Written By
Max Parkhurst Jr.
Knowledge that one has determines the course of their actions. Right? Not always the case. Sometimes this knowledge that a person has gives them an advantage over those weaker or less knowledgeable. Knowing something that someone else does not, is not an excuse to use that against them.
"You stand accused of misuse of power against mortal men and women," said a disembodied voice. "How do you plead?"
A hooded figure stood atop a raised dias within a circular stone chamber, with dimly burning torches mounted to the outer ring of pillars. No sunlight entered this chamber, for this room stood outside the boundaries of normal reality. The stones of this chamber could be made like any other stone block, for that is how they appeared.
Looking up from the floor in front of him, a brief flash of blue is revealed as torch light penetrates the hood. Inwardly he knows that he may or may not leave this chamber on this day of judgement. Guilty? Most assuredly. Admission of this guilt? Possibly. Chances of surviving this ordeal if he were to lie? Very slim indeed. Turning his head slowly from right to left, peering into the darkness, seeing nothing there.
"I plead guilty, " said the figure. By those words he knew he admitted to the crimes he was accused of. Within this chamber sat the members of a council, charged with overseeing the unseen world. He knew that these beings, he called them beings because he had never seen them with his eyes or other senses, but he knew they existed, he could feel the power they wielded buffeting him in waves.
As the echo of his words died, silence filled the chamber for what seemed an eternity, but was probably closer to the span of a few heartbeats. Then the same disembodied voice spoke again, neither male or female. "By your admission of guilt, you do not dispute the charges." The voice paused only for a moment before continuing. "Therefor the council will now pass judgement upon you Drake Shadowstone. For your crimes against humanity you will be stripped of your power and forced to live as a mortal once again. Before you think this is a simple thing, it is not. In the course of your quest for power, your soul has grown towards godhood. However, a god you are not."
Drakes mind began to whirl uncontrollably with all of the possible punishments the council could still lay on his head. As if being stripped of all of his power was not enough and cursed to live as a mortal man again, what more could they take from him. Before his mind could even begin to wrap itself around all the possibilities the voice continued.
"The council has decided to divide your soul into eight fragments and scatter them through the various planes of existence. Each of these fragments will contain some of the knowledge you posses. These fragments will not incarnate as another mortal, they will sit in limbo. And when you, as a mortal man, incarnate in your human form, you will only posses one fragment of your soul." The voice stopped and allowed the words it has just spoken to hang in the air a moment before continuing. "You will not attempt to regain the other fragments, for if you do and manage to find and merge all of them together again, there will not be another trial, we will destroy you."
Standing there on the dias in the chamber before the council, looking at the darkness before him in defiance. A deep coldness began to settle deep within Drake, his soul was to be torn into pieces and scattered. Sudden confusion. Pain. Knowledge slipping away. He knew it had begun, the tearing apart of his soul. If Mercy were smiling on him this day it would end soon, but it was not. And the pain lasted for centuries.