*
Meanwhile, several miles away, at the peak of one of the aforementioned mountains, a trio of souls were having a heated discussion...
“Listen to reason brother! They are the only hope for this planet, so why do you try so hard to destroy them?”
Terra stood on a platform made of rock which had seemingly erupted from the mountain peak. He was shaking with an anger that he had not felt in centuries. Far below them lay the desert, where the massive sandstorm still raged. It looked almost solid from this height, and appeared to be in no hurry to slow.
The man was floating effortlessly above mountain. His lifeless, grey eyes held no mirth. He was watching the storm with a sickening smile upon his face, and Terra shuddered for he knew that the man was cheering for the storm.
“Ha! They are your solution? You sicken me, relying on humans, or have you forgotten that they are the ones who caused this mess in the first place?”
“Terra hasn’t forgotten, and neither have I, brother. We know that what they did was wrong, but we also know that they have the potential to change!”
Ion stood atop a pillar made of ice, which had erupted from beside Terra’s rock spire. Her face was carefully blank, but Terra knew that a storm of a different kind raged below its calm surface.
The man, wearing a midnight black cloak with crimson accents, gave a loud, insulting guffaw and said, “Then you are just as foolish as him, Ion. We watched them grow and prosper under our rule, but the moment we turned our backs they waged war and destroyed themselves. Surely you can’t believe such a self-destructive species can be allowed to remain on this planet?”
They both flinched at his heartless words. The worst thing about them was the absolute certainty with which he spoke. Their brother, once kind and caring, could now speak of their annihilation as if it were already decided. Their brother, who used to cry whenever one of the humans under his protection died. Their brother who used to speak of their countless virtues at every occasion, and who had wanted his siblings to learn things from those they taught.
Even though they had long since been forbidden to meddle with human affairs, Terra had often watched his brother secretly calm storms that threatened undefended cities and bring rain to the parched and dying lands. When confronted about doing such things, he would merely laugh and say, “But parents must always look after their children, even long after they are fully grown.”
Shaking himself from his reverie, he said, “You’re wrong about them brother. I agree that they sometimes fall from the path, but they would always admit to their guilt and work towards making amends. For every fight, there were tears of guilt shed, for every angry word, there were ten asking for forgiveness.”
“Terra is right; they aren’t as selfish as you say. I’ve been observing these humans, and I have watched them sacrifice their bodies for one another, with no reward for doing so. I have seen them console each other when times are hard, and laugh together when the storm breaks. I know in my heart that they care deeply for one another, and that they care for the planet just as much as we do!”
“You are both fools, blinded by your ties to these insects. I too have observed the vermin that you both think of so highly. I watched as they polluted the seas so that they could build more factories. I screamed in rage as they burned the land when greed triumphed over reason. You may see these creatures as wonderful playthings, but to me they’re nothing but monsters.”
Terra turned to Ion and sighed, knowing that any further discussion would be useless. How many times had they tried now? Fifty? A hundred? More? He knew that mere words could not break his brother’s madness, but what else could they do?
She caught his look and nodded sadly, knowing that their efforts had once again been futile. With resignation in her voice, she said, “It seems that you are beyond reasoning, I can only hope that when our chosen succeed, you will come to see that humans really can change their ways. Goodbye brother...”
“Ha ha ha! Your chosen? They are weak, and if this world does not kill them, He will.”
Before they had a chance to ask him what he had meant, he was gone, in a sudden gust of wind. Terra turned to Ion and said, “This is troublesome... who do you think he was referring to, sister?”
“I’m not sure, but I can only think of one person, but for their sake, I hope I am wrong. If it really is Him, well, then we will have to hope that they will be strong enough to face him by the time they arrive.”
Still pondering the words of their twisted brother, Ion disappeared in a flurry of snow. Terra looked out over the distant desert, where the sandstorm had changed the very shape of the land. Placing a hand on the cold stone beneath him, he sent a small tremor through the earth. It spread outwards from the mountain, racing towards a large mound of sand in the distance. The tremor made contact with the newly formed hill, before rebounding and flowing back to the anxious Avatar. The probe delivered its report, which brought a smile to Terra’s face. Somewhat relieved, he allowed the earth to swallow him into its dark depths.
Awakening Page 107