Sunbeam Lair an alien world

@Keelut

 

Grezig was not aware that a place like this could even exist. She had never been inside of a cave this large before? Was… was this even a cave? Caves had backs to them, a wall farther in to let you know that you couldn’t go any deeper. This place didn’t seem to have a back end. It went on forever. Grezig did not really want to be in here. It gave off an alien feeling: there were plants and animals here she’d never seen before. But curiosity forced her to move farther in. Still, she kept checking over her shoulder to make sure she could see the exit. There were holes in the roof where sunlight filtered through, and in those places, trees had begun to grow. She walked over to one of them and sat down to look at it. It was the only normal thing in this cave and it gave her some comfort. After a time, she turned back towards the entrance and prepared to leave. She needed to get back to the group.

Someone's here She kept repeating...

... But Keelut couldn't yet snap out of it. He was having antoher vision, one that did not yet make sense, but blinded by the otherworldly lights Keelut wandered through the forest guided only by Anna's voice. The mountain had an energy, a bright, warm energy, almost too hot for Keelut's sense to handle it, but he couldn't have ignored its calling even if he had wanted to try. And he was rewarded for his compliance.

The images were dense and forthcoming, and the sensorial overload had Keelut stuttering under his breath as his body shivered dancing with the tug and push of the energies engulfing him. Tikazi tave amzi tapti' anas tave giria itik nwitsis, tave nekaltas sekleti pradme zo zabas iv ari ir zo pradzia kash niekada qoremi natura mutters his dry voice as he approaches the soul that Anna warned him about. Skori se jēda māzigon bona se guēsin jiōragon byka, se vok mēre jāhor rhaenagon nykeā arlinnon hen dārys se nykeā sīmonagon isse glaeson bona dōrī mōris, he repeats, this time in another tongue, as his body freezes just yards away from the woman before she can exit the cave.

Finally the images clear out. Keeluts eyes are wide open staring at one of the natural skylights in the cave, and in a moment of lucidity Keelut finally reveals his prophecy:

When the day come in which the forest shrinks,
the pure of heart shall usher forth a change of leadership
and arise in immorality

And the switch goes off. His body goes limp and drops to the ground as though it was made of rags. His breathing is troubled but he's alive, and for a moment Keelut melds into the void.

Another wolf had shown up here, which surprised Grezig. Who else could possibly be in a place like this? Grezig had found it by accident. She opened her mouth to greet the male, but he began speaking in a strange language. And didn’t stop. Finally, he seemed to look around with more clarity, and she was going to try speaking to him again, but he immediately started talking again—this time in a language she understood:

’When the day come in which the forest shrinks,
the pure of heart shall usher forth a change of leadership
and arise in immorality.’

N o p e. Grezig was getting the fuck outta here. The last time someone had been weird around here, it had been Thorleif. And look where that had gotten her? Now she had to deal with him possibly for the rest of her life. Fuck no. She was not — oh, now he was dead. Great.

Tail tucked against her leg and head down, she inched slowly towards him, sniffing tentatively. He was still breathing. Thank God, she thought to herself. Now she could leave. And leave she did, quickly, and without looking back.

[Exit.]

Gundham had caught sight of the cavern from afar. Intrigued and fearless as he was, the overlord decided to trek up the mountainside to investigate. However, he caught scent of the fresh tracks from two others. This sent a wave of anxiety irritation over him, but no matter! No one would stand in the way of the Overlord of Ice! Finally, he reached the peak, though the two wolves he'd smelled were still here (unfortunately), one inside the cave and one out.

However, the pale man who stood closest to him had just started to give a prophecy:

"When the day come in which the forest shrinks,
the pure of heart shall usher forth a change of leadership
and arise in immorality."

Gundham's eyes widened when the man then collapsed, giving him no time to pick apart the meaning of his words. What happened? Had he been possessed by a spirit that was using him to convey this message? Or perhaps the power required for him to make such a prophecy was too taxing for his body. As Gundham rushed over to assess the man's condition, the woman inside the cave rushed out, frightened by the prophecy. Perhaps it foretold something negative to her. Well, whatever, she was not of his concern.

The man was still breathing, albeit with much effort. As he observed, Gundham noticed a dark, serpentine figure slithering about on his body. He gasped audibly. Was he, too, a demon beast tamer?! What were the odds? No, this encounter was fated to happen. Unable to rouse the man through touch, lest the poison within him kill the prophet for sure, Gundham shouted, Rise, prophet! I, the Overlord of Ice, have heard your prophecy!

sorry for the wait! I promise I'll be more consistent now u.u

His eyes saw nothing and his ears heard nothing. Keelut was submerged in the true void for who knows how long, but when he awoke the sound of a muffled voice got him blinking back to reality. What happened? he murmured, still confused and with blurred vision. He made out the figure of the male, tall and long standing before him like a true monarch, but he couldn't recognize anything about him.

Who are you? asked Keelut as he forced himself up, but the dizziness still lingered and he could hardly stay balanced. What did you hear me say? he asked then, knowing very well that he had just spoken a message from the gods. He could never remember what he saw or said, which is why it was so important that someone —Anyone, really— heard him.

The man eventually came to, asking numerous questions. You collapsed after giving a prophecy. I am Gundham Tanaka, Overlord of Ice, Gundham answered, gently now. His mismatched eyes were full of concern intrigue, and he gave the prophet room as he moved to stand. You gave a prophecy... He fished for the saying in his mind for a moment before reciting it:

'When the day come in which the forest shrinks,
the pure of heart shall usher forth a change of leadership
and arise in immorality.'

Gundham then watched the man intently, curious of what he would say next. Who was he? Could he understand what the prophecy meant?

The stranger's response confirms what Keelut already knew, a new prophecy had been given, and the prophet sits up to hear the man repeat his words anxiously. It only comes after the man introduces himself as the overlord of ice, which Keelut doesn't question or pay much mind to. He just wants to hear the words.

A forest. The pure of heart. Immortality.

They don't make sense, but they are not supposed to. Prophecies could be interpreted in many ways but they would only ever become clear once the prediction is fulfilled. The most anyone can do about it is brace themselves for the day it besomes real.

Good, good... says Keelut as he makes another effort to get up. He feels much better now, but the energies that had to run through him to convey the messages always left him exhausted.

You were meant to hear the prophecy, it is your duty now to bring awareness of it to whoever might be pertinent. he explains calmly. That was juts the way of things. Does it mean anything to you? he asked then, curious to know whether it had given the male any ideas. It was his prophecy anyway.

The prophet had yet to give his own name, but Gundham would worry about that later. More pressing was that the pale man said the prophecy had been meant for him and asked what it meant pertaining to him. He sat in thought for several moments, echoing the words in his mind.

"When the day come in which the forest shrinks..."

A forest was going to shrink? How? The only way he could think of this is by fire, but regardless, that part was unclear to him.

"... the pure of heart shall usher forth a change of leadership and arise in immortality."

Pure of heart? Surely that couldn't be him... at least, not the person he fronted. Deep, deep down in the part of him he kept under lock and key, he knew what this could mean. To the true Gundham, this prophecy foretold his bursting out of confinement, taking over the false persona he fronted to everyone else and partially to himself. "In immortality" would mean this change would last the rest of his life and into the afterlife.

But he did not acknowledge this, not now. He was still too far under the murky waters of his own creation. To the Overlord of Ice, the prophecy meant one thing: Of course; this prophecy foretells of the rise of the Tanaka Empire! I knew it must be fated to happen.

So the Tanaka empire was now fated to be born. Yes, overlord of ice and all that jazz, it hadn't escaped the prophet's ears, but he didn't feel the energy to back the grey man's theory up. He lies, confirms the voice of Anna as she resurfaces from the shadows and Keelut turns to face her. She was right. The prophecy did not speak of power, it spoke of purity, something neither him nor the man before him could yet see. However there was no doubt that the prophecy foretold the crimson monocled icelord's future, for he had been the only one to hear the words. Right?

Great things come to the great ones, Lord Tanaka, said the blue eyed wyr perspicuously as he turns to face him once more, But cloaking oneself in shadows puts fate in the wrong claws, he warned. The dark spirits were scavengers, patiently waiting for an innocent soul to fall in their possession. One could only be cautious not to stray too far from the light, for the dark path was harsh on the weak of soul.

"Great things come to the great ones, Lord Tanaka, but cloaking oneself in shadows puts fate in the wrong claws," Said the prophet. Gundham scoffed.

I was born shrouded in darkness! My fate was meant to be within its clawed grasp. Many rightly fear it, but I find comfort in it, He replied confidently and convincingly, despite the fact that he was lying through his teeth. Gundham then moved to step away from the man and descend the mountain, no longer in need of him. The prophet had served his purpose and was making him uneasy with how he saw right through his facade.

Thank you, great prophet, but I should be on my way, He said dismissively, praying that the man wouldn't press him further.

Thanks for the thread! this was a lot of fun
Hopefully Keelut is right and they will see each other in the future :D

While not for everyone, many preferred to keep to the darkness and even found comfort in it like the icelord claimed, and there was nothing for Keelut to do or say other than place the warning which he'd voiced already. It seemed to fit him along with the aura of trouble that surrounded him, to which Keelut smiled. It wasn't every day that one found such a shrouded soul.

It is good that you know what you want, said Keelut with a nod, and that is when he sees it gleam red in his eye. We will see each other again, he assures, it was fated, and with that Keelut turns to delve back inside the cave where he knew there was still more to be found. Behind him his reptilian friend hisses a farewell to the overlord of ice and follows the pale prophet's trail into the darkness.

[exit]