Like Father, Like Son - An Oriana's Gnosis Story
Midday, Summer 45, 346 AV; Riverfall
Rengar ducked as the axe swung over his head, which he then turned into a roll, tucking his own axe close. Ending the roll with a crouch, he swung his axe at his attacker's legs. KLACK! An axe handle blocked his, right below his axe head.
I'm taking over brother!
Garren ripped Rengar from control, and used his free hand to punch a jab at his opponent's throat. But his fist was caught, then a white light exploded behind his eyes. He fell on his back, looking up at his father who was smiling, his forehead sore from the headbutt that had laid him out. "Stop fighting within yourself sons, you must learn to do everything as a team. If you're too busy fighting one another, how will you have concentration to fight your enemy? You two are brothers, family, just as we are your fathers." He reached down and pulled his son up to standing, “Let’s call it a day, I have work to do, and you two need to practice on your own some more.” The two began to walk back home, Rengar enjoying the high Riverfall sun, while Garren fumed at being beaten so easily. Strolling between the beautifully sculpted buildings, Rengar’s father stopped and sniffed at the air. “Blood… Come sons.”
His father quickened his pace, Rengar working to keep up. They passed around a building to a small garden, where young Akalak was curled up in a ball, while an older Akalak beat at him with the flat of his sword. The boy didn’t even look old enough to have gone through his Rite of Trial. Rengar wasn’t sure what to do, when his father growled, “Grab the boy, I’ll take care of the father.” His father strode up, holding his axe in a backhanded grip, “Gralvek, stop this at once!” The abusive man looked up, pointed his blade at Rengar’s father, “Stay out of this Garengar, this is none of your business. How I raise my son is none of your, or any gods’, business.” Rengar didn’t know what that last little quip meant, but he brushed it off, prepared to do as his father said. Garengar charged forward, as Gralvek raised his sword against him. Garengar dodged a slash, but didn’t parry or counter-attack. He continued to sidestep, skip back, and otherwise dodge the man’s slashes.
Look brother, father is leading him away from the boy, let’s get him out of there.
Rengar readily agreed, and rushed over to the fallen, now seeing the true extent of his injuries. Nose broken, several fingers broken, shallow slashes on his limbs, and he was barely conscious. Rengar picked up the boy, his blood getting all over his bare chest, warm, sticky. The boy moaned, when Gralvek realized what was happening. In a rage, he swung around, bringing his sword up, then slashing downward, looking to cut through both Rengar and the fallen boy. Rengar turned his back to the man, shameful in combat, but it would protect the boy. But his sword got caught on the underside of the head of an axe, which quickly pulled the sword away, disarming the man. Suddenly, Garengar was between them. He slammed his axe handle into the man’s jaw, followed by the head of his crushing into his skull, ending with a high kick into his chin, sending him backwards, landing quite like how Rengar did when he lost their practice duel. Garengar stood over the man, his axe blade sitting at his throat, “Do not move. You’ve gone too far Gralvek. Consider yourself lucky that it was me that found you, for if she had, you would be dead. If I hear of you doing this again, I will drag you to the ring and kill you there.”
Rengar stood up, incredibly relieved that he hadn’t been cleaved in half. The boy was still in a very bad state, and his father led them to get him healed. As the passed an alley connecting to the garden they were in, Rengar saw a woman in a loose blouse and skirt, colors reminiscent of soil and pine needles. She smiled at Rengar, then back at Garengar. There was a subtle voice in Rengar’s mind, one that didn’t belong to him or Garren, “Like father, like son.” They eventually got the boy to a healer, and he made a full recovery, and no one ever heard from Gralvek again. Garengar gained another son, and Rengar another brother.
Winter 54, 504 AV; Mura
Rengar and Garren had a massive headache. Nyla was working at the temple today, so Rengar had both of his daughters today. And he had decided to take them out of the house, to go exploring the White Isle. But it seemed that Nylenar and Gyrya were determined to bicker and argue all day. He’d grown used to sibling arguments, but none of them had lasted for this long, and nothing he tried worked. His wife somehow had the ability to make the girls stop fighting in an instant, but Rengar couldn’t figure it out. Half the time, he didn’t even know what the girls were arguing about, sometimes it was about if swimming in the ocean or the lake was better, others was about the kind of man they would marry. He wanted to teach them a lesson, but in his own way. Nyla might not approve of what he was concocting, but he felt a smirk come from Garren.
There’s not much danger in these woods anyways. The animals leave people alone.
He led his daughters into the woods, deep enough for his plan to work, but shallow enough to ensure safety. “Ladies, quiet down. Do you two know how to tell what direction north is? And how to get back home from anywhere on the island?” The girls quieted down, then Gyrya piped up, “We go that way!” pointing down the path they’d taken. Rengar let Garren take over, “That might work for a little while my dear, but we took several turns in the path, you’d get lost real quick.” Nylenar didn’t answer, but chuckled at her sister being wrong, which caused her sister to turn and hit her in the arm. This quickly turned into a quick squabble, which Garren broke up by lifting the both up by their dresses, and raising them to eye level. He glared at them, “Do not hurt each other. You are sisters. And one day, each other may be the only thing you ever have. Your mother and I won’t be here for you forever. It is time for you two to start working together.” He set them down, and continued, “Now go sit with each other on that fallen log over there, and close your eyes, and think about what I’ve told you.”
Garren walked over to a nearby tree, pulled his carving hatchet from his belt, and carved the following message into the tree, “Your first test is to find out what upsets your sister. You will not find the path through life without knowing this.” He then quietly walked over to another tree, a spear throw away, where he carved, “Your second test is to find out what makes your sister happy. You will not find the path through life without your sister’s smile.” He continued this pattern for several trees until he reached the end of the woods. He then quickly made his way back, and shimmied up the tree that held the second clue. He then shouted to the girls, in a voice all but the most gullible would find horribly fake, “Open your eyes and find your way home, together. I’ve taken your papa for a little while, but don’t worry, not matter where he is, he will always be watching over you.”
The two girls opened up their eyes, and looked a little worried. They looked around for their father for a little while, until their eyes fell upon the first carving. They walked up to it and read it, aloud, together. They looked at each other, and the younger, Gyrya began, “I hate when you think I’m stupid! Mama taught us both, we’re both smart, Papa says so!” Nylenar responded, “I hate when you mimic me all the time! You’re not me, you’re my sister!”
The two stood there in awkward silence for a moment, until Gyrya, a daughter of Avalis, so more prone to gut feelings, “I’m sorry Lena… I’m not trying to mi…mim… make fun of you… I just want to be as smart and pretty as you.” Nylenar shifted awkwardly where she stood, “I’m sorry too Rya. I don’t mean to treat you like a little kid, I’m just not used to you growing up. You are so smart, and kind, and beautiful. Sometimes I get jealous of you.” The two girls stood there awkwardly once more, then moved in for a genuine hug. Rengar smiled, knowing this was the beginning of a successful Rite, to help them both grow up a little. He climbed silently down from his tree, then moved to the next one. From there he threw several small pebbles at the second clue tree, until the girls looked up at it.
They continued following the clues, some eliciting tears, others laughter, but they managed to overcome them all. After they finished the last one, they looked up to see their papa standing there, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. “So girls, did we learn anything important?” Both girls looked at each other, broke into a fit of giggles, and never answered the question. Rengar scooped them both up, one in each arm, and turned to head back home, proud of both of his daughters. For a moment, he glanced over at the forest, and spotted woman wearing the dark greens of a woodswoman, arms crossed and smirking just as he’d done. He felt he’d seen her before, when a voice entered his mind, one he hadn’t forgotten. “And so the cub becomes the father. Like father, like son.” Then the woman was gone.
Spring 1, 513 AV; The Woods Outside Alvadas
Rengar had just finished studying a large oak he was considering chopping down for lumber to sell to the city. He’d cleared the landing zone, prepared an escape path, and was now ready to take down this leafy behemoth. He was surprised at how full this tree’s foliage was so early in the year, but that was Alvadas, always unpredictable. Axe readied, he began swinging hard, the blade biting deep into the wood. He made sure to swing through the tree, not at it, years of training making it feel so natural. Chopping away at the tree made him feel alive, relaxed, a state of meditation. But then he stopped swinging for a moment, for he thought he heard a child’s cry nearby. He looked around, but the cry never came again. He shrugged, thinking it was just the wind, and continued his chopping. Several chimes into it, he heard the phantom sound again. This time he set down his axe and actively searched the area, looking for the source, but never managed to find, or hear it again. So once again, he continued his work, this time putting a lot of his attention into trying to hear the sound. And just as he reached the tipping point of the tree, where it began to wobble and sway, where a few more cuts could cause it to fall, he heard the cry. From within the branches above.
He looked up into the tree, and saw a large mass of fur shifting about high in the foliage. A closer look, and Rengar realized that it was a bear cub. Instantly the situation became extremely dangerous, for wherever there was a bear cub, there was an extremely dangerous and protective bear mama nearby. Then a loud CRACK emanated from the tree, and he watched it shudder, the bear cub crying out once more. Rengar knew the tree would fall soon, with or without his axe quickening it. So without thinking, Rengar grabbed his axe, swung it high into the tree, it biting into the bark several feet above his head. He then pulled himself up the axe handle, his muscles taut and rippling, as he moved hand over hand upwards. Eventually he made it up to the lowest branch, the tree cracking again, followed by a long shiver. The bear cub saw him, but couldn’t reach any branches aside from his in order to escape. Rengar grabbed the branch just below that which held the cub, and pulled himself up once more. He stood up on the branch, careful to keep himself balanced. “Okay little cub, I’m not going to hurt you. Please don’t hurt me too bad.” Rengar then in one quick motion, reached out and grabbed the cub just behind it’s front legs, and pulled it in tight to his chest, grunting, realizing that it was much heavier than he’d expected.
And the bear had no intention of being held by a stranger, its claws now gored deep grooves into his chest, one set on either pectoral. He managed to keep his face and neck out of reach of its snapping jaws, when the tree let loose an incredible moan. Then everything was still. And then the sky began to move, and Rengar’s center of gravity disappeared. He was falling with the tree, thankful he was at least not on the side of the tree that would strike the ground. The bear’s claws dug in deeper, as a loud crunching filled the air, branches splintering everywhere. Rengar balled up around the bear, trying to protect it from everything possible, when the trunk collided with the ground, and his back crushed against the trunk. Rengar hit so hard, he wasn’t even sure he felt pain. Then for a moment, or an eternity, everything was black.
Rengar awoke, much to his own surprise. He tried to move, finding that he couldn’t and the world looked blurry. He’d been injured enough to know that he was bleeding out, and was fairly certain he was now paralyzed. This was how he would die, and the only regret he, and Garren, both had, was that they didn’t see their daughters, and Nyla, one last time. He saw no sign of the little bear, and he hope it lived, for if it hadn’t, then this would be the cruelest of jokes. A gasp escaped his lips, “We love you Nyla, Gyrya, and Nylenar. We’ll always be watching over you.”
Then a woman’s voice filled the air, “Like father, like son,” just before he blacked out, he assumed for the last time.
His eyes opened, the sight of a brunette woman and a large bear’s head looking down at him. “Welcome back Rengar and Garren. Stand up, you are not dead, I promise.”
Rengar had no idea what had happened, but he could move his body again, the blurred vision gone. He sat up, looking around, seeing that he was next to the fallen tree. He saw a woman in an earthy brown skirt and blouse smiling at him, standing next to the largest bear he’d ever seen, with another smaller bear, and the cub that he’d saved. He stood up as she had told him to, looking at her. “Why are we not dead?”
“Because I saved you two, just as you’ve saved my children. I’ve been watching you Rengar, ever since you were born. You’re just like Garengar, hard working, protective, and a wonderful parent. You know my voice, do you not? I was there one hundred and sixty years ago when you gained another brother. I was there when you destroyed a rift in your daughters that could have driven them apart forever. And I’m here now. I thank you for taking care of my children, and for that, you are now one of them.”
She reached down, pressing both her hands on the congealed wounds from the bear cub’s claws. She smiled at him, then stepped back. Instead of wounds, or scars, there were two black paw prints, one on each pectoral. He also immediately could smell her, a smell that reminded him of the trees back home in Riverfall, of his own mother, of his daughters and wife. “This is my gift to you both. I’m sure you’ve already realized what it has done. Now, continue your life, be a good father, a protector, for you are now one of Oriana’s children, just as your father was. Like father, like son.” And with that, the goddess turned and left, leaving Rengar there whole, healthy, and confused. |
|
![[Verified by Whimsy]](./images/checkmark.png "[Verified by Whimsy]")
Rengar 
by Rengar on March 20th, 2013, 7:57 pm 
To the right of Nyla's Lacun mark, is another that belongs to the woman Hiera, a human on the island of Mura. She died in child birth and lost the child as well.
