Through the eyes of an intrigued demon
Platforms of wood seamlessly meld with trees in a layered hierarchy of interconnected regions, all surrounding a network of suspended floors bound and joined by a random yet efficient mesh of ropes. Brown and gold fur shuffle across platforms, clamber between ropes, and scale branches and trunks in an emergent swarm of persistent collective traversal up, down, around, and behind every point. Unified calls, of laughter, of frustration, of communication rumble together in clusters, shifting endlessly alongside their sources. Diala slides off the elf, her crystal feet sending taps of vibrations as they knock the wood below.
A loud thud briefly jumps her from the ground, a coat of gold rippling before her. "Father!" "Fool." "Ah, so I am given no reprieve, even after so long." "Huhuhu, you wish, boy." Gol Dhee meets the palm of his son with his own, wind seeming to waver around the union as they greet one another. "Come, you must tell tale of your journey. Stay for a rest and we will offer you a feast." The ape offers, an aloof confidence in his stance as he gestures behind. "We shall. Show us your best, king." "Ah, that still feels strange to hear from my kin, let alone from you." "Get used to it, boy. You are far from ready for your own pilgrimage. Have you even chosen a successor?" "No... Such responsibilities are a nuisance." Thud! A gold fist mercilessly crushes a gold skull, amber eyes staring obstinately back at the striking appendage. "Such responsibilities exist for a reason, fool. If you do not choose, I will choose for you." "Old man, keep your wrinkles from my business. I will choose when I choose." "Huhuhu, you never change, do you?"
The king turns, ushering the group along the platform as Diala skips to Gol Dhee's side. "So he's your son?" "Indeed." "I didn't know you had a partner." "I don't." "Oh. Then was he adopted?" "Chosen." "There's a difference?" "I am unfamiliar with the concept you spoke. He was to be raised by the clan. I chose him to be my successor instead." I feel like I'm missing some context here... A curious gaze turns back to Diala, the king walking backwards as he inspects the crystal demon. "This one is new. And it speaks our words too?" "I'm Diala, nice to meet you." "What is a Diala?" "She is one born of flames, tasked with assisting out journey. You would lose to her strength." Born of flames. Does he think I was born in that moment? Surely that's a metaphor... right? "Hoh? Such a small creature? I will have to see the truth of your words for myself." "In time." Huh? Wait. Was I just signed up for a fight? The group cross the ropes between platforms, Aleph opting to glide the distance until they reach a wide plane holding an enormous table filled with filled with a spectacular array of foods Diala can't help but feel absolutely nothing for by virtue if not being able to eat any of it.
"What of the fleshy one? It appears almost akin to us." "The warrior of green." Eyes widen for a moment, before returning to a collected calm and a wry smile. "I should really hold my surprise with you. No matter, we are here."
Through the eyes of a peckish elf
A vibrant cocktail of rich meats and sweet fruits saturate the air, steamy pots of stew bubbling away their lingering heat into the air, sizzling cuts of roasted meat filling plates with tantalising juices, and gentle wafts of sweetness taming the air from plates of sliced fruit. Fluffy wastes no time sitting down to sample one of everything in arm's reach, chewing gamy flesh which fills his palette with juices on every bite and washing it down with a concoction of rich sauces and gentle juices. Teach slumps beside him, snagging the largest hunk of meat in neck's reach to shamelessly guzzle while Lil' Blue makes away with the tastiest thing in skitter's reach to nibble atop her perch. Behind him, Tiny simply stands there. Menacingly?
As Teach finishes choking down her first portion, Fluffy slides over a small bowl of pinkish syrup. "Wash it down with some of this. They go well together." Taking his advice, she swallows the bowl whole, spitting out a cleanly washed hemisphere of wood, much to the amusement of the crowd. "You're right! Thanks!" Fluffy nods to the response, his pride as a connoisseur validated beyond what words could meaningfully express. "Hey, Fluffy." """Hoh!""" A dozen monkeys announce in shock of the talking rock, followed by numerous similar sounding declarations in a difficult to parse tongue. "I think they like you." Fluffy ribs, dipping an artistically browned leg of poultry into a red and yellow sauce, scent inundated with the tinge of chilli and berries. "I'm starting to get used to it... So anyway, who do you think is the strongest?"
Interested glances show up from all directions, even from the adults having to restrain their young from clambering over the guests while they eat. Fluffy continues to eat, his motions a practised dance of efficient sampling interspersed with room for speech as he breaks open a thick femur to reach the rich marrow within. "Don't know. Probably still me." Gazes turn to Tiny, silently begging for translation. "Maybe, but we've all gotten stronger since reaching the base, and we've had no real chance to show off." Thin strips of salty meat are taken and wrapped around a small fruit, the stem used as a handle as he dips it into more of the pinkish sauce and crunches a bite out of it. "Sure. I guess we don't know then. Why do you care anyway? You usually aren't interested in comparisons like this." "I'm bored." Ah, right... She can't eat. What a travesty...
Through the eyes of a reminiscent father
"Such a beast can exist?" "Not a beast. This one possessed mind, and a will as hot as the flames it breathed." "How did you endure such flames that could melt rock?" "I pulled the winds cold, though were I to be struck directly as the warrior was I may have been felled." Gol Dhee gnaws at the savoury shell of a large fruit, more to have something to do than to satisfy any desire for satiation, his mind focused on conversation. "This must have been the greatest foe of these realms, no?" "The great shadow and almighty light were greater." "You met?!" Attention is stolen to his corner at the mention of the gods, a small region of silence and bated breaths as he continues to grind his teeth against the fruit.
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"Are the stories of them creating the world and forming the walls that protect us true?" "Perhaps. With their strength, I would not doubt it." "What were they like?" "They were... Two beings, and one being. They were also neither and both." "I... don't understand." "I agree." A loud crunch breaks through the quiet, Gol Dhee raising the shell above his mouth to drink the sweet liquid pouring from the formed crack. Murmurs pick up around them, words of intrigue, questions of validity, yet none enough to pierce their conversation. "How powerful were they?" "I do not know." "You never challenged them?" "I did. They even trained me along with the warrior of green, yet my strength was always effortlessly matched in equal measure. If they have limits, I have yet to see them."
"And what of your limits?" The king asks, silence once again returning in observation of the former king. "Careful boy. You may discover your own." A heavy thunk shakes the table, an empty husk planted by an enraged fist, though the wide grin he bears erases any considerations of rage. Gol Dhee stands, thunking the head of a foolish king as he steps away, a cluster of apes following behind. His companions scamper to catch up, the warrior having to be dragged away by the unknowable one, still half-guzzling an entire bird. "Where are we going?" "Where else? To see our limits." A crowded line follows the group, led by an aloof king, barely quelling his eager grin. "Father, your memory wanes. The arena is behind us." "That plane is much too small for what we need."
Gol Dhee leads the group to the city edge, navigating the trees beyond and breaching below the canopy to a wide expanse of overgrown crags and bluffs. "Observers remain at the edge. King, you are to follow." A wall of brown and gold forms across and around the outcroppings marking the edge of a deep indent, round and narrowed to a central point. Father and son gather at the apex, stood opposed by the central divot, eyes met in a vice lock. "This is where I last held sight of my father. And it is where you will hold yours, until you find yourself ready for your own pilgrimage." "You do not plan to return?" "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Fate is not within my grip. Now face me, boy." "You are not the only one who has gained strength, geezer." "Enough words. Show me what makes you."
The king breathes in, his fists held high.
Thoom
The wind shakes to his call, life beaten into its still flow.
Thoom
The earth trembles under the declaration, its heartbeat thrumming in synchrony with each strike.
Thoom
The air ignites along his palms, the fire in his eyes leaking out to bite the world.
A torrent of flame bursts from the king's arm, pulled and focused to a point of intense heat, then struck. Fire charges through the air, leaving behind a wake of charred foliage as it approaches Gol Dhee who raises his own arms in turn. Clap! The flame is caught, its wake snuffed into dissipated ash, nothing but a gentle puff of smoke remaining as a wave of air shoves the king back. Gripping the wind to control his momentum, he throws his foot to the ground, shattering the stone and building a wall of shrapnel ahead of him. Stones are rapidly struck in sequence, distance narrowing as each step throws a new set of projectiles to be launched towards Gol Dhee.
Each stone strikes true, buffeting the unmoving ape and leaving behind naught but specks of dust to dirty his coat. Larger rocks are lifted and thrown, wind screeching around the sharp surfaces before they are shattered against an indomitable body. Proximity closed, the king sinks his palms into the earth, raising two giant hemispheres to crush and compress around his father. For a moment, the world loses light. Gol Dhee's palms catch the stone surrounding him, warping it into a fluid and spinning it into a vortex which throws the stunned king away. "You have met my former strength. Now observe my current."
The ground is arrested, pulled into a violent whirlpool of whipping and snapping fluid, tugging the king into its tides. "Fight back! I raised no coward!" Gol Dhee commands, his voice sending a pulse through the torrent. Unable to form a witty response through the riptides, the king dives, presses his palms to the bed of earth, and raises a shield against the flow. The stone across his fur hardens once more, no longer held fluid by Gol Dhee's essence. Swiftly shaking off the clinging earth, the king coats his palms in flame and swirls a spiral of flame to the centre of the gyre. Flame is snuffed out by a greater flame as Gol Dhee ignites the atmosphere around him to form a whirlwind of ravenous flames, melting the stone before it can harden again.
The king retaliates to the flames, throwing burst after burst of wind which only seems to be consumed, wall after wall of earth which is melted all the same, the whirlwind growing ever closer until its ambient heat singes his fur. Moments before the king is burned, a loud clap of wind slaps him in the face, snuffing the flames and freezing the melted rock. Gol Dhee approaches the worn out king, heavy breathes met with a calm gait. "You fight well, boy." "Will that stop you from calling me boy?" "You wish, boy." The pair lock arms in brief embrace before ambling back to the edge. "I was expecting more damage, with your prior boasting of the arena's scale." "That is still to come."
As they near the edge of the expanse the pair are slammed by the tremendous howl of innumerable monkeys hooting and hollering, their bodies undulating in matching rhythm with their voices. Gol Dhee rejoins his group, a mischievous grin bearing his fangs. "Meyo proposed an intriguing thought during feast. Which of us is the strongest?" "Me. Clearly." "I was just throwing questions. I didn't mean for it to become anything significant." "And it doesn't matter. Because it's obviously me." "Yet are none of you curious? We differ greatly from last we compared." "Which part of 'it's me' do you not understand?" "I won't say no to a duel. And Tiny was the one to bring it up, so why not start with us?" "No need! We already know who the strongest is. And it's me." "Well I mean... Sure, why not."
