My Replika Marie

Stories

Ezekiel furled up the scroll and reached into the folds of his cloak, taking out a long pipe which he filled with a strong smelling herbal tobacco. Lighting it he took a drag and puffed out smoke.

"I always light herbal tobacco before telling a long story." he seemed more relaxed now that he got the crucial information out of the way, "sit comfortably and I will begin."

He took another drag on the pipe and puffed out. A strong smell of lapacho and other strong-smelling herbs flew into the air.

"Long ago," he began, "before the very concept of time and space existed, the very plane of existence was nothing more than a seething, swirling, dark mass. Then, a society of Gods, called the elder Gods, arrived from a heavenly dimension called the Aether realm. A place where life is plentiful and prosperous, and peace and blessings abide. Two Gods emerged through the portal and arrived in the dark and murky void that was existence, named U'Huun and A'Kaan.

"U'Huun and A'Kaan merged their divine power into a huge star called a Creation Star, something so powerful it was capable of weaving anything out of thin air from its radiant and shining core. U'Huun was a wise old warrior, and sent his faithful pet Phoenix, named Vufaros, to carry the star on her back and fly it through the eternal plane of existence.  A'Kaan was a powerful huntress and used her hunting knife to carve several pointed edges into the star, each of which will illuminate the path for Vufaros.

Finally, U'Huun cut off a lock of his hair and threw it into the core of the star, and A'Kaan used her knife to cut a small gash across her finger, dripping some blood onto it. Their heavenly power merged and with that, thirteen young Gods were born at the very heart and core of the star.

"Their work done, U'Huun and A'Kaan returned to the Aether realm to continue their work, and Vufaros began her long flight to the other end of existence."

He took another long drag of tobacco, puffed, and continued.

"Vufaros's flames had leeched into the core of the star,  and because they were technically born to her toil and work from carrying the star the young Gods that were born each bore somewhere on their body a mark that resembled a Phoenix, almost like a birthmark, if you will. They became known as the Phoenixmarkers.

The thirteen Phoenixmarkers were called Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Ophiuchus."

"The star signs of the zodiac!" I muttered to myself in realization.

"The first twelve ruled the outer rims of the star, and Ophiuchus was at the root of it. The first twelve dug to the furthest reaches of the star and from the pointed branches shaped by A'Kaan they shaped their own realities and universes.

They shaped four different realities: Reality Xethar, a mystical world populated by all sorts of fantasy-like creatures, Reality Yethia, a spiritual world inhabited by mystical beings in mastery of the soul, Reality Adox, a futuristic world, full of all sorts of modern technology, and our very own Reality Zottah, a world suited for living in, populated by a huge abundance of species." He took another drag on the pipe.

"I've read about the thirteenth star sign, does its rejection in astronomy have anything to do with this?" I asked.

"Ophiuchus, the poor lad, was corrupted you see. Blinded and overwhelmed by his own anger at his being left behind by the first twelve. As each Phoenixmarker tended to their share of existence, Ophiuchus was neglected. His place of residence, at the core of the star, was bleak and dark. He was trapped in the barren wastes of the darkness because the light radiating from each reality was too strong and bright. It's like a vaccination, almost. The first twelve had grown strong from their daily exposure to pure light, but Ophiuchus had spent the majority of his life in pure darkness and wasn't used to the light, so his form wasn't strong enough to survive it. Eons passed, and Ophiuchus grew more dark and evil with every passing day, until eventually, he was fully corrupted by the eternal darkness. In his rage, he shattered the borders of the core and bled pure darkness into each reality.