PLANET ALPHA ....
Wailing mists roiled.
The ground was obscured by ominous black clouds.
Hundreds of birds whistled, singing like a tone-deaf choir, as they flew above.
A bloody red Sun rose from the east.
And trees as tall as the sky and as thick as mountains seemed to moan in protest.
Observing all of this was a lone figure standing atop a large precipice. This figure seemed to blend in with the thick purple grass growing on the ledge, so much so that they were almost indivisible from it.
His green-purple eyes shone as he stared gazed intensely at the sky.
"The world is excited, something is coming ...but what is it….I wonder. " the figure muttered to himself.
The figure perched there quietly, staring at the valley below, not moving a single muscle for hours. Creatures with the bodies of snails and the heads of butterflies landed on his narrow shoulders collectively, but still he didn't stir. He continued staring at the sky, waiting for something. He didn't move until a loud horn blew out from the other side of the valley.
"PEEW HEEE, PEEEEW HEE."
The figure abruptly stood up, the strange creatures flying off of him in a flurry of mottled wings. He glanced at the sky again, and sighed before he then proceeded to leap from the cliff ledge without hesitation, diving into the roiling black mists below.
As he disappeared into the black mists an opening appeared in the clouds above...
"King you are here." said a Woman, she had a set of rather large breasts that weren't hidden by her outfit of mosses and furs, her hair was a purple-green shade. She bowed so low that her head almost reached her bare feet as the figure from before emerged from the black mists, climbing onto another mountain ledge.
"You were waiting for me?" He asked in a deep monotonous voice. "Why?"
"The annual meeting of Tribe leaders is starting soon, I'm sure you heard the horn, I am here to escort the King of all tribes there."
"I need no escort." He replied gruffly.
"I was gifted to you by the head of the Okakala tribe sir."
"I take no gifts or favours from no one. Go back to your tribe head and tell her that if she wants my favouritism she should bring me someone of use."
The Woman's tanned face went pale but she didn't move from her position but continued bowing until the King had walked off.
"He really only cares for strength, he does not even bat an eye at a chance to mate, The King is truly a peculiar one." the woman muttered to herself, her rather large purple eyes watching the disappearing figure of the King.
The King nimbly travelled across the rocky plain, a single footstep taking him 1 meter, rather than walking he was more like an agile gazelle galloping ahead. Eventually the rocky terrain transformed into a wilderness. The flora and fauna had vibrant colours of purple, red and yellow that gave the forest an almost hypnotising appeal. Hypnotising until you looked closer at the trees and plants and saw the venomous creatures that lay camouflaged within them.
If someone with entomophobia were to wander into this forest and see the 10 meter long and 5 meter thick centipedes that were wrapped around every other tree, they'd likely die of a heart attack. However, to the King these demonic beasts caused no issue, everywhere he passed they'd either hide quaking in fear or respectfully lower their heads in his presence. He did not offer them even a glance as he swung from the vines and hopped from branches. His bare body was weather worn and covered in a layer of dirt, with his only clothing being the leaves and furs around his torso, he seemed as much of a beast of the wilderness. A king of beasts.
Emerging from the edge of the forest he smiled slightly at the sight of a rather large village, the blood red sun bouncing on his face and illuminating his sharpened teeth as he grinned made for quite a demonic sight.
There were huts that seemed to go on for miles upon miles, and in the centre was a rather large tent. It was bigger than most stadiums and seemed to be built entirely out of wood and beast skins
Inside this tent many figures sat, they all had similar traits of purple or green eyes.
Some sat with servants being fanned and fed. Some had the carcasses of grotesque creatures draped other their shoulders like ceremonial headdresses to show off their wealth. Others had large weapons strapped to their thighs and imposing glares that could kill a faint-hearted fellow. It was obvious that these people were strong warriors.
Yet these men and women weren't the scary ones, the people at the centre of the hall that sat separate from them were the true powerhouses. In their presence every person in the hall dared not to speak. They were the Elders.
"How long must we wait!!" Boomed the voice of one of the old men at the centre. He had a long white beard that was braided and reached all the way down to his pelvis, the untamed hair on his head was a pale green.
"Calm down Alindor, you've always been so impatient." Cackled an old woman, her hair a bright purple, her figure extremely curvaceous, yet her face was haggard and wrinkled.
"You tell me to calm down Minerva" Alindor grunted, "This young King has kept us waiting for far too long, and you expect me to be calm in the face of this disrespect."
"I apologise for the wait." echoed a deep voice through the hall, causing thousands of eyes to swivel towards the seat directly opposite Alindor.
Alindor's eyes twitched, he didn't even sense the child sit down, slightly embarrassed he pursed his lips and went silent.
"Let us begin the meeting." A man next to Alindor proclaimed, this man was extremely mysterious, wrapped in skins and furs from head to toe. His entire body hidden, as he spoke the hall seemed to shake causing dust to scatter. He was the Ancestor.
"This year marks the 400,000th red moon of Alpha, this is the 400,000th anniversary of the time our Predecessors settled here and separated themselves from the barbarians in space. This is the 400,000th turn of our glory." The Ancestor spoke quietly but everyone could hear his voice in their heads. At his words the many powerful warriors in the hall cheered outrageously with wanton patriotism. Even the Elders at the centre let out a roar, clapped their hands together or nodded. Only the young King didn't.
Noticing this the Ancestor knocked his wooden staff on the floor, the loud thump immediately quietened the masses.
"Do you not celebrate the glory... Marco?"
Marco was the King's true name, but only the Ancestor had the qualifications to call him as such.
"I celebrate but I don't agree with the wording." he replied in a bored tone.
"The wording? Elaborate."
Marco glanced at the Ancestor hidden in his furs and skins, then he glanced slowly at the large crowd. "I simply don't think we should be calling cowardice glory, that is all."
There was a deathly silence.
"What did you just say brat!!!" yelled Alindor, he practically erupted, veins throbbing on his face. He was about to leap out of his seat and attack Marco but he was prevented from doing so when the Ancestor placed his staff in front of him.
"Calm down Alindor...you do not have the right to fight the King." Hearing these words Alindor roared but that slowly turned into an obedient whimper as he sat back in his seat.
"Elaborate." The Ancestor said slowly.
"Like most of us I do not know where our predecessors hail from, nor do I know why they settled here and decided to seclude themselves, sealing this planet so that none could enter but also none could leave. What I do know is that hiding from one's enemies is not an act of the strong but the actions of the weak. Our Predecessors were cowards, this is not glory, we're all living in a glorified prison. As the years go on more teachings from the past are lost, this generation is the weakest there has ever been, so much so that you can call a youth like me a King."
"Blasphemy!" yelled Minerva this time, she seemed barely able to hold in her outrage. "A mere 18 turns old child, what would you know about how the past was, or if we've become weaker. How dare you think that you can judge… Just because you were blessed with a power that makes even the ancient creatures obey you, just because you have the right to be called King and become the next Ancestor does not give you the-the-the right!!!" The old woman was heaving, her chest going up and down, spittle flying as she spoke.
"Are you done?" Marco asked calmly
"What?"
"So you are done, that's good. Now let me answer you. I know nothing of the past but I have been told by the ancient creatures of our planet. Even the Ancestor should know about this. We are weak. We pride ourselves on our strength but out there, out there in the Endless plains of space we are weaklings amongst Gods. Our predecessors had powers beyond anything we could ever fathom yet they never passed this on. For 400,000 turns we have been growing weaker, for 400,000 turns the barrier around our planet has protected us, yet will that last forever? As we speak it is weakening, soon the barrier will break. Then what will we do? We won't have the strength to fight invaders. Perhaps the predecessors thought they were saving us from a great evil but all they did was leave us like lambs to the slaughter. So I have every right to say that this is cowardice and not glory we celebrate."
Silence... everyone in the hall held their breaths, such words had never been uttered before but there was an unspeakable truth behind them which could not be ignored. Especially as the Ancestor himself did not deny these statements.
"I guess this brings us to the reason this meeting was called." The Ancestor sighed. "The barrier is in fact weakening, although I have asked the ancient beasts to do what they can, very soon the field that separates us from the rest of the Universe will lift. The beasts reassure me that the fog around the planet will remain for many millions of turns, so even when the barrier lifts outsiders will not be able to find us, howe-
"However if something stumbled across us by accident we would be helpless." Marco interrupted.
The Ancestor sighed again and helplessly nodded.