Introduction

This book is meant to encapsulate my fictional world of StarFall. A story of how memories, bonds, and experiences fuel people’s power, take it away, and so much more. I’m not the best writer, and I’m a very basic storyteller. I’m a big fan of feedback, so feel free to send opinions and whatnot. It may seem like a lot sometimes, but I promise that whatever is told has a mountain underneath. Read it however you want to, and make sure to try to have fun. This story is a constantly evolving Ages, much like our world; every Age’s consequences ripple into the next. Speaking of ripples, we’ll start with our first story:

The Old Ocean

Accumulation

Our story begins when the Planet was still divided into its most basic natural sources, in a state known only as the World Before, with the centermost being that of the Great Cycle. At the highest point lies Mother Island of the Cycle, which lies at the very start, with its constantly melting ice sheets giving way to new ripples in the entire system. It is made up of a once-staggering and cavernous mountain that was submerged up to its terrace. Most homes are built into the natural tunnels and caves of the mountain, carved into the rock with luminescent minerals covering the ceilings as if they were distant nebulae. The constant moisture in the air, along with the low temperatures, leads to an ever-present fog over the Mother Island, with a lantern festival held on the heaviest day so that the people may rest, celebrate, and find their way. Whenever a villager passes, they are sent off down the Falls so that their body helps the rest of the Cycle.

One peaceful evening, during the foggiest day of the year, a wailing could be heard in the cold wind, almost as if the islanders were being called. After much confusion, the cavern dwellers had gone and woken up their Shock Hounds, who begrudgingly walked out onto the shoreline, and without warning, they ran their way in the direction of the summit. The villagers were now tense from the unusual behavior of their prized slackers. The adults had started to try to put together what exactly the strange noise was, the elders suggesting they check the archives, while a few older kids had decided to turn the situation into a test of courage. But most among them willing to investigate would be Ulea, the Lead Artisan’s firstborn, known for her unlikely ambition, wielding a machete when out alone after dark. She had always wanted to go up the mountain, getting tired of always being underground or by the shore, seeing this as a chance to see the summit. As the families were distracted as they were discussing their course, she had sent her own Ray Hound, Chir, out to guide her. She made her way past the homes and into the pines. She was already accustomed to the chill of the night, but as she walked through the forest, burn marks from the previous Hounds’ dash still fresh, she noticed that he was rapidly getting colder.

As they continued further up, Chir had started to struggle to keep his coat alight, the cold clearly getting to the canine as much as his owner, ice starting to dim his energy. The pair was forced to stop almost every few minutes due to the intensity of the chill, eventually deciding to keep close together, Ulea pouring energy into the blade’s rune to light the way. As the forest got steeper, giving way to rocky, powdery shrublands, it was clear to Ulea that her sparking friend, while adamant, couldn’t continue without dying. She had gotten them under one of the few trees visible in the blizzard, made sure that there wasn’t a tree well, and laid her tired dog down. The young woman pricked her finger and proceeded to write a series of Runes and Seals her mother taught him, and Chir was sent away in a flash of light. She lay against the tree, telling herself she was “catching her breath”, knowing well that she closed her eyes, that she wasn’t waking up till the rainy season. Until the cold breeze whistled past Ulea’s ear, carrying a wail. And it was in that moment that she had the sudden urge to push forward; the frost on her fins shaking off, she marched on further up the mountain.

Her feet were dragging forward, and her tail was getting limp. Her eyes started to burn, not from the bitter cold, but from a different ailment entirely. Ulea found her bearings as she found the trails of the dogs, pushing past the powder, stumbling into a dense thicket, her hands getting looser, her grip loosening on her tool. Now a third cold breeze had pushed her forward, now rushing on fumes, holding her machete high, pouring her energy not into the carving but into the steel itself. The blade went bright, and she brought it down to clear her path, the force of her strike pushing into the clearing thicket, finding herself at her limit. Barely conscious, she raised her head to see what the goal of this journey was, because courage was certainly not worth any of what she had just gone through. In the center of the clearing, where the trees couldn’t stop the snow from coming through, there lay a sleeping baby, surrounded by sleeping dogs, snoring like distant thunder, and over them stood a figure so indescribable, she for some reason couldn’t bear to see it alive.

Her body straining, Ulea stood to meet the blightful thing, her eyes now wide, brimming with a strange new prideful hate, meeting what she assumed to be the creature’s eyes. In response to her attempt to approach it, the being was already in her face. It pressed what seemed to be an arm to her chest, and she was put to sleep, her last waking action cutting into its “shoulder”.

Arrival

When the morning light had pierced the fog, she awoke beside the pile of sleeping hounds and the strange baby, who was now playing with her fins. She tried to deter it, but was still too tired from the night before, dragging herself to the warm dogs, heating up faster due to their fur, regular motor function returning, and her finger no longer bleeding. As she started twitching back to her usual physical condition, Ulea was hit with the realization of where she was, how she got there, and most of what was with her. She sat up, the Shock Hounds yawning away, their cloud grey muzzles pressing against her as they stirred, as they’d known her since a roe. She slowly went to stand, the dogs helping her up, when she finally realized that the baby was in her arms, its odd horns pressing against her shoulders as he once again fell asleep. She perked her fins to the air, trying to hear the cry, thankful that all there was was the cold wind. Ulea had gotten up, feeling her back, which now had a strange texture. Much like she’d seen her mother hold her brother, she wrapped the boy in her tail and proceeded to pull out a small, charred whistle and blow. Almost instantly, the Shock Hounds had started to charge up as much as they could, all getting behind the two, and on her mark, they pushed her back to the village, which was now experiencing its normal amount of fog.

Ulea had looked all over, not seeing anyone around, a tension inside her rising at the thought of what she saw in the thicket had done to her home, her hands already on the tang of her bush cutter. She tried all along the shore, calling out the names of everyone she could think of, her eyes getting that strange warmth again, making her way to the entrance of the caverns. She then crept in, ready to meet whatever grim scene awaited her, hearing her mother arguing with someone, peeking around the corner, ready to see that thing. Only to see the entire village congregated for a meeting in the Starry Cave. This was a place where only the most important decisions were made. They were trying to discern the wailing’s origin and also trying to figure out where Ulea had gone off to. The meeting was headed by her mother, Anta, who, along with everyone else, had turned to see the scene in front of them. The Lead Artisan’s daughter, wide-eyed, wielding a bright blade, smelling like burnt feathers, charged Shock Hounds at her back, and what seemed to be an infant on her tail.

Ulea, now realizing that she was safe, the ones she loved were safe, and most importantly, her mother was safe, quickly sheathed her machete. As she was weakly making her way to the craftsman’s portion of the crowd, Anta called out to have her come closer. Ulea, still reeling, decided that next to Mom would be the best possible place to be, until Anta crouched down and asked, "Who’s this on your tail?” followed by a more concerned, “What’s that on your back?” The crowd gasped and murmured about whatever was currently running down her spine, the medics pushing her off to a different cave to treat her. But somehow, leaving the baby in the middle of the room.

This then began the wait for the confirmation of her safety; everyone present had all taken in the sight of the baby, most looking away at his being so similar but distant, with some elders going pale at his visage. There was growing sentiment that maybe he was from beyond the Falls. A few older people said that he must have hatched late, frozen on the mountain, yelling that this wasn’t a risk they could take again, their families trying to calm them down. Eventually, two fishermen, Enda and Loio, approached the center of the room to see the baby for themselves. Loio scooped the odd infant into his tail with care, speaking to the crowd about how unreasonable they’re all being, as, regardless of origin, this was still a mere baby. Enda, trying to hide her excitement, claimed that they would take in the child and make sure he’s raised to love the Mother Island. But this display would quickly be interrupted by Anta, who felt as though the child was now her responsibility, as it was her daughter who had brought him, making the case that she already had two children and she could definitely handle a third. Before Loio could point out how odd that reasoning was, a thudding could be heard from the North section of the caves, rapidly approaching, only stopping at the cave’s entrance, a sterile, sharp smell blowing through. A large claw was placed on the Starry Cave’s entrance, a long eel head peering down and into the meeting hall, eyes finally focusing on the child. The person stretched a claw into the chamber, plucking the baby from the three, looking at him like a jewel. All those present spread their fins and bowed, the figure reciprocating, as this was the Chieftess. She looked down at the life between her fingers, his grainy skin and fibers brushing against her scales, making him giggle when she tapped his swirled nubs, revealing sets of tiny curved needle-like teeth.

The frantic elders from before came forward, telling the chief that the boy was of the First Hunts, reasoning that the boy would grow into a fearsome beast, spreading terror not just on the Island but the entire Cycle, being cut off by Enda. She started verbally tearing into them, cursing them for attributing all of these terrible outcomes to a baby, the air around her getting colder and colder, crystals enveloping her claws, the Chieftess scratching symbols on the floor to undo her quickly charging spell. As if nothing had just happened, the Chieftess finally spoke, asking where the child had come from, those present saying that he had just come in with Ulea, the girl herself now face to face with the large leader as she was walking back from the bloom aid, the Chieftess’s head snaking into the tunnel they were in, her yellow eyes piercing the dimness as she locked them on Ulea’s eyes. Ulea went to the fin spread, the Chieftess stopping her with the question of where she found the boy, making her pause. Ulea whispered the events of the night before, the Chieftess consoling her afterwards, asking the girl if there was anything she might need at the moment for her troubles. Without even thinking, Ulea asked for the baby, quickly realizing that her whispered request took the form of an echoing demand in her mind. The crowd seemed unfazed, as if she’d said nothing, all but the Chieftess having heard it in the way Ulea had. The Chieftess abided by her wish, Ulea taking hold of the child as politely but hastily as she could. addressed the people with mixed emotions, announcing her own decision. First, the one with full responsibility for the child would be Ulea. And second, that his name would be…

Light Breeze

For the next few months of Ulea’s life, you could find Pogu wrapped in her tail as she went about her day. Unlike most other children on their freezing rock, he spent most of his time wide awake but also always had this wandering stare in his gaze. After Ulea was put as Pogu’s guardian, she was met with all sorts of new challenges, such as having to deal with all manner of strange creatures that came from the summit following the boy’s arrival and figuring out what the marks on her back meant. When they first appeared, Ulea would simply dispatch the abnormalities before they could hurt someone, namely the baby. Different kinds of them would appear during different times of the year, with each solstice and equinox bringing its own unique pinnacles of disaster. Ulea, over the years that passed, became known as the Island’s blazing star, as she always was there at the eye of the storm to be the calm. After every major disaster, Ulea would take Pogu back to the Craftsmen’s den to celebrate with their favorite snack, Helio Bird.

On his first birthday, Ulea was summoned to the Starry Cavern deep in the night. And naturally wanting to keep him asleep, she carried Pogu on her tail with her. The walk there was a quiet and tender one, her taking slow and deliberate steps to make sure she could enjoy the change of pace from her year of madness. When they finally arrived, she was met with her mother, the Fishermen couple, and the Chieftess. They had called her to praise her recent accomplishments and to discuss how they could help her with the infant. From that point on, Ulea and Pogu would live with the three families. The families traded them in turns at the start of every winter, each delivery having varying amounts of struggle to pass the two on, each family trying to allow them to succeed in their own way. The Fishermen made sure to teach Pogu how to swim, as Ulea didn’t have sufficient skills for it, as she was a Cave Vala. She would spend her time with this family learning how to sail. Pogu’s first time trying to actually do it was cut short due to his sinking to the bottom every time. Enda had to raise him back up with a platform of ice, Loio cheering him on as he was also bad at swimming in open water. Pogu would spend his stormy days inside, as the ozone would make his horns spark. When it came to fishing, much to the dismay of the couple, he’d simply chase down fish on his own, chewing into them on the spot.

The first few times this happened, Loio would try to make him throw it up, eventually being informed by Ulea that it was something that the two were simply built for, but she still much preferred that the boy eat his food cooked. When they left for the Craftsmen, Ulea would call over Chir to play with Pogu as they made their way to caves, Anta and Enda sharing passive-aggressive compliments while Pogu wasn’t paying attention. Anta herself would try to act as if she were his only parent, trying to make him into what she called “Her Best Disciple.” She would first try to get him straight into metalwork, which usually ended with Ulea having to put out the fires and scraping slag off the cave walls, giving both her mother and Pogu earfuls. At one point in time, after another failed attempt to teach him how to make a harpoon, she instead decided to just set him down with the basics. Sitting him down on a stool in the workshop, she laid out stone tools for him to manage his horns, which would start to burn whenever he didn’t break them down fast enough.

Pogu would spend the afternoon shaving his horns down, Ulea telling him stories from before he came, never telling how he actually got here. Whenever the Chieftess personally took them to the summit, Anta and Ulea would help Pogu present his newest “invention”, letting the boy talk about all the fun things he made for her and her daughter. She would take the two into the island archives. The Chieftess would show them the stories of all sorts of people, places, and events. Another thing the slope-dwelling leader had done was improve Ulea’s proficiency with her machete by teaching her proper sword technique. This was a long, arduous process, as Ulea was used to constantly using magic through her weapon to deal with larger instinct-driven threats, never considering the chance of an opponent her size. The Chieftess encouraged her quick learning with the simple punishment for every time she was bested in training, which was an hour she could not see Pogu. She mastered the Summit Sun Sword Style in a month. There was one particular time when the Chieftess’ favorite snack, a woven delicacy from a special island, had all been lost in a fire that broke out, taking many lives with it. A mage had apparently gone mad during a particularly hot day and unleashed lightning upon the archipelago, the Chieftess losing a dear friend and mentor of hers. It was the first time Pogu had seen the Chieftess in a somber mood, so he decided to make a little bucket to “put out the fire”. She laughed in amusement and called the boy her “little hero”, his horns reminding her of her mentor from long ago.

On days when Anta was busy, Ulea would sneak away, bribing Pogu and her little brother to keep quiet with sweets, always coming back with an intense glare in her eyes, with the marks on her back getting dimmer. One cold night, when Pogu had woken up in the middle of the night, finding that Ulea wasn’t in the cave pools, Anta and Kure were busy sleeping at the bottom. He swam to the cave shore, made his way through the tunnels, following her burning feather scent and what seemed to be a strange wailing. This sent him out of the luminescent caves, past the rocky homes, past the snowy pines, past the powdered shrublands, and into the thicket, looking into the clearing. And it was here that he saw a sight the most magical. A wolf-like warrior clad in bright, wild, and blinding armor wielded a blade of sparking sunlight, facing a creature his young mind could only register as “wrong”. The hero raised her sword high and used a spell that Pogu had only seen once in life, a power that Ulea called Ray Cleaver. The figure, instead of being razed as he anticipated, split into five shadows and ran off. But before he could sneak back to the cave, he was put to sleep.

New Winds

The once odd boy had grown into an odd young man whose upbringing shaped him in many unique ways. As he reached adolescence, Ulea somehow became even more protective. The shore-dwelling Fishermen, as sweet as they were, just couldn’t actually teach Pogu to move in the water. The people of the island were Valashir, eel-like in almost every way, including their swimming technique. One day, while Enda and Loio were cooking inside, a Gale Shark came close to shore; Pogu, in his boredom, found himself in the animal, as the Valashir found themselves in the cave or reef eels. He tried mimicking it in his own swimming form, finding much better success, but still finding complications in staying steady. His close friend from this family, Amu, was a dedicated mage who specialized in Runes and had gifted him a special tattoo on his tail that he could use to blow wind into his sails.

The summit-dwelling Chieftess’ family tried their best to teach him how to use a sword, wanting to shape him into the next village protector, knowing that Ulea couldn’t stay as strong as she was forever. While he was frankly miserable with a blade, they decided to teach him a more defensive discipline, that being the staff, which, in his case, was an old, sharpened oar. His closest relationship from this family was the Chieftess herself, acting as a mentor to him as he grew both in strength and experience.

Finally, there were the cavern-dwelling Craftsmen, who could only give new ideas of possible fire hazards. Eventually, they decided that the best they could do for him and themselves would be to adopt heat-proof Seals on all of their hands, as they quickly got tired of their gloves turning into burnt messes every time Anta had the genius idea to make Pogu try metalwork again. His closest bond from the caves, other than Ulea herself, was with the family’s son, Kure. He was never the most adamant about his duty as a member of the Artisans, and refused to actually try when it came to most things in life, in fear of embarrassing his family. In contrast, if they were to hear such doubts aloud, they would shoot down the notion like lightning. He most frequently could be found at the bottom of the cave pools, breathing in the minerals in the water.

One of the few times Kure had decided to surface from his hobby and actually craft a tool was when Pogu was out with Ulea in an effort to manage the migrating Power Eels; they had snapped his oar in half, and the other Craftsmen were out working on new chisels, chiseling down the ice spires, so all that was available was Kure. And so, Pogu dived down into his friend’s mineral pool, explained his plight, and Kure anxiously floated to the cave shore and got to work right then. He used the leftover bits from the eels to reshape the oar harder than ever before, even trying to engrave a Thunder spell into it. Life from here was a simple journey, where the worst that could happen was a few migrating beasts getting out of hand.

All was well for Pogu until one day, while he was out by the outer spires, he caught a strange scent from the water. He dove down, following the tang as best he could, eventually reaching the coral barriers just outside the Falls. He’d never been so close to them, and the most he’d seen of the coral would be when the tides were harsh enough to break some off and wash the bits to shore. But now, here he was, right at the edge of his whole world. He examined the rock-like barrier closely, most of them being of a rough, black look and feel, broken up by bright, popping specimens that almost glimmered like the cave ceilings. As Pogu went deeper and deeper into the water, following the smell along the vertical reef, he noticed scratches and scrapes along the corals; not only that, but a series of other features along with them. More and more into his descent, he saw mutations and malformations in the wall, pieces of other animals he’d seen before. Power Eel fangs, Sand Pill shells, and a variety of feathers from different seasonal Thunder and Ice birds. As he sank, the visuals got stranger, and the smell more intense, until he finally found it. In the Barrier Reef, there was a giant hole that seemed to have been pushed through, the entrance being a menagerie of the animal kingdom’s most torturous display. He quickly resurfaced, digging his oar out of a nearby ice chunk to cut down some frozen spires to patch the amalgam of a breach. He had plucked a few Chill Gull feathers from the deformity and charged his Breeze Whip, throwing them to permanently seal the cracks. After pocketing a few more pieces of Magic-capable wildlife away for later, he resurfaced and swam his way back to shore. He tried his best not to think too hard about his finding at the Mother’s edge; he decided to try and keep his mind off it and focus on the evening around him. Pogu had rarely ever been out at the spires past maybe the afternoon, usually early mornings to fish late nights with Amu, but never the eve alone. He took a slower time this time around, starting to float through the icy waters, mesmerized by the way the rays bounced off the frozen pillars like mirrors. It reminded him of the summit snow.

As he neared the shore, Pogu caught the smell of fish stew, remembering that he was supposed to have stopped by the shoreside family for a small get-together they had planned months in advance, when he realized that their hut door was broken, and hysterics could be heard from inside. Pogu rushed in, hoping it was only a Fire Boar, only to see a grim scene. Loio was in tears while Enda was trying her best to find something in the house, as Amu was in the room, lying half-dead on the bed.

Change

He rushed to his friend’s side, desperately trying to figure out what had happened in the time he was gone, desperately trying to think of what could have happened if he had just stayed when Amu asked him, until he noticed one crucial detail: a mark he had just about seen all day. The marks on the reef were clear to him, and it was clear that whatever had left those marks had attacked Amu. Pogu’s worry had quickly led to feelings of bitterness and resentment. Bitter at himself about staying out too long, and a resentment for the unknown assailant that he knew he could’ve stopped. The thought of had he just stayed and helped prepare dinner for the gathering as Amu had so politely asked, and all he could wish for was for his friend to recover. In this world, the magic someone used was determined by certain factors in their species, but Pogu was different. His magic was born from his own core memories, with his first being when he once reached the Mother’s peak and felt the open breeze hit him in all directions, giving his stripes swirling ends as he gained the affinity for Wind. But now, in this moment, he was on the precipice of a new affinity entirely. A strength not born from the freedom of the breeze, but instead born from Pogu’s very own will, and as he witnessed Amu’s condition worsening by the second, all he could feel was the intense desire to fix it all and take away the pain. He clutched Amu in his arms, trying to keep the one who was like a twin to him from dying, pouring all his strength into not letting go, and that’s when something deep inside burst.

It felt like a small explosion in Pogu’s heart, and it hurt like one, too, but he still kept Amu in his arms. Then more and more small bursts spread across his body, each hurting more than the last, but Pogu still held his friend. And then at that last moment, a wave of cyan energy burst from Pogu’s chest and sent itself into Amu’s wounds, Pogu fighting back a gut-wrenching scream. The energy Pogu had just released within himself was that of the magic of want, hope, and willpower, simply known as Love. A magic so rare that it only appears when a person’s mind, body, and soul simultaneously yearn for something or someone, and in this case, Pogu desired to save Amu. His stripes had now gained an oscillating pattern. The Fisherman and his wife stared in awe as their child had miraculously made an almost full recovery, but quickly became worried again as their shared son had now just dropped to the floor in exhaustion from magic overuse.

As Pogu’s body had decided to rest in a physical sense, as he slept, his mind was repeating the same moment of that burst on a seemingly never-ending loop.

Hours later, he found himself right where Amu was originally in bed, only to see Amu being the one holding him. Pogu had sat in this position for a while, still catching his breath, every cell in his body disagreeing with his current consciousness, and, with gritted teeth and a determined half-thought, asked if his friend was okay, with Amu trying just to have him lie down for at least a moment. Pogu had never been this frustrated in his life up until this point, practically begging Amu to tell him if he was actually fine. Amu held Pogu’s hands in his own, trying to calm him down; Pogu’s teeth bared and his back hunched, only getting more upset by the passing moment. Amu then pressed two fingers to Pogu’s plexus and sent an energy wave of his own into the boy. This put a kind of mental pause on Pogu’s thoughts, allowing him to internally deal with his emotions, closing his mouth and straightening himself out. Pogu shrank back into the mattress, calming down, his vision clearing, finally getting a good look at his friend.

The marks and scars from before had now taken on the same brightness from the coral breach, the most prominent of the scars being a slash across his face, leaving a beautiful display of feathers, shells, and scales of creatures that either of them had only seen in the archives. Amu gently set the hand down, Pogu reaching out without even realizing it. Pogu went to open his mouth, but Amu had spoken first, knowing what the young man across from him would say. “It’s not your fault,” was said with a smooth tremor, trying not to worry the other. And while Amu had failed in this effort, Pogu wouldn’t show that to his friend. Amu had slowly gone to go, Pogu knowing his friend was off to get Black Pineweed for him, a common occurrence as they got older. For the sake of his friend, he lay back down.

Errands

As the dim sunlight hit Ulea’s eyes, her feet acclimated to the smooth stone, to the soft dirt, then to sand, still cold all the same. The night before was spent chasing down Steel Hogs back into their pens, their vibrant streaks and scars still poking to the forefront of her mind, the screams of the elders present making her think back to the night she brought her boy home. These were slowly pushed to the back of her mind as she was greeted by her Chir, though he still acted like a puppy, his white tips showing his age clearly. Aside from her joyous senior, there came along the greetings from others in the market, every day a series of “thank yous” and new tasks. While she appreciated the gratitude, she had started enough mornings off like this that she just smiles and nods now. She also knew that despite the praise, the villagers only perceived a gray area on her shining reputation being her relationship with the “Future Beast”, a moniker never said to his face by anyone aside from those who gave him the title.

Going further into the village shore center, Ulea could hear a commotion from the other end, small crowds forming around someone. Looking closer, she only recognized the Fisherman’s child, back turned as a selection of Pineweed was being made. She couldn’t have been too sure, but she thought she saw medical wrappings adorning the kid, making her way through the people to get to the young Vala, stopping in her tracks at the sight of the face before her, and despite the visage, she was still met with a fin spread and a smile. Amu greeted her, was met with a question, and proceeded to explain the events of last night, the timeline matching her own series of strange events, deciding to accompany her brother’s friend in the effort to help him. They spent the afternoon gathering the needed materials to help Pogu, getting stares from the older residents, returning to the Fisherman’s hut, just to find Amu’s bed empty, a cold breeze blowing past them. Before the panic, they could hear a commotion from the shore.

Relief

A short while after Amu had left, Pogu had drifted off to sleep, his rest cut short by a sharp scream from the docks. In that instant, Pogu raced out of bed and out the door, oar in hand, running as fast as he could. He moved with urgency, shambling through the sand and fog, and he had made it just in time, too. Before him, he saw a large frosted beast towering over an injured Loio and enraged Enda, with her digging icicles into the creature’s chest. By the time he was able to reach them, it was clear that this exchange had been happening for hours now, with the ice mage clearly at her limit. And so he whipped his tail, pushing them out of the way, and faced the creature head-on. Now face-to-face with the speared monster. It was as if a migrating tiger salmon was torn apart and remolded, now transforming the Cycle’s humblest of inhabitants into an animal unlike any that had been seen since the First Hunts.

The giant fish dug into its chest, ripping out the freezing crystals, staring down Pogu as it began to approach with a labored breath of something hungry and impatient. The fish flailed a barely dodged arm, using the momentum to swat the boy with its tail, sending him back once again. He gusted himself forward, still reeling from the strike before, landing weak punches on the creature, his fist already bruising. Pogu went to whip the thing with his tail, momentarily stunning it by overstimulating its new lungs. The creature fell off the dock and crashed into the water, giving Pogu some air to breathe, checking up on Loio and Enda. Pogu pressed his hands to their wounds, wincing at the pressure, and pushed himself to use his healing on them. Though only able to help with external damage, they were still in good enough condition to get up. Loio ran for help, while Enda started to form a spear from the fog, telling Pogu to simply distract it, the salmon already crawling back onto shore. Now with a new directive capable of healing wounds due to his awakening, he kept busy with the overgrown river dweller as long as he could, using hit-and-run tactics to keep out of range and strike only when safe. And on Enda’s call, he swept sand in its eyes, leaving it wide open for her spear to pierce the space between its gills.

After dispatching the mutated salmon, he promptly hit the sand hard, slowly but surely healing himself. Taking as long as half an hour, all the while, Loio was already making cuts of what could be eaten from the monster. Pogu then felt himself being lifted slightly off the ground, a familiar pink film washing over him, followed by bright, warm kisses from his favorite hunting dog. Amu had floated his very tired body over, making sure to keep the dazed boy steady. Amu knelt with a still steaming cup and poured the contents down Pogu’s throat with a practiced ease, the young man’s healing efforts nearly doubling as he was now in tip-top physical condition. Pogu raised himself out of his magenta state and went to examine the beast’s stripped body, gathering the bones and other useful materials to give to Ulea and the other Craftsmen to process, after which he and Amu made their way to the summit to report the past day to the Chieftess. Halfway up, they were greeted by the Chieftess’ daughter, Riha, who had informed Pogu that he was being summoned immediately to their home. Before he could explain that he was already on his way, he found that his kin had already drawn a transport rune on his hand, and in a flash of light and the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of his mentor. He tried kneeling out of respect, but she flicked his horn and told him, “Just sit, you little fool,” and did so while clutching his nub. After being given reef bone tea to allow him an easier state of mind following his stressful encounter with the mutated striped salmon. The Chieftess took in his words, writing something down, marking it, and, much like her daughter, teleporting it away somewhere. She set her charcoal and began explaining the reasoning behind summoning him to her home.

“Pogu, as much as I’d like to say that you’re here for a friendly lunch, I’m afraid that I’ve got some.. troubling news,” and she goes on to explain that occurrences like the mutated salmon have been happening throughout the Cycle, with disturbances worse than a simple rowdy fish. At one point, she paused, wondering if she should even tell him, but she felt it would be unfair not to. “Pogu, the night you were brought to us, I had already known that one day, you would have to leave. I’ve tried so much to make sure that you could stay, training as many children from your generation as possible to keep this place safe, but now it seems that my efforts are in vain. Something is missing inside you, boy, something that wishes to return to you. As your guardian, I would advise that you seek these missing pieces out,” she went on to ask him if he would be able and willing to travel past the Falls and go experience the world, making sure to help those along the way. While Pogu practically jumped at the opportunity to travel and see the world beyond his foggy Mother Island, he just as quickly realized that he was going to leave behind his Mother Island and all those he knew, but knowing the weight of what he was asked to do, he committed to make his farewells to those he loved like the world when morning came.

So that night, he prepared supplies to use on a ship to sail and slept at the Fishermen’s hut to leave even earlier. When he awoke, he moved slowly to make sure not to wake up Amu, exiting the home to see it was once again the foggiest day of the year, and from himself to the place where he docked his vessel were rows of lanterns, piercing through the cold haze, seeing him off on his journey. As he stretched and rose from the sand, walking down the path lit by the lights, he could hear the voices of all those he knew in the village, saying prayers and blessings for all sorts of outcomes, most of all that whatever he came back as was still himself. Finally, at his sail, he could find that his family was there to see him off, each with gifts. The Chieftess gifted him an ink, a quill, and Runed scrolls to send his experiences back home. Riha had slipped him an enhancement herb in case he was ever put into a particularly dire situation. The Craftsmen were busy installing new furnishings and compartments into his boat, giving the boat more space to fit a simple sleeping quarter, and giving him hugs as they all departed one by one as they finished their sections. As the artisans left for their caverns, Anta gave him what could be considered the biggest, along with giving him his horn grinders. Kure gave Pogu his oar back, which he didn’t even notice was missing, lined with striped bones and scales from the berserk tiger salmon, with the engraved spell from before being properly displayed on the neck of the refurbished paddle. Chir had made his way onto the deck, a slight whimper coming from the usually cheery dog, licking Pogu’s hand and leaving behind a whistle with his bright fur woven into it, wondering why Ulea wasn’t with him. Finally, the Fishermen had arrived, half-asleep, but got the gist of what was happening. Loio gave him a long talk about not talking to strangers and always writing back home and giving more than enough food for a week, while Enda gave him tips on how to quickly end any conflict involving Magic. The pair hugged him before returning to their hut, leaving Amu to see Pogu off, marks glowing in the deep fog. Amu had already taken Pogu’s arm, using his claws to draw in a Rune for long-distance connection, having Pogu do the same on his arm, finishing off the Runes with fang pricks from Amu. After that proper send-off, Pogu set sail, with a cold breeze pushing him forward, dodging the ice spires obscured by the fog, eventually reaching the break in the fog. The Coral Brink of the Falls, where the Mother Island’s frost gives way to new water for the Great Cycle.

The Falls

The Falls act as a natural passageway from the Arctic waters of the Mother Island to the tropical stilts of the Reedlands. Its conditions change with each season, with the current spring making it particularly turbulent, and the wet breeze not helping with the speed. Along with stronger waters, the springtime is when many creatures of the Reedlands travel upstream for the spawning and nesting season, with the most well-known being the old and reliable tiger salmon, whose eggs are crucial to most recipes across the Great Cycle, harvested on the Mother and sent down the Falls for the rest to enjoy.

Pogu readies himself and his vessel, making sure everything is tied down, and finally, as he grabs his new Tiger Oar, he whips his tail into the sails to push off the Coral Brink and finally down into the Falls; everything drops. Or so he thought. As the ship found its bearings, so did Pogu, realizing that the Falls had formed into a downward river, and for a few moments, he found himself calm. There was a slight snow from behind him, falling to the jungle far ahead, the lights of the sky melting them into rain. He sat there for a while, taking in the air, getting warmer. This was until he looked up ahead of the stream, multiple, much smaller mutated salmon closing in on him, most likely trying to reach the Mother Island. He got himself into position, waiting to strike. As the first jumped to get past him, he knocked it out of the path of the Falls, to be consumed by whatever creature could find it first. The next tried easing past his blind spot, with him responding with his harpoon, and then another; more and more leaped from the water only to be dispatched as fast as they approached, only to notice that instead of attacking, they were fleeing from something much bigger coming from far ahead. Thinking on his feet, he quickly threw out charged Power Eel fangs to paralyze the approaching threat, watching as it fell back down into the Reedlands, leaving him with a salmon skewer.

While the beast fell fast, as its now stiff body was thrown down by the strong current, Pogu took the next few days’ worth of being carried by the Falls to clean up his vessel, cook the salmon, and write his first entry to send back home. After a long time writing, he pressed the Seal on the scroll, and it vanished with the flash of light. He went into his cabin bunk, activating the connection rune to let Amu know he was alright, and went through the papers he was given by the Chieftess. Sickness and rampaging Beasts in the Reedlands; the old village being restored in the Luo Archipelago; large, strange markings and scales in the Old Trench; strange, violent uprising in Wreck City. He took them drifting off with the sound of the wind and motion of the waves, only to dream of himself being attacked and left with a deep gash in his chest. He woke up feeling refreshed despite the grim imagery from his sleep, but regardless of that, he realized that the Falls were slowing down, and felt small bumps from below the boat, finally rising to the sea, and he had finally arrived at his destination. The Reedlands.

The Reeds

The Reedlands were a product of a giant landslide of beast corpses from the Mother Island during the First Hunts, settling in a basin below the Falls, with seeds of shoots, grasses, and halophytes taking root and growing tall from all the decaying matter and waste. All this, along with constant water from the Falls, quickly transformed the basin into a large, bustling rainforest valley. The main inhabitants of the valley are the ever-cheery and curious Raeda, a species that, in the millennia to follow, would split off into all sorts of different peoples, including Humans. They are constantly trying to innovate upon the old, never letting things as simple as “pain and injury” stop them from achieving their goals. One example would be their approach to magic. Runes are instructions, usually for something or someone to use magic, while Seals are written or carved magic meant to hold or restrict in some way. Together, people are able to make all manner of tools and appliances, with each group having its own style. The Vala, for example, use their Runes and Seals for their own self-expression, usually structured like poems or paintings. While the Raeda still use them for self-expression, the expression is almost always some variety of wild experiment, and this process is never short, taking the average Raeda months, even years, to finish their projects, no matter the cost.

As his boat returned to normal gravity, he took in his surroundings with much appreciation, as he’d never seen this much greenery in his life; the most he had experienced up until this point was when blooms occurred in the cavern pools. He also realized that while it was still humid, it was much warmer, opening his arms to take in all the new air, looking out through the forest around him. Sadly, He quickly realized that the options for movement for his boat were severely limited on account of thick aquatic plants. Using his Wind, he cleared the path and made his way to a downstream channel. A few hours into his bumpy river ride, he was stopped by a herd of altered Jet Prawns. From the water, they sent concentrated sprays, Pogu trying his best not to get directly hit, as even every knick burned. He lured each shrimp into shooting the others, harpooning the stragglers getting away. Situations like this wouldn’t be common, but it was clear to him at this point to just expect them. After a few more days, he found a break in the channel, a path made way by a clean burn through the green.

He veered his vessel through, making his way for a while until he hit a dead-end clearing, the rain pouring hard, hit by the smell of burning feathers. He tried to think over what he could do about it, only to hear what sounded like bird calls from above. Looking up, he was greeted by hundreds of snaking vines scooping up his boat past the trees, but as he went for his Tiger Oar, he was blinded by the first direct rays of sunlight that he’d seen in years through the rain. After adjusting and taking a double-take at his surroundings, he finally saw that he was on the forest floor, and he was now above the overstory, specifically the Canopy Market, where the people of the Reedlands bought and sold goods, inventions, and whatever else their passion could be found. He hopped off his boat, taking in the beams, once again missing something, with that thing being the boat he had just stepped off of being moved by those same vines, now with the mage directing the vines being in clear sight atop his boat, dragging it away.

Thinking on his feet, he burst into a wild sprint, using the Breeze Whip to push himself forward while trying not to hit passersby or get distracted by all that he saw in the market as he made for his tangled ship, eventually getting cut off in the hustle of the street, people yelping from the chilling air around him, which was causing the downpour to harden. Pogu, after a split-second of weighing his options, decided that his best option was to dive below the canopy floor and chase the vines from the overstory, making his way through the trees, practically flying through branches like a raging steel hawk, with the only thing guiding him being the fervor of his only means of comfortable travel being hauled away. Finally, as Pogu was in mid-pursuit of his ship and the viney thief, all three were faced with a drop-off into the Greater Basin Channels of the Reedlands. But before he could brace for the fall, the vine mage and his boathouse were flung out to the bamboo rivers below, and he had little choice but to follow. He stuck his hand into the rock and slid down, gritting his teeth through the pain, trying to concentrate on finding where to land. One place that caught his eye was the Ancient Crown, the center of the Reedlands, a place the Chieftess had only told him about when she’d tell him stories of her youth. After hours of scraping down the cliffside, Pogu’s hands were mangled from all the rough rock. Using the pain as motivation to charge his Breeze Whip, he broke his fall by chilling the rain to slush, but still felt half-dead from his injuries. He decided to wade through the water to snake his way down the channel, following the dim lights from the distant city. While still in his half-dead state, he swam through the roots and weeds, trying to reach the Root Towns, eventually finding himself in front of two guards, and everything went dark.

Maturity

Pogu had a dream of the Winter Moon whispering promises of power and dominion, as long as he succumbed to his wounds, only to be pulled away by the sensation of the connection rune. He awoke in a medical cot, his hands wrapped in leech leaves to get rid of the excess blood. He looked around, expecting to be in his own room, only to realize that his cot was on the floor, in the middle of a full and continuously overflowing room with more patients, while also recognizing that their bandages were proper medical material. He slowly got up, still uneasy from his ordeal, looking around to get a grasp of the situation, unknowingly picking up on more details than he’d ever been able to before. He went from cot to cot, all those ill from injuries he felt he had seen before, until his nose started picking up a faint but familiar scent. With every person he saw, the scent got more and more intense, drilling its way into his head, burning his nose like the cold, deep winter air. As his senses were being overloaded with new information, he thought to try to use the connection rune. He remembered exactly when he first encountered the smell. The day when the corals were marked, when the Tiger Salmon Beast attacked. They all had the same injury and illness that Amu had. And it was then that he knew exactly what he had to do.

He went up to a young Vala, who was in the early stages of the sickness, and placed his still broken hands on his wounds, and thought of his desire to save Amu. After a moment of nothing, deep in his heart, he could feel it again: the bursts of will and desire, faster than last time, mending the Vala and himself, and he went on to the next. With each person cured from the Affliction, he could feel himself getting better, more lucid, stronger even? He knew that was odd, but decided to simply chalk it up to his becoming more proficient with his Power Magic. The medical staff quickly took note of his actions and reviewed a report from the Mother Island of an envoy with a strange appearance and unique abilities, but instead of approaching, they let him help. By the evening, almost all the patients were healed of their Affliction, and Pogu was just about back to his regular self. After finishing with one more Afflicted, he was able to be discharged. Walking out to the streets, he made his way around, trying to find his way up, climbing multiple stories, jumping from terrace to terrace, using Breeze Whip to get him some extra height or distance, trying to find somewhere his boat may have been taken to in the Root Town. This went on for a while until Pogu stopped for a moment on one rooftop when he heard a sweet chirping melody. Remembering the Chieftess playing something like this when he had won his first duel with her, he sat and listened for a while. He got up when the musicians below left, but he then caught a whiff of what could only be vines and a vibrant hum of the now-gone tune, with the only issue being that it was right behind him.

Before he could actually do anything, he was quickly and tightly wrapped up and pulled face-to-face with his boat thief, fear turning to frustration. After getting up close, what he assumed to be an armored mask was actually an entire arthropod head, and the seemingly normal vines now seemed to have a silky texture to them. His carapaced captor had apologized and asked about his condition, while also making note of his vine wraps off his hands, all said in a tone that felt both sardonic and caring. He answered as honestly as he could, starting to realize that his captor’s compound eyes were actually tracking every twitch on his face and squirm of his body, as if he were prey. The Bugman in front of him inched her face closer and closer, mandible clicking and chirping as it soaked in all the fear it could, opening them wide to display rows and rows of small razor teeth, and as Pogu readied himself to take them to damage, all he heard next was loud, gleeful laughter. Opening his eyes to see his captor around on the floor in hysterics at the scene she’d just put him through, trying to regain her composure, only to laugh harder once she saw his confused expression. After a while of her laughing, seeing him pout, and repeating, she finally set him out of her vines and explained that she was simply an envoy sent to keep him safe, but wanted to see how far he’d get without her help, joking with him not to tell her boss about her poor work.

Pogu, now just plain frightened about how off the rails this has all gone, and that someone so brawny was able to move so fast, but still determined to follow through, asks his lackadaisical bodyguard where exactly his boat went, only for her to move faster than he could react, already in her grasp. “Sorry, hi, but that thing’s down by the Shoot Harbor, which kinda… Uhh… well… I should really just take you to my boss now.” Taking him under her arms and looking at him more closely, she said, “Man, they really don’t let you out much, huh?” She practically leaps the rooftops, jumping to the trunk of the Ancient Crown, running for hours till they hit the top at midnight, a bright moon poking through the clouds, meeting both of their eyes. The envoy took Pogu through a series of tunnel-like paths within the Crown, eventually entering a room covered in silk, claiming that he’d be stuck with her for a while. But before Pogu could simply nod and head to bed, she split her bulked limbs into about four slimmer arms and legs, wrapped him up in her vine silk, only allowing his arms free after he requested, clutching his connection rune for dear life, which was pulsing back. Waking up through the night, often seeing six faint focused glints from the ceiling.

Little Hero

The next morning, Pogu had found himself alone in the veritable nest that the envoy had left the room in. Looking around the area, he could hear rushed movement, panicked mutterings, and a distant oscillating flicker. Trying to move, he realized that his body was encased in a sort of web-like swaddle. Wrestling with his new condition, an unfamiliar panic starts to set in. Only a few moments later, Pogu had

She brought his cocooned, half-asleep self to the leader of the Reedlands, Queen Todoma, who was currently dealing with so much paperwork that she had Pogu’s envoy cast more silk across the room just to hold half of them. She then looked up and half-greeted the envoy before rushing over to Pogu. “Hey, are you Hura’s kid?” Pogu nodded yes, getting tired of being grabbed and tossed around,” I heard you could help fix this! Just about every kind of animal on the Eastern Channel has either fallen ill or turned into some vile new version of itself, and we are facing casualties in droves!” Todoma yelled, her voice sending ripples through the strings in the air, the only sound being her heavy breathing and the strange envoy’s stifled snickering. The Queen slowly stood straight, regaining her composure, plates shifting back into place, her pupils and eyes focusing all at once. I understand that your time in our lands has been a trial, and I am sure you will be able to enjoy it all once this Affliction has passed. After all,” A small, tired smile came across her face. “Hura said it herself: you can do this, little hero.” And with that, all of Pogu’s doubts were cleared as he was sent eastward with his envoy.

Harborbound

But as the insectoid queen had put the young aide down, turning to return to her work, the strange envoy decided to once again grab him and leap off into the East. For Pogu, the next few days were a series of healing the Afflicted, fighting mutated wetland creatures, waking up in silk and six-eyed whispers, and holding his connection rune whenever he could. Some of the only saving graces of their journey were the cleared paths with the burning feather scent. At one point, when they had set up camp, Juig had finally mentioned the feelers on his fins, saying that it was something only found in Bugmen like herself. Eventually, they reached a larger section of the channels that they couldn’t simply use the trees for passage over, as they had seemed to be deliberately broken, with the water being transformed into something of a ship graveyard. It was clear that something wasn’t right, but before Pogu could hesitate, he sensed something shift. The strange envoy had already sent web bridges intertwined with the broken vessels, with Pogu realizing that he was able to sense when Magic was about to be used, but putting that to the side. They made their way across the channel, finding mangled bodies of people and beasts alike, their bodies suggesting a greater threat was chasing them, and he could catch the slight whiff of a Power Eel charge. It took him only a moment to follow the direction, and he was already notifying his envoy to change the web bridges to follow the exact path ahead. They made their way along the root shore until they found a path of broken trees headed straight for the Shoot Harbor, and the scent of salmon blood and Eel charge was strong, and the distant sight of hundreds of Afflicted wildlife coming their way. For once on their journey, Pogu asked his envoy to carry him, which she gladly obliged. She collected as much magical energy as she could, used a spell to increase her physical abilities, and blasted off at sonic speeds just to catch up to the rampaging beast. The envoy was tearing through the crowds of beasts, with Pogu absorbing their energy as they fell, slowly but surely making their way to the terrible beast ahead.

Eventually, they found their way to the Shoot Harbor, where the docks and boats were transformed into a veritable nest for whatever creature had laid waste to it, all being formed into a sort of dam blocking it off from the rest of the Cycle, except for his boat, which was suspended in the air by silk vines. After absorbing all that Beast magic from the creatures, Pogu felt something cold and dark growing within him, deciding that it was simply him being homesick. Pogu and his envoy made their way through the broken harbor, still tracking scent, with him becoming the strongest at a ring of wrecked walk boards and fishing vessels. He went to try and double back to his ship to get his equipment, only for the water from the ring’s center to start to spray upward, and the beast they were looking for surfaced, standing on its hind legs, looking at the two intruders on its territory, the Power Eel’s shock marks still glowing and irritating it. It was covered in broken roots, water weeds, and harpoons. The shrouded beast raised an armored arm, and before anything could happen, the envoy flung Pogu to his boat, halfway across the harbor, and began to engage the beast. Pogu landed as gracefully as he could, already knowing exactly what he needed to do to get through this, looking for his Tiger oar and emergency herb, desperate to help the envoy. The strange envoy, who was looking for any weakness on the beast that she could find, nearly dodging and weaving flailing strikes that could kill her if they even half landed, decided to push the already protruding harpoons stuck in its armor, making it wail in terrible rage and pain.

As Pogu finally found what he was looking for, he could hear the screeches and roars from the creature outside. He leaped off his suspended vessel, bouncing off the silk in the harbor to get there faster, struggling to focus due to the increase in animalistic instincts, having stranger and stranger thoughts on how to deal with their current threat, ideas of eating it passing through his clouded mind, with the smell of its blood only making it all more intense. He decided to try and play keep-away and support, sending blasts of Power magic at the beast whenever it looked like it was going to hit the envoy and absorbing the excess Beast magic energy that was leaking from the monster’s wounds. As he took in more and more, his eyes were getting sharper, allowing him to notice that it was healing faster from her attacks, except when she used her Beast magic. But while he was distracted by an image of the Moon appearing in his head, the same twinging sensation of magic use happened once again, and all he saw was the envoy in a small crater next to him, marked. The beast had charged with Beast magic into its claws. The envoy was struck by its tail and sent flying right next to him. She had sent Pogu’s harpoon into its burning cut, and it retaliated as best it could, but that just kept it away for a bit.

As the creature was writhing in pain, its healing pushing out the harpoon, Pogu got to absorbing the Beast’s magic that was quickly flooding the envoy’s body. Taking it all into himself. While thinking of anything he could do, he tapped into his connection rune, trying his hardest to connect with Amu, trying to reach his anchor, the very reason he was fighting, while at the same time draining every drop of Beast Affliction, until something within him snapped and simultaneously reshaped. Within a person’s soul, there can be up to three Magic affinities, and Pogu had just his final one, Beast. Every Magic has a basic application, getting stronger the more energy is poured into its usage. Wind sends gusts, Power sends heals, but Beast’s basic application is to consume and transform, and with all the energy that he’s absorbed, his entire body was going to be morphed. Suddenly, he was face-to-face with the Winter Moon. It promised him everything he needed if he just gave in to the power of instinct. His limbs grew longer. His claws curved, his teeth got sharper, and so much more; his body resembling a shark-man hybrid, his eyes glazed over, now a deep olive green, with only little sparks of their original freedom within. Until he felt the pulse of the rune, meaning that Amu was reaching out to him, pulling him back to his senses, reaching out, and breaking the Moon.

Dissipation

He stood up, in real time, his experience only a few moments, but the form remained. The beast, now back from getting rid of the harpoon, stared him down, the two of them recognizing they were both only animals, running on what they needed to survive. Neither could truly hate the other but knew one of them had to die for the other to live, as they both knew this as Beasts. As a show of strength, Pogu took in as much air as possible and used a Wind-infused roar, blowing away the debris on the creature’s body, revealing a giant, mutated Stoneback Crocodile, warped to look like a killer whale, with a still-burning slash in its chest. The monochrome behemoth returned with a deep, guttural bellow, instead enticing Pogu with the smell of its past meals. They fought for hours, clashing, diving, tearing into the other, breaking each other physically, but emboldening each other mentally, with Pogu deciding that the only way to finish this was hunger. He started to bite into it, swallowing chunks, but never feeling full, jumping in and out of the water, stripping meat from the bone; the creature stood no chance. Every bite he took absorbed more and more Beast Magic, making him grow more and more, until he towered over the beast that he once had to paralyze just to escape. Looking into its eyes, their positions swapped; the predator now the prey.

Pogu picked up the now small creature in his giant hands, took a small piece of it with him, pouring most of his new Beast energy into a spell to trap it into an egg for later use, and using the rest to heal his envoy. He then leapt into the air, far above the Reedlands itself, the Wind pushing him further up, finned wings sprouting from his back, looking down with new eyes that could see all the Affliction. He reached out with his runed arm, holding the connection tight, and absorbing all the Beast magic from all of the Reedlands into himself, using his new sharp claws to carve a Seal into his body to contain his new affinity, locking away his new form into himself, resolving that this could make or break him if not careful.

He fell back down to the harbor below, mentally and physically exhausted, the connection rune keeping him conscious. He was then caught by his envoy, who went into a kind of overdrive of Beast magic to rush him back to the Ancient Crown. After what was originally weeks of travel, she now made it in a day. All the Beast energy flowing through her was helping her abilities. When they arrived, she had Pogu sleep in the soft silk she could make, and they both dropped like rocks. That night, as he slept, he saw five marked stars, the wildest of them all having the mark of the Beast Affliction. He then saw the wind trap the Beast Star with flowing chains. The next day, Pogu and his envoy were congratulated by Queen Todoma. After this small celebration, they descended the Ancient Crown to attend the funeral rites.

Mourning Gaze

When someone dies in the Reedlands, their body is taken underground to the Origin Depths, where the bones of the strongest fallen beasts from the First Hunt lie at rest, known as the Apex, the cadavers absorbing into the fossils while strengthening the old seals on them, displaying dazzling constellations of bioluminescence. By the hundreds, the bodies of those Pogu who couldn’t relinquish the Affliction, either from the disease itself or the monsters it made, were sent down to join the Apex in eternal rest and remembrance, but all he could think about was how he had failed to save them. He thought that maybe if he had just given in to the Winter Moon, maybe those people would still be alive, but when he looked around at the mourners, none of them were particularly heartbroken. It seemed as though they were happy, even as if the moment their loved ones passed, they had already made their peace and gone on with life. Back when the Summit was particularly cold one winter night, the Chieftess told him and Riha a story from the Reedlands. Hura had told them about how,w due to the Reedlands being quite treacherous during the springtime, it was normal, even expected, for them to face mass casualties, so they held a festival to mourn the dead and make beauty out of their lost lives. And it was then that Pogu realized that this was the celebration she was telling them about, the Vernal Wake, but still, he saw no new life being born.

When the people had laid their dead to rest and returned to the surface for a night’s rest, some Raeda approached him to ask if his relatives had left anything behind, getting up close and realizing that he wasn’t a Raeda, apologizing and leaving him confused. Todoma, the envoy, and Pogu made their way back to the Crown, where he was once again situated in his shared room with the envoy, but he was woken up earlier than expected, finding himself on the top of the Ancient Crown with his envoy and Queen Todoma looking off into the distance, slivers of dawn peeking out from under that blanket of night on the sleeping green horizon, silently nodding to him. They sat in silence for a few hours, until the Great Radiance had started to open its eye upon the cycle once again. The Great Radiance is the natural source of Light in the World Before, with night and day being determined by its younger sibling, the Great Reflection, in a never-ending chase of each other. As their sun came over the dense green valleys, he saw that the forests and settlements that were torn by the Affliction and its doomed children were now rising higher than ever before, with the tallest among them being right over the burial caverns. As the morning had graced the sky, a new, clear day was upon the Reedlands; the faux sun shining down, Pogu was able to finally return to the Shoot Harbor, which was quickly repaired by a diligent Raeda known only as “Hatchet” for his lack of any real tools other than an Earth Magic-infused axe capable of repairing just about anything. When Pogu arrived, Hatchet had already set his boat in the water for him to take off, handing Pogu his harpoon back, now gnarled and warped by Beast Affliction, and he only gave a nervous laugh and smile in return. He went into his cabin, finding his ink and pen for a new letter home, only to get the strange idea to send his damaged oar and new bony “gift” back with the message. As the letter and the two pole arms were sent away in a flash of light, he decided to simply relax for the rest of the day.

Once he got back to the Crown, his envoy was already waiting for him, but as he approached, it was almost as if a realization had hit her. “Wait, did I even tell you my name?” followed by, “Wait, did you even ask for my name?”, finishing with, “Wait, what is your name?” It had just come to the minds of both strangers that they had no clue who the other was. “Y’know, why don’t we take this day as a time to catch up! You can call me Juig.” Pogu had long already recognized that look in her eyes and simply got on her back before she would grab him. Their day was spent exploring the Reedlands, buying trinkets from the Canopy Markets- nothing too eventful, but that’s exactly what they needed for now. As they made their way to the Root Towns, they decided to stop by the Clarity Farms, a place where fruits are grown with pure magical energy and sent out across the Great Cycle, with the main exports going through the Astral Straits to a place Pogu only knew as the Archipelago. When their visit was over, he sensed that Juig had pocketed one, picking up on her shifting shell, making room for it. At the end of a long day of what both of them could only describe as bliss compared to the past week, they were greeted with a celebration of their exploits, silk threads with sleeping thunderbats as the room’s lights and music, along with being treated to many different unfinished inventions from the passed Raeda, the families allowing others to take them to use for their own goals, as the dreams of the fallen are always used to fuel the ambitions of those after. He eventually decided to get a living fishing rod, prototype fighting mannequins, and a special mineral water filter, knowing full well who’d enjoy them. Eventually, they made their way to Queen Todoma, who was hard at work entertaining her guests, displaying elaborate patterns within her shell, which, for Bugmen, is a show of respect and fondness; her iridescent shell reflecting the light off it was as if she were a segmented jewel. She gently cleared the crowd and proudly congratulated her loyal acolyte and prized pilgrim. Todoma sang their praises, eventually asking how long Pogu would stay, with him only being able to stammer a mention of his uncertainty, though the queen could see that he was simply trying to lessen the blow of his departure for Juig’s feelings, all three noticing but still playing along. “Well, dear, it’s always your choice,” she lied, “Take all the time you need. But a little advice: you’ll need to be fully unaware if you wish to travel past the basin”, and with that, she returned to the main party.

By the night’s peak, Pogu and Juig had made their way up to the top of the Ancient Crown, looking out to the Reedlands, the distant sources looking like stars in the dark, lying on the thick blanket of leaves, vines, and old branches, chatting at the speckled black sky. As they talked longer and longer, both had realized that the other had a lot in common with them, and the thought of leaving felt more and more distant. She had told him about her Magic. “Y’see, all Bugmen have a natural affinity for Beast Magic, as though they are small, our arthropod ancestors are still beasts. It’s how I do all that crazy stuff with my body and silk.” Juig makes a claw of hers grow by 3 times while casting a small edible silk treat for Pogu. “But my second affinity is Earth, specifically with vines.” She gently makes him eat the silk treat. “ They’re just about the closest thing to my silk out there, so I use both Magics to use them.” This part of the conversation went on for a lot longer than intended, neither wanting to stop it. But eventually, as they had stood to go and break the chain that was their new attachment, the music from the party below started creeping up to them, a familiar chirping melody. They locked eyes, remembering the first time they had actually met, and a silent agreement was made for the first but hopefully not last, dance.

At first, the pair were struggling to find their rhythm until his envoy simply held him close in a way she hadn’t before, commenting on his subtle but ever-present hunch and slightly bared teeth since he got here. Juig had then decided to simply prick her claw on his fang, straightening him out in the process as he instantly shut his mouth and went to heal her. Juig gave him a laugh in return, saying that it would be her reminder of him, and simply continued their now synced dance.

They could follow the melody below, whirling like free petals, moving along what seemed to be invisible strings, soft as silk, their only guides being their hearts, the music, and the moonlight. Every time they let go, they felt like they’d never hold each other again, with every rejoining like a rush of discovery. But as the night went on, and the music got louder, they could both feel the other slipping away, grabbing every chance they could get at reunion, even if they stumbled, only the other on each other’s mind, the wind pushing them further together. But as they rejoined for a final time, Juig holding on with 6 of her 8 limbs, they could both feel the cold wind blow eastward to the waves beyond the Reedlands, the two keeping still, knowing that if either let go, his journey would continue onto more and more perils, with Juig fearing for his life and the idea of being alone again, which to her was a peril in its own right. He put the feelers on her claws to the feelers on his head fins, sending a soothing brush-like feeling throughout both of them.

“I know you gotta leave… I know… but promise me this.” Juig said defiantly in the face of what felt like fate, grabbing hold of his arm and scratching in a rune of her own, “You won’t forget me.” The envoy’s parting gift was a spell that would allow him to cast seals much like her own threads. “Whenever you need to hold something down, you’ll know I’ll have your back.” All Pogu could do was look up into her 6 eyes with determination, and what she saw staring back was confirmation enough. As they parted in their hold, the cold wind blew east once again as if urging him. “Juig, would you carry one more time?” They were already halfway out of the Roottowns when he finished his request, and by dawn, she had already dropped him off at the Shoot Harbor, leaving a small silk bag behind for him to keep, inside a jagged, punctured clarity apple. He boarded his ship, charm in hand, set a course for the waves ahead, and off he went to the next stop in his nervous journey across the Great Cycle.

The Straits

Once Pogu had finally stepped into the cabin, he found that his pole arms had returned, now as the Spinal Harpoon, with the tiger salmon stripes wrapping around the barbs that were now in a drill formation, with the spell being interwoven. Along with it, a note from Kure that reads, “Don’t break it”. He decided to write a second letter home, attaching it to the new gifts from the Raeda mourners and sending them off, and committing to falling asleep, as it was the only way to enter the Astral Straits.

As Pogu fell asleep, drifting into his own mind, he suddenly opened his eyes to now being in his comfy houseboat bed, now in a simple, plank raft, with a black lantern stand holding a faint pink flame, its light reflecting off the still, black water around him, his only physical items being his Magical items. He sat up in his raft, thinking about what to do next, remembering another story from when he and Amu were going through the Stone Archives under the peak, finding something about the Astral Strait. “When the mind finds itself on the strait, its inner will of the self and its victims comes to light, guiding them down the slumbering waves.” He then decided to look over the board and into the depths of the onyx surface.

He looked for what felt like hours, just staring into the abyss below, looking for some semblance of what he found in the archives. He decided to just catch some rest, the instant reminder that he was technically already asleep. Pogu sat on his little craft, thinking about what to do, until he decided to simply use his Magic. He started with the simplest application he had available, that being his Connection Rune with Amu, and as it pulsed to life, the energy from it beamed into two bright diverging lights, one stream of magenta Amu and the other cyan of Pogu, separating and quickly assuming physical forms. The magenta strand sparkled and blinked into the form of a Wolf Eel, while the cyan strand took the shape of a Power Eel, leaving Pogu in awe as it had Amu’s eyes. Without a moment to think about the glowing display, the Wolf Eel had already wrapped around his waist, forming a snug, warm wrap. After a closer look, the pink eel had Amu’s same worried eyes as when he first departed, but while admiring the details of the construct, he saw that the Power Eel was circling the raft, occasionally diving down deeper and surfacing with small golden-green orbs that the Wolf Eel would quietly munch on. In the Power Eel’s devotion to their other half, they had amassed a small pile of the orbs for the Wolf Eel, which was still on the first orb. This went on until Pogu had simply called the Power Eel back to the raft, where it spent the rest of its time patiently and excitedly watching the magenta eel eat.

After watching this occur for what he counted to be about 6 hours’ worth of slow-paced chowing, Pogu had now realized that the lantern had suddenly started to sharpen in one direction, which he presumed to be his destination. Thinking quickly, he had the Power Eel push the boat in the direction of the light, with it begrudgingly leaving the Wolf Eel’s side to do so, moving at a speed that rivaled Juig’s, pushing him further and further, until the lantern’s focus dimmed and returned to its original flickering and faint state. He took some time to look around now that the black water had settled from the throttling, now seeing speckles of golden green orbs rising from below, and a sudden humming sensation from next to him. Pogu looked to his side only to see that the Spinal Harpoon was edging closer and closer to the edge, a gut instinct telling him to let it go. After a moment of the bony spear dipping into the liquid void, he could see that the speckles from below had started to rise and circle the raft, shimmering like schooling stars. Pogu took a closer look, only to realize that they were the mental constructs of all the mutated animals from the Affliction that he put to rest, being led by the Great Tiger Salmon from the Mother Island and an overgrown cetacean-like crocodile, similar to the mutated Stoneback from the harbor but without flesh, with both creatures having cyan and green streaks throughout their bodies. The Great Tiger Salmon was on the tail end of the school, making sure none of the other aquatic constructs fell behind, when the weedy crocodile structure led them all forward as if it were their leader. With this new stream of life below the inky waves, the lantern’s light now focused a flare across the waters, guiding them all forward.

This neon caravan through the hadal waves around them went on for what Pogu felt like long, peaceful, progress-filled days, learning more and more about himself than he would have thought. Looking at all the accumulation of his journey so far in a somewhat physical form made him feel the way he did when one of his mentors saw that he had mastered a new skill, ready to take on the next. At one point, the school stopped and simply decided to circle the raft, allowing Pogu a moment to breathe from the constant movement. He decided that to get through the last stretch, he needed to release his last three Runes. He prepared himself, starting first with his Breeze Whip, which sprang from him in the shape of a Gale Shark, whipping around and sending whip waves into the water, made entirely of a free-flowing green gust. It flew around the open air for a while, came down to nuzzle the Wolf Eel, and dived below to become the new leader of the school.

The second he released would be his Web Seal rune from Juig, which manifested as a deep, earthy green diving bell spider that quickly latched onto him, and the Wolf Eel tried to take as much space as possible, both constructs biting into him just to keep a firmer hold on him. This led them even further beyond, pushing them so close to what his mind could feel as his destination past the Strait, only for the momentum to start to slow one more, leaving Pogu with his first affinity and one of his only chances to arrive at his current goal, but he made a mistake. He activated his Wind Magic, unleashing a powerful gale over them, every construct bowing to the one that came before them all, the power born and fueled by the freedom of the Mother’s peak, the Great Mountain Bird, Ummi. But he had also unleashed his Affinity Seal. Instantly, torrents of freezing winds and Beast energy poured out in all directions. The bright, swirling green avian spread its wings, not caring for anything around it, and soared in its desired direction, the force of this bringing everyone with it. But deep within the black sea below, a predator was fast approaching, its dorsal fin sending iron-scented ripples through the waves, while Ummi folded her wings in, diving to the exit, but just as he reached out to try and leave as well, she had already left. The entire school below tried their best to push the raft forward, but the lantern’s light had already dimmed. From a distance, a giant golden-green Gale Shark rose from the water, crashing down and sending everyone forward, nearly knocking Pogu off the raft. Reaching for his whistle, a last resort if ever, he filled his lungs with as much air as they could fit using his Wind and blew into it as hard as he could, making the Beast reel back. From the far end of the Straits, a bright light bolted to the raft, singeing the creature as it passed; the spider latched silk to the living flash, pulling them all to the exit.

He sat straight up in his bed, panting in a manner you could only get from the exhilaration of being untied to everything. He settled back down, calming himself as he was now out of the watery void, his cabin being a great sight to see after what felt like days in there. The only oddity he could notice was that the dim lantern was still present, along with his Runes and Seals, all glowing. The only other oddity was that now, instead of his being the only occupant of his bed, the ever-bright Chir was already licking his face. He couldn’t have been more relieved to see Ulea’s dog in his life, a familiar face helping him on his path to whatever this road left him at. He put his dulling of senses upon waking up aside as simply the side effects of travelling through the Strait; with his magic being from experiences, it only made sense that a place of the mind would flare his memory-born abilities, instead of taking note that he was now in the middle of a deep fog. Taking the lantern from his nightstand, the two made their way to the deck to find that the entire area was covered in a dense fog.