[right][i]Posted on behalf of [@Goldeagle1221][/i][/right]

[center][h2]The Dawn of Blood, a summary conclusion![/h2][/center]

“The Grottu tribe under Hoshaf grew strong and their immense battle prowess swallowed smaller tribes, and further still, their great zeal attracted others. In short time their size rivaled that of the Hyummin, but with each bloody victory, the evil Hoshaf grew more and more restless.”

Firelight crackled off the old and wrinkled face of Yupilgo, a decorated sharkskin bandage wrapped around his eyes. Time dug troughs into his flesh and wrinkled his body. He spoke with the breathy air of an elder, and many young warriors sat around him to listen to his words. He cleared his throat and powered on, the cold night wind adding spice to his story.

“He screamed in his sleep, and lashed out at his subordinates. Punishments grew more common, and then executions!” One child among the group of warriors turned to whisper what that meant, while others held stone faces, remembering their ancestors and those who had perished. Yupilgo hacked a breath and continued, unphased.

“Eventually his underlings grew tired of his ways and threatened to dispose of him. Fearing the worst, Hoshaf decided to act… and act quick. In a last ditch attempt to reaffirm his divine order of Kirron himself, Hoshaf declared war against the Hyummin…”  Yupilgo made a fist and shook it, inciting gasps from the youngest of his crowd and head shakes from the oldest.

“Oh woe to the Hyummin,” Yupilgo shook his wrapped head, “Since their conception they bickered and fought among themselves. They were large, yes, but very weak and conflicted --that is-- until a new face appeared, flanked by a giant and by a poet.”

“Panganeem and his K’nights!” A warrior bellowed and at the sound of the name, the most grizzled of the group pounded their chests with wide fists, glory in their eyes. The younger members of the crowd stood inspired, a certain eagerness in their legs as they flipped back in forth, awaiting the rest of the story… and perhaps their own future. 

“Yes!” Yupilgo pointed towards the voice, his old voice cracking with excitement, “Panganeem! The greatest of Selka hunters approached the tribe, Juttyu the Faithful Giant on his right and Ippino the favored poet of Delphina on his left. Almost immediately Panganeem was assaulted by the words of Gorpingu the Blasphemer, the Selka of the west.”

A warrior whispered the name Gorpingu to his lady friend, explaining to her to wait and listen to what happens. She scrunched her face and motioned for [i]him[/i] to listen. Yupilgo held his hands above the crowd.

“They entered a debate, one of a snake’s tongue and a loyal man’s whisper. Gorpingu pulled the robes of the gods themselves down and exposed their flesh to the Selka before him, but Panganeem brought their gaze back to their face. His words were simple, but of truth, he pushed past the argument of the gods and into the heart of life itself. He called upon his deceased daughter’s name, Tyuppa, and convinced Gorpingu that in their own way, the gods have given Panganeem the tools to build the selka up, and that through these tools they can become reliant on themselves, and create a new future. Gorpingu was intrigued, as was his followers. He leapt from his mighty pillar and knelt before Panganeem, swearing his fealty to Panganeem and the K’nights of Tyuppa, should they serve the selka first.”

One of the members of the crowd eagerly tapped the ivory club he held in his hand, tittering about his own membership into the sacred order. A curl formed on Yupilgo’s dry lips and his voice lifted.

“Onward the K’nights went and only after slaying dangerous beasts, reuniting lost families, and safely bringing food to the hungry, were they able to approach all the leaders of the Hyummin tribes. Gorpingu, Ippino, Juttyu, and their leader, Panganeem, stood center before the mass of Hyummin and their five family tribes.” Yupilgo held out five fingers as he spoke.

“They looked at Panganeem and said ‘you are well known, your K’nights dot the land and perform great acts, but what would you have us do? You are no chieftain, you have no tribe, what would you have us do?’ At these words Panganeem bit his finger and thought in the simple yet honest way he did. He was not without his wits, and with steely eyes he turned to Ippino and called the wise man to the center. Together the two explained how they formed the K’nights and by what way they lead them. They explained how Juttyu, Gorpingu, Ippino and Panganeem all held council and voted on decisions. Ippino pushed forward, his voice blessed by the charm of Delphina and in an awe inspiring speech he convinced the tribes of Hyummin to each pick a patriarch or matriarch and to give each tribe one vote through them, and when trouble arises to convene in council and vote as one on what to do. The tribes were swayed and the council of the Hyummin formed.”


The crowd gave a slight cheer, some leaning to whisper what their own ancestors did on the occasion, and a few even explained that they were related to a patriarch or matriarch. Prayers to Delphina leaked across the crowd, only falling suddenly silent as Yupilgo held up a hand.

“But what of the threat of the Grottu?”

“Yupilgo the Blind warned them!” Someone shouted, forcing a smile on Yupilgo’s face. Someone smacked the shouter and called out:

“Yupilgo the Blessed!” There was a small cheer, one that warmed Yupilgo’s face. The sensitive old man grunted past a tear and he continued, his old voice pushing with new vigor.

“I did! In my arms was the baby scion of Viroh the first, on my head was blood -- brought forth from the sin of Hoshaf and the murder of Antorophu. I was struck blind by the divines, the gods taking my sight to save me from seeing any more atrocities. I had seen enough, but I had not done enough!” He was nearly crying as he shouted his story.

“I forced my way to the Hyummin, lead by visions not of my eyes and words not of my ears, and I held the baby Dradinku high on my shoulders. I was greeted by whispers, and harsh words, but I kept walking on knowing my final mark was before me. I started as a hunter in sight, and as a blind man I finished, laying the baby Dradinku at the feet of none other than Panganeem. He welcomed me as a brother, reciting our old hunts together and put me before the council so I may speak. I spoke of the Grottu, I spoke of war, and finally I spoke of Hoshaf the accursed.”

The crowd was on their feet, energy passing through them as the story thickened. They all held their breaths, watching the old man spasm as he forced the story out with incredible emotion. He reached down to the sand below, his back shaking as he bent over. Slowly he stood back up, a rusted iron spear in his hand. He slammed the butt into the sand, and the crowd stared in awe at the metal.

“I proved to the council the sort of weapons the Grottu were blessed with, and how they conducted their wars. I was at a loss of what to do about it, but I told the story all the same. In fear, the council quickly voted that Panganeem be the one to solve this problem, as defender of the Hyummin.”


The old selka smiled and laughed, “Kirron is a god of humor, it seems, because while Juttyu, Panganeem, and I --the great hunters-- thought of what to do, it was old Ippino who suddenly came up with an idea -- the perfect trap. It is no secret that Ippino was the wily youth of yore who once stole the beast known as fire from the wild and tamed it -- and this fact was not lost on him when he suggested we unleash this beast back into the wild against the Grottu.”

He sucked in a breath, “And so the evil Hoshaf came, waves of spears before us. Panganeem stood with Juttyu the Giant, nearly alone with only the bravest of the Hyummin. This small group was mocked and laughed at by Hoshaf and his mighty army. Ever of wit, Panganeem spat insults back, damaging Hoshaf’s pride and forcing his hand. The Grottu horde charged… and the ground shook. The sky itself even darkened, as if Kirron attempted to hide the innocent Bobbu from the carnage about to happen.” 

The crowd was silent, eyes fixated everywhere. Some stared at the sky, realm of Bobbu, while others stared at the giant bone shrine of Kirron that stood behind Yupilgo, some still even looked to the ocean, the promise of Delphina. Yupilgo looked down.

“Many brave K’nights died that day, giving Hoshaf a fight he wouldn’t soon forget -- but just as it seemed as if the K’nights would never give in, Panganeem ordered a retreat. Hoshaf was shocked! He was grinning wickedly! He had them now, oh yes he did, and so he followed them into a golden colored hay field cut in half by a stream. His army sifted through the tall dry grass, while Panganeem and his men sneakily hopped the stream, and as soon as their heels hit the ground, Ippino struck!” The crowd’s eyes grew.

“Off to the side, Ippino (with prayers on his lips) and a handful of Hyummin people tossed some of the sacred beast onto the fields. A great wind blew in favor of the Hyummin and the entire field burned into a fiery sea never seen before, not even by the great fire birds. Those who made it across the stream in a panic were met by Gorpingu and his men, while others fell into the hammer of Juttyu. This continued until Hoshaf, by the grace of Kirron’s humor, escaped the flames -- only to be beaten to death by his own surviving men.”

“But this is not the end, oh no, as Gorpingu and the Hyummin circled around and captured these murderers and all the remaining Grottu forces. They were stripped of their divine spears and cast down before the council. The council asked ‘what shall we do with the Grottu?’ but their eyes fell on Panganeem and the K’nights. I felt it in my chest, I did. As they stared, and as Panganeem thought, a cold whisper entered my chest and I pushed to stand before the Grottu. What could only be the wind of Bobbu, or perhaps the charm of Delphina, I found words I didn’t know I felt. I asked and I convinced the council to hand the tribe over to Dradinku and to release the K’nights from the Hyummin so that they may be the protectors of all Selka, Grottu included. The council thought on my words, and Panganeem stepped forward, pushing my speech with one of his own. He explained that he was a hunter first, a K’night second. He spoke of his greatest hunt, one of peace. He said that in all his doings, and all his deeds he did not find Tyuppa nor did he find peace, not yet. He bent a knee to show his humility as he spoke, and he said that while he could not find this final mark, he saw ours. He said it stood right before us, a naked deer in the grass: the Grottu should be welcomed by the Hyummin and a friendship should form… there were too many selka on either side to keep in conflict, too many sons and too many daughters to neglect for the sake of revenge.”

Yupilgo stopped speaking, mulling over his words. A sadness entered the lower half of his face and he sat down slowly, “Revenge. Panganeem cut his heart open to us that night, he said that in all his travels he never found peace as long as he held onto revenge. He proposed, perhaps the only way to really find peace was to end that cycle right then and there. It was as if we were consoled by Kirron himself, the greatest hunter breaking into tears as he explained the nature of this final mark. By Tyuppa and by Kirron he swore, that should we accept the Grottu as friends, and build them up -- peace would find us first.”

There was a long pause as Yupilgo looked over the many faces now staring at him.

“And so we did.”

The tribesmen and women of the Grottu --who made more than half of his crowd-- began to cheer alongside the Hyummin tribesmen and women. Yupilgo smiled warmly.

“And so we did.” He whispered to himself. 

“What happened to Panganeem?” Someone suddenly called out, “And the others?”

“Oh… many say different things, but here is how I know it,” Yupilgo rubbed his whiskers, “Juttyu came with me back to the Grottu to help raise Dradinku as chieftain. Gorpingu traveled west with the K’nights and spread the order across this whole region. Ippino stayed here with other K’nights and ensured that their help never faltered… he did this until the day he was swept up by the ocean itself. He now rests with Delphina. As for Panganeem, the greatest of selka…” Yupilgo’s face turned to a certain melancholy, “Well I’d say he went out among the creatures of Kirron, and in time he finally found what he was hunting for.”

The crowd grew quiet, a gentle thoughtfulness leaking through each individual. This silence held strong, even as Dradinku, now a grown man dressed in swathes of sharkskin approached the crowd. The chieftain blended in without much notice, eyes on the ground out of respect for Yupilgo’s story until finally, a tiny voice piped up.

“Can you tell us about Kirron and Delphina and her promise to him?”

The crowd began to laugh and Yupilgo looked up with a smile on his lips, “Long ago!” He voice boomed with renewed power, “After Kirron carefully crafted what we now know as land…”

[hr]


[hider=The Summary]

Yupilgo, now old and grey(er) explains how the Grottu were defeated, how the K’nights came to be, and how the Hyummin were united into a solid tribal republic and how they joined forces with the pacified Grottu (now led by Dradinku)

[/hider]
[hider=The End]

“And she said to him, ‘I shall never leave you, and shall embrace you no matter the distance between us-- to this I promise, to this you will always know my love.’ Kirron looked out from the land and said ‘show me, show me how you will do such a thing’ and the woman ripped a fissure into the empty depths, filling the world with a gush of water. In a flash the ocean had filled the space between the land, and she smiled and said ‘this is how.’ And now, no matter where Delphina sits and sings her songs, her waves shall never leave Kirron nor his creations. It is this promise that extends down to us, and by this promise we show our love in return, so she may forever know us.”
[/hider]

[hr][hr]

[center][h2]Ippino and Delphina[/h2][/center]
[right][i]Collaboratively written by [@Goldeagle1221] and [@BBeast][/i][/right]


Ippino sat at the edge of the coast, his eyes weary and his arms dug into the sand. He sat with his legs splayed, so that the gentle lapping of the ocean rhythmically washed over him, creating one of the few sounds that intruded on the rather quiet night. His fingers clenched around the sand and he sighed, a smile forming at each shimmering wave. With a thud, he let his back fall to the sand, only for him to quickly pick himself back up -- already missing the beauty of the ocean. 

The night wind rushed over him and sent a chill over his bare back, but he didn’t pay it much mind. His eyes and musing thoughts were transfixed on the marriage of the moon and the waves. He cocked a head, “How lucky even the light of the moon is, or the comets above, to always embrace such beauty.” 

The waves lapped beside him and the water burbled as it flowed around Ippino. And in that burbling, there was what almost sounded like words. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“And how lucky the ocean is, to have one who admires her beauty.”[/b][/colour]

The old selka seemed startled, his body tensing. He wiggled his nose and blunk his eyes, "Have I finally slipped or--" With all the energy of youth, the selka flopped onto his knees and splashed his ear to the shallow waves.

"Am I blessed with the words of the ocean?" His eyes twitched as he searched for further sounds, "Like a chiming bird song that only knows eloquence." He etched the words in the air, attempting to define what he had heard.

There was a trickle behind Ippino which seemed to say, [colour=lightseagreen][b]“Like the melodious call of a whale in the sea. Like the caress of waves running over sand.”[/b][/colour]

"Yes exac-!" Ippino turned. Despite his elderly body, his face held the chipper beam of a child. His eyes fell on a large watery form which had risen out of the sea, the moonlight reflecting off her graceful flowing curves. A selka-like face smiled down on Ippino. 

The old selka nearly seized if not for his shaking frame. There wasn't a shred of fright in his shiver, but pure ecstasy. His eyes widened to saucers and his age-sunken chest pounded against his heartbeat. He sucked in his breath and with every bit of emotion he managed to speak, "It is like I have opened my eyes for the first of times, my entire life I was in a cave stuck in dark and grimes, I had no idea but now I see, my very soul and heart shaken with glee." 

The watery figure burbled at Ippino’s words, and a voice like a trickling brook answered in kind. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“The wind and the waves have carried your praise, you have admired my beauty all of your days. My charms you have spoken in wondrous rhyme, so I bless you with a meeting this time.”[/b][/colour]

Ippino's face brightened even further and he scooted closer, the water rushing around him as he did, "Then how lucky am I, for years I looked out to the sky, looking for a way to see your face, never did I expect here in this place." He sighed, dropping his poetic prose, "And let it be known, though I suspect you already know: that my love for you has bred children on its own, and now the sons and daughters of Grottu and Hyummin united roar with your praise." 

An aqueous pseudopod rose up and brushed Ippino’s face. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“You have done well, Ippino. My name has been uplifted through you, and now many more selka appreciate my beauty, although none compare to you. My favour has always been upon you. The sea has always provided you with food. In your time of greatest need, I heard your prayers and sent the storm to fight beside you. A person who loves a god like you do is rare and precious indeed.”[/b][/colour]

Ippino's eyes watered, "I knew it. I knew I felt you through my days." A tear fell, "Even now in my old age, I will say to you what I've always said. My love for you and my admiration for your beauty will be as strong in my heart as it's always been, and should I have a say in it: even as my body disappears to time." 

[colour=lightseagreen][b]“Your adoration will forever be remembered. My worshippers shall always tell the stories of Ippino, the man who loved the sea,”[/b][/colour] she said in a voice like flowing waves.

The selka flicked a tear off of one of his whiskers, "May I… may I ask you one favor? It is all I have left to desire in this world."

The tear fell into the sea with a light ripple. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“You may ask.”[/b][/colour]

"I am not much longer on the land of Kirron," Ippino started, "I can feel it in my bones that my final day is soon. I pray to you, in my final whispers, that as my friends lay my body by your beauty, you take me home -- to where I have felt my heart pull all these years. I wish to sink, in a final rest so I may never have to leave your embrace again."

A thoughtful rumble gently echoed through the water. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“As you wish, it shall be done.”[/b][/colour]

Ippino threaded crooked webbed fingers through the seawater, "Then I have lived the best life, and have already died the best death." He looked up at the beauty of Ashalla, "Thank you -- thank you for always being with me during every moment of both."

A watery pseudopod wrapped around Ippino’s hand. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“Continue to live this best life in the time you have left, Ippino.”[/b][/colour] The pseudopod released its grip and Ashalla began to sink back into the waves. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“We will meet again.”[/b][/colour] Then she was gone.

[hr]

[hider=Epilogue]
The soul crystal floated in the ocean under the waves, held by Ashalla’s grasp. Ashalla regarded the crystal pensively. This was the second mortal she had liked who had died, although this one had not succumbed to folly and violence but rather the frailty of mortality. Holding the crystal and feeling Ippino’s soul, she could just begin to comprehend why Azura would want to preserve mortal souls. Azura’s unconditional compassion for every single mortal was far beyond Ashalla’s understanding, but the desire to hold on to those who are precious, even after their natural expiration, was something she could appreciate.

Ashalla took the soul crystal and placed it in a niche in the Abyssal Rift, the same one where she had placed the fragments of the Lustrous Garden she had found (for over the eons she had found many more such fragments lying on the bottom of the ocean). She shifted the softly glowing crystals around so that they framed Ippino’s soul crystal in an aesthetically pleasing manner. One day she would have to build a proper structure to house and display these items, but for now they were safe in the ocean’s embrace.

She reached out her essence and touched the soul crystal. [colour=lightseagreen][b]“Your wish has been fulfilled.”[/b][/colour] She then withdrew from the niche and swam back to Galbar. She might never find a selka quite like Ippino again, but there was much to be done to ensure that there would be more who were at least a pale reflection of him.
[/hider]

[hider=Summary]
Ippino, now quite old, is finally met by Ashalla/Delphina in person. Ashalla likes Ippino, the man who loves the sea, and has been subtly blessing him throughout his life. They share nice words. Ippino requests that, when he dies, that he sink down into the ocean never to leave. Ashalla agrees to this request. They part ways, and things are very sweet.

Later, when the time comes, Ashalla fulfils Ippino’s wish by crystallising his soul and stashing it away under the ocean.

No Might spent.
[/hider]