Etafázo wavered. It was too soon to waver. The hideous hex haunting him halted all hope of control. Indeed, his power, shining more sombre than it had ever showed itself, seemed to silently smile at the bone-crushed bawling bodies. It wanted more. Or rather it wanted all. It was too soon to transgress the threshold, he had to hold it, hold it, and unleash it before the holy. They had to hurry and seek and find. Seek and find.
It had been an hour since the tents met, and people had started to resume their daily hustle. The slender-legged giants which had been so proficient in battle went into small cabins to rest.
They too had a pear-shaped centrepiece as their body which was covered in small spikes, but they paled in comparison to the great multitude of tusks which ornated their faces. Just like the spikes, their body was minuscule when compared to the ten oversized limbs which were connected to it. Four sharp, single-toed legs, and two clawed spear-like arms covered in a metal gauntlet which skewered and grabbed any enemy. Etafázo had overheard the Brachy calling them the Pferi when commanding in battle. The only reason Nepo was overpowered by the Lontra must have been because of their overwhelming numbers, as the infantry which was the Pferi could easily take down any single target.
Alongside them stood the Ducta, which were the shields of the city. Their carapace was round the bottom but had three sharper edges at the top, allowing for the Pferi to stab enemies while staying safe behind the Ducta. Their shells were reinforced with iron plating.
Sidiro had arrived to see the group one last time.
"Hello, Etafázo." He took a glance at the blade. "You lost your glow, be careful with your power, don't use it all at once."
Nomu interrupted.
"Sidiro, why is there no poda here? It would be very useful."
"Are you kidding me? It has been a long time since we diverged from Pasmathe's practices. We value the dead here. Live a warrior, die a warrior, we bury them in the sands. Besides, we are nomads, so we constantly discover new resources. There is no shortage of metal, dyes, or textiles here."
The two friends with segmented shells looked down in shame, as they knew they were the ones who engaged in those practices.
"Well, that would be one of the reasons why we left"
A brachy approached the people.
"You must leave." They had achieved their verdict.
Adei's grip on her weapon tensed, but she seemed poised to discover new horizons. The blade noticed that his master's thirst for novelty was uncanny.
"Very well," answered Etafázo, "we shall be taking our departure shortly."
Katala took Adei and Nomu by the arm to discuss aside.
"Élen is getting worse and worse, we need to rush to Nerei now" She was silently crying, but nobody had noticed, the orchestra of tears and sorrow in her eyes resembled black opal. She had even lost her speech habits.
"I know, little one" Nomu coughed a few times. "that's our only solace."
"You need it too, warrior, you seem to be suffering from your injury…"noticed Etafázo.
Nomu sighed.
"Ah, I remember my youthful years, a blow like that would have been a mere tickle… my wound does not come from injury, it is time that chips away at this shell. I am almost at my 25th year of age… most Pasmathans would be dead by now."
Etafázo was surprised, as he knew Adei was 15 years old and had just become an adult.
And before they could linger any longer on such matters, they left as they had arrived: like thieves. There were no cheers, they were no smiles. Many Neponians had lost their family because of Adei, and now they braced for what would come. They braced for the inevitable death that would ensue if Adei were to fail in her quest.
They went to the north-east, towards pointed giants which obscured the adventures that awaited beyond. Etafázo observed. Now that he was finally neither sheathed nor busy, he observed. As the travellers slowly moved away from the tents, the stench of the putrefied piles of friends and foes fleeted into the distance, leaving room for a strangely familiar aroma from the red organisms which covered the floor as they approached the mountains.
They were small, prickly to the touch, and their smell resembled Nepo's tents. It was surely the dye they used to make the colour. It was as if the mountain was bleeding. Streams of red flora were flooding down, and so, like following a river back to the nearest city, they followed the streams of plants to the mountain.
This was magical for the travellers, as it was the first time they saw natural vibrant colour in the scenery. They took a pause. As Katala sat down with Élen in his bag. Adei rolled around in the plants and attached a few of them to her belt. She was giggling, which was strangely audible, unlike when she spoke. Nomu didn't move, as he was scared that if he sat down, he would never stand up again, simply lost in the peace of novelty, and perfectly satisfied with dying here. But he held on. He wasn't sure why, maybe because he wanted to please Adei, maybe some higher power wanted him to stay, maybe he wished he could be remembered as someone who died in combat.
Katala screamed. Something had made a sound in Élen's bag. It sounded nothing like him. Adei used her echolocation, and approached carefully, sword in hand. She pulled the top of the bag off with the tip of it.
Two black eyes emerged. And it's ten struggling limbs broke free from the fabric.
"It's like a Drata!" said Katala. "Were being spied!"
The creature sighed "Alright, alright, you guys got me. Why do you all have your weapons up? Gosh, you guys are soooo dramatic! Are we far enough from Nepo? Then at least you guys can't send me back."
"Name yourself" it was Etafázo
"Jeez Louise! I'm Ocy, alright? Have you guys… already forgotten me?"
"Oh! It's you dear!" Katala had a burst of relief. "We though you could come from another city, since you're red"
And in fact, the little scout had taken the colour of its surroundings, and was gradually becoming completely red.
"Yup, no matter what, we are invisible. Maybe if you guys let me be the only Drata on the team I will at least not be ignored." Nobody dared to interrupt him. "Live a warrior, die a warrior? Well apparently, we aren't Neponian, because every day, at least ten of us perish crushed because we were stepped on by our own people. Live a stranger, die a stranger, that's our only truth, I'm telling you guys."
Adei walked up, picked the creature and kissed it on the forehead.
"Well, if I know anything about my master, she's saying welcome." The sword had spoken.
The little spy took a much redder appearance, even though it was now on black and white ground. Considering the fact that Adei had now killed many foes, Etafázo was relieved to see she still held compassion as one of her values. It was as if she was made for this.
Ocy hopped down.
"Thank you, you guys" He mumbled, not daring to look into their eyes. "I will lead you to Nerei."
For the first time, the travel was filled with powerful emotions. Though each individual member had their own strife which tormented their minds, their solidarity overcame that; fighting against the world which writhed around their neck with a peacefulness imbued with sedition. Maybe it was dawn after all. As they kept marching forwards, the landscape kept populating itself with iridescent colours. Red went to blue, blue went to green, and soon the blank canva which were the wastelands of the sister tribes was replaced with an impressionist piece from the greatest of artisans.
Indeed, large rock-like plants which displayed the entire gamut of colours available to the eyes could be found in high amounts in the area. They took a multitude of different shapes: round, long, spiked, flat, or branched. It seemed that anything was possible for those architectural wonders. After them came tall green plants that arrived at the waist. They were scarce, but they had dozens of small branches which extended everywhere to become a soft green ball. But caution was necessary when touching them, any small animal could hide in the inside. In fact, it was that way that the first animals were sighted. Small translucent species exuded from the bushes: worms which fleeted back to the ground, which, for once, wasn't sand. It was a much harder material which was only made bearable because of all the small soft plants which grew on it. Light hat-shaped organisms floated up into the air, gliding slowly down as if it lived in another world, a world where all could fly. They lingered, dropped, and rose again, before setting on some random location, where they would unravel their little legs and scuttle away to the nearest bush. A question appeared in Etafázo's mind: What are they running from?
Before he could even share that thought, dark bags covered the group, and they lost all senses. The sword had seen everything. Dark silent creatures had knocked his allies out, and then carried them away. The abductors peered upon the blade and picked it up. He could not react, otherwise he would be destroyed. He decided to shut down for now in fear of being detected.