"Resources, seemingly unlimited. Creatures, also apparently unlimited, due to their reproductive methods, noticed back in the Shivering Lands. Living matter, land, water, air... the lights inside of me, none appear to lack or diminish. Well, in the case of the lights, I would say that is a bit different, at least for those I have and my siblings do. If we are to talk of the Link, then our source of power is also unlimited, which funnels an infinite amount of energy through our lights... hmm, what a conundrum. However, what is not, is Kilon, Manna, Eraanel, Felemous, Salvete, me and the others. One may look at me and say that due to my actions, us, this limited resource that cannot be reproduced, has been diminished. That is not true," Orvus spoke to himself, deep inside the forest, resting on an ancient log next to a large pool of water, which he named as a lake, the skyscraping trees surrounding it. His eyes and body were glowing with a light outside of his control. Whether that was because of how many lights he possessed or due to his intense use in order to traverse much of the forest in such a short time, was unknown to him.
He clenched at his left side, the wound around his ribcage area, yet to heal, the venom ate his skin as fast as it regenerated. "Where was I," he resumed the talk with himself once he soothed his pain. 'Right. It is not true that I diminished us, the Lightborn. Contrary, I would say. I preserve them. My brothers and sisters are tormenting me with their lights, but the fact that they do, means that they're still alive, inside of me, through me. I'm not a murderer. Yes, I caused the deaths of hundreds, but! With this new revelation, I can help the other thousands. I can help them all... salvation through sacrifice.'.
His thoughts were final, standing on top of the log, beside him, he glanced at the body of a venomous angolin. Long, thick, black claws, overlapping scales protecting most of its body areas, a long, thick tail with curved needles at the bottom, strong, muscular limbs, pointy ears and a long mouth with a white black dotted nose at the end. While it was only half in length the height of Orvus, it surprised even him with its spectacular agility and strength. The venom which managed to afflict Orvus, was made of organisms that fed on energy such that of the sun, or in this case, that of his light, fueling their process of creating toxic matter which dissolved anything besides said organisms. To remove it, Orvus would have to cut off the affected area, which he was preparing to do, sharpening his knife made of a clawbear's claw against a rock in front of him.
He first cut the above area, the most painful, 'I must save them,' then the ones at each side. 'Free them from the confines of pain and despair,' then the last, bottom portion, 'see for myself that they're all safe... safe inside of me.'. Behind him, what he named shadow lurkers, were in dozens, hidden behind trees, submitted to his will through strands of light attached to their souls. If he strained one such strand a little, unbearable pain would follow. Thus, those bipedal, black furred, giant apex predators of the Gargantuan Forest, obeyed his simple commands.
"It took me a while," Orvus was talking aloud, the shadow lurkers seemed disturbed by his voice, their large, open ears able to sense the slightest shift in reverberance around them, his voice haunting to them. "But I managed to make these obscene creatures obedient to me," he looked in front to his left, "even though it took me a few tries," the bodies of a dozen shadow lurkers lay dead in a pile where he looked. "Now go, find my siblings, bring them back to me... let me save them," with pulsating energy, Orvus sent signals through his strands of light. This wouldn't allow for actual control over the creatures, but would remind them what to look for, light that is, while also assuring them that if they didn't obey, pain or even death would ensue. They spread amongst the trees, acting almost coordinated, which wasn't in the nature of these solitary hunters. They went north-west, from where he ran off and where his siblings were following a similar path.
3 days ago
"Has Manna recovered?" Felemous wanted to know from Eraanel, stretching his limbs, the dawn of day cracking the sky alive with light. Eraanel kept his eye closed for the late sun, the strain of using his ability over the course of the early sun, costly.
"She's still sleeping, but she should be able to travel," Eraanel responded, slowly opening his eye, witnessing the first sun rays for himself. Manna to his left, sleeping in the same position she was left off at. "I can see the flow of lights inside of her, it's calm and steady," his left eye attained better flow due to its prolonged use.
"Good, we must keep on moving, danger lurks everywhere within this forest" Felemous was thinking of the dangers of the forest, while Eraanel understood his words in regards to Orvus instead.
Salvete scouted the entire night the area surrounding them. She didn't use much of her ability, she adapted to the forest some. In regards to the wopede parasite, she followed marks on the trees, left by their long needles with which they fed from inside the tree. Salvete also marked some of their behaviour. They were, at times, moving between trees, she noticed, but only so often. They never travelled in groups and either they didn't fight one another, or weren't doing it often enough to be noticed. While moving a bit further away from where her siblings could be seen, she encountered a pack of small critters. They were small, much like a horned rabbit, but even smaller, maybe just a quarter of a horned rabbit, had variations of brown fur, some with patterns and liked to dig underground. Salvete, not feeling the least bit threatened by them, and seeing them scatter when she approached, she caught one with her hand. The little thing struggled for a bit in her grip, but then ceased once her warmth enveloped the critter. Its large eyes, for its head, large paws for digging yet small body, left Salvete enamoured with the creature, which she named, burapika.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
As the Lightborn prepared to leave the place, Salvete made her appearance from between the trees. She looked more alike that place, with her body and skin pelts dirtied by all the things and ground she scraped by. Her hair was adorned by all sorts of small things, truly looking like a tall, glowing wild thing that should be part of the forest. At her waist, between her skin and the pelts, the burapika, which she named Piki, had its head peeking through and sniffing the air around. Her siblings, especially her sisters, gathered to look at Piki, hold her and observed the curious critter. Salvete's brothers were looking for the purpose of the small animal, but they couldn't think of any, so they didn't give it any thought.
"What's the fuss about?" Manna asked Eraanel, slowly waking from her slumber. Her eyes still wanted to stay close, but she forced them open.
"Salvete returned," Eraanel responded, helping his sister to her feet, "she brought a curious little critter, and our sisters seem to love it," Eraanel continued, giving Manna her spear once she was up. "She didn't see anything unusual, except," he paused, looked down for a moment, then back into Manna's eyes with his own "a clear absence of life towards south-east.". They both knew what that meant.
"Orvus," Manna stated, her eyes letting out sparks, Eraanel agreeing with a nod. "Did she find any bodies? Wopede parasites or any new creatures," she wanted to know, to further assure herself of this.
"Only signs of struggle, nothing concrete though," Eraanel responded, "we should keep in mind that he has a day ahead of us now. So if we stop, who knows if we'll even be able to follow him anymore, the trails get covered by, as Salvete suggests, the movement of other critters," he explained to Manna then of the movements of the wopede parasites and the groups of bikas.
"Then we shall not stop," Manna looked around and started to build ideas in her head. "He's probably more than a day ahead of us, if I am to guess," she was thinking of the fact that, given he could flow with mastery the lights through his body, he could keep going for far longer and faster. "Which means that simply walking won't work. We also have to consider the safety of the group.".
"You're thinking of a hunting group, aren't you?" Eraanel deduced from where she was leading the conversation, Felemous made his approach after he saw the burapika for himself. "Who is to lead it?" it was something he expected to be named for.
"You're looking at him, Eraanel," she turned her head towards her right, where Felemous was coming from, his right arm captured a unique glow, between his natural slight blue and the shifting white. The white was a byproduct of his continuous training in transmuting the light into lightning, the process thus creating an almost ominous glow.
"Felemous?!" Eraanel protested, "Isn't he supporting Orvus?". Something Manna didn't believe to be true, while Eraanel was half right.
"I don't' support him, brother," Felemous intervened, his eyes looking from a head above Eraanel. "I just want answers, for I don't believe him to be capable of the deeds he's accused of," Felemous explained himself, looking at Eraanel, then up at Manna.
"Believe? Did the cold corpses of our siblings were not enough proof for you to 'believe' otherwise, Felemous?!" Eraanel was angry with Felemous' logic. Manna, though, wanted to also believe that, looking at Felemous with compassionate eyes.
"Rather, I want to hear it from him. Why should we judge him so harshly without first hearing his part?" Felemous gave his reason, which Eraanel reacted to with a strong glow of his body. Manna shared a similar perspective on the matter. She first wanted to hear it from him, that he did it out of his own volition, then place judgement upon him, even though she already riled everyone against him. Where her view diverged, and got her to look away from the conversation, was at the thought that as their leader, she might have to be the one to kill him. It went against her own being. But she knew better, that if Orvus really went insane, or worst, his mind was touched by some force unbeknown to her, she would have to do what must be done.
Manna looked back at the two, who were ready to argue some more about their points. "My decision is final, Eraanel," she concluded with a thump of her spear to the ground. "You will take Vaalria, Hargitus, Bustomus, Manaam and Gilaate," for that helped them with the wopede parasite, and Gilaate which is the most nimble Lightborn of their group. "Don't put Gilaate up for any fighting, we'll need her to relay messages between your group and ours," Manna instructed Felemous. "You will not fight him if it can be avoided, but if it can't, do what must be done," Felemous nodded in approval, glanced at Eraanel, who scoffed at him, then went about his way to gather those named by Manna.
"Why him sister?!" Eraanel protested once again after Felemous left, his eye looking for an answer up on Manna's face. "He might hesitate to do what must be done once he meets face to face with him. Why would you allow for the possibility of such a blunder to occur?" he couldn't make sense of Manna's actions in his anger.
"It is precisely because he might hesitate, that Orvus may do the same," Manna shed light on her thought process. "And I trust Felemous to take the appropriate decision and capture Orvus if he hesitates. Would you do the same if you were in his stead, Eraanel?" Manna asked him. He knew himself better, and realised that she was right. If it were him and Orvus would hesitate, he wouldn't, he would strike down Orvus and that would be that.
"That doesn't mean Orvus may not hesitate, it's more likely in fact," Eraanel still saw the flaws in her plan.
Manna looked directly in his eye, saw his worry, then looked at the group, "I know. It's foolish of me to expect him to," she grasped at her chest, "but must we kill each other to solve our issues?". Eraanel noticed the pain she felt when thinking of harming her own sibling. He felt angry that Orvus caused so much pain. "I must hope... even if my hopes may get shattered to pieces," her words made Eraanel wishful once more. For a place they could call home, warmer lands and much of what Kilon promised them back then.
"Let us hope then, sister. That Orvus will stop this madness, hope that we can find ourselves a place we can call home and meet once again with the others," Eraanel reinvigorated the feeling Manna was passing to him, placing his hand on her back.