For a brief instant, the battle paused. All the humans had heard the elephant’s words and reacted in varying degrees of shock, while the wildebeest and hyenas continued to throw themselves at each other, heedless.
Mandla heard gasps and muttered oaths from the other two Ascendants, while he was brought back to a conversation he’d had with his mother as a child. Mandla’s mom, a cutthroat corporate executive accustomed to billion-rand deals, had brought him down to the Victoria Street market by the seaside. She intended to teach him to haggle, the hard way.
Young Mandla, very much uncomfortable outside the sanitised environment of the family estate, had complained that he’d never get it after getting ripped off three times in succession, wanting to go back home as soon as possible. Her response echoed in his head at this strangest of times.
If you can speak, you can negotiate.
Without a second thought, he leapt off Nikki’s back, hands raised in front the massive grey beast.
“Wait! If you can speak, you can understand me, right?”
The elephant stomped its foot, opening a yawning fissure in the earth that raced towards him.
“If you call off your friends, I’ll call off mine! We can talk!”
The fissure, just before swallowing him, fizzled out at his feet, along with all but a sliver of the energy he’d stolen with his spear. No more buffer.
If this doesn’t work, this will be the dumbest fucking way to die.
The elephant, seemingly marvelling at its skill failing on him, hesitated. It thundered its way over to the increasingly regretful spearman. Mandla noticed that the fissure closed up wherever the elephant was about to tread. He thought back to how the concussive blast from his [Iwisa] devastated others while harmlessly washing over him.
Am I replicating its innate immunity to its own skills?
He didn’t get any time to pursue that line of thought however as the elephant, now in front of him, inspected him with its trunk. Mandla was struggling to maintain his composure as the colossal beast loomed directly over him, curiously sniffing over him. Its trunk had two finger-like protrusions on its end it used to grip things, protrusions that now felt at his cringing face.
The rest of the battlefield disappeared as Mandla’s mind laser-focused on the issue in front of him. He had to get the beast talking again. He had it curious. He had to leverage that somehow.
Another demonstration?
“Your abilities don’t hurt me, you can see that. I’ll let you try again if we can talk.”
Immediately, the elephant’s trunk dug into the ground in front of him and came out holding a sword formed from pure stone. It brought the blade whistling through the air at his neck, but the crude weapon crumbled to dust as the razor edge touched Mandla’s skin.
Outwardly, he stood defiant, brazenly staring the beast down from his weak position. Internally, he was almost pissing himself at how close that was.
We were supposed to talk first!
Now his slight advantage was truly gone. He only barely had enough to stop the blade, but now he was naked before the beast’s mercy.
Fortune smiled on him, for that had really piqued the elephant’s curiosity. Mandla’s chest vibrated with the bass of the elephant’s voice.
“HOW?”
The spearman was sure his ears were bleeding with the force of that question, but he’d succeeded. It was talking. Now, he had to keep it talking.
“Call off your guys and I’ll call off mine. We’ll talk like intelligent beings.”
He meant it too as he was slowly realising this was what it was. Elephants were known for their smarts before the system came but they weren’t human-level. Nothing was. Now though…
The elephant trumpeted once, right above Mandla’s head, painfully shattering his eardrums. He endured in silence as the injury healed quickly.
That seemed to have done it. The wildebeest and few remaining giraffes and gazelle all backed away at once, again with that hive-like synchronicity. A pointed look at Nicola made her tap Nikki’s neck, who let out a short, sharp bark that made the hyenas disengage. A nod at Kaveh made him call out for the humans to stop. Everyone turned to look at Mandla and the elephant in the centre.
No pressure.
“Much better, right? We can sort this ou-”
“HOW?”
Its gravel-like voice shook him again, its hot breath washing over the helpless spearman.
God this stinks.
“I’ve noticed you don’t need to wait after using your skills. You’re like us. We have abilities beyond those around us. Beyond the Legendarium. One of mine makes me immune to Boss monster skills. That’s what you are right? A type of Boss?”
Technically the truth, despite the high-stakes situation, he was conscious of everyone’s eyes on them. He didn’t want to give away the exact details of his skill, especially since he was only just figuring it out himself.
The elephant seemed to consider this. It probably hadn’t seen any humans since day zero, and it didn’t know the full extent of their capabilities. It could squash him like a bug right now, but it didn’t know that. Mandla was banking on it being smart enough to relate its own experience as the toughest thing for miles onto the Ascendants and not wanting to risk it. If you thought about it, Ascendants were human boss monsters.
Wait what the fuck. That makes too much sense.
“WHY DO YOU ATTACK US? BURN US?”
The booming voice shook him out of his tangent. He refocused.
“I’m guessing you have a status? I bet on that status, you have the title Hegemon. That’s what we need.”
“TO TAKE MY DOMAIN!”
“No no, believe me, we want to get as far away from your domain as possible. You’ve seen the big blue walls around us. We need the title to get out, unfortunately.”
“YOU HATE WALLS? EVERYTHING HATES WALLS! YET BEFORE THE BLESSING HUMANS WALLED US UP. WALLED ME UP.”
Ah fuck.
He’d been afraid of this exact eventuality. The reality was, most things on earth probably had valid grievances against humans. He didn’t want to be put in the position of having to defend how humanity had treated every other species. It was indefensible.
This elephant had probably been roaming outside a game reserve and got caught out when the walls came down. He didn’t even want to ask why it only had one tusk, he could guess.
But it had called the system “The Blessing”. Did that imply religion? Society?
“Have you… spoken to others like you about the Blessing?”
“WE SPEAK THROUGH THE TREMORS. THE EARTH TELLS ALL. SHE GRANTED THE HIGHER SPECIES HER BLESSING, THAT WE MAY PREPARE. A RECKONING IS COMING.”
Mandla’s immediate reaction was to call bullshit. He was an atheist, pending review once they found out the origin of the Ascent, but religion and its role in history had always fascinated him. He knew how common doomsday myths were in religions, people had come up with every variation over the millennia.
But the world had changed. For one terrible moment, Mandla saw it. A tidal wave of smart, organised animal hordes, empowered by quintessence, all turning on humanity as one and washing the world free of them for good.
No. Never. If it came down to it, we would get our shit together. Humans would never let anyone else just take over. This is our planet. We did it before, without magic powers. We’ll do it again.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Do all of you guys talk about this Reckoning?”
“IT IS IN MOTION. AS WRITTEN IN THE STARS, THE GREAT MOTHER HAS PROVIDED ONE CHAMPION ALREADY IN THE NORTH. MORE ARE TO FOLLOW.”
Did he just happen to find the one elephant that was a zealot or were they all like this? Was this champion some super animal or the elephant’s version of an “angel of death”.
“And these champions will do what exactly? Kill us all?”
“TAKE. ALL HUMANS KNOW IS TAKE. TAKE LAND. TAKE YOUNG. TAKE TUSK. THE CHAMPIONS WILL SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE. TAKE STABILITY. TAKE PEACE. TAKE EVERYTHING.”
And all the world will drown in fire and brimstone, huh? This could be ripped straight out of Revelations.
Still, he knew he had to take this seriously. He had to stall for as long as possible.
“I know it won’t mean much, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience with us. We’re shaped by our nature just like you. Our two species evolved together on the African plains, we all had our own ways of surviving. Do you even know about evolution? Nevermind, the fact is you guys got big. We got vicious. We had to. Unfortunately, we never unlearned it.”
“YOU APOLOGISE WHILE COMING HERE TO KILL ME!”
The elephant made a rumbling noise deep within its chest, rattling him.
“It doesn’t have to be like that. We didn’t know you could be reasoned with. Can you unlock the walls?”
“I-”
He never got an answer, as a [Bodkin Point] flashed through the air above his shoulder. Almost in slow motion, Mandla saw the sharp metal tip glint in the sunlight before burying itself in the elephant’s left eye. The elephant reared up, trumpeting in rage and pain, while simultaneously causing massive earthquake.
Just like that, the spell was broken, and the two sides went at each other again.
What the fuck!
He ran off to the side, getting out of range of the berserk behemoth.
“Nicola what the fuck was that!”
The archer in question, riding close on Nikki, shrugged nonchalantly.
“I really thought that would get it. Straight through to the brain and all. I guess its insides are tougher than I expected.”
Bull-fucking-shit. You did that on purpose. I see you.
He’d been ready to give Nicola the signal to abort. At which point she’d fire two [Flare] arrows in the air and call Karl off. But she didn’t want that.
They were so close to finding a solution that didn’t end in one of them dead. But it interfered with her fucking plans. Mandla looked around at the renewed fighting. The renewed dying.
Jesus. She’d even condemn people to death for these fucking goals of hers. Psycho. Is… Should I be worried?
He’d known Nicola for like a decade at this point. They’d spent much of their teenage years, not as friends, but in close proximity as Kaveh told her everything about him and told him everything about her. He’d never even considered the possibility of violence from her, but he looked at her with new eyes now.
Would she attack him if it came down to it? He was afraid he knew the answer.
Too late to have these thoughts now, as Nikki rode up beside him and he hopped on her back, watching the back of Nicola’s head as he settled into position on the beast. Her spotted blonde hair was fitting. It denoted a predator.
He remembered what he’d thought about her on that first day. He’d let himself get seduced away from his initial correct assessment. The worst part was, he’d known it was happening. But thus was the power of smart, beautiful girls.
The elephant angrily turned their way, the ruins of its left eye weeping jelly as its body attempted to heal around the intruding arrow, that had penetrated so deep it couldn’t reach it with its trunk. Still, it was just a waiting game. Eventually the arrow would dissipate into those golden flakes and the elephant’s eye would heal. But Mandla noticed, on its ear, the nick he’d cut healed, but slowly. Too slowly.
He kept that fact quiet. He needed to find some time after this was over to properly assess his abilities.
Regardless, now that talks had broken down, or rather been sabotaged, the plan was back on. Mandla’s job remained unchanged. He sympathised with the elephant, but it was no choice at all. Humans every time.
Nikki rode up next to the elephant, on incredibly unstable footing thanks to the roiling earthquake emanating from the huge beast, but able to use its new blind spot to her advantage. Repeating the move from earlier, Mandla leapt onto the elephant’s back, a stable oasis in the sea of vibration he’d just left.
The elephant, warier this time, noticed his presence immediately and began lashing at him with its flexible trunk. Summoning his [Isihlangu], the leather shield’s slowing field allowed him to dodge the high speed attacks and run all the way back up to its skull. There, the attacks redoubled, not allowing him through as it knew exactly where he was trying to go.
All of a sudden, he saw a flash of light in the sky. A [Flare]. That was the signal that Nicola had spotted Karl in the distance. It served both to reorient Karl to his target and tell the others to get into place. They’d done the math. It wouldn’t be long now.
The elephant, momentarily distracted by the flame arrow, let its defence wane for a split-second. But for Mandla, feet already in the perfect position thanks to his hours of [Janna] practice, muscles already primed thanks to the focus on explosiveness he’d learned from [Glima], that split-second was all he needed. He burst past the snaking trunk, his [Iwisa] already spinning into existence. With a roar, he bludgeoned the elephant’s skull, ringing it like a gong.
The stunned elephant froze, the earth around them stilled, and a slight whine could be heard in the distance.
Oh sh-
CRUNCH
Like a supersonic jet, Karl, atop Enhörning, had smashed into the left side of the elephant’s chest with all the force of a missile. He’d travelled almost to the swamp and, once he saw Nicola’s signal, spurred his Symbiote to start its acceleration skill. He’d been building up speed all across the savannah and dumped it directly into the elephant’s body.
Incredibly, not even that was enough to pierce its skin. Its defence was an entire realm above their offense. But that was just on the outside. The Ascendants could clearly see broken ribs threatening to poke through the skin. It just needed a little nudge.
Karl, wasting no time, activated his own version of the acceleration skill as he and his Symbiote fell to the ground. The elephant was slowly tipping over and Karl meant to ensure that outcome.
His little nose horn lighting up, Karl blurred forwards instead of downwards, again striking the elephant and this time forcing the jagged edges of its ribs through the grey skin. The elephant bled.
Mandla saw the chance.
Springing off its back, Mandla slid down the falling elephant’s side, summoning his [Ixwa] as he did.
The weapon, somehow sniffing the powerful blood in the air, eagerly pulled him over to the elephant’s injuries, that were healing, but not fast enough. Drawing back, Mandla dug his spear in through the wound, eliciting a trumpet of rage from the massive beast, finally shocking it out of its stun. He barely even heard it however as the rush of energy that filled him buzzed him like a stimulant. He felt like he’d chugged a case of red bulls. He felt invincible.
Reaching the ground, Mandla dashed under the toppling beast’s legs. Now awake and aware, the elephant was using its skill to raise earthen pillars to stop its descent. He was going to put a stop to that.
Reaching the other side, now watching the elephant fall towards him, he leapt through the support pillars it had created, ashing them with just his proximity.
Condemned, the doomed elephant had no further way to balance itself and fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Barely even letting it settle, Mandla moved in once more. He could feel the elephant’s energy merging with him slowly, a strange lump of power within him, shot through with streaks of his own familiar quintessence. He intended to use it to finish this.
As in the plan, Nicola and Kaveh were attacking its eyes and mouth now that it was stuck on its side. But Mandla, manifesting his [Imbemba] had reimagined his role. One blast of the weapon’s cleaving ability would end this quickly.
He swung double-handed at the elephant’s back, only for the weapon to clang off, the deadly afterslash splashing impotently against the beast’s hide.
Hmm.
Dismissing the axe, he summoned his [Ixwa] once more, the fiendish weapon immediately encouraging him to go for the neck.
Running up to its neck, Mandla thrust the spear at the grey flesh and felt something new. The stolen energy within him, travelled through his body, down his arm and into the spear, where it collected in the tip. When the blade touched the elephant’s flesh, it immediately began dismantling the armour and the sharp tip slid in with an exultant vibration.
Another flood of energy entered him as the angry beast grabbed him with its trunk and began snaking it around him. Pulling the joyous weapon out of the elephant’s neck, unluckily before it reached a major artery, Mandla jabbed at the trunk attempting to constrict him.
The elephant simply grabbed him quickly by the leg, ignoring the stab that opened another bleeding wound, and whipped him away again, this time towards the giant baobab tree.
Crashing into its rock-hard trunk, his vision went double and he landed hard, rolling over and throwing up bile. He couldn’t see straight. He couldn’t think straight.
His thoughts, muddled and confused, managed to wonder if this was brain damage.
He didn’t have to wonder long as a glowing green rain suddenly showered on top of him. Looking up, he saw one of the baobab’s white flowers jingling above him, healing him. This felt even better than his natural healing, as the Tree of Life gave him a mental clarity that rivalled ADHD medication.
Wielding his spear in a tense fist, Mandla ran out with a dread purpose.
Catching the elephant trying to both stand up, and fend off attacks from three Ascendants and two Symbiotes, it understandably didn’t notice him at first.
Until he ran up to its stomach and plunged his weapon in, spraying him with a gout of blood. The thrill of absorbing all that energy only increased the more energy he absorbed. He pulled it out and stabbed again, and again, and again, each time digging his blade deep.
It’s too big.
His weapon would never be long enough to hit anything vital through its abdominal wall. So he changed tactics.
Running his blade along the beast’s stomach lengthwise, Mandla unzipped the poor elephant, its guts sloshing out bloodily onto the floor.
Karl, never one to fuck around, immediately dived into the elephant’s newly opened cavity, ignoring the sharp, acrid stench, hacking and slashing at everything in sight. Its mouth started to rot and putrefy as its healing factor was finally overwhelmed and one of Kaveh’s [Sahm] arrows caught.
Mandla continued running his blade along the elephant, laying its ribcage bare. Nicola began shooting up its lungs, no doubt hoping to get the heart shot.
The spearman went up to its heavily afflicted head, Kaveh’s poison having nearly fully consumed it and raised his spear. He paused. The damage to the elephant’s eye, still unhealed, made it look like it was crying.
Setting his mouth, Mandla rammed the spear home. And practically arched his back with how much energy flooded into his system. It crashed through his body, filling him to greater and greater extents until…
Ding!
You have successfully challenged a Mini-Boss! You now qualify for the 3rd Rung of the Bloodline Ascent. Entering Trial…