Hanu 3: The Prophesy
Welcome to the Dharmaverse, a near-future scifi world where the Earth has frozen due to a dying Sun, but Humanity survives with the help of powerful AI Metagods. Sacred technology provides everything people need, but to access it one must play the Dharmagames. It is a dark and terrifying world, but therein also lies infinite hope, compassion, and faith.
I escape with Lakme and his crew. It turns out the slaver auction-house is situated in the basement of a sprawling, concrete commercial district of some kind, lined with shops and people.
“Quickly, put a mask on,” Lakme says as he hands me a platinum studded choker, which I notice all of his crew are wearing.
I put mine on and a shield forms around my face with an electric hum. “Where are we?” I ask as I look around to the street lined with all manner of strange characters, some barely appearing to be human.
“We’re in New Plymouth. Part of the No-Gov Collective. Home to the freaks,” Lakme explains as we continue walking, and I notice a man without a face pass by. All his features have been flattened into a smooth display which currently shows a highly pixelated happy-face.
Then, a man walking his pet mini-raptor on a leash walks toward us. When I pass, the little dinosaur growls at me and flashes his little fangs, with a high pitched “raaarrrgh” that makes me jump aside. The owner, who himself has undergone considerable alterations in the form of scales on his forehead and bonespurs protuding from the edge of his brow, quickly apologizes and pulls him off.
I suddenly see someone like myself. No, not quite, the man’s body is covered in shaggy orangish hair, like an orangutan, but when he turns to reveal his face, it is covered in hair as well, and underneath the hair appears to be human features. “What’s that!” I ask pointing.
“Don’t point, please,” Lakme says while extending a wave of apology in the direction of the stern looking fellow. “It’s a new fad around here, people call it the wookie-tate. It’s a cyber-genetic addon, and I hear it’s not cheap either. Why, you want one?” Lakme jokes.
“Why does everyone wear masks around here?” I ask, as we walk toward what appears to be some kind of door.
“It’s required here. The downside to being part of the free, autonomous Nogov. The price of freedom is everyone has to cover up,” he explains, as we exit the building to enter into the streets.
I am stunned by my surroundings. I find myself in a multi-dimensional tapestry of vizzy-covered buildings, staring up ever-shifting displays of neon-lit signs and gleaming metal. As I look up, it is as if I am surrounded by countless world trees, each so tall that I cannot see their tops. And instead of instead of layers of branches, I find myself beneath layers of suspended highways and hanging platforms that stretch towards the frost dome high, high up above.
I am mesmerized.
Lakme wakes me up from my revery, “hey, hurry up pal! We gotta get out of here before the Syndicate puts a bounty on us. Slavers are not the only one’s to worry about here — ” He says as he points to sentinel drones and military officers posted at every cross street.
“This must be a megatropolis!” I exclaim.
“Yeah well, I much prefer somewhere less crowded. C’mon, we’re headed to the transport hub,” Lakme says as he leads us forward.
Luckily, it isn’t far. A large black multi-terrain SUV zips into our waiting area almost as soon as we arrive. Its overhead doors open up and we are greeted by a pink-haired vizzy-lady that appears in a poof of vizzy dust.”
“Hi! I’m Daphne your metasprite driver. Where are you headed, friends?” she greets us cheerfully.
“Our ship. There, our coordinates,” Lakme responds.
“No problem. Let’s go!”
As they all get on, I find myself hesitating. I scratch my head nervously. Lakme was the one to sell me out, in the first place.
He turns to me and says, “C’mon, get in here or they’re gonna catch you in no time. We still have a duel, remember?”
I concede and hop in. I’ve never been in a car like this before, and find myself squeezed in next to Lakme, facing his two mysterious companions.
“And we are off! ETA in 1 hour and 15 minutes,” our driver informs us as we take off.
I finally have a moment to examine Lakme’s crew. They sure are an odd bunch. A middle-aged woman is staring me up and down with intense brow eyes. Half her body appears to be covered in silvery synth-armor, the other half is tanned and human. Besides her is a a pale blonde man who appears to be much older, but what stands out most is how big he is. I’ve never seen someone so tall and muscular. He looks at me with striking blue eyes that seem surprisingly calming.
I look over and the woman is still staring at me. I’m not sure what she is thinking, or what to say, so I simply look out the window at the lively city. I think wherever we’re going will certainly be an upgrade from the cage which I had found myself in only a few hours ago.
Lakme breaks the silence. “I wasn’t entirely forthright the other night, Hanu,” he says apologetically, “it wasn’t my intention to sell you out, I swear… if it weren’t for the damned syndicate…”
“It was my call,” the woman across me suddenly says in a confident voice. “My name is Maria Guerra, captain of the Reina,” she says in a raspy Spanish accent.
When I look over at Lakme, who I assumed to be the captain, he simply shrugs his shoulders.
“Lakme may be my segundo comandante,” Maria continues, “but it is I who handed you over to the syndicate, and in doing so, I put money above honor. I realize now it was a mistake. You are a proud warrior, and instead of an apology, I offer you to be member of my crew. If you still wish to join, that is.” She says while bowing her body forward, which I assume is a sign of respect.
“Are you serious?” Lakme and I blurt out at once, though Lakme appears concerned, while I am truly elated. “Wow, really?”
“Hold on, hold on!” Lakme interjects, and turns toward Maria: “do you realize that the two of us are scheduled for a duel in 3 days? Only one of us is can come out alive from this.”
“If he beats you, maybe we’ll have a new segundo commandante, eh?” The hulking man beside Maria says in a thick Scandinavian accent, and chuckles.
“Ahem, I haven’t introduced you yet. Hanu, meet Lex, my Dakasan,” Maria says. Lex nods at me with a wink, as I look back at him with awe. The only Dakasan I’ve ever known is Padrinho Luque.
“Hey! Hello? A duel is a duel, right?” Lakme jumps in again.
“Yes, but duels can be put off,” Maria declares. “It’s not fair anyway. You are higher leveled than him, no? We need to give him time to catch up to you, it is only fair,” she says with laughing eyes.
“Who’s side are you on anyway?” Lakme protests, throwing his hands up.
“We are Dakas, and Dakas have honor,” Maria says with an air of finality. “Now, putting the duel aside, are you willing to join with us, Hanu? We are all Dakas here, Dakas who have, for whatever reason, left our our respective Dawas behind, and chose instead to embrace a life seeking Dharma treasures.”
I look at her with sparkling eyes. Am I dreaming?
“But make no mistake, sometimes we do not get to choose what pays. Whichever direction the wind blows, you may find us occasionally running banners, escorting caravans, or, even chasing bounties. And occassionally, we have unsavory dealings with slavers and the syndicate... I had a feeling they were going to sell you, which is why we followed you all the way here. I can promise you, I give you my word as a Daka, by the honor of my family, the Guerra name, that as long as you are part of my crew, nobody will ever treat you like the way treated you back there. I will protect your freedom with my life.”
She speaks with such sincerity that tears flow down my face.
“I’m sorry, I cry very easily,” I apologize.
“So I’ve heard. I understand that you recently lost someone dear to you…” Maria consoles, “We’ve all lost near and dear... Won’t you join with us? Let’s make a new life together!”
“Yes! I agree to join. I want to roam the frozen seas to recover the buddhas treasures. It’s what my Nadia always wanted. It wasn’t easy growing up in the reserve. It was her dream that kept me alive. Now I’ll spend the rest of my life so her dream can come true,” I say from the truth in my heart.
We finally arrive at the shipyard at the edge of the city.
“That’s the Reina. The Queen,” Maria points as I look up at a thing of beauty. [description of ship, coming soon…]
When we are finally out of the port, and gliding smoothly on ice again, it is already dark. Maria gathers the whole crew into the lounge area. We are huddled around a crystal-fusion fire that bleeds green and violet flames. It is small but cozy. Vizzy decorations line the walls, one of them is a hologram of a Spanish Matador. Upon close inspection I see a younger Maria dodging a raging bull. We are also joined by Maria’s son, Falco, and a beautiful Metabeing who is the ship, Reina. She has long green hair that float in the air like she is moving through water.
Captain Maria begins, as her son cuddles up comfortably next to her, “let’s have a story, before bed.”
I yawn and so does Lakme. We are all tired.
I look over at Lex and Lakme, they both appear to be contently sipping their teas. Then, I look down at my own cup regret having drank mine so fast.
“Here,” Maria refills my cup from a Chinese clay Teapot decorated with cranes, “I hope you can handle tea better than malt,” she pokes fun at me.
“Ay ay captain, I will try,” I answer and almost tear up again, feeling grateful.
“Navarion, my metadaemon, will now tell a story that proves to me that there is more to life than…” She waves her hands around the room… “than the material.”
A discombobulated blue face appears, and floats above the fire beforeo us.
It was a particularly dreary day, nearly 11 years ago, when our beloved Reina, was no more than a solo-cruiser, which my master rode while banner-running off the coast of East African, when she spotted a shimmer in her meta-field on a remote cliff.
“It’s probably nothing, but let me check it out,” She said to herself, without knowing that it change her life.
After climbing over a hundred meters of sheer cliff, she reached the small cave, and to her delight, she found a gleaming meta-vase. Inside, instead of $PRANA, she found a mysterious map. The map had a single location marked with X.
The problem was, X happened to be in one of the most inaccessible places in the world, deep in the frozen amazon.
So, for 10 years, Maria and the Reina both grew. Maria became a warrior, and the Reina grew from a solo-cruiser into a class 4 glider she is today. And along the way, Maria found her it’s crew. Many adventures they’ve had. That we’ve had. Losses and Triumphs.
It wasn’t until 10 years later, last year, when she finally decided we were ready to make the trip. She needed funds, however, and was forced by circumance to go into debt with the Syndicate. When we traveled up the frozen Amazon, we were also waylaid by pirates, and nearly lost everything. But we never gave up.
Alas, when we reached the location of X, at first we nearly cried when we found nothing. But when Lex pounded the ground with his foot, it cracked open to reveal an ancient ruin — A temple which had been abandoned for thousands of years.
And to our surprise it was guarded by sentinels. So Lex smash. Lakme dig, and Maria finds a treasure with a mysterious note that says — ”
“Oh, c’mon! Why are you skipping ahead?” Falco gripes.
“Because the person the story is for appears to be fast asleep,” Navarion responds.
I pop my head up and open my eyes to find the crew staring at me. “Oh, hey, sorry guys. Where were we? Amazon?”
“Ok, go ahead and cut to the chase, Nav,” the captain commands, “It’s been a long day, especially for Hanu. We all need rest.”
“So, we found terma #1, right there, in the temple, sitting in a halo of light.” Navarion says as he pulls up a vizzy of the original vase into view.
It is beautifully adorned, in the color of a striking lapis lazuli blue.
“Awa! I’ve never seen a Terma Vase so beautiful,” I exclaim even though another yawn escapes me.
“Not just any Terma, my friend, terma #1!” Lakme says with a sparkling eye.
“You mean…”
“Yes,” Navarion continues, “as we all know, there are only 77,777 terma-vases in the world, and each one is marked by a serial number that indicates it’s position, from 1-77,777. This is #1!”
“Whooaa… So what’s in it?” I ask.
“Total disappointment!” Lakme grumbles.
“Not necessarily true,” Lex points out.
“What we found inside was a poem…” Navarion says. And then he begins to read it out loud:
The true Kali Yuga comes,
When the Dragon breathes anew,
Seeking vengeance against the Gods,
to turneth Earth into hell.
Then, Chronos, you must seek,
To embark upon the last Journey,
Down the depths of the frozen Seas,
The Queen with the monkey.
To search for a thousand years,
to uncover Earth’s greatest secret,
A floating Beyul, long forgotten,
Kept alive, by love divine,
10,000 Dead, shall live again,
after the ultimate sacrifice,
awakening the first civilization,
so Dawa with Ewa should unite,
To meet death again in battle,
for the last Rainbow to shine,
then, at last, the End-
shall meet the Beginning,
as all words lose meaning,
Sa-Ku-La!
“So, our ship is the Queen, and he’s the monkey?”
“Our sleeping monkey.”
“Guys, isn’t it rude to call him monkey? He’s part of our crew now.”
“Nah, he doesn’t mind it. He might prefer samurai though.”
“Someday, he will become a great warrior...”
“Who’s going to clean out what’s his name’s room?”
“Why you all looking at me?”
“Because, you’re the one who got him killed.”
“Haha *nervous laughter*. That was an accident guys.”
I dream I am back in the Jungle. Com minha querida de novo, na minha floresta divina… Sonhos que me lembra ela… Que linda, que linda… Debaixo do arvore arco-celeste
