Внутреннее тестирование Вики/E-IV — различия между версиями
Материал из ЭнциклопАтис
Lanstiril (обсуждение | вклад) м |
Lanstiril (обсуждение | вклад) м |
||
| Строка 19: | Строка 19: | ||
Thousands of miles away, his tribesmen were probably also finishing their prayers. Despite the distance and loneliness, Pü had tried to keep the same rhythm as before he left. At the first light of dawn, the village awoke and prepared for the routine work necessary for the smooth running of the community: maintenance, crafts, hunting, cooking, various meetings, welcoming the few emissaries and traders, etc. The goal was to make a complete and accurate assessment of the situation. The goal was to complete as many tasks as possible before the start of the long morning litany. This one was led by Looï, the mother of Pü, and ended with a collective meal in the heart of the refectory, a meal in which the whole tribe participated. After lunch, the Zoraïs trained in the art of combat for several hours. The teachings, intended for all, without distinction of age or gender, were very varied: hand-to-hand, white weapons, shooting weapons, magic. Indeed, the tribe was above all a clan of fighters, who sooner or later would participate in the advent of the Sacred War. Once the training was over, the families would gather for a meal and engage in various personal activities before going to bed. Pü had always attended evening classes with his mother, who taught him homin history, geopolitics, mastery of other languages and science. From time to time, he was accompanied by his older brother Niï. But most of the time, Niï took other private classes with their father, the Black Mask. | Thousands of miles away, his tribesmen were probably also finishing their prayers. Despite the distance and loneliness, Pü had tried to keep the same rhythm as before he left. At the first light of dawn, the village awoke and prepared for the routine work necessary for the smooth running of the community: maintenance, crafts, hunting, cooking, various meetings, welcoming the few emissaries and traders, etc. The goal was to make a complete and accurate assessment of the situation. The goal was to complete as many tasks as possible before the start of the long morning litany. This one was led by Looï, the mother of Pü, and ended with a collective meal in the heart of the refectory, a meal in which the whole tribe participated. After lunch, the Zoraïs trained in the art of combat for several hours. The teachings, intended for all, without distinction of age or gender, were very varied: hand-to-hand, white weapons, shooting weapons, magic. Indeed, the tribe was above all a clan of fighters, who sooner or later would participate in the advent of the Sacred War. Once the training was over, the families would gather for a meal and engage in various personal activities before going to bed. Pü had always attended evening classes with his mother, who taught him homin history, geopolitics, mastery of other languages and science. From time to time, he was accompanied by his older brother Niï. But most of the time, Niï took other private classes with their father, the Black Mask. | ||
| − | The child was jolted out of his memories when a sad sound broke the harmony of the trees' song. Above the treetops, the muffled roar of a Karavan flying machine had shaken the air and frightened away the javings, these strange creatures with jagged, greenish wings and whose long, black, shiny, barbed tongue was used to pierce their prey. Rising to his feet at full speed, Pü checked the strength of his lifeline and began to climb the last few meters of the large trunk that separated him from the sky. As his frail body pulled itself out of the ocean of leaves, he was forced to squint behind his mask, so blinding was the daylight. Not far from him, the infernal machine was losing altitude. The strange black matter which composed its hull reflected the bright astral glow of Jena, as if to taunt him. Despite this, Pü was able to identify the device. It was one of those small transporters that the Karavan usually used to harvest the resources gathered by its human slaves. Strangely | + | The child was jolted out of his memories when a sad sound broke the harmony of the trees' song. Above the treetops, the muffled roar of a Karavan flying machine had shaken the air and frightened away the javings, these strange creatures with jagged, greenish wings and whose long, black, shiny, barbed tongue was used to pierce their prey. Rising to his feet at full speed, Pü checked the strength of his lifeline and began to climb the last few meters of the large trunk that separated him from the sky. As his frail body pulled itself out of the ocean of leaves, he was forced to squint behind his mask, so blinding was the daylight. Not far from him, the infernal machine was losing altitude. The strange black matter which composed its hull reflected the bright astral glow of Jena, as if to taunt him. Despite this, Pü was able to identify the device. It was one of those small transporters that the Karavan usually used to harvest the resources gathered by its human slaves. Strangely, it seemed to come straight from one of the immense celestial roots that made up the [[Canopy]], that as yet unexplored part of the Bark, the word by which its inhabitants commonly referred to Atys, their world of living wood, composed solely of ever-growing plant matter. Its opulent valleys and lush hills were formed by colossal roots, on which the homins had established their civilizations. The water that filled the deep root cracks gave life to its lakes, lagoons and oceans. The most inclined roots formed its mountains and extended towards the sky in a slow and inexorable rise. Certain thermal anomalies even caused the slow burning of the root mat, giving rise to deserts. And deeper under the Bark were the Prime Roots, the most mysterious ecosystem in Atys after the one that was supposed to exist in the Canopy. It formed an immense labyrinth made of verdant and humid caverns, plunging into the bowels of the plant world right into its Heart. |
Pü watched the Karavan machine dive at full speed. It was a safe bet that, as usual, a rendezvous point had been agreed upon between the Karavan and its minions, and that a convoy was on its way to deliver tribute. The young Zorai felt his heart racing. Four. He was only four short. Four, and he could finally go home for getting back to his loved ones. This was the perfect opportunity. He had to intercept the convoy before it reached the Karavan agents. Pü escaped from the naked day by dropping a few feet, and landed on the branch on which he had left his belongings. He gathered them up and packed them hastily, except for a cubic wicker basket, which he handled with care. This basket contained the fruit of many months of effort. He would never forgive himself for losing it or threatening its integrity. Sure he had not forgotten anything, he checked his harness one last time and dived. Pü sank into the green abyss at a rapid pace, moving deftly between the branches, and unhooking his lifeline from the pins he had planted during his ascent with an expert hand. He crossed for long seconds the multicolored strata of this continental forest of a thousand seasons, and ended up landing with grace on its leafy ground. Given the direction taken by the flying machine, it would probably land in the clearing located further north. | Pü watched the Karavan machine dive at full speed. It was a safe bet that, as usual, a rendezvous point had been agreed upon between the Karavan and its minions, and that a convoy was on its way to deliver tribute. The young Zorai felt his heart racing. Four. He was only four short. Four, and he could finally go home for getting back to his loved ones. This was the perfect opportunity. He had to intercept the convoy before it reached the Karavan agents. Pü escaped from the naked day by dropping a few feet, and landed on the branch on which he had left his belongings. He gathered them up and packed them hastily, except for a cubic wicker basket, which he handled with care. This basket contained the fruit of many months of effort. He would never forgive himself for losing it or threatening its integrity. Sure he had not forgotten anything, he checked his harness one last time and dived. Pü sank into the green abyss at a rapid pace, moving deftly between the branches, and unhooking his lifeline from the pins he had planted during his ascent with an expert hand. He crossed for long seconds the multicolored strata of this continental forest of a thousand seasons, and ended up landing with grace on its leafy ground. Given the direction taken by the flying machine, it would probably land in the clearing located further north. | ||
| Строка 29: | Строка 29: | ||
Pü swallowed. His heart rate was slowly starting to pick up. Never. Never would he get used to this sensation. His brother had however assured him that his first time would be kicky, and that the sensations felt would mark him for life. On the one hand, he had not been entirely wrong. The small hands covered with blood of a Zoraï exiled as soon as he was eleven years old, kneeling alone in front of the still warm corpse of his first victim: these images were haunting him for long weeks, day and night, to lose his mind. But this last ordeal also announced the end of his painful exile. Soon, he would be back in his country, in his stump, and could hug his mother again. This cheerful thought comforted him and helped him regain his means. The convoy was now emerging on the horizon. It was soon within observation range. In its center a sturdy, heavily laden cart was pulled by two [[mektoub]]s, placid pachyderms with nimble feet and over two meters in height, brown fur with gray stripes, but most recognizable by their long, powerful trunks and earless heads. It was driven by a Tryker, like many of those that Pü had so far come across. Indeed, it was not uncommon to find Trykers far to the east of their floating cities, doing thankless and poorly paid work in Matis land. Their curiosity and love of freedom made them excellent explorers and inventors, but their small size, childlike appearance and, above all, their peaceful and good-natured character had unfortunately led them to be enslaved by the Matis on several occasions over the past centuries. And, as Pü had learned from his mother's lessons, it was during the epilogue of the "War of the Aqueduct", only forty years before, that the Trykers had last suffered such slavery. | Pü swallowed. His heart rate was slowly starting to pick up. Never. Never would he get used to this sensation. His brother had however assured him that his first time would be kicky, and that the sensations felt would mark him for life. On the one hand, he had not been entirely wrong. The small hands covered with blood of a Zoraï exiled as soon as he was eleven years old, kneeling alone in front of the still warm corpse of his first victim: these images were haunting him for long weeks, day and night, to lose his mind. But this last ordeal also announced the end of his painful exile. Soon, he would be back in his country, in his stump, and could hug his mother again. This cheerful thought comforted him and helped him regain his means. The convoy was now emerging on the horizon. It was soon within observation range. In its center a sturdy, heavily laden cart was pulled by two [[mektoub]]s, placid pachyderms with nimble feet and over two meters in height, brown fur with gray stripes, but most recognizable by their long, powerful trunks and earless heads. It was driven by a Tryker, like many of those that Pü had so far come across. Indeed, it was not uncommon to find Trykers far to the east of their floating cities, doing thankless and poorly paid work in Matis land. Their curiosity and love of freedom made them excellent explorers and inventors, but their small size, childlike appearance and, above all, their peaceful and good-natured character had unfortunately led them to be enslaved by the Matis on several occasions over the past centuries. And, as Pü had learned from his mother's lessons, it was during the epilogue of the "War of the Aqueduct", only forty years before, that the Trykers had last suffered such slavery. | ||
| − | In 2435, intrigued by the discovery of | + | In 2435, intrigued by the discovery, to the west of their desert, of ruins buried under the bark, Fyros miners struck a vein of acid that set the entire region around the imperial city of Coriolis ablaze. The fire, which lasted several weeks, spread to the border of the Kingdom and cut the gigantic aqueduct the Matis abhorred. The aqueduct which linked the Desert to the Lakes region run by the Trykoth Federation, the ally of the Fyros Empire. Then the war in which the alliance and the Kingdom had been bogged down for almost a century and a half took a new turn. For the Emperor was forced to withdraw his troops from the Lakes, to send them to fight the fire that threatened his people and deprived them of water. Thereupon, taking advantage of the opportunity, the Matis army invaded the Lakes region, enslaved the Tryker people and took back the city of Karavia, which the Empire had stolen from them almost a century earlier. Karavia; the 'Holy City', reputedly built on the very spot where Zachini, on the coast of the Kingdom he later founded, had first met the Karavan and the goddess Jena. Karavia; the 'Unholy City', for Pü and his tribe, the most evil place to be found on Atys… It was within its walls, however, that the treaty was signed the following year, which put an end to the War of the Aqueduct and freed the Trykers from the Matis yoke. But this last episode had left definite traces in the unconscious of the people of the Lakes, and many Trykers had remained in the Forest as servants… like the driver of the cart, obviously dedicated to the service of the dozing Matis on the bench beside him. |
Pü, at the sight of the latter, immediately identified him as a cleric of the Church of the Light, which was called Herena. The Matis was indeed dressed in his ecclesiastical costume: a white amber crown and a long toga consisting of several large capes made of coloured feathers and decorated with braids of amber jewellery. The Church of Light, founded around the cult of Jena and placed under the aegis of the Karavan, was today all-powerful in the Kingdom of Matia, and particularly in the precincts of Karavia, retroceded to the Kingdom by the treaty named after it. It was under her influence that so many homins had been convinced of the demonic nature of the Kamis… | Pü, at the sight of the latter, immediately identified him as a cleric of the Church of the Light, which was called Herena. The Matis was indeed dressed in his ecclesiastical costume: a white amber crown and a long toga consisting of several large capes made of coloured feathers and decorated with braids of amber jewellery. The Church of Light, founded around the cult of Jena and placed under the aegis of the Karavan, was today all-powerful in the Kingdom of Matia, and particularly in the precincts of Karavia, retroceded to the Kingdom by the treaty named after it. It was under her influence that so many homins had been convinced of the demonic nature of the Kamis… | ||
| Строка 83: | Строка 83: | ||
:''"Please, don't kill me!" | :''"Please, don't kill me!" | ||
| − | Pü sincerely pitied him. He hated to kill. And especially when his opponents were not prepared for it. But now he had no choice. He was almost there, he couldn't give it all up now. The young Zoraï cleared his head again and ignored the Matis' complaint. He moved closer to him, placed his left foot gently on his neck, and crushed it with a heel strike. Picking up the sword of the now paralyzed man, he stabbed him in the throat, thus preventing any regeneration. One. He only needed one more. If the fainting machine-gunner was enough, the homin who was facing him from now on would surely not let him approach the wounded man without a fight. The general had indeed | + | Pü sincerely pitied him. He hated to kill. And especially when his opponents were not prepared for it. But now he had no choice. He was almost there, he couldn't give it all up now. The young Zoraï cleared his head again and ignored the Matis' complaint. He moved closer to him, placed his left foot gently on his neck, and crushed it with a heel strike. Picking up the sword of the now paralyzed man, he stabbed him in the throat, thus preventing any regeneration. One. He only needed one more. If the fainting machine-gunner was enough, the homin who was facing him from now on would surely not let him approach the wounded man without a fight. The general, who had indeed hopped on his mount to bridge the distance between himself and the Zorai, before jumping off a second time, was now heading towards the warrior with a decided step. Arrived at a few meters of him, he took off his helmet. For the first time in a long while, Pü had a backward movement. For a moment, the child thought he saw his father's mask. The Matis was in the prime of life, as indicated by the few wrinkles that disturbed the harmony of his facial features and the faint shine of his long ebony hair. But above all, it was the assurance and intensity of his gaze that reminded her of her father. Those piercing blue eyes were those of a determined man, ready to give everything to accomplish his will. Pü took a step back. |
:''"It is not necessary for us to fight,"'' he said in a troubled voice. ''"I have accomplished my mission. Leave the machine gunner to me and go home. Please take my advice, and join your family." | :''"It is not necessary for us to fight,"'' he said in a troubled voice. ''"I have accomplished my mission. Leave the machine gunner to me and go home. Please take my advice, and join your family." | ||
