There was something magical about that moment before a sunrise. When the nocturnal finally went to rest and those who flourished in daylight had yet to arise. In those few minutes, perhaps even seconds, there lay true tranquillity, an absolute silence in which time was rendered meaningless, and the world itself seemed to draw a breath and hold it, as if doubting its own existence. It was in these moments alone that the tormented spirit of Tobias Adams, known now only as Lord Invictus, knew peace. If it were not for those moments, where he could imagine himself as the only living creature upon this planet, he may have ended his life years ago. To seek solace in a world that was forever active, forever in motion, forever noisy, was no easy a task. Yet, when compared to that which lay ahead of him, it seemed but a trivial matter, and perhaps it was.
He strode through the empty corridors, footsteps echoing loudly on the polished wooden floors. Almost loud enough, it seemed, to stir the world into wakefulness once more. Whilst most others would find being the only person in a building a chilling prospect, Tobias enjoyed the solitude. It was so very hard to come by these days, when he was forever in demand.
His final destination, the meeting room of the Team Sol headquarters in Carmine City, had once been where his father had held some of his most important company meetings, and it had not changed much from when it had been used for that purpose: it was still a plain, sterile white room, not a single plant or picture for decoration, no windows, and but two doors, one leading to a private elevator for Tobias’ use only, the other leading back into the building. A single plain, square table dominated the room, sufficiently long and wide enough to accommodate at least thirty people.
However, only five chairs were present – two on either side of the table, and one larger, carved of oak – his father’s favourite, when he had been alive – at the end, overlooking the others. That was all that was necessary, and even before he had taken up the alias of Lord Invictus, Tobias had never done anything beyond what he needed to. Well, in all matters except those pertaining to his family. But then, such carefree days had been years ago, and were naught but ashes. It did little good to stir ashes, unless one had the power to breathe life back into them. Power that he did not possess…yet.
He eased himself gingerly into the oak chair, resting his chin on interlocked fingers, elbows on the table for support, and settled in to wait, for the world to begin its cycle of motion, of living, once again. Momentarily, his subordinates would arrive, and the plans that Tobias had so painstakingly detailed would be put into motion at last, after many years of gathering information, discerning patterns in seemingly random movements, and slowly consolidating his resources without attracting unwanted attention. The preparations were complete, and now it was time to breathe life into the legends that so many had forgotten, and to resurrect the ghosts of the past. Soon, his wife would be in his arms once again, their daughters at their side, and life would begin again. As for the rest of the world…well, it could burn in fire, be it sacred or otherwise.
----
Daybreak arrived swiftly, as it always did at Amber Town, the Sun seeming to rise up out of the sea to bathe the town in a warm, amber glow…perhaps that was where the town had picked its name up from. It was as good an explanation as any, should one seek one out. Of course, few stopped to think about such things; it was just a name, after all. Not a very important one either. In the Anglia Region, Amber Town was simply another small village, hardly worth the time or effort to contemplate or even visit.
Rose looked up from her notes, frowning at the daylight. After all of the effort and preaching it had taken to get her sister to go to bed last night, she herself had not slept. Jennifer wouldn’t like that…if she found out, at least. Rose had no intention of telling her that she hadn’t slept, although her sister would probably be able to tell…after all, this was the third night this week that Rose hadn’t slept. It was becoming something of a habit; there simply weren’t enough hours in the day.
They had spent the night in the Pokémon Laboratory, which was where Rose had spent much of her time recently, consolidating her research regarding Pokémon – in particular, the behaviour of her Durant, which was sleeping underneath the desk, nestled against her feet – and acting as the region’s Professor. And there was more to that role than she had initially thought. Hosting and attending lectures about research with other scholars, documenting anything and everything, field research trips, answering queries from anyone who happened to phone her, making sure the Pokémon storage system was operating smoothly. As the fourth member of the Elite Four and the acting Champion, she was required to make an appearance at various events held throughout the year and, of course, attending the Pokémon League tournament whenever it was held. Combined with looking after her little sister, it was a miracle she found time to sleep at all…and, as the daylight outside was telling her, sometimes she didn’t find the time to.
She rose, wincing at the stiffness in her legs and lower back, and moved out of her study and into the main room, unlocking the laboratory doors. Today would be the day that new aspiring Pokémon trainers from all over the region would arrive here to collect their starter Pokémon – which, along with travel gear, rested in their Pokeballs on a table behind her – and begin their journeys. It would be up to her to make sure the first steps of their journey went off without a hitch and, whilst she had done this before, she found herself feeling slightly nervous. This year, her sister would be undertaking her journey, and whilst it would be good for her to experience the world by herself, Rose was still a little nervous about sending her off.
She sighed, sitting on the edge of the table. She had no idea what time it was, although it couldn’t be a few hours after daybreak at most. Her sister would probably come bounding down the stairs soon, overflowing with excitement and more than a little apprehension, and others would come soon, as well. It looked like she would have to wait a little while before she could catch up on her sleep…
He strode through the empty corridors, footsteps echoing loudly on the polished wooden floors. Almost loud enough, it seemed, to stir the world into wakefulness once more. Whilst most others would find being the only person in a building a chilling prospect, Tobias enjoyed the solitude. It was so very hard to come by these days, when he was forever in demand.
His final destination, the meeting room of the Team Sol headquarters in Carmine City, had once been where his father had held some of his most important company meetings, and it had not changed much from when it had been used for that purpose: it was still a plain, sterile white room, not a single plant or picture for decoration, no windows, and but two doors, one leading to a private elevator for Tobias’ use only, the other leading back into the building. A single plain, square table dominated the room, sufficiently long and wide enough to accommodate at least thirty people.
However, only five chairs were present – two on either side of the table, and one larger, carved of oak – his father’s favourite, when he had been alive – at the end, overlooking the others. That was all that was necessary, and even before he had taken up the alias of Lord Invictus, Tobias had never done anything beyond what he needed to. Well, in all matters except those pertaining to his family. But then, such carefree days had been years ago, and were naught but ashes. It did little good to stir ashes, unless one had the power to breathe life back into them. Power that he did not possess…yet.
He eased himself gingerly into the oak chair, resting his chin on interlocked fingers, elbows on the table for support, and settled in to wait, for the world to begin its cycle of motion, of living, once again. Momentarily, his subordinates would arrive, and the plans that Tobias had so painstakingly detailed would be put into motion at last, after many years of gathering information, discerning patterns in seemingly random movements, and slowly consolidating his resources without attracting unwanted attention. The preparations were complete, and now it was time to breathe life into the legends that so many had forgotten, and to resurrect the ghosts of the past. Soon, his wife would be in his arms once again, their daughters at their side, and life would begin again. As for the rest of the world…well, it could burn in fire, be it sacred or otherwise.
----
Daybreak arrived swiftly, as it always did at Amber Town, the Sun seeming to rise up out of the sea to bathe the town in a warm, amber glow…perhaps that was where the town had picked its name up from. It was as good an explanation as any, should one seek one out. Of course, few stopped to think about such things; it was just a name, after all. Not a very important one either. In the Anglia Region, Amber Town was simply another small village, hardly worth the time or effort to contemplate or even visit.
Rose looked up from her notes, frowning at the daylight. After all of the effort and preaching it had taken to get her sister to go to bed last night, she herself had not slept. Jennifer wouldn’t like that…if she found out, at least. Rose had no intention of telling her that she hadn’t slept, although her sister would probably be able to tell…after all, this was the third night this week that Rose hadn’t slept. It was becoming something of a habit; there simply weren’t enough hours in the day.
They had spent the night in the Pokémon Laboratory, which was where Rose had spent much of her time recently, consolidating her research regarding Pokémon – in particular, the behaviour of her Durant, which was sleeping underneath the desk, nestled against her feet – and acting as the region’s Professor. And there was more to that role than she had initially thought. Hosting and attending lectures about research with other scholars, documenting anything and everything, field research trips, answering queries from anyone who happened to phone her, making sure the Pokémon storage system was operating smoothly. As the fourth member of the Elite Four and the acting Champion, she was required to make an appearance at various events held throughout the year and, of course, attending the Pokémon League tournament whenever it was held. Combined with looking after her little sister, it was a miracle she found time to sleep at all…and, as the daylight outside was telling her, sometimes she didn’t find the time to.
She rose, wincing at the stiffness in her legs and lower back, and moved out of her study and into the main room, unlocking the laboratory doors. Today would be the day that new aspiring Pokémon trainers from all over the region would arrive here to collect their starter Pokémon – which, along with travel gear, rested in their Pokeballs on a table behind her – and begin their journeys. It would be up to her to make sure the first steps of their journey went off without a hitch and, whilst she had done this before, she found herself feeling slightly nervous. This year, her sister would be undertaking her journey, and whilst it would be good for her to experience the world by herself, Rose was still a little nervous about sending her off.
She sighed, sitting on the edge of the table. She had no idea what time it was, although it couldn’t be a few hours after daybreak at most. Her sister would probably come bounding down the stairs soon, overflowing with excitement and more than a little apprehension, and others would come soon, as well. It looked like she would have to wait a little while before she could catch up on her sleep…
