This is My World - Triple-part Fic

[Shurikane]

One Third
The Rotation

Our humble planet was divided in two, by light and darkness. We were few, but we were good people. We lived from the land and all the joys it brought to us. Life was good.

We were followers of the White Goddess. Yes, I know the term sounds as if it has been overused by others, but what I am telling you is true, she is indeed a goddess. She walks the land, slowly, carefully. Her steps are always precise yet delicate. Her flowing white robes, her golden blonde hair, her sky blue eyes, everything about her is symbol of grace, happiness, goodness. We follow her because she is good. Everywhere she walks, life blooms, flowers appear, trees grow and provide shade. Stale and murky water becomes clean and clear. Rotten fruits turn into magnificent wonders as she touches them. Sometimes, she will pick up a fruit, or a vegetable, or a small piece of carcass, and eat it. And the smile that appears thereafter is witness to how good she found it, how much she liked what she had turned over to good.

We were nomads. Villages and cities lasted no more than six months, for exactly on the other side of our humble land was the Black Goddess. She was the polar opposite, but, amazingly, she symbolized good, only in another sense. Her robes and here hair were jet black. Her eyes were of a deep, unpenetrable brown. Everywhere she walked, the grass turned to a morbid dark gray color. Trees died, rivers turned to mud, villages and cities became monsters of metal, spires, observatories, high and imposing structures that we did not like at all. Following her, fleeing from the White Goddess, were the Nomans. They were just like any monster described in novels I used to read. Orcs, goblins, giants, undead, they were all there, and they were well-organized and structured. Their governments worked well, just like ours. The Black Goddess thus had a beauty of her own. Her steps were just as graceful as ours. She had a style of her own. We were not adepts of her, but we had respect. We had respect for the Goddesses and inhabitants of the land.

But, unknown to me, or all of us, was the state of the White Goddess, who endlessly walked the barren lands of the Nomans. And each step she took, she left behind a heaven, a beautiful place. The Black Goddess did not have such a problem. She cared less. Both worlds looked equally beautiful.

I had just moved to a newly build village. In the distance, just on top of a hill, the White Goddess walked, and walked, like the setting sun, bright, amazing, powerful.

For the purposes of this writing, I had to go out of my body for a while, and see what she was doing beyond that hill. I sensed all movement had stopped...

She had paused in her tracks. Her eyes had taken on a blank stare... She looked over her shoulder, then forward again... And then over her shoulder, she repeated the maneuver at least a dozen times, before making her decision.

She was next to a tree. An apple tree. She went sideways, reached for one of the fruits, and ate a piece of it. This fruit was different. Unlike the formerly rotten and spoiled food she used to pick up from the ground, she had decided to go for what had been good, from start to finish. She had taken a fully ripe, grown apple. A perfect apple, flawless, red, delicious.

She chewed, she wasn't smiling at first... Her tongue analyzed the taste. She looked like a wine drinker who had opened the only bottle of the most prestigious liquid of the world, and who made sure she had tasted the substance through and through, before making any decisions.

But then, I had said the most prestigious liquid. The decision, to my utmost horror, was clearly expectable. Suddenly, she smiled, she revealed her perfectly white teeth, and she took another bite, and another, and another. She finished the happle in pure bliss, pure happiness, and when she threw away whatever was not edible, she reached for another apple.

My fear grew worse, as the minutes flew by like a flock of birds fleeing to the warm southern states. They went one by one. And each one that went, meant one less that was left here.

She ate, and ate, and ate, until there were no more apples in the tree. Realizing she had not left any apples for anyone else, in her eternal goodness and beauty, she placed her hand on the tree, closed her eyes for a moment, and before me, I saw new apples growing, taking on a red color. With the deed done, she smiled once more...

...And she headed for my direction.

My fears were true, they were confirmed, and what she had done was going to seal our doom, our doom to all of us, the humans that we are.

She had turned around, and had started to walk back on her tracks.

[Sperrit]

Interesting.... I like it a lot. I hope there is more to come!

Join the Fun

[Shurikane]

Two Thirds
The Revolution



You are not convinced yet? You are not convinced of the doom that threatens us all?... It is almost unthinkable. See, see the White Goddess, as she strolls down the grass field, her calculated steps forgotten, her pale-skinned feet halfway up in the air, dancing, enjoying, feeling. She was almost out of control, smiling, giggling, laughing, taking pleasure at all that she had created with her footsteps for hundreds - let me say, thousands of years. And each step she took, a meridian of the world converted to good.



But, for the first time in my life, I was looking at excess, when good was converted to better. And better was converted to best. And then, unimaginable, the best was converted to better than best, a term one would deem impossible, because what is better than best becomes the best... But if it is better than the best... Oh dear lord, goodness kept going up, and up, and up! Infinitely, without borders or limits, the amount of purity that was before my eyes reached a level not even attained by the ancient gods some still believed in. It was whiter than white. Brighter than the brightest, better than the best, pure, so pure one hundred percent was a small number for it! Purity reached, oh let me say, one thousand, one million percent! This was what I had in front of my eyes! It was the White Goddess, passing over the land again and again, running in circles, playing, talking, laughing with the folk that approached her! And as they went closer, each burst of light hitting them made them more graceful, more beautiful, better and more powerful. Girls grew feathered wings. Their rags became white robes. They moved their wings and took off, and then another ray hit them, and their wings would become the color of pure gold, their eyes would take on the faceted reflect of precious diamonds, and their hair would grow longer, brighter, the color of the golden wheat fields - no, better! - the clear color of a topaz gem, reflective, shining, crystal-clear. The women grew larger wings, their hair took on a healthy brown color, their eyes changed to azure blue. They spelled distinction, grace, maturity and beauty. And the angel girls were freedom, play, entertainment! The boys grew wings on their own too, silver these ones, and their hair changed to a curly blonde, their eyes picking up the freshness of green. And the men, all of them, good and wicked, became angelic gentlemen, distinguished, polite, strong of body but young at heart. And as the youth played in the skies, golden and silver wings merrily carrying them farther up in a new, aerial game of tag, the adults stayed on the ground, hand in hand, hugging each other with their wings, looking at the world with flawless eyes, eyes that could see a marble fifteen miles away if they felt like it. Those eyes catched everything, from the beauty of the earth to the magical aura surrounding it.



Time after time, ray after ray, more people came to join in the fun, and those who had been here the longest, they grew better, more beautiful, more graceful, more intelligent. The ones who had been there for hours, days, weeks, had reached such a level of beauty, that it was impossible to describe, no matter how good I would get as a narrator.



It was like an attempt to describe a cube drawn in fourteen dimensions. It was downright impossible. You should have seen it for yourself, by heavens!



And I, I simply gazed, horrified. Each step the White Goddess took towards me, each step I went back. And after two hours, amazed and sick of such perfection, I finally gathered my wits, turned heels and ran, ran as fast as I could.



At the rate the White Goddess was going, she would take two months at most, two months only, two months to finish her destructive endeavour. Destructive, you ask? Good lord, no, I am not lying to you! Please, stay with me, stay with me 'till the very end, you will see what I mean.



Because, because all that time, all that time that went on, it was spent enjoying and improving that which was already good... And during this wasted time, the Black Goddess took steps towards us.



One day, they would meet, and then only they know what would happen... Or would they? Both of them - I had seen them! - both of them seemed dazed, confused, in a trance. They usually never spoke, and it was with awe that I had watched the White Goddess say her first words in thousands of years.



Days went by. Days that I rushed, rushed and rushed, ran, ran over to meet the Black Goddess. Only she would be able to restore order. She would turn around, and go the other way, catch up to meet the regular six month period, and order would be restored. Yes!



I finally arrived. The Black Goddess took her steps as usual. I stood in front of her, and yelled with all my might: "Black Goddess! Please listen to the humble fellow in your sights! The White Goddess has turned around; she will cause our doom!"



Nothing. She was deaf to my pleas. But, a goblin had heard me, and I saw his signal. We met at the border line of light and dark, taking steps to avoid the powerful rays that changed the world.



"I heard you." The goblin said. "What is wrong, sir?"



"S... Sir..." I was stuttering from stress, stupid I say! "The White Goddess has turned around; she is coming towards you! We have very little time to stop this!"



"We can't do anything I'm afraid." The goblin shook his head, slowly. "Goddesses are unstoppable, and always have been, Human fellow. What they want, they get, always, they get."



"But this cannot happen!... Not now; I have a whole life to live, opportunities before my eyes!"



"Me too. I am but thirty years old... But what will happen will happen."



I screamed and jumped back just in time to avoid a ray of darkness. I hurried back, took some distance. As the hours went by, and as the goblin passed on the message, monsters of all kinds followed the Black Goddess. They were curious, afraid, overly nervous. They talked amongst themselves. I even caught one of them doing the ancient sign of the cross, the symbol of sorrow and regretfulness.



The time was over. The White Goddess came to a road of gravel, in the middle of the plains. The Black Goddess stood on the other side. Both had stopped. Both were gazing at each other, surprized, astonished, unprepared for what they were seeing right here, right now.



And I stood between them, powerless to what was going to happen.



I too, did the sign of the cross.

[Sperrit]

The meeting of light and dark. What will happen? You've got me hooked, man! Can't wait to see how it all ends!

Join the Fun

[Tobias]

we all know that the meeting of light and dark is grey, u silly forest friend u

that is all ;hmmm:

[Shurikane]

One
The Gravity



Again, I heard the White Goddess' melodic voice.



"Who are you?" She said with a surprised look on her face. The Black Goddess was equally astonished, for she had never seen anything like it before: the White Goddess in her immense and perfect beauty, and her equally perfect flurry of angels happily hovering about her. The Nomans were not so happy. Talks went to and fro, I heard them speaking several different languages at once, only to come to this one conclusion: the world is doomed.



The goblin I had spoken to earlier crossed over the border, and settled himself next to me, right on top of this forbidden, invisible line. We dared not touch each other for fear of a sudden reaction from the contact of two polarly different species. Although we were all about to die, we wanted to stay alive until it happened. Sounds funny to say at first, but I did not want to die before being dead...



The goblin was shaking from all limbs. His face twisted with worry, and beads of sweat began to roll down his face, so much that the sun could not keep up with the pace. Soon, his clothes became wet and cold, and I found out with a shock that mine were as well! The goblin looked at me, attempted a smirk at my nervousness, but all humor was dead and buried already. No one would laugh anymore, ever. Even the angels, so perfect and beautiful, had stopped in midflight, and had finally caught on to the sheer gravity, the impact of the situation.



Meanwhile, for a moment that seemed to last a thousand years, the Black Goddess had scanned her eyes over her white counterpart, slowly, carefully, taking note of each variation in the skin, each angle, each curve, each strand of hair. And only then, after measuring the exact looks of her adversary, she replied:



"Who are you too?"



A pause...



"You first," I said to the Black Goddess, "for the White Goddess has spoken the question before you."



A look came down on the humble man that I was, and for a second, I flinched, muttering "forgive me" under my breath, while, next to me, the goblin gestured that I was only trying to help. In fact, both of us were trying to help. When I was courageous enough to raise my head once again, my eyes looked over at his, and we saw, in each other's eyes, a bit of hope. Oh it was tiny mind you, no bigger than a drizzle drop, but it was there, and we both knew we still had a chance.



"Well, the suggestion was just, so I'll start." The Black Goddess toned. "I am the Black Goddess. I travel round the world, and I touch the ground at the exact same place I had touched it one year ago. Each step I take spreads rays of darkness among the meridian. It kills grass, trees, and spoils water and carcasses. Plains become fields of dark gray dirt and ash. The cities my folk build are high, proud, strong, and imposing. The folk work on a capitalist system, where the strongest survive, and the weak become poor, and get removed of the family heritage. And thus, each generation, the folk get stronger, better, and more intelligent. And you, who are you?"



"I am the White Goddess. I tour the earth in exactly one year, and each step of mine brings life, flowers and joy to my folk. Each step I take spreads rays of goodness from south to north and from north to south. Where I walk, trees grow, grass covers the land, and fields become fertile. My kind folk are peace keepers, and live in humble, individual homes. They work together to harvest from the fields, and when all the grain has been collected, and all the porks slaughtered and prepared, the cereals and meat are divided among the people. Whenever one of them feels ill, the others take care for him, and do his share of work until he feels better. And thus, from generation to generation, the Humans live in love, harmony, and health, for no one is forgotten, and no one is prized over anyone else. They live in equality, and work towards a stable and helpful world."



The Black Goddess' head tilted over to the side, just a little. She seemed a bit dazed, perhaps intrigued at what the opposition had said. Myself, I was at a loss for words. For the first time in my life, I no longer saw the Nomans as evil people. Thinking about it, I found that the system they called capitalist had its strengths too.



You know, maybe we could all live together, Humans and Nomans. We Humans would work the fields and make sure everyone was safe, happy and healthy. The Nomans would take care of building strong villages and cities, improve the roads, and show us the entertainment of sports.



You know, maybe it could all work out after all...



I saw the Black Goddess extend her arm. Finger by finger, her hand opened. First, the fingers stayed half-closed, uncertain, a bit scared. And then, they suddenly straightened up, forming a harder, more dynamic and self-confident hand.



"Pleased to meet you." She said.



The White Goddess extended her own hand, slowly at first, but then, in a flash, she grabbed Black's hand and shook it.



Immediately, I found myself the pray of an unbearable surge of pain. I screamed, screamed, screamed until my lungs ripped apart! My eyes covered in tears from this ungodly torture, so much that the goblin and I hugged each other, and looked into each other's eyes, only to find out the hope was gone, and with reason. All around us, the world tumbled and turned, and the winds changed direction every split-second, slashing every part of my body until I was shredded to nothingness. Rays of white and black went off in all directions. Trees grew and died at lightning speed, clouds, rain and sunshine followed each other at an ever-quickening pace, grass was born and was burned before it was possible to see a speck of green. Trails of fire ran across the land as far as the eye could see. On both sides of the road, Humans and Nomans screamed. Their bodies turned to nothingness, to dust, to ashes. Souls were ripped from their physical shells and brutally sent high into space.



I felt less pain. My body was gone. I was now but a ghost, an entity, a dead person. I could still see, hear, and touch, but I had no more power over the world. I kept yelling "Stop! Stop!" but neither of them heard me. To my side, I saw a transparent copy of my goblin friend, who told me to stop myself, for it was already too late...



My vision changed. I felt myself rising up into the air. I thought for a moment, and I found myself just above the two Goddesses, rotating slowly.



"Pleased to meet you too." The White Goddess finally said.



"So... What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the planet, spreading your love and goodness?"



"I was, but after so many years of seeing nothing but black desolation, I grew sad. The world that was before my eyes was depressing me. Each step I took, I also left a salty tear behind. And then I looked behind, at the world I was creating. I thought I had done enough distance, that I could stop there... So I turned around and I met the folk I had been giving life to. I talked to them, and played with them, and answered their questions. I hugged the women, and shook the hands of the men. I patted the shoulder of many boys, and kissed the cheek of many girls. For the first time in my life, I felt happy... I hope you will not blame me for what I've done..."



"Don't feel sorry. Your world is a feast to the eyes, and it has been my pleasure to walk it over, and over again, even though my steps had to make place for my own folk. I understand your pain, and I agree that my world isn't as happy as yours. But do not think you have done anything bad. You have had your fun, and I've had mine too. Besides, I'm very happy to finally get to know you. I was wondering who had done this world."



They smiled and hugged. Around them, the world was pure chaos.



"Let's sit down." The White Goddess suggested.



"Sure!"



They sat, and the chat went on, and on. After a while, maybe twelve hours or so, the chaos gradually came to an end, and I saw the final result of the clash: nothing. Some beams of sunlight made it down, covering about half of the ground, showing me what was left of where I used to live. There was no grass, but no ash. There were no trees, but no dead trees. There were no homes, but no spires. There weren't any Humans and Nomans either. The entire world had been reduced to earth. Pure, equal earth, waiting for life to grow and die.



Soon, both Goddesses layed on the ground, their hands behind their head, watching the sunrays passing by, over their bodies and the land surrounding them.



"Say..." The White Goddess hesitated before continuing. "Are you sure this was all good?"



The Black Goddess shrugged.



"Actually, I don't know. Thinking it over again, I feel torn between two statements: was life better before, or is it better now?"



"Well, there's us... And I'm pretty happy. What about you?"



"I'm happy too. Feeling really nice, in fact. I don't think I've been this way ever in my life. Meeting you was worth the long walk. You seem like a really good person, we could learn a lot from each other."



"I think so too. You have a style of your own, and it looks very interesting. It's beautiful, but in a different way... It's the first time I take knowledge of two things that seem so radically different, but are so beautiful nevertheless."



"What?"



"Us."



The Black Goddess raised her eyebrows. "Oh!" A pause... "Hey, you're right!"



"Those clouds look beautiful... Their blackness, it adds some kind of shape to them. It's like... As if they were actual things. Like light and shadow, but on a cloud. Here, look at this one. You could easily mistake it for a whale..."



"How were the clouds in your world?"



"Flat... Pure white, and flat."



"Mine were pure black and flat. Guess we have the best of both worlds, huh? And that sunshine, I could live with that everyday; it's georgeous."



I could describe and note on, and on, but it all turned out to be useless. The two generated their meeting to small talk, views, knowledge, and sharing. They never, as far as time went, they never noticed that the folk all around them had died, and that they were all watching from above, their expressions confused between positive and negative, their intelligence unable to make any sense from what had happened. The world was now still and static. My goblin friend always stayed next to me, watching the conversation, until time itself ended, until there was absolutely no more to write and talk about. This is my world, and it has gone to a stupid and horrible end.



And I, the sad narrator, died on this day, trying to stop it all.

[Sperrit]

Very good, Shuri. Very very good. That was... awsome, to say the least. You've got a great talent. Use it. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Join the Fun