Rite of Passage

King and Lupinn had been performing several tasks given to them by different members of the Valeian community. Whether it retrieving Snowfield Rat claws or protecting citizens from wargs and other hostile creatures. Taunes had been watching them accomplish the myriad of errands and noticed that both contained great potential as Valeian warriors and spoke to King Krug about the two.

The next day, King and Lupinn went to the Bulletin Board in Vales to look for more help requests. King Krug and Queen Kirine were standing by, awaiting the two. King and Lupinn were confused as to why they were there.

King Krug: Good morning, King Animalia and Lupinn. You two have been observed helping our town by completing various quests posted up on this board.
King: Observed?
Lupinn: Why were we being watched?
King Krug: For some reason, Taunes took great interest in you two. He seems to think you two have potential in becoming powerful warriors. Also, we surmise it’s time for you two to become a Valeian Giant.

Taunes walked up behind them and placed a heavy hand on King’s shoulder.

Taunes: It’s time for your Rite of Passage, King and Lupinn.

King turned around and looked up slightly at Taunes.

King: Rite of Passage?
Taunes: Yes, you two will go on separate spiritual journeys that will test you and determine whether or not you are fit to bear your Valeian names. Do you two accept?

King looked down at Lupinn, worried. Lupinn returned a doggy grin.

King: Separately?

Lupinn: Ha Ha, we can do this King. You’re pretty strong, I’m sure you can survive without me.

Re-assured by Lupinn, King returned a warm smile, as confidence surged through his body.

King: Alright, we’ll do it.
King Krug: Very well. At first signs of Palala, be at the snowfields just south of here. It will take Kirine until then to prepare the necessary materials. We will surely find out if Taunes is correct.

King and Lupinn slept nervously that night. Neither ready to be separated once more. Both were unsure of their abilities and feared the awaiting challenge and its mysteries.
Before Palala’s rising, they were prepped and waiting at the aforementioned location.

((Credit to Roxxy for her help! ))
Day 1:
Lupinn and King waited at the designated spot for about twelve minutes, before humanoid shapes were seen in the distance. Slowly, the figures of Taunes and Prime Minister Weide came forth from the veil of windswept snow, King Krug and his wife Kirine behind the warrior and priest. The small group of giants stopped before the waiting pair, Krug stepping forward a slight bit more. Waschbar clacked his beak, flapping his wings to hold his balance on his master’s shoulder as Krug thumped his chest in greeting.

“Welcome warriors,” rumbled Krug with a nod of his head. “Today shall be the first day of your spiritual journey.”

King bowed slightly, showing his respect to the mighty ruler before him. His brow furrowed slightly at the king's words, hidden beneath his thick hair.

“Spiritual? Does that mean Lupinn and I won't be separated?”

Taunes turned his head towards King, squinting in his attempt to make out the younger giant within the billowing snow.

“Not physically. You two will be beside one another the entire time. However, ” the near sighted warrior shifted, resting a hand upon Bastian's hilt. “You will take separate spiritual journeys.”

Weide shuffled forward slightly, clearing his throat. He looked to king with a knowing smile, “During the experience, you might find yourselves facing a series of trials that will not only test your physical abilities... but your morality as well...” The old priest combed his fingers though his thick beard thoughtfully.

“At the end of your dream journey, you will be given a message depending upon your actions throughout it. You will tell me this message, and I will interpret it. I will then, depending on what is said, give you my blessings and welcome you as Valeian warriors.. and should you fail.."

The age-worn giant straightened, his eyes glinting with a serious light. Lupinn's fur bristled slightly at the immediate tension, his dull claws digging in the cold snow as he flexed his massive paws. Weide stared at the pair, his once warm expression now stern.

“Should you fail..” The minister repeated, “You will be shunned until you can attempt to prove your worthiness in one year's time.”

King leaned back slightly, his jaw clenching slightly in hesitation.

“So... depending on what we say and do.. it'll determine whether or not we become warriors?” Krug folded his hands behind his back, his chest puffing out proudly as he glanced down at King with slight indignation. “Yes, that's correct. Now, let us begin.”

The Giant King motioned to Weide with a curt toss of his chin, the old priest nodded and began to trudge forward though the heavy snow, motioning to King and Lupinn to follow as he passed.
Slowly they waded though the heavy drifts, the icy snowfield wind howling angrily. Ice worms grumbled beneath the snow as they walked along, sometimes coming up to the surface to look at those stomping above their heads. Somewhere a mammoth trumpeted loudly off in the distance.
Eventually, they reached a shallow crater in the tundra, the snow packed down into an icy crust. Two large holes had been freshly dug, the shadowed black depths a stark contrast in the world of white. Weide stopped and turned, motioning to the two narrow hollows.

“You two will have to be mostly buried in the snow for the duration of your journey.”

Lupinn's ears flattened against his skull, his tail tucking with a low, aggravated whine. The thought of being buried in the ice was none too pleasing.

“How long will this take?” the wolf rumbled in annoyance.

“The journey could take many days, to yourselves, it may seem like only a moment has passed, but in reality it's much more.” Taunes explained calmly.

“But.. what will happen if we're attacked during the journey? Surely we won't be able to defend ourselves...” King questioned in a worried tone. Krug stepped forward from behind King, hands clasped behind his back and chest pushed forward pridefully.

“Taunes will stay here, observing you two. He won't leave your sides for the duration of your trials.”

Krug said stiffly, eyeballing the near-sighted warrior coldly. Taunes nodded stiffly, glaring back at Krug before smiling at King kindly, “You will be safe under my watch.”

King nodded lightly, still slightly unsure. “Alright.. “He mumbled quietly, resting a hand on Lupinn's back for reassurance.

“King Animalia, Lupinn.” Krug boomed, glancing at the pair from the corner of his eye. “It's time you submerges yourselves.”

The Valeian ruler motioned to the holes with a wave of his hand, still looking over Taunes.

The pair nodded and trudged forward, sliding into the prepared holes, Taunes pushing the upturned snow and packing it around the two in the narrow pits until only their heads remained above the icy ground. Krug turned slightly, glancing back at his wife as she twirled a lock of long blue hair around her finger.
She glanced over King and Lupinn with a cold disinterest as she walked forward, drawing two identical herbs from the small hide pouch on her waist. The broad green leaves shined in the paled sunlight streaming through the crunching tundra surface, delicate azure flowers swaying from the thin stalk as Kirine knelt in the snow.

“You two need to eat these to begin your dream state. Now you can either open your traps and eat them yourselves, or I can break your teeth and shove them down your throats.” crooned the giantess in a darkly sweet tone that would send shivers down the spine of even the great Yeti.

With a hesitant glance to the other and a nod, the pair opened their mouths simultaneously. The pair gagged slightly at the bitter taste as they chewed, a flavor akin to very badly burnt bread. The giantess healer stood, winking slyly at Taunes before returning to her spot beside her husband.

“Warriors, may you have a safe journey.” Krug rumbled deeply, turning and striding away into the snowfields proudly, his queen blowing a kiss to the nearly blind Taunes before turning to follow.

As the couple faded from sight, time seemed to slow and warp for the pair buried in the snow. The wind slowed as their minds unfolded and their pupils dilated, the world around them becoming a smear of colors and sound.
The whirl of sensation began to slow, a familiar scene began to form. A river of brown swirled before them, shaping into a worn dirt path. Small bushes unfurled from the forming earth, branches growing heavy with bright red berries as a sea of green grass burst up upwards toward the bright sun above.
Lupinn and King stood upon the path, recognizing it as the path beside Tir Chonaill's healer house. The two looked about, each searching for the other in vain. From behind each within their separate dreams, a vaguely familiar voice called out.

Both turned with a start, both setting eyes on a familiar green figure. Ragged bat-like wings opened wide, thin black tail whipping about menacingly as Hyuponia glared at them with cold crimson eyes.

“As a warrior, you must not fear death.” Hissed the incubus in a bitter, mocking tone, “Do you fear death?!”

Hyuponia dashed forward with an enraged cry within each dream.
The wolf crouched and bristled, baring his massive fangs in a thundering snarl as he bound forward to meet the incoming foe alone.
The giant shifted his stance with a grunt, setting his heels into the ground and bracing himself for the many blows to come in his solitary battle.
The same scene had happened years ago. Hyuponia had won, and killed them both. If they could not beat the incubus together once before, how would they manage it alone now?

[[ I didn't do that much, I just spent two hours talking to NPCs to get a better handle on their personalities and turning your script style into story style >w> ]]

((You helped me quite a bit Roxx. Deal with it. :3))

Day 2
King and Lupinn planted themselves on the ground, fatigued after their respective fights with Hyuponia. After about three minutes, the scene around them began to shift. Tir Chonaill dissolved in a whirl of colors. Long, wooden tables grew from the ground. Shelves carting a myriad of books popped up, resting against lengthy walls. An ornate carpet rolled out from under them. Dunbarton Library was right before them. As they took in the familiar scene, tingling sensations took place in King’s right arm and Lupinn’s right foreleg. From the tip up, the limbs began to vanish in a sudden combustion of flame. They felt no pain whatsoever, as the wisps of fire engulfed. A perfectly seemed patch of flesh developed over the empty sockets. King and Lupinn cried out in surprise.

King stared at the empty socket, no blood gushed out and skin covered the joint flawlessly. Following the laws of gravity, and with nothing to cling to, his sword and cylinder fell to the floor. The clang of the sword muffled as it came into contact with the carpet.

Lupinn attempted to stand, but failed, not having the support necessary from the missing limb. He whined ceaselessly.

A dark foamed from the front of the Librarian’s desk. The foam began to mold into the shape of a familiar young man. As the foam hardened, black shoes became discernible. Above the shoes, was a long suit with an average sized body inside. The suit was tightly buttoned and black, with crimson red sleeves. A neck grew out of the head-hole and cradled a head with long shaggy white hair. On top the head, was a blood red hat with black hatband. A softly glowing, black feather bloomed from one side of the hat. The mouth moved, words being uttered. “You’ve already answered the first question of the quiz incorrectly. So, I had to take that one limb.”

At the sight of the man, Lupinn howled happily. The howl quickly broke into a menacing growl. The colors of his outfit were off and no scent emanated from the man. The azure blue, representing his frost mage self, had been replaced with the crimson red, the red possibly representing fire magic.

King stood up and stared at the man that he thought of as his best friend. He ambled over, holding the empty socket, to hug the guy he thought was Auron. King was propelled backwards by the cause of flame. ‘Auron’ lowered his smoking hand and watched as more burns formed on King’s visible skin.

King patted the embers that lingered on the patches of his clothing that remained. He faced ‘Auron’, disbelief apparent on his face. The man snickered. “I am not Auron. You idiot, have you not noticed the scarlet color that counters Auron’s blue? I am the Quiz Master. Try to near me once more and I will incinerate your entire being.” Conjuring a book into his hand and a pair of wooden glasses, he began to read aloud. “Here are the rules of the game.”

Lupinn continued growling at the man. A wisp of flame was summoned and revolved around the Quiz Master. The flame flew and impacted upon the spot where Lupinn’s right foreleg would have been. The canine let out a yelp. The Quiz Master scolded, “Shut up, you mutt.” Lupinn kept quiet, his eyes locked on the Auron look-alike. “This is your second trial. I will be quizzing you, you will be answering. Answer incorrectly, you lose another limb. ”


“You’ve lost your first limb already. You let your guard down after defeating the Hyuponia duplicate. What if there were more duplicates of people you know? They could’ve easily snuck up on you and killed you before you had the chance to stand up.” King stayed attentive, hoping to be done with this trial soon.

“If you answer correctly, a part of me will vanish. If either of us vanishes completely, the trial will end. You have enough intelligence to determine whether you pass or fail the trial depending on the outcome. Let the Quiz…” Lupinn stared in fear, glancing occasionally at the spot of the missing foreleg.

“…Begin!” Many books hovered off their shelves and orbited the Quiz Master, their covers opening and closing and pages fluttering. “As I said, you already answered your first question incorrectly, so we’ll be moving onto the second question.” A blue book, with golden letterings on the cover, floated out of orbit, and into the hands of the quizzer. “Your next question: If you were in combat with an archer and a warrior, which of the two would you prioritize?”


King thought about this for a moment, he considered the different consequences for each situation and finalized his answer. “Er…the archer.”


Lupinn answered quickly, “The warrior of course. Chances are, it’s stronger and has the capability of dealing more damage to me.”

The blue book sputtered and shrieked. It fell to the floor and disintegrated. The right leg of the Quiz Master combusted instantly. He continued to stand, perfectly balanced, albeit the burning leg. King sighed in relief.

A terrible pain arose in Lupinn’s left foreleg. The foreleg began to burn, and Lupinn howled in great pain. As the torture subsided, his left side was once again mirroring his right, with only the hind-legs existing. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I forgot to tell you, from now on, any limb-losing processes will be excruciatingly painful.” The wolf mewled in fear.

The Quiz Master sighed. “I thought wolves were supposed to be intelligent. That’s two questions you’ve answered incorrectly.”

Through the pain that the two continued to endure from incorrect answers, the next slew of questions was a blur. Clear memories resumed at the point when the Quiz Master had only a head hovering in mid-air. Lupinn and King were the same. “Final Question.” The Quiz Master uttered, as a black book with absolutely no words on the cover hovered into his hands. “What lesson, do you suppose, that your trial against Hyuponia, was meant to teach?” Both exhausted, they used what little energy they had left to contemplate the previous trial. They considered what they did to kill the doppelganger and arrived to their conclusions.

“I almost gave up and I could feel myself slowly going insane, with all the clones crowding me. I felt it was useless and almost ran out of will to fight. Though, one of his taunts, made me re-realize what I exist for. I exist to fight and protect those I love. With those words in mind, it drove me to finishing the demon off. I believe that the lesson was to not forget your goals, as they will drive you to success.” King finished his speech, confident of his answer.

“I learned that I shouldn’t forget my goals. I cried in fear. Though, using my senses, I remembered a specific moment with a good friend of mine in which smoke was a factor. His taunts affected me greatly though. It made me believe that I would be unable to help King in whatever way possible, whenever he needed it. Though, chanting my goal over and over in my mind, gave me the energy to believe that I can-fight alongside King. And I will!” Lupinn growled with determination, not wanting to let the quiz beat him.

The Quiz Master nodded, and the book fell to the floor shrieking and sputtering as the previous books.
“King Animalia, your message is: Adhamh.” The Quiz Master smiled and disappeared.

“Lupinn, you are in fact an intelligent wolf, I bestow upon you the message: Conrí” With an approving nod, the Auron copy vanished.

The library around them washed away into nothing and the snowy world of Physis began to re-appear as their eyes opened. Taunes was sitting there beside them, in meditation. King and Lupinn turned their heads slightly towards each other and laughed. Taunes’s head snapped up and he glanced over to the pair. “You two have finished, I hope.”

King nodded and looked towards Lupinn, who grinned sheepishly. After being dug out, they returned to Vales where they were led to Weide. King and Lupinn each donated their messages and the old Minister smiled.

“King Animalia. You were given the message: Adhamh. Adhamh means “of the earth”. The message also signifies that you are now an official Valeian Warrior. Congratulations, Adhamh.”

“Lupinn, your message: Conrí signifies “Wolf King”. Your message grants you access as a Valeian Warrior AS WELL as official partnership to Adhamh. Welcome, Conri.”

They rejoiced. Weide directed them to Taunes. Taunes smiled, glad the two warriors succeeded in their “exam”.

“Well, now you will be given special gifts, commemorating your success.”

They wandered over to Taunes’s Forgery/home. The near-blind giant fumbled about in his home and brought out an oddly colored Battle Hammer. The head and end-tip were a dark black, and the handle was a shining azure. A small glow emitted from the mallet. In Taunes’s other hand, he carried a large metal armor, with a dark blue metallic trim and multiple divided black midsections. It took the form of a large wolf.
“Conrí, this armor is newly forged and designed specifically for a giant wolf, such as you. May this armor keep death far from you in your future battles.” He attached the armor onto the immense canine and he ran around, testing its flexibility and comfort.

“Adhamh, this battle hammer is special. As you can see, it has a soft glow. This hammer is a spirit weapon. It contains the spirit of an ancient warrior. He will be of great aid to you as you get stronger and participate in battles. His name is: Poseidon. May he serve you well.” As he was handed the spirit weapon, he held Poseidon and thanked the great blacksmith.

Krug walked towards them and smiled. Taunes puffed up, proud of Adhamh and Conrí. They each gave their respectful bows.

“Warriors, Taunes was correct about you two. You two completed your Rites of Passage, and I welcome you into the warrior community. I give you my blessing.”

Krug spoke and gave his blessing to the two.

((This ends the recount of their Rite of Passage.))