Prologue: Chains of Time

The sounds of scrambling feet vibrated against Anjur’s horns. The dutiful moans and grunts added to an already tense atmosphere. Black crystal after black crystal was summoned, some were from eight hundred or more years ago, others were new. Anjur looked into the one in front of him. It did bother him that so many were in his space, using his time domain. But it couldn’t be helped. They were severely behind on their records for this place, and so few could use a time domain to begin with.

He summoned another black crystal and paused his work to look at those around him. Their horns in varying arrangements and shapes created a field of crowns. The varying streaks of color in their otherwise white hair made it feel like some field of flowers or array of light. Though, he doubted many would understand the feeling as they stayed cooped up here, looking into the crystals and watching through other’s eyes, just to record it down. Such was their blessing and curse.

At the sight of a bit of gold color and regal ensemble of horns, Anjur recognized Feray sitting nearby. As if sensing his stare, she looked back and then her eyes lit up in horror as their gazes met. She quickly looked back at her crystal.

He recognized that pattern. A sense of guilt, followed by fear. Her power came from her connections, unlike Anjur, and so she feared him. And it was good she did. After her last stint and being confined like that, it was deemed that without Anjur’s interference, then Mundeos would be in more dire straights. However, due to her finding the black crystals, others were searching for them across other planets. Just in case, the Daemon clan copied Deimos craft and used them against them.

“A new wave is beginning,” someone said loudly. Some eyes glanced in the direction of the observer. “Sections five and four,” the group was called, and they ceased their current work and began to summon the new crystals before they became too black. It was a race against time, which is why time domains were pivotal.

A black crystal was hard to glean information from. So if they could record it clearly, before the host shaded, then they could get a better reading on the tactics.

Anjur gritted his teeth. Deimos was one of the more impressive pupils of his, able to pull off massive amounts of time stealing without having to be present. He had learned well.

Suddenly, another Aytac rose from his place with the black crystal and moved to one of the seniors. He looked like he had seen a ghost, and put Anjur on edge. Most of the others hardly paid any attention while the senior began to scan through it.

A slam on the table caught their attention.

“Impossible!” the senior shouted, his eyes filled with furry. Anjur rose and walked over. With golden eyes staring coldly, he gazed at the crystal and caught sight of the reason for the outburst. He smirked.

“You really are too good,” he muttered, thinking of Deimos. “Though it’s not outside the scope of his capabilities.”

“You know who is behind this?” the senior shouted, his horns rattling with the ornaments that adorned them. Anjur’s own itched at the thought of wearing those.

“Course I do. He was one of my disciples,” Anjur said as he moved the crystal. Inside he could see the memories that would only come from an Elder, one of the protectors of the dryads and the world. If he was capable of this, perhaps he had joined forces with the deceased Selene. Though, they still had not located her core mind yet, so he began to doubt if she was really gone. He sighed. Instead of talking of baseless rumors, he needed to work with what was in front of him.

The room had gotten a bit more quiet and still. He could feel the stares of animosity that came from about half of those present.

“Rather than give me your time, you should focus on the issue at hand,” he gently but firmly reminded. Some returned to their work, while others rose from their chairs. The senior motioned for them to sit, and they did so begrudgingly.

“Report,” the senior said, and a few of the others came over and began to discuss their findings, along with the developing timeline of events. Anjur looked into the crystal and frowned. Would Jay make it? He was a special case, but this shading had a firm grasp. Not to mention a following. He could understand why some chose to embrace the shades, as he himself had once joined the Daemons, but he couldn’t see why go through all these lengths to keep it hidden. What grand scheme was he plotting now?

The memories of the Elder Tree in his hand wavered a bit, and Anjur peered into their depths. This crystal would take too long to record. As he watched it, something caught his eye and he changed the perspective. It was Deimos. He spoke with the Elder, warning him of what would come. Anjur looked at surrounding events and placed the day sometime before the fall and the ensuing war. It somewhat felt nostalgic looking at the familiar face of his disciple, before he became that shadowy being. But the words Deimos uttered were what glued him to the crystal. If he could look into this with detail, he might be able to ascertain the motives and objectives.

Until Deimos looked at the Elder, seeming to stare right into Anjur from the memory. His crooked smile was what froze Anjur and his hold on the crystal relaxed. It rushed out of his reach, causing him to shout in alarm. Other’s turned their gaze and the black crystals began to fly away from those who peered into them.

“Anjur!” the senior shouted, likely figuring he was responsible for this. Anjur however, felt an intense pain spread from the hand that had handled the crystal. His focus became on stopping whatever Deimos had done to him, and he sucked in the time domain, focusing it on himself. The pain dulled till it was manageable, and he moved to sit down. Everyone around him was still as he moved, and he gritted his teeth, planting his hand on the desk and inspecting it.

A mark drew itself on his hand and he called on the power of the moon, knowing it was effective against shades and their magic. He channeled it into his palm, keeping the darkness at bay.

As he did so, a silhouette appeared in front of him, and he hastily looked up to see the young Deimos before him.

“Like my gift?” he chuckled.

“Deimos,” Anjur growled. “What are you trying to achieve?”

“You’re already too late,” Deimos answered, and Anjur’s eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. He spread out his time domain, anxious to prevent what might happen next. As others entered, their eyes cast about and focused on him, with Deimos present.

“The mind realm belongs to me,” Deimos said uninterrupted.

“You fool!” Anjur gritted his teeth as the pain grew in intensity. He slumped against the desk, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. He tried to keep focused to keep up the time domain while others shouted and moved around.

Someone came over and punched his horns, which jarred his consciousness awake. He couldn’t understand them as they shouted and were about to strike again. Thankfully, someone else grabbed the aytac and prevented them from attacking again. Others tried to go after Deimos, but their attacks slipped through him. He smiled in that amused smile as he watched the chaos unfold.

Anjur knew what he was doing. Stealing more time. He unsteadily rose from his feet, clutching his pained hand.

“Stop it! You’re playing right into his plan!” Anjur shouted above the uproar of the crowd. The noise died down a bit and others began to organize the aytac present. Someone grabbed Anjur and slapped those metal bands around his neck and arms. The power of the moon faded, and the pain grew yet again, like fire burning up his arm. Anjur’s time domain shrunk, and those nearby were shocked as they watched it. Feray charged over and knocked down the guard before removing the metal.

Anjur slumped back in his chair and refocused on diminishing the pain.

He briefly got to look up at Deimos’s smirk before he dissipated. As he did so, the mark dissipated in a swirl of black smoke that resembled the shades. As it did so, the pain was suddenly gone and Anjur heaved as he caught his breath, the pain having been so overwhelming that he hadn’t been able to get enough air. Anjur removed his time domain, his mind pushed to its limits. The black crystals were completely unsensible, and new ones appeared rapidly before vanishing entirely.

The senior along with others tried to get a grasp on the situation while Anjur slumped and felt his eyes close as everything turned to black.