[center] [h1]The One About Bacon[/h1] [/center] [hr] As the sun set, and the nebulite people found themselves enjoying the music of the Dreamers, another event was transpiring. One of the same joy, with the same merits. For the Vallamir of the Eye had been invited to attend, but had chosen not to. For their reasons were vague and uninspiring, but the truth was known in their hearts. For they had an event already planned, out of sight and out of mind. Though they had grown used to the Nebulites, the Vallamir of the eye remained close together, and thus, used this closeness to celebrate their being. And now, it was the under the light of the garden, hidden away in the jungle, where they celebrated life and the heritage they shared. The children laughed and played, adults lulled about talking and eating and the stout guards watched vigilantly. For they were a small community( truly, for the adults were far outnumbered by small ones with pointy ears) and the threat that had been shared, though unseen, was still a threat indeed. Myra stood apart from the festivities, her role that of a guard. This gathering had not been her idea, and she had argued against it, yet the others had been insistent. And although she had been trying to get them to form closer ties with the Nebulites, at the end of the day she still preferred the company of her own species. Besides, they needed this, she had to concede. One of the gods who created them had died, mere days after his avatar had spoken to them about the possibility of returning them to… not quite their homeland, but a land where they would meet the rest of their kind. Most of them had no intention of going, but nonetheless… for one of their creators to perish so soon after establishing contact, it was a blow. Then there was Karamir. The first of their kind. He had not stuck around. They had all been present when Arya brought him in, they had all prayed for his survival, and they had all hoped to speak with him after his recovery. Yet it was not to be. He had returned to Kalgrun without meeting them. Did he even know some of his kind resided on the Eye? So, given the circumstances, she could not blame them for wanting to be alone, or wanting to lose themselves in the festivities. Yet some had to remain alert. Some had to be on guard. Either against predators or the other… creatures… they had heard were now lurking in the woods. Kalmar dead, Karamir gone, Laurien a traitor, Orvus stripped of his divinity. Their protection now fell to the newly-ascended Arya. Myra considered her a friend, and knew she had everyone’s best interests at heart. Yet despite this reassurance, the recent events had soured Myra’s mood. With a sigh, she turned her attention away from introspection, and back to her duty: keeping watch. Her job was not just to keep predators away, but to keep the kids in. If children came too close to the edge of the perimeter, Myra would warn them in a sharp voice to go back, and most respected her authority. Most. A rustling sound reached Myra’s ears. A quick turn of her head revealed nothing unusual. Well, nothing unusual except for the unusually shaped shrubs that Ælfward usually kept all around his hut. She could swear, his gardening skills kept getting worse year after year… Was that shrub supposed to resemble a person? Myra shook the thoughts out of her head and focused back on her duties. And the rustling began again, coming from the shrubs. Myra snapped her head toward it and saw as the oddest shrub deflated and fell to the floor and three girls came out running from inside it, snickering. Until one of them, the pale white-haired one out of the twins, stumbled and looked back at Myra, locking eyes with her for a split moment. In that moment, there was nothing but pure, sheer panic in the girl’s eyes. Egwyn was her name, and she had never run so fast, quickly catching up to her sister and friend and vanishing into the foliage. “SHE SAW ME, ENGIL-” And the voices were then dulled by the flora until they faded off. “Agis!” Myra snapped, and one of the nearby adults who had been enjoying the festivities snapped to attention. “Take my place,” she commanded, before stalking off in pursuit of the foolhardy hooligans. She swatted aside the already-disturbed foliage, clearing a path for herself. It shouldn’t be her job to keep somebody else’s children in line, yet here she was. Their parents had failed to teach them basic self-preservation, and now it fell to her to round them up. Now, of all times… She shook her head. No doubt Egwyn had attempted another bizarre scheme, or perhaps Engil was just acting out again. The third girl, Dana, had likely been roped in by one of them. She always had a tendency to go along with what others were doing. Her sharp eyes could still detect movement, and her keen ears could still pick up traces of their voices. She quickened her pace, breaking out into a run. “Get back here! Now!” The voices grew louder and louder. Panting for breath, panicked speech. As Vallamir they were quite fast even as children, but they were no match for the likes of Myra. Still, as Myra jumped over some overgrowth and time seemed to slow down… As she stretched her hand to grasp at Dana’s arm, Myra’s well trained eyes caught sight of the ground shifting beneath the girls’ feet. Something moved across the blades of grass… Just a hair’s width away from grabbing onto Dana, Myra heard the peculiar sound of plant fibre rope going taut, and saw the girls’ ankles bound by it and pulled up in a split moment. There was a dull thud as Dana’s head hit against a rock as she fell over, and by the time they hung upside down from the tallest visible branch in the primordial tree, her eyes were unfocused and glazed over. She was silent, but the other two, the twins, weren’t. “Uuugh by Kalmar’s shiny black claws! I told you Myra had this entire area trapped, Egwyn!” “B-But-!” “And look! Dana’s all crazy now! Wait, Dana?!” Engil gasped and flailed a little, trying to push Egwyn out from between them but failing to do so. Egwyn instead tried to keep her flailing to a minimum and spoke in a shaky voice as she pulled her hand away from Dana’s head, covered in blood. “U-Um.” “What?! Is she okay? Egwyn, speak you dummy!” Myra’s eyes widened in shock, and she wasn’t sure which was worse: Dana’s head wound, which required immediate attention… or the fact that someone had deliberately made a trap. One that clearly wasn’t intended for an animal. She came to a stop just before the girls, and in a flash her sword was out, glittering in the moonlight. She swivelled in place, scanning her surroundings for additional threats. [i][b]OINK.[/b][/i] Foliage rustled from three different spots. One to the north, one to the east and one to the southeast. Slowly but confidently, three stout, short, ugly, pink [i]things[/i] walked out eyeing the three girls while salivating and snorting. Their eyes cast a sharp, dangerous glint, and so did the jagged and crude weapons of pain held firm in their hands. Myra took a deep breath as the opponents came into view. They were not here to talk, that was clear enough. Although she had spent a decade training, she had always suspected it would be far from the real thing. To make matters worse, there were three of them, and only one of her. If she took them all on at once, she would surely be killed. So, she didn’t. She set her gaze northward, brandished her sword, and darted forward. With a grunt, the piggut hefted a crude axe behind its shoulder, and then swung horizontally at the approaching Mir. Time seemed to slow down once more as Myra ducked underneath the axe’s blade and thrust her sword into the creature’s gut. It was a strange feeling, to slide her weapon into another creature’s flesh. She had done so while hunting, of course, but this was different. The piggut squealed and dropped the axe. Myra attempted to pull the weapon free, but it was stuck. The piggut’s hands gripped her shoulders, attempting to push her away, yet his wound had made him too weak. She heard footsteps behind her, and knew the other two were nearly on her. Suddenly, she turned, maneuvering the first piggut in front of the other two. In the same motion, she twisted the blade and yanked it free, a geyser of fresh blood striking her in the stomach, before she kicked the piggut toward its wounded comrades. It sprawled onto its back just before the two, and while one managed to avoid it, the third one tripped. For now, there was only one foe to deal with. Unphased by the suddenly even odds, the creature rushed forward, and this time launched an overhead downward swing with a brutish hammer. Myra nimbly stepped to the side, the weapon harmlessly embedding itself into the ground. The piggut pulled his weapon back and readied for another swing. Then, lightning quick, Myra struck. Recalling how her weapon had been stuck in her last victim, Myra chose to slash instead of stab, swinging her blade across the beast’s throat. She was rewarded by another spray of blood as the creature dropped its weapon and fell to the ground. The remaining piggut rose to its feet. At the sight of a bloodstained Myra standing over the bodies of its fallen comrades, the creature evidently thought better of fighting, and instead turned to flee. Myra did not let him. The piggut was quick, but Myra was quicker, and she drove her sword through its back, dropping to one knee as it fell to the ground. It was then that she realized she had been holding her breath for most of the fight. Her breath was heavy, and her heart was beating like a drum. Her clothes and her hands were stained with blood. Fear belatedly flowed throughout her chest, and she felt a sudden urge to vomit. It took time to compose herself, and when she did, she rose on shaky legs and did another survey of the area. Seeing no further threats, she gazed up at the trap from which the three children dangled. Egwyn was shaking and wiping her eyes, her breathing heavy and head red; while Engil herself watched in amazement at Myra, stars in her teary eyes as she fist bumped the air. Engil hoisted herself up and tried to fumble around with the rope tied around everyone’s ankles. “Myra…! I didn’t…” She grunted with effort, “I didn’t know you… Were so amazing! Teach me!” Myra gawked at the child, who was seemingly unphased by the life-threatening danger they had just been exposed to, and were perhaps still in. She considered going back and getting someone - Agis or Jakri, perhaps - to help get the children down from the tree. But that would mean leaving them unattended, and more creatures might still be in the area. So, she had to find another way. Her eyes followed the vines which had caught the children’s feet. She immediately saw they formed into a complex series of knots and wrap-arounds up in the tree’s branches. She tried to follow it further, and then saw that they eventually all converged on one thick, strong vine which led back to the ground, tied around a massive rock which had not been there previously. Somehow, triggering that trap had caused the rock to fall, and its weight served as the force which had lifted the children into the air. She wasn’t entirely sure how the whole thing worked, but logically, cutting that one vine should cause the children to fall. Such an act would be dangerous, however, because the children would be landing headfirst. One of them was already unconscious, and had a head wound. A sudden fall would surely kill her, without some way to slow it or soften the language. She gulped. What she was about to do was dangerous, yet she saw little other choice. If she waited, more creatures might appear, and she might not win a second time. Or they might attack the other Vallamir, which meant they needed to be warned immediately, but she could not leave the children unattended to do so. “Egwyn, Engil,” Myra called up to them. “Try to… try to lean upwards. Hold onto Dana, and protect her head. I’m going to get you down.” Egwyn started sobbing and held onto Dana, then Engil held both of them and together they managed to do as instructed. “Egwyn, it’s gonna be okay, alright? You know dad knows how to deal with things like this, we’ll just take Dana to him!” Myra, meanwhile, approached the boulder and took a deep breath. “Get ready,” she said, both to herself and to the trapped trio. “Three… two… one…” She swung. The vine was strong, and thick. The blade did not cut all the way through, but that was for the best. She had weakened it, and knew it would not hold. She swiftly stepped onto the boulder and grabbed the vine above where she had cut. When the vine snapped, Myra became the new counterweight, and was lifted upward as the children were lowered. Although she was lighter than the three children combined, her weight was still enough to slow their fall to the point where it would not be severe… And it was a success. As they landed in a heap on the ground, Engil quickly got at the knot and undid it and jumped to Dana’s side, checking her injury while Egwyn got up slowly in her dizziness. Myra returned the sword to its makeshift sheathe on her belt, and then rushed toward them. “Myra! She doesn’t look good, she’s very pale and…” There was a squishy sound as Engil carefully prodded around the injury, eliciting a wince from the black-haired girl, “And I think uh, her skull’s broken or something… We gotta go back!” Myra lifted Dana off the ground, held her close, and placed an unbloodied hand over the injury. “Yes, we do,” she said, her tone urgent. “Stay close.” She wanted to ask them what in Kalmar’s name they were thinking, but now was not the time. With the children in tow, she hurried back in the direction she came, going just slow enough that she wouldn’t accidentally trip or leave the twins behind. It wasn’t difficult to get back, especially with the noises. Squeals and shrieks echoed in the night, growing louder and louder as they went. Myra slowed down, keeping the children close to her. They moved cautiously, afraid to make any sudden noises, fearful of who might be watching them. Myra eventually found herself at the edge of the clearing, the sounds horrible to her ears, like something crunching their food in a grotesque wa- She stopped, and looked upon a gruesome sight, one that made her stomach churn. Agis was dead, two of the creatures sat, hunched over his body, carving his flesh with their weapons. She tore her eyes away, to see the same thing happening to three others, being butchered and carved up like an animal. The sight horrified her. They had been her friends. No, her family. Her eyes stung with tears. Rage and grief threatened to overwhelm her. Once again she felt sick, and her legs nearly threatened to give away. She was torn between dropping to her knees and retching, or drawing her sword and rushing to avenge him. Then she remembered where she was and what she was doing. Her responsibilities were to the living not the dead. The wretches had not noticed her yet, and attracting their attention would only danger those she was trying to protect. The rest of the Vallamir were gone, evidently having decided to flee, and thankfully there were no children among the dead. “L-look away,” she said to the twins, steadying herself and blinking away tears. “Stay close,” she said again. It was too late though, they had seen everything, and Egwyn had gone completely quiet, holding onto Myra’s blouse for dear life. Engil however grabbed the first stick she saw and held it with shaky hands. They ran along the edge of the clearing, giving the creatures a wide berth. The creatures so preoccupied with their butchery that either they didn’t notice them, or they had but decided it was not worth the effort to pursue. Once the four made it all the way around, Myra proceeded in the direction she knew the Nebulite village to be in. The dozens of footprints and torn shrubbery indicated the Vallamir had gone the same way. Then she realized some of the pigguts might have done so as well. But if she carried on in a different direction, they could get lost, or stumble into another group. And staying still wasn’t an option… She gulped. Once more she had to take a risk. She chose to continue onward. The sounds of shouts, screams, squeals, and other foul noises were picked up by her ears. There was a battle taking place. She hurried pace and arrived upon another grisly scene. Dozens of the creatures fought against the Nebulites and Mir, striking and clashing crude weapons against stone spears and arrows. Many lay dead or dying at the edge of the town. There was no sight of the other Mir. Myra could not join the battle; not when she was carrying a child and two more were following her. So instead she resorted to the same tactic. She skirted around the edge of the battlefield, avoiding combat, and the pigguts were too busy with the Nebulites to attempt to stop her. She continuously looked back to make sure the twins were still following her, offering what encouragement she could, and reminding them to focus on her, as she carried on into the village itself. Eventually the sounds of battle were no more than a background, distant clanging of metal on stone and crackling of fire a reminder of the situation as they came upon a plaza of sorts. Made of carefully carved stone bricks and with a fountain in the middle. Normally, the plaza would’ve been home to several stalls and merchants peddling goods with each other, but today it was home to dozens and dozens of people, laying on the ground on top of bloody sheets. Cries of pain came from everywhere around Myra and the girls. There were so many wounded and so little people capable of treating them… “If only Dad was-” Engil cut herself off as she saw the hunched over figure of her dad, kneeling over one of the wounded people. “Dad! Daddy!” She screamed suddenly, tearing up and running up to her Dad, who set the bloodied tools he was using beside him on the ground and turned to look at Engil, a tired smile gracing his face. He was sickly pale and had bags under his eyes. Engil immediately launched herself against him and hugged him as tightly as she could, crying into his cotton shirt. It was wet and warm since before she even touched it. By now Egwyn had walked up to the two and joined in on the embrace, her glazed over eyes slowly coming back to life and growing wet with new tears. It was a difficult day. “Daddy… I-I thought you… I thought you were gone…” Egwyn said softly, to which her black-haired dad responded by kissing her forehead and showing her that usual cocky smirk of his, the one that looked like Engil’s. “Girls, I’m so happy you’re okay… So happy! Your mother is safe, too, she’s gone with others to take the most wounded to a safer place. Now, I-” He coughed up blood, and some of it landed on Egwyn’s cheek. She blinked and wiped it away with her left hand, looked at it and then looked back at her father, now realizing half his shirt was red, and the reason he was pale was because he was bleeding so much from his side. “... D-Dad?” He looked at Myra approaching and perked up. In a swift movement he turned back to his current patient, taking his tools and sewing up a big gash on his leg, then applying a strip of fabric tightly against the wound. Then he stood up and rushed over to Myra and began to inspect Dana’s condition. “Myra, h-how did this happen?! Tell me, has Dana done or said anything at all since she got injured?” “No,” Myra answered in a swift yet shaky voice, carefully handing the small child over to him. “Those beasts laid some sort of trap. She… she hit her head, and was knocked out.” She looked down at her hands to see that both were coated in blood - one in Vallamir, the other in Piggut. Once again, she gulped. “I don’t know if...” The girls’ father nodded and grunted, finding an empty sheet to lay the girl on and putting her there in a sitting position with himself right behind her to keep her steady. Immediately he reached for his tools and grabbed the smallest tongs he had, and tried to move everything back to its place in the back of Dana’s head. Every piece of debris he could see was removed swiftly, and every shard of bone and flap of skin was moved around expertly. It was grim. He sewed more skin together that day than he ever wanted to, and when he was done with Dana he coughed up more blood and leaned his back against the fountain behind him. Myra stared at the now-sutured wound, then had to force herself to pull her eyes away. “I need to join the defense,” she said. “Try to get them inside the houses. They’re too exposed out here.” She pulled out her sword, and with that, she was off, back in the direction from which she came. She arrived back at the fight, the creatures had advanced considerably, but many lay dead or squealing as they died. The Nebulite guards had fared no better. White blood stained the ground and many more lay injured, defended by those who could still stand. It looked grim, it was grim, and Myra prepared to give her all, but then a voice shook the world. [color=ivory]”ENOUGH!”[/color] Before Arya landed in between the two groups, in plain clothes Her arms were stretched out, but her attempt to stop the fighting was not met how she had thought it would be. The creatures advanced, even dared to attack her still. One particularly large one with tusks swung his cleaver at her midsection, only for the weapon to shatter as it touched her skin. Though Myra could not see her face, she knew the Goddess had a look of horror. With a deafening clap her hands, the world exploded into quiet. The pigguts stopped and stared, before many dropped their weapons, and many more fell to their knees holding their heads. The tusked one in front of her, slowly dropped to his knees and looked at his blood stained hands. [color=ivory]”Go and never come back.”[/color] Arya said in an angry voice, before turning her back to them. She had tears running down her face, but she wiped them away as she went to the wounded. The pigguts, heads held low began to leave, dragging their dead and those that no longer had the will to walk into the forest, never to be seen again. Myra stared in astonishment. The creatures, which had been on the verge of overwhelming the defenders and flooding into the village, were now fleeing. A retreat brought about by nothing more than words. Then the shock faded, and she felt numb. She stared at the dead, and thought of the wounded back in the village square who might soon join them. Never before had she seen so much death and conflict. Her heart still raced, and tears began to form in her eyes. She lost her grip on the sword, and it clattered to the ground. Arya looked to her, then at all the other dead and dying and she wept. Her tears staining the ground. She looked up at the Lustrous Garden and slowly lifted her hand to it. A strand of light seemed to shine down upon her, before coalescing into a ball of energy that she then lifted up higher, before crushing in her palm. A wave of beautiful warmth erupted from her palm and rippled out before diseapearing from view. The goddess then collapsed to her knees. All around her, sudden gasps as wounds began to heal and close. Myra snapped out of her daze, and rushed forward to kneel next to Arya. “Wh-what was that?” she asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Arya smiled weakly as she looked at Myra. [color=ivory]”I’m not sure… But I helped them.”[/color] She pulled her hand away, cast a worried glance off in the direction the pigguts had retreated in, then another back toward the village. “There are more wounded in the square… can you help them too?” [color=ivory]”I already did.”[/color] Arya said. Myra blinked. “You mean… Dana… she’ll be alright?” [color=ivory]”Yes… All those hurt who… Held on, Myra.”[/color] She breathed a sigh of relief. “What about those creatures? What if they come back?” Arya turned her gaze to the forest. [color=ivory]”They will never come back. Their actions… What they’ve done… It will haunt them until the end. I only wish I had done so sooner… Maybe I could have prevented...”[/color] her voice faltered. Myra was silent, still not entirely sure what Arya had done. Wordlessly, she reached forward and put her hand back on the goddess’s shoulder. [color=ivory]”Thank you… Myra. Now could you please go check on those in the square?”[/color] she asked. “I will,” Myra nodded, her resolve returning. She rose to her feet, retrieved her bloodstained sword, and began jogging back to the square where she had left the twins. Arya in the meantime, pulled herself to her feet, and went about making sure her people were safe. [hider=Summary] Eye elves have their own festival while Nebulite hang with dreamers. They get attacked by Pigguts. People die. Arya shows up. Pigguts leave fucked up, and Arya heals wounded people. [/hider] [hider=MP Summary] Start 1MP & 6FP -1MP(DIscounted by Compassion) To curse the Eye of Desolation Pigguts with Compassion/Remorse. -1MP To do a Divine feat, calling upon the Lustrous Garden’s power (Because no one ever taught Arya how to heal) and healing those wounded in the attack. End 0MP & 6FP [/hider]