A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 55: The Tale of the Loric

Darkness.

That's all there is. For the longest time. My eyes cannot settle on anything but.

Until I hear the same voice as that of the cavern in Mexico.

"It is time," says the Entity in its divine nature. I haven't the slightest idea of it means or what it's time for.

Hundreds, no thousands, of tiny specks of blue light appear all around me. It's overwhelming at first but also unusually empowering. I feel connected in a way that I wasn't before.

"What- what's going on?" I ask and I find my voice carrying into the vast space I am in.

"Collect them together," it instructs of me. "It is time you all knew the truth."

I don't think too much about it; simply doing as it asks. I don't know how I do it, but somehow, I just know. Perhaps it's the Entity guiding me. Perhaps it's instinct. Perhaps it's something more.

I just know.

And so, I pull in each blue dot into my consciousness. I briefly notice that if I focus on one, I can see the perspective of an individual. Boys and girls around the globe going about their lives. It doesn't take me long to piece it together.

These are the human Garde. The new humans that will develop legacies.

The Loric are here too. Everyone. Garde and Cêpan alike. I even find Sam and BK and Pixie grouped up in the bunch in the place we were at in Mexico. I pull each one of them into my consciousness as well.

Along with another. In the eastern part of the state of West Virginia.

Setrákus Ra. He's here too.

"Do I pull him in too?" I ask in hesitation.

"Yes," Lorien answers. "It is either all or none."

So I do as it wants. I pull in Setrákus Ra too into my consciousness.

Once I pull in every single blue flickering light into my being, the Entity's voice echoes again inside my own head, saying, "Now, we begin."

My vision gradually changes from total darkness to one of light.

From dull blacks and grays to bright greens and blues. Forests coat my eyes. Mountains appear in the distance. Rivers cleaner than any I've seen. It's beautiful.

I see people going about their day. Men and women walking the grounds. Futuristic spacecrafts and orbs that I have never seen. Children laughing and playing in the dense forests with animals of all shapes and sizes; animals that are unknown to Earth, and I instantly know where I am.

Lorien.

I am not unfamiliar of the scenes that the Entity shows. In fact, I recognize it like it is just a story; part of a plot of a novel. Because it is. I have read of such a time not long ago, told by The Great Pittacus Lore.

The tale of two young boys.

On a beach on the utopian planet before its decimation.

Setrákus Ra and Pittacus Lore.

Even while viewing such a time, I sense all the others viewing it too. Though they are not here with me, I sense their presences watching all the same.

It is shown to us their friendship; two fellow Loric becoming Elders together.

It is shown to us Setrákus Ra's betrayal to his people.

It is shown to us the fight between two best friends; Pittacus dying as a result.

It is shown to us the destruction of Lorien. The fighting. The blood. The fire. The rampaging beasts that are the Piken and Krauls destroying anything in its path.

The end of Lorien; how it is known to this day.

However, soon we are out of it. Later placed in the Chamber of the Elders and seated at the wooden table with the symbol for Unity carved therein.

All our allies sit at the table. John at one end; Nine at the other. The rest scattered in between. BK and Pixie lying underneath.

I hear the Entity speak inside my head again, "Be ready. He will try to escape."

I don't know what it means at first. Only when Setrákus Ra appears at the table across from me do I understand. There is a black bag covering his head, so he cannot see. Yet still, I reach out to his mind to pacify him. Even without really knowing, I know it is the first time I am using my recently developed telepathy to do so. Tis the first time I am using this legacy in anything resembling a dire situation.

As suspected, Setrákus Ra tries to escape. Though he is secured in the chair with thick rope, I can feel him fighting against my control.

Meanwhile, I hear chatter from around the room and am quick to notice the seats above and round are packed full of the human Garde.

"Look! It's John Smith!" one of the kids shout excitedly.

John looks to me with a note of awkwardness. It's clear he doesn't know what to do. Judging based on Pittacus' novels, I know what is about to happen.

With my teeth gritted in the fight to keep Setrákus Ra sedated, I whisper softly to him, my voice still carrying a pitch of the Entity's too, "Time to recruit some human Garde."

And so, John begins a leader-like speech. Giving encouragement, hope, and inviting them to stand by us in the fight against the mogs.

When he's finished, I am instructed to send everyone back into reality. With the help of the Entity, I do so; pull each person back into my consciousness and send them off into their own separate realities.