‘Impressive creatures,’ Salvete meets the dawn of the third day since the hunt began with the scene of a sleeping shadow lurker. Standing inside a tree, next to her the body of a shadow lurker, she looks at another, a dozen metres parallel to her position. ‘I’m confident this one is a male, while the other,’ the shadow lurker was at times moving its head, studying the environment, ‘certainly a female. She’s a lot more cautious, and seems to have mated with this one recently.’. She found it weird that the female was not approaching her or the dead body. While there was no smell, or blood, from killing the creature, she thought they would at least scout their surroundings. ‘These ones might be younger. Their bodies don’t have the scars of old critters,’ pushing its body outside slowly, she wanted to see if she could get a reaction from the other one.
There was only a small twitch of its ears, then Salvete saw it return to its half sleep. ‘I’ll just get a bit-’ before she could finish her thought, as she took a step away from the dead shadow lurker, the other leaped towards her with great strength. The first leap crossed only ten metres, while the second following immediately after, enough to cross thirty. It was meant to tackle her while it could bite down on her. Salvete didn’t have time to react, and was close to being killed, but from above, a wopede parasite dropped as if in anticipation. It was an old specimen, some thirty or more years old, many scars of battles across its body. It crushed the shadow lurker some three metres in front of Salvete, its forty metres long body still clutched somewhat to the tree.
Salvete didn’t make a sound. Breath, eye movements, even her light for some moments was stopped from moving. The parasite dragged the body up above in the next instant, crunching noises could be heard. In her mind, she engraved the encounter while slowly making her way away from the tree. ‘I’m starting to not like travelling alone,’ she thought as she ran with silent steps between the trees.
Salvete hasn’t seen the encounter between her siblings and the shadow lurker, but the aftermath. She spent the time it took them to recover, scouting the area and taking notes of the changing environment as they went deeper into the Gargantuan Forest. Besides the shadow lurkers, she encountered a variety of other critters. The most prominent ones were the venomous angolins and crown stompers. While smaller less significant critters, like the stormbugs and coldboars, were not worth taking note of. Though, through her morning scouting, she heard loud sounds coming from up above. She knew that crown stompers weren’t the kind to make noise, not much of anything liked making noise inside the forest. At first she thought it might be Orvus fighting some of the critters, then she saw flying, large shadows above the clouds, and reassessed her thoughts.
Once she checked on her siblings again, seeing them still recovering, she took another look around the forest. If there was a threat that could impede or hurt them further, she wanted to deal or divert it away from them. ‘I left this section for later, it seemed to carry some dangerous airs about it,’ Salvete was searching a portion that had blood splashed onto some portions of the trees. ‘There was a struggle here, between some of those creatures I assume,’ she thought as she licked some of the dried blood from a tree. ‘Seems fresh enough to not want to go further.’. Salvete looked at the markings on the trees too, the shadow lurkers only making them when in direct confrontation with another. While she didn’t see any of them engaging in such behavior, it was similar to how clawbears scratched at the ground at times before leaping at each other.
‘I would love not to do this, but I must make sure there’s not much danger left in these parts,’ Salvete thought before heading deeper, following the signs of struggle into the forest. What she didn’t expect, was for there to be more and more of them. Blood was also more present, in places small frozen pools of them. ‘These can’t be from a single conflict. There was more than one, and these creatures are solitary, so they shouldn’t be walking in groups,’ her thoughts were piecing together the scene. Then, upon entering a more exposed part of the forest, she was able to uncover beneath the snow blood that had dried and frozen. ‘This happened no longer than a day ago, maybe even less,’ she kept looking around, and by following the way the blood got expelled from the body, she was at a certain centre. ‘You were here brother,’ her eyes lit up with the light, letting herself exposed for a brief moment, as the blood of Orvus’ killings surrounded the place she was standing at.
Salvete was trying to approximate the amount of creatures Orvus had killed in that place, and from the taste of the blood, mainly shadow lurker blood was present. She only took sample from random places, so she couldn’t tell of the venomous angolin Orvus had killed. But was able to tell from some of the scratching on the trees that shadow lurkers weren’t all he killed.
After regaining her composure, she suddenly felt a need to hide. Not knowing how Orvus would anticipate them, there was the possibility of traps, or even him watching. ‘It would be fine if it was the others, as long as I can have the element of surprise on him. But it would be the worst case if I’m found before them,’ she thought as she started to trace her steps back, analysing the environment. ‘Eraanel would be useful right now, though I figure Orvus wouldn’t stand around to be found out by him,’ her mind was applying the logic she was using on hunting and understanding animal behavior to better anticipate Orvus’ moves, while planning her own. ‘Would he start stalking me if he noticed? Or would he keep, maybe change his position?’ her thoughts only came to a halt as she saw her siblings heading her way. ‘How did they manage?!’ for a moment Salvete panicked, then rushed between the trees.
Walking at the front of the group wasn’t Felemous, but Hargitus. ‘I forgot about his ability,’ Salvete watched them from high above, climbing up a tree and only moving when the whistle of the wind made its way between the branches. ‘If I recall, his specialty was tracking. Manna did a good job at picking him.’. Hargitus’ ability allowed him to expand the light from the soles of his feet into the ground, akin to the roots of a tree except much finer. With each step Salvete could see the heap of lights going into the ground. They were each acting almost on their own, moving as extenensions of his body. The further they went, the less accurate and weaker. When he enhanced them at their full potency, he could reach over a hundred metres in every direction. His ability wasn’t suited for fast tracking, but highly useful when having time at his disposal. And since their night spent recovering, Hargitus was able to slowly let his light traverse all around, poking out the ground in places in order to sense a variety of things. From the way wind travelled between objects, to feeling different textures from the ground, Hargitus was able to sense the dried blood on the ground. His skill was vague, but was slowly becoming more accurate the closer they got.
Salvete thought this might be a good opportunity, as they were to be the first encountering Orvus. Her issue was if Orvus was watching her movements or not. If they were able to determine his general direction while he was watching her, she was sure he would act against her first, then plan a surprise against the others. She wasn’t supposed to watch over them, ‘Yet I have a duty as their sister. To guide and even protect them if needed,’ something she wouldn’t be able to do if she had to constantly watch her back. She thought it might be better for her to distract them, have them follow some other lead so she could have the time to determine if he was watching or not. But it was too late.
“I got it!” Hargitus exclaimed, his light finding the spot where Orvus massacred the critters of the forest. “There’s a lot of it, come,” Hargitus urged Felemous, Gilaate being the other one following the two, as Vaalria and Bustomus still had to recover.
‘So be it then,’ Salvete started to follow them, determined in putting them before her mission. Once at the spot where the massacre had occurred, Felemous was able to tell, much like Salvete, of who was responsible. His eyes and skin caught a sudden glow, enhanced by the electric currents that were getting stronger. Hargitus, looking around and spreading his light, found some scraping across the ground. He was able to uncover the markings of a beast being dragged across its will.
“Is it possible that he’s leading us to a trap?” Gilaate asked Felemous. Salvete watched from high above, seeing where the scraping were leading, there were less trees in that direction.
“I believe there was more than one beast, and he had to fight them, thus why he didn’t hide the tracks,” Felemous shared his thoughts, placing his chin in his arm. “Even so, you might be right, and he’s leading us to a trap. Given the terrain however, I don’t see he could accomplish such a thing, for so many of us.”.
“I think he’s challenging us,” Hargitus added, returning his light inside body as there was nothing more to be found. “Those creatures that are lurking in the dark, they don’t hunt together. So how come he had to fight so many, that this scenery was made?”. Salvete picked upon their conversation somewhat, enhancing her senses with the light, and much like Femelous, she was agreeing with Hargitus’ thoughts on the matter.
“It could also be that he was in a rush,” Gilaate wanted to follow on her thoughts. “To make his trap, especially given how many we are, not even he can take more than fifty of us, let alone with Manna leading.”.
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“Are we sure it’s those lurking in the shadows that he had killed?” Felemous wanted to ensure all the details were in place before making his mind.
“There’s not mistaking. Besides the lack of smell, it’s also in the taste of it, or rather, the lack of a taste too,” Hargitus reaffirmed.
“Then that’s it,” Felemous started walking back to where Vaalria and Bustomus were. “There is no trap, Gilaate. He was too careless, and we now have a lead on him. All we have to do is follow, then we’ll find him for sure,” Gilaate had no choice but to accept as things were, seeing little reason to believe otherwise besides her own doubts. “Now run back, tell Manna of what happened last night, as well as our findings. Tell her we might need a few more Lightborn on our side if we are to confront him, so come back with reinforcements.”.
Gilaate understood her task and, with burnt snow behind her feet, in evenly calculated leaps, she rushed between the trees back into the forest. She first told the other two of their plan, then went straight for where the Manna’s group was.
Salvete went ahead and followed the trail. ‘If he’s watching me, then at least I can distract him for a while,’ she thought, leaping from tree to tree with gentle steps. ‘And if he isn’t, then I can get a better understanding of his plan. Maybe even set an ambush,’ her mind was working on ideas and potential obstructions, while Felmous made his way back.
“I suppose Gilaate already told you of how we will proceed,” the two still injured nodded in agreement. “Good. Now we have to wait for her to return, and since you seem better brother, we should talk on how to deal with these lurkers in the shadows,” Felemous approached the two, placing his hands on top of their shoulders. Bustomus rose up, helped by Felemous, Vaalria still healing her broken back. “Pick up your shields and come here,” Felemous took a few steps back and stood in a more clear space. Bustomus and Hargitus followed his order, taking their shields then heading to where he was. “Now, tell me what these predators are good at”.
“Stalking and leaping,” Hargitus answered, mimicking some of their movements with his hands.
“Their claws and fangs are mainly meant for ripping flesh, so they’re also really good at that,” Bustomus added.
“That’s right. And to fight against that, we can employ some simple tricks of our own. Given how tough these plates are,” Felemous knocked on Bustomus’ shield, held a bit awkwardly by his remaining digits, as his other hand was still too weak to hold it. “We can trust that those creatures will need some time slashing againd and again until they can break through, right?”.
“I think so, yes. So we’re going to block their strikes with these, then strike them?” Bustomus tried to figure it out.
“Or should we make some sort of protection out of them? Maybe hunt a few more parasites and rip their tough parts out of them,” Hargitus tried to come up with his own way of doing it.
“Both are good, but I’m thinking we can use what we have, and in a smarter manner I suppose,” Felemous gestured them to come closer to him, then faced them away from him. “What if we stuck together like this, and while two or three of us hold up the plates, someone like me can strike the creatures from behind.”. Bustomus and Hargitus were pleasantly surprised by the ingenuity of it.
“But given the nature of your ability, wouldn’t that mean you’re going to also hit them?” Vaalria added from where she stood, some six metres away. Felemous looked at her and gave a thoughtful smile, placing his chin in his palm.
“So far you used your ability by covering your body into it, then letting it out, is that right?” Hargitus asked of him. Felemous simply nodded, giving him a curious look. “Can’t you focus it, in the palm of your hand or even some other part of your body?”.
“I can, but given how volatile it is, I have a hard time controlling how and where it goes. Thus it’s easier if I just let it out,” all three of them started to think, mimicking Felemous.
“What about Hargitus?” the three of them looked at Vaalria who seemed to have a better idea. “He can spread his light from the soles of his feet, and you use light to create the strong one, right?”.
Felemous lifted his chin from his hand, the other two still trying to figure it out. He smiled at her, and tried it immediately. He sent his light across the ground, then tried to convert it into lightning. For a brief moment, he saw some spark of electricity coming out of it. The other two jumped a bit back, poked by the arcs of electricity coming out of it. “This is it!” Felemou exclaimed, and all four of them cheered together. Soon, Bustomus and Hargitus started to practice shield formations, while Vaalria shot spheres of concentrated light at them. It was enough to cause some bruises and didn’t take a toll on her healing body. Felemous on the other side, was hunting burapikas in the forest. He wanted to start small before trying something larger.
What he found relatively fast was that lightning liked being guided by his light. It acted as a sort of conduit for it. He also found easier to send the light alone then lightning from inside of him into it, rather than converting it into lightning. In the time it took Gilaate to travel back in forth, until it was late afternoon, Felemous was able to concentrate more than half his converted light as lightning into the light he sent forward.
“Gilaate!” Vaalria cheered, as Gilaate snuck behind her, but no reinforcements as Felemous wanted. Hargitu and Bustomus hurried over to find out what Manna told them to do, while also curious of the group’s situation. Felemous was still to return, as he was facing one of the forest’s more dangerous critters, the poisonous angolin.
Once night started to show its first signs, Felemous returned to his group, the body of the angolin in dragged by his exhausted body. “You’ve been busy, I see,” Gilaate smiled at him, Felmeous having a satisfied expression on his face.
“How’s the group, and why didn’t Manna send more of our siblings?” he wanted to know more than to show his almost mastered ability.
“Some of our siblings have gone missing,” her tone didn’t match the gravity of her statement, as her face didn’t show any emotion or concern. “It is why it took me longer, while not coming with additional siblings. Those things, lurking in the shadows, apparently some of them were sent after our group by Orvus. There were strands of light attached to them, but not really at the same time, to some other part of their being. And the attacks started as soon as we left.”. Felemous and the other three understood what those scratches on the ground were at last. “I managed to track them down. There were only three missing, and I’m saying only, because there were a lot more tracks coming from the same direction, while those abducted in the prior attempts were recovered by Manna personally. Manna didn’t want to place false suspicion onto us, but upon me recovering the last three of them, we were able to confirm it was Orvus, given what we found here too”.
“You mean where we’re heading, don’t you?” Gilaate nodded, fueling the anger inside Hargitus, Vaalria and Bustomus. “Is Manna heading in the same direction?”.
“She will, but we are still to follow Orvus, additionally,” Gilaate looked around, wary as if someone could be watching or listening to them, “we no longer are to avoid confrontation. We must put a stop to it, however we can.”.
“Are there that many of them?” Gilaate nodded with a frown, a deep anger visible on her face. “Then it’s the right choice,” Felemous stood down at last, starting to draw in the ground uncovered by their heat melting the snow. “If we are here, and Manna didn’t move too much from the last spot, while we travelled like this,” Felemous was using his light to enhance his mind and construct a map from his memory of the surroundings. While it wasn’t perfect, with Gilaate’s help, he was able to make it good enough. “Then Orvus has been heading south east this whole time. And given the tracks we found, it seems he maintained that path while oppressing shadow lurkers along the way, and sending them our way. The one we fought was probably not of his doing, we know since there weren’t any others sent after us. And from what you told us, then it’s safe to say the massacre we saw wasn't a massacre, but his way to gather as many as he could at once.”.
“The question then should be asked,” Gilaate spoke, they were all looking at each other, standing in a circle around the map, Vaalria able to move properly and Bustomus having his arm healed almost completely. “Why is he trying to abduct us, not to kill?”.
“Could it be that he wants to convert us to his side?” Vaalria proposed.
“No, he knows better than anyone how much we must hate him,” Bustomus answered.
“It must be power then. If he can steal enough lights, then our numbers will mean nothing against such concentrated power,” Hargitus suggested instead.
“It would seem that way. Then a larger question remains, why kill all of us? There is no purpose to it, and besides Manna, I can’t see why he would hate me, or any of you here,” Felemous continued. He looked inside his mind, seeing the many memories along the years. Exploring outside the Link for the first time with him, discovering the Frozen Side with his group and him helping to uncover the secret of his ability. The bond which they shared wasn’t something that it could be broken for such measle things like madness. Even when he argued with Manna, seeing him enraged, he could see the pain he was enduring, tormenting him. Mad as he was, he couldn’t see him letting such thing allow him to kill his beloved siblings. “There must be some other answer, I refuse to accept that he just wants to kill us, that he’s simply mad. We must talk with him.”.
The others still wanted to kill him, make him pay for what he did to their siblings, stealing their right to live. But at the same time, they were as much his siblings as Felemous and Manna were, so to them, Felemous’ attitude to his brother was having the same effect as it did on Manna. They were hoping that in the end, Orvus would hesitate, not kill them and could talk.
But, while they were coming to terms with what they might have to do, and analysing their options, Salvete was speeding ahead through the forest. ‘I can see it, the place you’re gathering your forces,’ travelling at high speed and relentless, Salvete could see in the far distance from where she stood the lake. Next to it, a blue moon that was Orvus casted his cold glow. “Wait for me, for I have found you, my lost brother,” her eyes couldn’t contain the light intended to murder her kin. The day of reckoning encroaching upon him who has sinned against his own kind.