EarthBorn: First Days

First day 1st Quarter

The cold shine Ark shakes the knights out of their day trance, their armours off they are heavy with guilt, alone, each to a corner all comes to a halt, the swirls do not destroy instead begin to manifest in spirals of rich colour and order, Wayke walks to the window and gazes outside to see all is calming he gives them a wordless look, The three step up apprehensively, Wayke faces them but no words are needed, they all look at each other as Blinding flashes of light pour in through the thick glazing the storm winds down, they break the rays and are in awe of the spectacle before them.... One Legion gazes star struck at what lay outside his reaction almost youthful, like a priceless gem before a master thief he breaks his fixation and immediately heads to the back to prepare himself eagerly awaiting Runes order...

The first words between them since earths abandonment echo the Ark... “ Prepare yourselves we do not know what lay for us out there”... he marches from the pod to a small room he takes a knee at the statue in the chapel and breaks into tears ,shrouded in loss he gazes up at the ancestral divine figure...”forgive me fathers for I have failed my purpose”... he takes his necklace from beneath his armour, the pendants clink and rattle, a collection of trophies as small as a thumb nail the number leaves no necklace visible to see, centuries of faith looted from fallen foes dreams weigh down and torment Runes shoulders, they are heavy and sharp like pins of self punishment they leave scars on his neck, an eternal reminder of what Humans did so wrong. You hear no words only whispers, Wayke breaks the silence, he was watching from the doorway...

“ Rune it is over” ...He leaves Rune to adjust, Earth thane stands hides his necklace behind his chest plate, wipes his tears streaks from his face and heads for the door to join the others...He enters a silent room , they part to let him to the front with all eagerly looking to him, the pale sunlight reflects bright and warm onto his face, with each step raising his heartbeat until that’s all he can hear, pounding hard almost coming out from his chest he reaches the window the light begins to dim giving him clear vision to the new world...

Paradise, lush green grass, forests full of growth mountains and marches, grazers herd on the plains far in the horizon, beast take to the skies stirring clouds swooping low and soaring high a virgin bountiful Earth untouched to their mind...

“Atmosphere is a match to early earth, eco systems, herds a river, it’s all positive right?”... Maidon enthusiastically says, Rune stays silent, he turns to leave the room in hard thought a dull reaction...”It’s obvious what we are here for so get on with it!”...Wayke holds his hand up to stop Maidon following instead going himself...

“Rune...THANE!! Do not ignore us!, we need you now!”...Rune freezes mid stride and faces his friend...”It’s not your fault what happened to earth! It’s fate was already decided before we even came to be, We did all we could, YOU did all YOU could! But now we have a chance to start again here together”...

“If it was not for my flank the earth would be saved under the banner of the order, not neglected to the hands of fiends and demons, I failed the legions and my species Wayke, how do I know , how do you know I will not fail as Hollow Soul did? I am not worthy as your leader”... Wayke gives him a thought to chew on...

“Maybe so, maybe not, you led us since our beginnings, the five believed in you and so do we, the only way you can find out if your worthy is to do your duty now and prove to the ones YOU kept alive here with you that their faith is not misplaced.....otherwise we should of just stayed on earth and let those abominations have their way with us and not prolonged our torment.....now behave like a commander...they need you”... he turns and leaves promptly to the others confident in his superior and best friends character...Maidons wrath and Legion are at the window gazing out at their new environment eager to leave the cold Alloy Ark , Wayke re-joins them with a wait and see expression......

“See anything interesting Maidon?”... she turns from the window an excited child filled with joy mind full of things she has never laid eyes on except in earths surviving literatures...

“Everything is so....alive, I’ve never seen a living tree or wild creatures before...its beautiful!”...captivated Maidon looks out, the Centurs podium opens projecting a recording of Hollow soul startling the three of them, they stand intent on listening...

“If you are seeing this message...Earth has fallen... and you! are the last hope for the human race, thank you for making it here, the Centur carries with it the seeds to start again, a new beginning, where that may be nobody ever knows, except you now, My final order is for you to sow the seeds of our people and bring our race back, beware the mistakes we made for they only lead to one end...May the Fathers be with you”...the reality sinks in, they are alone and burdened with the survival of their species in an unknown world and only four strong, Rune standing in the doorway heard everything his Slain commander and mentor said...

“You heard him, we are here , all that’s left, Earth the law everyone is gone because we FAILED!...WE WILL NOT..NO WE CANNOT FAIL HERE!”...Smiles creep onto the faces of his knights they feel the new resurgence and determination brewing inside their Rune, he walks around pushing anything and everything he can...”They must have equipped something they never walk anywhere blindfolded”...he says bashing the Podium hard and any buttons it may conceal, a holographic screen bursts into life showing a five thousand metre perimeter surrounding the Ark, nothing of significance appears just forest and land with terrain readings showing the complexity and wonder of their destination, they all scan the image for anything odd or prominent when One legion points to a red spot hardly visible the others have to squint to see it...“ What is that...a thermal spot?”...Maidon asks...

“Enlarge and bring it up and we shall find out”... Rune orders, she does and immediately you can see this is no thermal spot but a collection of bodies still warm yet inanimate none live not even crawl wounded no movement...”Is that our fault? Did we just kill those innocents?”...Maidon asks frantically almost guilty...

“NO don’t jump to conclusions, we won’t know until we have seen it with our own eyes, they are quite faraway from here!”...Wayke protests to settle Maidons hysterics, Rune does not wait he sets about putting his armour back on, the others follow suit One legion ready since he saw the wonders outside, they do not take risks full battle dress is worn, they all take a moment to themselves, they breathe heavy and shake it off, they convene around the Centur and look across the alluring relic at each of their companions, Rune breathes and then relaxes...”This is it, it falls to us to rebuild what was lost, to us the fate of Man rests, let us not fail this time!”...Rune takes the Centur from it’s holy setting, the Ark falls dark with only the window a single ray of light to illuminate, the Arks walls begin to lower down opening like a new flower blooming at the beginning of spring, today it begins...