Acknowledgements
Credits to Caleb's Fanfiction Creations for compiling and transforming the piece into narrative,
To Talicor for consulation, collaboration, and editing,
And to Osetto, RunningBacon, Candace Marie, and Kam I Am to their contributions to the roleplay from which this story came.
FROM MANY COMES ONE
Chapter 1: Haunted Sleep
Hazel stood on a dusty plateau, a battered yet still impregnable wall in front of her, and chaos all around. Sounds of battle. Hazel's allies all around her, fighting and dying against a superior foe. Her family, too, suffering the same fate.
She knew this scene all too well. Even had she somehow forgotten the memory of this battle, the dreams would continue to remind her of it. Even ten months later, it felt as if the young woman was only days past the Battle of Otrera, one of two scenes that cycled in her mind, never allowing her to forget them.
Limbs aching, wounds flaring, Hazel continued fighting on, taking the progression she experienced nearly every night now. Leaving the battle behind, she slipped into the compound, her brother and cousin just behind her. Then, just as she expected, they were separated from her as the armored and masked terrorists discovered them.
Then the deaths. The ones Hazel knew were coming, but hurt her nonetheless.
Every single time.
But this time the wall did not fall.
There was no blast signaling the entrance of Hazel's allies.
Instead, she was surrounded. Shots fired, but she could not deflect them all...
But she did not have to, for they were intercepted by... A dark mass...
Fabric.
A cloaked figure perhaps. It swirled around, as if turning to look at her. It had a face, masked mostly, save for the shining blue eyes that bored into Hazel. Power...so much power, more than the young woman could even comprehend. It approached her-whatever it was-though Hazel didn't know its intent, for its inner motives were hidden from her.
It revealed an amber blade, now within striking distance...
Then vision and senses vanished and the dream ended.
o.o.o.o
Hazel overlooked a city, swarming with unsettled life forms. There was no order, only death as the beings hacked at each other with crude weapons, though she could not determine sides for the battle...all it seemed to her was a bloodthirsty rabble, each killing every other person he encountered. A complete slaughter.
The scene was not new to her... yet... it did not come from her memory. But how... how could that be possible? How could she recognize it if she had never before experienced it?
Giant gleaming ships caught Hazel's attention as they loomed overhead. They descended to the city and from them came an army consisting of people of all species, yet all were dressed identically, and their eyes all held the same blankness as they marched into the city, scattering the rabble and shooting all those who did not flee fast enough.
Hazel attempted to move closer, only for a sable cloak to mask her view, and with it, she lost all awareness, plunging back into the depths of unconsciousness.
o.o.o.o
Hazel stood in a hallway, with dull grey walls, ceiling, and floor, featureless save for the containers that lined the wall. The nearest thing she could compare them to was bacta tanks, yet there was no liquid inside that she could see. Only various sedated life forms, each one occupying a glass-like container.
Then she felt her feet lifted off the ground. Revealing that she, too, was trapped in a tank.
Weaponless, unable to harness the Force, with no means of escape. Panic set in, and Hazel caught a glimpse of something black coloring the chrome surroundings. Then a humanoid droid entered and Hazel's eyes slammed shut.
o.o.o.o
Hundreds of gigantic ships deployed from a single, spherical core. Hazel's vision followed one after another, flying to a variety of planets, none of which she recognized. Though her sight was blurred around the edges, Hazel could see enough to watch as armies of droids and living automatons landed, smashing what little resistance came before them.
Conquering all in their wake.
o.o.o.o
Hazel saw a small, grey, tentacled being staring out a viewport into space, his surroundings a mist to her eyes.
Her gaze intensified on the being and she heard a voice, neither inside her head nor out of it.
'Everything is coming together.'
'My ships are ready, the army nearly prepared for deployment.'
'All that now needs be done is for the testing of the commanders to commence.'
Hazel's gaze lifted and she saw two cerulean eyes. Blazing akin to frozen suns from what should have been deep space.
Then she saw no more.
o.o.o.o
Armies marching.
Cities crumbling.
Civilizations fading and turning to chrome.
Fire...So much fire.
And present in every scene as it flashed by... One solitary, now familiar, humanoid figure stood. Watching... Ever watching as the destruction marched forth, swallowing the galaxy... Bringing the very embodiment of civilization to its knees.
o.o.o.o
Though nothing was seen between visions, Hazel felt as if time was passing, unaffected by her. She merely existed, her consciousness flaring to give her dreams, then subsiding into darkness, only to burst to life again... Though each time it rose less than the last. Until there was no sight at all...
Only a voice.
o.o.o.o
"Let the testing begin."
Author's Note: Thanks so much for taking the time to read the first chapter of From Many Comes One. FMCO as you see it here is based off of a roleplay of the same name hosted by What the Fosh!Forum here on ffnet. Lasting from May 15 to October 28, 2014 and consisting of over 80,000 words, FMCO was the first roleplay of our forum and met with huge success thanks to the efforts of six of our forum members, listed above.
We'd love to hear any feedback in the form of reviews, and if you liked the story, don't forget to follow it to be alerted when new chapters are posted. The story only gets better from here! ;)
~What the Fosh!Forum admin, Caleb's Fanfiction Creations.