Prologue

The dragon’s wide jaws snapped down on the Edenite as fast as a cobra strike, and blood sprouted like a fountain.  It was as if a ripe melon had just been smashed with a hammer, and all of those around the massive beast were sprayed by the gruesome act.  The man was horrifically still alive as he gasped and sputtered, unable to scream as the monster thrashed about in an attempt to sever his upper half from his lower.

Numbed by what he had just seen, Seth, son of Adam, stared up at the two-legged giant and felt his legs threatening to give way under him.  Nothing in his life had prepared him for this.  Nothing could have.  The six meter tall beast with stubby forelimbs and tree trunk legs had plowed into the main line of Eden’s defenses.  Its metal armor plating, a recent advancement for Mankind, shielded it from many types of attacks, forcing even pikes to bounce off or snap as if they were twigs.

Then a voice in the back of Seth's mind screamed, piercing through the fog that was attempting to override all senses.  “Attack!” he heard himself screaming, echoing that voice in his mind.  He jerked his spear in the direction of one of the greatest predators the world has ever known.  “While its jaws are busy!”  All at once, he found himself charging at the towering terror as the soldiers around him obeyed.  They, also, were too numbed by what had just happened to even know what they were doing.

It wasn’t as if Man had never faced dragons in the past.  The Maw Dragon, as it was called, had plagued Adam-kind since almost the beginning.  It was one of the greatest of dragons in strength, but it was slow to react and easily tricked.  It also had a great weakness in that anything it snapped its jaws down on it would focus on.  This left it exposed to attack for several moments while it devoured its prey.

So, besides the sheer presence of the dragon itself, and its recent action, what left the Defenders of Salem stunned was the fact that the beast had been tamed by their enemies.  Also, there were a LOT of them leading the assault on Urusalim; the City of Peace and Throne of the High King of the Earth.  The dragons were organized and used as mounts, and they were covered in metal armor.  Their riders used long pikes to jab at their foes as they surged into the fray. 

A moment into the charge and Seth saw, out of the corner of his eye, several winged dragons swoop down.  In the darkness of twilight, as the last rays of the sun sank below the horizon, he could just make out their shape, like giant bats with long beaks.  They pecked at the soldiers of Eden as they skimmed atop their ranks, each one attempting to smash the skulls or the faces of those who faithfully defended Urusalim.  

These Dart Dragons were the opposite of the Maw Dragons.  They were fast and agile and fairly intelligent.  When a flock descended upon a gathering of Man or beast they were indeed a force to be reckoned with.  The best weapons against them were pikes and spears, though arrows in great number could tear their wings and force them to crash to the ground.

Seth ignored this attack.  He had to.  He had to trust that someone behind him would be able to fight back against these winged drakes.  His main threat right now was the Maw Dragon in front of him and the army of Man and beast that backed it up.  “Watch the flanks!” he shouted to his right and left, and then his spear jabbed into the dragon’s chest, right between two metal plates.  Immediately following, half a dozen other spears made the Maw Dragon a pin cushion.

As the Maw Dragon reared its head back, roaring in agony and stumbling, its rider attempted to jab down with his pike at Seth, just as he had to several of Seth’s unit a moment before.  He missed, and because the dragon staggered, the man lost his grip on the reins.  The rider fell off and was engulfed in the surging army of his comrades.  As for the Maw Dragon, one of the spears must have hit something vital, for the beast was now thrashing about in death throes.

Seth fell back to avoid getting smashed by the dying dragon.  “Let the dragon smash its own and defend the sides!  Here they...”

But he fell silent as he drew his sword, bringing his shield up to block the incoming blow of an enemy soldier; a man!  Seth defended the blow and gave ground to him.  All around, chaos had erupted as Man and beast clashed with one another.  Seth took a moment to look at his combatant.  “Why are you doing this?  Brother!  Please!” he cried, but the man came at him again with evil intent in his eyes.

“You are no brother of mine!” the man growled at him through the wrapping that covered his face and wound around his head.

Again and again the enemy rained blows down upon Seth’s shield.  “Stop!  We don’t want to fight you!” Seth cried out, but the man no longer responded.  “We are family!”  

Tears welled up in his eyes.  This was unthinkable.  He had killed many animals in his life, but never had he killed another man.  It was wrong on every level.  Adam-kind had enough problems trying to survive.  They didn’t need this.  It was madness!  

Stop!  Stop!  STOOOOOOOOOP!  He wanted to cry these words until the man listened, but he just kept falling back and blocking the man’s swings one after another.

And then an attack came from his right.  Sickle Dragons tore through his friends, brothers and loved ones.  They were like the Maw Dragon in that they ran on two feet and had stubby forelimbs, but they were fast, intelligent, and their back legs were like battering rams with sickle-like claws on them.  They would drop back on their tails and rake opponents with those claws, slicing through flesh and clothing as if they were paper.

Sickle Dragons moved in packs, and they didn’t need riders.  They were intelligent enough to coordinate their actions.  Still, it was unbelievable that the Cainites of Hamoukar could tame them, to get them to fight for them.  The Sickle Dragons were among the most rebellious of all dragons.

One of them came right for Seth at that moment, and there was no way he could continue to defend himself against the man attacking him and the Sickle Dragon at the same time.  Seth saw death coming with razor sharp teeth and eyes burning with lust for the flesh and blood of man.  

At the last second, however, a gorilla bellowed, “For the High King!”  He leapt up out of the fray with bladed, metal club in his right hand.  He bashed the side of the Sickle Dragon’s face.  The monster veered to its right and crashed into Seth’s initial attacker, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there.

Seth was free for a moment from the fight, and he looked over his shoulder at the gorilla with immense appreciation and relief.  “Hamishmar!” he cried.  “Your timing is perfect, as always!”

The gorilla smiled and saluted him with a fist to his chest.  Then, adjusting his bloody helmet, he charged at another of the Sickle Dragons.  Seth realized that Hamishmar was wiser than he.  No hesitation!  No time for idle talk during battle!  He turned his attention to another of the enemy.  

The closest was a saber-toothed tiger.  These were known as Fang Cats.  The animal had pinned an Edenite lion to the ground and it had just gored it with its massive fangs.  Seth caught it unawares and hacked down on the back of its neck with his sword right between the cat’s armored plating.  The force of the blow was enough to dig into the large feline's spine, and Seth heard a resounding snap.  The cat collapsed atop the lion, hardly knowing what hit it.

The mists were rising now, as they did most evenings.  This threatened to cloud out everything.  It would make it difficult to see who was skirting around their defenses to the main gates of Urusalim.  Recognizing this, Seth ordered, “Retreat!  Fall back to the gates!”  

All the men of the city turned as if they had been thinking the same thing at the same time, and the Edenites withdrew like a tidal wave over the last of the barricades before the main gates.  Right behind them, the Cainites charged, giving out cries of victory and lust for more blood.

At the rear of the Cainite army, Tubal-Cain sat on his four-legged dragon, its long neck extending over the battlefield so that he could see everything that was transpiring below.  He looked over at Lamech, his father, a very stern look on his face.  “They are falling back sooner than you’d expected,” he said to the ruler of Hamoukar.  “Should we be concerned?”

Lamech, upon his own Tower Dragon, only glanced over at him in return, meeting his gaze for but a moment before turning back to watch.  “Urusalim has no chance,” he said, his voice deep and almost beast-like.  “We are the gods of the Earth!”

Tubal-Cain then turned his own attention back to the battle, puffing out his chest with pride.  “Soon we will be known throughout the world as the people who overthrew the self-proclaimed High King of the Earth, ending once and for all the blasphemies and injustices they spew out upon us all.  We are accomplishing what our forefathers should have done a long time ago.”

“Sumer has the might,” Lamech replied with a dark look on his face.  “Enki merely lacks the courage to seize what is rightfully his.  He takes after his father too much.  He is too soft; allowing his conscience to rule over him.  That is why we had to leave Sumer.  We needed to be free of the tyranny of the conscience.”

“Conscience!” Lamech continued, nearly spitting out the word in disgust.  “It is nothing more than a set of rules and laws that parents and rulers brainwash children with in an effort to control them.  They take people when they are most impressionable and they twist their minds into submission.  The greatest enemy of all, my son, is this.  Destroy the conscience and a man unlocks his true potential.  He becomes unlimited and unshackled.”  

Tubal-Cain only half listened to his father’s lecture.  He had heard this same thing most of his life already.  Instead, his primary focus was on the battle below.  He loved the idea of war, and he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Nevertheless, Lamech still droned on, oblivious to his son’s true focus.  “It was Cain’s greatest weakness.  Conscience drove every decision Cain had made.  He could have been so much more.  He should have been so much more.  He just couldn’t shake the guilt.”  Lamech shook his head.  “This is Enki's greatest weakness as well, and it prevents him from taking his rightful place as High King of the Earth.”

Tubal-Cain did hear this last statement.  “So we will take it!” he replied with an emphatic, lusty flare.  He clenched his fist in front of him as if to further emphasize his point.  “We will be the new rulers of the world.  Let the other nations try to stop us!”

Lamech ignored this, returning his own concentration to the battle.  The mists were rising which made it increasingly difficult to see the combatants.  His own units were beginning to vanish in the midst of the fog.  He sighed.  Moving further towards the main gate meant that Urusalim’s troops were moving to slightly higher ground.  They would have better visibility there and a better defensive position.  

No matter, he thought to himself.  I can see the hilltop.  I can see the last barricades.  

Then he turned to his son.  “Advance, but don’t have them attack the last barricade yet.  We will show them the true power of the gods.”  Then Tubal-Cain issued forth the command, and the armies beneath them surged forward even harder.

Back at the main gates of Urusalim, Seth bounded over the barricade and had just spun around, when a sudden brightness flared to life in the north, beyond the invading army.  He could see, as plain as day, a large ball of fire building in size and strength.  “What in the Devil’s Name!” Hamishmar said, dropping down next to Seth.  “It looks as if that Tower Dragon is... is about to breathe fire!”

“Negative!” came another voice suddenly from Seth’s left.  A moment later, a large bird landed on his shoulder plate, flapping its wings wildly in an effort to gain its balance as well as to avoid throwing off Seth’s.  It only took a moment to stabilize itself and it tucked its wings in so that it could look Seth in the eyes.  Its long tail feathers cascaded down Seth’s back like a cape.

The magnificent creature was about one meter in length, if one excluded the tail.  Its feathers were mostly gold and red with a few hints of purples, greens and blues nearest to its body; all giving off the appearance that the bird was actually made of fire.  It had a long train of feathers behind it which were capable of flaring out, similar to a peacock’s.  However, when this bird flared its tail it did so mid-flight, and the feathers spread out beneath it, making it seem almost as if jets of flame were shooting out from under it.  When it did this in combination with its piercing screech, it was truly an intimidating sight.  Its eyes were blue like sapphires, and when it looked at Seth he felt as if the creature was boring into his soul.

“Phoenix!” Seth cried with relief.  “I thought you were dead!”

“No time to explain!” the bird squawked at him in urgency.  “It’s the rider!  I think he’s the leader.  He’s... chanting and waving his hands... and the fire is just... just appearing there... above the dragon’s head.”

Looking back at the dragon in the distance, its long neck extended like a pillar holding up the night sky, it took a moment for Seth to realize what was happening.  His eyes went wide.  “Oh Lord!  No!  MAGIC!!!”  The fireball was now as large as the head of one of the Maw Dragons.  “Back away!  Fall back from the barrica...”

And just like that, Lamech unleashed the fireball.  It flew through the air like a comet right for the center where Seth was standing.  Seth no longer had to give the order.  Seeing the blast coming, his people scrambled.  The ball of fire slammed into the mound of boulders, tree limbs, and other debris, and it exploded; fragments flying in all directions.  Some of the debris slammed into the soldiers on both sides, impaling them or smashing them.  Either way, those hit by the carnage typically did not get back up.

As for the Phoenix, he had instantly taken flight and he now hovered above the inferno between the gap that was once the center of the last barricade.  As all viewed him, the great bird flared and screeched at the enemies of Eden, buying time for his allies to recover.  To all gathered there, he truly appeared to have ascended out of the fireball itself, as if he had risen from the ashes of destruction.  None would ever forget the image.  He was like a blazing seraphim as he flapped his wings violently.  All that survived that day would tell the tale that would be passed down in one form or another throughout the course of human history.

But the distraction only lasted a few moments.  “Charge!” the cry went up from Tubal-Cain as the last fragments of the barricade came crashing to the ground.  The Cainites obeyed and poured through the gap Lamech had just made.  They also came around the sides as the shattered remains burned brightly in the night.

Seth got to his feet and spun around to face his foe.  His helmet had been knocked off during the explosion and now lay at his feet.  He didn’t care.  He could see much better now, and he had no time to concern himself with it.  His mind was racing, trying to figure out what tactic to use next.  He ran the fingers of his shield hand through his matted and sweaty, short, light brown hair as he surveyed the scene.

“Archers!  Now!” he cried without needing any further deliberation.  In that moment, as Phoenix ascended back into the sky, hundreds of archers sprang up over the battlements upon the North Wall of Urusalim.  Arrows sang as they were immediately released upon the advancing foes.  Like the stingers of giant insects, the missiles pelted and pierced, slaughtering many Cainite Men and beasts and injuring many more.  “Open the gates!” Seth then cried.  “Juggernauts!  Advance!”

Then Seth and his forces parted, focusing on the left and right flanks of enemy troops as the mighty stone gates of Urusalim swung open, guided by large stone wheels that rolled along tracks made in the earth.  As the gates opened wide enough, huge mammoths, known as Juggernauts during this time in human history, thundered down the slopes and right into their enemies.  They trampled some and gored others with their tusks.  On their backs, guiding the stampede, several Edenites rode, firing arrows into the sea of enemies below.  

Finally, it was time for the Cainites to flee.  Unable to stop the momentum of these great animals, the Cainites turned and scattered in all directions.  Those Cainites on mounts, even on dragon mounts, pulled on the reigns and dodged as best they could.  Though the Juggernauts had no armor, their skin was thick, and their tusks were like tree trunks that could impale the largest of dragons.  Adding to this, the Edenites had wrapped line upon line between the tusks of the beasts, fixing these lines with blades, so that anything caught between the tusks would be gouged and impaled and shredded to pieces.

Following on the heels of this stampede, hiding in the shadows, in the mists, and now in the clouds of dust kicked up in the wake of the mammoths, Lailah and her pack made their way along unnoticed.  She was the matriarch of a special breed of dogs that Seth had raised himself; an offshoot of the greyhound.  Her name meant "Night", and her now deceased mate’s name was Baraq, which meant "Lightning".  Lailah was pitch black in color while Baraq was golden.  Thus, their pups were born mostly black with patches of gold.  They were known as the Lailah Baraq, the "Night Lightning" breed.  

Night Lightnings were about a meter tall and were slim and sleek in appearance.  They were incredibly fast runners, and were known to be very sweet-spirited, gentle and noble.  When someone threatened a person they loved, however, they were fierce.  Typically, when they ran, they folded their long ears behind their head, making them more aerodynamic.  However, when their ears perked up, usually when happy or alert, the tips flopped, making them appear rectangle-like in shape.  Their snouts were long and thin, and most curved slightly downward in a beak-like manner.  At the end of their tails were small plumes of golden fir, almost like the balls of fur at the end of a lions' tails.

As the Night Lightnings went, they scanned the perimeter for enemies, looking for the back of the lines.  Seeing a gap, they darted through it and vanished into the darkness.  When the Juggernaut stampede passed, the Cainites turned back to resume their assault on the city, but Lailah and her Night Lightnings seized the opportunity.  They quickly spun around and came upon the enemy’s flank.  

Like hounds from hell, or dark specters in a graveyard, they quietly and swiftly pounced on their prey in the midst of the tall grass of the Northern Fields.  First they teamed up on a single enemy and jumped up on him.  Then they grabbed the individual by the collar and whatever fabric they could grasp on the upper back.  Next, they yanked the person backward so that he fell onto his back.  Finally, without a single growl, they dog-piled him, and began to thrash and tear until the soldier no longer moved.  So that he wouldn't scream, they made sure to tear his throat out first.  Then they moved on to the next victim.

Adam, High King of the Earth, watched from a window in the tallest tower of Urusalim.  It was near the eastern edge of the city, far from the battle but not far enough.  He watched the gates open and the massacre that followed.  He watched as his son, Seth, led his forces through those gates.  He watched as many of the enemy tried to pursue even as the gates thundered shut behind Seth and his main defense forces.  He watched as Seth and his defenders cut down those that had made it inside.  He watched as the archers continued to fire upon the enemy outside.  He watched as the Dart Dragons and other flying creatures swooped down and knocked or snatched people off the walls.  He watched as ladders ascended.  He watched as men fought one another and killed one another and died.

Men!  His children!  All of them!  All of them were HIS descendants!  They were all HIS people!  They were all HIS family!  The madness!  The chaos!  It was almost too much for him to handle.  NO.  It WAS too much for him.  However, he continued to make himself stare at the scene; the nightmare that he could not wake up from.  

“How... how did it come to this?” he asked, his voice barely audible.  Tears streamed down his face and into his trimmed and groomed beard.  He did not make a move to wipe his face.  He could only continue to stare.  “This is... all my fault.  This is all my doing.”

Then he could not contain his emotion any longer.  The weeping of his wife, Eve, from somewhere in the room behind him, tore through him like the teeth of one of those Maw Dragons.  He tore the crown of gold from his head and hurled it out the window.  

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs, shaking from the strain.  Then he grabbed at his beard and tore it with such force.  “Just stop!” he shouted again.  It was as if he expected that his very words would be obeyed if he screamed them loud enough.

But nothing happened.  No.  Those days were gone when all things had to obey the words he spoke.  Those days were gone when he ruled in word and in deed, as God had made him.  Thus, he became subdued.

“Stop.  God.  Please.  Make it stop.”  He turned away from the window, too grieved to punish himself with the images any long.  He strode across the room and passed Eve to the window that faced the west.  There, below, he could see the Garden Gate at the eastern base of the Mountain of God; the mountain also known as the Garden of Eden.  There, in the darkness of the night, the angel spun his fiery sword around in front of the steel bars.  The gate was built by God Himself between two sheer, stone walls of the mountain that were literally not scalable.  It was the only way into the Garden.  Further up, he saw the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, in the heart of the Garden; the heart of what was once his home.

“Oh God,” he pleaded as he stared at the Holy Mountain.  “Please!  I beg you.  Please end this.”  He fell on his knees, his hands folded together and resting on the window sill as the moon’s light illuminated his time-worn face.  His soft, dark brown hair swept past his cheeks as he bowed his head.  “Please,” he pleaded again, broken and torn.  “Please forgive me.  Please forgive me and have mercy on me.”

There was an explosion, again, from the battlefield, as if in response to his prayer.  This shook him more than an earthquake.  He looked back up at the mountain and stood to his feet, his face a mask of pain, agony, grief and anger.  “GOD!” he cried, grabbing his royal robes and tearing them.  “I hate all of this!  I want none of it!”  He continued to tear the robes until his chest was bare and they lay tattered, hanging from his belt at his waist.  “I only want You!  As it was in those days.  I need You!  Father!  FATHER!  Why do you forsake me?  Savior!  Hear me!  Have mercy on me!  I am a sinner!  I have sinned!  I admit it now!  It is all my fault!  Save me!  Save me from this nightmare!  Same us all!  Oh God!  Let Your Savior come now!  Let the one You promised come right now!  I... I... I cannot bear this anymore!  I don’t want to be a god!  I don’t want to be a king!  I don’t want anything but You; but that life we had once, so long ago.”

“Oh God!  You are good!  You are right!  You are life and light and joy and peace.  When I was with You in the Garden...  When You would come to me in the evening, there was joy.”  He fell to his knees again; stricken from grief.  He pounded his fists on the stone window sill.  “There was so much joy!  There was so much life!”

“Now, oh God!  I cannot bear this!  Take this cup from me!  Take this cup of Your wrath from me!  Save me or destroy me!  Revive me or kill me!  Just do not leave me in this state.  Please!  I beg you!  Don’t make me go through this suffering anymore!”  

Then words failed him and he collapsed on the window sill, weeping and gripping his hair tightly into fistfuls.  “How did it come to this?” he asked through his broken state.  “How have we fallen so far?  My children!  My children!  What have I done?”

Too grieved, Eve simply lay there on their bed of feathers and furs weeping as well.  Upon hearing his words, however, she found the strength to rise and walk over to him.  Now she, too, slumped down next to him, putting her arms around him and pulling his broad shoulders close to her.  She began to weep with him, and he put his massive arm around her, holding her so tight that it hurt.

She didn’t care.  The pain he was causing her was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.  Hearing him repent of his sins, of that crime they had committed, together, in the Garden, all those years ago, she could not help but weep all the more.  

She had no voice.  There were no words she could speak.  For her, the pain was too much.  She didn’t care anymore about her appearance.  Her long, blonde hair was no longer pinned up.  No crown adorned her head.  Instead, her hair was tangled and matted.  Her makeup was gone.  She had thrown her jewelry away.  Her eyes and typically pale face were red.  She was soaked with tears.  Like Adam, she had torn her fancy dress, deciding that she now hated the wretched thing more than anything else in the world.  She hated it because it was a symbol of her pride, and it was that very same pride that had started all of this in the Garden all those years ago.

“What have I done?” Adam’s words pierced through her sharper than any blade ever could.  All of his pride was gone.  She could hear it in his voice.  She could feel it in the atmosphere.  Her heart went out to him.

Nothing! she told him silently.  You did nothing wrong.  It was me.  It was all me!  I brought this pain and disaster upon the world.  I ruined it all.  I turned Heaven into Hell!  I was the one who ate of that Accursed Tree first.  I was the one who tempted you and pushed you to eat of it.  I was the one.   I am to blame!  This is all my fault.  This is all my doing.  I do not deserve to live.  And she wept more violently as these thoughts pierced her soul.  I should be the one out there, dying.  Not my children.  

“My CHILDREN!”  Eve’s voice finally came to her, but it sounded like someone else’s.  It had once been so beautiful and strong.  It had once been so clear and full of life.  Now it sounded like some creature from the pits of Sheol had growled out the words.  

Oh God!  For Adam’s sake, and for my children’s sake, just end my life and spare them.  KILL ME!  Let them live!  LET THEM LIVE!

“How have... we fallen... so far?” Adam repeated, his words even more broken.  “How?  HOW?  How did all this come to pass?”