DREAMSEEKERS by Thomas Lipschultz -=* Chapter One: Matthew Glenlin *=- 1/22/98 - 2/11/98 Wyrd was the only one left, and even he had gone. At least he wasn't dead like the others, though. Matthew knew that only one course of action remained. Fate had drawn him here, and the search for his fated son led him to seek direction from the greatest oracle of all time: Jedic of Aksl'ak. How ironic that cruel fate should drag him to a planet named after the seed which started the whole ordeal. Matthew's punishment went beyond the hatred of any god. Since he had become a god himself, the rules no longer applied, and his doom was an eternity of loneliness and guilt. He had achieved the immortality he sought for, and since then had wished only to die. Now, he was shuttling toward the gray planet Aksl'ak, hoping to find out where his poor son had travelled. Perhaps loneliness wouldn't be so bad if the number were greater than one. It all began about twenty years before, on the lively planet referred to by its citizens as "Irgon." Technologically, Irgon was superior to modern-day Earth in every way, perhaps because it was the first planet to ever be a home to humanity. Residents of Irgon all spoke the same language, which coincided with modern-day English in every way. Apparently, it was taught by God as "the universal tongue" and shared by nearly every planet known to Irgonian society. This made communication and technology much easier to expand upon and work with, and allowed for contact between multiple planets and solar systems. One day, a man by the name of Jedic Yenbec discovered a small patch of flowers in full bloom with seeds along their stems. He plucked a few seeds and examined them more closely under elaborate surveillance equipment, but to no avail: nothing like it had ever been seen before. Later, they would come to be called the Seeds of Aksl. Jedic decided to ingest a seed for experimentation purposes. His life was nothing in comparison to the possible scientific consequences of his actions, and he would gladly die for the sake of discovery. Unfortunately, the seed's effect was much worse than death, for the seed granted him eternal life and incredible powers of the mind. These priveleges seemed to be a blessing at first, but when Jedic killed three people purely by accident, he realized the snare he had fallen into. He had the garden in which the seeds were found sealed off from all intruders and stationed several guards around its perimeter, paying each an enormous amount of money in return for his unwavering service and loyalty. He then banished himself to a nearby planet of gray desert which he was never to leave. He later named the planet Aksl'ak, which meant "accursed," although no one quite knew what language that word came from. The seeds he discovered came to be known as the Seeds of Aksl, and were placed under constant watch. The matter was forgotten for a period of eight years. Then, it happened. What the Irgonians feared most finally came to pass. Two seeds were stolen. Matthew stole them. The guard on duty went by the name of Axelay. No one knew his real name, and no one cared to find out. Matthew was carrying his newborn baby, whom his wife Lillith had named Wyrd. The two of them hid in the bushes until Axelay's back was turned, at which point Matthew sprinted toward the garden's gate. Axelay heard bushes rustling and turned to see the sprinting figures. He yelled a few threats, and prepared to fire his phaser weapon upon Matthew, who had gotten too close for comfort. It was then that he saw the baby in Matthew's arms. Matthew was holding Wyrd in front of him, and Axelay hesitated, not wanting to kill an innocent child. With only a few quick seconds to react, legend has it that Jedic's voice came to Axelay and told him to kill the man regardless of the risk to the child. But he couldn't do it. Matthew had picked the lock on the gates, all the time holding Wyrd at the perfect angle to protect his own life. Axelay followed the two into the garden, mixed emotions washing over his being. He felt extreme anger for the man, but extreme pity for the boy. Finally, after pursuing the trespassers in a frantic chase, he resolved to kill them both. After all, it's better to kill a child than to make him immortal. He lost sight of the two for only a split second, then saw them again, aimed carefully, and fired. It was a dead-on hit to Wyrd's forehead, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Wyrd had ingested the seed, and it would later be discovered that Matthew had as well. Axelay had failed in his duty and allowed the downfall of the entire Irgonian civilization to begin. Not knowing what to do, he called out to Jedic for forgiveness. Although no one was quite sure what happened, Axelay was never seen again on the planet Irgon. Matthew never told his wife what he had done, and twelve years passed as if nothing happened. It was the year 336 on the Irgonian calendar. Historians would later come to classify this as the "Year of Judgment." Wyrd was always a very quiet and shy boy, keeping to himself a lot and generally doing very poorly in school. He had met with his teacher numerous times, but to no avail: nothing seemed to help him. On one fateful day, he found himself caught in the middle of an argument between his only two friends. They gave him an ultimatum, and he refused to pick one or the other. Rather than merely leaving the situation alone, the two children continued pestering him, forcing him to choose. Finally, he made his choice: "If I must choose, then I choose neither of you. If you cannot accept my friendship with your enemy, then I cannot accept your friendship with me." This seemed fine at the time, but it only took a few hours for it to change. The two children had managed to convince most of the other children that Wyrd was a lunatic, and a large portion of his class refused to leave him in peace, taunting and tormenting him at a constant rate. At the same time, his teacher insisted upon meeting with him again. Wyrd had never seen so much chaotic behavior directed toward him, and he found himself angrier than he had ever been before. "I wish you'd all just GO AWAY!", he yelled. And with that, they all disappeared. Not just his classmates and his teacher, but everyone. The entire planet of Irgon was now a lifeless monument to a great civilization that would never return again. Things may have turned out differently if Wyrd had realized then that Matthew was still alive, sitting alone in his house, slowly realizing what had just happened. Wyrd tried to bring everyone back, but to no avail. No one would return. A few hours passed, and Wyrd knew that they were gone for good. Depressed, confused, and frightened, he used his newfound powers to leave Irgon and seek a new life elsewhere. A week later, Matthew realized what fate his endless life had in store for him. He had to find his son before this cataclysm was repeated. He made a vow to himself that he would never use his powers and would devote his life to atonement for his sins, then he boarded a shuttle and began his journey to Aksl'ak. Jedic would start him off, then he would have to follow his destiny entirely on his own. And so it began...