"A trophy's value isn't measured by the worth of its metal but by the amount of work that's required to obtain it"
― Johannes Schiefer.
Twenty second Yuga, Yaksa calendar (1623 C.E. Earth Date). Unknown planet around Vasishtha (Mizar) system, two cycles later.
Rava'an's bio-mask beeped and a triangular red marker appeared on his HUD, indicating it has picked up a trail. After the fight with the Dawon he'd lost track of the great Krmih, the creature must've fled to its lair during the day. Rava'an's feared it had already encountered the female and was heading back to the ocean. The Krmih mating season lasted only two or three nights every five solar cycles. If he misses the chance, it would 'be another five solar cycles until he would have the chance again.
"No, there are others who desire Anu'sha… it has to be now or never" he thought. He crossed a deep gorge by balancing on a large fallen tree trunk.
The day he'd decided to compete for Anu'sha, his father had told him there were another Yaksa interested, particularly two hunters: The first, Skan'dha, was a tall and bulky male from the same clan as Rava'an, he had arms thick as tree trunks, hence its name "Tree". He was right-handed with the spear and liked to fight melee, using his powerful fists which could break jaws and skulls and leave most of the other male unconscious, despite this he was the gentle giant type.
The other one was Ujesh', Rava'an know almost nothing about him as he was from another clan, his father was very cryptic about that. He had just warned his son not to mess with the warrior.
-"His ancestors once fought in the Great War along with us, but their clan is not on good terms with us now" that was all the wise hunter had said.
The jungle thickened around Rava'an and he climbed a tall tree to get a look at his surroundings, the last thing he wanted was suddenly bump into the Krmih. He heard a strange noise coming from a rock cliff ahead, the trail continued in that direction. Rava'an examined the thick substance coating the rocks and leaves. It was jelly-like: Krmih saliva, he was close. Topographic survey fed on the HUD of his mask, shown him there was a cliff and a river with a shallow cave behind a waterfall.
Stepping out of the foliage, Rava'an discovered the large Krmih sleeping in the cave, protected from three sides by the cliff. Its body was kept moist by mist coming from the waterfall. He observed the creature in detail: its body bore a myriad of scars, mostly from other males; having survived multiple battles meant that the specimen was old and dangerous.
Rava'an spotted his intended trophy: The old male's zepha, a long and muscular tentacle with a slight thickening near the end, making it look like an earthworm. Instead of the usual suction cups, it had a series of hooked spines at the tip that served to hold on to the female; when inserted into the receiving tube, the spines clung to her mucus membrane as the tentacle detached from the male, remaining stuck there until fertilization was complete, over the time, the tentacle would regenerate, being ready for the next mating season.
The zepha was splayed loosely outside the cave, under the hammering waterfall. Rava'an thought that if he was stealthy, he could cut the tentacle unseen through the falling water. Facing that monster head on was not a good idea. He examined the wrist-blades made from the Dawon's paws, they were firm and sharp. "I am ready" he said to himself.
He crossed the shallow river by cover of the waterfall, to hide himself from the creature's sight. At the cliff, he started to climb gripping the moss on the rocks to avoid slipping. When he reached the entrance of the cave and was preparing to cut the muscular appendix, something caught his attention: behind the curtain of water, an eye of cross-shaped pupil stared back at him. Before he had time to react, a tentacle burst through the water and hit him in the chest, sending him down into the river.
The creature descended unto him from its hideout, fully awake. It had been pretending to sleep, while its eyes were closed, it had been watching Rava'an through its receptor pores, cavities filled with gel capable of detecting the faintest electrical impulses, such as a beating heart. It grabbed the young Yaksa with two of its tentacles, wrapping them around his body. The hug was suffocating, Rava'an gasped, but before he could pass out, he was able to free his arm and slashed one of the appendages. Blood spurted from the wound; the Krmih roared in pain and loosened its grip.
-"You liked that, ugly?" The young hunter teased the monster. The creature growled back and started to circle him.
The creature tried to punch Rava'an with a sweep of the tentacle once, then twice and failed. Each time, he defended himself with the blades. The Krmih lost its patience and launched a full assault, throwing itself against Rava'an with all its might, extending its fang-filled mouth.
Rava'an didn't predict this and barely had time to crouch when the Krmih gobbled him up whole, not bothering to chew him. That was the creature's last mistake; Rava'an took advantage of the situation and extended his arms inside, cutting the entrails of the beast. The creature gave a muffled growl and contracted its muscles, trying to suffocate its prey. Rava'an heard a beast's double heart beating beside him and stabbed through the slimy pink flesh. The Krmih gave a last roar and fell to the ground, dead.
Rava'an came out of the monster's mouth, wiped the sticky slime from his face and body, and roared in triumph. He used the blades to carefully remove the creature's tentacle; he then pulled out an extendable container from his shoulder plates and placed the tentacle-shaped zepha there.
"Time to head back" Rava'an said to himself "But not like this" he sniffed the acrid stench from the creature's inside that was impregnated on his body and decided to take a bath in the waterfall.
He stripped himself of the body mesh and armor plates, then the leather loincloth, leaving him naked in the bluish light of the four suns, which in contact with his yellowish skin painted it in green tones. Phosphorescent green blood poured from several scratches made by the tentacles and the crystalline fangs of the Krmih, on his face, the two parallel wounds made by the Dawon had turned a darker shade on healing. Fortunately, he had not lost his eye. He could proudly display the scars.
The cold water from the waterfall refreshed his body, Rava'an opened his mouth and drank the fresh water and then he proceeded to clean up the rest of the creature's bile from his body. While bathing, pondered what test Anu'sha would ask him to accomplish. If it were the Dawon hunt, he already completed it, but he feared he'd chose the warrior Ujesh' if he kill an adult Dawon.
It was dusk by the time he returned to his ship, near the coast. The pale blue suns turn purple over the horizon, and the ocean waves flashed with the bioluminescence of the plankton. The tiny craft took off the sandy shore and headed for Rava'an's homeworld.
- o –
Saubha's central district, five cycles later
Rava'an hurried up the stairs to the old Vaharaya's home in the city center. The entrance had been decorated with the motif of the ceremony to be carried out, red, orange and blue banners hung on the copper walls. An elderly Yaksa with several tusks missing greeted him. "Who are you and what are your intentions?"
-"I am Ksathriya Rava'an son of Adhi'nata. I came here for the Swayamvara" He said his rank first, then his name as was the custom. The old Yaksa opened the doors and invited him to enter.
-"This way Ksathriya, Great Vaharaya is in the hall."
The spacious room was lit by orange lights pulsing behind translucent walls. Engravings showed scenes of ancient battles and names of great heroes. Rava'an admired in the far west a large trophy case filled with skulls and weapons taken from warriors: Round-domed skulls from inhabitants from the third planet of Surya, a few of the now extinct prominent forehead humanoids and a fairly large skull Rava'an recognized it was of a Deva's. Among the weapons were Chakras, Vajra and a spear fashioned from the tails of an Aquabruamelu, a scorpion man.
He focused all his attention on the Deva's skull. Like those of the Nara, as the humanoids called themselves, the Deva skull round-shaped, with large eye sockets and white teeth, but it was larger. They were great warriors of ancient times and difficult to kill but they were almost extinct now.
-"That cost me one of my mandibles" a voice boomed behind him.
Rava'an turned around and saw Elder Vaharaya sitting on a stone throne; two big mastiffs were lying down each side. The Elder petted the one at the right, which let out a satisfaction growl. Both beasts never took their eyes off Rava'an, their dreadlock-like quills on their heads vibrated suspiciously, just then he noticed the missing appendix on the Elder's face.
-"Great Vaharaya, I'm Ksat–" Rava'an said, kneeling but Vaharaya cut him short, waving his hand.
-"I know who you are Young one, but you must wait until the ceremony start. It won't be long; my daughter is on the way. It will be enough for the others to arrive."
-"Others, Sire?" Rava'an asked.
-"Did you think you were the only one who wanted my daughter? Each cycle young warriors appear here, bragging about their exploits and presenting their trophies, but they are no match for the black warrior. Praise Paya, what happens to these generations?" the Elder scolded him, but then he continued, in a conciliatory tone. "But, you're a Ksathriya, a warrior now and you've earned the right to try. Please, sit down and eat something… We'll see if the son of great Adhi'nata honors his clan."
Rava'an obeyed and soon other Yaksa arrived, some were young while others were experienced warriors. He recognized Skan'dha, who outsized his companions by a head. The bulky Yaksa whore his hunter attire, bronze shoulder, groin and knee plates, body mesh and an orichalcum mask, engraved by his multiple titles; hung from his back, there was his trademark telescopic spear. He kneeled before Vaharaya and sat across the room, he nodded at Rava'an.
The servants began to bring dishes with different stews: juicy ribs dipped in a berry sauce, fragrant fruits imported from another system, lobster-like crustaceans, etc. Rava'an's belly growled, but he waited for the other guests to help themselves, before he took a generous serving for himself.
Anu'sha made her appearance not much later; she wore a semi-translucent white silk robe over golden metal breast and yonl plates, still, the sensual shapes were visible and had a hypnotic effect when she moved her hips. She sat on a cushioned throne next to his father and stroked the head of one of the mastiffs. The animal turned complacently and licked Anu'sha's hand, who gave him a piece of meat that the animal devoured in one bite.
Rava'an was wondering if this Ujesh' his father talked about would appear, he hadn't heard his name among the guests, when he noticed the unmistakable sound of a shuttle landing outside the palace.
Murmurs were heard throughout the room "who will it be?", then alarmed voices came from outside, followed by warnings from the guards. The suspense continued until the doors opened and three huge Yaksa entered. The tallest of the three had scarred skin, wearing strange armor that seemed more organic than metallic, two Vajra cannons on each shoulder and a quiver, but only three spear-like arrows on it, no bow. The other two had the same type of strange armor but less ornate, the shorter of the two had a Vajra cannon and carried a spear gun and the last one, an old male with white dreadlocks and a huge scar on his right leg had a whip made from the flexible tail of an unknown creature hung from his belt.
There were gestures of amazement, outrage, and even fear among some of the attendees. Ujesh' had arrived and Rava'an immediately understood why his father had warned him about the hunter, he was not a Yaksa but a Raksasa, a killer. Things had become more complicated.
- o –
Welcome back readers. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and sorry for the delate, it was the whole virus situation... But as most of us (well not me, yet) are quarantined, we need some entertainment. Anyway, things are getting complicated for the young hunter now the Raksasa have arrived... For those who hadn't guessed yet, here's a glossary:
Skan'dha: "Tree"
Ujesh': "Conqueror"
Adhi'nata: "Chieftain"
Ksathriya: "Warrior", a warrior caste from ancient, skilled in all class of weapons.
Deva: Yaksa name for the Engineers.
Surya: The Earth's sun.
Nara: Humanity, in Yaksa language.
Chakra: a disc weapon, smart-disc.
Vajra: Thunderbolt, plasma caster.
Aquabruamelu: Scorpion man, a strange humanoid creature with long, barbed tipped tail. It isn't clear if it is a neomorph or an alien.
Raksasa: Demons from ancient, described as powerful tiger men. Basically is a predator whom don't follow the Yaksa honor code, a bad blood. In Yaksa culture is an insult to call someone a Raksasa.