Now introducing: Lots of original characters!
I am a Warrior Ing. Proudly given that title a few months ago by our leader himself, The Emperor Ing. He had specifically told me that I was to be a Head of the Torvus cult, and I have been doing so since expertly. I would never stray from his orders, and will always obey his each and every command.
My tribe name is Tague, but the Luminoth have officially named me Demon; based on my reputation of slaughtering almost all of the Luminoth I encountered. Just yesterday I had cornered a group of full grown adults who were trespassing in Dark Aether territory, and with my platoon, destroyed them all and ate them for dinner. Luminoth meat is delicious. We savored our three kills and shared with none but ourselves.
I was pacing around the filthy pools of Dark Torvus Bog, pondering hard. My comrades in the group were standing watch to make sure nobody came by that we didn't notice. P'tuk, to my left, Arlote at my right, and Mej behind me. None of us said anything, we were too engrossed in our duties.
P'tuk was my most loyal friend, who was also foot taller than me. He wasn't as powerful as I was, but P'tuk had high endurance and a headstrong attitude that made him impossible to replace.
Arlote was the shortest of our group, and often the most of a coward. What he lacked in bravery, he made up for in intelligence and obedience. He would do anything I asked him to, even if it was ludicrous and nigh impractical.
Mej was the outcast. He basically only made it onto my team because he was a hard enough worker to pass our Warrior's tests. He had been abandoned by his other cult, seeing as he had possessed the winning keystone of a renowned Aetherian battle and lost it all completely. Mej was a failure, a fool, and a bit of a moron. But, since I believe in seeing good in other losses, I accepted him for my squadron.
Anyway, I was thinking of the defeat in Agon. How could we, the Ing horde be overtaken by the Luminoth and their defense of glowing Beacons and Crystals? We should have known that stepping into their traps would result in pain and fire. I couldn't comprehend how incompetent some troops were.
At least I wasn't.
"P'tuk!" I caught his attention by shouting.
"Tague, sir?" he replied, gazing at me, though remaining planted to his perch.
"Any sight of the Luminoth?" I demanded an answer with my stare.
"No, sir. Just some wandering Grenchlers and a few tipping Blade Pods," he reassured, turning back and scanning the Bog for any signs of unwelcome movement.
"Arlote?"
"Negative," he responded swiftly. I could tell I intimidated him.
"Mej?" Hopefully he would have something.
"Nothing, Tague." I exhaled heavily after he finished, stabbing at a Chykka egg submerged in the sludgy dirt. Ooze secreted from the gash I had created, and a writhing worm of an extremely early Chykka infant came spilling out. The thing screeched in displease, squirming and slitting its light blue eyes that were blind and undeveloped.
Strangely angry, I stabbed it through the middle and flung it off into the water. Before it landed, a large Alpha Blogg leapt from the gray surface and snatched the Chykka into his mouth, disappearing as quickly as he came. There was no splash. I smirked and dug more through the grime in search of other eggs that may have been buried somewhere.
"Tague! Tague!" P'tuk hollered suddenly, and my heart fluttered at the sound. "A portal is opening up!"
I darted over, along with Mej and Arlote. "Where? Ahh, there they come..." I hissed in delight, watching the twisted golden sphere flash. Soon a pair of Luminoth emerged, one clutching a Light Crystal with a pole in his three fingered hands, and the other clanking behind him.
Clanking?
Luminoth didn't clank.
I looked closer at them, seeing the Luminoth to be decorated in some sort of deeply tinted suit. It was dark brown in color, shiny, and appeared to be weightless. There was a mechanical area for their wings to fit through, including a jet propeller on the back. It also contained a helmet, with an illuminating orange visor that cut through Dark Aether's blackness with ease. A small energy beam gun was resting above the wrist on the Luminoth's left arm, which was gleaming brightly white.
The four of us cringed back from the light, scooting away and hiding ourselves from their view. "What is that creature wearing?" I wondered to my comrades, ducking low with them.
"It seems to be some sort of suit of armor..." Arlote muttered, peering over the glen we crouched behind. "But what is its purpose...?"
The pair of Luminoth walked into the Bog cautiously, heads turning in all directions around them safely. The one carrying the Light Crystal was creeping exceptionally near his friend in the suit.
The armored Luminoth stopped after a few minutes of us spying on him, looking down to his partner. "I must ask you to stay for a moment, L-Kot. If you please..." he said calmly. All of the male Aetherians had deep voices that resonated with knowledge and consideration of each word.
"But U-Mos... your wife... she will be wondering where you are at this hour... What if it does not work? Can we do this later-" he stuttered, shaking violently as U-Mos moved away from him.
"I am sure A-Ual will be fine, our child is not due for another month, L-Kot. Please, stand aside so I may test this invention," U-Mos ordered more sternly, holding his hand out so L-Kot would give him space.
The fearful Luminoth nodded, stepping a few paces away and trembling. "Hurry up, you remember the last thing that happened with the Ing, do you not?"
U-Mos nodded, and I heard a soft groan. "I would never forget, L-Kot..." he trailed off as he approached the line of the Light Crystal's protective circle.
We all watched intently as U-Mos reached forward with his armored fingers. They didn't twitch at all, but were straight and fearless. I almost shrieked with surprise when he left the Crystal's safe-guard, the tips of his three fingers out in Dark Aether's atmosphere. The glove he was wearing was erupting with purple and red bubbles, but he seemed to be taking no damage.
As if in shock, he continued his steady walk out of the Crystal's light shield. His arm, then his shoulder, chest, legs, and finally his head. He stood on Dark Torvus's wet soil, unscathed and smiling beneath his vermillion visor. "This is spectacular L-Kot! It works!"
His comrade nodded swiftly. "Good! And by the Light of Aether, can we leave now? This place is haunted ground, U-Mos! The Ing could be spying on us as we speak!"
"Are we that obvious?" Mej mumbled, turning towards me and wondering. Arlote rolled his eye and sighed to himself.
I shook my head. Mej must have gotten his skull cracked one too many times. "No, he said could not are, oaf." I spat, glowering at his stupidity.
He understood after a few moments of my insult going through his brain. "Oh... Right..." He turned back to the Luminoth pair down the narrow valley.
P'tuk suddenly sunk to the ground, the spines on his head rising. He made a soughing sound dangerously. "What is it, P'tuk?" I asked warily, eying him closely.
He tightened the muscles in his backward facing legs. "Preparation..." he whispered, voice scratchy and hoarse. "For our meal..."
I flipped my gaze back to the Luminoth. "Clearly L-Kot is weak and vulnerable? But," I glared at the Light Crystal. "we cannot reach him with that Crystal in place... What do you suggest we do, Arlote?"
He ran through our options within his mind, muttering them to himself lowly and quickly. After listening and thinking over the plan ourselves, Arlote decided. "We must distract L-Kot and U-Mos, then when the time is right, the swiftest of us will take the Crystal and dispose of it. The Luminoth will be exposed to the air and helpless." His face snapped towards me. "Easy pickings, Tague."
"Good, but what about the armored one? He can survive within the hostility of the atmosphere, can't he? What do we do with him?" I wanted no flaws in this hunt whatsoever.
Arlote returned to his rapid pondering. "Seeing as his suit emits those poisoned spheres, it is likely that he is becoming injured gradually. Even if he does manage to sustain himself, he will succumb to the toxicity and will fall. Although, if we do not block the Aether portal, we will lose them both unmistakably if they attempt to flee."
I smirked. "Let's do it. P'tuk, you guard the portal with everything you have. Mej, you are quickest and will retrieve the Light Crystal and throw it into the Bog. Arlote, help me with the Luminoth," they each nodded once their orders were given, ready to feast upon these quarry.
I stared at the free morsels upon the Bog's silt. "Let's go, Warriors."
With a screech of war, the four of us charged down the hillside, traveling the ground as lightly as we could. We were nearly soaring, and the heads of U-Mos and L-Kot snapped to our direction.
They both turned towards the portal, but after I shrieked a second time, P'tuk leapt off the gully and streaked across the dark sky. He landed with a thump in front of the Luminoth's only way of escape, his claws barely evading the Crystal's energy field. He roared and stooped, staring at them ominously to show he would not budge.
Arlote, Mej, and I skidded to a dirt flinging stop at their level, standing and freezing in our minatory postures. We were a few feet taller than than the two Luminoth, and it seemed that they had reached the end of the line.
Mej shot forward immediately, snatching the Light Beacon from L-Kot's shaky grasp and rolling himself into a ball around the pole. The duo panicked once he unraveled and threw the blasted thing into the tainted, swampy water. There was a muted explosion from the depths of the pool, and the white light faded into the darkness. My fellow Ing emerged with only slight burns across his legs and torso.
We each bowed and watched the Luminoth as P'tuk had did, growling low in our throats. My squadron and I were symbolizing that they were intruders, and that we were dominant. Our postures were flaring that. The Aetherians understood, and scooted close to each other briskly, making sure it didn't seem like a sudden movement.
L-Kot was starting to shudder, his body searing red and his skin secreting acid bubbles. He was leaning heavily against U-Mos, who's suit had begun to work and was protecting him from the harsh oxygen. L-Kot's mouth began to drip with his golden blood when his eyes did, and he almost instantly sunk to his knees.
Our quartet moved in, not containing ourselves from drooling. U-Mos's gaze flickered from my eye, down to the furry, scarlet back of L-Kot. Come on, U-Mos... Make your move... I jeered inside his mind....
Luminoth were exceptionally telepathic creatures, and could receive thoughts from the other beings around them if they allowed. Seeing as Dark Aether had been made from Aether, and our world's creatures were made from their world's creatures, it was logical that the Luminoth and the Ing would be similar.
U-Mos went stiff after I spoke to him, and gazed at me. "You want me to react?" he said rigidly, clenching his fists.
All but me continued advancing on him as L-Kot spat up blood on the dirt floor. "Then I will!" U-Mos shouted, raising his left arm at us head on.
The other two jerked into the light, with Arlote falling back and bellowing in agony. The remaining troop, Mej, landed on top of U-Mos in a crumpled heap, legs and arms flailing as he tried to grab him securely.
"Be gone, Ing!" he cried, firing another blast of the light cannon. Mej was blown backward, crashing into me roughly. I thought I felt something fracture.
"Augh! Get off me, he's getting away!" I screamed, twisting under the weight of my comrade.
I looked after U-Mos, who was making a slow dash for the portal, whilst dragging L-Kot by the knees. He was grunting, his struggle caused by the splits that had been rendered on his suit. Beneath the armor, his skin had flushed deep red and gushing with the bubbles of Dark Aether's atmosphere.
Mej seemed to be in a daze, and wouldn't release me from his weight. He moaned and stirred. "P'tuk! Stop him!" I howled from the ground, trying my best to violently shove the rookie from me.
P'tuk was ready for U-Mos, and imbedded his claws deep into the ground. He once again focused his gaze on the Luminoth pair, hissing. He looked like a steadfast wall of stubborn pride.
"Move, Ing," U-Mos ordered breathlessly, his right leg buckling due to the air that was wounding him. "Or I shall go do it for you myself."
P'tuk stayed where he was, only the thick black tendons on his head twisting at all. He grumbled ferociously and glared.
U-Mos nodded. "Very well then," He lifted his left arm and shot an enormous ball of light at my friend, who endured it, miraculously. The brightness was so intense that I curled my legs and my spines, yowling in pain. The others in my team flinched against it as well. It wasn't until I heard P'tuk's chilling wail did I open my eye and watch him be catapulted through the portal before U-Mos stepped in after him.
Realizing what was going on, I thrashed and clawed at Mej, who finally gave way and rolled off my body. I quickly jumped to my feet, speeding over to the portal and reaching towards it.
But I was too late.
It closed within a split second, and my talon found nothing but stone wall. Sparks shot off from my scraping, the only sound in the desolate, quiet place. It became dark again, the light vanishing.
I slumped onto the ground and was nearly paralyzed. He had gone through the portal to Light Aether, leaving us behind. U-Mos had proceeded next, along with L-Kot. Where would he go? What would he do? Ing couldn't survive within the light.
Unable to withstand my shocked fear for my best friend, I cried, "P'TUK!"
His answer never came.
