Post by Ferobbcious Beast on Feb 27, 2019 22:41:56 GMT
Up in Colossus’ North, the morning hours were still dark. Only a slight hint of sunlight, that drew pale colors in the partially clouded skies, could be seen. It would rise no further; at this time of the year, in this part of the world, little to no sunlight ever appeared. That did not prevent the Colossians of Kollagskar from going about their day, however. They were used to the polar nights of their home.
At this time, most of them were already tending to their ordinary occupations in the village; the first to be awake and already at work were, of course, the local chieftains.
The male, called Nor, wandered around the settlement to make sure his people’s needs were met. The female, known as Usken, was conversing with the hunters who took care of the village’s provisions. She was just about to leave to check out their traps, to see if they had captured anything.
Of course, they had not left each other’s side without sharing tender nuzzles and good wishes first.
Nor longed to go hunting with his mate. He loved to hook his arm around hers and walk alongside her; it not only allowed them to be close, but it also served to guide Usken around. She was normally quite fine traveling on her own, but when Nor steered her, she could focus more on the moment and the hunt and less on finding her way. He trusted Usken, but ever since the arbalist had accidentally stepped on that bear trap years ago, Nor felt more protective of her. The chieftain still felt bad when he saw her hobbling walk, no matter how many times the blind ranger reassured him. He could have prevented it. He should have prevented it.
He and Usken had never truly met - they had always known each other. From their youngest age to the present day, the two had shared their life together. It had only been when they reached adulthood that their feelings had blossomed into feelings of love. Now they were together, and their daughters were among the best fishers to be found in the village.
Nor passed by the two local blacksmiths, two intimidating giants that had perhaps the softest hearts in the village. As they had a lot of work to do, they chose to start early. While they worked, the smiths occasionally raised their head to check on their cubs, the two of which were tending to their own duties in the village.
Their son, Kovrald, who was in charge of the village’s defenses, stood in front of a band of warriors, pointing towards certain traits of his trusty wooden shield and explaining what they were useful for. He was interrupted by a curious cub poking the fur of his leg to appreciate the texture of the dark pelt there. The little paw completely disappeared among the thick pelt. Craning his neck to look over his shield and see who or what was behind those few exploratory pats, Kovrald smiled and leaned down, temporarily pausing his lesson to scratch the cub behind the ears. Colossians of black fur, or, at least, of nearly black fur as in his case, were quite rare here in Colossus’ very North. It attracted the attention of curious cubs; they seemed to expect his pelt to be of a different feel than the other Colossians’ coat.
Their daughter, Skovska, who followed in her parents’ footsteps and worked as an armorer, was busy chopping wood for the fireplaces, swinging a humongous axe swiftly and effortlessly. The brown apron she wore fluttered in the cold wind as she reached down to ready another log to chop. But just as she lifted her axe high above her head and prepared to lower it in one firm motion, a burly male tackled her from behind, wrapping his arms around her body just below her own raised arms. Skovska looked over her shoulder and grinned, taking a gloved hand off the handle of her axe to stroke the neck of her mate as he hugged her.
Nor smirked when he watched the two smiths and their cubs. They possessed strength and craftsmanship quite valued in Kollagskar, on top of being an adorable and efficient pair. The fisherman greeted the two as he passed them by; Sirmaq greeted him with a simple hello, while Korraz, who was mute, offered him a courteous nod.
Korraz was not Kollagskaren by birth, but the villagers had quickly adopted her. First treated as a visitor, she had then been considered a friend and finally as family since she had settled down with Sirmaq. From what Nor knew, she was apparently the last living member of a village high up in the mountains. He had always been curious about it, but he had never actually interrogated her about it out of respect. Her only family and friends were here in Kollagskar, and the rest was scattered here and there across the world as the Blooded commonly were. She was happy here in Kollagskar, and that was all that mattered to Nor.
Sirmaq’s situation had been quite similar to Korraz’s. He had lost his own family to a Hvalhaj years ago. Before the polar smith had met Korraz, he had commonly appeared bored and lonely despite being surrounded with friends. When the Blooded first visited the village, he and the mute thunder-thrower had gotten along right away. They were fortunate to have found one another.
Sweeping his icy blue gaze across his people, Nor felt happy and proud. Kollagskar was such a friendly, tight-knit community, with every resident getting along and working together so well...
He was abruptly knocked out of his thoughts by the voice of the shaman of the seas, Sagani, shouting at him.
Turning around, he saw the shaman rushing towards him in a panic. Nor raised a curious brow.
“Get to safety! Everyone!” Sagani shouted.
The waterbender had barely registered the few words when he witnessed it; a blast of warping air heading directly for the village. It blasted the snow like a great gust of wind, an unstoppable wave of power. The Kollagskaren paused their work upon hearing the commotion, looking towards the noise.
Turning around quickly, Nor hollered at his people to head for the blizzard shelter, but it was already too late by the time words had stopped coming from his tusked mouth.
The wave of strange wind slammed into Kollagskar like a wall of force, and everything went dark for the chieftain and his people...
---
Where he had previously been gazing over a peaceful village full of happy, healthy and hardy people, Nor now looked upon ruins and wounded villagers.
His blue eyes were full of concern.
“I... I am sorry. There was nothing I could do...” he apologized to his people.
“There is no need to apologize, chieftain. There was nothing any of us could do,” Shaman Sagani said as he walked up to Nor.
The shaman looked around, not towards the Kollagskaren or the destroyed village itself, but towards the wilds around.
“Can you feel that? The air is different...” Sagani said.
“We are in a new world... Once again.”
At this time, most of them were already tending to their ordinary occupations in the village; the first to be awake and already at work were, of course, the local chieftains.
The male, called Nor, wandered around the settlement to make sure his people’s needs were met. The female, known as Usken, was conversing with the hunters who took care of the village’s provisions. She was just about to leave to check out their traps, to see if they had captured anything.
Of course, they had not left each other’s side without sharing tender nuzzles and good wishes first.
Nor longed to go hunting with his mate. He loved to hook his arm around hers and walk alongside her; it not only allowed them to be close, but it also served to guide Usken around. She was normally quite fine traveling on her own, but when Nor steered her, she could focus more on the moment and the hunt and less on finding her way. He trusted Usken, but ever since the arbalist had accidentally stepped on that bear trap years ago, Nor felt more protective of her. The chieftain still felt bad when he saw her hobbling walk, no matter how many times the blind ranger reassured him. He could have prevented it. He should have prevented it.
He and Usken had never truly met - they had always known each other. From their youngest age to the present day, the two had shared their life together. It had only been when they reached adulthood that their feelings had blossomed into feelings of love. Now they were together, and their daughters were among the best fishers to be found in the village.
Nor passed by the two local blacksmiths, two intimidating giants that had perhaps the softest hearts in the village. As they had a lot of work to do, they chose to start early. While they worked, the smiths occasionally raised their head to check on their cubs, the two of which were tending to their own duties in the village.
Their son, Kovrald, who was in charge of the village’s defenses, stood in front of a band of warriors, pointing towards certain traits of his trusty wooden shield and explaining what they were useful for. He was interrupted by a curious cub poking the fur of his leg to appreciate the texture of the dark pelt there. The little paw completely disappeared among the thick pelt. Craning his neck to look over his shield and see who or what was behind those few exploratory pats, Kovrald smiled and leaned down, temporarily pausing his lesson to scratch the cub behind the ears. Colossians of black fur, or, at least, of nearly black fur as in his case, were quite rare here in Colossus’ very North. It attracted the attention of curious cubs; they seemed to expect his pelt to be of a different feel than the other Colossians’ coat.
Their daughter, Skovska, who followed in her parents’ footsteps and worked as an armorer, was busy chopping wood for the fireplaces, swinging a humongous axe swiftly and effortlessly. The brown apron she wore fluttered in the cold wind as she reached down to ready another log to chop. But just as she lifted her axe high above her head and prepared to lower it in one firm motion, a burly male tackled her from behind, wrapping his arms around her body just below her own raised arms. Skovska looked over her shoulder and grinned, taking a gloved hand off the handle of her axe to stroke the neck of her mate as he hugged her.
Nor smirked when he watched the two smiths and their cubs. They possessed strength and craftsmanship quite valued in Kollagskar, on top of being an adorable and efficient pair. The fisherman greeted the two as he passed them by; Sirmaq greeted him with a simple hello, while Korraz, who was mute, offered him a courteous nod.
Korraz was not Kollagskaren by birth, but the villagers had quickly adopted her. First treated as a visitor, she had then been considered a friend and finally as family since she had settled down with Sirmaq. From what Nor knew, she was apparently the last living member of a village high up in the mountains. He had always been curious about it, but he had never actually interrogated her about it out of respect. Her only family and friends were here in Kollagskar, and the rest was scattered here and there across the world as the Blooded commonly were. She was happy here in Kollagskar, and that was all that mattered to Nor.
Sirmaq’s situation had been quite similar to Korraz’s. He had lost his own family to a Hvalhaj years ago. Before the polar smith had met Korraz, he had commonly appeared bored and lonely despite being surrounded with friends. When the Blooded first visited the village, he and the mute thunder-thrower had gotten along right away. They were fortunate to have found one another.
Sweeping his icy blue gaze across his people, Nor felt happy and proud. Kollagskar was such a friendly, tight-knit community, with every resident getting along and working together so well...
He was abruptly knocked out of his thoughts by the voice of the shaman of the seas, Sagani, shouting at him.
Turning around, he saw the shaman rushing towards him in a panic. Nor raised a curious brow.
“Get to safety! Everyone!” Sagani shouted.
The waterbender had barely registered the few words when he witnessed it; a blast of warping air heading directly for the village. It blasted the snow like a great gust of wind, an unstoppable wave of power. The Kollagskaren paused their work upon hearing the commotion, looking towards the noise.
Turning around quickly, Nor hollered at his people to head for the blizzard shelter, but it was already too late by the time words had stopped coming from his tusked mouth.
The wave of strange wind slammed into Kollagskar like a wall of force, and everything went dark for the chieftain and his people...
---
Where he had previously been gazing over a peaceful village full of happy, healthy and hardy people, Nor now looked upon ruins and wounded villagers.
His blue eyes were full of concern.
“I... I am sorry. There was nothing I could do...” he apologized to his people.
“There is no need to apologize, chieftain. There was nothing any of us could do,” Shaman Sagani said as he walked up to Nor.
The shaman looked around, not towards the Kollagskaren or the destroyed village itself, but towards the wilds around.
“Can you feel that? The air is different...” Sagani said.
“We are in a new world... Once again.”