Chapter Thirty-Six

"I think you broke him. The name's Pro, by the way. Come on over here so I can see where I get my shit from."

Co'laf indulged him, letting Pro examine him, then box with him.

"A natural you are but moves yours sloppy be. Start your training, in the morning we must. Last of Torins you are and bad name us giving you can't."

Pro smiled, not believing what he was hearing. All this time, he'd been trapped in Travis's head, thinking he was an alternate personality. Come to find out he was a damn alien? This was like one of those whack-ass sci-fi movies Travis watched; the only things missing were the bad acting and lame CGI.

Then again, he'd always felt like he and Travis were two separate people, so maybe this explained why? Bet that! But if he was stuck with Travis forever, then at least he could be the one in charge of their body.

"Right. Why don't we start right now?"

Co'laf laughed and went over the basics of Ramu'i (|rah| |moo|' |ee|), `circle.' 

The rules of Ramu'i were simple: players decided on the diameter of the circle, then who would be inside it. The Adota (|ah| |doh| |tah|) `defender,' and the Ivata (|ee| |vah| |tah|), `attacker,' who would try to knock the Adota outside the circle. The Ivata could use any attack they wanted, save fatal ones. The Adota was free to move however they wanted, provided they stayed within the bounds of the circle. Ramu'i was meant to train your reflexes in preparation to learn Fae'li (|fay| |lee), |, `the fist that protects,' a martial art only taught to members of the Torin royal family.

"Hold up, I'm an alien prince for real real? Not for play play?"

"Yes, but worthy of this knowledge yourself, you must prove."

I'm starting to think Travis was right about this being a hallucination. But let's roll with it.

"How?"

"In Ramu'i, defeating me must you. 

"What?"

"Sorry, Circle."

Pro wiped his nose, chuckling. "A'ight. Let's go, Pops."

Co'laf laughed.

"I say something funny?"

He nodded. "' A'ight' in Na'iva meaning something akin to your `butt monkey.'"

"Meh. Who's going first?"

Co'laf elected to be the Adota, explaining that while you were allowed to move inside the circle, the best players moved as little as possible and thus were called Ado (|ah| |doh|) no (|noh|) Isha (|ee| |shaw|), `the stone-footed.'

Co'laf etched a two-meter-wide circle in the red dirt with his claw. "Eki (|ay|' |key|) shyoma (|show| |ma|) `Ready'?"

"Yeah," Pro said, rushing him. Co'laf turned to the side at the last second, holding his feet in place as he twisted at the waist.

"Ukahya(|oo| |kah| |he--yah||) fa(|fah|) jani (|jah| |knee|)" 

Pro cocked his head to the side. "Not hungry enough?"

"Not fast enough." Co'laf corrected.

Pro redoubled his efforts, trying to fake out Co'laf at the last second, but he was always one step ahead of him.

"Screw it." He blasted Co'laf with a telekinetic wave, knocking him out of the circle.

"Woot! Mess with the best, get wrecked."

After dusting himself off, Co'laf asked Pro to be the Adota. He popped his neck, cracked his knuckles, and smirked. "I'm ready whenever you are."

No sooner had he got in the circle than Co'laf Popped behind him, sweeping Pro's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a boom that echoed through the cave. 

"Ouch," he groaned, rubbing his butt.

Co'laf laughed. "We stopping can."

"Like hell." Pro got up and tried again, lasting a few seconds longer this time.

 Over the next hour, he tried and failed to beat Co'laf again. Bruised, limbs aching, and eyes heavy with sleep, he vowed to beat Co'laf after some rest.

He took off his pants, using them as a pillow, and curled up on the floor of the cave.

He had almost drifted off when Luscinia called him over.

She showed him to the uren (|ooh| |ren|) khau (|cow|), `the sleep pod'; it was a grey, egg-shaped container, and as he climbed inside, she handed him a blanket and pillow. The blanket was blood-red, embroidered with a golden Na'iva pictograph that looked like two infinity symbols making an x-shape. The pillow was also red, inscribed with more Na'iva symbols that he couldn't make out, save for the same x-shape symbol, which was at the beginning and end of the pillow.

"What are those?"

"Your baby blanket and pillow," she said. 

He wiped his eyes. "And those symbols?"

"The names of your ancestors going back to the first emperor of Aves, whom we named you after."

He pulled at her sarong. "Ma, what's my name?"

She made the bird song from before. "It's ancient Na'iva and means `the strength that endures; the power that overcomes all obstacles.'"

He stared up at her, eyes wide with wonder, grinning big. "So . . . I'm a prince?"

"Yes. Lie down, and the story of the Four Princes tell you your Tochi will."

Pro gathered the pillow and blanket and lay in the sleep pod as Co'laf started the story.

***

Long ago, there were four princes who never agreed on anything. Their kingdoms had been at odds since the death of their Great-great grandfather, the first emperor of Aves.

However, everything changed when then the Nekoshin (|nay| |koh| |shin|) Empire attacked. Though no match for the princes' technology, the Nekoshin forces overwhelmed them. 

As Corvidae (|kor| |vee| |day|), Emperor of Earth Kingdom, Fifth of his Name slept, Gato (|gah| toe|), the Crusher of Souls, ripped his heart out and devoured it. One-by-one, Accipitridae (|ahk| |sip| |eh| |tree| |day|) of Wind Kingdom, Aethopyga (|eh| |thoh| |pie| |gah|) of Flame Kingdom, and Aptenodytes (|ahp| |ten| |oh|' |die| |tees|) of Ice Kingdom fell prey to Gato.

All seemed lost. 

Then, above the great wailing, rose the voice of Prince Talon (|teh| |lon|) of Earth Kingdom. "Who is like Corvidae?"

"No one!" his people replied, and they took up the fight, driving back Gato and his men. 

Inspired by their cousin, Bubo (|boo| |boh| of the Flame, Studur (|stew| |door|) of the Wind, and Adeliea(|ad| |eh| |lee| |eh|) of the Ice joined the fight. 

For a time, they had Gato on the run, but they could not overcome their old rivalries and soon turned their forces on each other. In the chaos that followed, Gato and his men wiped out half of the princes' forces, leaving alive those too injured to fight.

The princes were all that stood between Gato and the destruction of their people. 

Nevertheless, they fought. Not because they hoped to win, but because it's what their fathers would have done, what the Emperor would have done. 

Those who witnessed that battle speak of it in reverent, hushed tones. For on that day, four boys stood against ten thousand. 

They combined their powers--impaling some with shards of ice, exploding others, and raining down great balls of molten rocks on the rest. Only Gato remained, but the princes were too exhausted to continue. "Surrender, and I'll spare your lives," he said. 

But they refused and as one spoke. "In bright of day or black of night, we are the sons of light. For all those who've come before us and have yet to come, no matter evil's might, we shall stand . . . and fight!"

A black-light radiated from the princes as they fused. With one burst of their golden flames, Gato fell dead. 

The princes separated, and below them lay items of incredible power. Talon received the Hammer of Storms; to Studur, the Razor-Whip of Invisibility; to Bubo, the Sword of Inferno; and to Adeliea, the Lance of Freezing.

Their fathers' voices issued from the weapons and congratulated the princes. The kings told them they would always protect them as long as their weapons never fell into evil hands. They gathered the items and returned home, vowing never to let their differences separate them again.

***

"Cool story, Dad." Pro yawned. "So, I'm related to the princes in the story?"

He told Pro that Luscinia was a descendant of Princes Talon and Adeliea, and he from Princes Studur and Bubo. And that after nearly 25,000 years, Pro's birthed marked the reunification of the royal bloodlines.

"Nice. Sleepy now. Talk more later."

Pro curled into the fetal position and drifted off. The lights in the cave dimmed, bathing him in soft yellow light as music played. He couldn't make out the words, but the melody reminded him of Brahm's Lullaby. Co'laf covered him up, kissing his forehead. "Sleep well, Tanna (|tahn| |nuh| `my darling' (used when referring to children)). Much to learn, having you.

 

 Author's Note: At least pro's parents aren't FUBAR. Next chapter, Travis deals with a minor existential crisis and begins walking the path of a true hero.

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