The Enlightened

Authors Note: This is a rewrite of a previous story I did orignally called Decay. I have always liked this story but I felt the previous version was a bit amaterious and rushed in parts so I would like to expand on it. I hope you enjoy the prologue and please leave any comments and tips you might have!

The Enlightened

James Hyde

 Prologue

Does light overcome darkness? Many a men have asked this, many have wondered truly ever since we gained the ability to question. The priests like to declare that all men are good until “sin” corrupts them like a sheep lead to the slaughter. The philosophers say that without evil then there can be no good, but what is evil and what is good? What is this idea of light? This is a tale of a world far away from ours.

In the times of recent in this world, a powerful empire controls most of the land and people. They called themselves the Enlightened as they were technically advanced and who held themselves as wiser and more powerful than the other people. They were led by the Emperor Tirunas who was both commanding and ambiguous, his past shrouded in mystery with the only known fact being that he had at a remarkably young age brought up the Enlightened. One by one the other nations fell to their knees at the might of the Enlightened. Their technology and weapons could destroy nearly entire cities.

          Soon only a few countries and villages left that were not a part of the empire

The Enlightened had wanted control of the world but they were cunning. Instead of being barbaric and going in to invade these last countries, they “allowed” these places to go on as they were but under the observance of the Enlightened. However, little by little, the Enlightened would spread its ideals and followers throughout these places. Instead of using weapons they would use a sometimes even more powerful tool: ideas.

This story takes place in one such rebellious village called Indon which was a very small farming village that lay near a great forest. Everyone knew each other and they had lived happily and peacefully for as long as anyone could remember. Once the Enlightened came however things began to become tense. Enlightened soldiers would police the small streets and often could be quite brutal even though the villagers were not citizens of the empire. Propaganda and such was also spread rampant throughout the village but still they resisted.

The humble villagers tried to make the best of the situation and just continue on with their lives, hoping that the growing power of the Enlightened would die down soon. In the village there lived the protagonist of our story, Kytys. Kytys was a hunter by trade and lived with his wife, Ava, and newborn son, Imais. He was a good young man and like his fellow neighbours had not given in to the Enlightened and instead he was very suspicious about them. Kytys was a part of a secret group in the village that would meet once a week to discuss about the Enlightened. There were growing fears about what they might be planning next and if they were indeed after the village. They also tried to come up with various ways on how to get rid of the empires influence.

But not even their worst suspicions could foresee what would happen

It all began with a terrible secret