Chapter 3: The Domino Decree

"Before Mankind first came to Earth in their great stone ships, we, the Setians, lived in harmony with nature. We lived for hundreds of years, but we were not immortal. Our Magic was born of Earth Mother, and was nurtured by our Elders who commune with her still to this day. When the Invasion and Genocide began, Mankind was looking for the source of our Magic. The Council of Thirteen had received a Prophecy of the Invasion, and the Gathering was undertaken. As Mankind started to slaughter us from on high, The Ten Thousand were gathered. It had been millenia since we had fought a war, but I was brought into the Ten Thousand as a warrior, skilled in combat from years of training. But not before I saw my wife and son slaughtered in a strafing run by one of the small stone ships the invaders flew. Jarielle, my wife, had my son Brenael by the hand and was reaching for me as we ran towards each other. But when the ship attacked, they died in fire and flames."

Sharon got out of her bed in just her underclothes and pulled me to my feet. She hugged me, and I was nearly overwhelmed by her gesture. I gently pushed her back and sat her down on her bed as I sat down in the chair again before continuing.

"My tale isn't finished yet, Sharon. After that, the Ten Thousand began training in secret, far underground where Mankind could not reach us. We had food, shelter, and solitude to train and prepare. When another thousand Setians were brought in, however, it was not for their safety. They were brought before the Council and made to sacrifice their lives for a Spell of Clouding, which hadn't been used in eons, but was the only way to protect the rest of the cosmos from Mankind. We knew back then that Man had come to Earth in its entirety, having destroyed their home planet already. The Elders foresaw their ... your demise, and that we would catalyze it. We would not destroy Mankind, but we would cause them to destroy themselves. 'Mankind will find Destruction or Redemption by their own hands. With their Destruction, Setian Life will return to the Earth, and we shall thrive again.' That was our prophecy, Sharon. I was one of the Assassins that would divide the world and see Mankind fall. There are others as well. The Ten Thousand live amongst you today. What I have done over the millenia is beyond forgiveness, though. Even with the promised return of our culture when Mankind is destroyed, I would have no place there."

"I can't believe that you would ever hurt someone who didn't deserve it, Alec." Sharon was holding my hand in hers. My claws had grown when I transformed, but my hands remained mostly human looking.

"Jesus died because I manipulated his people into turning against him. Hitler came to power through my machinations and whispers of power in his ear. President Abraham Lincoln died thanks to me whispering words of death and destruction in the ears of John Wilkes Booth. John Kennedy, I assassinated myself, and Lee Harvey Oswald was my accomplice. I fired the killshot, though. Robert Kennedy died when I poisoned the mind of Sirhan Sirhan. If you want a complete list of my sins, Sharon, we will be here for a month or more."

As I had predicted, her eyes had gone wide and she was looking at me in fear again.

"Why did you kill them? They were good men!"

"Some were. Some were not. They were all to be the Father of the Redeemer, though. John Kennedy Jr. died after I sabotaged his aircraft, since it was rumored that he could have been the redeemer. Do you see now, Sharon? I have fought a war in the shadows for so long that there is nothing of the man I was left inside me. At least not until I met you. I don't expect your forgiveness for what I've done. I do expect you to please accept my protection until you meet the man who will father your child and redeem Mankind. If I cannot have Redemption for what I have done, Mankind will, and I swear it by Blood and Stone."