was a sacred thing. There was to be no food or water until it passed. Grandmaster Dain was a little fearful but perhaps due to the events of the first day, no one complained or protested, much to his relief. However, days continued to pass with them kneeling on a hard ground in a cavern filled with calamities. Most of them were mages. Others were powerful warriors but even so, the hunger, thirst and pain from kneeling began to take their toll.

Dain’s only hope was that their purpose was reached before they wasted away. They continued to kneel even though many had lost feeling in their legs. Convincing themselves that the increasingly frightening events around them were signs that their god was waking up from his millennia-long rest. But then, everything changed. Around them, the storm of fire, stone and crystal began to abate. Many of the fires died entirely and the ground became still. 

Dain continued to stare outwards, refusing to let his faith waver. He was rewarded with the sight of a massive shadow in the dying flames. This shadow raised itself into a sitting position causing large glazings and coverings of glittering crystal to fall away. The flames around it reduced to embers as it turned towards them. All around them, a presence, one they were all familiar with, made itself known stronger than ever. So strong that they could barely keep themselves from falling to the ground in awestruck wonder.

His mane glittered with uncountable uncut gems whiles his hairs flickered like golden flame. His horns reached towards the sky beyond the ceiling, so bright and golden it was like a crown of sunlight. His face and torso were unadorned and even though they could see his lower body well due to the angle and the persistent crystal covering they could tell he was not nude. 

The omens were right! The Sleeping God, The Fiery Chimera, Kerma the Beast King had awoken!

The moment seemed to stretch on forever as the two sides looked at each other. It was eventually broken when the god’s maw opened and the words Dain had waited to hear all his life came spilling forth.

“Dain, my most faithful servant, come to my side!”

“Yes, milord!” the Grandmaster cried in exultation, tears streaming down his aged cheeks. 

It took him several tries to get up due to how long he had been kneeling and even when he did, he only made it a few steps forward before falling. However, pillars of stone, soft as wet clay where they met him, held him up and a staff of crystal rose from the ground and into his grasp. Dain did not hesitate. He tossed his mage staff aside without a second thought. It was one of his most prized possessions crafted after many years of labour from materials scavenged from this very cavern but how could it compare to one gifted him by his god.

Upon grasping it, the aged grandmaster found himself filled with renewed strength. Beaming and crying, he made his way to his god. With each step he took, a path stretched forward before him. The earth cooled and smoothed itself out. The flames made way for him. The crystalline platform that held up the KIng of Beasts created steps for him to climb. Behind him, the rest of the order looked on with awe, some were envious and even more continued kneeling, praying that they too might be called.

For Dain, this was the greatest day in his two hundred and forty years of life. Today was the day his God woke from his centuries-long slumber. Today was the day his faith was rewarded.