Just before the departure to the capital of Osma
The hunters of Ohm restrained all the Hydarian prisoners of war and connected their ropes, ensuring that if one were to attempt escape, they would have to drag everyone else with them. The Hydarian's pride did not falter, after various insults spewed from their mouths in broken Osmanian, they were gagged as well. A delivery bot also arrived to carry some loot such as the Hydarian supply of aetherus, supplies and documents.
Manusya stared at the corpses of the Ohm hunters that fell in battle. They were lined up in the courtyard respectfully. His eyes stared at them quietly as he pondered something.
I knew it would be naive to think that our future will have no bloodshed. Yet I still mourn for these people. Manusya thought.
As he stared at their corpses longer, Manusya began noticing something ominous. Something...terrifying. Their eyes were all opened, full of life and they stared back at him. Their heads did not move, yet their gaze followed his presence. Their empty expressions remained an odd yet unnerving contrast. Manusya felt the hairs on his back stand up.
"W-what am I seeing?" Manusya muttered in the universal language.
His mind drifted, and his vision narrowed to those gazes. Those lively eyes attached to mangled bodies. Someone called out to him.
"Aksha!" a voice called next to him.
Manusya turned to look who it was. It was Ahmi, the Ohm captain. He turned back to look at the corpses again. They returned to their previous state with their eyes closed.
"Yes?" Manusya snapped out of his daze.
"Are you alright, Commander?" Ahmi looked at Manusya in worry. "You were not responsive for a while."
Manusya put on his hood again and walked towards the fortress gate.
"I'm fine, let's depart and arrive before sundown. Begin transporting the bodies of your brethren. Burn all the Hydarian corpses." he replied.
With that, the Ohm hunters departed with the children of Osma and the prisoners of war.
----------------------------------------
After his peculiar vision, Manusya did not march with the others. Instead, he took flight and returned to his ship in the mountain. With his manoeuvrability in the air, he would be able to catch up with everyone even if he took a detour.
Manusya stood in front of various screens with an X-Ray of his brain on the ship's bridge
"How is it, Erectus?" Manusya asked.
"IT SEEMS YOU ARE EXHIBITING SYMPTOMS OF SOME SORT OF TRAUMA. FURTHER ANALYSIS WILL BE REQUIRED. I SUGGEST YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT REST FOR NOW." Erectus, the artificial intelligence that remained on the ship, replied.
Manusya sighed. He swiped away all the floating screens showing his brains and revealed screens showing various footage of the battle that just took this place this morning.
"The nano imagery isn't where my skill as a filmmaker will end," Manusya muttered.
Manusya began piecing together all the footage that he collected throughout his stay in this new world. From his journey to the Ohm village, his life with the villagers, training the Ohm hunters and finally the fortress attack. He was crafting a documentary film of sorts, with a chronological retelling told in a form of a narrative. He was going to use this to win over the greater Osma people.
"Good enough," Manusya said as he spent a few hours editing the footage. "I'm not out to win an award. But this is still my first film in this new world." he smiled.
Manusya stood up and changed to his usual outfit of a suit fashioned with a light exosuit material, he was not wearing his Aksha outfit anymore.
"Erectus, as we discussed, I will send over some bodies of the Hydarians for you to analyse. I want to know exactly why I still can't utilise aether but these people can. I'll send both aether users and ordinary soldiers." he said as he walked to the exit.
"AFFIRMATIVE. AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO UNITE THE OSMA PEOPLE, BEGIN PREPARATION FOR CITY PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION AND GOVERNANCE?" Erectus asked.
Manusya stopped and turned his head slightly and smiled.
----------------------------------------
Manusya arrived at the capital some hours later, he had timed his approach to the Ohm hunters' march towards the capital. As he did not want to scare the inhabitants, Manusya descended from his flight a fair distance from them the settlement.
Prana, the capital of the Osma alliance and the home of the Druids. It was built underneath of an unbelievably gigantic tree, one that would have not existed back on Earth. The capital was essentially a larger settlement of similar architecture to the wooden huts he had seen in Ohm, although there were also larger buildings that were seemingly built for specific reasons. From the drone footage he had analysed of this place, Manusya guessed that the population of this proto-city was at least a few thousand. It was an impressive feat of civilization from what ethnocentrists would call a 'primitive' civilization.
Manusya looked up at the gigantic tree. He had noticed that this world had some form of gigantism occurring in some lifeforms. The flame deer he had felled was bigger than a normal deer on Earth. The trees in the forest were much thicker and taller than any species in the records. The landscape also felt larger-to-life somehow. Manusya did not know if this was because it was his first time on a planet, but the environment felt large and epic in scale.
"That is the life tree, Aksha." An Ohm hunter nearby said to Manusya.
"That it is..." Manusya muttered with awe.
Ahmi, the bald Ohm hunter approached Manusya. They were all currently in front of the march near Prana.
"Commander Aksha, we have notified the Druids of our coming. But it seems they were already aware of our arrival beforehand." Ahmi reported.
Manusya raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Well...they are the Druids. they must have sensed our comings through the forest." He replied.
The forest? Manusya remarked in his mind. Must be some form of aether magic.
Ahmi continued his report, "Because they were already aware of our approach, they had already sent messengers to all the tribes to send representatives for an Alliance meeting in the capital square a few hours ago. The representatives should arrive soon, so we are instructed to wait here so everyone could arrive at the same time. Such is the tradition. "
"It seems this clairvoyance of theirs is not for show." Manusya frowned. He did not like being one step behind. So far, everything had gone according to his plans, but this was not something he expected. It was not anything bad per se, as he knew they did not mean any harm. But shouldering the responsibility for the future of humanity, Manusya was feeling a burden to always be in control of the situation. After his men disobeyed his orders and sacrificed their lives to protect him during the attack, he began to dislike things not going to his plans step by step.
"Then we shall wait." Manusya turned back and walked towards the delivery bot. He was going to pass the time by making last-minute adjustments to his film.
----------------------------------------
Within thirty minutes, the delegations from all the different tribes that consist of the Osma Alliance arrived in Prana. Manusya had noted it when he saw the people from the capital up close, but all the different tribes were wearing different fabric coloured and fashioned in different ways. Their hairstyles, tattoos and accessories were distinct from one another, and one would tell that while these people looked similar, they each had slightly different customs and ways of life. Manusya recalled that there was once an age when the different tribes fought each other in never-ending warfare before the alliance was formed under the Druids.
As he was marvelling at the diversity of these people, the representatives of the Ohm village arrived. Unlike the other delegations which waited for a fair distance away from them, the Ohms approached Manusya's platoons and greeted them happily for their survival, yet soon after mourned the loss of the thirty or so men in battle.
"Aksha!" A young voice called out.
Manusya turned around only to see a familiar boy charging at him. He jumped and hugged Manusya like a bear's cub.
"You did it! You did it!" Numa said while hugging Manusya. "I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're back."
Manusya noticed that the boy started crying. He smiled and gently patted the boy's head.
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Manusya said in jest to the boy.
Numa looked up at him with shining eyes. "Not only did you save us, but you also brought back all my friends. Thank you thank you thank you." Numa burrowed himself into Manusya's chest again crying.
"Greetings to you, Aksha." Elder Yeksha, the de-facto matriarch of the Ohm stepped forward and bowed.
"We are eternally grateful, Aksha." Elder Vanir, Numa's guardian and one of the most respected Ohm elders also greeted Manusya.
Manusya smiled. "I'm glad to see you all here." He had noticed one more person approaching.
"Aksha..."Evui muttered while placing her hand on her chest. Her eyes looked as if she had been crying. "Is he...?"
As she said that, Elder Yeksha stared daggers at her, but could not say anything.
"He is safe. He is now returning to Hydaria and I am sure he will be a good spy to us." Manusya replied.
Evui smiled and nodded. "I am in your debt, Aksha."
Manusya looked around the surroundings, it seemed as if the other delegations were starting to enter Prana at the same time.
"I think it's time for us to enter. It would be unbecoming for the main stars to be late to our show." Manusya smiled and ordered everyone to follow him into the capital.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
No one understood his little joke there, but their eyes now showed utter respect and reverence for the Aksha after he had fulfilled the promise of freeing them from the Hydarians.
----------------------------------------
The 'city' square of Prana was located near the gigantic life tree. The tree and some part of its hollow insides were where the Druids slumbered and rested. The Osma Alliance consisted of a diverse range of different cultures and tribes. They did not leave that far away from one another, but the isolation of the forest had made each tribe oftentimes completely self-sufficient and independent, and meetings between the villages only occurred when there was a great cause for it, such as an enemy invasion, an epidemic spreading....or their liberation against their oppressors. It was a tradition that each meeting would be held in the open like this so every citizen and representative knew everything that was said, so everyone would keep each other accountable for what each other said during the meeting. After the meeting, tradition also stated a great feast and celebration would occur due to how rare such an occurrence is.
Everyone was gathered in a circle, leaving a big space in the middle. There was a single bonfire in the middle of the circle, symbolising the spirit of their alliance. Each tribe segregated themselves into different seatings, but the people of Prana themselves usually dominated the crowd as this was their home turf. In one of the seating sections, Osmanian musicians carrying traditional drums, flutes and string instruments were preparing to accompany the meeting, as was tradition for there to be some form of entertainment so that normal tribesmen wanted to follow along the meeting attentively. There were also tribal painters nearby, as it was their job to record history. The Osmanian language did not have the typically written language, but rather they used songs, paintings and symbols to convey information to others and the future generation.
What's gonna happen now? Manusya looked around nervously, everyone was simply seated waiting for something.
"Numa, do you know what we are waiting for?" Manusya whispered to the boy sitting next to him.
"I don't know! This is my first alliance meeting. But maybe the druids, Aksha!" Numa replied.
Suddenly, the musicians began playing their instruments, the drummers played an intense beat that signified some form of arrival. People in the crowd opposite Manusya made way for some individuals to pass through. Manusya felt a tug on his arm.
"It's the Druids!" Numa said.
The Druids Circle of Osma. They were the people responsible for the creation of the Osma Alliance. Or rather, their ancestors did. Many of their descendants carried the legacy and became druids. But occasionally, the druidic soothsayer—who usually acted as the leader of the Druids—would detect children from other villages who had talents as druids and scouted them.
The Druids wore more extravagant clothing compared to normal tribesmen. They wore cloth that have been embroidered with complex patterns and wore various accessories on their body. This was not a sign of opulence, but rather their divine status as protectors.
There were two dozen or so Druids, with a woman at their forefront. This woman wore a similar outfit to her peer, green and red patterns decorated her clothing. She was a woman who seemed to be in her thirties and she wore a fierce yet entrancing look on her face. She was carrying a wooden staff almost as long as her height. With the arrival of the druids, the music stopped and everyone turned silent.
"The Osma Alliance has now gathered here today in our first meeting since the invasion of the Hydarians." The woman spoke to the audience. Through magical means, her voice could be heard by everyone despite her speaking at a normal volume.
This is the soothsayer who foretold of our coming. Manusya thought. He looked at her fiercely.
"Our esteemed Mata, the leader of our druidic protectors, why have you summoned us so suddenly? The Hydarians have forbidden us from gathering again. We took great care in coming here, but we think this is a reckless act." An elder from one of the villages spoke up.
"I am inclined to agree." Another elder from another village said. "If they find us here... they could wipe us all out," he said with fear in his voice.
After the two elders spoke, everyone in the audience whispered to one another with a worried tone.
Manusya raised an eyebrow. It seems many are still ignorant of the reason for this meeting. He thought.
Mata, the druid leader raised her hand to stop the commotion.
"It is with great honour, privilege and happiness that I inform all of you that our struggle against the Hydarians is over...for now." She said.
With that, everyone shouted in surprise, many in disbelief and confusion. The musicians started playing their music again, carrying an eerie tune that raised the tension even more. The artists furiously painted the scene.
"Mata! This is some vile humour that you have. Our struggle against the Hydarians is over?" One of the tribe representatives shouted.
"They just harvested our aetherus a week ago!"
"People! Listen to the druids! their wisdom had not failed us yet!" A person could be seen trying to calm the crowd.
"Their wisdom and so-called divine powers did not protect us from the invasion!" Another troublemaker shouted.
"SILENCE!" Mata said as she stabbed her staff into the ground.
The air shooked around everyone, and a sound similar to an eagle's cry reverberated through the atmosphere.
What incredible strength! Manusya muttered. I'm not so sure anymore whether the druids could not drive away the Hydarians...but why didn't they?
Mata began walking towards Manusya. Everyone's gaze followed her until they landed on this foreign individual that they had never seen before wearing clothing that was entirely mysterious to them. They would have thought he was Hydarian if not for his differing physical appearance—tanned skin and a different facial structure than a Hydarian. Many were already staring at him, to begin with, but they had ignored him because of the importance of the meeting and the druids. As the druid leader approached Manusya, she bowed and kneeled. Everyone was sitting on the ground, so Mata was now at eye level to Manusya.
"I greet the Aksha, envoy of Suwe'pien, Lightbringer, the true protector of Osma, and the person we have been waiting for these past five years," Mata said. With her magic, everyone in attendance heard what she said.
She stood up again and faced the audience.
"My people, this is indeed our Aksha, we have been foretold of his coming since the arrival of the Hydarians! He is the reason why we have not shown our full power as your protectors. Our interference would have incurred the wrath of a nation we could not hope to defeat. But hark! The Aksha is now here. Manusya, the name left to us as the saviour of our world. He had defeated the Hydarians and returned all of your children! Some of our own imprisoned by them have also been freed! The children are now being taken care of in the Grove." She said to everyone with passion in her voice.
She turned back to Manusya. "Aksha, please grace us with your presence in the centre of the circle and reveal yourself to our people."
People were silent as they listened to her explanation but each word made their eyes bulge more and more.
"The children are back!? where are they? my son! my daughter!" A Prana villager shouted.
"It cannot be! The Hydarians are gone!?"
"Oh, Seven gods! Is he truly our Aksha?"
Mata stabbed her staff into the ground again. "Please, Aksha." She said as she gazed at Manusya.
Manusya tried to hide his displeasure. I do not like being one step behind...they seem to know my identity and arrival entirely. But I must also take advantage of this and seize my position. I must have them see me in this light for my plan to come to fruition.
Manusya stood up and approached the bonfire in the middle of the circle. At his approach, the rest of the druids took steps back closer to the crowd, as if giving up the spotlight to Aksha. Manusya also saw that Mata did not follow him to the centre, it was truly just him. He looked around him and felt dizzy. He had given a speech to the people of Ohm before, but this is another matter entirely.
Manusya cleared his throat and began his speech. "Greetings, people of Osma. I am indeed Manusya, the Aksha."
Everyone roared into excitement and disbelief at his statement.
"Hearken to me! I have come to deliver you our tale and a message from the seven gods." Manusya said. Everyone turned silent, curious to see what this person who claimed to be the Aksha would say.
"Firstly, we have indeed attacked the Hydarian fortress and freed your children and prisoners. We have also captured some Hydarian soldiers who did not manage to escape. I will now play...uh...show you a vision of my arrival in this world and our liberation of the fortress."
Manusya released millions of nanobots from his sleeves. These were the RNI nanobots that could create real-time visual effects. They could also be used to create a big screen, with each nanobot acting as a single pixel of a screen. A big box-like shape appeared above the bonfire. This nanobot screen was capable of being viewed from any direction. Manusya began playing the documentary film he had made. It first showed his meeting with Numa and arrival to the village in first person, before establishing his daily life in the village, training with the hunters and attacking the fortress.
The footage was played in chronological order with minimal editing done on them. The musicians were in awe of seeing this and began playing music to accompany the film as if acting as a live orchestra playing the soundtrack. The painters were also going mad as they quickly painted everything they saw as fast as possible. People were utterly entranced by the moving images. They reacted to everything with great force, from tears to excitement. After the end of the one-hour film, everyone's faces were drenched in tears. Years of subjugation and exploitation were let out. Even the druids could not help but shed some as well. Many of them were now convinced of the identity of the Aksha and the reality of their situation—that the Hydarians were driven away and that the Aksha was here to help them.
Mata wiped away her tears and asked, "Aksha, we are in your debt. But you know very well that since you drove away the Hydarians, they will come back with revenge. We saw that you implanted a spy in their midst, so we are glad that we can finally see who our enemies are and when they will come. But with our current power, we cannot hope to survive the next wave."
Clever woman. That was a carefully laid out question and statement to incite a reaction from the audience and force pressure on me. Manusya thought as he looked at her.
"That's right! They will come again even when we drive them away!"
"I heard from one of their soldiers that their true force numbers tens of thousands! We will be crushed!"
"My people!" Mata interjected. "Have you forgotten what the Aksha is capable of from the magical image we all saw together? He can protect us!"
Manusya smiled wryly at her. He was surprised to see, however, that she smiled back.
Well, well. I am being outplayed in politics. Manusya thought.
"Hark!" Manusya shouted. "Indeed, I am here not to just push away the Hydarians, but grow the people of Osma as a society!"
"Grow? what does that mean?" An elder from one of the villagers asked.
"I will make you into a nation that can stand proudly against the Hydarians! By this I mean I want the alliance to come together not only as an alliance but as one true country. I want to create a majestic city that will be able to survive any attack and repel any enemies. This city will improve all of your lives, improve your knowledge and develop yourselves beyond anything you can ever imagine!" Manusya said.
He waved his hand and the image on the big screen changed into an image showing a city on Earth. It was a gargantuan city filled with citizens living happily, trains and public transportation carrying people to work and anywhere they wanted and people living lavish lives.
I can't reveal anything related to the past humans yet. But what I can say instead is...
"This is the city in the heavens that the gods created and where I had come from as well. As an envoy of the gods, I will recreate such a city here on this very ground you are standing on! This is my promise." Manusya said.
Everyone muttered in awe and confusion. What they saw was beyond anything they could even comprehend or picture. Even Mata was surprised at the sight that she was seeing.
"Such scale..." Someone muttered.
"It's incredible! I. I want to live in the land of gods!"
"Can you really recreate that here, Aksha?"
Manusya nodded. "Of course, I will not be able to recreate it perfectly. We will have to start small and grow gradually. I will also need all of your help as well. This will also represent a change to your entire system and way of life. No more will you only hunt and gather, nor will you stay in your villages. We will build the city in sections and slowly move people in. We will also need to build something called a 'government' and various systems that will ensure that everything is running properly." he replied.
"From what I know, with the wars being waged near the Hydarian lands, they cannot send their forces here right away. But at the same time, they will need their aetherus as well. I predict that it will take them six months to send a bigger force here since they know of my presence and power. In the upcoming six months, we will grow our defences, train our army and build a part of the city. We will also start planning for the future, by educating the people and the children, placing people in occupations and introducing different systems. I am sure many of my words elude all of you now. You do not need to understand everything right away, just know that I am here to help."
Manusya explained everything with passion. Mata walked to the centre with Manusya.
"The druids will fully support the Aksha! We hope that all of you can come together and unite with us to create this new nation." Mata said.
"I will explain everything in more detail in days ahead of us, fret not. But we must start right away. If all is done..." Manusya said and trailed off.
He raised his fist into the sky. "Today will be marked as the day the Nation of Osma was born!"
The fire was lit, and war will be waged. Born from blood, a new nation was made.
End of Part 1
----------------------------------------
ART
Mata, the Druid Leader:
[https://i.imgur.com/AyzOwSR.png]