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Perspective


Torran

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This is my entry for the Titans and Monsters contest. Enjoy!

 

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Hyendar dodged a blast of fire. It exploded behind him in the sky, sparks cascading down like fireworks. Hyendar thrust his dorsal tentacles toward the assailant, knocking him unconscious. Spinning around, he caught another of the same being, this one rust-brown in colour, attempting to lodge a long spear in his side. Hyendar reached down and clawed at his enemy, wrapping his sharp appendages around his waist. The brown figure dropped his spear and shield, squirming in the grip of the behemoth. Hyendar tossed him toward the sea, where he crashed hard into the waves. Not dead, but definitely not a problem anymore.

 

It was no use, though. These creatures swarmed the banks of the ocean, and Hyendar was losing much of his foothold on land. He looked down the shore to his brethren, two more like him. They were having no more luck. Although they towered above these puny figures, their foes were strong, and had unheard of command over the elements. Considering the possibilities, Hyendar called out to his brothers, and the three monsters descended into the waves of the endless ocean on Spherus Magna.

 

Below the surface, Hyendar sighed. The three monsters awoke a few days ago to a thunderous earthquake that rippled across the entire planet of Aqua Magna. For the last 100,000 years, they had slumbered on the ocean’s floor, far from any other beings and disturbances. Now, they realized their home world had rejoined the rest of Spherus Magna, undoing the effects of the Great Shattering that devastated their species. They were the last of their kind, ancient amphibious leviathans condemned to the ocean depths. Once, they had been regarded as rulers, mighty warriors of Spherus Magna. Now, upon returning to their home, they were shunned, rejected, and attacked.

 

Who were these strange beings that acted so brutally, like savages gone hungry? What made them react in such a manner? The Great Beings could not have had a hand in their creation; these creatures were too violent and unwilling to accept him and his brothers. While it was true that they were titanic, they did not come with malicious intentions. In fact, they had simply emerged from the water and began their trek inland when they had first been attacked.

 

Hyendar shuddered. This land was not the same as he remembered. And if they couldn’t even make it a kio without facing adversity, what would they find elsewhere? He would not risk the death of his brothers. Perhaps if he went alone, the little ones would be more inviting, especially if he seemed less threatening. Hyendar decided that he would wait one day, and then venture up once again to the surface.

 

***

 

The seas were calm and the sun was bright when Hyendar resurfaced the next day. He moved slowly, knowing the small creatures would be on high alert, waiting for movement. And there they were, patrolling the ocean side. It didn’t take long for them to notice the hulking beast rising from the water, and it took even less time for them to aim their weapons at Hyendar. He slowed to a stop, his feet still submerged.

 

He waited.

 

They waited.

 

Sensing that he might have underestimated these creatures, Hyendar stepped forward cautiously. They did not shoot, but they did not lower their weapons. He now stood on the beach again, where only a day before he been in the center of a colossal conflict. He continued his walk away from the ocean, with the creatures below him scurrying to keep up, training their weapons on him the whole time.

 

Looking down, Hyendar felt as though he was walking through a rainbow – the figures were armored in yellow and teal and green and purple and blue and so many other colours. He himself did not wear armor – his species was gifted with tough, scaly skin, gleaming with green and blue hues in the wavering sunlight. It was a majestic sight, or it used to be, in days long past.

 

Hyendar found himself nearing a city, which appeared to be freshly built. A new colony? In any case, he should be careful not to get too close, lest the creatures think ill of him. There were even smaller creatures here, running to and fro, moving stacks of bricks to continue building. Some of the large figures shouted toward groups of these creatures, sending them scurrying off on new tasks. Hyendar found the work rhythmic and captivating. If he returned this way, he would be sure to observe them longer.

 

A prick on his foot made the monster stop. He glanced down to find a few of the armed beings in front of him. Behind them stood a larger figure, black and silver armor almost glowing in the light of the day. This new face craned his neck towards the sky to look the monster in the face. Hyendar carefully lowered himself to be closer to the ground – which is to say, he still loomed above the city a fair height. The silver character did not take kindly to this action, aiming his shoulder and wrist blades at the giant. The rest of the creatures did the same.

 

Hyendar, unsure of how to react, attempted to raise a hand in innocence. One of the beings below him interpreted this as a threat, and fired a sonic blast at the beast. Hyendar reeled from the pain it caused his senses, hitting a city tower with a tentacle. The rest of the creatures now opened fire on him – ice, air, earth, more than Hyendar had ever experienced before. He stumbled back, tripping on the trees growing beyond the city. He crashed to the ground, and the attacks continued to come. Overwhelmed by the elemental forces against him, he shuddered, unable to move his body. He could not understand why they were so hostile to his presence, or why they would not relent. The creatures jabbed him with their spears and swords, throwing everything they had at him.

 

The massive beast tried again to get up but found his wrists and ankles encased in thick stone, keeping him pinned to the ground. The creatures were clambering onto his chest now, running toward his face. As they neared, he could see the fatigue and confusion and anger behind their masks.

 

Hyendar closed his eyes and thought of his brothers below the waves. Perhaps they were not the monsters after all.

 

 

 

*This short story has 1072 words.*

Edited by Torran
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  • 2 weeks later...

This story is very deep and well-written. I assume the ancient sea behemoth from 2007 was the inspiration? I loved to see the creature's side of the story and it really reminds us all why there is a Toa code and what happens when the heroes stop following moral codes. Kind of represents the increased violence of Bionicle from 2006 onward.

 

Gonna vote for this.

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