[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/uPTBuPR.png?1[/img][/center] [hr] [indent][sub][i] 46 Years After the Heist | 46 Years after the Sudi'Shrib[/i][/sub][/indent] In his cave, Ya-Shuur was putting the finishing touches to his latest addition to his great biographical cave drawing. Along with recording things he had witnessed or done, like the rebuilding of Li'Kalla's home or the amazing changes and new things that had been brought to the island by the birds, he also put drawings that conveyed his ideas about life and justice. The biggest of these was a large drawing of a horned humanoid sat down with eyes closed. Around him there was mist and nothingness, but inside him there were trees and animals and stars and mountains and many glorious things. It was a reminder to himself to focus on his inner self, which was the only thing in the world anyone could truly control. The outside world was beyond one's power, only over one's self did a person have any true control. So one had to strive to be the best version of themselves that they could possibly be. He was a shepherd, so he strove to be the best shepherd he could possibly be. He was a protector of this island, so he sought to be the best protector he could possibly be. This was not only about doing things, it was about being things as well. A good shepherd had to be calm and patient. A good protector had to be perceptive and quick to act, but also wise. He had to have empathy and courage, and also control over base emotions like anger and greed. All these things and more Ya-Shuur sought to cultivate and perfect in himself. Ya-Shuur was satisfied and he threw the bloodied charcoal away and was about to leave the cave, but then he paused and looked behind him into the darkness. Over the years his drawings had taken him deeper and deeper into the cave and now he was wondering how deep it went. With his walking stick in his hand and Behr-Aak, a descendant of Behr-Aat, at his side, he walked into the darkness. Behr-Aak mewled in fear as they went further and further in, and now even Ya-Shuur was struggling to see in the terrible darkness. He felt ahead of himself with his walking stick. There was something... soft. And then suddenly Ya-Shuur saw the dead goat. It was rotting, its mouth agape, red worms and other creatures devouring it. It bleated at him and Ya-Shuur recoiled in horror and confusion. The goat bleated again and moved. It was coming towards him. Behr-Aak growled and barked so loudly that the cave shook. The horror goat paused for a few moments, but then it continued kicking and frantically going towards Ya-Shuur. Ya-Shuur was not sure what this creature was. It did not feel like a normal animal. He gripped his staff and stepped forward, and at his command a tremendous light erupted from his staff. The darkness screeched and fled, and suddenly the goat was no longer there. There was only a throbbing orb that seemed to be wrapped in translucent skin. It moved around and Ya-Shuur could see that it was attached to something in the ground. Just as he thought this the ground shifted and began to fall beneath him, and a huge mouth suddenly appeared and attempted to envelop him. The creature's face seemed to be entirely mouth, and Ya-Shuur thought it to be a great worm of some kind. However as it emerged from the ground and and into the light, it gave off a screech and quickly retreated, and the orb also retreated below the earth. They seemed to have been connected in some way. Perhaps, Ya-Shuur thought, that was its tail and it hunted by scaring creatures with an illusion emitted by its tail until they were right above its mouth, which was when it consumed them. Still, Ya-Shuur found it strange that the illusion had been of a dead goat. It was almost like it was made specifically for him. Ya-Shuur felt that there were likely many more things like that creature in the cave. But light seemed to be a good way to combat them, and he certainly did not want any such creatures coming through onto the island. So he lined up small rocks and made them shine with a great light all along the cave to its entrance. And when he emerged he exuded a deep breath and was glad for the cooling rain. But even as he did this he sensed that something had changed. There was a... heavy shadow over the land. A presence that was not entirely good. He took a drink from his gim-sa goatskin and, with Behr-Aak at his side, began walking once more. He had not been walking for more than a week when he heard something strange in the forest. Quietly, the Horned One made for the noise and as he approached he realized that it was speech. Hidden in the darkness of the trees, Ya-Shuur found himself looking at a group of huddled humanoids. They had erected a barrier against the rain and were all sat around a strange red, hot creature, which they fed with branches and other things. Each of them wore animal skin clothing, though it was distinctly different from the simple goatskin poncho Ya-Shuur wore. Their clothing seemed to be more skillfully made and parts of it seemed designed for hardness. Each had a long staff either at hand or lying nearby, though their staffs were far straighter than his own herding stick and had viciously sharpened tips of stone or wood or bone. They were eating meat as they spoke, though it was different because they had left it near the hot, red thing. Two of them had red hair, one had brown hair, and three had blue hair. As Ya-Shuur watched and listened, he heard them speaking about someone called the True Queen-Mother. One of the ones with red hair was saying how he rejected something called the Valthumir. "You fool Daethyrd! Don't say things like that or she might hear you. You've already irritated everyone at the camp with your words." Said one of the blue-haired individuals. But the one called Daethyrd only scoffed. "I am not afraid." He said simply, and then he suddenly stood up and his bright green eyes homed in on Ya-Shuur, and before Ya-Shuur could work out what was happening there was a spear in his chest. The demigod wheezed in shock and stumbled backwards. But Dithard, and Ya-Shuur suddenly noticed that these people had pointy ears, was already striding towards him. Behr-Aak barked a great bark that sent fear into the hearts of all the creatures, and even caused Daethyrd pause. This gave Ya-Shuur enough time to stumble onto Behr-Aak's back and the molf was gone. Moments after Ya-Shuur was gone, Daethyrd was sniffing the air where the demigod had been. He got to his knees and touched the warm blood and sniffed it. It smelled like no blood he knew of, and tasting it confirmed that it was indeed different. What kind of creature could take a full thrown spear from him and be gone without trace within seconds? As he inspected the tracks he was quickly able to identify not one, but two footprints. One was humanoid (but certainly not of the Vallamir), the other a foreign canine of some kind. The elf looked into the wet darkness and his eyes narrowed. "Let's move." Daethyrd growled to the others. They would have to move quickly if they wanted to keep to their prey's trail before the incessant rain removed it. They moved swiftly and after some days had tracked their quarry to a great cave. They were all surprised to find that a strange light that was certainly not firelight was being emitted from the cave. Just as Daethyrd was about to lead the group into the cave, a giant monstrosity unlike anything they had seen crashed suddenly before them and released a tremendous roar that echoed across the land. Then from the darkness of the forest before them and behind them other creatures emerged. They were very wolf-like in appearance but far bigger and with longer tails that ended in a sharp club, and there were other smaller differences. Daethyrd immediately knew that it was the footprint of one of these creatures that he had seen with the humanoid ones when this chase began. Daethyrd and his group backed away, and he could taste the fear of his companions. Then there appeared a great shadowy figure on the cliff above the cave, with great horns on its head. Daethyrd's eyes widened when he realized that his spear was rooted in the shadow's chest. Before Daethyrd could do anything, one of his companions had dropped his spear and fallen to his knees. "F-forgive us!" Seeing this, the others also fell to their knees one by one and said the same. But Daethyrd refused to fall and continued standing with his new spear gripped tightly. "Who are you!?" The proud elf shouted. The dark shadow on the cliff was silent for what seemed to be a long time. But finally it spoke. "I am Be'r-Jaz. I am the land." There was a pregnant pause. "Who are you, what are you doing here, and why do you seek to hurt me?" The group explained that they were Vallamir and that they had been brought to this land by the one known as the True Queen-Mother, a mighty and powerful goddess and one of the four gods who had created them. They explained that the True Queen-Mother had dubbed vallamir like them to be inferior, and that the superior ones, the Valthumir, were ones who had white hair or a white streak in their hair. The vallamir were to be the servants of the valthumir. (Daethyrd scoffed when his companions explained this to the demigod, clearly not approving of this state of affairs). They explained that she had commanded them to mind the boundary between vallamir and valthumir and only to breed within their own group. She had also decreed that every single one of them had to procreate, after which she commanded them to go and spread across all of the island, always being mindful to protect their family, neighbors and servants. They had done this and established a camp along with maybe sixty others not a week's journey from where the cave was. Last of all, they explained that they were a hunting pack and had been out hunting for food, and that Daethyrd, being the rebellious type, had decided instead to lead them on this wild chase. Ya-Shuur took this information in with silence. It seemed that there was now a new god, this True Queen-Mother, who intended to call Be'r-Jaz home too, and she had brought these strange people here. Not only that, these people had been created by four gods - this True Queen-Mother, one Kalmar, someone called Arae, and finally one called Roog. Ya-Shuur questioned them about each of these gods, and they told him what they knew. "I shall walk south in a year, and I shall speak to this True Queen-Mother. Tell your people that Be'r-Jaz, the very land they now call home, demands justice. Honor the land, honor its creatures, cultivate balance and harmony. Do not hurt or mistreat others without just reason, and in all things do not transgress beyond necessity. Do kindness to who do kindness, and withhold it from those who do not. Fulfill your duties and shun those who do not fulfill it and have no just reason for failing to fulfill it. Do not take what is due to another, and allot to each person their due. Ask after the blood of your kin, the price of blood is blood and the price of a hurt is a like hurt, and forgiveness is good. This I teach you, and I shall before long walk among you and I will teach you much else. But for now return to your people and take my words with you." And the pack praised Be'r-Jaz and retreated from the cave. And they spread news of the god called Be'r-Jaz, who was the embodiment of the land and of justice, to their people. Word soon spread among the vallamir of this god, and many ventured to the Cave of Light and they saw the great drawings. And a shrine was set up in there and they praised the Land much. [hider=Summary] Ya-Shuur adds to the cave drawing and he ventures inside the cave. He comes into contact with some of the fear-based monsters in the underground cave system of the island. The creatures seem to fear light so he lights up parts of the cave he has explored. When he leaves the cave he realizes that something has changed and decides to travel south to see what is happening. He comes across a pack of vallamir and one of them throws a spear at him and gores him. Ya-Shuur runs away and they hunt him. They come to the cave and the pack is surrounded by Ya-Shuur's molves as well as Zer-Du. They beg for forgiveness and Ya-Shuur asks them who they are and how they got there. They explain everything and Ya-Shuur teaches them some things about justice and respecting the island, and tells them to teach their people. He also promises to walk among them soon and teach them other things. They go and knowledge of Ya-Shuur, who they call Be'r-Jaz and the Land, spreads among the elves of the island. They set up a shrine in his cave and call it the Cave of Light. 5/5 for Justice ✔ 5/5 for Animal Domestication ✘ 0/5 for Truth ✘ 0/5 for Retribution ✘ 0/5 for Law ✘[/hider] [hider=Might Points and Free Points] Ya-Shuur has 4 Might points and 4 Free points. 1 Free point was used to teach the vallamir of Be'r-Jaz the concept of justice. Discounted by portfolio to 0. Ya-Shuur has 4 Might points and 4 Free points. [/hider]