Bonded Summoner

Davonius slowly creeped through the blighted underbrush with his body covered, working his way to the portal in the distance. He breathed into his Auril dew-filled cloth, knowing that this would keep him protected from the strange unliving creature’s taint. This was the third strange portal to appear here to attack their people, and each time they came they covered more of the forest with their blight.

Davonius would do his best to talk his Chief into attacking it as early as possible, as while they still had resources underground, they still relied on hunting Auril beasts to supplement their food stores. With the blight in the area, the auril beasts moved away in a hurry, making it difficult to hunt them.

As their Shaman, it was his job to advise the Chief to take the best actions for their people, even if his bitch of a daughter did the best she could to get in the way of their people. She showed some taint of their ancestors and appeared to want them to foolishly kill themselves in a blaze of conquest and glory. Vexana claimed that the beastkin of the plateaus would be weak and struggling against these creatures, and now was the time to rise and take over.

But Davonius knew that this was foolish. They were so close to their god’s return as it was foretold, to leave their haven now could risk everything. When they were so close to their return, failure could result in everything they had hoped and suffered injustice for to come crashing down.

They had served their gods, and they had been forced to turn on their brethren, the mammalian and avian beastkin. While many carried the resentment and the deaths of them in their hearts, it was not always by choice; their gods threatening to eat them if they do not carry out their will. But the foretelling appeared to show something similar but very different from what happened in their history.

In one image painted by their foreseers, their gods blanketed the sky and rained death down on the beastkin, and the reptile beastkin cheered and waged war alongside them. In another, they stood side by side and fought alongside the beastkin, while a gold and red dragon led them to victory over an unseen enemy. Davonius knew that there were many possible futures when their foreseers looked to it, but he knew one thing for certain: their gods would return.

He hoped that the second future was what actually happened, because while the beastkin fought and killed many of his people, he felt that they had every right to. The taint brought on by their gods and their greed made their people commit the most heinous acts, destroying families and ending tribes: sometimes even their own.

But not all reptile beastkin were tainted. No, some of them served more benevolent gods, or, well…one might just say that their greed was exceeded by their laziness, or their desire for pleasure. Many of his tribe in particular, and many of the other reptile beastkin tribes remaining underground on Highlands, were the resulting brood of such ancestry. Many had stronger god blood in them than others, like their Chief, or himself.

Davonius put his musing on hold, as he was now nearing the portal. He activated the Auril Manifestation of his people, and his gray Auril covered his body and his auril-dew infused clothing, making him blend in with the bushes and trees as he passed them. His scent was removed, and he was now functionally invisible. While he would normally make for a powerful assassin, the primary purpose he used it for was collecting auril plants to supplement his shamanic profession. Or, like in this case, to scout out the portal.

He finally came to the clearing with the portal moving slowly, ever so slowly. What he saw made him so surprised he nearly dropped his cloth. It was a man, a flying armored woman, that looked somewhat like a bird beastkin but lacked their tail feathers. And a giant monstrosity of an armored warrior that was shaped like a…well, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. But then, he saw, in the clearing to the side lazing in the air, without a care in the world despite being in their dangerous jungle: a woman with clear signs of god blood.

Davonius’s heart began thundering in his chest, his Auril going haywire. No! That wasn’t right. She didn’t merely have the blood of gods in her, she was a Goddess herself! Even the man had something familiar within him, from what Davonius could tell. Perhaps he has some god blood in him, too?

The man then looked directly at Davonius, causing him to stop breathing, freezing in place. Could the man see him? Impossible! His chameleon Auril Manifestation allowed him to dance in front of an Auril Beast’s face, or sneak into the woman’s baths without them noticing!

The man looked away, and gave some orders aloud, preparing to assault the portal. The goddess took out a fan, and covered her face with it. Davonius nearly sighed in relief, but he wouldn’t dare. The goddess appeared to be managing some sort of cooking stove, and Davonius could feel the god’s flames burning within without even being close. He could just feel the flames of his ancestor’s deity burning inside, his heart trying to beat in harmony with it.

Davonius was surprised that the four of them would take on the Portal themselves. While their Chief Vesuvius was able to take on the portal with support, he still needed the help of many warriors to keep himself from succumbing to the blight. But the goddess just lazed in the back, while characteristic of the gods his people specifically worshiped, he felt it strange that such a small group would take on the portal without her aid.

Undead spilled from the red lightning from the portal, and Davonius got to see first hand how vicious that strange giant warrior was. Now that they were in motion, they weaved through the enemies like a giant snake, which reminded him of the Naga that would come ashore on the coasts. The giant maul they wielded smashed skeletons like a giant Auril Beast waving its massive tail infused with Auril, and the other warriors used various flames as they burned the undead filth.

A random skeleton ambled towards the goddess, but she didn’t even look at it before it combust into flames and crumbled into dust before it got near. Davonius knew their gods were powerful, but that was all history. Their gods had not been seen for a thousand years, tales of their strength and power only passed on from shaman to shaman and father to son, mother to daughter. But seeing was believing.

Davonius was sure of it now: the gods had returned! His Auril Heart beat a new song heralding their glory, just from witnessing the power of her flames! He must tell his people, his Chief! He slowly backed away, and ran off towards their cavern as fast as his Auril Manifestation would allow. Davonius was so excited, that he missed that the goddess in question turned and watched him with a knowing smile on her face. She then hid the smile behind her fan once again and monitored her alchemy concoctions, and the fighting of her allies.

After a few minutes, he made it to their cave, easily wheeling the rock that covered it away and replacing it. They kept their cave hidden, to keep their people hidden for a thousand years. They would only exit to hunt under cover of night, Davonius staying out to gather his herbs to return during the day. He had to trek out much further now, the nearby plants blighted.

This was not a problem for his people, though. There were plenty of resources for them underground. The underground caverns spanned the continent, with underground rivers and lakes connecting, their people tunneled through the mountains. While beastkin survived above, his reptile beastkin people make due below, waiting for their inevitable god’s return.

He moved through the compound, eventually arriving at the far end of it, where his Chief’s home resided. He entered the Chief’s chamber after knocking as it was proper, the Chief lazily grunting acceptance to his entry. “Who is that, Davonius? Isn’t it still daytime?”

Their people often reversed their sleeping schedule, becoming nocturnal. It made it easier to achieve more above ground, if they were awake during the night.

“Chief! The most amazingly, remarkable thing has happened! You must come right away!”

Davonius finished entering the chambers after his exclamation, and caught sight of his chief lying on his large bed. For once, it was empty, except for himself. Davonius realized that his many mates must already be up. His Chief Vesuvius was a monster of a reptile beastkin, a lava monitor, a result of his ancestors intermingling with the gods. While most beastkin only showed a few traits of the creature or animal of their parentage, those with ancestors that intermingled with the gods many years ago would show much more of those traits.

Vesuvius’s face was more of a muzzle shape like a lizard’s, with no hair on his head. He had red and orange scales covering his entire body.

“Didn’t I say it’s still daytime? I still haven't had my first cup of grokk…”

Davonius grimaced. Vesuvius was never in a good mood before that, his hangover still not purged by his auril. Still, the news was just too important. “Chieftain, but they’re here! The gods have returned! I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”

“Wha? Hang on. This better be good, or we might just need a new shaman.” The Chief growled.

Vesuvius’s red Auril flared, and the heat in the room began to rise. An Auri Hero, his Chief’s Auril dwarfed his own. But similar to some auril beasts, the Chief’s auril took much longer to stir and build up. It was what allowed him to fight at incredible strength for his people, though after seeing the goddess and her party, he wasn’t sure if his Chief could match any of them. They were just too different.

The room was now balmy, and Davonius began to sweat. His own heart stirred, and it was as though he could feel the song of awakening from Vesuvius–a song of angry awakening.

His Chieftain’s eyes narrowed, “Now, what was it, Davonius?”

“This morning, a new portal appeared–”

Vesuvius’ hand slammed into the wall. “Just a portal! Those take time to have anything that matters happen. You could have woken me later!”

“Chief! Please, let me continue. I was trying to gauge the threat level of the portal, when a small group of non-beastkin got ready to clear the threat. But among them: one of our gods! Our gods have returned!”

His Chief looked at him in disbelief, then appeared to be trying to gauge something that Davonius didn’t know. Davonius met his gaze, his beady chameleon eyes meeting Vesuvius for an awkward moment.

“You sure you weren’t smoking that pipe of yours again?”

Davonius blushed, his green skin becoming pink, ashamed that this just one event ruined his credibility. It was just one time, that he knows about! “No, Chief! They are really there! If you hurry, you might be able to see them!”

“But it’s during the day, we could be spotted! You said it was just one? That’s nothing like our murals. What did they look like?”

Davonius needed no effort to remember the features of the Goddess he saw. “Her beauty transcended imagination, her visage burned into my very soul. She had golden wings and a tail, with magnificent horns atop her head, with hair the color of night. When she used her flames, it was like the greatest Auril Hero had descended, only even greater. She floated with no effort, not even flapping her wings! She lazed in the air, doing some odd cooking in some contraption while her allies fought the undead.”

His Chief’s look of doubt increased, “Hair? You mean this goddess looked like a reptile beastkin, but with the features of our gods?”

“I know it sounds strange, but my Auril Heart stirred! When she used her flames, my heart sang. There’s no doubt about it. It was a god in the flesh. Come, quickly! We must meet with them. Their party appeared to be strong, but they were facing the spawned creatures. We should still gather the warriors, to be safe. If we hurry, we might arrive before they finish the portal.”

“Alright. You said small group? How small?”

“There were only three of them fighting, the fourth being the lazing goddess.”

“What did they–”

They were interrupted by a yell, “Chief! Come quick! There are invaders!”

Davonius spoke, “What!? Impossible! I was using my Auril Manifestation, and I even rolled back the rock!”

The Chief merely growled as he grabbed his glaive from the wall mount. The two head out the door, the Chief only wearing his loincloth. His scaled body would become as tough as armor, and he would gradually become both larger and hotter, especially as his auril built up. Davonius felt that this was already happening, the song of Vesuvius’ heart singing the song of battle.

When they reached the main cavern where their people congregated that had a path that led to the outside, they saw many gathered, a few kneeling, many preparing to fight. Others hid or otherwise just talked about what they were seeing.

Davonius would not blame some of their people for being unable to recognize the goddess. She had the features, but their murals had their gods looking more like reptile creatures rather than having the features of a beastkin.

The goddess, the winged woman, and the man were just floating, almost as if they were standing on air, with the giant snake warrior standing tall next to them, at the same height.

The man spoke, “Greetings, I am Champion Jake of the Goddess, Hestia. We mean you no harm, and would like to meet with your leaders.”

Hestia? Is that the Goddess next to him? What a glorious name!

Vesuvius spoke, his voice rumbling in challenge, “I am the Chief of the Tribe of the Sleeping God. For what purpose have you come here?”

Davonius was a little bothered with his tone. They were almost antagonistic, but he was talking to a goddess and her entourage!

The man was about to speak, but he was interrupted by the snake warrior moving forward to begin speaking.

“Your gods have returned, just in time to help you face a massive threat! The portals threaten your world, so you must unite and face them. Behold, the Goddess Fhesiah!” She gestured to the goddess.

The goddess herself looked surprised for just a mere instant, but then she looked quite pleased with herself. She raised herself higher into the air, and with a flourish, brought out a large fan from somewhere and took on an air of nobility.

She waved a small flame into existence with her fan, and the flame stood in the middle of the cavern. It was just a tiny thing, but Davonius felt like this flame held the power of a hundred bonfires, that if it touched anything, even their Chief, he would be incinerated in but an instant.

Davonius heartbeat changed to a different tune, and he could tell that all the beastkin people were moved. The man too did something, releasing an aura of flames that matched the woman, a fiery veil floating over his people.

When this aura reached Davonius, his gray Auril immediately changed, to have flecks of red in it. Just what was this? The powers of the Goddess and her entourage? The Chief himself was bewildered.

The woman spoke, “I have returned, and I desire your help. A vast evil, a taint, has entered this world and is attacking all beastkin. I have brought you a new power called [The Framework]. All those that join will become immortal, able to fight and die for me, but rise up from the grave to continue the great fight. It will grant you power beyond your imagination, while protecting your families from this great evil.

It comes with an opportunity. Should you fight together against this evil, the world will once again be yours. You can continue to live here, or you can come to the surface and live among the beastkin once again.”

It was the Chief’s foolish daughter, Vexana, who spoke in response, making her presence known by standing on top of a large table.

“There’s no way that they will welcome us once again! What do you take us for, fools? We have hidden for a thousand years because the beastkin won’t allow us ‘betrayers’ to rejoin them, and you are no goddess! I don’t know what that tiny flame is, but you are just an oversized reptile beastkin with the blood of gods!”

A large lizard beastkin man stood and strode forward, and flared his Auril, showing it to be at the Auril Hero level. It was somewhat red but more of a green, as this man also had the blood of the gods in him, like the Chief.

The man was like Vexana, with a slight amount of black taking over his auril; the man slightly tainted. The stupid girl must have been whispering stories of greatness, for him to eventually overthrow Vesuvius; how laughable. He flared his auril as if to challenge the flickering flame of the goddess.

The goddess spoke again, “I am a direct descendant of a Dragon, and my flame is my proof. I thought this small flame might be enough to prove it to you, but it was not meant to be a threat.“

She gestured at the flame, and the tiny flickering light that Davonius knew in his thundering heart was a flame of their gods, grew to a giant orb of flame. It was like the glimmering sun in the sky in the world above, brightening their large cavern as if it were, and the power and heat it was giving off made him want to kneel in obeisance.

The goddess wielded the power to change reality, just like the breath of their gods in the ancient texts. Davonius’ heart sang a song of glory and righteousness, as his body was overwhelmed with happiness. She was really here!

How could that girl still doubt it? The man of hers seemed to realize this, and he kneeled to their Goddess’ power, much to the stupid girl’s dismay. His taint was still very little, likely to disappear given enough time. It was only when their auril was completely tainted that there was no going back, according to their records. Once Vexana gave up her illusions of grandeur, her taint would disappear in time as well. The orb of flame then went back to the small flickering flame.

“But your words are incorrect; your knowledge flawed. There are already reptile beastkin living in the towns and villages of the beastkin already; there is even a turtle beastkin as an elder. In addition, you know of the beastkin custom: Right of Conquest? If you aid in this war against the evil taint from the portals, you must be granted land or compensated fairly, or there will be a reckoning. You know this, yes? Right now, there is a city taken by the evil taint within less than a day’s travel from here. Help me take it back from them, and: you can live there among the beastkin.”

If this was true, their people could finally live among their beastkin brethren, just like the old days, before their gods ripped their tribes apart with their greed. Their tribe’s god was more of the lazy type, sleeping through most of the conflict. But eventually, they got up and left without but a word to them. They disappeared, and there were no longer any gods to be found. Their people went into hiding, their foreseers looking into the future for when their gods would return.

Davonius looked over to his Chief, Vesuvius. He, too, could feel the goddess’s flame, and he had tears in his eyes. His Auril was flaring, and Davonius could tell that he was both excited, but afraid for his people. They had lost much worshiping and following their gods, but their people found great happiness and pleasure in their servitude.

While many in their tribe came from the sleeping god’s tribe, they had also met up with many others over the years through the underground caverns. Their faith had been tested and stretched to their utter limits. Their numbers swelled over the years, but Vesuvius was now responsible for several tribes. It was a lot of weight on his shoulders.

The goddess spoke once again, “We will fight alongside your people, but only those that join [The Framework], being immortalized, can join us in the fight. How about it? Will you serve me, as you fight and take back your rightful spot alongside your beastkin brethren? Or will you continue to hide?”

The armored man took out a large prism, or obelisk? Looking thing, then walked down an invisible staircase to reach Vesuvius, where he held it out to him. Davonius looked at the man, and found him lacking any beastkin features. The man had a look of concern on his face, and Davonius could truly feel that this man cared deeply for his people.

Davonius’ auril stirred as his heart beat with fervor, and he felt like he was looking at a reliable brother that would always come to his aid when called. He radiated power and vitality, and Davonius could feel in his very soul that he was special, that he had something in him that made him more, much closer to the feeling he got from the Goddess herself. Looking at the snake warrior, he got a similar feeling, but not quite there.

He spoke to him, “I’m currently an elder of Kenwodi. Whether you fight against the evil outside or not, you and your people are welcome to visit. It’s a ways away, though. I’ll make sure you’re welcome, one way or another. Still, the beastkin can use all the help they can get. I don’t know all of what your people have gone through, but I’m sure we can find a path forward.”

Vesuvius looked a little moved at the gesture. He said, “They truly need our help?”

Jake sighed, and Davonius could tell he was filled with regret. “Nearly one in every five beastkin on Highlands is already dead. This evil is great, and they are disrupting the world’s balance. Your people are strong. Things are not looking good for all the people of Highlands. It’s time to unite and take back your world and restore the balance, for everyone.”

His Chief stood there in thought, staring at the strange stone, and he looked over at their mural. But the crowd started to chant.

“The Gods have returned!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Take back our lands!”

“I want my child to see the sun!”

“The rest of the beastkin need our help!”

The Chief looked at all his people, and saw that there was consensus, that his people wanted to fight for the Goddess. He said, “We’ll fight! We’ll take back our lands from this evil, and we will rejoin our brethren fighting alongside our gods! We waited for our gods to return, and now they are here!”

The man then took the prism back and put it on the ground, and a light emanated from it. For the first time in centuries, their people would fight alongside their brethren, and have a benevolent, beautiful goddess to serve!