Chapter 1. Tulona
According to legend, Tulona appeared first. The planet was silver in color, with white streaks reminiscent of eyes and brows. It inhabited the fourth orbit of Onyx in the company of two faithful satellites - Kata and Aiax.
Marcius guided his capsule towards Tulona; the young pilot was finishing his ninth supporting mission. He was exhausted, but he kept on without losing focus, knowing that he was doing something important for his world. Beside him, huge cubic crystals floated weightlessly, supported by thin silver cables. They contained argon - the Tulonians were transporting this valuable cargo from Pacifa.
Argon was needed to make the Tulonian atmosphere habitable. For now, the people hid in cities inside the planet, but they never stopped dreaming that soon they would be able to walk openly under the rays of Onyx.
From century to century, from mouth to mouth, the same mantra was passed on: "Have faith, this is but a temporary confinement. Soon, people will see the world and the stars, and will breathe without domes or walls."
Having lowered the load, the pilots had attained their long-awaited freedom and quickly dispersed. Marcius alone remained, watching the capsules of his colleagues disappear into the distance. He concluded that he was the only one not eager to rush home, most likely all because unlike all the others, there was no one there waiting for him. Marcius took a few moments to tilt back his head and looked up at the sky.
Several bright points started to come through the settling dust, shining majestically up above. It was a special ritual for Marcius to look up at the stars that he'd sped past just recently. As if in a dream, he looked up at the glittering diamonds in the satin darkness, waiting, hoping that any minute now one of them will take off, pick him up and roll off into the immeasurable abyss, racing from one star to the next in the endless expanse of the universe, and will indefinitely bring him to the place he'd been searching for his whole entire life. To enter into the mystical beyond, to finally discover that new world that had existed for millennia before his time - that is what he wanted most of all.
Marcius felt that somewhere, maybe even close by, maybe even in his galaxy, there exists a planet perfectly suited for humans, with plenty oxygen and water, not molten with lava and not frozen in ice, but just the way that everyone wants. And even though through thousands of years of search and exploration the citizens of the Seven Worlds had failed to discover such a planet, his faith was fed by visions he'd experienced since childhood. He'd seen a magical world with his own eyes, he raved about it, he'd been there and he knew all about it - the color of its clouds, the stars that stretched across the sky, its native plants and animals. Unfortunately, no one gave any credibility to his visions. Remembering this with a heavy sigh, he started towards the city.
Marcius lived in the capital, located in the planet's warmest region right by the equator, but even there the temperature remained in the negatives for two-thirds of the year.
He passed through the gateway and slowly started his descent into the city.
Despite being underground, the city was still brightly illuminated. The light entering the giant lens scattered in all directions and was transported to other cities with the help of mirrors. Onyx could at times be seen through the lens, and so the area beneath the Eye was never empty. At all times of the day it was filled with a crowd of spectators, taken with the dream of seeing the light-source. People believed that if they were lucky enough to stand directly under the rays of Onyx, they would be graced with happiness and imminent good fortune.
He lived in the military district, along with the numerous other military personnel of the capital. In this sense he was lucky - the best of everything was reserved specifically for the military dynasties. They even lived higher up, closer to the Eye and away from the irritating vapors of the lake down below. What's more, the houses here lasted longer and suffered less breakages due to the warmer climate.
Marcius walked along the alley of Generals. It carried this name because it was lined with holographic sculptures of every great leader since the beginning of time. All the generals were handsome, carrying the traits of true Tulonians: sturdy, blond, blue-eyed, with snow-white skin. Marcius looked like them, but was different in principle. He walked past them quickly, head bent low, trying not to look at a single one. The culprit was the shame he felt before each of them. Many of the sculptures were erected to honor his ancestors - he belonged to one of the three ruling dynasties. On top of that, he was the last direct descendant of the Lauons, and for the first time in the history of his name, he'd been deprived not only of the right to run for ruler, but also to be a member of the Council of Twelve. And yet, he had no choice - he had to walk down this alley once again since it was the only one leading up to his house. Marcius could almost feel the majestic white faces frown and turn away just from the sound of his footsteps.
The house, which he inherited from his father, stood at the very top. It was bright and spacious, in the shape of a perfect cube, with square gardens on the inside, tiers descending towards the foundation, elliptical windows and gentle violet illumination along the hems. Despite the limited amount of space inside the city and its significant shortage of resources, the house was rich and spacious. Holograms of wolves shimmered along its four corners - the mythical patron animal of the house Lauon. Each of the noble military dynasties had their own, and why the Lauons had this one in particular Marcius did not know.
No one had ever seen such an animal - not in this world or any of the others, and Marcius regarded the symbol of his house with indifference. However, it appeared on one other important object - a ring he wore on his finger. He did this not to honor his ancestors, but because such was the religious tradition of Tulona.
He stopped by the house. Many generations of Lauons had lived within these walls - felt happiness, pride, won great victories, told legends about them. But Marcius put it to a different use. He didn't feel worthy of such luxury, even though it was his by right. Instead, he turned it into a shelter for children whose parents, just like his own, had died in battle. He kept only a couple of rooms for himself in the rear end of the house and always used the back door, crossing paths with neither staff nor inhabitants. He felt more at peace in the small, isolated space, separate from the rest of the world.
He was eager to be alone, but he saw that it would have to wait. On the doorstep sat his friend Karii, dozing in the shadows.
Karii was his only friend in the whole wide world. For reasons unknown, he remained incredibly loyal, ignoring any rumors and gossip that surrounded Marius.
For several moments Marcius stood and looked at his friend in silence, in no rush to rouse him, trying to guess what he'd been up to during his absence. Karii was dressed in everyday clothes, disheveled and slightly paler than usual. On his cheek a healing gash was still visible, left over from their last mission. Marcius hid a smile - Karii had tons of friends and hobbies as well as a girlfriend, and yet here he was, sitting at his doorstep, waiting faithfully, while the rest of the city relished in the last night of the holiday.
Marcius tapped his shoulder.
Karii came to, startled at first, but soon recognized the tall figure rising above him as Marius, greeting him with a wide and genuine smile. He stood up briskly, hugged him and then in turn rebuked:
"Marcius, you devil! Everyone's been back for such a long time now, and where have you been?"
Marcius shrugged, putting his face to the sensor on the door so that it could read his retina. But before he could finish the activation, he felt his friend pull him back.