Farriga festivals preparations

Three days had passed since that amazing fight, which every lavel in the settlement was talking about. Super abilities were always a great thing to see, and to witness someone transforming into a giant, and another channeling the power of lighting, it had been quite a sight to see.

The one's most affected by this were the ruling clans. Their young ones had no possible reply for this. Who could have thought that two youths of some insignificant clan would be this powerful. Such clans were only allowed in their settlement to add to their cannon fodder in case of a substantial bandit attack.

They were the founders, it was their right to rule the settlement started by their ancestors. They were doing others a favor by even allowing them in their midst, let alone give them a chance to participate in the festival. With such mindsets, one could understand why they were willing to do anything to gain an advantage in the festival, as they felt they deserved it.

Even in the walkways and as they moved up and about, they founding clan members strutted about as nobles, feeling that they were above the status of the other lavels. They often looked down on these others, and to see their position threatened, it was something unacceptable.

Yet hope had come in the form of one by the name Krea. She was young and beautiful, but her true value to the clan wasn't in her looks, but in her ability. She had awakened a water type ability, and her affinity was just below perfect grade to the water affinity.

Once she had fallen into a river when she was younger, and despite her mother's best efforts she had been lost to the turbulent current. After a bloody search, the mother returned home dejected. She thought she had lost her daughter forever, but two days later, the small lavel managed to find her way back, and with her, she came with special abilities.

Krea was an illegitimate daughter of one of the clan elders. This particular clan elder was a close friend of the clan head and had participated in the Farriga festivals when they were younger. They had fought side by side in the same team, and this fostered a bond not easily broken.

Lavels didn't really have marriages, but there were those they publicly recognized as partners, and those they bedded as concubines. Krea's mom was one of the latter, and even then her position was not so assured. She barely got any benefit from her association with the clan elder, and she really was just a tool to be used whenever he had need.

Krea was her world, and the fear of having lost her had almost driven her mad. She had been crying herself silly, and hence when Krea showed her mother her abilities, her first act was to be cautious. No, there wasn't any need to risk losing her daughter again, for she neither had the power nor the capability to keep anyone from snatching her daughter and selling her as a slave. A powerful slave would fetch a high price.

She too had been at the fight, and she too had seen the power demonstrated by the lavels, and she had shuddered. How could she subject her daughter to such violence, such brutality. What no one but Krea, her mother and of course, Dane, knew was that she had awakened one of the more rarer types of spells in any element, elemental healing.

Since that fight, a massive outcry for supers had ensued, and it was realized that there were quite a number of lavels with abilities lurking. In fact, most clans had at least one or more supers. All in all, this was shaping up to be quite an event. Nearby settlements were making their way over to come watch, including many vasils as well.

There was a hidden meaning in this. Based on how spectacular the showing would be, smaller settlements would choose to move in to the bigger one, massively boosting the status of the settlement.

One of Dane's hidden agenda was that this would be the first public acknowledgement of lavelian supers. With this, he could draw in more lavelian supers to come join his, sorry, Bamboo's settlement. But first, he had to ensure Bamboo won. This was going to be a tough fight. Time to get Maple in the game.

One of the most subtle forms of mind control was to insert thoughts into one's mind. It wouldn't always guarantee result as adding a few thoughts and emotions in one's consciousness wouldn't necessarily force a decision. However, for longer lasting effects and to leave no trace behind, this was most preferred. By offering a list of options, it caused a tunnel vision that made an individual focus on just the options provided, and not on all the other limitless possibilities out there.

Dane used this on little Krea. While the decision for secrecy had been made by the mother, Krea still had a few cards he could play. On one of his nightly visits into their shelter, Krea had splashed water on her father's mane. Turning around livid, he was hit by the biggest shock of his life. This little insignificant offspring was had a ball of water floating in front of him.

"My daughter wishes to do her part for the clan." Seeing her daughter's action, she realized that the secret was out and there was no way to contain it. She was adaptable and she didn't want it to be seen as though she was hiding her daughter, so she quickly made this statement.

An excited elder had taken his child, one he had never really acknowledged until now, by his arms and dashed off to the clan heads shelter. After she made her demonstrations, the clan head finally breathed a sigh. What he didn't know that her true value was not in attack but in support. Though one could appreciate the attack by the water type element, having a healer in a team was more valuable. How could he know that she could heal.

Now for the matter of her being female, it was a non issue as the settlement head had the authority to make unilateral decisions pertaining the Farriga festival. The head wasn't some tyrant, nor did he have the power as most clans in the settlement were autonomous. Only in the matters of supreme importance did he make decisions, and this was one such decision. One could argue that it was as though he had delegated his power and only retained that which really mattered. Such was the way of the lavel.

The settlement head did not have executive powers. They were not chief in that they governed a closely knit and established form of government. This was a settlement, which usually meant the coming together of several clans. It was at the very beginning of sedentary lifestyle, and they, the lavels, would have had a very long journey before reaching the levels of villages, towns and then cities, let alone kingdoms and empires. Fortunately for the natives, Dane had come, and many even in this age would get to witness all this.

Waking up to a decree that would change her life forever, Maple's joy couldn't be contained. She literally almost knocked over her clan's head while applying to join in the festival. The announcement had been clear, and it was still being spread by agents of the head of the settlement. This was a familiar scene all across the settlement as the various clans' daughters stepped forth to represent and fight for their respective clans.

The message given by the head was simple. As a qualified politician, he even had his agents memorize his speech word of word. To qualify as an agent, one had to he a bard who was well known in the area around them, especially in the clan. Hence they could recite his messages to the clans who knew them well.

This was not his idea. It was a well established form of communication by many of the vasilian settlement. Most lavelian settlement heads chose not to engage in such drama, as there was no real power and no real need for it anyway. The settlement head had adopted it as a way of disseminating information, as he saw it was a good way to sway public opinion. In his mind, it didn't hurt to have favor from those he ruled.

This was the message transmitted by the bards.

"As the new generation took over leadership of the settlement, a new era had dawned upon us. One boys and our girls shall stand and fight together in the festivals, and may the true victor win!"

He had tried to sound as magnanimous as possible, making it seem as though he was being kind, many saw through his plot. They understood that he had found a super who happened to be a girl, and hence he was shamelessly altering the rules. There weren't many that minded, as the females also seemed to have spectacular abilities. The already sensational festival had just gotten even more so!

The various clans were hard at work trying to get as much intelligence on their opponents as possible. Though Bamboo and Hasilo's fight had caused quite a spectacle that had resulted in abilities being introduced in the festival, their powers were already out in the open. As hunters, they understood the need for secrecy, and playing your cards close.

Badoo had been walking contemplating on the meaning behind Arlos' actions. Arlos was the settlement's head. They had been competitors all their lives, and sadly, he did not even qualify as a worthwhile opponent to Arlos. He knew his opponent to be crafty, so there had to be reason behind his actions. He had already guessed the reason, hence he was pondering on how to find out who this trump card was and what she could do. That's when he almost bumped into this young lavel maiden too excited to contain her request.

Though he'd been skeptical at first, a simple teleport by Maple to him had been enough to convince him. He was jubilant for he had found a solution.

As the weeks ensued, the friendly competitions continued in preparation for the big day. In them, there were those that displayed amazing abilities, and it had been quite a spectacle to see them battle against each other in amazing fashions. Some clans performances were boring, while others were so eye catching that the members couldn't help but burst in pride.

***

"What do you take me for? And what's that shit you trying to swindle me with?" Frederick was livid! The nerve on the lavel to try and trade his entire stock with gems.

"Here, try one." Barcova answered. As they are new, I will let you sample free of charge. Frederick was indignant. He too was a potion maker, and he had also tried to persuade a customer by letting them have a free sample.

He reached for it and threw it into his mouth. Instantly, he crumbled as a feeling of absolute pleasure engulfed his mouth. It was something he'd never felt before, and it was as though he had tasted absolute divine delicacy, one never seen before. After the gem had fully dissolved in his mouth, he stood up and tried to regain his demeanor.

One of the reasons why the hexham jade was so renown even across the galaxy was that it was not only so damn delicious, but also nourished the body and the soul, or the astral self. While the vasils hadn't much experience in matters soul, that feeling of a coolness that brought general well being and freshness was unmistakable. It was like taking menthol but it effects running across the entire body.

A smile flashed across the vasil's face. He understood what this meant as well as he also had a need for a form of exchange that was more... convenient.

"Alright, give me 20 for the stock, and 5 more for sampling, final offer!" Barcova could not have expected a better outcome. This was all part of that old vasil's plan. The one he had met in dreamland. He went and repeated the same to many of the potion makers and craftsmen.

He would leave a substantial amount of jades, usually in the twenties or thirties, depending on the bounty he was hauling, and some extra for the one left behind to offer for sampling. In one day, he had already filled his entire shelter with bounty, until he himself couldn't find room. This was because he had been given a mountain of these jades to trade with.

It was then that he understood what Kendar meant when he said, "... Prove yourself ..." Apparently, there were agents of the order who were instructed to test them in their strong points, and this one was his. He had been given a task that he was well on his way towards implementing.

Going by the name Doran, he was old and wizened, but the aura he gave off... He had the appearance of majesty, and the utter superiority even exceeded what a normal vasil was used to. His golden scales only added to his majesty.Of course, this was Dane in the vasilian identity he had chosen.

That day, Frederick traded hexham jades, which were now simply being called jades, for material from the gatherers and meat from the hunters. The same happened all over as the craftsmen and potion makers Barcova had visited did the same. In one day, a currency had caught on! While Barcova celebrated, for Dane, now came the hard part, maintaining it!