My name is Kate. When I was 16, I was attacked by an intelligent creature from another dimension: a Sceptre. I was exposed to its blood, which changed my own chemistry in ways unknown to mortal sciences. Since then, I have become more powerful than anything known to either humans or Scepturi. To the humans, I am an abomination, a menace to civilized society. But to the Scepturi, I am the element that will mend their war-torn realm and bring about a new age of peace.

The physical changes wrought by the crystal don’t amount to much. I gained some height and muscle, so endurance and strength aren’t a problem for me anymore. My senses are heightened and my reflexes enhanced; my skin is as pale as the moon and my eyes as bright as the stars.

The changes to my perception are by far the most unnerving: I developed a sort of sixth sense that allows me to sense the particles around me, and manipulate them at will. This was incredibly overwhelming at the start, but over the course of a few years and I was able to focus, even manipulate a few particles. A sympathetic group of Scepturi took me in when humans rejected me and taught me how to control my powers. I was unique: most Sceptres can only manipulate one or two elements of the world, but my crystal could adapt to control many. I was by far the most powerful of any Sceptre, living or dead, but I still had to get a handle on my full potential.g

Scepturi history is long and boring, filled with mostly irrelevant and petty events, but recent developments changed the face of the universe. Millennia ago, the single nation of Scepturi broke up into three separate tribes: Scintae, Umbran, and Glacei. The Scintae are the last remnants of the old society, clinging to traditional beliefs and practices in hopes that returning to the old ways will bring order. The Umbran are the first of the rebel factions, they believe that the destruction of the old society is inevitable and necessary for advancement, and work to expedite that process in order to give birth to a new order. The Glacei are the second of the rebel factions, and the group that took me under their wing. They believe that adaptation is key to survival, and the old ways must be preserved in order to move onwards.

Ironically, the split of Scepturi society led to the creation of our world. The Umbran and Glacei, then working as a single unit, created a world that they could live in once their own realm had been destroyed. Reaching into the most ancient and primal streams of magic, they breathed life into the planet, so they would not be alone when the time came. After a few centuries of monitoring the Earth, many of the rebels viewed their creation as unworthy of living and tried to exterminate them, but ultimately, their plan was foiled by inside agents who sought to preserve the life and let it flourish. And thus, the Glacei were born. Throughout mortal history, Scintae, Glacei, and Umbran have warred over control of what the humans call Planet Earth. Their eternal conflict is behind every natural disaster that has ever struck their world.

Until I came around, no one could get along. The Umbran and Glacei wanted the planet, while the Scintae were trying to crush both of them. This lead to some interesting and very much entangled alliances during key battles and wars. As a result, a majority of Scepturi broke off from the factions they originally broke off with: flying solo in a world that considered them abominations. But Azuris, the Sceptre who found me, believes that I might be the key to restoring Scepturi society to its former glory, and saving their race from extinction.

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I remember the first attacks well. Social media was buzzing with news that something had emerged in the Arctic and wiped out a small village, and updates were crackling on every radio station as I drove to school. The victims had all been killed by claws or teeth; no bullets or explosives were found. In class, my history teacher discussed the possible repercussions of such an event on the world as we watched a live news feed.

“Dozens are confirmed dead in what appears to be an unprovoked creature attack on the small village of Assiuyok in northern Greenland last night. Officials are still investigating the possible source of this tragedy, and have not ruled out an extraterrestrial attack so far.” The newscaster was grim and bundled up against the snowstorm, which apparently had sprung out of nowhere, hindering first responders’ efforts to reach the village.

Mid-sentence, the broadcast cut out for a breaking news update. A male and female reporter started reading about a second attack in progress, in the city of Paris. As they finished, another report came in, this one of an attack in Tokyo. Not long after, they were handed a third report of an assault on Los Angeles. We didn’t hear them announce the final report, because a roar like dark thunder shattered the windows of our classroom and chilled us to the bone. Screams, sirens, and the sound of breaking glass filled the air. Our teacher quickly evacuated us from the room, trying to keep everyone calm to no avail. I frantically turned left and right, trying to locate my friends amongst streams of students. The air was filled with the smell of smoke and ash gently rained down from the sky. The canyon next to my school was ablaze, but a hulking silhouette could be barely seen in the smoke. An explosion suddenly tore through the building I had just come out of, throwing me and several dozen students and faculty forwards. I heard a whistling sound, and out of instinct rolled to the side as something large shot out of the sky and impaled itself into the ground where I had been a second ago. Wide eyed with adrenaline pumping through my system, I only had a moment to stare at it in awe. It was a shard of green crystal about six feet tall and two feet wide, gently pulsing with an inborn light before it disintegrated into dust and dispersed in the wind.

Seven major cities across the world were targeted that day, with unofficial reports of smaller, isolated attacks. Casualties were in the tens of thousands and fear was running rampant. For the first time in history, all of humanity’s races were united as one against their mysterious assailants. #AsOne and #StandTogether dominated the Internet. Science was struggling to comprehend the perpetrators behind the attacks, and progress on the crystals was slow because nothing they did could stop them from eventually disintegrating. Standard weapons didn’t work against them. As time passed, the rumors spread like wildfire. They were the Russians, they were mutants, they were supervillains out of a comic book and all we had to do was wait for the superhero. No one knew what to do, and all of humanity was scared beyond belief. But we did what mankind does best: persevere and thrive in the midst of catastrophe. The leading research facility in the world, Synergy Laboratories, developed force fields that appeared to be successful in repelling monster attacks. Though not completely impenetrable, world governments subsidized SynLabs and eventually this technology grew large enough to protect entire cities. These “shield cities” were few and far between, usually reserved for those elite enough to afford the ridiculously priced housing, but with disastrous slums on the lower levels.

It was in the largest of the shield cities, Daemira, that my story begins.