The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix

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  A giant black shape loomed above, snarling its defiance as it lunged forward on the attack, only to vanish into the mist. Oh, how peaceful and quiet, to rest without dread or care. So this is death? How sweet it is, like a friend and companion, a mother giving suck. No fear, no pain, no feeling at all. ‘I am a free woman at last, as Death is my witness and the Silent Tomb my lover… a free woman at last.’

  ‘Fa-boom…! Fa-boom…! Fa-boom…!’ Rhythmic explosions rolled across the fathomless expanse of nothingness. ‘Fa-boom… ! Fa-boom…!’ Thunders suddenly overpowered by an oppressive roar of violent winds tore through the senses only to fade into silence, and then, again, gather up the storm in a returning as the tempest rushed by once more like tortured waters returning to an angry sea. Over and over, fierce winds raged, all the while the frantic booming echoing across the oppressive sky of silence.

  Eventually the tempest eased until it sounded like little more than an agitated breeze gently pushing its way through orderly rows of long-needled evergreens, the boisterous booming quieting until it beat a lazy ‘thump, thump, thump’.

  While the music of this lullaby gently rocked the universe, a fiery red glow awoke within the surrounding blackness and rose as if from a heavy mist, slowly turning the universe of darkness into a flaming inferno, filling the entire expanse with its writhing clouds of tortured fires rolling like an angry storm across endless skies. The blinding brilliance of the crimson fires grew in glory until it consumed the mind in a maddening ache. And there was found no escape from it, for the powers of the flames only intensified…no escape from it until… in time, the blazing cloud mass tired, having spent its mightiness, and it, too, was gathered up to the endless expanse, spreading its flames out across the entire universe and setting it ablaze in a smoldering haze. Yet, even then, the fires, too, were not happy to remain, slowly being consumed in a growing radiance that eventually flooded the world in the purity of its whitened brilliance. Oh, but alas, also, for the powers of these wondrous fires, the darkness of black refused to surrender its throne, pressing ever inward until the mightiness of the blazing white light shrank in its glory, it gathering up its defeated army into a smaller and smaller defensive circle until it, too, silently retreated back to the nothingness.

  The sounds of the consuming breezes and the gentle thumping also soon fell under the spell of the blackness until they quietly sang gentle, sleepy songs like that of quiet waters lapping upon sandy beaches. Now the blackness came near, gathering up all the senses in its loving swaddling bands, cooing softly a melody of restful refrains.

  “Sleep now my little one.

  The day is sweet and young.

  Tomorrow is soon enough to wake your dream.

  So long you’ve slept, so long it’s been.

  So rest, my little one, and care for naught.

  Tomorrow, tomorrow, it’s soon enough...”