The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

From his high vantage point atop Castle Gathal, King Shunlin watched the battle unfold. The thousands of warriors from Chotukhan, Shankur, Shainxu, Atani, and Totem spread across the grassy fields of the Great Valley in dark, multi-colored rectangular formations. The Chotukhan numbers were vast, compared to the other tribes, but lacked spirit. Either way, the tribes were powerless to stop a Chotukhan victory.

Somewhere below, his queen fought her own people. He saw flashes of her racing through the crowds on the back of a Guardian—that made him wary. The sight of the machine told a clear indication that Gaia chose her side as he chose his. With Abaddon awake, he now possessed the power to destroy her as well.

The battle looked grim for the Chotukhan, but a new force arrived that rebuilt his doubt into optimism. Hundreds of Destroyers pounded a wide trail through the valley. The machines, unearthed in Khalati arrived.

A new era has begun.

Distant sounds of swords and shouts turned to explosions and screams. The tan grass turned black and red with soot and blood. King Shunlin watched the Shankur numbers dwindle as they ran from the battlefield. A sense of satisfaction overcame him as his enemy scattered.

“Our enemy is defeated, my king,” Lady Karmera said with a satisfied grin.

Shunlin continued to watch the battle unfold, not sharing the priestess’ assessment. “If the Shankur reach the forest edge, it will make defeating them more difficult. There are plenty of rocks and trees to hide behind.”

The mass of Shankur slowed and returned the fight to the Destroyers. It changed from a retreat to an assault moving backward. For a moment, Shunlin felt a newfound respect for their courage and ferocity. It’s a shame such brave men and women were wasted on false hope.

He turned to bring the news to Abaddon of their victory. His god would be pleased. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Lady Karmera’s face drop. She leaned forward, cursing.

“What is it?” He returned to the balcony ledge.

She pointed. “The Destroyers, they are breaking ranks.”

Half the Destroyers parted and headed toward the Chotukhan soldiers. They didn’t react at first, but lines of green fire tore into the formation. The once neat and orderly group of men and women turned to a raving mob, running for their lives. A trail of bodies littered behind the fleeing soldiers.

“What?!” Shunlin shouted. “This can’t be! Those are Chotukhan, not the enemy.”

His warriors in white and black fled toward the city gates. They lacked the advantage of terrain or trees to use as defense against the constant bombardment of machine weaponry.

“Perhaps Abaddon doesn’t know the difference between our soldiers and theirs?”

He gnashed his teeth at the sight of his soldiers being torn to pieces. “Doesn’t know? Or doesn’t care?”

He turned and stormed toward the temple that radiated light. A pair of castle guards stood by, delivering a salute at his appearance. “Come with me,” he demanded. They followed, with Lady Karmera shuffling to catch up.

The temple chamber, once consisting of stone and wood, transformed to a mass of steel conduit and tubes pulsating with brilliant blue light. The central column below Abaddon’s monolith grew like a living, breathing plant. Pipes rooted into the stone floor and branches of wires spread across the walls, leading their way to link with the structure atop the temple peak. Abaddon’s insect creatures used their silvery secretion to create a new world of technology.

“My lord,” Shunlin took a knee in front of the monolith, “your machines are killing my people. The enemy is the Shankur and Gaia, not the Chotukhan.”

Abaddon’s monolith shifted, silvery waves moving across its surface to form a face. “What you call Shankur and Chotukhan are mere homo-sapiens and detrimental to the natural order and balance of the world.”

The response took Shunlin off-guard, and it was Lady Karmera who replied, “A threat? What threat and what balance?”

“A threat to anything and everything,” Abaddon snarled. “The world is a chaotic balance of changes, both positive and negative. A small shift in one direction will force the opposite feedback to return the change to its original origin. It is my directive to ensure nothing can disturb that balance.”

“My lord, all I want is order. That’s why I brought you back. To end the imbalance and chaos. With mankind under one rule, the world will be at peace.”

Abaddon laughed. “With mankind roaming the world, there will never be balance. Humans have no place with the natural order and only exist to end its cycle. Without your kind, the world can be pure and in total harmony.”

“But what about defeating Gaia? You will need our help to defeat the Shainxu and gain access to the Iron Forest.”

“Gaia is no threat to me. Her directive is to preserve mankind. Soon her barrier will fall, and my Reapers will wipe the last section of Earth clean of the parasitic humans.”

King Shunlin turned to Lady Karmera, who stood with her arms crossed and a smirk that suggested something darker and more sinister. “You knew about this?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“So, Abaddon can finish what he started. Gaia doesn’t understand the nature of people. She thinks we can be controlled and contained like animals in a cage of mountains and machines. I would rather risk death than live in a world where mankind are slaves to the gods and each other.”

Shunlin stiffened with anger. His priestess, the one woman closest to him, fed him lies and deceit. “Shut him down,” he said, gesturing to his guards. They stared back with fear and hesitation. “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”

The guards reluctantly yanked and tugged on the vast array of cables that radiated from the dark steel monolith. Abaddon snarled, glowing beyond what Shunlin’s eyes could handle.

Blinded, he heard the guards’ screams. He needed to stop the madness he created. He only wanted to fulfill his desire for power and bring about greatness to the Chotukhan people, not eradicate his own species.

Lady Karmera stood in his way as he turned. Pain tore through his chest. He looked down to see a dagger in the priestess’ firm grip.

“But I am your king,” he said, spitting blood.

She leaned in close. “You are my king and shall be worshiped as a god.” She kissed him on the side of his face voided with burns. “Don’t die just yet, my lord.”

She pushed the dagger forward, forcing him backwards toward the monolith. He was spun and forced to kneel. “I don’t—”

“Great, exalted Abaddon, I present you with a worthy vessel, half of life and half of death.”

“What are you doing?” Shunlin choked, blood filling his lungs.

Lady Karmera stepped back. “Giving you immortality, my king.”

Metal tendrils, some thick as a man’s thumb, others thin as hair, emerged from the machine that reached across the floor toward him. He watched in horror as they crawled up his legs, back, and arms. The power that pulsed with light surged through his skin like a thousand needles.

He screamed. The pain coursed through his veins, sending him into Abaddon’s agonizing embrace. Thousands of years surged through Shunlin’s mind, bursting with foreign memories. He reached out to clutch the withering reality of his former self.

*****

The monolith shrank as metal poured from the column in fine rivers toward the king. His body absorbed the material through flesh, down to the last grain of sand. The pulsing blue light dimmed, leaving the temple chamber shrouded in darkness.

The screaming stopped.

The king was hunched forward on all fours with eyes shut, not moving. His golden half-mask fell to the floor.

“My king?”

There was no king, at least not in the tangible sense. Only a whisper of a man in a perpetual darkness. When his eyes opened, he saw his hands and felt the smoothness of his face—the hideous scar gone.

Abaddon waited centuries for this moment since his creation by Gaia’s rejection. He was now flesh—a body with two souls and free to roam the Earth.

“I know you,” he said to the woman kneeling at his side.

She bowed in reverence. “We met in your world of shadow.”

He nodded. “You have done well.”

“It is an honor to serve, my Lord.”

“Then you may serve me again.” He lifted her head up with a gentle touch of her chin.

“Anything.”

“A man from the days of my creation has returned. He is a threat to me and must be destroyed.”

“I will see to it, my lord.”

Abaddon strode out from the confines of the temple to a world that belonged to him. He breathed deep in the air and felt the gentle breeze against his skin.

Finally.