Lux Aeterna
an excerpt

Prologue

For three hundred years the Luxian church has reigned supreme throughout the land. Established when a prophecy was given to the Holy Rachel, the Church governs all aspects of life, from work to government, to time itself, measured in most places only by the light of the sun and stars and the chiming of the Luxian bells. For three hundred years it has been this way.

They say that the Holy Rachel was a simple chandler’s daughter, and that the Angel of the Lord appeared to her on a cold, dark night. The Angel spoke to her of a child that would be born, the avatar of Light itself, the savior of the world. He would come to the world when Darkness threatened, come to us in our time of need to bring a Light to our frightened world. His very soul would shine with the Light of the Lord, and all who saw him would name him the Bringer of Light.

They say that the Holy Rachel heard these words and was inspired, and preached them throughout the land for the rest of her days. She went from town to town, village to village, telling the story of the Angel and the Savior. And because her words were true and real, all who heard believed. The idea spread like the coming of the dawn, and the great Luxian Church was born to pass on the Holy Rachel’s words after she had moved on to the next town.

They say that the words of the prophecy are clear, that there is only one way to read them. They say that the Lord has condemned all speaking beings that are not human, that these horrid Shifters that live among the godfearing are the darkness the Holy Rachel was told of. They say that these heathens will never be allowed to know their Holy Word and that when the Savior appears he will wipe their kind from the land.

They also say that the Angel had wings like a bird. But the Church never compares those shining wings to the feathered ones of the flying Shifters; they say that the Angel’s wings were made of light, and that the fleshy wings of Shifters are sacrilege. Thus the bird-like Shifters are hates by the Church even more than the flightless Animals, if that is possible. They don’t say much about that, though.

They say that the time is fast approaching when the Savior will be born. There are signs everywhere, from the black clouds that encompass the cities since the rise of coal powered machines to the false light of gas lamps that usurp the domain of the natural night. They say that the Savior will soon come to them. They say that there is no hope for this world but for the Light.

They say a lot of things.

And yet, strangely, no one can point to where these things come from. They never quote the Angel or the Holy Rachel when they speak for either one, and the words of the Prophecy itself are so shrouded in secret the people do not realize that it is hidden. Not even the priests themselves, at times, can say who it is that says all these things that they then repeat to the masses.

For three hundred years it has been this way.