The rain poured down in sheets over the industrial city of Kolyma.
Marko stood on the back of Tram 14, holding onto the satchel strap. He was a broad shouldered twenty-eight year old, whose shoulders had become slightly hunched from the heavy manual labour he had done at the municipal electrical grid substation. His skin always smelt of ozone and burnt copper wire.
Outside the misty window was a city built on ancient bones and concrete. The modern glass towers loomed over the old brick factories from the nineteenth century. Beneath them lay the remains of ancient oak forests.
Marko wiped some condensation from the window. The thunder was rumbling in the distance. Not the usual thunder that came with Autumn storms but more like a low purring.
"Strange weather for late October." An old man muttered from his seat. He was holding a bundle of dry wood twisted together by twine. "It's been three days since the sky has gone dark but no lightning has come. It's just the pressure."
Marko nodded. "Yeah it's taking it's toll. Two transformers went down at the substation this morning. There's tonnes of static."
What he didn't mention was that for the last three days he had had a strange tingling sensation in his hands. Each time he would touch one of the grounded copper bars at work he would get small blue shocks of static travelling from his skin to the bar. He had worn his gloves all afternoon to hide it.
The tram jolted to a stop at the bottom of Oak Hill, a steep hill on the eastern side of the city. One side had a large electrical distribution plant built centuries ago. The other side had a dark public park enclosed with fences.
"Last stop kid." The conductor called through the crackling intercom. "We're not going up the hill tonight. The power grid is unstable."
Marko pushed his heavy leather jacket down and stepped out into the rain. The moment he stepped outside the rain poured down his neck. However he didn't feel cold. It smelt amazing. The air was fresh with the scent of damp earth, crushed pine needles and something old.
He would have to walk up the rest of the way to his apartment on top of the hill. As he climbed the stone steps through the park the storm got stronger. The clouds were dark purple and swirling.
Suddenly everything went white.
The park lit up with a bright flash of light.
Marko stood stock still with his hand on the wet rail. For a brief moment everything was bright. At the top of the hill stood a massive man holding a huge double headed axe slung over his shoulder. His cloak was flying wildly in the wind.
Marko blinked. The light dimmed and everything became pitch black. A few seconds later there was a deafening CRACK and the stone steps shook underneath him.
"What the..." Marko whispered as he stepped off the path.
He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small torch. He walked through the trees to the top of the hill. The trees were old. They were massive twisted oaks that were older than the city. As he got closer to the top of the hill he noticed that the rain wasn't touching him. The raindrops were hovering in the air inches from his coat.
He pushed through the trees.
In the centre of the park stood a lone massive oak tree. This was the oldest living thing in the province and was known as the Iron Oak.
Two men stood at the bottom of the tree wearing sleek black synthetic suits. They had large drilling machines humming with deep violet energy. Behind them stood a tall slim man in a smart charcoal suit holding a silver cane with a carved horned serpent head.
The man with the cane raised his hand. The drilling machine roared to life and a large iron spike shot into the trunk of the ancient oak. Black oily sap spurted out of the tree.
The Iron Oak let out a groan.
"We need to hurry." The man in the charcoal suit said in a smooth cool voice. It had a strange wet quality to it like he was walking through mud. "The anchor is almost cut. Once we poison the root channel the Sky King will have no link to this world."
"Stop!" Marko called over the sound of rain.
The man with the silver cane stopped. He turned slowly to reveal a pale face with sharp features. His eyes had no pupils and were completely black. He gave a thin sadistic smile.
"A lowly mortal." The pale man mumbled as he adjusted his silk tie. "Always getting into places you shouldn't be. Kill him quickly. We don't want any blood. Veles doesn't like mess."
One of the men in synthetic suits pulled out a small black matte gun from his coat. Without hesitation he raised it.
There was no bang. Instead a high pitch hum filled the air as a bolt of super heated plasma shot through the rain towards Marko's chest.
Time slowed. Marko could see the rain droplets floating around the bright bolt of energy. His instincts kicked in.
He didn't duck.
He raised his right hand.
Energy sparked from his skin. A bright jagged bolt of white lightning shot from his palm directly at the plasma bolt. The two collided causing a huge shockwave that blew through the park. Thick branches snapped like twigs and the gunman was thrown back into the mud.
Marko dropped to his knees, panting. His right hand was smoking. Lines of soft glowing gold ran up his hand from his fingertips.
The man with the serpent cane frowned. His smile faded.
"It can't be." The pale man hissed. His voice dropped an octave. "The vessel should have been empty. The spark was put out three thousand years ago!"
“EMPTY?”
A voice echoed in Marko's head. It was deep and booming like a furnace.
“THE SPARK NEVER DIES, VELES'S CUR! STAND UP BOY! WE HAVE SLAYS TO FINISH!” The voice boomed in Marko's mind causing him to clutch his head in pain.
His chest felt warm. His heart pounded once with a loud THUMP. His eyes glowed bright electric blue.
The rain stopped. Thousands of water droplets froze mid-air.
The second gunman raised his weapon. "Sir his energy signature is insane! What do you want me to do?"
"Shoot you idiot!" The pale man roared as his cane started to drip with cold black smoke.
The man fired three quick shots.
Marko didn't move. He slowly rose to his feet. His posture changed dramatically. His shoulders were squared, his chin was up and his face was cold and regal. He held his left hand up and caught the three plasma bolts in his bare hand.
The super heated bolts collided in his fist. They squashed like wet clay and sparked into harmless blue sparks that disappeared into his skin.
“You DARE DEFILE THE SACRED WOOD?” Marko roared. His voice was layered with two voices. One was his own rough voice. The other was the booming voice of the Sky God.
He took a step forward. The ground cracked underneath his boot. His foot burnt black with thermal energy. He reached out to the storm above.
"GROM!"
A three foot wide bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky. It hit Marko's open right hand.
The bright light shone over the whole city of Kolyma. Ten miles in every direction. Street lights exploded along Oak Hill Road. The main transformer at Substation 4 melted into liquid copper.
When the light faded Marko was holding a weapon made of pure condensed lightning. It had formed into a massive rugged axe made of dark iron and glowing rune steel. It was extremely heavy but felt like a feather in Marko's hand.
The pale man took two quick steps back. He was completely shocked. "The Axe of the Sky... It can't be. You were meant to be tied to the dark river!"
"I am the storm that breaks the oak!" Marko/Perun roared.
He swung the axe in a wide arc. A blade of raw energy sliced through the park. The second gunman was thrown off his feet. His suit burnt instantly and he was thrown sixty yards into the thick forest.
The pale man slammed his cane into the ground. The earth cracked open beneath his feet. Black oily water bubbled up from the ground.
"It makes no difference Perun!" He roared as he sunk deeper into the dark sludge. "The world has moved on. Humans serve our machines now! Your altars are dust!"
"I will make new ones from your bones!" Marko yelled as he swung his axe down. However just as the axe hit the ground the pale man disappeared completely into the black water.
A shockwave blasted through the hillside. A twenty foot trench was created. The iron drill machine exploded.
Silence fell over Oak Hill Park.
The rain started again. It was light and gentle. The dark swirling clouds above started to clear. The sky was clear with stars above the Iron Oak.
Marko stood alone in the centre of the park. The heavy axe was slowly turning back into floating golden sparks. The sparks sunk into his skin on his right arm leaving a faint glowing tattoo of a double headed axe on his forearm.
The energy in his veins faded.
Marko gasped and dropped to his knees. He clutched his chest. His muscles burned like he had run a marathon. His head was pounding with double consciousness.
He could feel his own thoughts but beneath them was a massive sleeping consciousness waking up.
“Well done mortal." The ancient voice whispered in the back of Marko's mind. It was calm now like distant summer thunder. "The fight is over but the war has just begun."
Marko pushed himself up onto his elbows. He panted as he looked at his glowing arm.
"What... what are you?" Marko rasped.
The voice chuckled.
"I am thunder. I am the sky. I am Perun. And you Marko... are my hands."
Half of the power grid in Kolyma went dark. Sirens started to wail in the cold night air.
ns216.73.216.62da2
and then Add to home screen.