Worlds at War

Two centuries ago, the Great Solar War drove many Rhoarons to take refuge in two other planets in our system. One of them was Alveroth, which was among the top three most powerful planets in our solar system; the other was Phyron, my home planet, which was yet to catch up with the rest of our system.

However, the majority of the Rhoaron refugees chose Phyron over Alveroth since our home had more free land; and while this helped expand our growth in the intra-solar market with time, eventually, the majority of the Rhoaron descendants here demanded rights to more land and industries, claiming that Phyron wouldn’t be where it was without their hard work. While we acknowledged their hand in developing of our economy, their demands were far too extreme. However, while many of our neighbours agreed on this, the superpowers of the solar system—especially Alveroth—did not: they saw it as an opportunity to further their own ambitions. And thus began the Phyronian Civil War.

I lost everyone I loved within the past year alone. My mom and dad sacrificed themselves to save my two older sisters and me, and then just two weeks ago, I lost both my sisters when the shelter we were taking refuge in was levelled by an aerial assault. Two months had passed since I last had contact with any of my school friends or relatives from our old neighbourhood. I could only assume the worst…

I kept off the roads and stuck to the woods, moving away from what remained of the cities and towns that were once filled with hopes and dreams. Now they lay there, quietly, engulfed in the black miasma that entrapped them with unforgiving arms. Nothing but silence pervaded the lands, save for the bellowing of aircrafts that tore through the skies, seeking more victims. As I hiked across the nearest mountain range, I saw more pillars of fire and smoke rise into the air, igniting and then enshadowing the distant horizon.

Within two weeks, I came across others like me who had fled to the woods and were living in caverns and tents. They took me in with open arms and taught me how to hunt wild animals and find safe fruits and vegetables. I felt a deep sting in my chest on my first handful of hunts, but I had to force those thoughts deep under. There was no other choice…

Things were quiet for a while at our temporary home. I made friends with several children my age, and we spent our evenings and nights immersed in games. It was the only thing we could do to keep our minds occupied—the one thing that provided even a little respite in those dark hours that surrounded us. But it was not long before that shred of happiness was ripped away from us, for the flames of hatred swiftly set ablaze the entire region. The Rhoarons had set ablaze the entire forest, starting from all corners and moving inwards, seeking to destroy every last one of us.

A handful of my friends and I got separated from everyone else and had to find our own path to escape the enemy’s barrage, but yet again, by luck or by a cruel twist of fate, I was the only one that walked out alive. Perhaps barely alive. I suffered serious burns across my body, and the thick, black fog that coated even the air suffocated me with every breath I took. It was not long before I collapsed onto scorched earth and sank into unconsciousness.

I later woke up in the ruins of a school that had been turned into a temporary hospital. By then, two weeks had already passed, and with it, so had the war. It seemed that it took the slaughtering of two-thirds of my people for the other planets to take action. I was caught in one of the many widespread attacks in which the Rhoarons had blindly levelled regions rich in many resources—those that had especially become invaluable in recent years to every planet in our solar system. It had prompted Alveroth itself to intervene in the war. Our lives meant nothing to the rich and the powerful; it was a grim truth I would never forget.