The Ruins of Time

It was after the Great Rip. Who could have foretold that an all-out war between the moon goddess Lunarys and the sun god Solari would have caused the biggest change in our world? I remember it like it was yesterday. The Dark Woodland Elves turned vampire, who thrived at night under the gaze of the bright moonlight shining against their pale-perfect faces, as the battle continued against the Sun Elves, who drew their power directly from Solari. This night was different, though. Both gods would join the battle directly, causing a rip into the fabric of our world that would engulf two-thirds of our population, before it closed up as if it had never been there. Except, there remains an eerie, halo-like fissure in its place.

​Today, on the tenth anniversary of the rip, there are hundreds of people lined up and ready to attempt opening the fissure. It is rather comical honestly, considering there are several mounds of ash lying directly beneath it. Not a single person, magical or scholarly, has succeeded in reopening it. The one thing we do know is that when someone meddles with it, the fissure brightens up, releasing hot white tendrils that encase the culprit with a blinding bright light, leaving nothing but ash in its wake before it becomes dormant once more.

​I was nine when the great rip occurred. I spent many cold nights alone with an empty belly except for whatever scraps of food I could find. I lived like this for three years before things started getting strange. It started with the arrival of other orphaned kids who were looking for safety from the gutter bullies. These guys loved abusing those less fortunate than them, as if the repercussions we were still facing from the Chaos War weren’t already enough; boy did I hope they’d get what was coming to them. Behold, they were the first to go during the wave of disappearances, ha… that propelled the Vyaire family into ascension, becoming the rulers of a new Talman Empire, by way of fear-mongering propaganda. They introduced an operating system called The Vigil, meant to keep a watchful eye within the capital walls where all refugees were ‘given’ free shelter and food for their hardship.

​Within the year the Vyaires’ convinced most of the survivors to live within their walls, which made it much easier for me to move around without being noticed or bothered. I don’t trust that family one bit… not with all the rumors I kept hearing about a powerful treasure they lost and were desperate to find. Ironically enough, I began dreaming of a strange girl about my age at around the same time they had initially acquired it. What’s more perplexing is that I’ve never met this girl before. Since they started, it’s always been the same. Splitting images of her life, as if I were watching her through a window. One thing that gnawed at me was the heart-shaped locket she wore, not unlike the one I acquired just the other day.​

​ I had decided after two days of foraging with no luck that I would hunt some wild game toward the west, along what I call the Frey Lines; named for the interlocking lines encircling the whole area. What intrigues me about it is that across from the rubble at every line, everything was left completely untouched by the force of the rip –one being the Aiel Forrest. Usually, I keep from going too deep into the forest but Billy, Imogen, Rowan, and little Asher can’t survive another day on empty bellies.

​Arrow knocked, I moved deep into the forest allowing my senses to engulf my entire being. As they permeated toward my surroundings, I caught a faint smell of piss and musk mixed with a hint of iron. A little excited that we might have a decent dinner for at least a few days, and equally apprehensive of what might be awaiting me, I continued in its direction. As I drew closer to a nearby clearing, I saw them. I switched my bow for the sheathed knife strapped to my ankle and crept in their direction for a better look.

​ I was only a few feet away when the man said, “If I were human you might have managed sneaking up on me but alas, I am not.”

​I stopped with a start and positioned myself for a fight, before he propped himself against a tree and observed me for what felt like ages before speaking again.

​“There is no need, this elk here is for you. A host should take care of his guests no?”

​Is he serious? Shit, a vampire! Wait, but an elk for ME? Something is off and I don’t like it one bit. “Everyone thinks your kind disappeared with the rip, why are you here,” I said accusingly.

​“I’m as serious as this elk is dying. Yes, I’m a vampire. You came looking for elk for you and the four orphans– what are their names again? Ah yes, Billy, Imogen, Rowan, and little Asher no?” he said with a slight curvature of his lips.

​He reads minds too? Hell! What should I do, WHAT SHOULD I DO? I have to stop thinking! For a moment I simply watched him, both of us unmoving. He had platinum blond hair that fell a little over his shoulder. His skin was pale but oddly beautiful in its glow. Why is his skin glowing? He wore clothing the color of the forest and no footwear. Were it not for the gleam of the blade tucked under his trousers, I wouldn’t have noticed any weapons.

​“How do you know their names and that I would be here today?” I asked as I lowered my knife.

​“First, a proper introduction is in order. My name is Van DeLeigh and I was sent to deliver this,” said the vampire.

​ Again I positioned myself defensively, as he reached for what I thought was another hidden weapon. To my bewilderment, he lifted his fist and dropped the very heart-shaped locket from a necklace between his fingers. I froze. Not a single thought, word, or movement could escape me, until the sheer shock of this exploded within every part of my being, causing my vision to go dark.

​When I opened my eyes, the sun –forever shrouded by ceaseless clouds ever since the great rip, was right above the clearing.

​I stood abruptly. Shit, it's noon!

​I looked around and noticed the vampi– Van was nowhere in sight and my belongings were laid out neatly beside me. The elk was untouched, save for what looked like a chunk of meat chewed off the neck that wasn’t there prior. I was gathering all of my belongings when I heard a rustle through the trees. Of course, he would come back as soon as I'm getting ready to leave this damn place. The kids must be wondering where I am. I knew I shouldn’t have gone in too deep–

​“And you wouldn’t have received this, Gabriel. You see, you and I have both been sharing a dream. The woman that you see every night? She is in need and she is calling,” said Van.

​ “How can this be real? Granted it’s a little odd to experience the exact dream daily. But come on Sir… a dream is a dream.” I turned to him and said.

​Van gave a wistful smile that turned solemn “She is my goddess, or at least a vessel to her and she will need this locket” he said.

​He raised the heart-shaped locket again and, in a blink, stood a foot before me. "What you humans believe to be the great rip or disappearance, my kin know to be the Great Divide. Have you not noticed that the sun has been shrouded by ‘clouds’ ever since it happened? We’re not quite sure of why or how it happened, but we are certain that is the case.”

​At this, his face turned pensive and his voice got quiet. “You know of the disappearances occurring in the capital?”

​“Yes.”

​“Curiosity got the best of me, so I began an investigation and I think what I found might intrigue you.”

​I won't lie… I'm intrigued. Why are they disappearing? He smiled at hearing my thoughts again when I scowled and said “I know you heard me, why are they disappearing?”

​“Let me show you” At this, he placed the tip of his first two fingers between my brows, and suddenly I was no longer in the forest.

​It was morning, and I was standing within the capital walls. I walked a short distance, curious of what I might find. I reached a teashop, as I heard hurried footsteps heading towards me from an alley off to my right. As I turned in that direction, I saw a pudgy older man dressed in robes –presumably a Sorcerer under the employment of the Vyaires’, struggling to speed up his pace. All of a sudden he stopped short, widening his eyes in utter fear.

​Can he see me? I thought to myself.

​Seconds later, I felt the air around him sizzle; as hot white tendrils erupted from his back and engulfed him, before he was completely gone. All that lingered was the heat of the bright light accompanied by a small fissure, not unlike the one at the chaos rubble... had it not been for a slight warp of the air around it, I might not have noticed. The memory paused and Van came into view, calling me to him with a jerk of his head.

​As he played back what I just witnessed, he paused the memory at the same moment that the man stopped short and said, “Look behind him.”

​Peering towards the direction he told me, I saw a shrouded figure holding on to the hilt of a dagger that was logged into the man's lower back.

​I looked to my side at Van and said “this is how they’ve been disappearing… but where are they going? Why is this happening?

​“I’ve surmised that the great divide has everything to do with this. Gabriel, there is another world and everyone who disappeared is there… they must be.”

​Van’s hands tightened into fists and through clenched jaws whispered, “they must be.”

​We were back in the forest when I asked my next question, “How can you be sure they’re all in another world, or that these new disappearances are connected at all? What does this have to do with me for that matter?”

​“Did you not notice the only difference between both fissures?”

​" Well, the one you just showed me left no residue of the person. Whereas the one at the rubble collects mounds of ash."

​Oh… it needs a key. “So let me get this straight. You think the locket is the key?”

​Van nodded as he gently placed the necklace over my head. It took everything not to flinch at his surprisingly warm skin as he said, “I don’t know how you’re involved in this Gabriel, but I fear you too–”

​“NEXT!” yelled the guard.

​What am I gonna do? I’m at my wits’ end, out here lamenting shit that no longer matters. Van is nowhere to be found, The Vyaires’ figured someone outside the walls has the locket, shit! Ok, Gabriel think–

​ “You!” the guard yelled as he reached toward my chest. “What’s that glowing around your neck?”

​I looked down to find the locket emitting its tendrils of light toward those emitting from the fissure, moving in dance as it brightened and filled my entire being as I hear his scream.

​I gingerly opened my eyes and smiled.

​I did it. I’m still alive. I looked up and there she was, with a satisfied grin.

​“We have much work to do.”