The Curse of “The Almighty Akus’ka”

Once a whole twenty-eight members strong The Akus’ka Clan were the first of the Yetis to band together. Perhaps the only. Teaching one another what they knew of the surrounding universe and exiling themselves from their own tribe the Akus’ka were arguably more exclusive than Sasquatch Royalty. You had to be invited for one, you needed the willingness and ability to communicate for another, and finally you needed considerable proficiency in a skill-set that was deeply desired by the clan to even be considered. Looking down their noses at other Yetis from levitating, ivory towers The Akus’ka Clan carried signatures staves and wove silk emblems signaling both their allegiance and exile. More than mere warriors. They were elite survivors born of a tribe already revered for their resilience; rumored to be immortal. And yet, only one lonely survivor of the clan remains. As much an Akus’ka today as the day he was branded Leon looked down at his wrist at blurred markings. Once a symbolic representation of how the Akus’kas viewed themselves in relation to the surrounding world, stationary sentinels, the brand was little more than two faded blotches and indivisible lines.

Leon listened intently as several human beings passed by; talented linguists as they were, they seemed largely oblivious to the world around them. Leon couldn’t help feeling pity towards the race of men. Once willing to work together, to build, to innovate, to formulate together a righteous path — the world their oyster: they succumbed instead to petty bickering and gluttonous behavior. Shivering and cursing the men returned to the ship’s quarters. Impeccable hearing, Leon overheard the distinct clinking of glasses and took such as his cue. Unfolding himself from the crate he’d hidden in for weeks on end the last living Akus’ka collected himself and his effects before leaping from the ship’s banister into the Antarctic snow, disappearing into the distant horizon. Nostrils dragging in icy cold air, lungs rejoicing, Leon was happy to be home. A creature of the cold. Mesmorizing though the New Zealand mountains were to traverse every few hundred years — they were too warm for Leon’s tastes and reeked considerably of Yowie. A most unsavory and unique scent; it smelled, to Leon’s nose, like the cross between a badger and a wet bear.

Fire crackling and Atlantic Cod starting to crispen, Leon had taken, over millions of years, a liking to some of mans many ways. Cooking fish on an open-flame his favorite, there was a long list of tricks he’d borrowed from man. An ally to a particularly stubborn Pharaoh, a two-time Roman Gladiator and an ever-watchful Guard over Are’s tomb for several hundred decades — the last remaining Akus’ka had lived many lives. Some intertwining with men, others with altogether different beings and several best lived alone, Leon had fallen privy to information, education, power and technology of unfathomable sophistication in his time. Counting himself fortunate Leon tossed back another crispy cod swallowing it in a single gulp. Savoring on his tongue the salts and seasonings before swallowing a second time, he sighed aloud. Not much left to live for and yet all he really knew was how best to go on living. Leon was unable to shake a feeling he’d been carrying around for millions upon millions of years: that his death was to be somehow endowed with great purpose and that all that was needed for him to achieve it was the patience of an owl. Something one of the original Akus’ka commonly preached.

Unscrewing, lubricating and re-tightening his left arm with his right Leon never felt more vulnerable than when his arm was disassembled upon his lap. A small price to pay for the security it provided. Gifted it by a most gracious and omnipotent source Leon had since stood a class or ten above the other Abominables. The speed and strength it possessed the only thing on Earth capable of not just contesting but besting his Abominable brethren with ease. The arm was best described as otherworldly. Testing the intricacy of each mechanical finger Leon shuffled through them until thoroughly satisfied. Capable of snatching their souls out from under them the other Yetis both feared and envied the last living Akus’ka and yet, with that which stirred growing near, they grew all the more restless. Plotting to relieve the old Akus’ka from his collection of impressive and shiny things. Many a Yeti had tried and many a Yeti had failed to pry from Leon’s hands that which he’d acquired over a lifetime. Begging, borrowing, stealing, building and winning that which he wore; Leon was in more ways than one a notch above the rest. Laying their warm bodies to rest, he took no pleasure in killing his own kind but did so when necessary with little mercy and a most triumphant roar.

Troubled by his findings, Leon further examined the cave markings. The Yetis must’ve begun gathering in large numbers to prepare for that which stirred. Ripping from a rock wall one of two trusty javelins Leon slung over his shoulder a tightly wrapped seal carcass and continued; closing the gap on a location liable to provide further specifics as to when that which stirred might commence. Starting to fatigue after spending weeks in that crate and admittedly eager to feast on the fat of his plump baby seal, Leon started a fire with some fresh flint rock. Exhaling scalding hot breath into cupped hands Leon melted the ice he held, washing his face in warm water after his meal. The stars high and conditions ripe Leon made his way to the top of the tundra and with eyes that had seen millions of years, eons even: looked up at the sky in awe. Deciding against the cool touch and gentle whistle of a cave or cavern Leon made himself comfortable out in the open. Driving his clan’s staff deep into the ice — Leon warned those that might approach that they were in the presence of an Akus’ka. Breathing heavily Leon returned to the place he returned to most nights he slept. The place he feared most. A dark and dangerous place that existed within the deepest crevice of his mind. The only place that no matter how far Leon travelled he could never escape. The past.

Sentenced to death by Suryek, the self-proclaimed leader of the Akus’ka, for exercising what was rightfully Leon’s turn to procreate with a female member of the clan. Suryek had been jealous of Leon’s ability and agility since day one and the act in which Suryek had accused Leon of — merely an excuse to eradicate him once and for all. Restrained by the firm grip of several Akus’ka members, each of them grappling at a different limb while Leon slowly shook his head at Suryek. Grinning from behind pale, purple eyes capable of seeing all shades of ultra-violet Suryek showed Leon his fangs one last time. Made of a blue-shard crystal once prominent in the Amazon with a gold plated handle and cerebral orb at it’s base — the breed of axe Suryek carried could cut through even an Abominable’s flesh if swung hard enough. Raising his ancient axe before a kneeling Leon the self-proclaimed clan leader of the Akus’ka cluster inhaled deeply before commencing his axe’s descent. Kneeling without resistance for some time Leon suddenly snapped loose his left ankle from the Akus’ka member behind him. Sweeping it, he kicked the Akus’ka member to his left’s footing out from under him, retrieving a portion of the length of his arm back.

Pressing off the ground with his left foot Leon headbutted Suryek as the mighty axe, instead of catching his ribcage and forehead, caught his left arm and the icy tundra. Blood gushing from his shoulder socket Leon seized the opportunity. Shaking loose his right arm and leg Leon forced Suryek’s head towards the heel of the axe, placed his right foot atop his head and grasped at the ancient axe’s handle with his remaining strength and arm. Grunting as he pulled up at the handle while pressing down into his foot with all the weight he had in the world Suryek snarled and choked in disbelief. Suddenly aware of the score, Suryek desperately swatted at the seven other Akus’ka members present; begging them for distance in hopes that he would make a better hostage than he would a revenge-ridden-corpse. The density of the blue crystals about to burst his throat wide open Suryek continued to usher the others away with grunts and panicked waves. The other Akus’ka far enough away that Leon could make a run for it, Leon decided against killing Suryek. Retrieving the weight of his foot from Suryek’s head just as the blue crystals began outlasting the throat muscles they were up against, Leon decided to wound rather than kill. Causing several members to remain and tend to their self proclaimed leader. Abandoning the eight Akus’ka members gathered Leon fled with one arm and little hope of survival.

Galloping down the tundra with a wake of red behind him the accused Akus’ka was unlikely to get very far with four of his brethren hot on his tail and whatever weaponry they thought to bring to an execution ceremony being hurled after him. Jaw slack, mane wild and all the while stuffing as much ice as he could grab into his wound Leon was propelled forwards by the most bizarre feeling. As though touched by the spirit of his ancestors he was filled then and there, perhaps more so than ever in all his life, with the unyielding will to survive. Salvaging a diamond javelin as he fled Leon picked his position’s wisely, waiting for the opportune moment to strike the nearest of his brothers as they approached. One by one he either injured, fatigued or killed them until at last he was far enough away to stop stuffing ice into his empty shoulder socket and sear it shut using his own heated claws and a small fire conjured using the last of his trusty flint. Barely outmaneuvering death Leon abandoned the continent knowing full well that there was nowhere on Earth he could hide from the Akus’ka and yet for a reason he didn’t fully understand: knew that his time to die, his destiny, his ultimate demise, was still in wait.

Gasping for air Leon reached for his staff, still buried in the ice and snow, clasping it as he caught his breath he sat upright in the dark. Tormented not just by what was done to him but what he was forced to there after over the fourteen thousand years that followed. Leon fled only to be sought after. Only to kill his own brothers and sisters. Only to kill the very female he was charged with having wronged. Only to kill so many of the Akus’ka that in the end, there remained only himself, Suryek and a small handful. Prepared to die if it meant Suryek perished for the downfall of their once meaningful and promising clan Leon set out to seek the remaining Akus’ka and their self-proclaimed coward of a leader. Hiding behind the lives of each and every Akus’ka member he could, Suryek saved himself for last burrowing deep into Antarctica’s core only to die a pitiful and honorable death. Leaving behind a small silver stopwatch that no longer worked, a satchel of dragon’s teeth and a bloody katana crafted specifically for him by perhaps the most talented of all the Akus’ka members: Suryek took his final breath kneeling in the dark.

The tundra starting to warm in the sun’s light Leon gathered his things, re-examined the cave markings left behind by his once fellow Yetis and plotted a course in search of answers in regards to that which stirred. Three or four Yetis, likely younglings, saw for themselves an opportunity to relieve their elder of his many possessions. Laying one to rest in a grizzly fashion in hopes of dissuading the others: more arrived. The well woven symbol of the Akus’ka unnecessary for the others to see from a thousand yards what Leon was. He was the last remaining member of the Akus’ka Clan, carrying with him not only numerous items of value but proof that there existed an elite clan within the Yeti tribe and that they were not apart of it. Nine Yetis in total it was only a matter of time until Leon would have to fend them off. Such was the Curse Of The Almighty Akus’ka, lonely but still breathing — forced to fend off his own kind until at long last slipping into the warm abyss. A welcome embrace, the feeling reminded him that his time was not now. Preparing to dance with those that desired him dead the last remaining Akus’ka caught, in the far-off distance, glimmer of something metallic and shiny on the ridge.

To Win This Tribal Riddle Contest You Must Join Our Discord Server, Open a Ticket (#help-request channel) and answer the following three questions at the SAME TIME, numbering them 1,2,3.

Tickets will be checked every 4hours. The prize pool will be cut in HALF every 24hours starting at $2000USD worth of $ETH. The winner’s tribe shall then receive 3 NFTs to gift to whomever they wish to onboard into the community/ directly into their faction whether it be via a celebrity airdrop, influencer pick, the recruiting of talented individuals from social media or friends/family — receivers must be unique wallet holders. Limit of 3 guesses per hour per participant. Remember guys, this is just a game. Try to have fun :)

1. What is the official emblem/brand of the Akus’ka Clan?
2. What is the name of the ritual performed by Suryek?
3. What was the shiny something Leon spotted on the ridge?

• The TAB Team