Prismatic

Tribe

We were aching from hip to toe when we landed. Bry gave us a red potion to recover immediately from our injuries. We were surrounded by field of lavenders. The aroma was very rich and fresh. The sky was a shade of indigo and clouds could no longer be seen. The stars were scattered across the sky. Some stars were shooting at different directions. The Halvers tried to mimic them.

“Welcome, champions!” a voice came from the lavenders, “Congratulations on passing the previous floor.”

“This room is called, Astrelle”, he explained, “The requirement of this floor is to align the stars onto their respective constellations. Good luck and I hope you survive.”

“Wait!” Tyke rushed over, “What is this advantage that you mentioned earlier?”

“Ah, yes”, he paused, “Your advantages are communication and navigation. You are able to speak to the natives and find your way around this floor easily.”

The voice disappeared then we started discussing our plans. “There are natives here? How will that help us?” Tyke thought for a minute.

“They might give us information about the stars and their constellations”, Bry considered.

“I think I can sense the ones close by. Let’s go check it out”, I suggested.

“It’s to the east, right?” Aina pointed.

We ventured to the east for about thirty minutes. At last, we saw a tribe around a lit fire. They were all male with a toned build. They had a hint of blue on their slightly tanned skin. They had fierce night blue eyes. They wore ethnic clothing made from woven indigo shades of fabric with hints of orange and red.  We approached them and they all stood when they saw our presence. They were three tall people of about fifteen steps, Bry approached them. He put both of his hands up to initiate communication. “Greetings, men”, Bry struggled for words, “We are in need of your advice. I hope that you could help us with our quest.”

“Speak, human”, the tallest one on the right spoke.

“We would like you to tell us about the stars and their constellations.”

“Ah yes, the star myths”, the slightly shorter guy to the left spoke, “We are glad to speak of that story and it might take a lot of talk. We will need an offer in exchange for the tales.”

“What may we offer in exchange of the tales?” Bry’s eyes were concerned. I guess nothing is truly free in this tower.

“A tribute to our star warriors”, the shortest one in the middle spoke, “One of you must fight us on a singles duel.”

“What are the conditions, if I may ask?” Bry was slightly relieved.

“First, a master of weapons is a must”, the tallest one explained, “Second, armors and accessories are not allowed. Finally, he must fight alone without any assistance. Any breach of the said conditions deprives you of your request. The warrior is free to choose whom he wants to fight among us.”

“Challenge accepted”, Tyke approached towards them, “I think I will choose the guy in the middle.”

“Fight I shall”, he summoned a weapon of two short sticks joined by a chain. “I wish for your success.”

“Good luck, man”, Tyke replied.

“Be careful, Ty”, Aina was worried. Tyke gave her a smile then winked.

We all went to the open field. We cleared a safe distance from them. Tyke removed all his armor, accessories and shield and gave them to Aina. He gave her a peck on the lips which made her drop them all. She dropped to the floor and looked for his things frantically.

The battle started at the blow of a hand whistle. The wind blew on the fragrance of lavenders. Tyke held a tight grip on his sword as did his opponent. The tribesman flailed his weapon around his body with rapid movements. It spun around his shoulders, then to his neck, down to his legs then up to his shoulders again. Tyke was hit in the face from the quick movements of his opponent. He wiped a drip of blood on his face from the blow. The tribesman threw another blow. This time, Tyke was sent flying. It was like an uppercut blow but with a weapon. It was followed by two midair hits to the back and hips. He fell to the side. It was almost impossible to keep up with the fast pace. Tyke got up to his feet, muffling a groan. It was Tyke’s turn to attack. This time, I didn’t blink. With a few spins and swipes, he managed to damage the tribesman. He bled three times around his torso. The tribesman poised for another attack. He screamed so loud that the lavenders danced to it. He lunged at him spinning his weapon behind his back. Tyke braced his sword and blocked the attack. The tribesman’s weapon got locked with his. They backed off that instant. Tyke was the one to rush this time. The tribesman sidestepped then got his neck. They both fell to the ground. They both got up, but then, Tyke gave him a quick swipe upwards. The tribesman was now flying. Tyke made three spins with his sword keeping the tribesman midair. For the third spin, the tribesman was high in the air. Tyke jumped up to catch him. With his final blow, he struck the tribesman to his torso and fell to the ground with crushing force. The tribesman claimed defeat. Tyke has passed the challenge.

He stood up. “That was great champion”, he applauded Tyke, “such is expected from a weapon master.”

“Thank you”, Tyke caught his breath, “You were also great with weapons.”

“Your request will be granted shortly”, he paused for air. “First, we must rest.”

We all went back to the tribal camp. Around it were lavenders whispering words of fragrance. The fire was still lit, dancing to the sway of lavenders. There was a stone structure shaped into a house. Its roof was indigo with lavenders neatly intertwined that flowed down the sides into beautiful spirals. The house also had three windows of thick solid wood. A door was obscured by the stem of lavenders.

“First, we must introduce ourselves”, the taller one said, “I am called La-er, the shortest one is Ve-ne and the shorter is Ne-le.”

“We are called the Lave-ne tribe”, he continued, “Our purpose is to defend this land and spread our tale. The first rule is to test if the champion is qualified to know our tale. He must be able to protect it with his whole being. The second rule is to forge a brotherhood of fulfilling the duty of our prophecy. Our fate is reliant on the stars and their constellations. The third and last rule is to maintain the connection between the land and the stars.”

“Next is our myth that has been passed on from father to child, tribesman to tribesman, tribesman to champion. The story begins with a shard of light. Long ago, not a star could be seen in the sky. There was only darkness. Then one day, a shard of light came falling mysteriously from the sky. When it touched the land, it destructed into uncountable small pieces. So small, that no eye can see it. The land started to flourish with life. Lavenders spread through out the openness of the empty land. Tribes were spread out on the far reaches of the land.”

“I think it is my turn to tell that story”, Ve-ne cut in, “After the tribes started to mark their own territories, a war raged. It came to be called the War of the Lavenders. One brother after another battled each other weapon to weapon, hand to hand and blood to blood. The lavenders were colored with bluish red. Eventually, the tribes diminished to a few. In discovery of the diminishing numbers, an agreement was created. It was agreed upon that no tribe shall exceed three members to prevent excess claim on lands. After the agreement, the tribespeople buried their fallen members under their respective boundaries.”

“I will tell of that story, my brother”, Ne-le offered, “but I think it is better for tomorrow. We must feed our guests and make them bed. They need to recover for their quest tomorrow.”

“Yes, brother”, La-er agreed, “You must have been tired from your journey.”

“Thank you”, Bry gave courtesy, “You did not gather our names. Is it okay to remain anonymous?”

“We need not your names”, Ne-le declined, “You will be remembered by the stars for your contribution.”

“Are you sacrificing us?” Tyke frowned, “This is it, right?”

“What in the stars are you saying?” Ve-ne interrupted, “You must have misunderstood. Alignment doesn’t need human sacrifice but your quest is indeed difficult. It will require a lot of spirit to achieve such task.”

“More details will be discussed tomorrow”, Ne-le intervened, “It is of utmost importance that you rest your body as well as your spirit.”

“Yes, brother”, Ve-ne changed his expression, “For now, we will prepare a feast. Rest yourselves for a while the food is underway.”

“Thank you”, it was my turn to give thanks.

The tribesmen went to work. Tyke reattached his armor and accessories and assessed them one by one. They seemed to be complete and in good shape. Aina helped him recount them. She was also tending to his injuries. She was exceeding the personal proximity and stole a kiss. Tyke hugged Aina in return until their bodies locked. She seemed helpless as she struggled. Tyke leaned over and kissed her until she gasped for air. Their eyes locked as their body did. She stayed in place even when Tyke unlocked his hold.

I tried doing it with Bry. He was making an inventory of the items that he emptied from his

void pockets. I was hesitant, afraid to fail. Whatever! I gotta try at least. I steadied my breath and gulped nervously. I tried approaching him casually. I pushed away his inventory with gentle nudges and I looked him in the eyes. He also looked in my eyes in confusion. Our eyes locked for a solid minute before he moved to grab my face. I cannot stop every beating organ in my body. I closed my eyes and he took my lips to his. I could feel the warmth of his breath. I could feel my beating organs failing me. I couldn’t hold on to him any longer. Everything went blank in a blink.

When I regained consciousness, I was in Bry’s arms. He was still counting his inventory while Aina and Tyke laughed their lungs out. After a few moments, the tribesmen came back with the food. There was a soup made of lavender with bits of meat. Also, there was layered meat with some lavender in between. Finally, there was juice made of lavender. “It is time for a feast”, La-er motioned to the food. “Our father taught us how to process what we have into edibility. Let us eat.”

After a fragrance-filled meal that was a balance of scent and deliciousness, the tribesmen lent us the house to rest in. The tribesmen stood guard outside, they told us that they did not need rest.

I dreamed of the shard of light falling down to the earth, the beginning of life that spread throughout the open land, the tribespeople claiming territories, the war that broke out as a result and the agreement formed in effect of the casualties. Beyond all that, I could hear a distant cry. It was a different voice from the tribespeople. The voice came closer to me. It looked like the soul of the shard. It sounded like a woman’s voice. She was grieving and glowed faint lavender light. She held my hand and an indigo light shone bright above me. I was suddenly awakened with a strange feeling inside of me.