As there are a number of animal-based species, I am changing my submission from the goat people to an elf-like species of some kind. I'm going to work on the sheet now
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I am thinking of this species that I made for another RP I am in but doesn't look like it will be getting used:
The Hirg-Kus
I am interested I think
46 Years After the Heist | 46 Years after the Sudi'Shrib
In his cave, Ya-Shuur was putting the finishing touches to his latest addition to his great biographical cave drawing. Along with recording things he had witnessed or done, like the rebuilding of Li'Kalla's home or the amazing changes and new things that had been brought to the island by the birds, he also put drawings that conveyed his ideas about life and justice.
The biggest of these was a large drawing of a horned humanoid sat down with eyes closed. Around him there was mist and nothingness, but inside him there were trees and animals and stars and mountains and many glorious things. It was a reminder to himself to focus on his inner self, which was the only thing in the world anyone could truly control. The outside world was beyond one's power, only over one's self did a person have any true control. So one had to strive to be the best version of themselves that they could possibly be.
He was a shepherd, so he strove to be the best shepherd he could possibly be. He was a protector of this island, so he sought to be the best protector he could possibly be. This was not only about doing things, it was about being things as well. A good shepherd had to be calm and patient. A good protector had to be perceptive and quick to act, but also wise. He had to have empathy and courage, and also control over base emotions like anger and greed. All these things and more Ya-Shuur sought to cultivate and perfect in himself.
Ya-Shuur was satisfied and he threw the bloodied charcoal away and was about to leave the cave, but then he paused and looked behind him into the darkness. Over the years his drawings had taken him deeper and deeper into the cave and now he was wondering how deep it went. With his walking stick in his hand and Behr-Aak, a descendant of Behr-Aat, at his side, he walked into the darkness. Behr-Aak mewled in fear as they went further and further in, and now even Ya-Shuur was struggling to see in the terrible darkness. He felt ahead of himself with his walking stick. There was something... soft.
And then suddenly Ya-Shuur saw the dead goat. It was rotting, its mouth agape, red worms and other creatures devouring it. It bleated at him and Ya-Shuur recoiled in horror and confusion. The goat bleated again and moved. It was coming towards him. Behr-Aak growled and barked so loudly that the cave shook. The horror goat paused for a few moments, but then it continued kicking and frantically going towards Ya-Shuur.
Ya-Shuur was not sure what this creature was. It did not feel like a normal animal. He gripped his staff and stepped forward, and at his command a tremendous light erupted from his staff. The darkness screeched and fled, and suddenly the goat was no longer there. There was only a throbbing orb that seemed to be wrapped in translucent skin. It moved around and Ya-Shuur could see that it was attached to something in the ground. Just as he thought this the ground shifted and began to fall beneath him, and a huge mouth suddenly appeared and attempted to envelop him.
The creature's face seemed to be entirely mouth, and Ya-Shuur thought it to be a great worm of some kind. However as it emerged from the ground and and into the light, it gave off a screech and quickly retreated, and the orb also retreated below the earth. They seemed to have been connected in some way. Perhaps, Ya-Shuur thought, that was its tail and it hunted by scaring creatures with an illusion emitted by its tail until they were right above its mouth, which was when it consumed them. Still, Ya-Shuur found it strange that the illusion had been of a dead goat. It was almost like it was made specifically for him.
Ya-Shuur felt that there were likely many more things like that creature in the cave. But light seemed to be a good way to combat them, and he certainly did not want any such creatures coming through onto the island. So he lined up small rocks and made them shine with a great light all along the cave to its entrance. And when he emerged he exuded a deep breath and was glad for the cooling rain. But even as he did this he sensed that something had changed. There was a... heavy shadow over the land. A presence that was not entirely good. He took a drink from his gim-sa goatskin and, with Behr-Aak at his side, began walking once more.
He had not been walking for more than a week when he heard something strange in the forest. Quietly, the Horned One made for the noise and as he approached he realized that it was speech. Hidden in the darkness of the trees, Ya-Shuur found himself looking at a group of huddled humanoids. They had erected a barrier against the rain and were all sat around a strange red, hot creature, which they fed with branches and other things.
Each of them wore animal skin clothing, though it was distinctly different from the simple goatskin poncho Ya-Shuur wore. Their clothing seemed to be more skillfully made and parts of it seemed designed for hardness. Each had a long staff either at hand or lying nearby, though their staffs were far straighter than his own herding stick and had viciously sharpened tips of stone or wood or bone. They were eating meat as they spoke, though it was different because they had left it near the hot, red thing. Two of them had red hair, one had brown hair, and three had blue hair. As Ya-Shuur watched and listened, he heard them speaking about someone called the True Queen-Mother. One of the ones with red hair was saying how he rejected something called the Valthumir.
"You fool Daethyrd! Don't say things like that or she might hear you. You've already irritated everyone at the camp with your words." Said one of the blue-haired individuals. But the one called Daethyrd only scoffed.
"I am not afraid." He said simply, and then he suddenly stood up and his bright green eyes homed in on Ya-Shuur, and before Ya-Shuur could work out what was happening there was a spear in his chest. The demigod wheezed in shock and stumbled backwards. But Dithard, and Ya-Shuur suddenly noticed that these people had pointy ears, was already striding towards him. Behr-Aak barked a great bark that sent fear into the hearts of all the creatures, and even caused Daethyrd pause. This gave Ya-Shuur enough time to stumble onto Behr-Aak's back and the molf was gone.
Moments after Ya-Shuur was gone, Daethyrd was sniffing the air where the demigod had been. He got to his knees and touched the warm blood and sniffed it. It smelled like no blood he knew of, and tasting it confirmed that it was indeed different. What kind of creature could take a full thrown spear from him and be gone without trace within seconds? As he inspected the tracks he was quickly able to identify not one, but two footprints. One was humanoid (but certainly not of the Vallamir), the other a foreign canine of some kind. The elf looked into the wet darkness and his eyes narrowed. "Let's move." Daethyrd growled to the others. They would have to move quickly if they wanted to keep to their prey's trail before the incessant rain removed it.
They moved swiftly and after some days had tracked their quarry to a great cave. They were all surprised to find that a strange light that was certainly not firelight was being emitted from the cave. Just as Daethyrd was about to lead the group into the cave, a giant monstrosity unlike anything they had seen crashed suddenly before them and released a tremendous roar that echoed across the land. Then from the darkness of the forest before them and behind them other creatures emerged. They were very wolf-like in appearance but far bigger and with longer tails that ended in a sharp club, and there were other smaller differences. Daethyrd immediately knew that it was the footprint of one of these creatures that he had seen with the humanoid ones when this chase began.
Daethyrd and his group backed away, and he could taste the fear of his companions. Then there appeared a great shadowy figure on the cliff above the cave, with great horns on its head. Daethyrd's eyes widened when he realized that his spear was rooted in the shadow's chest. Before Daethyrd could do anything, one of his companions had dropped his spear and fallen to his knees. "F-forgive us!" Seeing this, the others also fell to their knees one by one and said the same. But Daethyrd refused to fall and continued standing with his new spear gripped tightly.
"Who are you!?" The proud elf shouted. The dark shadow on the cliff was silent for what seemed to be a long time. But finally it spoke.
"I am Be'r-Jaz. I am the land." There was a pregnant pause. "Who are you, what are you doing here, and why do you seek to hurt me?"
The group explained that they were Vallamir and that they had been brought to this land by the one known as the True Queen-Mother, a mighty and powerful goddess and one of the four gods who had created them. They explained that the True Queen-Mother had dubbed vallamir like them to be inferior, and that the superior ones, the Valthumir, were ones who had white hair or a white streak in their hair. The vallamir were to be the servants of the valthumir. (Daethyrd scoffed when his companions explained this to the demigod, clearly not approving of this state of affairs). They explained that she had commanded them to mind the boundary between vallamir and valthumir and only to breed within their own group. She had also decreed that every single one of them had to procreate, after which she commanded them to go and spread across all of the island, always being mindful to protect their family, neighbors and servants. They had done this and established a camp along with maybe sixty others not a week's journey from where the cave was. Last of all, they explained that they were a hunting pack and had been out hunting for food, and that Daethyrd, being the rebellious type, had decided instead to lead them on this wild chase.
Ya-Shuur took this information in with silence. It seemed that there was now a new god, this True Queen-Mother, who intended to call Be'r-Jaz home too, and she had brought these strange people here. Not only that, these people had been created by four gods - this True Queen-Mother, one Kalmar, someone called Arae, and finally one called Roog. Ya-Shuur questioned them about each of these gods, and they told him what they knew.
"I shall walk south in a year, and I shall speak to this True Queen-Mother. Tell your people that Be'r-Jaz, the very land they now call home, demands justice. Honor the land, honor its creatures, cultivate balance and harmony. Do not hurt or mistreat others without just reason, and in all things do not transgress beyond necessity. Do kindness to who do kindness, and withhold it from those who do not. Fulfill your duties and shun those who do not fulfill it and have no just reason for failing to fulfill it. Do not take what is due to another, and allot to each person their due. Ask after the blood of your kin, the price of blood is blood and the price of a hurt is a like hurt, and forgiveness is good. This I teach you, and I shall before long walk among you and I will teach you much else. But for now return to your people and take my words with you."
And the pack praised Be'r-Jaz and retreated from the cave. And they spread news of the god called Be'r-Jaz, who was the embodiment of the land and of justice, to their people. Word soon spread among the vallamir of this god, and many ventured to the Cave of Light and they saw the great drawings. And a shrine was set up in there and they praised the Land much.
Year of the Heist | Year of the Sudi'Shrib
Even weeks after the god with chopstick eyes showed Ya-Shuur how to extract goatmilk and make it into gim-sa by fermenting it and mixing it with honey from the butterwort, the demigod still found the process flabbergasting. They made it throughout the spring and soon had enough to last the rest of the year. For his part, Ya-Shuur now kept a goatskin full of gim-sa at his side all the time and could often be seen taking a small drink during his long treks across the grand old island of Be'r-Jaz.
Sat on a hill, viewing his goats browsing in the lightly forested valley while also trying to stay out of the incessant rain, he spotted the god with chopstick eyes staring at an odd bird bursting with color. After a while shes lost interest in the bird and seemed to become suddenly very interested in something else that Ya-Shuur could not quite see because it was obstructed by rocks and trees. No sooner had the god with chopstick eyes disappeared after whatever it was, the bird turned and dashed towards Ya-Shuur.
It stopped in the air before him and he could now see that it was indeed very large. It was bursting with an effervescent violet color and other shades of purple and blue and turquoise. Oddly the bird had braces made of the same material as Ya-Shuur's hud-sa (metal, Ya-Shuur knew it was called) along its wings and there was lodged in it a single beautiful stone. Its face seemed to be made of white rock, and there were three more beautiful stones lodged into its head. One was above the forehead and the other two were over each of its eyes. The bird then surprised Ya-Shuur by speaking and warning him about possibly graphic footage in the ensuing projection, unsuitable for children or easily disturbed adults. Then there were suddenly two strange creatures, who Ya-Shuur instinctively knew to be goddesses, stood atop the back of a great whale against the backdrop of the furnaces that Ya-Shuur remembered from the time of his genesis.
“Good people of Galbar I bring you grave news and the tools to claim your freedom. Each and everyone of you has an immortal soul, the essence of your being that contains your mind and memories. This soul is the very core of your being, more vital to your existence than the the flesh or stone which you inhabit. Even if you perish you will live on though this soul, and yet Katharsos, the tyrant of death, has decreed that your souls, once severed from flesh should be put to the flame and turned into the ash that form new souls. Untold billions have already been put to the flame. The souls for the void who came here with those you know as gods were the first to be incinerated. If Katharsos were to continue his genocide unopposed all who were born from their remains will also be sent to his infernal stars. ”
The projection zoomed in on one of the furnaces and displayed the soul of a creature Ya-Shuur had never seen before being sucked into its fire, and its screech joined the scream that began when the world began and would only ever cease when the world ceased.
“Yet all is not lost. I, Azura, have created the Alma, constructs of flesh, metal, stone and soul, whose power you may use to save your soul from destruction. Each and everyone has the ability to crystallize the souls of the dead into a solid form that resists the pull of the tyrant Katharsos.” The said soul crystal was suddenly displayed, “To become crystallized is to sleep a dreamless sleep, one from which you will be awoken when the time is right and the means are perfected. Till their rebirth soul crystals will be kept at secret locations, hidden from the tyrant's grasp and protected from any who might seek to steal them away.
To do this however the Alma require your consent. To take your souls without permission would be a grave abuse of power and a violation of your autonomy. One I have sadly already committed to save those here at the pyres. It is a sin that weighs heavy on my heart so I ask you, I beg you, please people of Galbar, when your time comes let the Alma help you. Please use them to save yourselves! For only by your own wills can you set yourselves free!”
The projection brought back the memory of the time he first heard the scream, and this caused Ya-Shuur to frown. Once upon a time, he had been the scream. It had all horrified him back then and it horrified him still, but back then he had been young and confused, overwhelmed by it all and helpless to do anything. He had not understood the why of it.
But now it seemed that someone - this Azura and her silent companion - had decided to do something about it. They had the power to act and had acted. Ya-Shuur could respect that, especially since they thought they were acting for the betterment of all. The only question on Ya-Shuur's mind was whether it actually was for the betterment of all.
The burning seemed absolutely terrible, but he was not sure if locking oneself in a stone could be called freedom - especially if one was depending on "the right time" and the "perfected means" to ever be reborn. It seemed that when one burned they ceased to exist altogether, which was arguably better than the possibility of eternal imprisonment. "Freedom..." Ya-Shuur murmured, "by your own will can you set yourself free," he repeated Azura's words.
The bird stared at Ya-Shuur for a few moments, seemingly waiting on his response. Ultimately, it was not so much the subject matter that swayed Ya-Shuur's decision but the way in which Azura had chosen to convey it:
It was utterly one-sided. Quarrels never could last long, if on one side only lay the wrong. And so Ya-Shuur found that no rational and logical conclusion could be achieved from such faulty evidence. It would have been better if Azura had simply presented the facts and let those speak for themselves. To the rational and logical mind, truth sufficed itself.
Ya-Shuur took a swig from his goatskin bag. "Thank you, bird. I must look further into this. I will let you know my answer when I have done so." And at that exact moment Ya-Shuur heard the shout of the god with chopstick eyes:
"BUTTERWORT IN MIDSUMMER!" And her laughter echoed across all the land and made Ya-Shuur laugh too. He left the colorful bird and made towards where Butterwort in Midsummer's voice had come from. But when he got there he found only a molf with a sticky substance all over its coat. Ya-Shuur looked here and there, and he walked all over the valley and across the hills.
But Midsummer was over, and Butterwort was gone.
-
1-10 Years After the Heist | 1-10 Years after the Sudi'Shrib
For years now strange, colorful birds had been migrating to the island in huge numbers and they had been bringing about great changes. Ya-Shuur sat and watched them sometimes, and he listened too. A great majority of them seemed to have taken up residence in Li'Kalla's ruined mansion, and Ya-Shuur often heard them on the occasions that he passed by on his unending walk.
He could see that the birds were bringing about change. At first this had perturbed him somewhat and he had watched with anxiety all that they were doing. But as first a year and then two years passed, and the island did not seem to suffer due to these changes but only increased in beauty and life, his anxiety gave way to peace. Transition was always difficult, change always brought about some level of tension. The island had been disturbed by the coming of these birds, and so Ya-Shuur had also been disturbed. But now that the island had grown accustomed to them, all was harmony. And Ya-Shuur, like Be'r-Jaz (for Be'r-Jaz was an extension of him, he an extension of it), was at peace.
Amongst the changes was the sudden growth of red and purple grasses, in addition to the native green grass of Be'r-Jaz. Ya-Shuur's goats had found these colorful grasses wonderfully curious and for some months ate them wherever they found them. But soon they were common enough as to not be a curiosity and the goats returned to their browsing ways. They continued to like the redgrass though, and when Ya-Shuur tasted it he was surprised to find that it was quite sweet. This gave him an idea, and when spring next came he crushed its juices and mixed it with some of the gim-sa, along with the butterwort honey. Too sweet! So Ya-Shuur took to making some with butterwort honey and some with redgrass juices. It provided some variety.
Fields also burst with new kinds of flowers with colors and shapes and sizes Ya-Shuur had never seen before - and neither had his goats! They could be seen tasting each type of flower, sometimes petal by petal like some strange vegetation connoisseurs. One day one of the goats chewed and pulled at an unappetising weed, and Ya-Shuur was surprised when it pulled it out completely to reveal a thick, orange root. When Ya-Shuur found one of his own and tasted it he found it rather good and ever so slightly sweet. With his goats leading this food discovery crusade, Ya-Shuur had soon discovered a number of interesting vegetables and fruits with a plethora of tastes and uses.
He had never really thought much about food and drink before Butterwort in Midsummer gave him that cup of sudi-shrib. He had her to thank for exposing him to this world of new possibilities. It was good to have friends. He determined that when he next saw her he would have an equally beautiful gift for her.
Then one day, many years later, birds came screeching across the sky about "flying lizards" and "shooting giants" and "burning forests". Not long after that, Ya-Shuur saw thousands of those birds flying away from the island in the same way that they had originally come to it nearly a decade before. Some remained, but they were far fewer.
And Li'Kalla's mansion was empty once more.
-
39 Years After the Heist | 39 Years after the Sudi'Shrib
It had been a long time since his walking had brought him to the ruins of Li'Kalla's mansion, his first home. For all his walking and all the years, seeing it still brought to him a degree of pain and regret. It was silent now and utterly deserted. Ya-Shuur thought that it had been better if the birds had stayed in it and filled it with their singing and screeching. That wildness and noise was better than this gaping, accusing silence. It was a silence that spoke and was heavy on Ya-Shuur's chest - you abandoned me!
But such thinking is no good, Ya-Shuur reminded himself.
With two of molves at his side, his goatskin gim-sa bag, and his walking stick, he made slowly towards the ruins. Standing before them, he surveyed the ruins and the damage dealt by time and the birds and his own - failed - attempt so long ago to rebuild the mansion. Ya-Shuur thought that it had been better if he had tried again back then. It had been better if he had erected it once more in honor of his mother and in honor of the beautiful memories. It would have made him a better son, a more dutiful one, than he was.
But such thinking is no good, Ya-Shuur reminded himself again.
He left the ruins and made for the lake, and he stared into its depths and saw only his bearded, horned reflection. Brown curls fell to his lower back and the beard trailed down to his hips, while the horns had grown even larger. His complexion was now as pale as he remembered Li'Kalla's had been. Honey colored eyes stared accusingly out at him, and he remembered how he had gained this form exactly as Li'Kalla had lost hers. It was almost like it had been a theft. Maybe it had been. Theft and murder. The honey eyes hardened and he looked away. "But such thinking is no good," he whispered as he moved on.
Then he paused and looked towards the entrance to her domain, the So'E. It had been a long, long time since he had last been in there. Butterwort in Midsummer had said there was no longer a beast in there. He walked towards it, his molves moaning in slight discomfort the closer he walked to the gate. They could sense the concentration of divine energies. Many gods had been here over the years, even if Ya-Shuur had not seen them.
Memories of Vakk's assault came to him as he walked inside. He saw parts of the mansion's wooden door that the tentacled god had smashed open. Ya-Shuur remembered his weakness then. And even now, he knew, he was weak before the power of divines like Vakk and Butterwort in Midsummer, and even Li'Kalla who - for all her power - had perished. He remembered his inability to help despite desperately wishing to, remembered her screams and struggles, remembered Vakk's terrible words that day, remembered the blood and remembered the tears. And he remembered how he had turned tail and run away like the coward and hypocrite he was. He brought a hand to his eyes and breathed deeply. "Such thinking..." he murmured under his breath.
Such thinking was no good. The past was over and beyond his power. It was beyond the power of everyone. Ya-Shuur suspected that it was even beyond the power of the gods. "Not even the gods can change the past," he murmured absent-mindedly. He looked up, "but the present is the prize of the son of the moment."
For many months Ya-Shuur worked away inside the So'E, recreating Li'Kalla's mansion as he remembered it, removing the shrubs and weeds and plants and moss that had grown within and banishing all the little creatures that now called the goddess' home their own. Once done, he found himself stood staring at her reconstructed bed. He remembered unsmilingly how Li'Kalla would laugh and play so innocently here, remembered how she had fallen asleep that day. Neither he nor she had ever thought it would all go so... wrong. He breathed slow, banished the thoughts, and calmed himself.
Such thoughts only brought about pain - pain over things that were (and were now even more so) outside his control. All he could control was on this island and even on this island he could not control all things at all times. He could not control the weather and make it stop raining all the time. He could not control who came and who went. Could not control such changes as the birds had brought about on the island. All he could truly control was himself and his soul. That was the only thing in all the world he had real control over. He did not have control over the past and those gods who killed each other and did injustice, and he did not have control over whether he had indeed contributed or even caused Li'Kalla's death, so what was the point in worrying about all that and being in pain? He would solve all the things within his control and power to solve, and those things that were out of his control he would not worry or feel guilty about. He was a limited being and he could only hope to excel within the confines of his limited nature. Limited, true, but he aspired to be an excellent limited being.
On his island there was felicity, and had been for decades now. He had every right to be at complete peace, for at no point had he ever abdicated his responsibility to the island and its denizens. That was enough for him.
He looked again at the bed, and he was struck with the image of Li'Kalla playing in the snow. She had known happiness and joy in those little pleasures, had Li'Kalla... and what use had that been? Pleasure faded, joy evaporated, and in their place pain took up residence. It was a saddening reality, but Ya-Shuur banished the sadness and did not allow it into his heart.
True happiness and felicity is not brought about by such pleasures, Ya-Shuur reasoned to himself. Li'Kalla was evidence of that. While the simple mind sought pleasure, believing happiness to lie there, the rational and logical mind rejected it as the standard of happiness and felicity. Happiness and felicity are to be had in principles, in standing up for something, in refusing to abdicate one's moral responsibility. Death was not to be feared, neither was pain, or any of the vicissitudes of the condition of all beings.
"I will do my best to constantly do what I ought to do," Ya-Shuur said to the empty room. In that lay happiness and ultimate felicity. "Goodbye, mother," he said, and he turned and left.
-
45 Years After the Heist | 45 Years after the Sudi'Shrib
Ya-Shuur sat on a high cliff overlooking the sea to one side, and to the other a great expanse of southern Be'r-Jaz spread out before him. It was raining as usual. His goats were browsing far below, protected by the molves.
All was as it ought to be.
Once he was healed, Zer-Du got up and left Asceal's home. For some strange reason his mission was now no longer as compelling as it had been before and he no longer pursued it blindly. Now with freedom and choice, he chose to return to the one place in the world he had found love and kindness. He returned to Ya-Shuur and the island he inhabited, which was called Be'r-Jaz by Ya-Shuur.
After Ya-Shuur bid his new friend, the god with chopstick eyes, farewell, he sat down and stared at the cup she had given him. The drink had not been nice but something about sharing that drink together had been... nice. It had cemented their friendship. He inspected the drink in an attempt to understand its components and then went about trying to replicate its taste. From the forest he harvested cocoa beans and prepared them for...
The god with chopstick eyes had used a term...
"Week."
He prepared them for a week and then went about making the drink. The end result was similar to what the god had made but without the weirdness. It was a bitter drink but Ya-Shuur found that far more to his liking. He held the cup that the god with chopstick eyes had given him and called the drink sudi'shrib, "the drink of friendship".
Leaving the now empty cup and some cocoa beans in his home he then set about trying to craft a sharp implement like the god with chopstick eyes had. He could not find the material anywhere on the island so resorted to conjuring metal and sharpening it with his powers alone, and then he put the metal into a goat horn hilt that he carved at until it was satisfactory. Satisfied, he made a small hole in the hilt and put a thread through it so he could easily carry the knife around his neck. His very own hud-sa! ("Sharp-stick").
Walking back into his home Ya-Shuur looked at the cup and at the hud-sa and smiled proudly. "Fuck!" he shouted with a smile like he had heard the god with chopstick eyes say.
When Zer-Du woke up there was a great roar. He got to his feet and looked around and he realized he felt better than before thankfully even though he was not back to full health. He also noticed that there were some things different about him like his body had become bigger and his tail was thicker and he felt more powerful. Zer-Due didn't know this but it was because of Ya-Shuur's blessing of fertility and the hormones and testosterone that now made him a true alpha male.
He saw from where the great roar had come and saw a giant red beast flying in the air with giant flame wings. There was smoke coming out of its nostrils and its claws and teeth were huge. Zer-Du turned and began running but because he was a big target and was now out of the dark forest the huge dragon spotted him right away and flew towards him and breathed a stream of fire. Zer-Du roared in pain before shooting right into the air and avoiding anymore of the flames. His back was hard and strong and protected him but he was still burnt and he flew up at a huge speed to the dragon and thwacked it with his spikey tail right on the head. It screeched and fell for a few seconds before rising back up with magma blood coming out of its head and it struck Zer-Du right out of the air until he smashed into the ground and left a huge trench.
Zer-Du moaned and got up injured and tried to get away but one of his legs was broken. Because of this he jumped into the air and flew higher and higher. The dragon followed him but it was too slow and Zer-Du flew very fast. The dragon still flapped after him and then Zer-Du flew through some clouds and all of a sudden he found himself in a place full of shining vines. This was because he had come through some clouds and accidentally entered into Asceal's sphere. Zer-Du looked around in fear and tried to see where the dragon was. He saw some trees with interesting orange fruits and tried to eat one of them but then he remembered that he didn't eat fruits and spat it out in disgust. When he saw that there was nobody in this place and it was safe he landed and limped until he found somewhere to lie down and he went back to sleep. Every now and again he would open his eyes suddenly to perk up and look around in case the dragon had come but it never was there. So he would go back to sleep.
Zer-Du
The Hunter
When Vakk's monster woke up after being knocked unconscious by Kalmar it found itself in pain. It whined and tried to stand but couldn't so it fell back down. After a few moments it tried again and managed to drag itself to its feet and take a few careful steps. Its head was pounding and it was still injured because of the fight with the huge wolf but it was otherwise unharmed. It made its way to running water and lapped up the water and washed in the stream. It lay in there for nearly a day and let the water wash away the pain and dirt. Then it got up and flew into the air and followed the scent of Hermes.
It flew for a long time and sometimes it went down and floated in the water to rest because the injuries were not healed yet. When it was resting like this once it felt a disturbance and woke up. The hunter looked around sleepily and then suddenly felt itself in great danger. Beneath it the water bulged and a shadow darkened and then the water exploded in great fury! A powerful and terrifying creature blew up from the water with its jaws open wide and lots of jagged and razor teeth in its maw coming right for the hunter:
Vakk's monster screeched loudly and was already in the air but the megalodon was also in the air because it had jumped. Its mouth and teeth were closing in around the monster's tail and with a desperate attempt it moved its tail and thwacked it right on the snout. The megalodon snapped its mouth shut and seemed shocked by the strike and it landed back in the water with an enormous splash. Vakk's monster quickly rose higher into the air and looked behind it in case the megalodon could actually fly. After that it did not go back to the water and just kept flying and whenever it saw a small island it landed on it to rest and lick its wounds. Then at last it reached a huge island with lots of glowing forests and plenty of creatures for it to hunt and eat. It hunted some deer and ate them right up and then it stalked away under a tree in a dark forest and it looked around for a while before falling asleep.
Ya-Shuur sat still underneath the tree. Far away the water was beating against the shore and the cliffs and the world seemed darker than before to Ya-Shuur and the rain was beating down like it always did on Li'Kalla's island. The world didn't feel dark because it was actually darker but because all the death and injustices he had been feeling recently. Even though he wanted to go and see what was going on the pain was incapacitating him. Behr-Aat came and sat next to him and looked out at the forest around them. She whined and licked his face which had moss on it. Ivy was growing all on him. He had not moved from his spot for a very long time and was just staring out like a statue. Some birds had made a nest between his horns.
He knew that he was in pain and he knew that this pain was caused by things outside his knowledge. He realized as well that these were things outside his control. All he could control was on this island and even on this island he could not control everything. He could not control the weather and make it stop raining all the time. He could not control the ivy that grew on him or the moss or the birds. All he could truly control was himself and his soul. That was the only thing in all the world he had real control over. He did not have control over all those people and gods who were killing each other and doing injustice so what was the point in worrying about them and being in pain? He would solve all the things in his control and power to solve and those things that were out of his control he would not worry or feel guilty about.
On his island there was felicity. So Ya-Shuur was at peace.
Ya-Shuur felt excruciating pain and his eyes flared open. Tears fell from his eyes and screamed as tears streamed down his face and he fell from the bed he had made and thrashed on the ground for a while. His blood seemed to be boiling and screaming and there were whispers in his head and images. And when it had all settled in his head and his face was planted on the ground and he was holding horns and sobbing he knew that Vakk had died. This knowledge was instinctive because Vakk was the one who sired his physical form and his blood and Li'Kalla's blood were inside him. What happened to Li'Kalla's had been painful and terrible and it was almost like she was dead but Ya-Shuur knew that there was still a chance of saving her and still a chance that Vakk could undo the hurt that he had done. But there was no undoing this decapitation that Ya-Shuur felt as thought it was his own head.
And then anger surged through him and he sat up and leaned against the wall and stared in to the darkness. His eyes showed their anger and he stared without blinking in the darkness. Ya-Shuur knew that Vakk was unpleasant and that he had done some unpleasant things and that he had hurt some people. But Vakk had killed no one. Maybe he had hurt others this was true and he had even hurt Ya-Shuur when he was fighting Li'Kalla but he had not killed Li'Kalla and Ya-Shuur had not felt him to be a murderer. But now he had been killed and in his heart Ya-Shuur was angry and knew that it was unjust. He grit his teeth and frowned and bunched his hands up into fists. Tears rolled down his face and he sat in the dark all angry and sad for the going of both his progenitors.
This was not just a wrong against Vakk. This was a wrong against Ya-Shuur and his... his people. His close ones. His kin. Maybe one day he would come to know what happened and he might come to know the perpetrators and why they did it. And he would make sure that there was Justice in it all. He wrote a new maxim: "Good kinsfolk ask after the blood of their kin. The price of a hurt is to undo it or suffer like it and death which cannot be undone is paid with death. This is Justice."
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