Post by Shoki on May 3, 2021 21:02:06 GMT -5
Thread PL: 5,000
"Mister Shoki?" The frog asked, kneeling on a log.
In the forest beyond the clearing, a cacophony of its fellows ribbited in unison.
Shoki dabbed at his sweat-drenched face with the back of a limp hand, casting a blanche stare at the amphibian. He knew he was getting attuned with the planet, but he didn't think he'd start talking with the wildlife just yet.
"I'm sad to tell you this, Mister Shoki. But you've been poisoned by the arrow of a Karinga tribesman," The frog said forlornly. "You will die shortly."
Shoki startled, peering around. Something is not right! He thought. Everything was sideways. Was it always sideways? He couldn't remember. Everything was hazy, and that which was there wasn't right The grass was swimming, and the sky was the ocean. Was the ocean always up there?
Summoning the strength bestowed by his divine lineage, that lifegiving Kaiju Tree, Shoki staggered from his sprawl and to his feet.
The frog's black eyes widened.
Pain tore through Shoki, and his gaze tumbled down to the arrow in his knee. It was stuck in there, alright. Skewering his entire knee cap.
Focus.
With a trembling hand, Shoki placed outstretched fingers near the arrow. Slowly, the black shaft of the arrow was replaced by a bright golden glow that threw off wild shadows in all directions and casted a thousand rainbows into the air. The glow blazed hotter, a white gasp, and then it was gone. And the arrow was gone. And so was the wound.
Closing his eyes, Shoki breathed deeply, rejecting the poison. It was a primitive kind, made with simple malignant materials unworked with magics. Deadly, yes. But not in these amounts. Not to a Core Person.
He would be slower than usual, lethargic even, but the poison wouldn't kill him at least. And tomorrow, after a good night's sleep, he'd be as well as ever.
"Did you see where the tribesman went?" Shoki asked the frog after taking a few more meditative breaths, his brow still slick with sweat.
But the frog wasn't talking any longer. It croaked, and, perhaps disappointed at the prospect of Shoki's un-demise, turned and leapt from the log, rejoining the forest.
Shoki sighed. He'd been hoping to meet with the Karinga, these holy people who had such a genuine connection with the planet. But so far, he hadn't a chance. But he could feel the power of the land here, the goodness and the strength. This area was something like the planet's heart, or one of its, at least, maybe its oldest. There was something else, too, something he couldn't quite place. His meditations had sensed it but not grasped it, and it beckoned to him when he was at his most serene internal place.
Deciding to follow the Tougan River, Shoki set off through the forest, warily focusing on the path ahead. These woods, holy though they may be, were not without their dangers, beyond the Karinga guardians. Fierce dinosaurs and all manner of beasts contended here, and so did worse things, things in the darkest fouls, things staying just out of reach of his godly gaze, things that slithered and slunk in the shadows. Holy places often attracted their opposites.
He would have to be careful.