Ether held Orako's face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over his cheeks. It was the hour before forces would depart to aid Volknair. Emotions were heavy, but trust was even heavier.
He knew he raised Orako properly. With Decka's help, they taught him how to combat properly and even led Wild Hunts by Kellenas' side. And each hunt was the same result:
Orako never failed to impress his peers. And today would be the test that would determine if he was truly capable of being more than just a Feral worker.
Because beneath the visage of a wild creature with keen predatory skills, Orako wanted to be different from other Scalers and Ferals within the Legion. He wanted to be a creator of his own Code.
The name or the direction he wanted to focus it in was not clear, but in time, he would figure that out. For now, all he could think about is his ability to face down the foreign threats and take them down.
Pearl opened the door, then stepped aside to let the sun glare through. She and Orako made eye contact, ensuring he understood what that meant.
Before he stood up, he turned to look at Ether. Then he gave him a single, firm nod. Assuring his Neddy of his return sometime in the future.
Orako got up, then turned to face baby Azir and young Etherna. He waved at them. And with their scared expressions, they waved back.
With that, he stepped out of their home. The feeling of incoming spring lingered in the air as pollen flowed freely, giving everything the scent of sweet flowers and fresh dew.
Decka waited outside, arms crossed and shield on his back. He lifted an aged arm in the direction of Krugi's outskirts, a command of where to go.
Then Orako took off sprinting, not wanting to be late for his first defense. Variants watched as he darted across the busy streets. Leaping over crowds of Variants and using buildings as walkways.
He arrived to the meeting point in four short minutes, showing off the true speed of a Scaler. Warriors covered their heads with their helmets, which clicked in place.
An elite, Valentine, stood in the front. Knuckles planted on his hips and head high. Trying his best to pretend to be watching them get ready.
"Valentine, right?" Orako's heart began to beat faster. "Where do you want me?"
Upon hearing his name, he turned his head in their direction. "Mount a beast with three or less other warriors on it."
Orako kept his eyes on Valentine, studying his chin as he looked way over him. After a few short seconds of bracing for the journey, he dragged his feet over the wet grass and trembled flowers.
Three warriors checked over their equipment while on the back of a Mountain Ascent Sky Beast. The white, puffy wings of the creature buried their laps and weapons.
"Is someone else going to take the fourth seat?" Orako called out to the group.
"No, come up," one replied. "You're that adopted son the leader has, aren't you?"
The beast lowered its wings to let the new passenger on board, only for Orako to simply hop on its back. He nearly slipped off, but managed to find a solid hold on the creature's feathers.
"Yeah, my name's Orako Coros. Back then, it was Orako Volkivostasvhim," Orako replied. He pulled himself into a secure spot, then extracted his claws. "Let's see what I can do out here."
"So I've had a question for some time. Since male Ferals and female Ferals often have a different approach to their survival, what makes male Scalers different from females?" another warrior asked.
Orako pointed at his wrist. "When provoked, females can cause these sharp bones to erupt out of their bodies. It takes a long time to regrow them, but they can do it, and it doesn't hurt at all."
Valentine began giving thumbs up to flyers, causing beasts to burst off the ground and pierce the skies. All four warriors that rested on this beast went silent, waiting for their order.
When the Sky Beast in front of them took off and Valentine gave another thumbs up, Orako's beast did the same as the others. It darted across the skies as fast as it could.
Intense winds whistled in their ears. Trying to stay on the back of a Mountain Ascent beast was difficult due to it having smoother feathers than its Storm Chaser counterpart.
"Hey, Orako! Here's some advice. When in the middle of a conflict, never let negative emotions dictate you. Because in that moment of weakness, anything can happen!" a warrior called out.
The world underneath continued to shrink gradually as they increased in altitude. But this time there was a twist. Everything below got blurry, marking the beast's max speed.
Each rider held on tight to everything they owned, resisting against the rapid pace this creature brought. Orako began to wonder if this was a mutation because it went by quicker than normal.
In an hour, the beasts further ahead broke through clouds and descended onto the conflict below. Cannon fire echoed throughout the open sea and explosions caused the entire shore to shake.
Cemtrin roared in utter fury as they faced off against Sarorin, creatures they never seen before. Their masters tried their hardest to devise an effective strategy against these charging behemoths.
When Orako's beast broke into the picture, all four of them looked down in awe. Something about seeing a city going up in flames and crumbling like the other shoreline towns felt strange.
It was like waking up in a dream where everything went wrong. But that's why they were there. To correct that wrong and help push back against the Yarnin Variants.
Their Sky Beast began to glide over the conflict, getting closer and closer to the mayhem until they were practically a short jump away.
"Go! Jump off and begin attacking!" the warrior up front called out.
As requested, they all leapt off the side of the beast. Landing onto the ashy ground, crispy blades of grass crunched beneath their weight.
Upon landing, Orako realized they caught something's attention. A Sarorin growled like a predator, lowering its horn and getting ready to charge.
He turned to his men and yelled. "RUN!"