-last edited on Oct 22, 2020 22:21:05 GMT by The J
Post by The J on Oct 22, 2020 22:20:52 GMT
The Last Reincarnations
Chapter 9
Present day...
Fal'qar, having told of the events that transpired on the day of the Illumination, summarized the events afterward. "I'd had no choice but to frame Set-Ra for giving the Ninth Harness away." He explained. "After all, would the Phoenix believe him over their Emperor?" The leader of the Phoenix Triumvirate paced around the area. "I openly supported the Leopards in their war with the Vultures and future Icebears some years later, granting the Leopards fire chi so that they may join the Fire Tribes." Fal'qar faced Zarak, despite knowing that the scorpion couldn't see him. "This was in order to prevent the loss of more phoenix lives in another possible incomplete Illumination, and because the Fire Wing Harnesses had all teleported after the Illumination, scattered across Chima; even I didn't know where to look." "What do you mean?" Zarak asked. "Why'd have you initiated another Illumination anyhow?" "I sensed that their war would've become as devastating as the Sabertoothes' war with the Lions," Fal'qar explained, "and I do believe it would've, had it not been for the aid the Fire Tribes provided the Leopards, in addition to King Leodus using the Illumination energy he'd absorbed to exile and curse the Vultures and their allies." Fal'qar sat down on a fallen tree. "Around the time that war ended and Leodus used a spell to erase any memories of the Fire and Ice tribes from the minds of Chima's other people," the former Emperor went on, "Set-Ra was finally able to clear his name and, well, reveal my deception to the other phoenix. In a last-minute, temporary solution to prevent more conflict, and to prevent the Phoenix from gathering the nine Fire Wing Harnesses later down the line, I used my powers as the Emperor to put the Phoenix Tribe in a deep sleep beneath the waves. Unaware yet of the infighting on the Phoenix Isles, the kings of the other two Fire Tribes assumed at the time that the Phoenix were simply waiting until a future large-scale war to awaken, so the Tigers followed suit."
"Then," Fal'qar continued, "when my 122-year hold on the tribe finally broke under pressure and the Phoenix Isles rose from the sea, Set-Ra and the other Phoenix picked up where they left off, immediately usurping and imprisoning me, the "Traitor Emperor". They then explained what'd happened to the Tigers and Leopards." Fal'qar sighed. "Set-Ra was logically crowned Emperor in my place, before eventually departing, presumably to search for the Fire Wing Harnesses in light of the broken Elemental Balance, but that's just my guess." Fal'qar rubbed his forehead. "The Phoenix Council of Advisors took the opportunity to seize power; or maybe they'd grown doubtful of the effectiveness of a single leader for the tribe. In any case, they instated a phoenix to be their puppet Emperor, while they became an oligarchy, but one... 'phoenix' wised up to what they were doing. Empress Fiona, as she's now called, gained the tribe's respect through usurping the Council and their pawn, despite obviously not being a phoenix herself. Well, I don't know how many other than me have figured that out... I heard and sensed all of this happening from my dungeon cell." The Phoenix Triumvirate leader stood up. "I have no hatred for my fellow phoenix." He affirmed. "There's no way for us to convince them of the truth we know. It's inevitable that they don't trust us reincarnations." "Oh yeah?" Zarak growled. "Speak for yourself!" Fal'qar suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. "Quiet!" He whispered. "We appear to have a visitor."
Fal'qar stepped back and waited, on guard, but without drawing his weapon. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a gorilla step into the clearing, carrying a bag of glowing blue vials. The gorilla's eyes went first to the scorpion standing straight ahead, and he smiled. "Ah, you must be the scorpion who radioed me." He said. "Here, I'll gladly show you how to use a chi ghost concoction--" The gorilla stopped and looked at Fal'qar. "Wait, who's that?" He asked suspiciously. "And what happened to your eyes? Did this phoenix... Is he holding you hostage? This is a trap, isn't it?!" Picking up on the fact that Fal'qar had impersonated a scorpion to call a gorilla here, Zarak spoke up. "Calm down, my ally." He said soothingly. "I am indeed the one who called you here. This phoenix is a friend of mine, and of the Scorpions. He can be trusted--" "The Phoenix are not part of Unichi," the gorilla growled, "and now this one knows about chi ghosts! This is a mess!" The gorilla stepped back, and reached for his weapon with his spare hand. "Your voice also sounds different than it did over the radio, scorpion! What's going on here?! Who are you peop--?!" "OH, GOOD GRIEF!" Zarak groaned. "I've never met one as simultaneously smart and stupid as you! I've had enough of this!" Zarak lunged forward in the direction he heard the voice, piercing the startled gorilla in the shoulder with his stinger. The gorilla stood still as his eyes started glowing green from the venom. "You will teach us how to summon chi ghosts," Zarak demanded, "and then you will leave your bag of concoctions here with us, return to your home, and never tell anyone about this interaction." "I will do as told." The gorilla said monotonously, as he pulled one of the vials out of the bag. "See, it looks like reincarnating as a scorpion has its benefits, Zarak." Fal'qar said. "Yeah, I suppose so..." Zarak grumbled. "You still had it a lot better than me this cycle..."
While the brainwashed gorilla taught Fal'qar and Zarak how to summon chi ghosts, two new arrivals, Lycor and Leodus, crept up quietly, watching and listening from the bushes. The two cats didn't speak to one another at all, instead acting on predatorial instincts for the time being, as they maintained absolute silence. As such, the gorilla didn't detect their presence while he got back on his speedor and drove away into the Great Forest. Thus, in actuality, four beings were taught how to summon chi ghosts: Fal'qar, Leodus, Zarak, and Scorponok, listening intently from within his bodily prison (Lycor had already learned this some time ago).
"Finally!" Said Zarak with an exaggerated sigh. Fal'qar performed the summoning ritual, and a bridge to the afterlife was created, then closed just as quickly after the spirit of a tiger stepped out. While translucent with a blue glow, the unmistakable orange and black stripped fur was still visible, along with ancient-looking clothing that had become part of his appearance as a ghost. The immaterial tiger grinned toothily. "It's been a while, Fal'qar." He said. "Good to see you again." It took all of Lycor and Leodus' willpower not to gasp as they heard the phoenix' reply. "The feeling is mutual, Tenebrae."
The ghost of "Senix", as Lycor and Leodus knew him, logically reflecting the appearance of his original tiger body, looked down at his translucent form. "Sorry I couldn't meet up with you two... in the flesh." Tenebrae joked darkly, chuckling. "Whatever, let's cut to the chase." Zarak said impatiently. "Where in Chima were you after the Ice Hunters were released from their confinement curse?!" "Well hang on, Zarak." Tenebrae replied. "Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" "I wasn't in control of this body until Fal'qar awakened me." Zarak said, waving his claw. "That's all that matters. I don't want to explain it again. Now answer my question!" "Alright, alright." Tenebrae said. "I see you haven't changed a bit, Zarak..." Tenebrae began his recap. "After Fal'qar gave me the ninth Fire Wing Harness, I went into the Sacred Tunnels, but I was followed by lots of angry tigers shouting about how sacrilegious it was... even though I was the one who had those tunnels dug in the first place! Can you believe that--?!" "Yes, that's information we already know." Fal'qar calmly interjected. "Please tell us what happened to the Fire Wings." "Right, well..." the ghost continued, "Despite my excellent close-quarter combat skills, the tigers had the upper hand in our fight, only because there's strength in numbers. Our battle underground was cut short when the impact of the incomplete Illumination buried both the tigers and the Harness. I narrowly avoided such a fate, and couldn't find the Harness under all the rubble. But hey, out of sight, out of mind, right? That's what I thought... but after well over a hundred years of occasional earthquakes, the Harness resurfaced, and was found and donned by a spider. Her name is... Spalyx something or other. I didn't get the chance to track her down, but it'll be easy to do so. Anyway, back then, with the tigers and Harness seemingly taken care of, I climbed back to the surface, laying low for a few years. I knew that if I contacted you, Fal'qar, not only would I probably be outed as a sabertooth tiger who'd escaped the curse, there was also the risk of you being exposed."
"I understand." Fal'qar said, nodding. "So, during my travels," Tenebrae went on, "I found another Fire Wing Harness in the Northern Outland Mountains, and used my newly self-taught magic abilities to destroy it. Soon after, though, I ventured into the Arctic, and due to my species, was transformed into an ice zombie by the curse. While trying to cross back into the south, I was found and defeated by Leopard scouts, who locked me in Hunter Prison for those one hundred plus years. The reason for this extra layer of confinement was due to my status as a wizard allowing me to have broken the confinement curse, had I been skilled enough to do so at the time. Anyhow, after finally being freed from Hunter Prison, and released from the confinement curse thanks to the other mages among the Ice Hunters, I played along with the Sabertoothes, fighting in their war with the Fire Tribes, and eventually allowing myself to be recaptured by the Leopards, in an effort to find out the whereabouts of you, Fal'qar. While overhearing guards talking on my way to Leodus' throne room, I got my answer, learning about your usurping and capture. I had my two goals laid out for me: finding and destroying as many Fire Wing Harnesses as possible, and freeing you so we could discuss the next plan of action." "I see." Zarak said. "It's all coming together. But I still don't get how you allow yourself to be slain?" "I'm getting to that." Tenebrae reassured him. "After escaping from Leodus, I had hoped to convince my tribe to attack the Phoenix Islands, so that I might rescue Fal'qar and make a daring escape. However, after it became clear to me that the Sabertoothes' leaders were blinded by their hatred of the Lions, and weren't going to be taking requests for attacks that didn't directly line up with that goal, I went rogue, and gathered an army of leaderless Icebears to attack the Mammoths in the Purple City. Why did I attack the Mammoths, you might ask? Because their new king, Malgus, was planning to re-forge the Fire Wing Harness I'd destroyed in the Wastelands, in order to become the Elemental Wizard."
Zarak and Fal'qar looked at each other. "I sense that this Malgus is someone we must be weary of." Fal'qar said. "I concur." The scorpion agreed. "I figured that I could eliminate him while also claiming the Purple City as a headquarters." Tenbrae continued. "I succeeded in the latter, but not the former. Shifting my focus from Malgus back to the rescue of Fal'qar, I amassed my Icebear army in the city as I planned my attack on the Phoenix Isles, only to be thwarted and captured by an allied force of Mammoths and Tigers, who'd learned my true identity. I managed to escape from their clutches even as my army and headquarters were destroyed by Scorpions. On my own, I figured I could at least pursue Malgus to stop that conceited old man from fixing the Fire Wing Harness I'd so painstakingly destroyed. I joined forces with a lion named Lycor to fight Malgus and a White Lion Lycor had been pursuing. Our battle led to a stalemate between me and my fellow wizard, Malgus, but as it turned out, Lycor was associated with Leodus, who'd contacted his knight to tell him about my true identity just then. They wanted Malgus to fix the Fire Wing Harness... all because they don't know the truth about the Great Illumination. Lycor stabbed me in the back, declaring that he was a descendent of Lyron, and apparently fulfilling his destiny in the process. Without the means to create another homunculus body, I accepted that I'd finally been defeated. Malgus presumably succeeded in fixing the Harness, and here we are." "Thank you." Fal'qar said. "Your sacrifice was not in vain, Tenebrae, since we've now brought you back." "Well, somewhat at least." Tenebrae said, looking again at his immaterial hands. "So that's why that Lycor was in the Wastelands!" Zarak said. "This body's previous host attacked him there, and he was the one who blinded me!" "We were in such close proximity, Zarak, yet we didn't know." Tenebrae said, shaking his head. "In any case, we now know our next course of action." Fal'qar affirmed. "Locate those who've donned Fire Wings, especially Malgus--" "Not so fast!" Roared Lycor, as he and Leodus pounced from the bushes, holding Fal'qar and Zarak at sword point.
Tenebrae's ghost quickly picked up the concoction that had summoned him, knowing that if it were to be destroyed, he'd be sent straight back to the Chi Ghost Realm. "Oh, great." Tenebrae groaned. "Quite literally the last two people I'd want to have followed you. Well, other than maybe Mal--" "We were not followed!" Zarak retorted. "They must've seen the gorilla on his way here! And who are these 'two people' anyway? I can't see, you know." "How long were you two listening?" Fal'qar asked quietly. "Since the gorilla was wrapping up his lesson on chi ghost summoning." Leodus answered. "I am the Leopard King, Leodus, and this is my friend and former knight, Lycor. Now, you three are going to explain to us this truth about the Great Illumination that you keep alluding to. This seems vital so me, considering the people of Chima have begun planning a Great Illumination to cure the Ice Hunters of their curse and restore the Elemental Balance." "...Well, if you two sensed that it was his destiny to destroy Tenebrae's physical body," Fal'qar replied, looking at Lycor, "then perhaps you are meant to be his successor of sorts." "So I'm replaced, just like that?" Tenebrae scoffed. "Whatever, go ahead and explain it to Lycor and Leodus if you want. See if they believe you. You could never convince the many people you've tried explaining it to in the past." "I know, but it looks as though I don't have a choice anyway." Fal'qar said, looking at the point of Leodus' sword. "By all means," Lycor said, "enlighten us." What Fal'qar said next shocked Lycor, Leodus, and the quietly listening Scorponok to their cores. "If a complete Great Illumination with all nine Fire Wing Harnesses were to be carried out," the phoenix began, "it would literally reset the universe."
“What!?" Lycor exclaimed. "How does a Great Illumination 'reset' the universe?" "It means the world would be reshaped, history would be rewritten, and beings would be transformed into completely different people, or even erased from existence." Fal'qar explained. “Everyone carried over into the new universe, with the exception of the nine Harness bearers, would have their memories erased, and fake memories of an alternate history to replace them. To everyone other than the Harness bearers, it would feel as if nothing had changed, because the false past given to them would become their reality." "Disturbing, to say the least." Leodus muttered. "But, would a complete Illumination restore the Elemental Balance?" "Yes, and permanently." Fal'qar admitted. "This had been a last resort contingency plan by the first Phoenix Emperor, who had created the Harnesses, in case wars between the tribes, or the disruption of the Elemental Balance, ever started to destroy the planet." "Most of the Phoenix Tribe came to agree with this idea of salvation," Zarak scoffed, "but three of us argued against it, believing that the erasure and invalidation of all previous accomplishments and sacrifices made in this world would be wrong, not to mention the terrifying concept of people possibly being erased from existence. That is why we will always do everything in our power to prevent a complete Great Illumination from ever occurring, at all costs." "We three tried to destroy at least one of the Fire Wing Harnesses, but we were stopped, and fled our tribe." Fal'qar explained. "This was just after the end of the Tiger-Lion War, around nine hundred ninety-two years ago." Fal'qar looked sidelong at the phantom Tenebrae. "We met the recently overthrown Tiger Emperor Tenebrae, who was also on the run from his tribe." The phoenix continued. "Sympathizing with the young tiger, who'd preemptively attacked the Lions based on his belief that their territory claim would give them a monopoly over the chi, we told him the details of the Great Illumination, a truth only the Phoenix had known."
"Now with this knowledge, Tenebrae agreed to help the three of us prevent a complete Illumination from ever being initiated." Fal'qar crossed his arms. "He was the only person who ever believed us, out of the many we tried to explain the truth to over the centuries; the real extent of the Illumination was lost even to the Phoenix over those hundreds of years, and it became known as simply something that could 'save' Chima and alter the status quo. That's why the creation of chi and the genesis of civilization one thousand years ago has been called the first 'Great Illumination' by many." "I, the phoenix alchemist, taught Tenebrae how to make an empty homunculus body and transfer his soul into it," Zarak said pridefully, "a process he could eternally repeat as he watched the Phoenix from the shadows." "I didn't go with a phoenix form, because it was impossible to create one, if that's what you're wondering." Tenebrae explained after Lycor opened his mouth to speak. The lion nodded, but still eyed the ghost suspiciously all the while. "We phoenix weren't able to transfer our souls into homunculi, however, for reasons unknown to us," Fal'qar added, "so instead, our former ally, the Sorceress, figured out how to make the souls of us three reincarnate into new bodies with our memories intact, at the cost of having some unavoidable drawbacks, such as us not always reincarnating as phoenix." "Thus, we went on like this," Tenebrae said, "planning to live eternally in order to ensure that a complete Illumination can never happen. Of course, we were never able to destroy any of the Fire Wing Harnesses, until I became a wizard. Outside of the reincarnation thing, the powers of that so-called 'sorceress' fell flat." "Indeed." Fal'qar affirmed. "We had been content with simply staying vigilant and leaping to action if anyone ever attempted to use the Harnesses, but two unforeseen events changed things significantly."
"First, our third member forming her own faction of phoenix, and turning on Zarak and I during the Avian Triumvirate—Mammalian Confederation War over eight hundred years ago, meaning that her current incarnation is still alive somewhere in the world, and could be a problem," Fal'qar continued, "and second, the transformation of the Sabertooths, Mammoths, Icebears, and Vultures, whose recent vengeance-driven charge into the south poses a threat to the Elemental Balance, which can seemingly only be truly solved through a Great Illumination." "Knowing this," Tenebrae added, "I thought an incomplete Illumination could restore the Balance." "Yet when you were alive, your plan was to rule over a crumbled Chima after preventing an Illumination!" Lycor retorted. "Hey," the phantasm said, holding his hands up, "that was plan B. If an incomplete Illumination didn't restore the Elemental Balance and the imbalance destroyed most of Chima, I, the immortal -or so I thought- Tenebrae, would've been qualified to lead the survivors in that event. I didn't tell you two about my friends here, and the full truth about the Great Illumination, because you wouldn't have believed it coming from me, right?" "That's true, we wouldn't have." Leodus admitted. Annoyed by Tenebrae's "the strong will survive" attitude, he changed the subject. "I, too, believe that an incomplete Illumination will restore the Balance." The Leopard King affirmed, turning back to Fal'qar and Zarak. "I'll don one of the eight -or less- Harnesses and sacrifice myself if necessary." "That sounds like a false hope at this point." Zarak scoffed. "After all, the last incomplete Illumination, and the spell you obtained from it, Leodus, were the very things that caused the imbalance in the first place." "Scorpo— I mean, Zarak," Lycor began, "I think Leodus is onto something. If the purpose of a Great Illumination is to 'save' Chima, then, in the context of those two past wars, the utilization of the Elemental Balance to exile and confine those four tribes to the Arctic did save Chima at the time. In our current predicament, the reversal of the last Illumination's effects would do so." "Perhaps." Fal'qar said thoughtfully.
"Now then," Leodus began, taking out his radio, "The Mammoths are the tribe most focused on finding the Fire Wing Harnesses. I'll tell them about all this, so that they'll spread the word and make sure at least one of the nine Harnesses isn't utilized--" "Wait!" Tenebrae exclaimed suddenly. "Do NOT do that." "I.. beg your pardon?" The Leopard King asked in confusion. "My rivalry with Malgus began when we read each other's minds." The ghastly tiger explained. "That's how Malgus learned about the Harness I'd destroyed in the Northern Outland Mountains. My point being, if he read my mind, he would've seen all of my memories, just as I saw all of his..." And eerie silence fell over the group as they realized what Tenebrae was getting at. "So, he would've already learned the full truth about the Great Illumination after reading your mind." Zarak said thoughtfully. "Exactly." The ghost replied. "So, this means one of two things. Either Malgus has literally the exact same ideology regarding the Illumination as the first Phoenix Emperor (which seems unlikely), or he somehow didn't grasp the full truth when he read my mind." "How about neither!" The Mammoth King answered, flying up from behind the Forever Rock. Before any of the men could even react, Malgus shot a blast of ice from his right hand and sparking electric magic from his left hand. The former struck Lycor even as he vainly reached for the bag of fire chi hanging from Leodus' belt, freezing the lion instantly. The purple lightning, meanwhile, shot through Zarak, but the blind scorpion sustained no injuries from the attack; indeed, it had been aimed specifically at one of the spirits within the body. Fal'qar, Leodus, and Tenebrae stood shocked, as the ghost of a phoenix was forced out of Scorponok's body. The scorpion collapsed limply to the ground, while the flailing phoenix spirit disintegrated into the air. "How, HOW, HOW?!" Zarak screeched, looking down at the unconscious body that'd been his. "HOW DID YOU DO THIS?!?! HOW IS THIS POSS--" The ghost's words were cut short as he vanished without a trace, out of his cycle of reincarnation.
"Malgus..." Leodus said. "So you learned about all of this long before I did, yet you still stand opposed to those trying to prevent a complete Illumination?" "I do." Malgus replied. "It was only a matter of time before the Phoenix Triumvirate rendezvoused. After learning from Tenebrae's memories who Fal'qar reincarnated as, I needed only to wait until he broke out of Phoenix captivity, so I could get him and whoever Zarak became in the same place. I must thank you for playing your part, Fal'qar; thanks to you I was able to finally find Zarak, and take him out of the equation for good." "It makes sense that Zarak's soul didn't linger, since it hadn't been summoned by a chi ghost concoction," said Fal'qar, trying to regain his composure, "but how were you able force him out of that body?!" The mammoth grinned under his grey beard. "For someone who has lived through a thousand years of civilization," Malgus replied, "you know very little about a great many things, Fal'qar. You see, the art of harnessing and weaponizing inner chi, or, 'magic', as people call it, was originally developed by the Mammoth Witch Maulryene, in part, to combat beings who disrupted the natural order of nature, such as the Phoenix Triumvirate with your “memory carry-over” reincarnation. This is why I was able to use 'magic' just now to force Zarak’s soul out of the unnatural cycle, and back into the natural one." "The natural one?" Fal'qar asked. "ALL phoenix in existence are destined to reincarnate perpetually," Malgus explained, "to fulfill their purpose as Chima's 'protectors'. This destiny is why you couldn't go so far as to transfer your soul into an artificial body, like Tenebrae had done. For phoenix, all memories of their previous lives are erased upon reincarnation, though their souls do appear in the Chi Ghost Realm between each reincarnation and memory erasure, which is why it's possible to summon phoenix chi ghosts. This is different from the life cycles of all other species, who live only one life after being born, and then become part of the Chi Ghost Realm after their physical forms die."
"The so-called 'sorceress' you used to work with", Malgus continued, "had simply figured out a way to manipulate your reincarnation cycles to keep your memories intact. The Phoenix Tribe was aware of their destiny in the beginning, but over the centuries this truth was lost to them, just like the truth about the Great Illumination." "So the 'rising from the ashes' myth in our folklore is actually somewhat true..." Fal'qar mused. "How do you know all this, though?" "As the Elemental Wizard, it was always my destiny to know." Malgus explained. "I learned that about your people when I donned this Fire Wing Harness." The huge mammoth took a heavy step forward, and Fal'qar and Leodus raised their weapons. "You want to know what else I learned?" Malgus growled. "I learned that your first Emperor, the creator of the Fire Wing Harnesses, was in fact one of the Dragons who created Chima." "Dragons?" Leodus asked. "Primordial beings whose goal is to travel throughout the multiverse, creating realms and the mortals who inhabit them." Malgus explained. "In Chima's case, all but one of our creators departed the physical realm to watch over us from afar, for the sake of preserving our free will. The dragon who remained behind, however, was not content with this. He desired to completely remake this world as many times as he wanted, if history didn't take a course he wanted it to take. And so he became a phoenix, your first leader, to deceive you, and solidified his powers of creation and destruction to make the Fire Wing Harnesses." Malgus's eyes glowed a fiery purple. "Even after his demise and subsequent return to his fellow Dragons, us Harness-bearers were supposed to play our part and fulfill his plan if Chima needed 'saving'. I WILL reset the universe, but NOT in the way he wanted! I will save Chima from the eternal grip of the Phoenix!" Malgus unsheathed his enormous scythe, and with magic sparking across his body, lunged at Fal'qar and Leodus.
