Capili, Angelo Augustine

STEM LACAP
As They Emerge
Swords unsheathed, shields raised and their will renewed, the cavalcade fled from the makeshift encampment
as they marched across the perpetual expanse of the battle-grazed earth where once stood a flourishing
settlement turned to a mere wasteland and rubble in the southern part of Belisari. From the clear horizon, the
day has risen anew and rejuvenated, its tranquil, morning spirit resonating through the atmosphere which
refreshed the minds and bodies alike of those soldiers. But they have remained steely and tacit. For now, the
war was seemingly only but a distant thought; the enemy is still at the forefront. And the message it brings is
as apparent as the blue, plain sky: Shattered fragments of peace.

A multitude of Iadean troops trod the charred, blotched soil. One of them was Izar Rokkan, a veteran, scar-
ridden military captain in his late forties. His remaining unit of twenty men are those who have survived a
vicious ambush led by Myceans on a mountainside pass. More than half of his legion perished. Outnumbered,
he and his small contingent were forced to retreat, wishing to return to the capital to replace their losses and
regain their vitiated morale.

“We’re close!” shouted he. Recalling the fresh memory of the route as intact patches of grass on the ground
started appearing, Izar did not expect the journey to be that abrupt. The border is just nearby. His nose twitched
in reaction as the robust aroma of burnt oak lingered in the air, assuming there were campfire set at the
vicinity. In response, one of his elite subordinates, Ir’shari, released a messenger hawk from one of the
birdcages and tucked a piece of paper in its claws, relaying their arrival in advance as it soared. The cavalcade
stopped and remained, waiting for its return.

“I hope they prepare a hot, delicious soup for us.” Someone in the crowd murmured.

Yet the hawk came back with the message unmarred. The parchment stayed in its grasp. Izar felt ghastly. I
sense a terrible omen. The gates might have been attacked. The fowl was put back to its confine. “Did they not receive
it?” Exclaimed Ir’shari.

“Could it be..?” Hryza notioned. He gazed at the skyline. No visible smoke. Nor was the sound of the horns.
There was no external noise afar. Though they must not let their guard down so easily.

“Myceans could not possibly reach Belisari that fast,” Ir’shari replied.

Izar glanced to the direction where the borders would be. The peculiar silence made him as well suspicious.
“Let us see for ourselves. We’ll have to look over.” He tugged the harness back, rearing his horse upwards.
The others did so, preparing on their mounts. Once they were ready, a cry escaped his breath, leading the
party to a rushing charge.

“Onwards!”
At the behest of their riders the horses cantered swiftly as they could, scouring through the area which have
surprisingly transitioned into a lush, pristine grassland biome. Moments later, tall, stone walls have come into
sight, and between it was the gate. Izar’s heart throbbed rapidly upon seeing the view. His hands trembled as
he drew his longsword from the scabbard and the other held the strap. As they progressed closer, they
noticed the fortalices and towers were empty. There wasn’t a single man standing behind the stockades,
leaving the fort defenseless. With the sudden shift of ambience around the border outpost became bleak, he
led the advance to a full halt. The horses skid as they broke momentum and ceased moving. He unmounted
himself, and the rest followed, escorting him by foot. They looked at each other, seemingly both perplexed
and horrified expressions painted in their worn, fatigue-stricken faces.

Desolate. It was no attack, there was none. Not a trace of chaos.

“They…..disappeared?” Whispered Braun.

“We don’t know what could have happened yet.” Responded Endrin, searching the vicinage for any signs of
life.

A bellow sank them to a reflex, vigilantly crouching. Izar did not, instead rushed to where the sound
emanated from. It was Hryza, staring right infront of a body laid on the dirt pavement.

“I- I’ve never seen s-something like this!” Hryza stuttered in shock. Its eyes were completely black. Pitch
black, dark as a bottomless crevice. Izar then knelt beside it, placed two fingers somewhere in its neck,
checking for pulse.

“It’s dead.” The captain announced sorrowfully. The others joined in the scene, and shared the same
reactions. Terrified gasps, dreadful stares.

But a detail caught his eye. Something that bothered the corner of his peripheral vision. He scanned through
the armor, the torso, arms and legs, and found out several holes that were seemed to be punctured by
something sharp. But there was no blood evident. How can someone commit a doing this perfect?

“Were they struck by a sickness? Or is this a doing of a beast?” asked Ir’shari, examining the corpse.

“I am no doctor, and I cannot tell if this was a doing of someone. A spell, or a curse, maybe?” His voice
turned as hard as a stone.

“We must give him a proper burial.” Haas suggests as he lamented.

Izar stood up, facing Haas and the whole concourse. “But before we find the rest of our comrades. Search
the perime---
The ground beneath them erupted and spilt in two, and from the wide fissure emerged a behemoth. The
apparent shockwave felled Izar and the others from their feet. He tried to regain his balance and composure
but to no avail, as the ground kept collapsing.

Then the creature stopped and froze.

Looking at each and every one of them. They gaze back, only to see madness in its glowing, red eyes. A
hunger that cannot be sated. Whispers of obscenity, prayers and cries for help became mnemonic, repetitive
chants as if the world around them paused for a moment. They cannot stand nor move, petrified until the far
end of their bodies. Its flexible tendrils stretched across midair and floated around, with veins visible and
seething with potent, crepitating, electrifying violet bolts.

Just infront of the creature, arcane essences began to condensate and coalesce to a single point, creating a ball
of pure, concentrated purple energy. It reacted and crackled violently. Reaching its capacity, after a few
moments, it was flung away, multiplying into lesser static discharges by itself, hurled towards them. In a split
second, Izar’s men were reduced to ashes as soon as the streaks of light came into physical contact.

Leaving no one but him. Alone.

He tried to pick up his weapon back. His body quivered like never before, with his chest racing faster than his
breath. He did not know what to do. He left his people to die. His blood brothers. His mind was caught in a
tempest of mixed emotions that swirled endlessly. He felt powerless. And he rose, with the sword as his
remaining companion held in an iron clutch. In one last desperate stand he screamed and ran, assailing the
creature head-on. But before he can reach to it, its tendrils went first and lunged to him. In the blink of an eye
it pierced through his flesh. Pain was nothing but a distrait feeling. It appeared the creature wanted to con---

---connect through you. For eons I have wandered this world, and have assimilated enough
knowledge. I may yearn to dissect through your inferior mind but I refuse. I have surpassed the
human potential to think and have grown nigh-ominiscient. I only have established this connection
for you might have the answer. But you do not. Therefore my decision to consume you is inevitable.

Empires, kingdoms, kings, warriors, nobles, slaves. Hierarchies, strata. War. Peace. An eternal cycle
which I have observed for thousands of years. There is nothing new in this corrupt, defunct system.
And so me and my children must emerge and cleanse this so-called paradise of yours. Rebuild a
perfect utopia undefiled and free from sin.

I, Barazoth, has broken free from the shackles bound by the Overmind. I came to this place
renewed, and has reached the zenith of my evolution. So shall I prove to my kind that I am their
greatest creation, gifted along with the powers of the Realm I have ascended higher.
The creature showed Izar images of untold prophecies of a coming dark age ten thousand years later into the
future- the whole universe, the stars and the suns, and Terra itself consumed by an unknown, singular
massive entity, ceasing all forms of life to exist and be the sole end of everything.

But I will ravage this world myself. I will continuously learn and transcend beyond mortal
comprehension. You will submit to me for I am your greatest ruination.

Devour.

Evolve.

Adapt.

Almost thousands of hatchlings have come to the surface to join their broodmother. They have arisen
unimpeded, and so forth they began their quest for domination.