[center][h2]Dawn of Blood: part 4[/h2][/center] That morning the Grottu tribe lost two more members in the night. The great hunter Panganeem had disappeared, his hut empty and along with him was his faithful and first friend of the hunting party, Juttyu the Giant. With those two charismatic leaders gone, the tribe found itself mulling a little, having experienced a lot of loss in the last year. As if by magic, though, Thumfatem pulled the tribe from depression by showcasing a new wisdom from the Gods themselves, cementing his position as prophet once and for all; that wisdom being a fever-healing-fish marked with an eye, nicknamed ‘butterfly fish’. It was in this crossroad of anguish and new hope that the tribe found itself in. Their chieftain Hoshaf had changed drastically in the coming days, becoming more direct, and aggressive. The people had begun to see him in a new light, a budding warrior of sorts from the frail man he had been. Once again, the tribe gave credit to Thumfatem, the advisor of the chief himself. The memory of a time before Hoshaf and the time of Viyoh began to fade in all but the most forlorn. The fact that the name should be uttered in any way other than as a reminder of Hoshaf’s legitimacy troubled the chieftain. He found himself combing the now sacred beach of the Grottu, a holy site that is off limits to all but himself and the prophet. By a pile of rocks the corpse of Viyoh laid, picked clean and bleached but otherwise undisturbed. Hoshaf pushed a rocked with his foot, he had avoided this crime scene since he became chieftain, and despite his new found confidence, he couldn’t help but feel Viyoh’s ghost. “I can erase you, you know,” Hoshaf snarled to the sea, “Make it like you never existed. I cannot kill someone who never existed.” And the sea answered. It began far in the distance. Out among the waves there was a shape, like an island or a great rock, which he did not recall ever seeing before. It glowed and flickered in the daylight, and, even though the heliopolis was but rising, it had the colour of the evening. The shape was moving. It grew higher and broader, and it was clear even from far away that it was much larger than even Yimbo. In another moment, a gleaming wall covered the horizon before his eyes, the strange island perched atop it like a colossal head. No – it was a head, and those were arms, each longer than the greatest wave Hoshaf had ever seen was tall. He could feel the beach faintly shaking beneath him, despite the behemoth's steps falling far below the water. It stood, darkening the earth and sea around itself, and spoke in the voice of a storm. [color=#CD2626][b]”You cannot, and you should not. If you won't know that you have killed, what will you have left to be certain of?”[/b][/color] Hoshaf was frozen in terror at the very sight, let alone the voice of such a construct before him. Waves crashed against the beach with every twitch of the mighty metal titan. Eventually the chieftain regained enough of him faculties to answer, “What?” [color=#CD2626][b]”What I said.”[/b][/color] The hard-leaved reeds that sprouted among the dunes bowed under the rumbling words. The being's eyes shone like the inferno of a pyrgerak hunt. [color=#CD2626][b]”You have killed, and that's your accomplishment. That is what you are. Murderer. [i]Victor.[/i] Destroy that, and you will be nothing.”[/b][/color] “I am the victor,” Hoshaf agreed hungrily, “My word is law.” [color=#CD2626][b]”Yes,”[/b][/color] the immense head nodded, [color=#CD2626][b]”You rule, and he is dead. You'd be a fool to fear him now. Laugh at him! Show him you're a better chief than he could ever be!”[/b][/color] “I don’t fear him!” Hoshaf said perhaps too quickly, “I don’t fear anything. I am the chieftain, I am the strongest, I am Kirron-chosen!” The Selka kicked a lump of sand at the bleached bones, “He’s nothing, nothing!” [color=#CD2626][b]”Right.”[/b][/color] An iron hand gestured to the west, casting night over the sea-cliffs yonder. [color=#CD2626][b]”I will tell you, there is a trick,”[/b][/color] though still as oppressive as thunder, the voice grew low and conspiratorial, [color=#CD2626][b]”to make him vanish as he deserves without losing what you took from him. I will teach you, if you swear to use it.”[/b][/color] Hoshaf looked at the conspiring metal mountain, and pinched his chin, “Though I don’t know you, I can’t say no. Teach me these ways.” [color=#CD2626][b]”Who I am doesn't matter,”[/b][/color] the giant waved his claw dismissively, [color=#CD2626][b]”Know only that I am blood-kin of your god. Now listen well. There are many of your kind that don't live like you do. They don't build the same mounds, don't praise Kirron the right way, don't obey [i]your[/i] laws. Go find them,”[/b][/color] the eyes burned with the joy of a pleasant daydream, [color=#CD2626][b]”and make them. They won't listen, and you will build a dune with bones like these. Then you will be the greatest of Kirron's own, and he only one of many.”[/b][/color] “Yes,” Hoshaf thought to himself, “And when it is all done, I will be the strongest.” He looked at Narzhak, “but how?” [color=#CD2626][b]”With these.”[/b][/color] The hand passed over Hoshaf’s head, and a rain of heavy thumps struck the sand at his side. Iron maces with tapering grips, suited for thick selka hands, and heads circled with pointed studs lay mingled with short, smooth-tipped spears and hooked, harpoon-like piercing pikes. [color=#CD2626][b]”Give them to your people. Learn to wield them. This is my blessing.”[/b][/color] “All the tribes will know of Kirron's chosen,” Hoshaf grinned madly. “Even Antorophu will respect my strength after this,” He all but muttered, “I'll be stronger than he ever was.” Quiet as his last words had been, the ear of a god was sharp. One of the colossus’ four eyes flickered in a playful wink. [color=#CD2626][b]”Ah, Antorophu?”[/b][/color] There was a laugh in his voice, mirthful yet heavy with dark omens. [color=#CD2626][b]”You already won that battle, remember? She's yours, Hoshaf. Go and take what you earned. The day is young.”[/b][/color] Hoshaf grinned at the thought, “You are right, Blood-kin. Thumfatem has suggested the same, perhaps it is time to exercise my strength and victory.” [color=#CD2626][b]”High time. Enough mumbling over a heap of bones!”[/b][/color] With slow, invisible steps, the god began to recede into the ocean. The tide steadily rose as he submerged, but not a droplet reached the pile of weapons. [color=#CD2626][b]”The world's full of wonderful things waiting for a firm hand to take them. Don't let anyone beat you to it.”[/b][/color] Once more, the vast body became a wall, then a reef, then an island, then a rock. A blink, and it was gone among the waves. Hoshaf stared down at the weapons, a wicked grin stretching over his face. [hr] The tribe was whipped into a frenzy. Their very own God-chosen chieftain had returned from the holy grounds with bundles and bundles of strange metallic weapons and orders from Kirron’s Blood-kin itself. The zealots of the Grottu cheered and hailed their chieftain, while their prophet sulked. “Don’t you think that’s a little too far,” Thumfatem advised in the chieftain’s private hut. Hoshaf blinked, his finger running to the tip of an iron spear. “I thought this is what you wanted.” “We already have what I- ,” Thumfatem stumbled, “--WE wanted. We are leaders, and we should be progressing our tribe forward, not sending them to kill fellow selka.” “Not fellows,” Hoshaf gripped the prophet’s shoulder, “heathens, heretics, those stragglers who don’t recognize our strength.” “Were you not on the beach?” Thumfatem growled, “Did you not see what bloodshed did to our children? Did you not hear Panganeem’s wails?” Hoshaf’s face straightened, “This sort of talk is unlike you.” “The first bloodbath,” Thumfatem nodded, “Was necessary, it weeded out the weak but it was supposed to be the only one. The second came, and proved we are still weak-” “And now we are given the chance to show how strong we are, weed out the weak of the other tribes, grow our own,” Hoshaf made a fist, “It’s time we take what is ours, we are the strongest.” Thumfatem recoiled slightly, “This isn’t what I wanted, you know.” “A shame you aren’t the chieftain, then,” Hoshaf grinned. “Don’t forget who made you,” Thumfatem hissed. “Don’t forget what you’ve made,” Hoshaf narrowed his eyes, causing Thumfatem to silently gasp. Hoshaf jabbed a finger into the fat seal’s belly, “You can’t stop now, we’ve come this far.” Thumfatem fell silent and Hoshaf continued, “in better news, I’ve decided to take a bride, as you suggested.” The prophet looked up and Hoshaf smiled wide, pulling at a whisker, “Antorophu.” “At last?” Thumfatem didn’t seem too surprised. “But,” Hoshaf turned the spear in his free hand, “I hear she has children, two sons. Do you know who by?” Thumfatem felt a pang in his chest and a clump in his throat, “No.” “Who?” Hoshaf stared daggers. “Hoshaf, you’ve changed,” Thumfatem dodged. “Who?” Hoshaf pressed, his teeth clenched. “Viyoh,” Thumfatem flinched, awaiting Hoshaf’s anger, but it never came. A sick cackle sounded from the chieftain. Thumfatem looked up, “What is it?” “This world is a comedy,” Hoshaf growled through his laugh, “No matter what I do, I cannot seem to rid myself of my-- Viyoh’s mistakes.” He paused and his eyes widened with a disgusting idea, “I’ll have them killed. Enemies of Kirron, enemies of our tribe.” “You can’t!” “Can’t I!?” Hoshaf clenched his jaw, “You said it yourself, I am the leader, I do what I want. You heard their cheers for me, their cheers for my weapons and my blessings. I can do whatever I want because I am the strongest, I am the chieftain.” “I won’t let you,” Thumfatem pushed past Hoshaf, heading for the door. There was a sudden pain and warm trickle, agony shooting up Thumfatem’s spine and a cold numbness engulfing his legs. He collapsed to the ground, his lungs too empty to scream. Hoshaf’s spear poked out of his chest, the shaft rammed through his spine. Hoshaf kneeled down next to Thumfatem, bringing his whiskered face close to the gasping seal. “I’m sorry,” Hoshaf hissed at the dying man, “It’s Kirron’s will.” [hider=The best thing to cheer up a seal] Hoshaf, chieftain of the Grottu, withdraws to the beach where he killed his friend Vyoh and ponders over his remains. Narzhak, who was passing by some kilometres from the shore, overhears his words and appears before him. He tells Hoshaf to drown out his doubts with more aggression against other tribes, and gifts him a handful of selka-friendly iron weapons. The chieftain enthusiastically agrees, as do his followers once they’re given the news. Only Thumfatem, the prophet, vocally disagrees with Hoshaf’s new ideas, but the chief dismisses his concerns. Having been urged to by Narzhak, he decides to take Antorophu, Vyoh’s mate, for himself, presumably by force. He learns that she had two children from his former friend and plans to dispose of them; Thumfatem tries to stop him, and is killed. [/hider] [hider=Might Summary] [b][u]Narzhak[/u][/b] 0 MP (discounted from 1) spent on a gift of anachronistic iron weapons for the Grottu [u]Before and after:[/u] 5 MP, 10 FP [/hider]