Beginner's Luck: 38

"The masks? They were a human discovery- were they not?" Gettar was confident in his understanding of the magical masks that now dominated their society, but now he wasn't so sure.

"That is correct. The humans made two discoveries that altered the very fabric of our existence: Masks and rifts. The mask, as you know, is an interface with the destiny of any sentient being that chooses to wear it. It is believed that the eyes are windows to the very soul, and the light of the soul is what guides the emblems and the path one will follow. As you have experienced, when one earns an emblem in combat- the power and lethality of the wearer is capable of growing exponentially."

"If the humans made masks- how do we have them?" Gettar asked after considering what he was just told.

"There are two ways to earn a mask: the first is through violent conquest in the rift. We still don't understand why- but the nature of the rift seems to encourage violence, and as a result- masks appear after a life is taken. The second is through inheritance. How did you gain your mask warrior?" The Solar Guardian flexed his resonant energy revealing the hidden symbols in the mask for a brief moment.

Gettar nodded slowly and responded, "As an Initiate, I was given the mask from a fallen warrior who had no children. But mine came with no emblems. The sole emblem I have now, was earned." Gettar traced a finger down the center of his mask, outlining the harpoon emblem.

"Your emblem will be proudly shown before all to see until you reach a higher tier. Though unproven, it is believed that the masks have a will of their own, for the mask will hide the true power of the wearer once a certain strength is achieved." The Solar Guardian's mask had briefly revealed that he had all six of his emblems, as well as an intricate pattern as a foundation of the mask.

"How did they discover the masks?" Gettar asked following his own internal curiosity.

"There is much we still do not understand, and even more that was likely lost to time. What we know is that masks are somehow connected to the rift worlds. We don't know which came first, many scholars believe the rifts opened and the masks were earned. Others believe that it was a mask that caused the rifts to open. It is my personal belief that we should not try to replicate the discovery. Only two words have been passed down by word of mouth for generations, from those that were present during the discovery: 'Barbaric Sacrifice'." The final two words hung in the air as both thought of what possible cost could it have been to make the first mask.

"The humans that had once traveled the stars in search of knowledge and discovery... changed when they began making rifts. They slowly grew paranoid of us... Covetous of their new knowledge... The cancer of their greed and lust for more began to permeate out to the farthest reaches of their colonies. Fear that the fact they had less eyes than us, and therefore, less potential for power became widespread. Some believe that there was some kind of societal revolution that had occurred across the stars, that reverberated in their society. These reverberations grew until they began to make irrational decisions. The first great change came when they stopped making more space craft. Once a proud species of explorers, suddenly began refusing any efforts of exploration... opting to stay on their planets to extract all they could from the rift worlds. The second great change was seen in the deterioration of their citizens and society. As years passed, it began to become painfully evident that the once plentiful resources were no longer being shared as they had before. The unity and cohesiveness of their entire society became strained as each planet became more and more isolated, and their people suffered... Well not all of their people." Grantermas Mal's voice turned bitter at the end, and Gettar stood in silence absorbing all of this new information.

"Just before the war, they had showed us how some of the rifts would yield continuous harvests of food and magical items. Some of these rifts only required a small challenge to be completed and the world inside would become a paradise yielding endless crops and livestock. The very concept of starvation and famine was on the brink of being eradicated- the possibilities were endless for both of our species!" The ancient anger and frustration boiled out of the Guardian's voice as he spoke. Then his voice suddenly changed to one of morose reflection.

"The planets we shared with the humans were the first to become violent... They seized control of the rifts with resources... Killing and enslaving any Derboul they could get their hands on... Their short sightedness is what led to their downfall, for our spacecraft had grown better than theirs and more plentiful. A caste system in their society had left many humans without access to the magic of the masks. Each world was sieged and conquered one by one. The slaughter and suffering lasted for decades..."

Something began to bother Gettar, deep inside his subconscious. An emerging idea of doubt started to formulate and take form. He could not yet formulate it into an articulate coherent thought, but as he listened to the Solar Guardian explain it stirred inside his mind and heart. The first questions he had asked came back around and he asked them again.

"Are there good and honorable humans? And why is it necessary to cull them?"

The Solar Guardian tilted his head back and examined the young warrior before him. Even from behind the mask, Gettar could tell that he was examining him, attempting to glean a deeper perspective of the young warrior. A moment passed in silence before the old warrior spoke.

"I do not know if any of the honorable humans still exist. Our home world is the only place that the humans fled without putting up a fight. Many of those that were still here were scientists and explorers. They also escaped bringing everyone with them- man, woman and child... On the other colonies, the outcomes were very different... All of the other colonies responded in almost the same manner: A defiant fight to the bloody end. Their weakest warriors fought to the death, even those without masks. The rulers and mask bearing soldiers of those planets would then either fight scarring the planet leaving only the rifts for resources... Or they would disappear."

Gettar pondered and finally responded, "I don't understand... They escaped? How? You just said they stopped building spacecraft. Where did they... go?" Realization dawned on the young warrior as he suddenly looked down towards the rift cube that was inside the cathedral. The Solar Guardian nodded and continued before Gettar could expound.

"They fled into the rift worlds... The worlds they created held secrets that they had kept from us. They had more control over the rifts than they led us to believe. Slowly as we raided the rifts looking for resources and the warriors who had disappeared, we would encounter humans. They had changed again- likely through yet another barbaric sacrifice, for not all of them were sentient beings. Fear of them returning empowered and in greater numbers is why we cull them. " Grantermas Mal went silent, deep in thought.

Gettar whispered his next question, "What secrets were kept from us?"