The Sentinels: The Sentinels, #1

By Arthur Saint Llenegan

In the vast cosmos, a unique group of individuals are formed- Sentinels. Chosen by the cosmic order, they struggle with the newly acquired powers that tie them to the balance of the cosmos, primordials and other entities alike.

As their journey unfolds, the sentinels navigate the universe, going from one world to another, as they clash between new foes. Sibling bonds rush through the narrative, echoing throughout the realms of time, light, darkness and destruction  that define the very essence  of cosmic existence. It is a journey about four brothers, belonging to a race created for solely annihilating everything.

It is a saga where the energies of the universe clash, alliances are forged amidst the stars as the sentinels find themselves between order and chaos. It is a story of power and cosmic destiny that chose the sentinels to keep the universe safe.

 

(INSPIRED BY THE DARKSIDERS GAMES)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arthur Saint Llenegan
• Release date: Mar 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224418954

Book preview

Chapter 1- Brothers in Weariness

The edicts of the Ethereal Council state that life without ordinance cannot find its foothold. Good, evil...life, death–equipoise must be present in the universe. The Ethereal Council, an assembly of primordial beings created by the Architect, has a purpose to preserve the very tapestry of existence, but the balance seems to be disrupted. The question is, what kind of balance?

Others accuse the sentinels, driven by ignorance and a lack of understanding, of  having disrupted the delicate balance. Yet, they are unable to fathom the consequences of disturbing this balance. A hidden force lurks, veiled in secrecy, threatening not only the sentinels themselves but the universe itself. As the sentinels begin their journey, they will uncover the weight of their actions and confront the enigmatic truth hidden in the shadows.

However, ere you are acquainted with the names of the protectors of the false balance, you first must know another name. Anerian- a race forged from the cosmic essence of ancient cataclysms whose main purpose was to wage wars and slaughter the innocent. The identity of the entities responsible for the creation of the Anerians remains shrouded in mystery. Whispers of malevolent deities pulling the strings behind their creation abound, as do tales of cosmic engineers, their grand experiment gone awry. Yet, even the council tasked with maintaining the balance, is  uncertain about the origins of the Anerians. The truth behind their creation remains lost in the annals of time, a secret that might forever remain hidden.

The Anerians’s skin was as pale as alabaster, akin to the silvery glow of a hidden crescent moon. In stature, they reach in the sky with an elegant stretch, their limbs extending like branches out in the universe. They put many innumerable worlds to ruin, and reduced them to nothingness. However, four of their own, known as the Lords of War due their adeptness and skill in battle as well as their ability to command large armies, became exhausted from the bloodshed, as they feared that they would jeopardize the so-called balance. Consequently, a treaty was made: the four brothers would be in service to the Council, in exchange for power. Therefore, the Council formed the new sentinels of this era. Now, let us gaze back in time, when the four brothers merely served the corrupted king, the ruler of the Anerian race named Runedath. He was the first to emerge from the cosmic essence, surrounded by an unknown terrain, as he knew not but his name. The rest of them followed quickly, slowly coming into existence. Being the first of the Anerians and also the strongest, he took the title of king. As his reign continued, he began asserting how he was chosen by the Council, as a bringer of peace. No one dared to question his decisions, and whoever decided to question him didn't end well.

The Anerians went from realm to realm, killing and demolishing anything that Runedath said was a threat to the universe. Everyone saw joy and excitement from destroying creation itself, as that was the purpose of their creation– destruction. Upon annihilating another world, Anastasius found himself seated, gazing pensively at the ruins they left behind on the desolated realm of Elandra. A realm of peace loving and a benevolent race, seeking only to further their knowledge. They claimed their innocence, but to no avail. It mattered not to the Anerians, for if the king named a race to be a threat to the universe, they cleansed it from creation, no questions asked.

The warm glow of the distant star that radiated Anastasius’s face was suddenly interrupted, and as he raised his eyes, he met the gaze of his elder brother, standing tall before him. He heard his footsteps slowly closing in on him, so he appeared not to be surprised. His elder brother had a confused look on his face, puzzled as to why Anastasius was sitting there.

‘’ What are you doing, brother?’’ asked Chronos as he came down to sit next to him. The wind blew in their faces as buildings fell down in the distance. The screams and cries echoed throughout the realm as the loud falls of stone overpowered them.

‘’Thinking.’’ said Anastasius.

The answer puzzled Chronos, so he asked:

‘’What do you mean? ’’

‘’ I am thinking of how much longer do we have to slay the innocent realms from creation? How much longer do we have to hear their agonizing cries? Don’t you get tired of the slaughter? It just keeps going on and on without breaks. It feels as if we are being used by Runedath for his own personal gain.’’ said Anastasius.

‘’Do you really believe that?’’ said Chronos with a stern look on his face. ‘’ Those we kill are the ones that are imperiling the balance of the universe. Our king serves the Ethereal Council. Every command that he gives us, that’s the will of the council, and it is absolute. It does get tiring, but we have to do it, otherwise we will all disappear.’’

‘’Oh, so you just believe whatever he says?’’ asked Anastasius, as anger was clearly visible on his face. ‘’I do not want to be a slave to him, and neither should any of us.’’ The statement jolted Chronos, as he had never seen him this agitated before. In his presence, he had  only known smiles and laughter. He mustered up a response.

‘’ Yes, I believe everything he says. He is the oldest out of all of us, the first as well as chosen by the Council. But if you are so worried, I shall ask the king about this conquest that looks like it has no end. Come on, let’go home.’’ said Chronos as they left.

On the following morning, Chronos found himself lost in thoughts from the statement his brother gave. Initially, he dismissed it without much consideration, but as the passage of time unfurled, his mind dwelled on the realms they had ravaged, the echoes of innocent voices claiming their innocence, frantically asserting they have done no wrong. He started doubting his long-held beliefs as well as his unwavering loyalty to the king. Lost in contemplation, a surge of encouragement filled his body, compelling him to question the ruler’s haunting decisions. As he strolled towards the palace where the king resides, the very sanctuary of the reigning ruler, he gracefully traversed the hall, but a perplexic unease shivered down the elder brother’s back, akin to volatile coils of distress, as he approached the altar of the throne room. With each step that filled the hall, a feeling of repulsion manifested in him. Within his chest, the heart orchestrated a symphony of frantic beats, as if his heart were a caged bird, desperately trying to break free. His mind was baffled as to why this dreadful feeling was present inside of him. This sensation was a first for Chronos. Furthermore, he realized something was amiss, yet he struggled to pinpoint its origin. As he entered the room, the king greeted him with a daunting grin and muttered.

‘’Welcome Chronos, my loyal servant.’’ His grin going from one corner to the other. ‘’What brings you here?’’ asked the king.

Chronos’ gaze met the eyes of his ruler, gradually lowering himself to kneel in complaisance. His entire body trembled,but eventually he averted his gaze.

‘’Greetings my king, I wanted to d-discuss something with you If I can of course.’’stuttered Chronos with fear in his voice. Runedath realized that he was feeling afraid, and that pleased his ego very much.

‘’Anything for my loyal servant’’ the king chuckles.

‘’I wanted to ask, do you really serve the Ethereal Council? Don’t you think that we will imperil the Balance from all the realms we slaughtered? I don’t think the Council will want that to happen, right my lord?

The kings’ expression shifted, betraying a sense of bafflement at the unusual question posed by one of his most faithful servants. Instead of giving an answer, the king countered with a  question of his own, leaving Chronos in no doubt that he had made a grave misstep.

'’Do you dare question me Chronos?! Who told you that you have the right to question me? Do you think that I, the king of Anerians, would ever resort to falsehoods?'' As the words thundered from his lips, Runedath rose from his regal throne, inching closer to Chronos.

'' One thing that I detest is when someone says that I am wrong or dares to question my decisions.’’ he declared fiercely, seizing him by his hair and demanding an answer. ‘’Do you think I am wrong? Answer me!’’ his voice boomed.

‘’No my king. I would never doubt your absolute decisions, and I would never question your sovereignty. I would never dare to do that!’’ Chronos replied, feeling the piercing gaze penetrate his soul.

'' That is what I like to hear. I act according to the Council's will. Try to question my decisions again, see what happens to you, now get out of my sight.’’ The king’s unwavering grin unnerved Chronos. He immediately realized that something was off, but he couldn’t quite discern the cause.

‘’As you wish, my lord.’’ his words quietly left his mouth .

Upon his departure, a sense of relief flooded his body. The hectic beats from his heart were continuous, leaving his body drenched in sweat, and his limbs were trembling without control. As he descended down the stairs, a voice shouted his name. Prompting him to turn around and find his brothers standing there.

‘’Hey, Chronos!’’ shouted Anastasius. Beforehand, Anastasius explained what was the reason that he went inside the throne room and how Chronos intended to question the king. Lenthios and Almeris had dismissed Anastasius’s thoughts as madness, but after a while, the piece started to fall into place, thus making sense to them.

‘’What happened there? Did you ask the king?'' Anastasius inquired upon seeing his brother's distant expression.Chronos seemed lost in his own thoughts, providing no response to his brother’s question. A shared glance between them confirmed something was off.

‘’ Hey!’’' Almeris shouted. The resounding shout was enough to bring him back to reality, and he replied.

‘’ Yes?!’’

‘’Have you spoken with the king? Why do you wear such a  terrified expression on your face, and why were you lost in thought?’’ asked Lenthios.

Chronos took a deep breath and recounted his encounter. ‘’Yes, I did as Anastasius suggested and I believe he was right to suspect the king. As I walked closer towards the throne room, I felt this weird uneasiness and discomfort that I never felt before. The moment he laid his eyes on me, his demeanor shifted drastically , and he asked why I came. When I posed my question, it felt like he was staring into my soul. I cannot explain it fully.’’ Chronos paused, still processing the encounter. ‘’ He warned  me to never question him again nor his decisions.’’

‘’ Hm, that is rather peculiar. Why would a simple question like that inflict such anger.''

‘’ He is incredibly egotistical, so that might explain why he reacted the way he did. What do you think Chronos?'' mused Lenthios.

‘’ I am not sure, but I think that it wasn't his ego being hurt. I sense it is something else because I felt a peculiar power emitting from him– a peculiar power, unlike before.

‘’What the hell are you talking about?’’ interjected Almeris.

‘’It is hard to explain, but it felt like his powers were altered. There was an undeniable aura of negativity coming from him.’’ said Chronos.

‘’ Well, one way to find out is to spy on him, but that will be difficult because there are guards in front of his throne room that never leave. I never quite understood why he would need them in the first place. He is tough to injure, let alone kill. From now on, we will keep a close eye on the king. We must be certain if he does actually serve the Council as he claims.''

As the brothers were talking, they were startled by the presence of Arollan. He is despised by the Anerians for his constant fawning over the king, fueling his ego. The king kept him close due to his fear which is one of the reasons why he kept him around, and he also served as a reminder that the king is always in control  .

‘’ Oh? Did I hear this correctly? The most faithful servants of the king want to spy on his majesty? What kind of disrespect is this?’’ Arollan spoke in his overly bogus and grating tone.

Upon seeing his face, a collective sigh escaped from them, followed by an unmistakable feeling of annoyance his mere presence seemed to invoke.

'' What do you want Arollan?'' asked Chronos.

'' Nothing really, I was just listening to your beautiful story and if I heard you correctly, you want to spy on our king?''

'' And what of it?'' added Almeris.

‘’ Well I do not know. But I do wonder how the king will react when he hears that four of his most loyal servants are trying to spy on him.’’As he pivoted towards the palace in order to inform Runedath about the plans of the brother, Arollan felt a cold steel on his neck, halting his movement.

‘’Take one more step, I dare you.'' said Chronos. Since Arollan was always fearful by nature, the first thought that arose inside his fragile mind was death. He alone cannot do anything as he is feeble.

‘’ Your demeanor is truly disgusting, Arollan, and this sentiment goes for everyone else. Unless you are willing to cooperate, I am prepared to end your life at this very moment. In fact, It would be viewed as a huge favor by everyone else.’’

‘’ Alright, Alright. I will do whatever you ask.’’

‘’ Very well then.’’ said Chronos as he lowered his dagger from Arollan’s neck with a quick gesture.

In order to not get exposed, the brothers made a strategic plan together with Arollan. The plan involved breaking into the throne room everyday to see if there were irregularities present. Arollan’s responsability was to simply neutralize the guards or to divert their attention enough so that one of the brothers is able to get in. Chronos frequently went into the throne room as he is the most adept. On a particular day, the task fell onto Almeris to enter the throne room. Upon entering, he found Runedath already present there so he sought concealment behind one of the pillars. From behind the pillar he heard Runedath’s voice echoing inside the chamber.

‘’Hmm, this one... No ...what about this one.. Yes, this is the one. Look at the amount of energy this world has’’ the king chuckled.’’ If I destroy this world, then He could consume all of that energy.’’ he said.

‘’What is he mumbling about? Who is he talking about? And what the hell does he mean by ‘’consume all that energy?’’ Almeris’s head spiraled with questions, not knowing which one is more important. With a closer look he  realized that a strange aura was arising from the king, slowly circling around him. Upon further inspection, he concluded that Runedath was subject to manipulation by an unfamiliar power, a power he had yet to see. As he pondered the meaning of the king’s words, a figure of unknown presence took shape near him.

‘’ Oh, welcome. Long time no see.’’ The king let out a friendly chuckle at the figure.Once the unknown figure became more distinct, Almeris was ensnared by a vice-like grip of fear. An oppressive sensation constricted his body, as he contemplated the repercussion of his discovery. Glimpsing cautiously around the pillar he uttered in a hushed voice.

‘’ Who is that?’’

Chapter 2- The Veiled Puppeteer

Almeris whispered to himself. As soon as the breathy voice escaped his dry mouth, the unsettling figure spun around towards his direction. A pair of intense violet eyes locked with him, as they penetrated inside his very essence. Almeris hastily averted his gaze, as his heart started hysterically pounding in his ribs, thinking it would burst. Luckily, the individual remained oblivious of his presence. He had no knowledge of who he was, nor did he know the reason behind the king’s recognition of him. Even in the depths of fear, he persisted in observing them, striving to amass a fortune of information. Because of the pillar’s narrow structure, and his large physique, Almeris had to correctly position himself in such a way that would allow him to be concealed. While adjusting his position, he took a quick glance towards the king and the figure, and noticed that he was still looking in his direction. He retreated his head backwards, as a chill sweat traced a path down his spine, and his heart continued beating.

The mysterious figure, while still gazing towards, formed a cunning smirk. His attention was fixated on the point, as he lost himself in his thoughts.

‘’ Hey. Hey!’’ The king daringly raised his voice a little at the figure, because he noticed that he was occupied with something else.

‘’ What are you doing?’’

‘’ Oh, nothing really, I was just admiring your throne room.’’ turning his head towards him he uttered. ‘’ So, how is the search of the realms going?’’his smug grin lingered, remaining on his face.

‘’ Well, it is alright. I found one for now, but I am constantly searching through the universe.’’

‘’ Only one?’’ the grin quickly faded away, as his violet eyes glowed even more intensly, stricking fear into Runedath. ‘’After all this time, you only managed to find me one single realm that I can consume?’’

‘’ You specifically tasked me with locating both habitable and inhabitable realms abundant in energy that can meet your requierments. All the places that I have found have already been exhausted by you. I am trying to find the most suitable options. Also, why haven’t you started consuming them? These realms have plenty amounts of energy to fulfill your needs, isn’t that correct?’’

‘’ Well, there is no pleasure in doing that. For me, these places are the main meal, afterall, there is life on them, either intelligent or unintelligent, and because of that the energy is far more refined and isn’t as raw as the stars. The stars are akin to a dessert for me, a final delight.’’ he chuckled. ‘’ I will take my leave for now, and next time I come by, ensure that you don’t let me down. I am not letting you borrow my power for not.’’ he proclaimed as he vanished.

Upon his leave, the king released a sigh of relief that looked like he really needed it. He was enraged at him for making him feel inferior,weak. He wasn’t pleased that he was a puppet being played by the puppeteer, however he found himself compelled due to his reliance on his power. While  he was looking for diverse realms for the enigmatic figure, a knock echoed, breaking his focus.

Almeris felt a surge of frightened-ness as he was unsure of the identity of the visitor  at the door. His breath quicked heavily and instinctively closed his eyes.

‘’ Come in.’’ said Runedath.

‘’ Greetings, my king.’’ Fortunetaly for him, it was Arollan. When he laid his eyes on him, he felt at ease and kept quiet. Arollan took a quick glance at Almeris and they nodded simultaneously. He was sent by Chronos to check up on Almeris. A lot of time has passed since he entered the throne room. Before entering, Arollan made up a story that would grab the attention of his king.

‘’ What do you need, Arollan?’’ he asked.

‘’ Well, I came to inform you that there has been an altercation between your soldiers, my king. They started arguing about who is the strongest amongst them. What should I do?’’ asked Arollan.

‘’ Tell them to stop acting like