It was a still and calm night when the Sting Force cruised into Keanos on their sailboat. As they moored the boat to a tree using twine ropes, a cloaked person with a lantern crept out from the darkness and approached them.
“So the stingers have returned to Keanos. It’s such an honor to meet you all, said the man.
“State your name,” said Felix.
“I am the red eyes who sees for the birdeater.” The man pulled back his hood revealing the face of a middle-aged man. He had black crew-cut hair with a touch of grey. ” I am Galryas.”
Balla looked around and said, “Aren’t you the amphibian feudal lord? Alright, tell your troops they can come out of hiding and face us now. There’s no way that Teraphon is working with a feudal lord.”
“Oh, but I am. Teraphon and I have formed an alliance that will be beneficial to us both.”
“How so?” Sytilla asked.
“After I help him bring down the chordates, we’ve agreed that I will rule over Keanos while he remains in control of Zitonia.”
“How can we be sure that you’re not trying to trick us?” Balla asked.
“You can go back home and ask Teraphon yourselves if you want. I’ll patiently wait here.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said Felix. “If you try anything funny, we’ll just kill you.”
“You’re rather blunt, aren’t you? I love it. I can see why Teraphon handpicked you guys for his special team. Now if you’ll come with me, I can guide you through a path that leads directly to Linnaeus’s palace.”
Felix said, “Very well, but before we go, there’s one thing that Teraphon wanted me to ask you. Have you found the vixenium star?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ve been searching for it nonstop, but I haven’t had any luck.”
“What is this vixenium star you speak of?” said Balla.
Galryas let out a slight chuckle. “You mean you haven’t heard about the most precious item in the world? The single item that basically won the chordates the entire first Phylo War? Are you atleast familiar with what vixenium is?”
“Yes,” Balla answered. “It’s the element that gave humans our animal-like powers when it was released in a volcanic eruption about a thousand years ago. But vixenium is no longer needed because maneks are passed down genetically to our offspring. What does it have to do with this item that you seek?”
“That is an excellent question. During the Phylo War that occurred about two hundred years ago, there were two teenage girls who teamed up to create an item that was so brilliant, that it sent thousands of people fleeing across the Ganchian Ocean with no promise of ever reaching new land. This item, the vixenium star, was a scepter that could temporarily give people a second manek power.”
“Second manek?That is unbelievable! How could such an item be lost?”
“You see, one of those girls who created the vixenium star was Tanya, who went on to become the last queen of Keanos. It is believed by many that she hid the scepter, shortly before her death, fearing that the Keanoan lands would fight over who gets to keep it. Many people, including myself, still search for the scepter to this very day.”
“What do you plan to do with it?” Sytilla asked.
“You’ll see for yourselves when I find it. Any more questions?” None of them had any. “Okay. Follow me.”
# # #
It was night time at the Spoaradical hideout. The group was preparing to leave the following morning so they could join the battle between the chordates and the arthropods. As everybody wandered around and got things ready, Sannis and Malicus patrolled the camp together and talked.
“It should take us a few hours to reach the battle,” said Sannis.
“So, we’re really going to attack the Keanoans this time? Just a few days ago we were fighting arthropods, and now we’re trying to help them.”
“I know it seems weird, but we need to constantly switch sides so we can control how this war is balanced.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Malicus. They walked and watched as the biome cruiser captains were inspecting the cruisers. “Sannis, why did you use your full manek mode in the battle against the myriapods? You know you don’t have control over that power.”
“I had no choice. Pendra was about to kill me.”
“And you almost killed one of your own fighters. He’d be a bloody pile of scraps if I hadn’t grabbed him.”
“I know. I didn’t mean for it to turn out that way.”
Malicus placed a hand on Sannis’s shoulder.
“I understand. Your life was on the line. I just hope you realize how powerful and dangerous you are when you’re in that state.”
“Honestly, my mind just goes blank and I never remember what happens. I’ll make sure to never use that power unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“You described this power as unlocking the full potential of your manek. Does this mean that everyone uses only part of their full power? Can others somehow become like you?” Malicus asked.
“I’m honestly not sure, but it might be possible that everyone has a true manek form that they could train to reach, but very few people would even be able to survive the training. I went through hell to obtain that power, and it was against my own will. The other problems are that it’s extremely hard to control and it takes a ton of energy.”
“Man, if you could somehow gain control of this power, you’d be unstoppable.”
Sannis stopped walking and kept his eyes forward. Malicus, who was looking at Sannis, stopped as well and then saw what caught Sannis’s attention. Two unfamiliar men were approaching them. The one on the left was pointing what looked like a giant wasp stinger towards a young man’s throat. All of the Sporadical members stopped what they were doing and watched the surprising turn of events.
The man being held at stinger point pointed a finger at Sannis and said, “Th-there he is! The boss. That’s him!”
The black wasp guy asked Sannis, “Are you the wolf-man who’s in charge?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Who are you?”
“We’ve been sent here by Teraphon to deliver a special message to you,” said the one on the right. He was some kind of black wasp too, but his manek features were very different from the other guy’s. Sannis was familiar with the pumpkin-colored wings of the tarantula hawk wasp.
“You guys are a part of his Sting Force, aren’t you?
“That’s right,” said the tarantula hawk.
“What does he want to tell me?” Sannis asked.
“Teraphon wants to have a face to face meeting with you at his castle in two days. He simply wants to know more about your group and what your ambitions are.”
“That’s just ridiculous. This is obviously some sort of trap.”
“You can believe whatever you want, but allow me to share some hard truth with you. If you’re not there in two days by seventeenth hour, Teraphon will order the execution of half of the slaves in Zitonia. Also, he will show no mercy towards your group and slaughter every last one of you.” Sannis scowled at the wasp men. “It appears that you have some type of passion towards the Zitonian Spora. It would be a shame if you let them die.”
“Leave now, or you’re gonna be the ones who die.”
The tarantula hawk laughed and looked at the other guy as he said, “Syn, should we just wipe these guys out now and spare Teraphon from wasting any time?”
“Don’t be foolish. We’ve done our jobs, so let’s get out of here.”
He pushed the back of his hostage, making him fall to the ground. He then shot into the air with the use of his powerful wings. The tarantula hawk stayed back for a moment and spoke to Sannis.
“You’re going to regret trying to play with the big boys. We’ll squash this little club of yours and forget that we even did it.”
The wasp flew away. A few people rushed to aid the traumatized guy on the ground.
Malicus said to Sannis, “We should’ve kicked their teeth down their throats.”
“You might get that chance because there’s been a change of plans. Tomorrow we’re heading to the Spider Domain.
# # #
Hielee went to the BLAU main base to speak to the general of the air unit, Corain. They talked in his office. Corain was also Hielee’s younger brother. They sat across from each other at a desk.
“The battalion that had set sail for Zitonia five days ago has reached the Insect Domain and is currently fighting alongside the other Keanoan Lands,” said Corain.
“Have the arthropods made any sort of advancements towards Keanos?” Hielee asked.
“As of now, no advancements have been detected.”
“We need to monitor every little centimeter of the Ganchian. We can’t allow another sneak attack on Keanos, especially from the Sting Force.”
“The entire perimeter of the continent is being heavily protected by all of our forces. If any outsiders show up, we’ll know about it.” Corain put his feet up on his desk and placed his hands on his head. “Let’s cut the business crap, Hielee. Terias is in bug world right now, busting his ass in the infantry. What are your thoughts on that?”
“I’m terrified. I’d rather have him here, but Terias is a man who’s old enough to make his own decisions. I have to respect that and let him find his way.”
“Terias is still young though, and you and I both know that he can be a little arrogant at times. How do you know this isn’t some stunt to boost his ego?”
“My son is deeper than that. Even if his reasons are selfish, I know he just wants to be a great leader for this land someday. Besides, Dad let you join the air unit when you were eighteen. Now you’re the freakin general.”
“That was different. Those were peaceful times. I’m sure Terias will be a great warrior and feudal lord. I was just curious to see what you thought.”
Fantasy
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