Post by Rigel Larrat on Jul 23, 2020 10:34:18 GMT -8
Rigel was thrown from the path of the waterfall into the small lake at its destination. The gentle tide from the waterfall carried him towards the rim of the lake where he popped up for air. He became immediately aware of some laughing and cheering Shandorians.
"Again, again!" They shouted. At first just a single guardian in training had been watching Rigel's efforts, but his antics had come to attract a much wider audience. Young kids and old people all were amused by the pirate's antics. Rigel had only been at the Temple of Rainfall since that morning, but already his arrival had extended to the neighboring camp. Rigel gave a playful wave to the natives. It didn't feel great to have his efforts mocked, but being invited to train at the temple by Pachwua was a privilege, and he didn't want to seem ungrateful.
Rigel would swim back towards the base of the waterfall. It was easy enough at first, but as he got closer, the force of all that water dumping into the lake would become a dreadful obstacle. It too was a part of this training. The trial of the Rainfall Spirit was something that only a few guardians had proved capable of overcoming. Rigel had been challenged to participate. He would have to survive the force of the tallest waterfall on Yoruba, standing on a small stone at its base without getting washed into the water.
In his return to one of those stones, Rigel forced his way through the current, diving under the surface of the water to bypass its power. He would resurface under the strength of the waterfall, clawing his way onto one of the many stones underneath it. The one he'd found was smooth and round, not optimal, but he couldn't afford to be picky. Rigel pulled himself up and over the stone, head endlessly pushed backwards. Once his body was on top of the rock, it felt as though his ribcage was being squished between high pressure water and sturdy earth. It was an impossible combination.
Rigel tried to force his legs under him. Dodging the force was impossible. Overcoming it also seemed impossible. It was a fight against nature. Rigel lost, and failed to find his feet under him. Rigel was washed off the rock to the cheers and jeers of the audience at the shore towards which he'd been sent. He popped up once more, catching his breath and treading water.
"Nobody is stronger than the waterfall, outsider!" Was just one of many taunts thrown out towards Rigel. He was tempted to shout back and argue, but he quickly realized they were right. Overpowering this flow of water was not necessary for winning.
"Thanks!" Rigel shouted back earnestly, excitedly swimming back towards the waterfall. His sincerity gave the taunting and jeering some pause as the Shandorians watched with interest. Rigel had felt the flow of the water many times. Blocking wouldn't be enough for it. The water had to fall. It just didn't have to fall on him. Rigel dove under the current of the waterfall once more, finding another stone. This one was more jagged and a bit more wide. It would be fine. Rigel clawed his way up and over the rock as he'd done before. Instead of trying to stand up the water's flow, from his position down on the rock, he braced his legs and arms.
Rigel's forearms and shoulders came to form natural slopes and angles that caught the flow of the water. The stance almost worked. Water broke around him, rather than crashing into him. It was immense pressure on his muscles, however, and he was unprepared to maintain the form. He was able to hold out for a few seconds, casting a silence out over the crowd of natives. It didn't last much longer. The pressure of the water undid his form, and Rigel was washed back to the shoreline. He had failed again. Before breaking the surface of the water, he prepared for the next wave of taunts and jeers.
Instead, when he came up for air, Rigel heard clapping and honest endorsements. The Shandorians saw a glimmer of potential in the pirate. They wanted him to succeed. Rigel resolved not to let them down. "Thank you!" again he swam back towards the crushing waterfall, eager to try and divert its force once more. Each attempt would bring him closer and closer to success, holding out for more and more time as his form was sharpened and refined. Until, finally, he was able to hold his own against the waterfall for nearly a full hour, nearly perfectly diverting its force around him until his muscles succumbed to exhaustion, throwing back into the roaring applause of the crowd on the shoreline.
Post by Rigel Larrat on Jul 24, 2020 13:16:59 GMT -8
The Temple of Bloom was by far the most beautiful place that Rigel had visited since his arrival at Yoruba. Small gardens of iridescent flowers, like glass filtering sunlight, grew all around a wooden effigy. Another challenge awaited Rigel there, one that few guardians had ever been able to complete. Pure white beetles hovered around the iridescent flowers. Much to the dismay of the single Shandorian sage managing the flowers.
"Chorus Beetles," the gardener would explain, trying to wave them off. "They're like transponder snails, they all share a link with fellows of their species nearby. If one of them is hurt or panicked, they send out a signal that instructs all the similar beetles to let out a horrendous sound. If they're all panicked though, they'll be left sending the signal, and not making the sound." Rigel watched the bugs move. They were bigger than the average insect, and hard to miss given their color scheme.
"Let's see how fast they really are," Rigel said. He positioned himself carefully near one bug, thinking that he could simply catch them in quick succession. A loud noise would be annoying, but hardly a challenge for a hardened pirate fighter. His hand closed around one Chorus Beetle, and he made for another at a neighboring clump of flowers. Before he could get far, the sound hit his ears and his grip loosened reflexively. It was a high pitched noise, like a child's scream that seemed to erupt from within Rigel's own head. It was astoundingly effective. This mechanism wasn't just loud, it was actively destructive. The hardened pirate needed a moment before rising back to his feet from a single bug's cry.
The gardener scolded him too. "Let me leave if you're gonna keep trying this!" Rigel apologized and waited for him to leave the scene. It made sense that the beautiful garden would be abandoned now. Nobody wanted to hang around a place if there was a chance for that sound to ring out from their head. Rigel would have to be faster on the draw to clear this trial Pachwua had explained. Three bugs congregated around a single bed of flowers, two others not far off. Rigel had been patient, and he saw his chance.
In a flash of dexterity, Rigel snatched up the three beetles and leapt towards another. It was too slow. The gap between catching the last bug and finding the next one was too slow to seize the bugs. The sound hit him again and he tried to fight it, pushing through the pain to scoop up the fourth bug. It was fruitless. He let the Chorus Beetles go and the noise mercifully ceased. Rigel needed to tighten his speed. He felt more prepared for the challenge, frustrated that just a few bugs were getting the best of him.
He broke out a Star Link stance that he remembered, one for sprinting and fast dashes. His torso was low to the ground and his fingers were pressed into the grass, ready to tear forward. Again, he patiently waited for the bugs to collect themselves in a way easy enough for him to gather. They came close enough, and Rigel kicked off the earth. One bug was scooped up, and he quickly pivoted towards another, catching it too before the noise hit him and he let them go. That reaction time was undercutting his efforts.
Even if Rigel knew where the bugs were, it was his instinct to get his bearings before making a real move on them. That was the lapse in time that he needed to remove for him to be successful in this trial. That frame of time in which he was sensing things. Once Rigel had the area of the beetles, that needed to be enough. He took the stance once more, waiting for the beetles to get close enough. He was more patient this time, letting good chances go by for a great one. Finally, it came.
The beetles were grouped somewhat tightly and Rigel made his move. The pirate dashed forward, caught a beetle and rebounded from that spot towards another. The moment he caught the third, he bounced towards the next. It was a thrilling sensation. The outside world seemed to blur and vanish into wide, less detailed colors. All he saw was the target from the area he'd constructed in his mind. One and the next fell under his control. Rigel was already an architect, so creating an area in his mind was a small feat. Filling it with features was even less so. Rigel's muscles simply moved using that design.
The bugs all captured, Rigel released them harmlessly back into the deeper forest and away from the Forest of Bloom, tired but intensely satisfied with the day's work.
