Races of Armis: Emerald Wings Read online

Races of Armis – Emerald Wings

  By Deb Sartoris

  Copyright @ 2012 Deb Sartoris

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  This book is dedicated to my father – I love and miss him very much. His encouragement allowed me to be all I can be.

  To my husband who has always given me the strength to be my own person. To my family all who have given me the encouragement to become anything that I wanted to be.

  This novel was inspired by many fictional and non-fictional persons, places and things in my past, present and future which have given me many planets, species and quantum times to dream about.

  I dedicate this novel to those worlds and species yet to be discovered and for those who find themselves dreaming of new worlds to invent.

  Imagination is a powerful entity and it is inspired by many avenues. Inspiring others via any media possible will continue to give the fictional and non-fictional world wonderful stories to tell.

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  Chapter 1:

  We are on a sister planet of Armis which is located just outside of the Earth’s galaxy. My name is Roberto and I’m from the old world planet known as Earth. I and others of my kind left their old worlds when our species found a new way to survive. We left on a journey to find her home planet a very long time ago. That adventure ended on this sister planet when our son was born. My wife Sofia believed that her home was in danger and we decided to travel by means of her space ship to try and locate her home world.

  Today, I think would be good a good day to re-tell how my nephew Steven, the son of my brother in law Ely and his beautiful wife Wisteria, met his flying mate Algamight, the great Emerald winged dragon.

  Algamight’s story will take you through her life from the time she was born and then reborn from her golden egg. Algamight’s journey was not without peril and sacrifice for herself and her species. How she and Steven came to be together is a great adventure.

  I can see off in the distance the giant dragon, Algamight, who is now our planet’s protector. You can not yet see the beauty of her body as the sun must touch her scales to bring her magnificence into view. I am witness to her greatness each day as she is so much a part of our lives on this planet now. When the great sun touches her scales you can see the gold, green and blue hues that are her clothing. Her eyes glow red as rubies and sparkle as if diamonds are held inside her irises. Her squadron of dragons slowly rides the night current as it gives way to the morning light.

  Ely and his wife Wisteria are of Armis and their race is called Mica. It is difficult for me to explain the exact details as I’m not of their world or of their species. My wife Sofia is of the Armis bloodline. She and many others of her kind fled their planet many centuries ago when it was attacked by another race of beings. Their departure from Armis and their space flight led them to my planet Earth.

  Ely and Wisteria were separated from Sofia when their spacecraft had to make an emergency landing on my planet. The escape pod carrying Sofia landed on the opposite side of my world just as Sofia saw her transport ship explode in the sky. Sofia had assumed for many centuries that the handful of people that were in her escape pod were the only survivors of her planet Armis.

  Much time had passed from the explosion in the sky and the time when Sofia and I met in a bookstore. As chance would have it, our courtship over those many months led us deep into the adjoining forest near our estates.

  One day as if guided by fate we happened upon this small cave near daylight and with that luck we came across Ely and Wisteria and the remaining remnants of a once lost race buried deep within the ground. Pieces of their large spaceship were buried with them, however the technology and the use of the ship were lost after Sofia was separated from them during the emergency landing procedure.

  Time had passed for Ely and Wisteria who had also assumed that Sofia had been lost. Sofia is the queen of Armis. She is part of the planet and it is part of her. Ely and Wisteria are the same. Each must be with the other in order to bring new life into this world. Without Sofia the process of birthing their species’ children into the world had all but stopped. Many of the Armis race died over those centuries. While others found a way to transfigure into creatures that already existed upon my old world.

  The Mica’s have the ability to transform into clear luminous entities that allow them to then become any type of species that they wish to emulate. Mica’s are known for their love of all animals, plants and life forms and obtain their sustenance by drawing upon other creatures around them.

  Ely and Wisteria had tried like many of the other survivors to bring children into their lives. Each time the process had failed and most of the group had resigned themselves into believing that they would not survive as a species.

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  Chapter 2:

  Ely and Wisteria lived their lives as best that they could inside their cave and the broken pieces of their ship. As the time passed many of the remaining crew members of the ship began to scatter. Some chose to transform into other creatures that they grew to love. Some chose to stay and help Ely and Wisteria make a home within the cave.

  No one can remember just how many years had passed before Sofia and I happened upon the small entrance to that cave. Sofia, Ely and all the others assumed that each was lost during the initial destruction of their ship so no one had taken the time to search for survivors.

  Ely became the leader of their group and Sofia had become the leader of her small group. Each burdened with the task of ensuring their survival on an unknown world.

  Ely and Wisteria had many injured to attend. As their craft was spinning out of control into the Earth’s atmosphere, Ely and all of the remaining Micas shifted into their natural forms and bonded together with the ship in order to safely land onto the ground. This act saved most of the crew and much of their ship.

  When Sofia and I found the cave and the remaining Micas there was an event that was about to occur. Wisteria was due to give birth to her first child. Micas must have someone with them to help bring their children into the world.

  Sofia and I were present at this process. The Micas require time to slow and to make the space around them become still during their birthing process. It was a difficult time for me as I have often seen many children born that did not survive the process.

  Ely and Sofia rested their hands upon Wisteria’s belly and all three shimmered out of existence for a time that seemed endless to me.

  Just as I was about to give up hope that all were lost the time shifted back to normal and everyone including the new child arrived back into their more familiar forms. This is how my nephew Steven came to be in this world.

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  Chapter 3:

  Steven arrived to the cheers of all the inhabitants of the cave. My Sofia was the happiest to have found her brother at such a critical time in his life. Ely explained that while he and Wisteria could help others bring children into the world no one of the royal Armis blood line had survived the crash to help them bring their own child into the world.

  Sofia’s arrival at the cave just before the birth of Steven was another of many coincidences that have occurred since I have become part of this family of Micas.

  After the birth of Steven both Sofia and Ely sent messages to the surviving crew members in an effort to bring everyone together and ensure that as many of the remaining Micas could be found and brought together at the cave.

  Steven was growing and many other children were born after Sofia had arrived to attend to their births. Steven was the heir to Armis and it was important that he be trained in all the known skills of the Armis people.

  As it would happen I was found by a hunter just as many of the Micas had r
eturned to the cave. The hunter Mesquil was sent by my tribe to find me because of my dying elder and a message that he had written in his dream state upon the walls of his resting place.

  As I and several others including Ely and Sofia left the cave to return back to my home village we did not know at the time that another ship from Armis was heading toward my home planet.

  After the death of my elder and the translation of the message it became important for all of my species and the Micas to return together to the cave and the spaceship.

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  Chapter 4:

  During our time with my people and the long boat voyage home to the cave the remaining Micas had spent their time in the repairing of the damaged ship. It was decided that any and all species that wanted to return with us back to Armis would be allowed to do so. The ship was large enough to take all travelers with us.

  Some like me were unsure of the process of boarding a ship that traveled in space. I was well schooled in the sciences and yet I still could not put my mind around the thought of space travel.

  Just as we were about to complete the ship repairs a second royal ship arrived on our home planet. They had come in search of the royal children – Sofia and Ely. They were sent by friends and other family members from Armis.

  As each ship was part of the other repair parts were created and used to retrofit the older ship that had carried Ely and Sofia to my planet.

  The time had come for us to leave my world.

  Sofia had explained in great detail how much of the ship functioned. I knew how the materials would be loaded and stored and how the ship would lift up out of the many years of soil that covered it.

  I understood how each person would be placed inside their Kyro tubes and sent into deep freeze for much of the long journey back to Armis.

  What I did not understand was what would happen to the ship while we were asleep. Sofia and Ely both had tried to explain to me but I just could not understand the concept. The orbiting new ship in space would somehow join and become part of our ship that was buried in the ground.

  As the two ships combine their essences this process would create the power required to shift us into a different time warp and start our journey home. The ships were part of Armis just as the rest of the Micas were and they are each separate and yet part of their planet like a light in the dark sky is a star in a starry night.

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  Chapter 5:

  As the newly fixed space ship was about to take off each passenger was loaded and placed inside their Kyro tubes. Due to the large amount of travelers and the somewhat limited space – some of the Micas had to transform into their original state of being – each person is slightly different but for the most part their true essence can be best described as a crystal fog state.

  This translucent state can allow many of them to be placed inside a single Kyro tube. My Sofia and Ely spent the better part of that final day sending their friends and family members into their deep sleep.

  Ely, Wisteria and Steven had already been placed into their Kyro tubes and Sofia had checked to ensure that they would be safely asleep while we made our journey to their home planet. The many years that it takes to reach Armis, even with their extraordinary spacecraft, is something that I must confess worried me. Never had someone of my species had to endure such a long time without feeding. Sofia was confident that the state that the Kryo tubes place our bodies in would ensure I did not suffer during our long space travel.

  Sofia and I returned to our chamber on the ship. Everything was ready. The ship had been checked and rechecked. The awaking schedules for the various crew members had been double checked by Sofia to ensure that the trip home to Armis was carefully monitored.

  Sofia had been somewhat distracted – more than usual – the past few days as we prepared for our departure. As we prepared to join our families in sleep, Sofia appeared to shimmer even more. Her sparkle was back. Our night in the meadow only a few short days before had helped bring her life force back. As we lay down in our tube she smiled and kissed me. I could not ever fathom life without her.

  I kissed my wife, my Sofia, and wrapped my arms around her. Sofia announced she wished to tell me something of great importance as the lid to our tube slowly closed. She told me that the change in her health was caused by our night together in the meadow. I had no idea what she might be trying to tell me. I was already getting groggy as the Kryo tube was slowly being filled with our sleep vapor. Sofia rolled next to me and whispered to me that I was to become a father.

  As my eyes closed my last thoughts were of my wife and soon to be born child that had been conceived against all possible odds.

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  Chapter 6:

  I do not know how much time had passed when I slowly became aware that I was being awoken. As it is with my species we can sleep for a long period of time. To the outside world our appearance would be considered a dead state. We can lay still and unmoving for many years.

  Since the journey out into space and within this new technology of our Kyro tube had never been endured by our kind I was awoken in a state of confusion and distress.

  I remembered going to sleep with Sofia at my side. I remembered the reason for our journey back to her home planet.

  As I reached for Sofia – I saw that she was also slowly awaking. She was cold to the touch and we both had ice crystals all over our skin and clothing. The blue fog inside the tube was being sucked out via another tube and the air was being warmed at the same time.

  “EMERGENCY AWAKING REQUIRED”

  “MICAIANS ARE BEING COMUNICATED WITH”

  The ship’s voice was echoing loudly and outside of our compartment you could hear alarms and see flashing lights. As the lid to our tube lifted and the lights within our compartment were turned up I suddenly realized that Sofia looked completely different. While her body was still slightly covered in ice you could just make out the new swell of her belly. Sofia lifted herself up and off the Kyro tube table and stood unsteadily by the side of the unit while I attempted the same process of standing.

  “MASTER STEVEN REQUIRES ATTENTION”

  “MISTRESS SOFIA – AWAKE YOU ARE REQUIRED”

  “MASTER ROBERTO – AWAKE YOU MUST ATTEND TO SOFIA”

  More alarms and commands from the ship.

  Sofia’s hand went to her belly and a smile crossed her blue tinted lips. As I came around to the other side to help her down she began to shimmer and I watched as the blue tint from our cold sleep slowly dissipated and her warm glowing skin returned.

  “MISTRESS SOFIA – PREPARE FOR ROBERTO”

  It was then that I realized that my body had not been fed for sometime. As I warmed within our compartment, Sofia’s skin changed color. My true nature as a Dhampir raised its ugly head. My fangs dropped and the saliva within my mouth grew more active.

  I started to take steps to back away from my wife. Each step seeming to take a life time. I was still cold. My skin was still drawn tight across my bones and blue from our Kyro tubes. As I have no natural way to increase my heart rate except to feed I begged Sofia to leave our compartment as quickly as possible.

  Sofia also realized as she has done so many other times that I needed to feed. While I had been taking all of my blood from my Sofia in the past – now that she was with child and her belly was swollen in front of her I was using all my strength to stay out of her grasp.

  Sofia walked slowly toward me with her face turned toward me. She was whispering something that even with my super hearing was inaudible to me.

  “ORDER RECEIVED – NO OTHER DHAMPIRS HAVE BEEN AWAKENED”

  As the space between us grew smaller with each step my hunger grew. My mind was concerned for her and our child but my animal instincts were all about the approaching food source.

  Sofia reached my outstretched arms with a smile across her ruby red lips. “You must drink from me” were the words that my mind heard from her. Her lips did not move and yet her w
ords were loud and clear like a wind across my skin. As the hunger pressed, from deep within my gums I could feel my fangs nip my own lips. I could no longer deny myself the pleasure of her neck as she turned her face slightly away from me.

  I could see the pulse within her neck as it beat time with her heart rate. My mouth opened and I grabbed Sofia and struck her with such force that we both tumbled back onto the Kryo table. As the blood from my mate entered my mouth and the sweet taste of her dropped down my throat something seemed different. I had tasted Sofia many times over these past years and never had the taste of earth and sea overwhelmed me as I took my fill of her blood. I could see green fields and yet there was red like fire everywhere. I could smell smoke and sense danger.

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  Chapter 7:

  As with Sofia all time seem to slow. Our compartment seemed warmer. Perhaps - partly because I had taken my fill from Sofia or because the spaceship had started our process of waking. In either case – we still had the flashing lights and the warning voice blaring in our ears.

  “Danger – impact to planet in 10 minutes” – “Warning – ship reaching outer atmosphere of planet in 5 minutes”.