Chapter 20 – Return of the Mahaijin

            About an hour had passed since Levitas had fallen asleep, the ship still cruising along through the air, and Alos, Zephay, and Wander had been talking to pass the time. They discussed where they were originally from, Alos and Zephay discovering that they had lived only a few miles from each other, Zephay living just below the border in Northdrem. Wander had said that he grew up within a gang being raised as their slave, and that when he one day saw the opportunity to escape, he did just that.

            “So this isn’t your first time being a slave then?” Alos asked.

            “Nah, even after I got away the first time they eventually found me and dragged my sagit ass back.” Wander laughed, adjusting his feet which were propped up onto the side of the couch. “It honestly wasn’t until I was,” he paused rocking his head from side to side in thought, “it wasn’t until I was about fourteen that I finally got away for good. After that I just bummed my way around the cities in the Non-States.”

            “That’s rough not having a home.” Alos was empathetic, though he never really knew how it would have been. He grew up comfortable, in a place of extraordinary wealth, the son of two of the most esteemed political heads in the western world. Yet despite all that, he had a sense of what it must have been like to always be wandering from place to place, just trying to keep himself fed, probably from the experience of the past few days.

            “Don’t feel too bad,” said Zephay, “from what he told me, he was pretty well off.”

            Wander smiled, his big toothy grin shining with pretension. “Being awesome has its advantages.”

            “Yeah, yeah, Mr. internet gambler big shot over here.” Zephay smirked, shoving Wander’s shoulder.

            Alos sat wearing a puzzled expression, staring at the two. He had no idea what Zephay was referring to, nor did he have any idea how anyone could be comfortable being homeless.

            “Have you never seen Wander’s videos online?” Zephay looked genuinely surprised, his eyes drawn back with his top lip folded over the lower. “There are a bunch of them and they all have around a million views. They’re called like 'Punk kid rips off gambler baddies'.”

            “You know what, I think I have seen those before. He’s playing cards, and it’s showing him tracking the deck in slow-mo, and it’s all from his perspective right?” Alos asked, rubbing his chin.

            “Yes sir.” Wander was still smiling arrogantly. “All recorded straight from the camera in my glasses. Poor bastards didn’t know what hit em.”

            “Dang, how much money were you making off that?” Alos was intrigued at the idea. Wander, a homeless kid, making money off of ripping people off and then putting videos up of it online. It was actually pretty hilarious.

            “It comes to about five bucks every thousand views, give or take. You do the math.”

            “Holy crap that’s a TON of money.” Alos said, his mouth sagging in awe.

            “And that’s not even considering the money I was taking from the people.”                                  

            “Yeah until one of his victims didn’t take to being ripped off so well.” Zephay laughed. “That’s when we met.”

            “If you were so well off, what happened to all your stuff?” Alos was puzzled. He realized that with that kind of money and with Wander’s personality, he would have probably been decked out with as much stuff as he could carry. “You must have been loaded to the teeth.”

            “Why do you think I want to go to Alarcin so bad?” Wander laughed, shaking his half cocked smile. “Lucky for me I just happened to stash most of my shit before I ran, including my Orb.”

            “So he still has all that money waiting for him in a digital account somewhere. Lucky bastard.” Zephay added, giving Wander a second shove in the shoulder.

            The ship suddenly titled up at an angle, throwing the three back into their seats. Levitas’ snapped upright on the couch in a frantic state of half alert panic. His head swayed from side to side, his jaw clenching tighter with each movement. Then with a relaxing sigh, he stood up and arched his back, stretching.

            “Looks like we’re landin’ boys.” Levitas said, his asphalt scraping voice being partitioned by the loud popping sound of his neck.

            “Dibs on food.” Wander said, jumping to his feet, shoving Zephay out of the way and stepping towards Levitas.

            “Easy there, everyone will be served at once. No need to shove.” Levitas motioned with his head towards the room with the loading platform. “Let’s get off this hunk-o-junk.”

            Levitas led the three down the hall, down the stairs and over to the boarding platform. Xri, Bert, and Dardaños were waiting for them on the platform with Merick off to the side by the operating lever. Once they all had stepped on, Merick pulled the lever sending them all down.

            “Why isn’t Merick coming?” Alos directed his question towards Xri, and while he was genuinely curious, he was kind of glad Merick wasn’t coming.

            Xri’s smile could be seen hanging just below the shadow of his hat. “Merick is not the biggest fan of Magnams.”

            “An’ Magnams aren’t tuh biggest fan uhf ‘im either.” Dardaños added with an outstretched grin. “Poor guyee can’t keep ‘imself tuhgether ‘round dem.”

            “That sounds like it’s from experience.” Zephay said.

            “Ayeee, let’s just sayee last time, ‘ee got so nervous he pulled a gun and started screamin’.” Dardaños began to laugh with his soft grunting chuckles.

            Levitas shook his head with disfavor. “Magnams almost made a mess out of him for it too.”

            The look that swept across both Zephay and Wander’s face was somewhere between teeth chattering terror, and heart palpitating nervousness. Alos didn’t really know the two, but if he had to guess from their reactions, the only experience they had ever had with a Magnam was the horrific genetically-modified, cybernetically-enhanced, hulk of a Magnam they had to fight in the arena. If he was in their shoes, Alos realized he would have stayed on the ship, regardless of how hungry he was.

            At the bottom of the platform, Alos could finally see out into where they were at. Around the ship in all directions was a forest dense with trees so high, a few even seemed to dwarf the skyscrapers back in Optimaris, the setting twilight sun hiding behind the thick foliage. The trees alternated between two distinct types, the first being the taller breed, had a sandy red bark, textured with long hard fibrous strands that layered over each other, fighting for height advantage on the trunk. It bore thick, deep green, leaves that were almost completely circular in shape with a small point at the end, and averaged about two feet in diameter. Alos had never seen such outright giant leaves before.

            The second breed of trees were on average slightly shorter, with a soft brown bark. Long thickets of pine needles stretched out from the top branches extending downwards into an A shape, the bottom branches were separated by a slender trunk hanging lowest at about twenty feet high. Below all of these trees though, scattered across the forest floor, fallen leaves overtook the ground, hiding it from sight.

            Branches interwove between the trees, creating mossy crossing bridges hundreds of feet from the ground. Alos wasn’t sure, as the distance was quite far, but he could swear that small rope handles stuck out beside some the walkways. He squinted trying to momentarily halt and examine it, when he was pushed forward and off the platform by Dardaños.

            “Come it is only a brief walk from here.” Xri announced, trekking forward, stepping over small piles of leaves along the way. The crew followed along around him, spread out into a mob. Alos, Zephay, and Wander, naturally collected into a smaller subgroup and began talking.

            “I don’t know about this.” Wander said, his head snapping back and forth in a paranoid frenzy. “I don’t mind Lycanians or even Simanians, but these things intimidate the fuck out of me.”

            Zephay shuddered. “There is no way they can all be like that last one right?”

            “Don’t worry guys, I’m also new to all this, but I think he was the rare exception. The one I saw just seemed like a normal person.” Alos said. He was really hoping that they wouldn’t freak out, especially after the rest of the crew just explained what Merick did. That would be the last thing he wanted to deal with.

            “Really? Where did you meet one of those things?” Zephay sounded disgusted, like he had just eaten something rotten.

            “Chill out man, it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, I think it was Xri’s boss or something.” Alos felt the urge to laugh at the last statement.

            “What!? Those things speak Common?” Wander’s face stretched back in disbelief.

            “This one did.” Alos shrugged, tilting his head. “I’m sure if we stick around with these people for long enough you will meet him.”

            The group had reached a ridge. Over the ridge was the largest tree Alos had ever seen. It was so large that it blocked out most of the sky with its outstretched, leafy branches. The tree was some mega version of the same red barked trees, its equally large leaves hanging from the tree like vibrant green boat sails. The tree was truly magnificent.

            Down the front of the godly tree, wooden circular doors speckled the trunk, the perimeter of the tree being lit up by internal torch lights. At the bottom of the tree was a mouth like opening hole, having no door or barricade blocking it and above all the doors was a two story building protruding from the side as a vertical trapezoid. The building was ornamented with colored glass windows being lit up an emerald green. As Alos drew closer he realized the green WAS drawn out into a resting dragon, with its neck cocked up and its eyes starring directly back.

            Spread out in a diameter extending from the tree, was a village of varying wooden houses and huts, smoke rising up from the chimneys of many. Most of the homes had roofs made of layered leaves from the tree, their seams bound and tied to a log at the top. Between everything, a small stream ran through a dug out trench in the village and through the carved out mouth at the bottom of the tree, parting the village in half.

            A puff of smoke rose up over the ridge, with its smell of rich savory meat bulldozing over the senses of the hungry crew.

            “Ughhhh I want some of THAT.” Wander said, flaring his nostrils at the smell, and clutching his gurgling stomach. Several others were also clenching their stomachs, nodding in agreement to Wander’s claim.

            Before the crew was one of the moss laden branch bridges extending from the crest of the ridge over to the sanctuary looking building that was mounted on the side of the center tree. Xri led them over the ridge and onto the bridge, small bushels of moss being kicked over the side as they walked down. When they got about half way across, two Magnams shot up from under, flying up into their air seemingly being pulled by their giant hooking blades. They rose up just over the bridge, and then one at a time landed on the other side of the chasm, the weight of each causing small quakes to tremble beneath the crew’s feet and the bridge to flail wildly.

            They approached the crew as the crew approached them, meeting three quarters of the way across.

            “OOH NAHRAYOH KAJ AHEK SKUH." Their voices boomed at the crew.

            Xri continued walking towards the two Magnams, the rest of the crew hesitantly following behind. After he was within a few feet of the Magnams, Xri threw his hat back over his neck, revealing his smiling face.

            “Xri, it is you! My apologies, Mahaijin.” The other Magnam said, dropping his sword to his side, and bowing.

            Their swords were just as tall as the Magnams holding them, reaching about ten feet in length. They were curved and segmented into two separated blades, connecting at two mid hinges that were bolted through. The tips of the swords were several times thicker and hooked out, away from the blade, with the opposing side also sticking out into a point.

            Zephay, Wander, and Alos exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

            “Please, if you would be so kind, take us to see the shaman.” Xri said to the Magnams in a humble tone.

            “Yes, of course, right this way.”

            As they were walking over to the entrance of the sanctuary, Alos looked back at Zephay and Wander. Both of their eyes were so wide with terror, Alos expected them to roll out and their jaws clenched to the point he was afraid their teeth would crack. Levitas must have also noticed because he placed his hands on each of their shoulders to comfort them.

            “Don’t worry, they’re just dragoons. Those ones are supposed to be intimidating.” Levitas said smiling. “They guard the temple from any potential intruders so they need to be.”

            “How the fuck did they fly up like that…?” Zephay said, his face still pulled back into a horrified gaze.

            “It’s a combination of jumping and throwing the weight of their sword upwards.” Levitas replied making a twirling motion with his arm and then acting as if he threw his arm up, jumping slightly with it. “You ever been bowlin’? It’d be like if someone went to throw a ball, but didn’t let go. They’d get pulled forward by the weight of the wall and onto the floor. It’s the same principal, but upwards and several thousand times the force.”

            Alos reached up scratching his head, trying to wrap his mind around the analogy. He had been bowling a million times back home and had always wondered what would happen if he didn’t let go of the ball as he threw it. He had always assumed the ball would fly out and drag him along with it, and the example the Magnams displayed apparently confirmed it.

            “Those swords must weigh a ton then.” Alos said to Levitas, still mulling over the image in his head.

            “They’re about a ton, right Xri?” Levitas’ gravelly voice only seemed to amplify the described weight.

            “Aye, about one hundred twenty five percent of the Magnam’s weight. Their weight is measured and then a sword is crafted accordingly.”

            Zephay and Wander exchanged looks of awe struck amazement, Alos joining in with a slack jawed stare at the realization of just how much weight was being thrown around. Alos weighed about one sixty, so when he thought about it and realized that the Magnams must have weighed almost ten times what he died, it made him uneasy. Then, being led in by the two dragoon Magnams, they entered through the doorway, up a curving flight of stairs, and into the temple.

            Light poured through the gleaming colored glass window and into the room, illuminating the space with the emerald green of the dragon’s body. Below the window was a raised stage, with three steps leading up to it, and at its center a pedestal with a cloudy white sphere levitating a foot into the air, slowly rotating. Two conductor rods pointed down from the ceiling just above the sphere, small static arcs twitching across the ends. Beside all of this stood an elderly Magnam, his face darkened with the creases of his age. He wore long flowing white robes, with an equally silky white wrapped turban hat. Tied between the folds was a crystal ring with a hexagonal center.

            “Jejwa, Mahaijin.” The Magnam’s low, yet distinctly clear voice, projected out focusing the sound directly at the crew.

            Xri approached the Magnam and they proceeded to have what seemed like a full conversation in whatever language they were speaking. At one point Alos heard Xri say his name, followed by Zephay and Wander’s too, but that was all he could pick out. The Magnam just kept nodding in sync with Xri’s chin wagging, until Zeith’s name was finally mentioned. A short silence fell over the two of them, Xri’s head nodding with a grim certainty.

            The Magnam relaxed his head back, letting his eyes roll upwards toward the rods. He brought his head back down, eyeing Xri with his squinted brown eyes, and then nodded once.

            “The sun is about to set,” the Magnam said aloud in common, “Please do not make any commotion for the next few minutes while this is done.”

            Alos had no idea what he was talking about, and turned to the others hopeful they would be more inclined. When puzzled faces turned, and were staring back, Alos realized they were just as lost as he was. Shrugging, he turned back and watched the Magnam.

            “Give him a moment, he will find Zeith.” Xri said, pulling his hat back, letting it drape around his back.

            “Why didn’t we just come here…” Alos started but was shushed by the rest of the crew. Lips pressed, Alos’ cheeks warmed with embarrassed blushing.

            Through the window, the sun was beginning to descend over the mountains, sending majestic rays of fiery red light streaming through the window. As the light hit, and then penetrated the green colored glass, a soft brown light filtered into the room. The Magnam clapped his hands together, and then muttered something indiscernible, causing black drapes to drop down from the ceiling, over the window, blocking all light from entering except a small rim of brown around the drapes’ edges.

            The Magnam walked over to the rods extending down over the floating sphere, placing his hands out towards them, but keeping what looked like a cautious distance. He muttered again, this time the phrase discernibly different to Alos, but still outside of his comprehension. With the second utterance, a section of the ceiling directly in between the two rods opened up, brown light beaming down in a single concentrated column. An explosion of white light burst out from within the sphere the moment the light came down and the crew threw their hands up to shield their eyes when suddenly, the light was sucked back into the sphere. Hovering above the pedestal, the sphere spun in place like a bullet, emanating black light from deep within.

            With a nod towards Xri, the Magnam sat cross legged before the sphere, his back arched into an erect posture, his hands laid out, palms up, overlapping in his lap. Xri accepted the notion and then sat across from him and the opposing side of the sphere, also erect, hands laid in the same position. The black light drifted around the two like thick smoke, Xri’s amethyst eyes and pale skin glowing. A deep purple aura overtook the room.

            There was a sensation that Alos began to notice, but he didn’t know quite how to verbalize it. An unseen pressure was being exerted upon the crown of his forehead, sending tingling shivers down his spine and into the tips of his extremities. The soft buzzing hum of a vibrating tone felt as though it was being pressed against his head. Squinting in focus and skepticism, Alos turned to Zephay and Wander who were clearly experiencing the same effects. They all stared at each other not knowing what to do.

            Then suddenly the chests of the Magnam and Xri puffed out, deep breaths drawn in by both.

            Soft oscillating hums escaped both simultaneously, the buzzing harmonics of each voice growing in volume. The deep purple of the black light flickered with the fluctuating resonance, vibrating faster and faster as their voices grew louder. Suddenly the crystal tied within the turban of the Magnam lit up, and began vibrating at the same rhythm. Then, the three tattoos around Xri’s eyes did the same, the two below illuminating into bright silvery platinum, the one above and between his eyes glowing almost pink. The volume of the chant continued to climb with its pitch, until finally the resonant frequency of the floating sphere was reached, forcing it to vibrate in place, violently convulsing above the pedestal.

            The sensation Alos had felt grew more and more, the pressure building exponentially. When the sphere began to vibrate, Alos skull felt like it was in an invisible vibrating vice, clamping down onto the top of his forehead. Just when he thought he couldn’t bear it anymore, and the edges of his vision began to darken, the humming erupted in a finale of conjoined shouts.

            Alos shook his head in relief, trying to reassert his attention, when Xri stood, placed his hands together, and then bowed to the Magnam.

            “You will forever have the gratitude of myself, my brothers, and the Guild.” Xri said, holding his bow to Shaman. The Magnam rose to his feet and returned Xri’s bow, Xri rising only after the Magnam Shaman did.

            “If only you had come sooner Xri, this could have been settled from the start.” The Magnam said sternly.

            “I was hoping to avoid coming back here.” Xri sighed, reaching back and pulling up his hat. “Whenever I show my face there is at always at least one who challenges me for my position as Mahaijin.”

            “Magnams are people of little faith, when you are not here, they grow impatient.”

            The Magnam shook his head and then continued, “Let us eat then, so you may leave tonight, uninterrupted. I don’t want any needless slaughter.” The Shaman walked with Xri back over to the crew. “Come, we have Groaches roasting back in the pit.”

            The Magnam walked out of the temple motioning for the rest to follow him. They tucked through the door, and followed him down and around the stairs. At the bottom, when they were back on the mossy branch bridge, they could see the outstretched flickering of fire light spread throughout the village. Smoke rose up from circular points every few hundred feet.

            “So where’s Zeith?” Alos said anxiously. He still felt bad about not being able to track Zeith, especially after raiding the ship only to have him not be there. On second thought though, Alos realized Zephay and Wander would have never came along if that mistake never took place, and he was just glad to be with others in his peer group again.

            “He is being held in a testing facility south of the capital city in Divimatia. It is not in the bunkered under city, but it's an offshoot which usually is connected through some means.” Xri nodded towards Levitas. “I do not know that part of Divimatia, so I am going to need your help finding a way inside. When we are in Alarcin we can talk with Danias to figure out the best way in.”

            “We should tell him to contact the other ships. We need all the reinforcements we can get.”Levitas spit off the bridge as they walked across. “A raid mission that close to the Sovereign is gonna be met with a lot of resistance.”

            “Precisely why I want to go in as quietly as possible. Get in, get Zeith, get out; the less attention we draw the better.” Xri said to Levitas. “We can tell Danias to tell the others, but they cannot become involved. They will only announce our presence.”

            “I have no idea how we’re gonna get inside without being swarmed by Crusaders.” Levitas shook his head, skepticism in his voice. “But if anyone knows, I guess it would be Danias.”

            Levitas reached up and pulled his lucky two sided coin from inside his bandana. He flipped it up, caught it with the same hand, and then opened his palm to look at it. The coin sat, a square punched through the center with small symbols embroidered around the edges. He popped his hand, and the coin rolled over, the punched hole through its center changing to a triangle. Levitas continued walking, rolling it back and forth.

            “God I hate goin’ to Divimatia.”

            The crew reached the other side of the bridge and then took a small winding path down and around the edge of the village. The path was beaten down from the treading of heavy Magnam feet, with even small imprints texturing the way. At the bottom the shaman Magnam, led the crew past several makeshift houses, and over to a dug out hole at the center of a grouping of houses. Smoke puffed out from within, rich, savory aromas drifting through the air provoking the hunger of all who smelled it. A harmony of stomach grumbles all sang together.

            “Let me get some of that!” Wander said, his nostrils flaring at the scent.

            “Come inside and away from the public, Mahaijin.” The Magnam said, motioning inside one of the larger huts surrounding the pit. The crew went inside, pushing through wooden double doors, and entering into the hut.

            A long wooden table sat several feet from the ground, mounds of small cushions resting in piles around it. The table was beautiful. Hand carved, with small ornamental detailing running along the trimming and spiraling around the legs. At a second glance, Alos noticed the detailing consisted of the runes, patchy groups of them collecting into words with small spaces between. Each rune was individually etched in, yet each contained exact consistency with each other. The dimensions were so perfectly consistent, that it appeared as though they were almost stamped into the wood.

            The Magnam sat at the end of the table, facing the door, with Xri sitting at his right hand side. The rest of the crew matched into pairs and sat one by one across from each other until the table was filled. Bert sat across from Xri at the Magnam’s left hand side, Levitas across from Dardaños, Zephay across from Wander, and then Alos at the other end of the table. They all pulled up the pillow cushions and sat cross legged on top.

            From outside the hut, a Magnam came in hoisting a long skewer of roasted meat over his shoulder. The meat was a soft rose red, cooked thoroughly until its natural color was exemplified. Alos wasn’t sure what kind of meat a Groach was, but based on the size of the steak of meat being carried around, it couldn’t have been small.

            The meat was brought over to each person, a plate being placed down, and then a slab cut off and served. The shaman got up and brought back two bowls of overgrown fruit, the first containing oranges the size of bowling balls, and grapefruit the size of basketballs. The second bowl contained a mixture of black and green avocados, all sizing up to be the biggest avocados Alos had ever seen.

            The skewer carrying Magnam smiled a big toothy grin, swaying his gaze from one person to the next, and then with an attempt to speak common said, “EHNJOYEE”.

            He didn’t have to tell the crew twice, as before he could even finish speaking his poor attempt at their language they had already begun to tear into their food. Alos wasn’t so sure though. The rest of the crew was just picking up their slabs of meat with their bare hands and ripping it off with their carnivorous teeth, but Alos couldn’t bring himself to do the same. Whether it was years of etiquette training or growing up the son of one of the most politically prominent families in the UDA, or perhaps even just the idea of grabbing the hunk of meat and letting the fatty oils and grease run down his arms, Alos felt very hesitant.

            “Uhh are there any utensils I can use?” Alos asked, his face twisting into an awkward half smile.

            Mouthful, Levitas turned over to Alos and said, “Jusht ushe yshr hhnnds.”

            Alos’ eyebrow cocked, having no idea what Levitas just said.

            With a big gulping swallow, and a gravelly cough to clear his throat, Levitas spoke once again, “Just use your hands lad, it’s delicious.” With a second dry swallow, Levitas turned to the Magnam. “Could we get some water by any chance?”

            “I have something better.” The Magnam reached down under the table and pulled up one of the monstrous grapefruits, only its skin had been hardened into a beige wood color and there was a nozzle at the end. He pulled up a set of wooden cups, and then popped open the nozzle, tilting the fruit over and pouring a pungent orange liquid into each cup, one at a time. After he filled a cup he would pass it to Xri, who would then pass it to the next person, until it worked its way around the table to the other side. Once everyone had a drink, Levitas raised his cup into the air. Xri matched Levitas’ raised cup and then was followed by everyone else at the table.

            “Aye!” Xri said, swaying his cup to all of those who sat around him. “These next few days will not offer comfort, nor ease, but what they will offer is challenge. A challenge of will, a challenge of adversity, and most of all a challenge of friendship. Let us come together to overcome these challenges so that we may ensure the restoration of normality once again. May truth guide us all.”

            Bert, Levitas, and Dardaños responded with a resounding “Aye!”, the Magnam nodding in approval, and then they all threw back they cups and drank. Alos looked at Zephay, who looked at Wander, who looked at Alos, all unsure of whether or not they were supposed to join. Smiling and laughing, they all shrugged to one another, and then proceeded to follow suit in drinking. The liquid was very alcoholic, burning the throat of Alo, with its tangy fruity flavor, and threw all three into a coughing fit of laughter.

            Suddenly the wooden double doors slammed open and a tall white furred Magnam came waltzing in shouting in their strange language. Multicolored spidersilk draped over his puffed out chest trying into a black cape that hung down his back, an angry snarl spelled out across his face. Two smaller Magnams followed him behind him, like lackeys tagging along behind the rightful leader.

            The shaman rose, instantly silencing the enraged Magnam. “Speak so that all here can stand witness to your challenge.”

            His eyes were locked onto Xri, menacing dilated pupils surrounded by bloodshot fury. The Magnam’s deep breaths caused his chest to pump up and down, circulating gusts of air through the room. He took another step towards Xri. The furrow worn on the brow of the Magnam pressed tighter as zealous eyes widened to meet it.

            “I, OVERLORD KCRUM, CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE TITLE OF MAHAIJIN!”

            Before anyone could respond, Kcrum spun around, sweeping his cape behind him, and walked back to the door.

            “Savor the last few hours of your life Xri, for tomorrow I shall bask in your blood.” Kcrum growled and then exited the room. His two lackeys cackled and then followed along behind their leader eagerly.

            Xri reached up and palmed his face. “This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.”

            “So you HAVE to fight him now?” Zephay asked. “We could just bail tonight.”

            Xri shook his head. “If a challenge is made, it must be fulfilled. If we were to “bail” as you say, I would be dishonored, and then consequently exiled. I obtained this title to avoid all of that to begin with, and I have come too far now to let it happen.” Xri paused, taking a sip of his drink before continuing.

“Do not worry, I will fulfill my obligation tomorrow, and then we will leave shortly after.”

            No one argued with Xri, the rest of the crew just nodded and continued stuffing their faces. Even Alos got to the point where he just accepted it and started scarfing down food with his hands, enjoying the savory, yet fishy meat. At the end of the night, Xri thanked the shaman and led the crew back through the village and back to the ship.

            The sky was without light pollution, something Alos had never seen before. Bright flickering stars spread out across the dark obsidian sky, filling the empty space. The two moons were full that night, reflecting the suns light brightly onto the forested land, even in the darkness of night. Such breathtaking natural beauty instilled a sense of wonder in Alos. If each one of the flickering lights is a star like the sun in his solar system, then what importance does any of this have within the cosmic scale of infinity? His life, his friend’s lives, any person he has ever known and will ever know are on this speck of a planet. Any problems, successes, victories, losses, war, political strife, religious oppression, it was all there within the confines of their small, limited, planet. Such implications rattled Alos’ mind to the very core.

            Once they got back to the ship, they all went to their respective rooms and slept. Alos was tired from all that had happened, but the insight he had just had continued to wrestle around in his head while he lay there in bed. Thoughts of webs of connections regarding everything and anything imaginable flooded his mind, each always ending in the same place of being confined to the planet.

            “It’s all going to be okay in the end.” Was his final thought before he gave in to the warm embrace of slumber.

____________________________________________________________

            Alos awoke the next morning feeling rested and energized. It was the first time in a while he had felt as though he had gotten some actual sleep and not cat naps here and there. His eyes felt relaxed, albeit a little crusty from just waking up, and his body lacked the fatigue he had been fighting.

            There was a pounding at the door.

            “Alos get up, it’s time to go.” Levitas’ voice was raspy and grated even through the soundproofed filtration of the door. Alos got up, rubbed his eyes and walked over to the door, opening it. Levitas stood leaning up against the doorway looking up at him.

            “Have you seen Xri?” Levitas asked.

            “Dude, I just woke up, I haven’t seen anyone since last night.” Alos stretched his arms up over his head, his mouth opening up bit by bit until it grew into a full blown yawn. “You check his room?”

            “I’ve checked the whole damn ship. I don’t know where he took off to.” Levitas said, his mouth pulling to the side in a gesture of puzzlement.

            “Didn’t he have to go kill that guy or whatever?” Alos’ said, still in a half awake lethargy.

            “That’s just it, he’s supposed to be over there in a half hour and I can’t find him anywhere.”

            “Did you try checking outside?” Alos asked, joining Levitas in leaning against the side of the door.

            “No, I haven’t yet.” Levitas patted Alos on the shoulder. “C’mon kid let’s go do that.”

            Levitas led Alos over to the ramp down, practically dragging him down the first hall, and then easing up a bit once Alos became more awake. When they passed through the main room, they found the rest of the crew standing around, drinking coffee, eating breakfast, and waiting for them. They passed right by without stopping and continued over to the platform, which they took down. At the bottom they found the same forest, around the same clearing, with the same trees.

            “Here he comes.” Levitas said, turning and facing behind Alos.

            Alos turned around and found Xri sprinting back towards them, vaulting over fallen logs, side flipping off the trunks of trees and then somersaulting through the air and rolling to his feet. He was wearing white loose fitted flowing silk pants and a matching tunic over his torso with his signature oversized hat around his head. On his feet he was wearing what looked like slip on moccasins with segregated pockets for each toe, the tops of the shoes lined with the same light wood as his hat.  As he approached the platform he slowed down, until he finally came upon them.

            “Good morning gentlemen; a fine morning for a run wouldn’t you say?” Xri said without panting or huffing in the slightest. His chest was rising and falling from his exertion but he still managed complete control over his breathing. Levitas flipped the switched rising the platform.

            “You better hurry up and get ready, we're supposed to be there soon.” Levitas said, shaking his head at Xri.

            “Let me use the conditioning room for fifteen minutes and then we will go.”

            The platform had reached the top and Xri ran up the stairs and into the ship. Levitas led Alos back into the main room, where they found the rest of the crew.

            “What’s the deal with the conditioning room?” Alos asked, finally awake.

            “It has cells inside that adjust temperature depending on the selected settings.” Levitas began to explain. “Basically he is going to freeze shock his system for fifteen minutes to reset his muscle mass.”

            Dardaños added, “You can lift weights all dayee, hop in tuh chill chamber fer a few and go right back tuh liftin’.”

            “It is also good for wound recovery.” Bert said between bites of his pastry.

            “Why was it never used for my arm then?” Alos asked, raising his right robotic hand into the air.

            “Wounds of the tissue damage sort, not the complete removal of a limb. The paste I applied did the same thing.” Bert continued to munch on the comparatively tiny pastry, as he held it between his two hulking hands.

            “Here Alos have some food.” Zephay said as he handed Alos one of the pastries.

            Alos gratefully thanked Zephay and then bit into the food. The pastry was triangular with rounded corners and had a puffed out center. There was a very slight orange glaze on the top, and when he bit into it, he discovered it was excessively flaky, pouring crumbs all over the floor. He felt like he had had one before and the name of the food was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite place it.  Scone? Yeah that was it.

            A few more minutes passed, the crew enjoying the change of pace with their relaxing breakfast, when Xri emerged from the conditioning room, his clothes stiffened from the immense cold. He went up into his room for a minute then came back down, something bulging from within the back of his shirt. With a quick readjusting of his hat, he walked over to the hallway leading down to the platform.

            “My brothers, it is time.” Xri’s voice hinted that he had something up his sleeve, and with the bulge in his shirt, Alos didn’t deny it.

            The crew Save Merick took the platform down and then followed Xri over to the ridge. They went down and around the side that went into the village and eventually came upon the smoking pit from the night before. They passed the pit and continued on through the village, catching the eyes of a few passing Magnams, when they eventually arrived at an enormous pit surrounded by raised wooden bleachers filled with Magnams. As the Magnams turned and saw Xri they exploded into a frenzy of celebrative shouting.

            “There is an entrance around the side that leads up to the bleachers. I am going to head inside, so I will see you all after.” Xri said, shouting over the blaring audience.

            The crew nodded and then split ways, Bert leading the crew around the side to an archway with stairs inside. They took the stairs up and pushed their way through the bleachers until they eventually found an empty section in the front row reserved for them by the shaman. Bert sat beside the shaman with the crew lining up beside him, with Alos, Zephay, and Wander down at the other end.

            “Listen to all this! This is crazy!” Alos shouted to Zephay, his blood pumping with adrenaline from the sheer hype of the audience alone. Zephay and Wander didn’t look as sure. They were sitting wide eyed, glancing out the sides of their vision at the masses of Magnams surrounding them on all sides. They didn’t just look uncomfortable; they looked like they were about to soil themselves.

            There was about a forty foot drop down into the pit arena with the edges of it covered in wooden panels and a massive tree growing from its center, rising up and casting shade of the whole facility. On opposing sides of the pit were doorways cut into the panels, both gated off by lashed wooden coverings. The bleachers rose around the pit from all sides but the crew just happened to have the best seats in the place, seated directly between both gates and at the very front by the edge.

            Both gates began to crank open, the crowd responding with a matching increase in volume.

            In through the right doorway walked Overlord Kcrum, fashioned with a fully body suit of solid diamond armor. The diamonds were so pure that they were flawlessly translucent that Alos could see the maroon spider silk lining within. Bulky pauldrons mounted his shoulders, each coming to a spike. A downwards pointed plate hung over his torso, with the spider silk lining extending up past the collar and around his neck. He had solid bracers and leggings, all of which had joint hinges that came to a spike. Atop his head, was a solid diamond helmet, the face drawn out into a snout like a dragon, and at the crest of his forehead a two foot spike extended up arching slightly back. In his right hand was a two-handed expanding mega baton sizing up to his height. Kcrum swung his sword, protracting the baton outwards, and then threw his head back and roared. The crowd went berserk.

            Then walking in through the opposite side, came Xri. He was wearing the same clothes he had been earlier, which was worrying to Alos. How did he expect to contend with a fully diamond armored Magnam, with just baggy pants and his hat? Alos squinted skeptically, he knew Xri had to be up to something.

            The shaman rose in the stands and the crowd fell silent.

            “Do either of you have anything to say before this engagement begins.”

            Kcrum raised his baton with both hands above his head and then grunted, “Today there will be a NEW Mahaijin!” The crowd responded with thunderous cheering.

            The shaman turned from side to side gracefully waving his hands out before him until the crowd once again settled.

            Xri stepped forward, removing his hat. He pulled back and then threw it, sending it flying through the air and over to Bert whom caught it easily. Underneath he was not wearing his bandanna, but instead revealed a long tail of eccentric violet hair, extending from his forehead to the back of his head and then falling down to halfway down his back. His head was completely bald except for the tail of hair being pulled back, and was covered in a range of multicolored tattoos.

            “Kcrum this is your last chance to back down. You watched me attain this position from your brother, do not let yourself suffer his fate.” The Magnam grunted at Xri’s proposition, planting his feet further into the ground. Shaking his head, Xri ripped off his shirt, revealing his body covered in metallic weight bracers, and a purple crystal saber slung around his back. He reached back pulling the sword from the sling.

            The sword was about three feet long total including the handle at the bottom. It came down from the tip gradually widening until the base where it extended into two parts, the first being the handle and the second being a small extension of the blade protruding over Xri’s hand like a hand guard. At the center of the base, a small square was cut out from the sword creating a hole.

            One of the Magnams jumped to his feet and pointed at the sword shouting, “IS THAT THE MAHAIJINS CRYSTAL?”

            Xri’s eyes shot up to the Magnam coupled with a smirk, giving Alos all the confirmation he needed about the question. Whatever the Mahaijin’s crystal was that sword was made out of it.

            The shaman waved his hands out before him once again, quieting the crowd. He then placed his hands together, raising them above his head.

            “Then prepare!” The magnam’s hands continued to slowly rise, drawing all eyes to them. Then with a downwards swinging motion, the shaman belted, “FIGHT!”

            “YOU WILL PAY FOR YOU INSOLENCE.” Kcrum shouted leaping several stories into the air.

            Xri wasted no time. He clutched the handle with both hands and then shouted, causing the weights on his body to release and collapse to the floor. Kcrum soared through the air and then bulleted down towards Xri, his great weapon swinging down with every gram of his weight.

            Xri slid his foot back and as the Kcrum came down upon him, he twirled his body like a tornado, slamming all his momentous energy into the ground with his blade. A bone shattering electromagnetic pulse bubbled out from the contact point, emitting unparalleled force in every direction. Caught in the pressure wave, Kcrum was sent flying off course into the air, flailing around trying to regain aerial stability.

            Time suddenly constricted, slowing all perception down to a fraction of Alos normal senses. He saw Xri bolt out from where he was standing sprinting towards the side of the pit in a rapid blur, against a background of a slow motion cheering audience. Xri sprung off the wall into the air flying towards Kcrum, who also appeared to be falling in slow motion. With one swift movement, Xri flew towards Kcrum, slicing through his weapon holding right arm, continued through the air, wrapped his arm around Kcrum’s throat, and then wound his body inwards, planting his feet onto Kcrum’s chest. Then, like a spring launching a pinball, Xri released his legs, snapping them out and sending Kcrum slamming into the ground.

            Somersaulting through the air, maintaining his trajectory, Xri landed gracefully beside his fallen adversary. Kcrum’s body lay flat in a pool of blood and from what Alos could tell he was dead.

            The Magnam’s stood in a roar of applause, chanting Xri’s name in unison. Zephay and Wander turned towards each other both displaying arched brows on impressed faces. Xri exited the pit from the doorway he entered through, slinging the sword back over his shoulder and hanging it from his back.

            After the fight, the bleachers emptied out, the Magnam’s pouring out into the village through the entrance, with the crew following along behind. They all collected outside the pit with the shaman waiting for Xri to exit and join them. When Xri finally came, hordes of Magnams circled around him like paparazzi. Eventually Xri made his way through the crowd and over to the crew.

            “You DECIMATED that guy!” Wander shouted to Xri, flipping his shaggy hair out of his face. “He came strutting out in all that armor and you just owned him.”

            “Yeah, good work Xri,” Levitas said, patting him on the back. “You never fail to impress.”

            “Do not get too riled up, I did not kill him, he was merely unconscious.” Xri responded with an outstretched smile. Reaching out his hand, Xri gestured towards Bert, who gave him his hat back. Hat in hand, Xri placed it back onto his head.

“Kcrum was a good soldier, he did not deserve to die.”

            “Thank you for being merciful, Mahaijin.” The shaman said lightly bowing to Xri. “If I could have a word with you in private.” the shaman said, motioning off to the side with his head.

            “Of course.” Xri nodded. “Excuse me gentlemen, I will be but a moment.” The two walked over off to the side past the crowds, where they stood and talked.

            Zephay turned to Wander and Alos. “I don’t know about you guys but something weird was going on back there. Everything seemed to slow down for a bit.”

            Nodding his head, Alos agreed, “Yeah I was getting the same thing. Xri moving at regular speeds and everything else moving in slow motion around it.”

            “That’s the norm for me.” Wander said shrugging. “Why do you think I’m so good at ripping people off in cards? I’ve always been able to track the cards through the air as they’re being shuffled.”

            “That’s weird that it only happened to us though.” Zephay’s mouth slanted in uncertainty. “Everyone around us seemed completely oblivious to it.”

            “Maybe.” Alos shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to believe we would be the only ones though.”

            Xri walked back from the shaman Magnam, tucking something Alos didn’t catch into the pocket in his pants. He came up beside the three and placed his hands on the shoulders of Zephay and Wander.

            “Alright lads, it is time to head out.”