Title: Tamers of the Colossus
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 Two
The Lion and the Horse
Avis coughed as dust was kicked up by the massive lion's back paws. He had rolled out of the way just in time and was lying off to the side. "You idiot!" Candor yelled. "He's over here!" The lion turned its head, ice blue eyes practically glowing in excitement. Avis' eyes widened as the lion rounded on him, a long screech piercing the air. Avis screamed and stumbled forwards in a futile effort to escape the lion's attack. Suddenly, the ground seemed to give out from under him as Cenobia took a swipe at him with its paw. He could feel his ribs cracking, bruises were probably already forming. The fact he was suddenly stopped by crashing into one of the many columns around the area made the whole thing worse.
Barely conscious, Avis shook his head, breathing heavily and looking blearily up at the lion's face. The face was pulled into a maniacal grin; it'd be like this forever. What was carved in stone by magic and the power of the gods was carved into it for eternity. From between Cenobia's legs came Candor, glaring down at him with the same ice blue eyes as the others. Something was different, however. Candor's glare was colder than even the tamer of the Grand Gigas'. "Before I kill you, do you have any last words?" he hissed venomously.
Avis nodded.
"Say them," Candor growled, lip curling into a snarl.
Avis took a deep breath to stay the nausea and said, "Damn you to hell, Candor. You and Cenobia!"
Candor howled in rage as he delivered a sharp kick to Avis' side, sending a jolt of pain through the avian colossus tamer's body. He inhaled sharply, and choking in the process as he threw up the remains of the lizard he had eaten before seeing Marinus. "Good. Right where I want you!" Candor stepped backwards, allowing Cenobia to step forwards. "Crush him!" he yelled.
The gigantic lion's paw came down, but not onto Avis. Instead, it had come down onto a needle-like foreleg, shielding Avis from the blow. Avis looked at Candor, briefly making out his shocked expression. "Bellator?" he asked in disbelief.
What a colossus' tamer expressed, so did the colossus itself. The confusion of Candor had gone into Cenobia's, for it caught him off-guard for the next attack. The foreleg lifted the lion upwards and backwards, easily flipping it over onto its back. There was another unearthly screech as the creature fell down hard and created an enormous crater in the ground.
What happened next was unknown. Avis finally blacked out.
It was right in front of him. The massive statue of a bird, the one mimicking the idol in the temple, was actually here. He was impressed; he didn't think he'd find it. But here it was.
The young boy dropped to his knees, hands clasped together, muttering a prayer in another language. Something from his mother country… A life before this one's beginning. He finished the prayer and looked at his impossible challenge: to bring this mass of stone to life. "Gods almighty, how do I do this?" he asked himself, still kneeling.
Follow thy instincts, Avis… Dormin. The… well, for lack of a better word, god at the main temple on the plains.
The boy looked up to the sky in surprise. This was the first time a god had answered him. "How do you suggest I do that? And my name isn't Avis; it's Muragh,"
It shall be thy name soon enough. Follow thy instincts and say the first thing that comes to thee.
Muragh nodded vigorously and ordered everything to calm down inside his mind. The whirling excitement of a god answering his prayers… Wait'll he tell everyone else back at the village! He'd be renowned as a prophet, a savior, maybe even a martyr! Wait, calm down… Hold on…
Finally, Muragh stood up, raised his hands. A pair of long bracelets wove their way down to his elbows, criss-crossing and making 'x'-shaped crosses over his arm and hand. The one on his right was a dark navy blue and the other was the color of fresh blood. They were made out of small translucent strings, glass beads and the stiff reed grass that had inhabited their plains.
In a language he didn't even know, Muragh yelled up at the gigantic bird, "The servant of Dormin commands that this Colossus come to life, to serve under Dormin in their rightful place! Arise, arise!" As soon as he finished, there was a loud cracking sound. Muragh shook his head; he was seeing this! The stone surrounding the bird was cracking, falling down the side of the mountain and crashing down around him. The effect was almost scary, yet Muragh was rooted to the spot. It really was a miracle!
But something was going wrong. A dull pain had started to throb in Muragh's chest, right near his heart. He shrugged this off as an annoyance and continued to watch as the bird freed itself from its stone prison, revealing living stone underneath. As the stone crumbled away from its face, revealing stunning pale blue circles serving as eyes, there was a sudden stabbing sensation in Muragh's head. As if someone had stuck two knives into his head, each at the exact point where his eyes were. He yelled as he covered his eyes.
More of the 'dead' stone fell away from the bird. As it fell from its neck and chest, more invisible knives entered Muragh's system. The stone fell apart to reveal fur all along its back; Muragh felt hundreds of thousands of millions of the knives on his back. He bit his lip, trying hard not to scream in pain. This attempt, however, was ineffective.
Finally, the massive bird spread its wings, sending jolts of pain through Muragh's arms. It flapped them, causing the joints connecting his arms and shoulders to become inflamed in pain. More screams escaped his lips as the colossus wrenched itself off the top of the mountain, trying out its wings. It flew as if it had done so before, gliding every so often and ignoring the boy's screams of pain below.
At least for a little while. The bird landed heavily onto the ground, cocking its head in a slow but definite movement. It looked at Muragh with an intent glare as the boy retched and threw up more of the contents of its stomach.
Thy name is now Avis, and this is thy Colossus… Avion. The Delta Phoenix.
"Come on, Avis. Wake up," a voice said. It sounded distant, as if someone was trying to contact him from the top of a mountain. Avis cracked open one eye, to be greeted by a bright white light. Did Cenobia and Candor really kill me? If so, why do I hurt so much…? I thought you wouldn't feel pain… "Good. You're alright. Stay right here; I'm going to get some water," the voice said. The sound of retreating footsteps was all Avis heard before hearing nothing except for the occasional cry of the golden hawks that frequented the sky.
The footsteps came back quickly, and Avis felt the rim of something cold and rough pressed against his lips. "Open your mouth, Avis; I don't want to force you. Not in this condition…" Avis obeyed. Slowly, but surely, he opened his mouth and the other person forced the clay bottle in, tilting Avis forwards slightly so he wouldn't choke. The motion left the avian tamer reeling, but he appreciated the aid. Cold sweet water slid down his parched throat, a welcome interruption.
"That ought to take care of the dehydration you might be experiencing," the voice said. It was definitely male, but not yet deep with age. Avis opened his eyes and focused past the blinding light. A boy with curly brown hair, a fair complexion and the same eyes as his looked down at him in concern. "I patched your ribs this morning, and you seem to be doing alright. All things aside, of course,"
"Bellator?" Avis asked, voice cracking slightly from the lack of water.
"Yes," Bellator nodded, getting up carefully as he lay Avis back down on the soft grass. The dark-haired tamer knew this place; it was the valley below the Autumn Forest. There was a lake and a small island with a huge tree in the middle of it. Fruit hang temptingly on the branches of the trees.
"What happened to Candor? And Cenobia?"
"They're fine, but I don't give a damn about them," Bellator waved his hand vaguely in an 'I don't care' gesture. "Candor may've sustained minimal injuries at the least. Nothing like yours. Then again, he wasn't the one that got battered around by a psycho lion," Avis tilted his head backwards slightly to see a massive stone horse standing nearby. Phaedra, the so-called Equus Prime.
"Hey, Bellator?" Avis asked, turning his head back to the tamer.
"Yeah?"
"Where's Avion?"
Bellator pointed up towards the land bridge connecting the Autumn Forest to the Cave of Sands. Sure enough, Avion was there. Good to know information… Avis nodded. "In another two days or so, you ought to be good to go,"
"Two days? Don't broken bones heal in a longer amount of time?"
"Usually. But remember this, Avis," Bellator turned away from the colossal horse, "we're no longer ordinary humans. Do you remember what Dormin said? We're technically gods now? Because we're a part of Dormin and his colossi?"
"Gods don't get their bones broken," Avis pointed out.
"Regeneration is generally faster because of the fact our Colossi cannot feel pain. It would be a different story, however, if we were to die and our spirits inherited the physical forms of our Colossi," Bellator continued. "So, just lay low until you can fight; if you try and fight now, you'll undoubtedly be killed,"
Avis nodded. "Alright. Fine," Avis finally shut his eyes and drifted off into another dreamless sleep.
Author's Notes
Well, I got my first two reviews yesterday! Allow me to dance around like Envy high off of Pepsi. Anyway, I would like to thank both Fireheartluvr and Lady Psychic for reviewing my story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to leave a review! They're the whole reason this second chapter is up.