Universe -The Star Rings
Ring - 4th
Reality - Mortal Plane
Solar system - Origin
World - Vaustaris
Continent - The Verdant Vale
Central Glen - Drak'Varn Enclave
Territory - Sylvaran Woods
Day of Descent)
Third Person POV
Freyr opened his eyes to a vast woodland. Straight and towering behemoths of wood that ascended into the skies. Large roots that dense aged great paths and spaces between the trees. A forest floor covered with dead leaves and still fresh leaves, dry twigs and branches.
Freyr felt intrigue at the sight. He didn't know where the feeling came from but it was just one of wondrous awe. It was nothing like what he'd felt when he first saw Heero expand and increase in size. The demon didn't even realize he was already taking steps further into this glorious expanse of life.
It was ironic the way an entity who held domain over death still felt a remarkable awe for life and beauty. As he walked he would occasionally stop to watch a little creature run or scurry off. Most times Akasha told him their names and most times she simply kept silent. He soon realized the ones she kept silent for were too far and the ones she spoke of were close enough.
Soon he found himself bounding off after the creatures just to see them clearly and know their names. To these creatures of the woodlands, Freyr was not a new sight. Yet, his very actions and movements made him strange. He was like a fully grown bull acting as a calf.
Of course, said demon did not realize this not care for it. No. He was drawn to the wonders he could see. Soon he had strayed far from his point of descent and ran far past the treacherous territory of the Sylvaran woods.
His attention was so focused on the creature he nearly jumped when the sound of shouts and speech entered his ears. Unlike Haero and Molliwag Freyr knew nothing about mortals, as such his impulse was confusion and curiosity. The small creature in his grasp whose fur shimmered like the 4th ring tapestry squirmed and darted out of his grasp fleeing up a tree even as Freyr made to lung for it.
'Tsssskk'.
As interested as he was in catching the creature he was more curious to know what could speak like them down here. Walking in the direction of the voices he began picking up on the louder din created ahead. It was a sound he was not familiar with and yet it called to him like a song. He found the source even from far away.
A space between several trees spanning a large length. The sounds he could hear came from this place. Freyr looked around in confusion. It looked a bit similar to home with the walls replaced by rocks and whatever the material he was seeing was.
'Wood'. Mother's voice sounded in his head. Freyr almost stumbled and glanced around. 'Mother. Or is it Akasha'. He could never know. With both having the same voice and only difference being their size and the blue-gray misty thingy. Either way, he forgot about that. He was more interested in what lay beyond this wood. Wood that was blocking his path, something he didn't appreciate. Freyr did not like obstacles. His left hand raised and dark purplish mist oozed from the center of his palm.
'No!'.
The mist dissipated instantly. Freyr glared mentally. 'Go west and cut north where the obstacle ends. Not all obstacles should be erased'. Akasha/Mother chided him. Grumbling he followed the given directions. The path around the wall was sloped and hard to traverse on bare feet. Freyr found himself erasing the sloping spots to create flat ground on which he walked.
"Why does my energy feel sluggish?".He wondered as he drew on the force again. It felt weaker, harder to corral.
'Your avatar has lesser power and control than your true form'. He blinked.
'I'm weak again'. Akasha made no attempts to argue otherwise. Freyr as the purported last born wanted to have and show power like the others. For him, it was being big like Haero, a fact supported by the sudden introduction of Molliwag. It was being special like Tora, one who could dabble and use Akashic force in ways none of them but mother could. It was being Freyja who single-handedly created all souls and controlled them. It was being Ozai, smart, decisive, and always training. He too like the others was getting bigger showing his power. Freyr had none of those. All he could do was destroy things and even his family could do that just as well. Still doing it even better than them was something special, right?
'I'm weak again'. Yet here he was weak again.
'The source of the noise'. Akasha called out in his mind drawing his thoughts away from what he was thinking. His journey had brought him out to a spot in the woodlands where the obstacle ended in a good enough space. Standing there just like the lunar knights were two entities.
'Wait. Aren't those... that's the entity I chose'. With a curious glee momentarily clouding his past thoughts he stepped closer.
****
Universe -The Star Rings
Ring - 4th
Reality - Mortal Plane
Solar system - Origin
World - Vaustaris
Continent - The Verdant Vale
Central Glen - Drak'Varn Enclave
Territory - Sylvaran Tribe
FREYR'S POV
The shouts and voices that had long drawn me here were clearer and more meaningful now. Walking up to the two Undules standing guard at the gate I couldn't help but stop to admire them. They looked amazing. Whether it was my lack of seeing anything else that wasn't my family and the knights or my actual admiration, it didn't matter. Both entities gave me weird looks as I drew my face closer to the first one.
'I can see these little things on their flesh. Born and dying, adding to their very mass in so minuscule a way, it...'.
'Vais(Go)'. The Unfule could not take it anymore and stepped to the right while motioning me inward. "Just enter. Don't be mad".
I blinked then stepped back. My eyes were on his mouth watching as the very speech left his lips. 'Interesting'. The Undule grew agitated from my gaze so I looked away and to the other one.
That was when I saw it. Hair as white as snow, as white as my brothers and Tora. It was something else I always suspected as being the source of their power. Of course, Freyja spoiled that calculation.
Still, the sight made me wonder. In the description for these creatures, I'd seen something about combat. It was the reason I had picked this race. 'And now, they also have white hair?'.
'I assure you that their hair color is in no way related to their physical capabilities'. That made me stop and sigh.
'But the length does give them increased strength'.
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I walked past the gate and into the enclosure'. The shouts and yells were louder within and coming from my left'. Curiously I walked in that direction. I didn't understand what I was seeing exactly as I walked through the village. The palaces here looked drab.
'Those are tents and huts. Made from animal skin and plant or vine life'. I nodded at the information given by Akasha but my eyes were focused on something else. Little Undules running around and playing. Larger ones with frowns watching something in the direction of the loud shouting. The lines on their face were similar to that of Mother when she'd set us in the realms.
'What could even bother them so much to give them expressions like mother?'.
I didn't bother listening to Akasha talk as I walked to the spot where the fighting was happening. A ring of Undules had formed with several if not all of them yelling and shouting words while waving their fists.
"What is happening?". Confused as he got close enough he spoke whilst trying to push past the crowd of people.
"What do you mean what's happening?. Drak'var has challenged his father. And the fight is bloody". An Undules chirped turning while bouncing on the heels of her feet. Her lower pair of eyes were a dazzling green while the upper were crystal white. Her cheeks were stretched in a smile that did nothing to outshine Mother's and yet for some reason, it pulled me in.
All sound vanished and my thoughts dulled. The voices and the screaming faded into the background and all I could see were her eyes and smiles.
'Freyr!!'. Lightning çlapped in the sky shaking the Undule out of the deep gaze and freeing from thode eyes. The Undule with a strange expression turned back to the fight after giving me a weird glance.
'What was that?'. I asked while finding it suddenly hard to breathe.
'Something I didn't see coming '. Mother's voice sounded weird. My attention wás returned to the main point of my curiosity even though a part of my mind kept seeing those eyes.
Wading through the crowd I arrived at the front to a crazy sight. Two black-skinned Undules, just like the guards at the gate and the female I just locked eyes with tussled on the floor.
Confused I turned and found the nearest figure close by. Before I could touch him Mother began explaining again.
I was in the Drak'Varn Tribe Enclave Tribe in the Sylvaran woods. Here Undules were the apex predators. They feared nothing and nothing stood before them. Remarkable fighters with hair that granted them might the longer it grew. And at the very moment, they were battling for chieftaincy.
'Chieftainsy?'.
'Right to rule. Since all Undule possess the same long hair it falls to those who believe themselves more powerful and more skilled'. Freyr's eyebrows rose high till they met the sky.
'Test of strength day'. With a smile, he watched as the fight continued. The one who he assumed to be Drak'var Drak'Varn and his father seemed to be equally matched. Yet age was experience and young vitality was a boon.
Drak'Var moved in ways that Drak'Varn could not match and yet he was able to negate the threat by sheer experience. It was remarkable, the moves Freyr was seeing were things he could not perform. The Undules battled with their fists and threw harsh blows that drew red liquid from their mouths and cut open skin to shed more of this liquid.
I had done many things back home. From babbling, playing, and training. Yet all of this had ended in his boredom. Yet here was something that attracted my interest. It was more like watching the energies of Omega Point swirl and dance. Captivating.
There was just that more beauty in seeing skin meet, bone grind and dig into flesh. Those little things called cells rupture and get torn. It was so mesmerizing, so alluring that I saw the moment Drak'Varn lost before it happened. My mental mind screamed not because I wanted him to win or to lose, but because he didnt want the dance to end.
Dark'Varn like fate was against him stumbled over nothing as he lost his footing in an attack. His son eager to eat from this chance shot forward. It turned out to be a lure that Drak'Varn used to grip his boy's wrist and pull him close. The head butt was incredible. Sending a jolt of glee and excitement down Freyr's spine.
Yet it was not over. Drak'Var stumbled back stunned even as his father tugged at his wrist and dragged him closer. But the younger Undules already had adrenaline rushing through his veins. With his eyes seeing colors and his face burning he rushed in like a bull. A sceñàrio the older Undule had not foreseen.
Gripping him by the waist Drak'var lifted Drak'Varn off the ground and slammed him to the ground. A roar of support and boo of the opposition filled the ring.Drak'Var heard none as his fists thundered down blindly. Blood splashed and spilled from wounds and the Undule laid into his father.
Drak'Varn attempting to get him off made the mistake of shifting his arm from his head. I grimaced as I saw the end. The fist blindly and without coordination struck off the arm and slipped into the space made. Lashing out harshly on the side of the former chieftain's face. I felt the force and action. I saw the slighted spark and hint of chaos, death, and destruction as the fist connected.
My legs almost gave as I sank low, the grin on my face was so huge that others were beginning to notice me. I didn't notice them. All my attention was on the very sight of those fists hitting harder and harder. I thought fighting was magnificent but this trumped it.
The fist kept hitting and hitting and I felt this jolts of euphoria and joy washing through me. The ground was turning black and purple as death energy gathered.
'More. More'. Just as quickly it vanished.
"What?. Where?".
And I saw why. Drak'Var had stopped. Drak'Varn lay on his back face pulped to meat and yet life remained in him. The Death energy beneath him still lingered but it lacked the tight and chaotic feel.
'Why did he stop? He was almost, àlmost...'
'A new chief has been decided'. Looking from the defeated mortal to the victorious Undule I shook my head.
'No. It has not'. Rising from my crouched position I took a step into the ring. The jubilating cries slowly and surely drew to a stop. Drak'Var eyeing his father's form with obvious worry in his gaze raised his head to see why the jubilations had ended.
"Why didn't you kill him?". He locked eyes with me. A frown formed on his face.
"Who are you?". His question made me pause. "I know all the faces in this tribe. I have left our young on the hunt. Attended meetings with the old and rallíed with the warriors. Yóu. I have never seen your face".
'That's problematic. Can I still challenge for chief... position without being a tribe person'. At first, there was silence then Akasha replied.
'Yes'.
'Then..'. I took a few more steps till I was çlose enough. "I am Freyr. Your battle attracted me. Your near killing enticed me. And your act of mercy annoys me". I took slow and deliberate steps around the new chief. My eyes went to the one on the floor.
"You spare him since he is your father?".
Drak'Var looked ready to pounce on me but I ignored him as I knelt close to him. My finger dipped into the black energy gathered beneath him. Death.
"All that death. Just a simple flick and I could end his life". I was really interested in seeing what I would feel at the end of the Undule's life. And yet I held myself back. If the Undule was interested in his father's life then maybe that was a way to make him battle him.
"For your father's life. A battle. Whoever wins you remain chieftain". Drak'Var gave me the narrowest eyes he could make with all four of his eyes.
"And how would you do this, stranger".
I frowned. 'I did tell him my name. Didn't I?'. I shook my head ignoring the stranger's title. Turning to the dying Undule I took a step closer and noted Drak'Var follow. Ignoring him I poked a finger back into the black energy.
I pulled at it, drawing it into me. The energy so vast and so tantalizing left the Undule and swam into my left hand. Drak'Varn visibly got better. His eyes were swollen and his wound and bloody face became a tad better. His breathing normalized and everything that would lead to his death faded.
"How...what did you do?". Drak'Var was next to his father in an instant. The older Undule opened his eyes as he was patted by his son.
I simply stared wondering how long till our fight.
I didn't have to wait too long.
Drak'Varn was taken out of the ring. Leaving I and Drak'Var behind. "So this is called a Dus'ar. Interesting".
Drak'Var gave me another confused look but said nothing. An Undule male stepped into the space between us and I frowned. 'Was he gonna join? A three-way fight? How would that be?'.
"No blows below the Keluc. Battle to the death or knockout". With the words given he stepped out of our space. Disappointment rushed through me but I mentally shrugged.
Drak'Var and I faced off against each other.
"Are you ready stranger?". He asked. His tone of voice was respectful yet firm. I nodded to him my curiosity and desire to feel what I felt earlier egging me on. I was already wondering if my siblings felt this way when they fought something. Had they even fought anything? Was that why they were so special? This desire to kill or something else?
"You healed my father. Brought him back from assured death. I will be the first to take the seat while having my father's wisdom to guide me. Not many Chiefs of the Verdant Vale would say the same. For this, you have my gratitude. Ànd respect, Win or lose Stranger. Also I ..."
" Is this fight all about talking or what?". I was already antsy. Drak'Var sighed and then nodded. Beyond our fighting space the male who had said those lots of words raised an arm and brought it down with a word that registered in my head.
"HIL(Fight)".
I didn't waste time. My left feet pushed me forward my hands tightening the way I saw father and son's do. Drak'Var was already on the move. As one we flashed in the center with a well-aimed right punch for our faces. Fists connecting with a bone-crunching snap.