• Have you ever wondered how the universe was made? Was it just there from nothing? Did it's creation come from another dimension or universe? Was there a single entity to create it? If so, who was that entity? Many have asked such questions and could only speculate. Even the "Big Bang Theory" as the humans of Earth had called it is just a theory. And to the people of the universe, human and extraterrestrial alike, it remains a mystery. At least it's true creation remains so. But one thing that all of the universe's people know is that there is a Goddess named Harzel who roams and cares for the universe, helping to create worlds and keep the peace from the greatest of conflicts.

    The Goddess of the Stars, as everyone calls her, had two sons: Sofal and Solaf. Both grew to be strong and intelligent young men. But a great difference was realized between the two.

    Sofal was of the light and Solaf was of the dark. Soon after Sofal had found a world among the stars of the Milky Way as Earth's people would later call it, Solaf found his own in another galaxy. While Sofalia grew prosperous, populated and self-sufficient, Solaf's world of Hellorn became a sort of black hole to the light around it, leaving nothing but suffering and desperation to the worlds and stars around it.

    It was still several thousand years before man had first walked the surface of Earth. While the brother kings had not yet begun a war, the tension was very strong. Almost to the point where the people of Sofalia could just feel the inevitable marching steps and massive engines roaring into the skies to meet Solaf's Dark Army. Many young men from Sofalia and it's many colonies have enlisted, going to various camps to train and prepare for war, each day growing stronger, smarter and more prepared for the ruthless onslaught of the demons that made up the Dark Army.

    In the throne room of Sofal's great Beacon Palace in the center of the capital city of Nigeb on Sofalia, Sofal himself sat on his throne, listening to his five top generals and partnered fleet admirals discussing with him the strategies ready to employ should war break out. The more local general was currently speaking to him with great concern.

    "Your Highness, what do you feel would be best for the people at this point? They're scared and paranoid. They've even begun reporting some of my own troops believing them to be spies or assassins send to kill you." Giram, the Local Systems general, held his datapad in his hand, the holographic screen projecting just a couple of millimeters above the surface a list of the mentioned reports, some having more outrageous claims about the troops than others.

    "My own ships can't even enter the atmosphere without causing a panic." Local Systems Fleet Admiral Ballat said to Sofal. "We were running interception practices a few days ago late afternoon and officers began relaying reports of Dark Army bombers flying around. Our own transports, so few as they were, were causing some amount of panic to a number of people outside of the palace walls."

    "What about the warning systems I ordered placed around the planet? Have they all been set up and tested?" The great king lifted his mouth from behind his hands folded together, his eyes looking down in thought before he looked to Giram.

    "Well, we have them set up, but we need another few days to finish testing them before we know they are ready." He made a few finger gestures on the holographic images on his datapad, bringing up a small holographic globe which flashed a number of green blips across the surface but a few more tat were red, indicating those that were not tested or cleared to be used when needed.

    "Then I need those things set as fast as you possibly can," Sofal replied. "The sooner we have them all up and running, the sooner our people can have more peace of mind. Nalama, has there been any word or movement from the Dark Army around our borders?"

    The Border Systems fleet admiral stepped forward, shaking her head in response. "No, not yet. We believe they are preparing for something as long range sensors seem to be picking up slightly increased movement more into their systems, but we can't be certain."

    "Faramir, what is the state of our border colonies? Are the people ready to evacuate should the need arise?"

    The tall, beefy man stepped up, a more serious expression on his face making him look like he was always angry or irritated with something. "We have made sure the people are ready with evacuation kits and routes to their nearest shelters and evacuation stations. I have coordinated with Fleet Admiral Nalama to ensure we have the necessary transports to quickly get as many people off world as we can if we need to."

    "Alright. Then get back to your fleets and continue your watch for any suspicious or hostile activity. Take nothing lightly but don't be too aggressive. If it's our own people that are moving through our space, we can't intimidate them or we will only only make the people more paranoid and scared. Dismissed."

    They all nodded and bowed before placing their hats on, turning towards the doors and leaving just as a woman came in with a baby in her arms. She was looking to Sofal with a warm smile.

    "Hello, father," the woman said, approaching Sofal. The baby slept peacefully in her arms, sucking on a small pacifier while the woman looked to her father.

    "Hello, Astem," Sofal greeted, rising from his throne to hug his daughter and looked to his granddaughter with a smile. "Looks like Johanna is sleeping well."

    Astem giggled a little bit. "It took a little bit to calm her down after giving her a bath, but she calmed down and started to sleep."

    Sofal still smiled, gently taking the baby into his arms. He was glad to see that his own daughter had a child, even if the man she married was a simple heavy transport pilot. "How is Farxel doing? Out on another job?"

    "Yes, he is. He's carrying several tons of platinum ingots to another fighter manufacturing plant. At least his destination is a moon in a nearby system so he won't be gone too long."

    "Has he considered retiring to live with you?"

    "He has, but he says he wants to see this job through to the end while your army is building up in preparation for war. He'd feel like he wasn't contributing if he didn't."

    "I'm glad. But he doesn't need to work so much. Especially while he has a daughter. Besides, we have other pilots who can do his work."

    "Well you know how stubborn he can be. After all, he comes from a family of workers. You remember his family was a big help in building Nigeb, right?"

    Sofal smiled and nodded a little. "Yes, Astem, I remember. The whole family worked hard to build a good portion of the city."

    After a short silence, Astem remembered something after seeing the slight movement under the blanket in which Johanna was wrapped in. "What about the Prophet Royals? Have you heard anything from them since they went into hiding?"

    Sofal shook his head after a moment. "No... They've completely gone off the grid. Even Prophos itself has disappeared from all charts. And one by one, the colonies are disappearing from all charts and maps. If the world of Prophos is scared enough to do so, then I can only hope they are safe."

    "But I thought they left you with their location?" She cocked her head curiously, remembering being a part of the transmission in which the Prophet king last spoke to them.

    "They did, but they also told me that they are ceasing all communication. They don't want to be found."

    "It makes sense, I suppose. After all, they have the Chosen One with them..."

    Sofal nodded, remembering the prophecy in which he and his mother, Harzel, had created in case Sofal failed to stop Solaf.

    In the wake of Sofal's defeat, a man will arise from the people of the stars and it's worlds, taking up a sword and bearing the wings of an archangel to fight against Solaf's four sons to once again bring peace to the universe.

    Sofal gave the Johanna back to her mother, smiling as he kissed his daughter's forehead. "Now go on and get some rest. It's already late as it is."

    "Of course. Goodnight, father." Astem smiled and went off to her bedroom, leaving Sofal in the throne room. He looked up to the window behind his throne, seeing the rolling hills behind his palace and the mountains standing tall and mighty farther in the distance. He started to wonder if his brother would truly go to war. He went to bed, hoping and even praying that it wouldn't come to that.

    * * * * *


    It had been a few months. Each day only brought a little more fear and paranoia. It had gotten bad enough for Sofal to actually go to the public service terminal he had in his palace. It was like a press conference room with holocameras facing him as it transmitted his speech to the people throughout the cities and to all colonies of Sofalia in the more outlying systems. It was a speech to bring a little more peace to his people. Within a week, the alarm systems were all tested and ready to use, news of this spreading quickly and calming people a little more.

    One day, as Sofal was walking through the halls of his palace, Fleet Admiral Nalama ran up to him, panting as she had run as fast as she could to catch him.

    "Your Highness," she huffed, bending down a little bit as she tried to catch her breath. "Urgent news... from Terrornia..."

    "Terrornia? Isn't that where the Prophet Royals are?" He immediately grew concerned, afraid for his friends on the remote and secret planet.

    "Exactly... The Prophet Royal Guard... They called us... Sofal is sending his best troops for them..."

    Sofal immediately broke into a run, grabbing Nalama by her arm and almost dragging her with him. "Call your fastest ships and whatever troops can be carried on it. We have to beat them there."

    Nalama recomposed herself by the end of the hall as she was running with him, getting on her communications earpiece and calling for her fastest cruiser and a battalion to get ready for immediate departure. Getting to Nalama's transport shuttle which was already running, they jumped in and it took off at top speed, meeting a cruiser that had split off from the main fleet. Just as it landed and set it's landing struts into the security emplacement, the cruiser took off at light speed. When they got to a worm-gate, a special (and very large) ring that contained a wormhole that could be programmed, the remote computers plotted the course and they went through. The Worm-gate was rarely used and was mostly meant as emergency evacuation. But Sofal felt this was a priority.

    As the cruiser came out of the wormhole, they knew they only had about six hours before it would close on them. They moved quickly to the nearby planet, green all around and spotted with white where the more colder regions were. The cruiser came in at a high speed into the atmosphere, the hull coming ablaze but not melting due to the alloy it was made of being highly resistant to high heat from atmosphere entry. When it landed, Sofal wasted no time in bringing the best team with him in the shuttle to where the Prophet Royal Family's cabin was.

    It took a few minutes to get there. Each second only made his worry and concern grow worse and worse. When the shuttle finally landed, Sofal ran out to see the door to the cabin was wide open, a body laying against the wall near the door.

    "Tarvas!" He ran inside to see a hole in the Prophet king's head between the eyes and a lot of blood everywhere. To his left, he saw a few Dark Army soldiers, very human-like in appearance clad in soot-black armor raising rifles to him. He drew his own sword, a long sword with a blue-edged blade, and struck one down as the troops came in, shooting down the others. Before Dark Army bodies hit the ground, Sofal was already running into a nearby hall. He got there just as one of two troops ripped open a large hole in the wall, revealing a secret compartment with a young girl and a baby boy in it, the boy having wings on his back. At the feet of the troops was a woman's body. "Lisarra!"

    He quickly drew his sword as the troops just noticed him. Before they could raise their pistols to him, he had cut off the head of one and slashed across the chest of the other, killing both of the troops. Sheathing his sword, he looked at Queen Lisara's body, fear very apparent in her empty eyes. He sighed, feeling a sense of defeat that he couldn't save them. He closed her eyes and looked to the children in the secret compartment. Elana, the girl, looked to him in tears before going to hug her "Uncle Sofal" tightly. The baby, Annali, was already crying. By then, the troops came in to see what had happened.

    "It's ok, little one... You're safe..." He tried to comfort the young girl as much as he could. He then went to pick up the baby, feeling his small wings on his back. He gave the baby to his older sister before he heard other voices.

    He went out with the children to see a number of soldiers in more elaborate but much more advanced armor than even his own troops. They were the Prophet Royal Guard. They had carbon scoring and a number of scrapes and even a couple of holes in their armor. They had very recently been in a battle. It must be why they couldn't come to rescue they Royals. "Elana! Annali! Thank Harzel you two are alright... King Sofal... Where is Queen Lisarra?"

    Sofal could only look down sadly, unable to say it himself. It was shame that kept him from speaking as he felt he could have made it in time faster. "I'm sorry..." was all he could get out.

    The captain, the man who had spoken and bore the most battle scarring and damage from the recent battle, looked away, feeling an even greater sense of failure. "It was my job to protect them... I'm glad the children are okay, but I just..." He couldn't find anymore words. A couple of the Royal Guard troops went inside to cover the bodies on stretchers and carried them out to another nearby shuttle. "Please, Your Highness... Take them from here... We will meet you at your palace when we finish cleaning up here..."

    Sofal nodded slowly, Elana looking to the captain as Sofal led them to his shuttle with his troops. The ride was less rushed but so much more silent. Elana had just managed to get Annali to quiet down and rocked him to sleep, even as tears continued to run from her eyes. When the shuttle arrived in the cruiser's hangar again, they took off. Within a few hours, the Prophet battleship Shield made it into the wormhole after blowing apart the Dark Army battleship in the orbit.

    When Sofal arrived at his palace with the children, they were taken by one of the maids and instructed by Sofal to be taken to one of the guest rooms near his own bedroom. Sofal then went out to his private gardens, taking some time to try and recover from the sense of failure he had from not being able to save his Prophet friends. It was only much later that night when he finally went back inside that he saw the Prophet Royal Guard in his throne room, the main squad waiting for him while the rest of the Guard were waiting in orbit in the three ships belonging exclusively to the Prophet Royal Guard.

    "Your highness, in the wake of their death, we have found instructions left by the King and Queen themselves that until the Prince and Princess are of age to rule, a parliament would take over the affairs of Prophos and that the Royal Guard would remain near the Prince and Princess... We ask that we be granted permission to join the ranks of your army so we may remain close to the children without showing the Prophets are out and about while the home world is in hiding." They all knelt before the king, their heads lowered as they asked him to bring the Guard into his army.

    "Considering circumstances, I will gladly grant you ranks within the army. However, it is not my army you will be a part of... I've been thinking since I got back that I will have to train Annali to fight and lead. I feel I won't be long for this universe and will be gone very soon... Considering this, I will begin forming the Chosen Army for him to lead when he is capable and old enough." Sofal took a seat in his throne as he spoke, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke. "I want you and the rest of the Prophet Royal guard to be the beginnings of the Chosen Army."

    "Your Highness, you really think that is best for him?"

    "I do. After all, he is the Chosen One."

    They all remained silent before the Guards rose to their feet and placed their right fists over their hearts. "Then we will remain here as the first of the Chosen Army. We will serve with loyalty and dedication until our last breath."

    "Thank you..." Sofal spoke before the soldiers left to their ships. When the throne room was empty, he went to his room, going to bed but having a hard time sleeping, only able to see the bodies of Tarvas and Lisarra.

    * * * * *


    It had been about fourteen thousand years. By now, the humans that had crash landed on Earth and lost their memories as a result would be somewhere around the Medieval Era. But on Sofalia, people were evacuating to shelters and evacuation stations, transports lifting off into the skies almost every minute.

    Solaf had finally attacked.

    A furious battle raged in orbit, the Sofalian Army barely holding off the Dark Army enough to get the transports out of orbit. Planet side, soldiers from both sides were killing each other at every door and corner. Annali, now a teenager and a very capable fighter, and the Chosen Army was gone from Sofalia long before Solaf arrived.

    At the peak of the battle's ferocity, Sofal and Solaf met with each other in some empty planes near the city of Nigeb. It was a stand-off...

    "Why do you accept the darkness so willingly, brother? Why do you allow yourself to be destroyed with every death and murder that comes by your hands or your command?" Sofal gripped his sword tight, facing his brother in anger as they stood among a blazing flame in the fields and debris surrounding them.

    "Because, brother," said Solaf, clad in black armor, wielding a longsword with a black blade, the crimson of blood coloring the hilt and pommel, "I AM darkness. Every death that comes by my hand or anyone else's only serves to feed the darkness. Serves to feed me. You are of the light. You struggle to keep yourself going. Struggle to light the path for those too weak and too stupid to fend for themselves. And like all light, you can only reach so far before your influence no longer has any effect." He raised his sword, ready to fight. "That is why you will die today, and why your people will finally know the suffering they need to either make them stronger or die."

    Sofal didn't know what to say now. He could only raise his own sword, ready to fight his brother to protect his people. When their swords finally clashed, each strike almost boomed like an explosion, their powers colliding in a way that seemed to disturb the space around them. The fight went on for at least an hour, both brothers giving each other painful wounds and burns. But at the end of it all, neither survived.

    In a final strike from both brothers, they both swung at each other. Their swords both found and hit their targets, bringing Solaf down hard and dispersing into a vapor of darkness. Sofal fell to his knees, feeling a sense of victory but defeat before he, too, hit the ground, now dead. In his final moments, he could see the city of Nigeb ablaze, seeing some of his soldiers rushing through the flames to him. As he saw this, he could only think of Annali. His lips moved but no sound came out. But he said "Annali... It's up to you now... End this war... Bring us all to peace..."

    * * * * *


    It's been a week and news of Sofal's death has hit everyone hard. Johanna, now a young teenager and having fallen in love with Annali, was in tears, Annali himself remaining silent for a long time, the loss of the man he could only know as a father hitting him hard. He had already lost his sister when she disappeared some time ago. But now he had to face the universe and the Dark Army without Sofal's guidance. He could only rely on Johanna's support now. They took a little bit of time while the Dark Army was in full retreat. They all tried to recover from the grief. After nearly a thousand years, most finally did and the rest were nearly recovered from the grief.

    When Annali's fleet had come into the Sol system, they passed by Earth. They were discovered by a Dark Army fleet that they were seeking for about four years now and the cruiser Annali was on was shot out of orbit. Annali, Johanna and one of his close friends, Fora, were able to escape in an escape pod, crashing into the mountains of California. The local year was 2083. Johanna was the only conscious one of the three. Believing it was safer for them, she moved the other two from the pod to escape Dark Army troops in stealth to investigate the pod. Taking them to a nearby town, she worked to change their memories, hide Annali's wings and manipulate local records to allow them both to become part of the local population and hiding their weapons in a cave that she was able to manipulate to become a sort of shrine deeper inside. Before she could change the records to help herself, hoever, she was found by the Dark Army and captured, dragged into the mountains to be interrogated about the location of Annali.

    Of course, Annali was about to return to the Chosen Army soon enough. He just needed the right conditions. Though he wouldn't regain his memory in some time, he was still the Chosen One. He was destined to stop the Dark Brothers as the prophecy foretold.