User blog:RoyboyX/Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: The Novel

My seventh novel shall tell us what really happened on Aether.

Prologue: A War of Two Worlds
Once, long ago, a race of creatures called the Luminoth settled on planet Aether after many nomadic generations spent roaming the universe. They carved out a peaceful existence there, coming to know the land and animals and bathing in the power of what they called the "Light of Aether". To prolong the lifetime of the planet, they decided to harness this light by building Energy Controllers that would be housed in holy temples. They built three of these temples, one in each of their settlements, and linked them to their most sacred place, the Great Temple. A golden age of peace and prosperity blessed them, and they were content.

The peace would not last, though. They tracked a meteor on a crash-course with their planet, and could do nothing but watch as it approached. The meteor's strike scorched the earth, cast the seas into convulsions, and spread a veil of darkness over all that the Luminoth knew... but that was not all. The explosion and the energy from the meteor opened up a dimensional rift in Planet Aether, spawning a second planet that existed in a different dimension. Dimensional rips soon bloomed on Light Aether, and an evil race of dark creatures ventured forth, spreading violence. The Luminoth named these creatures the Ing, and soon created portals to follow them into a world they would come to know as Dark Aether.

This twin planet, which had given birth to the Ing Horde, was a poisonous mirror of their own, and the Luminoth retreated from its damaging effects. Over time, however, as the Ing continued to make war on Light Aether and began to possess both creatures and friends, the Luminoth had to return and fight. They set up beacons of light that acted as protective oases against the dark creatures, and fought tooth and nail against the Ing. The war raged, and a stalemate soon became apparent; the Luminoth could not defeat the Ing on Dark Aether, and the powerful light of Aether was too much for the Ing to overcome.

The stalemate could not last forever. The planet's energy had been divided between the light and dark worlds, and both sides wanted to control it. The Luminoth created an Energy Transfer Module designed to absorb the energy from Dark Aether, only to have it stolen and used against them. Their temples fell one by one, until only their last, the Great Temple, remained. With only enough planetary energy to support one world, this temple was all that stood between Dark Aether completely eclipsing Light Aether, eradicating the last of the Luminoth...

Into this conflict came a new factor. A Federation ship chased a Space Pirate vessel onto the surface and engaged them, only to be attacked and decimated by the Ing. After losing contact with the troops, the Federation suspected the worst. Unwilling to abandon all hope, they sent an urgent message to Samus Aran...

"Mission received from Galactic Federation... Locate troops lost in Dasha region of Planet Aether... Priority 1..."