ARK - Chapter 1
#1 of ARK
ARK
An original story by: Harry Brightwell
DISCLAIMER
The following story contains anthropomorphic animals (furries). It also contains violence and bad language (not necessarily in the following chapter), if you are against any of these please do not continue reading. Please do not flame though constructive criticism is appreciated.
CHAPTER I
Throughout the world, there is an essence. On the planet Heiros is the essence more prominent - Essence powers this planet, as electric powers ours. It is the source of light, of energy, and it is wanted by everyone: some want it for good, others want it for bad - all desire Essence, but only a few can truly possess Essence. For, you see, Essence is not just a source of light and energy, but it has mystical quantities that only those destined can control. One of those select few is a young fox-boy known as Archaeus.
Archaeus, or Ark as he prefers to be known, has developed this power since he was a small kit. At first, he couldn't control it but his father, Kai, studied Essence and taught him how to manipulate and control his new-found powers. Ark as of now still has much that he needs to learn, and the boy knew it.
Now, at the age of sixteen, Ark sat in his hut - finally being of age to live in his own house within his village, and the age to...the fox chuckled and blushed at the prospect of having a wife and child, but it was expected in his village, heck, it was mandatory of most of the tribesmen who still believed in the old ways.
Ark wasn't as interested as his people in the ancient ways, he would always look up at the Sky Tower, the magnificent, prosperous floating city where the rich, modern of his kind lived, the new, technological age of people on the planet. He'd seen pictures that had fallen from the Tower - pictures of 'hoverbikes' and 'airships'...it was all so new and exciting.
Ark huffed, his parents would never let him go to the Sky Tower. They didn't understand him...they never would. The fox-boy leaned forwards in his chair and rested an arm on his desk, picking up a quill from its place on the desk with his other hand and dipping it in the bottle of ink beside it. The fresh ink dripped before being brought to a piece of parchment and being used to scribble symbols onto said parchment. The ink rested on the paper and began drying, displaying the native language of the people.
Ark wrote with flourish and practised ease, his eyes followed his hand as it wrote, his ears flicked at every slight sound outside despite the fox-boy's concentration on the task at hand, his tail swished left and right to the tune of an unheard melody.
Suddenly, a knock on the hut's wooden door brought Ark out of his trance and he had to hold back a groan of irritation as his concentration was broken, the fox stood from his chair and walked across the terrain, no flooring separated the fox's feet and the ground. He opened the door and looked up at the larger, older fox in front of him.
This fox was almost the complete opposite of Ark: muscled, an look of infinite wisdom, his fur was a flaring red to Ark's calm orange, his eyes were green and sharp to the gentle blue of Ark's eyes - the eyes that reminded the older fox of the boy's mother.
Indeed, this fox was Ark's father, Kai. The fox smiled and softly ruffled Ark's head fur, much to the latter's dismay. Kai walked inside and looked around at the sketches and paintings that adorned the walls.
"You still indulge in these queer hobbies, son? I thought you would have grown out of painting." Kai admitted as he looked around, as much as he disliked the idea of his son being interested in art, he had to admit that the boy was skilled.
"Father...my hobbies are not weird. I wish to be a painter, it isn't a blasphemy or a crime, is it?" Ark said with annoyance clear in his tone. Kai sighed and looked towards the boy again.
"I suppose not, it is for you to decide - our old ways allow for you to make your own decisions. But you must wed before your next birthday." Kai said, turning stern in his tone towards the end.
"Yes, I know, father...so..." Ark began, leaning against the wall of his hut "...to what pleasure do I owe your visit? Perhaps to call me queer because I'm left-handed? Or, perhaps to enquire why I wish to go to the Sky Tower?" The fox-boy said, annoyed. His father always pressed this stupid marriage thing on him - he was really starting to get pissed off by it.
"Watch your tongue!" Kai said, almost as a reflex to the mention of that place. "You are not to talk to your elders in that manner! Your sarcasm and patronising can wait for your friends, the old ways don't prevent me from beating sense into you!"
"Shut up!" Ark shouted in response, annoyance turning to anger. "Gods, you treat me like a child father!" The fox shouted, his hands shaking.
"You are a child! A stupid, little chi--" Kai was cut off by the sting of his son's claws grazing across his cheek, causing tiny droplets of blood the release from his skin. "Son..." The older fox said in shock - he should hit him for his actions but...those eyes. Leia...
Ark was scared...but that soon turned to confusion as Kai left without another word, though he looked at the fox-boy silently one last time, eye-to-eye, before disappearing out of the house. Ark shook violently still, collapsing into the sitting position against the wall, resting his head back as tears stung his eyes and a sob escaped his throat.
Ark heard a scream and his eyes shot open to his...hut? The fox stood up quickly as he felt a lick of flames touch his back...how was he not singed by them? The flames were green and they burned everything around him. Night had fallen...had the fox been unconscious? He didn't remember...
Ark ran outside and saw the entire village in green flames, he hadn't been harmed - he was lucky. Everywhere he saw burnt corpses and fallen trees. The fox-boy ran to the centre of the village, despite earlier - the argument that still ate at his heart - he had to get his father, he couldn't lose him, not after his mother...
A shout got the fox-boy's attention, he turned his head to see a female lynx, his best friend, caught under a tree trunk.
" Oh, come on, Ark!" The lynx said with a giggle. She looked at her older friend as he dangled desperately above a lake. The ten years old fox-boy shook in fear above the lake.
" N-No way, Mira! I h-hate water...!" Ark said, clutching onto the tree branch for dear life, his heart pounding in his little chest.
" Oh, Ark..." Mira said with a roll of her eyes "...you're such a cowardly kit..."
Cowardly kit...
Cowardly...
Coward...
Ark bit his lip as his eyes darted between the centre of town not too far away and Mira who was now unconscious under a large tree branch. The fox-boy ran over to his friend and with a grunt, he lifted the large branch off of her and scooped her up into his arms running out of the village and into the forest that was untouched, far beyond the boundaries of his tribe.
The fox-boy settled Mira down and opened her palm, taking the tribesman necklace off of his neck and into her palm so she would know he had saved her, he had to go back...
Ark panted as he ran back into the village but he stopped short as he noticed that the fire had died down, the fox walked into the village and had to hold back tears at the site...his village...his home...
It was gone...
He looked around, then he remembered. The fox-boy ran again still, his heart expanding so much it was bound to burst, a feeling of desperation and declining hope as he went as fast as his legs would carry him towards the centre of the village, where the Wise Elder lived.
Ark stopped and saw the Temple of the Wise Elder had collapsed and he dared not to disturb anything that laid in the rubble. The fox-boy's heart sank as he turned. Ark looked at his family home, or rather, what remained of it. He walked closer with hesitance and he didn't need to look in the rubble for what he was searching for.
The fox-boy collapsed to his knees as he looked down at the bone hand that reached out the rubble, burned by the flames that had begun to die and fizzle around Ark. The fox-boy cried as realisation truly sunk in...now he had no one, nothing...not even a home.
Ark got up and put his hand flat against his chest, mumbling "By the Gods and Elders above us..." as a sign of resting for his father, for the Wise Elder...for his village. The fox-boy walked away but something caught his eye. A piece of paper burnt on the ground showed a symbol. He picked the paper up and gasped, it was the symbol of Sky Tower, the floating city.
The fox-boy growled. Was that meant to be funny? To be his karma biting him in the ass? Had the city done this, some cruel resident had decided to burn down his home for their own amusement? Ark put the paper in the sack that always rested on his waist, attached to his loincloth.
Ark ran into the clearing where he had put Mira and sighed in relief to see her there still, she seemed to be breathing okay, but he was still concerned. The fox eyed the lake nearby and walked to it, picking up some water in his paws and he delicately carried it over, he let it fall onto Mira's face.
The lynx girl wriggled and lurched up, gasping. She looked around in panic before locking eyes with Ark, she felt the necklace in her hand and looked at it.
"Wha-? Ark...what happened?" Mira asked as she stood up shakily, clutching her head as it throbbed. Ark walked over to her, concern clear in his face.
"The village...Mira...it's..." Ark shook and put his arms around the confused lynx. "It's gone...everyone's gone..." The fox-boy said, his voice shaking.
Mira gasped again before closing her eyes as what Ark said sunk in. "No...no!" The lynx girl shouted, pushing Ark away and running towards the village. Ark ran after her and caught up to her, seeing her now collapse on to all fours as she saw what had happened.
"Why..." Mira sobbed. "Why did this happen...?" The lynx girl barely choked out as her eyes overflowed. Ark knelled next to her and showed her the paper.
"I don't know..." Ark said, his voice still shaky. "But it has something to do with the Sky Tower." The fox-boy said. Mira looked at Ark.
"What should we do...?" Mira asked him. The lynx girl looked upwards as Ark stood, clenching his fists.
"I'm going to the Sky Tower. You'd do best to follow, it's not like there's much left here for us..." Ark said, his voice changing from being shaky with sadness to be angry, perhaps vengeful.
Mira opened her mouth to object but quickly decided against it, instead standing up and put her paw tightly into Ark's. Ark looked at her as he felt her paw clench his and nodded at her.
FOOTNOTE
The story, characters and universe included in this story are owned by Harry Brightwell. Please do not use without permission and if you are permitted to use anything in this story, please give me credit.