Test (2)

The heavy rains were already beginning to overwhelm little Karri. She cursed herself forever standing up and taking the test. What was she thinking, there was a reason why they were the elite and she wasn't.

All along she had always been like her brother Ajax. He was among the respected of the clan. He was the pride and joy of their household and he was now among the ruling elite in the community, as he had distinguished himself to be among the top fighters in the clan, and indeed the settlement. With such a high bar being set, why wouldn't she aspire to be more than he was?

Ajax himself had never been mean to Karri, in fact, he was one of her strongest support. This was also why even within their household she had quite a lot of latitude because she had her big brother as her background and support, how could anyone take her lightly.

No one expected her to go all out, with such a family, she was set for life. Even though Bamboo was to lose leadership, he would never cease to remain relevant, and with him, neither would his crew. As such, there shouldn't be any worry by the little girl. What people did not see was that she wasn't striving because she had any worries, but rather, the fires of competition had been stoked, and she had an objective.

One thing about Karri was that she had a magical ability, one that only a few even knew. Not even her brother knew of her special ability, and the boy who knew had only discovered because he was spying on her. When she found out she threatened to expose what he was doing if and when he exposed her power. Surprisingly, they had grown quite close since then.

If ever some were overly blessed by the heavens, it was those that got the kind of power Karri had.

In magical civilizations, the individuals who awakened such abilities were called druids, or masters of nature. In technological civilizations, they were known as psychics. This was because they held power over multiple elements, not just one. The galactic civilizations called this kind of ability the combination ability.

In simple terms, Karri was a Nature Master. She could wield power over nature element. These included all naturally occurring elements in their natural state, but especially those linked with life, for this was their primary powerpoint. They wielded control over the life essence, essentially, they could manipulate living beings.

As she was just a Grade F super, she could only feel her way around through plants. These were the most basic lifeforms that were developed enough to allow her to see through their senses. On the night she was lost, she had felt that she could commune with the woods all around her.

She would ask the trees for direction, and she could get the answer. It wasn't spoken, but rather a feeling, like a pull, a form of direction. At first, she thought she was imagining, but as she had been desperate, she thought, why not. This thought or feeling led her to her home.

The next day she went out again, though this time she didn't wander off. Her purpose, to confirm what she had felt was real. Seating on the grass, she could sense the feeling of calm and safety that was emanating from her being there, it was as though all was right with the world.

After many seasons, she had found even the ability to control the movement of insects. She would use them as her army to build small things here and there and then reward them with plenty of food. While all this was exciting, she dared to tell no one.

Due to her brother's status, the others didn't interact freely with her. She was also an introvert and wasn't so friendly, so many just let her be. When that male lavel had found her, she was playing with her insects. It was a mountain of ants. It was his curiosity that had made her discover his presence, and let to the subsequent discussion.

Already, Krea felt powerful enough, but what she didn't know was that she had barely begun to scratch the surface of who she was. As far as Dane knew, almost everyone who had such an ability was fated to become a Grade S, God status. Due to the potential they had, any discovery of such a person would lead to massive strive to attract and assimilate them to their power, after all not everyone had the potential to become that powerful.

You can imagine Dane's joy to have one with such potential all to himself, with no competitor to woo them. Seeing her, he'd been tempted to elect her as the powerhouse, but she did not meet many of his qualifications. As such, he had made other plans for her. Like Krea, she was to play a major part in the foundation he would lay for his faction.

From a distance, Karri could feel trees calling out to her, and this was the reason she was still moving. She was drenched with rainwater. Normally, by now she'd have hunkered down somewhere to let the storm pass, but she could feel the storm was not a normal one. Something about it felt, off. It was as though the grass and the nature around her were warning her, and she obeyed. She felt safety was in the forest.

From a distance, she noticed the treeline. With joy, she ran as fast as she could to where the trees were, only...

Bump!

She was hit by some invisible barrier. It was as though, the area was obstructed. Try as she might, she couldn't find a way through. Setting aside her frustration, she asked nature what was happening. She wasn't expecting a reply, yet at that moment, she began to understand. There was indeed an invisible barrier as this was a dome. She even got an image of how the dome looked like.

Looking closely, she noticed an entrance, to which she rose and ran towards. The storm was getting more violent, and she could hear the explosive power behind the thunder cracks. Every roar of thunder made her body quake in terror, there was danger in the storm.

As she ran, Karri noticed that the grass she was running across was growing taller and taller. For anyone else, they'd be daunted, but for Karri, she was like a fish in the water. The grass was paving way for her, and she ran in the direction of the entrance with no obstacles. However, just as she was about to enter the dome of safety, she realized, there was a stranded lavel. Looking closely, the lavel had a broken leg.

At that point, she had an important decision to make, either leave the lavel behind and save herself or risk herself even further by attempting to rescue the lavel. It didn't even take a second to decide, the little girl ran to the fallen lavel and bravely carried them towards the dome's entrance.

With this, the test was won.

Dane wanted to inspire a simple concept of good being right. It might seem obvious to many, but there were civilizations built on the opposite, and these were the most looked down on. If it wasn't for the fact that many had the power to protect themselves, they'd have been long destroyed.

Dane's purpose was simple. Only with the right foundation would he build his faction to rise to the levels of the Maa Faction or even higher. He was doing everything to set the right tone, the right message. These brave lavels were his first seeds, and he had to tend to them carefully, setting the standards for the future.

Krea found herself trapped in a burning forest. The heat was dispersing every water element around and she had to strain to get herself out. As she ran, she saw someone burning. His screams rose above the raging fire. She quickly deployed her water elements to cool the man. This was a sacrifice since she would lose most of her hope of getting out, but she endured. She then helped carry the lavel to safety.

After all that, she even went ahead and healed the lavel, such selflessness was supremely encouraged.

Even Brom, who was fighting some flying monsters, took the time to rescue another lavel who was being ravaged by said monsters. These monsters were giant eagles, but their story has yet to come. For now, they were just simulations by Dane. Brom fought while dragging the lavel until they found a cave to hide in. He even lit a fire to warm his comrade. Even Dane was touched.

Thea found herself starving in a semi-arid area. Firstly, she had never experienced any kind of climate other than the grasslands and woodlands she stayed in, so she was thrown off from the start. She had always lived a kind of princessy life, one with no worries. While she complained that it wasn't what she wanted, she still got a lot of leeway in all her undertakings.

Now, she found herself without any basic shelter against the hot sun that was beaming at her. Her mouth was parched and her lips had cracked due to thirst. She saw a pool of water up ahead. Hungrily, she ran towards it, only it seemed to be running away from her. She'd never experienced a mirage before so she was frustrated, but she didn't give up.

3 tries later, she was beginning to understand that this was just her eyes playing with her. However, looking ahead, she realized that now she could see a green patch. Skeptical at first, she decided to go check it out, maybe this might be the real thing. As she did, she found a weak lavel on the verge of dying.

Remember, at this point, Thea was thirsty and tired. She was giving her all to keep going, and even then that proved to be an uphill task. She could barely stand, and all she wanted was to get to that patch of green land she could see from a distance.

She battled within herself, arguing that she could just go, drink some water, gain some strength then come back for him. While this seemed a plausible idea, she knew that once she left the lavel behind, there would be no coming back later. Though she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to leave a dying lavel for death, so mustering all her strength, she took him by the shoulders and dragged the lavel to the oasis.

By the time she was at the oasis, she was drenched with sweat and exhaustion, but the feeling of satisfaction that hit her heart was one she'd never felt before. It was like discovering the purpose and reason for one's existence.

For a well-established community, there was a need for there to be a system of belief. A definition of what was right and wrong and the ideals that people would root for. It was this belief that Dane was trying to establish this early on. It might seem obvious for most in well-developed civilizations, but to the lavels, it was just right.

To Dane's excitement, no one failed the test. This was to be expected, for even among the vilest of persons, there was a sense of good in them. Similarly, the lavels' lives were relatively okay, to the point where maliciousness was almost non-existence. That would soon change, but for now, Dane wanted to continue enjoying the innocence on the planet.