The prologue chapter for Mythic High. Explains the origins of the world the story is set in, and just lays a bit of setting down.
And for some reason, the file can't be displayed? I don't know what's going on, but I'm too much of a fool with technology to be bothered with it. I'll figure it out later, my'guess, but for now, I'll just post it down here then. I'm still new (VERY NEW) to this submission thing, so I don't really know how it works yet...
Hopefully I'll figure things out as more story gets written.

Mythic High - Prologue


A very long time ago, on some planet very similar to ours, humanity wasn't doing very well. They were constantly bickering with each other about the most insignificant trifles. Who gets the new plot of land, who gets the new pretty lady, and other such things. It was an argument of ownership more than anything else. The point was that humanity was dying out, quick. And in their desperate attempts to see the opposing humans perish, all sides were destroying the landscape around them. They would butcher creatures all around them to sustain themselves, and chop down whole forests to make their camps, only to see them burnt to smolders by the enemy. It looked as if they would be just another race of, albeit resourceful, creatures that couldn't avoid extinction, due to their acute greed and territorial nature.
But then, lucky for them, a miracle happened. A peaceful human, with a shining body and patient eyes, was born into the world. His very presence on earth was supernatural. He almost seemed inhuman, how he acted. He did not kill animals to eat them, but rather, he fed them. Although it nearly ended up with him getting mauled by bears, he did it anyway. He would not cut down tree after tree to build a big, extravagant house, but rather, he toiled away to build a shoddy house out of stones. It always ended up getting knocked down by clashing human warriors, and once or twice, he only narrowly escaped death. But he did this because he felt he was driven to. He was driven to harm as little as he could. And when he saw the angry, bloodthirsty human tribes maiming and destroying one another, he felt his heart sink, while his breath would grow heavy. He wondered if this was what humanity was meant to be like. He even wondered if he could even consider himself human. He had a scrawny frame, in stark contrast to burly, jagged body of a warrior. Most men towered over him. They could pound him to a paste if they felt like it. The strange man knew this might be the case if he attempted to do what his heart told him to.
Yet, when he stepped out into the middle of a full-on charge between two particularly bitter human tribes, they did not trample him. Instead, the enemies slowed to a halt, gathering around this bizarre, shining man. They grunted and scratched their heads. They had never seen anything like him before. Even though he was unkempt from having lived a life in the wild, the man emanated a warm, pleasant glow. The battled-hardened, barbaric warriors drew closer to the man, attracted to the splendid feeling of his luster. Just as it looked like they might pounce on him, their very minds, and their very beings, changed. A complete metamorphosis from anger, hatred, and a lust for battle. Now the warriors felt something they had never felt before. Feelings of compassion, happiness, and wonder. As the violent thoughts left their war-driven minds, their bodies shined as well. The dirt and gore burned off their flesh. Their squinted, abyssal slits of eyes became widened, rounded, and full of color. Angry, clenched, rotten jaws slackened and dropped with awe. When he saw the looks on their faces, the man could only smile.
This was the point when humanity became united. No longer battling against one another, the tribes traveled across the land, led by the man who had changed them with his mere presence, so that they could stop the fighting everywhere. Whenever the man and his legion of peaceful followers came across a blood-spattered collection of warriors, they hurried into the fray. And then the fray would be no more. Over time, the entire human race came together in a bond forged by peace and understanding. With their spite laid to rest, they could focus on expanding their society, building their culture, and improving their lives. The shining man continued to live for many years, acting as a skillful leader, and solving any conflicts that arose due to humanity's still active dark side. It was as if he had the answer to any conflict written out in front of him. He could resolve anything, no matter how big or small the issue. As human knowledge grew, and their culture became a behemoth the likes of which the world had never seen, the race that had once been on death's door now seemed to have conquered death itself.
But this was not the end. Humanity would be faced with a challenge that not even the shining man could overcome. One day, humanity stumbled upon what they called an abomination. It stood up like a man, but it was covered in thick fur from head to toe, with pointed ears like a wolf, and claws instead of fingers. The man-beast claimed it had been watching humanity for as long as their leader, the shining man, had been. It offered up the fact that it could converse with them in their own language as proof. Humans were doubtful, however. They began to come up with wild theories, that the man-beast was some kind of devil, perhaps even the manifestation of their long abandoned thoughts of hatred. That last bit became widely regarded as fact, and interactions with the man-beast were forbidden. The shining man desperately attempted to convince his people to not think such things, that the man-beast was a living creature, just as they were. He tried with all his might to try and convince them to live alongside the man-beast. For you see, the shining man knew all too well who exactly the man-beast was.
The man-beast arrived alongside the shining man, long ago, when humanity still insisted on killing each other. They were equals in just about every way, with an otherworldly presence that could shake the very foundation of reality. The only real difference between them lay in their appearance. One day, the shining man recollected, a voice beckoned to him, telling him, no, ordering him to reach out to the struggling humans, and to save them from death. With his heart and the voice in his head saying the exact same thing, the shining man rushed out to the battlefield that day without question. The man-beast grudgingly informed the shining man at this very same time that they would not see each other for 50 years. Humanity would not gaze upon the man-beast or even have knowledge of it until 50 years had passed. The mysterious voice said that, if humans could live alongside the man-beast after living alongside the shining man for 50 years, then they would truly be the perfect race on the planet. The true owners, the rightful rulers of the planet.
Ownership would evade them. The shining man told this tale over and over to everyone, his closest friends, the most intelligent of scholars. But no one would heed his words. No one would listen to his voice and believe that he was telling the truth. Humanity still hunted and killed animals for food, although they were more moderate about it after achieving unity. They thought of the man-beast as an animal, and nothing more. One cold, fateful, sunny morning, a boastful man, brash and loud, strolled up to the man-beast. He held a sword in his hand. He scoffed at the man-beast, guffawing at how it was an abomination that was no different than the other animals out in the world. Raising his sword high, the man roared into the cloudless morning sky that he would slay the man-beast with one blow, and forever banish humanity's evil thoughts from before. There was little response from the man-beast. It did not scamper away like a wild animal fleeing for safety, nor did it snarl and pounce. The man-beast merely tilted its head as the sword swept through the air toward its neck. Then, in a single split-second, the morning sky was permanently stained black, and the sun was extinguished.
The shining man looked out a window, deeply troubled by the darkness. As he staggered through the streets, weakened a bit in his older age, people lined up outside with expressions of worry on their faces. Not a single one of them knew what was happening. The sky had never taken on the color of night at this hour of the day. And the blackness of the sky was too unearthly for mere night. No stars littered the blanket of black, and the silvery moon couldn't be seen, either. It was more like a swirling, ominous ocean of darkness and shadow had crept in, to rob the world of light. The shining man eventually found his way to the outskirts of the forest near the human city, where the man-beast was. The body of the boastful man had been reduced to ashes, his sword and armor strewn on the grass.
The eyes of the shining man and the man-beast met, locked together in grief and pain. The man-beast looked down to the broken armor and sword in front of him, shaking his wolf-like head, and the shining man spoke up.
"So it would seem as though humanity has failed this test," the shining man rasped with a grimace.
"It is a shame," the man-beast grumbled, looking up to see the shining man's face again. He clicked his tongue and his eyes widened. He swore he could see tears on his friend's face. "But it is only this test they have failed. The future holds more for them."
"They did not fail a thing," the shining man said, his voice torn to pieces. "The only fault here rests with me. I did not do enough for them. I did not teach them what they needed to know." The man-beast gestured behind him, to the forest. Countless yellow eyes became visible from between the shadowy trees. Though their color and shape were inhuman, they held no spite. They only held anxiety and apprehension, in direct opposition to the man-beast's look of somber relaxation. He kept that expression of leadership as he looked to the violent sky.
"Has the voice spoken to you yet?" the man-beast asked his friend. The shining man nodded, the grimace still holding strong on his wrinkled visage. The man-beast responded with a nod of his own. "Then you know that we cannot coexist. I had hoped that our people could, but…"
"It will never be," the shining man said, himself glancing at the sky, which seemed to be glaring down at the pitiful earth. "I do not understand. A mere 50 years ago, I could convince these good people to lay down their hatred. I had prevented them from slaughtering one another. They achieved great things by following me. Why can I not reach them when the matter concerns you, my friend? Please forgive me. And forgive them! They are not evil or…" The man-beast raised his clawed hand, a sign for the shining man to halt his speech. He did so immediately.
"They do not require forgiveness. I do not think ill of them. For you see, my people are the exact same way," the man-beast explained. "If we had our situation exchanged with you humans 50 years ago, the response now would have been the same. The result would have been the same. I know this for a fact, as do you." A thunderclap echoed across the empty air, making the man-beast's hair stand on end. The shining man flinched at the sudden roar of noise.
"The voice has ordered us both. Humanity is condemned to live in a world without the sun," the shining man breathed remorsefully. There wasn't a hint of warmth or hope in his tone. "And the man-beasts shall live in a world blessed by the sun, but without magic. Without the otherworldly presence that both you and I possess. The same world will be severed in two, yet it will remain whole. Physically it will remain whole, but both sides shall forever lack completeness. That is the punishment for my people's failure. For my failure." The ink-black, swirling sky trembled. It seemed to swell with a kind of sadistic joy. The tumbling blackness would never lift for humanity. The man-beast and the shining man stared at each other in silence.
A few moments passed, and the shining man gave a swift bow of respect to his friend. He turned to leave, to return to his people and inform them of the situation, but a sharp, gruff growl met his ears. He whirled around, the ever-present glow surrounding him twirling elegantly like wisps of smoke in the breeze. The man-beast was sporting a hunched frame, with a wide, fanged grin.
"Would you like to trade?" the man-beast snickered. He held out his paw of a hand to the shining man. "Our situations. The conditions for our worlds. Their curses. I could receive the magic for my people, and you humans may have the sun. Do you like that better than what you have now?" The shining man gave a flustered gesture to the city of humans, not over one mile away from the expansive forest.
"We mustn't challenge the voice. The consequences may be drastic," the shining man said sternly. "My people and I will atone for our behavior, and adapt to this world of darkness. Now I bid you farewell, man-beast. We will not meet again…"
"Hear me out, if you would," the man-beast grumbled with urgency, although it was a bit hard to tell with the rocky tone of his voice. "You humans have come so far in such a short time. There are many of your kind, many with ambitions and great knowledge. There are very few of my kind. We have lived more like beasts than men for the past 50 years. I do not believe we would thrive in a world without magic. I firmly believe that we would perish." The man-beast flicked his paw and a majestic, glowing sphere appeared above it. It burned fiercely, flames expanding and billowing from it. "I hold in my possession the sun that rightfully belongs in your world. It is my gift from the voice, whatever it is, but I willingly relinquish it to you, my friend, in exchange for your own light. Your magic. Your light for my light. What do you say to that?" The shining man shook his head with a pained slowness. He did not know how his people would react to living in a world without the sun. The bright-eyed faces might be reduced to starving, pale husks, unable to cope in a world without that brilliant light up above. He thought of his friend, and he thought of his people, all while taking hesitant steps forward, towards the man-beast.
"But what of your own kind? How do you expect them to live in a world without sunlight? In a world without warmth?" the shining man asked. He was now face to face with the man-beast, though the heat emanating from the outstretched miniature sun forced him to jump back. "Oh, I would not wish anything like that on anyone! Do you realize how you condemn your own people by making this trade? And it is humanity's burden to bear, to live on this darkened earth. My punishment, not yours." The man-beast's grin only widened. He gave a snarling chuckle, his animalistic appearance reflected in his wild voice and gleaming white fangs.
"As I said earlier, our races are the same. Your faults only prove the faults that could have been with all of us," the man-beast said. "In a way, it really doesn't matter who receives the punishment. I want your people to continue in a world that they recognize and are comfortable with. That way, they will find the path to betterment someday. Not necessarily someday soon, but someday. You expect them to seek the road to perfection living in an ominous place like this? Do not worry. The forest is dark and sunlight rarely penetrates the trees. My people have lived here for years, and have not stepped out to the light. To them, that dark sky is familiar and even, dare I say, welcoming?" The shining man remained silent and frowning, earning another laugh from the man-beast. "Take your sun from me. And in return, I'll have your magic, for my people. We'll live separately, never knowing about each other, but at the very least we'll be alive." The shining man, still looking at the grassy ground below him, felt his arm rise, cutting the warm air. It was as if his mind were acting on its own. For an instant, he thought only of the well being of his people. He thought only of the future of humanity, whose path he helped pave. These thoughts all blazed within his brain as he took the man-beast's outstretched hand, clamping down onto the fiery orb. As he did this, he uttered his final words to him.
"I can only hope that we both thrive, my friend," The shining man's entire body burned as the fire from the very sun began flooding it. The man-beast sighed, almost as though he were congratulating the shining man. The intense radiance of the sun jumped through the shining man's entire body, filling him to the brim with heat. With a burst of light and primordial energy, a burning pillar that stretched into the heavens erupted from the ground at the mouth of the forest. The pillar sliced through the grim clouded sky, through the smog of humanity's imperfection. Endless waves of white light washed over everything. Then, the world was once again illuminated by the peaceful glow of the morning sun, which hung lazily over the horizon. The shining man looked in every direction, with a bittersweet feeling about him. He looked behind him, to the city. He looked to the still dark, ominous forest in front of him. He looked to the sides to endless grassy plains. Truly the world had been reverted to what it was before the attempt on the man-beast's life had been made. But it was as if the man-beast had been slain, for the shining man could see him no matter where he looked. Looking down at his hand, the shining man noticed that his body was no longer shining. The glow that had been with him ever since his birth had disappeared, as did the friend he had been known for just as long. With a mind full of regrets, confusion, and yet also hope, the now normal, old man made his way back to the city, to lead his people into the bright, sunlit future.
Year after year after hundreds of thousands of years passed by. The planet aged, as did the people and creatures on it. The man-beast had claimed that the humans and his race of half-humans were the same, and the same certainly held true for their worlds. The two worlds, existing on top of each other without touching, were parallel in nearly every way. The man-beast's world was plagued by a restless, shadowed sky for all hours of every day. The sun still existed, as there was only one sun, but its mighty rays could not penetrate the thick shroud that floated murkily above the earth. Yet, despite this, the two worlds grew alongside each other, in exactly the same ways. The shining man did not know, but his intense magic would provide life saving heat for the world of the man-beast. The magic fattened air made plants burst into bloom, without the aid of sunlight. This would allow the worlds to grow parallel to each other unimpeded. Both humanity and the half-humans would thrive, just as the shining man had hoped. Whenever humanity made a breakthrough in technology or cultures branched away from each other, the same would happen in the man-beast's world. When wars were fought and important half-humans were born into the world of the man-beast, the same battles and figures would emerge in the world of humans. The result of this was two worlds that would one day uncover the secrets of the universe, the wonders and dangers of technology, and the gifts of knowledge and aspirations, all while remaining unaware of the other's existence.
This story takes place in the world the man-beast brought his people to. The world with a black sky, fueled by magic. Magic would not play the vital role that the man-beast believed it would, though. Not at first, at least. The man-beast and his people relied on the magic in the very beginning, when the foundation of his world was being laid down. Over time, the other half-humans he brought with him would expand in variety. Animals that humans would use only as food or beasts of burden took on an appearance between animal and human. Countless different types of half-humans sprung up in the man-beast's world. Some breeds of half-humans were born solely because of the presence of magic in the world. Mythic creatures, that humanity had no physical proof of, that could only be described in stories or dreamt of in the dead of night. As humanity advanced, so did the half-humans living in the man-beast's world. Eventually, though, magic grew stale and perhaps even obsolete to the more technologically driven half-humans. Some scholars and scientists even began to make theories attempting to disprove the existence of magic. The debate of whether or not magic existed, or whether or not it was required, raged in the half-human world.
The half-humans that were born because of the influence of magic on their bodies knew that the otherworldly force existed. It existed all around them and within their very blood. Scholars from the mystical variety of half-humans brought many sorts of arguments to the scientific community, but they were for the most part rejected. That rejection turned into uncertainty and hatred. It looked as though violence might break out between the half-humans that had magic in their blood and those who did not. Eventually, mystical half-humans were forced to retreat into obscurity out of fear. Retreating and living away from doubters of magic for the most part proved simple for the mystical half-humans. They were able to stay cloaked in obfuscation from the half-humans that wanted nothing to do with them or their special abilities. All of a sudden, it seemed as though the man-beast's treasured gift from his best friend would be wasted. This story begins in the half of the man-beast's world that shunned magic, and pretended that it did not exist…