Heralds: The Pursuit of Darkness

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A long time ago, our world was born. But when rocks collided and combined and Earth was born, there was already one sentient being inhabiting the space where it formed. It was a being of great power and who many would think a god. Its power was not ultimate, but it was strong enough to see the humans who would one day inhabit the world, and it knew that if it remained they may not evolve. As such, it gathered its power and it unleashed it, creating a pocket dimension attached to Earth, within which it started to execute its plans. It created land and shaped it into a great plateau charged with its power, and from itself it created many beings, each given one aspect of its power and trusted to use it to protect the planet and ensure the evolution, then survival of humanity. Although the being created what it desired to create, its power was drained and as such it travelled to the middle of its world and raised a great crystal pillar out of the ground, surrounding itself in it. It begun to gather its power, a task that would take billions of years and left the planet to those it had created, who awoke in their own crystal pillars just as it fell dormant. Although the beings, who quickly came to call themselves icons, at first watched over the Earth and managed it as they had been created to, conflict started between them. Four, the icons of fire, water, earth and air, rose to the positions of leaders among the beings and for some time kept peace, but eventually they became too hungry for power. Soon, each of the four convinced other icons to join their side and a four-way war occurred, with Earth being heavily damaged in the process, the dinosaurs becoming extinct as a consequence, and peace only occurring once major damage was done by a weapon created by the icons of void and sound, leaving the icons of blood, ice and metal seemingly dead and causing the icon of spirit to create an impenetrable barrier to seal herself inside her pillar. The remaining icons realised that peace was necessary and managed to salvage some life on Earth to give their mission a chance of success, but decided afterwards to exile the icon of Void to the empty space at the edge of their dimension and to close the portal between their world and Earth, leaving them the ability only to observe. When the icons of void and sound unleashed their destructive attack, they caused an unnoticed crack in the side of the great pillar. While the original being, the creator, was not disturbed, a fragment of its power escaped before the crack repaired itself. This creation energy formed into a new being, taking the template of the icons that were created a long time before it but drawing in the energy of the land to fuel itself. In taking in the energy, the new icon witnessed the war that had occurred, and it took in their hate and made it its own. The icon of hate saw through to Earth, but it was not yet powerful enough to move through as the other icons could. So it waited and when the link was closed, it managed to use the residual creation power left in it to create a small hole which it could use to enter the world, starting to build a plan to destroy what the others worked to protect. Slowly, the icon of hate gathered its power. Only when human society was already advanced did it find enough power to go through the hole it had created. The year was 2013 and within a week it started to wreak havoc. At first, it pretended to be normal threats, but slowly the people started to get suspicious. Just as humanity realised that there was something more to their present misfortune, as did the icons. But as hard as they tried to move through the small portal the icon of hate had created to pursue it, they could not. It was then that the icon of void retuned to them, with an idea to save the Earth. The icon suggested that they each chose a human and imbued them with their power, each icon making a herald to protect the Earth and pursue the dark icon in their place. The divine icons took the advice of the exile and picked humans to represent them in their fight and as the icon of hate revealed itself, a small group of humans were given the power to defeat it.

---

Many Icons, with elements under their control ranging from what humanity had considered elements long ago to abstract concepts, gathered their power and used what they could send through the limited hole leading to Earth to select Heralds. Each Icon, the only exceptions being the three thought dead and the Icon of spirit, who was still within her self-made prison, chose a Herald to be their champion and while that person's was unconscious communicated with them. Each Icon had their own way of communicating it, but each of them told the person they had chosen of the war of the Icons, and of the threat that had accidentally been created. Some Icons made it seem like an honour to be chosen whilst some seemed deeply ashamed that they had to choose someone to save the world in their place, but all of them made it clear; if the Heralds did not defeat the Icon of Hate, humanity would be destroyed. The Icons did not only give their chosen representatives a mission, however. Each Icon gave what they could of their power to their Herald, granting them abilities based upon the element they commanded. Whilst they were told the basics of their abilities, the best ways to use their powers was something only experience could teach. In the limited period of communication the Icons managed, they were told one more thing; A location.

---

A week later.

Hyde Park, London. People were walking around as normal and although there were many things occurring which could be considered bizarre, none of them were rare occurrences. People knew that there was some unknown threat out there, which was becoming more obvious and a larger threat as time went on and more events occurred which were clearly the result of this unknown aggressor, but so far the world was yet to dissolve into panic. Many people were scared or sceptical of the ability of the world's leaders to combat this threat, but people still went on with their lives regardless.

Many people entered the park without anyone paying attention to them but what most people did not expect was the particular role given to a select few of the arrivals that day. The Heralds slowly started to arrive.

Terry Bramford looked around at the people walking around as if nothing was wrong, sighing. He could almost envy them. They didn't have to worry about this. The burden placed upon him, which was great and heroic, but also heavy. It put his loved ones in danger. And....that horrid thing had been created when he attained his power. He had been shown the consequences of what would happen should he not control it.

This is what happens if it gets loose.

Where did Terry Bramford begin, and his personae end? He had tried his best to solve as many problems as he could. He exhausted himself day in and out, and found the expressions of relief and gratitude on the faces of those he saved to be all the reward he needed. However, he always needed to be in control. He could not lose control of his powers. He could severely injure someone, or...it could get loose.

So there he sat, mulling in Hyde Park, thinking of his experiences in the first week. Both the good, and the bad.

edited 30th Jul '13 4:57:18 PM by NickTheSwing

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"Oh hey lookit 'dat!...I'm in a mood for some, look's pretty good right?!"

"I guess...though we ran out of money on the trip here, remember?"

Hmmm....wait! Right there! A tourist musta' dropped a 20$! We can use that, right?"''

James walked over to the bench nearest to him and took a seat, almost immediately spilling his ice cream onto his coat due to one of the more "violent" twitches coming out of the blue. He looked down at the quickly melting..used to be ball of chocolate and flung it off.

"I told you two that there was no need to buy it, but you did anyways. Wasting time just wastes your brain."

"Eh shaddup already. So where are we goin' again?"

James got up from the bench and looked around. Hyde...oh, he was already here. What luck. He then began a slow trek towards the center, guessing that that would be the meet-up spot. Trees, bushes, and more..park stuff. Calming.

As he walked along a randomly chosen path, he looked back upon the past week: Meeting the rude Icon who gave him the personal nickname of "Asshat", learning that swimming was out of the question, getting used to his newly gained abilities...having to spend all of his money on a flight to London...most of this recollection wasn't a happy one. But on the bright side, he did get two new people to talk to. As he neared the center(or so it seemed) of the park, he saw a guy sitting, looking around at others like a kid in timeout while his friends played on the swings, like he had to be there.

"Do you think he's in your same boat? If so, just standing there won't help much."

James walked towards him, scratched at his light beard fluff, and asked, "So which Icon did you get?"

Terry looked at the scruffy looking person that approached him, and smiled in a beaming way and reported, "The Icon of Light! So, I uh, I take it you're another Herald?"

He stood up, looking at the new guy in a quizzical kind of way.

He took in the new guy's appearance, thinking that this guy looked a bit older than him, meaning he deserved a bit of respect from the get go.

He decided to introduce himself, "My name's Terry Bramford, nice to meet you. So, uh, what Icon did you get?"

Terry then thought of how he had got there, namely, he flew out there himself. It had taken a while, and it was oddly crowded in the skies between bird flocks, planes and jets, but he made it out here okay. Hyde Park...he wondered why the Icons wanted them to meet here.

edited 30th Jul '13 7:56:35 PM by NickTheSwing

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"I guess our boats are the same model..."

"Stop makin' those dumb metaphors! Ya' make me sound smart."

"I'm Jast, Icon of Electricity." He twitched softly then patted his hair some. "I'd thought you were troubled, but apparently not. Are there any more of us here or what?

"Ask if there's an Icon of Death! I'd like to...have a private conversation with him.."

"Two things: One, you can't have "private" conversation. Two, why assume it to be a him? It could be a female."

"Quiet quiet, I'm tired of feminism for today."

edited 30th Jul '13 8:58:40 PM by Hasame

Somewhere in the middle of New Mexico

—Start Transmission—

Good evening listeners. Isn’t it a lovely night to pretend to be studying for your finals? I hope you’re all busily preparing your list of debatable excuses, courtesy of your resident debate major. I suppose you could claim you were hindered from your studying by a display of Divine Intervention, but you’re probably more likely to get away with the old “ My alarm clock was contaminated by the Radiologist down the hall— Curse those physical science majors! ”stand by. No matter what, next week is Roommate Appreciation Week, so be sure to prepare your best edible sacrifice for that aspiring lawyer/excuse maker in your life. They deserve a nice jelly doughnut, at the very least.

Thank you for tuning in to Desert College and Philosophy Radio. I’ve just been informed by the Radiology and Nuclear Science department that there has been absolutely no radioactive testing this month, and that those glow in the dark rabbits— you know, the one’s running around the literature building? Yes. Those are, apparently, a work of fiction, created as a desperate marketing campaign by the American Literature Club. And that if you continue to see the rabbits, to please report to the Psychology department immediately. Or spend the day rounding them up with your friends. I hear it’s a great bonding experience, as well as the added bonus of counting as “community service” on that Why I wasn’t in class excuse list of yours.

Now, here at Desert Radio, we try to keep political matters out of our airways, but as this seems to be a matter of the continued existence of the human race, I suppose we should dedicate some time to it. The radio station received odd transmissions last night, seemingly from a symbol of Divine Intelligence. Unfortunately, its message has been confiscated by the greater universe—the part we’ve failed to, as of yet, establish skype communication with. All I can say is that shortly after its transmission, my hands detached themselves from my wrists and began to float mysteriously around the recording studio. It took quite a lot of pleading, mental focus, and vaguely demonic chanting from our intern, Jerry, to get them back down.

Jerry is also planning a protest with his civil rights group next Sunday over the unlawful search and seizure conducted by said universe, if anyone’s interested.

I, on the other hand, regret to inform you that I shall be taking some time away from Desert Radio in what will most likely become a quest to save mankind. Prior reviewal of the history of the human race and its destruction of its home planet makes this quest somewhat dubious in its morality. However, mankind did create ice cream, so I suppose it’s worth saving.

For now.

For now, I must bid you well, dear listeners. Perhaps we will meet again. Perhaps you will be suddenly swept up into the Psychology Department, never to return. No matter what, remember to donate to your local radio station. The greater universe did quite a lot of damage to our antenna, so if you enjoy these broadcasts, be sure to lock yourself up in your dorm in preparation for the coming social apocalypse. Our hotlines to receive your generous donations are open 24 hours a day.

I will see you soon, travelers of the Void. This has been Emily Cliberg, saying good luck keeping your morality intact, and above all—Good night.

—End of Transmission—

Terry noticed how he seemed to be talking to people that were not there, and was reminded of his own problems regarding inner voices.

Well, Terry, looks like you're no longer alone in the loony bin...though I doubt he has something as severe as myself in his head.

Terry clenched his teeth a little, looking vaguely uncomfortable. Whenever The Destroyer spoke to him, it left a ringing, painful headache.

"I have not seen any others just yet. So, Jast...it looks like you suffer from similar problems to me."

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Emily couldn’t tell if the red dot sticking to the center of the map was a “you are here” sticker, or a piece of gum someone stuck to the billboard.

Optimistically, she’d assume she was standing somewhere vaguely in the center of the park, considering that that was where the vision wanted to reassemble her. She wasn’t entirely certain of the reliability of travel via atom scattering. Then again, she ‘’had ‘’ just spontaneously appeared in the middle of a soccer field.

‘’Football field.’’ She corrected herself, judging by the startling amount of tourists with union jacks on their tee shirts.

Something had literally, unconsciously scattered her atoms halfway across the globe and reassembled them perfectly. The physicist inside her squealed at the possibility.

Well, not perfectly. A snake tattoo was slithering up her right arm which had ‘’certainly’’ not been there before. She also had the distant knowledge that one of her kidneys had suddenly disappeared.

Ok, she definitely wouldn’t be trying that herself any time soon— if this was the best a godly icon could do. Emily glanced around, choosing a random direction, and started walking.

Jast looked at the teenager. He didn't know what "similar problem" was being mentioned. "I don't know what you mea-"

"He means us, idiot. He's calling us a problem."

"Oh..I don't find them to be problematic in the slightest, actually. They're fun most of the time."

Jast sat on the ground, fidgeting constantly while trying to find a comfortable spot. He couldn't find one and decided to stand back up, brushing off his coat in the process. "Did you get anything cool from the Icon? Like..."

"Ask him if he got lasers! Or if he can control the sun or sumthin'!"

"Can you shoot lasers?"

Julia walked out of Heathrow airport and looked around at England. So this is England huh? Not really sure what the big deal is about. Maybe it'll grow on me. Julia shouldered her bags and walked to the train that would take her to Hyde park. She got on the train and settled in for a short trip. As the train began to move she thought back to her initial encounter with the Icon

One week ago

Julia opened the door to her small apartment, it had been a long day and she was looking forward to some relaxation. The bounty hunter dropped down on her sofa and closed her eyes. Then she noticed an old dusty smell. She looked over at the other side of the couch and saw a skeleton with horns dressed in a simple cloth wrap around its waste and sandals.

“Hello Julia.”

Julia immediately drew her gun and pointed it at the intruder. The skeleton gestured and Julia unwillingly let go of her gun.

“Was that really necessary?”

“Who the hell are you?”

“The Icon of Bone, and I know you're thinking of attacking me, but don't bother. This is only a dream anyway.”

Julia immediately punched herself in the arm in an attempt to wake up. The Icon shook his head.

“That wont work.” Julia glared in response.

“Why are you a skeleton?”

The skeleton seemed irritated. “Because for some reason you humans are comfortable with me being a horned skeleton. Now shut up and listen.”

Julia shrugged.“Not my fault you have a sore spot.”

“I'm making you my herald, Go to Hyde Park in London so you can meet your allies.”

“I work better alone” she responded.

“Its the end of the world if you don't work with them, make an exception. Now pay attention I'm going to show you how to use the power I'm going to give you.”

Present Day

Julia was snapped out of her reverie with the announcement of the Hyde Park. She quickly gathered her things and exited the train. The herald pulled a map out of her back pocket, unfolding it and looking around before getting her bearings and following the path to the meeting point.

She arrived there and saw a couple people standing around talking to each other. Julia walked over before speaking.

“Hey, You guys the other Heralds? If so this better not be a waste of my time. It was a real pain to get over here on such short notice.”

edited 30th Jul '13 9:58:15 PM by guyshane

-dramatic music ensues-

HAHAHAHA! If only you could accept my kind of fun, Terry, then we could have a similar relationship to them.

Mocking, dark laughter that seemed to echo through Terry's mind.

"M-Mine's not fun at all...and that's putting it lightly." It seemed just thinking of whatever was going wrong with his head made Terry seem vulnerable, scared, and less confident.

The golden haired teen shook his head to get out of the depressive slump.

He then looked up and happily demonstrated his power, deciding to try not to let this get him down, "I can fly, I'm incredibly strong, and I can make these."

He created a bright golden sphere, looking remarkably like a miniature sun, in his hand, and then dismissing it.

He then looked over at the newcomer and supposed that this was another of their fellow Heralds. She seemed a little stressed and unhappy about this, but he figured it was short notice and a rather sudden development, and he doubted she could just fly over an ocean.

"Ah, yes, miss. My name's Terry Bramford, and I represent the Icon of Light."

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"Julia" She said in response. "I got pick by that damn fossil to represent him here, not that he really told me what we're supposed to be doing here."

-dramatic music ensues-

"Well, I think we were supposed to gather here and discuss anything we've seen, or they're going to send us a sign of what we're supposed to be doing."

In contrast to her behavior, it seemed Terry was perfectly happy being there.

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Don't look directly into the light. Jast should've guessed that before he did it.

"He makes disco balls...lame."

"Flying...cool. Wish I could fly, it would've made my trip up here way easier."

The newcomer then approached the conversation with a question. She sounded angry.

"Nice, the first girl in this meatbarn."

"There were only two people, stop trying to sound impressive."

Jast looked to the woman, noting her height to be about the same as his. "I'm sparky. I don't understand what you mean by "fossil" sadly. Maybe something to do with ti-"

"Fossils are bones dummy. Go for that."

"Something to do with skeletons?"

"The United States government has issued a series of weather-altering strikes on the world! In a last-ditch effort to supress her enemies, Lady Liberty has damned us all to oblivion! Prepare yourselves, city of London: the end is nigh!"

The man in the filthy suit preached to deaf ears on Speaker's Corner. Nobody bothered with hoots like him...except for, of course, hoots like him.

"Don't be stupid!" cried out another preacher, equally as dirty and with the long hair to match. "Not even the US has that kind of power. There's only one logical explanation for last week's events: Aliens!◊ Hyper-intelligent beings from the stars who've come to colonize our planet; only they first have to alter Earth's climate to suit their needs!"

"And you think I'm stupid?!" the first speaker objected, "Go back to Krypton, Zod!"

The shouting match that ensued made Dr. Mansart giggle. As he patiently savored his Frozen Pudding ice cream, the University of Chicago Professor could hardly contain the secret he had been entrusted: that these changes were neither extraterrestrial nor artificial, but divine...or at least, as close to divine as Earth was going to get.

The police started to take notice and quickly stopped the looney debate. With a small pout, Dr. Mansart left the Speakers' Corner and began wandering the park's center. His entertainment was over, but at least he still had his ice cream!

Despite the spring in his step, Russel Hardouin-Mansart was a bit on edge. He loved being back in his home country, but it was the circumstances of his visit that bothered him. He was to join a team of god-chosen individuals to save the world as he knew it; had he not gained amazing powers from an unbelievable dream, Dr. Mansart would've thrown himself in the nut house. The Icon of Reflection certainly had an odd taste in heroes; instead of choosing a second Odysseus, Samson, or Beowulf, she chose a seventy-two year old college professor.

"Well, there's nothing to do about it now," Dr. Mansart sighed, "the world needs saving, and as Edmond Burke says, 'Evil shall always triumph when good men do nothing.'" He had spoken aloud out of habit, but by sheer chance—or perhaps by Iconic intervention—Dr. Mansart mumbled these words just as he passed a group of very special young people...

edited 30th Jul '13 10:00:22 PM by TheodoreHastings

Julia glared at the twitchy one. "Yes. Skeleton, Bone. Keep up with the insults Twitch. I'm not gonna bother to stop and explain them all.

She sighed as she thought to herself. I have so many other things I could be doing right now.

-dramatic music ensues-

Emily was lost. There was no other way to put it.

Maybe I should have turned the other way? She sighed. I'll just have to ask for directions.

She saw an older man walking by, towards a group of adults. She jogged to catch up.

"Excuse me sir, do you know where the center of the park is?"

Twitch...nah, Jast was a better nickname James had decided. "So we have Light, Electricity, and Bone. What a weird combo."

As he let out the last word, he noticed an older gentlemen, jolly it seemed, walking by. Jast couldn't catch much from what he'd said, but he did hear "saving the world" somewhere in it. Could he be another Herald?

"Guy's too old, the Icons wouldn't choose someone who's about to die ta' do their dirty work. He's probably just another one've those crazies outta the park."

"As much as I hate to do this, I have to agree. It doesn't seem like a smart move to give mystical powers to a man of his..range."

And with that James shut the man out of his mind, it was rare for both sides to be in agreement. He looked back to the angry miss beside him. "What can you do? Anything special or do you just not have the need to drink milk anymore?" A twitch.

Terry just watched them argue and talk back to one another, and finally just told both of them in a rather authoritative tone, "Please do not argue and do not insult one another. Its unbecoming of people who, I think, are meant to work together as a team."

He really did not like the way this was going. They needed someone like...like Captain America or something to get them working together and not insulting each other.

Or I could enforce team work through great trials and tribulations...hehehe, you'd enjoy it Terry. You know you always do.

And with that, he suddenly shouted at something nobody else could see, "Shut up Destroyer! Shut! Up!!"

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David walked randomly through Hyde Park. He was so entirely lost, he had absolutely no idea where he was. It was hard enough finding the park, now he had to go to the center of it? The park itself was about the same size as his hometown. Not to mention the fact that everyone's constant thoughts didn't even allow him to hear his own. The music helped, though. He learned a few days ago that the music helps a lot.

Maybe one of the other Heralds is nearby, he thought. Maybe they know where it is.

He removed one of his headphones, wincing at the sudden rush of noise. It was a busy day, all right. And yet, somewhere amongst the meaningless sounds, three voices stood out from the others. They appeared to be having some sort of conversation, but it wasn't aloud. More telepaths? Or maybe...

When one of the people around him started shouting at something David couldn't see, he knew he was at the right place.

"I'm assuming you're a Herald, right?" David asked the guy who'd yelled. He seemed to not be much older than David. "Hi, I'm David, Herald of Mind. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand to shake.

i think i mostly want to see what happens when this whole place breaks apart

Shaking the offered hand firmly, Terry quickly apologizes, looking ashamed of his outburst, "Y-yeah, I'm Terry, Herald of Light, nice to meet you."

Looking down, he was grateful that it did not speak further.

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David suddenly realized shaking hands was not the best idea, but then remembered he was wearing his leather gloves. He breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"So, this Destroyer you mentioned. Is it some sort of voice in your head?"

i think i mostly want to see what happens when this whole place breaks apart

"...Yes." Terry looked down, he had not really told many people about the thing that seemed to lurk just out of sight, speaking, seemingly, to him and him alone. Whenever it spoke to him, he was left dismissing the urge to clench his head and fall to the ground. In many ways, the Destroyer was the one being he feared.

Despite tangling with murderous robbers, gangs and other violent groups, the one thing he feared was the demon locked inside his own skull. Because he knew what it would do to his loved ones if it was given the chance.

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Watching from a safe distance away, a blonde young woman in an elegant green sundress sat on a bench, a large, yellow sun hat on her head, green velvet gloves covering her hands, and a basket of picnic supplies in her lap. She also wore a smile, which would have been genuine at almost any time before this.

Her ordinary attire (or rather, her new ordinary attire) had been traded for the daintiest outfit she could get her hands upon, to look more like a tourist and less like a woman who'd just had her hair bleached golden by an entity telling her it was her destiny to help save humanity. Shifting uncomfortably, she looked down at the picnic basket, her false smile fading. She'd come here because she knew she had to, but it didn't make it any easier. If her element was something as abstract as 'heroism', what others might there be? Greed? Wrath? Either of those, if they did exist, would have reason to fight the same enemy she now found herself opposed to. But what sort of people would she be meeting?

She drew herself up, sitting straight, instead of the slouch she'd momentarily found herself in. Whatever they were like, she admonished herself, they were her allies, if only in a temporary capacity. And besides that, the group that had formed, which she hoped were the other Heralds, didn't look like anything so much as a number of people who had been pulled out of an ordinary life, the same as she had.

Except not, she sighed. This group might not even have wanted to help when they heard. Perhaps they were only here because the Icons had forced them to?

And so she quickly fell into her usual pattern; wondering why they had not been given the blessing of heroism.

And wondering if she wanted to know.

It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.

Dr. Mansart passed by the group of Heralds in peace, completely unaware that they were his future comrades. What grabbed his attention was a young woman who approached him about ten meters after he passed the Heralds.

"Excuse me sir," the young lady asked, "do you know where the center of the park is?" It was clear from her accent—and the fact that she was asking for directions—that she was a lost foreigner; most likely American.

"I do indeed!" the professor smiled, quite comfortable with speaking to people her age. "You're standing on it. Have you missed your tour group or something?"

It was right around then that a young man he'd recently passed shouted at the air; something about a "Destroyer."

The professor couldn't help but mumble, "What an odd lad."