Chapter 3: Battle Born
Naitol discovered this activity did not approve of such treachery, not at all! Naitol Teirus ranked high amongst the average fighter in skill, but lowly in comparison to a Vitality Island soldier. Notoriously Nosey Naitol made it his duty to dismantle this enfeeblement! Such commitment drove him to search for the two with his feet free of encasement, grand dedication! Despite the numerous amounts of advice Naitol received in reference to his safety, going to a specific hot land below the dirt or putting more effort in handling his lack of hygiene, he was hell-bent on keeping everyone ready for an unpredicted battle! Such vigilance! Naitol awaited the Moon’s conjured path of luminosity to reveal the way that the Blitz Bullet and Berserker Blood so commonly trailed.
The lunar light became weak as bush and tree became more prevalent, lining and covering a sandy-stone path stretching into a tropic forest. The trail completed its elongation at a large, seemingly natural pool encased by clean gray stone. The waterbody laid exposed to the skies, allowing the lunar light to flow in and cause mystical white shimmering upon the water. Naitol strode boldly towards the pool and, not to his surprise, found the two people sitting within: Zaltanya and Balton.
Awareness of Naitol's went disregarded, but he would not allow ignorance of his aura! He stood at the edge of the crater widely, arms folded and head high as he overseered the two sitting within the water freely. Zaltanya gave him no mind and Balton tipped him only a minor moment of acknowledgement with a brief turn of abhorrent eyes.
Zaltanya rolled her hazel eyes at the unwanted guest and articulated, “He doesn’t deserve being in our vision, Balton. Don’t mind him.”
“Ya think I’d willin’ly be aware of dat thing? Summabitch smells like a cow’s ass and it’s tormentin’ mah damn nostrils all da way from o’der!”
“Y’all can’t be away from the main grounds!” thundered Naitol, “What are y’all always doing here?”
Zaltanya continued relaxing as agitation grew greater within Balton.
‘Always doing here’ he says... So that bastard probably follows us often.
“I asked you something and I clearly am waiting for an answer, so speak degenerates!”
“Degenerates?!” Balton roared, jumping up from his seated position, “You da one starin’ at people all da damn time like a pervert! You wanna be watchin’ other people so goddamn off’en but don’t take no time to watch for the bullet dat’s about to fly through yo damn dome, boy!’
Zaltanya snickered and smirked, tilting her head slightly away in an attempt to cover it.
“Is that a threat, Balton? You know you can be punished for that!” Naitol taunted, lowering his arms.
“Who’s gonna be de one to tell em’? You gon’ send dat message from the beyond de grave?”
"The loyal soldiers will not allow such treason to go unspoken of! You're a real tool, Balt-"
"Hah! You think dey give any damns 'bout you? Nah, we take more likin' to da ones tryin' to kill us than you! Don't git it twisted, boy! We all was just dropped 'ere, don't believe dat automatically puts us on good terms!"
Naitol stood for a moment at a loss of words, but a gaze that found hate and denial, "y- you know lying to yourself won't get us anywh-"
"Lyin'?! Don't be a dumbass in my presence, dumbass! Just get goin', seein' yo face makes me unyieldin'ly angry, much less talkin' to ya. If you wanna be able to talk anymo', pack ya stupidity and go back to Central."
Naitol cut eyes and left revulsed, stomping off like a refuted toddler.
Zaltanya glanced back with an awkward grin. She watched as Naitol walked off and turned left at the shore, disappearing behind the trees. Her eyes turned to Balton,
"Your assault and degradation of Naitol's worth was admirable," Zaltanya vocalized just enough with a slight grin, "but perhaps you shouldn't have stood from the water in your fit."
Hours levered the Sun back into the sky for a few and the Notorious one believed that he should expose the treacherous actions of the Bullet and Berserker! As late morning struck, Naitol assured all were out of their places of rest. He travelled out to the center of main grounds and shouted, “I have grave news! News concerning two that were formerly seen as one of the most respected! It’s such a tragedy! Come quickly, all!”
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His powerful claim pulled in ten and eyes that glanced with irritation as they continued on with their host.
“Balton Katastrof and Zaltanya Brontipodia! Two great battlers that hid a grand secret from us all! Oh yes, an enthralling section of this island! A glorious pool conjured by the Earth!”
“Is he talking about Jakos?” a blond-bearded man questioned.
“Oh Koalemos, I hope not,” said another, “he’d taint it!”
“My people! Allow me to show you where it is! I will expose you all to it, unlike the selfish Balton and Zalta-”
“Are you talking about the crater? If you aren’t then forget I asked anything,” the blond haired man barged.
“The one accessed through the coastline, Jawn?”
“Ah, damn it all…” Jawn exclaimed, dragging his hand down his face in sorrow.
Realization for Jawn’s cause of dismay quickly became common and the other soldiers carried disappointment on their backs as they drug themselves back to their activities. Perplexity took control of Naitol’s eyes as the crowd left him.
“What’s the problem?”
“There’s a reason you are just now learning this, Naitol, I'm sure you’re the last one… unsurprisingly.”
“What?”
“It was kept quiet when around you, but Anagke decided you should discover it… well, more like you cannot mind yourself.”
“You all kept the natural pool confidential? Why?”
“Don't say it like that, you make it sound like no one knew. We only kept quiet about it when around you. I know you're stupid, but I know you aren't ignorant to our general disliking towards you.”
“Who’re you calling stupid?” Naitol fumed, his old jacket flapping as he recoiled with anger, “We all know you’re here because your hometown tossed you out. I know you blonds are as bright as a pile of rocks, but you surely have some brains to be kept here? I guess we just haven’t found it yet. Maybe you inherited your stupidity from your parents? Who in their right mind would spell John like that?”
“Is that right? Well since we’re on the topic of useless things, maybe you should try gaining more worth than an old used rag on a friday night. Hell, maybe you could have a chance at a better future if you had stayed your rancid ass back in your run down town and become someone’s nighttime cloth. Clearly, you won’t be getting anywhere in the army; you have no importance. I could suggest you find an exit through death, but that would simply be too harsh for the dirt that you rot on.”
Naitol quivered with hate, but restrained himself due to a mind of fog.
“Anyways, dumbass, that pool of water isn’t natural. Pretty sure it was caused by some wizards fighting a couple centuries or so back. Probably got filled with water over time. We’ve been using it for a while… probably not anymore, though, since there’s now the chance of you touching it.”
When Naitol was fed reality, his mind began to change, but only a bit. One year and three months went by without more than the usual insults aimed at the man. The opportunity to spit once more at Naitol became almost transparent on this day - the ‘Curse Seekers’ embraced the spirit of frenzy. For over a year, conflicts were minimal; pirates came and were expunged with ease. The liquid lifestyle had solidified into a tight, jagged creek. The well holding the sea ravagers’s patience had been all used up, and fury was poured in to refill it.
Frigates loaded with thousands of pirates claiming years of combat against both the elements and man encircled the island like the jaws of the white eyed alpha to a whale. Only estimation could decide the number of ‘Doom Carriers’ there that day. They guessed twenty-nine. Thirty-seven? Fifty?
But trying to guess was not the task that held the greatest importance - that would be survival. The ravagers spent not a second for evaluation - they poured in savagely, before and after the ships came close enough to shore, choosing rampage over strategy. The pirates utilized their own with the minds of Wind and Water to send tsunamis and tornadoes, carelessly wiping away some of their own. They averaged 200 hunger-driven beasts per vessel and claimed the lives of two Lifekeeping Soldiers caught off guard along the beach, almost immediately upon arrival.
Parallel to the invaders, the Cursekeepers were given no time for thought and charged in instinctively valorant. The Cursekeepers divided into defense for inland and offense that fought towards the shore. The offense pushed forward, eliminating 600 pirates on the catastrophic way, losing twelve more to Glass and Acid Magic cannonballs, and another three to elite magic-wielding marauders. As the battle raged on, cries emerged from the Sleep Shack. Jawn sprinted to the loud bawling and stepped in, searching.
"Who’s sobbing in here?" Jawn shouted, "There are no seconds to spare sulking, get your asses movi-"
Pacing in the old wooden contraption was Zaltanya cradling a crying infant in an old, oversized shirt and Balton pacing anxiously. As the two's eyes landed on Jawn, they exhaled in relief. Balton sprinted out and Zaltanya passed over the baby to Jawn - it was much bigger in his arms than it appeared in Zaltanya's.
"Where the hell did you get this?!" Jawn shouted with great confusion as the two ran off into battle.
"Keep dat boy safe or it's your ass, got that?" Balton yelled back, grabbing a grayish-white blunderbuss on his side.
“What the hell do you mean?!” Jawn thundered.
“You’re the best we have right now, Jawn,” Zaltanya praised, “It’s best you stay out of danger so any who fall have another chance. We will have to count on you.”
Jawn gazed for a brief moment before promptly gathering himself. “The northern and western sections of Vitality have the fewest of us right now. "
The Bullet shot off to the north and the Berserker nodded before charging towards the west, both disposing of confronters in their way.