38. Elves and Vampires | Beyond the Firmament: Tales From the Cosmos

Beyond The Firmament

Tales From The Cosmos

38. Elves and Vampires

- Written by Gift C Enyadike Jr

Lato Prit (Golden Mind) was a beautiful being, appearing to have golden skin and white wings. She had chosen a most interesting of small terrestrial worlds, dense in its forestry and just close enough to its large white sun to prevent any freezing and a core so hot it created "pools" and "rivers" of golden plasma. So, it was named Lato.

Her people, the Aura (Ah-OO-rah), resembled her angelic brethren and were blessed with great intelligence and knowledge. However, she gave them short life-spans, so that they would enter Udamu quicker. As a result, they advanced more quickly than most, with plasma serving as a great power source for their cities and technology. 

They would have names and understanding of concepts for their world and the universe that would take centuries for your kind and mine to comprehend. As a result, Lato Prit remained content to watch, having given them no real restrictions. When she wasn't watching them, she focused on fiercely fighting off the Paadlan, who seemed especially drawn.

Meanwhile, the Aura's population burst. Their lifespan was 1/3 that of a modern human, and they often had large quantities of children, sometimes having multiple sets of twins and triplets. More people meant less space and fewer resources, save for the seemingly endless supply of plasma. They certainly weren't going to heaven fast enough, so many of them thought to conquer the heavens and leave their world. 

Yes, they invented space travel. A kind you have yet to reach.

When Lato Prit saw this, she intervened harshly and grounded them. That was her new restriction. There would be no air travel of any kind. 

For this, they would resent her and teach their children to resent her and so on, until it was ingrained into their very DNA. Before this, she had taught them nothing and said nothing to them for generations, so they had forgotten her. They had forgotten Da Vaada. All they knew was that she was standing in their way. 

They needed to combat her, but how? With what power? 

"Perhaps the plasma?" whispered Sevaasi's minions, who had finally found their opening when she grounded her children and continued to hide amongst them.

This suggestion had spread far and wide. This was the source of their power; could it not empower their bodies? There were some who listened, like the Kings and Queens. 

Many died in the process, but those who survived had unbelievable strength and abilities, as well as greater longevity. However, they could now ONLY consume plasma from the planet's core, and they would have to consume it constantly to survive and fuel themselves.

But tell me, my Acolytes. Where else is plasma found? 

Blood. And to some, it tasted better. So much better.

It spread like a plague. These ravenous monsters, called the Ner An (Black Ones) fed on their kin and on the beasts of Lato with reckless abandon, forcing the Aura underground. This did not save them, because the population at large had been the subjects of the experiment and their children, their many children were born as Ner An.

Over 50 generations passed before the Aura became extinct. Lato Prit, so engrossed in fighting the Paadlan who hounded her constantly, was none the wiser. 

So, now the Ner An were the dominant species on the planet Lato. Stronger and longer-lived than their predecessors, but having forgotten their initial purpose. However, this new age would not last. The golden plasma of their world had grown toxic, and the white sun they orbited was killing them. 

It was then that a few among them had finally called to her, begging her to save them. She looked and did not see her children, who resembled the hosts of Udamu, but creatures who resembled the very Paadlan she fought. She would have treated them as such, but Da Vaada spoke.

"You of little care."

"These are not mine." 

"Because you had forgotten them and they had forgotten you. As such, they have forgotten me."

"Then I pray, Father, let me save them."

So he commanded the star to release its hold of the planet, so it could go rogue, and the Ner An would be spared the star's wrath. 

As the planet was carried away from its sun, the endless plasma darkened to a crimson shade, the colour of the blood that stained its surface. This would allow them to consume it once again. The planet would now be named Karmisi. 

She too would take the name Karmisi and that colour to reflect this.

She would be the guiding light to her people, so that they would never forget her again, and she would never forget them. 

To this day, the Ner An's population continues to dwindle, some unable to endure their long lives and being forever dependent on the red plasma, their only food source. The great cities and innovations of the Aura lie in ruin. Every so often, a century, or two, or three, a new child is born, and there is great joy on this roaming, dead world.