ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Literature Text
GATHERING DARKNESS
PART ONE
PANEL ONE
An extreme close-up. A single blast of laser-fire tears through the head of the Cybertronian Trannis.
1 DIALOGUE PANEL
It was a single shot that started the war, and a single shot that ended it, but the shot that most greatly defined our existence was the one that killed Trannis.
PANEL TWO
Cybertron is engulfed in war. Bots from both factions (Autobots and Deceptions) fight indiscriminately. Dead bots litter the ground.
2 DIALOGUE PANEL
The disappearance of the Ark had blurred faction lines, sending Cybertron’s population scrambling to align behind competing tyrants, who promised not only a swift end to the conflict but to any who stood in their way.
3 DIALOGUE PANEL
Trannis rose and brought about a ceasefire, but the status quo was short-lived.
PANEL THREE
Looking over Jhiaxus’ shoulder as he speaks to a congregation of bots from both factions.
4 JHIAXUS
The only thing to surpass the splendour of the Golden Age’s rise was the magnificence of its fall. Since then, our species has consistently proven itself to have come no further down the evolutionary path than when the bodies of our ancestors were first forged.
PANEL FOUR
An extreme close-up of Jhiaxus eye, in which we see Cybertron as the pupil.
5 DIALOGUE PANEL
Jhiaxus believed that it was Cybertron’s destiny to expand its civilisation out amongst the stars, but the one thing that even this master strategist could not account for was the planet’s willingness to not only embrace war but to never let it go.
6 DIALOGUE PANEL
Old scores still remained to be settled from a conflict that already stretched into the distant past.
PANEL FIVE
Straxus, on the battlefield, is a sight to behold. He wields his trademark axe with one hand, cleaving a bot in two, while firing a blaster with his other, cutting down any who would dare face him.
7 DIALOGUE PANEL
Jhiaxus had proven his willingness to fight for what he believed in, and his conviction had earned him great support, but sensing the futility of remaining on Cybertron under the yoke of Straxus, who had -- with unparalleled brutality -- risen to fill Trannis’ void, he and his followers left Cybertron.
PANEL SIX
Jhiaxus stands, remorsefully, on the bridge of a Cybertronian vessel. His head is bowed slightly, as if in deep contemplation.
8 DIALOGUE PANEL
Jhiaxus instilled in us a sense of destiny -- that we would find order in ourselves and one day return it to Cybertron, purging the planet of the chaos that engulfed it.
9 DIALOGUE PANEL
He could not have known that he would never set foot on his home world again.
--- END PART ONE ---
PART TWO
PANEL ONE
The giant body of The Fallen drifts lifelessly through space. It is scarred and broken from battle. In the background, a Cybertronian ship can be seen approaching.
1 DIALOGUE PANEL
Did we discover it? Or did it discover us? Primus only knows. But somehow, in the depth and breadth of space and time, our paths converged.
PANEL TWO
Cybertronians, who are much smaller than the great figure of The Fallen, work to repair its body. We see tubes similar to those that are seen on the body of the Liege Maximo being implemented, and a cannon replacing one of the arms.
2 DIALOGUE PANEL
Its body twisted and broken, but forged in an age long ago -- we did all we could to heal this progenitor of our race.
3 DIALOGUE PANEL
It called itself the Liege Maximo, but we knew it by another name -- an ancient name.
PANEL THREE
The (relatively) small book of the Covenant of Primus lies open in the palm of the taloned hand of the Liege Maximo. The shadow of its horned head falls down upon it.
4 DIALOGUE PANEL
We had fled Cybertron with little but the knowledge in our minds, but of greatest value among our few possessions was a copy of Primus’ prophetic tales -- the Covenant.
5 DIALOGUE PANEL
The arrival of this mighty being announced the beginning of the Covenant’s final chapter -- the Transcension -- when a mortal would rise to pass judgement on creation.
PANEL FOUR
The Liege Maximo is hidden by shadow as it sits in a large throne. Before it, Jhiaxus kneels ritualistically. Sparks burst from Jhiaxus’ chest. Other Cybertronians watch on in awe at the ceremony.
6 DIALOGUE PANEL
If any of us harboured doubts about the power of this burgeoning deity, they were soon dispelled. By divine instruction, our number grew via a knowledge long forgotten by our race.
PANEL FIVE
A panel similar to Page 10 of G2 ‘Total War’ in which a squad of Empire troops storm forward as jets streak overhead.
7 DIALOGUE PANEL
Jhiaxus, the newly christened Liege Centuro, called it the beginning of a true Cybertronian Empire. World after world fell as our power and number grew.
PANEL SIX
The Hub’s interlinking worlds stretch out into space in all directions.
8 DIALOGUE PANEL
Grow, too, did the Hub, as the vast structure resonated with the promise of godhood.
9 DIALOGUE PANEL
Our destiny seemed all but assured under the eye of the Great Xal.
--- END PART TWO ---
PART THREE
PANEL ONE
A Cybertronian Empire vessel is struck by an asteroid and badly damaged.
1 DIALOGUE PANEL
With the final judgement approaching, Jhiaxus saw it as our purpose to ensure that our race would be seen as worthy, and so we served the Liege Maximo without question.
2 DIALOGUE PANEL
But in that service, some of us were lost.
PANEL TWO
A set of large hangar doors (slightly Unicron maw-like), on the outside of a very large structure that is partially constructed, sucks the stricken Empire ship in.
3 DIALOGUE PANEL
The last of an old enemy was to be our unlikely saviour, yet if we’d known what was to come, perhaps we would have welcomed death more warmly.
PANEL THREE
Cybertronian Empire troops are torn apart and reassembled by spindly red arms emanating from the walls of the chamber in which they’re being held.
4 DIALOGUE PANEL
Occupied with enacting vengeance on the Empire, the enemy left our fates to that of an artificial intelligence.
5 DIALOGUE PANEL
Endlessly deconstructed, reassembled, stripped and reforged -- the brutally inquisitive way in which it acted could only be described as experimentation.
PANEL FOUR
A close-up of Corvus’ eyes, which burn bright red, alive with power. In the background, Empire troops look on in trepidation.
6 DIALOGUE PANEL
But then, a dark murmur -- divine, yet weak -- whispered to us. Darkness personified had taken root at the heart of the machine -- an intelligence that was anything but artificial.
7 DIALOGUE PANEL
While the few of us left dared not say its name, one answered its call.
PANEL FIVE
Six Empire troops flee down a corridor, pursued by red spindly arms, which have grasped one of them. Corvus stands in the background and fires, cutting down another of the fleeing Empire troops.
8 DIALOGUE PANEL
Before the darkness could return to its full potency, we made our escape.
PANEL SIX
The same Empire vessel that was struck by an asteroid in the first panel has been repaired and is flying towards the reader at great speed. In the background is an enormous, partially constructed body of Unicron, in planet-mode. Akin to the cut-away Death Star in Return of the Jedi.
9 DIALOGUE PANEL
With the grip of the Chaos Bringer lingering on our Sparks, we fled for the protection of the Hub.
--- END PART THREE ---
PART FOUR
PANEL ONE
The Hub has been destroyed. Enormous pieces of debris drift through space. It is a scene of utter devastation.
1 DIALOGUE PANEL
Death, on an impossible scale.
PANEL TWO
The partially constructed body of Unicron has arrived, and with its maw open, it begins to consume the debris from the Hub.
2 DIALOGUE PANEL
The when and how of the Hub’s destruction had to wait. Our only course of action was a return to an ancient home -- to seek protection behind the Light of the Matrix.
3 DIALOGUE PANEL
We had unwittingly delivered the Lord of Darkness a means to his return.
PANEL THREE
A battlefield on Cybertron is littered with dead bodies. From bunkers dug out of toppled buildings, red and purple laser-fire is exchanged by Autobots and Predacons.
4 DIALOGUE PANEL
Cybertron was just as we had left it -- divided, and consumed by war.
5 DIALOGUE PANEL
Megatron had finally fallen, and with him went the Decepticons. But from their ashes had grown a new faction, and with them, opportunity.
PANEL FOUR
Three figures stand front and centre. They are the three Tripredacus Council members, in Great War-era bodies. Imposing figures to be sure. Behind them, a creepy figure wrings its hands. It is Tarantulas. The bot in the centre holds a large sword. The four figures are sporting the Predacon Razorclaw’s insignia.
6 DIALOGUE PANEL
Names are so easily forgotten in war, but just as easily forged. Four, among the thousands -- who could have said otherwise?
7 DIALOGUE PANEL
Razorclaw, and his Predacons, welcomed us.
PANEL FIVE
Razorclaw lies dead on the battlefield. His body is heavily damaged, but the lethal blow is the large sword emanating from the middle of his chest - the same sword seen in the hands of the bot in the previous panel.
8 DIALOGUE PANEL
Time was now of the essence, and couldn’t be wasted with such a trivial pursuit as war. We set about doing that which none had been able to -- end it.
PANEL SIX
In the shadowy command room of the Tripredacus Council, the three figures sit around their table and stare back at the reader.
9 DIALOGUE PANEL
We, alone, must prepare.
10 DIALOGUE PANEL
Unicron’s shrouded exile has been revealed, and with it, the power to bend him to our will.
--- END OF PART FOUR ---
--- END OF GATHERING DARKNESS ---
GATHERING DARKNESS
The Tripredacus Council have been an enigma since their introduction in Season 2 of Beast Wars. What their role within the Predacon faction is remains a mystery, but the greatest cause for debate within the fandom is in regards to their origins. The Beast Wars 20th Anniversary provides the perfect opportunity to shed a little more light on this shadowy triumvirate, so to that end, in a set of 4 one-shot pages (one per Deicide Issue), we have GATHERING DARKNESS.
Transformers © Hasbro/Takara
The Tripredacus Council have been an enigma since their introduction in Season 2 of Beast Wars. What their role within the Predacon faction is remains a mystery, but the greatest cause for debate within the fandom is in regards to their origins. The Beast Wars 20th Anniversary provides the perfect opportunity to shed a little more light on this shadowy triumvirate, so to that end, in a set of 4 one-shot pages (one per Deicide Issue), we have GATHERING DARKNESS.
Transformers © Hasbro/Takara
© 2016 - 2024 Rh1n0x
Comments4
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
It might be necessary to clarify what you mean by each mentioning of "Cybertronian": the species or the faction? I assume both at different times.
1-1
Good thing the narration mentions Trannis' name, because without a prominent depiction of Trannis to recognise that would be a very confusing start for a story.
1-4
The wording "a conflict that already stretched into the distant past" seems strange to me. Somehow in my head "already" in that place negates the "distant" and somehow it's not working for me. "a conflict that stretched into the already distant past" would be clearer for me.
Your Straxus seems very different from the comic Straxus I know...
2-4
Is Jhiaxus' body bent forwards (down) or backwards (up) while kneeling? Also: is this the beginning of a budding process?
2-6
So you made "Xal" the Liege Maximo's true name?
Say, what's the relationship between this Gathering Darkness and the Darkness things already in your gallery? Is this script the earlier or the later version?
1-1
Good thing the narration mentions Trannis' name, because without a prominent depiction of Trannis to recognise that would be a very confusing start for a story.
1-4
The wording "a conflict that already stretched into the distant past" seems strange to me. Somehow in my head "already" in that place negates the "distant" and somehow it's not working for me. "a conflict that stretched into the already distant past" would be clearer for me.
Your Straxus seems very different from the comic Straxus I know...
2-4
Is Jhiaxus' body bent forwards (down) or backwards (up) while kneeling? Also: is this the beginning of a budding process?
2-6
So you made "Xal" the Liege Maximo's true name?
Say, what's the relationship between this Gathering Darkness and the Darkness things already in your gallery? Is this script the earlier or the later version?