- The Phoenix Chronicles -
ALONE IN THE LIGHT
Book One
M.K Williams
First Edition
First published by createspace in 2018
Luxon-Drake Publications
Kemp House
152-160 City Road
London EC1V 2NX
United Kingdom
www.luxon-drake.com
Copyright © 2018. Marc W.K. Chudley
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or utilised in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, electronic or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 199996280X
ISBN-13: 978-1999962807
I dedicate this novel and the spirit of those to come, to
Roy Andrew Short.
My first faithful fan.
You are forever remembered.
To my close friends and family, no words could do you justice for all your support.
To Rachel, a best friend; true and dependable. I owe this much and more.
P: AZX32 N:015 T: E
Title: The fifteenth translation of The Sagara Prophecy.
Name: Winston. J. L. Eddingtons. (Chief Librarian)
Co-authors: D. Longsdale., G. A. Macksville., D. R. Rose., J. F. Griffiths., & A. R. Short.
Date: Started March 1st 1947, completed November 13th 1947
Code: Lower Ancient to English. 015AZX32E
Classification: Open Access. PR value: Low
Summary of findings:
The report on Prophecy AZX32 is a detailed analysis of the impact of the events that are depicted and described. The Prophecy is divided into three categories and is further divided into individual segments. The translation for each segment, from the original Lower Ancient to English, is accompanied by a detailed hypothesis on what is believed to be the outcome prophesied. On review of the entire works several statements can be made about the impact on civilisation.
AThe fall of the Order of Light. BThe death of the entities known as the Phoenixes. CA war, comparable to those witnessed by the *Ancients. DThe return of an Ancient, the name of which is not stated.
The Prophecy: (Sagara: 015AZX32E) – *Translation to English.
Signs:
1Dead of night the vile attack. When the free are led by bird, and liberty burns. A hero lost is the Defier’s gain. 2His Collection grows to five, through vengeance blood is spilled, a Phoenix returned. The Strong are willed, united they speak, as one they listen. 3His faithful returned, his army rebuilt. His pieces moved into check, marked are those who touch the eye. 4Blinded is he whose heart does not beat. To the path he must return, to save his soul. No innocence is lost, due to smoke and mirrors. Return to the earth the unstoppable walks. 5The Eye is destroyed; it sees only death and misery. The heart is rubble, warriors so few. Traveller’s blood frees him from his untouchable prison. Behold the betrayal, the good and the bad. 6The followers are plenty, his kingdom great. The second war he shall start, like none have witnessed. Neither for land, nor power but for love. His plan revealed, not so divine is he, exploit his weakness and nothing shall be.
Trials:
1Standing alone, our hero is blinded. The path he will walk has two lanes. Through vengeance, his death is sealed, though hope returned. The lane chosen is darker, and his steps unforeseen. 2Solid as stone your enemy shall be. His strength is his weakness. Hands are your weapons, use knowledge of Fiore. 3The Phoenix can stand and fight, but the Phoenix will fall and perish forever. The fate of the earth is the victor’s call. Witnessed are the brave, the helpless. 4The marked are the two who think as one. Blessed is he with ancient skills. The Defier’s slayer he will be.
Revelations:
1If Line of Passel ends before the Defier’s return, he who has slain will die at the hands of the Phoenixes’ greatest enemy. 2The marked shall escape the sixth by trust and sacrifice. Enlightenment is gained through the hell. Leap into the storm, the battlefront waits. 3Gone is the juggernaut, cursed is the Ryder with life or death. Broken is the trinity where hope lay. As the Defier walks and speaks, cursed is the earth, but free Will can survive. 4You destroyed the queen of pain. Lost is the king, consumed by rage, his lust for power released. A desire for revenge, his heart so null. 5Mothers teach the greatest lesson. Though borrowed, it’s true. Close the box and death forfeits his claim. No light shall you see, no love or loss will you feel. Peace is yours as the dark veil falls.
Page 1 of 1694
- Preface -
June 12th 1919
As I write for the first time in months, I am compelled to list the evils I have witnessed in the name of good. The concept of good is one that exists on many worlds I have visited, but no version has troubled me more so, no definition of good has ever been filled with so much hypocrisy.
Murder of the innocent. Rape. Genocide – entire ways of life destroyed, removed almost entirely from record. Claiming ownership of objects and over people, and then stealing claims from others. The people of this world are corrupted by so many higher concepts. They have the will of a god but no power or wisdom to see them through.
This world knows nothing of the battle that is fought in its name, for its honour; for its own good. I have seen a war that has spread the globe, devastated a continent, yet still the people of this – Earth, seem to care not and are destined to repeat mistakes for eternity. The value of their existence means so little to people sacrificing themselves and each other as they wage war for snippets of land and wealth. Concepts so far from mine, I feel; what could only be described as rage burns within me.
I know I should not feel such emotion, that such attachment is not the way of my people. I am, for no other better word – lost.
I have spent more time here than permitted, more time than our rules govern. It has been nearly ten years and no one has looked for me, no one has ordered my return. I am truly the first to rebel; I am the first to have had these thoughts.
I know why the rules exist, I have lived through the ages of many worlds – I have witnessed the destruction of so many civilisations. There is a solution, a dangerous one to explore.
Unlike on many worlds, only a few people here seem open to the true origins of existence, only a handful are gifted with real power and actual wisdom. For an inexplicable reason the truth is held from the masses. My only conclusion is that it is due to the desire to protect them, to protect a concept of good.
Like other worlds this one has two clearly defined sides, which only help cement such simplistic thoughts of good and evil, dark and light. For reasons that escape me, a truce has held for over fifty records. Such a form of peace is unheard of. Though the humans do an excellent job of killing one another.
I had a discussion with a young man from a body that calls itself the Order of Light. I first made contact with him to gain access to their archives; I was intrigued to learn much about the truce that exists. I have known him for several weeks and tire of his naive belief in what is right and wrong. Youth in this world is often filled with unwavering absolutes – this is all so unattractive. He would often argue that being human alone was enough to be viewed as good. He did not respond well to my arguments to the contrary. That the mere claim in itself was not proof.
A vampire, I often argued, could be deemed as equally good. Both beings clearly have the potential to carry out deeds that would fall into either of the humans’ definition of a ‘good act’ or an ‘evil’ one. That just because one was at a different level of evolution, that one was possibly deemed higher on the food chain, that did not afford
the inferior the right to define the other as evil. It is arbitrary. He did not like my argument of human inferiority and often argued that it was his side, the humans – the Order of Light, that had the advantage. That had the real power. This may be the case from his perspective, but numbers alone do not ensure victory, that the power of the Phoenix will not, forever, be unrivalled.
Well, I am off point. I shall write no more until I have decided to return home or if… or if I shall explore such dangerous options.
- Solasis Krull
June 14th 1919
I have decided to stay. I shall take up arms. I have chosen my side. Justice and peace will be my gift to existence. Not just to this world but to all. I am driven to break the covenant of my people.
- Solasis Krull
- Chapter One -
Not So Humble
Stephen’s legs had never moved so quickly, not ever in his life, not even in his death. If his heart still beat it would have burst right out of his chest. He wasn’t the youngest vampire in his order but he could still remember what it felt like to run so far and to run so hard on mortal legs. On any other day, after any other feed, at this pace he would have tired long ago; but not today. The metallic taste of the woman’s blood still lingered excitingly in his mouth. Fresh human blood was everything he had imagined it to be, and the strength it gave him was tremendous. He had never felt so strong. But was he powerful enough to take on his current pursuer? As the thought entered his mind, he began to slow.
“Yes. I can,” he whispered through gritted teeth; and as he did his sprint came to an end.
Stopping and placing a hand on a wall he took a long look around him for the first time since the chase began. He had been running on instinct alone and hadn’t taken in his surroundings once. He had walked the old streets of London many times before and knew them well, although he had only ever seen them by moonlight.
He listened for the approach of his follower; even with enhanced hearing he heard nothing but the distant, weak cries of his recent victim.
I’ve done it, he thought. I’ve outrun a Phoenix.
Everything he had been told about a Phoenix would leave any vampire filled with fear and dread, but tonight he was particularly frightened after his illegal feeding. He took another quick glance around: there seemed to be nothing and no one. He allowed himself to feel smug; he had completed his task and managed to lose his deadly hunter.
“Right, now to a safe house,” the words softly left his mouth.
As he began to move a bright blue light blinded him, a sharp punching pain slammed hard into his chest, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into a wall. Rubbing his eyes, his sight began to return and there standing directly over him was the thing he feared most: a Phoenix.
…
Zhing looked down at the vampire. To her, vampires were the worst of the underworld’s dark creatures. They were always breaking the rules, they had no respect for the Treaty and their Council would often overlook their transgressions. She had hated vampires ever since she was a young girl and had witnessed three of them terrorise and destroy a village near to her hometown, Turpan in Xinjiang, China. She couldn’t let her hatred get the better of her; she needed to take this vampire in for questioning. Looking at him, he seemed confident, strong and bold.
This one might cause me some trouble, she thought. But she was more than ready; dressed in her long black Phoenix attire and with her enchanted Blade, which had slain many vampires before, strapped tightly to her back.
“Get up! Resist and you’ll pay with your life, understood?” She spoke with an eloquent English accent, her eyes locked with his.
Nodding his head to show he understood, Stephen slowly dragged himself to his feet. Was he going to try and escape? If she took him in he would be finished anyway. Instantly he leapt at her, he knew he had to keep any fight with a Phoenix close. They were strong and quick, much like a vampire, but they also wielded magical powers. Reacting instantly to his lunge, she rolled, flinging the vampire clean over her head. Quickly jumping to her feet, she turned to see the vampire already standing tall. Stretching out her open hand a sapphire blue energy seemed to build around her palm, until a huge bolt of sapphire light flew out from it, heading in the direction of the vampire. Diving to the ground to evade the blast, Stephen believed he could take her on this night and win. The young woman’s blood had made him feel immensely powerful, made him quicker. Moving close to Zhing again, he threw a punch at her face. It was easily blocked but his second throw struck the intended target, just below her chest. Zhing flinched, but reacted with a blow to Stephen’s face, knocking him to the floor. As he hit the ground, she arched her whole body and kicked him clean into the air. He rotated several times before remaking contact with the ground. One arm lifting himself up, he looked over at her; he watched her hands link together, one on top of the other with shimmering sapphire light surrounding them. With his other hand he pushed himself into the air but he hadn’t been quick enough. Another, larger bolt of blue hit him hard in the stomach, throwing him with immense force at the other wall behind him, the collision so hard a crater formed. He fell to his knees in agony. As a vampire he did not often feel pain, but now every bone in his body ached.
“Resist and I shall end your existence. You’re coming with me, understood?” With a slight smirk on her face, Zhing moved to stand directly over him again, her sword stretched out, its tip pointing at him.
“Yes, yes okay,” Stephen said as he looked up at her; he noticed that she had not even broken into a sweat. It looked as if she could take on fifty vampires saturated with the blood of a thousand young women.
…
Across town the cold air felt bitter on Sam’s face but it didn’t seem to bother him; his gaze scanned the landscape around him in a panicked search. Turning his head side to side, he leaned his right ear in different directions, trying in vain to hear the young woman who was somewhere mortally wounded. He heard nothing. He wasn’t alone, his good friend and colleague Rachel Winters was also out on this freezing night, both of them searching for the innocent victim, left for dead by a vile monster.
The pair ran down back-alley after back-alley in a frantic hunt, their mission to find the victim and find her fast. To them it wasn’t important to catch the perpetrator of the crime; they knew someone was already on that task, someone who was more than capable of tracking the beast down.
Turning a very sharp corner at speed, Sam lost his footing and stumbled to the ground. Rachel slowed her sprint just in time to avoid tripping over him. Kneeling down, she helped him back to his feet.
“Come on, slow down, concentrate. Can you sense her presence at all?”
Rachel’s words did little to comfort Sam. He had visualised the victim in his mind; he had felt her pain and now he seemed somewhat helpless to save her.
“No, I can’t sense her now at all. It’s strange, it almost feels like something’s blocking me,” Sam replied.
This seemed odd to Rachel, not because she was unaware of Sam’s psychic gift, but because she had never heard of anyone being blocked before. She was beyond puzzled by his statement. She had a gift of her own and she didn’t feel as if hers was being hindered. Rachel was gripped with a sense of urgent desire.
“What do you mean you’re being blocked? Explain! Does anything look familiar at all?” she barked.
“Well, I’ve not been able to sense people before, either because they’re too far away from me or because…” Sam paused.
“Because what?” Rachel probed.
“Because they were dead. But this is different. I know she’s alive.” Sam’s words seemed to stem from desperation.
A feeling of failure, making her sick to her stomach, suddenly overwhelmed Rachel. She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears partially concealed by her glasses, her cheeks began to glow red.
“What now?” Rachel asked.
“We continue, we keep looking; she’s not dead, Rachel. It feels different,
I can’t even read you. Something’s not right with my head; it’s all cloudy, I can’t think straight!” Sam strained.
Rachel listened and knew that they needed to find the victim before she ‘turned’, though she didn’t share Sam’s belief that she could be still alive. She thought he was clutching at straws.
“Come on, we still need to look for her,” Sam commanded.
Rachel slowly turned away. Her face filled with disbelief, which Sam read easily. She didn’t believe the girl was alive and she didn’t believe him; that he was being blocked. Knowing this wrenched his insides, like a fist punching through his chest and twisting his heart. He and Rachel were closer than brother and sister and the thought of her not trusting him was hurtful. He had seen the woman in his dreams, and he wasn’t going to let her die. Over the past four years he had seen many victims, just like this one. Four years that, if Sam was living the life of a normal twenty-two-year-old, would be filled with drink-fuelled parties and carefree days, but this wasn’t Sam’s life, this wasn’t the life led by any of his present friends. He had been given a gift and he was determined to use it to help others. Dropping to his knees he placed his hands on his thighs and closed his eyes. With every fibre of his being he stretched out with his mind.
Walking away, Sam’s shout stopped Rachel in her tracks. “Wait.”
She turned and saw him kneeling and concentrating.
In his mind’s eye a veil was lifting, he began to see people around him, passers-by, people on a bus, Rachel. He still couldn’t see the girl and with even more of his strength, he looked further. As he poured more of his energy into the search, the more distorted his visions and the louder a thumping sounded within. His hands began to grip his trousers tightly and his nails began to dig deep into the fabric, impressing on his flesh. The more intense the thumping got, the harder he squeezed. His hands began to ache from gripping so tightly, his mind was so befogged he began to feel like passing out or bursting a blood vessel. Rachel could see sweat pouring from Sam’s face, his exhaustion evident. She was overwhelmed with concern, maybe he wasn’t exaggerating, and maybe he was being blocked. Lowering herself to his level, she spoke softly in his ear.
The Phoenix Chronicles: Alone in the Light (Book ONE) Page 1
