Streaks of Purple Saga Volume One - Heather Ray (phonics reader .txt) 📗

The chronicle that follows has not been documented by any human historian, as this dark era in mankind’s history was stricken from the memory of the collective human race. As is typical among most resilient species, horrors beyond understanding are quickly sealed up into the annals of the unconscious, rarely discussed and eventually dismissed. As time flowed onward, those who survived this darkest of ages firsthand perished, and as their life stories were passed on to their children, eventually facts were obscured into myth, myth into fairy tale, and then…the fairy tale was completely forgotten.

The rise of the mighty Shadow Empire began in the timeless past, millions of light years from Earth on the planet Delphi. There, a tear in reality unleashed dark energies that never should have existed. Those destructive energies scoured the planet surface, creating the tidal waves, earthquakes, thunderstorms, cyclones, and firestorms that crippled the infrastructure of the civilization that dwelled there. Finally, the destruction culminated when the dark energies fully saturated the entire planet, seeping into the core where they incubated, setting off a chain reaction that rapidly killed the planet.

The planet was consumed in a burst of white light. Yet, it did not explode into debris, as any other planet would. It collapsed upon itself, and drew all the cosmic power into its core. Through magical forces beyond mortal understanding, the energies transformed the planet, suffusing matter and creating a small crystal, pulsing with unspeakable power. That Crystal became known as Delphi, after the planet from which it was born.

Once the maelstrom of power had ceded, the Crystal fell into the hand of a brilliant and ambitious warlock, trained in the Shadow Arts. He exercised his magical talents to their limits, becoming one with this Crystal, letting himself be wholly filled with its power. He was exposed to the infinity of reality, seeing into Realms beyond this one, into dimensions outside the perception of mortal man. That man was Umbriel, and his quest for order in an unruly galaxy began.

Some opposed him, but most cowered in helpless fear of this being, with powers from the Beyond. He forged an Empire, and conquered any who dared stand in the way of his absolute rule. Planets that did not submit were systematically destroyed as the High Lord tore open the bonds of Reality to unleash the Chaotics, demons so destructive they couldn’t possibly exist in our Realm for long without razing all of creation.

The leaders of the resistance became known as the Alliance. Mages, wizards, scholars, and warriors from many planets, congregated, and jointly attack Umbriel, hoping to shake his seat of power and remove the mighty Crystal, the source of his great power. However, their efforts amounted to naught, and that Alliance was almost fully crushed.

However, hope was not completely lost. For hope survived in the heart of Umbriel’s queen, who felt the sting of conscience as the Lord’s heir grew in her womb. Her knowledge of the Crystal was critical, as she understood its power better than anyone save the High Lord himself. She resolved never to let her child grow into the monster her husband had become, and halfway through her pregnancy, she plotted to destroy the Crystal. However, her plan was ill met, for once the Crystal was shattered, she found she could not diffuse its power.

Umbriel felt this treacherous act the moment the enchanted hatchet struck the Delphi Crystal. Without a shred of compassion or instance of hesitation, he ripped the unborn child from the traitor’s womb, sentencing her to a slow and painful death. However, the High Lord did not realize she had in her grasp a single Crystal shard, whose power let her tear a hole in space and vanish.

The Lady entrusted her life to the remnants of the Alliance, whose ideals were in harmony with her own. After enduring a long convalescence, she bestowed the power of the shard to a young idealist, whose motives were pure and just. That man, Zordon of Eltar, swore his life to the protection of the Crystal shard. Though with the shard came grave responsibility. It was the key to Umbriel’s defeat, for now the remnants of the Alliance had access to the kind of enormous power that could oppose his own.

Umbriel was greatly weakened by the loss, but he was not beyond recovery. He carefully reconstructed the Crystal, but sought the missing shard with desperation, recognizing his unprecedented vulnerability. The Lady was able to evade his spies, but the shard, pulsing with brilliant Edenoids, the fierce Ninjetti, and the wise Aquitians, Zordon was eventually found. A fierce battle ensued on the planet Phaedos, which obliterated the Ninjetti clan. Having narrowly escaped death, thanks to the willing sacrifice of the Master Warrior, Zordon used the shard to open a wormhole in space, and elude the High Lord until he could design a weapon strong enough to face him. He intended to make the journey alone, fearing that any who accompany him may suffer a brutal death, but two devoted warriors refused to abandon him. Those two were Jedryk and Thiele of Eltar, the Dragon and the Eagle, who drew power from two sacred medallions of ancient design. The trio took refuge in a distant star system in the sparsely populated outskirts of the galaxy, on the small, young planet now called Earth.


With time and diligence, Zordon came to understand the power of the shard. The power of creation, of the element in their most basic form. The power stolen from the planet Delphi, centuries earlier. The power of realms beyond, stretching into infinity. He took the shard, which he dubbed the Terra Crystal, broke it into five sub-shards, and scattered them across the vibrant planet he had chosen as his base. The Terra Crystals were carefully hidden, in the hopes that Umbriel would not be able to track them. Yet, the Power of the fragments was still needed, so Zordon created a network through which his champions would siphon their power. Using the gold medallions of his two allies as a template, Zordon designed a Morphin’ Grid, that would channel a fraction of that overwhelming power. That fraction came to power five warriors, whom he named the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Despite Zordon’s immense effort, Umbriel and his hordes did indeed find the planet Earth. Upon his arrival, the High Lord established a foothold in the northwestern continent, where there were far fewer of the indigenous species. The humans were used as slaves, most often imported from the four corners of the world to serve in the construction and maintenance of a mighty walled city named Shadowgate. The High Lord’s goal was simple: to unearth Zordon and the Crystal shards, regardless of the injury to the gentle, defenseless planet.

When his discovery was made known, Zordon refused to cower in fear. Instead, he exercised the might of the Morpin’ Grid, selecting five young, insolent slaves from Shadowgate as his champions. Together with the Dragon and the Eagle, and Zordon himself, these new Rangers fought desperately to save their home world.

It took centuries of warfare, and scores of Rangers, to turn the tables of this bloody war. The seven Power Rangers, aided by Zordon himself, faced the dreaded Umbriel in a climatic battle that would decide the fate of the galaxy. That victory came at great cost, for during an intense duel with the High Lord, Zordon’s consciousness was flung into a dimension beyond the reach of his allies, leaving his mortal body to fall dead to the world. Witnessing the apparent death of his mentor only added to the flame of despair that choked the bold Red Ranger, igniting a power so overwhelming, it swallowed the entire palace, the monstrous High Lord, and the Red Ranger himself in its fury. Still, despite the tragic loss of their beloved mentor and their leader, the surviving six Power Rangers were able to relish the fact that the greatest treat to peace in the universe could wreak no more havoc.

The defeat of their god sealed the fate of the Shadow Empire, for without Umbriel and his powerful Crystal the forces were already weakening. Throughout the occupied territories, rebel units organized to obliterate the remnants of the alien reign. Nearly all the imperial fled Earth, and the slaves of Shadowgate were able to create their own civilization. Shadowgate was re-christened Gateway City, celebrating its unique cultural melting pot of the Earth’s various tribes. Finally, after nearly a millennium of alien occupation, the inhabitants of Earth were free to live and grow without interference.

However, this hard-won peace was short lived, for the laws of nature demand a vacuum to be filled. As the Shadow Empire began to fade, a bold young Emperor sought to expand his own holdings...

The Planet Phlegethon, circa 8000 B.C.

A young warrior stood at attention beside the spacious gate of the magnificent steel tower, which soared so high it speared the heavens themselves with its arrow-like peak. His brilliant gold armor reflected the steady light of the lava moat that circled the cold, surgical palace. He felt beads of sweat on his long navy snout, and, truth be told, the intense heat of Phlegethon was intolerable.

However, complain would be a sign of weakness, and despite temperature exceeding 300 degrees, he would endure it with his chin held high, and his sword gripped tight.

His attention shifted when a form appeared across the large moat. Keen ruby eyes were able to discern the gold and yellow uniform of the lithe figure, and even the glint of the curved steel hanging from her waist.

A feral smile split his face, allowing yellowed fangs to poke through parted lips.

He stepped away from the wall, and with one mighty thrust, his large feathered wings launched him into the humid air, carrying him safely to the other side.

Once he landed, he flashed his smile at the figure,