Here's a side story that forms part of the Book of Space Lore series, created by myself and @zakludick.
Since this short story is around 4600 words, I decided to break it up into three, more digestible parts.
If anyone is interested in creating some artwork for this, let's have a chat. I'd love to get some artwork done on Freyai, which we can possibly turn into NFTs.
My thought is three different artworks since this story is broken into three parts, with each of those having three NFTs available.
Birth of Freyai
Freyai recalled these nightmarish hunters. With their wings fully expanded they were similar in size to auk’ilit’s. As they dived down towards their targets, the air around them hissed at the speed. Only once they were within a few yards off the ground, they’d violently flap their wings against the gravity, sending a flurry of darted pins flying towards their target. Only 2 or 3 had to hit an auk’ilit, causing them to become completely numb. The aurli’ast would start feeding on them, ripping off chunks with its curved beak. They preferred going for the stomach, where their highly nutritious second brains were, before pecking out those desirable, shiny eyes. Some auk’ilit’s survived the ordeal, only to be driven insane by their failures, and many left never to return.
Dangers everywhere. You need to watch the skies, the ground, the front, and your back.
In the distance, Freyai spotted movement on the ground. Halfway between her and the potential danger, was a large, freestanding rock.
Run!
She sprinted as fast as she could towards the rock, constantly watching the movement. As she drew ever closer, she saw four more moving about.
Ver’eister’s!
Their movements displayed a typical hunting fashion. They’d form a V-fashion, with the lead runner ordinarily being the second most impressive of the pack. The actual pack leader would be running to the left, with the balance of the pack fighting for a space behind him. The others would be trailing from the right. Their prey was virtually anything, except for viltor’s.
The reason the second most impressive of the pack took the lead, was to ensure their leader occupied a more protected position. When a pack of ver’eister’s leader fell, they immediately dispersed and attempted to find new packs.
Freyai managed to pick up a sharp rock and cut a tough piece of twine from some nearby brush. As she looked up again, they were closing in quicker towards the rock than her.
You’re not going to make it.
Her thoughts rushed as she quickly rolled up the twine. As tough as it was, the twine was remarkably supple.
She looked on as the ver’eister’s passed by the rock. That’s when they sighted her, a mere 30 yards ahead.
The lead ver’eister let off a blood-curdling scream and the rest of the pack started barking in a raspy tone. They were remarkably clever, communicating to each other about their tactics relating to the specific prey.
Freyai bent her legs slightly, and gently rocked back and forth. The timing was everything.
The pack had initiated a tight formation, producing only a yard between each of them and one tailing 6 yards behind. This arrow-like formation was used to quickly pummel their prey, with the trailing party there to snatch up anything that might get past.
Freyai waited until they were 8 yards away. If her launch was too early, they could slow down and adjust their attack. Too late, and she won’t be able to pick up enough speed to launch over the arrowhead.
As she rocked back at 9 yards, Freyai rocked forward and launched into a full sprint. When she was 2 yards away, Freyai launched herself into a diving motion over the attackers. The lead ver’eister rose and attempted to snap at her abdomen, missing her by a few inches. Freyai’s jump angled slightly more towards the right, weaker part of the pack. As the last Ver’eister rotated its head to snap at her, she’d already passed by.
One more left, she thought, landing into a roll, marking the distance between them.
Freyai came to a sliding stop right in front of the tailing ver’eister. She was positioned in a kneeling fashion, low enough to swing up into the bottom jaw of the hunter. With the stone in hand, she delivered a devastating blow, smashing the ver’eister’s open mouth, as bone and teeth cracked under the pressure.
The ver’eister squealed as pain shot through its limp, dangling bottom jaw. This would undoubtedly mark an end to this hunter’s life.
Freyai was up and running again. She glanced back at the rest of the pack, trailing closely behind. A few raspy barks, followed by a scream by the pack leader quickly revealed their dissatisfaction at what just transpired.
Freyai knew they were swifter than her, however, there were only 10 yards to go. As both distances closed, Freyai launched into a powerful jump, grabbing at the top of the rock as she smashed into it. Her lower arms helped to reduce the impact, but severe pain made her realize she might have cracked her left wrist.
The ver’eister's attempted to jump and snatch at her legs as Freyai pulled herself up onto the rock. Her breathing was rapid, and she grabbed at her swelling wrist.
“Vri’iristia!” Freyai swore again.
Although auk’ilit’s were extremely intelligent, they were inherently hard on themselves. That’s the primary way they’d endure.
Freyai realized the ver’eister’s weren’t going anywhere. They’d simply split off in more compact groups, look for small prey, and maintain a rotational system until she’s forced down from the rock. There was only one way out of this situation, and that was to take out their leader.
Freyai wrapped the twine around the rock and secured it tightly with a method like a double constrictor knot. The length of the twine was almost long enough to strike towards the bottom of the rock, however, to reach her intended target, she would have to shimmy down a bit.
Freyai looked about and noticed a narrow ledge. It was wide enough to accommodate her footing sideways. She checked her weapon, ensured the knot was secured, and executed a few circular swings.
That will do.
Freyai had one shot at this. If it missed her target, the ver’eister might snatch at the twine and cause her to lose her only weapon. Once on the narrow ledge, there was nowhere to secure a proper grip on the rock, therefore Freyai had to rely on timing, speed, and accuracy.
She waited for the lead ver’eister to return. It felt like an eternity, as her dry mouth and scratchy throat ate at her patience. At that time, she spotted the earlier departing duo on the horizon. Within 2 minutes, they arrived. The leader barked a few orders before the other pair left.
Freyai slipped onto the ledge and observed their movement below. They maintained a consistent pattern. The pair were at opposing ends of the rock, constantly circling, then pausing briefly right below her. When the second ver’eister made its way around, she started swinging the vine, gradually enabling it to extend further, until it was right down to where it could connect its target. As the leader turned the corner, the rock was in full swing, extending high above her head, speeding down and around towards its head. Freyai pulled up slightly, or else it might just have been too low. Before the ver’eister could react, the rock smashed into the side of its head. With a thud and a crack, the lead ver’eister’s stumbled to the ground. After a few heaving breathes and twitches, the lifeless body went still.
When the other ver’eister came around, he sniffed at the body a few times, then ran off into the distance. Freyai experienced a brief sensation of relief, however, her desperate thirst quickly subdued it.
While stuck on top of the rock, she noticed a small clump of trees in the distance and knew this was her best bet. Where there are trees, there could be roots filled with liquid. Freyai maintained her wits as best she could, however, the dizzying thirst was bringing her to the brink of delirium.
Fluids, I require Fluids.
Fortunately, there were no obstacles en route. As Freyai reached the small, dense clump, she waited and listened carefully before proceeding.
It seems vacant.
Freyai went about seeking a specific plant that commonly grew in the more shaded areas of Verucia. Their bulbous roots would breach the surface as they absorbed moisture from the air. One of these bulbs could hold as much as a pint of liquid.
There.
Freyai noticed the cracked open surface and rushed towards it. As she uprooted the bulb from the ground, it was far lighter than expected. She noticed small, round holes at the top and realized a viritrl must have gotten to it.
These animals were lesser and harmless. Their spear-like mouths consisted of four suckers they’d use to pierce the bulbs. They were a favorite meal for most of the animals on Verucia, including auk’ilit’s.
Freyai turned the bulb upside down and shook it, however only managed to get a few drops out.
This is not enough!
She looked around and pulled some loose brush away. At long last, she discovered another. When Freyai uprooted the bulb from the ground, the liquid sloshing around inside was like music to her ears. She pushed a hole with her sharp index finger, took some large sips, then secured the rest with some twine in a sling-like form.
That concludes Part 2. Stick around for the next installment.
Previously:
Birth of Freyai Part 1
Thanks for stopping by :)
Cheers!
That was really good reading, thanks!
Ahhh, great stuff! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😁
!CTP