Awakening A God (Demon Boys Series Book 1)

by Troy Snyder

  Trent touched Alexander's shoulder startling him. It was only then he realized he hadn't been breathing. He stood and noticed Arri had stopped, her face showed concerned, but as she saw him stand she continued to move toward the Alfar.

  About half way to the small group of Alfar; Alexander, Arri, and Odin left behind all others and walked alone to the waiting men.

  Reaching speaking distance, the lead man called to Odin, "You bring a great power here, Odin. I can only assume war follows in its wake." His voice was like silk to the ears but carried power behind it.

  Odin gave a sad attempt at a bow and encouraged Arri and Alexander to follow. To Alexander's surprise the Alfar who had spoken bowed fluidly and gracefully in return.

  "I only brought the forces agreed upon in the terms of the meeting," Odin replied.

  "Indeed," His eyes flicked to Alexander before returning to Odin. "Who are your guests? Strange to see a Broushin with a Craxi, but the most surprising of all, a human."

  By now the torc around Alexander's neck had translated the new language for him and he broke down the previous conversation. Now he stepped forward with another bow, "I am Alexander Grayson Cooper, former human soldier, now both a Craxi citizen and soldier, formally engaged to Princess Arri,” He indicated Arri with a sweeping motion of his hand. “And the leader of the human group known as The Demon Boys."

  Alexander kept his gaze down, partially out of respect, but another part knew he could not hold the gaze of the Alfar leader. He did however risk a quick glance to see the reaction at the credentials of a human, a race not even evolved enough for long distance space travel of its own. The Alfar leader was not looking at him though. Instead he was gazing off in the direction Antonio had headed. Surely, he could not know someone went off in that direction, he was stealthed and invisible in the armor, but Arri’s father had noticed him when he tried the same trick.

  The Alfar leader turned his head back to Alexander and spoke, as if he been paying attention all along, "I am Zarin, commander of the armies of the Alfar. Second only to the lord himself, Tharod. I have been given permission to bring you within the city where you will meet with the lord himself. Please, leave your guard here and follow me to a place where discussions can be held formally."

  Odin's face was a mix of distrust and anxiousness, whether of Zarin or the forest, Alexander did not know. The four of them, Zarin left his guard behind as well, entered the forest. At first the wild growth of the trees all around them seemed to swallow everything. Branches above swayed sending only bits of light beneath the canopy. Roots gnarled the ground all around them, some wider than a foot. All sound seemed to be drowned out, but the shuffling of their feet and the sway of the branches above. Color seemed to be muted everywhere, dull browns and greens, but nothing of beauty like Alexander had expected of the Alfar.

  His eyes continued to search and gradually he began to see they were not wandering aimlessly through a forest, but in fact where on a set path, not even noticeable unless you concentrated. As he began to concentrate even more, more was revealed. The colors of the forest began to show. Flowers of all kinds, that he could not even begin to describe the beauty of, in a myriad of colors. Plants of all varieties splayed their leaves out in many different fashions. Each with their own song as they moved in the breeze. The breeze. How could it penetrate the thick surrounding of trees?

  A sound above the breeze caught his attention and he looked skyward. What he had before confused with branches and leaves now showed to be walkways and homes. Buildings in the trees all around, a city. Not tree houses, no, this was much more. The entire forest must have been a city, a fortress.

  As if reading his mind Zarin spoke, "Near the entire planet is forest. Most of it occupied by the 6 billion Alfar."

  Alexander nodded and continued to trudge along listening to the sound of leaves crunch under foot and branches snap, feeling as if each thing he crushed was somehow part of these people's homes. Then a thought occurred to him. "A forest does not seem like a good defense from invaders and I have not seen any sort of military presence or ships." He said.

  It was instead Arri who answered. "The Alfar home world is strange, meaning no offense Zarin. The entire forest is like an impenetrable shield. There was a great battle on a moon called Yaron, a moon two systems away, where the Alfar were defeated by my people. We attempted to press the assault and attack this planet, but our weapons could not break through the trees, not even ruffle their leaves. Our leading generals advised against a ground assault, so in the end we left the Alfar, they have been practically out of the war since, though."

  During their discussion they did not notice they had come to a large tree nearly 70 feet wide, it seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Along the side where branches that appeared to be stairs. The ascent began and near half way up Alexander was out of breath. Traveling on the ship so long seemed to have made him soft Arri teased.

  From there a large branch seemed to move off and form a bridge. Smaller branches grew upward from it vertically and another above those horizontally forming a railing. These trees must be more than ancient Alexander thought, and extremely manicured to form such designs. Alexander rested his hand on the railing and felt the ivy that threaded its way through. The leaves did not feel like what he was used to, they bent easily, but did not break and were as soft as silk.

  “How is this possible?” He thought out loud.

  “For ages Alfar have blended their energies with the trees, with the world. In return the world had blessed us with such structures and forms to our will.” Zarin’s voice was almost in reverence to the trees. He quickly moved on, not wanting to waste time being distracted by little things.

  At the end of the path were two large buildings, of which Alexander could not even begin to fathom how they were held in the trees, for they seemed to have no real support for their weight, but now was not the time to ask further about Alfar architecture. The path split into three ways, each leading to more and more buildings. For a planet having apparently six billion people, it seemed to be deserted.

  More buildings passed, all of different sizes and shapes, but all had one thing in common, there were no people. Instead all Alexander felt was eyes all around him, watching his every move and the feeling as if there was a knife point right on the back of his neck.

  The group reached what appeared to be a humongous tree trunk and a dead end. Before Alexander could say anything about being lost, however, the trunk began to split in half inwardly. Giant doors stood over ten-foot-high and made almost no noise as the portal opened to the room within.

  A warm fug hung over the group as they entered. It quickly became apparent the room had not been used in the longest of times. Dust clung to the large ornate table. The intricate designs of the gold that was inlaid into the wood was obviously of Broushin make, and the wood of the table seemed to be part of the tree itself. Chairs were over the top in both size and decoration. Bones and furs adorned them and seemed basic in style flourished only by what lay upon them, but a wonderful compliment to the table itself.

  Hung on the walls were extremely fine tapestries. The design of one showing a much younger Odin, and others Alexander could only guess, the leaders of many other races. Most of which he had never seen.

  "It has been quite some times since I have seen this room," Odin said as he ran his hand along the table leaving finger trails in the dust.

  "In that time, we have lost so many. All the races." Zarin's words seemed hollow, as if there was no sense of feeling in his voice. He must have come to terms with the losses after a seemingly endless amount of fighting.

  "Yes, yes we have. Do you mind?" Odin questioned as he laid his hands on his chosen seat.

  Zarin seemed caught off guard by the leader of the Craxi asking permission to be seated. After regaining his composure, he replied. "Please, all of us may be seated."

  All the members sat down, Alexander offered Arri his hand to help her into her chair as it was meant fo
r the average Craxi. She politely declined and gracefully leapt into the chair and made herself comfortable. Finally, all the group were seated leaving two chairs open and each person took the lead of Arri and began to wipe down their piece of the oval table in front of them.

  Alexander dusted his hands on his pants and before anyone else could talk he decided to let his curiosity kick in. "What is this place?" Alexander asked continuing to look at the tapestries, taking each one in.

  "The Alfar are an old race, one of the oldest alongside the Craxi and the Broushin. However, we also have the longest life span, therefore, we remember what possible generations of other races forget. It was decided then that the Alfar would host all races in a plain room with no favor of other races. Each race that joined the advanced races came to deliberate and discuss things here. Each meeting presided over by a scribe of the Alfar and the leader himself.

  The table and room were of Alfar design. The inlay on the ring of the table, made from the king of the Broushin's personal gold. The chairs were from the Craxi, a gift from Odin. The three of our races were the first to make contact with one another and the first to set about in helping maintain the galaxy.

  As each nation joined we added a tapestry of their leaders. All had the intention of helping preserve and protect the galaxy. Humanity has no idea the things that lurk beyond its solar system, but I mean no offense, human. You race is just so young compared to others. You have no idea the magnitude of what you are getting into by leaving your solar system.

  Anyway, the races one by one fell into quarrels that broke out into wars. The peace we all intended for faded and the universe seemed to fall into darkness. The three races; Alfar, Broushin, and the Craxi are the only ones that still maintain a delicate peace in the galaxy. We are at war with one another, but we are all that remains to defend us from a greater evil.

  This room has not been used since the three remaining decided to go to war." Zarin seemed to be reliving some memories as he finished.

  "Alexander has made me see things in a new light," Odin spoke. "I hope we can put the past behind us and renew old alliances."

  "It is not my place to make decisions for the Alfar, the lord should be along shortly with a scribe."

  After what seemed almost an insurmountable amount of awkward silence the doors opened to the room sending in a breeze. A ragged old man entered and as before the doors closed by themselves, curious thought Alexander.

  The old man was not like the other Alfar he had seen. His face had deep wrinkled lines and his eyes seemed to be retreating into the skull. Strings of pure white hair hung from his skull and he walked with a heavy limp. His long robe, once white, now grey like it had not been washed in the longest time and they stained with what looked like ink. He limped to the table with a hunched back carrying a leather satchel and a thick stack of papers. As he reached the chair he leapt into it with a fluid movement that belied his look.

  Zarin began tapping his finger on the table, his impatience rising from the scribe saying nothing. The old Alfar began searching through his bag pulling out writing utensils and what appeared to be seals baring the marks of many races.

  Once he was finished and all was in order he spoke but did not lift his head. "Zarin has been given permission to speak on behalf of the lord himself. All conversation will be recorded. You may proceed." He finished with a wave of his hand.

  "Very well." Zarin began hiding the surprise of their lord’s absence. The scribes hand flew on the paper, his old wrinkled and veined hands showing such grace in writing. "Seeing as the Craxi began the discussions I feel it only right to let you begin, Lord Odin."

  Odin stood and placed his hands on the table and all eyes but the scribes went to him. "I am no good with words or treaties. Like most of my people my main skill is combat. However, I have come to the Alfar home world to discuss peace and a subsequent alliance, as I have with the Broushin."

  Zarin sat back in his chair stroking his chin with his forefinger. "What is the cause for such a change of heart from the most warlike of the three?"

  Alexander rose from his seat and gave a slight bow, "That would be my fault Lord Zarin."

  Zarin's eyes moved to Alexander, but of course he did not want to meet the Alfar's gaze. "Please, just Zarin. Tell me, how did a human manage to get caught up in the affairs of other races considering they have yet to even leave their own system?"

  "I was a soldier on the planet Earth. I was sent into an area to protect it from supposed rebels, however what I did not know was that they were not rebels, but people fighting to protect something from the government. When I met the people, they took me to what appeared to be a burial tomb, only after did I realize it was a prison.

  I did not realize at the time I had energy of any sort, none of my people know. When I entered the tomb, I was leaking it with no control. The walls fed off my energy and set things in motion. I awoke Quetzalcoatl. He killed the ones that led us there and one of my men and during his escape an entire city was destroyed.

  I have the blood of so many on my hands already, I did not wish to see more shed. I attempted to broker an alliance between humans and the Craxi, but to no avail. My people wanted weaponry and, in the end, would destroy themselves gaining something they were not ready for.

  With that, I left with Odin in an attempt to make amends for what I had done. To hunt down and eliminate Quetzalcoatl. However, after many discussions it became evident that the Craxi would not be able to fight this enemy alone. Peace between the Broushin and Craxi was easily done,” He looked quickly to Arri and flashed her a smile. She returned it in kind. Their bond stronger than ever but still not admitting their true feelings. “And now we come to you in hopes of peace and an alliance again a common enemy."

  Alexander took his seat as silence fell in the room. The scribe continued to scribble away on his parchment and all members looked expectantly at Zarin.

  Zarin leaned forward with his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. A deep sigh escaped from his chest. "You come here asking for peace in exchange for war. You also forget, Lord Odin, the memory of the Alfar is long. We do not forget past altercations and indiscretions. Honestly it is no surprise the Broushin and Craxi accept this deal. It gives both races a chance for glory and war that they seek."

  "You think us barbarians that only seek war?" Arri said in an accusatory tone.

  "Relax Princess Arri, I mean no offense. As the records show, both the Craxi and Broushin glorify war, revel in it even. How do you expect us to believe you will not seek war with us again after the enemy Quetzalcoatl is defeated?"

  "Arri, please relax. We need to keep level heads to get through this," Alexander pleaded with his fiancé in a low whisper.

  Arri sat back in her chair and took a calming breath. "My apologies, Zarin."

  "He is correct however," Odin Said. "The Craxi do revel in war. It is all my people have known for so long it has become the norm. It is the same with the Broushin. We see a chance for further glory in the war with Quetzalcoatl. It is no surprise our alliance was so easily forged."

  "As you know, our people are not war like." Zarin seemed to be thinking his words through as he spoke. "The Craxi defeated our once great fleet and at every turn hindered our advancements into other systems. The Broushin are no different., they raided our supply lines and nearly crippled our planet.

  Make no mistake, if this war went on much longer our people were the next race to become extinct. So, we do seek peace, but at the cost of more war? I cannot commit our people to another war, not even for the sake of defeating this enemy."

  "You and I know full well the other races Quetzalcoatl will recruit. The Broushin and Craxi cannot defeat them alone, we need the Alfar."

  "Strange words coming from one such as yourself, but the fact remains the Alfar cannot join this war."

  "You said other races. I thought you were the last ones?" Alexander could not contain the curiosity.

  "We are the last of the great
races, the ones who protected the galaxy from tyranny and evil. However, we are not the only races out there. Along with Quetzalcoatl's people and the humans there are seventeen more races. Several are less advanced than humans, the others have been on the playing field for some time as constant thorns in the side of the great races. The dark Alfar, Alfar who strayed from the path of righteousness and became something new entirely. The Doricks. They are not much of a space faring people, but when they do venture out it is never a good thing. They are as tall as a Craxi and almost twice as strong. Jötunns. They are giant frozen creatures that live off the energy of their victims leaving nothing but a frozen husk. That is only to name a few."

  "The Doricks are more beast than sentient being." Odin added. "Quetzalcoatl will easily manipulate them to fight on his side. Their hatred for his race is only surpassed by the hatred of our races. We stopped them from attempting to settle many other worlds, the only thing the three great races still agree cannot happen."

  "So, it's three against three. I like those odds," Alexander said optimistically.

  "Two against many, I'm afraid," Zarin said. "The Alfar cannot join your war. It would be too costly on an already drained civilization and you can bet Quetzalcoatl will bring more than just for mentioned races to the front."

  "Cowards!" Arri screamed and slammed her fist into the table. "You are going to sit back while the Craxi and Broushin die defending the galaxy? Who do you think Quetzalcoatl will come after once he's finished with us?"

  "I'm sorry Princess Arri, but that is my decision. I have to do what is best for my people."