Chapter 1: Prelude to Chaos

“Chaos was once all around us,” says the teacher with a thick accent, “Until it was sealed into seven gems representing their own powers.” The teacher pulls down a chart showing the seven gems from the top. “Green represented speed. The bearer of the gem could run at the speed of sound. Red represented strength, giving the bearer the ability to move planets with one slam of their fists. Purple represented the mind, and how it could be manipulated. The bearer could control other people’s minds and see into them as if they were their own. White represented time, and the bearer could change the speed of his world. The bearer could make time go fast, slow, and the masters could even make it reverse. Yellow gave vitality, a so-called fountain of youth as the bearer would not age nor fatigue. Sky blue left the bearer in control of the skies, the power of levitation. Dark blue gave the bearer the power of…Sir are you listening to me?” A thud of a head hitting a desk is heard from the back. The young man, about 23, was orphaned at birth, never having a loving family. His date of birth is unknown, but prefers the tenth day of the eighth month as his birthday since that was when he arrived at the orphanage so long ago. Fair skinned, somewhat thin, and about 5’10” in height. Having brown hair and hazel eyes, he wasn’t exactly considered ‘cute’ by many, perhaps why his parents abandoned him. A mechanic at heart, he took an old trader ship and created his own ship for travel. “Sir, were you paying attention?” bolts the teacher.
“Yes sir, I was,” Replies the young man.
“Good, then tell me what the Green gem granted the bearer?” The teacher smirks.
“Speed.” This was quite a calm reply from somebody who was sleeping, leaving the teacher stunned. “I learned about this before.”
“You have, eh?” Questions the teacher. “Then tell the class what the Dark Blue gem grants.”
“Okay.” The young man clears his throat. “The dark blue gem contains the power of light. Ironic that is light-biased would be in such a dark colored gem. Anyways, the bearer has the ability to create streams of light energy from his or her own hands.” The teacher nods. “This gem was powerful enough to suck a star dry for one blast.”
“Impressive!” the teacher exclaims applauding. The rest of the class applauds with the teacher. “You may sit down now.” The young man sits.
“Now,” the teacher says, “These gems were so powerful, if they got into the wrong hands it would mean total disaster. So they were shattered into 23 pieces, two making up the top, ten around the bottom outside, ten around the inside, and the heart of the jewel. The heart has unlimited power, but it does not have it’s full strength. That’s why one’s own mind comes into play, or our own ‘chaos’. This power is neutral, and can be funneled into the gem through contact to create its full power. However, only masters and geniuses can use this because of its large mental drain. Though, it can be altered, to perhaps give it a hyper boost or to not use much of your own energy using its granted power.” The bell rings, end of class. “Class, since this was the last day of the semester, you will have exams tomorrow. Please study up, or you will fail my Quantum Mechanics class!”

The young man goes back to his apartment in the 26th block of the 9th sector of the station. “Another day, another waste of my life. If only there was something that I could do that was worth something to this world.” The young man stretches and gives a yawn. He looks outside to see a headline that gives him inspiration: MULTI-BILLIONARE BUYS FRAGMENT OF WHITE CHAOS DIAMOND FOR HALF A BILLION DOLLARS. “I could use a little spare money…perhaps if I get the entire gems, I’ll become rich! Maybe I can get them and use them for helping the world! That’ll give me reason to live.” The young man then opens up his closet to find a large suit of armor. The young man strokes the arm of the shell and breathes out “Xion.” The young man then starts to fit the armor on, two legs, the body, two arms, and then the helmet. The helmet, shaped like a falcon’s head, is equipped with many sensors. The young man then breathes out through the microphone “Login. Codename, Xion.” A feminine voice from inside the helmet says “Login. Name accepted. Voiceprint, accepted. Hello Xion.”

Xion then runs off to the ship dock to his ship. A sign next to the dock of his ship says “DOCK 56, XION, THE ANARCHIST.” Another person sees Xion head to the ship, so he yells “That is one disgusting name for a ship!” Xion ignores him, and undocks. The Raider-class ship was once a merchant’s ship Xion got extremely cheap and changed it himself. The ship is about 49 feet long, about 15 feet high, and maybe 12 feet wide. Crude, but a large red A within a circle on the left side of the ship marks its name.

A short trip to the desert planet of Gruand, Xion lands in an available port. The bustling city is full of peddlers, merchants, and other people looking for a bargain. Xion passes by a jewelry stall when one of the sensors goes off…Seven Chaos Signatures! Xion looks at a single pendant with seven small jewels embedded within it. The seven hearts of the gems! “How much for the pendant?” Xion asks the merchant. The merchant then points to a sign above his head: ALL JEWELS ARE 5,000 CREDITS. NO HAGGLE. Xion checks his card, 7,214 credits. Xion then says, “I would like to buy the pendant.” The merchant nods, and pulls out a scanner. Xion slides his card, and sees the number go down to 2,214 credits. The merchant nods and hands Xion the pendant. “The seven hearts. Infinite power.” A smirk hits Xion’s face.

The story has just begun, and Xion controls the biggest piece of each gem. Will Xion learn how to use it? And where are the remaining 154 pieces of the gems? Xion’s story has just begun.