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[h1]Anshumat[/h1]
[h3][color=gray]Behold, the awesome fires of God. Observe how it is used the same way as a sharp rock.[/color][/h3]
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[hr]

"Are you sure he said it would be there?"

"He said it would be there [i]on time[/i], Takos. Don't be such a cynic."

Takos scoffed. "Well, Gralph, one of us has gotta be the smart one. Two games of knucklebone gambit with you shows that."

The gathered k'nights chuckled amongst themselves, Gralph included.

"Yeah, yeah, at least it's more than one," Gralph dismissed. "One of us has to be the patient one too, hm?"

"He's got you there, Takos. You can't sit still for ten minutes."

"Oh, shoosh." Takos lightly swatted Reph next to him on the upper arm without looking away from the river mouth. "S'far as I see it, if Kirron said when the horizon goes red we'd see our trial home, we should be seeing our trial home now."

It was already past the orange time of the sunset behind them and well into the pink time. The water of the huge river mouth before them distantly clashed with the sea breaking waves against its flow. The water glimmered with foam and light from the last traces of the sun.

The coast turned red in the short time the k'nights and their aspirants spent regarding the coming night time. That was when Gralph tapped his foot against the sand. Only Anshumat, the demigod watching with them, could perceive the effect that small movement evoked.

It started with a silent vibration under the beach. The k'nights and the recruits behind them peered down at their feet and the world around them, looking for its source. No trees had fallen, no rocks were tumbling, and no crashing waves were so big as to make such a quivering under their heels.

"Look there!" Phorea, the k'night with the keenest eyes, pointed her bulky arm out to the sea just beyond the river mouth. "Something's rising!"

At first it was five straight pale stone pillars slowly reaching out of the roiling water like petrified fingers of an emaciated hand. Instead of a palm, a flat paved platform noisily broke the surface of the sea, pulling with it five spiralling flights of stairs from below. Each flight emanated outward and curled in unison towards their lefts.

Not halfway through the first structure's ascent, a great shallow-steepled red roof washed water to either side beyond and east of the platform, revealing its supports to be closely set white colonnades set into a solid smooth foundation. The two features met when a great surface of earth and stone burst out at their bases, immediately springing out a layer of green grass. The image of the gently sloping hill rose like a lush carpet draped lazily over the stump of some colossal felled tree.

The hill did not rise for long before yet more little structures wrought of earthworks and more white stone seeped out of the ocean at irregular places around it. The final great reveal was the entire enterprise conjoined by a near-flat plane of grass woven with orderly seawater canals. The whole small artificial island had arisen, sculpted and ready, covered in all sorts of mystic stone and earth formations in a structured and purposeful manner.

The rumbling earth went silent, and so did the crowd of selka onlookers.

All except for Gralph. "Looks to be within swimming distance. Good." He lumbered around to face the k'nights. "Alright, the Red Horizon revealed our new home. K'nights, you know what to do for the trial. Get to it. I'll send the candidates out once I see the light at the front of the big building on the hill. Got it?!"

"Yep!" The k'nights all said in unison, more out of habit than shaking off the dissonance in their eyes. They took another second for that -- hardly hiding their shaken faces while gathering up a bunch of equipment tied up in cords and hides. They jogged off towards the water to swim to the new island without looking back.

Gralph finally addressed the gathered candidates, including Anshumat and the brothers Wass and Anboor, who both looked shocked enough to each catch a thrown fish in their gaping mouths.

"Tonight, you'll be heading up to that hill one by one," Gralph said, pointing up to the huge pillar with the spiralling stairs and the great column-wrapped building. "You'll need to grab a torch that Reph will light up before you start. Your job is to go on your own, take it to the water-" he held an invisible stick in his hand and mimed dunking one end into the sand "-snuff it out, and swim back here with it."

Gralph grew serious and continued. "Anyone who wants to back out, you can do so any time you want. There'll be no shame in it. Not everyone's up to becoming a k'night. Let alone a k'night that will head with us upriver tomorrow. Any questions?"

Anboor naturally had the first question, having finally closed his mouth to pay attention. "Ain't that easier than it should be? Why are k'nights so big if all they've got to do to join is grab a torch and put it out?"

Crossing his arms across his broad chest, Gralph grunted down at Anboor. "You been on that island before, boy?"

Anboor quickly breathed in and realised he had not. He blinked. "Of course not, it just rose up out of nowhere a moment ago."

"Then you don't know what it's gonna take," Gralph rumbled. He turned his eyes up to the rest. "As I said. There's no shame if this ain't something you can do."

"Uh, Gralph?" Anboor piped up again, more cautiously this time. "What's on that island?"

Gralph raised his brow and looked over his shoulder. He turned back to Anboor and shrugged. "Dunno. It just rose up out of nowhere a moment ago."

Wass snorted.

Anboor's face flushed red.

Gralph was not laughing. He looked over Anboor's head. "Anyone [i]else[/i] got questions?"

[hr]
Darkness had quickly taken over the coast by the time Gralph and the candidate selka spotted the tiny flicker of yellow torchlight. It glimmered from the front of the large colonnaded building, ready to be sought.

"About damn time," Gralph hoisted himself up from his sitting position. "Alright, who wants to go first?"

Between the ominous unknowns of Gralph's challenge and the nighttime uncertainty the dark artificial island radiated, the present members of the river mouth tribe were fidgeting with anxiety. They looked to one another expectantly.

Gralph waited and watched.

After two agitated breaths through his nose, Anboor stood up. "I'll go."

Wass glanced around and took his ankle. "Bro, you don't have to go first," he hissed. "You don't need to save face or nothing, it was just honest questions you had."

Anboor shook off his brother's grasp. "No, I wanna go first. I reckon this is some kinda trick and I'm not gonna be scared."

Gralph flashed a grin. "Good stuff." He jerked his head toward the island. "Go on, then."

Anboor hesitated as if expecting a more formal ready-set-go. He awkwardly broke into a run across the beach and dove gracefully into the waves.

Wass noticed how suddenly difficult it was to see his brother in the waves. The white fire in the sky was casting some light down, but not nearly enough.

Gralph stood and waited.

"Uh," Wass spoke. "Do we all wait for him, or…?"

"We wait." Gralph did not turn around.

Somehow, the wait for Anboor to return felt longer than anything they had waited for previously. All had their eyes pinpoint focussed on the torch in the distance. It did not budge at all.

The village would be settling in to sleep soon. Wass did not feel sleepy.

They waited.

And they waited.

Wass sat down. They waited.

Finally, the sound of legs wading up out of the waves drew away everyone's attention. It was Anboor.

Wass' heart sank at the look on Anboor's face as he walked in broad, rushed paces up the beach. Anboor was breathing shallowly. His arms and knees shuddered and his eyes looked about ready to pop from their sockets.

Wass stood up. "Anboor! Are you alright?"

Anboor stopped. He turned his eyes slowly up to Gralph and swallowed hard between breaths. "I couldn't...I can't do it. I-I'm not…" He broke into a sprint back into the village. He pulled his forearm up to cover his eyes, letting out a sob.

"He's not hurt," Gralph said. "Just spooked. Let him go."

"But he's my brother-"

Gralph spun to meet Wass' eyes. "Let him go or you give up here."

Wass paled. He glanced over to the still running Anboor and back to Gralph. He tried to fight off the concern on his face and, reluctantly, sat back down.

"Who's next?" Gralph asked.

Hagaph tried next. He was the oldest and was just there to get out of marrying a girl he didn't like.

He came back weeping.

The complications of the trial were becoming clearer. The twins Timma and Leph stood up and walked away from the challenge before they could start.

Yoia was after him. She had a will of iron and a voice that could shout anyone down.

She came back shrieking semi-coherently about ghosts and monsters.

Another candidate, the quick-minded Phammos, gave up in turn. If there was a trick, it was not worth solving.

The strong wrestler Ronk flexed his muscles as he rose to the challenge, despite his still puny size in comparison to Gralph.

He returned to the beach empty-eyed, lifelessly muttering to Gralph his concession before shuffling off to bed.

That was that. All the remaining candidates walked away, except for three. The demigod Anshumat, Wass, and the quiet young woman, Phialu. Phialu was a part of the one family that worshipped Kelmre in the village. The whole family was a dour lot.

Wass was getting tired and nervous to the point of short breathing. He considered leaving on more than one occasion. Each time, he did not know what kept him there. Or, in reality, he knew but he did not want to admit it.

He would never get this chance again. He had to try, just like Anboor did.

"Well, one of you's gotta succeed tonight," Gralph said with his fists on his hips. "As much as I can compliment you all sticking around, the trial is the trial, not the waiting. Come, who wants to win?"

Wass stood up without looking at Gralph.

Gralph tilted his head.

Wass walked past Gralph, towards the island.

Gralph smiled as Wass broke into a jog and dove into the garden-lit waves.

He had to try.

[hr]
The swim to the island was colder than usual. The nighttime did not just cool the air and water that Wass traversed, but the pale light from above set the whole world into a blue like an impending rain. Wass focussed to keep his sense of direction. Before long, the solid ground of the island met his hands and knees.

He looked left. He looked right. The island did not move. The eerie scattered stoneworks held their pose.

Wass lifted himself from the water and crept ashore. If there was something to spook everyone before him, he would try to evade its notice.

Sneaking from stone structure to stone structure was a lung-emptying experience. He was in enemy territory. It felt like it. Every shape in the corner of Wass' eyes made his heart jump. Every distant breaking of waves against the island's east made the back of his neck prickle.

But the island was apparently lifeless.

Wass came upon more peculiar structures as he progressed. Four identical structures, each twice as tall as him, stood circling an empty patch of grass big enough to fit at least twenty selka across standing shoulder to shoulder. Each of the four structures had steep steps based in the inner clearing and climbing up to nothing.

Wass climbed up one of the structures to get a better view of his surroundings. He spotted the flickering torch up the hill beyond.

A black flicker caught the corner of his eye -- he ducked for cover as a reflex.

His heart pounded. He held his breath and listened carefully.

Another wave crashed in the distance.

Making no sound, Wass climbed down and pressed on.

The next stone structure was a similar bank of steps, though shorter, longer, and parallel to a long clearing of grass, marked with lines in the grass where bare dirt showed. 

[i]"Boolwa…"[/i] His ear tensed at a distant, low, gutterally hooted word.

Wass ducked behind the side of the long stone steps.

One of his eyes peeked around. Nothing in the direction of the sound.

[i]"Booooolwa torlac…"[/i] Another voice.

Wass spun and saw nothing amongst the structures. That one had come from the other direction.

He immediately ducked into a low run over the long field with the lines to find a better hiding place.

When he hid, he knelt and took a long, silent breath. His heart drummed furiously.

The words were a downbeach dialect. He did not know it well, but he knew the words.

[i]Boolwa torlac…[/i] He mouthed. 'Useless meat.'

[i]"Boooolwa…"[/i]

Another source of the voice accompanied the sound of grass crumpling under slow feet.

The hidden creatures might have known where he was. They might not. He could not risk it.

He needed to get to the torch, fast.

Wass ducked into a run, trying to keep low to stay obscured behind the stone structures.

Many of them were just more of the steps. Others had strange shapes he could not quickly analyse.

[i]"...Tooooorlac!"[/i] Another voice ground out the word like a belch.

Thoughts of phantoms and monsters struck Wass' panicking thoughts. He did not look back now for fear they might meet his eyes in the flesh.

[i]"Tooooorlac!"[/i]

Wass was close to the hill now. He was in an outright sprint. He could hear more sprinting behind him.

The words were howled out by one of them.

[i]"BOOOOLWA!"[/i]

His legs took him faster than any time in his entire life.

He thundered to the base of the hill and leapt up its slope in broad strides. He heaved in breath after breath.

He was the fastest and most stubborn in the village. He could outrun them. The yellow light of the torch carried a shine onto the grass at the crest of the hill.

Then a shadow cast over the centre of the yellow blades. And with it a grotesque, oily, black, elongated head reached Wass' vision. It was attached to something vaguely selka-shaped, but with arms so long it walked on all fours. It's bony elbows stuck out like barbs, and its legs bent in two places before reaching its feet. A dark, opaque liquid dripped from the creature's chin. It smelled of fresh blood.

Wass halted.

The creature rolled in a breath between a fat tongue and the roof of its mouth like an inward growl. And it howled madly. [i]"TOOOOOOOOOOORLAAAAAAAC!"[/i]

Wass shuffled back, his face in a rictus that whimpered on the edge of a scream. He broke into a run across the hill. He glanced down the hill and saw two more of the hideous long-limbed monsters skittering up towards his heels.

He no longer thought straight. He ran and ran, barely keeping his footing on the slope. He did not descend yet, for he had no idea if more were hiding between the stone structures below. He could see better from here. He glanced desperately around for an escape route.

He could not find one before a paved channel of water flowing down the hill obstructed his path.

He was no longer thinking straight. He leaned forward to run up and jumped.

He landed on the other side, barely, before overbalancing. His front struck the grass. He whipped an arm to one side and clutched the hill. Another nudge and he would have entered an uncontrollable roll.

He lifted his head up to see his pursuers.

They did not take long to catch up, but by the time Wass was on his feet again, they all stopped by the channel of rushing water. One stepped a long arm in and suddenly slipped to one shoulder. The others stalked side to side, watching Wass like hungry jaguars.

They snarled out of their disgusting long faces. [i]"Boolwa!" "Boolwa torlac." "Boolwa."[/i] One had a long clear gobbet of saliva threading from its mouth, stained with more dark blood. [i]"Boolwa. Boolwa."[/i]

Wass looked up at the glowing turf at the hill's crest. Now was his chance. He pushed himself up the hill and beheld the great structures that rose out of the sea.

The stone monuments were enormous this close.

The tower of exposed stairs stood like a mythical tree the size of at least an entire Yimbo if he could stand up. The collonaded building looked so imposing and cavernous that it could have been a cage for a legendary beast. The stonework between them was impossibly heavy. Only the strength of a god could have lifted them.

But Wass did not have time to marvel. The columns and the tower were lit with weak yellow light. Its source, the tiny torch, was his objective.

To his left, the 'Boolwa's resumed in force as all of them ran in an insectile skittering gait to a paved bridge over the flowing channel.

Wass sprinted. He was the quickest, he knew.

He closed the distance up to the torch where it sat, stuck into a stone basket filled with soil at the base of the great colonnades. 

He grabbed it.

A sickening sucking sound drew his eyes to another shape emerging from behind the columns. Another black-slicked, elongated monster. It shouted out inselkaly. "We eat your worth! Useless meat, eaten! K'nights in our stomachs!"

[i]"Boolwa torlac!"[/i] The pursuing monsters crossed the bridge.

[i]"Boolwa!"[/i] Another two crested the hill ahead of Wass, where he had intended to continue running.

[i]"Booooooooolwaaaaa!"[/i] Three more emerged from the columns.

Wass turned around and stopped his steps. Two more slathering monsters pulled themselves up the crest he had just climbed up.

"Uuuuuseless meat!" The more understandable one said, taking slow, spidery steps on its four extremities. "Go back to your useless tribe. Die. We eat your worth. We eat your k'nights!"

Wass held up the torch and flinched to threaten the monster back. It was a bluff -- the monsters outnumbered him.

Still, it hesitated. "Put out the light and we eat your worth and your [i]flesh…[/i]" The last word bubbled out in the monster's cheeks as it salivated. [i]"Boolwa torlac…"[/i]

The monsters circled Wass, slathering and gurgling sounds from their disgusting throats. [i]"Booolwa…"[/i]

Wass heard the crash of a distant wave. His terror found clarity for just the right split second.

He turned and sprinted. Not for the crest of the hill. Not for the columns. Not for the bridge. For the waterway.

The monsters skittered after the light he held. The light leapt with Wass into the watery channel and winked out with a hiss. His eyes went dark, previously adjusted to the night but blotted out by the now dead torchlight.

Wass only had water up to his knees, but it was enough. He pushed off the floor of the flowing water and his selka limbs took him shooting off forward with the current. He met the crest of the hill and slid without stopping. Not even scraping the end of the torch against the stone slide slowed him down worth a damn.

The opening of one of the island's straight canals rushed up to his nose.

The world was engulfed in the mute tone of water.

He broke the surface and looked up.

All the monsters ran in sprints down the hill after them, midway through howling incoherently.

But there were new words that chilled Wass' bones. [i]"WRAAAAADAAAA TOOORLAAAC! WRAAAAADAAAA TOOORLAAAC!"[/i]

Prey meat.

Wass ducked under the water and swam faster than he ever had in his life. But he was the quickest. He knew.

He heard the howls from the island's shore long after he was back in the relative safety of the sea.

[hr]
Wass pulled himself up the sandy shore of the mainland so quickly he felt like his legs would fall apart if he so much as slowed down.

To everyone else, he looked ready to cough his heart up through his neck. Phialu gasped when she saw the charred stick in Wass' hand. Wass himself was barely able to stumble his way up to Gralph before he fell flat on his face, his chest swelling and receding feverishly.

Wass shakily rolled himself onto his back, showing a front covered in sand and holding up a snuffed torched to Gralph.

Gralph stooped to take the torch. "You did it, Wass." He said with a smirk. "Congratulations."

Wass slumped back onto the ground, his head back and smiling stupidly. A gallows laughter bubbled up from his chest.

Phialu stepped up to them. "You did it!? W-what did you see, Wass? How did you do it?"

"Ah!" Gralph held up the torch. "Don't spoil it. You've still got your turn to go. See?" He pointed to the island again. Another torch had been lit.

Words caught in Phialu's throat. She glanced between Gralph, Anshumat, and Wass on the ground.

Wass pulled his head up to see it, and a sudden wave of rational confusion took his mind, but he did not speak.

"Come on, we don't have all night," Gralph said.

Phialu looked at Wass one last time, huffed with determination, clenched her fists, and ran for the water.

After about a minute, Wass sat up slowly. He still had not caught his breath. "That was...I never seen anything like it. I thought I was gonna die."

"Good," Gralph said. "That means you were tested."

"But-"

"No spoilers. Wait until after."

Wass fell onto his back again.

He did not know Phialu very well. Why she was here was anyone's guess considering she was not very social. Apparently, she was easy to piss off, but Wass thought she was kind of cute, if from a distance.

He hoped Phialu would win the trial as well. It would be nice to have someone else from the village come with them.

But those monsters were fast and well hidden. A worry niggled the back of his mind. The worry grew into the next few minutes. And then it grew into the next several more minutes.

The night wore on just a little more, and the worry prevented Wass' exhausted body from falling asleep. His eyes grew sharp upon the light in the distance. Now that he knew the trial was possible to complete, he looked on with just as much attention as he did with Anboor's shot earlier that night.


Then the light moved. And it winked out. Wass stood up.

Phialu had the snuffed torch.

Before long, the shape of Phialu emerged from the beach. She was limping and clutching her arm.

Still, with grit teeth and determined steps, she made her way up to Gralph and handed in her torch.

"You okay?" Gralph asked.

"My arm…" Phialu groaned. She fell to one knee, shuddering with pain.

Wass squat to look more closely.

Her arm was dripping blood. He had a lot of questions before. This only raised more.

"Take her back to the village," Gralph said firmly. "You both need to rest."

Wass helped Phialu to her feet and she shook him off. "I can walk…" She said, before she swayed and fell forward.

What Wass caught was Phialu's unconscious body. He took her under her shoulder and dragged her away. Unsure, Wass spoke over his other shoulder. "Uh...good luck Anshumat…"

A short padding of feet on the sand and they were gone.

Gralph stood before Anshumat with a hand on his hip. A knowing moment crossed between them. "Well, it's finally your turn, kid." He raised an eyebrow. "You ready, Anshu?" 

“I suppose I am,” Anshumat responded, standing up from the beach.

"Well, your task's the same," Gralph nodded upwards and turned his head. Another yellow light flickered to life on the island, just the same as the others. He turned back to Anshumat with a dangerous smile. "I'll be waiting right here."

Anshumat wordlessly dived into the surf, propelling themself rapidly towards the island.

[hr]
The cold water washed across Anshumat as they launched rapidly towards the island, their preternatural senses keeping track of their progress. The demigod had no difficulty with navigation, and soon enough they washed ashore upon the island, water slicking off their silks and their shell. A brief scan of the shore revealed no dangers -- the island was empty other than the plant life and the stones and foundations of structures.

Though Anshumat could not see the torch, they sensed it nonetheless. The lightest sound of flame picked up easily by divine ears and the slightest of temperatures impeccably pointing towards it. Keeping a watch for essences and unusual sounds, Anshumat began to trudge towards the hill.

Anshumat made note of the numerous structures on the island, each definitely serving a purpose. What exact purpose, however, Anshumat could not determine. The island was still, nothing yet sensed. Pushing doubts aside, Anshumat continued to trudge along.

Still, nothing came. The land sloped, and the torch became all the more obvious. The demigod had reached the hill itself. Only a short distance away, the flames flickered. But a detail reached their notice that was not right.

The sound and the flickering heat did not line up. With each wending of the flame, there was the rushing of gas and heat, but a similar sound backed it. A sound with a slow, regular rhythm. It thrummed twice...and twice again...and twice again. A heartbeat.

A pause, as the demigod considered its source. They decided to steel themselves against hesitation, and with a few short strides, Anshumat reached the torch. After one last check of the surroundings, they picked the torch out of the basket.

They froze.

The sound of muscles and keratin churning slowly into action preceded two large eyes opening upon Anshumat where they stood. A huge creature leapt up from behind the columns before the torch, apparently not obstructed by any roof as it flapped a pair of colossal wings to climb higher.

Anshumat’s blurry sight lit up with essence as the beast revealed itself. Anshumat sprung into action immediately. They bore the stance of a warrior and made haste to present a fighting retreat.

A rush of air hit the demigod as the beast dove upon them. Anshumat presented a hand, and with a violent jerk of the arm, swiped leftwards with a chain of divine energy. It lashed across two sets of massive talons and they crashed into the grass at Anshumat's left. The thud carried all the way up the ground to their jaw.

The limbs of the beast were covered in bright red scales all the way up their length. It covered a freakish muscle mass that cast shadows on the surface with its tensions.

Snarling set of dagger-like teeth big enough to bite the demigod in half flew in.

The demigod hunched down and pushed upwards, launching into the air to avoid the beast. Its jaw clapped shut around empty air. With another flick of the divine energy, Anshumat crashed the chain into the beast’s temple, in the hope of stunning it. The chain clacked off hard scale to little effect but to make the creature roar into the sky.

Anshumat's sense of direction blurred. The roar rang supernaturally loud against his sensitive hearing. A huge scaled arm drew up before it could be noticed and slammed Anshumat out of the air. The beast must have leapt. The sky was no sanctuary.

The demigod's body thudded and rolled against the grass, painfully winded.

The beast in the torchlight thundered towards Anshumat on all fours -- a winged reptilian creature, covered in blood red scales and with smoke wafting from its almost horse-like nostrils. This was no wild animal, its essence was too bright. Too fiery.

Climbing to their feet, Anshumat whipped the chain of divine energy once again, violently smashing it into a stone pillar. The energy sliced easily through, collapsing the stones down upon the creature. The creature slid and failed to displace itself from the falling masonry. It was pinned in a cloud of dust. Then, Anshumat slammed the chain directly down upon it, beating back towards the shore as they tried to hold the beast down. But already the stones were shifting.

The time was bought. Every length of ground gained in the time before the creature pulled itself up and snapped the chain with its mighty jaws was pivotal. Anshumat barely flew down the hill to the stone structures before a great beat of wings displaced the air behind him. They could feel the beast gaining, flying up behind them. They could feel the fiery essence building in the creature's mouth. He had seen such essence in selka cooking fires, at barely one one-hundredth the strength of what it was here.

Anshumat acted quickly, crouching down with the torch as they projected their powers outward, a glimmering shield of divine energies separating the beast and the demigod. Anshumat braced. And the air around them roared in bright, burning yellow.

Even through the shield, they could feel the radiant heat sweltering against their exposed shell. The entire world drowned in the sound and the light.

With their free hand, Anshumat formed a lance of blindingly bright energy, the light powering through the flames around it, piercing into the free air. The island lit up, the sky whitening painfully. Then, with a mighty heave, the lance launched outwards, passing through the shield. It slammed effortlessly through the force of the fire.

Directly into the open mouth of the beast.

A deep rumble sounded from the lance, the light pulsating wildly. It cracked apart with unimaginable force, an explosion of divine energy expanding outwards with power that made the flames of the beast quail in comparison.

The creature screeched and recoiled up onto its hind legs. Smoke billowed out between its teeth as it backed away and shook its head from side to side like an animal with a biting insect in its mouth. It beat its taloned hands furiously against the ground, screaming and trying to locate the demigod with its eyes flashed to temporary uselessness in the night.

Taking advantage of the beast’s blindness, Anshumat shot forwards with unnatural speed, powering another divine lance in their hand. This one was not the gleaming beam of the previous one, but it nevertheless held significant power. Flinging themselves up onto the head of the beast, Anshumat began to stab. The lance plunged repeatedly into the beast’s eye. A fortunately placed horn protruding back from the creature's head was sure enough purchase while it thrashed and screamed. Not even the volume of its roars could distract such a simple task, but its disorienting effect punished complacency.

Anshumat found themself -- still atop the beast's head -- rushing towards a flight of pale stone steps. They leapt from the top of the beast’s head before the stone smashed against it. They hung on the side, not done yet. The demigod took the lance, still soaked in the simmering blood of the beast’s eye, and used it to pry open the other eyelid. Then, Anshumat projected an explosive force of divine energy into the eye, not unlike a blast of flame.

The flame burst the creature's remaining eye, as if it could cry any louder. The following attempt to back off met resistance from the clamp of sharp claws around Anshumat's waist, sudden and unyielding. The creature slammed Anshumat to the ground pinning them with only their torch-grasping hand free. The dagger-tooth maw opened again.

Anshumat projected out a loud blast of energy to disorient the now-blinded beast. It lifted its claws just enough for Anshumat to slide out by their silks, all the way up to the end of their foot when the claw clamped down again and two of the beast's front teeth hooked into Anshumat's leg.

They were able to twist free before any danger of being bit fully. Whatever shock of the moment kept the blood flowing out of the punctures from being the source of incredible pain that they should have been.

There was no time for thought. Anshumat placed their distraction. Projecting out orbs of energy, the demigod launched them in all directions. The orbs that struck the ground or stone, or went far enough, exploded harmlessly with nothing more than an ear-splitting bang. The beast's attention was drawn all around in a panicked, noisy flurry.

For good measure, and in the hopes to deafen the beast, Anshumat launched two directly into the creature’s ear canals. They burst and the creature roared in pure anger. Claws and gnashing teeth flew out wildly in Anshumat's direction.

But they found only thin air, dirt, and stone.

Then Anshumat made for the shore.

They could sense the creature following, but slowly this time and along the ground. Probably following the trail of blood Anshumat left behind them. It was no matter when they limped to the water, softly smoking torch still in hand.

[hr]
Golden ichor flowed freely from Anshumat’s leg wound as they began their swim back to the shore of the mainland. It stained the water unnaturally, a streak of shimmering gold providing evidence of their route. As Anshumat silently progressed through the cold waves, the wound coagulated and the stream of ichor petered out.

Anshumat emerged from the surf, solemnly looking at Gralph as they held out the snuffed torch. The broad selka warrior stood with his arms crossed, looking straight at Anshumat with a frown that was hard to read. His essence was a bright one, and as such it was his silence that allowed Anshumat to hear the whispering voices from the shelter of the trees behind Gralph.

They were all looking at them. Every selka in the tribe and all the guest k'nights -- who, as a note of detail, were covered in dark body paint and carrying large wooden masks and stilts under their arms.

Gralph marched forward in broad strides down the sand, big arms waving forward and back. He stopped where the sand laid flat and wet, and took the torch carefully from Anshumat's grasp.

"Whatever Sheng did to you, kid, you didn't deserve it." Gralph's low voice held no trace of his previous jovial nature. He glanced down at the torn silks and the wound Anshumat was starting to feel. "Are you okay?" Gralph asked.

“It managed to strike me in its flailing, but it did not manage to maintain its grip. It is a scratch in comparison to my previous wounds,” Anshumat said quietly, raking their blind gaze across the treeline as they stretched out their hands to relieve the tension of their muscles.

The water lapped at their feet.

Gralph's nostrils flared with an audible breath in. "Well, you succeeded. Dealt out a lot more than you took as well. Stixis'll take a while to heal, if he ever heals from it." The rest of the breath blew out. "You and the other two kids, you'll get your clubs tomorrow. That's when your training starts. But I'll give you one lesson now to make certain you know what you're in for." He raised a finger, pointing up between Anshumat's eye sockets. "It ain't just gods that can kill you. Remember that, and maybe you won't come back to me leaking like a shot bird."

Gralph slowly lowered his finger, and with it, the trail of faint golden light in the water snaked its way up to the shore as pure ichor. Anshumat did not turn to look. It flowed in a stream dripping upwards and arced into a pool in Gralph's palm. When the last drop was gathered, the shining ichor hardened into a rough stone of dull yellow.

Anshumat's mouth opened slightly and they huffed out a breath. The demigod simply continued to watch the bright, blurry essence of Gralph.

Finally, a smile grew on Gralph's face again. "Do you feel like telling the tribe a story? They're all wondering what happened on that island."

Anshumat once again looked up at the tree line, saying, “What would I tell them? So much of what just happened was entirely against the rules of a natural world. Any tale I could weave would not begin to explain the sights they glimpsed.”

"Then just tell them the truth," Gralph replied, stepping across to let Anshumat through. All the faces in the trees still stared down at them both. "It's not so unreal that they wouldn't believe you. All the other folks who gave the trial a shot experienced something just as crazy."

Anshumat huffed again, beginning to walk past Gralph as they announced to the crowd, “Let me rest. I will tell you later what I faced on that island.”

A few selka vocalised their disappointment, but the general consensus was respectful of Anshumat's request.

Anshumat strode across the beach and into the treeline, as they headed back towards the village. The selka parted for the tall being as they turned around as well. While many gave the demigod curious looks, only two walked abreast with them. A tired looking Wass and an awake looking Toraph, with his silk hood tied around his neck.

"Well done, Anshumat!" Toraph said.

Wass pat the demigod hesitantly on the sleeve. "Yeah, well done."

“Thank you,” Anshumat said quietly, continuing to stride towards the village. As the demigod caught sight of the village, they looked at Toraph and Wass in turn, before breaking off to find a secluded spot.

Wass and Toraph took the message to leave them alone. Toraph quickly smiled up to Wass. "I should show you those seeds, bro. One of them sprouted out of the ground today."

Off to the side, Anshumat sat down behind a collection of drying racks, though they did not fall asleep.

[hider=Blood Dragon *80s synthisizers blaring*]
We start with the k'nights and the prospective k'nights standing on the shore near the mouth of the Kangjiang at sunset. They were told to wait there. An island rises up just off the coast before their eyes, covered in strange stone structures. This is Kirron's holy site to Strength: [b]Krasis.[/b]

On Gralph's cue, the k'nights take up some equipment and head out to the island. Gralph then addresses the candidates. Their trial is to take turns swimming to the island, grab a torch from in front of a cloister on a hill, and bring it back snuffed out.

The selka brother from the previous post, Anboor, thinks it's a trick and goes first. He comes back freaked out of his mind without the torch.

One by one, all the other candidates try and fail, all coming back spooked in some way or another.

There are only three folks left by the time it comes to Wass, another brother from the previous post. He swims out, feeling rather uneasy but still determined.

He sneaks around the island in the dark. Weird voices try to discourage him from the shadows. The voices turn out to be coming from a troup of grotesque monsters that scare the pants off him. Thankfully, he gains just enough sense to grab the torch and run for a water canal, which takes him to safety.

He brings the torch back, Gralph congratulates him and tells him not to tell the others what he saw.

The second-to-last candidate, a Kalmar worshipping young woman named Phialu, goes next. She comes back with a snuffed torch as well, but is wounded. Wass takes her to safety.

Then it's the final candidate's turn; Anshumat. They rush off to the island and do not find the same monsters. Instead, Stixis the big red dragon leaps out and ambushes them. Stixis is stronger and tougher than Anshumat, but they fight briefly, Anshumat besting the beast by blinding him and making distractions while they fuck off back to the mainland with the snuffed torch. Anshumat does not go unscathed, however, their hubris resulting in a nasty wound to the leg, maybe a broken bone or two, and many, many bruises. Thankfully, being a demigod means this doesn't stop them swimming.

Gralph mentions that Anshumat is ice fucking cold for fighting the big scary dragon and mentions they really shouldn't risk their life so brashly like that, but it's framed in a way that recognises that certain daddy issues may be partly to blame, so Gralph is ultimately sympathetic about it.

All the selka from the village had gathered, though. All the lights and the sounds from the dragon battle woke them up. Gralph invites Anshumat to recount the story, but they are le tired, so they mention they'll get around to it later.

The brothers Toraph and Wass pat Anshumat on the back. Anboor is nowhere to be seen.

Anshumat sits down and broods a bit.

The winners will become k'nights tomorrow.
[/hider]

[hider=Prestige/(S)Might Summary]
[i]Before:[/i] Kirron - Blood, Strength - 20 MP - 13 FP

-10 MP to make the Island of Krasis*, a holy site of Strength.
-1 MP to make the legendary beast Stixis temporarily resilient to Anshumat's bullying so the poor creature won't die.

-1 FP to make assorted sporting venues on the island of Krasis.
-1 FP to ingrain a tradition of stories and oral history in the selka.

[i]After:[/i] Kirron - Blood, Strength - 9 MP - 11 FP

[i]Before:[/i] Anshumat - Hierarchy - 4 MP - 8 FP
-1 MP to nuke Stixis’ dumb face with a power lance.

[i]After:[/i] Anshumat - Hierarchy - 3 MP - 8 FP

[i]Before:[/i] K'nights of Red Horizon - 2 Prestige - 11 Members

+1 for collaboration
+1 for minor role
-2 to claim the title: "Who Have Faced Death and Lived"

[i]After:[/i] K'nights of Red Horizon, "Who Have Faced Death and Lived" - 2 Prestige - 13 Members

* Krasis is an artificial island washed by the outflow of the Kangjiang river. It is covered in ordered trees, pavement, and structures of white marble veined with blue, like still blood. It is cut with regular canals that spill out water from a magically bountiful spring on the top of the central hill. The hill sports a plaza with two main features beyond the spring. The first is a tall tower supported by five staircases emanating out in spirals (not helices) towards the ground. On top of the tower is a platform with five thin pillars. The second is a large rectangular cloister surrounded by huge stone columns conjoined at their top. Within is an open-air area of worship with a plain altar to Kirron and vacant plinths at regular intervals in a square formation. The rest of the island has been scattered with a hodgepodge of stands for seating and areas for various sports and athletic competitions.

While on the island any creature can train to reach their physical peak in a shorter amount of time and, when they push their limits, can perform feats of athletics beyond their usual capabilities. These feats are more likely to manifest in the context of a competition, which the selka tribes are invited to hold semi-yearly. However, this boon comes with conditions. All those who wage war or cheat the sanctity of the competitions on the island suffer from debilitating anemia until they repent. This is a sensitive ruling, as even remaining on the island for too long without serving Kirron's whims (i.e. hiding for political asylum) can result in the same affliction.

The island is the new home for the K'nights of Red Horizon, and will be additionally staffed by the river mouth Selka tribe. Wiki page is TBA.

Stixis the Blind Dragon's wiki page is TBA as well.
[/hider]