Stardust on the eternal grave

Characters:

Artemis, Guardian of the West - Beautiful, regal looking, dark haired pale skin woman. Has an ageless look that can be anywhere from 25 to 40 years old, but her eyes betray a wisdom and gravity that hints she’s way older.

Artemis’ Apprentices:

Bran - loves animals and nature, Daniel’s younger brother, raised together with Emily under the tutelage of Artemi. Fiery, Harsh, quick tempered. Looks anything between 20-30 years old.

Daniel - always trying his hardest to get noticed, the oldest of the three, overachiever, rational unless something that’s for his or his master’s benefit requires irrational means to get there. Light brown hair, tall, looks around 30-35 years old.

Emily - the youngest of the three, she looks up to Daniel and Bran. Composed and calm, positive, dark blond hair, petite. Looks about 20-25 years old.

Hathor, Guardian of the South - Tall, prematurely white hair and beard, sad and gentle eyes. Looks like a sage of old.

Nathan - Artemis’ second in command. Stern, tall, lanky, white-blond hair, and light eyes. Intimidating.

Selene, Guardian of the East - Petite, long bronze coloured hair, kind eyes. Looks around 30-40 years old.

Ull, Guardian of the North - warrior-like, stern, intimidating, dark hair and short beard, pale skin, always in armour and sword.

Scene I

Scene opens in a dimly lit room. Bran is sat on a sofa near a big window. The only light in the room comes from the setting sun and a table lamp on the desk to his right. There’s a door opposite of where they are set. Every wall is filled with bookshelves. The rest of the room is taken by worktables and desks of different sizes covered in glass vial, glyphs, and magical instruments of different sorts.

Loud bang opens the scene. Emily walks from the worktable to where Bran is sat. As she walks there her long skirts brush past the table in front of the sofa.

Emily: I think I am done for today (Sighs) Plus I cannot see the point with everything that’s going on.

Bran: Judging from the amount of soot on you face you’re more than done (chuckles). What’s going on? Why the long face? It’s not like you don’t cause an explosion every day (laughs).

Emily: Oh, come on Bran! It’s not my fault Artemis has been disregarding our studies lately. My mind just isn’t on potions and random concoctions. As for what’s going on, what else but total chaos?

Bran: We have been born and we’ll die in chaos. What’s new?

Emily: Are you serious? You can’t be…

Bran: I’m always serious.

Emily: Didn’t you hear what Artemis said? This isn’t a joke; we need to do something.

Bran: What do you want us to do? We are barely past the initiate phase in our training, and no one cares what we think. Do you want us parading in front of the Elders only to be laughed at and be told to grow up a few centuries before we have a say even in what we wear let alone anything to do with the order?

Emily: Still…

Bran: Still nothing! We can’t do anything, we are powerless, and even if we could why risk my life and my future for people I don’t know?

Emily: Because…

They get interrupted by the door opening. Daniel walks in the room. He throws his coat on a couch next to him and walks toward Bran and Emily.

Daniel: Hi guys. What a day…

Bran: What a week…

Emily: Hi Dan.

Daniel kisses Emily on the cheek and sits down next to her.

Daniel: anything interesting happened while I was away? Did you guys hear from Artemis again?

Bran: Not since this morning.

Emily: Nathan told me that she has gone over to Selene’s mansion to discuss the preparations for tomorrow.

Daniel: I still cannot believe that this would happen in our time…

Bran: They do say that the worst curse is to wish someone to live in interesting times (Chuckles).

Emily: Why do you always have to be like this? Don’t you care about how horrible the result of tomorrow’s talk can be? We cannot allow them to sacrifice a whole city. It’s just wrong.

Bran: Since when do you care about the city or anyone else for that matter?

Emily: What do you mean by that? You know I care… I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to the place I love. We were born here; we were tasked to protect this place and its inhabitants. Our vows are eternal.

Bran: What vows? The ones you haven’t taken yet? Should I remind you we are just initiates…

Daniel: She’s not wrong. I know the Council of the Elders is being forced into this vote and we don’t know the outcome of it yet, but we have all sworn to safeguard civilisation. Even us initiates of the Order.

Emily: We might have not taken yet the actual vows, but the last 15 years have been a daily preparation for them.

Daniel: Our whole preparation is for the day when we’ll take over the guardianship of the Metropolis’ barrier and the whole world as a result. If not for that, why are you putting up with all this?

Bran (Passionate): I cannot believe you two. Civilisation, my naïve friends, has brought nothing but destruction and chaos to our world. Humans have polluted Earth, exploited it until it’s but a husk of its former self, destroyed the night sky, and created systems that favour selected few over the many. Why would I care if fate and human greed chose to tear all this down? Let nature reclaim what’s rightfully hers I say. Earth as a whole will be all the better for it. And our vows are to safeguard life, humans are a plague. The death of the Metropolis would benefit the rest of life on this planet.

Emily: (Calmly appeasing) Bran, I do understand your concerns, but the civilisation that you so much despise has also given us art, beauty, and a complexity that rivals nature. We can’t deny the achievements that have improved our lives. We just need to find a way to live in harmony with nature.

Daniel: (Thoughtful) I see both sides. Bran, you have a point about the damage humans have caused but you can’t deny that at the same time there’s something inherently human in striving for progress and creating beauty.

Bran: (Angrily) Progress? Beauty? Look around you, Daniel. The so-called progress you’re so proud of has led to the extinction of countless species, irreversible damage to the environment, and a society built on the exploitation of the weak. Where’s the beauty in that?

Emily: But, Bran, isn’t also human nature to learn from their errors? To evolve and strive for a better future? Build on their mistakes?

Daniel: What if we acknowledge the mistakes but strive for a better future? Destruction seems extreme. We are talking about the lives of more than sixteen million people.

Bran: Extreme times call for extreme measures, Dan. The Metropolis has had its chance and failed miserably. It’s time to reset the balance, wipe the slate clean, and let nature heal itself.

Emily: (Appealing) Nature is resilient, but so are humans. They can change, adapt, create a civilisation that coexists with nature, protect the weak, live holistically with the fauna, flora, and each-other. I know the Elders probably think it’s too late to repair the damage, but I think they are wrong.

Daniel: We need to find a middle ground. Preserve what’s valuable and discard what’s harmful. Complete destruction will throw away the good with the bad.

Emily: Dan please don’t feed into his… (Bran interrupts her)

Bran: (Adamant) The middle ground has eluded us for too long, Daniel. It’s time for a drastic change. We owe it to Earth, we owe it to ourselves, and we owe our allegiance to the world outside the Metropolis which is infected by the miasma oozing from this decrepit dying civilisation.

Daniel: I hear you, and I am saddened every time I take a walk outside our sanctuary. It’s easy to forget the pain of reality when surrounded by a blissful setting. The litter covered streets, people killing each other over the smallest reason, cheating and betrayal, humans taking advantage of the weakest among them, bare survival taking over any inch of empathy or humanity, and pavements lined with the dead carcasses of animals unfortunate enough to have been trapped in the human’s grey glass and metal cemented cage. I do feel you. I do see all this. However…

The door opens

Artemis: However, we are Gardeners of Earth, Heralds of the Stars, Protector’s of the West. Similarly, to how a gardener tends their garden, we are tasked with tending to the cosmic harmony. We need to keep the order and the balance of the universe and assure that every single element lives peacefully in the interconnectedness of the universe.

Scene II

Bran, Daniel, and Emily all turn around in surprise and stand up to greet Artemis. They bow down deeply with their hands locked together forming the infinity sign: wrists crossed while the index finger touches the thumb.

Artemis: Enough of that, we are in private. There is no need for such fussing amongst us as I keep reminding you.

Emily (Walks towards Artemis and would have hugged her if decorum permitted it): Artemis! I am so so glad you’re here!

Bran: She hasn’t shut up all day asking about where you were.

Daniel: Greetings Master.

Artemis (Sits down on the couch with a sigh. Folds the rim of her long gown out of the way): I am really sorry I have been neglecting you this week. Especially today of all days. I am sure you must have been wondering about what transpired at the Assembly. The meeting with the Elders and the heads of the clans took longer than I had anticipated, or I would have asked Nathan to have overseen your studies for the day.

As if summoned, the door opens to let Nathan in. He nods to everyone, bows deeply to Artemis, and makes his way to stand next to her. He doesn’t sit down but stoically stands behind her.

Bran: So, how did the meeting go?

Emily (Shocked): Bran stop being rude! You cannot intrude like this. I apologise on his behalf Artemis.

Artemis (Laughs): I missed your bickering my little ones. It is fine to ask. I have always encouraged you to think for yourselves. What mages would you be if you cannot think critically and be daring with your curiosity.

Even Bran stands straighter after the compliment.

Artemis: Alas, I am the bearer of unwelcome news today. I would spare you the pain and trouble if I could. But I do not want to treat you like children, especially not now. I think you deserve better.

Bran: We aren’t children, and we can handle whatever it is.

Daniel: As my brash friend says, we can be trusted. And you know we would gladly give our lives to be of help to the Order and especially to you Master.

Artemis (Gets up and paces around the desks lightly brushing the magical artifacts. She stops at the library, hand trailing the spined of the books. Turns to the room): My dearest apprentices, the fate of humanity hangs in balance. I am saddened that you have to bear witness to a course of events that will not only forever change the world as you know it, but which signals a pivotal moment for the fate of our Order and magic itself.

Nathan: You have been taught about the barrier that surrounds the Metropolis and our sacred duty to provide the magic that is needed for keeping it up.

Emily: Of course, we know about this.

Bran: We have spent the last ten years being taught everything about it.

Daniel (Cuts through the unnecessary bickering which he expects Bran’s eyeroll is leading to): The barrier was erected when the pollution of the world reached critical levels. Humans used to live as one with nature. Their cities were made by elements found in the forests, or caves around them. Their hunting kept the wildlife population in check, their farming was only for the survival of the community. They were part of the cycle of life and death. Until…

Bran: Until humans became greedy. They reproduced like cockroaches, swallowed every bit of terrain available, poisoned rivers, used seas as their dumping grounds for trash, wiped out whole forests, entire species of animals and plants. And then, they cemented everything cutting themselves out of the reach of Nature. And to make matters worse, they sealed their doom when they killed the night sky, filled earth with artificial lights, obscured the stars, and cut themselves from nature. They live ignorant of the dark fate they cast upon themselves. If not for us, they would have been wiped out centuries ago. They are worse than vermin.

Artemis: Harshly put but you are right. When our ancestors noticed the miasma oozing from their cities, and that the stardust that every night renews the pact of life with all living creatures couldn’t penetrate the pollution of their cities, they decided to take drastic measures to help humanity. They placed a barrier around the biggest and more tainted human settlement, the Metropolis, imbuing it with the vital stardust that sustains life. Without this barrier, the city is as well as lost, and the humans residing in it might as well be soulless automata. But you all know this. What you might not know is that for the last one-hundred years, not even our collective might is proving enough to balance the damage they have inflicted on themselves with the anima we filter through the Barrier. (looks down saddened) Earth is trying to remedy to the repeated abuse humans have been inflicting upon it. Our spells cannot provide all the life binding anima that rains down from the heavens every nightfall. The ground itself is revolting to the repeated exploit and ill-handling.

Daniel: Are the earthquakes we’ve been experiencing recently linked to that?

Nathan: They are. We haven’t wanted to alarm you and had hoped to resolve this, but things have gotten out of hand.

Artemis: We are facing a threat more insidious than anything our Order has ever had to deal with. A threat that is serious enough to have shaken even the highest of our Order.

The apprentices exchange uneasy glances.

Bran: They deserve it, what’s the problem? Let them face the consequences of their actions. We have coddled them long enough.

Artemis: Oh Bran, I do understand your anger. Selene and Ull share it. But you are proving as short-sighted as the humans you despise. Remind me, what is our order’s holy pledge?

Bran: To guard the interconnectivity of everything.

Emily: No person, animal, or even inanimate materia can exist “in themselves” but only in relation to other things. We make sure that the holistic balance between everything is kept intact.

Daniel: We maintain the harmony of the universe; our superior knowledge and powers are in service of life.

Artemis: Well phrased Daniel. It is exactly like Daniel said, we are stewards of life itself. And as guardians of it, can you picture the consequences not only for humans but for us and magic itself if we do not honour our pledge?

Silence

Artemis: What Bran and some of my fellow Guardians are failing to see, is that without balance our whole world is doomed. This is a test, not only for humanity but for us too! How much are we willing to sacrifice to safeguard our pledge? Even Guardians are not beyond making mistakes. But at this critical juncture we cannot afford any.

Nathan: Moreover, we cannot know if beneath the veneer of justice, the Guardian of East and North aren’t infected with the darkness that possesses humans. How else can you explain someone who’s sworn to protect life suddenly advocating for its destruction?

Collective shock

Emily: I apologise for my impertinence in saying this, but Archmage Ull has always been so bloodthirsty. I always thought he didn’t resemble as much a Guardian as bloodthirsty warrior… Bran you should be careful with your temper…

Bran: How dare you? Everyone knows I’d give my life for the Order and Artemis! What are you implying?

Artemis: Enough little ones. Bran, I would not be here about to ask something that might get me killed if I did not trust you. Evil seeps slowly into humans and mages alike, even the best of us can succumb to it. And with great power comes notable risk. We are the Guardians of Existence, and our path corrupts if not walked with a pure heart and the constant reminder that we work in service to life, we are not above it. Our responsibility extends beyond ourselves and our needs and wishes, we are custodians of the entire tapestry of existence. We are pillars of order and hope against the assault of darkness. And never before has our mission required immediate action as drastic as now. Will you join me in the quest to save humanity? Whatever it requires? Whatever the cost?

Emily: Of course, Master! You know we trust you, even with our lives.

Bran and Daniel exchange glances. They nod to each other.

Daniel: We would give our lives for you; you need to but ask.

Bran: I might not agree with everything you said, but my loyalty will never waver. I am yours to command, now and forever.

Artemis (Emotional): I am so blessed with having such amazing apprentices.

Nathan: Will you swear to obey every order even if it doesn’t immediately make sense? We do not have time to waste, the congregation is tomorrow just before nightfall. There are preparations to be made.

Emily: Ask anything, we will obey.

Artemis: What I am about to ask you, I do not say lightly. I have measured every choice and every outcome and there is only one path that secures our success. I beg the forgiveness of the Sky and Earth, of the Winds and Waters, but the Light knows my motivation is pure. I am saddened to ask you pure little souls to foul your hands, but you are our only hope. It is with extreme hardship that I must require of you to administer a poisonous concoction to Selene’s libation tomorrow.

Silence falls.

Daniel (Shocked): Kill an elder?

Emily (Pales): We can’t…

Artemis: My Little ones, we are at a crossroads where mercy and indecision may prove our end. A Guardian of Life who advocates for death and destruction is a beacon of balance that’s succumbed to malevolence. We need to restore order, protect life. Our Order’s mission requires it. Our action is not driven by malice but necessity. We simply do not have time for other measures.

The three nod slightly.

Bran: Even if I might agree with Ull and Selene on principle, I am not disagreeing now because of that. I cannot condone taking the life of one of us.

Artemis pauses, her eyes locking with Bran.

Artemis: I understand your reservation, you do not think I too am in agony at the prospect of killing my sister? But we are not dealing with a mere mortal here. The threat that Selene’s actions would unleash would destroy the very fabric of existence. And someone as old and wise as she would see this, if not for being blinded by evil.

Bran: What if we join you in providing support for the Barrier and try to restrain Selene? Or maybe freeze her with an immobility spell?

Artemis (Looks down): You think all these ideas, and a thousand more did not cross my mind? I have not asked lightly what I did. Our allegiance lies beyond personal bonds to the unity that connects the very bonds of the universe. I will not allow everything to fall because of one stray mage. Are you with me?

Bran (Reluctantly): Yes, of course. Always.

The room falls in a heavy silence, everyone contemplating the gravity of what they have to face.

Bran: For the greater good than, we stand with you.

Daniel: It seems we have no choice.

Artemis: For the sake of humanity and our Order, and life itself, you have chosen well.

Nathan (Takes a vial with a green liquid out of his jacket): Tomorrow, when you hand in the ceremonial drinks, you need to make sure Selene’s is mixed with this.

Scene III

On an unmarred hill overlooking the Metropolis, from the four cardinal directions comes a procession of four groups. The leading figures look identical hidden under the heavy cloth and heavier shadows engulfing their features. What distinguishes them is a mist-like haze that emanates from under their long robes, which leaves a trail of red, blue, green, and yellow wispy cloud wherever they walk. One assistant trails each one of the Guardians. Upon reaching the top of the hill, they stop in unison and face each other. They bow and make the infinity hand signal then as one they look up at the gloomy vespertine sky.

From the East, Selene: From the blessed four corners, we meet again as per our sacred ordinance. From the East the light of creation imbues all life with its fiery breath. From the South the dew that renews life has forever cascaded on this world. From the West comes snow and hail, from the North the rain that sustains the land and it all.

From the South, Hathor: We meet today to witness and judge, the Light that cannot travel from the East, barred by poisoned vales, and the daggers of the viperous waterway, we come to alert of our imminent warning with reverence prone, that disaster is about to befall us all.

From the West, Artemis: We Guardians of the Evening Beam, Heralds of the Stars and all that’s whimsical and spiritual, declare the imminent end of the nightly realm’s boon on this damned shameful work of men. We were witnesses of renewed hope, but today we proclaim the ancient sacred pact with Life has expired. We have fought to grant the Metropolis its stolen time, but this coven of mortal evil has turned into something that even the evil dark doesn’t dare corrupt further.

From the North, Ull: It was originally written that when all of Creation had been completed except for the north corner of the world. God began to create it, but left it unfinished, stating, “whoever declares himself to be God, let him come and finish this corner, and then all shall know he is a god” There, in that unfinished corner, demons, winds, earthquakes, and evil spirits dwell, and from there they come forth to the world, as it is said, “from the north shall disaster break loose ”. It has been my clans accursed fate since ancient and primordial time to fight Dark’s minions in order to keep the mystic road to immortality open for our human charges. We have fought and bled in order to allow the vital fluidity of Starfall to recharge humanity. However, on this gloomy night, when the above can’t reflect any more in the below, we are saddened to announce that the time is nigh, and the end of this millennial vigil is about to pass. We are powerless to save what doesn’t want salvation, what’s rotten and lost beyond any hope of redemption.

The assistants come forward each with a cup, one of them – Emily – takes on her the sacred duty of pouring the ceremonial libations. No one sees that under her sleeve a small bottle appears when pouring Selene’s.

Ull: Here we are, where everything started. It is only fitting things would end here.

Selene: I am saddened, and even if you all think there is nothing left to discuss I would like to ask you one last time to reconsider. So many lives are at stake, and I truly believe that humans can change. I could not live with myself if I had the souls of millions of humans on my conscience.

Ull: Selene… We went over this…

Artemis: We cannot afford to waste time. Every second we argue, more of our magic is wasted in safeguarding what does not want saving. You know we are but a shade of our fathers and mothers. The Metropolis is swelling with miasma and corruption. The amount of magic needed to keep it up is beyond what we can spare. And there is no sign that the Metropolis is not going to expand. Leave this longer and our magic will be depleted. We will not even be able to help the actual innocent beings of Earth.

Selene: Hathor, please brother, let me speak. What about the sacred river at the heart of the Metropolis? Are you willing to doom the innocent inhabitants dwelling there?

Hathor (Looks pained): I say we vote a last time; we are Guardians of Life. Dooming millions would doom our very souls, I agree with Selene.

Artemis (Angrily): Not again. We do not have time for this indecision, we agreed. Moreover, should not you hate humans for poisoning your waterways, killing the innocent fauna in them, treating your rivers and oceans like a trash deposit?

Hathor: Still… Our sacred pledge…

Ull: There is no one here more angered with humans than I am. My clan fights daily to keep the demons at bay. Countless brave souls have died to protect who does not even know that they are being saved. However, our duty and our conscience warrants at least a final vote. Raise your hands if you think we should safekeep the Metropolis at least until we are fully certain that there is nothing to be done.

Artemis stared angrily as Hathor, then Ull, and lastly Selene raised their hands. As Selene makes to say something, she suddenly doubles over in pain, blood coming out of her eyes and mouth.

Selene (With her last breath): Sister, what have you done…

As Selene closes her eyes everyone runs to her, a blinding ray of light explodes from the barrier’s eastern side to her dying body before it dissipates in a cloud of starlight. As this happens, earth starts shaking, the sky darkens, and the screams of millions cascade into the chasm that swallow the Metropolis.

Emily (Shrieking): What did you make me do? Why Master?

Everyone turns to Artemis.

Ull: You would kill your own blood? I never expected this of you…

Hathor: You doomed us all. How can you be so blind?

Artemis: I did what had to be done. What you lacked the courage to do. Our goodwill made us slaves to human folly. We were feeding their greed and folly by covering all their mistakes! This way, the Metropolis is lost, but Earth is saved. Millions died to allow billions a chance for a better life. How can you not see this?

Hathor: How can you act as if you are better than everyone else? We are Guardian of Life, not angels of death. What right do you have?

Ull: What about Selene? She was you blood, your equal, did she deserve whatever you did to her? What about the poor soul who call you master? What about corrupting our future, destroying our present, and negating our past?

Artemis: Necessity drove my actions; I do not care what happens to me as long as our charges have a chance for a better tomorrow. A future in which we are not slaves to short-sightedness and stupidity. I could feel myself become weaker by the day. The magic that is our birthright dissipating into a coven of deprivation and weakness. My family was tasked since time immemorial as Heralds of the Stars, the life-giving heavens. What stars though? When have you last seen anything but human artifices in the night sky? My soul cries over the destruction and death that precedes humans everywhere they go. I could not stand for it anymore, let alone see myself, as well as you my brothers, and the future generation waste away for nothing. By condoning human cruelty, we have become complicit to it. We had the power to stop it, but our goodwill and our code stood in the way. One of us had to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, and that heavy task fell on me. I loved Selene more than life, but she would not have understood. (Turning to Emily) Forgive the deceit, little one. Never have I done anything to harm you, all my actions came from the love I have for you. You deserve better. You are going to become guardians of a better, purer world. That is my last gift to you.

As she said this, she took out a knife and kills herself.

Narrator: Reality fades out under the echo of the death screams of millions, blood of immortals, and the uncertainty of a forked road which leads to a new future, for humans and earth and their Guardians.

At the beginning, after the betrayal,

Darkness descended in an absolute veil. We are it; it us. There is no beginning, no end; everything just is… Absolute fulfilment; no borders, no worries.

Darkness is us, and all is it. Everything is. Together. One.

Time ceased existing, everything did.

When eternity was broken by what cannot even be conceived,

The eternal interconnectedness which had never changed manifested its essence into the material realm.

Eternity was broken, unfathomable but real the reasons that enacted its end.

A vortex of magic and light left earth, shimmering weakly as it floated up towards where it had originally come, signalling the end of peace, of oneness.

The tranquil beings of the mysterious arcadian primal realm fled into the dark skies: an abnormal vestige of the days gone that sensors cannot sense it, and nothing could see it.

In this remote debris of creationist whirlwind, the essence of life took refuge from earth and its guardians.

Stardust fallen out of creation left it’s charges to a doomed fate.

They tore at the barriers of the universe and defied the gods by incessant screams tearing the magic that keeps them in.

Whispering, conspiring, forever left in a void of life,

Their only thought is of how to extend their grasp from the nether to the world lost and now unseen.

Their curse is the forever torment of their solitude where they think and think and rethink of how they fell, of what they lost, of the fateful shame.

And in their minds the same scene of old beginnings forever repeats:

They remember how it started,

That initial surprise that announced their most keen demise,

In the dark dream suddenly there was terror,

Terror of the void’s lost tranquillity,

And the shock of light’s brilliance and mesmerising ability.

Their reign of emptiness, of nothingness, of pure absence of reality,

And since the end of the eternal dream,

Enshrined all in beatific vision of a future that trotted past the eternal night.

Of the crossing of fate’s indenture,

What has been never restrained,

Experienced the first bondage of materia,

Spirit tasted its first yoke,

A pilgrimage of impossible outcomes,

A result obtained from a single causality,

A broken restriction on being and reality,

Broke the boundaries between the inner sanctum and the outer nave,

Those who had always been forever exiled,

In the dark and on an instant,

They doomed their charges and selves,

Silence fell,

And perception filtered,

Light cast its bounteous touch, and from the primordial brood created life:

Tonight, you will all wonder,

Tomorrow you will wake up in a new dark world.

The primordial blueprint turned into unexpected form.

Every so often, destiny indentures all in partaking in a shared nightmare,

And today it all starts.

The End