Survival of the Wisest

[Satsu]

:Satsu’s eyes were an elusive pair that continued to study the unusual character lying in their makeshift hammock bed. There were a couple of women standing amongst him but one stood out more than the others. While the others were cute, some mesmerizing, there was one resting with her arms slewed about his neck and her head resting against the side of his. Satsu careened his eyes to her direction as if trying to see her before his lips moved some, and, at the end, only the words: …he will die, Selene :would have reached Guage’s ears. Selene, as she was called, stood up, weapons attached to various parts of her body, littered with some scars, and a body like a goddess, both busty and voluptuous exited the hut spilling a heavy spit of light into the room for a temporary moment. The flap of the entrance ceased its movement leaving them in the serene ambiance they originally were. Guage had spoken some time ago and a good five minutes of silence filled that gap minus the faint scraping of metal against his own skin. What was occurring was hard to believe, but, from guage’s angle it definitely appeared Satsu had been sharpening a knife against his own arm. Separating knife from skin, he sheathed his weapon and finally stood: Jaesp.

:He began to walk towards guage: It’s a very unique type of plant. It’s burnt and its incense alone causes temporary paralysis of the nervous system. There are a few plants that can counteract this effect but, for now, your body will feel heavy, will be immobile. :Satsu crossed his massive arms across his chest. Satsu was a burly man, unlike his Father, but everything about him was large. Much like a Samoan if they worked out intensely- just rippling with muscle: I would apologize for beating the crap out of your face, but it was necessary. I don’t know how you ended up in the desert but it was stupid. The desert isn’t a playground. It’s not just some sandbox you frolic about. Do you have a death wish or something? I know babies who know more about the Desert than you do.

:Satsu narrowed his brows at Guage with some distaste: I knocked you out because you would’ve died otherwise. The rate you were expending energy was ridiculous. Besides that, I want to know who you are and who you are affiliated with. Don’t LIE to me or you will make things worse for yourself. Just know…that I know…you can’t fool me. I know what you did. I saw it. I sensed it. You’re not from our clan, I would know. So it’s easier to just come clean. So…? :Satsu asked from his crossed arms, now just five feet away from guage, fingertips consciously stroking the stubble upon his chin:

[Satsu]

See...:Satsu lifted his index finger and wagged it at Guage:...see that's where your wrong. You can do something that you would call unorthodox. There's a reason we live near the edge of the desert...:a finger tapped his shoulder. Satsu glanced back to a lady who whispered into his ear: Serious? :Satsu sighed heavily before looking back to Guage with a disgruntled glare: So my lady informed me you are telling the truth. So be it. So be it. :Nevertheless it didn't change the fact Guage was still paralyzed; although a tingling sensation began to course through his arms bringing back feeling and very weak movement: I'll just get straight to it then.

Why is it you're able to gather water? Obviously you're a good liar but that would mean the other herb didn't work. They always work. Since you're caught in the middle there's only two clans, that we know of, that can use elemental abilities. Ours and another. It's very unusual that someone who doesn't know who the hell they even are, has the sense to do something like that. In order to control an element to the extent you did doesn't come naturally. That's training. :he began to walk back and forth in front of Guage: Care to explain that?

[Satsu]

:Satsu watched for a moment as the man failed to return a response. Not that Satsu needed one to continue his rant, but this unresponsive was a recognized reaction that rarely occurred. Satsu gave a disgusted curl of his lip when he realized what had happened. The plant he used to sedate Guage had a side-effect against those who were allergic to it, and this was the case. It was sheer bad luck on Guage's part that the sedative had permanetely damaged his nerves shriveling them to a point of death. The rotten image was pushed aside as he stood up:

Damnit...I can't believe it. Please. Just get him out of my sight. He couldn't be trusted. I thank the Heavens for protecting me against such avid wickedness. :Satsu stood up watching a series of men and women carrying the body outside: Burn it in the desert. :Time couldn't be wasted any further. Provisions were used to keep this man alive, precious rations that they were running low upon. The village had taken a long detour. He had promised them a way across the desert and now they were stuck some...where in it. He knew how to get back from here but there was still much more mystery. A riddle waiting to be solved. Night was approching. Temperatures were dropping:

Love...are you leaving? :Said a woman behind him: ...silly question. :he replied: Just to you. Not everything has to ride on your shoulders. :he stared at the entrance to the door: The village is on them and it's there it will stay. I will only lay down its foundation when I find a land most suitable for it foundation. Until then, I must fulfill my promise. :Selene gave a bemused look: Satsu! Don't you dare act like that. I have just as much right to be out there as you. Y'know what I'm capable of! :she said impatiently, but Satsu responded quickly: That's why you must stay here...:he pleaded:...you keep this village together. You keep me together. Here I know you're safe. Knowing I have you to go back to gives me tranquility. You have your journeys. I have mine. When your time comes I will not be a pillar against them. :Selene didn't react any further, crossing her arms distastefully and speaking below her breath: ...yeah but you never think about the journey WERE making. :Satsu departed saying aloud:...don't forget I love you. :Selene sighed angrily:...love you too.

[Satsu]

: Opening the hut, the curtain was parted to his left side and the extremities of the Desert met him with heavy repulsion. Whirls of sand swooped his vision as spits of thick sand did not hesitate to smack the side of his face reminding him that a hood was always necessary during the day. Shielded across his face, he attempted to ignore the other part of the environment disgusted with his presence- his village. It was a long walk pass the makeshift huts that stretched ahead of the Master Hut Selene and himself resided. Many were growing intensely hungry, portioning their rations to make it last rather than having the ability to satiate their appetite at will. Person by person, his eyes faltered to meet theirs knowing it would be nothing less than noble to pretend they did not exist. They knew, he knew what needed to be done and if it wasn't he'd have to deal with their wits end:

Leaving again? :spoken shrilly from a disgruntled man. Satsu stopped to look at Pirere: Does that concern you, Pirere? :the man's face stared heavily: We could've fought back! Pirere said in a tone much more harsh that spittle came from his mouth: Don't blanket your regret with hate. Don't regret what you don't understand. If I felt we could fight back without losing a soul then I'd have sooner let our enemies be trampled mercilessly. That wasn't the case. :Satsu returned somberly: Father, I'd rather have died then be forced to live in fear of tomorrow. Sent into the wild, like pigs waiting to be slaughtered! :Satsu backhanded Pirere: You may be a man but you will not swing your tongue at me like a sword. Y'hear me?! Belittle our family again and you will find being a pig is of greater inheritance than what I will make you. :Satsu leaned in close to Pirere: You WILL apologize by the time I come home. Not only to myself but everyone else. :Satsu said icily to a Pirere who held his cheek angrily: You are all my children. I will not sacrifice even one in the name of our enemies. Learn well.

: Satsu stood straight again, looking around: Anyone else?! :Satsu said sharply: I will return hopefully no later than three days time. I expect you all to take care of your brethren. This is not a time to bicker. Always be prepared for the worse. For our enemies. Pray for my return. :Satsu then walked on and departed the edge of the tiny village and slowly faded into the onslaught of sand. Unfortunately, light was lying in wake within the next two hours. Winds would die, and it was there his journey would begin. The Desert of Illusion would live to its reputation :

[Satsu]

: What most didn't understand was that this desert was unlike any precedented desert. Not only did its temperatures rise well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, that being a minimum, but there was something that inhabited its core. Whatever it was, it didn't want to be found. Satsu didn't want to believe this but after traversing halfway through the desert, most of the times by himself, he was left with nothing more than his mind and the sand. Occasionally, it was for this reason that he came up with this radical idea. Since there was nothing much out in the desert, small discrepancies, genuine artifacts, odd shapes, unorthodox things were not easy to miss. The mind stretched to look past the heat, to find something worth noting:

:Giving the desert credit, he could understand why he's never met a person to cross it before. It was easy to get lost and sidetracked. The farther he pushed on the more excited he got about reaching the other side, or one side of it. He wasn't even aware that he was halfway, all he knew was that he couldn't turn back. Not only did he not know how to return, which he failed to mention to anyone but his wife, but he had an army after his village. Figuring that they were the only one of his kind, he met another with similar abilities who were bent on being the only one of their kind. They were much like Satsu's clan, elementals, but where he sought peace, for once in his life, they had means of unleashing tyranny more diabolical than he expected, forcing them to flee for their life. Their only chance of survival, the Desert of Illusion:

:Now that he had departed the scene, night began to creep quickly into existence. The sand began to drop, and without a shed of light to illuminate his path, he walked through the perilous darkness to brood over his previous trials and what he might come to see tonight:

[Satsu]

R-run! Run! Don’t wait up for me…Towards the East! The EAST! :Satsu blurted in a panic behind waves of enemy projectiles. Everything from fire, water, electricity, etc. came flying at them, leaving Satsu’s sons to urge the youngsters and women onward while they stared back at their Father for a moment, before departing towards the East:

:Satsu, on the other hand, watched a lethal burst of water about to make contact with his face, and reacting with an electrified palm his right hand rippled until it clashed with the jagged spurt of water causing it to splash in every direction away from his body, a stream of electricity sifting through its liquid, before the electricity became solidified and shot to the left, right, down, and diagonally towards anything physical, pinning electrical strings into trees, the ground, rocks, etc. literally creating an electric vertical plane of web fifty feet across:

:At once Satsu turned away quickly in order to rendezvous with his family knowing the advancement being made had been temporarily thwarted. What he didn’t realize was in a matter of a fifteen seconds the web had already been thwarted, only temporarily slowing down a massive attack. While the web remained sturdy, it was fire that pushed through the gaps of the web, igniting plants and nearby arboreal before consuming the environment and adjoining to itself on the other side of the web and moving at a rate faster than Satsu could run. Intuition first and sound second, Satsu glanced back. Instantly his eyes flared in amazement. He had never seen fire be used at such speed, to a point it almost bypassed his senses. Nevertheless the intense swarm of heat could now be felt on his back as he caught eye of his family in the distance.The flames were bent on catching up and licking their bodies to death:

Damn this muscle! :he said with aggravation, but he couldn’t think of himself, he knew he was leading the fire to his family- his clan. Realizing this, his face shifted emotion and determination turned to sadness as he watched his family come to a standstill. They watched with shock at the rolling 30 foot wave of fire consuming everything behind Satsu. What they also caught sight of was how the ground shifted, the earth between Satsu and themselves began to rise to the blatant shout of multiple "Satsu no", and a wall of earth took the place of both point of views. The wall was fifty feet tall, a hundred feet wide, and with thousand of tiny holes perforated throughout the surface with a simple, controlled shift in the air. Satsu ensured that when it was struck with the flame, it would not have a chance to move over the wall or destroy it, the flame should be diffused, the wall should be left standing:

:Satsu gave a quick huff of air as he reached the wall, turned around and instantly began prepping a defense he already had in mind but would at the maximum be but 10% effective. Having accumulated enough water, he pushed his palms to the ground, soiling the earth, muddling it into a creamy paste until a organic silhouette came over his head. Satsu looked up confused as to what it could have been. It was his son Pirere! Pirere came into view, having, he guessed, scaled and jumped over the wall he made, leaving Satsu to yell: No!

: Pirere landed just before the fire, slamming his fist into the ground to stir up some air which rose sharply and widely then thundered under the immensity of the fire colliding into the stream of air which attempted by all means to redirect the fire into the air. Yet, the fire’s strength was abnormally strong. The heat radiated against their skin at some 400 degrees, a quarter of its true intensity. Despite jet streaming the flames into the air, the barrier continually weakened, leaving Pirere struggling to stand and unable to do anything but deflect and keep the fire at bay:

:Satsu wouldn’t have that. He had, now, prepped a tomb for Pirere. At Pirere's feet the mud had soften and Satsu caused a thick slab of it to smack against Pirere's torso instantly causing him to land back-flat into a mud-hole causing the barrier of wind to weaken then dissipate entirely leaving the remaining fire to roar through and across Pirere and Satsu’s mud covered bodies:

:Although Pirere gave Satsu enough time to properly finish his defense, it was reckless, but, luckily, the time allowed Satsu to ensure 100% of their safety. The fire hit the wall, then, as predicted, diffused. The enemy reached the wall ten seconds later: No! No! Damn them. Find a way around! Hurry! They will not get away! :At that moment, the floor at the family’s feet became soft and muddy and both Pirere and Satsu’s bodies shot out of the mud. Pirere looked to his family with a smirk while Satsu was left gasping for air. He didn’t have enough time to form an air bubble for himself:

:Selene, his wife, and his family crowded himself and Pirere shouting: We did it! :Satsu didn't believe it. Beginning to stand he began nudging them aside while catching his breathe: Stop…stop! Get off! Go! Keep moving! :covered in mud, along with Pirere, Satsu staggered upwards and pulled Pirere with him and rushed to the edge of the desert: Dad, but that’s the…:Satsu quickly interjected:…our only hope!