Evils Unbound

Evils Unbound is an upcoming story serial written by and. The story focuses on the adventures of the Mersion scientist Mersery, during the time that the tyrant Alxor and the Xevthian Empire have conquered the island of Versuva and roughly two-thirds of the Matoran Universe. The story coexists within the storylines of both Chicken Bond and Toa Hydros.

Prologue
Shadows clung to the walls of a grandiose room. Outside, the orange sun had begun it descent behind the crispy, black clouds, allowing the remaining beams of light still shining to decorate the chamber in a beautiful bath of orange and yellow color.

The light bounced across the surface of grand pillars that stretched neatly throughout the chamber, designed to be perfectly parallel with the pillar on the opposite end of the chamber.

In between the two rows of pillars, at the end of this room, was a large, ornate throne. To scale, the throne was massive, and could easily conceal any being sitting on it behind a thick blanket of shadow. And sitting on that throne, right now, was a muscular, armored titan, whilst a pair of unblinking crimson-red eyes stared at the opposite end of the chamber.

The titan thought to himself. ''Where am I going to start? ''

It had not been long since he had been instated as the high-king of the Xevthian race, perhaps over a year or two, but already the products of his efforts and labors had began to produce a stronger, better society. He had ”convinced” several of the greatest scientists from other lands to come to his homeland to aid in the work, and already, their culture had dramatically advanced. For years, the Xevthian people had toiled to survive in the hardships of the dangerous environment of the island, and now they had that chance.

But the high-king knew this would not be enough. Once, long ago, he had a small view of the world. His world had only been the island he lived on, and its furthest reaches the horizon line; but now….

Now he saw a different world. He now saw a world with thousands of islands, each with their own cultures and natives who governed them. And so, in one great decision, high-king Alxor, supreme commander of the Xevthian military and governor of the peoples of this island, had decided to undertake… a policy of dramatic expansion in the Xevthian’s reaches on the world. His people were now going to establish themselves as a great power in the history tablets soon to come, and Alxor could only hope he’d still be around to oversee the scribe’s opinion of him.

His new stratagem had been approved of by his closest advisors and allies, but he knew he needed to stand on firm ground if it was going to succeed. The other citizens of the universe would surely retaliate. But Alxor knew the weaknesses of these races. Since before even his short reign, the other forces of the universe had been untamed and wild, lacking discipline and leadership and unity. He had seen the scum of the criminal underworlds: murderers, mercenaries, thieves, assassins, bounty hunters, would-be conquerors, exiles and more.

On his island, under his regime, you would have to search extremely for a single thief. He was a bringer of peace, order and justice…. So why not extend his generosity to the rest of the universe? Why not give them the discipline and leadership they want – No – need in this time of chaos?

Abruptly, the doors of Alxor’s throne room burst open, and in walked another of his kind. A commoner under his rule, no doubt.

“High-king, your legions have been assembled in the courtyard of the palace. They await your divine presence and leadership.”

Lifting himself from the shadows of his throne, and snatching his war lance from the stand situated right next to the chair, Alxor stood to his full height in his heavy armor, and eyed the member of his kind before him.

“Good,” he said in an almost rasping voice. “Let us depart. I will say one final thing to my forces before depart this land.”

“Yes, your highness,” replied the servant, and together, master and follower walked to the marble balcony of Alxor’s great palace. Pulling back a crimson curtain, Alxor stepped onto the balcony to observe the marvel before him.

Xevthians and Zarak alike, both races native to Alxor’s home, stood in his dusty courtyard; all martialled into neat and organized lines. The military of his people was now before him. From the great Xevthians to the humble Zarak whom served the island’s higher race as servants, Alxor deemed his new military ready. They were strong, battle-eager, and ready to die for his cause. For the glory of conquest. Of battle. Of the new reign yet to be imposed on the universe. Yes…. They were indeed ready for this great step forward. Alxor eyed down the army of warriors, the sound of faint volcanic eruptions, common to their homeland, echoing into his palace. Volcanic ash floated within the lights of the evening sun. The wind blew dust around the courtyard, though the air was chill and silent. The great army’s eyes were fixed upon the dictator. And finally, he spoke:

“Our time has come! For centuries, we have been bound to this wasteland, ignored by the rest of the universe. Forgot. Discarded. Ignored. But no more! The world out there is in pieces right now, and I see that as an opportunity to establish a new regime. To bring new justice to the disgusting crime-ridden filth of the lands beyond us. We shall fight them in their homes, because we know we are bringing them good. We will fight them in their cities, to prove that we have no boundaries. And will we conqueror their lands, as a sign that discipline was needed. Now, I ask you, my men….. will you fight for me?”

The crowd let up a mighty roar of a cheer, and war cries were catapulted into the air in joy and pride. Alxor smiled. Not long after, a chant began amongst the warrior crowd,

“We will fight! We will fight! We will fight!” they screamed back at Alxor merrily.

Alxor slammed his war lance’s pommel into the ground as a sign to be quiet, and almost instantly, almost in a rehearsed motion, the crowd was silent.

“Your spirit and enthusiasm is uplifting,” Alxor began. “And I will make sure it is not put to waste. We will leave this rock tomorrow. For greater and better things. We will fight for the glory, the justice, and the dominance of our new reign. We will make this rocky land the heart of the conquering force of the universe! And when our campaign is finally done, all shall bow and submit before the might of the new, Xevthian Empire!”

The crowd screamed back in joy, their cheers being the only sound one could hear. Alxor sighed happily. This is where he belonged. On the front lines with his troops, not in the dull, backstabbing political arena he had been forced to immerse himself in once his reign had began.

The Xevthian high-king walked towards the edge of his balcony, and raised his lance into the arm in pride. The crowd’s jeers grew even louder as they quickly began a new war chant for their new fighting spirits:

“For victory! For conquest! For honor! For the glory of the Xevthian Empire!”