Fan Fiction ❯ Earth Anarchy - Princes of Earth ❯ Reaper of the Hourglass ( Chapter 1 )

Nothingness…..Absolute white nothingness….Without floor nor ceiling, nor walls nor shadows….A clock chimed dimly in the distance, each ring enveloped in gloom that permeated throughout the entire surrounding…Each chime like a note to a song on an organ….And every time the chime sounded, abyss-blue orbs appeared like a cascade

of raindrops suddenly frozen in air…suddenly suspended in time. Walking through the sea of them, there seemed to be no end and no beginning. A breeze swept by underneath, neither warm nor cold, stirring the frozen liquid jewels with a sea of ripples that transgressed their surfaces like the wind on a pond. Suddenly, it grew dark to a deep blue colour, the orbs glowing vibrantly like street lamps, and a single point of light shone in

the distance. The chimes started to grow louder as the beam began to bathe the surroundings in a warm, electric-blue light, which curled and rippled as if one was looking up at the surface of the water from below.

Shielding my eyes from the brightness, I faintly distinguished a tall, silhouetted figure in the light as it grew nearer. Faint voices echoed from non-distinguishable locations all around in a symphony of pleas. As the light approached, these voices grew stronger and more numerous, the faces of the voices fading in and out like silhouetted apparitions in walls of turmoil. Like the surface of the water bubbling and churning with

fish bodies at feeding time, so was the air, choked in frenzy. "Help us! Set us Free! Don't let the legend die..It is your DESTINY…Go on! Don't refuse, don't deny..Please! Set us free!" all the voices pleaded separately and off-key, their faces adorned in anguish and mouths wide open as they eroded back into the turmoil. My heart began to race, adrenaline rushing up the blood rivers of my body, shaking the throbbing heart which pounded against my ribs. The silhouetted figure was nearly overlooking me before I started to turn back and run. The cry of voices snapped up louder than ever and their pleas rang inside my head.

"No Don't turn back! Please save us! Come back! Don't run away! Please don't! Save us! Don't turn away from destiny! Only you can do it! You are the chosen one! Yes! You are our Keeper of Light…set us free! Please save us! Don't leave us!" all of their pleas and cries and shouts echoed and my head rang with them. My legs were running and yet I was going nowhere. I was frozen in place and the figure neared. All I could make out of it was that whoever it was was wearing a huge cloak and had long flowing hair. And then the eyes……which glowed and shined like mellow diamonds, etching a warm aura to them….a warmth that I felt flowing through my body which comforted and calmed me.

"Come" said the figure in a warm, tender voice, outstretching his hand and beckoning me to take a hold of it. I snapped away from him and again attempted to flee but I could not move. "Please come…It IS your destiny" he called out again but I ignored him. The apparitions flew all around me and through my body, sending frigid chills down my spine and my heart pounded of fright. He looked upon me in disappointment, loweredhis head and closed his eyes. The ground beneath me suddenly gave in and I felt myself falling and falling through black abyss. I woke up to find myself laying on the ground with the sun at its zenith beaming down its brightest rays into my eyes and I squirmed and rolled over to my side to relieve the sudden pain. After my vision returned, I sat up and scanned around. It was nothing but desert and mountains. No life anywhere. The dirt was scalding my hands and behind so I stood up and wiped the reddish-orange dust off of my clothes but it just smudged

stains everywhere, so the attempt was futile. A sudden burst of firey hot wind gusted intomy face and blew dirt into my eyes, so for a few minutes I stood there rubbing my eyes until I made Niagra Falls cascade out of them. The gusts started to pick up speed and blew with more force and arrogance then ever before, threatening to send me flying backwards if I did not back down. I covered my eyes with my arm and I walked into the

wind, every step more difficult than the last as a storm started to collaborate on how best to blow me down. The air became so thick, heavy, and dry that it started to make me choke as my throat dried out and I could not see a thing. Dirt and sand was kicked up around me and went careening into my face and slashed at my legs like a thousand steak

knives. I felt myself being swallowed up in sand, for I could not move my legs and squirmed to turn my back to the raging wind. And suddenly, as fast as it appeared, it was gone and the sun bore down once more. I started to suffocate under the sweltering sand that scalded and blistered my skin. tried to writhe my head above the sand but to no avail. And then, as if by miracle, I managed to get my arm up out of the stand and I slowly dug myself out. I steadily brushed off all the sand that choked me, although it was just about in every nook and cranny in my body and it hurt. All of it scratched up against me and I bled from several

areas.

I then slowly regained my balance and gazed about. Nothing had changed. I looked behind me and I saw the enormous sand storm bearing down on the next stretch of parched earth. I combed my fingers through my hair and sand just poured from it like a huge dust cloud. In the distance, huge mountain spires reached for the skies and the mountain chain around me suggested that I was in what used to be a valley. Suddenly the wind started to pick up again, but this time from behind me. It seemed to be blowing into a particular area in the distance where some cloud started to form of all the dust and debris. It seemed that the entire valley was being swept clean of all its dust as the cloud grew larger and more mammoth every second in a spinning motion of an upside down tornado. Except tornadoes form from the clouds and down, not from the ground and up. A deep growl shook the ground and echoed into the mountains. The tornado-creature started writhing and squirming and taking form and shook the entire earth with its roar. Panicked, I fled the opposite direction and tripped over a rock. The funnel-thing started flying at me, gaping its huge mouth directed at me! I screamed and it came to within 500 ft before me and closing. A sudden gust of cold air blew me back and I covered my head with my arms and curled into a ball on the ground. After about 10 seconds, I opened my eyes and peeked. There stood a guy in a huge, bellowing cloak pointing an elaborate staff at the wind monster..thingie. His hair was of a white so pure it is impossible to describe and it gracefully bellowed in the breeze by his side, every strand shimmering in the sunlight.

Debris was circling around his feet and around his body hung rings of a translucent white dust which glittered like ten thousand diamonds and gave off an aura of a frigid breeze. He turned and looked at me. His eyes shone with a softness that I knew, for I realized then that this was the guy with the light before. He was a most elegant being and extremely beautiful with skin of the fairest white. The ground started to suddenly rumble beneath us as we watched the numerous rocks and pebbles scattered around come alive and jump and dance. A distressed expression overcame his beautifully placid complexion and he beckoned me to back away.Out of nowhere, the ground beneath me cracked and hissed and began to split. I pedaled my legs onward but I was too late. The ground gave way and a massive, explosive beam shot up through the fissure and struck me in midair! I felt my limbs go lifeless as I was being torn apart and shredded. I fell to the ground with a THUD and looked at the horizon. The entire valley was in apocalypse as the mountains were being torn out and liquid fire pouring from fissures and exploding in extravagant displays of power and obliteration. The ground gurgled and growled and cried out in uproar. The skies were tinted a deathly red colour with dark gray and black clouds, thick and heavy from ash and soot. Rocks flew up at me and tore at me some more as I was being gagged by the burning, rancid air that swept through. The wind creature was nowhere in sight and neither was the mysterious man. It took all of my energy to sit up and gaze about in dismay. Everything was in chaos and destroyed. I choked and felt fire-hot blood gush out of throat. Life was slowly draining out of me and I collapsed. A shadow moved over me and I squinted to look. It was the man. He looked at me and raised his staff. The ground suddenly gave way and I was thrust upward, fire and rocks thrashing at me and draining me void of life. His placid face turned into a look of horror. He immediately swung around his staff, and I finally saw what was on that staff: An hourglass.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?!?!?!" I yelled out at him but my voice was muffled by the explosions. He swung his staff around and the hourglass tilted. But instead of the sand inside being flipped over and pouring down, the sand poured up and an arc of blue lightning surrounded him and I saw……………I saw…………time stop. I suddenly felt myself weightless and slipping and falling….and falling……and falling………………………..