The thundering paused every few minutes; the air rose heavy in anticipation of the next assault upon the soil. The rhythm was familiar to the groups of Unarra tending to the various tasks of the day. Some even used the noise to jolt them back awake after falling asleep from a night spent playing too many games of hyra. Atlak hated how the dust was stirred into the air, how his feet vibrated afterward and caused him to pause in his work to recover. Tynel Mellor and Tynel Atlak were lashing groups of vines together for the trainers' use. Mellor marveled at his spawn's ability to work single-mindedly, and had praised Atlak on many occasions at the amount he could accomplish in one day, even in comparison to such experienced workers as Mellor himself.
Mellor had hoped the long day would slow the relentless questions from his curious spawn, but such was not the case. Atlak paused only long enough to voice his frustration with the rippling ground swells experienced while taming the Pikatan. Atlak turned his attention back to Mellor and continued probing, "...but if Tallic had such obvious talent and empathy with the beasts why did the Tresed relinquish him to apprentice status for so long? Is that why he left? Some say you were friends. What was..."
"We are still friends." Mellor was thankful for the growing tremors of the Pikatan. "That is enough about Tallic for today my progeny; the taming exercises have begun."
Upset that his questioning had ceased, Atlak tried not to cough as the dust kicked up around him. "Of all the creatures, what is so sacred about the Pikatan anyway?" Atlak's scowl grew deeper and darker with every leap and hard landing of the Pikatan.
Mellor was amused. "Keep that up, Atlak, and your face will become etched like that."
"Just once, I would like to stomp through their valley and disrupt them while they are trying to get work done."
"I suppose you would also want to be revered as the Sacred Atlak too then?" Mellor smiled. "Perhaps you would teach the Unarra about the patience of taming as well?"
The reprimand was enough to keep young Atlak from continuing to outwardly show his distaste for the Sacred Pikatan. Atlak just grumbled to himself as clouds of dust mushroomed into the air not far from where they worked. However, the thunderous quakes caused by the Pikatan didn't stop this time. A telepathic warning was sent to all nearby, but Atlak was distracted by the sudden and chaotic rearing of the Pikatan. Something was wrong.
Most of the Pikatan were rounded up before any large amounts of damage were done. Yet, one crazed animal, its eyes rolling in its skull, careened forward with its strange loping leaps, dodging all attempts at capture. Atlak's insides churned, a mix of ice and painful heat as he looked up to see a silhouette of a figure on a near-distant hill. Atlak began to scream even before Mellor was trampled...
By the loose pikitan. The stranger on the hills walk turned to a run when mellanor hit the ground. Atlack was in panic his master was dying before his eyes and even more a dark stranger was approaching faster and faster so many questions unasked so many answers untold, the stranger got closer and closer, until young Atlak could just make him out he was a lokia, as he got closer to pikaton the calmer they got. The lokia screamed at the pikaton, commands and stranger yet the pikaton obeyed,then the lokia screamed at atkack What are you doin! The lokia droped his life staff and fell next to mellanor he began to apply pressure to the wounds, mellaanor looked at the Lokia and tried to speak t-t-ta, shshh save your strength my friend. Talic the reached into his pounch and applied a powder to mellanors wounds. Mellanor stoped moving& he has fallen unconscious help me take him inside&.
(The following is a Dialog between the stranger and Atlac)
Who are you stranger?
I am Talic
But that is impossible
Why is that foolish Atlac?
You know my name?
Yes, I am Talic
But Talic is one of the tressed
Yes, I am Talic of the tressed, what do you fail to comprehend?
But you are Lokia!
Foolish spawn. [It turns to Mellanor] have you told him nothing!?
Why are you not Lokia?
Since when must I be Unarra to believe in the balance?
&
What do you know of the nine curtains war?
It was a great battle and the beginning of the tressed
And what do you know of the pikatan?
Besides the fact that I hate it&
[Talic smacks Atlac]
IDIOT
oww
Very well I will teach you, the pikatan was born by the nine curtains war
Impossible
Shut up and listen!
Sorry
What do you know of Zelous Shadow?
Who?
Most have never heard his name, We dont know who or what it is, but he appears from time to time and saves the species of Atriana from ourselves, As we our the Guardian of the Animals, It is the Guardian of the Guardians. He created the pikatan from our hatred on the battlefield of that war from our hatred; it would not allow us to destroy Atriana. The pikatan began to kill everybody, and it was made to bond us together and put aside our bickering or kill us all, either way it would of worked&
Go on
We stopped our battle to join forces to stop the pikatan, but our hatred gave it its strength and made it invincible, But all was not lost, thou we were quickly dieing Zelous confronted us. He/it said you cannot kill the pikatan for your rage only makes it stronger, though you may contain it with the unity of five.
What five?
What he meant was the five species of Unarra must unite to contain it, then each species would have a part to play, now if I may continue, once you have contained it you may use this to capture its spirit and separate it from its body, it will leave a spawn, which you must take care of, train them for good, and showed us the basics of what the tressed believe, Eventually we relinquished our hatred for each other and worked together, When we bound its soul, the spirit of violence, with our hate for each other into that crystal all rejoiced but it was far from over, for the body of the pikatan became the topar storm, and the storm can be controlled by the crystal, thus it must be guarded. Not only that but everything the pikatan killed, the creatures hatred would fuse with the pikatan to be passed to the next generation, and every generation meaner than the last, thus only the leaders were allowed to maintain them, but to maintain them the five who bound the creature to the crystal must remain united to keep it at bay.
And.?
The last thing Zelous said was to watch over the pikatan and keep it as a reminder to the thin line we walk, he also said that the pikatan would return one day, and our decends must destroy the pikatan and its decedents in a great battle, and thus would be the end of the topar storm.
[Mellanor begins to awake]
Mellanor ahhhh Talic you came just in time, but something tells me you have done something that will bring about great misfortune to the tressed?
Talic- what are you talking about my friend?
Atlac- he has told me of the pikatan
Mellanor- [A great silence befalls him.]
Talic- what is wrong?
Mellanor- Go to bed Atlac! NOW!
[Atlac leaves]
Talic- I fear I have wronged?
Mellanor- you havent the slightest idea what you have done& did it ever occur to you that the son of the Pikatan trainer/leader did not know for a reason?
Talic- &. I feel I will burn in the planes of fire for this my friend
Mellanor- not yet, I am dieing, and Atlac must have a master, you must train him
Talic- but I am not qualified by the council
Mellanor- forget the Council, the council will burn in the Plane of Fire if they try to stop you
Talic- Im sorry Farewell my friend
{Mellanor passes away in the night a quick and painless death}
(The End)