Manifestation: the Coming Dark/Prologue

Lorithia stood in the chamber of knowing and gazed at the world in sadness. The path that the creation was taking was not one she would have chosen. Yet she remained fixed. To intervene directly would go against everything she stood for. It would undermine the purpose of creation. If creation could not stand on its own, then it would pass into the darkness. If her work were not strong enough, then the end would come. That her lover The'Galin should be the instrument of its destruction pained her beyond saying. He feared creation though he was a part of it.

"Does he not realize that its destruction would be his end as well?" she sighed.

"He knows," the Water Lord responded. "He knows and he does not care. He is lost in his hatred and his jealously. You cannot change him, try as you wish. He is the dark reflection of your creation."

"It would hurt less if I did not love him."

"Love is the source of the greatest pain..." the Fire Lord said, rising from his posts. "It is the easiest way to be burned."

"This is true," the Light Lord interjected, "but let us not forget, it is also the source of the greatest strength."

"It is easier to corrupt good than to purify evil," the Darkness Lord said, drawing his mate close in fear. "Our time here may draw to a close."

"I should have never taken him in. I should have taken communicants sooner..." Lorithia sighed bitterly.

The Energy Lord tossed a crackling ball of electricity to the ground, allowing it to burst upon contact. "You can debate what you should have done for endless ages, Lorithia. What has been done has been done. The cycle continues. If what we have made is strong, it will persevere somehow. It will stand against even this..."

"It may stand," the Ice Lord said with a shrug, "but it will change..."

The Earth Lord stood and spoke, to the surprise of the group. He was very much involved in the affairs of the world but seemed to say the least. "Change is what drives creation."

"Indeed," the Fire Lord concurred, gazing below. "It is the capacity to change that has enabled them to resist as well as they have..."

"What cost do the people pay for that change?" Lorithia protested. "I grow weary of this... Why must creation be tested to its breaking point? Once The'Galin feared creation; that can no longer be said: this is not about fear, but malice."

"Emotion is not reason. Emotion is emotion. Yet it is real...."

This said it all and, in silence, they waited and watched.