ESS Lore Volume 1: Eternal Winter
Lore Links Tree
Chapter 1, Juno Date 274.1542:
As the sun rose over the ancient city of Sharmall, its light shone on long lines of refugees seeking shelter and medical aid within its walls. During the night, yet another fragment had landed in the surrounding plain, this time near a farming settlement with a considerable population. As with all previous cases, within hours of the deafening blast and surging heat hundreds of the people in the area had begun to fall sick. First a rash which resembled sunburn, then the open sores and fearful pain. The doctors in the city had determined it was radiation sickness caused by energy within the falling wreckage. Without medical treatment death was certain, and it was for this reason that the hapless victims fled towards the city in the hope that they would find help.
At the centre of the city, in the hospital wing of the tallest building, stood En’kih. He was a senior member of the great Wa’keth organisation. The news of the refugees had already reached the hospital and he prepared to receive the first patients from last night’s impact. He gazed out of the entrance doors through the great archway entrance of the Aulas Wa’keth which was home to his faith. Looking out from the Aulas he had a clear view of the central square and its rows of abandoned market stalls. Beyond the square was the tall council tower with its spire reaching high into the morning sky. Sharmall was one of Pollux’s oldest settlements, and over the recent centuries great progress had been made in its architecture. Huge buildings like the Aulas and council building now dominated the city skyline, and rambling warehouse complexes surrounded its walls. On any ordinary day, the streets of the metropolis would have been bustling with traders—merchants from far-off shores carrying exotic goods, farmers selling their wares, or businessmen providing capital to companies of traders.
However, for several weeks all this had been in disarray. It began with an announcement from the council observatory: a new planet had been discovered in the skies. Many inhabitants of Sharmall viewed this as nothing more than a passing curiosity, but the High Elder of the Wa’keth had requested that further study be made of the object. After a month, the scholars reported their grim findings, which suggested the new world was a rogue moon heading directly for Pollux. For a time, the Council attempted to hide this conclusion from the public but eventually word got out. Scenes of mass panic ensued, but the honourable Wa’keth members were always present to soothe and calm troubled hearts. However, even their efforts proved to be inadequate when Phoebe, as it was named, appeared at visual brightness in the skies. Night after night the inhabitants of Pollux watched this star of destruction grow in brightness, and when the first fragments began to fall public order was broken.
“How many injured ones will there be today?” asked a voice behind En’kih.
“I do not know, Ya’nat.” he responded. “I fear that this is the end. I have searched my soul for the reason for this catastrophe and yet there is no answer.” En’kih turned to his partner and embraced them. “But we must be strong, spread peace to all hearts and leave our fates in the hands of the universe.”
They stood together, hand in hand, looking over the great square. En’kih turned to Ya’nat and he saw that their face was pale from lack of sleep.
“You are right,” they said. “We must face our destiny with no regret, and let peace guide our path, as the teachings of the Wa’keth show.”
Together Ya’nat and En’kih helped the first patients into the hospital wards and began to tend to their injuries. The next few hours were a blur for En’kih. The sick lined all the corridors in the hospital, some were even laid on the stairs leading to the building. Many others never reached the Aulas in time and perished on the cold stones of the marketplace. Guards from the council building were trying to assist where possible, but it was clear that the hospital was overwhelmed with the number of injured.
“We are running short of everything” Ya’nat warned him when they met in a hallway, “I am using bandages and ointment so sparingly, but our supplies will not last the day!” En’kih could see the fear in Ya’nat’s eyes and stopped to comfort them.
“Remember what we promised each other this morning” he whispered, “there is nothing we can do but try to bring relief to these suffering ones.”
As Ya’nat turned to resume their duties, there was the sound of boots in the corridor and both turned to see who was approaching. Two council guards strode towards them, followed by the High Elder of the Wa’keth himself.
“En’kih, my son” called the Elder, “you must follow me to the council chamber!”
“Yes, your excellence!” En’kih responded. He turned to give Ya’nat a parting kiss, and whispered: “I will return as soon as possible, but remember you are strong and can bring peace to hearts filled with pain.”
Blinking in the light outside the Aulas’ doors, the true scale of the disaster struck En’kih. The great marketplace square was now crowded from end to end with refugees. Some of them were standing in groups but many others lay motionless on the ground. He had difficulty controlling his anguish as he followed the elder and guards down the main street towards the imposing council building. When they reached the chamber, the council was already in sitting and he could tell from the long faces that the members were planning for the worst.
“We can see from the latest observations that a huge crater is found on one side of Phoebe” a scholar was saying to the council members. “It is different in appearance to any feature on the body, and we believe that the cause of the crater and this wreckage are the same. It appears that the moon has been intentionally launched towards our home world by some power. The evil behind such a thing is beyond comprehension, but we know that our fate is now unavoidable! Even if any of us survive this rain of radiation, my team of scholars have calculated that this encounter will alter Pollux’s orbit enough to throw our world far from the sun. We will all perish, whether today or in an eternal winter!”
Her words brought a murmur of despair from the members of the council.
The High Elder stepped forward and spoke: “I have brought En’kih, one of my most trusted sons of the order. I believe that there is one way we can ensure justice against the dark power who caused this catastrophe! As you know those of us who follow the rite of the Wa’keth have ascended to the ability to enter the Added Dimension. We can travel forward in time, and across vast distances of space. Let us send En’kih into this realm, so that he may bring justice to us and all other inhabitants of our planet!”
The members of the council had turned to face the Elder as he spoke, and now they looked at each other in uncertainty. A few councillors showed scepticism or even scorn on their faces, but there was a general stir of agreement among the majority.
“There is truth to this” said one of the oldest members. “We cannot save ourselves, but we may be able to prevent such a thing happening to another world. If there is a power in our universe capable of destroying whole planets, it is surely our cosmic duty to warn others and bring the perpetrators to justice!”
This speech caused many of the councillors to speak in agreement. The Grand Head of the council rose to his feet, hushing the babble of conversation which had broken out in the room.
“It is decided” he announced. “En’kih shall go forth from this place, bearing the record of all these events. He must find another race in the universe, who he must guide to bring this dark power to justice. The souls of all our planet will not rest until this matter is concluded! May peace guide your path.”
As he finished speaking there was a hammering sound on the doors, and a group of officials burst into the chamber.
“The observatory has detected a large fragment heading directly at the city” one cried. “We must seek shelter!”
The Grand Head turned to the High Elder and called to him above the commotion. “You must leave!” he commanded. “Leave this place, return to the Aulas and see that En’kih can enter the dimension before it is too late!”
The High Elder led En’kih out of the building and into the street. “We must hurry, there may not be much time before the city is destroyed!” he urged. “I will take word to your partner, Ya’nat. They will be told the purpose of your mission, and I promise you that I will do everything possible to preserve them from harm.”
“Am I not permitted to see them before I leave?” asked En’kih. “I may never see them again in this life.”
The High Elder responded: “You heard the Grand Head’s words. There is not time for anything but your mission. This is your destiny, and you must fulfil it with strength.”
Although these words were spoken with care, they struck deep into En’kih’s heart. Not only was he faced with becoming the only survivor of his planet, but now he was forbidden to spend a final moment with his loved one. He desperately wished that Ya’nat would be at the entrance to the Aulas when he entered it with the Elder, but his hopes were dashed. As he followed his superior deep into the heart of the building, he felt nothing but despair.
The Elder lead En’kih into a part of the Aulas which only the highest members of the Wa’keth could enter, the temple of the Centre Stone. Stored here was the Wa, a meteorite formed by a gravitational anomaly. In the writings of the ancients, it was this stone which could bring intelligent life into the closest unity with the universe. By achieving perfect unity with the cosmos, lifeforms could unite with the greater forces and travel through both time and space.
En’kih knelt on top of the stone in silent meditation while the High Elder stood motionless at his side. En’kih performed ritual meditation every day to bring himself into closer unity and peace with the universe, but this was the first time he had attempted the ritual to access the Added Dimension. As he knelt in silence, En’kih began to shine, until he became nothing but a pulsing light hovering above the stone, gradually fading into darkness. The High Elder was alone, and En’kih had entered the Added Dimension.
When the Elder found Ya’nat, they were still in the hospital tending to the sick and injured. He led them aside and explained the reason for En’kih’s disappearance.
“You did not allow me to say goodbye to him?” they asked in anger. “How do I know you are even speaking the truth?”
A crowd began to gather around them, with loud voices asking what was happening. The guards stepped forward, fearing that this disturbance could cause yet more panic.
“Please, Ya’nat, you must understand that there was no time!” the High Elder pleaded. “This city is in danger of another fragment, and we did not know whether we could reach the Centre Stone before it stuck!”
But in their grief, this reasoning was no comfort. Ya’nat pushed past the guards and ran out of the circle of concerned bystanders, their pain blinding their eyes as they ran down a flight of steps deeper into the building. When Ya’nat paused to take their breath beside a huge door cut into the rock, the sound of boots echoed down the stairs, and without hesitation they slipped through the portal into a dark chamber. The air here was filled with the smell of old parchments, and shakingly Ya’nat crawled behind some shelves as the sounds of pursuit drew nearer.
The footsteps paused outside the door, and for a moment Ya’nat thought they had been discovered. An irrational fear made their throat dry, and they crept further from the door into the darkness.
“They didn’t come this way,” a voice called loudly from outside. “This is a dead end; we should seal the archives vault and seek shelter. I heard that there is another fragment landing nearby!”
There was a grunt of agreement, sounds of exertion and then the door slammed with a dull metallic sound. Bolts clanged on the other side and Ya’nat realised they were trapped. The moments crept by in silence.
Outside, the fragment plunged into Pollux’s atmosphere, releasing deadly radiation as it fell. The ground shook at its approach, breaking windows and opening cracks in the pavements. It landed at the centre of the city, and struck the Aulas directly, smashing the great columns of the ancient, kilometre-tall structure and spilling the debris into the market square. A toxic cloud of dust settled over the city, choking the life out of every living being.
As the dust settled over Sharmall, Phoebe reached its closest approach. Pollux’s orbit began to shift as the two body’s gravitational fields tugged at each other. The rogue moon eclipsed the sun, cloaking the city in a silent darkness as the eternal winter began.
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