N'ika

Immortality. It is a curse, and a blessing. It is a beginning, and an end. It is life, and death. The things man has done to grasp the power of immortality. The sins we have committed to defy death. The wars we have waged to trick the gods. Yet, it has always been here, following us, surrounding us, driving us. Our very existance would be meaningless without it, and our definition of life and death are mere slaves to its power. Time is immortality. To control time, is to control life. To manipulate time, is to manipulate the gods themselves. When time is your slave, you are a god.

Man has always been seeking the truth. The difference between a human, and an animal, is that a human strives for knowledge. Humans need answers to their questions. They need solutions to their problems. They choose paths to alter their destinies. Since the first time we lost a loved one, we have fantasized about what it would be like to live forever. Defying death and extending life has been the driving force behind some of man's greatest achievements. The art of survival, some call it; and an art it truly is.

It all started with a simple desire. The desire for eternal life. Thousands of years ago, somewhere within the vastness of the Persian Empire, there lied a city. The city of Qor, as they called it. It was nothing beyond the ordinary at the time. Its people lived happily amongst themselves, free of hassle, free of restrain, free of evil. They were among hundreds of cities conquered by the Persian kings at the time. As long as they obeyed the laws and honored their ruler, the Persian Empire promised them blissful freedom; and that was the deal the Qorians were happy with. However, either due to greed or thirst for power, some Qorians wanted more than just life. For hundreds of years, they have been worshiping their gods, and fantasizing about what it would be like to live like a god; and they desired just that: to live the life of a true god. They wanted to be able to laugh at the face of death. They wanted to play with the laws that governed their lives. They wanted to question their gods.

And so they did. The people of Qor soon transformed from happy, innocent citizens to vicious, power-hungry members of a cult. A cult that believed through practicing the dark arts, they could eventually summon the gods responsible for death, and use them in order to gain access to true immortality. For decades, their numbers grew larger and larger. The city of Qor closed its door to its visitors. Any traveler that had the misfortune of getting near their land, witnessed such unholy events that their minds were filled with nightmares. Soon enough, the city of Qor became the city of darkness. Even the Persian army was afraid of suppressing their acts of heresy.

However, it was only a matter of time before the laws of universe stepped in. Anything in this world comes at a price. And the price of the nearly limitless power of the people of Qor was due. Their gods were furious. Their people were crazed. Their priests were sorcerers. They were so close to finally unlocking the key to eternal life. But their gods believed they were committing a sin. The people of Qor, however, were not afraid. They were not afraid of even their own gods, for they knew that soon enough, they would be gods themselves. As a result, a punishment was brought down upon them. A massive force was unleashed. Ruthless monstrosities emerged from the ground, and ravaging gods descended from the skies. Among these hellish creatures, there was one that was most feared: Al Khaboose, the god of nightmare. There was chaos, mayhem, and destruction. Their buildings were razed to the ground in fires hotter than the fires of hell. Their children were slaughtered in ways one could only imagined in the most horrific nightmares. Their city was obliterated to dust, drowning in the wrath of their gods.

Within three days, there no longer existed the city of Qor. No one at the time really understood what happened. Some thought the Persian king raided the city. Some believed the once-prosperous land of Qor was simply gone in a massive sand storm. Others assumed its people played with forces they could not control. However, it mattered not what truly happened. Soon, the city of Qor became a myth. Thousands of years later, it became a name only present in stories of fiction. A lesson about greed, betrayal, and disobedience. The city of Qor simply became a figment of human imagination, like any other lost civilization.