The Master Race

GURAS I

The wisp of light glowed a burning yellow, chasing the shadows of the overhanging leaves. Guras watched as it jerked about in defiance before expanding into a smoky figure of a stag. It straightened, as if suddenly aware of its surroundings. It looked around, with the poise of a king, its symmetrical antlers like a majestic crown on its head. The smoky body hovered in the gentle breeze before it solidified into a golden fur that glimmered in the evening sun. Its hooves touched the ground as it turned to look at its maker.

Guras knelt to greet his Spirit form, ignoring the aches and crackles of his knees. "It is another Dweller, Bani, chase," Guras whispered as the stag nuzzled wrinkles on the back of his hand and gave a few quick, wet licks of appreciation. Bani turned and lept, bobbing and weaving between the blades of grass leaving a trail of haze.

Guras got up, the pounding in his chest rejuvenating his body, like a cloak of youth, allowing him to feel like a shell of his old self. He ran his fingers over the heavy earthy-green pendant that hung from his neck, feeling it's familiar bumps and crevices. Every Chief of a Nation needed one to identify themselves.

His eyes sparkled in excitement as he tucked it away behind his clothes as if a weight had been lifted from him. He allowed himself another fraction of a second to savor the moment before breaking into a run, following Bani, his eyes fixed on its movements.

He watched as Bani came to a halt near a clearing. Its ears flickered about, waiting for any sounds that will reveal the direction of the Dweller.
That won't work. The sound of the river will mask any noise. If the Dweller is smart, he will stay close to it. Guras thought as Bani lifted its nose into the air, sniffing.

It froze for a moment before it darted towards a group of trees along the river. Good. He is smarter than most of them. Guras smiled as he forced his weary legs to pick up the pace. Hopefully, this one will put up more of a fight.

He felt his heart leap at the thought as he found the strength to pick up the pace. Bani slowed, and its body tightened. It lowered its head and stomped the ground before charging. That's the sign. He found the guy. Guras gripped his sword handle just as he saw the man running towards the river in wet, ragged clothes plastered to his body. Guras let his instincts take over as he took a sharp cut towards the river to stop the man. No, he was too far away, and so was Bani.

Guras's eyes drifted to the tree nearest to the man, and he raised his hand towards it. The leaves on the tree shuffled as roots from the tree shot out from the ground towards the man. One of them found his leg and wrapped itself around it, causing the man to fall face-first at the very edge of the river bank.

Bani reached the man just as Guras saw him scrambling to free himself from the roots. The man held out his hands and caught hold of the antlers directed his way with a show of strength, surprising Guras. As the Dweller wrestled with the angry stag, the roots continued to twirl and tighten around his body, slowly immobilizing him from the legs up.

Guras came to a halt and let out a disappointed sigh. Not even a weapon? Why would he intrude into the land without even a knife? He willed Bani to back away as he walked towards the man, the consequences of his run slowly fading back into this body. Bani stopped its struggle with the man and made way for Guras, its eyes fixed on the man. 

"Wut is this? How are ye doin this, Settler?" The man screamed as he strained to pull apart the roots that had engulfed his legs.
"What were you doing inside the walls, Dweller? Why are more of your kind coming here?" Guras questioned as he heard faint footsteps slowly growing louder behind him. The guards were finally catching up.
"When ye see the mist fallin, ye run for yer lives. Ye run to where ever it's safe." The Dweller replied, giving up the fight against the roots and scanning the skies. Guras sighed and looked at the young man in dirty rags. It was the second Dweller to be caught in the last few days, and his stories were as creative as the previous.

"People living near this river are going missing or are found dead. And you people keep coming in. Are your people responsible for it? What do you want here?"  
"I killed nobody, ye king loving Settler. Them creatures must have done it." His vacant brown eyes fixed on Guras for a moment before going back to looking at the skies.
Guras stared at the frail Dweller, thrashing about. 
"Did your people eat some strange food? Some poisonous berries, perhaps?" Guras asked, annoyed at the words that came from the Dweller. Guras knew reasoning with a Dweller was pointless, yet he had to try at least. "No creature in the skies can do such a thing. What you see is in your mind, fool."

"The creatures the mist brings are not in me mind, ol' man. Giant birds with talons as big as the swords ye Settlers have." The Dweller replied, with fear lingering in his voice. "They take the women and the young and kills any man that is brave enough to fight back."

Guras shook his head as he fought the anger gripping his heart. The people he had sworn to protect were dying. And he had no idea how. What would people think of him? He turned around as he heard the footsteps he kept track of at the back of his mind came to a halt.

"Lord Guras. You need not have done this. You could have sent for us, M'Lord," One of the guards spoke.
"It would have been too late. The man would have done what he wanted to do and disappeared before you lot showed up." Guras replied back with a hint of contempt. He studied the Dweller one last time. He could sense the Dweller indeed feared something, just like the others he had caught and observed; the fear was real even if their stories were not. Only a few had weapons. Most didn't, and yet, he could think of no one else who could be responsible. Every cell in his body told him the Dwellers were responsible. They didn't need weapons. They were savages. He kept telling himself, but the battle-honed part of him was sure there was more to this story.

"Take the fool and keep him in the dungeons with the rest. See what else he says. If he fights back, then kill him." Guras commanded. The guards nodded as they pulled out the thrashing man from the loosening roots as it retreated slowly back into the ground.
"Keep a set of guards on the Firstlings at all times. No other has progressed in Water-crafting as much as them. They are our future. We must protect them at all costs."
The guards nodded, gave a quick bow before dragging away the agitated Dweller.