That Day Will Come
He was always bored on days such as this.
It was a warm crisp day, and the sun Shone down brightly on Angel Island. Flickies flew in the sky overhead, while the wind gently rustled through the leaves in the nearby trees. As he sat in the shadow of the Master Emerald resting peacefully on its pedestal within the stone altar shrine, he contemplated the serenity of nature all around him. The red echidna lay resting his head against the stone altar, as the giant green glowing gem rotated silently in it's niche behind him. As he lay there, eyes closed, a butterfly landed on the end of his nose stirring him from his contemplation. The red echidna lazily opened his eyes, shooing the tiny insect away, before trying to return to his contemplative slumber.
Sadly, it was not to be.
"Pakal!" A voice called out to him from the nearby forest, waking the Guardian of the Master Emerald from his Slumber once more. "Pakal, you won't believe it! Chief Palanque has called all the tribes warriors to a council in the hidden palace right away!"
"Bah, Calakmul! this is why you have waken me from my slumber?" Pakal groaned, stretching his arms and legs before standing up. "Probably calling for another great hunt over in the mushroom Hill Zone, I have heard our flicky, picky, and rocky meat stores are getting low again."
The proud echidna warrior was all decked out in a green tunic, feather headdress, and Bone mask made from the skull of a large predatory bird - A variation on the typical garb of the Angel Island echidna clan. Calamakul, his best friend and tribal brother in arms, wore a similar blue outfit. They we're both proud Warriors of the tribe, each having a role in their society in which they were born and raised into. For Calamakul, it was the job I'll being a Craftsman at The Potter's Wheel, producing the fine jugs, vases, and bowls but the tribe both used, and traded to the other islander nations who valued them as art.
Pakal, on the other hand, he held the esteemed position of being guardian of the Master Emerald, a job handed down through his bloodline since the time of the fall of Chaos's Rampage for Millennia ago. Like his father before him, and his father before him, and his father before him, going back into the mists of echidna history, it was Pakal's duty to guard their tribes most sacred treasure.
"Still, we had best head back to the village, to see what our exalted leader wants." His friend noted, as they both made a run through the jungle towards where the tribe's huts were clustered together. Their Village was built in the shadow of the great structure that was the Hidden Palace, a magnificent Royal dwelling for the Chiefs of generations gone by. Most of the great cities of the Angel Island echidna clan that were scattered across the island; Hydro City, Marble Garden, and Sky Sanctuary- were all in Ruins now and the clan's population which numbered in the thousands only a century ago, and now dwindled to 200 Warriors and their families. Their numbers had diminished in the constant wars the tribe had fought in the past few decades. Their tiny village they inhabited now was all that remained.
As the two Echidna Warriors approached those huts, two small red echidna children ran up to greet them. The slightly taller one making his way towards Pakal, and the shorter one running up towards Camakul.
"Father!" The taller one rushed up to Pakal, giving him a hug. "Father, did you hear? A war council has been called!"
"Knuckles, my boy! So, is that what they're saying, hm?" Pakal lovingly hugged his son back. "If that is the case, then you best go keep an eye on the emerald for me , while I am at the council of warriors meeting."
"Father, may I go help him guard the emerald, as well?" The smaller, more sickly echidna boy asked Camakul, his father. "I'll help and mop mess up. I promise."
"All right, Wechnia, you may go with Knuckles. The other man laughed. "But try not to get yourself hurt this time!" The two best friends ran off into the jungle, leaving their father standing there laughing. At that moment, an elderly echidna with red fur, a pair of small spectacles on his face, a long blue robe and carrying a trident shaped staff stepped forward from the hut the boys had come out of. both echidna warriors bowed their heads in respect.
"Athair, I am pleased to see you, my honorable father-in-law." Pakal smiled at the old man. "Thank you for watching over the boys while we were busy."
"Indeed, honorable shaman. You have been a great help to Pakal since the passing of his wife and Knuckle's mother, the lady Yola." Camakul agreed. "And thank you for watching my son as well, I know you are greatly busy in your Alchemy work, as well as communing with the spirits of the ancestors for the wisdom you use help guide our chief in ruling the tribe."
"Of course I would help out with taking care of young Knuckles, he is my grandson, after all." The old Shaman replied, adjusting his spectacles. "But the sudden move by Palanque, our tribes beloved ajaw (chief) is most disturbing. It is rumored among the tribal warriors that he has found the hiding place of Longclaw,, the last of the owl Warriors who are our tribe's mortal enemies. He is rounding up all of the tribe's warriors, to go and bring the last owl Warrior down."
"Longclaw has been found?!" Camakul exclaimed, beaming. "At last, we can bring an end to this conflict that is gone on for thousands of years between our two tribes. The very war that made Pachamamac so desperate to seize the chaos emeralds from the shrine. We shall capture that treacherous bird, and her emerald secrets shall be ours!"
Camakul ran off towards the Hidden Palace excitedly, eager to attend the warriors council. But Pakal stayed behind, sensing something troubled his shaman father-in-law .
"You are not happy about the finding of Longclaw." Knuckle's father said simply. "You still believe our war with the owls is an act of Senseless violence and bloodshed."
"This war has gone on for far too long, nearly wiping out the owl warriors, and pushing our clan to near extinction." Athair sighed, leaning on his staff wearily. "Even our chief knows this, why else has he sent all the women and children of our tribe, except for Knuckles and Wechnia, to be fostered with the forbidden zone clan for safekeeping? The chief has even sent his own his own daughter, the princess Alucion, there to remain, until this war is over."
"Honorable Athair, you are the father of my late wife, and so I show you the respect are the tradition of our people demands." Pakal grumbled. "But you are calling the courage and bravery of our tribes Warriors into question."
"Heed my warning, son-in-law. As a shaman of the echidnas, I can feel the chaos energy swirling all around us,. I can read how it shapes the world, including the future that is shaped by our choices." Athair raised to staff in the air, shaking it. "If these events are allowed to transpire, I forsee the destruction of both our warriors, and the Angel Island echidna clan. Your son will be among the pitiful few who remain." Pakal looked away, his voice becoming low as he spoke his next words.
"You are a shaman of our people, and it is not my place to question your visions or your wisdom." The echidna warrior sighed. "If what you say is true, then it's a good thing I named my son Knuckles, the ancient name of our clan from the time before chaos is Rampage." He turned back to face his father-in-law. "If I fall in this battle, I entrust my boy to you, his grandfather, to raise."
"I thank you for your trust, son-in-law." Athair replied putting his hand on Pakal's shoulder. "I promise you I shall not betray it."
It was several hours later, and Knuckles and his friend had been keeping an eye on the Master Emerald for longer than they could count. The sun had moved halfway across the sky since they had first arrived at the altar, and they had spent the time since sitting and talking, pacing around the shrine area and even playing a round of pok-a-tok, tribe sacred ball game. In the intervening hours, Knuckles had fallen asleep in front of the altar, leaving Wenchnia awake to contemplate everything that was happening.
Look at Knuckles there, he thought to himself, his lazy friend with no sense of responsibility. The future guardian of the Master Emerald, who had no problem falling asleep on the job, leaving their tribe sacred stone to be taken by any thief who might pass by. It had been such a lazy guardian, who had allowed the owls to sneak up and steal the seven chaos emeralds from the altar, and scatter them to the four winds. Now, the tribe only still possessed the Master Emerald, and it was Knuckles his sacred duty to one day protect the gemstone... a duty he did not earn the responsibility, but rather through being the son of the previous guardian.
The Master Emerald... Wenchnia approach the giant gemstone in reverence, fully aware of its history. Long ago, in the time after the last great Gaia awakening and the birth of the Echidna species, one of their people had found the Master Emerald deep in a cave while exploring Angel Island. Using the great gemstone's power, That echidna now became a leader of his people, founding the Knuckles Clan in order to protect the gemstone from evil. Sometime after the arrival of the ancients, the tribe also become Guardians of the Chaos Emeralds, which were brought to the shrine centuries before the time of Pachachamac. There was a colony of the ancients, who had shriveled into the cute little creatures called chao, that lived at the base of the emerald shrine . One of them had mutated into the powerful being known as chaos, who became the Guardians of the emeralds the shrine and the chao who lived there.
Then came the time that Pachachamac became the leader of the Angel Island echidna tribe. He started the war with the owls, against the protests of his daughter Tikal, and launched an attack on the shrine to get control of the emeralds. This caused chaos to lash out in retaliation, killing the chief and his inner circle of warriors, before going on a rampage and killing every echidna in the cities of Angel Island. Desperate to call upon the power of the Master Emerald, and because of her prayers she and Chaos were sealed inside the large gemstone. The surviving echidnas rebuilt the tribe, and due Tikal's prayer the Master Emerald itself took the island high into the sky where no evil force could reach it or the surviving echidnas. Their tribe had survived in these skies for four millennia, but now it finally appeared their luck was running out.
Wechnia slowly approached the Master Emerald, awed by its incredible power. Surely no harm could come from simply reaching out to touch it, from simply basking in that awesome chaos energy that the emerald drew from the very air around it. The 10-year-old red echidna now reached out, his fingers touching the smooth green surface. Knuckles's best friend smiled, amazed at what should have been a cold shiny surface, was actually as warm as flesh to the touch. Almost as if the emerald itself were a living breathing thing. The positive energies of chaos within the stone filled him, making the younger echidna feel truly alive.
In his arrogance, what young Wenchnia had failed to notice, was the Gathering storm that formed overhead. Dark clouds and a Sinister wind formed all around them. And as the younger child was lost, staring into the smooth green surface of the Master Emerald , a lightning bolt lashed out hitting the gem and sending a shock of mixed electricity and Chaos energy into the boy's body. He screamed in agony as the lightning tore through his flesh, causing the boy to stumble backward, and collapse to the ground. His howl of agony woke the sleeping Knuckles, who ran over to his friend in pain.
"Wenchnia!" He called out, picking up and cradling his little friend in his arms. In a terrified panic, he ran back towards the village, carrying the young echidna who's red fur had now been scorched entirely white. Knuckles got him to the house of healing, where he slept for many days even after the warriors had left. It was then the now pale White-furred echidna awoke with obsidian colored pupil-less eyes. New thoughts build his brain like how foolish he'd been to want to be a guardian himself, and how those who guarded the Master Emerald merely held back progress. They were mired in their foolish traditions, including his best friend Knuckles, and the pathetic fool who called himself his father.
With no one else around in the house of healing at that moment, Knuckles's one time friend slipped away, and made his way to one of the ancient magic powered teleporters that the ancestors of the Echidna created on the island, and no one had used for thousands of years. Getting away from Angel Island unnoticed, this corrupted Echidna child would one day grow up to become Knuckle's most hated and vile enemy... changing his name to Dr Zachary Finitevus.
It was a bright sunny day, not too long after, that all of the Warriors readied themselves to leave the island. Young Knuckles had also readied himself, spear in hand as he drew near the other warriors. Seeing the boy approach, Pakal walked over and put his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Knuckles, the day will come when you will honor our tribe, and make me proud as the guardian and Warrior I know you can be." He looked into his son's eyes, silently saying a final farewell. "But today is not that day. Be a brave Young Warrior, and stay here with your grandfather."
Walking over to stand by the old Echidna shaman, Knuckles and Athair watch the brave echidna warriors go. Climbing into the harnesses of their hang gliders, and silently gliding down towards the surface below. While the last two living echidnas on the island wished their warriors success, both knew and their heart of hearts that they would never see any of those brave souls again.