Finally cracking under the pressure of another
possible foe, the Alumera peoples called upon their
clan members to make a decision regarding the
Mayleen presence. The clan, whose in-depth
knowledge of sende and bargaining had saved many
Alumera before, chose to befriend the Mayleen and
use their help against the powerful Kin. The Kai
became Alumera allies simply for being on the
Mayleen’s side.
Unfortunately for both the Alumera and the Mayleen,
the Kin were far from laying down in defeat.
Calling upon their breeding grounds deep within the
planet, the Kin were able to resurge and even the
odds against their combined foes. They were also
able to use the help of interstellar pirates and the
Mayleen traitors to build them further support.
fellow Artifacts. Naleun had opted to stay out of the battles, happy to simply watch and
await an outcome. For him, the war was as entertaining as anything else in life.
Unknowing to all but the brightest of Maherty’s beings, some Artifacts had long been
responsible for the unending war between the Kin and Alumera. Some of the Artifacts were
masters of sende, though it was still under speculation who. Naleun himself did not know
that information, though he was capable of using sende to a limited extent. Sende, the
powerful technique of influencing others’ actions by becoming part of their physical mind,
was the end all ability to control the war. Sende had been enacted by at least one of the
Artifacts to give certain individuals on both sides of the war some extra luck, more
powerful attacks, and most importantly, perfectly balanced adversaries. Most individuals
who were under the influence of an Artifact’s sende were unaware. The only sensations that
sende were known to cause in the controlled individual were sensations that were also lost
in the excitement of battle.
Naleun continued his way through the brush until he noticed a figure up ahead. He had been
seen. He could not tell who the figure was, but it was no doubt a peasant guardsman.
Stopping his advance towards the camp, he watched the guardsman react to his presence.
Hahrarl could not believe his eyes. Before him stood Naleun, an Artifact feared by the
foresters of the Alumera for being the bringer of death. Though Hahrarl was a peasant and
had never believed in a bringer of death to begin with, he did believe that each Artifact
was a physically invincible foe. He could only try to bargain with an opposing Artifact,
protect himself from its attacks, or simply retreat. He could do only two of these this
night, because his job was to protect the camp. There would be no retreating. Because
this Artifact was Naleun, the master of silence who was unable to speak, Hahrarl would
probably not be able to bargain with the creature. He could only defend himself as best he
could, or try to communicate through body language.
Hahrarl had been chosen by the Mayleen to be a keeper of their technology. This honor had
granted him an advanced weapon that he could easily control in battle. The weapon Hahrarl
had chosen was the Kek (Keck) Tacark (Tah kark) flamethrower. He had armored the Kek with
the strongest of Maherty’s metals, triletritic. Upon his back, Hahrarl carried an armored
pack composed of the same material. With his unique and fluid fighting style, Hahrarl
usually used his pack as a shield in close quarters fighting. Together with the bulky Kek
and his oversized war helmet, the armored pieces protected Hahrarl from any Kin. He
had even parred with the leader of the Kin himself, Cint (Sent). A master of tangibility,
Cint had always proven to be a superior opponent. Hahrarl’s memory of his duels with the
Kin leader now gave him confidence that he would be able to deal with Naleun.
Naleun wondered. Why hadn’t the guardsman drawn up his huge weapon and fired at him?
Apparently the peasant was contemplating his options. Naleun realized that the weapon the
man beared was indeed of Mayleen origin. However it had been covered in a metal native to
Maherty to strengthen it. The guardsman must have been an individual of exceptional
skill. To have received such a gift from the Mayleen, the man before him would have had to
show outstanding ability in battle. While Naleun did not want to fight the man, he also
barely feared him. Naleun could feel pain, but pain mattered little when it came to
winning a fight. He weighed his options yet again and waited for his opponent to make the
first move.
Hahrarl stood his ground. He did not bring his weapon up, for he didn’t want to invoke any
aggressive actions towards his curious visitor. He waited as long as he could, biting his
lip and blinking his eyes repeatedly to ensure he wasn’t dreaming. Suddenly the Artifact
turned away from him and began to walk away.
Naleun did not wish to show any aggression of his own and decided to honor his foe’s
patience. He would watch from a different location tonight, and from that position he
would not be detected or threatened in any way. His own reassurance calmed his mind, which
had briefly lapsed into a different train of thought due to the encounter just moments
ago. He would show the guardsman respect, but he would also take advantage of the man in
his own secret way. Sende would be the key to tonight’s observations. The guardsman would
be Naleun’s eyes and ears.
Hahrarl was dumbfounded. The Artifact had simply walked away from him. Apparently it had
not been interested enough in the situation, or had not intended to cause any new trouble
for the Alumera peasants. Hahrarl made a quick mental note to share this information with
his allies. The Artifact Naleun was not the devil so many had made him out to be. Hahrarl
smiled as he realized how wrong the Alumera foresters were.