-1Ancient Society: Ascension
Chapter 8:The village of origin
A/N: Hi, it's me again! I really gotta get back into gear with this story. (This is my clash of souls, Lord Nalthren) We last saw Demetrie, Ryoko, and Felix and Ebony traveling to "The village of origin" and Demetrie "Dispatched" some bandits in an extreme fashion. Ryoko doesn't know what to make of him, so let 's see what else Demetrie does in his dark ascent. MEE-YAA!
Disclaimer: I do not own the pokemon franchise, Nintendo does. I also do not won the transformation series established by TurtlesandMonkeys; Demetrie and his ancient society belong to her and I'm just borrowing them. Felix the Eevee trainer owns his OC and Ebony the black Espeon. I own little Ryoko. MEE-YAA!
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Demetrie never faltered as he walked determinedly down the road. Felix and Ryoko couldn't understand where he got his stamina from, Felix was panting and Ryoko could barely stand.
"Elder.." Ryoko panted. Demetrie turned.
"I think we should rest for a moment." Ryoko suggested. Felix nodded. "Yeah, Ebony's really tired." Ebony raised an eye at him. "Esp Espy?" (Oh really?)
Demetrie closed his eyes. "As much as I don't like loosing ground, I guess we do need a moment of rest. Follow me." he began to walk off the road. Ryoko got up and Felix groaned before receiving a mental slap from Ebony to keep moving.
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The group found the shady spot in the woods and decided to break there. Ryoko pulled out the dried fruits she carried in their provision sack which Felix and ebony gratefully accepted. She offered some to Demetrie who was staring at the sky. "Demetrie? I mean Elder, would you like one?" Ryoko asked while blushing a little bit. He didn't look away from the sky. "I'm not hungry for the moment. Thank you young one."
"You know, she's not to far from your age." Felix said between mouthfuls of fruit. He swallowed. "I mean, your like what, 15?16? And she's probably 14. You make it sound like there's this huge gap." Ebony shot a glance at him and sighed. "Esp esp." (There he goes…)
"I am the elder selected by my ancestor and therefore I was chosen to lead." Demetrie said plainly with a hint of frustration.
Felix got up and shrugged. "Yeah, but I bet technically your still considered a young one by other elders who are probably bag of bones by now…"
Demetrie got up angrily with his staff in hand. "I will not allow you to refer to the elders like that." He said with a cross face. Ebony got between Felix and Demetrie and growled. "Esp!" Ryoko got between the Espeon and the angry boy. "Elder stop! This isn't proper behavior towards a young one." She said, pleading with her eyes for him to calm down.
"It is he who should learn some respect." Demetrie said. He looked to Felix. Felix only shrugged. "I appreciate you taking Ebony and me into your village, but sometimes I can't stand the way you act." Demetrie snorted. "You're lucky your Espeon takes great affection for you and protects you, otherwise I would've considered using her to teach you some manners."
"Demetrie!" Ryoko scolded. Felix stared at Demetrie while stroking Ebony.
"Who knows, maybe one day she'll turn on me, but hey, if what you say about becoming pokemon is true, then at least I'll end my days with her."
Demetrie only stared and began to walk. "If that is your destiny, prophecy bearer. We must depart."
"Esp." Ebony muttered.
"You said it Ebony." Felix said. H looked to Ryoko. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"It's… all right." Ryoko began to pack up everything. What is happening to Demetrie?
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The rest of the trip was a silent one. Demetrie stared toward the road ahead, not looking at Ryoko or Felix behind him. Felix was trying to help Ryoko smile but to no avail. He gave up and stared at the ground like she did. Ebony walked along side her master, humming to herself.
Soon They saw something in the horizon. A small enclosure could be seen and Demetrie began to walk forward even faster. "We're almost there." He said. Ryoko looked up and saw several small huts in the center but there were wooden houses set up around the huts. There was a huge lake that had a stream that lead into the horizon, probably into the ocean itself. So…is this the village that Demetrie and the rest of the society was born? Ryoko asked herself. They began to walk even faster.
They walked into the village. Several children were seen playing in the front of their houses with pokemon. These children had yet to wear any markings, but they still had one small one on their cheek. Ryoko remembered when hers was a small one too before it was painted over with a newer symbol that she bore now, the dragon in the flower that was blooming. The children had small one that were indistinct. There were, surprisingly, woman in their twenties and thirties all sitting in the front porches. Ryoko noticed that these women had round belies, kind of like…what was the closest thing she could think of? Like a Kangaskahn's pouch before expecting a new cub. They must be expecting soon…were they offered the rite of transformation?
Ryoko noticed their expressions as rather pained and saddened. When they saw Ryoko and the group pass by the put on smiles that Ryoko knew were forced ones.
Demetrie came foreword until he cam to a wooden temple with incense burning near it. He bowed and kneeled before the entrance. Ryoko did the same but Felix stood for awhile before shooting a glance at Ryoko and Demetrie and decided to kneel too.
"Who comes forth?" An old voice sounded. It was a woman's voice.
"Demetrie of the tribe that was formerly of Elder Karu's kinship. I come to inform you of his passing."
A short old woman stepped out from the temple. She was wearing a purple tunic, her silver hair tied in a bun behind her face, two chopsticks sticking out form it.. Her eyes were closed and there were symbols on her cheeks , a red symbol painted on her forehead like a crescent. She held a cane in her hand and bent over it. She inspected the mark on Demetrie's forehead. "Ah, so you are Karu's successor." She stood proudly.
"I am Elder Kia, sister of Karu and matriarch of this village. Rise, Elder Demetrie."
Demetrie did. He kneeled before her again before standing. "Elder Karu was a strong leader who has finally joined with our ancestors."
"I trust that he went with his arbiter." Kia said with her back turned and her eyes closed.
"If you are referring to the pokemon that he used In judgment, yes he did." Demetrie said.
"And I trust that you are here for your arbiter." Kia said with her eyes narrowed.
"What's an arbiter?" Felix asked Ryoko. "An arbiter is a pokemon that the elder uses to judge specific things, such as the selection of a new elder or the punishment of severe crimes." Ryoko explained.
"Come ." The old lady raised a bony finger and gestured for them to follow her. The walked to a large building by the lake. Kia gestured for them to come inside. There was a huge chamber, with torches dimly lighting the edges. In the center of the chamber was an altar, a sacred cloth with the symbols of Yasuo on it. Lady Kia walked towards the center, bowed, then came to the alter.
"I foresaw that Elder Karu's passing was near, so we consulted with the council elders to determine which pokemon might be selected for the services of the newly elect elder." She gestured towards the apricot balls towards the center of the table. There were symbols painted on them. She gestured to the balls. "These pokemon were chosen because they were the direct ancestors of the ones who were going to become elders. The symbol that the chosen one received correlates to the pokemon that was chosen." She looked to Demetrie's mark. "Yours is of fire, of strength, of burning passion." She gestured toward the ball with a symbol exactly like the one on his forehead. He began to walk forward and touched the ball, feeling the warmth and power flow through it. He cranked the ball and released the pokemon inside it.
"Vul, Vulpix." A cute orange fox was released, its six tails wavering. Demetrie bowed before the fox. "Ancestor, I will use you justly." The Vulpix walked up to him and put its paw on his forehead. It closed its eyes and bent its head. "Vul Vul Vulpix." It chanted.
Ebony shuddered. "Espeon esp." Felix looked to her. "What, it's creepy? What did it say?" Ebony told him and he widened his eyes. "It told him 'let the grace of Yasuo guide you'? That is weird." The Vulpix seemed to hide another essence beneath its cute exterior. It put its paw down and sat before Demetrie, as if asking what to do next. Demetrie stood up and returned the fox into its ball. He bowed before Lady Kia. "Thank you, elder."
"Don't thank me, thank your ancestors. They are the ones who elected you to this position." She raised her arms. "Yasuo's grace rain down upon you." Demetrie bowed down. "And you as well."
Felix scratched his head. "Wait, what was the deal with the Vulpix?" Kia looked to him.
"Forgive him Elder, he is newly inducted into the tribe, but he is an interesting one." Demetrie said.
"I see, is that your Espeon?" She asked. Felix nodded. Kia smiled. "Well, Espeons and other eeveelutions are held with high regard. Consider your self thankful for having a unique companion."
"…Thanks?" Felix asked while Ebony shook her head. "To answer your question, that Vulpix was giving him her blessing. She is an ancestor of his long ago who volunteered her self to the pokemon to serve her descendents. Joining with our ancestors grants us everlasting life, so we are allowed to guide our descendants towards fulfilling the ultimate day of promise. She has served many of her descendents including the parents of this one here."
"How does she know that?" Felix asked. Kia smiled.
"When an elder is being chosen, our ancestors look into our inner being, a being that never changes. That is why a symbol is chosen for them. The arbiters just have to look for their symbol to find their descendant."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "So, she's like his great-great aunt or something?"
"we no longer think in terms of human relations but that is essentially the point. He and that Vulpix are blood related. When she was a human, she was of his family lineage."
"You'll understand all things in time soon, prophecy bearer." Demetrie said while walking by the group with his Pokeball.
"Prophecy bearer? Hmmm, I wondered why he bore the symbol of forbearance."
"what you mean this?" Felix pointed to the symbol on his forehead, which looked like the circle on an Espeon's head or even a third eye. "Yes, that symbol mean's that you will bring news of events to come."
"I'm not much of a psychic. If I was I would be training with my dad bending spoons and the like. Well, with Ebony of course." Ebony stood proudly. "Esp."
Kia scratched her chin. "Very intriguing. Well, Elder you may spend the night in our village of you must."
Demetrie nodded." thank you for our hospitality."
"I assume that you will exercise your right to induct several of the younglings into your tribe soon?"
Demetrie looked at her. "If events dictate, then I will exercise that right."
"Understood, elder."
She began to walk out of the alter. "Good night."
Demetrie bowed and looked to the ball in his hand. "I will not fail you. I have no fear."
He began to walk out and Ryoko looked around before following him. She stopped and turned to Felix, who was looking down. "Are you ok?" She asked. He nodded. "I'm all right. This pokemon descendent thing is sort of weird to me." He said. Ryoko looked down as they began to walk out.
"Sometimes, I don't understand it myself."
Ebony followed them out of the temple, the other apricots left unclaimed.
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A/N: And that's the end of that! I decided to show this village as a precursor to the village that we see in Ancient Society before the church came. Another thing from ancient society was the Vulpix, this being the same Vulpix Demetrie used in chapter 11 of Ancient society, the one he used to judge Missy. Lady Kia was a new character that I wanted to add to this village, I kinda think of lady Kaede from Inu-yasha when I think of her, only without the eye patch. A hint was given on how the society might continue themselves with the women that Ryoko noticed on their way into the village. There is also some tension established between Demetrie and Felix. Well, please review! MEE-YAA!