Story Premise
In a world engulfed by black flames that never go out, Leondre, a lab assistant with the powers to create anything he draws, embarks on a journey to stop the one person who caused the Black Sea phenomenon. Little does he know that his aunt, Sol, is responsible for the Black Sea phenomenon, uninhabitable cities, and millions of deaths, and his familial ties could put everyone at risk of extinction.
Historical Background
On April 25, 2018, the world would no longer be the same. The changes were so dramatic, that it has the human race on the verge of extinction. Sol, the one responsible for this carnage, was in search of a certain item and unleashed her black flames upon the world in frustration of having no luck finding this item. These black flames never go out and are so hot that they consume everything in their path and slowly spread. They feel cool to the touch and will ravage a human body within seconds leaving nothing behind. This would later be known as the Black Sea phenomenon. With little land left, the Black Sea conflicts started and still go on to this day. In 2019, The famous Dr. Tessa was successful in refining concentrated black flames and later named them the Auclair stones. The refining process is so difficult that the slightest imperfection will yield an unstable stone causing it to explode and spread the black flames further. These stones are what’s used to power technology that Dr. Tessa Auclair creates and it’s what powers the infamous Arc bracelet, the item Sol was after and the reason behind the destruction of half the world. Since the emergence of the Auclair stones, technology has risen to new peaks around the world, and the Black Sea civil conflicts are slowly dissipating. It’s now 2024, and Liondre, along with the help of Dr. Tessa, Matthew, and Teddy, are in search of how to stop this Black Sea phenomenon and understand the origins of the Arc bracelet.
Main Characters
Name: Liondre Lucian Herrera
Nickname: Leo
Age: 27
Sex/Gender: Male
Species: Human
Superpower: Manifestation
Weapon: Arc bracelet
Liondre was born in Modesto, CA on October 25, 1996. His father is Leonardo, but his family calls him Luis, and his mother is Mercedes. When he was nine, he took up the pencil and was determined to learn to draw. First, he started drawing houses and stick figures, things a nine-year-old would draw, but in his frustration with his drawings not being perfect, he scribbled over them. Little did he know that incident was when his powers awakened. Anything little Leo drew came to life. His auntie Sol guided him and showed him how his powers worked and how to keep them in check. Throughout the years, he’s been harnessing and honing his abilities and perfecting his drawing skills. Now, he works as a lab assistant for the famed Dr. Tessa Auclair at Auclair Industries. In one of his and Dr. Tessa’s expeditions within a Black Sea zone, he discovered a bracelet that amplified his abilities and could shape into anything he imagined. The archery skills he learned in college came in handy his preference is a bow. He tattooed an arrow on the opposite side to manifest unlimited light arrows at any given time. His mission now is to uncover the secrets behind his Arc bracelet and the Black Sea phenomenon that engulfed major cities in 2018.
Name: Soleil Itzli
Nickname: Sol
Age: Unknown. Looks to be mid-thirties.
Sex/Gender: Female
Species: Unknown. Looks to be human.
Superpower: Manipulation of stars
Weapon: Black pyrokinesis
Soleil Itzli was a victim of human trafficking in San Francisco when she was young and was rescued by Liondre’s father, Leonardo Herrera, in 2001. Sol, as she came to be known, has been around Liondre’s family since. She appears to never age, and not much is known about her family since she doesn’t like to talk about the past. S-Day is her doing. In her search for a lost, forgotten ancient bracelet, she stopped at nothing to locate this ancient technology and spread her black flames causing the Black Sea phenomenon. Sol is responsible for millions of deaths along with so many uninhabitable cities around the globe. Her ability to manipulate stars at will is what caused the gravitational fluctuations in the Black Sea zones.
Supporting Characters
Name: Ted
Nickname: Teddy
Age: 9
Sex/Gender: Male
Species: Marten
Teddy is a sable who was rescued from a gray zone when he was 3. Liondre just happens to be its rescuer. They’ve been companions since then and anywhere Liondre is, there’s Teddy. Dr. Tessa suggested the name Ted since it’s Greek for “God’s gift,” and Liondre thought it was perfect since he also looks like a teddy bear. Teddy as a nickname has stuck since. They’ve explored many gray and black sea zones together harvesting ancient technology or Auclair stones. He’s a pretty good judge of character and loves spending time with Matthew at the lab when Liondre is busy with Dr. Tessa. He loves wild berries and Matthew always has a hidden cache of wild berries for his buddy.
Name: Tessa Auclair
Nickname: Doc or Dr. Tessa
Age: 39
Sex/Gender: Female
Species: Human
Tessa Auclair is a genius when it comes to creating new technology. She has a master’s in mechanical engineering, a doctorate in medical technology, and a master's in engineering physics and artificial intelligence. She was a child prodigy and entered MIT at the age of 17. She is behind the Auclair stones, an energy source that’s left behind from concentrated black flames, a year after S-day that help power most of the world. Now she wants to know what black flames are so she can help Liondre put a stop to this phenomenon that’s ravaging the world little by little.
Name: Matthew Palmer
Nickname: Matt
Age: 25
Sex/Gender: Male
Species: Human
Matthew Palmer is one of many lab assistants for Dr. Tessa and Liondre’s ex-boyfriend. The relationship between Liondre and Matthew started back when they first met in college and ended several years ago. Matthew’s work at Auclair Industries is to figure out what makes the Arc bracelet work that seems to only work for Liondre. Because of his responsibilities with the Arc bracelet, his interactions with Liondre are constant, so there’s still a lingering flame between them. They each feel like their work is important, so they mutually called off their relationship and have remained friends since.
Locations
San Francisco
San Francisco hasn’t been the same since 2018 when all of this started. With the help of Dr. Tessa, Auclair Industries, and the Auclair stones, it’s been slowly getting back to what it was prior to the Black Sea phenomenon. The progression of the black flames has slowed down some around San Francisco since the emergence of the Auclair stones and Dr. Tessa’s technology. Much of the city is still intact, but there are new underground highways and streets to keep the existing black flames from endangering others or spreading. From the outside in, it still looks normal, but the city is slowly gaining traction to become the most technologically advanced city in the U.S. thanks to Auclair Industries.
Auclair Industries
Auclair Industries is where the magic happens. You could even say that what they create is actual magic but don’t let Dr. Tessa hear you say that. It’s all science. This is the laboratory that’s responsible for the construction of the Auclair stones and where they experiment on the Arc bracelet. Dr. Tessa is still trying to successfully entrap black flames to properly study it, but for now, she’s successful in harnessing the power within the Auclair stones. Matthew is the lead lab assistant and conducts tests on the Arc bracelet when Liondre isn’t out surveying Black Sea zones. Dr. Tessa’s current project is the gateway between our world and what she calls The Edge of Eternity, where she believes Sol resides.
The Edge of Eternity
Not much is known about this location. For a brief moment, Liondre did catch a glimpse of what lies on the other side of ground zero, the initial impact of the Black Sea. His description of this bizarre world is what gave Dr. Tessa the idea to call it The Edge of Eternity. What we do know of some current Black Sea zones is that gravity is warped, and time runs differently. For Liondre, it felt like he was trapped there for days. For Dr. Tessa, it was 1.5 seconds. This is proof that time doesn’t function the same way there as it does on Earth. Liondre said he could feel the vibrations of the black hole on his skin, and everything was made of crystal and an endless sea of black flames. Dr. Tessa believes it’s where Sol came from and that’s what Earth will look like if the Black Sea isn’t stopped.
Additional World Information
Postcard
This is a postcard that’s pretty common around San Francisco. Ground Zero is just outside the city, and it’s the first Black Sea zone to be recorded. The gravity and atmosphere here are normal, but the aurora never ends, and it's always nighttime. Not much is known about why this happens, but it could be the magic behind the black flame. Not everything can be explained by science and this is one area that stumps Dr. Tessa. A monolith was erected on the point of impact of the black flame so that people could come and observe and never forget the day our world was changed. With the help of Dr. Tessa and the barrier she created using the Auclair stones, the black flames near the monolith are under control and don’t pose a threat of spreading further so the general public can visit.
Arc Bracelet
On one of Liondre’s expeditions with Dr. Tessa, Liondre discovered an ancient artifact. Upon touching it, it locked itself around his wrist, and the bracelet could take shape to whatever the wearer wanted. Liondre was always good at archery when he was in college, so now he uses the bracelet to conjure up a bow and his powers of manifestation to produce light arrows. It’s almost as if this ancient artifact was meant to fall into the hands of Liondre. This ancient artifact also amplifies Liondre’s abilities, but it requires tremendous concentration. He practices with Matthew almost every day, and in return, Matthew gets new data on the bracelet to uncover its origins and capabilities.
Story Synopsis
2018 would be the year that everything changed for everyone. Lives were lost. Cities crumbled. The Earth’s continents shifted, causing new land to appear, and most of it was destroyed by black flame impacts or disintegrated altogether. Soleil, later known as Sol, unleashed her furry upon the Earth with her black flames, causing the Black Sea phenomenon. These areas of concentrated black flames would later be named Black Sea zones and entry is forbidden due to the unstable black flames.
Upon exploring Ground Zero with Dr. Tessa, the only Black Sea zone where entry is permitted, Liondre finds himself in another world, and his mentor, Dr. Tessa, is nowhere to be found. Liondre found himself stuck here for what seemed like days and eventually lost track of time. In his exploration, he discovers an ancient artifact that binds to him, allowing him to conjure any weapon of his choosing. Realizing that’s all he can do with the artifact, he thinks there must be something else about this bracelet that would cause Sol to stop at nothing to find it.
After Dr. Tessa successfully produces a stable gate to The Edge of Eternity, Liondre, Dr. Tessa, and Teddy set out to discover more about this new world. With all the latest information gathered, it's determined that The Edge of Eternity was Sol’s home world, and it met its end with uncontrollable black flames. If they don’t stop Sol, Earth will meet the same fate.
Story Excerpt
Upon waking up, Liondre tries to gather his thoughts, shaking his head and trying to clear the debris from his hair and face. He rubs his eyes and brushes off the thin layer of dust, trying to focus his vision. Releasing its dark area, he produces a single light arrow to illuminate his path. When he’s able to see what’s in front of him, he quickly loses concentration, and the arrow dissipates, he moves back with his back against a rocky wall in fear of touching the black flames that are within arm’s length. His heart races with a steady beat, almost like a drum, and he feels his chest about to burst open as his life flashes before his eyes.
“Holy shit, that was close,” he said still trying to calm his breathing.
When he finally manages to calm down and gather his bearings, he produces another light arrow to see his surroundings. He avoids the black flames and walks out of the cave he is in. The sight outside of the cave left his mouth wide open in shock. In the reflection of his eyes, you can see auroras in the sky and a black hole in the far distance of space. Floating islands all around him and you hear the crackling of the crystals forming in the distance. The hairs on his arms began to rise as he felt the vibrations of an immense force. The black hole. He could hear the black hole. It was a low hum but he could feel it too.
“Last I remember, black holes have tremendous gravity, so much that light can’t even escape them. But if that’s the case, why do I feel what's coming from the black hole? And why is it red?” he thinks to himself. The overwhelming fear in the pit of his stomach left him paralyzed and sick. “Did Sol do this here too? Just what exactly is she after?”