The World Bringer

"Move out the way!" A short man with a stubby beard and tattered clothing ran through the halls of the palace. "Where is Advisor Luke?" The stumbling man called, "Get me Advisor Luke!" 

"What is the meaning of all this ruckus, commoner?" A well-dressed man stood in the doorway of his chambers. The day had only just begun, and he already had his fur robes on.  

"The Queen, she is having her baby!"  

"Dear Gods, why didn't you just say that!" The man exclaimed as he rushed past the commoner. 

"I have to find Advisor Luke!" The peasant called after him. 

"I am Advisor Luke, you drunken fool," he grumbled under his breath as he swiftly made his way to the Queen. 

Advisor Luke entered the Queens chamber. He saw her holding her stomach while gripping the balcony ledge. She was on the verge of screaming; her child was causing her great pain. 

Advisor Luke ran over to aid the queen as he called for help. The Queen looked pale and sickly as he guided her to her backside. She mumbled words but he could hardly understand her. 

"I'm sorry, Athena. I cannot understand you." 

"I said, you might want to remove your garments." The Queen chuckled as she tried to hold onto any remains of normalcy. Advisor Luke smirked to aid her in her efforts. He quickly discarded his royal gear and after minutes of his assistance, her baby girl was welcomed into the Kingdom of Asteron. 

Both my mother and Advisor Luke stood in awe as they watched my eyes slowly open to reveal a celestial mix of blue and violet. My mother's mouth hung open as she tried to gather her words. Advisor Luke looked to my mother and softly uttered the words, "The prophecy..." 

They stared at me as I babbled around, my hand softly swiping my mother's nose, drawing her back to reality. Soon enough, Advisor Luke spoke up. 

"What shall you name your child, Athena?" 

My mother stared at me, and I back at her. Her expression began to soften, and tears found their way to the brim of her eyes. 

"Indigo, I shall name her Indigo." 

"After her eyes?" 

"After her eyes." My mother confirmed. 

"And so, the prophecy begins." 

"And so, it does." 

*** 

Soon, the entire kingdom knew of my arrival. Festivals were thrown, ale was consumed by the bucketloads, and the entire land was in a constant state of celebration. The prophecy they had been awaiting had finally begun. 

It had been foretold by the Original Enchantresses that a champion would be born into planet Eauntraunt. This champion was destined to have great power and would soon use it to create an improved world for all. The only way to identify this champion was through their rich, indigo colored eyes. 

They called this champion the World Bringer.  

The prophecy had thrust a lifetime of expectations upon me, and they only seemed to grow as I did. My spell working capabilities were arguably nonexistent as a child, because of this, I experienced years of teasing from my peers. 

Advisor Luke was a great friend of my mother’s, and a friend of mine by default. He is the witchcraft advisor of Asteron; he was appointed to educate Asterions on our history and the Original Enchantresses; the creators of this world. 

I went through the rest of my young years bullied by my peers and soon, I started to believe their words. That I wasn't special, the prophecy wasn't true, my birth was just a fluke. I believed it until I had removed that part of myself.  

I'm now seventeen, and I'm not sure if I am the true World Bringer. I haven’t fulfilled the prophecy yet, so I might not ever, but I don't let it control my life anymore. I have amazing friends and I live as much of a normal life as I can. I still deal with doubters and the overbearing worship from common folk, but I ignore most of it. 

I spend most of my time buying from merchants in the common land. They make great food and are the most modest, goodhearted people in Asteron.  

*** 

Nighttime had rolled around, and it was time for my friends and I to part ways once again. 

As I entered my palace, I saw two guards in unfamiliar gear. They wore bronze plated armor with burgundy tassels on their helmets and along their gauntlets. 

 This armor was not of Asteron. 

My eyes were stuck on them as tried figure out where they were from. One of the guards lifted his arm and revealed his shield. A black arrow was plastered on the bronze shield and I immediately recognized the symbol. 

These guards were from Miedgord, a kingdom that wasn’t so fond of Asteron. There is a long history of disagreements between our kingdoms, and eventually those disagreements caused wars that left both kingdoms weary and wounded. We came to a truce twenty years ago but the bad blood between us remains. 

I snuck past the guards and ran to the Board of Confidants meeting room. Miedgordions showing up unannounced could not be a positive thing. 

“Your kind are not welcome in my kingdom!”  

This shouting only confirmed my fears. 

“And you will be sorry if you ever step foot in my territory again!” 

I peeked through the keyhole to see the King of Meidgord staring harshly at my mother as his personal guards held him back.  

“I know you stole the crown because it was found in your palace!”  

I was confused, there was no way my mother stole the Kings' crown; I was sure of this. I couldn’t fathom anyone on the Board of Confidants doing it. This had to be a mistake. 

“There has to be a mistake,” Advisor Luke echoed my thoughts. 

“We know nothing of the whereabouts of your crown, I couldn’t imagine-” 

“Theres no mistake here Luke, so how about you imagine this,” the king started walking closer to Advisor Luke, until they were inches from each other. 

“If I have any more problems with your kind, a war will be brought upon your kingdom.” 

He turned to my mother, “And we will win.” 

He scoffed and advanced toward the door, I scurried up the palace stairs and slammed my door shut. I had never experience war before, I didn’t even know it was something we still did. I was afraid that this thief would stir up more trouble for us. Someone had to stop them. 

But we don’t even know who they are. 

*** 

“Indigo dear, you must wake up. I want to see my darling girl before she’s all grown up.” 

My mother barged into my chambers and soon my curtains were flying open to reveal the bright morning sunlight. 

“Mother, you can see me just fine as I sleep,” I grumbled as I turned to my side. 

“No, Indigo, I would like you to talk to me. We haven't talked much for a month.” 

“Two months,” I corrected. 

“Even worse.” 

Two months had gone by since the king's threats and eventually my fear of a war had died down. It didn’t seem like anything was going to happen soon, so I decided not to worry. I still haven't told my mother about my eavesdropping though. 

“Is there anything you’re planning to do?” 

Her brown, doe eyes were wide as she looked at me with a gaudy smile plastered on her face. She often got very excited about my birthdays, she used to arrange extravagant parties every year until I turned sixteen. Since I started doing things on my own, she always wanted to know my plans. That was something I loved about my mother, she cared. 

“I think I want to stay home this year and just relax.” 

“Indigo-” 

“I promise I’m fine. I'm just a little tired, you know, school and all.”  

I was hoping she would buy it. 

“Okay,” she huffed, “I guess I’ll leave you to it.” 

“I love you, Indigo.” 

“I love you too, mama.” 

*** 

I rushed around my room trying to find my most comfortable outfit. Asher had convinced me to sneak out to celebrate my final night as a young lady. 

I heard Asher throwing pebbles at my window, I shook my curtains to let him know I was coming down and proceeded to sneak out my room. 

We ran through the common lands and to the outer fields and began laughing hysterically as the adrenaline rush overtook our bodies. 

“I can’t believe we actually got away with that,” Asher huffed, trying to catch his breath. 

I simply nodded in agreement. 

“Okay, just follow me. 

He began to guide me through an unfamiliar area where the land was bare and seemed to stretch for miles. It was covered with only rock and old weeds, everything seemed dead. 

Eventually, we hit a steep hill and Asher covered my eyes as he guided me down. 

“I really want this spot to be a surprise,” he explained. 

I complied and after a century of careful tiptoeing, he stopped me and told me to keep my eyes shut. I squeezed them shut as I heard him moving what sounded like a large boulder. 

“Okay, you can open them now.” 

My eyes shot open and I was in awe as I stood before a grand waterfall. He had led me to some cave that was much more alive than the path we took to get here.  

“Asher, this is beautiful,” I beamed. 

“I’m really glad you like it; I’ve been saving the place for years now.” 

“I wanted to make your eighteenth birthday a little better,” he flashed a cheeky smile and dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers. 

“I really appreciate this; you definitely made my birthday feel great again.” 

Silence fell over the cave as we both stared at each other, my eyes fixed on Asher as my heart began to grow warmer. His face softened and, almost instinctively, we slowly leaned into each other. Our lips met and danced together at their own rhythm, without a care for anyone else. We pulled back and stared at each other, he grabbed my hand and led me to another side of the cave. 

“Stand right here...now...look up,” he pointed upward, and my eyes followed. 

There was a large hole at the top of the cave that revealed the sky, a large ball of rock hung there, I assumed it was a planet, but I had never noticed it before. 

“What planet is that?” 

“That is planet Norobi, it was created by the Original Enchantresses as a tribute to their dying sister. It is said that they put it here for only a special few to see.” 

“Why has Advisor Luke never taught us this?” 

“Well, that would go directly against the wishes of the Original Enchantresses, doing so could bring misfortune upon him.” 

I turned my gaze back to the sky. 

“It gets much more beautiful the longer you stare at it.” 

“Yeah, it really does.” 

*** 

The sun began to rise, and it was time for us to return home. Asher and I made it to the palace doors before the guards began their daily rounds.  

“Thanks for today, it was the best birthday celebration I've ever had.” 

Asher smiled then took me by my hands and slowly started to lean in, I closed my eyes in anticipation, but I felt his body jerk and his breath begin to hitch in his throat. 

Asher's eyes were wide open as his body convulsed, I looked down to see a black arrow, the tip stained red, peeking through his chest, almost touching mine. Asher's grip on me was tight but it loosened as his body tipped back and hit the palace stairs. I froze, my eyes slowly moved to see a Miedgordion soldier with his bow drawn at me. Our eyes locked and I dropped to my knees as his arrow swept through the air, barely missing my head. 

I crawled into the palace and ran through the halls looking for any available guard. Then, I remembered that their daily rounds had already started, and they always start with the royal chambers. 

I skidded to a stop, taking a second to find the best course of action. I had to alert somebody before the soldiers overtook our kingdom, and closest person to me was Advisor Luke. 

I ran down the palace halls and took a left to Advisor Lukes chambers. I banged on the door to wake him from his slumber, when he didn’t answer I barged into his room only to discover him standing with his gambeson and an unfamiliar armor cuff.  

The cuff didn’t belong to Asteron. 

“You look pale, is there something you need?” 

“Miedgordion soldiers are here and they killed Asher.” 

“what-” 

“And they tried to kill me,” I huffed, trying not to cry. 

“We have to alert the guards; they are waging war upon us. Go retrieve your mother and keep her safe and hidden as long as you can.” 

“What’s on your arm?” 

“Never mind that, Indigo. Just do what I told you.” 

He pushed past me, leaving me alone in his room. His behavior and strange attire were suspicious. I had thoughts of looking through his room for answers, but I heard a scream outside the palace. 

It sounded like my mother. 

I rushed through the back doors and discovered my mother quivering over a dead Miedgordion soldier with a bloody dagger. She looked at me and began to cry as she tried to speak. 

“Mother, it’s okay. You did what you had to do.” 

“I didn’t-oh, what is happening?” 

“I don’t know but we have to get you somewhere safe.” 

I grabbed her hand and quickly led her around the palace to the underground bunker, I grabbed a rock and smashed the lock open. The wooden doors unfolded, and I stepped down into the bunker. 

I turned around and reached for my mother, urging her to follow me in, her foot was hardly in when I heard a sharp whistle and warm liquid had splattered on my face.  

An arrow had found its way through my mother's neck, and I watched in terror as the light slowly escaped her eyes. 

The brown, doe eyes I once knew were turning lifeless and dark, she slumped to her knees as her breathing simmered and soon, it had sopped all together. She softly fell to her backside and I stood frozen once again. 

A Miedgordion soldier stepped in front of me and scoffed at my mothers body. 

“You people will pay for the murder of our king,” he smiled creepily. 

Everything began to swell inside me as I stared into the eyes of my mother killer, I watched as he raised his weapon to my head. The emotions bouncing around inside my body were much to hold and as the soldier drew his bow, ready to end my life, a burst of blinding light exploded from my body. 

Everything had disappeared behind this blinding light and soon all I could see was darkness. 

*** 

I felt weak as I opened my eyes again. It looked like I was entrapped in some sort of bubble but as my body relaxed, the bubble disappeared. I peered out to the land before me and it looked nothing like the home I once knew. 

Everything was gone and the land was filled with dust and scorched ground. There was nothing here, everything was dead. 

I look before me to see a figure walking in my direction. As the figure got closer, I could see very unfamiliar gear. They wore a platinum cape with all white garments. It didn’t appear to be armor of any sort; the only familiar piece were the white cuffs. 

Advisor Luke stood before me in his strange attire, he held an unnerving grin on his face. I understood that he was not my friend anymore. 

He was clearly an enemy in disguise this entire time. 

“Who are you, really?” 

“My name is Captain Lucion, I come from the year 4024.” 

“I was sent here to destroy your world to prevent the negative effects your kind would cause to the timeline.” 

His words were akin to gibberish. 

“In short, your kind were going to cause centuries of misuse of this planet, which would make it hard for my people to survive years later. I came back to change this.” 

“How?” 

“Through you.” 

“I only told your people a single part of the World Bringer prophecy, I didn't tell them about the destruction you would cause because I knew they would kill you, and I needed you alive.” 

“I’m the one who stole the kings crown, I needed to stir up enough trouble to start a war so you could carry out your destiny. However, that obviously wasn’t enough, so I killed the king and left a strand of your mothers hair on his body.” 

“I figured they would take the hint and they did.” 

“So, what happens now?” 

“For you, absolutely nothing.” 

He revealed an abnormal weapon and raised it to my head. I inhaled slowly and looked up to see Norobi hanging in the sky, parts of it missing, other parts cracked. 

I exhaled, then a loud bang, and once again... 

Darkness.