Author Comments: I want to thank everyone for reviewing the story as it is my return to the Chaotic Universe. I have a lot of fun writing the story so far and the big moment of the first Arc is planned. It's the little details that is left open and give some background to Perim previous generations as I brought it up.
Prince Mudeenu kneeled in front of the ruler of Al Mipedim. He was an orange Mipedian with a pair of white horns on the side of his head and three more pointing at the back of his skull. He had one horn on his snout. His pink eyes gazed upon the red eyes of his uncle as he adjusted his black breastplate. He also wore an orange loincloth and a blue cape, "Why did you summon me my king?"
Theb-Saar, ruler of the Mipedian tribe was a tall blue draconic humanoid dragon with a pair of crimson eyes, dreadlock-like mane and two pair of black horns on his head. He wore a purple armor with a blue belt, blue cape and gold arm bands. His golden crown on his forehead. He raised his scaly blue hands, "No need for such formalities. The Overworlders are gone now," he crossed his fingers, "There is a service that requires your help in a few days."
"It is about the festival?"
"Yes. It is related to that. This year will be held at the biggest oasis and it will be crowded. Especially since I'll be present with my son to celebrate it after so many solans," his uncle replied with a bit of melancholy. It was obvious he missed those more relaxed and fun times before his self-imposed exile. Yet, there was also a bit anger and hatred contained in the melancholy.
"You want to increase the security. I will be-"
"No. I need help for something else. I promised someone to personally guide him and explain what we are doing during the festival but alas… something is holding me back in the negotiation with the Overworlders to secure an alliance against the threat of the Underworld. I'll be with my son so I'll need you as a proxy."
The prince frowned but held back his anger. It was obviously something he wouldn't like, "And who is this guest? Is it an Overworlder?"
"No. I need you to show Peyton- " Mudeenu frozen at the name and grunted, "-around and the activities at the festival while assuring his safety."
"Are you serious!" he yelled in disbelief before making his arguments.
The echoed of a Mipedian yelling in agony resonated within the walls as the king 'kindly presented' his counter arguments.
Chapter 3: Sometimes, It's Tough Being Mudeenu
Mudeenu waited for the guest to arrive. He put his hand on his snout. He had a bruise. He hated it when his uncle presented that kind of arguments against his own so casually.
He knew the why but it still annoyed him. He could not refuse the order of his ruler. However, being the escort to a Chaotic Player was worse than a creature. Even if he really believed that those Chaotic Players shall bring them to the Cothica, it didn't make it easier.
"You know I'm not the good proxy for you Theb-Saar," he crossed his arms and waited.
He was at the rendezvous point where Peyton would show up. He had the time to grumbled a few curses in his mind.
He gazed at the sky and the darkness was slowly coming. The day came to an end and the festival would soon begin, "He better arrive before the st-"
The human appeared in front of him with his scanner in his hand.
"Hello there Mudeenu," the boy got no reply, "What cha doing here?" Peyton asked as he took a step away from the prince. He put the scanner in his pocket. He was politely looking at the grumpy creature.
If it was an enemy, he thought, "First of all, it's Prince Mudeenu. Second, King Theb-Saar cannot be here to greet you and guide you through the festival," he crossed his scaly arms, "He chose me to be his proxy, as my cousin is with him."
"You bro? You're the no way kind of Mipedian," the Chaotic Player asked in disbelief.
They had very few interactions together, as they rarely crossed path. The prince completely understood why the boy couldn't believe why he was there, "Yes. And it's Prince Mudeenu."
"What happened to you?" he pointed at the bruise.
"A counter argument," the creature gazed at the sky. The stars were beginning to shine in the sky, "The festival will begin soon. I'll show you around, per order of the king of course," he took the lead.
The boy was excited to discover what the festival might be like. He heard about it from Tianne and Vinta. They spoke with excitement about it. It felt like it was a moment where the creatures had fun together, "Did you went to this festival?"
He has to begin asking question right now, the prince was not liking where this night was going. He held back his anger, knowing the importance of this boy. He had to endure. He endured working with the other tribes against the M'arrillians to the point of greatly respecting Tangath Toborn, before he left Perim. He was never angry that some of their soldiers wanted to save the Overworlder from his prison of ice, "Yes. Until I have to protect the citizens. There is always danger of an attack during those times," he raised his claw when the boy was about to ask another question, "And yes. There was one when the Underworlder attacked us a few solans ago."
They reached the Oasis. The presence of the Chaotic Player brought some attention and also the fact that Mudeenu was with him. Mostly the citizens of their tribe. The performers or those who played music never let the sudden presence of a Chaotic Player disturbed them.
Peyton was looking around, but fully aware of the attention he got. Very few civilians expected a Chaotic Player to be present at the Oasis that night. The sky was slowly painting with stars as the balls with light inside began to light in different colors. What impressed the boy the most was how much vegetation this oasis had compared to the others. It was vibrating with life. Large trees were there with many other types of plants.
The prince gave a nod, quietly telling them that everything was normal.
"Peyton! Glad you made it!" Ghatup came to meet the boy.
He was a slender Mipedian with orange scales, long mahogany hair and yellow eyes. He wore a brown-feathered loin cloth, green belt with a large red gem, gray metal wristbands and shoulder pads.
"Wassup dude!" they gave a fist bump as the boy welcome him with a smile.
"I see you have your guide for the festival," he commented with a smile as he nodded at the prince, who nodded back.
"Are you on patrol?" Peyton asked.
"Sure Peyton. Someone has to keep an eye on everyone," he slapped the back of the boy and almost sent him on the ground, "Just have fun tonight. It is the perfect night to watch the shiniest stars that blessed Al Mipedim," he then waved at them as he said, "Got to go. Duty is calling."
And the Mipedian turned invisible to continue his mission. The citizens were completely at ease with the boy's presence now.
The boy looked at some of the creatures playing music with large percussion instruments. Many Mipedians were dancing at the rhythm of the music.
Peyton decided it was best to stay away. He was not a good dancer and he might stomp on a few tails by accident. He had many questions about the festival, The boy chose to wisely put some space between them. The prince clearly didn't like to receive questions. Too shall definitely piss him off. His eyes went around and saw some of them drinking something which the youngling of the tribe was forbidden to have.
"Someone is going to end up drunk," Mudeenu sighed as one of them was happily drinking at fast pace.
"Drunk stuff," Peyton nodded, continuing his observation. With little knowledge he had, it was best he didn't participate. It was also so captivating to see everything.
They were merchants who were selling handmade jewel, bracelets and other items. None of them had battlegears of worth scanning. However, they were worth looking at. He never saw the more artistic side of his favourite tribe, "Let's see what the artsy Mipedian talent is," as he walked towards the merchant.
"Going to buy something Chaotic Player?" Mudeenu asked with a small mocking grin, The humanoid lizard knew it was obviously not possible.
"No. I got nothing for that," the boy replied as he showed his empty pocket, "My money isn't friends with yours."
"Hum- Right," the prince failed to grasp what the Chaotic Player meant as he followed the young player to the merchants. He grumbled, feeling like the boy outsmarted his mocking words. It was worse because he knew it wasn't the case.
Civilians were gazing at the boy curiously. Not all of them met a Chaotic Player before. They bowed to the prince as they crossed him. Mudeenu nodded back.
Peyton simply observed what the creatures made and tried to sale. The boy explained that he couldn't pay but find everything beautiful.
The royal guard wondered what the Chaotic Player meant. He came from the Cothica, so everything should be more impressive than anything presented here, your scanner is more impressive than anything we made.
"Why is that?" a merchant asked as he adjusted the hood of his purple cloak, with a pair of horns coming out of them.
"It's hard to find anything made by hands where I come from. So, everything is impressive," Peyton exaggerated his movement to show how he was as he pointed at a bracelet. It was simply made of woods with a few symbols sculped with claws, "Just look at this. Clawly made. Feel the claws of the Mipedian who made it."
"Everything is made by hands," the merchant replied at the silliness of the boy, "How else could it be made?"
Mudeenu noticed the boy was struggling to reply. The human gazed at the side and scratched the back of his head, something he isn't allow to say? The captain of the royal guard wondered as his pink eyes carefully studied the boy.
"It's made a… special way and-" the boy sighed in defeat, arms down and his head looking at the sands, "I can't explain but you had no idea how different it is."
The merchant rolled his eyes. No sale would be made and went to the next potential customer. That customer bought the bracelet. His eyes went back to the Chaotic Player and nodded with a small smile.
"No problem bro!" he winked at the merchant and looked at what the Mipedian made.
And with that, the prince witness how the Chaotic Player gained the respect of the merchant. At lost of words, he continued his duty as they went where the members of his tribe danced. They were children among them and some happily waved at Peyton, that Chaotic Player is weird, was all the conclusion he could made.
"Hey Mudeenu dude," the teenage boy began.
"Prince Mudeenu," he grumbled.
"What is this festival about?" the boy curiously asked.
Mudeenu grunted, "The festival is to celebrate the end of an era," he took a few steps forward and observed the Mipedians, "Although not everyone remembers this. Especially that one," he pointed at the one who couldn't walk straight. He frowned at the poor example his tribe showed to a Chaotic Player.
"Not the first time I saw that dude," Peyton replied.
That happens in the Cothica too? He wondered, "Prince Mudeenu!"
"Sorry bro. What is this era?" the boy asked.
"Prince Mudeenu," the prince grunted as his tail whipped the ground in annoyance. That boy was disrespecting him and yet, he couldn't do anything about it. He began to explain, "The original reason we celebrated the festival was because it was the time where you could see the stars that shaped the symbol of our tribe. It is the night where the sky celebrated our tribe for its power over the desert," he pointed at the stars.
Peyton searched for them but when he aligned some of the stars, it did form the symbol of his favourite tribe, "You're right bro. That's awesome!"
"However, there is a second reason we celebrate this festival and it's thanks to King Theb-Saar and my father, when they cooperated together to fight back against a tyrant," Mudeenu said.
"Who's the tyrant? An Underworlder conqu-"
"The previous Mipedian king. Don't ask his name, it has been erased from history and only The Tyrant remained," the prince replied. It was the same one his father warned him to not act like, I will never be like him. I will never act like my tribe is just tools and nothing more.
"An evil Mipedian ruler?"
"Yes. The Tyrant would kill anyone for simple annoying him. He killed three of his children that way when they didn't 'mature' quickly enough. You Chaotic Players think I'm bad. Be thankful you never met him," the reptilian creature said. He walked towards the creatures who were entertaining the young with their powers and any other spectacle tools.
"I didn't know there could be a Mipedian like that. And I never thought you were bad dude."
"It's Prince Mudeenu," he grunted, wondering if the boy would understand one day. With what his uncle planned, he didn't know how how much of his sanity would remain, "The Tyrant was brought down by King Theb-Saar and my father. He never got any mercy. He was executed for treason against his own tribe, mass murder of an entire Oasis and other things," he put most of the details away. Those were the lesser vile crime of his grandfather. He was thankful none of the royal descendant took the physical appearance of The Tyrant. Only the eyes of Theb-Saar were proof of his cruel ancestor, "Better not bring this up to King Theb-Saar. He has no good memories of his father."
"Okay bro," Peyton replied.
"Prince Mudeenu!"
The boy did ask many other questions, to the annoyance of the prince. Many were about the festival. The Chaotic Player wasn't participating. He was a spectator. He knew little about them. They were many activities the creatures were playing.
"I see you entertain our guest well Mudeenu," someone said behind them.
Mudeenu quickly turned around and saw the ruler of his tribe with his son by his side.
He bowed and replied, "As much as I could."
Iflar was an albinos Mipedian with emerald eyes, long black hair and white spikes on the side of his head. He wore a green breastplate, loincloth of the same color and a purple cape. The Crowned prince nodded, "Hello cousin. Hello Peyton."
"Hello Crown Prince Iflar. Hi King Theb-Saar," the boy waved at them.
The royal guard was grumbling a few insults as his title wasn't mention compared to the rest of the royal family. He was certain it was on purpose.
The king and the crown prince were addressing the people. They got a lot of attention. They gave only a few words before everyone returned to the festivities.
The moment the king gazed at his nephew, Mudeenu was chugging something to help him survive the rest of the night.
"Did you have fun at the festival so far Peyton?" Theb-Saar asked.
"Yes. I sure love watching everything-"
"Watching. You didn't try anything yet?" the king asked before giving a quick glance at Mudeenu, who shivered.
"There was so much to see! I just couldn't stay in one place," the teenager answered as he showed his excitement with exaggerated movement of his arms as he pointed at everything.
"I was certain I would have found you dancing with the others," he pointed at the group.
"Well hum…" the boy played with his fingers nervously, "Not that good at dancing."
"Bad like my son?" he pointed at the albino Mipedian who gasped loudly.
Mudeenu snickered a little. He didn't drink more than one bottle. He was a prince and acting like an idiot was the last thing he wanted to end up as. Especially when a Chaotic Player was a witness.
"You're not helping cousin," Iflar grunted.
"Probably bad like, panicky and kaboom bad," Peyton resumed.
Theb-Saar let out a grin and gazed at his son, "Why not figure this out?"
The albino prince couldn't get paler than he naturally was. He glared at his father for such suggestion, "I won't-"
"I don't see the problem."
"I do!" both Peyton and Iflar replied. The human did add the title of the ruler.
The other prince wouldn't let his cousin embarrass himself, "There is much more to show him my king."
The blue Mipedian let out an annoyed sighed, "Fine."
Peyton took the lead and the royal Mipedians slowed down.
Mudeenu approached his ruler and asked, "How was the meeting with the Overworlder?"
"What meeting? Who gave you that idea?"
There was a loud gasp coming from the orange Mipedian, "You tricked me!"
"You had to get to know Peyton. You never really talked to him for long," Theb-Saar replied casually.
"It was his idea cousin," the white reptilian being added.
"What do you think of Peyton?" the ruler asked.
Mudeenu sighed, "Fine. A weird Chaotic Player," nothing else came out of his mouth, "He is the best choice."
"That's all I wanted to hear. Better built your patience dude," the blue Mipedian said it with the same tone as Peyton. One quick nod at his son.
Iflar imitated his cousin with a grin, "Prince Mudeenu."
And the royal guard realised, "You were here all along!"
"And Peyton never called you Prince Mudeenu as I ordered him too," his uncle snickered.
Mudeenu barely managed to contained everything inside of him. He was a bomb ready to blow up. His scales darkened while he clenched his hands. His king just made a fool out of him and played with his patience. His cousin was also part of it. However, another thing came to his mind, "So… You heard the story about-"
"Don't worry, I have no problem. My father is long dead and it's all in the past," King Theb-Saar replied.
His nephew gazed at the side and nodded.
"We still have to show the Chaotic Player the rest of the festival."
The royal family did so. The boy had been pushed to play a few of the games. They met other guards that oversaw the festival. As for the Captain Of The Guard, he avoided looking at his family for the rest of the night. He grumbled a few things on their back.
When the moon shined brightly in the sky, the mind of the king wandered as it did every year, "Another year you rot in the pit bastard," he grunted hatefully.
"Everything's okay King Theb-Saar?" Peyton asked.
His red eyes went to the Chaotic Player. He let out a small smile and said, "Yes," he then looked at his nephew and son and whispered to them, "People like him can help bring true peace to Perim. So that creatures like my father won't ever spawn once again."
The two nodded in agreement. Mudeenu was a smaller nod but he had to agree. Peyton was the perfect pick to guide them to the Cothica.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Hunting MajorTom.
The boy went for a scan in the Overworld but was after him.