The Awakening of the Lord
A short story by Albert Ong, created on December 31, 2005
I felt like someone was calling me. I didn’t know who or what or when or where…All I saw was darkness—nothing but black space. I tried to open my eyes or move my fingers, but couldn’t. I tried to speak, yell and scream, but there was only silence…until I heard a voice.
“The date of your awakening is nigh, young master,” said the eerie, dark voice of a man. “You must gather our people and lead us to salvation.”
What was the voice saying? I tried to ask but couldn’t. Where was I? It seemed like a century before I pushed off the lid of the sarcophagus that kept me. Wait—I was sleeping in a coffin? Two torches on each side lit ablaze. I was in the middle of a murky and unknown room. “Gather our people?” I said to myself, trying to sit up and move my stiff legs. My male body was covered only by an ancient-looking cape. After rubbing my eyes awake, I noticed a brilliant ring on my finger. I slowly walked away from the coffin and grabbed a torch. I read the inscriptions on the sarcophagus’ lid: “Here lies Prince Tristan the Fourteenth, the last ruler of Rune-Midgard.” I paid no attention to this as I turned away. I ambled out of the room and onto a gloomy tunnel. The floor was icy cold and damp, sending chills to my senses. A large stone gate with strange symbols, as if painted with blood, stood at the end of the tunnel. The gate opened wide as I touched it. There was sunlight and warmth.
Outside the door was a green meadow filled with rabbits grazing around. I stepped onto the grass and inhaled the wonderful scent of nature. It seemed like centuries since I last breathed this kind of air. As I walked around looking at the beautiful scenery of trees and hills, I stumbled on a pink jelly-like substance. The jelly creature bounced away from my foot with a terrified face. I crouched and said, “What’s wrong, cute little thing?”
The monster ran bouncing and I followed it into a forest. I then realized that I was outnumbered by these pink and cute jelly-like monsters. The monsters threw themselves on me. I struggled not to suffocate, but they were too many. “Hey, let me go,” I cried, gasping for air and trying to break free from being grinded by the aggressive creatures. I crawled, grasping grass and soil, but the jelly monsters kept pulling me into their deadly trap.
My body ached—not from the monsters but from inside. The clouds shadowed the land and I saw grass turn black, flowers wilt, and leaves die and fall from the now withered trees. The earth was painted black. Something was bursting inside of me. I screamed and moaned in pain. Something painfully sprouted out of my elbows and heels, killing several pink monsters. The monsters took hold of my arms, but a skeletal blade shot out of the back of my upper arm. My fingernails turned sharp and gray. I rolled around, crying in agony as another blade grew in my other arm and ripped off my cape and smashed some monsters. The pink jellies exploded into tiny drops along with my blood.
I rested on my back, exhausted and naked on the desolate ground. My hands felt a pair of horns slowly growing on my head. “Who or what am I?” I asked myself. After a long nap, I woke up and stretched. I glanced at the sharp projections on my body. It wasn’t a dream. I walked to where the jelly-like monsters died attacking me. Several apples and small crystallizations were scattered about the dark ground. I picked an apple and before I could take a bite, it turned into sticky mucus. I went to a nearby pond and washed myself clean. My refection showed a humanoid monster with a pair of horns and long, pointed ears and having several projections on its body. I sighed and decided to walk back to the labyrinth.
As I approached the meadow, I heard two men talking. I hid behind bushes squinted and stared at the smaller neb around the cave of which I came from.
“This is awesome,” one of them said enthusiastically. “An ancient finally got out.”
“Yup. We must find it and study it,” the other man said.
I felt soft hands clothing my body. “What the—” I exclaimed, turning my head.
“The outside world is infected, my lord,” a woman said. She was tall, clad in a dark, sexy armor, and attractive. She had a sword hanging on her side.
“What? Where did you come from?” I asked in astonishment.
The woman had large, pointy ears and similar sharp projections on her body. “You shall soon understand, my lord,” she said softly and disappeared like a shadow.
My body was covered by a shadowy substance that transformed into a black trench coat and a black, leather pants with silver chains and a belt. Before I knew it, I was wearing cuff links and leather shoes. I thought my outfit was cool, though my chest was still bare.
“What was that noise?” one of those mysterious men said. “Look over there!”
A man wearing a stylish shirt and shorts carried a large gun and ran toward me. As I hurried away, I felt several pebbles puncture my back. I fell to the ground head first. I heard the men approach me. I closed my eyes and utilized my elongated ears.
“What is it?” one of them said, poking a stick on my rear. “Is this a demi-human or a monster?”
“Nah, I think this is one of those Dimagos,” a man with a girlish tone said.
“Oh, good. We can sell his body parts for tons of money.”
“Yeah, let’s start by sawing his horns,” the girlish man said.
He clutched my horn and I heard him pull out a dagger. I twitched and pushed them away. “Leave me alone,” I roared like a beast.
“Whoa,” the girlish man yelled, pointing a gemmed rod at me. “It’s still alive?”
“Not for long!” The man fired his gun at me. My face and chest was repeatedly wounded, but I felt no pain. The loud bullets were getting on my nerves. I leaped toward the gunner, snatched his gun, and broke it in two.
The men faltered in fear. “Please don’t hurt us,” the girlish man said, waving his staff.
“I’ll give you ten seconds to run before I’ll eat you,” I said with a smirk.
The men fled as I began counting. I noticed bullets on my back and chest slowly falling; my wounds disappeared quickly.
“Did you feel any pain at all, Lord Tristan?” a woman said from behind.
“No, not at all,” I replied. “Please tell me, what am I?”
The woman warrior extended her hand and said, “Come with me, my lord.”
It took several hours before we reached the desert. We rode on huge, orange tropical birds called peco-pecos; they were birds that could not fly but served as camels or horses. We talked as we rode during the cold, silent night. Hlín, the woman warrior who led me out of the meadow, showed me around the sandy area. The moon was full and bright. We dismounted our peco-pecos and looked below the sandy hill. I saw numerous huts and hundreds of people with horns waving at us with flickering torches. Hlín explained that her people were forced to live in the Morroc desert because of their differences with other races. She said that they have been hiding from monsters and the Normanfolk, people who attacked me earlier.
Hlín and I sat by the fireplace, along with several women offering ant eggs as food.
Hlín gave a faint smile. “We have long awaited your awakening, Lord Tristan.”
I frowned. “Wait, why are you calling me Lord Tristan? I don’t know who I am.”
A raven rested on a nearby cactus. “Young master, I am so glad you are finally here.”
“What the—” I said. “The crow talks?”
“Let me explain our situation,” the raven said. “Two hundred years ago, Rune-Midgard was under siege by a terrible army of giants led by the evil god Loki. He and the evil beast Fenrir overwhelmed both ancient citizens and monsters. The evil army was so powerful that the monsters decided to unite with the ancients.”
“Our people are now scattered in New-Midgard,” Hlín said. “The children of the Schwaltzvalt Republic—those traitors, now called the Normanfolk, have developed into a massive power. They have hunted us, wanting to eliminate all the ancients from their history.”
The raven flapped his wings. “You were once Prince Tristan the Fourteenth who fought against the great giants. That ring on your finger proves it. I am Vidar. I was once your professor and a mighty high-wizard in your father’s courts. Unfortunately our magic was lost in the war. I became a raven, waiting for your awakening. We are now called the Dimago, the lost people.”
“Why are we still alive then?” I asked. “After so many years, we should have died.”
“I do not know the reason why we are undead, but I know there is a purpose for everything.” Hlín knelt in front of me. “It was an honor to be the general of your vast fleet. I vowed to protect you until death and beyond.” She presented a blue, steel case to me.
I took and opened the box and found a rusty long sword. “This is—”
“Do you remember now, young master?” Vidar said with a caw.
I took the sword. Memories of the horrible past flooded my mind. I stood shaking, dropped the sword, moaned and pulled my hair.
“My lord!” the Dimago people said comfortingly.
I stared at the dancing fire before us; it reminded me of a gypsy I once loved. “We must…cleanse this generation,” I said, tremblingly taking the hilt of my sword.
Vidar cawed sadly. “I’m afraid Weiland and the other guardians have been petrified, young master.”
I lifted my sword, transforming its blade into crimson black. The spirits of four ancient monsters energized the sword. “We shall purify the children of Schwaltzvalt Republic,” I said. “Those traitors will bow to us; and we shall reign over them with an iron fist!”
The Dimago people cheered. “Long live King Tristan!”
“Rise, noble paladin,” I said to Hlín. “Are you willing to train our warriors and lead them to a new holy war?”
Hlín bowed with a solemn smile. “My life is yours, Lord Tristan.”
I faced Vidar the crow. “You have taught me well, good servant. I now request of your services once again. Show me the path to the guardians, and help me lead our people.”
“It shall be my pleasure, young master,” Vidar said and bowed. “I have faith in you.”
I pointed my sword towards the bright full moon. “We shall show this generation a new light, even if darkness is the only way!”
