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A quick turn took them into a wide passageway. It led off into darkness and Suda guessed that its path led to the frozen chasm and beyond that to the high pass. Its walls were roughly hewn and many of the scratches were fresh. A group of soldiers stared at them as they entered the passageway, and seeing in the clear light, the groups original armours, they charged, heedless that they faced Ilma. A flaming brand appeared in Suda’s hand, and such power was in it from his grief that the Graul could not withstand him. He moved like a snake, his brand felling Graul or throwing them to the company, where they were quickly broken. Suda stopped as the last Graul fell. The passage was filled with the smell of burned flesh. Shouts could be heard all around now. Choosing the eastward way, Suda led the company down the passage. Ordin charged past him as they came to a large hall, the sound of soldiers coming from within. He charged into it, heedless of any threat and there he was caught. Stone grabbed at his foot and as he lunged, a sickening crack echoed through the hall. As it incapacitated him, the stone continued to climb up his body. The others entered more slowly, and they saw there one of the Ilma, his hand outstretched, calling the stone up Ordin’s body. Suda charged at the Ilma and his hold on Ordin was broken. Ogra cracked the stone and dragged Ordin to safety while Suda launched fire into the waiting Ilma. Loxa and Dusan followed on from Suda’s barrage and a great wind lifted Sirgrin into the air. Loxa and Dusan launched fire, merging with Suda’s but a great slab of stone burst upwards to block it.
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I searched for the white fur of Grald and Selosa amidst the chaos. A shadowed loomed above me and my eyes turned skyward. One of the wind riders was stalking, his face showing that he was of the Ilma and in his hands he wielded fire. instinctively my water struck him, and he went limp in the air. He came down with a sickening crash and I lost him in the foray of brokin and Graul. My heart skipped several beats at that. Killing one of the Graul was fine, but one of the Ilma, one of the chosen people. That was something dark, works only Agral could sow. In that moment it seemed like more of the Ilma joined the battle and one pressed me hard. Fire, wielded like a whip, cracked in my direction and all I could do was bring water from the dead around me to block the blows. Steam surrounded the battlefield and I lost sight of my enemy for a second. A glint of bone was all I saw, and I screamed as it skimmed against my cheek. Rage filled me again and in a sudden wind the steam cleared. The Ilma was charging, shruda in his hand but I was quicker. Water crashed into his stomach, and I ripped the shruda from his grasp. I collapsed on top of him, screaming in my blood lust as I thrust again and again. By the time I moved the battle had passed me by. To my left stood the un-used ranks of Melkin and to my right, the battle raged on. Again, I heard the twang of arrow fire and the earth lifted to protect me from that volley. Thuds echoed into my barricade and as the earth fell, I stared at the next line of cavalry, charging swiftly towards me. Fire formed in my hands, ready for death that rode on galloping hooves. Suddenly I ducked as hooves came from either side. Cavalry in the orange of Carano swept passed and in another thunderous charge they collided with the armies of Melkin.
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Kat stood with Lucast, who had pulled more water from the ground and brought it to him. He had removed the chasm in an attempt to urge the warriors to the peak, hoping they would leave the others alone for now. He was ready for a fight but Kat didn’t think he would need to be. He had shown her how powerful she could be and as she formulated a plan, she just hoped he was right. She could feel the steadiness within her, the calm before the storm but knew this would be her storm. She lifted her left hand and clouds began to form above her head, from within them, there were sparks and way up high the rumble of thunder could be heard. The warriors sensing the dark power of their master, began their advance. Brilliant flashes lit up the landscape and all at once Kat’s hair stood on edge and with it Kat felt her feet leave the ground, her face was contorted with the strain of using such an enormous amount of her power. There was a brief red burst from the sun as Kat’s storm broke the cloud of smoke from the volcano, then the sky went dark so the only the light that could be seen was from the sparks around Kat’s body, it made unnatural shadows in the darkness. This was the pinnacle of Kat’s excellence, she could feel it, this was her moment, her crowning glory and at the moment she struck her first enemy, she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
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So Crio left in the darkness of night and again he marched through the middle lands of his youth. The ground groaned and from a great fissure a figure climbed. As tall as a mountain he stood, grey skinned, covered in coarse hair, with hands like stone. Orna, God of the earth, had come. “Crio.” He said in a deep voice, as hard as the earth, like an avalanche of falling stones down a mountain, “The daughter of my son is wrathful. Too powerful is she and her power cannot be contained by the seasons of Ilmgral. Beneath this land lies the defence against her powers but I need your help to raise them.” “If this works.” Crio said, “Will my family be safe and the people of Drage?” Orna nodded his great head, “They will be safe from all the destructions of the world and shall have gems uncounted and will love the stone of your creation.” Crio smiled grimly, “Then my lord, I give you my body.” A great roar went up and Crio felt the power of the earth beneath him and Orna fashioned a rope around the earth and together they pulled it. Great mountains rose from their toil and the middle lands were uprooted, green pastures becoming peaks that reached towards the heavens. In those mountains they trapped the storm of Camara and part of her power with it, so that the peaks of the mountain became instantly covered in snow. A great height those mountains reached but love for his family and that of the people of Drage ran through all that Crio designed and a great labyrinth he made within the mountains for those trapped to the south.
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The Ilma are mentioned in the Escape from Humanity but who are they? An Alien race, some good, some evil? Immortals who have great knowledge of the universe? What is their curse and why do they consider themselves the chosen people of the Universe? Who are the Graul? The servant race, now some of the most powerful beings in Besan Gretan? Briefly is the history and beliefs of the Ilma hinted at in the Knights of Earth saga, yet it is a rich history, full of tragedy, deceit, and the corruption of power. A story of the long defeat, how those chosen to be the wardens of the Gods, become vengeful Gods in their own right. The Sundering of the Two moons is the first part of the History of Ilmgral. In this book series I will bring you the long tapestry that saw the Ilma rise to absolute power and be cursed by it. This history is told in short stories of various styles, giving an in-depth outlook into the history of Ilmgral, like the Silmarillion never could for Middle earth.
The Sundering of the Two moons, focuses on the earliest years of Ilmgral and consists of four stories:
The Beginnings of the Universe are told in the book: The Holy Quadrant. Here the three plains of existence are explained, along with the coming of the Vassals and the immense powers given to the Ilma, with their place as custodians explained.
Notes as both squire and Lord- Follows Bruska Crud, one of the Ilma as he navigates becoming a squire to one of the greatest warriors of the time, Selosa Aquitex. He witnessed some of the Key events of the middle years of the Age of Vassals, including the battle of the crossroads and the burning of Fasurasuta.
The War of the Dividing Mountains- Newly come into his Lordship, Suda Drage, relation of the Vassal Drage Livella, must defend his home from the Kingdom of Scaraden. This story, though thousands of years before the events of the Knights of Earth Saga, ties in the most of all these tales, for it is the Pledge of Suda Drage that lingered as a dark shadow over the Ilma in all their many wars and would eventually bring war to Earth, until one from the Dragor would realm would do war upon Scaraden again.
The Sundering of the Two moons- This tells the story of Morelin, a high lord of the Ilma and Lucarnia, daughter of the wood king, an evergreen of the Krun-ilma, as their love and betrayal of their duties, eventually tears the celestial bodies of Ilmgral apart.
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“Do not speak of such things.” She said coldly. Morelin’s hand went to reach towards hers, but the branches moved, trapping his arm, “Please Lucarnia.” He begged, “You are not blind to this world. Your father pays these rebels, just like his grandfather did by the plea of the lord of Cradlin. He does it to pull people like me away from my home. Our kings are both liars, using us as pawns to wage secret wars with eachother.” “You lie.” She said desperately. “You know that I do not. Look into my eyes and see it.” She did and her white lips quivered. The branch released him, and he took her hand, “My heart is yours. Like Umoria and Aradtoria in the sky, we are destined to be together, and I will let nothing keep me from you.” She was silent and Morelin thought then that he had lost her, but she soon grasped his hand tightly, “I have seen things my love. My father’s secret meetings, his advisors taking trading trips to the frozen north or the apathy towards the tower of my mother’s birth.” “You know what I say is true.” Morelin’s eyes were firm, “We cannot let this escalate further.” She nodded, “My father talks of war in spring. The trees of the north shall move southward and shall surround Melkin.” “They will find fire.” He replied, “For Anglin is nervous and scared in his rule. He has long prepared for such an assault. Tell him of my imprisonment. We must get the kings together if we are to stop this war.” Her hand released his, “I cannot betray my father.” “If we do not, then our worlds will crumble.” “This will doom my people.” She said sadly, “Anglin will come with an army and will not stop until the woods burn.” “I will beg him not to.” Morelin assured her, “If Anglin gains my release, he will see it as a victory, as will king Nargir, for I shall be banished from his realm.” “If you are banished, then our time together ends.” He smiled, hearing the love he thought lost in her words. He leant forward and the branches opened so that he could kiss her trembling lips. She locked him in a firm embrace, letting go of the fear and the pain. When they broke apart, he stared into her eyes, “I did not say it in jest. We are like the moons of heaven, and we can never be separated. If we stop this war, the Gods will reward us, and they will grant my desire to never be parted from you again.” She kissed him again, “I will do this thing.” Her eyes seemed to grow sad, “But I see only bad things and our separation coming from this. The Gods will curse our treachery. Farewell my love, I will soon see you freed.” The tree limbs closed back in around him and Lucarnia vanished into the upper boughs. Morelin sat reinvigorated in his cell, waiting for his chance to win his freedom.
“I want to know why I was summoned?” Urgarak yelled as he stopped in the threshold of the door, his breath stolen at the vastness of the grand hall. He had been inside its white walls before but rarely enough that the hugeness of it still made him feel like a tiny speck in the universe. He looked towards the great domed roof, supported by two figures both standing far over fifty feet. He cast his eyes away from the marble, sculpted in the likeness of the first kings of Scaraden, who had formed the eternal empire. Urgarak marched forward, a ceremonial cape billowing with every step. A couple of paces behind two of his Murka generals followed, their arms scraping the red floor tiles. As he walked, Urgarak straightened the medal on his chest. The image of the flag of his ‘home’ planet filled him with confidence, even if the red moon of the warrist movement would outrage the members of the council. The chairs of the hall were empty along Urgarak’s march but statues of all the high kings stared down at him from marble eyeballs but Urgarak kept his own eyes on the stage in front of him. Eight of the nine seats were occupied and the figures were sat forward watching Urgarak as intently as the statues did. Urgarak stopped at their feet and bowed at the large marble figures that stood behind the council. The king eternals, those who had led Abgdon during times of war. He wished beyond anything that they were here now, they would understand his cause. Two were out there somewhere. Prisoners of those Ilmgralite fools. Only the third had died truly, one of only a small few of the Ilma who had died after the curse had come upon them. The council regarded Urgarak with their golden eyes and Urgarak met their stares confidently, but he could not keep his gaze from moving to the middle seat of the council that sat empty. It would seem King Crio would not entertain him. “Urgarak Mortrim.” One of the figures said. He was wearing robes of pure white that seemed to match perfectly with his fully white scaled skin. That made Urgarak snarl, the perfection of the Ilma. His skin was covered in red scales and many dotted his narrow face. “Gorin.” He replied scornfully. “Remember your place Graul.” Came another voice from a far chair. Urgarak’s eyes strayed towards him and black veins flared before he could control it. Urgarak took a deep breath, he had to remember what he was. The Ilma were the chosen people after all, his power was just a gift. Urgarak turned his frustration back into the cruel determination for his cause and so turned his eyes back to Gorin, “My place.” He murmured, “Is to hunt down those who hold the essence of our people captive. To bring war to a race who has aided the Ilmgralite’s in their tyrannical hold on the universe.” Gorin stood swiftly, the air in the hall seemed to surround Urgarak and his eyes flicked to the floor in fear, “We called you back one season ago.” The head of the council said without showing any of the anger Urgarak was sure he felt, “Yet you returned to Uralese, that was a mistake.” Urgarak’s golden eyes flashed black for a second and he spoke grimly, “Uralese is still a troublesome world, our might should not be forgotten there long. I returned our fleet and came with the only ship I could spare.” An old lord stood. He looked like he was close to his rebirthing, but he still spoke with the musical power of the Ilma, “It is impressive for one of the Graul to rise so high within our ranks.” Urgarak nodded but it was an insult and he knew it, “You were sent to Earth to find evidence of Cirtroug’s imprisonment, not to release him.” He took a deep laboured breath, “We have all seen the signs. The Gods are moving, they are planning their final strike to crush the Ilma. Crio will avoid war at all costs.” “Crio is a coward.” Urgarak said before he could stop himself. “HOLD YOUR TONGUE.” Gorin yelled and all the air was sucked from Urgarak’s lungs and he stood, gasping in the vacuum that Gorin had created. Urgarak could feel the pressure swelling his eyes and his chest tightening. His legs wanted to fall but it seemed Gorin was holding him up as well. Slowly with a white smile, the Ilma released him. The first breath after the denial was like syrup. “What do you know of Uralese?” Urgarak asked through his deep breaths, “It must seem a troublesome place, the once slave world of Ilmgral. What petty trifles did they ask for it? You should see it high council, Graul, Murka and Livet children starve in the streets while wars rage across its continents. It is a forgotten world.” The old Lord spoke again, “All Uralese is worth is the Virdact that we mine from it, the Livet’s could barely write before we found them and now they live in luxury.” “Starvation is not Luxury.” Urgarak said grimly, “Uralese needs a war, only in war do our people find sufficient work, only then DO YOU NOT LEAVE US TO ROT.” “YOU WERE SENT TO STUDY EARTH, NOT TO RELEASE THAT MANIAC CIRTROUG UPON THE HUMANS.” Gorin yelled and thunder crackled in the sky above Scaraden. Urgarak took a step back, “I did release him.” He muttered, “On Uralese the truth of the Gods was shown to me, the true legacy of the Ilma. I harness it now and it showed me how we can defeat both the Gods and the Ilmgralites. Earth is the key, the one who defeated Cirtroug was of Ilmgral, reskinned among the humans with all their divine darkness.” He saw the dark look in the councils eyes and decided to press further, “Not only did the Ilmgralites create those abominations on Earth, not only did they imprison Abgdon’s great heroes on that world, but they send their people to live among them, to breed them into the army Ilmgral needs to rule this universe. I will not stand by and let that happen. You are the Ilma, the chosen people, tasked with keeping the Gods from tearing our universe apart. Well the Gods work through Ilmgral. I can see it in the stars, and they will use Earth to finally crush us.” Gorin seemed tired, his eyes fell pityingly onto Urgarak. A sign of mortality, he thought. Urgarak would not have much longer in the universe and his haste for war was due to that fact. The council of the Ilma of Scaraden had none of those issues. Gorin had served since the first days of Abgdon. His father, who gave his energy to terraform Abgdon, had been born just after the curse had been bestowed to the Ilma. Gorin had patience and he would not let Urgarak lead Crio into a war where only the destruction of the universe would follow. Gorin returned to his seat, “Urgarak.” He paused, “You are hereby suspended from command. You will return to Uralese and surrender your fleet to Flight Marshal Cambane.” Urgarak smiled, black smoke coursed through his veins, darkening his mind. He knew it would come to this. If the council would do nothing, it was best that he was a part of no nation to fight the war his way until both Abgdon and Ilmgral had no choice but to intervene, “As you wish my Lords.” He bowed low and looked at the statues of the kings, “May the eternal church never falter and the Gods tremble at the might.” The council elders nodded and watched as Urgarak and his two servants left the hall in disgrace. Gorin turned to the Lord beside him who whispered in Gorin’s ear, “We should blast him out of the sky.” “No.” Gorin shook his head, “Urgarak is a fool, reckless and narrowminded, blind to anything else but his goal and that will one day see him to his death but he is beloved on Uralese. The empire of the Ilma have split once already and we do not need the resource planets rising up under his dark dream.” Gorin then signalled for one of the guards, who had sat silently behind, to step forward. The Ilma who stood beside Gorin was young in terms of the Ilma, he had never lost the physical form he held but he was powerful and full of youthful aggression, “You will go with Urgarak and make sure he follows our command. It would be good for the people of Uralese to see one of the Guardians of Eternity.” “As you wish my Lord.” The man said and he marched quickly to follow Urgarak. “War is upon us.” The old Lord continued, “Crio will not be able to delay it. We should recall our fleet. If the foretold war is not against Ilmgral then it will be against the Gods themselves.” Gorin pointed to the hall before them, “Scaraden stands forever. We built this hall so not even Livella herself could stand within it. If it is to be war, then the darkness shall lead us to victory and neither Ilmgral nor the Gods will stop us. The time is not yet ripe, however. We are too few after the last war. Crio is desperate to learn where our kin are imprisoned.” “What of earth?” A young lord, only risen after Crio had ascended to be king, spoke then, “Urgarak is right. One of the Graul has reskinned among them, that is rare enough but then to live as a human. One like that, allied with the half breeds could bring a new power to the universe that had never been foretold by Livella.” Gorin seemed un-moved, “Ambassador Lucast assured us he has no memory of his past.” He then smiled cruelly, “Though the thought intrigues me, maybe in him the experiments of old will work. A child of Ilmgral with all of our gifts mixed with the darkness and natural brilliance of Humanity, a sight that might even make the Gods tremble.”
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Randew.” Suda called to his new commander of the guard. The Graul came near and bowed, “Go back across the bridge. Tell the men there to push forward and to hold the southern entrance. Then return to lord Rivon and tell him what has occurred.” Randew nodded, two fingers pressed to his heart. He went to leave but Dusan’s voice stopped him, “Go and tell him yourself. We have done what we came here to do, and we have paid a heavy fee for it.” “I have not done what I set out to do.” Suda said, fire burning in his eyes, “I set out to make sure that none of our lands are ever governed by a tyrant king and I stand by that pledge by any dark road that Livella cannot light for me. I shall go into the southern realm and end this would be God’s rule.” The company were speechless, and they stared at Suda as though seeing him for the first time. He seemed tall in his grief, a fire burning in his red hair like Drage of old. To them he was the vision of a king, with a crown of red flames upon his head. Randew left and Suda stepped towards Lidya’s body, “Your idols Dusan.” He called behind him. The priest nodded and from his back he pulled out four disks, each as large as his palm. One was of silver, with an image of a star. The second held the image of a mountain and it was made from a mix of many metals. The third disk held a glass phial and clear water from the rivers of Brinsita sat within. The last bore mirrored glass, so that one could truly admire Gadrika’s work. Dusan placed these upon Lidya’s body. The mirror atop his head, the phial of water at his mouth, the star upon his chest and the disk of Orna on his midriff, “Son of Dragor, descendant of Livella, let your soul go now to rest within her halls. Soon we shall find a ship and Thera shall carry you beneath the stars, where Drage will claim you.” They prayed together but when Dusan went to retrieve the tokens, Suda stayed him with his hand, “On these four tokens I lay a pledge.” An eerie silence grew in the cavern as everyone seemed to hold their breaths, “I, Suda of house Drage, pledge that I shall not return to my home. Nor shall I find simple rest until the king of Scaraden is laid utterly to ruin and his four towered church is destroyed and in its place a star of Livella built. If I should fail, then my house shall ever be laid in enemy of Scaraden, and I swear not to go to the halls of Livella until this pledge is fulfilled.” He lifted his sword from the floor and ran his hand along it. He winced as blood dripped towards Livella’s token. From the chamber below a wind rose and the blood fell not onto the star but the mirror of Gadrika. As it touched, there was a blinding flash of green flame, and the blood became a pungent sickly smoke. An eerie calm fell over the tunnel and doom weighed heavy upon the company.
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Tom had entered another world; he was walking through the most beautiful forest he had ever seen, full of all the colours of spring, summer and autumn mixed together, of all the seasons, it appeared that only winter never touched this forest. As the wind blew through the trees and whistled through the leaves, the trees themselves rose up in song, a song spanning the years the trees had seen, ferocious battles and fallen kings were lamented, whilst heroes and great deeds were glorified in their continuous song. The trees were obviously unlike any from earth with their song in the air they were more alive, and more splendid, the very smell of their wood filled Tom’s body with the vibrancy of their life. Around him people walked, paying no heed to him at all, they were slightly different to the others from his dreams; their scaled skin carried tints of green and browns like they were born from the earth itself, and leaves of different types and colours grew through their long brown hair and around their eyes, instead of red scales they had twig like veins that stretched out across their skin. Tom was happy to walk amongst these people, he realised he had dreamt of these people once before, and had learned of their history in another dream, they were the forest dwellers and they had long known peace, continuing to pay tribute to their high King. Suddenly a deep fear seemed to grip Tom, screams shot up from the distance and bells hidden in the branches sounded out, the war that had for so long been held back from these woods had finally reached them, and it burst through the trees abruptly. Fire leapt from tree to tree and Tom could feel such an evil in that woodland paradise as it quickly became a fiery hell. Tom instinctively dropped to the floor and closed his eyes tight, and when he finally felt brave enough to open them, the world before him lay in a burnt out waste. All around him the beautiful and peaceful forest dwellers lay lifeless on the floor, their twig like veins glowing dully with the dying embers of the fire that had devoured them; with blood dripping from their half open mouths the last of their beauty was lost from the world.
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We fought through hordes of blue eyed Graul, killing most who could do nothing against our strength, until we reached the meeting hall. Borgarinda charged in without thought. I did not see the wave that crushed him until it was too late, nor did I hear the scream as it forced all the air out of his lungs. All I truly heard was the sickening crack as his bones were crushed. I yelled as anger filled me. My hand crashed into the floor and great stone slabs launched at the attacking Thera-ilma. He fell to the floor, ribs cracked. Suddenly the Ilma that were trapped there attacked but it stopped at one of our enemy’s words, “Release the flood.” My heart stopped, and my breath caught in my throat. I heard Selosa yell and saw the spit coming from her mouth. Borgarinda had power over water, yet he could not stop such a bombardment and I wondered what hope we would then have. Suddenly Selosa’s cry seemed to slow. The window’s shattered and I could see every shard, see every vibration as people screamed. I looked down at myself, amazed by the blue flames that seemed to dance upon my body. All of a sudden, those blue flames burst forth like a great swirling tornado. My aura charged at the oncoming wave with a crash that shook the tower. I screamed as the blue flames broke the control of the Thera-ilma, until Selosa and Aila smote them. The wave crashed to the floor, and I fully released my aura, breaking the wave apart so that it fell harmlessly to the floor as a gentle wave. The hallway became silent as the Thera-ilma and Graul that remained fell to their knees, begging for our mercy. My eyes scanned the faces of the Ilma held there, falling on one, “Mother.” I yelled as I charged towards her and my father. She embraced me, her brown hair falling across my face. “You stupid boy.” She said while she stroked at my hair, “You should not have come.” I laughed as my father looked at me, surprise on his face. What I had unleashed, few of the Ilma could do with control.
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