The jungle was quiet this night as the planet’s red moon rose high in the sky, casting everything in a foreboding red light. Nothing moved, nothing breathed. Not even the wind blew, rustling the great tree leaves and causing the exotic flowers to dance. Nothing.
Lifeless, Jagan Krell thought. It was if some terrible cataclysm happened that wiped away everything except for this jungle, and even this seemed to be dying as well. Jagan examined a wild flower and saw that this was indeed the case. It was brown and wilted, a stark contrast to the bright colors it once proudly displayed. He saw that this was the case for all the plants around here, suffering from the same disease that had withered the flower.
The Darkness, he whispered the name fearfully in his mind, afraid that just the simple thought would kill him. The rumors were true then, the Darkness had returned. Somehow it had broken free of the barriers that kept it at bay. The great magics of the Ralkorans was indeed failing. It was already determined that it would when the Barrier was first erected. That the magic would only keep the Darkness at bay for a time before its own dark powers would eventually overwhelm it and it would break free. Of course, that was said thousands of years ago, long before Jagan was born. Despite the warnings that the Barrier would not hold forever, Jagan and all the other Ralkorans were more than happy to dismiss that. In fact, because the Barrier held for so long many doubted the existence of the Darkness, saying it was only a legend created to scare children. Yet this planet was proof against that. This once vibrant world full of life slowly being turned into one of lifelessness and darkness,
To be honest, Jagan didn’t know why he had come here. He wasn’t ordered to investigate this planet nor had he thought the Darkness had broken free. It was simply a hunch; a last dying call from this world. Jagan was glad he followed up on his hunch, or rather he was frightened. The Darkness free! What would the Ralkorans do? What would the galaxy do? The Guardian Order was created to protect all from the Darkness should it escape. They were the only ones with the necessary magic to combat its dark minions: the Dark Ones. Yet as time passed, the Order grew smaller and smaller. With no threat from the Darkness for over a thousand years, what need was there for the Guardians? Now the Order was nearly one quarter the size of what it used to be, with its numbers reaching the low thousands rather than the millions from before. With the Barrier broken and the Guardians being so few, what hope did the Ralkorans have in stopping the Darkness?
Jagan shook the thought away and walked to his ship. He needed to send a long distance  communication to Guardian High Command, he needed to warn them of this very real and dangerous threat. He was only a few yards from his ship when he sensed something. He slowed his pace until he eventually stopped and listened. He heard some movement in the trees behind him. He listened until he was sure that he wasn’t imagining things and slowly pulled out his sword. The sound stopped. Slowly and carefully, he turned around towards the source of the sound and scanned the darkness ahead. Nothing, nothing at all except the tall dark trees. That was when it decided to step out.
From out of the deep dark of the jungle came a creature Jagan had never seen before. It stepped into the dim crimson light of the moon, making it seem as if it was covered in blood. The creature was tall and rather man-like. It had a slim body and long, lanky arms and legs. Its body was covered with black hair and its fingers ended in curved claws. Its head seemed to be a combination of a wolf’s and a lizard’s and it had a set of horrible yellow eyes.
A Dark One, Jagan thought with fear. 
The creature pulled back its lips in a snarl, revealing long, jagged teeth. Jagan dropped in a defensive crouch and waited, one hand holding his sword and the other forming a fireball. As quick and silent as death, the creature lunged at Jagan. Jagan stepped quickly aside, slashing at the beasts side. The monster yelped in pain and quickly hopped off a tree and bowled into Jagan. It was on top of him now, clawing away viciously. Jagan’s Guardian armor protected him, mostly, from the creature's savage blows and he threw the monster off of him and into his ship. It was stunned momentarily but quickly dodged Jagan’s sword as he attempted to hammer it down upon it. It then swatted at Jagan, sending him sprawling to the ground. It tried to leap on him but Jagan tossed a fireball at the creature, hitting it square in the chest. It was blasted back and it squealed its pain and misery. It writhed on the ground in a vain attempt to extinguish the green flames that threatened to consume it. It was unsuccessful and screamed one final cry of agony before it was gone, burned away into a black ash.
Jagan didn’t take time to wonder what had just happened, he quickly boarded his craft and flew away before anymore Dark Ones came, now attracted by the dying creature’s call. He quickly sent a message to Guardian High Command informing them of the Darkness. They were doubtful at first but soon changed their minds upon Jagan telling them of the dying world and his encounter with the Dark One. Once the message was sent and Command told him to return from his patrol, and leaned back heavily on the soft leather of his seat. He reflected upon his encounter with the Dark One, a creature twisted and transformed into something else due to the black magic of the Darkness. He wondered briefly what that creature once was. Was it a calm and peaceful creature or was it a voracious predator? He didn’t know. What he did know was that every single living creature on that world was transformed into something like that beast, perhaps even more grotesque. And if the Darkness was not stopped, the rest of the galaxy would follow suite and eventually, the universe.