Eleanna tapped her index finger on the carefully sanded tree stump in front of her. She was sitting cross legged on the grassy ground, with the irritatingly long-haired and handsome Silvan Star across from her. He sat there with nigh-perfect posture, with features so regal and well-defined that even she couldn’t believe that he was all-natural, and with skin so perfectly bronzed and smooth that she couldn’t help but stare for a bit too long.
What made it all irritating was that the guy just wouldn’t acknowledge her obvious attraction. His icy white eyes regarded her with the cold of the Daman Tundra.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries, Goddess. I’m here to ask for freedom.” He nodded respectfully with his eyes closed.
“You already have that, Star! You’ve got the freedom to do whatever you want!”
“That’s untrue. I am and have always been a slave to the Lampseekers. I can never escape this fate, because slaves are not considered people in the Daman Lands. Even if I were to escape my captivity, I would just be hunted down and brought back to the Lampseekers.”
“What’s the issue with that? The added challenge only makes your Journey all the more meaningful. The Grand Struggle has blessed you.” Eleanna leaned her elbows on the tree stump.
“I disagree. What’s the objective behind struggling if you know there is no possibility of reaching your goals? And on the topic of the Grand Struggle… Don’t you think slavers have had it too easy?” The Silvan Star frowned.
Eleanna rubbed her chin and raised an eyebrow.
“You’d have me engage with the Silvan Lands in order to return slaves?”
The Silvan Star shook his head. “No, Goddess. I’m requesting you fulfil your duty as the Bronzed Bloom.”
Eleanna scoffed, “Huh?”
“I’ve studied Daman history, Goddess. You’re not the first Bronzed Bloom, you were merely pushed into the position by the First Sun. Did you know that the Bronzed Bloom is supposed to be a guide to the Daman People? One who pushes for equality of opportunity and consequence?”
Eleanna rubbed her temple.
“As things stand, there is no equality in the Daman Lands. There is no control, and therefore there is no equality. The strong trample the weak, and the weak have no way of chasing their dreams. You, as the Bronzed Bloom, are supposed to fix this mess. I’m requesting you fix it.” The Silvan Star demanded, staring so deep into Eleanna’s eyes that she had to avert her gaze.
“I can’t abolish slavery.”
“I’m aware. You do, however, have access to the Church’s vast resources. You could sponsor one of the few clans who still hold equality and xenophilia in high regard. I’m sure one of them is likely to be the driving force behind one of the biggest upheavals yet to come to New Daman society.” He explained, sliding a small piece of parchment over to Eleanna before soundlessly standing up and bowing. “Thank you for your time, Goddess. My request has been made, so I will take my leave.”
And just like that, the Silvan Star disappeared into the large tent that had been allocated to the Lampseekers, two of the infamous moth-women emerging from inside to stand tall to either side of the entrance flap with spears in their many hands.
Eleanna wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and felt a shaky grin sneak its way onto her face. The more she thought about it, the more that Eleanna realised that the Silvan Star was right – The slaver factions had had it too easy lately. It was time for a change, in order to uphold the integrity of the Grand Struggle.
Eleanna has a meeting with the Silvan Star. Due to having won stage 2 of the race, he gets to make a request which ends up being a request to sponsor a specific Daman Clan that upholds principles of freedom, xenophilia and equality in its territories in he hopes that doing so would eventually bring freedom to all slaves in the Daman Lands. Eleanna loves the idea, realising that slavers and strong factions have had it too easy lately.
Node 9, and its faux sea of petrified immobile waves, had become the last bastion of chaos in the north. It housed raw chaos that made even the bestial men of Daman yearn for stability. The domination of all other lands and the constant prodding of other gods, be it Dzallitsunya's battles where the guardian was kept alive for her personal amusement or the ongoing Festival of the Red Leaves, already a natural bringer of ruckus on tamed lands, was now further stirring the unconquered wilds, the very energy emanating from the machines only further wakening the latent chaos.
The once lone boar-tusked dragon now mobilized strength in numbers, piranha-mouthed flying serpents swarmed around the rims while spawnlings of the dragon scouted further away, hiding among the half-melted rocks, waiting to pounce and chase at anything they saw moving, be it a chariot or god. At this core of chaos, even the light seemed to have lost its sense, it was dark yet shadows were being cast in bright noisy colors, too distorted to be a silhouette, more solid to be a blur, like smeared oil paint. A dark fog and strong winds circled around the node itself, the dragon lying in wait, its dark pearl eyes closed as it felt two intruders approaching, one new and the other an old enemy.
Chaos tore and gave way to streaks of order. Eleanna’s five claws, each shining as bright as a moon, led the way. The tears in the chaos were temporary, but they were large enough to coalesce into a great, protective dome behind her, which the following two dozen chariots struggled to stay inside of.
A rumble echoed from the back of the group as one of the Chariots’ Soul-burners went up in flames. Eleanna laughed, throwing her head back to look at the way the Chariot skid and veered off course, out of the dome and ultimately was devoured by the shadows of chaos.
“The contrast, Yenna! Grass and dirt paths here, crazy oil painting land crawling with beasts outside! Don’t you just love it? Reminds you of our adventures don’t it?” Eleanna shouted in the general direction of the Chariot’s cockpit, which was directly behind her given she was sitting up front with her hand in the air.
“I don’t remember having to pilot a hunk of wood that literally burns my soul, Anna!” Came Yenna’s sassy response, to which Eleanna waved a dismissive hand.
“Details, details! Truth is we both love this! A long struggle, a true test of endurance, testing the pilots’ ability to stay behind us while wrestling for first place, and to keep powering their Chariots for over a day… I just love how stressed everyone is!” The bronzed goddess gushed.
“I don’t remember signing up for this. I’ll be taking every last Xa you own for my medical bills if my nose burns off, I don’t think you know how expensive prosthetics have gotten as of late!”
Eleanna rolled her eyes. A beast of chaos lunged into the protective dome, only to be blasted away by at least 7 different manned ballistas on the back of the Chariots.
“Keep going this way, the Node’s just up ahead! We can give everyone a small break after we’ve stabilized Nine!” Eleanna shouted, pointing towards the massive cloud of swirling black fog in the distance.
Eight dark steel blades formed in-between the goddess fingers, they were launched down with unmatched precision, clearing out a school of flying serpents as they fell to the ground. Shocked, the dragon spawnling they were helping looked upward, seeing what looked like a falling star diving straight at him.
“It seems like this is our final battle Node 9, I cannot risk having you seized by the mad god.” she declared as she dove blade first against the forehead of the beast, even the godly crafted edge of the Eclipse could not so easily break the bronze scales of the dragon, but it did not matter, where the piercing blade had failed, the crushing momentum of the goddess attack would succeed, smashing the insides without ever breaking the skin.
Dzallitsunya stood over the fallen beast with a smirk, from atop it she had a good view of her surroundings, and was quite surprised to notice something she had not seen in her previous scouting of the area.
To the east, a pack of beasts approached in a shining trail of light and smoke. They announced this with loud metallic roars unlike anything the goddess had ever faced. She was left mesmerized until she heard a howl from the other side, a familiar one.
“What is it?” she asked the chaos wolf she had tamed, the only acquaintance she trusted to have in these lands, the canine tried to growl and point at a swelling blob onto the ground, but it was too late for the distracted goddess to react. A chaos beast, one that looked like a copy of the one that once guarded Node 2, pounced and both goddess and beast fell down a slope while trading blows.
By the end of the struggle, Dzallitsunya had the beast on its back, sword piercing its exposed underside where there were less crystals protecting the skin. The beast was dead, but the goddess noticed movement in the crystals, the light they reflected started to intensify and looking to the side she saw why.
She had fallen straight into the route of those roaring ‘things’, what looked like a dome of light quickly advancing towards her and in the blink of an eye, she was hit by a rush of warm air as she crossed the threshold of the dome (or perhaps the dome had crossed her?). Grass sprouted below her boots, and most important of all, a beast of wood, metal and light roared and rumbled as it shot past her, a familiar bronzed deity sitting on its muzzle. The bronzed goddess grinned, winked and made a strange hand gesture at Dzallitsunya before waving at every other roaring beast behind her. Their singular glassy eyes twinkled with the reflection of her clawed hand.
“ROADKILL TIME, BOYS N GIRLS! HUNDRED XAS TO THE FIRST ONE TO RUN HER OVER!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, and immediately most of the following beasts locked onto Dzallitsunya.
“The teeth stealer!?” the dusk goddess gasped seeing the bronze deity but in moments her focus had to be entirely upon the other beasts as the first approached her. She jumped to the left and immediately had to use the Shadow Petal to force her back to the right as a second car came right after. After she tried to run, the incoming chariots were quick to adapt to that, starting to aim where she would be. A few more dodges and her, now tired from overusing her relic, could not dodge the seventh car to aim at her.
But she was not run over either, with a short skip upward, her sharp metal heel met the chassis of the chariot, skiing against the wood as sparks flew.
The chariot’s cockpit hissed open and from the foggy interior peeked out an angry, short, rotund, hyperventilating man with his face split into half seal and half human. His disgustingly mutated features contorted as he snarled and screamed. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING LADY! GET OFF MY BELOVED WATERLANCE AND GO BACK TO THE STREETS!“ He gasped and threw everything he could find at her. A handheld broom, a bottle of Jermarvelous, a half-eaten space-goatdog burrito, and a moldy cushion were only the first of a veritable endless stream of random inane objects to bombard the Goddess of the Moon.
“Burn in the sun you bastard!” the goddess barked back, her sheer divine rage cursing the man to never find a proper parking spot for his ‘beloved’, though, it also blinded her, or rather, looking back to scream made it so she was hit face first by the bottle of Jermarvelous. The number 1 choice in man’s cologne, with the spark of thunder and freshness to entrance even the most demanding vulpine ladies of the Daman, while a lovely affordable choice of quality perfume, was not meant to be spilled upon one’s eyes, and Dzallitsunya found herself crouching on the ground, rubbing her eyes as she tried to regain her vision.
She could barely see when another car approached, this time she couldn’t jump either, so the only solution was to go directly against it, sliding beneath the chariot. Standing up after the fifth close call, still half blinded with her eyes burning from the perfume, sweating and with bits of her outfit torn and blood dripping from her forehead, she observed the last car to arrive.
Too low to slide under, too blocky to jump over, too late to jump to the side. The half-human half-clover pilot smirked. “Ahhh! Today. Today izzz me lucky day! Getzz ready to be a zmear in my vizzor, little bug” Dzallitsunya sighed, took a stance, and without words readied her sword. The plant-woman’s eyes widened. “Oh weeedzzz” and now she was the one who couldn’t dodge and a slash of the Eclipse, the last carriage was cut in the middle, both missing Tsunya before dramatically exploding on both sides of the fading light road.
Safe from being run over, Dzallitsunya took a deep breath and then let out an equally long sigh. She stared at the path in front of her, Eleanna’s light fading accompanied by an echoing crackling laugh. Dzalli closed her eyes, knelt and placed both hands against the floor, starting to lean forward as her cape, the Shadow Petal, started to wave as if hit by a strong wind, wind-cutting noises echoing around her.
When the goddess’ eye opened, she launched forward with a bang, stepping against the wind itself, breaking past it and running towards the race. In complete silence, with only eyes towards Eleanna’s chariot, she rushed past the cars, outrunning them on foot and outsmarting their delayed reaction times. It didn’t take long for Eleanna to recoil as she noticed the fellow Goddess running next to Yenna’s Chariot, with Dzallitsunya looking at the now-sheepish bronzed Goddess with a ‘hint’ of annoyance.
“H-How are you this fast?! Do you just practice running day in day out?! What the crap! Yenna, go faster!”
“Can’t, I don’t wanna get my brain juiced by the burner!” Came a muffled response from inside the chariot’s glassy dome.
“Damn!” Eleanna cursed, then turned towards Dzallitsunya, “Listen woman, that was fun wasn’t it? A good bit of exercise is good for the soul, just ask the pilots!”
“The first time I met you, you showed up with a dead squirrel then desecrated the body of our creator. The second time we met, you tried to run me over with your… things… that go fast and roar loud. Pardon me if I do not have a good impression.” she side-glanced at the node then back at the bronzed goddess. “What are you even doing? What is all this? Why does it smell like burned wood and burned… fish brain?”
“Name’s Eleanna! That smell is the smell of nearly two dozen soul-burner engines in high-drain mode with most limiters turned off! You’re literally smelling the souls of the most ambitious, most daring sportsbeasts in the entire Daman Lands! Exciting, isn’t it? I bet you’d love to meet the Beauty Pair. Oh, and this is a yearly thing. The Red Leaf Race, I mean. I’m just tagging along to make sure they don’t all suffer horrible deaths going through the most dangerous areas. Someone’s got to reach the end after all, or I would be out of a job!”
“The scent of your people’s ambitions has the smell of the boots of a courier after a day of work.”
“What, like Silvan cheese?”
“Of course you people like milk. I bet you like eggs too. Eugh.”
“WAIT!” Eleanna perked up with a half-gasp half-chuckle. “So it’s true you lot up north don’t eat egg mayo sandwiches?”
“We are to your west, not north!” Tsunya barked, her wolf also barked, but the goddess waved her hand, this was IMPORTANT. “And no, I do not eat eggs, or mayors, or sand, or witches. Two of those are people so it's kinda messed up to eat them. But we all know what they say about the beastfolk.”
Eleanna rolled her eyes “Yeah yeah, we eat people and children, whatever! Everyone’s got their demons, Pale. Keep up all that barking and I might just consider you one of the wolfkin. I know a bunch of them would be happy to ‘hear’ you out.”
There was now a soft orange glow bathing the two goddesses along with the chariots. “Demons!? So Xavior and the council are already over there? Damn. Those people act fast, and sure aren’t picky with the clientele.” barked Dzalli. “And you dummy, it's not me who is barking, it's my pet chaos wolf, whom I trained to…”
Dzalli’s gave a quick peek towards the node and the dragon, it was fully awake now, fire building up in its gullet, an army of ‘oil paint’ lesser clones of chaos beasts of the nearby nodes rising from the twisted ground. She looked back at Eleanna, a bit paler “You know what? I was being rude. You were here first, so go ahead, I will wait a bit.”
Eleanna grinned and pumped her fist up into the air, “Finally, someone treats me well! You stand back and watch. You too, Yenna!”
“Wait, Ann-”
It was too late for Yenna to voice her concerns however, as Eleanna wasted no time in blasting herself forward towards the approaching dragon and its army. Her trajectory mid air saw her go past dozens of flying spawnlings and right up against the dragon’s face. A low roar built up in its throat, living flame spilling from its jagged teeth.
In a split second, Eleanna took aim at one of the Dragon’s glowing ice blue eyes and shot her arm-ballista at it.
The crystal-laced bolt broke through the massive beast’s armored cornea and exploded, sending the dragon reeling off to the side and making it lose control of its own gullet, spilling fire all over his spawnlings and minions.
“YES! See that, Pale? Cool, ri-”
Before she could finish her sentence, one of the Dragon’s massive talons smacked her right out of the air and sent her barreling straight into a distant mountain, the echoes of her impact reaching Dzallitsunya several seconds later.
“That was rough… I hope she is alright.” the goddess whispered to herself as she saw raised dust in the distance. The wolf made a questioning growl at the goddess. “Hey. Calm down. She is annoying but I don’t want her to perish… Wow. What the hell is that in your mouth? Silly wolf, you can’t just use plant people as a stick.” rolling its eyes the wolf nudged the goddess so she looked back at the massive chaos beast.
“Right. Seems like most of its army is gone. The belly is pierced so no more fire bombs. Wolf, try to keep the beast people safe, I will finish this.” she readied the Shadow Petal and the Eclipse and leaped forward, once again advancing upon the dragon.
It clawed at her, but the goddess managed to parry and dodge, especially now that the pain made the beast slower, yet it had also become more vicious, Tsunya had to not only dodge the claws, but waves of flying rocks and debris thrown by the beasts’ talons and tail.
The malformed blurry beast clones start to appear again, Dzalli found herself trading blows with that same multi-headed serpent of Node 8 she once defeated, of a lesser quality however, she soon found herself slaying it once more, only to barely escape a crashing strike of the dragon.
“Using your spawnlings to distract, huh?” The goddess acknowledge, a rush of worry flowed through her as she was reminded the beastfolk was nearby, she looked at them to see if her wolf had done a good job and… he was calmly laying on the ground with some wolfkin and that still shocked clover plant-girl, most other beastmen were merely watching her, eating sandwiches and snacks, unbothered. A single frog dude, with a makeshift crescent moon painted on his chariot (it was previously a calla lily and previously still some other symbol) was using his mounted ballista to pester the dragon.
With a deep breath, Dzalli took the chance to take a position again, she wouldn’t be able to go past the wind again, no time or energy for it, but she still launched herself with a boom, gliding across the dirt and sliding past the open wound in its belly, she used the stomach wall and ribs of the dragon itself as footing, aiming up, rerouting her momentum, and pouncing blade first at direction of the heart of the beast.
The chaos expanses finally stood still, winds calming, beasts dispersing, and Dzallitsunya emerging victorious, and covered in more blood and filth than she had ever seen in her life. She had a ‘hint’ of annoyance in her face.
With calm steps she moved towards the now freed node, only to see a pitiful shape very slowly crawling towards the node. The shape heaved with every movement and vomited more blood than anyone should have inside their bodies.
“C-Can’t beat me…in a race… to the node…” Eleanna rasped out, a whistle in her voice and pain evident on her face through her grimace, even with half her teeth missing.
Seeing the missing teeth, Dzalli couldn’t help but notice the irony. Perhaps it was also the sign she should forgive her sister, she had no fault for being the way she was. It was probably the effects of too much sunlight… But first she rushed right past her and hit the node with her blood stained hands almost ten times.
A flash enveloped the world as the node was reshaped. A cold desert of gray sand dunes emerged across most of the node, broken by fields of white flowers and ponds and streams of freezing liquid nitrogen. The sky was starry, the sun in a permanent eclipse.
Dzallitsunya was once again clean and fresh, sighing as she approached Eleanna, right by the node. She picked her up, despite being smaller, and walked away as the freezing liquid flooded much of the area immediately near the node. She took her back to the racers and placed her against a rock in a white lily field. “Hey… Today was horrible, wasn’t it?” she whispered.
Eleanna coughed up a molar and smiled weakly. “Y’You’re kidding… Right? It was… The most… Fun I’ve had… In years…”
Tsunya tilted her head and then shrugged. “Hmm… I guess making that dragon explode was very cool of you.” she smiled, sitting as well, picking up a jar of flavored acacia gum candy, some lemon, some strawberry.
As Tsunya focused on the candy, she saw Eleanna wiping at her face out of the corner of her eye.
“C-Can you… Teach me how… To fight? Like the wind.”
Tsunya was taken aback. “O…oh? Fight. Well. I train a lot, that is true… I have a, hmm… You could say it's a magical training arena. It lets me set up fights against armies, chaos beasts, even other gods, they feel real despite being a dream. Do you want some candy?”
Eleanna reached inside her mouth and pulled a few broken teeth out, then tested the mobility of her jaw and nodded. “I heal somewhat… Faster now than before… Yeah, pass one.” Eleanna said, grabbing one of the candy and sticking it in her mouth without a second thought.
Tsunya looked down at the jar, seeing Eleanna hadn’t really washed her blood soaked hands before digging in. “You know, have the whole jar, as a gift.” she smiled. “And yeah. I forgot to say my name. It's Dzallitsunya. If you visit me, I can show you my dream arena, perhaps we can even spar.”
“Ah, thanks The Sally!” Eleanna said as she sat up a bit straighter, poking her ribs with a mere flinch before grabbing the whole jar of candies. “They’re sweet, what do you call them? And yeah, I’d love to spar with you! All the other gods I’ve met have been against fighting you know. Lamp guy was too straight laced for it and Benea was surrounded by her boyfriends.” Eleanna sighed. “Hey, you know, I think I’ve heard about you before. Some fishkin visited the New Daman Temple once talking about a new group of Followers of The Sally popping up near Lake Saragosa.”
“I guess you could call it, Jujube.” Dzalli nodded. She had no idea what any of those words meant, or where anything was, but it didn’t sound like bad news. “Oh, is that so? I hadn’t heard about that. Could you tell me more later?”
“Sure. Thanks for the Jujube, Sally.” Eleanna smiled, but stiffened as soon as she heard a set of heavy, tired footsteps approaching. She turned, hesitant, to see a sweaty, jumpsuit-clad Yenna with a full on nosebleed and bloodshot eyes approaching her.
“Having fun with your new girlfriend, Anna? How did you even survive this time?”
“I only broke half my ribs and teeth. It wasn’t too bad.”
“Ah. I see. As you can see, I’m at my limit. You’re piloting that damn death trap the rest of the way.” Yenna said and stormed off into one of the makeshift tents that had just been put up.
Tsunya smiled awkwardly as the two had their little moment, sideglancing at the other beastfolk. “Well, I should go check on my wolf, before it chews up that poor clover lady.” said the goddess who made the plant girl lose all but four of her leaves. “See you two later, good luck on the festival.”
Eleanna grinned and waved at Dzalli as she walked off. “Thanks Sally, I’ll visit your temple in Three in a few days, after the race is over. I’ll bring you some of the best Daman snacks, so wait for me!”
Node 9 is in a state of turmoil, with hordes of chaos monsters spawning due to the increased activity around it in the stable lands. It is this dangerous node that both Dzallitsunya and Eleanna brave. One with the intent to conquer the node once and for all and the other just seeking to continue the Red Leaf Race.
On her way to the Node, Dzalli is ambushed by a chaos monster and is pushed right into the path of the Chariots. Barely avoiding being run over by a dozen of the machines, she then chases them and catched up to Eleanna. They hold a small conversation and then Eleanna rushes ahead and disables the Node Guardian’s fire breathing organ, but gets slapped into a mountain. Dzalli takes the opportunity to attack the dragon and with some minimal help from a frog dude, is able to take it down and claim the node.
She turns Node 9 into a cold desert with gray silvery dunes and rivers and lakes of liquid nitrogen. Fields of flowers grow throughout the desert, and the land is in an eternal eclipse with a starry sky.
After shaping the land to her will, Dzalli carries Eleanna’s broken body to the small camp set up by the racers and chats to her while she heals. They share candy and names, and promise to meet again in the future.
Eleanna Starting 5 Might None used Ending 5 Might
Dzallitsunya Starting 5 Might None used Ending 5 Might
“See that? The yellow huts contrast with the green hills and fields! Y’reckon they did it on purpose, Mozzymoz?” Quiqui asked, her gold eyes glued to the warm, picturesque countryside that rolled on and on to either side of the Silvan Internodal 14.
The Chariot bounced and skid. They were hit from behind, sending an endless amount of bits and bobs flying around Quiqui’s half of the cockpit. She squealed and coughed as a flask of perfume broke and doused her in the extremely fragrant liquid. Mozmoz’s hatch opened with a hiss, with the Ratkin beauty quickly standing up on her seat and flipping off the Chariot behind theirs, all while maintaining control of the steering bar with her right foot. “Fuck off you freaks!” Mozmoz shouted, a bunch of barely-clothed beastkin immediately leaning out of the following chariot’s cockpit to cheer.
“MARRY ME MOZMOZ!”
“ANGEL SIGHTED! ANGEL SIGHTED!!!”
“WANNA PLAY CAT AND MOUSE WITH ME??!!”
“PLEASE STEP ON ME, MOUSE MOMMY”
Mozmoz growled and slid back into her seat, not even bothering to look at Quiqui before shouting.
“Stop spacing out, Qui! This place is like a warzone-”
“I’’LL KILL ALL OF YOU BASTARDS, THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE BOTTLE OF BENEAVOLENCE!” Quiqui roared, leaning out of her cockpit to shoot her arm-mounted crossbow at the chariot behind. The bolt struck the chariot’s front wheel, sending the vehicle skidding into a beautiful barn on the side of the road, where it exploded in a mix of purple soulfire, splinters, and the grieving moans of the desperate.
“Shit like this is why I love you, Quiqui.” Laughed Mozmoz as they sped forward into the Canyon section of the stage.
II
“The Ratcaves’ Beauty Pair speeds ahead, catching up to the second group’s lead, Bitall of the Strongteeth! Will their Chariot, the Rathaus, hold up this time!?”
“Meanwhile, the Mysterious Silvan Star maintains a comfortable lead on all other racers and is about to leave the Canyon section! The Anak’s Thas seems to have been built for this terrain, with- WAIT, WHAT’S THIS?!”
III
Rocks and debris fell from above, crashing against the cobblestone road and sending shrapnel everywhere. The Silvan Star swerved to avoid the ambush. Suddenly, Ballista bolts started to rain from above, with more than a couple finding their way into the Anak’s Thas chassis.
MASTEKEN watched this from behind as he struggled to avoid the bombardment as well. Suddenly, a piece of shrapnel penetrated his cockpit screen and lodged itself firmly into his clavicle. He yelped in pain, but managed to keep the Fang under control. Riding the damn Chariots was hard enough without being shot at, he thought with a growl escaping his maw.
It wasn’t just him suffering, he realised. Many chariots in front, behind or to either side of him were swerving right onto the cliffs or into falling rocks, or being taken out by well placed ballista bolts.
He didn’t want to use his trump card so early but as he felt his vision grow blurry and his grip slip, he pressed the release button on his dashboard.
He heard the thump of two plates released from the back of the Fang, and then he pressed the ‘Rock’ button. The recoil was enough to absolutely disintegrate the back of the Fang, sending MASTEKEN and his cockpit right into one of the canyon cliff faces.
IV
“MASTEKEN’s done it! He’s shot both his catapults, and now the biggest rockslide I’ve ever seen is happening! The Silvan ambush has been taken care of! As expected of the Fang, he is honourable until the very end!”
V
Bitall laughed heartily, pushing his Bone-Grinder right against Eleanna’s Bronze Spear, making her swerve right towards a massive mound of debris.
“TOO EASY! And you call yourself a goddess, HAHAHA!” Bitall roared, as he piloted his Chariot through the only bit of road still clear enough to ride through. He didn’t expect to see the Bronze Spear soaring through the air and landing right in front of him.
“What the fuck!” He shouted.
“Don’t underestimate your Goddess, dumbass!” Eleanna shouted back at him, barely missing his head with one of her arm-ballista bolts as they cleared the Canyon section.
VI
“Over half of the racers have already cleared the Canyon and are approaching the Marbled City! How will they deal with the silvan and soldier-infested roads? Let’s hope they’re prepared for some rough riding!”
VII
The Silvan Star huffed. His long silver hair flowed in the airflow inside his cockpit, steam almost covering the entirety of the glass screen up until the moment he let the cockpit slide open. As soon as he did that, he saw the legionnaire fortifications up ahead. Ballistas, catapults, scorpions, as well as at least ten different watchtowers and a hundred men.
The Silvan Star bit his lip and furrowed his brow. “Bastards…!” He hissed.
Yet another shower of ballista bolts suddenly rained down from above. The very air crackled with energy as the bolts penetrated the cobblestone road and lit up, then exploded.
He saw a shadow shooting towards him and he twisted in time to avoid a ballista bolt that went straight through where he had just been sitting. It lodged itself in his seat and began to glow.
His heart skipped a beat. He grabbed the bolt and pulled it free of his Chariot’s fuselage and threw it as far as he could, shielding his face as burning splinters rained down on him.
With blood beginning to pour down his face, he focused back up front and saw a whole legion beginning to form up between him and the entrance to the Marbled City. His teeth chattered as he brought his finger upon the big red button on his dashboard.
“Freedom… It will be mine!” He declared, pressing the button.
VIII
“The Mysterious Silvan Star has just used his trump card, the Silver Sweep! He’s just shot a dozen crystal-laced projectiles at the blockade set up by the Silvan Legions! Wow, can he really get any cooler than this?! He’s just gone through the entrance to the city, and is now riding his chariot through the busy streets! Whew, was that a pedestrian he just ran over? Tough luck!”
“Meanwhile, Bitall seems to have given up and has gone off course! We all know Bitall though, surely he’s got some slimy thing planned? Who knows, but wolfettes and gentlebeasts, make sure to check the Silvan Markets this coming weekend! It seems the Beauty Pair, the Bronzed Bloom, as well as many other pilots are catching up to the Silvan Star, however! Will our favourite Silvan get to finally snag a win for his patrons, or is he doomed to fail prey to Daman Supremacy once more?!”
IX
Eleanna hummed the Daman hymn as she rode the Bronze Spear through the packed main avenue of the Marbled City. She laughed as men, women, and children alike dove out of the way of her Chariot and tried to save their stalls and possessions from the onslaught of Chariots now pouring through their city.
Of course, she could see the military emplacements on top of the buildings flanking each side of the avenue, but all of that was beginner stuff. She only had to ride her chariot in their blind spots and she’d be safe… Obviously, that was something the other riders didn’t seem to know. She came to understand this much when one of the would-be racers that attempted to overtake her got blown to bits by a single well placed crystal bolt.
Soon, the critical moment had arrived. She turned a tight corner and veered off course, with several other chariots following her.
X
“The Bronzed bloom has gone off course! She’s heading straight for the most fortified section of the city – The Node itself! And following her are ten unmarked Chariots… They must be her Companions, who must have joined the race sometime during the Canyon section!”
XI
Yenna came to a sudden stop right behind the Bronze Spear and hopped out of her Chariot to find Eleanna beating up an unconscious legionnaire. She had no weapons other than her arm-ballista, and no armour other than the purely technical chariot jumpsuit. And still she had decided to go through with her craziest plan yet.
Yenna herself wasted no time adjusting her armour and ran up to her Goddess, who picked up the legionnaire’s shield and bronze khopesh and walked fearlessly up to the still-open gates.
As Eleana and her companion approached the central Bastion great horns bellowed from its towers. From atop the towers gleaming particles began to gather, as if wind had turned gold. All the gates fell shut in an instant. All but one. The horns bellowed again. People ducked and jumped away. A beam shot for the parked chariots, practically evaporating the wood-and-bronze vehicles. The second Companion to arrive on scene was not as lucky as Yenna, for he was targeted by the beam the moment he slowed down. In the blink of an eye and with a resounding thunder, he and his chariot were turned into a smoking pile of ash.
Eleanna shut her jaw tightly and ran straight for the still open gates. Two, then three Chariots passed her and burst into the Bastion, with her Companions jumping out of the vehicles with bows and slings in hand. They shot at the men atop the walls and towers, taking cover behind their Chariots and shouting obscenities at the Silvans.
The Silvans were shouting obscenities right back, until suddenly an order was barked. From high up, the speedy beastmen could barely hear the word ‘knightfall’. All the archers and arcanii suddenly moved from the walls. Loud thudding could be heard from ahead. When suddenly a handful of humanoid shapes leapt from the walls.
In the bright sun the beastmen could only see the silhouettes of whatever was coming down. For a second the whole inner courtyard of the bastion was serene. Until – with great violence – a humanoid construct twice the size of a regular human crashed down with his spear into one of the chariots. Crushing the vehicle entirely and the driver underneath it as well. Two more of the knights crashed down beside the two remaining chariots. One chariot was pushed aside as another flung its axe at the driver. The last driver could get one good look at the shape that now stood before him. Its legs were double jointed like a horse’s, and its body was a dull, orange color with gleaming, crystalline eyes. These things were fashioned to look like heavily armored humans. “Hubris.” It scoffed, before raising its blade and cutting the beastman down.
Upon seeing such a display of awesome force, both Eleanna and Yenna stopped in their tracks just a few dozen metres short of the courtyard where the flaming wreckages of the Companions’ chariots lay.
“... Fuck.” Yenna gasped, immediately grabbing one of Eleanna’s arms.
“WOW! Cool chariots!” Eleanna shouted at the mechanical knights, just in time for five other chariots of her own to arrive. They skid to a stop in between Eleanna and the knights. A large lizardkin jumped out of the chariot closest to her and nodded at her, a massive grin on his misshapen face.
“Jaw!” Yenna cried out in relief.
“Those things are mine, Anna! Go away and let me have my fun.” He snorted, pulling out a positively massive club out of his chariot, his veins and arteries suddenly starting to glow a bright silver.
“What!! But I was here first, you turtle!” Eleanna protested, just in time for a battle cry to pierce through the air. She turned slightly to see one of her Companions charging at two knights, jumping through the air and above a swing of its axe to land on its shoulder, burying his spear to the handle in its joint. The knight’s arm fell limp just in time for the companion to yelp as she noticed a massive metallic fist heading for her. It hit her so hard it sent her straight through a wall and into a house.
“Ah, for struggle’s sake…” Eleanna groaned as she switched her normal arm-ballista bolt for an unexploded crystal-laced one that she found stuck to the ground nearby.
“Hey, what’re you-”
The air whined as Eleanna shot the bolt at the offending knight. Metal screeched loudly as the bolt penetrated the knight’s chestpiece and began to glow.
The twitching knight only had enough time to grab onto the bolt with its only functional arm before it exploded, pushing back the other knight that had rushed to its help. Pieces of the first knight rained all over the battlefield while the other knight struggled to get back up on its feet.
“Knock yourselves out. You owe me a dozen pints, Jaw-breaker.” Eleanna shook her head and chuckled, then followed Yenna into her chariot, as the Bronze Spear had been destroyed.
Having been left on their own device, Jaw-breaker and his friends focused on the lone knight in front of them and wielded their varied weapons. Their Souls glowed bright, and then they charged.
XII
“Eleanna’s Bronze Spear has been destroyed by the Silvan Forces! There is no need to fret however, as she’s safe and sound and has jumped into everyone’s favourite Hyena’s chariot. Jaw-breaker, Mender, Punsh, Poqqi, and Bik have been left behind to distract the Silvan’s chariots! Everyone, wish for the Companions’ safety, even as the Marbled City burns in the heat of Soulfire and Adventure!”
The Announcer hummed.
“Aaand… Good news, ladies and gentlebeasts! I’ve gotten word that The Mysterious Sylvan Star has just passed the finishing line to the north of the Marbled City! I wonder what he’s going to ask from the Goddess… Money? Power? Maybe… Freedom?! Thirteen seconds behind the Silvan Star, the Beauty Pair cross the finish line in second place, followed by the rest of the losers!”
The Red leaf race continues, this time going through Node 14 and its capital city. Eleanna makes a stop at an entrance to the bastion protecting the node and attempts to fight through along with her companions, but is stopped by their mecha knights and has to retreat.
The Mysterious Silvan Star wins the race, and Eleanna herself is disqualified from the race due to her chariot being completely destroyed.
Eleanna sat on what must’ve been the shoddiest, most uncomfortable stool in the whole Great Daman Desert. It was made out of roughly cut, uneven sandstone and she was sure that if she made any sudden moves, her pilot jumpsuit would pay the price. So, she made sure to remain calm as she leaned on the small table and looked her present company in the eye. He had the pristine, clear eyes of a proper Paladin, accompanied by the pale skin that only those that came from the snowy regions of the world could ever attain. Obviously, those pristine eyes and skin were currently marred by the fading burn scars caused by excessive soul burning.
“So in short, you’re asking me to seek out your master, Benea, so that I can seek out an alliance and strengthen the position of your nation?” Eleanna asked, scratching her chin and scrunching up her nose in thought. Really, these Paladins were something else. In the last couple years, she’d had to refuse the requests of at least a dozen of them and had to execute a couple others, and yet they still kept coming like moths to a flame. They weren’t even all that impressive at combat…
“Yes, that's right. You told me that if I won any of the stages of the Festival, you’d listen to my request. You’re bound by your word to seek Lady Benea!” Rac nodded, a satisfied grin on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned back on his rather comfortable looking Silvan Leather chair.
“You’re cocky. I should’ve killed you when I first met you.” Eleanna sighed. “What’s wrong with me these days…”
“I know what’s wrong, you haven’t received the Kiss.”
“I’d rather eat a bowl of my own vomit than be touched by Benea once more. Don’t tempt your fate, I may be bound by my word but I still am powerful enough to make you disappear.”
“Bah, all empty threats. I know your type, Lady Eleanna. All you care about is open battle and renown. You wouldn’t do lame stuff like employ assassins or secret services.” Rac rolled his eyes and placed his hands on the small sandstone table, leaning in so that he was practically pushing his forehead against Eleanna’s.
After a moment, Eleanna chuckled and shook her head. “I swear, every time we meet you sound more and more like a Daman. Fine! I’ll meet with your Goddess, but not to request an alliance. I will seek retribution for the humiliation she caused me and will only consider making peace with her if she lives through it.”
Rac furrowed his brow for a while, balling up his fists before sighing and relaxing. “I guess that’s good enough. At least there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I seriously considered attacking you as soon as you said you wanted to hurt Lady Benea, but then I realised you’ve got several burly Lionkin outside this room, and I wouldn’t be a match for a single one of them.”
“Smart boy. Now scramble, I’ve got to refuel.” Eleanna ordered, motioning towards the curtains covering the doorway with her head. Rac wasted no time getting up and leaving the humble quarters. Soon after that, a Wolfkin child walked in carrying a big tray packed to the brim with the various delicacies of the Desert.
“Whew! Thank you, Little Fyan!” Eleanna’s stomach growled, with Fyan’s growling shortly after. The child blushed and looked uncomfortable, but Eleanna just laughed and deftly took the tray with one hand and picked up the child with the other. Walking over to her favorite sleeping corner, she sat down cross legged, set the tray down in front of her and the child on her lap, and gave Fyan a thumbs up.
“Same as always. Do a good job and I’ll let you and your sister have some food.”
The wolf-eared child nodded meekly and got to work, grabbing some of the pickled cactus and feeding it to Eleanna, who cooed in delight at the explosion of flavours and the smokey feeling in the back of her nose. She pet and nuzzled the little boy’s hair as she swallowed her first mouthful, knowing that a little bit of luxury was merely a necessity at this point, in order to replace the soul she’d burned during the first stage of the race.
She felt a chill go down her spine as Fyan offered her a roasted vegetable. She resisted the urge to gag and quietly ate the accursed thing, relishing the struggle she felt deep within her heart.
Eleanna meets with Rac after the first stage of the Red Leaf Race. He makes his request, which is for Eleanna to meet with Benea and ask for an alliance. She accepts to meet with Benea, but tells him that she’ll only request an alliance if she lives through her vengeance. Rac is satisfied for the moment and leaves.
“Only 20 paces left in the first stage of this year’s Red Leaf Race! Against all expectations, the Bronzed Bloom Eleanna herself is still in the lead! She’s heading straight for the finish line at the Southern Temple in her Chariot, Bronze Spear!” The announcer’s excited voice came through Rac’s earpiece.
He grunted as he swerved, barely evading a rock in the middle of the sandy road. Tall dunes stretched as far as the eye could see on either side of the road, with the only evidence of other Chariot Pilots being nearby being that of the massive cloud of sand that had been kicked up by their wheels and the constant roar permeating the air.
“Right on the Bronzed Bloom’s tail is last year’s Red Leaf champion, The Wolves’ MASTEKEN, riding his world-famous Fang; who’s in turn being followed by The Lampseekers’ Mysterious Silvan Star riding their prototype Chariot Anak’s Thas! Finally, we’ve got The Daman Lands’ most despicable, most hateable, most handsome villain, the Strongteeth’s Bitall catching up to the Silvan Star, riding his aptly-named Bone-Grinder.”
Rac’s heart skipped a beat as he saw a set of huge shadows emerge from the sandcloud. “Fuck!” He shouted, swerving and evading the falling and tumbling Chariot pieces, all coloured either black or red with white smoke trailing from them.
“WOW! The second group’s lead, The Toothfixers’ Dr. Smiles, has just gone up in pieces! Was it a rock that did him in? A fault in his Chariot? Or perhaps… A pothole?!”
Rac furrowed his brow, sweat trailing down every wrinkle and dripping down his chin. In the distance, he heard the roars of what undoubtedly was…
“No! It’s the First Stage’s Surprise Element, none less than The Ruler of the Sands, the Eater of Pilgrims, the Desert Sun himself, The Bronzed Maw!”
Rac gulped and evaded yet another Chariot that flew through the sandcloud. This one was unmistakable. The blue and white colours of MASTEKEN’s Chariot trailed through the air and crashed down unceremoniously onto the sandstone road behind Rac. One of the Chariots following Rac had one of the bigger pieces fall on top of it, sending it swerving right into a sand dune.
He could feel his body running dry, but he was so close!
He grit his teeth and reached for the Soul-Burner limiter, pulling it so hard that the whole cockpit shook. He blackout out for a split moment, and the next thing he knew was that he had emerged from the sandcloud and could see the tails of the three leading Chariots, Bronze Spear, Anak’s Thas and Bone-Grinder. In the middle of the three Chariots was a massive, ape-like Werebeast with a golden coat of hair and horns covered in countless scratches and chips. It was the Bronzed Maw, and it was chasing the Chariots.
“The Shrubs’ Rac the Righteous, riding his Second-hand Jermannic Shield, has just caught up to the leading group after an impressive Soul-burn! Will he be okay?!”
Something shot out of Bronze Spear’s top and at the Bronzed Maw. It roared as blood sprayed everywhere, coating the Chariots.
“It has begun! Bronzed Bloom has fired the first shot of her wrist-mounted ballista, and at the Maw no less! It’s only a matter of time before-”
A gigantic arc of lightning came down from the heavens right onto the Silvan Star, and redirected immediately at the Maw, who caught the lightning with his horns and threw it at Bitall’s Bone-Grinder.
As the thunder and the shockwave reached Rac, he saw Bitall fall behind with a singed coat, banging on his steering bar.
As he was distracted another wail came from the Maw followed by a spray of blood that reached even him at the back, covering half of his cockpit screen.
“And yet another bolt from the Bronzed Bloom herself!”
Suddenly, the Maw turned around and jumped at Rac, its roar cracking his screen.
He fed his Soul-burner as much of his soul as it would take, feeling himself being pushed back into his seat as the Chariot shot forward. As he passed below the airborne Maw, its sharp toenails tore off his Chariot’s roof and cockpit dome. The wind struck him so hard he nearly lost consciousness, but he managed to keep awake even with blood flowing freely from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
With Rac out of the range of the Maw, the beast decided to focus on attacking the pilots further back in the race, leaving the three leading chariots to their own devices.
It was too late for self control, Rac thought, it was do or die. So he kept burning his soul and shot past the smoking Silvan Star and right up to the Bronzed Bloom’s side, exchanging a bloodied gaze with the Goddess sitting in her cockpit, who was bleeding just as much as him. She scoffed at him and aimed her ballista at him, only for him to bump into her Chariot and force her to miss her shot.
“You’ll have to listen to my request now, Bronzed Bloom!” Shouted Rac, with Eleanna grimacing and coughing up blood. Rac grinned madly as his eyes set on the finish line coming into view just as the Southern Temple came into view atop one of the dunes.
“AND… THE FIRST TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE, AND THE FIRST TO BE GRANTED THE RIGHT TO DEMAND ANYTHING FROM THE BRONZED BLOOM HERSELF IS RAC THE RIGHTEOUS, THE PALADIN SPONSORED BY THE SHRUBS!”
The first stage of the Red Leaf Race takes place with Righteous Rac, one of Benea’s travelling Paladins, being the winner. This earns him the right to demand anything from Eleanna herself.
The crowd watched with bated breath. Those lucky enough to be seated at the front were nearly falling off their benches, and those that had arrived later all held onto the haphazardly constructed railings of the auditorium as if their lives depended on it, leaning out to watch for every slight movement behind the massive curtains that covered the stage.
Out of nowhere, a raspy, deep female voice rang out throughout the auditorium and into all of the spectators’ earpieces.
“WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEBEASTS, TO…”
Drums started to roll. A row of bonfires lit up between the audience and the stage.
“... THE RED LEAF!”
A shockwave swept through the crowd, echoing in their lungs and beating against their hearts.
People cheered. They jumped, they screamed in excitement. Wolfkin howled, their wagging tails swatting away all the smaller kin. Lionkin roared, while Apekin beat their chests or vandalised their immediate areas.
Suddenly, the auditorium had fallen into pure chaos and as quickly as it had happened, everything fell silent as the bronze curtains lifted off the stage, revealing a great gathering of dozens of Chariots of all shapes and sizes and colours. Piloting teams stood on top of their vehicles, with one calling particular attention from the crowd. The foremost chariot, bronzed in colour and sporting a ruthlessly streamlined form, hissed as its cockpit opened and its pilot stood up to smirk at the crowd.
The crowd erupted again. Some hollered, others laughed, and a minority booed… Because there, in the forefront of the whole Red Leaf Race, stood their Goddess dressed in a rather flattering Chariot Jumpsuit.
Eleanna’s smirk turned into a grin, and then she waved at the crowd. From her place, it seemed like the auditorium reached up into the stars and the number of people crammed into every last square metre of the place was unbelievable. She loved the attention, and she loved the way the other racers’ eyes were glued to the back of her head. Jealousy, admiration, hatred, love. At that moment, she was alive!
Soon, the announcer began to speak once more, stepping out onto the stage. It was a rather short Mousekin, who had only inherited her clan’s ears, tail and voracious appetite, and yet her voice was deeper and more powerful than even Eleanna’s.
“BE PREPARED, FOR TODAY WE ARE WITNESSING THE BEST OF THE BEST… THE MOST INTENSE, MOST VIOLENT, CRAZIEST EVER CHARIOT RACE IN THE HISTORY OF THE DAMAN LANDS!”
The crowd’s cheers rose to a peak, and they started throwing rice, corn and sand at the stage.
All the Chariot pilots put on their goggles and jumped into their chariots, cockpits of all kinds sliding and closing.
“SPEED! DANGER! CRASHES! EXPLOSIONS! BLOOD! ALL OF THIS AND MORE ON THE LONGEST, HARSHEST ROUTE THAT WE HAVE EVER DEVISED, RUNNING STRAIGHT FROM HERE, OVER AND UNDER THE DUNES OF THE GREAT DAMAN DESERT, PAST THE SILVAN-RICH LANDS OF THE LAMP, THROUGH THE CHAOTIC LANDS OF AN UNCLAIMED NODE, AND FINISHING AT THE TALLEST PEAK IN THE WORLD – MOUNT SUNYA!”
The crowd went crazy, as fire spewed from the metallic chariots and light and wind came from the wooden ones.
“AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST – HOPE YOU’VE ALL GOT YOUR EYEMEMS WITH YA! ‘CAUSE WE’LL BE BROADCASTING THE WHOLE RACE THROUGH YOUR EARPIECES. YES! YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT, THE WHOLE RACE! SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, AGAIN…”
Eleanna’s chariot trembled, a bright glow enveloping all six of its wheels as white smoke rose from its back two wheels.
“WELCOME TO THE RED LEAF RACE! PILOTS BE READY…”
A cacophony of screaming metal and wood overtook even the cheers of the crowd, all kinds of spiritual energy flooding out of the stage as the pilots poured their beings into their Chariots.
“SET…”
The crowd fell silent, breathlessly.
“GO!” The Announcer shouted, jumping off the stage just in time for the sandstone edifice to shake as dozens of Chariots burst forth, crashing down onto the avenue cutting right through the centre of the auditorium and shooting off into the course.
The last thing Eleanna saw and heard before exiting the Auditorium was the resumed hollering and cheering of the crowd as both children and adults bid the pilots, including her, goodbye.
With a last smirk purely to herself, she switched up the grip on her steering bar and carefully modulated the amount of Soul she was feeding into her Chariot. It was going to be a long, difficult race.
Crowds gather at an Auditorium located in New Dama ready to watch the start of the Red Leaf Race, the main event behind the Festival of the Red Leaves and a race where cutting edge Daman Chariots built with Ambroisen Fibres and Soul Burners are used to push the limits of speed and test the mettle of pilots of all races. This specific RLR will go through the Daman Desert, Node 14, unclaimed Node 9, and finish in Node 3. It is going to be a several-day-long event where spectators tuning in with brand-new communications devices will expect to hear and see pilots crash and die. It is considered a one-in-a-lifetime RLR because Eleanna herself will be participating in the Race.
Used 2 Might to get up to Bronze tech (tier 3)
Used 3 Might to bless the Daman Peoples and anyone who visits the Daman Lands with the ability to learn Soul Manipulation, a kind of magic that allows a person to use their soul’s energy to produce certain effects such as increased physical attributes, appearance, mental attributes, or perhaps even aid fast healing of wounds and hastened immunisation against disease. Overuse leads to unconsciousness, comas and/or death. Soul Manipulation cannot create fireballs, lightning, etc, but when mixed with Ambroisen Fibres can be used to fuel machinery that would otherwise be impossible to run. This is a dangerous procedure, and in order to interface Ambroisen with a soul, one must take great care and hire only the best craftsmen to create the adaptors and Jumpsuits.
Used 3 Might to sponsor the development of Chariots, advanced vehicles fueled by Soul Burners that supply energy to all kinds of Ambroisen elements inside the chariots, allowing them to be self-propelled at the cost of a notable drain of the pilot’s soul reserves, which must quickly and efficiently be replenished between drives lest tragedy occur.
Birds chirped, rays of sun filtered through the canopies of solitary trees, and little critters scampered through the overgrowth. There, in the tall grass hugging the narrow dirt paths, hid a group of beastmen.
The group’s leader and recruiter, Bitall, was the one closest to the path. His eyes were closed, with his ursine ears turning and tilting at every single sound, especially the sound of approaching footsteps, footsteps which any beastmen worth his weight in Xas could tell were coming from the soft, leather-sandal covered feet of Silvans.
The group’s tracker Jackal, hidden under a fallen tree just a few paces behind Bitall, took a couple of sniffs at the air and barely managed to bite back a low growl. He tapped Dima the Trainee’s shoulder in a sequence that meant the approaching Silvans carried prey with them and wielded his adze.
Some people were definitely not blessed by the Bronzed Bloom in terms of looks, and Dima was one of them. That was the main reason behind his acceptance of Bitall’s offer of employment, which saw him receive a nice chunk of Xas as well as a set of incredibly well-crafted furs. So that’s how he ended up under the service of the Strongteeth, the two beastmen known for supplying most of New Daman high society with Silvan servants. His job was simple, to whack all armed people over the head and leave the rest to Bitall and Jackal.
The footsteps were right next to them. Something popped on the other side of the dirt path, hidden too by the tall grass, and made the Silvans freeze in their tracks. The women huddled together and shielded the children while the men exchanged looks. Then the sound came again.
“Rrrraaaaargh!” Roared Dima. He jumped out of his spot with a club in each hand and struck one of the men in the back of the head. He huffed and puffed at the other shocked Silvans, eyes narrowing as he saw the women and children back away. The two remaining men leveled their shiny spears at him, and he grunted.
The two men charged. The closest one Dima barely managed to parry, feeling the cold metal tip slice his side as it missed him narrowly. He saw the other man charging at him still, even as he still struggled with the first one, trying to wrestle his spear away, and his heart skipped a few beats.
Until Bitall crashed into the man, a sickening crack echoing through the sparse woods, followed by the sounds of a wild animal feasting and a man screaming.
The sounds distracted Dima’s opponent long enough for him to land a single blow on the man’s neck, sending his crumpling into a heap on the floor.
It was at this point that most of the women and children turned to run, only for the foremost one to set off a tripwire making a massive sickly green net fall on top of them, making them all trip and land over each other. Children cried, women screamed. One of them pulled out a knife and cut a piece of the net and their screams rose to a peak, then fell silent.
Jackal walked out of his hiding spot, whistling. “Whew! These things ain’t even trying no more.” He said as he looked at the dozen or so Silvans caught in his net, a glint in his eye. “And what a catch, huh? We even got some pale ones this time... And look! Golden hair, sheesh!”
“EASY, EASY, EASY!” Bitall’s loud voice came from the tall grass, with him emerging from the grass soon after with a shower of blood dripping from his maw, little bits of flesh stuck in between his teeth being painfully noticeable with the way he was grinning. “Can’t believe it! So easy!”
Dima felt the colour drain a little from his face. He panted, bringing a hand to cover the bleeding gash on his side. Bitall noticed Dima’s wound and patted him on the shoulder. “Good. Good, kid! Don’t you worry, the Strongteeth will take care of that for ya! Now get the collars and ropes, we got a long walk back to camp, and these Silvans ain’t gonna keep themselves in line when they wake up.”
A group of Beastmen belonging to a faction called The Strongteeth ambush a group of innocent humans in Node 14, killing the men and capturing the women and children who they then put in collars and ropes and take back to camp, implying the existence of a large human trafficking operation.
Unlike her first time claiming a Node back from Chaos, this time Eleanna was prepared. With the help of her 23 Companions, the Hunt was successful with no casualties. First, Bow-Eater and Yenna set many traps in the area around the Node, and then the group split up into two squads. The first squad, led by Bow-Eater, had the youngest Companion run up to the beasts and then run off into the chaotic lands, towards a small canyon where the second group, led by Eleanna, ambushed the beast that had fallen behind, taking it down mostly silently as a dozen spears and picks severed its spine. Without noticing that its mate had fallen behind, the bigger of the beasts kept chasing the young Companion, only to trigger a tripwire trap and have a big Ambroisen-weave net fall on top of it. Hundreds of copper spikes which dug deep into the smoky flesh of the beast lined the inside of the net, connecting its body directly to the Ambroisen weave and making it so that every time it tried to rip the net apart, an incapacitating shock of pain was sent through its entire nervous system.
As Eleanna’s group caught up to the trapped Beast, she whistled at the way it kept struggling through the pain, trying to break free and grinned as Obann the Crescent Sun brought his gigantic axe down upon its neck, a wet gurgle being the last thing that came out of the beast’s snout before dissipating into a cloud of black smoke.
Eleanna congratulated everyone and promised them a keg of Silver Wine each, then ran off to claim Node 5. The moment that she touched the node, Eleanna felt a rush of power flow through her, and she used it to reshape the land as she saw fit. Node 5 became a massive, sweltering, insect-ridden land of rainforests and swamps with valleys, canyons, tepuis, and vast cavern systems dotted throughout. It was a wild land, one that quickly saw an influx of migrants from the now-overcrowded rainforest to the east of node 10. These migrants quickly became a hardened sort of folk, used to having to adapt and survive in a variety of environments, as well as developing an unique sort of creativity when it came to discovering treatments for the endless kinds of diseases that such a land could bestow on living beings.
Up in Node 4, things were a lot calmer. There was no real noteworthy beast guarding the node, other than some small nuisances all of which were quickly dispatched by Eleanna and her Companions. Upon claiming Node 4, Eleanna turned it into a land overflowing with water. Great lakes, great rivers (both overground and underground), great waterfalls, great rainstorms, etc, were all present in the land, all flowing from its heart, the World Spring Mountain range which ran in between Node 5 and Node 4’s border and barely touched the northeastern edge of Node 10. Node 4 became settled even quicker than Node 5, becoming an absolute paradise to all the kinds of aquatic demi-humans that had previously been restricted to the watery north of Node 10. The land became a hotspot for culture, known for its beautiful sights and for the hospitality of its denizens, and also a proper powerhouse behind the exportation of seafood and famous chefs, such as the Unbeatable Ramsea.
Eleanna claims Node 5 and 4. 5 Is turned into half rainforest and half swamp and 4 is turned into more water than land due to the unbelievable amount of rivers, lakes, waterfalls, etc.
Ah, the refreshing feeling of an adventure! Eleanna took a long, loud whiff of the smoky chaos that made up the atmosphere in still-unclaimed node 5.
True, node 5 was in the opposite direction of where the divine hotspot was, but she had bigger and better things to focus on than squabbling with dainty, pretty goddesses or looking for a scrap against lantern guys. Yes, indeed, she had better things to do, as unbelievable as that sounded!
And the first of those things was to claim the unclaimed areas to the east and north of node 10, those being node 5 and 4 respectively, and she was to do that with the help of her 23 companions. All of them sported brand new Ambroisen prosthetics and had spent the last few months honing their skills which meant that with everyone back in their top shapes, one could say the 23 Heroes of the Bronzed Bloom had finally come out of early retirement.
She smiled, loving the encumbering feeling that her many layers of newly made armour gave her. Like her old armour, this set was mainly made of leathers and even though it had no chainmail or metal helmet to go along with it, it was still thick enough that she could barely feel Sun’s kicks when he helped her test it.
Eleanna snapped back to the present as she heard a single footstep behind her, so she turned her head to look at her visitor, seeing a small cloud of dark material just settling around the beastwoman’s boots.
“Yenna, I take it you were careful with your claws last night?” Eleanna asked the beastwoman. Yenna the Midnight Claw frowned for a moment, then her eyes widened and she struggled to stammer out her words.
“W-Wha- So y- You- Were…!”
Eleanna chuckled, “I’m a Goddess, I can hear really well. I couldn’t sleep last night cause of you two you know… Not that I mind that, obviously.”
Yenna groaned and sighed, then stood straight and patted her own cheeks lightly. “Whatever, perv. We found the Node. It’s about 6 K’s to the northeast. Also…” Yenna trailed off, looking distressed.
“Bad news?” Eleanna asked, fully turning to face the lithe Hyena-morph. Yenna nodded, making eye contact with the much taller Eleanna.
“It’s guarded by two Chaos Guardians.”
II
“Holy crap, you were not lying guys.” Eleanna gasped at the sight. There, merely a few hundred metres away, were two Chaos Guardians. She couldn’t really make out what they looked like due to the nature of Chaos itself, but she could see their auras and… The way they intertwined with each other? “You don’t think that-” Eleanna began, only to be cut off by Bow-Eater the Midnight Blade, who was prone right next to her, bumping shoulders while looking through a hollow tree branch at the auras.
“I do not think so. They move to and fro.” He rhymed in a sing-song fashion with a straight face. Eleanna spared a moment to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He ignored her.
“Anyway, if they’re doing that then there have to be baby chaos guardians around. Wanna find them and tame them? I know a guy…”
“You speak of the Were-Taker. His skills are good, but only on paper.”
Eleanna rolled her eyes, “Care to elaborate?”
“The Were-Taker hunts the vulnerable and ascetic. He beats and shames them… I am not sympathetic. ”
“Huh.” Eleanna looked back at the two ‘mating’ Chaos Guardians next to the Node and after a while nodded to herself “Alright, they may be two, but we can beat them for sure. May need to use the Everloom, though.”
“This time, refrain from reckless rushing. We may not save you from a crushing.” He said, a smirk forming on his lips. The first bit of playfulness she’d seen on his face since they set out. Eleanna smirked back as she stood up and started to head back to camp.
“No promises.”
Eleanna is now in node 5, preparing to battle the two(!) Chaos Guardians next to the Node in order to claim the node and then move onto node 4. We get to meet Yenna the Midnight Claw and hear Bow-Eater the Midnight Blade speak, two of the 23 Heroes of the Bronzed Bloom. The post ends with Eleanna heading back to camp to get everything ready for the battle, including the Everloom, her first ever Artefact.
1 Might used to create the Everloom sometime between last post and this one. It is a small handheld bronze loom of what looks like common cloth thread. However, when held by a living being it will activate and the thread will begin to glow. At this point, any thread taken from the Everloom will be made up of the material that the wielder of the Everloom desires. Examples could be gold, cloth, plant fibres, silver, sinew, human nerves, Ambroisen, etc. The only requirement for a material to be thread-worthy is if the one pulling using the Everloom has a clear idea of what they want to do with the thread..
Eleanna wasn’t crazy. Or at least, not too crazy. After her last debacle weeks ago, she realised that perhaps she had been approaching things a little bit too haphazardly, and that perhaps she had gotten a little too comfortable and started to ignore her own teachings. If putting herself in mortals’ shoes was difficult to her, then she had to do it. If keeping her appearance up to snuff was annoying to her, then she had to do it. If randomly striking out on adventures and leaving a trail of mutilated people came easy to her, then perhaps she should think twice before doing it.
She was, after all, the Bronzed Bloom. The living symbol of the Grand Struggle, a role model to everyone whose dreams were ambitious and nearly impossible, and most importantly she was the one responsible for the quality of the lives of the people whom she had already led astray and turned into beastmen and menbeasts.
Her thoughts slowly drifted back to the time when she battled the Chaos, the very moment when she laid there between the rocky ground and the gigantic metallic paw of a monster. Even now, years later, she could replay the moment vividly in her head. She could hear the visceral grinding, popping and snapping of her bones and could taste the bile and blood that spewed from her mouth. She could feel the ghostly echoes of the pain, and she could also feel the echoes of her excitement at being on the verge of death.
A wistful smile snuck its way onto her face as she looked out the window of her chamber in the Temple of the Bronzed Bloom and at the growing city all around.
Excitement, fear, pain, defiance, desperation. All those emotions that she had felt, overshadowed by the relief that washed over her when she heard the war cries of the then-tribal Daman Peoples… Her rescuers.
She frowned. She’d never really thought to catch up with the ones who personally risked their lives to save hers. Even though they lost parts of their body doing so…
Shame filled her core. How was she supposed to be the embodiment of the Bronzed Bloom if she couldn’t even reward her people for struggling so desperately?
With a couple quick breaths, she stood up off her ornate sandstone stool and walking into the maze-like hallways of her Temple.
II
Eleanna could hardly believe her eyes as she stood in one of the dirtiest, darkest alleyways she’d ever seen in New Dama. The sandstone buildings to either side towered over them and cast a deep shadow on a figure lying prone on the sludge-covered flagstone pavement. His chest rose and fell with each shallow breath, a curious whistle accompanying each exhalation. His cloak, made long ago to fulfill the requirements of the Crow Spirit, laid tattered atop him while barely managing to hide the distinct lack of, well, stuff where his left leg should have been.
The wolf-man’s cheeks were sunken, his fur patchy and dry, and dark circles surrounded his sickly eyes.
He was Bow-Eater, one of the brave warriors who had become her saviours all those years back. Known for his unnatural skill with a dagger, he had once been the champion of the Crow Tribe and lacked for nothing. But now…
Eleanna didn’t feel pity. No, she felt disgusted. Disgusted that such a prominent figure had allowed himself to fall as low as he had… That he had allowed a missing limb to destroy his life in the way it did.
She felt no pity, but she did feel responsible. Not just because he had exchanged a life of fame and power in order to save her life, but because she had forsaken him and hadn’t given him any guidance or tools that he could have used to overcome his plight.
That was about to change.
Eleanna straightened her back and lifted a hand and a moment later, two beastmen came rushing into the alleyway. Metal footsteps and the shuffling of leathers echoed as they grabbed Bow-Eater, unconscious as he was, and took him away. Left alone in the alleyway, Eleanna only stared at the spot where Bow-Eater had been just a moment ago and picked up the one item that he had in his hand. A small golden sphere, with intricate carvings all over it. It was tarnished and scratched, but even in that state she could tell he had taken great care of it for years.
She played with the sphere for a moment, twisting it this and that way, until she learned its mechanism and got it to spring into its true shape–A rose-like flower made out of gold.
“You never lost faith, did you Bow?” Eleanna asked to herself with a sigh, her cloak obscuring her face.
III
Project Artifice was ambitious if nothing else.
Following her initial encounter with Bow-Eater, Eleanna had gone on to gather all the survivors of the Hunt for New Dama in the Temple of the Bronzed Bloom, where they were all nursed back to health and given a place to sleep and food to eat. While that was going on, she also set out to gather master craftsmen from all over the Daman Lands and ended up with one or two from every major clan. In particular, she was excited about the craftsmen from the Shrubs, as they had recently developed a kind of textile fibre that made the entire project possible to begin with.
So, after months of constant 24/7 R&D work and dealing with the bickering of the many clans, they were able to finish their first prototype – An Ambroisen Leg. An extremely complex limb crafted out of carefully carved, lacquered and hardened wood with Ambroisen fibres weaved through each piece and imbued with the intended user’s blood.
It was the night before the Festival of the Bronzed Bloom that the first ever Ambroisen Prosthetic was installed, giving Bow-Eater a fully functional leg after years of having to use a crutch to get around..
The project was a resounding success and the months of hard work and estranged clan relationships paid off. Suddenly everyone was motivated to work even harder and soon enough, craftsmen teams had managed to cut down the time needed to create one Ambroisen prosthetic from months down to a single week.
It didn’t even take a year to return full mobility to all the 23 Heroes of the First Hunt, and by that time the Shrubs Craftsmen had begun to experiment even more with their prized Ambroisen Fibres, unlocking a whole new industry in the usage of Ambroisen Fibres inside of tools, weapons and devices.
The Daman Lands, under the guidance and funding of The Bronzed Bloom, soon became a world leader in the creation of quality prosthetics and smart tools. The Dawn of Artificing and Grafting was here.
Eleanna sets out to fix her mistakes by finding the 23 people who gave away their futures in order to save her life back when she fought the Node Monster to claim Node 10, and taking them under her wing. She tries to make things right by sponsoring a massive collaborative project, in which all the best craftsmen in the Daman Lands work together to bring about Artificing and Grafting into the world. The Daman Peoples as a result learn how to create dope smart(magical) artefacts and prosthetic limbs, thanks to a very rare textile that only the Shrubs clan knows how to grow and harvest, called Ambroisen.
4 Might used to fund the Daman Peoples’ efforts in Project Artifice, a Project that saw the introduction of Artificing (creation of magical artefacts that can interface with the wielder’s will), and Grafting (the act of sewing an Artifice’s Ambroisen Fibres directly onto a person’s nervous system, allowing people to say, use an Ambroisen Arm as they would a normal arm, depending on the quality and complexity of the limb.)
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