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The land of Kainar was a horrible place to live.
Okay… maybe that wasn’t exactly right. Now it wasn't wrong either, mind you, but the truth was a little bit more nuanced than that.
Perhaps a better way to phrase things would be to say that Kainar itself was an unfair place to live. But the reason as to why such was the case would require an explanation that would go beyond just a cursory knowledge of Kainar from an outsider’s perspective.
Amidst the seven forests that comprised this world, Kainar was referred by many to be “a diamond in the rough”. That was to say, a lot of individuals felt that the land of Kainar itself was a little rough around the edges and lacked polish compared to its contemporaries.
And having lived here all his life, he was inclined to agree with that assessment.
Though he himself had never stepped foot outside of Kainar, that didn't mean that he was kept abreast of basic knowledge regarding the other forests. And well, what can he say… Kainar was no Hoa or Friol, that’s for sure! Why couldn’t he have been born in one of those lands instead of this harsh wilderness?
Okay, maybe that was a rhetorical question — his species was native to Kainar. Still, he had to say, knowing that people outside of Kainar saying this forest was “a little rough” in comparison to the others was a severe understatement. This wasn’t their turf, so outsiders who’ve never stepped foot in Kainar had no idea how much a generalization like that downplayed his homeland’s perilous nature.
They had no idea. No idea!
A little rough… a little ? The nerve of it all…
Truly, ignorance was bliss. Saying that Kainar was only a little rough was a disservice to everything that he and his comrades had to go through just to survive ! It could not be understated just how many things, how many amenities they’d probably taken for granted. This wretched forest was a land of beasts, survival of the fittest, where everybody was forced to fend for themselves amidst the arid climate.
If the lush and dense rainforest of Noiton was a display of how threatening the wildlife and environment can be when nature was allowed to flourish in excess, then Kainar was its polar opposite — a display of how scarcity brought forth by nature can force its inhabitants to compete for survival within its barren environment.
Well, mostly…
There was one big exception to everything he’d just said. Kainar was a horrible place to live, and it was definitely unfair too. But funnily enough, saying that Kainar was a diamond in the rough was perhaps the most perfect way one could describe its geography… and the true reason behind its unfairness.
A diamond in the rough… it was a double pun, really.
The geography of Kainar was mostly uniform, with one single exception — its bustling capital, the grand city of Korios that surrounds its Spirit Baobab. That was the little nugget of light at the end of the tunnel, a gem hidden amidst the vast savanna that in turn, surrounds the city. It was why saying Kainar was a diamond in the rough elicited a chuckle from most Kainari. The capital in the center literally was an appealing gem that stood amidst the vast savanna that surrounded it.
Korios City stands in defiance to what lay beyond its walls. With all its comforts and facilities, it was easy to forget that just outside the borders, the savanna and its scorching weather was impartial to all, with no mercy for stragglers. And despite all of that, the Kainari who lived there wouldn't have it any other way. Kainar might be a living hellscape to traverse and live outside of its capital, but it was still their proud home nevertheless.
To them, Kainar was well… Kainar because of its harsh conditions. You couldn’t take the Kainar out of Kainar even if you tried. It only made the circumstances of Korios’ founding all the sweeter — a testament to the hardiness and ingenuity of a civilization who, against all odds, flourished and thrived near the Spirit Baobab with the support of its ardent Wisp, Seil.
…Hmph.
Try as he might, he couldn’t help but to scoff at that. Such unwarranted patriotism. It was all a load of baloney to him.
Maybe those in the city thought that way, but their biased viewpoint certainly wasn't representative of everyone! They would say that Kainar is a land where technology is constantly being advanced, elevating their standards of living to new heights that those outside could never even begin to fathom…
…but what about those like him, whose thoughts were simply on scourging for basic necessities just to survive the next day? Now that was a completely different story. One couldn’t hope to indulge or even consider the finer luxuries of Kainari technology when there was nothing but parched, arid land beneath their feet.
Time no longer held any meaning for him and his comrades. The sun may rise and fall, but all the days melded in with one another, blending together like a vat of quicksand. Existence to them was just a mesh of memories, of trying to find subsistence to survive. It was a vicious and monotonous cycle of constant hunting, scavenging, and resting, day in and day out
And yet, it was on one such nondescript day where everything changed. It began like any other day, with the blazing sun frying anyone beneath its gaze with its searing heat.
Nothing felt out of the ordinary at first, but in a way, that was to be expected. It paid to always be vigilant, as complacency would get you killed by the many inconspicuous dangers lurking about before you even knew what hit you.
In contrast to the wary cautiousness exercised by many, however, some chose to live their lives in what could only be described as exceedingly recklessness.
And ironically, it was said recklessness that had changed everything.
“Blast this sandstorm! I hate this!”
A screech of frustration from his compatriot broke the silence.
He let out a long-suffering sigh as he faced the agitated figure. “Chaser,” he admonished, “Don’t you start…”
Chaser was the hot-headed second-in-command of their group, named as such because he was always chasing after someone or something. He was one to take action on impulse, oftentimes without thinking beforehand. They often found themselves at odds with each other as a result, as he by contrast preferred to be more rational about things.
Sure, even he got mad and upset at times… but at least he could keep it restrained where it mattered. Sweeping away a few stray grains of sand that wound up stuck to his arm plating, he turned to Chaser with a stoical sigh. “Complaining about the weather won’t change anything, you know? And what have I said before about making unnecessary noise? We mustn't give away our position like that lest we ourselves get hunted by predators.”
Chaser stuck his nose up at that, lower jaw clenched tightly as he faced him. “I know that, Rumin,” he grumbled, “I’m just so mad that I don’t care!”
Rumin could only sigh in exasperation.
Funnily enough, that wasn’t actually his real name. He went by a different name once, but to be frank… that name didn’t matter anymore.
When they were thrown out and left to rot, their old lives died along with them. He’d discarded his previous identity along with his prior life, as the memory of it would only burden him, shackling him with memories of a life that he could never return to.
This was the best way to cope and move on. He and his comrades who were expelled, they’d all decided to start over, creating new names befitting their current situation. After all, there was no place for individuality out here in the harsh prairies of Kainar. They were but mere scavengers here. Where they were, individuality went to die. The only way to survive in these hostile lands was to do so as a group.
They were no exception to this, forging their camaraderie as a group by creating pack names to refer to one another. As he liked to mull over things, his name amidst the group became Rumin — short for rumin ate, of course.
Chaser snorted when he saw that Rumin didn’t care to entertain him, but kept silent. The others usually took Rumin’s side in scuffles like these — for good reason, as Chaser’s plans were often the harbinger of chaos and unpredictability. Out here, you wouldn’t want that. An impulsive and capricious personality would only lead you to an early grave. Kainar would eat you alive and spit back your corpse if you weren’t constantly on your toes.
“We don’t know if anyone heard Chaser screaming his scales off, so let’s use the sand as cover,” Rumin was quick to take charge, shooting Chaser a warning look. The message was clear — don’t pull a stunt like that again. “But I’ll give Chaser this though, this storm is awful. Make sure to keep visual with someone else, everyone! We will follow the direction of the winds so we don’t get lost.”
The others turned and silently nodded in acknowledgement, moving closer until all of them were clustered together. Rumin dragged his feet as the sand pelted him, silently thanking his thick scale plating—a trademark of their species—for shielding much of his body from all the sediment swirling about.
As he’d expected, the sandstorm eventually abated as the group eventually walked into a calmer section.
He looked over to his crew and heaved a sigh of relief seeing them all safe.
Yet another crisis averted.
Rumin grit his teeth, gnashing his jaw in frustration as he saw Chaser casually lean against a rock as if he hadn’t just put them all in danger. Considering that their group mainly survived through order and avoiding conflict, there were times when he really wanted to give Chaser a piece of his mind.
…and yet, there were other days where he could really empathize with Chaser’s mindset. This daily song and dance was maddening .
But while he would curse and bemoan his situation inwardly, he would never lash out in front of the others like Chaser did. Such pessimism and self-destructive tendencies would only send morale down a quicksand pit.
On the inside, however…
Man, where had it gone so wrong?
…no, that was a rhetorical question. He knew the answer. All of them did, even if they suppressed the actual reason behind it into the deepest recesses of their minds.
It was supposed to be his big break — a proposed megaproject which combined the Great Dam currently powering Korios along with the grand outer walls that protected the city from the outside. What wasn’t there to like? He had been ecstatic when he had been selected to join in as one of the engineers.
The idea was simple in theory, yet daunting in execution. A third ring of thick sandstone would encircle the current walls, and upon its conclusion, the area between would allow the creation of a moat surrounding the current city defenses, fortifying it tenfold while creating a secondary water supply and power source that would complement the current aqueduct system.
“Wh-What do you mean, sir?!”
“Quiet down, boy. Don’t you see the golden opportunity we’ve been given?”
“I-I don’t get it, sir… I’m just a simple Ruam sent in to work here…”
“Exactly! Do you see a single spirit here? No, it’s just us Ruam — our species! That means that I have full reign here!”
It was really too bad, then, that the project chief had other plans. Upon his introduction to the job, the foreman in charge had all but admitted that he was siphoning off a significant part of the allocated budget to fund his own lavish lifestyle, paying off much of the dam workers to hush things up.
Rumin gave a bitter laugh. Unlike many of the others, he’d never even benefited from the scheme himself. Instead of being bribed to go along with it with a share of the profits, he had been intimidated into silence, threatened by the majority of the builders on site when he’d realized to his horror that the entire crew was in on the foreman’s scheme.
In the end, he’d stayed silent and kept his head down, hoping that it would all blow over. But with so many corners cut, it was inevitable that everything would go straight to hell one day.
CRASH!
“Wh-what the heck was that!”
“The wall we’ve been building… it’s completely collapsed!”
“By the light of Seil… look at all that water. It’s flooding the savanna outside.”
“Oh. We’re screwed. We’re so screwed.”
“…Seil will have our heads. Everyone, run for it!”
Needless to say, it was all over after that.
When the cause of the structural failure was traced back to shoddy workmanship due to the use of poor quality sandstone, it didn’t take long for there to be a manhunt. A sizable number of Kainari spirits were swift to round everyone involved up and presented them all to the Wisp, who… was not at all pleased.
Many of them pleaded for leniency, but it had fallen on deaf ears. The Wisp was resolute, and with Seil’s decree, all the offending Ruam—cough, them —were unceremoniously ordered to be thrown out into the wastelands like scraps.
Rumin remained silent through it all. He had been complicit in turning a blind eye to the mismanagement of the project, and though he knew that he wasn’t guilty of corruption and theft himself, inwardly he found himself just as guilty of abetting such a crime, and so he didn’t even bother trying to plead his case.
After all, had the current city walls been the one to collapse instead of their in-progress outermost embankment, the death toll and damage to the city would have been catastrophic. It was with that mindset that Seil had cast the perpetrators out.
The first thing the exiled group of Ruam had done was seek revenge on their now former superior by tying him up with whatever spare tools they had on hand and leaving him for dead.
After that, came the harder task of surviving out in the wilderness. It was only through sheer resilience and a bit of luck that kept them going. And even then, Kainar was merciless. Their numbers had dwindled through the march of time, until only six of them remained.
Ugh. Rumin rubbed a scaled hand across his face. There was a reason that he and the others preferred not to think of the past. So many regrets, so many what-ifs…
After wandering the land for what felt like an eternity, Rumin knew that being exiled outside of the city walls was a fate he wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even his worst enemy. He gave the horizon a good look over as he ceased his reflection on the past, and it was then that he saw a discolored speck amidst a sea of parched yellow.
“Hey, look out there.” He placed an armored arm over his eye, squinting against the distance. “You guys see that? There’s something there, and it doesn’t seem to be a predator.” The addendum was necessary to punctuate the find’s peculiarity.
Rumin’s observation succeeded in getting the attention of the group. Contemplative eyes met one another, each one unwilling to betray their own thoughts until they got a sense of what the general consensus was.
Chaser growled, but folded his arms and said nothing. After his faux pas with potentially giving away the group’s position earlier, he wasn’t in the position to object even if he wanted to.
Silent nods from the others was all the acknowledgement Rumin needed to proceed. He gestured for two of the others to cover his sides, and then trepidatiously made his way forward, inching his way towards what he thought he saw.
And as he approached, the image became clearer. He wasn’t wrong. Just beyond the sand dune was a white glow juxtaposed against parched dirt.
It couldn’t be… the only thing that could glow white out here was…
His mouth was agape. He rubbed his eyes, convinced that he was seeing an illusion. In all this time, he’d never thought he’d lay eyes on a sight like this again.
But it wasn't a mirage, no trick of the eyes. It was…
“A newborn spirit!” he muttered, more out of astonishment than anything else.
It was an actual spirit, collapsed on the ground out here in this wretched desert. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d even come across one. Judging by their thick and elongated tail, the young one was definitely Kainari, and upon closer inspection, female.
One of Seil’s brethren… just what was a newborn spirit doing out here? She should be safe in the city, not alone and on the brink of unconsciousness out in this savage savanna!
Rumin’s ears twitched as he heard the shuffling of feet. Sensing that there was no threat, the others slowly crept forward as well. The sound of one of them clearing their throat snapped Rumin’s attention back to his pack.
“Oh, this is our lucky day!”
Despite the overbearing heat, Rumin felt a shiver go down his spine. Oh, no . He didn’t even have to make eye contact to know which of them had said that.
He’d recognize that brash tone anywhere.
Seeing that he’d caught Rumin’s attention, Chaser continued his denouement. “They are worth a lot of money,” he stated with an icy, impassive tone. “We should sell her to the scavengers.”
Dammit.
As much as he hated to admit it, Chaser had made a good argument for once. They could barter for food and other essentials in exchange for relinquishing the spirit. It made logical sense, and yet, something about the whole thing didn’t sit right with him. It was so callous, and yet…
“Don’t you understand? This is a newborn spirit !” Rumin gestured to the child as he emphasized every word, his tone imbued with a hint of desperation. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to feel hope again. He remained firm, refusing to concede his point, “If we bring the child back to Korios, Seil might forgive us and let us live in the city again!”
He breathed heavily as he finished, out of breath. This could actually be it! This little spirit could be their big break.
Seil was the Wisp of Ingenuity, an energetic little ball of energy who deemed her children her equals. She cared for them, and it was that love over her people which led her to cast out those who she had deemed a threat in the first place. In other words, his line of thinking actually had merit.
Compared to some of the other more detached Wisps, saving one of Seil’s children would almost certainly be met positively by her. All he needed was for the others to see things his way.
Rumin bit his lip, his eyes flitting left and right. But alas, instead of the looks of surprise and hope Rumin expected to see, all he got from the group was a set of confused frowns.
Fittingly, it was Chaser who broke the crushing silence.
“You’re insane,” his objection came out as an irritated drawl. “You risk our lives for this thing?” The venom in Chaser’s voice was almost palpable as he referred to the spirit. “Do you want to become hyena food?”
Now that elicited a more visible reaction from Rumin and the others. Some of them flinched back at the idea, recoiling as memories of their fallen kin coming back to them.
Sensing that he was losing ground, Rumin tried to appeal to the group’s sense of safety. “Think about it! We will live within the safety of Korios walls if we manage to rescue her. Doesn't that sound worth enough to you?”
“To hell with your madness!” There was an edge to his aggressor’s voice now, a subtle undertone of agitation beginning to creep into Chaser’s words. “We shall sell that girl to the scavengers for supplies!”
A scaly finger was pointed right in the child’s half-dazed face. As if she could understand him, the young spirit started to sob quieter, right on cue.
Chaser grunted in annoyance, kicking at the ground with his clawed feet. “Peh. How annoying. Can someone get that brat somewhere where I don’t have to hear her?” he barked.
The other four proceeded to surround the spirit. As much as it killed him inside, Rumin did his best to keep his cool when one of them shuffled past him, reaching out to lift the girl up. While internally he could feel his blood boiling with rage at the way his deputy was treating this literal child, he knew that lashing out would do him no favors right now.
He turned to see Chaser with a smug look on his face. Pretentious prick. “Aren’t you being a bit too rash with this, Chaser?”
“Rash?” he spat back, “ You’re the rash one here, Rumin! Selling her for scraps is the safe plan here! It’s a win-win! Your plan is not just risky, it’s suicidal!”
Rumin felt his resolve waver. Previously the other four had given them a wide berth, unsure of where things stood, but now even they could sense the shifting balance. “B-but… this is a golden opportunity!” he held out his arms placatively, trying not to wilt amidst an ever increasing number of wary glares. “We have to try! We may never have another chance like this again!”
There was a derisive snort at Chaser from that. “Listen to yourself!” he stepped forward, pointing at him with a scowl. “You’re deluded if you think that Seil would give us sanctuary for returning this infant. The reason we are out here in this wasteland in the first place is because of Seil!”
Rumin held his ground, but the cruel reality of Chaser’s words was starting to take its toll. “W-We… she exiled us for her people! Saving her people might—”
“Might… might ?!” Chaser interjected, jabbing a sharp claw against his armored chest. “You aren’t even sure ! Who do you think you’re fooling? You can’t even fool yourself!”
Chaser’s rage reached a boiling point, and he jutted his head against Rumin's until their horns locked. “All because I thought I could make some dough on the side… grah, we did everything for Korios City… everything ! We were once proud Ruam, the desire and drive to engineer is in our blood! It wasn’t just a job, it was our life, and we dedicated it to the cause!” He shook his head, his breath hot and heavy as he ranted on. “It was just one mistake… one minor mistake! What gives the Wisp the right to exile us and leave us to fend for ourselves in this hellscape over a small error? Plus, if she’d sacrificed us all for ‘her people’ once before, you really think she’d see us as more than dirt?”
Rumin bit back a swear. Chaser had lost his temper with him before, but straight up encroaching into his personal space was a level that hadn’t been seen before. And judging by the looks the others were giving them, Rumin began to worry about misjudging the group’s reaction to his stance. “The past is the past, Chaser,” he protested, “You don’t know that if we don’t try—”
“Ever the opportunist, eh? Just like the asshole who promised us riches and ended up screwing it all up! You wanna be like him? Screw it all up for us?” His eyes flitted towards the glowing spirit, hardening with disdain as the infant began to wail, as if she could sense the anger of those around her. “You really think that Wisp will hear us out? If Seil sees us with that newborn, we’d be lucky if she doesn’t smite us on the spot!”
Before Rumin could refute that, Chaser backed away from him, turning towards the crying child with a sickened expression. And then, with a yell of rage, he screeched to the sky and charged directly at him.
“G-gah! What the—”
Rumin was cut off as he felt himself shoved roughly to the ground, the show of physical force catching him off guard.
“I can’t believe this!” Chaser stood over him, giving Rumin an incredulous look before he addressed the other Ruam. “Look at this! Are the rest of you going to stand for this? We follow that lofty idiot and we’ll either get nothing or get ourselves killed. But if we take her and sell her to the scavengers… just think about how many supplies we can extort out of this good-for-nothing spirit!”
That call to action was the tipping point. The surprise of Chaser’s strike broke past Rumin’s collected façade. Although it was only for the briefest of moments, the flash of fear in his countenance was spotted by the others. As he lay disoriented on the ground, the betrayal of uncertainty from their de facto leader was all the proof Chaser needed to back his point up.
In the end, Rumin knew that Chaser was right. He was deluding himself, if not on his belief of Seil showing them mercy, then at least in thinking that the others were with him on this front. By contrast, it appeared that they had reached a mutual agreement between themselves.
Rumin winced as he got to his feet, brushing aside stray grains of sand that stubbornly stuck to his plated scales. “Alright… as much as it pains me to say, I suppose you are correct. I can’t say for certain how things will go.” His hands clenched into fists as he contemplated saying more.
A peek at the disoriented newborn, however, eventually gave him the resolve to continue. “But… even if we don’t give her back, there’s no reason to sell her for scraps, is there?” he tried to bargain, “What difference does it make if we leave her be or take her with us? There is no reason for us to—”
“Oh, I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong,” Chaser interrupted him, a smug eagerness to his voice. “There is a perfectly valid reason. Us selling her to the scavengers guarantees her a miserable end.”
Rumin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Y-you wha… but, the girl!” he looked at her despondently, dread laced in his voice.
Chaser snorted, glowering at the sobbing newborn. “What, you pity that brat? Why bother? Why does she deserve to live in Korios City? No… if we can’t ever go back there, then neither will she! If we show her mercy, then there’s always a slim chance that she might somehow manage to drag her way to the capital and find salvation in Kainar’s oh-so-precious Korios City.” He continued his rant, his words interspersed with the wails of the crying infant, “Why should they be the lucky ones to live their pampered lives in the city? It won’t happen. Over my dead body! I refuse!”
“You leave that girl out of this feud,” Rumin drew out his words, seeing red as he glared down at his second-in-command. “Even if she's a spirit, she’s just a child. What you’re proposing is akin to murder!”
Rumin’s chiding did nothing to dissuade Chaser. If anything, it only emboldened him. “Listen to yourself, playing the moral hero. Let’s be real here, this wasteland is the dirty underbelly of Kainar that no one in the city wants to acknowledge. This is Kainar’s true face, it’s kill or be killed out here… Seil exiling us out to this desert might as well be murder too! So if we get left to die, it’s only fair that that spirit does too! Just for once, we have the opportunity to drag one of those entitled, lucky brats down to our level!”
Any and all subtlety had been thrown to the winds. It was clear now that it wasn’t just about what supplies the Kainiri spirit could provide the group if she were sold off.
It was about revenge . Plain and simple.
Rumin’s heart sank as he took a look around and saw his comrade-in-arms eyeing him warily. Sucking in a deep breath, he decided to address them all for the first time since this conversation began. “Y-You can’t all seriously agree with him, right? You all really want to go along with his plan?”
A myriad of expressions flashed across their combined faces — hesitation, sorrow, uneasiness. But in the end, despite their personal reservations, not one of them stepped up in his defense.
As Rumin had feared, the others weren’t by his side this time. It seemed that at first, they allied with Chaser’s proposal out of fear, but now the raw anger from the past has led them all to side with Chaser on principle of wanting revenge by proxy against the Wisp through sacrificing the newborn spirit.
Chaser smugly tilted his head up at the no-show of confidence. “That settles it, then. You've been outvoted, Rumin. Don’t tell me you still want to plead your case?”
He raised his hand, then thought better of it. “…no. It’s fine,” Rumin conceded with a resigned whimper.
Chaser snorted, stepping back and glancing at the child, who had finally calmed down, lulling herself to an exhausted sleep in the hands of the one Ruam who had picked him up. “I am not carrying that runt. You continue holding her while we figure out how to make this trade,” he ordered.
Rumin kicked at the ground in frustration and let out a forlorn sigh. That was it, he supposed. As a group, they had collectively decided to go with Chaser’s plan.
Individual wants had to be ceded to the needs of the group. To strike out on your own was not only disrespectful to the majority, but it could affect one’s own survival. The group mandate was basically law. Even if someone initially opposed a decision, over time they tended to come around, accepting and conforming to what was prevalent amidst them.
So why did Rumin still feel so frustrated by the final decision made?
In an effort to cool his nerves, Rumin hummed to himself, discordant notes trilling together to something which could arguably pass as a melody.
…no. He couldn’t just let this pass.
It was his own cowardice that had led him here, out of the city he’d once called home eons ago. If he'd trusted his gut back then, sounded off, done something, maybe he might still be in Korios today.
He lost that chance for a normal life.
But the Kainari spirit… her life was going to be snuffed out before it even began.
She wouldn’t even have a chance.
In that split second, Rumin made up his mind.
He would not deprive another individual of a chance to live a happy life. The girl was going home.
With or without the others’ consent.
“You treasonous snake! How dare you?!”
Okay, that could have gone a lot better.
He’d initially wanted to wait until nightfall to grab the spirit and make a break for it, but Chaser rushing to make contact with any other scavengers willing to trade her forced him to make his move before the group could barter her away.
It was another passing sandstorm which provided him that opportunity.
Once again the winds obscured their vision, disorientating the group and forcing them to stick together. Chaser had helmed the front, quick to take charge after he’d usurped control from his rival. As always, he was the one to charge in, leaving the others in his wake… and far behind.
Rumin had always chided him for not checking in on others, but this time, he was going to take advantage of Chaser’s lack of situational awareness.
It was a hasty plan, but he had no choice now. He might not get another chance.
Rumin made sure to tread behind the person who had the responsibility of carrying her, slowly quickening his pace until the two were side by side. He saw the child’s chest rise and fall as she was cradled, a peaceful expression on her face as her temporary caretaker shielded her from the winds.
That was when Rumin struck, sticking his leg out and letting the other Ruam trip. Wide-eyed they fell to the sands, and as their grip on the spirit went slack Rumin whisked her away and into his arms, immediately turning heel and fleeing.
His hope was that he could use the billowing sands as cover to gain a head start. The fallen Ruam would probably alert the others that they’d lost the child, but they probably would assume that the child was on the ground. The group might notice his absence, but they would just presume that he had split up due to the storm, not realizing something was amiss until later.
But while the plan did work, it hadn’t given him as much of a head start as he’d thought.
“Rumin has turned traitor on us! After him, everyone!”
And now, here he was. Running as fast as he could in the general direction of Korios City while clutching onto the infant as tightly as possible. The rocking motion as he ran had jolted her awake, and she peered up at him with wide, fearful eyes.
He didn't dare look back, but he could hear complete and utter pandemonium behind him. The others were quick to give pursuit. A flurry of footsteps, a string of curses, multiple voices yelling over one another as they fought amidst themselves over whose fault it was that they’d lost the spirit.
And just as many threats about how they’d get her back from him.
“Get back here, Rumin!” he heard Chaser bark behind him. “Traitor!”
“You turncoat!”
“We won’t let you do this!”
To his chagrin, the loud and angry voices caused the girl in his arms to begin to cry again, her tears trickling onto his arm’s armored plating.
“Shhh!” he hushed, “Everything will be okay! Please don’t cry!”
The young girl only proceeded to cry even harder.
Rumin bit his lip. He supposed that with all the ruckus everyone was making, asking the girl to settle down was not only irrational and futile, but outright hypocritical.
“Give it up, Rumin!” That was definitely Chaser’s voice, he’d recognize that rage-filled tone anywhere. “You can’t outrun us all the way to Korios City! If you surrender that girl peacefully to us now, maybe we won’t mutiny when we catch you!”
Rumin breathed heavily and continued to run, not even bothering with a response. He heavily considered giving Chaser a derogatory gesture with his hands, but alas, his arms were a little tied up at the moment.
“W-Why that little… he ignored me! That does it! Flank him from both sides, guys. I want to personally see that disgraceful—”
Chaser didn't manage to finish his order. A piercing howl pierced through the air, cutting him off.
The blazing hot weather could not stop a chill from going down Rumin’s spine. He turned back for the first time since the chase had begun, and that was when he saw it.
A brownish creature stood on all fours off in the distance. Their dark fur camouflaged them against the sand, but their distinctive golden muzzle flowing from the top of their head was instantly recognizable.
Fear gripped his heart as he saw them. He wasn't the only one, too. Chaser had stopped running as well, frantically pointing at the newcomer with a panicked expression.
In their anxiousness to hunt Rumin down, Chaser and the others had thrown caution to the wind, any semblance of coordination and subtlety virtually nonexistent. And now, that recklessness had drawn the attention of Kainar’s feared predators, the masters of the savanna.
The dark hyenas.
Moments later, a cacophony of disjointed howls could be heard reverberating from different directions.
Rumin widened his eyes and immediately quickened his pace, sprinting as fast as he could.
The first howl was not simply a show of dominance. It was a battle cry. A cry to begin the hunt… sent to all the other hyenas.
Kainar was not a forest where one could easily survive on their own. The unrelenting climate and harsh conditions forced individuals to form groups in order to thrive.
And the hyenas were no exception to that rule.
Chaser had ordered the other Ruam to try and flank him, but judging by the echoes of howls from all around, the intelligent predators were doing the exact same tactic to them. Multiple hyenas charged forward from the distance, including one coming from Rumin's front. Cursing under his breath, he continued to sprint forward, intent on dashing past the hyena.
Sure enough, as he hoped, the hyena ignored him with a snarl, sprinting past his side. He chanced a glance back to see that the other hyenas were closing in on his former comrades from all sides, slowly enclosing them in a ring through a pincer attack from which there was no way out.
The hyena in front of him wasn't going to break rank just to take a nip at him — it would break their formation. As it appeared that the hyena pack’s target was all of the Ruam, Rumin suspected that the one he had to charge past wouldn't attack him if he tried to charge headfirst to escape the encircling trap.
He was far enough away from the others—the main target—for it to make a difference. If the hyena had stopped to attack Rumin while he tried to make a break for it, their prey would have all been able to escape from the opening that the hyena’s absence would cause. The predator had been forced to make a split-second decision, and as Rumin had thought, they went with the original plan of surrounding everyone else, letting him go for the sake of capturing everyone else.
“No… no !” Rumin could hear Chaser’s vexed cries even as he ran further and further. “I just gained control over our pack! I refuse to-gah—!”
Screams of anguish filled the air, and Rumin had to force himself to tear his head away as he ran for his life. The infant in his arms was rocked about violently, bawling her eyes out as though she could sense the danger.
He didn’t know how long he ran like this, but eventually he had to stop, completely tuckered and out of breath.
Everything had gone wrong… everything!
His former friends… everyone…
The sounds of distant howls snapped him back to attention.
His heart sank.
They were coming. Maybe they had his scent, maybe it was the girl’s crying, it didn’t matter. A whole pack of predators were out on the prowl, and now he and the spirit girl were the sole targets remaining.
His legs felt like giving out from under him. He was physically incapable of running anymore. By the time he recovered, the hyenas would be upon him.
Crestfallen eyes drifted to the girl in his arms. It was all over for him, but maybe she still had a chance. “I am so sorry,” he wished he could do more than offer an empty apology to her. “You must proceed alone. Please, run to Korios City! Tell Seil that I tried… I tried doing the right thing…!”
Rumin’s face fell when she stared at him blankly.
Of course. She was just a child, lost and scared. She probably couldn’t defend herself against the hyenas, let alone run from them.
Heck, she probably didn’t even know where the Spirit Baobab and Korios City even were.
In a vain attempt to save her, he’d doomed her anyway.
Wiping away stray tears from his face, he looked up and saw that the hyenas had arrived. They had come for him, intent to finish the job.
He gently placed the girl on the ground and stood in front of the spirit, daring the predators to go through him before they could get to her.
The creature’s four eyes pierced directly into him as they saw his show of bravery. An emotion flashed in those glowing eyes. Respect, mayhaps?
Not that it really mattered. Rumin knew that he wasn't going to make it out of this unscathed. In fact, there was a good chance that he wasn't going to make it out of this. Period.
His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it could leap out of his chest. Before it could, however, the hyenas leapt at him first.
Rumin whipped out a pocket knife he kept on hand for emergencies, swinging the blade about wildly. He managed to draw blood, but found himself pinned down before he could get a second strike in. The weapon was flung away in the scuffle, leaving him with no means of attack. All he could do now was flail about and use his scaly body armor to shake them off, but to no avail.
He let out a scream as he felt a jaw sink into his leg. Rumin tried to shake the hyena away, swatting at them in vain.
“Gack… let go of-ah!”
Another one was upon him before he knew it. The hyena pounced on his chest before lunging forward, biting past his scaly armor and into his neck with a sickening crunch.
His eyes widened in shock. He began to thrash involuntarily, feeling his life ebb away as his blood stained the ground red. He tried to clutch at his throat in an attempt to stem the bleeding, but Rumin found his hands clamped down by more hyenas, determined to tear their prey apart as they pulled on him in multiple directions.
Mustering the last of his strength, Rumin strained his head to look at the girl, only to see nothing but sheer terror reflected in her eyes. Behind her, far in the distance, he could make out the walls which guarded Korios City.
He could only laugh as he felt himself choking on his own blood. So close, and yet so far.
Those walls were the pride of the city, a defense system primarily erected to keep the dark hyenas out of Korios in the first place. And now, taunting him, out of reach, those very same walls which had driven him and the other Ruam out would be the death knell of him and the defenseless girl.
I deserve this for keeping silent in the past when everyone was corrupt… I tried to atone, I truly did… if only I could’ve saved her…
Mercifully for Rumin, everything faded to black before he could suffer any more.
He could see a blue ocean all around him, its surface calm and serene as it extended as far as the eye could see.
Unable to remember much and not knowing where he was, he was only dimly aware of an ethereal voice speaking as he drifted.
“You have indirectly saved one of my children, so it is only fair that I be here. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart! There are so many things I wish I could tell you, but there is only so much time we have left here.”
He strained his eyes, squinting against a harsh orange light which suddenly appeared out of thin air.
“Se-Seil?” he rasped, his voice hoarse.
“There is a reason that Kainar is often called a diamond in the rough,” the orange Wisp swiveled around him, yapping with an excited voice. “There are many challenges to overcome in Kainar, but much like how a diamond can only be formed through immense pressure, we Kainari are pushed to thrive by overcoming those challenges. It is through overcoming adversity and our own self-imposed limits that we uncover the gem hidden beneath all the grime.”
Her light shone brighter as she addressed him more directly. “Ahh, pardon me, that was just a long-winded way of saying that it is what is on the inside that counts. And you, brave soul…”
Swirling around him, she finished with a hint of proud approval.
“… you have the heart of a spirit inside you.”
The Kainiri spirit woke up in a cold sweat.
It was that same dream again.
For as long as he could remember, he kept getting recurring flashes to a life that wasn’t his. Recollections of a past life, perhaps? It was comforting in familiarity, yet exceedingly odd. Such a phenomenon wasn’t easily explainable, which had boggled his rational mind more than once.
The spirit frowned, stretching his legs as he got out of his bed. He was a rational spirit, and so he had never bothered anyone with his superstitious worries, much less the great Wisp herself. Although Seil was kind, the very thought of wasting her time with such unimportant concerns was blasphemous to him.
He chuckled to himself, looking out of the window and in the direction of the Spirit Baobab, standing tall in the heart of the city he called home.
Indeed, there was no need to dwell on it now. He could ruminate on it some other time. And so, the spirit put the memory of the regretful Ruam to rest again, whistling a jaunty tune as he groomed his fur and prepared for yet another productive day of work and ideation.
After all, here in Korios City, under the Wisp of Ingenuity, a spirit’s work was never done!