Odyssey Into 2012 Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Child of the Gods

"You see," began Galentus, "To understand who we are and who Zephyr is, we must begin at the beginning."

In the Time Before the Ages, a race of beings known only as The Gifted existed. They did not know their origins, but they understood that they had a purpose. Each being had a Power of his or her own. These Powers were of Knowledge, Endurance, Foresight, and many more. These beings helped shape the world we see today, and taught early man the secrets of survival. However, one Gifted was unsatisfied. He saw the first humans as inferior, and wanted The Gifted to reign as rulers. He began to use his Power of Negotiation to trick other Gifted out of their Powers.
With each ability he gained, the more he desired. Finally, the Gifted realized their folly and banished this being to a plane of existence beyond their own. Once there, the corrupted Gifted, known only as Him, transformed into a mass of life-choking darkness. It was a symbol of His own anger and greed. The remaining Gifted saw how the Darkness was coming to destroy them all, and combined every last drop of Power to transform themselves. Where His change was of death and destruction, theirs was of hope and life. They became stars, my dear girl. They lit the heavens with the points of radiance you see in the night sky. They hold back the darkness that is Him, and gave mankind the chance to flourish.

Galentus let that story sink in while the girl tried to picture it. "However, that peace is starting to break down." This caught her off guard. "How?" she asked, "From what I can see, these..um..Gifted were really strong!" Voldric took over Galentus's explanation. "The problem is that they are running out of will." Several emotions flicked across his face. Fear, regret, frustration, and finally, hope. "The inky blackness that people see in the night sky is Him, but he is regaining his physical form here on Earth. The stars are dying, young one. What your people call a 'supernova' is the death of one of the original Gifted. His Power is unrelenting, and is destroying them one at a time"
"Ok" said the girl, "Ok, but who is Zephyr? And how do you two fit into all of this?"
Galentus smiled. "Zephyr is one of the last Gifted who did not become a star, but remained on Earth to guard its people. He can only be reached by the Gates he built around the world, and by finding the papers he wrote describing where they were. We passed through the First Gate already, as you can clearly tell."

"But who ARE you two?" The girl was very impatient by now. "We are Guardians." They said together. "You see," Galentus said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Over the ages, two Guardians were selected to watch for what Zephyr called 'The Star Born'. This child would be infused with the power of all the remaining Gifted to turn back the Darkness once and for all." Voldric spoke up. "My brother and I were the most recently selected to watch for this 'Star Born' over one thousand years ago, traveling the world as we waited."
"And who is the Star Born?" The girl asked slowly, but with a sinking feeling, she already knew the answer.

"Why, you are my dear." Galentus said in a soothing voice. "Indeed," Voldric finished for him. "You are the last descendent of the Gifted. The last of a race of beings who were called gods!"