Darkness Rising: Blood Moon

Prologue

By Mystoflare

Eons ago, the bizarre extra-dimensional world of Gandahrah was born from the same formless void that gave birth to all life throughout time and space. Early in its existence, Gandahrah was formed into multiple realms, or Quadrants, though there were more than four. The primary Elemental Quadrants of Earth, Air, Fire and Water gave birth to the most ‘typical’ races of the world, while the Solar and Lunar Quadrants waited for brave souls to explore their mysteries, and the near-mythical Meikarinai harbored gods, demons and angels, among others.

When this magical world was only several million years old, the various gods and goddesses began to explore not only the world, but also, the whole of eternity and infinity that was the birthright of every living creature. It was on one of the many other worlds they discovered that the gods found creatures they wished to help continue Life, creatures known as Humans.

Humans were living in a turbulent time of violence, hatred, chaos and war, fearing what one of their belief systems knew as the Apocalypse. Several of the gods pooled their powers together, becoming the Circle of Six, and brought Humans to Gandahrah, under the condition that they not bring with them the beliefs which had so estranged parent from child and one human from another. Some of these Humans chose to stay behind, to change their world, others did as the Circle asked, and came to Gandahrah to make a new life for themselves.

Soon enough, however, the Humans came to blows among themselves, and were eventually divided into two completely different races: Gandahrahn Humans were Humans who embraced the new world, and with that choice, they enjoyed all the benefits that the gods blessed the people with.

True Humans, as they were eventually called, were most of the descendants of the Humans who were brought to Gandahrah by the Circle of Six. They steadfastly refused to abandon the brutal ways that brought their old world to the brink of destruction. All True Humans refused to believe in the gods and goddesses of Gandahrah. They instead searched their own ranks for those who did not believe in the narrow-minded dogma of their religion, which Gandahrah knew as Tekiwari, a compounding of two native terms, meaning ‘enemy’ and ‘end’. After exterminating all of their race who were not fair of skin and hair and who had eyes the color of chocolate, they resurrected their God, who become a powerful figure, mirroring the cruel-hearted, violently sexist cowardice that the True Human race had embraced, for the most part.

Belief in His power allowed God to take over the native abode of Gandahrah’s angels, which he renamed Heaven. However, some of the angels began to rebel against the divine tyrant, and were cast out. When the last of the rebel angels was cast out, he swore to God that His time would near its end when an angel, either one of those native to Gandahrah, or one of the abused, tormented creations of God, met a demon or youkai loyal to Lucifer, and found they were bound to each other across eternity. Since then, the angels living in Heaven have been only of God’s creation, as none of Gandahrah’s people wished to lose their souls by associating with Him.

Now, during the second Blood Moon of the world, two quests were about to start, that would eventually weave together and determine the fate of the Earth Quadrant. Two different journeys that would take the strangest turns imaginable.

Horitamo, a man born of the mating of two gods, was returning to Ardhann-Shyoko, the land of his birth, to recover his memories and claim his birthright. Challenging the matriarchal system that decrees mostly only women can receive any office; he will prove himself the proper ruler of the country, and ultimately, one of the world’s greatest heroes.

Meanwhile, the wandering demon Kokuen, whose wrath could raise storms and whose form could shift like water, was about to meet one of the most unexpected of allies. Scarred in body and soul by the games of God, his only sworn fealty was to Lucifer, the Lord of Hell, and he swore that he would live to see the day God was cast out of Heaven and destroyed. However, he was about to discover his long-destined soulmate would test his long-held beliefs about those from Heaven, and with that knowledge, he would set out to change the world.

Watching all of this would be Lucifer, the Prince of Hell, God’s greatest enemy, and the prophesized destroyer of the True Human race. Though known as the First Fallen Angel, he was a native to Gandahrah, and refused to see the beautiful, vibrant world of his birth fall into darkness and God’s hands. Fascinated by the lives of other Gandahrahns, Lucifer would prove to be an unexpected ally to Horitamo, testing the divine emperor’s limits, and protecting Kokuen on his journey until he found his soulmate and gained the protection of the immortal soul-bond.

However, unlike others of his world, Lucifer also had not entirely given up on hoping that there were still some among the True Humans who would take back their souls from God, and he fervently searched for those who, with guidance and time, would cast off God’s power over their lives and regain themselves. Even he could not know the outcome of his work, but he enjoyed the game of life and death as any Gandahrahn did, and his resolve to challenge God’s power would not be broken...