The Legend of Leviathan

The island, our home for as long as we can remember. The most beautiful landscapes spill across the earth as diverse as they come, natural formations pierce the land in hundreds of forms from the great stone arches that hold up the jungle in the north or the wyvern trench made of hexagonal igneous pillars. It may sound like paradise but is home to the most dangerous flora and fauna on the planet as well as a mentality among the intelligent inhabitants where the strongest survive. It’s rare that a settlement would exceed six because the island itself seemed to disapprove of the formation of society. Every time a civilization began to sprang up, some disaster would strike and reduce it to rubble. As far back as we remember, tribes consisted of six members at maximum, the ideal number for staying mobile and not to draw extra attention to wandering titans but enough to begin taking advantage of their power in numbers. Life on the island consisted of seemingly everything contained within the stretch of human imagination and more. Dinosaurs, wyverns, griffins, creatures of the underground and sea monsters to name a few. To explain the island further, the north-west consists of sprawling dunes and raging sandstorms, water is difficult to come by so very few live there. In the middle of the island, volcanoes and geysers make the air thick with hot mist, it drops into a canyon thousands of feet below where spined beasts roam. Almost unknown at this time, lie caverns deep inside the earth beneath the island but we knew that they existed and groups who survived came with wild stores and treasures to back them up. There were several types of tribes of survivors that lived on the island, friendly trading groups, those who specialized in the domestication of the creatures that inhabited the island. This was a long and difficult process, often involving stealing eggs right from the nest. Other groups wanted to stand up against the natural horrors of the island to allow safe living conditions for the future and yet other groups wanted to control, through any means necessary, scarce resources and limited power. Skirmishes and raiding parties were not uncommon, who could resist the temptation since the only law was the law of survival? Most groups built small temporary outposts during this time but times where changing and word got around that a powerful fortress was being constructed within the confines of a large cave beneath the floating obelisk in the western Jungle. This was unheard of at the time and through many rumors and stories, we pieced together some details. Caveman was the leader of this group, he was known for taming a pair of tyrannosaurus rex, powerful brutes he had complete control over. He was in a full tribe with ambitious and powerful survivors who successfully constructed a fortress, impervious to the wildlife and it would seemingly stand forever. However, other tribes were not far behind on this new way of surviving. It was only a few short months until the first raid on the fortress began. Every group wanted the vast resources and powerful technology nested deep within the cave. After dozens of failed raids, there was a change, nearly every raiding group decided to launch a simultaneous attack and put an end to the fortress, caveman, and his rexs once and for all. Than began the legendary siege on green ob cave. The attacking side consisted of several tribes but the cramped entrance to the cave made it very difficult for the attackers to work together. At one point, a quetzal carrying a haphazard means of flinging explosive tubes at the enemy was used and the sound of battle could be heard for days in the siege that followed. In the end, Caveman defended his cave but sustained heavy losses. The game of war was forever changed after this moment. No longer did small outposts suffice, if you were to be a force to be reckoned with, you were to build a fortress of your own and the creatures of the ark must be used to their fullest advantage on attack and defense. To domesticate some of the larger ones was an unthinkable obstacle but this is the new way how it is done now, so long are the days of simple skirmishes. For now it is calm, seemingly a period of preparation, but the land awaits the next tribe that starts to stake their claim and rise to fame.

The siege at green ob was merely a memory held by very few, times have changed further and titans have risen. Grim Reaper, (whatever planet’s group was called), and Order of Blood had almost total control of the island but were at eachothers throats since most could remember. None could say who the strongest of the three were. Order was led by V and Mera and had several bases in the deep desert, underground, and a half submerged cave underneath the ruins of a lighthouse. Grim was led by A.O.D. and they were a vicious and powerful group that lived in the frigid mountains on top of a strange foundation of ancient metal. Finally, Haku lived further in the underground than anyone has gone before and nobody knew quite what was going on except that he had exceptionally powerful spinos and an aura of mystery. Seemingly, he was battling it out with top groups but only had 2 in his tribe. I witnessed these groups bash heads from time to time, it was hard to miss, the entire island would groan under the pressure. Order of blood began to weaken on the inside, trying to keep up the appearance of strength. Star could not take this internal pressure and left the order leaving the remaining two sides, mainly unified by star, to begin to infight. The downfall that followed was a rapid crumble. Seki took over the underground base and the main was put into the hands of this little known tribe named Led by me, Fish. I was a trading ally with order of blood for ages but I was baffled with the offer to take on the legacy and main base of the order. I soon relized that I have just been handed a ticking time bomb, there wasnt an aspiring tribe on the island who wanted the vast riches that have just been given to me so I try and give it back but meria is long gone. Grim Reaper immediately got wind of the fall of the order and set off to take down the base that had withstood so much once and for all. In the raid of the lighthouse cave, nobody was there to defend the fortress and it fell. The sound of the crumbling stronghold could be heard for miles. That wasn’t enough for grim reaper however, they began to attack all allies of order now that their powerhouse of the alliance could not defend them. I fell victim to one of these raids, they ravaged my home base without mercy even though I posed no threat. From then on, I swore to get back at Grim, if it took months, years, I would make them pay.

Years have passed, and I now am the leader of a small yet powerful tribe of inexperienced but ambitious survivors that have been built from the ground up. This tribe is called Leviathan and consists of myself, shadow, star, Multiple, jay, and James. Star suggests we build in the infamous cave nestled between two rivers underneath the floating green obelisk. The cave has been untouched for decades, star told me the area was probably haunted since an ancient battle took place there. Nonetheless, we began construction with our limited resources and skills. It took weeks of dedication but we made the entire interior of the cave into a sustainable place, dimly lit throughout and a safe place for ourselves and our tamed creatures. It was a quiet life and nobody bothered us for a while but we began to run out of room for progression within our medium sized cave. We built a series of walls around the entrance of the cave and the grassy hill that rested above it and there we built a tower into the sky, multiple defensive buildings, and a castle right on the entrance of the cave. We overstepped our bounds, this new addition began to attract attention. Possumhunter and grim reaper, now allied, began to lay waste to our above-ground buildings at every opportunity. We fought back but they overpowered us at every turn and all damage sustained was our own. How can we hope to face off with the most powerful tribes in the land? One late afternoon, our trading partner tribe, mongoose trading co. was desperately under attack by the same groups and we rushed to the defense. We came late but pulled off a valiant defense and managed to save them from being completely overrun. From then on, we became sister tribes, almost one and the same. With double our ranks, we had at least the numbers to directly face off with possum and grim’s combined attacks. Progress was slow with the constant burning of buildings and crops above ground but our cave was untouched. The castle was now rebuilt three separate times after sustaining heavy damage during each raid. We added an additional layer of protection every time the last was taken down. It was a war of attrition up until then but soon everything changed. We made a discovery, a resource valued above all others because of its power and use in high tech utilities and weapons. Technology as this in very small amounts was bestowed to tribes who had the means to mine it. However, there was hardly a grain of it for every ton of rock you needed to dig up and sift through to find it. Most groups didn't even bother. Leviathan and Mongoose discovered a means of filtering it from irradiated contaminated water in the depths of the cave where this water was very common. If splashed on the skin, it would leave a nasty burn and if submerged, you may lose whatever appendage you dipped in. It is very dangerous, but James and Multiple made it their mission to collect as much of this as they could before other tribes discovered it. Immediately, we were shocked with how much pure element could be harnessed from this dangerous liquid. Before long, we had automated the process and produced vast stores of element, hidden carefully deep in our cave. The power that came with this when other groups were scrambling over grains of it was mind blowing. Suddenly, we were an unbelievably powerful force to be reckoned with, possibly the most powerful (although still not as experienced or developed as others, we wanted to level the playing field. Crazy with power, we began to send raiding parties every day to wipe out anyone who was built near our cave, sweeping circles around the map stretching further and further as time progressed. We developed an infamous reputation and developed our raiding, combat, and teamwork. We could work on tasks streamlined simultaneously from across the map, hardly needing to communicate. The days went on, old names began to fall and made rise to a new upcoming powerhouse, Leviathan. As for battle, we have perfected it, we would lay down a forward operating base with our signature energy bubble powered by element and begin to wreak havoc on any opposing force. Possum and grim returned for their weekly pillage but for the first time, we were in all senses, ready. With upmost confidence in ourselves and each other. We held down green ob cave and they did not even reach the castle this time. The battle that followed was unlike any other and after sustaining heavy losses, the Possumhunters packed up and flew north on their wyverns. The leader of mongoose, who helped us defend, suggested we follow them and bring the fight home. Attacking is much more difficult than defending but we were on board and got our “5 minute fob” ready to be deployed. They were built on an icy mountain that tore up out of the surrounding jungle like a fang. The raid that followed was eventful yet progression was slow. The winner was subjective, we caused immense damage but hardly got anything to show for it and their defense was unrelenting. It was a war of attrition that last for days, no real winners would be obvious until one side gave out. Eventually, our supplies began to run low and we decided to save the final blow for another day, they defended very well but their base and surrounding terrain suffered the blows of an all out war in the area. Our reign of power continued for months, the tribe was as solid as a boulder despite grim’s attempts to divide us and the constant attacks upon our cave. Jay did leave the group nearing the height of our power but remained friendly and tornado, our only ally besides mongoose joined our ranks. The opposing attacks and threats began to weaken, we were a perfect team, solid all the way through and had unlimited element to power our empire. We were unstoppable, we were Leviathan, a name revered and feared across all of the island.

How foolish I was to think it could last forever. It has only been a year and the world as we know it has been flipped on its head. As solid and steadfast as our grip upon the land and its inhabitants seemed, every group has a weakness and it was just a matter of time before it came to the surface. The island has been plunged into a cold spell for the past few months and we moved onto the surface of a mountain to avoid the glaciers and ice that ravaged the landscape we once ruled. It was during this rebuilding that tiny fractures began to show themselves. Star had gone off to explore the underground on his own and we filled his spot with Tyreek, a powerful warrior who also was quite knowledgeable of how to build a defendable base but left a strange feeling within the group, we had been the tight knit six that built up together and Tyreek seemed wild, uncontrollable. Our source of element was frozen and buried, so we could not access our advantage, the playing field was flattened and we had to rely on other means to continue surviving under this name. We thought we could manage, but our first raid after rebuilding was a disaster. We were losing horribly and eventually I made the call to pull out before it got worse. Morale was at a low, made worse by Tyreek stealing from the group and leaving in a hurry. It began to fall apart, I tried to pull them back together and reach out to Star, who was still mapping the depths below but shadow began to take charge. It was always out of the question that I was the leader, having formed the tribe and having put the most time into it. It began with small things such as whether defensive towers should be made with hexagonal or square foundation. The ground became icy and I began to lose a foothold. Shadow directly challenged my leadership soon after, saying that I was being stupid and he could run the tribe better if I’d let him. There was the crack down the middle, James went with shadow, Tornado stuck with me, and multiple decided to head off for distant lands. Leviathan was shattered and from that moment, Leviathan was dead.

After the great snow, I departed from my tribe of Leviathan. It was difficult but they could manage without me and I felt drawn to the underground and its mystery. I believed that the element infused water was hardly the surface of the riches that lay within these caves. The word caves do not do it justice, it was its own realm. You cannot begin to imagine the expanse and depth of this subterranean world without seeing it for yourself. Trees that put the redwoods to shame spread their branches, intertwining miles above to form a canopy that held up the roof of this cavern. The landscape itself shared a resemblance to the surface above but everything seemed to have been adapted to underground life. Fungus the size and likeness of trees and carpets of moss covered the layered landscape. There was no true ground level, platforms miles wide were stacked and suspended, providing the feel of solid ground but it always went deeper. Little is known about what lies deeper but some claim that the life and landscapes begin to stray further and further from the recognisable surface life, evolving to live in darker, and more extreme temperatures, not to mention radiation and competition. As you progress further; the eerie canopy of light fades but you can still see a dim glow from the life itself. The trees had bioluminescent blue leaves and lamp-like protrusions shone eerily into the water which was alive with shimmering life, most definitely dangerous. Very few lived in this underground world, it was vast in resources and offered natural protection from other groups but the environment itself warded away life. Common lifeforms you would run across on a normal day were black scaled four legged dog like creatures. They are intelligent hunters and roam in groups of 3 to 6. Absolutely massive six legged crustaceans with pincers that could crush cars wander in the rivers that stretch across the land. The king of this biome however was the spinosaurus, a semiaquatic reptile with a large sail on its back and a crocodile like shape. Its powerful legs carried it like no crocodile could move however and it would stand on hind legs and bring fourth deadly claws when provoked. They were beautiful and deadly creatures and I wanted nothing more than to steal an egg and attempt to raise one as my companion and protection. Having a laugh to myself, I wondered if that was even possible. On a patrol one day, I find myself upon a new structure, it consisted of a metal cube with a large perimeter of spiked wooden planks. Within the circle of spiked walls, a saddled bear and doed lay asleep and in the very middle, a large egg sat. Immediately, I recognised it as of a rock drake, it had a dark rocky crust that was shattered on the surface to reveal a bright purple sublayer. How has this humble tribe come across this prized egg? I hatched a plan to use some of the highly flammable minerals to create an explosive device and quickly snatch the egg and get out. The plan worked near perfectly except for the explosion waking the bear that began to lumber around, patrolling the area. After creating a diversion, I grabbed the egg and ran like my life depended on it. After returning to the scene a few hours later to see if I could scavenge for additional resources I heard a voice from within. I raised my rifle to the open doorway yelling “I know you’re in there, surrender your loot and you won't be harmed”. “Screw you, egg theif!” came the reply and I lowered my weapon, shocked somewhat. Most people just surrendered at the very idea of Leviathan raiding but this strange man didn't care at all. “Who are you?” I shout, “Im Dob, and you” “I’m Star, of Leviat-” I start, but change my mind, “I’m running solo, call me Fire”. “Give me my egg back, Fire, I stole it first!” “But I stole it from you, it's mine”. “Says the one with a hole in his base” I reply. “You know what, Ill come get it!” With fire in his eyes, he sprints out of the base clutching a makeshift sword made of sharpened keratin spines. I begin to raise my simple rifle but in a split moments decision, I lower it and call out again. “Hey, you can have your egg here and now but you come with me, leave this bob-shack behind and let's go deeper together. I could see his brain working, still clutching the sword but dropped the charge. “Sure… but the egg is mine. From then on, we took on the caverns as a duo. We learned a lot from each other and explored deeper than ever before. Past the bioluminescent blue area, there were vast lakes with crystals towering out of the water, glowing with deep purple energy and past that came an ominous darkness, the only light came from deep below where blazing purple rapids flowed. We could only peer into this expanse because the radiation levels began to increase drastically, dob suggested creating armor out of radiation resistant materials to explore further. “We’re both insane, but I am totally down”, “We’re going to die down here, im calling it now”. We discovered unbelievable treasure on the exploration that followed. It was never easy by any means but through much dedication and teamwork, along with more than our fair share of luck, we all but conquered the bioluminescent are and made deep expeditions into the far more dangerous irradiated zone. I tamed and bred spinos, their sharp eyesight and powerful forms providing the perfect companion for dangerous journeys. We avoided the water at all costs though, nicknamed the lake of death, it was swimming with life, some of the most terrifying creatures called it their home. One time in our expiration within the depths of the are with glowing pink water and dangerous levels of radiation,

I was wandering, not sure where I was going or what I was looking for, but I felt a pull. This pull, however ominous, led me into a cave. Cave is an understatement, it was a realm, separate from the outside world, but so similar one might not be able to tell the difference. The one lesson I had learned from the 6 months spent in this lush yet unforgiving, rich yet barren cavern was to look out for yourself. I had spent 3 months alone, contemplating whether to stay here and follow this pull which had cost me everything, and 3 months in awe with beauty, as well as cruelty, of this harsh land. I reminisced about my journey here, about “Here. Catch!” I heard from 10 O’clock, and instinctively caught the rockarrot flying at my face. The voice from whom had thrown me the bitter vegetable was the most beautiful I had heard, like an orchestra of the finest musicians of the era. All the sounds worked in harmony, producing the voice of which I loved. The voice I dreamed of when nightmares all but overtook my head. “Ha!’ she said, grinning ear to ear, her face the most stunning to ever set foot anywhere near this godforsaken cavern of which I loved with all my heart. “You actually caught it this time. Congratulations!” I bit into the root’s thick, bitter flesh, tearing a large piece from the only sustainable source of food we had come across. “Ella, how many do we have left,” I questioned sternly. “Three,” she said reluctantly,”but I’ll find more I promise.” Those words were like a slap in the face. “Three?! It’s been one week since we entered the cave! How’ve you eaten 5 already?!” I screamed at her, holding her by the shoulders in frustration. Her eyes searched mine, and I could feel the tears welling up. The look of terror and confusion on her face turned my anger and frustration into sorrow and regret. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. We’ll be okay, I promise.” I told her this, crying into her shoulder at losing my temper so easily. I did not know myself to be so short tempered, so unforgiving. “We'll find more tomorrow,” she said hopefully between shaky breaths. We continued on in the cave, watching and listening for danger, searching in patches of weeds for the brightly colored sprouts indicating a rockarrot lay in the ground, a meal that would sustain one for an entire day. Rarely would you find savoroot, tasting of bread dipped in honey, finding one would change the whole course of your day. Ella was upset from my outburst earlier, apparently forgetting our agreement. “Look I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.” I chased after her literally and figuratively, as the more I said to her, the farther ahead she walked, sometimes even out of view. Occasionally I would yell for her, speeding up to where I saw her last, and find her standing there, an impatient, annoyed look painting her face. To truly understand where we were, you first have to understand the sheer size of the cave we were in. In all honesty, you would never notice it to be a cave if you never looked up, branches the size of skyscrapers covered the roof of the cave. Their leaves, each individual leaf the size of barn doors, filtered the harsh light from the surface into warm, welcoming rays. These rays, if unfiltered, would cook anything directly exposed to them in an instant. The trees which bore these branches were massive, words cannot describe the sheer size of them. It would take an upwards of two hours to jog around the perimeter of these trees, the base of their trunks hardly exposed from the rock they had grown into. Large metal structures of ancient origin were present in some parts of the cave. It was a very vertical landscape, bridges of stone were present, connecting platforms grown into the large trees, rocks lifted by the trees from when they were mere saplings. The landscape itself was lush, the best word I can think of to describe such a place. There were oak trees everywhere, large green trees probably 20-25 feet in height, and not very wide. Along with these trees there were dark green grasses and mosses covering every surface facing the sunlight. Many layers of habitable ground clung to the cave walls, outcroppings the size of multiple football fields, bridges measuring larger than monuments such as the golden gate bridge, and even more marvelous. Strangely enough, there were mushrooms dotting every surface imaginable. Not so many that you couldn’t walk without stepping on them, but enough to be noticeable when your feet become covered in fungus. The mushrooms were average size, probably 1-2 lbs on the larger ones, however there were much more surprising flora than just trees and fungi. Trees and fungi combined. Giant mushrooms towering even the tallest of trees, smelling of the green underbark of a tree that has just been abused by a curious child with a knife. These were hardened to the point of functioning as well as would, and just as flammable and malleable. The “fungal wood” from these trees were, however, noticeably more dense, but burned much quicker in a fire, making it seemingly useless. “Bob, does that look good enough?” Ella called after me, pointing at a small outcropping about 40 feet above ground. The cave walls extended probably half a mile tall, however the caves' true size was too large to tell. There were many walls, and many places to go. Places too dangerous for people to travel on their own, especially unfamiliar outsiders such as us.

Swept away from my crew onto a seemingly desolate island. It was hardly worth plotting on a map when passing by yesterday so there was no surprise we didn't see it coming. I awoke to the sounds of the ocean churning and the groans of my vessel as it contorted, fighting to stay upright. Lying in the sand, I opened my eyes, I must be dreaming, what stood looking just as dumbfounded back at me was a dodo bird. Its plump body twitched and it flapped its stubby wings. I must be dead, or a really bad dream. If that wasn't weird enough, this absolute madman wearing seemingly handcrafted metal armor and holding a strange combination of ropes tied to stones, an obvious weapon or hunting device. His fiery hair and beard seemed to have a mind of its own. He was screaming like a madman, it took a second to realize it was plain english. “Get out of here bob, you’re in the middle of a raid!” Through my foggy brain, I hardly recognised this call of danger but slowly crawled behind a large rock protruding out of the sand and peeked over the edge in the direction this strange man ran. I don’t know how I missed it before, but an obviously man-made stone castle lay only 100 meters away. Castle may have given it more than it was worth however. It was about three stories tall and resembled a very boxy L shape, like a standalone hallway of a building. There was a smoking hole taking up the smallest side and the sounds of a struggle rang out from the interior. Above, what could only be described as two small dragons circled the top of the base. One was the color of embers, ruby eyes glinted as it scanned the grounds. The other was deep white and frigid blue, I could have sworn there was a small figure of a rider on the white one. Another explosion from the direction of a base caused a rumble through the ground and at once, the wyverns dived. I could see it clearly now, both wyverns had a rider straddled where their wings meet. The riders guided these creatures downward, seemingly scanning for the crazy fire-haired man who I saw seconds before. After a minute, they let back up and began to circle again. I heard heavy breathing behind me and there he was again, if possible, even more disheveled but there was a glint of victory in his eyes. Hey, take this! This is no place for bobs! A frosty white egg was placed in my hands and he was off again. This was all too much weirdness for me, I took off my bag in one hand and the egg in the other. [July 24] I was managing on this strange land, I constructed a simple shelter similar to a thatch roof. At least it kept the elements out for the most part. I survived on campfire baked dodo and had an intense run in with an acid spitting beast that wandered onto my beach. I’ve seen a couple of people and heard stories from friendly travelers. The Beachmasters, Treeple, Fried, and Shopkeepers came up as notable groups within the area. To be honest, there has been more excitement during this past week then my previous life altogether. Besides that skirmish my first day and the skirmish with the spitter, it has been relatively peaceful. The egg hatched a couple of days ago and a small white owl with black metallic protrusions from its face and wings emerged. It gave off a faint frosty mist and it’s feathers were cold to the touch. I never cared for an animal in my life besides a goldfish so the thought of taking care of this little creature terrified me. It was incredibly self-sufficient however and grew at an impossible rate. I made a second shelter when it became too large to fit in the doorway and although it could have flown away at any time, it became quite attached to me and I’ll admit, I felt the same way. [August 3] So much has happened and I’ve caught a moment to write a bit of it down at last. The fire-haired crazy man returned at this time. He was in a tribe called Mini Levi and claimed to be solo. Reaching out the hand to merge groups. An adventurer at heart, I couldn't back down an invitation to explore this land with an experienced party. [August 10] The wild haired man went by the name of Fire and told crazy stories of his time here. Half of them are probably made up, it just seems too out there even amongst all the spectacular things I’ve experienced so far. We moved inland, traveling for hours through the jungle. Fire rigged up a makeshift saddle for my now grown owl whom I named hoothoot. He was now twice my size, frosty white feathers glistening with frost and a cold aura of mist gently came off his form. With some assistance from Fire, I’ve learned the basics of flight, it is nothing like driving a car, more like trying to control an overexcited fish in the water. Anyway, as we flew over the treetops, towards the orange mountains that formed the horizon of my initial home. Below, I could hear primal screams, their sources hidden within the jungle canopy. About half way there, we came across a fully grown quetzal, a magnificent titan of the sky. It resembled a manta ray but had a long neck and head of a bird. Fire noted that they are very powerful creatures and they never need to land unless forced to take shelter by particularly unfavorable weather conditions. He told me of an ancient siege on a cave where a tamed quetzal with primitive rocket propelling armaments attached to it’s back, the usual ramblings. We flew into a canyon what seemed like hours later, the ground dropped out from under us into caverns with sparkling water and faint forms spirling blow. A large ledge in the side of the dropoff served as our home base, it was a partial cave with three entrances and a mile of stone above to serve as protection from above. There was an assortment of tamed creatures resting in the shade including one of the massive spiny lizards that he wouldn't stop talking about. A small metal building was nestled in the deepest part of the partial cave under the watchful eyes of several mounted firearms scanning the area for enemies. I was worried I went in too deep, I missed my thatch hut in the safety of the beach with the friendly ocean nearby but going back was out of the question. Soon after returning, I ran into Fire’s tribemate, a shifty eyed fellow, someone who I didn't want to turn my back on, he went by the name of dob. I introduced myself and began to get acquainted to the second time within the past few months my life was turned on its head. Standing next to Fire and Dob, I realized how small they were, hardly coming up to my shoulders. I bring it up bluntly and Dob coughs, sounding awfully like “smaller hitbox!” Fire smiles and brings me inside the base, “lets get you some armor and tools and I should probably stop calling you bob, its what we call beach dwellers who spend their time chasing dodos and punching trees, special folk. You’re with us now, what can we call you? Swift is good, he says. Alright Swift, take this, he hands over a longneck rifle, metal tools, and various other supplies. I'll get some fitted armor tonight, you can go find a spot for that fine owl of yours and with a wink he adds, Dob is a good guy but don’t let him convince you to eat the black berries or the red mushrooms. We have a big day tomorrow, you know that quetzal we saw? Let's go find its nest as the sun peeks over the volcano in the east. Goodnight Swift, the beds are upstairs. welcome to the team!

It was a simple life before I met Fire, met isn't the right word, more like he crash landed on a smoking pteranodon without as much as a warning. Anyway, I lived in a trading village on the rocky ledges overlooking the beach on the outskirts of the jungle. It was safe and peaceful, the quiet ocean and sun bleached ledges were our world. I lived there with my sister and two friends, trading with the local beach dwellers and living a peaceful life. That all changed when a pteranodon landed just outside our base, a man hopped off its back and began pounding on the door. And began calling out, out of breath “Is anyone in here… i'm friendly… I just want to trade” Hesitantly, I let him in, guard up. Outside stood a short man, handcrafted flak armor was looking worse for wear and his Fiery hair and beard had literally been on fire at one point. Here, he says out of breath, what do you want for this? Holding out a glistening crystal. Diamond shaped and pulsating with purple energy, this was obviously a very valuable item the likes of which I have never seen. I’ll be honest, I stole this from treeple and I need someone to keep it safe from me. I gasped, treeple was the most powerful tribe by far, half of the map was aligned with them, the upper ranks sharing their powerful tames and resources while most just followed them out of fear because anyone who stood in opposition became the target of their pillaging. Scarlet was the leader of treeple, a merciless tyrant who ruled with fear and held the map within her grip. How on earth did you get this from treeple? I eyed the artifact with a newfound interest. “Well, I was raiding one of their underlings yesterday, they showed up and lets just say I got lucky…” I need to get rid of it fast, he said with a quick glance at the sky. If you need to give it up, do not get yourself into trouble, but it's not safe with me. Sure, I say, taking the artifact and with that he was off. I bring it over and show it to my friends. Turtle, who has an eye for shiny things, offered to hide it somewhere safe. Life went on as normal for a couple of days, I heard the distant cry of a creature deep in the jungle from the safety of my home without a care in the world. The next day, everything changed, I awoke to the sound of commotion outside my walls yet again but this time was different. Through a crack in the log fence, was an enormous blue wyvern with a lady adorned in golden armor with crimson highlights, a deep red cape poured out of the back. She looked as if just existing there was a great bother and impatiently looked at the gate. I know you’re in there, open up or I’ll blast your flimsy excuse for a defense down. The voice was commanding and powerful, I pushed the gate open and asked “who are you and what do you want?” fighting to maintain composure. She slid off the next of the wyvern and said much quieter,” a tribe in this region has something very important to Treeple and this is your only chance to offer information.” So this is what it was about, I thought about just giving it up then and there but something made me pause. After a moment, I said, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Her face twisted in anger and she climbed back up on the wyvern; the ground crackled with electricity as the great wyvern and its rider shot off, heading inlands. The next day was peaceful, I told the others of the frightening encounter with the most powerful survivor on the island. Turtle was glad I held my ground but James thought I should have given in. Do you know who this is? We traded with her allies in the past, whatever that thing is, its not worth it. We were worried and planned to hide the artifact the next day so if a search party was to search our village, we wouldn't be guilty of possession. The very next night, our fears were confirmed true. They came at night, simply going under the name of Owl, one of Treeple’s underling tribes most definitely sent from high up the chain of command. Destruction and ruin would light up the night sky, that night, they struck with the force of an earthquake, flattening all I knew in mere minutes. I fled with my friends, running into the night, the roar of flames that consumed our base seared into my vision. Far away, we had to get as far as possible from it all. Days of traveling led us to a rocky ledge looking over a valley and on this grassy plain we decided to set up a new home. It took ages but we built from stone and metal instead of wood, the rocky ledge was rich with metal but the process of smelting with our primitive forges took a very long time and lots of effort. We had a small, fortified encampment set up when we ran into Fire the second time. Immediately, anger burned inside me, he started the ruin of my village with that cursed artifact. “Why did you give that to me, you know it was treeples and you know they wanted it back! We didn't know how desperate they were for it. What happened? Don’t tell me they searched your village. Are you kidding? They sent a raiding party and burned it to the ground! “Im glad you all made it out alive, but why on earth did you not give it up?” “I.. don’t know..” I honestly didn't think they would go so far, it’s been just as hard on him as it has on us, we should focus on our real enemy, Owl and it’s main tribe Treeple. Thats crazy, you’re solo and I can’t fight, no less, fight the strongest alliance on the island. Well, what If I told you that Im not alone anymore..” We hatched a plan, Fire had found and scouted owl’s base, it was surprisingly close, 5 story walls encompassed a near impenetrable core with powerful tames defending it. Outside stood a stone tower that looked as if it was touching the sky. We devised a plan to strike fast and hard before the retaliation and assistance from treeple could overpower our offense. Even with luck on our side, it would be a difficult raid, we agreed that the best plan would be a temporary merge. We met back at Fire’s base nestled within a partial cave in a pocket of the great canyon. It was small and hidden, looking extremely fortified for such a small base but obviously lacked the infrastructure of the other bases I've seen. Welcome to our base, Fire looks at us three and gestures around, Meet the boys, they are inside. What is mine is yours, we have a lot of planning and work ahead of us. A tall man with strangely large hands introduces himself very formally as swift and Dob, a short and mischievous man welcomes us and offers us some strange looking and smelling flowers as a celebratory snack. We sit together at a bonfire outside as the world around us darkens, Fire tells crazy stories of the island and Swift tells of a world beyond. I share the horrors of the raid, still fresh in my mind and Turtle starts a deep debate over the proper way of building a helmet for maximum visibility and protection. We are all content and happy, the six of us sitting in this circle. It was us vs the world and we were beginning to feel ready to take it on!

Early the next morning, we set off traveling in pairs working on three tasks simultaneously. I took Swift to scout Owl, properly this time. Dob and Spryo reinforced the base, beginning the construction of large external gates while James and Turtle worked on transferring supplies from their home on the plains to their new home in the canyon. We approached owl’s base, swift on his owl while I took my trusty pteranodon, Sir. Flap. There was an unbelievably tall hexagonal stone tower that stood on a hill and just past it was a circle of enormous gates. These gates were large enough for a medium sized tree to meander its way through. We flew high up to get a view of what was inside but kept in mind that if we were seen, they would be onto our activities and we needed the element of surprise for the raid that would follow. There was an enormous group of giganotosaurus on the eastern side, a large metal and reinforced glass building hugged the northern side, wrapping around a hill. The south had a defensive tower and creatures of battle rested around it. The enormous red wyvern curled around the tower with tendrils of thin smoke coming from its mouth was probably responsible for reducing that village to ashes. Hey Swift, see those gigas? They are the largest and most vicious creature that survivors have been able to tame so far. They are the apex predator of the island and through brute force, they can win almost any battle. Well, maybe it's best to move on, said Swift, they have 8 of them right over there. Well, that's where our chance may lay, I said. You see, you cannot truly tame them, not fully. They look tamed, with a safe place to rest and plenty of food in return, they comply with chewing up whoever owl wants eaten but if we can rile them up enough, they’ll fall back into a primal state of rage and start eating anything they can fit in their jaws. So you mean.. We can set all of their tames against one another and wreck absolute havoc inside their base? Yes! And while they are trying to regain control, I say we drop their walls and that big old tower on the hill! Beaming with anticipation, we depart for home, eager to share the news with the group.