Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 15:07:59 GMT
Unknown Location: Unclaimed Space:
“Exemplar”
Pain. Unrelenting pain.
That was the last thing High Exemplar Gravus had experienced and felt. It had struck him like the force of a supernova, almost killing him in the process as he felt the deaths of billions of his people. And yet he was alive. Saved at the last possible moment when the Herald of Eos had jumped the Great Eye and less than a hundred vessels close by away.
“Exemplar”
The voice came again. It was soothing, enough to push through the pain that wracked his body. He could feel blood, it had flown from his mouth, eyes, ears and nose, and it had caked his alabaster white armour. He could barely breathe, that was until he felt the soft touch of a hand on his forehead. For a moment the pain receded, and he could feel his body once again, thoughts flooded his mind. And High Exemplar Gravus opened his eyes.
Stood before him was a young girl, she was no more than 10 years old, but she looked haunted. Beyond exhausted eyes met his own, her hair was matted and her dress was stained with blood, likely his own. She knelt over him, her kind voice was an anchor that Gravus used. With realisation Gravus realised that this girl before him was the Herald. Her golden aura had almost entirely disappeared, she no longer floated above the ground and she was no longer blind folded, he was impressed she had the most incredible eyes.
“High Exemplar, you are awake” She pointed out. He nodded with a groan as he slowly got up.
“What… Even happened?” Gravus asked, he was still confused and the pain was returning as he started wiping the blood from his face. The Herald was silent as she looked down at the floor.
“They’re all dead Gravus. The Bridge killed nearly everyone in our space, billions gone” She eventually said aloud. Gravus felt dread unlike anything he had ever experienced… How could Eos allow such an event to happen? So many faithful gone…
“How… How did this happen? Why did Eos not intervene? Why is your power not as it was my Herald? You no longer float above us, you no longer have his sight, has he forsaken us?” Gravus asked almost in panic. Once again the Herald place a hand on his forehead calming him slightly. The Herald then sighed, it was like the weight of a thousand worlds suddenly rested upon her shoulders and this time it was Gravus who caught her before she fell over. She smiled weakly before steadying herself again.
“Gravus I am not sure that this is the best time to tell you the truth” She replied. Gravus raised an eyebrow.
“What truth? Our people lay dead and dying, our territory is gone, our god has forsaken us and there is nothing we can do, what other truth is there?” He said angrily, the Herald watching him clench his fists and rage started to flow through the typically calm and level headed Exemplar. The Herald merely held her head in shame.
“Eos is no god. Our faith is a lie” She whispered, just enough so Gravus heard but none others on the bridge overheard. Gravus recoiled, moving away slightly, his face a mixture of confusion, rage and betrayal.
“How… How can you say such a thing? You are his herald! His divine power flows through you! Or… It did” He said aloud, others overhearing the commotion.
“Gravus, when I was born I was born with the powers you knew, I experienced divine power, and I believed in our cause without doubt, how could I not? After all I was his herald, I felt his power. However when I was brought before Lord Exemplar Fulmina he alone along with the Grand Exemplars told me the truth. Our faith is a lie, we were created as warriors for a war that will never be fought, by a man named Eos who was no more of a god than you or I, and he merely had the technology to bend the universe to his will. He created us hoping to avenge his people but when he disappeared we had no goal, no purpose. Our leaders created the Eostine to give us focus, to guide us and to enlighten other races we encountered. But the faith has been perverted along the way, now we mindlessly commit genocide while praying to a false god, the truth was leaked before the civil war, it is why we almost destroyed ourselves” She spoke aloud this time, the other Eosians around horrified in their expressions. If it had been anyone else speaking this they would have likely been killed on the spot.
“But… What of the divine power? What of the Bridge? If Tyrandis knew it was a lie then why create the bridge if it was… Doomed to fail…” Gravus asked, realising with grief what that path of thought meant.
“We as a species have psionic powers, we all know that, what we don’t know is that together our powers increase in potential, when millions of us congregate and we focus our wishes miracles happen, I was a conduit for those powers it was why I was connected to every Eosian. But…” She started to tear up “By that same premise, Tyrandis was given a task by Fulimina, it was audacious and had to be undertaken in a different dimension, hence our crusade here. Building the bridge, it was a portal as you know but a portal that leads to nowhere…” She gestured to space. Gravus nodded.
“Will collapse in on itself and explode with unimaginable power… And on that scale will be enough to kill nearly all our people… But I still don’t understand why” He asked again, still angry. Now a crowd had gathered around them listening, some weeping as the revelations were revealed.
“As I said if enough of our people believe and focus that belief we can create miracles, he aimed to sacrifice billions of our people right at the moment of their total focus, and together create Eos. They wanted to make our god real”
Shock and silence filled the bridge, only the sound of crying and barely contained anger was present.
“Then we have been lied to and used” Gravus finally said aloud. The Herald nodded. However another Eosian stepped forward.
“But… My Herald, is that what now burns its way across the galaxy?” He asked aloud, murmuring erupted after.
“What?” Gravus asked. The Herald held up a hand.
“Yes. While Eos himself is a lie, what has been created by the amalgamation of the souls of the dead now burns its way across the galaxy, trillions have been consumed by its flame, untold star systems too. It is not Eos, not as we imagined him. It is an abomination of pain and suffering, while I have lost most of my power, I can even feel the pain and torment of the creature from here” Murmuring again began as people questioned both their reality and the events that had been stated.
“My Herald, if it had been anyone else… I would have killed you where you lay.” Gravus began, silence once again kicked in. The Herald nodded and Gravus continued “But. I believe you. If what you say is true, it is almost certain Tyrandis survived to oversee this. I ask for your permission my Herald, will you sanction his execution by my hand?” The people around nodded in approval, the fires of revenge and anger filled every one of their hearts.
“Yes, High Exemplar Gravus. Lead us to a new light, so that we may finally be free, and finish this doomsday that has been caused by false faith” She replied with fervour. Gravus nodded and stood up. He hadn’t realised their conversation had been broadcast to the whole fleet, a ragtag bunch of around 212 ships, with around 156 of them being warships. But as long as they had the Great Eye itself they would prevail.
“All of you hear me now. We have been betrayed, sacrificed like simple chattle to try fulfil a false faith that we have killed and lived for all our lives. Those who we idolised were false prophets and their actions have led to the deaths of many that we know and love. There will be no grand speech, no verses from the Eostine. I simply ask that you follow me, together we will strike down those who wronged and forge a new future so that our people may know the truth.” All across the fleet confirmation orders came in clear, those surrounding Gravus themselves nodded in agreement, one or two ships in the fleet began powering weapons in defiance of the truth, but were quickly destroyed by their peers.
“Helm”
“Yes High Exemplar?”
“Take us to Capitol. We are to find Cyllis. After that… We need to find some support”
“Exemplar”
Pain. Unrelenting pain.
That was the last thing High Exemplar Gravus had experienced and felt. It had struck him like the force of a supernova, almost killing him in the process as he felt the deaths of billions of his people. And yet he was alive. Saved at the last possible moment when the Herald of Eos had jumped the Great Eye and less than a hundred vessels close by away.
“Exemplar”
The voice came again. It was soothing, enough to push through the pain that wracked his body. He could feel blood, it had flown from his mouth, eyes, ears and nose, and it had caked his alabaster white armour. He could barely breathe, that was until he felt the soft touch of a hand on his forehead. For a moment the pain receded, and he could feel his body once again, thoughts flooded his mind. And High Exemplar Gravus opened his eyes.
Stood before him was a young girl, she was no more than 10 years old, but she looked haunted. Beyond exhausted eyes met his own, her hair was matted and her dress was stained with blood, likely his own. She knelt over him, her kind voice was an anchor that Gravus used. With realisation Gravus realised that this girl before him was the Herald. Her golden aura had almost entirely disappeared, she no longer floated above the ground and she was no longer blind folded, he was impressed she had the most incredible eyes.
“High Exemplar, you are awake” She pointed out. He nodded with a groan as he slowly got up.
“What… Even happened?” Gravus asked, he was still confused and the pain was returning as he started wiping the blood from his face. The Herald was silent as she looked down at the floor.
“They’re all dead Gravus. The Bridge killed nearly everyone in our space, billions gone” She eventually said aloud. Gravus felt dread unlike anything he had ever experienced… How could Eos allow such an event to happen? So many faithful gone…
“How… How did this happen? Why did Eos not intervene? Why is your power not as it was my Herald? You no longer float above us, you no longer have his sight, has he forsaken us?” Gravus asked almost in panic. Once again the Herald place a hand on his forehead calming him slightly. The Herald then sighed, it was like the weight of a thousand worlds suddenly rested upon her shoulders and this time it was Gravus who caught her before she fell over. She smiled weakly before steadying herself again.
“Gravus I am not sure that this is the best time to tell you the truth” She replied. Gravus raised an eyebrow.
“What truth? Our people lay dead and dying, our territory is gone, our god has forsaken us and there is nothing we can do, what other truth is there?” He said angrily, the Herald watching him clench his fists and rage started to flow through the typically calm and level headed Exemplar. The Herald merely held her head in shame.
“Eos is no god. Our faith is a lie” She whispered, just enough so Gravus heard but none others on the bridge overheard. Gravus recoiled, moving away slightly, his face a mixture of confusion, rage and betrayal.
“How… How can you say such a thing? You are his herald! His divine power flows through you! Or… It did” He said aloud, others overhearing the commotion.
“Gravus, when I was born I was born with the powers you knew, I experienced divine power, and I believed in our cause without doubt, how could I not? After all I was his herald, I felt his power. However when I was brought before Lord Exemplar Fulmina he alone along with the Grand Exemplars told me the truth. Our faith is a lie, we were created as warriors for a war that will never be fought, by a man named Eos who was no more of a god than you or I, and he merely had the technology to bend the universe to his will. He created us hoping to avenge his people but when he disappeared we had no goal, no purpose. Our leaders created the Eostine to give us focus, to guide us and to enlighten other races we encountered. But the faith has been perverted along the way, now we mindlessly commit genocide while praying to a false god, the truth was leaked before the civil war, it is why we almost destroyed ourselves” She spoke aloud this time, the other Eosians around horrified in their expressions. If it had been anyone else speaking this they would have likely been killed on the spot.
“But… What of the divine power? What of the Bridge? If Tyrandis knew it was a lie then why create the bridge if it was… Doomed to fail…” Gravus asked, realising with grief what that path of thought meant.
“We as a species have psionic powers, we all know that, what we don’t know is that together our powers increase in potential, when millions of us congregate and we focus our wishes miracles happen, I was a conduit for those powers it was why I was connected to every Eosian. But…” She started to tear up “By that same premise, Tyrandis was given a task by Fulimina, it was audacious and had to be undertaken in a different dimension, hence our crusade here. Building the bridge, it was a portal as you know but a portal that leads to nowhere…” She gestured to space. Gravus nodded.
“Will collapse in on itself and explode with unimaginable power… And on that scale will be enough to kill nearly all our people… But I still don’t understand why” He asked again, still angry. Now a crowd had gathered around them listening, some weeping as the revelations were revealed.
“As I said if enough of our people believe and focus that belief we can create miracles, he aimed to sacrifice billions of our people right at the moment of their total focus, and together create Eos. They wanted to make our god real”
Shock and silence filled the bridge, only the sound of crying and barely contained anger was present.
“Then we have been lied to and used” Gravus finally said aloud. The Herald nodded. However another Eosian stepped forward.
“But… My Herald, is that what now burns its way across the galaxy?” He asked aloud, murmuring erupted after.
“What?” Gravus asked. The Herald held up a hand.
“Yes. While Eos himself is a lie, what has been created by the amalgamation of the souls of the dead now burns its way across the galaxy, trillions have been consumed by its flame, untold star systems too. It is not Eos, not as we imagined him. It is an abomination of pain and suffering, while I have lost most of my power, I can even feel the pain and torment of the creature from here” Murmuring again began as people questioned both their reality and the events that had been stated.
“My Herald, if it had been anyone else… I would have killed you where you lay.” Gravus began, silence once again kicked in. The Herald nodded and Gravus continued “But. I believe you. If what you say is true, it is almost certain Tyrandis survived to oversee this. I ask for your permission my Herald, will you sanction his execution by my hand?” The people around nodded in approval, the fires of revenge and anger filled every one of their hearts.
“Yes, High Exemplar Gravus. Lead us to a new light, so that we may finally be free, and finish this doomsday that has been caused by false faith” She replied with fervour. Gravus nodded and stood up. He hadn’t realised their conversation had been broadcast to the whole fleet, a ragtag bunch of around 212 ships, with around 156 of them being warships. But as long as they had the Great Eye itself they would prevail.
“All of you hear me now. We have been betrayed, sacrificed like simple chattle to try fulfil a false faith that we have killed and lived for all our lives. Those who we idolised were false prophets and their actions have led to the deaths of many that we know and love. There will be no grand speech, no verses from the Eostine. I simply ask that you follow me, together we will strike down those who wronged and forge a new future so that our people may know the truth.” All across the fleet confirmation orders came in clear, those surrounding Gravus themselves nodded in agreement, one or two ships in the fleet began powering weapons in defiance of the truth, but were quickly destroyed by their peers.
“Helm”
“Yes High Exemplar?”
“Take us to Capitol. We are to find Cyllis. After that… We need to find some support”