i have written more than this, but this is all that is typed up, and once again a name guide is given to help keep track of who is who in this chapter.
#1-main character/leviathan
#2-main character’s guide/ behemoth
#3-orange eyed elder/demigod
#4-blue eyed elder/demigod
#5-green eyed elder/demigod
#6-leader of the vampire group that destroy the village
Ch. 2: Hunting for style
“What was that?” asked #2 as he stood up, he must have felt it too.
“A Drake has been freed from its imprisonment. One of the great Drakes of old. Sealed away by past leviathans to protect the world from their might, each of the four imprisoned is far more powerful alone than the four horsemen together. Things are much worse than we thought.” #3 responded with an image of pure fear covering his face and present in his voice.
“You will need to know your fighting style now. There is no question about that. If you don’t you will fall and you shall bring #2 down with you.” #4 continued.
“So how shall we figure it out? It is not as if the Sentries of old that used to help with this are still active.” #2 butted in.
“Then we shall do what was done before we were given the Sentries. We shall hunt. The demigods well be safe without us, and if we need to we shall return.” I responded to #2.
“Be warned young ones, you could be easily killed, and know that if you die without passing your gift, then there will be no rebirth.” #5 warned us.
The smoke returned and #2 and I were back in the large room we had started in. The three demigods were not there with us though. We exited the room through the doorway we had come in through and entered into a hell I wish I could forget. The buildings in the village were all aflame and a group of people dressed in black hoodies, sunglasses, and long black pants stood by the jeep. The sun above reflected off their hoods and sunglasses and revealed slightly their pale skin. From what I could see there were five of them. The sky was still a bright red. #2 darted forward, his speed so great that to the human eye he would have appeared to have teleported. He stopped about a yard in front of the group and then I darted forward at the same speed and joined him. The man in the middle of the group took a step forward and the others remained behind. I took a deep breath through my nose and then the stench hit me like a knife shoved up my nose. They reeked of blood. Vampires.
“You are beyond your boundaries, and you have wiped out a village. You have destroyed the balance of existence. Your sentence is death.” #2 said staying completely stoic.
“We meant no harm. We entered the town looking for the elders and were attacked. Please forgive and forget.” Said the one that had taken a step forward.
“You are the leader that much is clear. What is your name?” I asked with an equally stoic voice to that of #2.
“I am #6. These are my followers. We came to warn the elders.” He said now shaking with fear.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
chapter 1
heres what i have typed so far, oh, none of the characters have names so far so here is a guide to accompany the story to keep readers from getting lost with the #_ system.
#1-main character/leviathan
#2-main character's guide, teacher, and in the end best friend/behemoth
#3-orange eyed elder/demigod
#4-blue eyed elder/demigod
#5-green eyed elder/demigod
Hell’s Rift
By Thomas Wright
Ch. 1: The Beginning of the End
This story is not an easy tale for me to tell. The memories alone of what happened are to horrid for me. At times wish that I could just take white out to the memories penned into my mind. Perhaps the story isn’t worth telling; perhaps it would be best to let the past die. No! I need to tell this story, for burdens are easier to bear if you are not bearing them alone…
I was off to Africa for the summer, a graduation present from my parents, where I was planning to study the various different legends of each village. As I boarded my plane I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, as though this would be the last time I would ever see my home town the way it was now.
I turned back one last time and looked at my parents who were waving goodbye to me.
“Bye mom, dad. I’ll see you in four weeks.”
“Don’t forget to call every now and again while you’re gone. We don’t want your mother here worrying that you have been eaten by a lion or something.” My dad chuckled at me.
“I’ll try to keep in touch.” I promised, though neither of us knew that we would never see one another alive again, or hear the other’s voice again.
I boarded and took my seat in first class, my parents having made sure I would be comfortable on my flight. The flight itself was nothing special I dozed off a few minutes after takeoff and did not awaken until about half an hour before the landing. For this last half hour I listened to the music on my mp3 player and stared out the windows into the surrounding clouds.
The plane landed and I departed. Having only brought carryon luggage I was able to avoid the wait for any other things to be unloaded. I walked to the doors at the exit of the airport and nearby was a man holding a sign with my name on it. Typical. It was just like my parents to take care of every single detail. I approached him.
“Excuse me sir, that’s me.” I said with very little enthusiasm.
“You are #1?” he asked in disbelief as he looked as how I was dressed and at my posture. “May I see some proof of this claim?”
I quickly pulled my passport out of my front right pant pocket and showed it to the man.
“Ok then. I am #2. Your parents have hired me to be a guide, chauffer, and translator for you during your stay here.”
He was an average looking guy; about five foot nine with short brown hair and dark blue eyes. He dressed like a soldier, well except for the fact that he had on an unbuttoned black biker’s vest in the place of a shirt.
We walked out of the airport into the scorching heat. As far as I could tell there were but a few cloud. I brushed off the weather mentally and we walked over to a safari jeep, like the ones you always see in the movies. I climbed into the passenger seat and buckled myself in as he put the keys into the ignition. With a quick turn of the key the ignition roared to life and we were moving. The jeep’s cloth top was off so the wind was nearly deafening in my ears.
“So how long will you be in Africa?” #2 asked after about two hours of driving.
“Four weeks, maybe longer. It all depends on how engrossed I get in my studies.” I quickly responded.
“Studies?”
“I am a researcher of sorts. I travel in my free time to other countries to study the mythology, legends, folklore, etc of the countries I am visiting. You would be amazed by how many similar legends I have found I cultures with no correlations with one another.”
“Is that so? Where all have you been?”
“Romania, Italy, Norway, France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana. Basically most of Europe and South America. Oh, and various different Indian Reservations across the United States.”
“You have been around the world almost. Huh, you said that there are legends that are reoccurring, is that correct?”
“Yes. A lot, though not reoccurring in all details. Basic facts are the same but specific details are never the same, just similar.”
“Hmmm…”
Was that all he could respond with? Hmmm! The things I have uncovered are enough to qualify me to be a college professor on the subject and that’s ALL he can say?!? The nerve of some people!
“How long have you been in Africa?” I inquired, though in truth I could care less, I was just trying to stay polite.
“About four years. I came here for the same reason as you.”
Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. No wonder he didn’t seem interested. He had probably studied more than I had. I suddenly felt inferior to him, for the first time in my life I felt inferior to someone else. I felt as though I were a foot shorter than him rather than being the four inches taller that I was.
I brushed back my dirty blonde hair from in front of my light blue eyes. My black t-shirt was now soaked in sweat and my shorts were the same.
“So have you only researched in Africa, or have you been elsewhere also?” I asked awkwardly.
“I’ve been to every country in the world. You will soon find out that the stories are more universal than you thought possible.” He answered with a sound of superiority in his voice, or maybe it just sounded that way to me.
Now I realize why my parents had hired him to be my guide and translator. He would know exactly where the best places to go would be and he and I in theory would get along well because of our interests and studies.
“Anything in particular that you look for or prefer studying in the myths?” I asked, now somewhat anxious to hear his answer.
“Nephilim, Lycan, Vampires, Vampires, shape shifters, oracles, demons, spirits, angels, hybrids, you know, things of that sort.”
“Interesting”
It was clear now. If he preferred those studies he would have to know more. I myself only studied broad spectrum mythology such as the great food and things of that sort. I felt incredibly inferior now. This car ride would now be one of two things; boring and too long or, the more likely, it would be too short and very informative.
My prediction was correct; the car ride was too short yet very informative. Knowing now how much he really knew I was thankful that my parents had decided to hire him. What I wasn’t ready for was what we arrived at when the car ride was over.
The first village was anything but sanitary. The streets were filled with human and animal corpses and droppings alike. The buildings themselves looked as though a pebble being kicked into one of them could bring them crashing down into one another. Yet in the center of the village stood a single building that stood out from the rest. It seemed quite sturdy and was significantly larger than the rest of the buildings yet, just like the others, it was built with sticks and logs and things of that nature as opposed to the brick homes I was used to back home.
I looked at #2 and asked, “Why do the buildings seem to be built poorly?”
“It’s a temporary settlement; they migrate according to weather and season to accommodate their needs.”
We walked towards the large and sturdier building in the center of the village and then proceeded to walk around it until we reached a guarded entryway. #2 walked to one of the guards and began speaking in some strange dialect that sounded like nothing but sounds and distorted words to me. The guard looked over to me and then said something to the other guard and they both moved aside.
“Let us precede #1.” #2 said as the guards looked at me wearily as though I were a foul creature shunned by humanity.
We went into the building and in the center of the only room were three men facing the center of the room and sitting in a perfect triangle, each about four or five feet apart from one another. They looked like the elders of the village at closer distance. Each had a gray beard reaching down to their chest and grayish hair almost as long, tied back behind their backs. They did not look up until we were about seven feet away from the closest of the three, then, all three rose to their feet simultaneously, almost as though reflections of one another, and then they turned towards us, their triangular formation unchanged. Then I realized that none of them had their eyes open. Was their hearing that good? Then the most frightening of the events that occurred within that building took place. The one closest to us opened his eyes, but they were not normal. The lighting of the room was just bright enough to move around, so eye color should have been impossible to have been known, even if standing an inch from any of them, and yet.. His eyes were glowing, a bright orange to be exact. The gaze of this elder pierced through me as though he were reading my mind. Then the other two opened their eyes simultaneously, the one to the left of the first having eyes that glowed neon green and the other having eyes that glowed neon blue. The two who stood behind the first stepped forward and lined up with the first, their motion resembling that of a smooth rivers flow. As far as I knew they were levitating, for their robes covered their entire bodies. Then the one with the orange eyes spoke in a soft yet commanding voice.
“Welcome back #2. Ahh and welcome #1, I hope you don’t mind me calling you #1; formalities only exist when addressing those who are not equal to you after all. I am the eldest member of this village, and we have been awaiting your arrival for some time now.”
Sometime? I told my parents of my desire to go to Africa only a week before graduation, which was two weeks before today. How could they have been waiting for me for some time? And what did he mean by us being equal? As far as I could tell he was greater than me.
“What do you mean by us being equal? And how long exactly have you been waiting for me to arrive?” I asked in a now shaky voice.
“We have been waiting for your arrival for centuries, and you are equal to us, for now at least, soon enough you shall be far greater than we could ever be.”
I looked to #2 to find some form of translation but he was looking at the orange eyed elder with his eyes wide open in shock. I had a strange feeling that he knew something I didn’t. But what did they know?
“Don’t worry young one, all will be explained in time. Perhaps we should begin with introductions, I am #4.” The blue eyes elder said.
“I am #5.” Said the green eyed elder.
“And I am #3. Welcome to the village, we hope your stay is insightful for you.” Said the orange eyed elder.
The three sat down in a straight line and #2 and I followed the example and sat in a line parallel to theirs, about six feet away from them now. The room filled with smoke that seemed to come from nowhere and when the smoke cleared we were no longer in the building but in a naturally bright mine like cave. The walls surrounding us on all sides were a dark orange and the sun was directly above us. Where were we? What the hell? This was impossible. There was no way! This had to be some trick, they had to be screwing with my head, I mean how did we teleport or whatever we had just done?
“We are within an unknown valley within the caves of our knowledge.” Said #3.
What the hell? Could they read my mind? What was with them? I had never heard of anything like this before. Glowing eyes, teleporting, mind reading. Were they psychics? I needed answers, and I would have them!
“Patience please,” said #4 in a soft and serene voice. “As I said before, all will be explained soon enough.”
“It is in this cavern that the prophecies of your arrival were originally foreseen and recorded,” said #3, “Though the walls seem blank to you they are not to the eyes of matured psychics and demigods. We are demigods ourselves, able to age to the appearance we yet unable to die of age or disease. Alongside this, the psychic abilities of our kind far exceed those of about one percent of psychics and oracles, which makes up most of the psychics your world has knowledge of. We are as old as time itself and thus what we will tell you is pure fact. Are you ready for your eyes to mature to the strength of ours?”
WOW! Like I didn’t expect something like that by this point. What is next? Are they going to tell me that I’m stronger than them? A step above demigod? At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if I found out that hell was New York City and heaven was Venice Italy.
“Yeah sure,” I said, now somewhat over the adrenaline induced shakiness.
“The first thing you must do is learn the truth behind all this. The first thing your guide wondered when we spoke of something more powerful than us was what could be stronger than a demigod other than a god itself. This question is where we will start…” started #3.
“The bible speaks of two creatures that no mortal man is able to kill with anything of his own creation, the leviathan and the behemoth. Modern day interpreters have classified these as everyday creatures the world, known of by mortal men at least, the leviathans being interpreted as the crocodile and the behemoth as the hippopotamus. Yet these interpretations are completely off…” continued #4.
“The leviathan and behemoth are rare, mighty creatures that are a step below a god and a step above a demigod, each having characteristics of their own to help them be differentiated from one another. Neither can be given more than a scratch by anything created by man,” finished #5, “Any questions?”
I shook my head no, though in truth I had plenty of questions. Like where was this leading and what did they mean by anything created by man? Did that mean that there were things other than man that had the capability to make stronger weapons?
“The behemoth is the stronger physically of the two, the legend of atlas best describes it, for in truth he was a behemoth. Leviathans on the other hand are the better in every other aspect. When they are matured, leviathans are the perfect killing machines. They are lightening fast and are quite stealthy; legends say that they could turn invisible. That is all anyone has ever been able to learn of them. There is always one leviathan and one behemoth existing on the planet. They have always chosen to die in the past, surrendering their abilities to another when they wished to pass on. #2 is the present behemoth. And you young one, are the leviathan.” Said #4, now as relaxed as a calm lake on a perfect day.
Wait what?! But how could that be? I didn’t feel powerful or immortal. I didn’t have any unique powers or skills. There had to be some mistake.
“There is no mistake; you are just now beginning to mature as a leviathan.” Said #2.
Did he just read my mind too? This was too much. I didn’t know how to react. How should I react? Should I even believe them? No, I wouldn’t believe them. This was all some trick my parents must have cooked up. There had to be a hidden camera here somewhere feeding them my reactions so that they could laugh. That had to be the answer!
“If you don’t believe it then let me prove it to you.” #2 said boldly.
He grabbed my wrist with his left hand and pulled a pocket knife from his pocket with his right hand. He cut into my wrist and slid the blade down so that I could see the deep gash it had made in my arm. But before even a single drop of my blood could gush out the skin around the cut quickly grew back over it, leaving no proof that I had ever had a cut at all. The most remarkable thing about all this though was that I never felt the blade cut my skin. Could what I had been told have been true? No, but maybe, I didn’t know anymore. Though in truth, I guess I was starting to believe.
“So you say that there can only be one of each at a time and they choose who the next is?” I asked after a long amount of awkward silence in which time I debated the reality of all of this.
“As far as we know that is correct.” #3 answered.
“And that nothing made by man can truly harm us, correct?”
“That is correct.” #4 answered.
“There are things that can harm us though?”
“Yes, anything that is more than human.” #2 said before the three demigods could answer.
“So could we be killed?”
“According to legends, yes, and when you are killed your kind well be gone forever. But it isn’t easy, it is instinct for both of you to pass on what you are before you can be killed, it is done without you thinking about it.” #4 answered grimly.
“Your abilities mature faster under certain circumstances, putting yourself through extremes that normal humans couldn’t even dream of surviving through.” #2 said out of nowhere.
“Like what?” I asked, almost frightened to know the answer.
“Like fighting three demigods and the other creature at the same time, while fighting them all alone.” Said #5 from behind me.
What! No! Were they insane?! They were going to make me fight them all at once? What could really come from this? I was scared, I was going to die, and I was going to be the wrong person somehow.
I opened my mouth to object but before I could all four of them lunged at me with great speed and stability. This was it, the end. The adrenaline in my body rushed and though they moved so quickly they appeared to be walking towards me. Then it happened.
From nowhere my mind was full of things I had never learned before. I knew how to fight and how powerful a leviathan truly was. I knew all my abilities that they couldn’t even have comprehended. I knew everything that all the leviathans before me had known. It was insane, but I had the true proof I needed to know all this was real, it couldn’t have been a joke anymore, for there was no way that they could have filled my head with all this knowledge. This was it. They couldn’t win. All the memories of all the leviathans before me. I could utilize everything they had known. I closed my eyes and concentrated, focusing on the skills I would need and how those before me had performed them. I then jumped into the air where I stayed for what seemed like forever, and then my feet came crashing back to the ground below me. I opened my eyes again and looked around myself scanning to see who was where. I concentrated again and then they all were looking around with confused expressions on each of their faces. It had worked, they couldn’t see me.
“Where did he go?” #3 asked.
I walked stealthily to behind #2 and put him into a full nelson hold.
“You give up?” I asked as I made myself visible again.
“He awakened faster than you did #2.” #5 chuckled in a snake like voice.
“He still has a lot to learn, his eyes haven’t matured yet, only mind and body.” #2 answered as he struggled to break free of my constrictor like grip. “If his eyes had matured he would have been too distracted by the images on the walls to defend him and fight back.”
“The eyes mature with time.” #4 responded soundly seeming unsurprised by what I had been able to do.
“And normally so do their physical abilities. And yet he was already matured in this aspect yet lacked the instinct to use these advantages that he already possessed.” #5 added in an almost superior tone.
So wait, was he saying that I was already able to move like this before hand, but didn’t know how to exploit it? Was this common? Had this ever happened before? I would search the knowledge and memories I had gained and I soon found out that this had never occurred before now. I was different from the start.
“Now that we have awakened you to what you are, you should know why you exist on this planet.” #3 said from the far side of the cave.
“To keep order, to prolong Armageddon, to preserve the planet as much as possible, to keep the supernatural beings that exist unknown to mortal men. Is that correct?” I asked, though I already knew that I was. “So I’m guessing that I am needed if I had to be awoken? Is the world order in jeopardy, planet falling apart, supernatural beings revealing themselves to mortals? Why am I needed?”
“Armageddon approaches, the supernatural beings are beginning to take sides, and there are rumors of four Nephilim with unique gifts walking among us.” Said #2 in a grim tone.
“The four horsemen of the apocalypse…are we strong enough to fight them even together #2.”
“I am, but you are not yet. There is much to be done to prepare you, and there is very little time. We must hurry, for soon the gates of hell will open, and the horsemen will have their stallions.”
“And why do the angels not assist us? Are they not supposed to be the first to attempt to halt these types of events? Why do they slack off from their duties?” I demanded of the three demigods and my behemoth comrade.
“The angels wish for Armageddon to finally occur. They are tired of waiting for what has been predicted, while being told to stop it from happening when it is near. They want to fight, and they are ready to fight.” Said #4, now standing a few feet in front of me with his arms crossed. “Which leaves it to the two of you to halt the steps to the Omega.”
This is not what I had expected. This wasn’t right. The angels not following their orders, they were committing treason against their lord. That was impossible. They were never given free will; they had not had free will since Lucifer’s revolt. Could it be that it was inevitable this time? Did their orders change? What was going on? I hated being out of touch with the angels right now. They had always kept contact with the leviathans before me as far as the memories went back. Why would it change now? It was my duty to stop it now, yet that was not possible. I wasn’t ready. There was only one thing that could be done, the gates had to be sealed even tighter, the horses mustn’t have been allowed to go free.
“We must tighten the gate’s locks; it is the only way to give us more time. And we need more time that truth is inevitable.” I pointed out blatantly though it truly didn’t need to be pointed out.
“And how exactly do you plan to tighten the locks? There is no way that you could know how. I don’t even know how, and my memories stretch back just as far as yours do.” #2 argued.
“But our memories are not the same. The only time before now that a behemoth and a leviathan have associated with one another was during the Trojan War, Odysseus and Achilles fighting together on the same side. Therefore in truth you don’t know what I do, you just assume. But perhaps you have a better idea?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do.”
“Well then what is it?”
“We find out who is gathering together the two sides, the leaders so to speak. And we kill them both; the horses won’t be called if there are no armies present to fight.”
“Do you think we could win? It is not like I have reached my full ability yet. There is a chance that we could both end up passing along our titles before we even reach the leaders.”
“I guess that’s a risk we will just have to take then.”
“You are so stubborn! Ugh! Fine! But you have to help me find my style before we can go. Otherwise, you can go fight alone.”
“We don’t have time for…fine…let us hope that you are as quick at finding your style as you were at awakening.”
Victory! That gave me more time to prepare. But what is that caused the end? Was Armageddon inevitable? Was it all inevitable? No! I mustn’t give up. I mustn’t fear the worst but instead prepare for it.
“Are you both quite done arguing?” #3 cut in before either I or #2 could say anything else.
Then I felt it. A shocking pain that ripped through my entire body and brought me to my knees. It was as though I were being pulled apart from the inside. Then it stopped, just as suddenly as it started, and the sky above was aflame.
No! I didn’t know what had happened, but it couldn’t be good. The feeling of impending doom lingered in the air. Whatever had happened, we had less time because of it. The end had officially begun. Hell had broken free in some way. All I knew was that the seal on the gates still seemed to be in place. Never the less, the end was here, and the road to Armageddon had been started.
#1-main character/leviathan
#2-main character's guide, teacher, and in the end best friend/behemoth
#3-orange eyed elder/demigod
#4-blue eyed elder/demigod
#5-green eyed elder/demigod
Hell’s Rift
By Thomas Wright
Ch. 1: The Beginning of the End
This story is not an easy tale for me to tell. The memories alone of what happened are to horrid for me. At times wish that I could just take white out to the memories penned into my mind. Perhaps the story isn’t worth telling; perhaps it would be best to let the past die. No! I need to tell this story, for burdens are easier to bear if you are not bearing them alone…
I was off to Africa for the summer, a graduation present from my parents, where I was planning to study the various different legends of each village. As I boarded my plane I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, as though this would be the last time I would ever see my home town the way it was now.
I turned back one last time and looked at my parents who were waving goodbye to me.
“Bye mom, dad. I’ll see you in four weeks.”
“Don’t forget to call every now and again while you’re gone. We don’t want your mother here worrying that you have been eaten by a lion or something.” My dad chuckled at me.
“I’ll try to keep in touch.” I promised, though neither of us knew that we would never see one another alive again, or hear the other’s voice again.
I boarded and took my seat in first class, my parents having made sure I would be comfortable on my flight. The flight itself was nothing special I dozed off a few minutes after takeoff and did not awaken until about half an hour before the landing. For this last half hour I listened to the music on my mp3 player and stared out the windows into the surrounding clouds.
The plane landed and I departed. Having only brought carryon luggage I was able to avoid the wait for any other things to be unloaded. I walked to the doors at the exit of the airport and nearby was a man holding a sign with my name on it. Typical. It was just like my parents to take care of every single detail. I approached him.
“Excuse me sir, that’s me.” I said with very little enthusiasm.
“You are #1?” he asked in disbelief as he looked as how I was dressed and at my posture. “May I see some proof of this claim?”
I quickly pulled my passport out of my front right pant pocket and showed it to the man.
“Ok then. I am #2. Your parents have hired me to be a guide, chauffer, and translator for you during your stay here.”
He was an average looking guy; about five foot nine with short brown hair and dark blue eyes. He dressed like a soldier, well except for the fact that he had on an unbuttoned black biker’s vest in the place of a shirt.
We walked out of the airport into the scorching heat. As far as I could tell there were but a few cloud. I brushed off the weather mentally and we walked over to a safari jeep, like the ones you always see in the movies. I climbed into the passenger seat and buckled myself in as he put the keys into the ignition. With a quick turn of the key the ignition roared to life and we were moving. The jeep’s cloth top was off so the wind was nearly deafening in my ears.
“So how long will you be in Africa?” #2 asked after about two hours of driving.
“Four weeks, maybe longer. It all depends on how engrossed I get in my studies.” I quickly responded.
“Studies?”
“I am a researcher of sorts. I travel in my free time to other countries to study the mythology, legends, folklore, etc of the countries I am visiting. You would be amazed by how many similar legends I have found I cultures with no correlations with one another.”
“Is that so? Where all have you been?”
“Romania, Italy, Norway, France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana. Basically most of Europe and South America. Oh, and various different Indian Reservations across the United States.”
“You have been around the world almost. Huh, you said that there are legends that are reoccurring, is that correct?”
“Yes. A lot, though not reoccurring in all details. Basic facts are the same but specific details are never the same, just similar.”
“Hmmm…”
Was that all he could respond with? Hmmm! The things I have uncovered are enough to qualify me to be a college professor on the subject and that’s ALL he can say?!? The nerve of some people!
“How long have you been in Africa?” I inquired, though in truth I could care less, I was just trying to stay polite.
“About four years. I came here for the same reason as you.”
Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. No wonder he didn’t seem interested. He had probably studied more than I had. I suddenly felt inferior to him, for the first time in my life I felt inferior to someone else. I felt as though I were a foot shorter than him rather than being the four inches taller that I was.
I brushed back my dirty blonde hair from in front of my light blue eyes. My black t-shirt was now soaked in sweat and my shorts were the same.
“So have you only researched in Africa, or have you been elsewhere also?” I asked awkwardly.
“I’ve been to every country in the world. You will soon find out that the stories are more universal than you thought possible.” He answered with a sound of superiority in his voice, or maybe it just sounded that way to me.
Now I realize why my parents had hired him to be my guide and translator. He would know exactly where the best places to go would be and he and I in theory would get along well because of our interests and studies.
“Anything in particular that you look for or prefer studying in the myths?” I asked, now somewhat anxious to hear his answer.
“Nephilim, Lycan, Vampires, Vampires, shape shifters, oracles, demons, spirits, angels, hybrids, you know, things of that sort.”
“Interesting”
It was clear now. If he preferred those studies he would have to know more. I myself only studied broad spectrum mythology such as the great food and things of that sort. I felt incredibly inferior now. This car ride would now be one of two things; boring and too long or, the more likely, it would be too short and very informative.
My prediction was correct; the car ride was too short yet very informative. Knowing now how much he really knew I was thankful that my parents had decided to hire him. What I wasn’t ready for was what we arrived at when the car ride was over.
The first village was anything but sanitary. The streets were filled with human and animal corpses and droppings alike. The buildings themselves looked as though a pebble being kicked into one of them could bring them crashing down into one another. Yet in the center of the village stood a single building that stood out from the rest. It seemed quite sturdy and was significantly larger than the rest of the buildings yet, just like the others, it was built with sticks and logs and things of that nature as opposed to the brick homes I was used to back home.
I looked at #2 and asked, “Why do the buildings seem to be built poorly?”
“It’s a temporary settlement; they migrate according to weather and season to accommodate their needs.”
We walked towards the large and sturdier building in the center of the village and then proceeded to walk around it until we reached a guarded entryway. #2 walked to one of the guards and began speaking in some strange dialect that sounded like nothing but sounds and distorted words to me. The guard looked over to me and then said something to the other guard and they both moved aside.
“Let us precede #1.” #2 said as the guards looked at me wearily as though I were a foul creature shunned by humanity.
We went into the building and in the center of the only room were three men facing the center of the room and sitting in a perfect triangle, each about four or five feet apart from one another. They looked like the elders of the village at closer distance. Each had a gray beard reaching down to their chest and grayish hair almost as long, tied back behind their backs. They did not look up until we were about seven feet away from the closest of the three, then, all three rose to their feet simultaneously, almost as though reflections of one another, and then they turned towards us, their triangular formation unchanged. Then I realized that none of them had their eyes open. Was their hearing that good? Then the most frightening of the events that occurred within that building took place. The one closest to us opened his eyes, but they were not normal. The lighting of the room was just bright enough to move around, so eye color should have been impossible to have been known, even if standing an inch from any of them, and yet.. His eyes were glowing, a bright orange to be exact. The gaze of this elder pierced through me as though he were reading my mind. Then the other two opened their eyes simultaneously, the one to the left of the first having eyes that glowed neon green and the other having eyes that glowed neon blue. The two who stood behind the first stepped forward and lined up with the first, their motion resembling that of a smooth rivers flow. As far as I knew they were levitating, for their robes covered their entire bodies. Then the one with the orange eyes spoke in a soft yet commanding voice.
“Welcome back #2. Ahh and welcome #1, I hope you don’t mind me calling you #1; formalities only exist when addressing those who are not equal to you after all. I am the eldest member of this village, and we have been awaiting your arrival for some time now.”
Sometime? I told my parents of my desire to go to Africa only a week before graduation, which was two weeks before today. How could they have been waiting for me for some time? And what did he mean by us being equal? As far as I could tell he was greater than me.
“What do you mean by us being equal? And how long exactly have you been waiting for me to arrive?” I asked in a now shaky voice.
“We have been waiting for your arrival for centuries, and you are equal to us, for now at least, soon enough you shall be far greater than we could ever be.”
I looked to #2 to find some form of translation but he was looking at the orange eyed elder with his eyes wide open in shock. I had a strange feeling that he knew something I didn’t. But what did they know?
“Don’t worry young one, all will be explained in time. Perhaps we should begin with introductions, I am #4.” The blue eyes elder said.
“I am #5.” Said the green eyed elder.
“And I am #3. Welcome to the village, we hope your stay is insightful for you.” Said the orange eyed elder.
The three sat down in a straight line and #2 and I followed the example and sat in a line parallel to theirs, about six feet away from them now. The room filled with smoke that seemed to come from nowhere and when the smoke cleared we were no longer in the building but in a naturally bright mine like cave. The walls surrounding us on all sides were a dark orange and the sun was directly above us. Where were we? What the hell? This was impossible. There was no way! This had to be some trick, they had to be screwing with my head, I mean how did we teleport or whatever we had just done?
“We are within an unknown valley within the caves of our knowledge.” Said #3.
What the hell? Could they read my mind? What was with them? I had never heard of anything like this before. Glowing eyes, teleporting, mind reading. Were they psychics? I needed answers, and I would have them!
“Patience please,” said #4 in a soft and serene voice. “As I said before, all will be explained soon enough.”
“It is in this cavern that the prophecies of your arrival were originally foreseen and recorded,” said #3, “Though the walls seem blank to you they are not to the eyes of matured psychics and demigods. We are demigods ourselves, able to age to the appearance we yet unable to die of age or disease. Alongside this, the psychic abilities of our kind far exceed those of about one percent of psychics and oracles, which makes up most of the psychics your world has knowledge of. We are as old as time itself and thus what we will tell you is pure fact. Are you ready for your eyes to mature to the strength of ours?”
WOW! Like I didn’t expect something like that by this point. What is next? Are they going to tell me that I’m stronger than them? A step above demigod? At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if I found out that hell was New York City and heaven was Venice Italy.
“Yeah sure,” I said, now somewhat over the adrenaline induced shakiness.
“The first thing you must do is learn the truth behind all this. The first thing your guide wondered when we spoke of something more powerful than us was what could be stronger than a demigod other than a god itself. This question is where we will start…” started #3.
“The bible speaks of two creatures that no mortal man is able to kill with anything of his own creation, the leviathan and the behemoth. Modern day interpreters have classified these as everyday creatures the world, known of by mortal men at least, the leviathans being interpreted as the crocodile and the behemoth as the hippopotamus. Yet these interpretations are completely off…” continued #4.
“The leviathan and behemoth are rare, mighty creatures that are a step below a god and a step above a demigod, each having characteristics of their own to help them be differentiated from one another. Neither can be given more than a scratch by anything created by man,” finished #5, “Any questions?”
I shook my head no, though in truth I had plenty of questions. Like where was this leading and what did they mean by anything created by man? Did that mean that there were things other than man that had the capability to make stronger weapons?
“The behemoth is the stronger physically of the two, the legend of atlas best describes it, for in truth he was a behemoth. Leviathans on the other hand are the better in every other aspect. When they are matured, leviathans are the perfect killing machines. They are lightening fast and are quite stealthy; legends say that they could turn invisible. That is all anyone has ever been able to learn of them. There is always one leviathan and one behemoth existing on the planet. They have always chosen to die in the past, surrendering their abilities to another when they wished to pass on. #2 is the present behemoth. And you young one, are the leviathan.” Said #4, now as relaxed as a calm lake on a perfect day.
Wait what?! But how could that be? I didn’t feel powerful or immortal. I didn’t have any unique powers or skills. There had to be some mistake.
“There is no mistake; you are just now beginning to mature as a leviathan.” Said #2.
Did he just read my mind too? This was too much. I didn’t know how to react. How should I react? Should I even believe them? No, I wouldn’t believe them. This was all some trick my parents must have cooked up. There had to be a hidden camera here somewhere feeding them my reactions so that they could laugh. That had to be the answer!
“If you don’t believe it then let me prove it to you.” #2 said boldly.
He grabbed my wrist with his left hand and pulled a pocket knife from his pocket with his right hand. He cut into my wrist and slid the blade down so that I could see the deep gash it had made in my arm. But before even a single drop of my blood could gush out the skin around the cut quickly grew back over it, leaving no proof that I had ever had a cut at all. The most remarkable thing about all this though was that I never felt the blade cut my skin. Could what I had been told have been true? No, but maybe, I didn’t know anymore. Though in truth, I guess I was starting to believe.
“So you say that there can only be one of each at a time and they choose who the next is?” I asked after a long amount of awkward silence in which time I debated the reality of all of this.
“As far as we know that is correct.” #3 answered.
“And that nothing made by man can truly harm us, correct?”
“That is correct.” #4 answered.
“There are things that can harm us though?”
“Yes, anything that is more than human.” #2 said before the three demigods could answer.
“So could we be killed?”
“According to legends, yes, and when you are killed your kind well be gone forever. But it isn’t easy, it is instinct for both of you to pass on what you are before you can be killed, it is done without you thinking about it.” #4 answered grimly.
“Your abilities mature faster under certain circumstances, putting yourself through extremes that normal humans couldn’t even dream of surviving through.” #2 said out of nowhere.
“Like what?” I asked, almost frightened to know the answer.
“Like fighting three demigods and the other creature at the same time, while fighting them all alone.” Said #5 from behind me.
What! No! Were they insane?! They were going to make me fight them all at once? What could really come from this? I was scared, I was going to die, and I was going to be the wrong person somehow.
I opened my mouth to object but before I could all four of them lunged at me with great speed and stability. This was it, the end. The adrenaline in my body rushed and though they moved so quickly they appeared to be walking towards me. Then it happened.
From nowhere my mind was full of things I had never learned before. I knew how to fight and how powerful a leviathan truly was. I knew all my abilities that they couldn’t even have comprehended. I knew everything that all the leviathans before me had known. It was insane, but I had the true proof I needed to know all this was real, it couldn’t have been a joke anymore, for there was no way that they could have filled my head with all this knowledge. This was it. They couldn’t win. All the memories of all the leviathans before me. I could utilize everything they had known. I closed my eyes and concentrated, focusing on the skills I would need and how those before me had performed them. I then jumped into the air where I stayed for what seemed like forever, and then my feet came crashing back to the ground below me. I opened my eyes again and looked around myself scanning to see who was where. I concentrated again and then they all were looking around with confused expressions on each of their faces. It had worked, they couldn’t see me.
“Where did he go?” #3 asked.
I walked stealthily to behind #2 and put him into a full nelson hold.
“You give up?” I asked as I made myself visible again.
“He awakened faster than you did #2.” #5 chuckled in a snake like voice.
“He still has a lot to learn, his eyes haven’t matured yet, only mind and body.” #2 answered as he struggled to break free of my constrictor like grip. “If his eyes had matured he would have been too distracted by the images on the walls to defend him and fight back.”
“The eyes mature with time.” #4 responded soundly seeming unsurprised by what I had been able to do.
“And normally so do their physical abilities. And yet he was already matured in this aspect yet lacked the instinct to use these advantages that he already possessed.” #5 added in an almost superior tone.
So wait, was he saying that I was already able to move like this before hand, but didn’t know how to exploit it? Was this common? Had this ever happened before? I would search the knowledge and memories I had gained and I soon found out that this had never occurred before now. I was different from the start.
“Now that we have awakened you to what you are, you should know why you exist on this planet.” #3 said from the far side of the cave.
“To keep order, to prolong Armageddon, to preserve the planet as much as possible, to keep the supernatural beings that exist unknown to mortal men. Is that correct?” I asked, though I already knew that I was. “So I’m guessing that I am needed if I had to be awoken? Is the world order in jeopardy, planet falling apart, supernatural beings revealing themselves to mortals? Why am I needed?”
“Armageddon approaches, the supernatural beings are beginning to take sides, and there are rumors of four Nephilim with unique gifts walking among us.” Said #2 in a grim tone.
“The four horsemen of the apocalypse…are we strong enough to fight them even together #2.”
“I am, but you are not yet. There is much to be done to prepare you, and there is very little time. We must hurry, for soon the gates of hell will open, and the horsemen will have their stallions.”
“And why do the angels not assist us? Are they not supposed to be the first to attempt to halt these types of events? Why do they slack off from their duties?” I demanded of the three demigods and my behemoth comrade.
“The angels wish for Armageddon to finally occur. They are tired of waiting for what has been predicted, while being told to stop it from happening when it is near. They want to fight, and they are ready to fight.” Said #4, now standing a few feet in front of me with his arms crossed. “Which leaves it to the two of you to halt the steps to the Omega.”
This is not what I had expected. This wasn’t right. The angels not following their orders, they were committing treason against their lord. That was impossible. They were never given free will; they had not had free will since Lucifer’s revolt. Could it be that it was inevitable this time? Did their orders change? What was going on? I hated being out of touch with the angels right now. They had always kept contact with the leviathans before me as far as the memories went back. Why would it change now? It was my duty to stop it now, yet that was not possible. I wasn’t ready. There was only one thing that could be done, the gates had to be sealed even tighter, the horses mustn’t have been allowed to go free.
“We must tighten the gate’s locks; it is the only way to give us more time. And we need more time that truth is inevitable.” I pointed out blatantly though it truly didn’t need to be pointed out.
“And how exactly do you plan to tighten the locks? There is no way that you could know how. I don’t even know how, and my memories stretch back just as far as yours do.” #2 argued.
“But our memories are not the same. The only time before now that a behemoth and a leviathan have associated with one another was during the Trojan War, Odysseus and Achilles fighting together on the same side. Therefore in truth you don’t know what I do, you just assume. But perhaps you have a better idea?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do.”
“Well then what is it?”
“We find out who is gathering together the two sides, the leaders so to speak. And we kill them both; the horses won’t be called if there are no armies present to fight.”
“Do you think we could win? It is not like I have reached my full ability yet. There is a chance that we could both end up passing along our titles before we even reach the leaders.”
“I guess that’s a risk we will just have to take then.”
“You are so stubborn! Ugh! Fine! But you have to help me find my style before we can go. Otherwise, you can go fight alone.”
“We don’t have time for…fine…let us hope that you are as quick at finding your style as you were at awakening.”
Victory! That gave me more time to prepare. But what is that caused the end? Was Armageddon inevitable? Was it all inevitable? No! I mustn’t give up. I mustn’t fear the worst but instead prepare for it.
“Are you both quite done arguing?” #3 cut in before either I or #2 could say anything else.
Then I felt it. A shocking pain that ripped through my entire body and brought me to my knees. It was as though I were being pulled apart from the inside. Then it stopped, just as suddenly as it started, and the sky above was aflame.
No! I didn’t know what had happened, but it couldn’t be good. The feeling of impending doom lingered in the air. Whatever had happened, we had less time because of it. The end had officially begun. Hell had broken free in some way. All I knew was that the seal on the gates still seemed to be in place. Never the less, the end was here, and the road to Armageddon had been started.
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