Year of the Ram – Ninth Entry
I am compelled to document a most mysterious event that
occurred during our time in the Festival of the Hunt. After my
brother, Genkaku, and his band appeared, we were met by lord Baal
himself, the current ruler of Pandemonium. He spoke briefly of our
abhorrent past as a species, something that I tried to shield from
Kate earlier, and how it played a role in the meaning behind the
festival. Baal's tale left us all feeling quite disheartened, perhaps
that is why we were so vulnerable to my brother's trap.
When the time came for as to meet our opponents, we
were not quite prepared for Genkaku's trickery. Yashima used his
anima to create a powerful force to propel us all away from one
another, a tactic I assume was meant to assault us one by one as they
feared we would be too dangerous in a group. Trill had prevented her
own expulsion from the area using her ability to control the ground
to seal herself in place. The only one else left unaffected, was
Animal, who clearly was meant to stay put. It was much later on that
my lord, Agrond, proposed to me the curious question of why Animal
was not targeted by Yashima's ability. It was true that Animal had
demonstrated his own power to their group before and they were quite
fearful, but if the plan was to face him together, they would not
have scattered themselves into the wilderness before Yashima
separated us.
Though I would not hear what happened to everyone until
after the festival had concluded, I find that what happened to Animal
to be the most bizarre. As such, I will begin my account of our
separation with him. Animal explained that he fought with Yashima
alone at first, until Trill joined him. Between the two of them,
Yashima had little to no chance of success until he used another
trick to propel Animal away just as he had done to the rest of us.
The force was great enough to send him away for what he felt was
miles worth of forest until he finally landed, not on the ground, but
apparently on someone.
Animal recounted that he did not see or feel himself
crash land into anyone, he had past out during his descent and had
awoken in a most peculiar situation. Animal slowly came out of his
slumber and took several minutes before he could begin to take in his
surroundings. Eventually, he came to understand that he was in a
large and deep pit, its edges steep and its depth immense. But most
distinct, was the smell. The scent burned his nose and even his eyes,
which were having a difficult time focusing. In fact, his whole body
felt irritated by the odor, burned even. He looked around desperately
for the cause until he found its source, a vibrant pink hued mist
that crept out of the walls of the pit and slowly began to creep its
way towards him.
When Animal told me this, I was shocked that he was
even still alive, for I knew all too well the purpose behind this
deadly trap. Animal had fallen into a chimeran pitfall, a trap
designed to kill the large monstrosities known as chimeras. I was
reserved to speak of this with Kate before, for the tale of the
chimeras is a sad one indeed. Should a primeran lose themselves in
the process of devouring another and become addicted to the act, it
is said that the consumers body will undergo a hideous transformation
into a monster that grows rapidly in size and power, but loses all
sense of reason and eventually turns into an insatiable monster.
There is also a longstanding rumor that children sired between two
primerans of different clans would result in child far more tempted
to consume their brethren, thus resulting in a chimera with almost
certainty. Such was the reason why my lord's half brother Ghast's
identity was hidden from others.
The chimeran pitfall is one of the most effective means
by which these creatures can be killed, but it's construction must
occur in a very specific location. Across Ferus Mundus, there is
another threat that has existed for as long as the clans have been
freed from their progenitors, the miasma. It is a pink or red hued
mist that originates from deep beneath the land and emerges
sporadically. It is highly toxic to primeran flesh, burning and
destroying it even before it makes contact. It is far worse than
salt, which was discovered by humans as an effective weapon against
primerans. Though wounds created by salt may heal, wounds created by
the miasma do not. This horrible mist literally unmakes us as a
species, contorting our bodies into a hideous countenance before
dissolving us away into nothing, a death that many find fitting for
the chimera.
These pits are dug with great caution, as failure to do
so will almost certainly result in death. Worse of all, it has been
proven that the miasma is attracted to primerans, but only when in
close proximity. Should a chimera or primeran fall into the trap, the
miasma will bleed out from the surrounding soil and consume the
helpless victim within.
Animal's eyes soon came into focus as he began steel
his nerves in preparation for finding a solution. It was then that he
realized that he was not alone in the pit, for only a little ways
away from him, was a massive primeran, an elder, such as Baal,
sitting only a few feet from him. Most alarming was that he too was a
canidae, a wolf. Animal described him to be as big as Baal, but not
nearly as presentable, he was dressed in indigo colored rags and kept
a long black walking stick close by. His fur was completely
disheveled but was also a deep burgundy in color, something that
Animal found strange. There are indeed primerans that have unusual
pigmentations, but such a thing is considered rare and often a sign
trouble, considering the fact that primerans as a species have
difficulty with those that are alarmingly different. As animal gazed
in awe at this new figure, the elder eventually spoke, his words not
quite what Animal had expected to hear from the first of his clan
that he happened to meet.
"Awake are we? Good. Now, considering you
crashed into me and we are both stuck in this death trap, how do you
plan on getting us out, hmm?"
Animal was set
aback by the elder's words and emphatically tried to apologize for
their current situation despite the increasing peril of their current
circumstances. The elder silenced Animal's attempt at an apology and
demanded a solution to their predicament, not an apology. Animal was
looked around and noticed that the miasma was slow, very slow. They
would have some time to consider their options, but only a half hour
at best. His strength waning due to the miasma, Animal concluded that
he climbing or jumping out would be impossible. If there was a way of
the pit, then he and the elder would have to work together.
No comments:
Post a Comment