James Somers - The rise of Lucin

Only about half of the rebels that had assembled for battle in the valley remained alive. Captain Viche was among them and his ship, The Maelstrom, was in a line among other vessels including the few remaining rebel ships and the abundant number of troop transports Lucin had used to carry all of the mentally enslaved Castillians to the planet in. The wall of ships stood proud behind those congregated for the coronation of the new Barudii king.

Kale watched the crowd below from his seat inside the shuttle. He was nervous about what was about to take place in the ceremony. Not since King Isic, had one so young been anointed as the king of the Barudii. Few people were onboard the shuttle with him: Wynn, Grod, Juli, Ramah, Emil and Aija the prophet, who sat directly across from Kale's seat. The prophet carried a horn of special oil that was dangling from a cord on the belt of his robe.

"It's alright to be nervous," said Juli, sitting in the seat next to Kale.

"Of course it is," added Aija. "This is one of the greatest days in your life, young master."

Kale looked at them kindly, but did not speak. His mind was still on his parents. He had never expected to lose them in this war. The trials were meant to show one was ready for independence and responsibility, but Kale had never expected all of this to be thrust upon him so suddenly. And he missed his mother and father terribly.

"Your father and mother would be very proud of you," said Juli. "And I'm proud of you."

"You know what I'm going to say," said Aija.

"Yes…but maybe you should tell me anyway," said Kale.

"Your mother and father are safe with Elithias now. It's perfectly alright to miss them, but don't pity them. They're better off than any of us."

Kale and Juli looked at the prophet, taking in his words. They may have been cold and hard, but they were truth.

"Do you remember what your father said just before he died?" asked Aija. "He said, 'yes, Lord, I do want to go.' Tiet was ready to go and be with Elithias."

"I know what you're saying, Aija. I just don't know if I'm ready to handle this kind of responsibility."

"The will of The Eternal One must be accomplished and you are his chosen vessel," said Aija.

"And I want to be that, but-"

"No. There is no 'but'. You are his chosen and the Lord knows what he is doing. If he has chosen you then he will prepare you for the work."

"And exactly what is that work?" asked Juli.

Grod and Wynn leaned into the conversation from their seats across the aisle.

"We have to go to Demigoth, the Vorn home-world," said Kale.

"Exactly," continued Aija. "This army has been assembled according to the prophecies. You must lead them to Demigoth where Lucin has retreated."

"But he went through the transgate," said Wynn. "Do we all follow him through the gate?"

"No. You will need your ships for this battle," said Aija. "So, my young king, how do we proceed?"

Kale thought about it for a moment. "It will take approximately a month to get our cruisers all the way to Demigoth, but we need to know what's going on there before that time. We should send a covert team through the gate as soon as possible to ascertain the situation and precede the fleet. We'll need to know what we're walking into."

"Very good," said Aija. "Then that is how we shall proceed."

The shuttle touched down before the congregation of Castillian and rebel soldiers. Kale and the others disembarked and headed for an informal platform. Kale and Aija ascended the modest riser alone.

Aija stood before the people to address them and said, "The Lord Elithias has freed you from the control of Lucin and has caused you to be assembled here this day to witness the anointing of a new Barudii king. If you will turn from yourselves to serve Elithias, then let every person make his own choice to surrender their hearts by the pajet."

The prophet turned to Kale and removed the horn of oil from the leather cord at his waist. Aija removed the cork from the end and held the horn aloft. He poured the contents over the head of Kale, saying, "As the Lord's anointed over this people, I charge you in his name to go forward and serve Him with all of the strength he gives you."

"I accept the Lord's charge," said Kale confidently.

A growing wave of praise began to sweep through the thousands of people assembled on the plateau. The shouts of joy grew until it became a deafening thunder. The oil flowed over Kale's head and dripped down over his body and he felt a peace washing over him unlike anything he had known before-Father would be proud.

A week's time elapsed as certain scientists and technicians from among their army went about the task of transferring the transgate technology over to a cargo hold onboard Captain Viche's large warship, the Maelstrom. The Equinox was too badly damaged and its power source too unstable to maintain the equipment and they needed it. Kale and Wynn were the only Barudii warriors left and the task of reconnaissance would be theirs on planet Demigoth. Whatever Lucin was doing on that world, they needed to know about it before they engaged him again.

Demigoth was still a well populated world and the exclusive home of the Vorn clan. It was unknown what kind of a reception they would receive from the natives when they arrived, but Wynn was anticipating a hostile one. "After all," he said, "The Vorn military still have a presence there and they were not a part of the peace that was reached between the Vorn civilians on Castai and King Tiet.

Kale checked over his supplies and the weapons on his uniform one last time. Wynn was ready also and it was time to go.

"Grod, we'll wait two weeks before we signal you," said Kale.

"We'll be there," said Grod.

"I still say I should be going with you," said Emil. His face was looking much better after the surgery aboard one of the Vorn cruisers.

"And you would be if I didn't know what kind of injuries you were recovering from. Another week of osteoblast therapy and you'll be as good as new, but you need that week," said Kale.

"Well-"

Grod put his hand on his son's shoulder and said, "Besides, I need you here to help me do the transgate installation aboard one of the cruisers."

Juli came into the transgate control room of the Maelstrom carrying a small bag full of data discs containing scripture files. She handed them to Kale saying, "They're all here."

"Thank you, Juli," he said.

She hugged Kale's neck whispering in his ear, "I'll miss you. Please stay safe."

"I'll do my best," he replied.

Kale nodded to Aija and the prophet returned the gesture of confidence. Grod activated the gate utilizing the same coordinates that Lucin has left loaded in the system during his escape to Demigoth. The field snapped into place with a bright light that faded into a blurred view of the unknown location on planet Demigoth.

Kale and Wynn looked at each other and stepped through the dimensional portal onto a planet neither of them had ever been to before. But they were confident that no matter what challenges they were soon to face, the spirit of Elithias was with them.

IT was dark on this new world that Lucin had stepped into. He was surrounded by lush vegetation, but beyond the hill ahead of him a vast cityscape was lit up. It had taken him over a week to reach the edge of the jungle on foot. Now, the entire horizon for as far as he could see was illuminated by the mega city. Demigoth was the home-world of the Vorn clan and despite the losses they may have sustained from the sphere doomsday weapon, he could see they still appeared to be a thriving culture. This would be the perfect place to start over again. Lucin had escaped Elithias again, and he would rise again.