KOA

BACKSTORY

(From the Legend Card “KOA” in Ryder the Card Game)

How long had it been? Hours? Half a day? It was hard to tell when the day passed to night and back again while on guard at Ataria; it was a duty that the whole clan shared. When Koa was young he and his cousin would run through the network of caves, exploring deeper and deeper, as all young children did. They’d report their findings and hand newly drawn maps back to the clan mapper to be cataloged or cross-referenced with the last kids’ maps who ran those passages. The main reason for the mapping was to find new sources of goroldioa. Water and live-stock we have in abundance, but the vivid green moss served as much-needed nutrients for those living in the dark of the cave system. It was Koa and Winnie-Mae’s turn to serve as guards to Ataria, a cave entrance that none had been allowed to enter for longer than anyone in the clan could remember. Nobody knew what lay down the passage, only that it was a ritual for it to be guarded at all times, with no light, against entry or exit – no one knew which.

The sound of footsteps approaches from the dark in front of them, the scent of hot goro & goat soup drifts on the slow-moving stale air towards them. Their mid-meal, the only real way to tell the time when on duty. As the footsteps draw closer Koa notices something strange: he can see Oj’s silhouette! A barely visible opaque green shines against her skin. Pivoting towards the Ataria, he sees the side of Winnie-Mae’s face staring in shock at him. From deep within the Ataria, a low hum begins to build. “Oj!” shouts Koa. “Run back to the clan and inform them of what’s happening! Tell them to bring all the Gerlaria now!” As Oj’s footsteps disappear in a sprint, Koa takes a step into the Ataria. “What are you doing!” Winnie-Mae whispers harshly to Koa, gripping his arm tight. “We need to check this out – can you hear that humming noise?” Koa replies, not looking at Winnie-Mae, simply gazing straight ahead into the ever glowing green light emanating from the turn of the tunnel ahead. “I don’t hear anything!” she asserts. “We should wait here.” Shaking off her hand, Koa continues his stride forward. “No, I can feel it. This cannot wait Winnie-Mae.” Stride turning to lope, he enters the Ataria, rounding the corner into a cavern that no man or woman has entered for ages past. Looking down at his feet as he feels them sifting into the dust of eons, he notices the ground is no longer rubble and rock but that of a red/green marble. The green in the marble is glowing, pulsing even. His eyes follow that pulse up as it empties itself into a massive green stone in the center of the room. The humming continues to build in his mind, growing more and more intense. He stumbles towards the stone, instinctively reaching out to it. Mere inches from the stone he hears a voice from behind. “Koa! Stop!” Winnie-Mae shouts. “What are you doing?” Koa turns his head towards Winnie-Mae, entirely unsure of what it was that he was doing. Winnie-Mae stares into his face, instinctively recoiling from the green glowing orbs where his eyes used to be. Looking past his face and to his arm, still outstretched, she notices a tendril of green light, what looks like a flame, reaching out from the stone. Before she can shout another warning, the flame latches itself to Koa. Koa vanishes from sight…

Its name was Omentra, Its origins, unknown – even to itself. There were 5 like it, that they knew of. 3, including themself, that were left. It had named itself, of course, for there was no other to do such. Yet over the millennia of its existence, it had been given many names: The Chaos God, Despair Incarnate (although he was far from carnate), and Void Bringer. It did not see itself as such. To itself, it was the sacrifice. It was born into a universe of such unimaginable beauty, a beauty that had no contrast, and due to that lack of contrast, the inhabitants had no understanding of its beauty, no appreciation for what they had. They went about their lives as their livestock. Eating and mating out of necessity rather than any form of desire. An offspring lost being of equally emotional consequence as a chick falling from a tree. The wheel of life continued and turned, but what was the point of it all? Omentra determined itself to bring purpose: it would bring passion, it would bring enlightenment, and it would bring meaning to this universe. And so it had. For millennia past it had shown them what it was to suffer loss, and through this suffering bloomed love. It had shown them what it was to feel hunger, and through this hunger bloomed craving. It had shown them what came from standing idle, and now their minds raced to advance their position. One day, far into the future, it knew that through his persecution he would form a people that would shed their mortal coils and come to challenge its very own existence. It relished the day.

From deep within itself it feels a humming start. Instantly alert, it flies from its throne room to its antechamber, a room comprised of 2 doors and a stone: a door to enter its antechamber, a door to enter its throne room, and a stone now glowing bright green and thrumming with power. Omentra feels excitement grow within. It had been 387 years since this portal was last activated. It waits patiently in front of the stone to see who will appear, to see which tribe or empire has decided it is time to reinstate their pact. A young man appears before Omentra, 6’6″, broad shouldered. The green glow slowly fades from his eyes as he stares up at the dark, hooded creature towering 5 feet above his head. Jumping backward, his back slapping against a solid, smooth surface, he exclaims, “Who are you?” He is unable to hide his trepidation as his bowels threaten to loosen. “You may call me Omentra. And what is your name, young one?” “Koa,” he croaks out, in almost a whisper. “Well Koa, you have traveled far from your land. Are you ready to reinstate the pact of your forefathers?” “I, I don’t know anything about a pact. I was in a cavern and, and ahh then I was here.” Looking around him, Koa could see this room was no ordinary place. He had never been outside the cave, never been into any houses or palaces, but had seen them on parchments. He knew they were constructed of wood, stone, or metal, but this place… it was as if he could see through the walls into a glow worm’s cave. Small and large lights speckled to all sides in a circle around him, behind some type of see-through wall. He looks down and is startled to find that below him was the same: it was as if he stood on air made of blackness. Omentra sounded before him, “So your travels here were unintended then. Surprising, but this has happened before. You were called to this place, but it was not the pact that called you. Without the pact I have no use for you, however, your timing is quite advantageous. I have just finished summoning seven of the eight tributes and it would seem the portal, or as you call it ‘Ataria’ has chosen your clan as the eighth. Koa, you shall lead your people against the other 7 armies. Should you succeed, you will be returned to your homeworld and your caves. Should you fail, well let’s just say you will not need to worry about anything ever again…”

Koa closes his eyes, not believing what he was hearing, not understanding what he was seeing. When he opens them he is in the entrance of a cave, looking out over a vast land he has not seen before. He feels a hand rest on his shoulder. Turning to his right, he looks into the eyes of Winnie-Mae. “I really wish you’d listened to me,” she replies in answer to his stare. “You’ve sure got some explaining to do as to how we all got here, fully armored from the Gerlaria down to the flockmen.” “Winnie-Mae, I’m not sure where to start, but I’ve got an idea of where it’s going to end and it may not be pretty,” Koa sighs. Realisation dawns on Koa then. He had grown up with Winnie-Mae, known her all his life, yet now, in the face of imminent death, he realises he’d really miss Winnie-Mae if they didn’t make it through this. She was the best friend he’d ever had, a part of him almost, and to lose her would be to lose himself. He turned and faced the horizon. Omentra smiled from his throne.