A'Vris squared himself for the challenge ahead. Many cycles of training had led to this day. Today he would become Prime. Yellow feathers stood up from the crest on the back of his head and contrasted his green scales. The only outward sign of his anxiety was the twitching of his long tail, but to an observer that could also be a sign of anticipation.
His predecessor had ascended to the position of Zenith, the greatest warrior of their race. This left a vacancy. Normally one would need to challenge and defeat a Prime in ritual combat to take their place, but in instances of unfortunate accidents or events such as ascension the aspirant is required to undertake a hunt. And, not just any hunt. But one that will prove the ultimate prowess of the warrior.
A'Vris scraped his claws against one of his razor sharp teeth to sharpen it absent-mindedly. He considered his options, they'd been tracking the hulking Carnotaurus for two days. Last night they caught sight of it for a moment. Selective gene mutations into the species over the past thirty thousand years had increased the threat the creature posed tremendously.
Tall for a Saurian, A'vris stood over two meters tall. Several hundred thousand years ago his people had discovered the building blocks of life and began to manipulate the creatures in the world they lived in. In ages past a Carnotaurus may only have had a length of around eight meters. This one was over twenty. The horns on its head jutted forward and were longer than his body. Its front arms were comparatively small but the genetic mutations had increased them and their capabilities.
"A'Vris, it is time." A voice said from the door to his tent.
He stood from his crouch and exited the tent. A'Vris placed a clawed hand on the shoulders of his brother and said "Thank you C'Sarn. You have been a strong brother and I have relied on your support. When I become Prime I will acknowledge your blood publicly to the clan. And if I should fall this day, know you have my gratitude."
C'Sarn bowed his head in acceptance of the praise and gestured towards the forest around them. A'Vris nodded and the two ran into the trees.
They found it almost immediately. The huge Carnotaurus was scratching its neck against the side of a tree. Its rust colored scales rippled with reflected sunlight as it moved. The brothers stopped before it was aware of them. A'Vris removed his heavy leather armor and passed it to his brother. Divested of all clothing except for a simple loin cloth and a double-sided spear, he waited for his brother to move back far enough not to attract the attention of the giant he was about to fight.
When C'Sarn was clear A'Vris stepped into a patch of clear sunlight and let loose the mightiest roar he could. The Carnotaurus instantly whipped its head around and looked at him. It raised itself to full height as it regarded him. A'Vris barely came to its knee but stood without fear, something that seemed to puzzle the huge predator. A'Vris was rather surprised when the creature let out a snort of dismissal and resumed scratching its neck on the tree. But his surprise was quickly gone.
Though the creature looked to be ignoring A'Vris, it kept a wary eye locked on him at all times. It was baiting him. Deciding to take the bait A'Vris crept forward slowly, trying to act stealthy and knowing everything was being observed. When he was within fifteen meters the dinosaur struck. Its head snapped forward faster than a striking cobra and slammed its horns into the ground where he'd been standing a heartbeat ago. The horns went over a meter deep into the dirt and when the Carnotaurus stood back up, clods of dirt and roots were stuck to the left horn. It shook its head, tossing the remnants away; looked at him again and when they locked eyes it roared at him.
A'Vris smiled and returned the roar, then charged. The Carnotaurus watched him come for a moment then snorted and charged. As the two combatants closed, the giant bent down, jaws open, ready to snap shut on him. But A'Vris performed a short hop into a deep crouch, legs bunched, then extended, propelling him into a huge leap that took high over his opponents head. The jaws lifted and snapped shut narrowly missing his tail.
Landing lightly on the predator's back, A'vris plunged the spear deep. He ignored the roar of pain and gripped tightly on to the shaft knowing what was to come next. The big head snapped up and the beast twisted in tight circles in an attempt to throw him. The claws on A'Vris feet were not strong enough to hold him to the massive back and he was soon hanging on for dear life, his weight putting strain on the weapon. Shortly after his only connection to the beast was his spear, it broke. One head shearing off inside the creature.
A'Vris was lucky. In his fall he missed any of the trees in the area and was quickly back on his feet with the now shorter spear. Luckily there was still a spearhead along the unbroken end of it. He looked up and matched eyes with the beast. It was angry now and looked more insulted than hurt despite the steady flow of blood pouring off its back. Eyes narrowed and fixed on A'Vris, the Carnotaurus stalked slowly towards him, circling slightly to force him to stay in motion.
Scanning the ground between the two combatants, A'Vris located what he needed to claim victory but the Carnotaurus saw the look away to charged, attempting to take advantage of the distraction. A'Vris ran forward as fast has his legs could move him. Just before the beast could lean down and scoup him up he dropped to his back and slid along a flat smooth rock embedded in the ground. The beast went for the bait and slammed its head downwards in an attempt to bite him but the horns were stopped by the rock, preventing the head from descending further and the massive jaws filled with teeth longer than his arm slammed shut a few finger lengths above his chest.
Inertia swept him away and once the danger of the head was at least momentarily behind him, he dug a clawed foot into the ground, popped up to his feet and slammed the spear into the chest of the great beast. A cry of mortal pain escaped the creature. A'Vris twisted the spear and ripped it free. Blood splattered the clearing and he rolled away as the great beast collapsed to the ground, dead.
A'Vris climbed to the top of his kill and let out a roar of triumph.
"Well fought my brother" C'Sarn said. "You shall become Prime for sure."
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A'Vris redressed in his armor, aided by his brother. Returning to his kill, he removed a long curved knife from his belt and methodically cut the two largest teeth free of the corpse. He left an ample amount of gum tissue attached so that the age of the kill would be obvious. Both teeth were as long as his arm from shoulder to fingertip. "I hope the Zenith finds this gift acceptable. She has always held odd interests." After removing his trophies A'Vris and C'Sarn butchered the kill and harvested enough meat to last the two several days.
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The next morning A'Vris and C'Sarn greeted the guardian soldiers as they walked through the massive wooden gates of Talarmo. Family homes of stone, wood and thick glass lined the streets in an almost haphazard arrangement. Children chased each other or prowled in ambush. In one clearing they passed, several older Saurians were being taught how to handle a spear by a few soldiers.
After several minutes they came to the center of the city; there, a flat topped ziggurat-like structure made of stone that stood twice as high as any other building in the city. Soldiers were positioned on top of all four corners of each four meter high layer, every one vigilant and keeping an eye on the city and surroundings. A single path of steps lead up to the top with a soldier flanking each side at both the bottom and top. A'Vris was well known but wore his silver sash of office anyway.
After the climb, both brothers approached the center of the platform. A small square structure of stone roughly three meters in height was guarded by a soldier. Beside him stood a Saurian that A'Vris knew intimately. "Garinvia, your beauty outshines the dawning sky."
The old woman chuckled to herself, "A'Vris you flatterer. If I was thirty cycles younger I would snatch you up to be mine, but I am afraid these old bones are just no match for your youth."
"The loss is mine, I'm sure." A'Vris replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I know you are just trying to make me smile, but I do have several grand daughters that are your age." Though he tried not to react, the plume on his head ruffled momentarily with alarm before he could secure control of himself. Garinvia chuckled knowingly.
"With all due respect madam chancellor, I am not currently looking for a mate." He said as diplomatically as he could and tried not to look chagrined.
The old woman squaked with a full belly laugh. "Come A'Vris, the Zenith is eager to see you." She turned and entered the square building.
The brothers exchanged a look and followed. Once inside, all three stood on an outlined rectangular recess in the floor. Garinvia reached out and pressed a metal plate set into stone and the elevator they stood on began to lower. After it stopped the older woman led them to a meeting hall within the great structure.
After entering the hall A'Vris and C'Sarn dropped to one knee while Garinvia stepped to one side, all three bowed their heads. The Zenith stalked toward the two, long thin streamers of gold were woven into her ruddy brown elbow and head feathers; with each step they billowed out and reflected the light in the room giving her a golden aura. "A'Vris, do you have something for me?" She asked, in a low playful voice and twitching her head to the side.
"I do" he replied. Reaching to his back, he pulled the two Carnotaurus teeth free of his satchel. "I slayed the beast just yesterday with only a spear as the old ways required." He held them out to her in offering while keeping his head bowed.
"And who is this you have brought with you?" She asked, taking one of the teeth and inspecting it idly, almost bored.
"This is C'Sarn. He is brother of my blood. We are hatchmates." He dropped the now empty hand but left the other outstretched in offering. "I have trained him in the ways of command."
"Your replacement? If you become my Prime?" She lifted the second tooth from his arm, but didn't examine it.
"My spear is yours to command if you will have me." He said as he lowered his now empty hand.
"Look at me" she commanded and A'Vris raised his head to look into her eyes. "Don't forget for one moment why I am Zenith."
A'Vris flattened his crest at the threat. She was the greatest warrior among his people and she was reminding him of that incase he had any motivations toward eventually replacing her as leader. He had watched her fight and kill her predecessor in ritual combat and he was of the mind that the title of Zenith fit her more than any warrior that had ever held it. She was unparalleled in combat and could easily kill both himself and C'Sarn with hardly any trouble if the thought appealed to her.
His head bowed and his gaze fell back to the floor. "No Zenith. I want only to serve."
"Then I accept you. Rise Prime J'Vris. And thank you for the gifts. I also accept your recommendation of replacement. Garinvia, please take A'Sarn to the council room and prepare him for the Rite of Command."
"At once Zenith"
J'Vris didn't look up as the two left. The Zenith waited until they were alone and commanded him to follow. She led him into an anti-chamber with a flat counter. From a cupboard took down two goblets then pulled a metal drawer out of the stone wall. Frosted air flowed from the drawer, reaching in she pulled several chunks of ice and dropped them in both cups before closing the drawer. Lastly, she picked up a decanter of rare sweetened red juice and filled both goblets.
"A celebration" she said, handing one to him. He sipped the odd beverage, almost enjoying the rich flavor; in contrast she seemed to be enraptured by it, going so far as to lick the inside clean with her long tongue. Finally she looked up. "If not you, it'd have been A'Skoll. But I can't stand him. I'd have torn his throat out with my teeth before the end of the lunar cycle." Putting the goblet down she turned to J'Vris. "I have your first duty as Prime."
That definitely caught his attention. His crest lifted and he raised his eyes to meet hers. "Yes Zenith?"
"You are eager, that is good. To the east, over the yurl river just off the road to Jeparti there is a large clearing in the trees. In the clearing is some kind of energy vortex. It was located by a band of range hunters two moons ago who say that they have seen multiple animals drawn to it, once they enter, the animals do not come back out."
She set the glass down and continued. "I sent out a team of brains to figure out what it was and they reported back that it was some kind of portal to another place. They don't know what is causing it and don't know how to stop it. But it needs to be stopped, another was found yesterday in the far north near the mountain lake. We received the electronic relay this morning. These portals are causing havoc with the wildlife. Many of the deadlier large creatures from the jungle in the south are being drawn into our hunting grounds."
"We've had increasingly more deadly encounters while on routine hunts. I've had to issue an order preventing inexperienced fighters from joining the recent hunts."
"I was aware of the order, though not the purpose."
She nodded. I need you to go to the vortex in the east. It is being guarded by three hunting parties and has a full team of brains studying it still. Find out what is causing this vortex, stop it and close it if."
J'Vris dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Yes Zenith, it will be done." Standing, he left quickly. He was familiar with the great structure and easily located his brother. A'Sarn was ready to begin his rite and sat patiently while he waited.
"Congratulations brother. I knew you would be chosen as Prime." He said
"Thank you brother and congratulations to you too. I knew she would accept you as my recommended replacement." The two brothers were silent for a moment. They had a deep bond and had since they were hatchlings. "Unfortunately I must leave you for a time. The Zenith is sending me to investigate a strange occurrence in the east. I should not disclose the details but, it is unlike anything our people have encountered before."
"I understand, good fortune to you brother."
"And to you." J'Vris replied and the two brothers embraced briefly. Before the sun had reached its peak in the sky J'Vris was on the road accompanied by eight elite warriors he'd personally chosen.