The Last Days of Pangea

«We can hunt Rasaurs, or at least Raptors, can we?» – the teenager was indignant.

«You know, Salas, that we can’t,» Taro replied. «And Her will is not the only reasonable reason. Poisoning a large lizard is much more practical than catching dozens of small Raptors, especially since these scoundrels are too fast. No one will run after the Raptors! I will deliberately keep silent about the Rasaurs… Oi! – the hunter did not restrain himself. «I’m even afraid to imagine how you are going to hunt them!» I wonder who will track down whom faster – Razavr you or you him?

Do you think I’m that stupid? Of course he me. But when Zavrini’s eyes appear to me, everything will be different! I will not hunt harmless creatures,“ Salas protested. „Squads have always defended and driven the Rasaur away from the camp. Why not start hunting for them?

«Do you seriously think that driving a pack of Rasaurs away from a camp is tantamount to hunting?» Have you really thought to yourself, youngster, that you are the smartest? Even if their blood were alien to us, none of the leaders under any pretext would risk their relatives! Hungry Razaurs for our carcasses are not ready to die, therefore, when they feel a mortal threat, they retreat from the settlements. If you start hunting for lizards, you will put them at a crossroads: which of you should be prey! That’s when you will know the real fury of the reptiles,» Taro chuckled.

«I’m not afraid of the Razaurs!» AND…

While the young beater was talking about the injustices of hunting, the giant snorted and, stretching his neck, began to sniff and look around excitedly, gradually moving away from the prepared ambush. The lizard sensed something was wrong, and Taro drew attention to it. With a conventional gesture, the man stopped another chatter of a teenager and instantly embodied his gaze. Salas froze, watching his relative.

The whites of Taro’s eyes were filled with yellow, and the pupils narrowed. The bright colors of the real world – the sky, grass, shrubs and other vegetation – dissolved in the hunter’s gaze and acquired cold gray hues. Perception in the eyes of the hunter weakened the light of the Great Fire, everything around turned pale, and only some details of the environment, to which Taro paid special attention, concentrating his eye on them, kept the color of reality. The rustling of grass, the rustling of leaves from gusts of wind, the rumble of insects – everything around calmed down, resounding with a barely audible echo in the subconscious of a man. And only the deep rhythmic beats of Longneck’s heart in the ears of the red-haired hunter broke the muffled sounds of reality.

Taro looked around carefully. The eyes of Zavrini – the eyes of a hunter – made it possible to see, hear and distinguish all living things around. Penetrating the distance with his eyes, Taro could see in the distance what the human gaze was beyond the power of. All those who were endowed by the creator with a heart, which of the reptiles could hide nearby in the grass or thickets, did not go unnoticed! And today the Great Fire itself favored the Great Hunt. Apart from the huge red relief of muscles, veins, and the flawless skeleton of Longneck, from which people would later make protective shells, there was no one nearby. With the gaze of a hunter, Taro saw the smallest detail that was hidden by the dense skin of a lizard. Huge muscles, every vein, down to the bones – everything was before the eyes of the beater. Like a web that cave creatures weave, the giant’s crimson heart was wrapped in many blood vessels. The source of life contracted quiveringly and uneasily, betraying the excitement of the reptile with tactless, momentarily fading blows.

– Taro? What’s there? Salas asked, pulling himself up to the trunk.

The man took another look at the area.

«I don’t know what came over him… Everything seems to be quiet. It is time! he commanded and jumped to the ground. «We need to get around and launch the arrow.

Taro’s eyes returned to their former human form, and the beaters rushed around Longneck, and the giant wandered lazily, moving away from the planned ambush.

Running, hiding among the vegetation, the tribesmen reached a convenient position and began to prepare.

Come on Salas! He must be returned to the detachment, otherwise we will remain hungry!

The teen sighed deeply as he unslung his double bow from his shoulder and took out an arrow from his quiver.

«Come on, come on, Salas!» You have the blood of real hunters! – Taro encouraged, pulling out the remains of silicon from the bag. «Zavrini’s presentiment promised me that today there would be a successful hunt!»

«But they haven’t told me anything yet!» the young man balked.

On the third attempt, the stones sparked. The reptilian-greased wrapping of thin, dry, loose branches of the liana tree at the end of the arrow ignited. The teenager looked sadly at Long-necked and, raising his bow to the sky, he pulled the bowstring with all his strength. Having gained maximum height, the arrow hung in the air for a moment and, leaving a dark plume of soot, headed towards the ground. Valla’s squad received the signal.

***

On the other side of the field, behind a small rocky hillock, sticking out alone on the outskirts of the liana forest, was the main party of hunters. Lying on ledges, smeared with the juice of ground coniferous leaves, which interrupted the smell of human presence, dressed in leather vestments, in bone armor and armed to the teeth, two dozen rangers, and with them the shaman Vall himself, were already waiting for prey. Powerful bows, wooden spears and clubs with carved stone tips and Edge stones – all this, engraved and painted with symbols from hilts and blades to shock parts, today will break another giant so that the tribe of the first people would not remain hungry and continue their race.

The hunters had gone too far from explored lands, and in all the days only Raptors, Lazoons, and scavengers Vultures had been encountered on the fishing trail. Honoring the will of Pangea, the precepts and instructions of ancestors and sages, nosy Raptors and small scoundrels, people shunned, and the meat of scavengers was nasty and smelly. Like all herbivores, the Vultures ate vegetation, but they did not refuse any dead or half-eaten flesh: because of the disgusting diet, the fried meat of the Vulture tasted like rotten meat, and the smell even gave off droppings. Eating these reptiles was not possible! And since the stocks in the village were coming to an end and it was completely unknown how the other hunting parties were doing, the Great Longneck Hunt today became significant. The carcass of the lizard would have been enough for the tribe for several moons!

Vall, the black-haired leader of the Great Hunt, donned a Rasaur skull helmet. The inner part of the bone, lined with thick leather, sat tightly on the long curls of the shaman, hiding his face to the chin. Through the bored holes that once served as the eyeballs of a reptile, the bright green eyes of the leader shone. Pulling on his helmet, Val took over the responsibility of the huntsman. While the others distract their prey by hitting it with spears and archery, Vall will try to climb onto the lizard’s back in order to stick a powerful knife made of Edgestone into the victim’s neck more than once before the reptile falls dead.

Yesterday, the Zavrinis themselves whispered to the shaman about the glorious hunt, but tonight the heavens cast a strange sign. Val looked at the rest of the hunters and thought.

On the eve of the sunset of the Great Fire, the detachment set up camp on a liana tree, almost at its very top. When it got dark, Wall replaced Taro on patrol. And when the first rays of moonlight began to break through the foliage, the leader of the Great Hunt climbed to the other side of the crown, under the starry sky, where mighty Pterosaurs reigned. Val knew that today, at the foot of the Great Volcano, his tribesmen would set fire to the creation of Varna.

The path of the detachment lay through the liana forest, and they wandered through it for four days. But during the day, climbing the crowns and following the path back to the camp was tantamount to death! The lords of the skies, the giant Pterosaurs, sensed the human spirit from thousands of paces away. Once the shaman had already seen such a predator… Only the light of the Fireplace, promised by Varn, could show the path through the forest, and only at night did the winged lizards become inactive. Despite the danger and risk, Wall climbed to the top of a liana tree and saw an unusual phenomenon there – a bright luminous circle formed in the middle of the sky. The stars in it seemed to cling to each other, and it seemed that another moon was born in the sky.

The shaman peered into the heavenly miracle for a long time, trying to unravel the cause of the mysterious radiance, but inadvertently he was attracted by another unfamiliar glow – far on the horizon, Val saw a stream of light. Bright and mobile, as if alive, a thin flickering beam clearly stood out among the darkness. Closer to the sky, it was a little wider than at the source. The glow swayed randomly to the left, then to the right, like nothing else, never seen before! And the leader guessed that they were particles of hot tar – the light of the Campfire. This is how the one-eyed man described his manifestation.

«Good job Varn!» thought the shaman and took out a parchment. Wall marked the end of the liana forest and marked on the map the path to the Great Volcano. After that, the leader contemplated a mysterious luminous circle in the sky for some more time in order to understand what kind of manifestation it was, but nothing sensible came to mind – the shaman saw such a phenomenon for the first time. And when he was about to return to the camp, the mysterious stake suddenly flared up, as if lightning flashed in the valley.

Val shuddered in shock. Soon the dazzling glare in his eyes weakened, and the leader saw how the glow of a strange phenomenon hastily disappeared, and in its place a bright bizarre star was born. It shimmered with shades of scarlet and was more expressive and larger than other stars. Amazed by the appearance of the red luminary, Wall admired his stay for a long time. And when the shaman went down to the camp, anxiety suddenly flooded over him. Zavrini’s foreboding made the leader feel something was wrong. It seemed to him that a star born in the sky brought death!..

Wall did not tell his fellow tribesmen about what he had seen at night. Didn’t want to disturb the hunting mood. The leader wanted to quickly hunt down any giant that came across and return to the Great Volcano to report the vision to the leader Roshan.

Val, are you sure? – the young tribesman disturbed the leader.

The shaman frowned.

What are you, Arwen? You think I’m too old for the Big Hunt?! Watch and learn, son, while I move my feet! Forgot where I got this helmet from? Vall was indignant and tapped his fist on the top of the skull.

The rest of the hunters chuckled softly. Arwen also smiled, not at all doubting his leader. After all, every young ranger heard this story, and experienced ones saw with their own eyes the fierce battle of the brave Wall with an underdeveloped ancestor.

The head of the reptile had fallen to the shaman almost two hundred moons ago, during the last carnivore attack on the temporary camp. Stopped by fire arrows and spears, the pack of Razaurs retreated, but one of the lizards managed to get through the fence on the other side of the village. He almost tore apart a child hiding in the hut. The shaman, by chance, was nearby and was able to attract the attention of the cold-blooded one in time. The frightened girl ran away, and the hungry predator accepted the challenge. Despite the mortal danger and the superiority of the reptile, the hunter did not flinch and, drawing his knife, attacked first. The huge lizard was faster and grabbed the shaman’s hand. Sharpthorn bone armor on the forearm withstood the pressure of the carnivore’s jaw, and while the reptile was dragging Vall along the ground, trying to bite through the bone protection, he stabbed the predator many times with a knife in the neck. The lizard fell. From the skull of Razavr the shaman made a helmet and called it his amulet. Wall believed that the amulet would intimidate other reptiles, especially carnivores.

«Tristail nearly broke Tris’s head last time!» Val continued to be indignant. – It was necessary to think of it, being a dexterous one, to jump from the side of the tail to the Tailbone. You’re lucky Tris that Razorthorn has a tough skull. Together with a helmet and your head would split!

The hunters giggled again, and Tris blushed uncomfortably.

– Yes, Rylan, Arwen! Find something to laugh about. Quiet everyone! Val ordered angrily.

Teenagers and men grimaced seriously and, barely suppressing smiles, began to wink at the embarrassed Tris. In order not to watch the teasing antics, the fair-haired tracker averted his timid gaze from his fellow tribesmen and directed his gaze to the bennettite field.

«From now on, no youngsters in the hunters!» Enough already, got it! Wall snapped. «Only die-hard hunters!»

– Wu-u-u-u! – among the young relatives there was a rumble of discontent.

– I don’t want to hear anything! the leader insisted.

Being a hunter is a dangerous business in the fishery! Despite this, young men were always eager to ride a reptile to demonstrate their skills. True, the youngsters did not have that skill at all. But everyone was ready to jump on the herbivore. And then, returning to the House of Hunters, tell women, children or fellow tribesmen from other hunting parties about their courage and dexterity. But lately too many young hunters have failed. And in Akira’s detachment at the last Great Hunt, Sharpthorn even ripped open the belly of one of these onlookers. The gutted hunter died on the spot, and his body was not returned to his relatives. Alas, walking the trails with bloodied human flesh is like throwing yourself naked at a pack of Raptors. The one who was killed after the end of the persecution by the element of fire was led to the stars – they burned it, erecting a fire and pounding drums, and sang songs on a good journey, so that one day a kinsman would descend from heaven and be able to accept his genuine death from the moons of the new lived…

So Tris’s mistake was another example of the fact that the young are not ready! Tris learned his lesson: during an attempt to jump on a reptile, he received a powerful tail blow and lost consciousness. The teenager almost died, but they managed to drag him away from the angry lizard, and as Wall said, Tris was lucky! And such youths as Arwen, Tyrant, Rylan and other young hunters who had recently been beaters did not even suspect how dangerous it was to be a hunter! Any experienced person has experienced this sudden attack of indecision more than once, when you need to act right now and not a moment later! When everything constricts in the chest and a taste of strange bitterness comes to the throat, when a surge of emotions muffles the mind, when the heart begins to beat as if it is about to burst out. In this state, it is very difficult to properly assess what is happening, and even more so to control your actions. Already then you stand over the killed lizard and partly do not remember what happened. Only pain and abrasions all over your body make it clear that the victim has thrown you off your back or neck more than once, trying to trample on you.

Those who have never been dexterous seriously think that riding a giant is as easy as shelling pears. But it’s not!

By the way, the death of any tracker from the Great Hunt squad has always become a real tragedy not only for the tribe as a whole, but also for the squad itself, to which the tracker was assigned. After all, each leader had his own peculiar ways of hunting, and it took a lot of time for a fellow tribesman from another detachment, for example, or a completely newcomer, to get used to the manners and conventional signs of already close-knit hunters.

– Arrow! Tris said almost in a whisper and pointed to the sky with his hand.

The Kindred raised their heads.

Val, did you see? Rylan asked.

«I see everything,» the shaman replied calmly. «What they were doing with him is incomprehensible!» I suppose Salas thought for a long time… about what he would have in his stomach in the coming days!

The first people removed the leather covers from their spears and clubs, prepared arrows, twine from loose vines, and, waiting for a command, stared at the leader of the Great Hunt. Vall, meanwhile, latched the lower part of the helmet – the jaw of the Rasaur, covering the chin and neck – and tightened the armor with a leather yoke through the nostrils of the skull. His head was completely protected. Behind, coming out of the back of the head of the helmet and hanging almost to the very waist of the shaman, was attached the backbone of the lizard. Wall decided that the vertebrae of Rasaurus could also serve as a barrier to the teeth of reptiles.

The elongated shape of the cranial bone of the cold-blooded one only in their appearance resembled the former owner, the first ancestor of the first people – the most dangerous predator that could move on earth! Sitting harmoniously on its new owner, the Rasaur’s skull blended perfectly with the Razorthorn’s carapace on its chest, giving its wearer a flawless and intimidating appearance.

Val raised his head and squinted at the Great Fire.

– May the glow of the Great Fire abide in our hearts! And our hearts will not go out with his departure either during the Great Hunt today or tomorrow! – admonished the shaman. «May the spirits of Zavrini protect our bodies and souls!» May the flames of Pangea give us strength!

«May the spirits of Zavrini protect our bodies and souls!» May the flames of Pangea give us strength! the others whispered.

There was a roar from Longneck.

– In places! Wall ordered.

Tris and Rylan rushed to their prepared positions. The second climbed to the top of the hill and hid in the thickets. Rylan saw the dark blue giant approaching the ambush, followed by Salas and Taro, spears brandishing at his heels. Tris went down along the ledge and hid among the moss-covered stones. Young hunters will be on patrol today. Through the eyes of Zavrini, they will see to it that no carnivorous reptile can interfere with the persecution. As soon as the heart of a predator beats nearby, the rest will be warned and will instantly drive away the intruder!

Vall pulled a huge, intricately engraved knife of Verge stone from a leather sheath and stalked up the edge of a small ledge. His cheekbones slowly tightened and his eyes turned reptilian. Longneck’s increasing heartbeat flooded the shaman’s ears. The vibrations from the clatter of the giant’s powerful limbs increased with each approaching step. The earth underfoot seemed to come to life: small pebbles, particles of sand, small twigs and dried leaves with light gusts, trembling, for a moment broke away from the surface of the rock. The herbivore lizard was already very close.

The shaman scooped up a small handful of dust from the surface of a nearby boulder. Slowly rubbing it in his palms and not making the slightest noise, the leader jumped up from the ledge above the reptile. For a moment, Vall hung in the air and, like a Pterosaur, swiftly, under the weight of bone armor and Her attraction, fell on the neck of the victim. The humility of the spirit and the strength of the shaman merged into one. The element of the creator’s prana filled the engraving on the edge of the knife to the limit, and the symbol of the cutting blade in the embodied gaze of the leader lit up with a green flame! Going beyond the limits of his body, the shaman plunged the weapon into the hard skin of the reptile with a force inaccessible in everyday life.

The lizard roared in pain and began to shudder, trying to throw off the offender. The leader dug his claws into the neck of the victim with all his might and delivered a few more blows. The flames of Pangea blazed in the cavities of the engraving and gave the shaman’s onslaught incredible power! Through the eyes of his ancestors, Wall saw how with each subsequent blow the tip came closer and closer to the vital organ, how the vessels enveloping the flesh of the reptile expanded either from an overabundance of fear, or from hatred for the one who caused the pain. Being agile many times, it always seemed to Val that the blood threads of the next prey were about to be torn apart!

Longneck quickened his pace and, without abandoning his attempt to throw off the rider, rushed into the infinity of the Bennettite field. The rest of the hunters ran behind, readying their bows and spears.

The distance between the detachment and the herbivore increased, and the lizard did not allow the shaman to hit himself with a knife. It was then that I had to jump off the giant, otherwise he would have gone too far from the hunters and eventually dropped and trampled the leader. So Wall loosened his grip and deftly rolled over the reptile’s neck onto its back; immediately pushed off his back and landed somersault on the grass.

Arrows immediately rained down on Longneck! The volleys of young rangers did not inflict significant injuries – they only distracted the lizard. But the powerful shots of persistent hunters, the arrowheads of which were made of the Edge stone and concealed the mysticism of the flame in the engraving, dug deep into the body of the cold-blooded. It was they who angered the giant even more and forced him to stop in order to fight back. Waving his tail and rearing up, Long-necked began to furiously rush at the offenders. But the first people deftly dodged: they jumped and rolled under the lizard, hitting it with sharp spears, and hitting the limbs with clubs, trying to damage the joints.

– Tarot, lasso! roared the shaman to the beater who came to the rescue.

With a deft movement, Taro removed the skein from his shoulder and threw it to the leader. Wall picked up the liana rope in mid-air and jumped on the lizard again. In an instant, the shaman ran along the sinewy back of the reptile and tried to throw a lasso around the giant’s neck. But the loop did not reach the goal and tightened on the muzzle, and the lizard bent and trembled with muscles. Vall lost his balance and, grabbing onto the taut lasso, flew over the ground, crashing into the bushes right in front of the enraged herbivore. A blow to the ground stunned the leader of the Great Hunt, and the shaman lost the incarnation of the eyes.

The huge paws of the giant flew a stone’s throw from Val – Arwen, the Tyrant and a dozen other hunters managed to pull the lasso in time – and the ground shook so that the leader was thrown aside!

Salas, help us! – Arwen yelled at the teenager who arrived at the place of persecution.

But seeing what was happening, Salas was stunned. The roar of a bloody lizard trying to escape from the lasso, and the shouting of the hunters filled the youth’s ears. Everything blurred before my eyes. Salas felt his eyeballs heat up, as if a flame of fire touched his eyes. A shiver ran through my entire body. The young beater’s legs became weak, and, unable to stand any longer, he fell to his knees. Meanwhile, the reptile rushed once again. The hunters could not hold her, and, releasing a lasso, fell to the ground, and the giant turned and rushed towards Salas.

– Watch out! shouted one of the tribesmen.

The young beater raised his head with difficulty and stared at the reptile.

But what is it? Instead of a reptile, he saw bloody flesh hurtling straight at him. Bloodied flesh without skin! A living carcass of meat and bones with eyes filled with madness rushed at the youngster! Salas tried to get up, but found that his hands and feet were entangled in the roots of unseen plants.

– Aaa! yelled a stunned Salas.

He tried to free himself, but the plants, suddenly rapidly making their way out of the ground, began to envelop his limbs. Seeing this, Salas was completely shocked. Everything went dark in his eyes and, losing consciousness, he fell to the ground.

– I-i-ha! I-i-hu-hu! Taro’s battle cry rang out loudly.

The reptile slowed down and paid attention to the human scream, and Taro rolled under its belly with lightning speed and, jumping to the side, aimed the spear at the bleeding wound on the neck. The bright green light of the Tarot engraving flared on the edge of the Edge in a blinding flame. The spear pierced the flesh and half came out the other side. A deafening roar swept over the Bennettite field. The lizard’s body bowed to the ground. Letting out a heavy sigh, the reptile finally fell off its feet, raising a huge column of dust around it.