Of course, I doubt that it is something many need to concern themselves with. Though my powers are great, I merely hinder others actions, with Spite granted, but…I’m no where near as dangerous to my environs as Shailen has or can be.  That woman, Princess or not, must learn to control her temper. Whatever secrets she caries within her small frame are far beyond I think anyone to try and find out. Mostly for the fact that she usually hides behind her mock stupidity and senseless tongue. Honestly, how one woman can bring so many men to their knees, whether in fear or preparing to leap at her throat I do not know. There are days when I cannot stand the mere thought of her, and there are others that I’m deeply grateful for her presence.

    Again though I cannot help but wonder at her sanity, or lack there of. Her life previously in Orr was one of great priviledge. The youngest daughter of our King, and the only one of his children to be taught the Elementalist ways, nearly everything was handed to her on a golden platter. Groomed as she was for her inate abilities to control the elements, there are times I wondered if for that reason they raised her to be such a rotten brat at times. A fact that she seems well aware of at times, since she seems to try to use it when she knows it will work to her advantage. And when the situation demands for a more, civilized behavior, she is quick to change her persona to that of what comes tantatmount to a regal queen. I know those who have only seen certain sides of her of, the main side in any case, would laugh at the idea of Shailen ever behaving more then some bawdy tavern man. But I swear on Grenth’s name, there has been several sightings of a controlled, collected and even noble Shailen.

    One such occassion that never ceases to come to my mind, took place shortly after the fall of Orr. Those of us who survived the disaster had begun to assemble in Lion’s Arch, taking up residence in some of the surrounding villages. We were a shattered bunch during those times. Nothing seemed to take the pain and loss from our hearts. Even the most forthright of our Monk began to sink into the depths of depression and drunkeness. Fights would break out with the slightest breath amongst us. Fearing a complete loss of all that was left of her ruined Kingdom, Shailen called for a gathering of the remnant along the shores of Watchtower Coast.

   Most of the remnant did not heed her call, prefering to let themselves rot away where they lay. But those that did were all amazed when we found her. She stood tall and erect above the beach on a small overhang of rock staring out at the cool waters. When she finally turned around to see those of us who had gathered…not even a dozen. Her face took on a saddness I had never seen in her eyes before.  But it lasted for only a moment before her emotion vanished and she stared down at us with a compassion and pride so different from herself that I hardly recognized her. She was Queen at that moment, her presence spoke it, her words told it to our ears.

   Shailen began to speak of giving us hope. It was time for us to release ourselves from the shackles our grief had given us. No, we were not to forget our past…but we were not to forsake any future we were to have in this world. Why should the mistakes of some condemn all the rest? Why would the now increasing prejudice against what remained of our people, be justified in the way we would spend the rest of our lives? It was time we took charge of the powers we had in our control to try and change the way the world was shaping around us. She had found an Alliance of Guilds, the Elite Empire, that was making moves to better the world by helping those, who like us, were feeling as though the world had given up on. We were to become Sobanii. A term from our heritage, from our past, something that had helped shape Orr into the wonderous place it had been. And now we were to be the Vanguard of bringing that same honor back to a breaking world.

    The stunned silence lasted only a moment before the roar from among those gathered rose to the heavens. If ever there was a time when I felt as though the Gods themselves stood amongst men, it was then. We had their blessing and approval, that I knew then and am just as sure now. We were the Sobanii Vanguard, prepared to let history hear our victory cry.

                                                                           Excerpt from the journal of Seren.

    And perhaps that was why we should have been wary. Our pride was bigger then whatever powers we believed could keep the Charr from ever threatening our lands. Our egotistical behavior was our one greatest weakness as a people. Something that even down to this day, poses a danger to each of us that have survived. How could we imagine ourselves above the laws the God’s themselves laid for all of us?

    Looking back at the people we of the Remnant have become, I cannot say that we are all completely different. But on the other hand, we are almost certainly not the same as we were then. Whether such a change is for the best…or for the worse, I cannot really say. Each of us however, have felt the changes that come from losing ones origins. And no matter what country, or even what continent we find ourselves on, we always come across something that reminds us of the home that was. The golden beaches of the Keys in Istan. The regal and exotic nature of Vabbian design. Trinkets in the Marketplace of Canthan cities. Words and beliefs in Tyria that are uncanny whispers of Orrian ways. I shudder every time the memories come flooding back like a torrent sweeping through an empty creek bed. There are times I wish i knew some mesmeric art to completely bury those thoughts away. But, Aran has not been able to help in that respect and I fear even Lady Althea herself, were she still alive, could have done that for me.

Lyssa help us all, I pray you ease the nightmares of our realities….

                             -Excerpt from Seren’s personal journal.

Graham was 12 years old and had always been interested in the house across his street that glowed through the windows every night. The house’s occupant was a crazy old man, Jack Rooster. After the house flashed and thundered on one particular night, it remained as normal as any other house. But that’s when things got weirder. When Graham was forced out of his house by his cousin, Debbie, he began to notice that things and people from ancient history and what seemed to be the distant future were everywhere.

He soon learned this was a phenomenon called the time fusion, the cause of which was under investigation, but the common theory was that it was caused by a serial killer from the future called the Tempus Murderer. The first horror of his life was finding a dead police man there, killed by the Tempus Murderer, whose body was discovered by Katherine, a he and his cousin just met.

Graham, naturally curious by nature, began to investigate. Once he met a boy robot from the future named Rakhon, he began to ask him questions about the investigation, since Rakhon worked for the League Against Temporal Crime.

Graham came to suspect the crazy old man that lived across his street when he discovered the time fusion had started the very night the house thundered and flashed. Rakhon was convinced Graham knew something when he saw a drawing in his notebook, which he called a Chronoculus. Apparently this symbol meant something to the boy robot, but Graham didn’t understand how because he was from the year 5050.

Rakhon was later killed by the Tempus Murderer.

Now convinced he had to do something, Graham foolishly decided to inspect Jack Rooster’s house when he arrived back home from his uncle’s house. His friends–Debbie, Tera, Elizabeth, and Katherine–attempted to stop him, but he was stubborn.

He found the alleged cause of the lights in the house: a blue crystal. However, Jack Rooster showed up and began to fire upon them–mainly at Katherine. Soon Graham managed to capture Jack in a prism trap, but he soon found that he was dead wrong about who the Tempus Murderer was.

Katherine revealed her true nature and trapped Graham in the prism trap. With the power of his Chronoculus, however, he was able to break out and narrowly defeat Katherine, but not before she killed Jack Rooster.

Graham and the rest were safe, but the time fusion was still there, and many of the questions about the time fusion, the Tempus Murderer, and the Chronoculus were left unanswered.

Tempus Book 2: Shadows on the Horizon fast forwards 2 years and begins to tell another story…

While my brother is a bit late in delivering the new theme I requested, tomorrow will still mark the launch of Tempus 2. Thanks for checking, MelissaFace.

I have had a few people read what I have written, most said it was good, but one brought something to my attention. my prologue is, well, not a prologue. As I’m sure most of you know, a prologue is supposed to explain the pre story. well what I had was more like a preface. so I’m going to re-write the prologue to explain what went on before the story happened. it should help explain some things. so please leave some comments on anything that you were confused about.

If you must know, work has taken most of my brain power. I’m still working the same amount of hours every day, but now I’m on to projects involving deep concentration. As such, when I get home, I like to be lazy. It’s harder than I thought to work on my writing projects. Also, recent stuff has happened that has caused me to become discouraged and saddened. (See my Vox blog for about the same amount of ambiguity.)

However, I do have good news… we’re going to redesign Sounds Interesting completely (called SI2… I’ve got a thing for sequels). The new site goes up October 31st, just in time for an upcoming premiere of a new story.

On that note, my second announcement is that Tempus: Shadows on the Horizon will premiere November 1st right here on Sounds Interesting.

Also, I will try to set up something where I can post to Sounds Interesting via my phone… sort of like a micro-blog service like Twitter. Let’s not forget the funny about-nothing posts that would accumulate on the site. I won’t be so bold as to say this deadness will end immediately now, but it’ll gradually get better.

J-Faz

 The Shards of Destruction

______

    At the beginning of time  there was a place known as the Corona Galaxy. A God named Cirphxeculu watched over this galaxy. There were other galaxies as well, a Deity for each one. A few centuries into time, the once merciful Cirphxeculu turned malevolent for unknown reasons. The other Gods quickly came to aid and tried to stop him from destroying his galaxy. They beckoned him to be calm, but madness devoured his soul. His mind was obscure and his will distorted. The galaxy of Corona held one planet with life – Astemea. This planet underwent a period of darkness and confusion as its God suffered. The other Gods quickly realized they needed destroy Him. Nothing they had tried to do would stop him, and his planets were withering. So, they decided to cast a seal on him and obliterate his body. With haste, they forged their powers together. Just as they unleashed the seal, Cirphxeculu thrust a wave of power. The forces crashed causing a mighty wake. The seal was in place. Cirphxeculu was then reduced to pieces. Shattered, his remnants fell down to the galaxy below. The other Deities returned to their galaxies and the Corona Galaxy became godless. Cirphxeculu became nothing but the “Scelestus Deity”, the accursed God.

   Astemea eventually resurfaced out of its darkened state and lived on, along with it a hope to grow. The people went on wondering where their God went, and as their world modernized, they wondered if they had one to begin with. Practices were abandoned and beliefs were lost as the years went by. Cirphxeculu faded away in memory but some of the ancient shards were still scattered throughout Astemea. People have come across these shards on Astemea. They marvel at their size and view them simply as unique natural formations. But they are a cause of unrest, for in them, the power of the God lives on, exuding evil to the unknowing planet…