The Flame of the Igna

Beasts of fire prowl the land and sky of Ra'gor, the planet of fire, the dead planet. Created by an ancient creature who has slept for eons within his fiery prison, the Igna await their lord's call.

There is a planet by the name of Ra’gor, which stands today as a dark and ashy planet, uncivilized and broken beyond repair. The skies are filled with cloud-like masses, but they are not the common cloud. The coalescent mist lacks the vibrant color and fluidity it was once known for. The buoyant white that has long portrayed the fluorescence of life and beauty had vanished from their midst. They are dark, and ominous, filling the skies and blocking the light of the sun. The presence of a red dusk clings eternally to the dead skies where nothing lives, nothing except for the black winged Igna that had been graced with flight at the dawn of their formation. They fly through the skies in hordes, rushing by in flashes of orange fire as that same fire trails behind them in waves of coiling light.

            Ra’gor is the planet of the Igna, the dead planet.

            The Igna themselves are not of the dead. They are fully alive, but their mere presence has wrought a blazing destruction upon their world. Ra’gor was not always dead. Its decay stemmed from one of the creatures that had previously populated the planet. This creature caused the release of one of the Ancients, a draconic beast who was older still, condemning his race to slavery beneath the colossus that could not be tamed. This is the story of their creation, and the deception that brought their fall.

            The Igna were once called Statyti, creatures formed by a man, who could be considered neither old nor young. He had come to be known as a deity amongst the Statyti, and was eventually folded into the myths of the Statyti with the passing of time. This man’s name was Darius. He had set foot on the lonely planet of Ra’gor long before any, forming the Statyti from the dust and dirt of the desolate planet.

The galaxy had previously been nearly empty. The world of Ra’gor was the sole edifice within the galactic miasma of which would later be named Vyra, and possess twelve planets, each crafted carefully by the gentle hand of Darius, with creatures and biomes unmatched by any world apart from Earth itself, of which could never be matched. Growth had barely begun on Ra’gor, but there was nothing on it that could nurture it as it began to flourish. Darius also knew that the empty sphere was no ordinary planet. He knew what was imprisoned within the planets core, the Demon Dragon, Re’van, who had been imprisoned there for thousands of years, captured and confined by unknown hands.

            The creatures that Darius created were shaped much like the lizards of Earth, but much larger and stronger. Their faces were elongated and snouts smooth. Their skin was the color of a dull grey, like a cloud prior to its release of a torrential downpour. Their eyes were big and beady, a soft brown, meant to remind them that they had been formed from the dirt and that one day, a date unknown to them, they would return to it. Their bodies were tall and muscular with a slight indented curve to their spine that allowed them to stand nearly straight. Their legs were powerful, first moving outward and then turning back in at the knee and following down to the ground, giving them the ability to stand as a biped. Their feet had only four toes, lacking the smallest one, making them even more unlike their creator. The feet were smaller than one might expect, but they were strong and held the Statyti to the ground.

Their arms were more like that of their creators, although they had four, where their creator had only two. They flowed out from the shoulder and towards the joint of their elbow, allowing them to maneuver it freely in any direction. It continued down to their hands, which also only had four appendages protruding from them, but they only needed four. Their palms had suction to them, capable of holding something as tightly as they chose, and, yet, release it at their whim.

Darius completed his creation and looked upon them proudly, standing above the multitudes that had been formed from the earth, smiling softly. He began to speak, knowing that once words left his mouth he would be giving his creation the power of speech. He spoke one phrase, a command to his creatures that would define their way of living for an eternity.

“I give you one command,” Darius began powerfully. “Guard this planet with your lives, and let no one release the power that slumbers within.” He disappeared in a flash of liquid white, beginning the formation of the remaining pieces of the galaxy and leaving his creations to toil with the land and forge their livelihood. He had imparted upon them the knowledge of law and architecture; they knew almost everything that he knew about many worlds and how to build a utopia from the brokenness that slept within their earthen hearts. They would be a perfect race, for a time.

Many millennia passed in peace, and the planet thrived. Plants had sprung up from the ground and animals from wellsprings that had suddenly appeared all around the planet the moment Darius had vanished. They populated the earth and sky, finding their way even to the deepest reaches of the oceans. All was calm on the lonely planet of Ra’gor, but something was beginning to slowly stir. The Statyti, being the first creation, could feel the other worlds their master had created in the galaxy begin to grow and populate, one far faster than the rest. A new age would soon dawn, but none knew that the day would come so soon, the Statyti were unprepared.

The portal opened before a single Statyti, who quickly hid herself within the shadows of the nearby foliage. She glimpsed through it and saw a group of twenty men and women dressed in a green scaly armor making their way through the small window through space. On the other side she could see a cobblestone street and a powerful looking woman in a similar, but golden, suit of armor with silvery blond hair, watching as her people shuffled through the portal.

The sole Statyti was quickly overtaken by fear and retreated back into the dense forest foliage, running towards her people to warn them of the coming threat. She did not understand that the twenty soldiers who had made their way through were not there to do harm to the planet, only to scout it out in hopes of finding a race that could be communed with. The Statyti called her people together, bringing them to the location that the portal had opened and watched as the newcomers set up camp in a nearby empty clearing. They brandished their primitive stone tipped spears and rushed forward, mercilessly slaughtering the unusual race. Their charge had been taken too seriously, they could not, at the time, understand the weight of their grave mistake. 

They believed that they had taken care of the problem and returned to their homes with peace of mind, leaving the dead to rot in the clearing. The race would soon return and see that their people had been slaughtered and left on the ground to be picked apart by the savage creatures of the world they had found. So they bore their dead back to their own world and convened for war, knowing that with the power of the Kunga they would be unstoppable, for the race of people who had passed through the portal into the flourishing world of Ra’gor was the D’karians, who were at the height of their power. 

The D’karians were enraged by the Statyti’s murderous whim. Little need was seen for such a primitive and murderous race of beasts to thrive, so the D’karians returned to the planet with a five part army, divided between the five Kunga, Vissis, Shimora, Aklai, Timora and Orana. The might of the Kunga’s combined power, and the metal of their soldiers, overwhelmed the unprepared Statyti, who were armed only with their spears and slings.

The billions of Statyti were being overrun and slaughtered by a mere five hundred thousand D’karians. Wave upon wave of Statyti fell beneath the onslaught of wrathful color, but the Statyti still refused to bend to the will of the D’karian forces. They fought on. Within a week two billion Statyti had perished and returned to the dirt, covering the ground with layer upon layer of earth, just as their creator had described.

Every Statyti had prepared for war and willing to die defending their planet, all but one. A young Statyti named Agira. Agira was not a warrior; her freedom of thought separated her from the rest of her people. She did not desire to follow the sole role that her people had raised her up in. She did not believe the pointless defense of her planet was worth billions of lives that would be lost in this war.

Agira chose to flee, making her way towards the only place her people had refused to annex as a part of their civilization. The volcano rose up before her, covered in a sheen of green that had sprouted up from the fertile soil of the volcanos steep walls. She climbed her way into a tree and began to swing her way up the mountain, moving swiftly from branch to branch. The trees clung tightly to the steep mountainside, but the mountain was so sheer that it would be impossible to ascend were someone to try on foot, giving her an edge. None of the invading people would be able to find her. She climbed swiftly, but misjudged how rapidly she had been climbing the mountain, drawing near the top she had a split second to panic before she swung her way out into open air and fell into the deep pit.

She smacked into the cooled magma, cracking it in a ragged circle that rippled out from where she landed. Instantly the floor began to rumble and heat up, the temperature in the deep cavern rose exponentially and continued to rise until the central area of the floor began to bubble and return to its liquid state. The orange glow illuminated the expansive room. Ripples began to flood out from the center point of the heated magma, giving off the illusion of boiling liquid, but the pool was not boiling. Something was beginning to rise from within its depths.

It began with the ascension of a terrifying spiked spine, followed by an enormous plated back. Muscles rippled as the massive beast rising from the pool adjusted itself to make room for the rising wings, which spread across the hundred feet of the volcano’s hollow base, but they were not able to fully extend, the space was not large enough to accompany the gargantuan creature. Its tail rose from beneath the magma, the orange liquid flowing off of it and dropping with a plop back into the main reservoir. The tail swung back and forth twice and then slapped the magma, flinging the deadly droplets against the rock walls.

It was then that the beasts head began to rise from beneath the molten rock. Two horns sprouted out from behind the titanic head, rising as black spikes fully prepared to impale anything that drew near. Its jaw was broad with spikes beneath it curving all around the base of its chin, giving the beast a distinct, unbreakable and threatening feature. The spikes grew longer the closer they were centrally to the beasts mouth. Its teeth were like razors, capable of slicing through the thickest material as if it were but leaf. The beast looked as if it were smiling. It was a dark and sinister smile. Its entire body was filled with trails of magma, flowing around its obsidian armor like streams of water, spiraling around its horns and wings. As its gigantic taloned feet rose out of the magma Agira turned her gaze to look into the orange, flame-filled eyes of the beast.

The eyes bore into her, observing her every feature. The aura of the room suddenly shifted as the beast bared it teeth and turned its head upward to face the open peak of the volcano, releasing a mighty roar that sent ripples through Agira’s spine and causing the volcano, and undoubtedly far more, to quake with the shockwave effect of the powerful roar. Its head slowly fell back down to face Agira, quickly noticing the fear that was emanating from her small and frail form.

“You have awoken me,” the beast growled in a deep, guttural voice.

“Who are you?” Agira asked, shuttering so much that she was incapable of standing.

“A bold question for one who stands before the mouth of death,” the beast said, “but I will grace you with an answer. I am Re’van. Have your people not educated you?”

“It is not the focus of our charge.”

Re’van released an amused, knowing cackle. “Then your people have already failed.”

“My people are doing as we have been commanded.”

“And yet you stand before me, battle alone would not have brought you here,” Re’van said knowingly.

“We are charged with the defense of our planet,” Agira explained, still shaking, “and that is why my people are fighting now.”

Re’van bared his teeth, releasing a low growl of annoyance. “You are young and naïve little Statyti. Ra’gor is not in need of protecting.”

“What do you mean?” Agira asked.

“If your people had not slaughtered the creatures that had entered onto your land you would not be at war. It was by your mistake that these events have come to pass. Time has skewed your understanding of your master’s charge.”

“Then help us,” Agira said.

“DO NOT COMMAND ME,” Re’van bellowed. “You do not know who you speak to.”

Agira cringed, curling into a ball as she slid back into the volcanic wall behind her, watching the obsidian before her as it turned into liquid magma with the growing anger of Re’van, leaving her with no more than a few feet of space to survive on. She could feel the heat growing. Her impending doom growing closer.

“Please,” Agira pleaded. 

            “So it is the salvation of your people that you desire?” Re’van asked, almost angrily.       

            “Y-y-yes,” Agira stuttered in fear.

            “And you are willing to give anything to do so?” there was no compassion in his voice. He craved something of his own.

            “Yes.”

            “I can…help…” Re’van shifted, a hint of smile crossing the rigid and defiant features of face.

            “How,” Agira’s voice was stronger and stupidly bold. “There are many more of my people then there are of you, how could you help billions of us as we fall beneath thousands of these newcomers? They are strong.”

             “Do you truly believe, in the midst of your own weakness, something like me to be powerless? As but a mass locked within the throes of a mountain? Your blatant disrespect of who I am almost leads me to recant my decision. Your people fall for a reason; this reason is because you are weak and pitiful creations. Your creator gave you no skills to survive without his power. He formed you and then left you to die on your own. It is as if he knew your existence would be futile. A mistaken creation, so he left you to form something better, but it is I who can make you greater still, surpassing even the greatest expectations he may have had.” 

            Re’van opened his mouth, releasing a jet of flame onto the screaming Statyti. Agira fell to her knees upon the burning magma before she realized that the flame itself was not actually harming her, but rather flowing into her, becoming one with her being. The spout of flame stopped abruptly. Opening up her eyes Agira noticed that her body had become like that of Re’van. Looking over her shoulder she saw that her body was immolating and that she had wings sprouting out from her back. She was also no longer walking on two feet, but four, and was large, very large. Agira had instantly grown to the size of one of the grand stone homes that her people constructed. Her head was shaped like an eagle with the body of a lion. She had become a griffon, engulfed in molten trails of magma.

            “Do you feel it?” Re’van asked curiously. “Do you feel the power that is coursing through you, the strength, the agility, the sheer power? Revel in it.”

            “I feel it,” Agira said in reverence.

            “Go. Change the course of history.” Agira spread her wings, testing them. She leapt off of the ground and into the air, heading for the exit, just barely able to hear the voice of Re’van as she pushed free of the volcano’s mouth. “Return to me when it is finished. My freedom is in your charge.”

            Agira flew out over the treetops, completely oblivious to the burning wood below and the erupting volcano behind. Everywhere she flew the woods and greenery began to burn as torrents of magma burst forth from the ground, setting the landscape ablaze. The lively beauty of Ra’gor would soon be replaced by the deathly smog that pervades its atmosphere today. Ra’gor had been poisoned. It lay dying.

            Agira bolted over the flaming scenery, making her way to her fearful brethren who would soon join her in her newfound power. She landed gracefully amongst the masses of her people, who fell back in a panic, thinking that Agira was some sort of creation summoned by the D’karians, but Agira swiftly commanded their attention.

            “Do not be afraid,” she began. “I am Agira. I was once like you, but I have been given a gift, a gift that will allow us to defeat the threat that has invaded our lands. With this power we will exterminate the invaders and be free of their presence forever.”

            The Statyti began to overcome their fear and steadily stepped closer. Each desired to defend their planet, they believed it to have been their charge since the beginning, and they knew that this was their way of completing that task. Agira stood three times taller than them; they were able to see the power within her and were beginning to welcome it with open arms.

            “How do we become like you?” A Statyti called out.

            Agira didn’t respond. Her body began to crackled and erupt, spouts of magma shooting out from every pore on her body, expanding and engulfing thousands of Statyti at a time. The spouts began to separate into hundreds of trails that shot over the Statyti, surrounding them. In moments they began to grow, each becoming unique in contrast to the exactness of their former appearance. One took the appearance of a flaming bird; many others became different kinds of primates, both new and old. Another became a panther with the frill of a snake sinuously coming out of its neck. The females grew noticeably larger than the males; one in particular grew nearly as large as a mountain, with many spikes, making her body a terrible sight to behold.

            Many of the flaming creatures burst into the air upon their wings, soaring through the darkening skies in hoards. The creatures assembled and proceeded to the battle, crushing the overwhelmed D’karian forces with their newfound strength, killing the powerful Kunga who called herself Shimora and blinding another, leaving the Kunga with only four of their order for another four thousand years.

            The D’karians retreated back through their portal, forced to pull back to their planet in a tragic defeat, and bearing the dead form of the Kunga Shimora. Agira was proud of their triumph, but had not forgotten her promise to return to Re’van. She returned to the volcano, which had been erupting since the time of the battle and continued to do so now. Fire spewed into the skies, polluting them with the dark smog and lighting up the atmosphere with a phosphorescent red light.  The multitudes of trees, which had previously filled the volcanic walls with a sea of green, had been eradicated, burned to ash by the lava that continued to flow down its surface. The planets beauty had been lost, replaced by the red tide.

Agira flew into the volcano’s entrance, through the molten rock that continued to be ejected from the giant hole at its peak. She spiraled downwards around the perimeter of the volcanoes interior, unaffected by the heat of lava. Upon reaching the liquid base, she alighted softly on the magma before the curled, resting form of Re’van, who had his head tucked in between the giant crossed structures of his front paws. Somehow he commanded the magma in a way that forced it to form a clearing at the base of the volcano; it spiraled around them in a dome, allowing for clear visibility.

Re’van opened his right eye, staring at Agira passively. He lifted his head, turning it to look at Agira with both of his piercing eyes, which bore into her deeply. Agira was about to speak when Re’van silenced her with his powerful voice, standing to his full height. “You have returned. I have glimpsed the victory of your people.”

“That is your doing,” Agira responded, trying to be humble.

“Indeed,” Re’van chuckled. “However, it is now time for you to fulfill the unspoken promise you made to me.” Re’van roared. The sound was so powerful that the walls began to shake and crack. Agira leapt back to the wall, fearful for her life. “There is no need for your fear,” Re’van said, a malicious smile plastered to his face. “Your life is not in danger, but your will, and those of your people, is now forfeit to my every command. You have secured the power of my gift, and shall now reap the consequences of the ignorance you showed. Had your people taught you correctly you would have known.”

Agira could feel her will slipping away, quickly fading from her grasp, leaving her with the sole desire of her master. “But,” Re’van said with a dark grin, “your ignorance was the key to setting me free, whether or not I exploited that weakness makes no difference now. You are mine. You alone have condemned your people. You said you would give anything. This choice was yours.”

*Find the Igna in Genesis, a novel by Andrew Davis

Author's Note

This is a short story in connection to my novel series GENESIS. It is meant to outline the creation of the race of creatures my main character, Korbin, faces off against in the novel.

Let me know what you think!

Reviews

[Sheila Kline]

The last lines of your story carry a very powerful message; leading to GENESIS was the end for Agira. Re'van was quite shrewd! I appreciate your attentiveness to correct spelling and punctuation! Emotions are intense, descriptions are intense!