We Craita

We Craita Book One: The Awakening of Idols --- Chapter 1: The Underground Call The Year was 2.734 of the Garnbrin era, and the planet Tedetre revolved under its pale blue sky, its large ring Almost invisible planetary projecting subtle shadows on the TES continent. In the moderate city of Dos, in the country of Sisedeb, the morning sun heated the streets of poor cobblestone to the comfortable 40 ° C. Kaelen watched everything from the roof of the District Museum of Dos, his triangular and suspicious eyes - characteristic of his hoslin species - examining the crowds below. His skin spent the number 3 tone of his people's traditional palette, a reddish brown burned by the relentless sun. Her curly hair and rebellious fell on the oval face as she fooled a piece of bread disrupted exactly 1 oness. "Are you going to stay there all day or go down to see the mascots?" The voice came from Derrin, his only true friend in Dos - a striking stature departure whose appearance based on the Inuit people contrasted strongly with his "irrational" personality, as stereotypes insisted on labeling their race. The social structure of the Derent, inspired by bees, meant that Derrin played a very specific role in his community: he was a collector, responsible for bringing resources and information to his colony. "I am thinking," Kaelen replied, his eyes retracting slightly - an involuntary habit that she had developed years ago when she realized that she could imitate the kla retractable eyes that infested the fields to the north. "You read the pamphlets? Two hero mascots competing for the title of the first team of Dos's first defense team. 'We Caita', are calling." Derrin rose with amazing agility to someone from his robust structure, sitting next to her. "Li. A yellow and pink creature with horns and a 'fun' hat, and a red and blue animatronics striped with a huge mouth." He paused, his dark eyes shining with the intelligence that his race preferred to hide under a facade of irrationality. "The first one lives in an underground factory. The second, in a 'scary' cave. It sounds like a child." "In DOS?" Kaelen let out a bitter laugh. "Nothing here is just 'child's thing'. Have you seen the laws of this country? Murder is ignored, but witchcraft is actively fought. And you know what they say about the Underground Factory of Hell Fort District." Derrin nodded slowly. Hell Fort, the northern district of DOS, was known for its deep tunnels and industrial ruins. It was said that the ancient settlers had built something downstairs - something that the current locals would prefer to forget. Unemployment of 22% and 31% poverty in Sisedeb meant that many citizens simply had no energy to question what was happening under their feet. "Anyway," Kaelen continued, rising and shaking the dust of his practical clothes - tough tissues in earthly tones, typical of the Hoslin style, which prioritized function on form. "The event starts in an hour at the Bridge Cross stadium. They say it will be televised for all tedetre." "Televised?" Derrin raised an eyebrow. "Sisedeb restricts access to world communication networks. Who exactly will watch?" "Good question." Kaelen jumped from the roof, landing with the feline grace that had developed after years watching the exotic animals that infested tes. "Let's find out." --- Bridge Cross stadium was in the central district of the same name, a well-built but malconserved structure that perfectly reflected the overview of DOS: bright in appearance, but decaying inside. Brown grass number 1 grew in asymmetrical tufts by parking corners - that same grass as local architects used as building material, thanks to its amazing resistance. A crowd of approximately three thousand people crowded in the bleachers - a modest number for a city of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, but significant considering the general dissatisfaction of the population. Hoslins of various skin shades mingled with some triple canine appearance (their cerbero-based bodies have always caused discomfort in Kaelen) and occasional opesund of North African traits, whose "primitive" contrasted with his notorious entrepreneurship. Kaelen and Derrin found places in the upper section where they could observe both the central stage and the reactions of the audience. "In the center of the ring ... coming from the depths of the underground factory of Hell Fort ... receive: Talulah Voelkel!" The announcer's voice echoed through the defective sound system as a figure emerged from a platform that rose from the ground. Talulah Voelkel was exactly how the pamphlets described: yellow and pink, with curved horns that shone under the lights of the stadium and a hat that could only be described as "fun" - a distorted top hat that seemed to change Observed for a long time. But they were his eyes that captured Kaelen's attention. It was four. Four eagle eyes, totally retractable, just like those of a kla. "She's ..." Kaelen whispered. "A hybrid," Derrin completed, his voice tense. "Nobody talks about it openly, but genetic experiments in Hell Fort's tunnels ... the ancient settlers tried to combine human DNA with local fauna. The Kla were particularly interesting for them - violent, capable of jumping twelve meters, extremely resistant to environmental changes." "But the kla are tiny! Nine inches tall!" "Exactly. Imagine concentrating that jumping ability, that resistance, in a body of human size." Derrin pointed discreetly to the legs of Talulah, visible under his asymmetric skirt. They were six. Six long legs like those of an ostrich, ending on large and round feet. "She is not fully human, Kaelen. She is the result of decades of prohibited experiments." Before Kaelen could respond, the second platform rose. "And the depths of the cave of fear in the Pitchharbor district ... The invincible, the indestructible: Orlando Szohr!" The animatronics was impressive. Red mixed with blue in striped patterns that seemed to pulsate with its own energy, his enormous mouth opened in a smile that revealed metal teeth. But his eyes ... His eyes were strangely alive. "He's not a machine," Kaelen murmured, his hoslin instincts - improved by generations of survival in the dried savannas - sounding alarms. "Look at his movements. They are too fluid." "Apparently," a female voice sounded after them, "Orlando Szohr is what they call 'transferred awareness'. A human whose mind was placed in an artificial body." Kaelen and Derrin turned to find a woman rear sitting alone in the back row. Its three canine-looking heads - a feature of his inspired cerberus race - were all focused on the stage, but his casual tone suggested she was paying attention in them for some time. "Sorry," she continued, her three mouths speaking in perfect unison, creating a creeping vocal effect. "My name is thesa. I am ... collector of information, and these two," she pointed with one of her front paws to the stage, "They are much more than hero mascots." --- On stage, Talulah and Orlando faced. "You know why we're here," Orlando said, his metal voice reverberating through the stadium. "Only one can lead to we Craita." Talulah tilted his head with horns, his four eyes retracting and stretching into a hypnotic pattern. "Do you really believe this? What is this about leadership?" "What else would it be?" "Control." The word left as a whisper, but somehow everyone in the stadium listened clearly. "They want to see which of us is stronger. Which of us can be ... directed." Without warning, Orlando attacked. His metallic fist cut the air with supernatural speed, looking directly into the chest of Talulah. But she was no longer there. In a blink of an eye, she jumped - no, she flew - her six small wings of hummingbird vibrating at an impossible frequency as she hovered twenty meters high. "Invulnerability," she shouted from above, her voice carrying a debauchery note. "Healing factor. Electrical manipulation and water. Impressive, Orlando. Really impressive." Orlando roared, and electric rays fired from his hands toward the sky. But Talulah was already somewhere else - literally at another time. The air around her curled, and suddenly she was behind Orlando, as if she had jumped not through space, but from time. "But you forgot to mention my powers," she whispered in her metallic ear. Orlando turned violently, but Talulah was already ten meters away, solid light constructions materializing around her - swords, shields, chains, all made of hardened photons. "Manipulation of time," she listened, telling her fingers of her human hands (the only truly human parts visible in her body). "Radiation emission. Mimicry of other powers. Solid light constructions. And of course, flight." She smiled, and for a moment Kaelen saw something terrifying in that smile - the Innate Violence of the Kla, the notorious laziness of the species transformed into something more dangerous: predatory patience. "I can copy any power you use against me, Orlando. I can go back in time and undo any damage you cause. I can predict your movements by watching the alternative temporal lines. And while you need water and electricity to use your stronger powers ..." He gestured around, where the air was dry and the stadium's electrical system had been turned off preventively. "I do not need anything but myself." The battle that followed was at the same time brutal and beautiful. Orlando, realizing his disadvantage, changed strategy. Instead of direct attacks, he began to manipulate his own humidity - there were 25% surface water in Tedetre, and even in the dry air of the stadium, he found enough water molecules to create ice blades that fired in all directions. Talulah turned away with his temporal speed, but some blades hit her. The blood that slurted was yellow - Kla's color - mixed with human red. "Interestingly," she murmured, and suddenly her own hands flashed with the same power manipulation. She had mimicked Orlando's ability. The animatron said again, relying on his invulnerability. His fist connected with Talulah's shoulder, and the sound of bones breaking echoed by the stadium. But before he could celebrate, the air curled again. Talulah was intact. The time had kicked three seconds. "Do you see the problem?" She asked, almost kind. "Every time you hurt me, I simply ... I undress. And every power you use, I learn." She raised her hand, and suddenly Orlando's metallic body began to shine with a strange light. "Radiation," she explained quietly. "Your body can be invulnerable to physical damage, but radiation ... radiation penetrates everything. Degraded everything. Even circuits. Even wailed consciences." Orlando staggered for the first time. Their internal systems were being bombarded by radioactive particles that Talulah was emitting at accurate frequencies, calibrated to specifically affect his maternity of consciousness. "I ... I surrender," he gasped, falling on his knees. The stadium exploded in astonished silence. Talulah landed gently in front of him, his six ostrich legs folding gracefully. She held out her hand. "Do not drive up," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Join me." Orlando looked up, confused. "They created us to be weapons," Talulah continued, his four eyes sweeping the crowd, briefly finding Kaelen's gaze in the bleachers. "Weapons to control. To direct. But weapons can choose your own targets." She helped Orlando get up. "We Caita will not be a team of 'Heroes' controlled mascots by anyone who has financed our creation. We Craita will be what we decide will be. And I decide ..." She paused dramatic, her fun hat shining with her own light. "... that we are going to find out who really is behind all this. Who built the underground factory. Who has transferred consciousness to animatronical bodies. Whoever has experienced with Kla DNA for decades." The silence in the stadium was absolute. And then, Orlando squeezed his hand. "I accept," he said, his metal voice now carrying something that seemed ... Hope. "But we'll need help. Our combined powers will not be enough against what's to come." "I know," Talulah smiled, and again his eyes met Kaelen in the crowd. "That's why I've identified our next recruits." --- In the bleachers, Kaelen felt a shiver through his spine. "She's looking at you," Derrin whispered. "She's looking at us," Kaelen corrected. Thessa, the three heads rere, rose behind them. "Interesting. Very interesting." His three mouths smiled in sync. "It looks like the hunt started." On stage, Talulah Voelkel lifted his arms to Tedetre's pale sky, his voice echoing through the stadium and beyond - through the restricted communication networks, through DOS districts, through the continent of tes, through the entire planet. "We Craita!" And for the first time in years, the people of Dos - dissatisfied, depleted, living under contradictory laws and hypocritical taboos, "he replied with a unisoned roar. --- End of Chapter 1 --- In the next chapter: Kaelen discovers that his ability to imitate KLA's retractable eyes is not just a trick - it is a sign of something much deeper. Meanwhile, in Hell Fort's underground districts, Talulah and Orlando's true creators come together to discuss the threat that their own creations now represent. And in the depths of Tedetre's blue ocean, something ancient awakens ...