After the Rain Vol. 1- Murasakiiro's Decision - Chapter 1

Alright, the following part is now the written version of the manga I made last year, the five-volume series After the Rain.  So, those of you that haven't read it can, and those of you that are Bat can experience the story in a new way. Hehe.  Tell me what you think!!

Part I: After the Rain

Section 1: Mura’s Decision

Chapter One

                Murasakiiro was asleep.  But his mind was just beginning to awaken.

                Who am I? What am I?

                The eyes of his mind were opened, and a flash of purple light flooded his vision. 

                He then heard a word echoing through his unconscious mind.

                Murasakiiro…

                Is that my name?

                As his other senses opened, he felt an increasing sense of power radiating from his core, and spreading throughout his being.  His hands were gripping a weapon.  Yes.  A weapon designed for destruction.

                I feel power.

                The power was growing as he became more aware of it.  Growing, growing until it consumed his mind.

                What will I do with it?

                Power…power designed for destruction.

                I will destroy.

                Yes, that felt right.

                It is my destiny.

                Murasakiiro awakened with a jolt, springing to his feet, and instantly drawing his weapon, a sword with a violet blade, sending his long dark hair flying in the wind.  He panted heavily.   His yellow eyes burned, scanning the terrain for anything of interest.

                Anything—anyone—to destroy.

                “Where are you?” he cried out.  “I know someone’s out there…”  The desire to destroy increased and transformed to rage.  “Come out!”

                But Mura heard nothing but the echo of his cry resounding across the grassy plain, followed by his heavy panting.  He was alone.

                Mura frowned.  How can I destroy when there’s nothing to destroy?

                His eyes drew toward the sky.  The sun radiated upon him, and he could feel its power pulsating through him, the heat moving through his arm to his hand and sword. 

                The source of my power.

                He felt a growing desire to release it.

                Let’s see what I can do.

                Lifting his sword in front of him so its blade caught a ray of sun, Mura gave a zealous cry.

                “Ultraviolet beam!”

                A ray of searing purple energy emitted from the blade, shooting out across the land and creating a line of fire in its wake.  The force knocked Mura off his feet, and with a cry he tumbled backward to the ground.  He lifted his head and turned to look at his purple blade.

                Such power…

                Lifting himself to a sitting position, he sheathed the weapon.

                I should save that attack until I have need of it.

                With that thought, Murasakiiro drew to his feet.  He shut his eyes and took a breath—and then froze.  His pointed ears had detected something.  A sound, from far away.

                People.

                Mura took off in the direction, and after climbing a hill he came upon the sound’s source.

                A village.

                He watched from above as the little village before him rang with life.  People were buying and selling in a little marketplace, pushing around carts of goods, laboring in their yards, or just playing around.  Mura stared.  This was the first life he had ever remembered seeing, beside himself.  And it was life he intended to end.  He drew his sword. 

                They will be the first to go.

                A man casually pushing a cart along the village roads while humming softly to himself was the first to sight the weaponed stranger in his village.  His tune came to a halt as he looked upon the unusual sight.

                “Excuse me, sir,” he said.  “You can sheath your weapon.  This is a peaceful village.”

                The look that Mura gave him struck fear into his heart.  It was the look of a monster, intent on bringing death.  But the man had no time to escape before Mura’s sword was plunged into his flesh.  His body dropped to the ground, lifeless.

                At this, all eyes were drawn to the scene.  At first, all was silent, as the minds of the simple village-folk tried to comprehend the situation.

                “He…he killed that man!” someone cried.

                At this, Mura began to come at everyone around him.  The villagers flew into a panic, running to preserve their lives.

                “It’s a mad man!”

                “Run for your lives!”

                But none of them could escape Murasakiiro’s blade.  One by one, the village-folk were felled, slaughtered by someone who desired nothing but destruction, without knowing why, only knowing how to satisfy his morbid lusts.

                A brave soul stood amidst the chaos, securely clutching a round golden shield in front of himself.

                “No one can penetrate the shield of the sun!” the villager proclaimed.

                Mura’s gaze drew toward the item.

                A nice shield.

                Skillfully he leapt toward the villager and stabbed him in the side.  As the body fell lifeless, Mura took the shield into his hand. 

                I think I’ll keep this.

                He strapped the shield onto his back and then continued his rampage of death.  Finally, no one remained.  Murasakiiro stood in the center of the village and surveyed the damage he had caused as he caught his breath.  Corpses littered the streets.  Blood splattered the buildings.  Storefronts had toppled.  The village that was once so alive now seemed as dead as it could get.

                But no.

                Mura froze as he detected something in the air.

                Not all are dead.

                He took off toward the sound of a faint melody in the wind.  Somewhere, someone was humming.  Mura continued through the village until he came upon a cottage.  It seemed to be empty.  But down a hallway and through a door the sweet vibes continued.  Mura’s lust took him over once more, and he burst the door open.

                A young woman was lying upon the bed, a book in her hands.  She peered up over the book at the invader, but didn’t seem to look afraid.

                “I have slaughtered your entire village and now I’m here to kill you,” Mura growled, hoping to stir fear in the woman’s heart.

                But she simply raised an eyebrow.

                “I do not fear death,” she said as she shut her book and set it down.

                Mura’s rage grew.

                “You do not fear me?!” he demanded as he grabbed the woman and pulled her toward himself, pressing his blade against her skin.

                “No. I don’t,” she said calmly, looking up at her captor with soft brown eyes.  “You’re not the first spectralite I’ve met.”

                Mura frowned.  “Spectralite?”

                “Yes,” said the woman, “That’s what you are. I can tell.”  Mura felt uncomfortable beneath her observing gaze.  “Your pointed ears…your yellow eyes…your purple-bladed sword,” she listed, and then casually concluded, “You must have both violet and ultraviolet powers.”

                A different kind of anger overtook Murasakiiro.  How was it that this woman knew what he was when he himself did not?  He flung her body across the room.

                “How do you know that?”

                The woman drew to her feet as though nothing had happened.  Meeting Mura’s eyes, she gave him an answer, but not the one he was asking for.

                “My name is Magenta,” she said.  “Some call me a rainbow seeker…but I’ve given up on that now.”  Looking skyward wistfully, she continued, “I’ve given up on the fact that there is any hope left for us now… for humanity to survive this storm…” Her gaze again fell upon the spectralite before her.  “So…aren’t you going to kill me?”

                Mura stared at her.  His mind was spinning.  What was with her?  Why did she ask to die?  And what was with him?  Why wasn’t he killing her?

                He answered his own question aloud.   “You know about me,” he said.  “You know what I am.  That’s more than I can say.”

                He grabbed her hand.

                “You… I am taking you with me.”

                Magenta raised an eyebrow.

                “As in… you’re kidnapping me?” She looked skeptical.

                “Nothing’s stopping me.”

                The woman fell silent for a moment.  “We shall see,” she finally said.

                Satisfied, Mura began dragging her behind him, leading her out of the cottage, out of the village, and through an expanse of grassy hills.

                Magenta frowned thoughtfully.  “May I at least know the name of the ‘mighty’ spectralite who’s keeping me captive?” she asked as they walked on through the night.

                “Murasakiiro,” he said without looking back.

                “Murasakiiro…” Magenta murmured.

~*~

Currently Reading The Shadow Within (Hancock, Karen. Legends of the Guardian-King.) By Karen Hancock see related

A Light Unchanging - Part II of the Prologue

“In the beginning there was light.  From this light there was born the seven raptors, three which were golden, and three which were dark.  The last raptor was neither, but an equal balance of the two.  This one was the raptor lord.  These seven raptors took it upon themselves to become the caretakers of the world, monitors of the delicate balance that holds all life together.

                “There were other raptors in the world that were not of the seven, and also other creatures of great power.  The seven raptors became uneasy when observing the world’s imbalance of power.  They feared the more powerful beings would try to rule over those less powerful.  And so they met to discuss what could be done to prevent such from happening.

                “Finally the raptors came to their conclusion.  They created six guardians of the world, six which were a higher race of human who had the power to control the electromagnetic frequencies of light.  These six guardians were called the spectralites, and their minds were programmed to protect every living thing that was not strong enough to protect itself, and most especially human beings.

                “The raptors also created, for those that had no powers of their own, five weapons called the items of light.  These items could harness light’s power so that humans could also use it to protect themselves.  These items were dispersed randomly around the world.”

                Sayin had already known about the spectralites and the items of light.  He was quite familiar with both.  But he supposed La’mina knew this, and was telling him this part of the story to connect it to the parts he did not know. 

            He couldn’t help but wonder, though, what was the significance of all this? 

                “For a long while the world remained at peace with these systems of defense installed.  But then, a discovery was made: A seventh electromagnetic frequency, one more powerful than all the others, existed.  A dispute came up amongst the raptors.  The dark raptors argued that a new spectralite should be created to control this last frequency.  But the golden raptors feared that this new spectralite had the potential of becoming as powerful as the raptors themselves, or even more so, and would be dangerous to the wellbeing of the planet.

                “The dispute was never actually formally solved.  The raptor lord stayed quiet on the subject, not wanting to upset either half of the group.

That was when the dark raptors took things into their own talons.  Behind the backs of the rest of the group, they went ahead and created the seventh spectralite, Cosmicon.

                “The golden raptors’ fears were indeed true.  Only days from his creation, Cosmicon had the dark raptors under his control, and the spectralite was not about to stop there.  Using the dark raptors, Cosmicon had the six other spectralites captured.  He had their memories erased, and then planned to do something even more terrible: program their minds with a longing for death and destruction.

                “This was when I found out,” said La’mina.  “Together with the two other golden raptors, my friends Bayoneta and Vi’rido, we invaded Cosmicon’s lair, intent on rescuing the spectralites before this could be done to them.   Swooping inside, being careful not to be detected, I took Akai the third spectralite into my talons.  Behind me, Vi’rido grabbed Murasakiiro and Bayoneta grabbed Micron.

                “But as we flew out, the dark raptors detected us and were quick on our pursuit.  Focusing only on escaping with Akai, I soon lost my friends.  I later found out that both of them had been killed, and the spectralites they tried to rescue were back in Cosmicon’s hands.”

                This was the first time Sayin had heard sadness in La’mina’s young-sounding voice.

                “And so Cosmicon placed in each of the spectralites the desire for destruction.  Each, that is, except for Akai, whom I rescued.  The awakening of the first three spectralites signified the end of the forgotten age.  The time of the storm had begun.”

                Sayin gave a slight nod.  This part was well known by all, and told especially often by his own family because their ancestors played a large part in it.

                “To continue the story of the time of the storm, we must begin at the awakening of the spectralite that is your great-grandfather,” La’mina said.

                It must be Akai, Sayin thought, since out of his two spectralite-relations, Akai was the only one who did not become evil.

                La’mina must have known his thoughts, because she smiled and shook her head.  “Ah, but I speak of your great-grandfather the fourth spectralite, Murasakiiro.  For the story does not really begin until his awakening.”

A Light Unchanging - Part 1 of the Prologue

A Light Unchanging

Prologue

The ground felt cold beneath Sayin’s bare feet.

                He took another step across the dirt path that snaked across the hills.  His soft brown eyes were on the sky, watching the clouds whisk over his head in random patterns of white.  The wind played with his wispy brown locks that glistened gold in the morning sun’s light.  The long white cloth that draped from his waist fluttered against his legs.

                He took a breath of the cool air and continued to walk, each step precise and gentle against the ground, so that only a faint shape remained in the dust after his foot was lifted.  Some said his motions were animal-like, or so he had overheard at those rare moments when he was in the presence of other human beings.  Not that it mattered to him what they said or thought.

                But what did matter?

                The breeze nudged Sayin’s body.  As he stared into the sky he felt somehow drawn to it, as though it was calling him to lift his wings and enter the endless vacuum of air that waited above.  But Sayin did not have wings, and at this moment gravity felt like a chain that bound him away from the freedom that his entire being longed for.

                He was bound, but why?

                Driven by these stirred emotions, Sayin’s footfall increased pace, though still light as ever.  He cascaded across the hills as though he were part of the wind around him.  His breaths were steady and controlled, synchronized with his steps.

                What was he running to?

                Arriving at a hilltop, Sayin stopped and examined the terrain stretched out before him as he caught his breath.  A distance away was a circle composed of large stones, the long grasses swaying at their bases.  Sayin’s gaze was drawn to something pink seated upon one of the stones.  Clad in a thin robe, it was a little girl.  Her brown hair was done up in delicate braids that fluttered lightly on each side of her head.  Long blue ribbons flew up behind her from the back of her robe, tied around her waist.  She bounced her bare feet as she smiled up at the sky from her seat, seemingly unaware of Sayin’s presence.

                Sayin frowned, puzzled. A girl? Here?  He stood stiff as a deer when a predator is sighted, his eyes on the little invader.  Expecting to stay in this pose for a while, he was caught off guard by the little voice that chimed in the air.

                “Why have you come?”

                Surely she hadn’t seen him?  But her blue eyes turned upon him after speaking.

                “Why are you here, Sayin?”

                No one knew his name.  Especially no one whom he would not also know.  Sayin’s mind spun inconclusively.

                “Do you know why?” she asked softly.

                He didn’t.  He said nothing.

                “I know what you seek,” she said with a smile.  “You seek answers, don’t you? You want to know who you are.  What part of this world you are.  You want to know what really matters.”

                It was all true.  Sayin was stiff, his eyes narrow as he tilted his head, looking over the enigma that was speaking to him.

                “That is why I have come.  To give you the answers you seek.  Come, sit upon a rock by me.  I have much to say.”

                Sayin was hesitant.  By now he knew this apparition was not as she appeared.  But what was she?

                “So many questions,” she said, her eyes sparkling.  “You know, don’t you, that I am not as I seem?” She gave a laugh.  “You’re right, Sayin.  I am not a person.  But do you know what I am?  Your mind says you don’t, but I think inside you will know.  Those creatures that always drew your attention, more than anything in this world.  You do know, Sayin.”

                A raptor.

                Where had that thought come from?  Though it was true that thoughts of the majestic creatures had often filled Sayin’s mind.   The giant birds were the most powerful creatures of this world, and yet also the most mysterious.  No one knew what the extent of the raptors’ power or wisdom was.  They were probably not omniscient or omnipotent, though many wouldn’t doubt they could come close.  Sayin wondered often of them, what they were like and what they could do.  Every so often he had seen one flying in the distance.  He would watch the plumes of its long tail flutter across the sky behind its massive wings.  A few times it even seemed to Sayin that the bird’s large yellow eyes were trained on him, looking down at him as he looked up at it.

                Sayin’s eyes narrowed as he looked over the girl on the rock.

                “People of this world call me the golden raptor,” she said, answering his question.  “My name is La’mina.  Please Sayin, do sit down.  Have I now captured your interest?”

                So she was a raptor.  Sayin felt a sudden uneasiness in her presence.  How powerful was she? Could she read his mind?  And why had she taken such a meager form, as a little human girl?  Yet she had captured his interest.  Before he knew what he was doing, he took a cautious step toward the circle of stones.  He inched toward it as would an animal toward a plate of food that was laid upon the ground. 

                La’mina watched silently, her hands folded on her lap.

                At last Sayin climbed upon the rock.  He sat and lifted his gaze toward her smiling blue eyes.  Yet she remained silent.  Sayin shifted uncomfortably.  His gaze was drawn to the blue ribbons that fluttered in the air whether or not there was wind.

                “Your questions require much more than a simple answer,” she finally said.  “One’s identity and purpose are not easily found, or pointed out.  And I will not be doing either.  But I will tell you stories, Sayin.  Stories of your history, and the history of your forefathers.”

                This last word caught Sayin’s attention.  Perhaps she had the answer to one thing he had never known, and never thought he would know?

                If La’mina read his thoughts, she had done nothing to reveal such.  She continued speaking.  “But before we can get into your history, I must begin with the history of the world we live in, and the history of the raptors.”

                Sayin sat back as La’mina began her first tale.

Currently Reading A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess see related

Free Will in Heaven?

Here at last I will discuss my one question about the Christian faith. I don't question anything except this. So, if you will, please post comments; I'd really like to discuss this.

The garden of Eden was a perfect place.  Everyone agrees with me on this point, yes?  And yet, God did not want to restrict our free will, so he had to make evil an option.  Thus, he created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  And of course, the human beings disobeyed God as we often do, which leads us to the way the world is to this day.

Yet we Christians look forward to our life after earth where we will live in another perfect place: one called heaven.  It's true many people have thought up and wrote books about what heaven might be like, but it still is a mystery to us all.  In my younger years, and still today, this was my source of optimism: No matter how bad this world gets, someday I will live for eternity in this utopia called heaven.

Perhaps it is just that my human mind is struggling to grasp the idea of a completely perfect place.  Obviously, it is beyond any of our imagination, so I won't even try to fathom it, but my main question is logic-based.  If everything is perfect in heaven, then everyone must be perfect also.  The option of evil must be completely eliminated.

But wait a second! This was the very thing that couldn't be done in the garden of Eden! God does not want to violate our free will.  So will there be another "forbidden tree" in heaven?  Another chance to fall? Dear God, I hope not, but it only makes sense.  The very reason evil exists is because of free will. 

Can you see why I am confused?

Reading A Clockwork Orange in English class has further enforced these thoughts in my mind.  The main point of the book is that if people are programmed to be good, this would not please God at all.  According to this book, God created us as "organic" creatures, like an orange, with the potential of juicy sweet goodness, and not machines that are simply programmed with false goodness like clockwork.

God would not violate our human free will.

So my final question is this: How can a perfect place exist with free will?  Will the choice of evil be available, but no one will want to choose it? I suppose if there is no Satan, this might be more easily attainable.  But the fact that free will would still exist always means someone could potentially cause another fall.  Again.

Am I just underestimating the power of Jesus' sacrifice? Is this very thing so strong that my mind cannot grasp its power?  Does it have such a power to even defy logic?  Maybe so. But I'd like to know if other people understand my point, or are wondering the same thing. 

I do not doubt there is a heaven.  I just wonder how perfection and free will can live in the same place.

Currently Reading House By Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker see related

Defining love - What isn't it? What is it? Why do I long for it?

What do we live for, if not love?

As you know, I am a dreamer.  This xanga site is dedicated to those dreams. I dream of many things, of what I wish my life were, what I wish would happen, what I wish I could be...

But mainly I dream of love.

What is love? A complex subject...which most people truely don't know the meaning of.  But I seek out the true definition of the seemingly ambiguous term, and I am beginning to get a grasp on it.

Love is more easily defined by what it is not. It is not a desire.  If you are willing to step on people  and hurt them for the sake of "love," then love is not what you have at all. 

It is not an ignoring of the faults of someone.  After all, their faults may cause them distress, and if you truely cared about them, love does not stand by in silence.

Then what is it? What is love?

The best I can define it is this: The purest selflessness, when you are so filled with compassion for another that you would give anything, even your very life, for their sake.

No human is fully capable of such! Often it seems to me that love lives only in my dreams.  So long have I sought it from another human being, only to taste bitter dissapointment once more.  Yet still I have hope. That's because we were all made by God, who is capable, in fact, he is love, through and through.  Because we are made in his image, we do possess the capabilities of love, but we cannot do it without his help.

We were created to love! God first loved us, and when we are filled with this love we cannot help but overflow it to others.  After all, what else is there to live for, but love?

~*~

What I have discovered love to be is made clear through the project I am working on now, a manga (Japanise-style comic) After Midnight.  If you don't have a clear idea of what love is now, reading it will (I hope) certainly enlighten you a bit.  Of course, if you don't know me in real life, you will probably never be able to read it. Which is why I'm considering making a written version! (Debut of An Unchanging Light some time this week, in this xanga!)