Текст книги "Red Serpent: The Falsifier"

Автор книги: Делсон Армстронг

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“You will be sorry,” Aidan’s breath heaved. Blood surged out his mouth.

“Aidan!” Nikolas rushed into the throne room, having defeated the guards in order to get in. He embraced Aidan clutching his hand. “Where is he?”

Aidan spoke with a deep rasp, “I don’t know.”

“We’ve lost! It’s the end for us now.” Nikolas cried as blood flowed down his cheeks.

“No!” Aidan said, “It isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning.” He breathed out his last and smiled as he entered the eternal.

Alex inspected himself in the mirror. The reflection showed a young man with wavy jet-black hair and a pale clean-shaven face. His eyes were dark brown and his nose was thin and majestic, which suited his long face. He had the air of an emperor about him like that of Bonaparte or Nero, two of his favorite leaders he studied about when he majored in Political Science at the Regnum University.

In his left ear he wore a tiny hearing aid, which despite being the latest technology did not make a massive difference. Four years ago he had been left practically deaf in his left ear after a sporting accident. Whilst scoring a touchdown for his college football team he had been crushed by the opposition. In the chaos someone had accidentally trampled on the side of his head, perforating his eardrum. The doctor had told him that his hearing would never fully return and it remained a cause of constant discomfort to him.

He stood six feet tall with an athletic body. Whether walking, sitting, or just plain standing, Alex possessed an authoritative physical presence. That might have been expected, perhaps, since he was the nephew of the most powerful man in all of Regnum, General John Howe the Head of the Council.

The Council of Regnum was an oligarchy that consisted of six leaders, each representing the six inhabited continents of the Earth as it was before the Third World War of 2112 AD. Above them was John Howe, the Executive Leader. Under the Council were three other governmental bodies: the Senate (consisting of one hundred and forty four people), the Judiciary or the Supreme Court (consisting of six Justices), and the Municipal Board (consisting of six Officials) which overlooked the day to day objectives, public safety, health and other aspects of the society of Regnum. Alex knew he would inherit the leadership of the Regnum, even though it wasn’t allowed legally. But his uncle always hoped he would be elected to the Leader’s Chair.

The twenty one year old fixed his silk tie and readjusted his black suit jacket. He turned around and sighed. He unbuttoned his coat and sat down on the chair nearby, nervous because it was his graduation day and he was the valedictorian. But there was something else that had been bothering him for a long time. Everyone’s parents were going to be there but his.

Of course everyone knew that as well. Alex had never met his father and knew nothing about him, and his mother had died during childbirth. Whatever memories he had of her had long since faded with his infancy. He thought of her now, hoping beyond belief that he might one day see her again. Maybe then he would discover all the truth his uncle seemed to be hiding.

Any time Alex asked about his father or the other side of his family, John’s face would darken and his brow would furrow even more than it did when he was deep in thought at the council. Whenever he asked these kinds of questions, Alex could see a hint of nostalgia in John’s glinting eyes. Alex imagined that his uncle thought of the glories won in the War for Existence. A bittersweet expression would dominate John’s face as he talked about the old days, before the War, when there was peace. Of course Alex already knew what his uncle spoke of during these wistful speeches. He had studied it in-depth as a thesis for his degree in Political Science, on the Comparative Studies of Wars and Their Corresponding Leaders. The content of his thesis spanned all the way from ancient prehistoric myths through the revolutions and to the Four Great World Wars. It also covered a detailed history of the recent war, its causes, the Rebellion, the Last Battle, and the aftermath.

What he and everybody else knew was that after the crushing defeat at the Battle of Antarctica, the humans were forced to retreat when General Jarad Hameed’s army arrived too late. By the time they got there, the vampires were on the offensive with a larger number of forces than ever. The Rebels, those vampires who were against the Imperial Regime, were too few to hold the enemy off. By the time the secondin-command of the Rebellion arrived, General Nikolas Gareng, most of the human and Rebel Armies had perished. King Anaxagoras had won the war and the humans were to be exiled forever. The Rebels were taken as prisoners of war and their fates were to be decided by the Monarchy.

Two weeks later, a meeting took place between John and Anaxagoras’s vizier, Erik III, a duke of the imperial nobility of the vampires. It was decided that a treaty should be signed in New York, where the long-forgotten UN headquarters once stood. The humans had no choice but to agree to the exile. They were to build a spherical space station called the Regnum, the largest in history with a huge glass encasing and spanning a diameter of 5042 miles. It was to orbit the Earth and was to be at all times between the Earth and its natural moon. The vampires thought this would be the best way of containing the humans. They would be so close to home yet still unable to fight or reestablish another army. As the old saying went, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

During the peace meeting, General Howe spoke up for the Rebels in the great hall of the newly renovated building that stood in the place of the UN headquarters. Before the meeting, he spoke in private with Erik and suggested that the Rebels be allowed to live with the humans on the Regnum. After much consideration, Erik refused. He had other things in mind. John remained adamant and made a motion in the public gathering stating that the Rebels should be able to co-exist with the humans in the Regnum. Two of the seven council members agreed, while twenty percent of the Imperial Council agreed. But the rest of the Council Members, led by General Hameed, refused.

“Are you mad!” Hameed whispered to John while a break proceeded between the treaty sessions, “How can we allow that? And even if we did, do you think the others would feel comfortable with it?”

“We can’t just make them waste their efforts.” John said, “If it wasn’t for them, we would have never made it this far.”

“But they’re vampires!” Jarad protested. “They’re part of the species that tried to annihilate us! For all we know, they still want to!”

“I can’t believe what you’re saying, Jarad.” John shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Remember Nikolas!” He pressed the intercom and connected to Nikolas’s table where the Rebels sat. “Nick, will you come over here for a minute?”

Nikolas got up from his conversation with the Rebels and left their section and spoke to his old friend. “Yes, John. What is it?”

John looked pleadingly at him, “Nick, don’t you want to join us on the Regnum?”

“Of course I would...” Nikolas said. “But, the other Rebels think it best that we don’t.”

“But you know what they’ll do to you,” John said. “You’ll be tortured and killed.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” he sighed, “Look, old friend, I can manage all this; somehow I have a feeling they won’t kill us.”

“Then what do you think they’ll do?” Jarad asked.

“I don’t know. But I get the feeling we are much more useful to them alive. They’ll do anything but kill us. Maybe the king has something in store for us.”

Anaxagoras had left the Earth after the end of the war and headed for Migra, the vampires’ home planet, with a vast portion of his army led by Adiraan and a select few commanding officers. This was in order to fulfill a verse of the prophecy; though the king gave no explanation, the general understanding amongst the vampires was that he wanted to gather more forces from Migra and its allies for the day of the Falsifier and the return of the Red Serpent.

After three days of intense negotiations and failed debates, John agreed to have the Rebels remain on the Earth and all was set. John and the others buried Aidan and, with him, their past.

Alex walked to the spacious window and stared outside to see people entering the university. All the students had one or more family members with them; mostly parents.

He slammed his fist on the table. A glass of water spilled over and fell onto the white marble floor where it broke.

A knock came from outside of the changing room. “Alex?” Uncle John’s voice called in. “Everything alright in there?” He opened the door. Alex’s face was buried in his hands.

The boy’s pent up agony and turmoil emitted from him like an unhealthy glow. Ever since his mother had died, the sad loneliness had never left him and it increased year by year, remaining dormant most of the time. Due to his tough heart, Alex didn’t often show his emotions. Today, however, was proving to be a little difficult and for good reason. “Alex,” John’s fingers combed through his nephew’s hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t look at me, Uncle John. I don’t want anyone to see me this way. I have to be strong!”

“Who told you that holding things in was being strong?” said John. “The dictators of history, the emperors long gone? They did what you’re doing and look what happened to them. They all died before their time. Look,” he sighed and took a chair to sit down in front of his nephew, “I’m not saying you should show your emotions in front of the public. But, if you hold on to these feelings of hatred, anger, jealousy, lust, or as in your case, grief, it’ll deteriorate you from the inside out. Let go of your emotions and the past. Learn to be stronger than that. Cry and mourn for those you loved, but then you must make the departed happy as well. What would your mother say?”

“I don’t know what she would say.” Alex said with iciness in his voice. “I never knew her.” He got up and walked to the sink where he splashed his face with water. He remained silent and watched John through the mirror. John returned a look of equanimity. Alex turned around and wiped his face and hands. “And what about my father? Where was he?” Alex could see John’s eyes twinkle at the mention of his father.

John sighed, “Your father was a great man.”

“You say that always. I want to know who he really was. What was his name? What did he do? How did he die? I’ve asked all these questions and more and every time you give me this generic answer. All you’ve told me was that he gathered the remnant forces of the Human Army. Then, why wasn’t his name mentioned anywhere? Even if it is classified, I got a right to know, don’t I?” Alex fished out his gown from the closet and put it on. “I’ve had enough. I want to know everything.”

“Maybe later,” John said. He stood up and brushed the creases from his nephew’s gown and placed the mortarboard on his head. “I promise we’ll talk about it later.”

“But—”

“I can hear the crowd outside. They’re growing impatient. I gave the commencement speech.” John held Alex at arm’s length. His eyes looked fiercely into his nephew’s. “Now it’s your turn to give the valediction. Hurry up. I said I promise, and I mean it.” He put his arm over Alex’s shoulder and led him out. “Let’s go.”

The University Auditorium was vast not only in space but also in history. It was here that the Revolution of 3333 occurred, when University students disagreed with the Council and tried to usurp the government. At the time, Alex was five.

The Constitution of the First Year of the Regnum was signed at the auditorium. After five years it was reinstated into a new constitution and ten years later it was redrafted and made final. This was one reason why the Revolution of 3333 happened. The Second Constitution stated a life-term of the Council Leadership and of all other posts but this was redrafted after ten years when revolutionaries demanded elections of shorter terms instead of appointments with life-terms. This was satisfied excepting the clause that the Council Leadership was still made a lifelong position, including the position of the Leader’s Chair. Because of this there was an unspoken feeling of wariness amongst Council members who feared assassination attempts or perhaps even a coup. There were rumors that the top people who potentially could have led an insurrection were Jarad Hameed and four other influential members of the Council.

Introduced by Dean Michaels, Alex entered the stage and stepped up to the podium. He felt his pulse rising. He’d often experienced stage fright but had also learned how to overcome it. He scanned the audience and saw Uncle John and Grandma Howe sitting in the front row. He saw all his friends beaming at him, with a tinge of jealousy. Then he saw her.

Angel, as Alex called her, gazed up at him, easing out everything else for him.

“My fellow collegians,” he started, “dear family and friends, respected members of the board of trustees, Dean Michaels, and whoever else I’ve missed out.” Those last words might have been an outrage but everyone knew Alex’s sense of humor. He continued, “I stand before you, here on this podium, as a graduate, a very nervous one, if I may add....” The lighthearted crowd laughed. “...but nevertheless a graduate. I am proud today to be among friends and to have the honor of being Valedictorian of the Regnum University.

“I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my years at college. It’s Political Science. How many people actually know what it is, let alone want to know what it is?” The crowd laughed again and Alex cleared his throat and continued. “So I’ll just highlight a few events at the University that have shaped my life so far. Interestingly enough, my first incident was on the first day but it doesn’t concern Political Science or any other subject for that matter. It concerns Angel, the first friend I made at college and one who has been my best friend ever since.” Angel smiled at him from the front row and the color rose to her cheeks. “Sparks flew the first time we met and we continued to see each other every day that followed. And now...well, I had promised to wait till the evening, but I have to say it. We want to get married.” There were many gasps and shouts of surprise amongst the crowd. Angel hid her face in her hands. Alex looked at her parents. They smiled at him and nodded their agreement. Alex’s grandmother beamed with happiness.

With the palms of his hands Alex motioned the crowd to silence. After a few moments he went on with his speech. He told the crowd about how he met his other friends, and all the funny incidents that had happened. He spoke of how important he felt his education was, and how great Regnum University was. The speech lasted for twenty minutes.

“In all this time,” he concluded, “I have learned many things from this highly respected institution. Let me end here by wishing all my colleagues a happy farewell and a very bright future. I hope one day we will walk in my father’s and uncle’s footsteps. My dream is that we will achieve the one goal we’ve all been striving for: existence on Earth. Let us pray that day will come soon. Thank you.” The crowd burst into thunderous applause as he bowed, left the stage and shook hands with the faculty.

After the graduation ceremony, a grand party was held in the University Gardens in the evening.

John and Jarad shared a drink together at the bar, just like old times. They refilled their glasses and clanked them together.

“So tell me,” Jarad said. His swarthy skin glistened with a light layer of sweat. He wore a stylish white goatee and a long scar ran down from the upper tip of his nose to under his right eye.

John knew where Jarad was heading, and just said, “I don’t know. You tell me.”

Jarad shrugged innocently, “What would I know? I just read what’s in the news.” His voice softened, “I hear there may be another fiasco like ‘33.”

“Oh come on. Where’d you get the info?”

“Just rumors, here and there.”

John was surprised. Since when did Jarad Hameed pay heed to rumors? “I hear rumors too, you know. Like the others in the Council—”

“Richard,” Jarad blurted. “He’s not here, is he? What’d he say? Had some work, didn’t he?”

John raised an eyebrow, “Richard? He wouldn’t—” “He’s in on it.”

“People talk. Forget it.”

Jarad protested, “You’re holding Leader’s Chair. You have to put a stop to it.”

“If something did come up, I’d know. Believe me.” John emptied his drink and savored the strong taste of the whiskey. “Now, let’s forget all this. It’s my nephew’s graduation; let’s get drunk.” He let out a hearty laugh.

Jarad smiled.

John approached an idle bartender, “You there. Two more. Straight.”

The bartender nodded.

John turned to Jarad, “By the way, how’s Hassan?”

Jarad said, “Good. He sends his regards.”

John nodded, took the glasses from the bartender and handed one to Jarad. “Listen, I’ll see you in some time. Let me make sure Mom’s alright.”

Jarad said, “Yeah, sure.”

John left him and Jarad’s eyes followed him with suspicion.

Alex looked around the garden at everybody enjoying themselves and spotted Angel in one corner and approached her. “Hey,” he said and kissed her on her cheek. She smiled but Alex could see through her expression. Inside she hid a deep sadness. He looked at her for a moment, sipped his wine and waited for her to speak. He could tell from her eyes that something was urgent. “You okay?” he asked.

“Alex,” she said slowly, “we need to talk. Something has happened.”

“What?” he said, leaning forward to make sure that he could hear her properly.

She sighed and averted her gaze. “It’s difficult to say it,” she said. “Maybe now’s not the right time after all.” She cringed and bit her lip.

“You just said—” “Look, I know I have to say this but I’m sure you’ll go crazy if I do.”

He touched her hair, “Just tell me already.”

Alex saw from the corner of his eye Uncle John and his Grandma talking. From his uncle’s face, Alex could tell that he was nervous. His grandmother had her hands clasped together and was rocking them back and forth in a pleading motion. His uncle John was shaking his head. “Wait a minute, Angel. I’ll get back to you. Maybe we should talk later. Say the Flamingo, tomorrow? Lunch?” He started to walk away to see what they were talking about.

“But Alex—”

He had already left. Angel exhaled and rolled her eyes. She held back her tears and used a napkin to wipe her eyes. With her head down and her arms folded, she wandered away to be alone. She found an empty bench and sat down.

Alex went to meet his guardians. They did not notice him coming and so he overheard part of their conversation. “But John, you have to tell him,” his grandmother said.

“Mom! He wouldn’t be able to handle it if he knew everything,” John protested.

Alex walked a little slower and eyed the two with interest. Uncle John suddenly turned his head and noticed him. “Alex! Come here!” he said, affecting a cheerful tone. He went to shake his nephew’s hand and hugged him. “Congratulations! You’ve made us all proud!”

His grandmother kissed him and said, “I’m so happy that you’ve accomplished this. We all are, and I know your parents would have been as well.”

Uncle John took a long meditative sip of his drink and nodded.

“Yes,” said Alex, turning once more to John, “I believe we have much to talk about tonight.”

It was about 2:00 AM when Alex, John and Grandma Howe reached the Estate. Apart from when John spoke occasionally to the driver of the limo, the ride home was a silent one. The limo pulled up into the garage where many other vehicles were parked. When they got out of the car, the silence discomforted Alex even more. He was eager to know everything and say something but, seeing his uncle’s solemn face, he remained quiet. His grandmother looked at Alex and placated him with her kind gray eyes.

Inside the manor, John sighed and sat down on the leather chair. “Okay Alex,” he said. Alex sat down on the sofa facing his uncle. Grandma wandered off into the kitchen to prepare some coffee. “What I’m going to tell you,” continued John, “is just the beginning of what you really need to know.”

Alex remained silent.

“Now, you do know that you were the last human to be born on the Earth. In fact you were born on the day of the last battle. Of course you were too young to remember anything.”

“Okay,” Alex said. “What are you getting at, Uncle John?”

John exhaled, “I’m not the one to tell you this story. Your mother is.”

Alex looked confused. “My mother?” He felt foolish even thinking it. “Is she still alive?” he heard himself ask.

Alex’s grandmother came in with three hot cups of coffee on a tray which she placed on the table. “Well, where have you gotten till?” She asked, sitting down on the sofa next to Alex.

“Uncle John mentioned my mother.”

“What have you told him?”

“I told him about the day of his birth and I was about to tell him its significance.” John turned to Alex. “Your mother wrote you a letter and it’s this letter that reveals the truth.” Uncle John stood up and walked over to the library in the hall. He began to root around the cluttered book shelves. His fingers finally rested on an old tome which he pulled out. Suddenly the library slid open, revealing a silver door. “The letter is in here,” he called out to Alex, gesturing toward the silver door.

Alex got up, more baffled then ever. “What the hell...”

Grandma Howe took Alex by the hand and led him to the library. “Come and see what your mother left for you,” she said.

Alex felt queasy as his palms sweated. He eyed his uncle with apprehension. “Look, I...I...” he stammered.

“We have time. You want this or not?” John’s sharp eyes stuck to Alex’s.

Alex nodded, silent for some time. Then, with more confidence, he said, “I want this.”

“Now, this is a test to see if you are what we think you are,” John said.

“What test?”

“Put your hand here on this knob,” John pointed.

Alex did as he was told and heard a whirring noise from inside the entrance. He felt a tiny shock and let go.

“The first part of the test was a fingerprint scan and a small nanopin pricked your hand to check your blood,” John said.

“Why would it need to check my blood?” Alex asked.

“You’ll see,” said his uncle, smiling. His eyes glimmered with the excitement of a little child.

The door slid open, leading to a long passageway. As he approached it, the ground lit up with a pure bright light, illuminating the walls.

“Now you’ll have to go inside and see for yourself.” John said.

“You mean you’re not going to come with me?” Alex’s voice trembled.

“No,” said Grandma. “We promised your mother that you’d do this alone.”

Alex stared at his guardians, waiting for one of them to say something else.

Grandma Howe smiled. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. When you get to the end, you’ll know just what to do.”

“But how will I know where to go and what to do?”

John put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “It’s a straight path. You can’t fail.” He gave a gentle push and Alex went beyond the threshold. Instantly the door reappeared behind him, closing him inside. Now there really was no going back.

As he walked on and his eyes adjusted to the bright path, Alex wondered how this place was possible. Did the Council build this secret passage? Did they even know it existed? Maybe Uncle John was keeping secrets from the rest of them.

Fifteen minutes passed and Alex could see another silver door at the end. He quickened his pace, eager to find whatever it was that he was looking for. He checked his watch. 2:35 AM. He wondered whether his guardians were still awake, waiting for him.

He reached the second entrance and saw that it had no handle. Alex touched it to see if anything would happen. Nothing. He tutted in irritation and searched around to find a switch or key to open the door, but there was none. Then he heard the same whirring noise he had heard at the entrance. Out of nowhere, a robotic voice echoed in the corridor. “Please state your name,” it said.

“Alexander Howe III,” he replied.

“Access Denied!”

He tried his mother’s name, “Miriam Howe.”

The voice didn’t say anything. The whirring sound grew louder and faster. Finally, the voice said, “Access Denied! Three attempts left until total lockdown.” His guardians hadn’t told him anything about this. Surely they hadn’t forgotten? He tried his uncle’s name. That didn’t work either and nor did his grandmother’s name.

This was his last chance. He thought of going back to ask his relatives, but he suspected they would not hear him through the closed door. Again, he searched around for some clue. Just then, he noticed a small inscription in Cuneiform on the door. He touched it and immediately a thousand different inscriptions appeared, all in ancient languages. There was Hebrew, four different dialects of Aramaic, Sanskrit, Egyptian, Arabic, Urdu, and many others. Alex realized they all read one thing. A name. Aidan. He read it aloud and the robotic voice said, “Access Granted!” The door slid just like the first one, revealing a room. Once he entered, the door materialized again behind him.

The room was large with hundreds of books crammed on shelves all around. In the center was a small waterfall. Alex gasped. The flowing water was red. His cheeks tingled as he came to the realization that it was in fact blood. The blood flowed down from the fountainhead into a small pool.

His stomach churned. Fear crept up his skin. He turned around, paranoid that there might be some kind of monster behind him. A chill crawled up his spine. What if there were vampires here? He tiptoed cautiously over to the pool to take a closer look. But then he stopped, afraid that if he came any closer, something would jump out and kill him. He waited and looked around once again, keeping his right ear pricked for any sounds. The sound of the cascading blood echoing through the room was the only thing he could hear.

Alex wandered around the rest of the room. There were chairs and a Louis XVI style desk. There was also a coffee table, exquisitely decorated in gold and platinum, and four lounge chairs, a deep red sofa, and two recliners around the coffee table. He walked over to the bookshelf on his left. The literature ranged from science, history, political science, legends, classical, Greco-Roman literature, Shakespeare and ancient literature. There were scrolls from Alexandria, Taxila, Nalanda, Athens, Rome, and many other ancient centers of learning. Alex returned to the desk. On it there was an old book.

It was bound in leather and the cover showed a silver cross with a brass snake wound around it. In plain English, the long title read The History of the Dynasty and a Plain Translation of the Verse of the Ardemic Prophecies. Beneath this was the subtitle, Included: Supplementary Material on the Secret Histories and on the Lineage of King Anaxagoras XXIX by John Benjamin Howe. Alex opened the book to see strange writing in a language unknown to him. Next to these were the corresponding English translations. He browsed through and read the section on the Ardemic Prophecies, which had been bookmarked:

XXIX. There will come a time when the Earth’s moon shall darken. A large destructive force will strike down upon the armies of the King. Fear not for the Lord of All Bloods shall save them and destroy the impure ones that were cast out of the Earth. The False prophet known as the Falsifier is the Enemy of the King and yet he shall be called the Son of Men and Anisaei alike.

XXX. The Red Serpent, the One from whom all things came shall avenge the deaths of his servants. He shall resurrect them and make his Children immortal.

XXXI. And then I saw the One who is False and he said to me, “I have a power, unlike any other that no being has ever known nor ever shall. Only you, and soon the King shall know.” And he told me the secret, which none but the Holy King and I know. This king shall be known as the direct heir of the Red Serpent, and he shall be called Anaxagoras.

Alex stopped. So many questions rushed through his mind as he flipped through the other texts. He stopped at another bookmarked section and started to read:

A Brief Overview of the Nyrax Dynasty

The Realm of Migra was a place where people dwelt in eternal unity and selflessness. They had knowledge which was handed down by tongue and by written documents. This wisdom consisted of various philosophies, religions, cultures and all other aspects of societies across the Universe. At that time, 150000 BC, they were the most advanced civilization in the Universe. When they came to the Earth about 10000 BC their knowledge spread throughout the planet but was distorted by the inhabitants of the Earth. The lofty ideas, founded by the Migrites, were propagated in the Vedas, the laws of Hammurabi, and other treatises founded in Egypt, India, Arabia, Greece, and Atlantis.

Stories of this race abound in religious and philosophical texts. They are represented as beings from the sky and other worlds. They were given names like Devas and Asuras from the Vedas. Gods like Osiris, Isis, and Horus were actual people who were worshiped for their supernatural abilities. They came from Migra where they developed these abilities. In fact, all Migrites have these “powers.” These special methods were recorded in texts and were later absorbed into the teaching of Yoga, Pranayama, Zen Buddhism, and even the teachings of Christ. That which the great teachers taught was all handed down from the Migrites. Over thousands of years, these powers became a part of evolution, and the Migrites were born with them. The notion of spirits, demons, and other supernatural entities were added later by so called “Avatars” and “Saviors”. In truth these elements were nothing but a figment of their imaginations. There was no scientific evidence for any of it.

Before the reign of Argos, the first king of the Nyrax dynasty, there was complete chaos. The planet had been democratically ruled, but there was widespread corruption among the Senate and Consuls. One man rose to the top and declared himself Emperor. This was Markos, who ruled for a mere one thousand years; at that time, the inhabitants of Migra had an average life expectancy of two thousand years. They also had the ability to survive without food or water. They took their energy in its purest form, directly from the sun. Therefore there were no diseases or sicknesses amongst the population. Only death resulting from old age remained inevitable. In 10000 BC, however, they learned how to cheat death and taught Christ the technique much later. They were able to resurrect themselves but this technique was kept a secret by the Great Teachers. Of course, problems arose when the Kings learned to do the same and so after the reign of Anaxagoras XXV (c. 10000 BC), the kingdom deteriorated. After the reign of Alexandros II, war broke out.