Meeting Kendar again

Every lavel clan had set aside a secret place for the young ones to practice. It was a customary tradition where the contestants usually went into seclusion in preparations for the big day. New clans had to set up their own secret grounds in days leading up to the games, but Khalia did not mind at all.

On his return, he had been hailed as a hero by his clan. For a while the clan's numbers had been completely dwindled, but there were still a few family members. He regretted not being there to save many. They had suffered several attacks by the bandits before getting to the settlement. At least, he'd gotten his vengeance.

Since then, he had formed a band of warriors faithful to the clan. This was also a common custom for segregated clans, which was usually carried on even when they joined settlements. With this team, they had found the cave they were in. It was mostly dark which caused even the lavel to struggle, despite the natural advantage all members of the feline family had in darkness. There were a few torches lit, and the members would go out on breaks to explore and keep the grounds safe from any intrusions.

To lavels, every clans' secret grounds were almost sacred, and were help in high esteem. They had to keep any intruders from encroaching, and any found would be put down with extreme prejudice. It wasn't common to have any intruders, as such an action was a taboo among the lavels, but that didn't stop them from hiring some vasilian spies to do their dirty work.

Very rarely did vasils work for or with lavels. They had that conceited attitude that made them look down on the lavels. However, there was no denying the fact that the lavels were better at them at certain things, such as hunting. Where vasils would struggle to get prey despite the fact that they could fly, the lavels could easily snatch prey, especially now that they were gaining in power.

Always the more visionary of the two species, the vasils were forming alliances where they could get the lavels to do the hunting for them and they would grant them certain advantages. This they saw as giving the lavels to do the dirty work, while they carried out the more refined work. They also recognized that a time was coming in this cycle of life they had come to know where the season of plenty would end, and in that time, it's usually the vasils that suffer.

Also, one needed to take into consideration that the current Farriga festival had such far reaching political ramifications no just for the settlement and the clans therein, but the entire territory around them. All the vasilian and lavelian settlements were paying close attention. One this was clear, a super power settlement had entered the stage, and their governance was of absolute importance.

In fact, a vasil had been caught by another another band of lavels who were going round maintaining their perimeter. What was strange was that this particular vasil wasn't truly hiding, almost as though he wanted to be caught. The lavels didn't seem to notice this, as they pounced on the vasil and whooped it until it was at an inch of its life. Almost passed out, they dragged the vasil to the clan's team captain.

Their clan secret grounds were in a deep and spacious canyon which had tapering ends that caused a canopy effect from the top. This made it in such a way light could penetrate from the top during the day. The clan head had come to visit and check on the progress, and at the moment he was in a shelter with the team captain and the top three contenders of the clan.

As the vasil was being dragged across the secret grounds, he caused a raucous and an uproar. More and more lavels joined the group transporting the vasil, and by the time they were reaching the team leader's shelter, every lavel in the grounds was behind the team that caught the vasil.

A mountain of a lavel stepped out first. He was in charge of security around the entire camp. Everyone deferred to him in matters strength. Closely following behind was one of the fastest rising lavels in terms of power and influence. She was a recent addition, but that did not make her any inferior to the rest. The team leader and her had been close friends since they were children, and as she saw the captured vasil, visible shock registered on her face, before casting a worried glance at the team leader, who walked out with his grandpa, the clan head.

The last thing that Barcova saw before he passed out completely was the sight of the 2 lavels he had been with. He had been cautious from the start, for he might have chosen the wrong secret ground to intrude in, at least in this, he stood a chance.

***

Dane could feel excitement rising as they drew closer to the Farriga festival. He hadn't seen fight in a long while, and he hadn't engaged in a proper fight in a long time. He himself wouldn't participate in the match ups for he was too powerful. Though there were ways to limit one's power, he would still have an irreconcilable advantage.

He had been in countless battles and wars, fought on much much grander scales. A fight for the leadership of a settlement was too small for him. However, he had vested interests in the major players, and this was the beginning of the resistance to an empire he had yet to build, so he had vested interest.

While all this was happening, he still had to keep track of his 'currency' plan. By now, the jades were being used in almost every aspect of Barcova's settlement. By now, Dane was already feeling frustrated by the fact that the species in this planet hardly named their settlements. Naming was a big thing in the planet, and it wasn't easily done.

The smooth entry of currency was mostly due to the fact that there was already need for it in the first place. It was like meeting a dire need in a market at the opportune time. Still, being Dane, he couldn't afford any chances, so, while preparing this first batch, and especially on those that were marked to be used for sampling, he had added a little, something.

As you've probably noticed, at the level of Grade B Super, a mortal was little more than an ant to Dane. This was not a statement of bragging but an actual fact. Yes they intrigued him, but even their interactions would be limited, as he was a being capable of exhibiting multiple consciousnesses at the same time. His consciousness and level of awareness was beyond sentience, and this was in him since birth, as he was born of higher life rating.

He could easily bend the will of mortals and make them do his bidding, but this was not what he was after. It wasn't like he was being virtuous, but he really wanted to form the right foundation on this planet. Many millennia later, there would be supers who would be able to derive and understand his actions. He wanted even these to look back and understand what he did, even be grateful for his interference.

Due to his interference in the natural progression of the planet's destiny, many of the things that would have happened much later were being brought forward. Eventually, a currency would be have been formed, he just quickened the arrival, so as to reap some benefits. In fact, in many of his contingency plans, there were times both Alie and Bamboo would join forces, instead of being arch enemies, as his main plan outlined. In fact, he was even tempted to let this be as he saw benefits in either conflict or unity. Maybe he should just let the chips fall as they may.

All in all, he wanted to play the role of benefactor, benevolent being that took pity on a desolate civilization. There were cases where mighty beings would take over a world completely as a god limiting their access to the universe. Such civilizations were formed under a shaky foundation, especially if the mortals actually stood a chance to rise up and be more that they were. When the truth was found out, the being would be considered an invader and be chased out by the natives, and should it cause too much trouble, the galactic civilizations wouldn't stand by as an entire world was being massacred.

To get to the point, Dane's various plans had been proceeding nicely, all except one, and a very critical one at that. It wasn't a complete failure, just needed some modification to get it back on track. The problem was Bamboo.

While selecting the right lavel to take on, he had done an extensive research on each of the lavels that he actually even considered. Each had their own drives, and there was indeed a deep reason to select Bamboo, as he had a powerful fate power channeling within him. He was born the stuff of heroes, and so did Alie. These weren't selected randomly.

As a Faction Protector Trainee, there were certain responsibilities that were accorded to them, and one of these was to maintain the peace in the mortal worlds associated with their worlds. There were certain rules that had to be adhered to, and one of these was pertaining interference with lesser worlds.

First was that one was not allowed to take on the title God unless they had the power to be it. We are talking about Grade S power. Even he, a mere Grade B could cause massive devastation akin to a calamity should he engage in serious warfare.

While he was keen on teaching and enforcing the Maa faction curriculum for training, where there were levels and ranks, this was just that, curriculum, a method of training. It was progress in school, from Novice to Veteran and the ultimately to Expert levels, each with its tribulations and hurdles to cross meant to awaken a certain ability within one's self, yet it wasn't a true measure of power.

At his level, both Bamboo and Alie could be said to be Grade F+, unlike their counterparts who were at Grade F, their output was considerably more. Dane was a proud possessor of such, but this was because he was from a long line of extremely powerful beings. Lacking it was akin to not being a part of his family. For lesser worlds, it was far less common.

For Bamboo and Alie, had they awakened their power, they were set to have a spectacular destiny. It was more than just luck, the power of fate itself was like an eternal buff. Thinking back, even without Dane's interference, Alie had been captured as a slave where he watched his family get killed, and Bamboo had always had an overbearing cousin who always sort to pin him down. These were situations that would lead to the need needed to trigger their abilities. It was Fate Power acting upon them and driving them to such situations.

Dane only needed some bit of interference and it would be like finding a very fruitful wild orchard of apples, little effort, maximum gain. He also considered that his interference was also part of Fate, and as far as Fate power went, it was a current he would rather swim along than against.

While Bamboo's performance had been great, it had brought about massive undercurrents, one such was that now females could take part on the festival. While Bamboo was powerful, and his awakening had been spectacular, even to the point of strengthening his soul, he still was a long way from the kind of level he needed to be at to make a massive shock wave, which he absolutely needed at this point.

What Bamboo was experiencing was not limited to him alone, he really was just the cream of an otherwise abundant crop. To be the best, he had to dazzle otherwise he would be ousted. Though the politics of the settlement were not coveted, there were still plenty of underground deals happening. By now, even Arlos had already sampled the jades, and secretly acquired 5 to give to Krea, as his main contender, he was sparing no expenses.

Yes the waters ran deep, and they wouldn't let a nobody like Bamboo waltz in and take over one of the more prominent settlements. With the introduction of abilities in their Farriga festival, they were poised to become a super power, which made its leadership all the more important. To eliminate this form of distractions, Dane planned a massive victory for Bamboo, but the lavel just wasn't ready. This he made his move, as time was of the essence.

As Bamboo exited the shelter with his clan head, he was utterly shocked to recognize Barcova, and looking at Maple, she too had recognized the vasil as well. Several questions ran through his mind, but before he could speak, the most frightening thing he'd ever seen in his life happened before his very eyes.

The vasil that was battered and bloodied to the point of death suddenly awakened with a wicked smile. His features began to change, as though his face was rearranging itself. He was also growing taller and bulkier. Wait, he was turning into an old lavel.

Horrified, Maple looked around wondering how come no one was reacting to this. To her terror, she realized that apart from her and Bamboo, everyone else was frozen in place, as though they had become statues.

After his transformation was done, Kendar looked at the 2 with a knowing smile and said, "Remember me?"