The Thousand Verse: Fade

The Lumma Rise

Chill was the air. The purple clouds floated amidst the blackened sky. Many clicking Log beetles clattered on the muddy earth. They scattered before the trampling hooves. The hornless children of deer-like people excitedly chased. They cheered to the frantic clicking.

Maza, herself, towered the tall, dark yellow grass nearby. Her black snout fumed out puffs of purple. Wrinkled Crows-feet branched from the sides of her eyes. Maza's orangish eyes squinted. Arms crossed and a hoof tapping. Angrily she bellowed, "Kasirah! Garina! Get back here!"

They stopped and looked at the onyx-colored(dark grey with small, white splashes), slender horns of their mother. It was lowered. And then the children saw the rest of her. They bolted towards her. The slapping of the tall grass echoed.

Maza snatched Garina first. And then lifted little Kasirah. "I didn't want you two to run off like that," she scolded, "Especially you, Garina. I'm disappointed. You are supposed to set an example to Kasirah."

Garina wanted to cry then. Her head lowered in shame. But Maza says, "please look at the horizon."

The blackened sky started to retreat. The pinkish glow the Lumma rising drew their attention. The clouds burned more reddish as the Lumma rises. The star peeked over the brown mountain top. The grass glowed in golden radiance. Clicking ceased. The sky burned in a pink intensity. Kasirah's orange eyes shined. The olive fur silhouetted around it.

Suddenly, Garina shouted, "Mom! What's that!"

Maza looked around and spotted something falling from the clouds. "I...I don't know."

They stared. Only Maza realized that it's headed their way. She grabbed her children and lifted them. Maza then frantically ran off.

"Momma!" Garina clutched harder as a yellow light bathed them.

Maza huffed. Then she closed her eyes. The burning light flew past. A booming echo followed it. Her children cried. But Maza could only focus on running.

The uproar of the impact threw dirt around them. Maza fell on Kasirah. The cloud of dust smothered them all...

Until a faint blue light came. Maza looked up but couldn't tell who. She saw the dust parted around them. The children cried in pain as Maza tried to raise up. A hand lifted her. A soothing aura emulated from the person.

"Can you stand," Says the cold female voice.

Maza nodded. And the stranger waited as her robe flapped. The brown dust settled.

"Good. For Death comes for him."

Maza looked confused. The short being ran towards the burning light. A monstrosity of scale and bone reared itself out of the ground. It was then, Maza saw the stranger leaped. The blue glow reformed itself into a mace in her hands. The creature opened its maw. The teeth bared.

The mace collided with the mouth of the beast. The monster's jaw ripped apart from the impact. It howlered in pain.

"For my Patriarch! For my mother! Ba! Lo! Re!" The strange lady caved the skull inwards. "For the honor...of my sister." She sulked as the blood flowed around her.

Maza and her children quietly witnessed. A cloud of blackened smoke revealed from her grey robe. The slumped lady turned to them. "Sorry for...," she started.

Maza released her children. She bowed. "No. Thank you, Lady Alto."

Alto smiled. But she realized that someone else is around. The smile turned to dissatisfaction. She gazed behind the three. "Someone has arrived. A dark familiar being of which haunts thee," she whispered.

An another robed person stared at her. Dark tome in hand, staff in another.

Alto stares. "No. This couldn't be my lost sister..."