Cursed Yoshi

 

Chapter 48 = The God of Creation and Existence

 

Disclaimer: Although all characters here are of my own invention, the original idea of Yoshies, Birdos, etcetera, are copyright of Nintendo, and I make no money from writing this.

 

The second time that Marcus awoke to find himself on a cold stone floor, he knew for sure that, this time, he was with another deity. His memories of his night with Shiala were still fresh in his mind as he awoke – or whatever it was he did when he found himself in this place – and he regretted the fact that he had only however many short hours left to keep the memories before his life was taken from him…

Slowly getting to his feet, Marcus turned and found himself in the presence of a green Yoshi with orange fins, who he knew should have been holding a large, golden sword, but instead was carrying a glass orb that was completely black. The Yoshi, like all the other deities, was hovering just a little above the ground, and illuminated in a circle of light that clearly defined his features.

“Greetings, Marcus.” The deity said, addressing the brown Yoshi. “I am Eirsir, the God of Creation and Existence… perhaps, I’m sure, you’ll like a few minutes to work out why it is I who is meeting with you.”

“What do you mean?” Marcus inquired, but received no reply. “I know somebody said that it depends upon my emotions or actions which deity I meet, but you’re the only one left… aside from Klashkna. But what have I done that relates to something being created or existing?”

“Think, Marcus.” Eirsir urged.

“Well, I… oh, wait a moment… are you saying that… when me and Shiala…”

The green deity nodded. “It was a successful mating for two reasons… the first being that you forged the unbreakable bond of love, and you will be reunited in the afterlife to commemorate this. The other reason being in that you conceived a child from it… even now, as we speak, your first son grows within his egg inside her, soon to be laid and brought into the world.”

Marcus shook his head. “It won’t do any good… we’ll die before he’s laid, or even if he is, he won’t hatch.”

“Maybe, maybe not… you made a correct assumption in that you’ll be executed, or at least, they’ll attempt to kill you. You must find your way out of this situation, Marcus, and prove yourself to be the true sixth saviour. But first, I must give you this…”

With a broad throwing motion, Eirsir tossed the orb he was holding to Marcus, who caught it against his chest, and immediately felt an immense form of energy radiating from it. Eirsir explained, “That orb only exists on this plane, and will prove a useful tool if you come up against the Lord of Darkness. Should it come into contact with him, he will be sealed inside it by the power of the seven deities, and we can commence the restoration of the world…”

“What’s that?”

“Have you little knowledge of history, Marcus? The sword with which I created Chyrus… no ordinary sword, I’m sure you can surmise… had seven gemstones set into the hilt, each of which contained a fundamental power; the four elements, and the three essences of life. With these, I made everything… the land upon which you walk, the air you breathe… well… almost everything. You see, what has always escaped me is the process of evolution. Why do things change? Why did all the creatures and plants I created change themselves from my designs? Were they not good enough? Were they just a starting point? The answer has always eluded me. However, my best shot at an answer is within you, Marcus, and all the other Yoshies… they are, if you will, my greatest experiment. I created beings in my image to see if they, too, followed the path of evolution, and lo and behold, though they changed, it was very little. They became stronger, sure, and smarter… but didn’t undergo the incredible changes that everything else did.” He chuckled for a moment, and continued, “Did you know that the humans came from monkeys? They were never something I intended to create, just like the Koopas, descended from turtles… only the Yoshies were intentional, as well as the Birdos, another curious test of mine. The ferals were another experiment, as were the anthros, but before I could perform any more of these experiments, Klashkna shattered my sword and left the gods almost powerless… including himself, for the most part, once he was struck down. Should the sword be restored… so will all of our powers.”

Marcus nodded solemnly. It was very strange talking to the creator of the world, particularly the way he talked of his creations and experiments… and the way that the answers to some mysteries eluded even an omnipotent being.

“May I ask a question?” Marcus said, speaking up at last.

“Of course you may. What do you want to know?”

“Why is there suffering in the world? Why do the humans attack us, why did they used to enslave us, without being punished for what they did? Why are they, the cruellest and by far the stupidest and most worthless of the races, the ones who rule over Chyrus?”

Eirsir smiled, an odd reaction for a question like that. “Had I any power, they would be punished… as the prophecy of the Cursed Yoshi says, one day the land will be cleansed of their vile presence under the seventh saviour. It was only after Klashkna that they became as bad as they are… and I am amazed that the Yoshies have put up with it for so long. Perhaps they need a leader, perhaps they are waiting for the next saviour, I cannot say… but rest assured, the punishment will be delivered one day.”

“The prophecy…”

“Correct.” Eirsir confirmed. “Sévar will do it, or at least it looks that way at the moment… but the future is as unstable as chaos itself. The future is a curious thing… even though oracles can see it, it can change before their very eyes, and even disappear entirely if they are following a specific timeline. Nothing is definite until it has already happened… and it is too late by then. Such a curious thing…”

Silence fell for a few moments until Marcus decided to ask another question. “You mentioned that your sword was shattered. What happened to the pieces?”

“It’s a total mystery.” Eirsir answered, his voice sounding a little worried. “Klashkna broke it in order to remove our powers, not knowing it would take away his own once he died… no doubt he intends to repair it. The problem is that when it shattered… it simply disappeared. Nobody knows where the shards are, how many there are, or even whether the sword still exists on the mortal plane. Klashkna is instead trying to gain his own power as Lord of the Underworld by borrowing it from the demons that are there, but I doubt he will be content for long with that… however, we haven’t received any trouble from him recently… it’s quite disconcerting, almost like he’s up to something, hiding behind his manhunt of you…”

Marcus felt a little prickle on his neck, and hurried along with his next question. “How do I use my psionic powers? They could help me escape!”

“I’m afraid you’d have to ask Karshina… I’m not a psychic, nor even a magic or chi user. All I know is that those three forces are linked together by the same ethereal force, a force channelled by those arts into their effects, using one of each of the three parts to a creature; magic uses the body, psionics the mind, and chi the soul. Only assassins know chi any more, and though any feral has psionic potential, you’re the last person who’s used it to date. Technically it would be possible to learn all three, but in practice, there’s too much of a difference… chi is a force of order, the use of which is done through peace of mind, and psionics is a force of utter chaos, used only by a greater force pushing it. All three forces interfere with each other as they attempt to use the same ethereal force, and so it’s not possible to use more than one…”

Marcus’s vision of the plane flickered for a moment, and Eirsir looked around curiously. “It’s time for you to go back… the time of your test is near. Remember the orb, and don’t hesitate to use it! You are our only hope, Marcus… the only hope for our world, hence your title of saviour… shín ki khana bey ah aya tsáníta.” May you live for a thousand years.

Marcus nodded, but before he could say anything else, his vision whited out and he slowly regained consciousness in the real world. It was still early morning, and the sun had not yet rose, but the moonlight had faded and Marcus had a hard time adjusting his eyes to the dark. He was lying almost on top of Shiala, with his cloak draped over the both of them to try and bring them warmth, and his arms wrapped around her body lovingly. He smiled once more at his memories, and gently hugged her a little tighter, resting one hand on her belly, underneath which his first child would be growing inside a spotted Yoshi egg.

If only it didn’t have to end this way… he thought to himself as he fell asleep again, slipping into peaceful dreams of the future…

 

To be continued…