The Shadow of Eudaimonia

Chapter 1: The War that Started it All

ORTUS

When Wren was a child, he was often, if not always, told about the story of the Obelisks, and how they saved humanity in the ancient history of the old Earth. He was destined to be one so inculcating him was expected. And now that his term as an Obelisk was coming to an end, he was now the one expected to do the story-telling to the next Obelisk—Ophelia.

"Alright now," he said. His voice sounded tired and rough but a pleasure to the ear. "Listen Ophelia, from what I've heard, as the Inheritor, you're going to be the Obelisk of Space, you will be Vide."

"The Obelisk of Space? Why not your Obelisk, the Obelisk of Emergence?" Ophelia asked. She was just a young girl about the age of 17. The color of her hair reminded Wren of Mirtia, a native flower found in their home planet Gaia, famous for its white petals that turn to faint pink when struck by starlight at the right angle. But oddly it had never occurred to Wren that Ophelia slightly resembled him as well. After all, they are distant cousins. Maybe it was because of the fact that being the Obelisk of Emergence, Wren can change his appearance, and he did it so often that he forgot what he originally looked like.

"It is what Er—I mean Veross had decided. Anyway, let's begin with the story-telling?"

"I think I've heard enough about the powers and history of the Obelisks. I might have even memorized it,"

Wren chuckled and winced at the familiarity of Ophelia's words. It's like she stole it from his very mouth when he was her age. "I know, but it's our silly tradition. And besides, I was up all-night practicing, so you have to hear it one last time, okay?"

"Yes sir," Ophelia agreed politely, flashing him an innocent smile.

Wren smiled back before clearing his throat. "Long ago," he dramatically started, "when our ancestors from Earth have depleted the natural resources of their planet..."

Ophelia rolled her eyes yet she played along, "They moved out and fared the vastness of their galaxy, with nothing but their wit and their hope. Alas, it was not enough for them to survive."

"But when they were all about to get extinct," Wren continued, "our ancestors had tapped into an infinite amount of power and thus the original four Obelisks came to be. These Obelisks gained control over the very machinations of our Universe. And from that time and beyond, we humans had harnessed it, used it to develop our technology, and made the impossible possible, resulting in the thriving society we have today..."

Ophelia jerked back her head and looked at Wren puzzled. "Thriving? Wasn't the story say 'perfect society'?"

Wren's smile dimmed. "Well, I personally believe it isn't. Not yet at least. I'd like to say, shadows are hidden when you're blinded by a bright light. When you become Vide, you'll understand. And I hope you can make it a perfect one Ophelia. As your relative, I am expecting you to be better than me."

Ophelia clenched her fist. "How do I become a good Obelisk then?"

Wren gazed at Ophelia's pretty emerald eyes. He never thought about the answer to that question before. How do one become a good Obelisk? "I-I honestly am not sure if I could answer that. I don't think I'm a good—"

Wren was interrupted by a knock on the door. "What is it this time," he thought.

"Ortus?" the man had let himself in. Wren's heart crumpled a little bit at the sight of who it was. He scrambled from his seat and combed his tousled dark brown hair with his fingers. "Veross? Why are you here?" His face felt suddenly warm.

"We have a problem."

"Oh," the smile on Wren's face had disappeared. "It must be something extremely important then if you had visited me personally." Wren nodded at Ophelia, who instantly picked up that it was a talk between two Obelisks only.

"There's a war." Veross broke the news as soon as Ophelia left the room.

Wren folded his arms in front of his chest. "Okay, which planet?" he asked with a straight face. Although he handled a lot of wars from his term, he had an ominous feeling about this one. Maybe because a part of him already knew which one it was.

"Kepler. It has been going on for almost a year now at their planet but here it has been just a day."

Wren closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"I know, I know." Veross took a step closer to Wren.

"I told you Erik this is gonna happen. Kepler is the oldest planet since Earth, they are the most primitive. They have the tendency to do that when starved with power. Yet you, you decided one of their people to be the next Inheritor of an Obelisk, the ultimate power. You don't need Shijian to tell you that they're going to kill each other for that!"

"Yes, I know Wren, I know." he repeated with his thick accent and raspy voice, the one that Wren was very familiar with. "But this is just how it should be. It's the natural path."

Wren rolled his eyes. "Here you go again with your natural path, we're Obelisks Erik and if you haven't realized it yet, we are made to change the natural path for our people. We have done that for generations."

"No. That's not it. We're just here to protect our future but not change it as we will. We're not gods."

"Sorry Erik," Wren looked away. "I respect you but not that belief. If I had the power to save countless lives, why wouldn't I?"

"Then let's agree to disagree then." Veross wrapped his arm around Wren's shoulder which made Wren's body tense up. "I don't want you to be mad at me. It's the least that I want. But as Ortus, you should help me diffuse this war."

Wren puckered his lips. "I hate you! You know that. You know I can't say no to you. And please," Wren hushed his voice into a mellow baritone, "remove your arm. People might see."