The Temple of Arrival

by Matthew Olney

  ‘Well, who do we have here?’ a man’s voice said. ‘A Gifted, a powerful one at that. Do not fear me, child. Soon our kind will take our rightful place as masters of this world.’

  ‘Who are you?’ she asked.

  ‘I am Penda. I am- the new Supreme.’

  Images of the world on fire, of the people enslaved and White Steel armoured soldiers marching through the streets of every city, flashed into her mind.

  Her eyes snapped open.

  The End

  The Empowered Ones

  A companion

  The History of the Supreme Imperium

  The Beginning

  Before the Arrival little is known of how the peoples of the world lived. What we do know is that they were nomadic, wandering across the land and travelling from feeding ground to feeding ground. When they encountered another tribe, they would trade or rarely clash. The largest of these tribes was the Aeranyth, a people that predominately lived in the southern part of the western continent. It was this tribe that first encountered the Visitors.

  Whilst on their journeys they came across a tear in the fabric of reality and outside of it stood six figures. These visitors looked human, but their attire was bizarre and alien to the tribes. Thinking that the strangers were a threat to their lands the Aeranyth attacked. To their surprise however, the Visitors repelled them easily using what to the tribe’s folks seemed like godly powers. Lightning split the sky and fire erupted from the earth. At seeing this display the tribe threw down their weapons.

  The Visitors explained that they had come in peace and they were explorers of the cosmos. Using a power known as magic they had visited many worlds, but this was the first they had encountered that was a home to humans. The Visitors travelled with the Aeranyth and quickly learnt their language. After many months together the Aeranyth called a meeting of all the other tribes. On the banks of Lake Onil, the Visitors explained to the tribes that they would give them a gift. The gift of civilisation.

  The Kingdoms

  The Visitors bestowed their knowledge on the tribes and within a decade the first human kingdoms were established. In the west, the powerful city states of Asta, Caspia and Kaspen were founded. To the south, the Kingdom of Aeranyth flourished and was chosen by the Visitors as their seat of power. Construction of a vast temple marking the spot where they had entered the world was erected and soon the Temple of Arrival dominated the landscape. Farming, art, metallurgy and masonry all took off. Soon the eastern continent was settled by the Arikar and their realm quickly became a leading power fuelled by its discovery of the rare metal 'White Steel'.

  To the northeast, the non-human Larkans stirred. The race of savage giants surged from their mountain vastness onto the fertile lands of the south and pillaged their way all the way to the Dividing Sea.

  The Larkans were the first threat to the human realms and under the guidance of the Visitors, they learnt the art of warfare. United, the kingdoms drove back the Larkans chasing them back across the mountains.

  The Gifted

  The Visitors mingled with the natives and within a generation, many had taken native wives and husbands. Through these unions, an anomaly was discovered. Shortly after arriving the Visitors learnt that the natives had no magical ability, they were unable to use any form of mystic art. On their home world, all humans were capable of magic use due to their bloodlines. The natives had no latency, or so they thought. From these unions of Visitor and native, children were born that displayed strange abilities. These 'Gifted' were able to channel their emotions into incredible feats of physical and mental powers. Most of the Gifted, however, could only harness one emotion to fuel its power but rarer ones were capable of using every emotion and their respective powers. These special people were called Empowered Ones. Soon, the Empowered Ones rose to the top of the kingdoms society and were tasked with protecting the realms from danger.

  The Anarchy

  Peace lasted for centuries but it did not last. One day, the Visitors announced that they had to depart from the world. War had erupted on their home world. Before they departed, they gave a warning to the Empowered Ones. They warned against corruption. For without their guiding hand men would seek power for themselves.

  Their words proved true.

  Disputes between the kingdoms that had once been mediated by the Visitors soon spiralled out of control. Wars erupted between the kingdoms as each used their Gifted and Empowered Ones against one another. Anarchy swept the world and for a hundred years, the world was torn apart by war.

  The Empowered Ones did their best to restore peace, but they too fell afoul of corruption. Some embraced the emotion of Hate and used its power to conquer. Only a desperate alliance of the Arikar and Aeranyth brought them to heel. By the end of the conflict, millions had been slain and the world slid into greater chaos.

  The Supreme

  The Visitors returned but only briefly. They saw what had become of the world and wept. The war on their home world had ended but it had come at a terrible price. With them, they had brought an item known only as the 'Oracle'. It was an object of immense power and had been the cause of their conflict. With little explanation, they sealed the Oracle away in the Temple of Arrival and departed the world forever. The Empowered Ones were tasked with guarding it, but the world remained in chaos. Finally, to restore order a group of Empowered Ones broke into the Temple with the intention of using the Oracle's power.

  An argument ensued as to who should wield it. A young woman amongst them slipped inside whilst the others fought and claimed the power for herself. The Oracle imbued her with incredible powers and immortality, magnifying her already considerable strength. She was forever changed. She was the Supreme.

  The Supreme Imperium

  The powers bestowed upon her allowed the Supreme to overwhelm the other Empowered Ones. With ruthless determination, she was determined bring peace to the world once more. To do so she swept aside the old order. One by one she subdued the kingdoms until only Aeranyth remained. By now the Supreme had amassed countless followers in awe of her power. The war that followed utterly destroyed Aeranyth leaving the lands a wasteland. To ensure that no one would be able to find the Temple of Arrival she had all records of its location destroyed and all trace of the Empowered Ones eradicated. To ensure that her peace would last she used her power to enslave those who opposed and gave status to those who had supported her. Thus, the Imperium was formed with the Supreme and an institution of her most loyal followers the Venerable Chamber at its heart.

  Characters

  Elian

  The son of Serfs; Helias and Dora, Elian grew up in the Northern Imperium in the small village of Fork. As a child, he had the upbringing of any other serf. It wasn't until a run in with some bullies that he experienced his Emergence. An event that heralds a Gifted or Empowered One coming into their powers.

  As a result, he soon found himself being hunted by the Supreme's agents and was forced to grow up quickly in order to survive. Quick witted and brave, Elian faces huge odds if he is to remain alive and embrace his destiny as an Empowered One.

  Lizella

  Quick witted and brave is pretty much what everyone in Fork thinks of Lizella. First into danger and always one to get the last word she is a young woman frustrated with her lot in life. Daughter of slave parents, Lizella looked to set to follow them in a lifetime of servitude, that is until Elian experiences his Emergence and their home is attacked.

  On the run from the Supremes agents Lizella encounters the Liberators and with the guidance of Marcian takes up arms against the Supreme Imperium.

  Vavius

  One of the last Empowered Ones Vavius is immensely skilled and powerful in using the 'Power'.

  As a young man, he was trained by the Mentors in Arikar before heading west and taking the fight to the Supreme. During his many adventures, Vavius sought out other Gifted to create his own band of resistance fighters. Determined to end the Supreme's tyranny Vavius is perhaps her deadli
est foe. Despite that, Vavius knows that the only way to beat the Supreme is to harness the same power that she did. In order to do that he is hell bent on recovering the clues that will lead him to the Temple of Arrival.

  A master fighter and tactician, he is also a patient tutor and takes young Elian under his wing.

  REA

  Born a slave in the slums of Olandis, Rea was orphaned at a young age. Raised amongst the criminal underworld she was a gang bosses favourite due to her ability to influence others. It was during a meeting between gang bosses that went wrong where she met Vavius. The Empowered One saved her from the gangs and told her that her ability to influence was more than just skill and luck. She was a Gifted with a speciality in the power of Joy.

  Vavius took her under his wing and trained her for many years until she became a Master of Joy. Over the years she had partnered with another Gifted, Tarv and has taken part in many operations against the Supreme Imperium.

  Marcian

  Born into aristocracy, Marcian grew up in his uncle’s estate. There he learnt the customs of the ruling classes and under the tutelage of an old Imperium soldier learnt about warfare.

  When he was a teenager his uncle revealed that he was a secret member of a group of rebels known as the Liberators. The Venerable Chamber discovered this, attacking and destroying his uncle’s estate and executing his uncle. He was captured and cast into slavery. One night the slave camp was attacked by a mysterious Empowered One. The mysterious man handed Marcian an amulet and told him that with it he had a claim to the long empty throne of the Kingdom of Aeranyth.

  After the encounter, Marcian vowed to free all slaves in the Imperium and using the status provided by the amulet reformed the Liberators. For a decade he has grown the band of freedom fighters establishing spy networks and cells across the Imperium.

  Operating from the vast Sojurn Forest the Liberators are a thorn in the Supreme's side.

  Visp

  A fierce and determined woman, Visp's life began in servitude. Taken as a small girl from her homeland of Arikar during an Imperium attac

  k Visp was enslaved in the service of the Lord of Asta. At just 12 years of age, she poisoned the lord and in the ensuing chaos escaped into Asta's thriving criminal underworld.

  Surviving the slavers and gangs she worked her way up through the ranks thanks to her sharp wit and violent nature. At the age of 20, she had established herself as one of the most feared and respected underworld bosses in Asta.

  Always at her side is her loyal servant Tiberio, a former fighter in the Arena and the man who trains Visp's own stable of combatants.

  Gear

  The Empowered Ones tend to shun the use of weapons. In their mantra, their own bodies and powers are the ultimate tools of combat.

  Caestus

  To amplify their powers, they wear Caestus - armoured gauntlets with channelling stones crafted into the material. Wearing such gauntlets amplifies an Empowered Ones powers, making them even more formidable combatants.

  Cloak

  The cloak is the traditional piece of clothing worn by both Empowered Ones and Gifted alike. Most cloaks have channelling stones stitched into the fabric granting the wearer additional powers.

  About the Author

  Matthew Olney is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of The First Fear, The Sundered Crown Saga, Unconquered: Blood of Kings, among others. He lives in Worcester, England with his wife. Matthew loves history, fantasy and all things sci-fi.

  Learn more about Matthew at https://msolneyauthor.com/

  Learn more about Matthew’s Copywriting and publishing services at https://www.theolneyone.com/

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