The Bovinae (Prologue

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Our story begins in a place called Thunder Rock, a simple, primitive town that sits at the top of a giant rock. Humanoid Bovines inhabit the city called the Taur. A gentle yet prideful race who values life and nature.

Despite their gentle attitude and peaceful nature, the Taurs are skilled brute warriors and are renowned for their Blacksmithing Skills. Life was simple for the Taurs until the birth of Sylverius and the adoption of Obscurité.

Sylverius Bloodhorn or Sylverius, son of a Taur blacksmith named Oreseus Bloodhorn and Topazea Morningdew, a Taur teacher, was blessed with might and intelligence.

While Obscurité, on the other hand, a troll orphan. He was abandoned at birth in front of the Thunder Rock gate. He was adopted and raised by the cunning and wealthy Taur Chieftain, Onyx LightningFall.

Sylverius and Obscurité grew up like brothers and soon became inseparable. Always curious, always playful, and always looking for an adventure. They even both loved pretzels! Oh, the smell of pretzels!

But just like other siblings, the two were very competitive. Equally skilled, they found worthy rivals in each other, continually outsmarting and outdoing the other in their games and curiosities.

But the rival-brothers shared a dream, and that is to usher their town into the future. The two worked for hand in hand to make this dream possible, with Obscurité's ideas and Sylverius bringing them to life.

But there was a flaw in their partnership…

Even though the people of Taur were proud of their two geniuses, Sylverius was often more recognized than his partner Obscurité. Since Sylverius handled the majority of the assembly, the townspeople noticed him more often.

But being a good friend, Sylverius never failed to mention that every project produced was born from two minds, and they should not forget to commend Obscurité, who was equal to him. But sometimes recognition arrived much too late…

Years passed, and the small town of Thunder Rock became an iron-forged technologically advanced city that consists of 5 districts — having to acquire four more giant rocks beside it. In the last few years, it quickly became the most developed city in Sylverius and Obscurité's world.

Each of the five districts is named after one of the basic elements:

Fire District - Located on the West wing of Thunder Rock, it is where tools and armory are forged. Mining and the Army are also located here.

Water District - Located on the East wing of Thunder Rock, it is where the medical facilities and water supplies are located.

Earth District - Located on the South wing of Thunder Rock, it is where food supplies, land deliveries/transactions, and the main entrance to Thunder Rock via land are located.

Air District - Located on the North wing of Thunder Rock, it is where communications with other cities and air deliveries are handled.

Thunder District - Located at the center rock of Thunder Rock, the once small town is now the central district of the city. It is where the Chieftain's Hall is found, and new technologies were invented.

Now grown, the Taur and the troll took on different paths. Sylverius, with his love for circuitry and forging, continued to live in the Thunder District, where he worked as a mechanical engineer. Always building new things and finding ways to improve his beloved home. While Obscurité made a life in the Water District as an architect, he continued honing his creativity and imagination as he invented new things for the benefit of Thunder Rock.

But that's not to say that the two grew apart. Sylverius and Obscurité remained good friends despite the time and distance, making an effort to meet up, just like the old days, to create and discover new things.

One sunny afternoon, while Sylverius was busy building a new defense weapons system for Thunder Rock, Obscurité rushed to Sylverius's lab, gushing about a new idea of his. Probably their greatest invention ever.

The two talked and debated for hours on how to make this grand invention feasible until, finally, the blueprint was finished. In the next couple of months, even while the two were busy with their separate jobs, they met every night to continue building their invention. Until on the night of the Full Turquoise Moon, the ULTAR was finally completed.

The Universal Language Transmitter And Receiver or ULTAR, for short, was a wearable device that allowed one species to communicate to any other species.

It eliminates the language barriers between all the species in the universe. Its goal is to unite and understand each and everyone's wishes and differences so that they can live in peace and harmony.

Sylverius and Obscurité were so excited to present this to their town finally, but they were also tired. So they said their goodnights planned the big announcement for another time.

While Obscurité was on his way home, it was a cold evening. A chilly breeze filled the atmosphere. A tall hooded figure suddenly emerged from the dark and stood in his way. Startled, he jumped back. But Obscurité was an inventor, a troll who thrived in unlocking the secrets of the unknown. He knew that despite the chill crawling up his spine, he had to know who this figure was.

He peered closely at the figure, trying to see the face hidden beneath the hood, but it was too dim, and he couldn't see. He asked the mysterious being who or what it was but was met only with silence.

Just when he was about to abandon hope, the figure slowly turned towards him. Still, he could not see beneath the hood but only darkness. He tried to move forward, the mystery of the hooded figure drawing him closer, but his knees were frozen in place as if a spell had been cast on him.

The hooded figure walked passed Obscurité. But in that brief moment, it was able to deliver a message. A reminder of all the bad memories and negative emotions he had felt throughout the years of stay in Thunder Rock. Of how he was taken for granted, underappreciated, and looked over in favor of someone he believed to be his friend. Of how the Taur, the very people he wanted to help, had sentenced him to live in the shadow of Sylverius, only because he was not a Taur like them; a troll, the only one in the whole of Thunder Rock.

The mysterious figure's message: "It will happen again soon."

Obscurité tried to shake off the negative thoughts and told the Hooded Figure that none of that was true. But it was too late for Obscurité; the Hooded Figure was already gone.

The next day Sylverius and Obscurité met to plan for the announcement of their grand invention. Only, Obscurité wasn't himself. The events from last night still haunting him. With Sylverius trying to cheer him up, Obscurité hid it away and insisted that nothing was wrong. Finally, the two were able to finalize the announcement, and the date was set.

The day of the announcement arrived. It was a cloudy afternoon. The citizens of Thunder Rock gathered in the Town Square at the Thunder District. All are standing by in anticipation as they waited to hear what the mysterious announcement was about.

And as the event began, Onyx LightningFall chieftain of Thunder Rock, took to the stage and announced the reason for the gathering. Without further adieu, Onyx called the two geniuses on stage to present the ULTAR.

Before they climbed on to the stage, Obscurité reached out for Sylverius, and he looked at him. With tense and nervous eyes, he said to his friend, "Together?"

Sylverius replied with pure sincerity, "Together."

They took to the stage with Sylverius taking the first step for the grand reveal. ULTAR was finally unveiled to the people of Thunder Rock! Roars and cheers resounded all over Thunder District! The reception of the new invention was more than positive! Everyone was so proud of their two geniuses!

Amidst the cheering crowd, the hooded figure watched.

Sylverius and Obscurité were given a commemoration award for their continuous contributions for the betterment of not just Thunder Rock but everyone in their world.

And as the event closed, Sylverius was silently asked to meet Onyx LightningFall backstage. Meanwhile, Obscurité met up with the citizens, not noticing that Sylverius had disappeared. But as soon as he saw that his friend was not with him, he searched for Sylverius only to find him backstage and talking with the Chieftain, Obscurité's adoptive father, in a tent.

And as he approached the tent, he overheard his father offering something to Sylverius. So instead of going inside as he intended, Obscurité remained hidden outside the tent as he listens to their conversation.

It wasn't long before he heard what it was his father was offering Sylverius: to be the next Chieftain of Thunder Rock. Shocked, envy, and anger burst inside Obscurité.

He stormed off. "So this was his plan all along! To become the most powerful person in the city! To become Chieftain! He used me! It was always about him! Always!" Obscurité muttered angrily to himself.

And as he sprinted away from Thunder District, Obscurité once again encountered the Hooded Figure who seemed intent on fueling the rage brewing in Obscurité's mind — clouding it more than ever.

"What did I tell you? Do you see it now? This was all part of his plan. They never appreciated you, never respected you because you were different. Sylverius was never your friend. He was just using you. He even convinced your father to choose him as his successor over you." said the Hooded Figure. Obscurité pushed him aside and stormed off. Away from Thunder Rock.

And on that day, Obscurité's rage and envy were finally solidified. With hatred clouding his vision, he decided that he was going to ruin Sylverius.

Meanwhile, in the tent, a surprised Sylverius was offered the highest rank in the city of Thunder Rock. At first, he was happy, but he kindly declined the offer. He told Onyx that there's someone else who deserved that kind of award: Obscurité.

He told Onyx that it was Obscurité who came up with the idea for the ULTAR. And since the Chieftain was offering him the position because of ULTAR's success, it was Obscurité who deserved the honor of becoming the next Chieftain.

Onyx agreed and let Sylverius deliver the good news to Obscurité. But when they searched for him, Obscurité was nowhere to be found.

Several days and nights passed, and Obscurité was still unreachable, as though everything was cut off.

All illustrations are done by Nate Arches.

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The Bovinae (Prologue - Part 1)

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