Illumination

She started running was all I could remember. Everything else slipped my mind.

It was completely black. She couldn't see even a foot in front of herself, and suddenly she found herself basking in the bright, white lights of something she hadn't expected.
Being it that she had no where else to run, like a moth, she flew towards the light.

As she sprinted though, it all went dark again. Her foot was caught by the root of a tree and she tumbled back into sheer darkness. Pitch black. She simply laid, crying quietly to herself. She knew it. She had seen the light, but she had no idea when she'd see it again, and even if she did see it once more, she knew she'd only end up tumbling about in the darkness once more.

A sad thought, a sad, sad world she lived in.

But to her, she couldn't find enough light. She grew accustomed to the pain that seeking out the beautiful lights had brought her. Her heart raced with every second she spent hurling herself towards the light up until the very last time she would run into the light, she found the source.

It was a system of flood lights, left abandoned. She had heard footsteps milling about the vicinity, but no figure revealed themselves.

She played about with the buttons and found another system, this time of television screens. On display was a man running about the same place she was, running towards the lights. Endlessly, trying to find the source, but his efforts were in vain, as he would only collapse when he thought he had found the source.

She loved the pain the man felt. She loved the tears of anger and sadness that he shed. She was now in control and played with the lights and the man's mind until he finally gave in. He stopped running. Stopped chasing. He was a broken being, far beyond human.

Though, many others came in search of the source too, only to be burned by the woman, who sought her happiness with the torturing of men and women alike in this maze of lights.

She became what she hated the most, but in the end, she loved every second of what she was doing.

If it wasn't for me, hundreds and hundreds of lost lives would go out in vain. She's gone now, I promise.

But it won't be long until the maze is once again filled. Be wary, my friend.

(Post title needed)

Notecard Poem #1

And inside his world, he melted into the earth,

he became one with nature.

His body allowed the mightiest oak to grow above his grave.

Or at least that's what his mind told him.

The world around him was horribly obscured by all the lights and colors that distracted him.

The people around him were embarrassed for the man.

He was completely oblivious of everything around him, except his friend.

They both received an uncountable number of dirty looks,

but the two friends traveled along and laughed off the stares.

They were happy.

Nothing could bring them down.

"They're only dancing my friends."

"We just can't hear the music."

"It's blasting inside their heads, but we're just not with them."

"We're just not in their world."

Holo-Tome #1 Titled: "Pouli"

Pouli

Not only was it Orion that was besieged and annihilated, many other worlds were aflame. The Pouli were the first to feel the vigor and strife of the fires. They hadn't a home planet for centuries; the species lived upon a naval marvel that sheltered the entire Pouli race. Some felt sorrow for the race, living the depths and vastness of the stars and cosmos, but the Pouli were proud of their ever growing masterpiece. It was a mechanical wonder. Spanning several lengths of Earth, the ship was a mobile trade hub, a bustling capital and a war factory. The ship was constantly worked on daily by the master architects of the Pouli, the shuttle never slept, never ending wisps and flares of blue could be seen from all over the hunk of metal. It was a work of art to them.

All Pouli are hatched aboard the Nest Ship (which was one of the many names for the capital ship) with the innate ability and desire to create a machination that they bond with through their lives and work on throughout their entire lives. The machine is entirely robotic and possesses no organic qualities. They do however, share properties that sentient organic beings have, such as emotions. It is thought that the heart of these machines are the only biological piece with inside their chests. They can feel the pain that their partner has. If one of a pair has a physical pain too, they share that pain and the partner has an uncontrollable urge to stop the pain by any means necessary. The duos are never found apart from one another. The Pouli often create nooks along the plating of their metal companions or perch atop their shoulders so that they can travel comfortably with their partner.

If one of the two in a duo should pass though, it is observed that the Pouli go into a state of pure loathing and fury. Their size and frail stature does not stop them though. They continue to fight until the cause of their robot's death is dealt with appropriately. They shortly expire after this outrage. The state destroys the victim's heart completely by working far beyond the abnormal heart rate of the Pouli.

On the other hand, the steel and wire golems will often fall onto the ground, no matter where they were at the time of their creator's expiration. It is said that they do not die but, their heart breaks. Without the vibration's of their creator's beating heart, the robot's heart freezes in an overwhelming wave of pain and remorse for the loss. They remain until their bodies are recycled. The heart, though, mysteriously disappears...

Dark Tides (TAK)

Star Date: 2116, February 17th.


The days grow nearer and nearer to the advent of Operation "Skyfall" as the higher-ups of the Kingdom's authorities have been calling the return to Earth. It is truly a chaotic time. Small rebellions against the idea of the great fall, but their efforts lie in vain. They, the brave, are now incarcerated in the Cell's prison. Their fate undetermined.

"So what is it we plan to do with the rebels? Are we going to execute them for treason?" an officer mumbles to his counterpart.

"I haven't the slightest clue what the lord will have of them. I haven't even seen the containment facilities yet. I don't even think we have the clearance to that sector-" he said as he raises his mug and  casually quaffs of. "-It's almost as if they're hiding something from all of us." The two men's attention was stolen by the large blast-door that loomed at the far end of the hall from them, which had just slammed shut. Above the door in red lights declared the room was "Derelict", although in all truth, it was aways from derelict.

On the other side of the door was Mr. Terach, with two large guards flanking him. Androids. Flesh over metal; they possess enormous power within themselves and have taken Octavian to the "containment facilities". He struggles within the grip of the mimics to no avail. His struggle grinds to a halt as he is in total awe of what surrounded him.

Each wall hosts several alcoves holding beings that were very much far from human. Or appeared to be. Some scales, a few with organic scythes for arms, some covered with steel plates. The most horrific had yet to come. As the party of three progress through the hall, moving from path to path, they came upon the human experimental test facilities. The hall had a dark and ominous blue glow to it. Within each cell was a horribly disfigured construct of flesh or metal. So grotesque and twisted, that the scientists congregating about the hall obviously view these men and women simply as animals, not even humans. Their anguish goes unheard though as they attempt to free themselves.

They would never be the same.

"What's this one here for?" a scientist inquired as he prodded about Terach. "He's said to have been conspiring against Skyfall. The guide believes that you can make a great use of him. We've noticed that he's a quite lively specimen." the android proclaimed in a monotonous voice. Binding him, Octavian was then thrown to the feet of the scientist before him. "We're definitely going to have fun with you." the scientist mumbled, picking up Octavian. They then walked off, Octavian was exhausted, afraid and hopeless as he was taken through another blast door to parts entirely unknown.

The Sullen Meeting. (TAK)

Star Date: 2116, January 31st.


In a large and sparsely decorated auditorium, a gathering was being held. From the walls and many orifices of the room hang many banners of a regal design. A purple crest, trimmed with gold that has two swords crossing one another were portrayed on these mantles. In the auditorium's seated are the numerous citizens of Sky Cell 19. One young man in peculiar, stood out. He, Mr. Terach, stands near the entrance of the auditorium, leaning against the hall's wall. The occupants of the seats are silent, waiting for someone or something to happen. Many of them are on the edge of their seats, dying from the quiet.


Just then though, a large man wearing a rather dapper suit waltzed his way onto the stage, in front of the crowd.He clears his throat, it echoes throughout the hall. The listeners are anxiously awaiting his word."Greetings, citizens of Sky Cell 19. It is your guide, Godfrey Wilheim. I have extremely important news with me." From his jacket, he produces a envelope. Again, he clears his throat.


"As a collective and whole society; the wise and valorous leaders of the Sky Kingdom have debated for decades now on when it would be safe to return to our true home. Earth. Scientists of the Kingdom have done all the research they could regarding the radioactivity of the wasteland. The data to them appears that the world may finally be safe enough to start a new on. Humanity shall not falter."


The audience was shocked, outraged at the least. Some stood up in protest, yelling at the man and questioning the idea presented before them. Some cried with their hands covering their faces. The silence of the hall soon became an uproar of unhappy men and women. All went quiet as soon as the intimidating cocking of air-rifles was heard. The protesters returned to their seats. Mr. Terach however, moved forward.


"I know that the idea of leaving this sanctuary in the heavens is ever so worrisome and foreign to all of you, I will tell you as your overseer that only good can come of the return to Earth. Civilization must sprout anew from the ground of which it was originally birthed. We cannot thrive among the stars."


He paused for a short moment, looking down and the back to the audience, "It is not our place here.""We should be leaving Earth's orbit sometime in the next month. I promise you all that it will not be the last thing we all do."


Tension only strengthened in the room as the meeting dragged on. Godfrey continued his theory and tried to convince the people of Sky Cell 19 that the return to Earth would be the greatest thing that could ever happen to mankind. Quote: "It's like we can all start all over again. Do all the wrong things... Right." Unquote.


He wasn't very convincing. Within the next few days, Godfrey from himself in the infirmary because of a crazed cultist believing that he was getting in the way of harmony. The cultist was later jettisoned from the Cell. His attempt at remaining in heaven, ironically, failed him.


Octavian was amazed when presented with all of this information. If the sky was the limit, what used to be within humanity's reaches?

A Tale of an Astral Kingdom

Bland Prologue

"It was truly a sight to be seen- the Before World." a man spoke softly to his child.
They both stand close to the glass view port, peering out of it. The man turns around and moves in a gaunt stride towards a cherry wood bureau, of which he pulls countless drawers out of in search of something.
"Aha!" he exclaims- "This my son was what earth looked like ten years ago."
The photograph the man found was a picture of a lush and green paradise that was earth. The boy with his tender and small hands, presses the picture against the glass to compare it to the desolate wasteland that the two are viewing.
"Daddy, why isn't it green like it is in the picture?" the child inquired quietly. The father looked down at him and then towards his own leg:

"Bad people, son. Very, very bad people."  he spat bitterly. "The same people who took daddy's leg away from him. You'll understand, one day. Whenever you're, older."

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Star Date: 2116, January 27th

"...So they all sought to the stars, and every man, woman and child that didn't make it were left to the left. Left to the destruction below. Here, we are almost untouchable. The only thing that can hurt us up here is ourselves. The Seraphs ensure that there is no conflict. They are the overseers of the Sky Cells..." a monotone voice projects through the small room, filled with students clothed with purple jumpsuits. They tediously record the lecture of the teacher, garbed in gold, on bits and scraps of paper. In the back of the class, a young man with brown and somewhat unkempt hair passes a note to a friend seated adjacent of him. The crisp and distinct sound of the boy's friend unwrapping the paper fills the room, and the teacher stops babbling to turn to the friend.

"I do hope that you are sharing notes regarding the history of the Sky Cells, Mr. Terach." the teacher snapped. "I assure you that they are in fact such, Mr. Alexander." he said in a rather sarcastic and condescendingly. Alexander continued with his lecturing and Terach's friend read his note. The note revealed that the girl in the top of their class had "messed around with" one of the nerdier students of the class for their homework. Of course, the boys had no idea as to whether or not this statement be true, it was all fun and games. Terach's friend looked at him with the utmost amusement at this and quickly returned him the note. Their fun was quickly interrupted though:

"Octavian-" Alexander called out, "who launched the first Sky Cell into orbit?"
Octavian recovered his composure and answered: "Orbital Industries, obviously. Why did you need me to tell you? Did you forget? Aren't you the Cell's historian?" the response got a short chuckle out of the class, defeated, Alexander returned to his tablet and continued to sprout forth nonsense from the texts, and still, the class listened on.

"...Bio-terrorist organizations conspired throughout the years 2095-2099 until they were "officially" claimed dissolved. The United Nations of Earth's statement was completely incorrect, as in 2098, Earth became what it is now, as you have seen from the vacuum outside of the Sky Cell, due to a un-estimated amount of what was assumed to be dirty bombs were deployed in the Earth's greatest cities..." etcetera, etcetera. Alexander rambled on and the students transcribed his lecturing, unshaken by the recalled events, but he himself was somber as he recollected the Great Leap. It looked as though he was on the verge of crying right then and there, too.