Title: Tamers of the Colossi
Song: The Mystic's Dream, by Loreena McKennitt
Author: UltimatePalmTree
Pairing: Possible OC/OC. Don't know yet for sure.
Fandom: Shadow of the Colossus
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Warnings: Violence, death/dying/killing, possible torture, but nothing graphic.
Distribution: No. Nothing. You cannot distribute it without my say-so. I'm sorry, but I like to know where my crap ends up.
Summary: Possible AUPre-Game Before Wander, there were sixteen others who came and went to the Cursed and Forbidden Lands. Not to kill them, mind you, but to tame the beasts.
Authoress' Notes: Most of the time, this will be centered on Phaedra, Hydrus and Avion's tamers (my three favorite Colossi ever). Inspired by playing the game for three hours straight and questioning who Dormin and the Colossi are. 'Nuff said, methinks. Most of the time, this will be centered on Phaedra, Hydrus and Avion's tamers (my three favorite Colossi ever). Don't own Shadow of the Colossus.
Chapter One
The Sea Dragon, The Delta Phoenix, and The Destruction Luster
The massive stone phoenix alighted on the top of the spiral staircase sticking out of the lake, its long flat club-tipped tail feet above the surface of the water. Its wings folded, but not all the way. The effect was somewhat creepy; it looked like a gigantic demented bat. Ice blue eyes scanned the surface of the water as a small human boy wrestled his way up to the Delta Phoenix's head and peered down with eyes of the same color.
Avis brushed his black bangs impatiently out of his eyes; he hadn't cut his bangs in a long time now. The rest of the dusty black hair was down to his middle back and covered in tangles and split ends. Such things came from not keeping check of your hygiene needs for over a year. Luckily, Avis had found some watering holes to bathe in every so often, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Lean and pallid, Avis looked like one of those people who are naturally thin. Probably was, too. The fact he was normally like this was accentuated by the fact he hadn't eaten much except for lizards, the occasional golden hawk, and near-invincible turtles for a year. The effect was a gaunt, nearly unhealthy look.
"Why can't he be ready when he says he will?" Avis asked, more to himself than anyone else. After all, there was no one to really talk to. As if answering, the phoenix moved its head forward slightly. "Thanks," Avis nods, in a way much like a falcon bobbing its head. It would be easier for him to see what was happening below the surface.
Over the course of the year Avis had spent with Avion, staying mostly to himself and high up in the mountains, he had noticed several changes. For one, his eyesight was better than it had ever been in his life. He had gained a good head for heights and had gained a better sense of direction. He was utilizing the first one to find out if who he was going to see was coming.
Finally, he saw something stir deep in the murky water. He grinned, showing two rows of slightly crooked teeth but were sharp nonetheless. Slowly rising towards the surface of the lake was a pair of the same icy blue eyes that Avis and Avion had. Following behind (yet still very dim) were three orange-red prongs, switching back and forth in a series of languid strokes. Avis crawled down onto Avion's back (a year of practice made it a facile feat) and down to Avion's flat club-tail. He waited for the creature to come close enough. The eyes appeared a few feet below the surface before the creature broke it.
A massive, broad head covered with green-gray lichen on top appeared, glaring at him with the intense eyes before disappearing below the surface of the water. The rest of the long body surfaced, the three prongs crackling with electricity. The rest of the eel monster was also covered in the lichen on its head, and in between the head and the first prong sat a fair-haired boy, drenched with water and had three long slits running diagonally on the sides of his neck. Gills. Useless in air.
Avis dropped onto the eel's air-exposed back and he waited to be plunged into the freezing water. Instead, the eel stayed where it was, still stroking so it remained above the surface of the water.
The boy choked for a few minutes before finally plunging into the water. Almost simultaneously, the eel stopped, jerking Avis forwards and backwards all at once. Involuntarily, he grabbed for the spine which promptly shocked him, burning his hands. He fell onto the eel's lichen-covered back and hissed as the water met his burned hands.
"Sorry 'bout that," a voice said next to him. Avis turned, an expression of pain and rage twisting across his features. The fair-haired boy was now covered in a fresh sheen of water, and his head was the only thing visible above the surface of the water. His hair was blonde, and in waves down to his mid-back. His face was like that of a Rottweiler's: broad, expressive, easy to read. His eyes were half-lidded in languid happiness as he treaded water.
"You know I hate it when you do that," Avis said angrily.
"You know I hate it when I can't breathe! Stupid air-breathers," Marinus said, an arrogant smirk on his face. He folded his arms over his broad, barrel chest and used his legs to tread the water.
"You were once an air-breather," reasoned Avis, getting up and minding the fish's electric spine this time. "Have some consideration,"
Marinus laughed, "After spending a year underwater, it does things to you, Avis. Like, you forget how to breathe air, and you remember if you try, you'll die."
"Right. That's how the spell altered you, wasn't it?"
Marinus nodded. "I started out being an air breather, staying on that spiral staircase most of the time," Marinus gestured to Avion, who was glaring down in curiosity. "Until one morning I woke up and choked practically to death. Until I accidentally fell into the water, I didn't know what the heck was happening to me. Any way, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Avis paused, trying to phrase it in a way both he and Marinus would understand. It wasn't that Marinus was slow; nothing like that. Truth be told, Marinus was a bit too smart for his own good. It's just that, because of this, Marinus had a different viewpoint on things. Like the fact they were arguing over whether Avion was really a bird or a bat.
"Alright. Here's what's happening," Avis finally said, exhaling and shutting his eyes.
"I'm listening," came Marinus' reply.
"Everything, and I mean everything, is changing," Avis said.
"What do you mean by that?" Marinus asked, cocking his head to one side, exposing a bit of his right gills, causing him to shudder and quickly dive under for a moment again. When he surfaced, his first comment was, "I hate air,"
"And you've made that quite clear with me. But by the previous statement, I don't mean just your ability to breathe under the water or my ability to see great distances. I mean, personality wise. You remember the twins, right? Ignis and Candor?" It didn't take long for Marinus to nod his head vigorously. "Have you seen them lately?"
Marinus cocked his head again, a bit more carefully than last time so he didn't expose much of his gill. "Well, if lately means by last winter, then yes, I have,"
"No, I mean sometime recent. Like this summer?" Avis asked, prompting for more from the tamer of the Sea Dragon Hydrus with a small hand gesture. Marinus thought again, slowly swimming away from Avis and twisting around in the water.
"No," Marinus finally said.
"Right. And usually, they'd be on their Colossi, trying to beat the crap out of everyone else and each other!" Don't I know the feeling… he thought bitterly, massaging the side of his head where the massive tiger paw had connected. Surprisingly, he hadn't suffered much except for a headache and a slight concussion. "And now, they're nowhere to be found,"
"Something's wrong, then," Marinus said, not failing in Avis' expectations for an immediate or near-immediate reaction, "That's what you're basically saying," Avis nodded, his 'all-knowing grin' on his face. "You are going to check them out?"
Avis nodded. "I figure if they're not tearing across the desert, something's definitely wrong with them,"
"Sound logic," Marinus said. "Tell me if anything's wrong when you get back,"
"If I get back," Avis corrected.
"You always do," Marinus reasoned. "I wish you luck, Avis," Marinus nodded solemnly before disappearing below the surface. Without warning, the massive eel lunged downwards after its master and dragged Avis under as well. Avis' eyes bulged as he felt the shock of the cold water and struggled to the surface. Being the tamer of the only avian colossus, he wasn't a very strong swimmer. He struggled as he tread water and tried to face his colossus, which glared back down at him.
"Well, don't just sit there, idiot! Get me out of here!" Avis yelled. On a simple command, the massive stone bird took to the air and circled once, twice, and thrice before swooping low to try and get Avis out of the water. The tamer ducked from the long talons that would definitely gore him and instead, grasped the fur on the club-tip of the phoenix's long tail. As the massive bird flew over the expansive, barren landscape, Avis managed to pull himself up to Avion's head and survey the land.
"Hey, Candor? You in here?" Avis asked. Avion had alighted on the ground nearby, watching Avis slightly nervously. The cave was the last place he'd expect Candor to be. Then again, everyone had been going through changes in the last year. "Candor?" Avis ventured forwards, holding up a hand towards Avion so the bird wouldn't follow. "Candor, are you in there?"
"Yeah," a voice said. Avis looked around, watching for any signs of movements. The Destruction Luster, Cenobia, was one of the two fast Colossi (the other was his twin brother, Ignis), and Cenobia would strike out before anyone knew what the heck was happening.
"Show me where you are,"
There was a sigh, but he answered, "As you wish," in a bored tone. Suddenly, there was a loud screech as a massive stone lion charged out at Avis. On top of its massive head, in the midst of the prongs of its stone mane, was another boy: fair-haired and much shorter than Avis or Marinus. The lion leapt over Avis' head and skidded to a halt, knocking into a pillar in the center of the room. It cracked even more; Avis figured out how it had gotten so crumbly in the first place.
Cenobia stood in front of him, in all its odd glory, and the boy glared down at him. Avis didn't have to guess what kind of eyes they had; all tamers had icy blue that flashed red when they were angry or hurt. "Can you come down here? I wish to speak with you," Avis said. The boy sighed, but obliged, crawling down the side of the lion's mane.
Avis studied the boy's face; it was paler than his and Marinus'. His neck was lined with dark grey scars; something Avis thought was very odd. His hair was darker at the edges, on the verge of turning black. "Yes?" Candor asked.
"I was just wondering if you were alright,"
"I'm fine, thanks,"
Avis eyed him one more time. "You don't look it. You stand like you've got rickets or something…"
"What're you, my mother? And maybe I do have rickets," Candor said simply. "So, if you value your life at all, you'll leave. Right now," His hands clenched into shaky fists, and he bared his teeth in an angry snarl.
"I was just concerned…" Avis said, hands in a 'calm down' sort of gesture.
Candor raised his hand, too. He pointed at Avis, in an 'attack' sort of gesture.
Cenobia screeched and roared as he leapt over his master's head to face Avis.