Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

It was cold, and the three lavels huddled together were shivering still. The males had yet to fully develop their manes, and hence there were still cold and shivering. Yet, they persevered, as this was the task.

There was a more powerful foe ahead. He was big, and he was strong. He was the size of a mountain, and if they lost their cool, they would be plummeted down by the beast. Bamboo, one of the three, really wanted to take him down. The big giant was none other than Hasilo, his elder cousin, the man famed who was supposed to be the next head of the settlement.

There was a reason why Dane chose Bamboo despite Hasilo being the more certain bet. He had charisma, he commanded strength and he had a mighty name. The problem was, the lavel would think that all the power and prestige was acquired by his own power, and indeed, without Dane's interference, he would indeed have gained all that. Yet, due to the limitations of his times, his reach and influence would have been ordinary, and he would have faded in obscurity. Dane had plans for Hasilo, but that was as a subordinate, not as the leader.

For the moment, the three, Bamboo, Kip and Ajax, were locked in a stiff competition against Hasilo and two of his lackeys, Ferreta and Jaugger.

Bamboo was the defacto leader, and he led the assault. He was the one who would take on Hasilo, and their battle would be their main one. The other two would serve as defense against the other two opponents and occasionally attack Hasilo, but they were mostly support.

All this while, Bamboo had yet to show who he really was and what he was capable of doing. Even now, he was not planning on showing his trump card, for this really was just practice. However, even though it was just a fight, the entire settlement was out here to watch the fight.

Maple really really wanted Bamboo to show his power just once and put Hasilo in his place, yet doing so before the right time would be giving off his trump card to the enemy, and what's to say the enemy hadn't also prepared their own form of trump card.

Though she understood all that, she still couldn't b.a.r.e as Hasilo plummeted him over and over again. However, the lavel himself kept to his stance, never once did he appear broken. He had made his decision, Bamboo would wait, he wanted a legitimate claim to become the final champion, who would be crowned as head and leader of the their settlement, and to do that he had to bid his time.

A loud gong sounded, indicating it was time for the practice run. Six lavels burst forth from the clearing, three on either side. The lavels were on trees shouting and cheering on their favorite teams.

Hasilo lunged at Bamboo mercilessly, but the lavel easily dodged this time. This was their fourth fight, and also, their last preparatory fight. One would call it, a friendly match.

The settlement comprised of 8 clans. They were spread out in such a way that the most influential were at the heart of the settlement while those with little influence were in the outskirts. Due to intermarriages and mingling, the clans had completely integrated, but they retained their clan identities.

Each clan would nominate four teams to fight, and they would slowly whittle each other down until one team remained. This would be the team of champions, and they would be termed as the leaders of the settlement. The leader of the team would become the head of the settlement.

Since the lavels had nothing else to do but hunt and play, this festival was held every lunar revolution, the period where the moon completes a trip around the planet. While on smaller planets this was a month, in a planet as huge as Endar, a complete lunar revolution took the period of a year. For those that lived in the grasslands, it was a complete change of season, as fruits that bloom in season would begin their cycles again.

As such, the lunar revolution could be said to be a year, and from here henceforth whenever author mentions year, just know he means lunar revolution.

The clans would have their own individual fights to determine which teams would participate, as there were limited slots accorded to each clan. Though even those had yet to begin, the essence of these starter fights were to show who stood the best chance to gain the title.

Given that this was a sporting event, there was no doubt proliferation of gambling, though in a mild sense. Since this could be seen as political, the older lavels and the merchants who had influence wanted to identify the champions they would back.

Backing a champion meant that they would provide said competitor with resources of all kinds, and in exchange, should the competitor gain victory, they would have an ear and influence in the governance of the community.

The resources provided included weapons, intelligence and general information about opponents and fighting techniques, training. Moreover, there were those contenders that were provided with rich minerals that would boost their speed or strength giving them some advantage over enemies. All in all, in the most advanced of settlements that employed this method of governance, the Farriga Festival was quite a spectacle.

Yes, that was its name, the festival where the lavel youths in the settlements would fight for seniority and gain recognition as protectors and leaders of the settlement. With this title, they could command all the young lavels under their charge to fight to protect when under attack.

The lavel culture believed that both males and females should fight, but while the males fought against attackers, the females would stay behind as the last line of defense. Each of the homes were well guarded by the females, and those closest to danger, at the outskirts, would congregate under one shelter, where the females would cooperate to protect their young ones.

In times of peace, both the male and the female would go hunting. For proper success, they usually formed large parties that would gather enough bounty to either trade or entice brides with. In order to be truly approved as husband for their daughter, a young lavel male would have to provide substantial bounty for the cold season.

This was a phenomena Dane had observed on his approach. Every lunar orbit influenced the angle and the tilt of the planet. With sufficient pull, it could change the angle at which the planet would be in its own axis. This would in effect tilt the Bayu, or Endar's planetary ring.

The Bayu was a collection of rock and ice set together by some form of gravity, and while it provided shelter and protection to the lavels and vasils, it also influenced the climate of those regions closest to it.

As it was smack in the middle of the world, like a visible equator, it created a layer of protection against the harmful radiations from the two suns, and in cases where the two suns were overhead, without the Bayu, the mortals wouldn't survive such bombardment of radiation.

Still, they would face adverse weather and there would be death and starvation, and since this lasted entire generations, there were those that knew nothing but pain and strive. Next came the time when one sun would set, and given the planet was built to withstand the radiation from 2 suns, it would become extremely cold, and the climate would extend for generations, where there would be utter darkness.

In fact, one could say that this was the best time for one to be a mortal in Endar, when one sun was setting and another had fully risen. At this time, there was greenery all over, and many would never know the meaning of the work strife. Since entire generations would live and die before one season was done, they couldn't use these seasons as determinants for years.

It was noteworthy that there were some plants and trees and indeed even some creatures that could withstand the entire revolution around the two suns, and some even living for several of these revolutions. These could withstand whatever climate the world threw at them, and come out unscathed.

Most of these had medicinal value, but capturing them was extremely difficult. Yes, even the trees and plants were located in very hard to reach areas, and even vasils would be hard pressed to get to them.

Part of the reason they needed to store up as much food as possible was because the cold season was coming soon, and only those that had been prudent would be able to keep their loved ones. As far as settlements went, only those that had saved up would be able to retain their strength, which was assessed in terms of numbers. The stronger settlements could easily absorb the weaker settlements, and sometimes this happened in times of strife.

There were stories passed down, and while they made for quite terrifying bed time stories, they would be told as old wives tale, until they experienced the disaster once more. It would have taken many years and several thousands of generations to finally crack the code and understand the positions of the sun, but now there was a dragon that was hellbent on fast forwarding the civilization. With his interference, they would definitely discover the truth sooner rather than later.

These preliminary games were especially more important because this was their first ever showing in the festival. This generation was having their debut fight, their first moment in the arenas. To help the spectators gain a better understanding of the players and the contenders, they would come to watch as they battled on and pick out the best and the most likely to win.

All through, Hasilo and Bamboo had made quite the splash. Both teams had been in three fights, and this was their fourth. It was noteworthy that among all the other fights, none had garnered such a crowd as this. Two cousins going head to head, each as impressive as the other.

Hasilo was impressive for obvious reasons. He was huge and he was a fast. He could easily overpower his opponents with his instant strikes and his powerful blows. He was considered an all rounded fighter with both strength and speed, and therefore a favorite to many.

Bamboo on the other hand was noted for his keen battle sense and his quick reflexes. All along, he had been able to move in ways others thought impossible, and his blows were precise and accurate, and though he was not as strong as his opponent, he would still be deadly at his strikes, something that greatly excited the fans.

"Look at Hasilo's arms, they are the side of a tree!" One of the she-lavels exclaimed from her vantage point.

"Oh Hasilo, marry me now!" her friend replied, and both of them chuckled.

Maple listened in on this conversation and couldn't stand it. She liked that Bamboo dazzled, but she hated that he shared the limelight with Hasilo. She understood the need to play it cool, and maintain a low profile, but come on, this is your childhood rival, time to put him in his place.

Given that they were from the same clan, Bamboo and Hasilo wouldn't face each other, until they survived to the semi finals.

As a rule, no final battle would be against those of the same clan, and if two teams of the same clan reached the semi finals, they would battle it out to determine the best. This rule was only exempted if more than two teams made it to the semi finals, and if that was the case, they were allowed to battle it out until they determined the best in the clan.

Once a team won, the clan would become the ruling clan and those at the top of the clans would serve as guides and advisers to the new head, and would help in forming the administration.

It was expected that the seniors in the clan would guide the younger generation, and hence, this battle was extremely important. Whomever won would gain favor and resources while their opponent would just watch on. Maple watched on breathlessly, hoping that Bamboo would just get off his bum and put Hasilo in his place, but all she could do was watch on, hoping for the right results.