Tension is Rising
Chapter Two
Lewa – Toa-Master of Air-Jungle
Lewa surveyed Le-Koto from the balcony of a tree-house. The village was built almost entirely in the trees, since that was where the Jungle villagers felt closest to their element. Lewa felt closest to his element here as well, but differently than the villagers did. They loved the trees for their own sake, spending hours just resting in the curve of a branch, but Lewa loved the trees for how close they took him to the sky. He wanted to get above the trees. To go soaring.
There was a noise behind him, and Lewa turned to see the Protector of Jungle standing in the doorway, holding a bedroll.
"I brought you this for tonight, Master Lewa," the Protector said. "This high up, it gets pretty cold at night." He set the bedroll down on the floor and went to stand beside Lewa, the vines on his feet curling and writhing as he walked.
"Many-thanks, Protector-guardian," Lewa said, turning back to once again watch the villagers at work. "So," he said, gesturing to the village, "what are they work-doing?"
"They're preparing a celebration for tonight," the Protector explained. "The Master of Jungle," he nudged Lewa in the side, "has arrived, and we're going to celebrate."
Lewa looked at him oddly. "You act pretty weird-strange for a village elder-Protector," he said, unsure of his basis for comparison. However, he felt that village elders should generally not nudge people in the sides like they were best friends. They were supposed to be wise, aloof, and always trying to ride large birds.
Lewa blinked. Where had that come from?
"Yeah, well, I'm the youngest Protector," said the Protector. "I was apprentice to the last Protector of Jungle, but he died before I could finish learning from him. The other Protectors sort of cobbled together the rest of my apprenticeship in a hurry and then initiated me."
"How did your mentor die?" asked Lewa.
"Skull Spiders," the Protector answered tersely. Lewa shivered. He had already met the hideous, insect-like creatures that plagued the island of Okoto, and he disliked them immensely. Not only were they extremely venomous, but, if worn instead of a mask, they could control the actions of a villager, or perhaps even a Master. The thought of his actions being controlled by another made Lewa extremely uneasy.
They stood in silence for a long while, but at last, the Protector broke it. "Come with me," he said. "I want you to learn the history of Okoto before the celebration tonight. You need to know your destiny."
"My destiny," Lewa said, leaving the tree-house with the Protector. "Now, where have I listen-heard that before?"
In the gloomy half-light of the lowest layer of the jungle, the Protector held up a burning torch to a wall. There was no building, just a free-standing, stone wall. It was free of vines, even the moving feeler vines that so many of the Jungle villagers wore as ornaments, which attested to the great care that was taken for this wall. All along its length were carvings, portraying villagers, protectors, and other beings of more power. The Protector took Lewa back to the very beginning of the wall, and shone the torchlight on the first carving—a faded image of two beings wielding hammers.
"In the time before time," the Protector said, "on the mystical island of Okoto, there were two brothers—mask makers—named Ekimu and Makuta. Ekimu wore the Mask of Creation; a magnificent work of art which more than halved the amount of time needed to make anything, and greatly increased the quality of the finished work. His brother, Makuta, wore the Mask of Control, which granted him the power to control others' actions. However, he never used it save in emergencies.
"Over time, Makuta grew jealous of Ekimu because it took him less time to make masks, and when done they were of better quality than Makuta's. So he broke the sacred pact that he and Ekimu had made when they began making masks; that they would never combine more than one of the six elements – Jungle, Water, Earth, Ice, Fire, and Stone—into a mask. Makuta collected materials holding these powers from all over Okoto, and when he had them together, he forged them into a single mask. The Mask of Ultimate Power!
"Driven mad by the amount of power he now possessed, Makuta began to enslave the villagers and force them to do his will. Ekimu, of course, would not stand for this, and challenged his brother to a duel. During the course of the battle, Ekimu knocked the mask from Makuta's face! The resulting shockwave also knocked Ekimu's mask off. Being without their masks, the estranged brothers fell into a deep sleep. The Protectors of that era found Ekimu, and placed him in their stronghold—the Temple of Time—in much honor; but of Makuta, they found no sign."
The Protector moved further along the wall, illuminating images of insect-like monsters. "The Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power were scattered about Okoto, waiting for one who could find them. This is when the Skull Spiders first appeared, searching for the Masks. No one knows whom they serve, but they obliterate everything that stands in their way, enslaving those who might be useful. They are extremely dangerous despite their size."
"I believe it," Lewa said, shivering. "Small things are forever-always the worst."
"However, there was hope," the Protector continued, holding the torch up to a carving of six Protectors performing a ritual. "Legend says that in Okoto's darkest hour, six Protectors, one from each tribe, will summon beings from ages beyond age. The heroes, Masters of the Elements, will find golden masks to increase their powers, defeat the Skull Spiders, and wake Ekimu." He turned to Lewa and gazed at him steadily. "Two weeks ago, I and the other Protectors went to the Temple of Time and summoned the Masters," he said. "They are here."
Lewa nodded. "A Toa-Master of Air-Jungle is always ready to help!" he said. "By the way, for being the small-youngest elder, you're a good-master story-teller."
The Protector scuffed one clawed foot against the ground. "I'm not that great," he said. "I just enjoy the history of our island. Thank you for the compliment, though, Master Lewa."
"I'm no Master!" Lewa scoffed, forgetting that he had claimed the title mere moments before. "Anyway, let's get back to Le-Koto! I don't want to sorry-miss the celebration!" He spread his X-Glider Blades and leapt into the air, his mask glowing as he did so. "Come on, Protector-elder! Let's go have some party-fun!" Lewa flew off through the trees, leaving the Protector of Jungle to vine-swing behind him.
Travelling this way, they soon arrived in the upper levels of Le-Koto. As they landed on a large platform suspended between the branches of a large tree, a villager struck up a tune on a xylophone. Soon Lewa was dancing and laughing with the Jungle tribe as they performed tricks with their feeler vines. Still, something felt wrong, like he wasn't where he should be.
It will hurry-pass soon, he told himself, at least, I wonder-hope that it will.
…
To be continued…