Denizens of Denka

Reef and Kialen

Bright and beautiful rays of sunshine fell down to the shoulders of the man bent forward working his cargo net. Darkly toned flesh absorbed the sun's light and withheld their warmth as padding for the melanin within. The man looked up towards the lazy lines of light with a smile.

He wished this feeling would last forever. A slight breeze cooling the almost too hot-to-touch skin felt relieving. He wished his only worries were that of fixing his net, catching his dinner, finding a solid set of trees from which to swing his hammock; not all wishes may be granted however.

Long ripples of water cascaded out from a splash into the ocean a couple meters down the shoreline. Seeing his work was complete on the net, Reef picked up his spear and moved towards his dinner. Silently moving along the smooth, white sand, Reef approached the area with masterful awareness. A few of the ripples still remained by the time Reef approached the waterline. Scanning the open water, looking for any slight trace of his prey; Reef catches a quick sparkle and lets loose his spear.

All boys must defeat a great beast as their initiation to manhood for Reef's tribe. A tradition handed down through generations. Only the strongest fisherman could survive to cast nets in these waters.

Standing as tall as Reef, the spear shaft is made of a long, dark wood found deep within the mountains of Reef's home shores. A boy must first traverse the mountains to recover a wood strong enough to withstand the fight of any prey, but also must remain light enough to be thrown with ease. A large, cylindrical shaped cranium of a massive shark serves as the spearhead. The jaws are held shut half way with sinue and lashings from the same shark who was removed of it's skull. Five rows of jagged, palm sized teeth lined both top and bottom of this maw.

A low thrumming sound is heard as the shaft rotates slightly to stay on course. Small, tough fish fins are held to the half of the shaft. With a mighty splash, the jaws of the extinct predator manage to strike again. The jaws hold the fish in place; as fighting or wriggling will only intensify the wound.

Reef swims up to the fish, removing his hip knife, he slashes into the fish's throat. "An honorable death for an honorable cause." Reef bows his head in reverence for the gift of food he has found today...

...."Son of a Bitch!" Kialen's voice rang out to the open, sounding, so very small. Kialen, always the pessimist can not believe whatever problem she has managed to wind up in this time. Her dark robes were still on her, she had her glasses. So that was a good start. Waking up on a beach when you fell asleep in a library however; not so much

Brushing off her robes and trying to get herself back the wits she has left, she notices that the book she was researching followed her here. Kialen, ever the opportunist; lovingly rescues the book from its otherwise sandy grave. Whilst scanning her surroundings, she can hear the tide bringing in waves from an ocean off to her right; a darkened grove of jungle trees surrounds her left.

Kialen, standing in shock; trying so hard to simply fathom the extraneous circumstances with which have befallen her so terrifyingly. A branch is heard snapping not far off from the tall, and slender woman. A small breath gasps from her lips as she imitates her surroundings as best as possible. Being a 6 foot tall, dark haired woman in a black robe, wearing: black boots, gloves, and a large pair of spectacles, the illusion was very lacking in finality.

Slowly, a figure was heard stalking forward into the clearing Kialen now presided in. Trying hard not to whimper, channeling the inner beast...of something, from somewhere; a squawking howl was heard beyond the bushes. Almost simultaneously a small bird walked onto the sand in front of Kialen. Letting out her held breath, Kialen relaxed her statuesque pose.

"Looks like it's the two of us here huh?" Kialen sits down next to the bird and reaches out a hand to pet it. The bird promptly rubs it's head against her palm and jumps up to her lap; beginning to coo. Now that the bird is held steady; Kialen can see an intricate design inlaid to the bird's feathers.

The dark greens and browns of the forest floor and canopy are represented throughout. Spotted and mottled notes of yellows, deep violets, light and dark blues all coexist together in a wondrously complex and subtle manner. Gazing into the eyes of the bird, Kialen can see a brightly shining golden orb, acting as the pupil; whilst the remainder of the iris is filled with a dark shifting shade of crimson into pitch black.

Breath, completely taken away by the radiant beauty of this bird; Kialen instantly remembers a favorite clip of her childhood. Alvin, Kialen's father, a tall wraith of a man. Who always preferred his head in a book to some labor intensive, strenuous activity; would often entertain his daughter by telling of the vast assortment of: poems, hymns, stories, and legends he could recall from memory.

Legends were Kialen's favorite above all else. Hearing the heroic adventures of far off warriors and emperors leading their brave soldiers charging the enemy lines...Within the pages of a book that is. Kialen, personally, has no desire to test her mettle in combat. One of her favorite heroic icons is that of "Oberon".

Taking his place in the sky, mighty Oberon won this high position by defeating the former God of the Sky, Porthos. Oberon won, not because of strength, but because of cunning. Knowing his enemy's strength was also his biggest weakness; Oberon tricked Porthos into following him from the sky and down to the surface, of Planet Denka.

This mighty crash, caused the very surface of the world to crack and shatter. Once great land masses shifted and crashed into eachother. Upon this ruin of the surface, Oberon and Porthos tumbled. Their viscous and mighty blows pounded the planet down into it's core; A massive flood of liquid iron and fire spewed from the center of the planet. Having Porthos now trapped to the surface of Denka itself; Oberon laughs with abandon as the waves of the ocean crash up and engulf the once noble, and undefeated, God of the Sky.

"You enact the entire battle upon your very feathers my little friend. We shall call you, Oberon." Kialen says down to the bird, who coos in delight to the new name; flapping its wings to settle further into Kialen's lap.