AV Round 1: The Fall

ASTRUM VENATUS  - Round 1:  The Fall.

"Excuse the interruption.  Contestants, please be advised that we'll be docking on the small planet Artus XV for round one in 20 minutes."

The disembodied voice startled Kaviu out of his thoughts.  He still wasn't quite used to the loud noises that this strange place seemed so abundant in.  It was the third day since he'd been accepted by Nevermind and boarded this great Zelian ship.  The material of which it was constructed was absolutely fascinating to him.  It bore some close resemblance to the material his people had used to build their city.  But what made it truly remarkable was that he could sense a charge of what seemed like sentient energy throughout the hull.

And it wasn't just the technology that had Kaviu so deep in contemplations; it was the people as well! Or maybe 'things' would be better than people?

"I usually stick with the term, 'beings'," a deep voice rumbled from above.  A splash of red not unlike the ancient depths of a dying star, appeared above him, framing the golden-skinned Guardian's milky eyes.

Hmm, 'beings' certainly does work nicely.  Kaviu replied with thought, rather than spoken words.  He still hadn't quite gotten used to the ease of which these 'beings' tended to convey themselves. I'd also appreciate it, Marz, if you didn't open your mind to my thoughts without my permission.

The Guardian swung himself off the top bunk and landed with a solid thunk.  He stood, staring at Kaviu for a brief second.  Something like amusement flitted across his face as he spoke, "I may be able to adapt relatively easily to different styles of communication, my friend, but I don't think our roommates have much practice in the mental fortitude that is needed to keep your ambient and wandering thoughts at bay."

Kaviu's lips quirked softly.  Tell me, 'friend', how have your dreams been of late?  Anything out of the ordinary?

The Guardian seemed to mull the question over for a couple seconds before answering.  "Surprisingly, yes.  I've been having some vivid dreams; more like memories to be exact."

And is this strange for you?

Again, he seemed to consider something before he gave his answer.  "No.  But I will say that the memories haven't been the usual.  And in some instances odd things happen."

Kaviu continued to wait.  If Marz didn't understand what he was plainly alluding to then he didn't deserve to know.

"Which one is it?  Light blue or dark?" he asked a little grouchily.

Her name is Viridian.  She's the dark one. Kaviu didn't bother telling Marz that both of their serpentine roommates had a greater strength of telepathy than he.  It'd taken all of his considerable mental abilities along with the aid of the Blue Ring to keep that inquisitive snake, Viridian, out of his mind that first day.  Kaviu'd even taken to restorative trances instead of sleep to keep his mind secure.  Honestly, she has no respect!

Thankfully, she hadn't been to the room much in the past couple of days.  And when she was, he left quickly.

"Excuse the interruptions,"  The echoing voice of the announcer intruded upon Kaviu once again.   "We have successfully docked.  Contestants please make your way to the special offload area now.  Thank you!"

Marz, who'd been leaning against the bunk bed, surveying the sparse, yet large room of their quarters, threw himself towards the door.  "Kaviu," he said without glancing back.  "Get your ass in gear!"

Kaviu sat, straight backed, staring at his hands.  He absently stroked the Black Ring, momentarily captivated by the obliterating nothingness of it's color.  It was probably his greatest creation; it utilized the very interconnectivity of the universe - no, the multiverse.  Well, technically all his rings utilized that strange energy network.  The Black Ring was special, though.  It generated the negative energies by a sub-link to, conceivably, all black holes; astronomical phenomena on such a brilliantly complex scale that it shouldn't even be possible.  Yet he'd found a way.  A way he was still learning to navigate.

And to think, it was all because of this breakthrough that led me to the destruction of my people, he thought darkly.  His thoughts shifted to the final moments before cataclysm and the people he'd never see again.

"Kaviu!"  The shout rocked him out of his spiral into darkness.  He gave one final look to the Black Ring, watching as it ate more and more light with an unparalleled gluttony.
Feeling gravity's fingers relax he stood.  A simple flick of his mind and his mariianalla shifted and flowed around him, tightening.  With another quick thought a silver and green staff flew into his outstretched hand as he walked out the door.

--

"There! Quick and painless."  An overly cheery medical operative stood before Kaviu.  She appeared to be extremely delicate, standing at only 4 feet tall.  Her arms and legs tapered to points thinner than his staff, yet the hand that had held his and administered the strange silvery ink had been solid and steady.  In fact, it'd felt like he wouldn't have been able to move her if he'd wanted to.

"I'm a Rihu," she said, responding to his ambient thoughts.  "Our entire race is credited for looking delicate but having extreme strength and durability!"  As if to demonstrate her point she shouted (an inarticulate shrilling) and punched a dent into the metal walls of her small room.  Several dents similar in size were already in existance around the room.

"A Rihu, eh?" Marz chuckled.  "I once fought with one of your people in the Rentriazian War.  Never had a better mortal woman watching my back."

"Mr.Marz, sir, I think you might be a bit mixed up," the nurse responded, a slight frown creasing the glasslike quality of her skin.  "That war was over 600 years ago."

"No," Marz said shaking his head.  "I meant the first Rentriazian War.  Not the third."

Kaviu watched in slight amusement as the nurse seemed to struggle with what his acquaintance had just said.  "But, First Contact hadn't happened..." It seemed that she opted to ignore the last unbelievable statement and, instead, turned towards him.  

"Now Mr.Kaviu, sir.  For the first round you need to place both this rune on your hand and an identical rune from your opponent into the chamber of the same designation.  But be careful; once you put the runes in the chamber you won't be getting them back."

Kaviu drew his brows together in consternation. Are you saying that I will lose my hand if I simply put it into the verification area?

"Exactly!"

I'm not sure I fully understand. It wasn't that he didn't understand, it's that he refused to consider what that'd mean.

"She means for you to slice that rune off of you and your opponent."

Kaviu swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.   Thank you Marz, for your wonderfully blunt way of putting things.

"Not a problem."

Kaviu stumbled upon getting up, having momentarily lost control of his Black Ring.  Unfortunately, gravity's jolt had a nice way of aggravating his nausea of the moment.  If it wasn't for Marz he'd have fallen to the floor and retched his guts out.  As it was, he managed to pull himself together and walk out the door.

It wasn't until the pod had left the docking station that he wondered what he'd use to cut his skin.

--

The sun beat down upon Kaviu's head as he stared at the dense foliage of an alien forest.  The light stung his eyes, but thankfully the heat wasn't a problem yet.  Nearly two hours had passed since he'd been dropped off in the small clearing.  He hadn't done much since, preferring to instead take the time to observe the wilderness before him.  His home didn't have anything like this.  The moon he lived on was barren of all life now.  Still, the inner sanctum, the hollowed center of the moon held quite a vast garden.   One that is no doubt overgrown or dead by now, he thought sadly.

The shrill screech of something finding out the answer the the Question, sounded off in the distance and triggered a series of frantic warnings and the sounds of panic.  He'd never much been one for loud noises.  However, these jungle sounds were simply chaotic yet so wonderfully simple and somehow soothing.

Kaviu had managed to climb to the top of a small hillock (the highest point in that particular clearing) and had seated himself to observe the wall of trees.  Unfortunately, this hillock was just shy of providing a nice view of the canopy.  His original plan had been an attempt to see the tops of these ruins and head for the nearest one.

So, what now? Logic dictated that he would have the best luck finding his ruin through a systematic search of the surroundings using this clearing as a base.  As lovely as that sounded, it was impractical.  The jungle was nice and thick; within a few meters he'd most likely be unable to see the clearing.  Another, not so enjoyable feature of this jungle, it seemed, were the animals.  He'd seen several large shapes flit through the shadows at the edge of the clearing.  What was he going to do?

Kaviu took a slow breath and let out it out.  In and out.  On the fifth time he began a deep, monotonous hum.  The vibration it caused through his tall wiry frame had a soothing effect, and in just a short amount of time he was in a light meditation.

When he next opened his star-speckled eyes he had his answer.  Logic wasn't going to get him anywhere (at least not at the moment).  It was one his father that had once told him about the nature within all sentient life.   "We are thinking beings with a sense of self beyond that of an animal.  Logic rules our minds.  Yet, animals are our beginning.  And in some ways, they are more suited to dealing with problems than we are.  You must endeavor, my young one, to learn the Balance!  Logic and instinct must be used in conjunction for you to be truly successful."

His eyes began to mist with the memory.  His father had been wise and revered for his insights, and had been a great teacher and mentor.  He missed him.

Brushing aside the memory, Kaviu stood.  His logic had taken him to the top of the hillock, now it was time to see if his instinct had a say.  He began breathing deeply and slowly clearing his mind of all the troubling thoughts he had, and the tension eased out of his muscles.  Obtaining a perfectly relaxed state Kaviu visualized the strange runic marking on his hand, with a single thought in the front of his mind.   Where?

Faintly he felt the eddie and flow of his energy as it was directed to tasks he was only vaguely aware.  A casual glance to his left hand, or rather, where his left hand should have been allowed him to vaguely understand why he was suddenly gliding through the air towards the tree tops.  His right foot graced the first leafy treetop ever so slightly; a slight flick of his foot sent him gliding deeper into the forest.

The rush of smooth air through his dual toned hair was absolutely superb.  The scents of strange flowers permeated the air, and odd flying creatures came to greet the newcomer to their domain.  A sense of euphoria began to glow within him.  A sense of oneness so amazing had him gasping in awe at each new sight.  A flash of a radiant red caught his attention, causing him to jerk around in an impulsive moment to see the source.  Gravity leapt upon him like a vengeful child.  Branches and leaves, beautiful moments before, whipped at his body as he made his crashing way down through the canopy.  Animals screeched and blurred past as Kaviu fell, shouting all the way.  A particularly thick branch sent him in a wild spin.  He could only shut his eyes and hope the ground was soft.  Unfortunately, it wasn't.

--

Dark shapes flitted before his eyes.  A whooshing sound filled his ears as his consciousness clawed its way up from the depths of darkness.  Kaviu blinked an eye open and lay there, trying to focus the distorted shapes.  For some reason his other eye refused to budge, but the pain and confusion were enough to forget that small matter for the moment.  Suddenly the scene before him shot into crystal clarity.  A small ray of sunlight good be seen through an odd hole in the otherwise, undisturbed canopy.  Memory came crashing back upon him and he winced at the pain the surged through his body.

His mariianalla was torn to shreds.  He couldn't see what was left, or even if he had any left at all.  He could see the tiny fragments of starlight littered throughout his obvious decent route.

The whooshing noise in his ear came back.  Or maybe he just became aware of its presence again.  This time, however, the sound was accompanied by a black nose and a white muzzle.  Great, it was the first round and he was about to get eaten.

"Oh you're awake!" it cheered right into his ear.  Kaviu twitched at the sound, causing a raging fire storm from his left forearm to his shoulder and up into his head.  "You're a contestant, aren't you?"

Kaviu had to struggle past his brief bought of dizziness before he could reply. Yes, was all he could think.

"Cool!" the creature squeeked.  "I'm Pipes, what's your name?"

Kaviu Suyam'ni.

"Kavoo So Many?  That's an odd name.  What are you doing all beaten up and laying on the ground?"

I fell. Kaviu was beginning to think that this creature was a little on the dim witted side.  But that fact seemed to only enhance the creatures strange appeal.  Struggling a bit at first, Kaviu managed to get himself into a sitting position.  It was as he'd feared; he had only shreds of his mariianalla left.  Purple welts spread across the surface of his black veined skin, and it appeared as if his left shoulder was dislocated.   At least there isn't much blood aside from scrapes, he thought with a small sigh of relief.

"What, you don't like blood?" the strange peppy voice said.  "You allergic to it?"

Kaviu shifted to get a better look.  The speaker appeared to be some sort of kangaroo-dog.  It's thick tail counterbalanced its top part of the body.  The being was covered in thick shaggy white fur except for its head.  Black skin could be seen on the palms of its hands which seemed to act as legs as well.  Interestingly the index fingers had been replaced by large curving claws.  The creature had a couple of sheaths strapped to its muscular thighs and a small backpack was slung on its back.  A couple of tubes ran to the creature's mouth; quite possibly some form of breathing apparatus.  And lastly, the last quarter of its considerably long tail was wrapped in garishly bright fabric; burgundy and an eye burning green.

Pipes, was it? Kaviu asked.

"Yup!" he responded with a cheery smile.  "Hey, when you talk your lips don't move."

I'm telepathic.  This is easier for me.

"Yeah, I bet.  I mean look at your face!  You can't even open one of your eyes."

Kaviu only nodded and attempted to climb to his feet.  He needed to finish this round fast before the swelling in his shoulder got much worse.  He just needed to find the ruin and his opponent.  Ignoring the white creature for the moment, Kaviu scanned the forest for any sign of what might have been the ruins of a building.  He vaguely wondered if the simple creature that had found him had seen anything but one look to the creature showed him happily chewing on that breathing rig.  By the slight dilation of his pupils, Kaviu could very well guess what may have been in his backpack.  He was about to turn back to his search when he saw the creatures freshly tattooed and shaved haunch.  The glittering silver rune was the same as his.   This is my opponent?

Pipes jerked around and spat the breathing tube out.  "I'm your opponent?"

Kaviu winced.  He really needed to learn to keep better control of his thoughts.   Apparently so, Pipes.  I have the identical rune on my hand.  All we need to do is find the ruin that this belongs to.

"You mean like the one that we're standing on?"

What?   Kaviu brushed some leaves and deadfall from around him with a thought.  Sure enough, worked stone lay beneath.   Could it really be?

Kaviu picked up his staff and walked to what he'd originally thought was just a small dip in the forest floor.  Sure enough, once the tangle of roots had been overtaken he was staring down a fifty foot drop, and a glowing silver rune identical to his and Pipes' lay in the cliff side.  Pushing hard on his Black Ring, Kaviu jumped off the side hearing a distressed squeal from Pipes who'd been behind him.  "That's how you got hurt last time!"

He landed softly at the rectangular entrance.  He immediately stepped forward, flaring the Red Ring on his right hand for light.  The dank hall wasn't very long and soon it opened into a larger room.  The musty smell of ancient earth was overtaken by a slight metallic fizzle in the air.  He walked closer to the wall, ignoring the reaching darkness that spread out on either side, and found the alcove within and the door to the shuttle pod.  Now all he needed to do was find a way to get Pipes' tattoo... and to cut off his.

A shudder shook him at the thought, but the sound of hurried footsteps had him spinning around just in time to see the ball of white fly at him.  Two metallic claws swished towards his left hand.  Reacting purely on instinct Kaviu thrust his staff into the ground and pushed himself away.  The hasty retreat had him tripping into the darkness.  Pipes on the other hand was bouncing his way around the room.  The creature launched itself in Kaviu's direction and spinning in the air to bring his tail whipping into his dislocated shoulder.  A scream tore through Kaviu as he skidded across the floor.

"Oh, no!" the tiny creature shouted.  "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you so bad."
Kaviu grimaced.  If he wanted to win he had to fight back and not show hesitation.  He knew this but the creature didn't seem to be such a horrible thing.

Kaviu shoved the thought away and clambered to his feet.  He needed to end this fast.  Flaring his Red Ring, he superheated the air around Pipes for a second.  The creature howled as his fur singed.

I'm sorry too, Pipes. Was all he said before having gravity crush the small creature to the ground.  Kaviu walked over to Pipes and placed his staff at the base of the creatures struggling head.  He began the slow process of draining the alien's energy.  It took a few minutes, but eventually Pipes began to stop his resisting.  And soon, the creature lost consciousness.

Kaviu released his concentration and collapsed to the floor, his body slippery with sweat.  When he'd finally caught his breath he unclasped one of the strange metal blades that Pipes had put over his claws.  Now, was the hard part.

Grimacing, Kaviu started cutting the tattoo from Pipes.  The work was made all the harder with only one hand to work with, but he got it done.  Blood soaked his hand and he stared at the nauseating piece of skin in his hand.  Now all he needed to do was take his own off.

--

An hour later Kaviu clambered into the pod; blood soaked and shivering.  He felt horrible for leaving poor Pipes in the dark amid blood and Kaviu's own vomit.  He'd retched three times through the process of cutting off his own skin.  Thankfully, it was over.  For now, at least.  

The pod doors closed.