The Allegory Of Triberias: The Call Of Destiny .

A Gamble and a Sacrifice.

BETHESDA,
The Elydrian continent.
2420AA, After the Great Ascension.

Killion looked up once again, and for what seemed like the millionth time in his short lifetime, the sun had set over the western horizon. Unleashing with its departure a deep darkness and gloominess that brought back the terrors of the previous night.
It was always the same thing and no matter how hard they tried to fight them, the curse continued to tear apart this country.
Was it really there? Was there really a paradise beyond those great white clouds hidden behind a seemingly blue sky? He stared out from a balcony. Watching intently as the sun disappeared beneath a reddened horizon, and all around him silence reigned.
This was the same thing that happened every day at this time between dusk and the first appearance of the terrors. It first started with the gentle breeze. A gust that soon grew in magnitude. Then, there was the silence even as dark clouds rolled in and finally, the first appearance of the terrors that was lauded by great peals of thunderous roars and bright orange flames.
Every single day, it happened like clockwork and regardless of all their efforts. All their relentless wishing, nothing seemed to ever change. It was all the same. A daily occurrence of the same ordeals night after night over a period of many years.
They would continue to fight it anyway for there was nothing else to do. This was the way of life that they had been forced to accept. Not just as soldiers, but the people as well. The men, the women and the children who were also the residents of this small port town of Bethesda east of the continent of Erydria.
Darkness continued to sweep across the land and like clockwork, a dark silhouette moved in to cover the night sky. The silhouette overshadowed him and the entire rooftop over him.
Killion took a precautionary step backwards. Back into confines of the cloaked building. If only they could do this for the whole town, he thought as several silhouettes joined in to completely cover the night sky with suffocating darkness.
Then, as with every other night, they finally lit it up.
"one would think they would despise the fire with how much they hate the sunrise." he muttered to himself even as a roar erupted from the maws of the first shadow to appear on the night sky. The roar was echoed by even more roars and his hands tingled in anticipation for what was to come next.
This was their evening song. The herald of doom and the storm that would soon be raining down upon this town. "If only..." he spoke up, thinking back to his earlier sentiments. His moods souring at the thought of his own family that was cloistered away at the very edge of the town on the western side of the city.
"If only..." he trailed off again as another roar erupted from the maws of the chief monster and a dozen heads lifted up in answer, sending out balls of orange flames that filled up the darkened sky with an eerie orange glow.
It had begun. He let out a tired sigh before dropping down the visor to his blackened helmet.
How long had it been? Eight years? Nine? So much time had already gone by and yet, there seemed to be no end to this hard struggle. Of course with time, things were bound to change. For one, their technology had evolved in reaps from the time he had joined the service. This as evidenced by his dark armour and the newly invented cloaking device that was now sitting atop the tallest structure in the Hub.
Of course, there was also the endless array of weaponry that their factories churned out day after day and yet, none of them was yet to work against the ever relentless and unchanging menace that always plagued them.
Killion sighed.
Once again, he looked down at his black armour and shook his head. It was a glistening masterpiece made up of a conglomeration of nanoparticles and carbon fibre coated with Tungsten that had been fused and programmed to take up his body shape for maximum speed and agility. The suit had pockets as well. A belt and concealed sections that carried his weapons and various tech gear. He was going to need all these in combat. Not just to fight, but to gather data and to keep in touch with his team and the Tech people who were monitoring the battles from the Hub’s command centre.
Killion's suit covered the entirety of his body. From the helmet on his head to the shoes on his feet. His suit was purely a work of genius.
As a fully impervious skin, it not only enhanced his skills and powered his moves, but also, it contained an ablutions module that also acted as a life support system in case he ever needed it. The suit was also continuous from head to toe. To his toes where it culminated into a pair of high suction soles on shoes were fitted with rocket thrusters and boosters that would eventually allow him to take low flights.
The nature of their battles would eventually require it. This he knew and the visor, though darkened, it contained an advanced kind of augmented intelligence that could be found nowhere else in this country other than in the great Hub at the seemingly small sea port town of Bethesda.
All in all, he was well prepared. As prepared as one could get in an age where battles were fought against those things that never seemed to take a hit and not humans foes that were more fragile. It could not be helped though. It was what it was and was probably for the best. After all, it meant that, he did not have to shed any human blood in civil war.
Killion picked up his weapon and turned it over. It was their latest technology. A newly formulated directed energy weapon that shot out a particle beam so strong that when tested, it disintegrated a building with just a single blast. It was perfect to say the least, if their enemy was a building which of course they were not. Instead, they were as big as the said building with impenetrable coats, sharpened claws and very incredible fire power.
Therefore, all he could do was only hope. Hope that this time, this new weapon would be the one to land a killing blow. He thought as he steeled himself to start the mission.
"Okay! Gentlemen and lady..." the young captain turned around to face his team who until then had been gathering around him silently. "I guess, once again, it's time to suit up. These monsters won't slay themselves however hopeful we maybe to that end."
An ‘aye aye, sir!’ and a chuckle here and there were the only answers he got even as their little group of five dropped down their visors and swiftly descended from the balcony. Some five storeys down to a cobbled pathway that lying below. It should have been impossible to accomplish as an ordinary human, but with their suits, this feat was rendered possible and very easy at that.
As always, the soldiers quickly drew out their weapons and melted into the shadows. Camouflaged by the dark coloured suits that also served to dampen their thermal signatures. It was the same cloaking technology that was now being used to cover up the Hub and yet, they could still not use it that extensively to protect the lives of the rest of the residents.
Hence, as fast as the wind, Killion and his team advanced forward. They took the same route that they followed everyday. Towards the terrors and specifically, the same group of ten winged shadows that had congregated around a two storey apartment near the market that was at the tip of the Fyerian peninsula. Eastern market.
"There seems to be someone there." One of his men, a junior lieutenant with a black tablet in his hands asserted. Of course, there were people there. Why else would they all congregate there? The terrors seemed to be drawn to life in the same way that they seemed to cower from its source. They could not withstand the sun. The moon itself they seemed to bear, or so they had once thought. However, their researchers had lately rebuffed this idea and were yet to uncover the reasons behind the dark clouds and the suffocating darkness that seemed to precede them wherever they went.
Could they control the clouds or was this a phenomenon that was as unnatural as the terrors were themselves? Killion could not tell. He was a soldier not a researcher. He could think for himself though. However, he preferred to fight in the frontlines and not in some lab buried deep in the middle of nowhere.
"How many?" he asked even as he began to formulate a solid plan of action.
"Two on the ground and three on the first floor." the lieutenant answered. "One of them is a child." He added after scanning the rest of the area using an amplified infrared heat sensor and the little tablet that captured all the images.
"That's five in total." the captain mumbled as he watched the monstrous maws that were pouring out fire upon the building's rooftop. Their sharpened claws scratched at the fire proofed roofing. Pulling apart the tiles that were made of asbestos. Piece by piece and in order to do what? To reach their victims? Surely, there were faster ways to accomplish that and the more he stared and studied the scene, the more he was convinced that this was done deliberately.
Of course, it should have been easier to just smash up the building, if all that they wanted was just to kill their victims. However, for some reason, these monsters seemed to actually enjoy capturing their victims. They seemed to prefer them alive and toyed with them to the point that they were so consumed with so much terror that their fragile hearts ripped apart.
This behaviour was unlike that of any other predator and thus, these monsters had come to be known as terrors. One of many forms that terrorized the Erydrian continent and the lands that were around it.
"We will have to split." he finally said after studying the images that had been sent to the group. "You three, try and save them. We want no casualties so get them out as fast as you can. I'll go over and act as a decoy and Connors, you will cover me." he smiled as he turned to his lieutenant and the rest of his team.
They all knew it. This work was like gambling. Gambling with lives and the possibility of never seeing each other again was always great. Therefore, every time they did this, they made sure to part in smiles. This way, the memories that were left would always be bright and bring hope to those that succeeded them.
"Hopefully, this time, this baby will work..." he added as he gently patted his weapon that was slung across his back and right shoulder.
It was a good plan, Killion was sure of it, and in any case that it failed, he could at least be assured that his team would be safe and that the victims would still have a chance at safety. With this, there was no need for plan B. It was either do or die and no room for regrets.
"But Captain! That is suicide!" Calla Barrageway, the only female soldier in their group five finally protested.
I should have known, he thought to himself. That she would see through his plan, but Killion was tired. Tired of seeing the young ones die. Honto…Teneru…The pain was still there. What future were the fighting for if there would be no one left to inherit it? The children had to live and in that way, all their dreams would still live on.
"There is no other way around it Sergeant and I would rather it were me than any of you. Now, get going and bear in mind that that is an order." with that he turned around and ran out straight into the path of oncoming fire.