The First Break
Protector Nikila raised her trident, signaling the villagers behind her to halt. Before them loomed the Temple of Time, its subtle blue radiance conveying some vague omen to them as it spoke through the steady tick tock of its swinging pendulum. The night sky above was clear save for a few wisp-like clouds that rose up alongside the glowing pillar that originated from the Temple. As it climbed, the pillar pointed to six planets visible in the distance, the space between them and the light growing smaller ever so gradually. The alignment was nigh.
She turned to face her party, composed of villagers from all six Regions. "Keep watch over the sky. We must not let them claim another spirit, or it will be the end of us all!"
Nikila tugged on her brown cloak, and then pressed on towards the Temple. As they came upon its base, the villagers could see another group moving in from the opposite side of the slope: each member was tall, at least twice the height of the villagers, and seemed made entirely of muscle. Their armor varied, but each suit gleamed as if it hungered for battle, and all carried a weapon of some kind that seemed just as vicious.
At the head of this group was one who towered even above his companions. His torso alone was larger than a whole villager, and his armor was blacker than darkness with blood-red lines running through the main plates like veins. In one hand he carried a shortsword, and in the other a tall, three-pronged staff that looked as if it could rip the heart from a being mid-breath. He wore a horned silver helmet made to resemble a skull, and as one looked into his blazing orange eyes, it was like staring directly into the unrelenting face of death.
His name was Spiriah. But the villagers knew and feared him by another name: the Skull Grinder.
Spiriah stopped just short of the Temple's doors and planted his staff in the ground. He spoke slowly, his voice coarse and smooth at once. "Wuhuhahaha…so, you are what passes as a leader in those primitive settlements from the lowlands? How truly fearsome."
A chortle rippled through his party. Nikila halted not far from him, holding her head high. "I am Nikila, Protector of Ice. I have been selected by the tribes of Okoto to direct this Spirit Hunt."
Spiriah cocked his head. "Protector, you say? Is that what you've begun to call yourselves? I suppose it fitting, seeing as defense is all you can muster."
Nikila looked up at the Temple. "It has proven enough thus far."
"Oh-hoh! Such backbone for a lowlander. You truly believe you can steal this spirit from me, don't you?"
"We have as much chance as you, and far more drive."
"Drive? Desperation is its name."
Spiriah took a step forward and leaned. The sun had begun to rise, casting just enough light that his shadow fell upon Nikila. "When I succeed here today, my City shall have two great weapons while your villages have not even one between you. Then, I shall be able to destroy you all at my leisure."
Nikila looked up into his masked face, not shaken in the least. "The spirits are gifts, sent to our humble realm from beyond the reaches of time by forces we can never hope to comprehend. Treat them as weapons, and you shall never know their full potential."
Spiriah leaned back and laughed. His armor rattled with each heave of his chest. "You lowlanders always say the most amusing things. The fantastic tales you weave to escape your harsh reality…perhaps I shall have them preserved, once there are none of you left to repeat them."
A crack in the air drew their attention. Far above, the planets had begun to line up with the Temple's pillar, which now wreathed itself in an electric aura. Those assembled all gazed up at it, each feeling their own unique mix of anticipation, awe, and dread.
The hill fell silent. The planets moved together slowly, slowly, until finally, for just a moment, they formed a straight line from the Temple and up into eternity. Some unspeakable power surged down the pillar of light and directly into the structure. The Temple shook ferociously, its pendulum stopping completely at its high point for a short time, and then swinging back through the building and out the other side with an earsplitting clunk. The energy was shot back into the sky, knocking the planets out of the pillar and back into their orbits, going up and up and up until it vanished from existence.
Then there was a tiny dot of orange light, so faint that it was easy to lose in the shine of the pillar. But it grew brighter, and larger, trailing fire behind it as it fell towards Okoto. Every eye was trained on it, trying to imagine where it would land. It swerved to one side as it completed its descent, ultimately crashing in the Region of Water and spilling a large plume of smoke into the air.
Instantly they broke into a sprint. All those at the Temple of Time sprang forward, the two parties separating but both advancing towards the already-waning sigil on the horizon, all hurrying, all hoping that their allies already near the Region would be able to subdue the new arrival before their enemies could get there.
The Lord of Skull Spiders trudged across the blue-green marshland, his movements slow and purposeless. When he had emerged from the crater, he had found that he had very few memories—he knew his name, he knew that there were smaller Skull Spiders and that they were his to command, and he knew what physical needs he would have to fulfill if he wanted to stay alive. Everything else was a blank.
Since then, he had learned that he hated marshes. But, somehow that achievement seemed less than noteworthy.
He continued his trek towards the mountains in the distance, for they seemed more inviting than the ocean in the opposite direction, the cold, white lands to the north, and the even denser marshes to the south. He knew not what he would do when he got there, but he felt that being out of this detestable swamp would be rewarding enough on its own.
A shriek caught his attention. Approaching from the southwest was a creature roughly the same size as him, a scorpion. It had six long, slender legs that carried it forward with surprising swiftness, and a ridged, faintly-glowing green shell covering its back. Aside from that shell it was lightly armored, nearly skeletal in fact, a perception that was only strengthened by the skull-like appearance of its face. It drew closer, snapping the two claws at the front of its body as well as the massive claw on the end of its tail where a stinger should have been.
The Skull Scorpion charged, staring down the Lord of Skull Spiders with other-worldly focus. When the Spider finally realized he was not slowing down, he spat a burst of webbing as a warning, snagging one of the Scorpion's feet and making it stick to the ground. The Scorpion paused a moment to examine the substance, and then ripped itself free and resumed its course. The Spider stood his ground.
The Scorpion stopped in front of the Spider and shrieked again, slowly waving its foreclaws. It turned and jabbed its tail towards the mountains, and then turned back to the Spider as if expecting a response. The Spider didn't understand. He tried to move around the Scorpion, but the Scorpion cut him off and repeated the gesture with his tail. The Spider spat webbing in the Scorpion's face and continued on his way.
He had not made it far when the Scorpion's tail claw clamped around him. The sudden pain stunned him, and he was lifted into the air and slammed back down. The Scorpion removed the webs from his face and shrieked furiously. The marshy ground softened the blow (at last, one advantage to this wretched landscape), and the Spider was able to slip free and bound away. The Scorpion followed, swiping at the Spider's legs when he came close enough. Shaking off the blow, the Spider whirled and headbutted the Scorpion, and then sprang upon the back of his dazed foe and clamped on.
The Scorpion reared back and shook, unable to loosen his opponent's grip. When he felt the Spider began to web up his tail claw, he flopped on his side and rolled over, ending up with the Spider pinned beneath him, upside down in a large puddle. The Spider flailed his way out from under the Scorpion, gasping for air, and then was flattened by another strike from the other creature's tail. Pausing to stomp on the Spider, the Scorpion lowered its tail and picked the webbing off its claw, and then it beat its captive with its foreclaws and shrieked victoriously.
But the Spider wasn't done yet. He jabbed one leg into the Scorpion's face, allowing him to break free, and then caught the Scorpion's tail with a strand of webbing and pulled. The Scorpion was spun around and dragged back; the Spider bit the base of his tail, and then jumped away while he cried out in pain. He jumped a few more times before sinking into the mud. The Scorpion was charging again, so the Spider shot another strand of web at his tail. It latched on, but before the Spider could do anything, the Scorpion pulled hard, drawing the Spider through the air and directly into the clawed tail.
As the Scorpion began driving its foe into the ground several times, a new face appeared over the nearby hill. A tall figure clad in bright green armor slowly marched through the wetlands, his scowling face angled towards the ground. Three of his arms held a shortsword while the fourth carried an orange chain, which was currently coiled up around his wrist.
"Obnoxious lowlanders," Orkahm muttered to himself. "What do they know?"
He looked up. Upon seeing the two creatures fighting, he stopped and stared a moment. His scowl became a grin.
Running towards the duel, Orkahm called, "Great Scorpion! If I may, allow me to lend my assistance!"
The Skull Scorpion turned towards his voice. Recognizing him as one of Spiriah's Generals, he tossed the Lord of Skull Spiders in his direction, glad to have some help in subduing the aggressive beast.
Orkahm unraveled his chain and threw it. The clawed end clamped onto the Spider's leg just as he landed; the Spider swung it viciously to try to shake the tool off, but Orkahm used the momentum to swing around and land on his back. Orkahm wrapped his legs around the Spider and looped the chain around his head, fighting for a secure hold as he began to buck. The Spider was stronger than he had anticipated, and he could feel himself slipping; emptying his mind, he called upon his knowledge of the mystic and let new energy flow into his body, granting him strength enough to hang on to the wild spirit as it thrashed about. The Scorpion had caught up now—a hit from one of his foreclaws prompted the Spider to stop.
"Our apologies for the rude introduction, honorable spirit," Orkahm said in a low voice. "I know you must be very confused. This realm is no doubt quite different from your home; many spirits such as yourself become quite shocked until they adjust. We have no wish to harm you. In fact, we wish to provide you with a new home, if you would like one."
The Lord of Skull Spiders stood still. He made a sound, but Orkahm didn't react. Another irritation, he thought—he could understand the man-spider, but it seemed the man-spider could not understand him. He looked to the Skull Scorpion and made the sound again. As he thought, the Scorpion did not understand him either. It would be difficult to join a "home" where none could understand him, but fighting them both seemed unwise. Perhaps, just for now, he would obey them. Something deep within him said it was the right choice.
The Spider lowered his body to the ground, hoping that would be clear enough. Orkahm understood, and so he removed the chain and climbed off the Spider's back. With a smile, he said, "My name is Orkahm. This is the Skull Scorpion, a spirit sent from the same realm as you who has watched over our tribe for 100,000 years now."
The two creatures' gazes met.
"My people live in a great City high in the mountains. I would be honored if you would allow me to lead you there."
Slowly, the Spider stood up. Orkahm turned and walked towards the mountains, and the Lord of Skull Spiders and the Skull Scorpion filed behind him. Soon, the Spider thought, these marshes would be behind him forever.
Nikila surveyed the land and frowned. She waved to the villagers still with her, shouting orders to split up and comb over different parts of the Region.
Where could it be…
She walked upriver, keeping an eye out for any sign of the spirit. Just as she considered doubling back, she came upon a delta and spotted none other than Spiriah standing on the banks. In front of him were Orkahm and the Skull Scorpion, and just behind them was the Lord of Skull Spiders.
Nikila froze. No…no, this cannot be!
Spiriah looked down at the Spider, chuckling in delight. "Well done, Orkahm. I would say you have earned your keep."
Orkahm bowed. "Thank you, sir."
Nikila rushed towards the party, and struck the ground with her trident to get their attention. "Spiriah!"
Spiriah laughed, not bothering to look at her. "Ah, the leader of the lowlanders. Have you come to see my newest recruit?"
"You only subdued that spirit because you sent another spirit to find it. This is a violation of the terms we agreed upon!"
Spiriah looked over his shoulder, his apathy more than enough to carry through his helmet. "And so what if it is? I chose to use all resources available to me. Would you not do the same?"
"I would not cheat and lie for my own selfish gain, certainly! To think you would resort to such treachery."
Spiriah ignored her. Stepping forward, Nikila added, "Perhaps you employ these underhanded tactics because your assertions of your people's superiority are something not even you truly believe?"
Spiriah's head jerked. Orkahm and the Skull Scorpion backed away as he strode towards Nikila, coming uncomfortably close and kneeling down with his helmet inches from her face, eyes alight with unbridled disgust.
"The reason I care not for our agreement, lowlander, is because I see no gain in abiding by rules put forth by worms. You and your laws are beneath me. Had you a way to stop me, then I may have been inclined to think twice. But we both know that you do not. So what have I to fear? The anger of a speck of dust is nothing to me."
Not waiting for a reply, he stood and set off for his City. Orkahm and the two creatures followed behind him, leaving Nikila to glare at them alone as they shrank into the distance, wondering how she and the other Protectors could have any hope of defending their people now.
