Risen

Chapter 4

   By the time Poppy and Sienna made it to the Moon, Narvuk had been there long enough to assess the entire map and learn the rules of the Crucible. He had been kneeling before the altar in the middle of the abandoned Hive temple with his head bowed for almost 10 minutes. Zivath appeared a few feet behind him. "Hey, Narvuk? Um, not to interrupt your moment, but Shaxx says the match is about to start. We need to get to our starting point." The Knight rose slowly, sparing another moment to stare at the altar. "Yess. Wwe...ggo."

Narvuk walked over to the western end of the map, rolling his shoulders as he went. A few moments later, Shaxx's voice came through the feed. "Nothing complicated here. Defend your allies and defeat your opponents." Narvuk took off for the tunnels, knowing that his Cleaver would be useless anywhere other than in close quarters. It's what had gotten him killed the first time. As he passed through one of the curving hallways, he heard a "floof" come from around the corner, but also above him. He readied his blade and waited for the source to near. The Warlock rounded the corner, rifle in hand, only to be cut down instantly. Shaxx's voice came through once more. "Excellent! Let the battle be joined!" Narvuk had little time to celebrate, however, as a shotgun blast from behind slew him as quickly as his sword had slain the other.

Sienna considered humiliating him, but decided against it. What they needed was focus and teamwork, not gloating over a single kill. Poppy would be reviving soon, and knowing her, she'd be furious. Probably furious enough to get herself killed again. The Hunter took off through the hall, heading for the center of the map. If they controlled that walk-through and the heavy ammo, the match was as good as theirs. The large door opened for her, and the last thing she saw was a rocky hand the size of her head rocketing towards her.

If every kill, was going to be that easy, Narvuk doubted this match was going to last much longer. These two had no coordination, no strategy. But Narvuk's thoughts were dragged back to the stone in the center of the room. The altar... something about it was off. Like it was humming...no, not humming. Singing, calling. Calling to him, though he didn't understand how. Zivath appeared in front of him, concern filling her "eye". "You alright, big guy? We're still in the middle of a match, so if we could get moving..."

"Shhh... ddon't you hearr? The sssong..."

"There's, um, there's no song, Narvuk, Look, if you're not feeling up to it, we can call this off."

Narvuk waved her off, stepping towards the altar slowly. Once he stood before it, he felt this inexplicable need to make contact, to bridge the gap. His claws were an inch away from the rock when the door to his right opened and the Hunter came rushing through, only to stop when she saw Narvuk's obliviousness. She cocked her head at Zivath, who expanded and contracted her shell in a Ghost's version of a shrug.

Their silent back-and-forth was interrupted by a sudden roar, and when they looked, Narvuk was on his knees. Zivath rushed to his side, her shell now whirling anxiously. "Big guy? Narvuk, are you alright?" Just then, Poppy came bursting through the other door, weapon in hand. She quickly halted at the scene before her.

"The hell is all this? Get up!" The Knight didn't answer. She stormed over to shout at him to stand, only to see his eyes were unfocused. When she looked closer, she could see lightning behind his eyes and beginning to make tiny arcs across his skin. "Um, you guys might wanna back up. His Light levels are spiking, and this chart goes pretty high," Zivath said, anxiety filling her voice. but as the pair stepped away, a pulse of Arc energy erupted from Narvuk, sending Poppy and Sienna flying into the walls behind them. Zivath flinched as twin cracks echoed through the room and the now-limp bodies hit the floor.

Narvuk's head snapped downwards like he'd been released from a chain, and he stood shakily. He noticed himself immediately, the Arc bolts now crackling all over his skin. "Whhat iss this?" Zivath flew over and began inspecting him, bobbing and weaving around him.

"It's the Light! More importantly, it's your Light! The altar must've acted like a, a catalyst of some sort! Oh, this is great! How do you feel?"

The Knight nodded as he closed his fists slowly. "I ccan use thhis. We continnue." As if on cue, Poppy came through the same door as earlier in her Stormtrance. "Let's try this again, you son of a Wiz--"

She was cut off this time not by a Cleaver, but by a bolt of pure Arc lightning from Narvuk's closed fist. He looked to Zivath, then grinned fiercely. "Nnow... we fiight!"