The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark
Read The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark Online
Authors: Marvin Amazon
The Corin Chronicles, Volume 1:
The Light and the Dark
MARVIN AMAZON
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Corinthians Publishing
Essex, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2012 Marvin Amazon
For more information about this book, visit www.marvinamazon.com.
Edition ISBNs:
Paperback 978-0-9572985-1-4
Hardback 978-0-9572985-0-7
e-Book 978-0-9572985-2-1
Cover illustration by Jay Libby
This edition prepared by The Editorial Department
7650 E. Broadway Blvd., #308
Tucson, Arizona 85710
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
To my family and friends, who made me believe that anything was possible and continued to inspire me. Thank you for your continued love and appreciation of everything I am.
Contents
5.8 The Deserts of the Dark World
And it came to pass that as the universe basked in all its glory, it inevitably turned on itself, bringing forth darkness and destruction.
He who has spanned the ages—the Creator, the Divine Deity, the God of Gods, Auphora—remained a symbol of both good and evil in the eyes of many. During the First Coming, the words from the lands spoke of peace and prosperity, but war emerged from the horizon. For two thousand millennia, the demigods—half men, half god—ruled by Auphora’s side as his loyal disciples. The War of the Immortals saw the demise of the demigods and brought forth the end of the First Coming, which signified the absolute power wielded by the Creator of all things. As the worlds continued to wither, loneliness and guilt plagued Auphora, who grew weary of the barrenness around him. The suns began to lose their shine, and the moons slowly cracked, as the dawn of the Second Coming approached. So Auphora began a re-creation of his universe. It is said that he spawned children completely in his own likeness, believing that the half-mortal element of the prior demigods had tainted them with human greed and the thirst for power. Words have never spoken of his true motives. The scriptures state that Auphora has finally achieved the peace he has so desperately sought since the demise of the demigods. But with war on the horizon once again, the question that remains unanswered is why the Second Coming, as with the First, has become synonymous with anarchy and death.
Duos visio of Auphora, The Two Faces of Auphora
Author: Wimni Prichat, The Second Coming
1.1
T
HE
B
EGINNING OF THE
E
ND
T
he shadows in the sky held no immediate significance when Kraipo Shamana first noticed them. He had witnessed many such sunsets in the past few months, each one continually reminding him how much he longed to return to his home planet of Tyranis, where he could gaze once more into the bright, blue eyes of his wife.
Kraipo’s good friend, Melot Lambont, rode at his side, his expression unchanged. Even the horse’s hoofs, kicking up water from the shifting lakes across his face, did not cause a stir. Melot’s long, dark hair remained well hidden by his helmet, but Kraipo could still catch occasional glimpses of his brown eyes, which had hardly blinked for as long as he could remember.
The noise around them increased, the farther they rode. Kraipo’s horse seemed to gain more stamina as they neared the sound, though the mare should have been slowing down from fatigue. The towering mountains surrounding the desert nearly eclipsed the two suns that shone ever so brightly on the battlefield. The lakes continued to move around the ground beneath them, as if alive. The extreme heat of the Folini Desert signified everything the planet Crazar stood for, contrasting sharply with the memories of his home planet, Tyranis—renowned for icy winds and thick forests.
The sight in the distance became clearer to Kraipo as they approached. What from a distance had appeared as a mere troop of soldiers grew into battalions, and he knew that the thousands that rode toward them were not only men, but also Akarai—the dreaded army commanded by Baran, the Red God of Corin.
Sparing a glance beneath him, he was relieved to see the water they rode over had started to move in another direction. Though it was not enough to ease his mind of the predicament they faced, it did give him courage to see the thousands of men riding beside him—men who had successfully toppled many armies at the behest of their gods. But the obstacles they faced now had never been so great.
The water beneath them had completely disappeared, moving behind and away from them across the desert. Now on dry land, Kraipo and his men rode quickly, the distance between them and the approaching army closing rapidly. Kraipo drew his sword, accompanied by a loud, recurring shout that was quickly echoed by the riders beside and behind him. The screams seemed to fade almost immediately, however, eclipsed by the louder cries of the opposing army.
Kraipo could see the Akarai now. The pitch-black armor across their bodies shone in the sunlight, occasionally blinding him. The lower halves of their faces and their bright yellow eyes remained the only body parts not shielded by their armor. The fangs that hung out of their mouths rested around their chins, and the scales on their faces added to their terrifying appearance.
Kraipo saw the fear planted on the faces of many who rode beside him, but Melot still continued, unflustered and coordinated. With a clash imminent, the sky brightened for a moment, and the shadow returned once more. Kraipo realized then that the earlier darkening of the sky was not caused by the sun’s setting but by a black and unnatural cloud covering the brighter Crazaran sun. The cloud remained, and from within it a shape began to manifest as the outline of an unnaturally tall man, wrapped in a cloak of shadow. The remaining sunlight revealed the glare of its pitch-black eyes, turning Kraipo’s stomach. Its face was gaunt, and reptilian scales covered its whole body. Black, leathery wings slowly came into view.