Angelos Odyssey Archives: The History of the Citadel: I Read online

  ANGELOS ODYSSEY ARCHIVES

  THE HISTORY OF THE CITADEL

  I

  BY

  J. B. M. PATRICK

  SHINGEN BLUE PUBLISHING

  INDIANA

  Copyright © 2017 by Joshua Brian McCabe Patrick

  Cover Art © 2017 by Shingen Blue Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Edited by J. S. Beverly

  Published in the United States of America

  First Edition

  Shingen Blue Publishing

  Indiana

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  INTRODUCTION

  3065

  The Four

  3066

  The Shogun

  The God King

  The God King's Demands

  Betrayal

  Haem's Strategies

  3067

  The Trial of Haem

  Lak's Resistance

  Shogun Vursk's Tempting

  The Blessing

  Division

  3068

  Dogolin

  The Affliction

  A City Out Of Time

  Dogolin's Speech

  Uras The Rotted

  The Hayashi God

  The Fall Of The Xatists

  The Fate Of The Algoans

  3069

  The Coming Alliance

  3070

  Isolakandi's Resolve

  Deanshe And Kelphuren

  The Fall

  3071

  The Citadel

  3072

  The Conclusion Of The Duel

  3073

  The Law And The Way

  3074

  The Rise Of Shaman Cheranis

  The Divine Pantheon

  3075

  The Corruption Of Cheranis

  3076

  The Uprising

  Furtherance Of The Way

  3077

  Deanshe And Elia'ah

  The Erring Of Shogun Vati

  The Hayashi Rebellion

  Dismay

  The Elders' Mockery

  The Decision

  3078

  The Passion Of Deanshe

  Vati's Last Stand

  The Great Disorder

  3079

  The Aftermath

  3080

  The Western Continent

  3081

  Discarding Traditions

  A Potential Revelation

  3082

  The Journey Underground

  Gorin's Vision

  3083

  The Lio Khanate

  The Shern Khanate

  The Reik Khanate

  The Kao Dai

  3084

  Kaoism/Daism

  Persecution

  The Darkened Gods

  The Reik And The Mulungu

  The General King

  A Seed Of Doubt

  Guanzai

  Wushuni

  3085

  Sho

  3086

  The Xamillion Republic

  3087

  The Wu-Guan Alliance

  Geono And The God

  3088

  3089

  3090

  The Eight Tribes

  CONCLUSION

  INTRODUCTION

  I am the Madman:

  The Old Man;

  I’m the Man far too wise,

  And the Man exposed much too soon to God’s lies.

  I am the Madman:

  In numerous fashions I’ve been,

  In endless days I have gone,

  And always come again.

  I am the Madman:

  My Book spans Time;

  My Instrument once played Its rhyme,

  And my Madness reaches those in kind.

  Those kindred spirits.

  Oh, but you’re one, too. They all want to know—ahead of their time, which itself may be never. There are some secrets not worth knowing, not worth keeping.

  I am the Old Man. The one who weeps without cease, for it is my curse.

  I am the First Musician. I turned my back on Apothé, and She on the world—nay, on all life itself. I ended the world once; I ended it in my fervor… it was a moment I thought beautiful, until the horrid So-Ene came. I contaminated the world with a new song and retreated to discover the Old. Apothé’s Voice I had changed and so with it, Fate’s.

  I was cursed to live forever. Such a bloody-bloody curse, I say. A rotten filth fit for the First Musician—the First Sinner, rather! Yes, reader, I was made to wonder… Earth, but not just Earth! I was MADE to walk the boundaries of existence with a cello that no longer produces a sound.

  I know not why I continue to weep, why my tears have not dried of their own accord. It’s been many millennia since this all began, and time tends to seep into itself. It extends forever, it extends my torture as I keep trying to play a note. Just one note that will never come…

  The Second Musician brought Restoration. When I believed I’d be doomed to watch the world decay around me as the living turned afflicted, turned to So-Ene, He came. He, with a saxophone of all things! A pathetic instrument, which he used to kill Apothé. He reset the world and prolonged my torment further. The universe was renewed, and I was left alone once more. As So-Ene, they could see me. Cured of their affliction, I vanished from their sight.

  I spend my days on the highest mountain the Earth had left. All that I can recall is some foolish war brought on by the pride of humans. They allowed demons and other sorts into a place in which they never belonged. And when THEY came, I watched the people of Earth destroy themselves in a bitter war. Misshapen clouds abounded, the atmosphere shifted and grew tainted with poison. They brought on a Second Decay without the help of their gods, and the cycle continued as it always does.

  On and on, you. You’ve got to be listening—oh god, please don’t… d-don’t go from here, if you are anywhere! Someone has to be out there; not all should swim in the abyss alone, don’t you think? If you are God, would you listen?

  Listen to what, you ask—o-or did I hear you ask? Do you know when I will finally be granted Death? I watched them cover the world like dark angels spreading through the skies; they held souls in their arms as wings pierced the azure canvases above and guided them toward an Ascension I’m not promised.

  In my solitude, I’ve Seen everything; perhaps this is the very reason why I weep without end. I’ve seen all the way to both the beginning and the end, and they both meet on the other side. You’ll see it, too, God, friend, listener… whoever.

  I’ve prepared the Annals accordingly. I’ve written every detail I can remember of how it all happened. I know of Tavon and of the Solace watching over him. Janelle, a treacherous angel, would you believe it? A Solace committing treason? Again and AGAIN! What god commands their actions—who is to be responsible for recording history?

  It must be me. It HAS to be me. The Old Man Who Weeps, weeps for what was and what shall be. Verily, let us begin with something with which you may already be familiar: the origins of the Citadel, of one
of the self-proclaimed “first world nations” following the First Rift. This a tale of the entanglement of humans and demons in the quest for power. A tale of darkness, pleasant in its realization.

  3065

  (745 P. R.)

  Before the United Clans of Wanre, before Gaspul gained its first settlements, and before Oloranto fought for control of what would later become the Dawn Federation, there was the dream of the Citadel.

  THE FOUR

  It started with the rule of Shogun Vursk, who would bring four clans together under the same banner.

  There were the Xate, who branded themselves with the symbol of twin serpents baring three heads. The Xate had come from the North, from cold, bitter mountains rendered difficult to inhabit. They wore hardened leather and added on to their armor great wings allowing them to glide from high elevations in the terrain. The Xate were known both for their spears and naginatas; their chests were broad and their bodies great in size.

  From the area directly below where the Citadel would later be constructed, there were many a ruin buried beneath soil impervious to the effects of rain and hesitant to yield much crop. Lurking in the ruins, albeit in a much smaller number than the other clans, there existed the Shogun’s people: the Kasakai. The Kasakai suffered from famine but had adapted to a much harsher climate while subsisting with fewer resources than their neighboring clans. The Kasakai people hunted and scavenged for fruits such as avocados, cherries, plums, and pomegranates. They partially excavated the ruins around them to aid in setting up traps for when demons and other beasts attacked. After their excavations, the Kasakai discovered copper ore and diamonds, both of which they traded with the Udochi.

  The Udochi had arrived from the South and primarily from the coast surrounding an irradiated sea. They hailed from a subtropical biome and were only a hundred feet east of where the Ogba tribe would later begin to thrive and produce warriors of the caliber of Ekwueme. The Ogba had roots in the Udochi, who had grown mostly immune to radiation and displayed mutations homogenized throughout their clan. The Udochi outnumbered all others and were hated by them as the “Red Demons.” Their skin was an unnatural and rather bright shade of red alongside splotches of white, but it was toughened beyond the membrane of a regular human’s. Not only that, but the Udochi were resistant to nearly all forms of disease—including those originating from unsanitary sexual deviance as well as maladies incurred through consumption of raw foods.

  Shogun Vursk believed that the Udochi could cause his own people to flourish, and he established a trade relationship with them for a time. In exchange for cut diamonds and some of the rarer delicacies possessed by the Kasakai, the Udochi assigned a protective element to help fend off their rivals, the Xate and the Algoan Pirates.

  To the West of the territory owned by the Kasakai, there stretched a sea much greater than the one to the south. It separated them from other landmasses with waters slightly less irradiated but just as toxic without proper filtration. From a region close to where Gaspul would one day be classified and mapped by Federation cartographers, there lived the Algoans. In comparison to the Kasakai, the Algoans survived on even fewer resources and instead relied on constant skirmishes with lesser tribes in order to steal supplies for themselves. As they grew to be experts in melee combat, both on foot and on horseback, the Algoans focused their efforts on designing armor from a mineral that would later be classified as “Moa.” Moa was stronger than steel but not as flexible, and so the Algoans folded it at its weakest points in order to smith a rounded armor that displayed oval ridges. These ridges extended the most at the torso’s center before decreasing in severity at the wearer’s top and bottom. Moa was light, and it allowed for dexterity of movement as well as superior protection as the Algoans set their sights on conquering the Kasakai.

  Thus, a long war was waged between four factions. The Xate had no interest in allying with anyone else, as their Tengri Nubai disallowed association with those whose Wind Horse had not fully developed. The origins of Tengrism were accepting of other religions; however, with the advent of Shaman Yağmur, the Xatist sect formed and set about destroying all ancient idols of worship. Any other form of worship was considered a form of disrespect toward the Eternal Blue Sky, which dictated all military actions as well as life choices for the Xate. The Xate believed in the strategy of building settlements into the lands of their enemies while expanding in all directions. And through continuous acts of devotion, fasting, and providing sacrifices… some of the Xate were known to become as Messengers of the Eternal Blue Sky. The Messengers were considered divine teachers and melded their souls with the spirit of the wind; despite their divinity, they maintained great hostility toward enemy clans and provoked a three-year conflict between the Xate and the rest of the known world.

  The Algoans were aware of the existence of the Xate but maintained their indifference while turning their full attention toward the Udochi and the Kasakai. Foolishly, they split their forces into sea and land units. The armada remained at Xate’s doorstep while being provided with nourishment from contingents designated as “pirates,” who robbed any vessel that dared to grace their sea. The Algoans were generally nonreligious and placed their faith in the Sacred Cavaliers, two generals commanding the land and sea forces respectively. The land force itself aimed to create a blockade between the Udochi and the Xate.

  Shogun Vursk feared bloodshed that could possibly continue for ages as every clan remained in deadlock. He desired unity while also understanding that his immediate neighbors wanted supremacy. If the Algoans could prevail, they would enslave both the Udochi and the Xate in order to create a better world for their native people. If the Udochi, who believed in a singular deity, turned violent, numerous lives would be lost on all sides. Finally, the Xate were absolutionists by nature and believed in the eradication of all nonbelievers. While in a precarious position, Shogun Vursk did the unexpected: he set about making moves to change the tide of war in his favor.

  3066

  (746 P. R.)

  THE SHOGUN

  Shogun Vursk was married to two female spouses. He’d permitted and even encouraged polyamory during his reign as part of his efforts to ensure the Kasakai’s further growth. Once the Algoans had arrived and set up defensive positions along the coast of the western sea, the Udochi felt inclined to nullify their agreement with the Kasakai in order to focus on protecting their own. Without the aid of the Udochi, Vursk feared the decimation of his people and so sent an envoy to travel only in the night so that he could propose a new plan to Udochi’s Dharmanic Leader (in the Federation language this translates to “King”).

  THE GOD KING

  Dharmanic Leader Isolakandi was the ruler of the Udochi in that time and has been the subject of several modern mythological accounts that tell of amazing feats performed by him. Oh, but the stories speak for themselves of his character!

  Isolakandi was revered as a divine being in the same way that Xate’s Messengers were revered. He remained naked except for a cloth tied round his waist and wore a pendant in the shape of a cross. Isolakandi is commonly depicted seated with the soles of his feet pressed together and below hands clasped with his thumbs separated and facing away from the admirer. His eyes are closed in deep meditation, and, indeed, he was known as one who never consumed nor imbibed while meditating through the entirety of his existence. Isolakandi was an Awakened human, and because he was Awakened, his people worshipped him as a god.

  THE GOD KING’S DEMANDS

  When the Shogun sent his first envoy, the envoy did not return. The Kasakai were met with silence for a month before he sent yet another.

  The second envoy did not return, and so Vursk sent his only two daughters to meet with the leader of the Udochi. One returned, claiming that her sister had been “Chosen,” that she had been made to directly serve Isolakandi himself. When the Shogun asked his daughter for Isolakandi’s response, she replied, “Pray for rain. If Isolakandi hears this prayer, he will make it so.”


  Shogun Vursk prayed, to the shock of his subordinates, and, on the third day, it rained. The rain itself was endless and stopped the flow of battle between his people and the Algoans. As the world around them seemed to steadily become drowned in the perpetual downpour, Vursk sent his daughter again.

  She returned with the tattoo of a great avian on her shoulder, and the daughter said to him, “Pray for the Sun. When it hovers alone, send forth two of your sons with your proposition.”

  Vursk did as he was bid. Sure enough, the rain ceased, and the desert climate returned. The Shogun sent his only two sons, who both returned a month later. When they’d arrived before his council, Vursk noticed that they’d been starved and retained only thin robes for clothing. Both of them bore the same tattoo of an elephant on their opposite shoulders.