TRITANIA’S
REIGN
J.A. POPOVEC
Copyright © 2017 J.A. Popovec
All rights reserved.
Book cover designed by Anton Tremblay.
Eagle illustration by Heather Seals.
ISBN:
9781521552032
INTRODUCTION
VOLTANDRIA
ZAUNDAURÏN
ORGANIZATIONAL SHIFT
THE TIME IS UPON US
ACCEPTANCE
THE VILLAGE OF TRICKLING
INTRODUCTION
Long ago, during a fiercely dualistic time in the history of the universe, there was a planet that no one knew existed until recent centuries. Ptolintriko (pronounced “toll-in-tree-ko”) was a best kept secret among the stars, and became the test subject for what the Great Rulers of the Universe called “Earth.” Thus, for our purposes, we will call it Earth.
THE TIMEFRAME
On a pine shelf thirty miles up from sea level and spanning the width of the sky floats one long row of glass cubes–all equivalent in size and dimension, and with positioning equidistant from one another. Lit from within, the sapphire yellow of each cube stands out against the over-stretched cumulous clouds. A closer look reveals that they are individually packaged time capsules.
Soaring in from the east, we pass hundreds of cubes until we settle on one. Looking miles below to where the planet Earth sits, we see we’ve stopped right around the western 120th meridian. As we look back up and straight ahead, we peer deep inside the glass cube on the shelf in the sky to discover which time capsule we’ve settled on: In tiny black symbols of Old English font, the date “1600” stares right back at us.
A short gust of wind speeds in from beyond, targeting this one cube, and only this cube. We are close enough that we feel the air tickle our cheeks and blow our hair back, as it hits us head-on from either side of the cube. A bit of strain follows the tail end of the wind: It’s identifiably an exhale from some human-type presence, and the warmth from it fogs the glass panel behind the date, 1600.
A deliberate inhale is followed by a massive exhale, one so powerful that it creates a movement of the cube as it sits on the shelf. The cube visibly inches closer to us, toward the front of the shelf, and the momentum of the breath from behind it generates a new breath, without pause. The strength is unexpected and pushes with all its might until the cube is forcefully blown right off the shelf.
It first topples, and then plummets at speeds greater than light. In doing so, this wondrous glass cube slices right through any number of clouds on its way down to Earth. It lands and shatters, sending shards of glass miles in every direction. The time is officially set at 1600.
A PET PROJECT
Creating Earth was a pet project, and one that received a good deal of attention from every Great Ruler within the universe. What they were aiming to create with it was a first-time run at a container for all things relevant to the development of a thriving globe and its eco-system….
But this wasn’t their “first run” of it. Mistakes were made during the formation of a previous attempt, and so this newer version was intended to be an all-round superior product. Intentions were set for the Great Rulers to design a planet from an energetic base; one that would maintain a more suitable size for its purpose, hold less undesignated matter, and possess a stronger durability–all of which would ultimately lead to the development of a functional planet with a longer, more sustainable lifespan.
LINGERING REMNANTS FROM
A PAST PLANET
Like all things that are transformed or recreated, in the essence of this newer entity still lingered elements, energies, and even the folklore of the land it previously was before its recreation. Namely, the former globe housed the nine realms of the Norsemen, and they occupied the very region upon which our time capsule has landed. Those realms included the territories of Midgard, Asgard, and Vanaheim in the northwestern hemisphere, along with their various inhabitants, the Vikings, Valkyries and the great god, Odin.
A BIT ABOUT ODIN
Frenzy and chaos often followed many of Odin’s decisions, and since true peace was what the Great Rulers of the Universe sought, they destroyed the previous world to destroy Odin—thus creating this second test subject and positioning a new god at its helm.
But Odin would not go quietly. And when he learned of the masters’ plot to destroy him and all his efforts, Odin designed a plan of his own. After first acknowledging that the other gods and goddesses were up against him, he quickly recognized a different type of strength; one that came in numbers. And so, with that knowledge, he took his very own presence–-the once prodigious spirit in the sky–-and decided he would divide it to conquer.
The powerful masculine spirit that once governed the skies had desired to split, expand, and then inject himself into as many corners of the earth as could be imagined. And, since water occupied the majority of the planet, he aimed to target the sea before anything else.
Odin was precise and had everything planned, down to the millisecond. In the last step before the complete annihilation of the world, it was necessary for the Great Rulers to release Odin’s soul from anything on the earth’s surface that he may have been attached to. Most of it would need to be repurposed post-destruction and, simply put, they wanted as “clean” a product as they could get.
They hadn’t anticipated the savvy that would come from a poisoned soul, especially one that’s been rejected. Odin’s momentary release from previous Earth proved to be fruitful for him. He used that split-second of freedom to start acting out his plot. But he only got so far. Once the Great Rulers saw what was happening they expedited the world’s destruction, which then ceased all of Odin’s activity.
Upon rebuilding it into this second globe on which the story takes place, the Great Rulers directed the tainted water of Odin to the core of the planet to be repurposed. But water can be found in almost everything. And tainted molecules attract more of the like. Thus, the attempt at purification was bound to eventually contain flaws.
When the planet’s recreation process had been completed, numerous pools of Odin’s tainted water had slowly collected together and, over the passing of hundreds of years, had maneuvered their way out of the core, and up to the ocean’s bottom. There they settled… and waited.
******
Centuries continued to pass and the new Earth was working toward becoming lush and fragrant again. Its oceans, lakes and rivers filled with sea creatures and coral. And a first glimpse of mankind had surfaced in adventuresome pirates–determined to prove their courage, and thus charting out global explorations. It would only be a matter of time before the essence of Odin would respond.
AN INHERITED EARTH
As we flash forward to what we have determined to be the 1600s, the recycled matter that the Great Rulers put into place had proven to be useful. After all, this iteration was designed for continuing the perfecting of what would, one day, become the ultimate model for a perfect, future planet Earth.
On this second attempt, the land had flourished with new gradients of soil in numerous regions, which were producing an abundance of plant and tree species. The oceans and rivers had acquired new consistencies like cold currents, hot pools, and reefs with distinct degrees of mineralization, allowing for the rapid population of radical new sea life.
As well, though, there was the darkness of Odin that we mustn’t neglect to touch upon. Along with the re-purposed soil and water of the new earth came the looming remnants of a lifeforce that once thrived in many regions north of the equator. Where our time capsule had landed was right along the western 120th longitudinal marker, which cuts straight through the territory of the northwest, in an area that, on the former Test Subject:
Earth, housed the cursed Valhalla.
Also referred to as “The house of the slain,” Valhalla was the place in the western hemisphere of the former planet where Vikings who died in battle were taken to, via the Valkyries and per Odin’s request. At Valhalla, Odin kept his Vikings close by, encouraging them with drink and combat for the purposes of staying sharp, while simultaneously keeping on point their eagerness and readiness to fight. One day he would call on these slain warriors to assist in the creation of natural disasters.
******
With the world momentarily at peace, a view of the sky depicted a different story. For the last few centuries up until now, darkness had been smearing its way across land and sea. And as for the ever-darkening cerulean skies above the sacred eastern hemisphere, that would all soon change.
VOLTANDRIA
Deep within the planet’s eastern hemisphere, the sacred land of VOLTANDRIA sat at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a mystical, magical and luminescent geography that captured and held one’s gaze, sans any resistance.
The mountain built up to a beautiful peak, where a temple and a cave stood, surrounded by a row of trees. These protective trees, or “Searching Trees” as they were called, could be found in abundance throughout the western hemisphere as well. In the east, however, Voltandria was the only region that developed them.
As luxurious as this charmed land was, at this very moment in time it was experiencing severe chaos and commotion. An erratic migration had spontaneously been launched, both in the water and on land. The vibration from it spanned the radius of the planet, causing upset in all living things. Within moments it became evident that Voltandria had just been disturbed by a massive explosion.
Heartbeats went racing through the wildlife, sea life and mankind. On top of the cliff, the cave and its trees were being targeted by missiles of some type, and were falling in a landslide that hardened the atmosphere for an entire moment. The rumbling and jitteriness was so intense that to the naked eye it became impossible to track moment to moment progression.
THE SCENE FROM THE DEPTHS
The cliff was steep as it descended to the ocean, and then beyond to the ocean floor. The scene from the depths was one of fury and disruption. From a distance, one would think they were witnessing an earthquake.
As the land from above began an avalanche into the ocean, the ferocity with which large chunks of earth were colliding with the ocean floor created moving shadows that expanded to cover miles of water, both above and across. The plummeting fragments, combined with the pounding of a sinking ship as it hit the ocean bottom, had rocked foundations that were now delivering alarming vibrations through the water to the coastlines of neighboring continents.
From underwater, one event overpowered the other in what looked like a competition of grandeur. As the growing shadows raced each other to the water’s surface, it revealed two waves in a face-off, with the larger one swallowing the smaller. And then it happened again, with both waves now twice their original size. In that second round, a plethora of sea creatures were visible within, as the waves repeatedly crashed into each other like thrashing steel.
A final set of waves to the surface delivered a challenge so fierce that onlookers begged to go back to the previous one. That final time, the smaller wave expanded to completely tower over top of the beast of a wave that had overwhelmed it on both previous attempts. As it stretched and expanded, even more and bigger sea creatures became caught up in the evolving wave, and it began to curve over top of itself.
Sharks, orca and large squid, fish and seals were all turned on their sides or sent twirling from this giant 400-foot-tall wall of water. The screaming effects coming from the sea life were chilling, and sounded as if they were being tortured. The peaks and individual crests of water that spout off from the larger wave formed what could’ve passed as smaller mouths, reflecting the nature of the bigger one to which they were attached—all ferocious and ready to chomp down at any moment.
A DEVELOPMENT
As this monster of a wave continued to build with the intention of swallowing the smaller one and anything else in its path, from within the water a transformation began to occur. The liquid ocean was transitioning into a solid. The crest on either side of the center of the wave ballooned up to give the appearance of strong shoulders, with arms that were opening in a wide, lengthy stretch.
As a head formed and raised itself from the center, the truth behind what the world was looking at became revealed. She was an eagle with a 500-foot wingspan.
The chest cavity of the eagle expanded next as it filled with strength and stealth. As she mustered power from all possible sources within her reach, this angelic bird began to peel herself away, out of the wave.
It took a tremendous amount of power, determination, and focus to pull this off. And the further she ascended from out of the water, twisting and turning, wiggling and wrangling her strength, the harder she would push, quivering and eager to break away completely… and that she did!
In a flash, she felt exhilaration pulsating through her veins. Individual feathers filled with life and they puffed up off of her frame, allowing the ocean air to circulate between them. She never imagined ever seeing the sky again, and with every breath she exuded multiple layers of bliss. This event was triumphant and it belonged to her!
In a single moment of truth, our eagle had completely transitioned from the water to the air, leaving the wave from whence she came entirely drained, emptied, and falling back onto the water’s surface while she aimed for the highest height in the sky! She was breathtaking!
A LOVE LOST
Beneath her strengthening wings, the ocean cried and wept like a mother whose newborn baby had been taken. Over the course of the past centuries, the ocean life grew fond of their visitor. They had become protective of her, and almost overtly so. For even though she was not in physical form, and only was the spiritual essence of what once was, love, compassion and cradling were her natural states. She provided this nourishment to the world under the sea and it proved to be fruitful to the survivors of the planet’s recent depression.
Amidst the cries and moaning of the sea’s anguish was another sound that didn’t quite fit in. Exploring all the way down to the floor of the ocean, as the sand settled, there was a gate that had been broken. It was pulled off its hinges, swaying in the moving water and producing an abrasive sound each time it brushed against the surrounding rock. It became obvious that this was where the soul of our eagle presence had been kept for far too long. Still, there was something more there...
Beyond the gate was an underwater tunnel. There was no telling how far back it extended, but something within had become disrupted. The rumbling and tumbling grew to be so intense that it started kicking up the sand again on the ocean bottom. The tap-tap-tapping of hollowed out metal soon joined in chorus with the steel brushing gate and the rumbling tunnel, inventing a composition that echoed throughout the curves and coils from within.
The layered echoes soon pulled themselves together, and the sounds became louder and more distinguished, which meant that whatever was producing them was coming closer to the tunnel’s opening. True clarity came with the distinct recognition of armor, clamoring and clanging together. The orchestral effects developed and gained momentum, the closer they came to the gate.
Bubbles, one by one, had popped out and begun dancing their way to the surface of the dense ocean water. Then from out of the darkness within the tunnel, a billowing cloud of black substance shot straight out—thundering with such exclamation it could’ve been mistaken for the firing of a cannon!
As the black substance turned over and over, rolling out across the ocean floor, sharp and pointy objects began to protrude from the soft, nondescript shape. They were identifiably weapons: hatchets, spears, bows and arrows forcing their way out of the black mass and into the open water, poking and prodding at it with specific determination. Soon, they would take aim above, to beyond the water’s
surface and into the sky.
SURVIVAL
A short measure above the water now, our eagle continued to build strength in her wingspan as she strived for the heavens, when something inexplicable happened. A fracture or tear in her wing brought a loud shriek from the eagle that divided the atmosphere in a single chilling heartbeat. It was a hatchet and a spear, both sticking out from the elbow of her wing.
She’d been struck and was bleeding profusely. The pain that came as she continued to scream was gut-wrenching. Next came a series of arrows, aiming at her from the sea. They weren’t stopping, and they kept coming at her.
Her flying had soon become confused and erratic. Her pleading eyes began to glaze over, and her trunk-like neck started to fold to one side, and then forward. She was wheezing and tried to catch her breath in a last ditch effort to preserve her flight, but much in the same manner that she was conjured out of the wave, our eagle began to lose all form and strength. Her coloring started to bleed out, and transparency set in—starting at the injured wing and working its way through to the rest of her body.
The colors that comprised her beauty disappeared from her form as they became liquefied raindrops that settled back onto the water’s surface. In a frightful punctuation, a whirlpool formed and devoured her completely! At the ocean’s floor, the cloud of moving blackness and weapons preceded the liquified bird and her essence back into the tunnel, sucked in as if they were being pulled into an enormous vacuum. Faint voices could be heard, singing with pride.
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