seven sydnor

Their world was dying and they needed a new one. They came, not to just rebuild, but to conquer and destroy. But the size of the human being overwhelmed them. The strength. The intelligence. The population. The Brax were centuries ahead in technology, one would look at it as magic, but they were not ready for war with the human. It would’ve meant the end of their species. So, they used that technology to hide, expand and plot.

As they carved out a world of their own in the mountains using their magic to hide from the humans, a kingdom was formed. And in the hundred years of that kingdom, the Brax fell prey to the very thing that destroyed their world. Civil war. One king, two civilizations.

This was the story all the Serfs knew in Braxia, and they prayed daily for its destruction.

These days, Odell led those prayers. The oldest of the Serfs. The only human who had remembered Earth. Taken at age seven, he’d been plucked from the street as he walked home and brought to this magical land. That seemed a lifetime ago. The others, taken as babies, all came to him for stories of what the Earth looked like, what other humans were like. They had to meet in secret to talk of such things.

Now-a-days Odell could hardly remember his old home, his parents’ faces. The memories were drowned out by the beauty of Braxia. The great waterfall in the middle of the kingdom that changed colors with the season. The glowing fairies that brought cheer to any Brax or Serf when they were feeling down. The short sky that, at night, fully displayed the solar system. The yellow pathways, the green streets, the strange but delicious foods, the plants, the pets, everything about this place was dream-like. Heaven really, if not for the Brax. Millions of beings, half the size of humans with blue skin, pointy ears and red eyes. And mean. The little devils were fast, too – agile, even the oldest of them. Although, a human could take on one alone, the hundred Serfs in Braxia were vastly outnumbered.

Odell could only speak for himself but he was constantly beaten as a Serf. Tormented by old Brax and young. As he overcame the struggles of growing up in an alien world as a human punching bag, he was considered the most famous and respected Serf of all time. Through those hardships, as a reward, or a deterrent to prevent an uprising from the humans, the general of the Braxian army made Odell his personal serf.

Odell was loyal to the bone, but it stopped at his soul. In those brutal moments of childhood, he forgave the Brax for what they had done to him, but he never forgot.

Civil War in Braxia.

It was official. The General had the north on his side, including the army, while the King, his brother, had everywhere and everyone else. More importantly, the crown. The magical crown that gave the King supernatural power. Power which the old Brax King had never used. Some on the General’s side would say he couldn’t. Was not worthy for the crown.

In one last attempt for peace, the two had a dinner at the General’s palace. With the King, his wife and two young children joining the General, his wife and their son, this would be just a holiday family gathering. But the tension in Braxia had gone on for five long years, and the two families, other than the brothers, hardly knew one another.

“This is dark powder. It grows our trees, powers our homes, it shows you the universe in the sky at night. It is what you Serf call magic. It is the very thing that keeps us hidden from the human world. You sprinkle this on the King’s food, in his drink and he is dead within the hour. Do you understand?”

The General gave Odell the bag of dark powder.

“No need to involve his wife and kids. They will follow in line once he is gone.”

“Understood.” Odell nodded and shuffled to the kitchen to prepare the food.

The King arrived with his family and personal escort, ten of his personal guardsmen who’d stayed by his side. The other twenty stayed behind to protect the castle.

Odell couldn’t hear much of what was happening in the dining area, but it was calm. Maybe he wanted the first battle of the war to begin right then, let them destroy each other without involving any other Brax or, God forbid, Serf. But it was peaceful. He’d even heard laughing.

Still, he peeked into the dining room and made eye contact with the General. The Brax gave him a slight nod, then he returned to the plan. Odell’s plan.

He sprinkled the dark powder into the King’s drink, stirred it and mixed it with the food on his plate. Then, Odell sprinkled the powder into the drinks and plates of the King’s wife and children.

The Serf didn’t stop there.

He sprinkled the powder into the General’s drink and plate of food. The same for his wife and his son.

“Dinner is ready,” he announced as he entered the dining room with a cart that held all seven plates and drinks. Then, he served them to everyone.

The General gave his serf a wink. Odell returned to the kitchen and waited.

An hour later, he heard one of the children scream. One of the wives gasped and a strange commotion followed. When Odell returned to the dining room, all seven Brax were lying dead on the floor. Their blue skin had turned red. Their red eyes had turned black. And white foam spilled out of their mouths.

The Brax guard for both the General and the King faced off from opposite sides of the table, confused, sad, angry, pointing their speared weapons at one another. Ignoring the human’s conniving approach toward the dead King.

Odell grabbed the crown from the Old Brax’s head and placed it on his own. That is when both factions of the Brax guard turned their spears on him.

The magical crown expanded to fit his human skull and a jolt of energy pulsed throughout his body. The man’s skin even turned blue. His sight changed, filtered the world into this light red color. He could only imagine what his ears looked like but he didn’t touch them because he worried that he’d lose his height with this unforeseen transformation. The short moment of regret passed when he didn’t shrink, he looked down at the Brax and they looked up at him.

He waved the small army of Brax off, and they dropped their weapons. Was it loyalty to the crown they had? Or was it pure control over them? He wasn’t sure yet, but he loved the feeling.

Immediately, Odell left the General’s palace and marched through Braxia, the guards shadowing him. The guards outside did the same. The Brax left their homes and followed the gathering. The Serf celebrated.

Once Odell, the human king, approached the castle with the Brax and Serf by his side, he turned to the cliffs and looked out into the ocean. The beautiful blue ocean. At the edge, he touched the barrier that blocked the human world from theirs. That hid Braxia in the mountains.

By touching it, he broke that barrier forever. And the view of the ocean, a simulation, transformed into a city with bright lights and loud noises.

Odell with his magical crown and little blue army descended the Alien hills and entered the world.

© 2021 M. Sydnor Jr.