I love my main project, I love it a lot. Sometimes even I forget the size of the story though. Since I’m a very linear worker I always start at the beginning and go from there. Today however I got an itch. The words were popping around in my head for quite some time today so I decided to write down this little bit.
This is part of a chapter in the first book of The Age of Light series. It follows a young girl named Alerxia and takes place a very long while after the events of The Order of Atlantis series. It might give a little bit away from the first series, but not much. Enjoy!
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Alerxia stared up at the night sky, the cloudless beauty was a refreshing view from the heavy lights of the metropolis she used to live in. She couldn’t believe she was there. The ground around her was covered in snow, hiding the ruins of the ancient city. She wrapped herself a bit tighter in her heavy jacket, trying to fight off the cold just a bit longer to take it all in.
She lost herself between the sky and ground, trying to imagine the city up and alive all around her. Reconstructing the view in her mind from old pictures she had seen. It wasn’t working so well, the cold was starting to bite a little too hard. She made to go back inside, something caught her eye. A faint glimmer in the snow. Curiosity getting the better of her she wandered down the steps of the temple into the ruins of the city.
It’s not the far away, I just want to see what it is and I’ll go back. Students weren’t allowed to wander into the city. The rubble was unstable after thousands of years of decay. As she traveled forward Alerxia realized the glimmer was a pulsating glow. Very weak, but still emitting a signal of some sort.
After a few slips in the snow she knelt down to the source of the light. She brushed away a layer of chilly fluff to reveal an active console. It was flickering, but the images were still decipherable, It looked like Earth, but the view showed the space around the planet up to a few kilometers.
“You really shouldn’t be wandering around you know.” Alerxia felt her heart fall into her stomach. She turned like lightning to meet her blue eyes with the striking eyes of a very old man.
“Master Colin!” Se dropped to the ground in a bow, “Please accept my apologies, my curiosity got the better of me.” She clenched her eyes, tensing her body in preparation of a lashing. Instead she got a soft chuckle. She looked up. Colin was standing over her, extending an aged hand to lift her to her feet.
“My dear, there is no need for such formalities. I see you have found the source of what I was looking for.” He reached into his coat, pulling out a small device. It beeped and clicked when he opened it. “I received a sudden power reading from the city, I thought it a bit odd so I came to investigate.” Alerxia couldn’t help but take in his truly ancient look. Stark white hair and beard covering a wrinkled face. Despite his appearance she got the feeling of youth from him. Not at all what she expected.
He took a knee by the console, examining its flickering screen. Alerxia took an anxious place next to him, a mixture of fear and continued curiosity tossing around in her stomach. He pressed the console lightly, changing its screen. He hummed at it for a moment, pressing a few more keys before speaking.
“How interesting.”
“What is it, “master?” Alerxia listened intently, seeing if she could figure out the images on the console for herself.
“According to this we’re about to get a visitor.” He stood up, looking upwards at the sky.
“A visitor?”
“It’s very curious. This console was part of the Atlantean Deep Space Monitoring Program. It would seem that some of the satellites are still sending signals. Follow me dear, we don’t want to be rude to our guest.” He started walking further away from the temple, a surprise to Alerxia. Even more shocking was that he was bringing her along. Colin ran the temple and headed all of its operations. He was hardly ever seen except for large feasts and it was rare for him to interact with the students at all.
She strode quickly to keep up with his fast steps. He had no issues walking over the snow as Alerxia fell into a hole every few feet. Her face flushed with embarrassment. They walked in silence for what seemed like hours until Alerxia realized they were walking into what used to be the residential district of the city. It was completely flat, the snow had covered everything in its blanket.
“Funny how even with the snow I know where everything is. There was a house here once.” Colin looked at the ground.” Some very good friends of mine lived there.”
“Where are they now?” she asked dumbly. The question snapped Colin out of his nostalgia and he took on a quizzical expression.
“I don’t know. It’s been a few hundred years since I contacted them. I should probably do that when we get back. I think this is what we’re looking for.” He pointed upwards to what appeared to be a star.
Alerxia squinted at the small speck of light and realized it was moving, and getting brighter. “Master, what is it?”
“I don’t know, We’ll be finding out soon.” The speck was getting larger and brighter at an alarming rate. “Looks like it’s about to hit the atmosphere.” There was a flash as the speck blazed with fire. A powerful boom rolled across the snowy plain as the object made it though the atmosphere. It’s shape was more visible now. Sharp and pointed as it streaked through the sky closer and closer.
“Master,” Alerxia said with a bit of hesitancy, “Shouldn’t we move?”
“How silly, We’ll be fine.” He smiled pleasantly as the object grew even larger. It’s strange crystalline shape becoming more and more discernible. “It is quite an interesting thing, isn’t it?”
“Umm, yes?” Alerxia was trying to fight of her flight response to the situation. The object was not slowing in speed and seemed to be falling rather than flying. This looks more like space junk, how could it be a visitor?
“You may want to brace yourself, dear.” Colin said. Alerxia looked puzzled before the object hit the ground with a shuddering crash that sent the girl toppling forward. She looked up to see the object sliding through the snow, hitting old remnants of houses as it came, digging the ground around it and leaving a deep trench behind it before it finally skidded to a halt a few feet from where the two were stationed.
Alerxia swallowed hard with relief. Colin seemed delighted. He started towards the object, finally getting a good look at the thing.
It was a crystal. Alerxia was dumbfounded by it. It shimmered and glowed with some strange power that coursed all over its surface. She followed Colin down into the ditch the object had made. There were pieces of old house and indistinguishable rubble all around. The two approached with caution. Alerxia felt the air change, Colin was serious now. He was scanning the area vigilantly for any sign of danger. The young girl doing the same.
The object gave a hiss, steam billowing out of holes all along its sides. The glowing stopped to reveal the object was made of some kind of metal. It became clear to Alerxia that this was indeed some kind of space fairing ship. Colin reached out a hand to stop their advancement. In the darkness of the night it was hard to determine what was going on. The sound of spinning gears filled the air, a thin veil of light started to fall on the ground. A door was opening on the ship.
She watched with wide eyes at the seemingly human silhouette standing in a doorway on the side of the ship. It was holding the side of the doorway.
“I made it,” it said before collapsing into the freshly dug earth.
