The Kuvushan Enigma Part 1

Judgement

One afternoon, the sun begins to retract, and the sky turns from light blue to trypan blue. A steady breeze brushes the air. A thirty-four-year-old man steps in indigo robes with light orange markings. The man has medium-length black curly hair that rolls down to his neck, dark brown skin, pale blue eyes, and thick eyebrows. 

Beside him is a seventeen-year-old woman with short black straight hair, mocha brown skin, wide lips, a pointy nose, thick eye lashes, and lapis blue eyes. The man looks at the young lady, "Aylin, are you ready?"

Aylin looks the man in his eyes, "Yes father, the spirits are buzzing tonight."

The man smiles, "Indeed they are Aylin. It will soon be our time to strike. Hopefully Frako has prepared our materials for the evening." As the pair stares off into the night sky, a few villagers go about their business as usual. 

One young man stumbles out of a bar where a band plays violins, trumpets, drums, and harps in the background. The roar of reckless laughter and the moans of lust echo from the pub. A young woman vomits profusely in the bathroom of that same facility. Likewise, the bartender takes advantage of a pair of young partygoers as he continually offers them drinks for coin. 

The youngster continues to teeter about until he trips over the pavement. Two robbers creep up behind the man. Both are dressed in black robes with their faces concealed by dark grey masks. One draws a short sword while the other pulls a dagger. 

The dagger-wielder steps closer to the drunk and gently rests his blade on the back of the man's neck, "Hey kiddo, give me whatever coin you have, and you'll live." A hum whips through the sky as a woman in dark blue and magenta tinted robes glides behind the criminals. 

By the time she lands, an ice shaft penetrates the dagger robber's back. The other fiend gasps as the woman unloads a volley of ice particles through the man's chest. The young man rises and runs at her, "THANK YOU, MY SAVIOR!!" As he emerges to hug her, the woman pumps an ice knife through his belly.

The young man desperately howls as he slumps against the freezing ground, "Aiiiyyyyyeee!!!!" He is left as he bleeds out. Elsewhere, a wealthy banker rides in his carriage with two prostitutes. The man is heavyset, has light blue eyes, and slick dark brown hair. 

The banker rubs the jewelry of the harlot on his right, she chuckles and holds his wrist. Banker: "When are we going to get to business?"

The wench behind him rubs his shoulders, "Just wait my sweet, we will give you all you want and more."

Banker: "Hmm, I like that!! Well, let's do it! You can't tame this cougar forever!" The call girl pricks the man's back and the banker falls asleep. The harlots begin raiding the man's pockets. One prostitute nods for the other to deal with the driver. 

The courtesan pulls the curtains separating her from the driver with a knife drawn when she notices the driver is missing. Harlot 1: "Oh no, he must have gotten away."

Harlot 2: "Good thing we aren't from this town. Let him go run and tell someone, it will already be too late by the time they return." A large ice boulder crushes the carriage and all of them. The mysterious man walks with a dark brown mask that has light orange markings over it. 

A couple walk together at night. Both seem to be in their mid-thirties. Male: "I can't wait to see what your mum has cooked for us. She makes the most savory soups and stews."

Aylin steps about fifteen feet in front of them. The man mutters, "And we were almost home."

The woman despairingly murmurs, "What should we do?"

The man squeals, "Run!!" The couple sprint down the street but are both pelted by multiple ice spheres. One hits the back of the man's head, rupturing his skull. Blood leaks from his body and his partner falls into him after taking three clean hits. The girl attacker hears a thud before she vanishes like a ghost in the wind. 

Intervention

The woman sits back as she is soaked in both her own and her lover's plasma. She wipes her blue robes drier with her cream-colored scarf. "Oh, Huok, nooo." She weeps. 

Kett wakes up in his hotel room. The jacked teen hastily puts his armor on before knocking on Sada's door. Sada tosses her robes on and opens. Kett: "Assemble the crew."

Sada asks, "Why now? It's midnight."

Kett: "I don't know."

Sada snaps, "That's not a good answer."

Kett: "I-I am not sure why, but it doesn't feel right. Something is off, I can, I can just sort of feel it."

Sada gazes, "I wonder if the spirits are speaking to you? Perhaps through that armor."

Kett shrugs, "I am as clueless as you are."

Sada examines Kett closely, "I think they are. That suit has a story, it was made by a hero during a more mythical time. Why are you being called to go?"

Kett: "I'm unsure of that too, but we can always start at the local policing station." Kett, Sada, Calveko, Kashen, and Ruken wait in the local defense station. Ruken sports rich purple and black robes to represent the United Way.

Calveko complains, "Why are we here again?! We could have slept and done this in the following morning."

Kashen responds, "You know why, the spirits work on their own time."

Calveko: "Or maybe we misread the spirits' message. Ever thought about that wise guy?"

Ruken: "Quit your bickering both of you, it's not going to make this anymore fun for me. Kett, why are we really here?"

Kett nervously scatters his eyes, "Uhhhh, let's see what usually happens this time of day." Kett looks at one of the two Kuvushan warriors in the station. They are both sitting at a glossy yellow-brown table while multiple torches keep the place illuminated. The warriors are playing cards to keep each other entertained. 

Warrior 1: "It's slow this time of night, the worst thing that happens is some villagers fool around at night."

Warrior 2: "We get some night brawls every once in a while, there are a few crimes on occasion, but few people alert us in a timely manner."

Calveko pouts, "That's because you people should have someone on patrol."

Warrior 1: "Do you want to do that for us? It's hard enough to keep responders at the station like us. It is thrice as difficult to convince people to patrol at night when it is completely desolate."

Kett inquires, "Isn't that what you signed up for?"

Warrior 2: "Isn't not that simple."

Calveko: "Useless cops, check. The people that do local detail are always second-rate, the real fighters go abroad and put their tails on the line."

One of the warriors slams his desk and points at the Eastern Tribe member, "Will you hush and go somewhere?" A lady barges into the policing shack with blood stains on her outfit. 

Woman: "Help, HELP!! My husband's dead!" One warrior draws a sword while the other grabs a spear. 

Warrior 1: "Who did it?"

Woman: "I don't know, some lunatic, she tried to kill me too."

Warrior 2: "Was it a mugger?"

Woman: "No, it was some type of serial killer. She wanted to take both of us out and she was masked."

Warrior 2: "Masked? That sounds like a bandit."

Woman: "No, I'm telling you, she was different."

Kett: "Don't worry about this warriors, we will handle this threat." 

Warrior 1: "These are the people of OUR village; we are more than capable of doing this ourselves."

Sada counters, "There is a REASON we are here. Save yourselves the trouble."

Warrior 1: "Says who? The self-proclaimed princess? The savior of the Water Tribes?"

Sada: "Who said I was a princess? Who said I was your savior? I'm a United Way fighter but be happy someone else is taking a risk. Enough people have died from Kuvusha, allow someone else to step up so your people can rest easier."

Warrior 2: "Tresh, let her go. Something is telling me, she is right."

Warrior 1: "Have you lost your mind? This is our honor that is at stake."

Ruken shows a United Way card, "Nothing is at stake believe me, not from you anyway. We are professionals and will handle this."

Warrior 1: "Your badge means nothing to us."

Warrior 2: "Just go! Find the killer, bring her to justice!" 

Warrior 1: "At least if you're going to let them go, tell them to do it right. Kill her, she's too murderous to be spared."

Sada: "We will do as the light wills. It is not up to us."

Warrior 1 looks at Kett, "You do what you feel is right, don't let her decide for you. That armor chose you, that means there is potency in what you individually believe." Kett puts his helmet on as he prepares for action.

Kett and his allies scurry out of the facility as they look to find the threat. After half an hour of running through the town, they notice a pack of five corpses in the middle of the street. Kett takes the lead as he strives to get a closer look before a pillar of ice crashes two inches ahead of him. 

Kett turns as a mound of snow knocks Kashen and Calveko over. Ruken draws a rare black sword with a gold hilt as he looks to defend himself. Sada steps beside him as the strange, masked man looks across at them. Kett turns and sees the young woman Aylin standing across the light blue pillar. 

Kett leaps over the pillar closer to his new adversary, "Hands up, come clean and surrender. I won't ask twice!" The man glares at him and swiftly sweeps her right hand. An ice pole glides at Kett, it is hardly visible but the VA crashes against the floor as he sneaks past it. 

Kett can feel his armor clacking against the ground which stings a bit. The former 31st lieutenant gets to his feet and zaps a light orange burst of fire at the woman's head. Aylin dips her head and swivels left before punching two ice bricks at him. Kett immediately pushes two fireballs into the bricks, turning them to vapor.

Kett thinks, Not bad, I see you're pretty good. Let's see how you deal with this. Kett pulls right hand back before extending it. A burst of swirling orange and yellow fire zips at her and the woman cartwheels several feet right before kicking an ice orb at the hero's face. 

Kett ducks and the orb suddenly explodes into a water blast. The blow knocks Kett into the pillar and the force knocks him dizzy. While this occurs, Sada and Ruken step toward the man. The unknown challenger points both of his hands at the United Way champion and pours a 5-feet-wide cold-water surge at her. 

Sada raises an ice barrier which takes the hit but starts to crack from the sustained pressure. Ruken runs at the man who turns and hurls multiple ice cubes at the man. Ruken twirls his black weapon as he slashes each cube. The man flicks a curved extended water fist into Ruken's face, dropping him. 

The fighter laughs lightly before Sada launches her barrier at him. The man lifts his right hand as he directs the barrier twelve feet in the air before it hits the surface around twenty feet back. Sada shoves a hot water stream at the man, but he spins right before swiping a razor-sharp ice whip at her feet.

The young United Way advocate softly jumps over the whip before slashing it with her own briefly generated ice hammer. Before she lands, the masked crusader shoots a volatile waterball into her chest. The ball blows up and swats Sada against the opposite side of the pillar that Kett is sitting on. 

The two Kuvushan warriors triumphantly gallop ahead on light grey horse-wolves. Between them is Captain Zameer, who rides a copper-furred ram-bear and wields an arrow. Within a moment's notice, the night menaces are gone but all of Kett's team remain somewhat disoriented at the pillar. 

Sada gets up rather swiftly, having not been badly hurt. Ruken and Calveko soon follow suit. It takes a bit longer for Kashen to regain consciousness, though Kett seems to be out cold. Sada touches Kett, "He's alright, but he somehow still hasn't woken up yet. Perhaps the spirits are reaching out to him again."

Zameer dismounts his beast, "What do you recommend we do in the meantime?"

Sada: "Patrol the city, I think they are finished with whatever mayhem they have caused, but it still wouldn't hurt to scout the area out. When Kett wakes up, we'll make sure he's comfortable at the hotel. We will continue our investigation."

Calveko: "We ran headlong into a trap. I see your friend Kett doesn't have Macai's tactical brilliance."

Kashen: "Hush Cal, he doesn't need it. He has spirituality."

Calveko looks at Kett, "Well, I guess that's something."