by LK Kelley
“Oh, my brother. You are so wrong,” Jolinaer had said as he looked back toward his mate who nodded, then turned to speak again. He had produced, and held a small, oblong crystal jewel from beneath his shirt. “Gwalese attacked because of this.”
Frowning, Jaxx asked, “What is that?”
“This is the most dangerous thing that has ever been created, Jaxx. Not to just both the Onaerris and the Anaerris, but to the entire universe,” Jolinaer had explained to him. He handed the jewel to Jaxx who took it automatically. Then, his brother charged him with a warning. “Protect this with your life, my brother. This is what Gwalese wanted, and it was my fault. I let him know about it. This is the reason for the war.”
Jaxx turned the jewel over and over in his hand, then looked back up at Jolinaer, his face a question.
“Just a crystal?” Jaxx had asked, again, before he frowned, knowing that there was more to it than just this ball of rock. “OK, so how about telling me what this really is?”
“What you hold in your hand,” Jolinaer had told him, “contains the entire peach ocean of Anaerra, and it's the key to Terraforming Anaerris.”
“What!?” Jaxx had gasped in shock.
“Terraforming, Jaxx. That crystal can Terraform any planet. Within it lies the peach ocean – all of it! And, it will kill the indigenous population along with the flora, fauna, and wild life on any planet if it is unleashed.”
Jaxx had almost dropped the thing on the ground at his words. Luckily, Jolin had caught it before it hit the ground, handing it back to the reluctant Jaxx.
“This is strictly forbidden by the Creator!” he growled in a low voice. “How did this thing come to be? Where did you get it, and no,” he shook his head. “It cannot be true! It is just not possible!”
“Jaxx. Listen to me,” Analyse told him. “It was designed by an Onaerris, and an Anaerris built it. These two were both traitors to all of us! They wished to rule all, and to change the face of the universe against our Creator.”
“Huh? Who did it? Which two?”
“Jaxx,” Jolinaer said, again placing his hand on Jaxx’s shoulder. “Have I ever lied to you?” Jaxx shook his head as his brother continued. “It is the truth, but I cannot tell you who it was. To do so could easily put everything in danger in the universe! This is why Analyse stole it – to keep it out of the hands of Gwalese!”
He had swept his other hand toward the land around him.
“How did you find out about it? No! Wait! You mean that Anaerris was…I mean, the peach ocean…I mean...it’s inside…?” Jaxx stammered in shock, finally coming to grips with what they had tried to tell him. Almost to himself, his voice a whisper, “How can it be possible?”
“It matters not how we discovered it, my brother. The point is that we have it. We are entrusting it to your care, my brother, because you are the only one we can possibly trust to keep it safe! Understand me, now. Protect this with everything that you have. You are the only person who can do this. Within it is the knowledge that will change the face of any planet. Be careful with it. Take it to a new world, and hide it. Do not ever let it out of your sight. When the time comes, one who will have the power will be able to use it properly.”
“Who?” Jaxx just had to ask the stupid question.
“I cannot tell you, now, but until that time, it must be kept in secret. Do you understand?”
Jolinaer’s voice had become impatient and desperate.
“No. I don’t understand, but I do understand Terraforming, Jolinaer,” Jaxx had told him, then nodded. “So, this is what Gwalese was after, and the real reason for this war? While you and I have always been of the same views, Jolin, until this war, we were against one another. But, I cannot deny what is before me.”
Jolinaer glanced once more at the red-haired beauty. His head jerked up at her soft voice.
“Again, I cannot tell you who told me about it, but once I was informed, I stole it from our archives, Jaxxon, before it contained the ocean, and definitely, before the traitor knew it was gone.”
“So...just what can you tell me? The name of the traitor?”
“Yes,” Analyze began, only to show a saddened face to Jaxx. “I am sorry, Jaxx. It was Delinear.”
“Delinear?” If any name had been least likely to hear coming from her mouth, it was his own mistress!
The beauty nodded.
“Yes. She had placed it there, believing it was safe and no one knew of it. Yet, what she did not know is that I discovered her intent, thanks to another who happened to see her, and who brought it to my attention. I followed Delinear, until I saw where she had hidden it within the archives, then retrieved it. To my shame, later, I accidentally turned it on. I watched in stunned disbelief of its power! It did not take long for me to figure out what it was! I thought quickly, and the only way to make sure death of our people would not follow, because of the crystal, I ran down to the beach, and used its power to drain the peach ocean. It finished just before we were attacked.”
“Wait! You drained the peach ocean?”
“Yes. It took quite a while, and no one noticed at first. Until the last drop was taken, it was impossible to tell the people without revealing the reason. So, I panicked! I also knew that Delinear was involved with Eloran. The two of them were evil incarnate, but I never thought that they would betray not only our world, but his, and the entire universe!”
She looked at him as she slowly moved forward. Then, she stopped directly in front of him. “Jolinaer trusts you above all others. Please, Jaxxon? You must hide it, and make sure it does not come into their hands, again. If they get it, they will destroy this world, and more probably, the universe! And, then, they are going after the Creator! This cannot happen!”
Jaxx just stared at the beauty, then slowly looked down at the crystal. It was beyond his mind that he was holding an entire ocean in his hand. The peach ocean was virtually bottomless, which was ridiculous, of course. It was simply of a depth that rivaled no other.
“How could they destroy the universe? After all, we are powerful beings, but not that powerful! And, we are equal in powers, so how could it work?”
“There is one thing that they do not know. The crystal cannot be used without the ‘key’, and the key will remain a secret until it comes into contact with...well, something else, which I am not prepared to talk about right now. Anyway, the key must be used in conjunction with the crystal, and only when they come into physical contact. Without the key, we can not rebuild Anaerris. Like the last time, only not following the Evil One.”
“But, that's nothing new. It's the very reason we screwed up, and were thrown onto those worlds – because we blindly followed the Evil One.”
“Yes. But Delinear and Eloran want to have it all! They will enslave the countless beings all over the universe, but only after having disposed of the Creator!”
“Damn! As if they could!” Jaxx had said, when he realized what that meant. The realization that they could actually do it was unthinkable. He looked into her eyes, then back to Jolinaer. His decision was made, and he nodded.
“You have my word, Jolinaer. I will do as you ask. I will take this crystal to another world, hide it, and will make sure that it is safe.”
“Thank you, my brother.” Jolinaer breathed a sigh of relief. He had known that his brother would not fail him.
“Will I see you again?” Jaxx asked, and as an afterthought. “Do you know where you will go?”
Slowly shaking his head cautiously, Jaxx narrowed his eyes. He was lying! He did know where the two of them were headed! “I do not know. Perhaps one day, far into the future, but for now, we must both flee.”
“Then, I shall miss you, brother,” Jolinaer repeated. He and Jaxx had grasped his forearm in the age-old way of welcome and goodbye. Then, tried one last time, “You cannot tell me?”
“It is best you do not know, my brother. At least, not at this moment. But, when, in the future, you hear of legend or myth, be certain that the on
e of whom they believe is myth, is quite real! And, when the one comes, you will be charged with protecting her.”
With that, Jolinaer dashed in an instant to his mate. Jaxx’s mouth had dropped. It was the first time that he had seen a Vorc'ara form.
He started to lunge at Jolin, but before he could reach him, the two of them jumped through it. It closed in an instant, leaving Jaxxon gaping in surprise. Only leaders of the Anaerris had the ability, and that fact had been a deep secret between them for years. It was rarely spoken of it, and to his knowledge, only he and Jolinaer even knew of the ability. It was then that Jaxx had realized that Jolinaer's mate had to have been of the royal house of Anaerris, and it brought him to his knees in shock as he realized who she had to be! Analyse! The daughter of Sitla! He would never have believed it. Ever. As he watched the Vorc'ara close, he stared down at the crystal within his grasp. This little thing was capable of destroying entire worlds! But, not without this “key” that they had told him about. His head shook in disbelief! He remembered looking around him to make sure no one was around, then placed the jewel in his shirt. He had to keep the key and the crystal from ever coming together! As he turned to try and figure out what he was going to do, he heard a noise, and turned. Shocking him, he saw a Vorc'ara form in front of him, and knew that Analyse had sent it to him. He turned his head side to side quickly. Yes, it was time to leave. Seeing no one was watching him, he knew that this age was over, and a new one was beginning. So, Jaxx stepped through it landing him on a planet known as Earth over twelve thousand years ago.
For years after he came, Jaxx had wished that he had not been given the crystal, even though he continued to protect it. Like him, though, a few others of both races who were also against the war, had eventually found their way to Earth not long after Jaxx. In a very short time, they realized that the powers that they had on their home planets were much more powerful on Earth. Along with Jaxx, each had taken on a persona of an ancient god in which the humans believed for thousands of years. When Azor decided to step down as a god, Jaxx took on the persona of Poseidon on a relatively large island in the middle of the most recent ocean the natives called Atlan. It was there that he had placed the crystal in a statue that the people had created to honor him. He never really understood why they made Poseidon into an old man with long, white hair and a long beard, then portrayed him as half-fish and half-man. Unfortunately, as time passed, their own arrogance made them believe that they were truly gods, and above the humans on the planet – Jaxx included. When they realized they could do just about anything to the people on Earth, they did what they wanted with them – anything they wanted with them. And, with the discovery that they could impregnate human females, they went wild, and the women gave birth to creatures called Nephilim. Some were hideously deformed, some were giants, and still others were the image of a man, with power of the “gods”, and later, called fallen angels.
After their arrogance reached magnitudes that were unimaginable, each decreed a statue in his, or her, own image be created depending on what territory they ruled. While benevolent, but violent when needed, Jaxx ruled with an iron hand. He made plenty of mistakes, but humans had gotten the idea that he had five sets of twin boys with a human woman. Of course, that was simply a made up story by his best friend, Stanorak, and the first Poseidon, Azor. But, in truth, the five sets of twins that Azor’s wife bore, were the ones called “demi-gods”. After Stanorak had decided to go away with his wife, they came up with the story that he had been killed in one of the many Atlantean wars. At the same time, Azor was killed in a very strange freak accident caused by tornadoes, and his human wife, Cleito, had been inconsolable. In time, she died from a broken heart. Jaxx took Azor’s children into his home, and adopted them as his own sons. He had them trained to be the mightiest of warriors, and no one dared go against them! All ten of them were of a much larger size than a normal human due to their heritage, and once they had proved their loyalty, they were each given territories to rule in the name of Poseidon. He had further promised all ten of them that he would look after their progeny for all time. And, there were just too many of them, now. So, even though he still watched over them, he had decided it was time to let them go their own way.
Unfortunately, the crystal cracked during one of the frequent earthquakes, and in consequence, it created the greatest flood that had ever been unleashed on the face of the planet. The entire peach ocean of Anaerris, which was a heavy water, was dumped into the salty ocean of Earth, creating a huge, worldwide earthquake. In consequence, that let loose the waters that were under the Earth, and also affected the Earth's climate sending a deluge of rain that lasted forty days. All of it mixed together, and became the Great Flood of legend. The almost destruction of the planet along with the humans was the result. Only a very few humans survived thanks to the Creator who had stepped in and given instructions to one of them on how to build a gigantic ship. The Ark was what humans called it. While the man’s name was different throughout all the world’s myths, the fact was there was only one man and his family.
Even though Jaxx had managed to rescue the crystal, the damage had been done to Earth. The alien waters had mixed with the oceans, and had provided conditions which actually made the humans stronger, but their lifespans had become much shorter. At first, some humans lived for hundreds of years, but in time, that changed, and they settled into a life longevity of just a couple of hundred years. Later, thanks to the slightly thicker peach ocean, the conveyor belt that controls the jet stream in the Atlantic Ocean bringing warmth to the northern sections of the planet, Earth alternated between small ice ages and warming of the climate. This had caused the humans longevity to plummet to about one-hundred and twenty years. Other things like illnesses and plague reduced their longevity to no more than thirty-five years for eons. Therefore, they would marry at a very young age, produce children, then die around their thirty-fifth year.
Once the waters receded back into the bowels of the Earth, the planet’s oceans remained twice as big as they had been prior to the flood. The “gods” ceased to be real to humans after this, fading into mythology and legend, and the fallen had blended into the world of humans. A council was created of the remaining Anaerris and Onaerris – both understanding it was necessary for their few numbers to survive. Jaxx had become their tracker and enforcer, but without the need to destroy humans. There he had stayed, until now, and his sole job was to maintain a strict code of ethics for all of them. And, if any deviated, it was his job to destroy the perpetrator.
When the Council was created, Jaxx turned down the leadership. The next candidate was Kulana – a good and fair man. He knew his honesty, and he took no bullshit from anyone! He was Onaerris, and had found his mate long ago, but he never told who she was. And, until Jaxx saw Faerron open a Vorc'ara in front of him, he hadn’t known who she was.
Pain gripped his soul, as the past fled his mind. He turned to stare at Gem. The loss of his brother had saddened him greatly. However, that was minor compared with the loss of his own mate laying so still on the red velvet Queen Anne sofa in the library. For the first time, he knew why his brother risked it all to be with his mate. He would have done the same thing, and he would do the same with Gem if she had lived. Tears slid down his face at her death. He would go to the Council, tell them the truth, then take his leave and vanish from the face of Earth.
~ 8 ~
“We Have Tracked that Abomination through the Storms” ~ Eloran
Ten, and very bored, Council members, sat around a half-moon table watching two of their leaders arguing with each other. While some were discussing other boring business, another leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, contemplating his own years fighting that damned council. In all these thousands of years, they still couldn't agree on anything! Logic should follow that if they hadn't done so in all these thousands of years, it sure wasn't going to start now. He cracked his eye open to a slit to see the two men standing in the center of the room. He yawned,
and closed his eyes once again.
Across the center table, another man just looked annoyed, while the man opposite snored loudly! The two leaders,representing both Anaerris and Onaerris, continued to argue, unaware the others were not bothering to listen, because they were so used to it. They just no longer cared!
The Council of Ages represented an even number of both Anaerris and Onaerris, plus the two leaders of both. And, perhaps, thought the man sitting with closed eyes, that’s where they had gone wrong. Because there were an equal number, they could never break a tie. He huffed.
Kulana was Anaerris, and the elected head of the Council of Ages, while his counterpart was the man from Onaerra, Eloran. He was a particularly hateful being. Again, the man opened his eyes, and stared at the two men. Considering them both, he noted that Kulana stood six-feet, seven inches tall and sported hair so white, it put to shame any other white. Brilliant peridot eyes shone like jewels, while rivulets of tiny diamonds streamed down his white hair, which dropped from a simple, silver band encircling his forehead. The only other jewelry he wore was on the middle finger of his right hand, where a circlet of pink and white sapphires glittered incessantly with every movement he made – a gift from Faerron upon their mating.
In contrast, Eloran was dark-skinned. A human would say that he his skin was olive. His most striking feature was that he was completely bald, and his head shone as if he polished it on a daily basis. His eyes, at the moment, were bright red, while normally black. Figures! In fact, from time to time, Kulana had wondered if he didn't polish it! He sure would not be surprised if he was right! Like Kulana, he sported a circlet around his forehead, but it was coal black without a sheen. A matching ring with a black diamond adorned the first finger of his right hand, which was currently pointing directly at Kulana.
“You are claiming nothing!” Kulana accused his nemesis.