Dae in Vaelyn

①

Standing in the black palace, with humanity's future resting on his shoulders, the man had to answer a difficult riddle: 'what nurtures the soul—comfort or conflict'

☀ Dae in Vaelyn ☀

Deep in the rural ring, far east of the city, is Vaelyn's marsh, wherein a pompous young man has been captured by a twenty meter tall plant monster. It has it's vines coiled around his large frame, and whips him into the mud, back up, and into the mud again, creating several young-man-shaped imprints.

☀ Daedalus ☀

I am Daedalus—190 centimeters tall; golden skin; statuesque physique; striking, sapphire eyes; long, silky-smooth, platinum hair; widely regarded as the handsomest man in New Meridia, with an inquisitive mind and peerless intellect to boot—and my story begins with me getting my ass handed to me by a plant.

This is not how today was supposed to go, I thought.

I suppose I took an unnecessary risk by coming out here nearly naked at six in the morning. Sure enough, this brand of frivolity won't do well for me once my journey begins in earnest. I know that. I know that...

But just look at this place!

This marsh is Vaelyn's greatest work of art. Vast, open plains of Vaelora grass create a gradient of violet, to cyan, and blue; the puddles fill with microscopic fungi and algae, giving them a bright turquoise color; and the ochre dye of dawn splashes in the navy sky~

Moreover, it was my last free morning. Thus, as soon as I woke up, I bathed, slipped on my heated bathrobe, grabbed a cup of coffee, and warped as near I could.

And it was good. I walked slowly; sipping my drink; smelling the flowers; feeling the cold, wet mud between my toes. I soaked in the light drizzle and the rainbow it produced. It was perfect.

Then a plant monster emerged.

The foul beast had a large diamond-shaped head, resembling that of a cobra. The top of the head had two beady, black eyes, and the lower eighty percent was dedicated to it's toothy grin, made up of large, bumpy, yellow molars. Below that was a swirling tornado of slimy, mud-covered vines concealing what looked to be a large bulbous belly. This was a monster that blurred the line between plant and animal.

The cowardly creature may have taken advantage of my moment of weakness; however, I did not waver. With shocking speed, I summoned my blade, struck a dashing pose, and poised my heart and mind for battle. I also sent for backup. For good measure.

It hurdled vine after vine in my direction; but, with my ample skill, It proved trivial to evade each and every meager blow. Realizing the beast was far too slow to make any headway, I chose to strike. I charged for the center. With immaculate form, I leaped into the air, aiming for it's neck. Then—in the blink of an eye—I severed the beast's head.

Naturally, I presumed the fight was over.

However—man should not underestimate the perseverance and ferocity of nature. Neglecting to see to the core was a rookie mistake, one unbefitting my repute. And I paid for it dearly. From the wound, three heads sprang forth. Once again, the lowly villain had resorted to cheating in order to best me.

Thrice as fast, it lashed out. With my guard down, one of it's vines managed lacerate my arm. The pain quickly returned my composure, as I switched to the defensive, blocking and evading. And with my adrenaline pumping, it didn't take me long to realize—

This beast it still too slow.

And so, I pressed the advantage once again. I navigated my way through the tempest of vines and managed to sever another head. Make that two. Three.

I won't make the same blunder again, I thought.

Before it could regenerate, I diced all the plant matter In the area. When I cut into the belly, purple fluid poured out. Smells of honey—mixed with vomit? This... digestive fluid... began dissolving the plant matter left in my wake... Dissolving itself? The thought gave me pause, but I quickly regained focus. Eventually I thought I had destroyed everything, so I waited. Standing barefoot in the smelly mess, I watched the ground like a hawk, looking for any sign of movement. Nothing. 

Finally, I thought.

I had a busy day ahead of me you see. Moreso I wanted this to be over. And so, after about three minutes of waiting, I summoned another cup of coffee. I began to walk off, fully intent on resuming my peaceful morning. But just as I let my guard down, nine heads emerged from beneath my feet. Seriously?! I was genuinely furious at this point. The true core must have been hiding underground. For the third time today, a cowardly tactic. No matter. You can't keep up with me anyway.

Or so I thought...

But this time was different. This time there were nine heads. The tornado of vines had become a hurricane. Frankly, I didn't stand a chance. I'd never have lost in a fair fight, but this wasn't that. Thus, despite my commendable effort, the monster's sheer firepower overwhelmed me. It coiled it's vines around me, hoisted me in the air, and whipped me into the mud, with a distinct--

SPLAT!

☀ ☀ ☀

SPLAT!

So that's how It all went down.

Given the number of heads and the monster's visual similarity to a venus flytrap, I elected to tentatively refer to it as a 'Venusian Hydra.' Venny for short.

Each of Venny's heads had a distinct color; pastel red, pastel blue, pastel yellow... pastel... the others... Anyway, the vines came in the same kind of fun color assortment as the heads. The kind that burns retinas.

-Zhzz-

Just then, a ball of electricity flew toward Venny's central head. Venny saw it coming, though, and in response he clumped some vines together and deflected it.

He can deflect electricity?!

While I remained baffled by this revelation, a vine lashed downward toward the electricity's source. It was there that I spotted a familiar face.

It was Eurana—short, dreary, mean, and unsociable—and her story begins with her handing a plant its ass. She would also be one of the two people accompanying me on my journey, so get used to her.

"Hey, Eura! OOF— Glad you could make it..." I tried to sound composed as usual, but... yeah. Despite my omitting the onomatopoeia, this 'SPLAT!' nonsense was still going on, so there's a distinct possibility my sarcasm came out a bit pathetic. This thought was graciously confirmed for me by my friend's difficulty stifling a laugh. Think I heard a chuckle from Venny, too.

"...Dae? Why'd you come out here? Why isn't it killing you?" she asked in short order.

"Look," I huffed.

SPLAT!

"Free me first."

SPLAT!

"Then ask questions."

SPLAT!

"...Fair."

As Eura began circling Venny, he had no choice but to cease his mindless splattering of my pride and focus on the girl with the gun.

The beast unleashes a rhythmic onslaught of vines, slicing through the air at incredible speeds.

But air was all he sliced.

She jumped, ducked, weaved and rolled through the torrent of colors, all while fiddling with a mechanism on the back of her gun.

I was genuinely impressed.

She's come a long way, I thought, reminiscing on our first fights together.

Then she slipped a bit in the mud, and in an effort to correct her balance stepped right in the way of an attack.

Swish

"Shit," she grumbled.

That's a lot of blood. Seems like it nicked her arm pretty good. Honestly, I can't help but think her approach here is all wrong. Shouldn't she have backed away first, then adjusted her gun? Maybe she needs some advice.

"Hey, how about you tr—"

"Shut it."

She switched direction and began to spiral outwards, putting more distance between her and Venny (as I was about to suggest).

Eventually, she got a moment to breathe and finally stopped to take a shot.

And, just as before, Venny clumped his vines and blocked the attack.

Fwoosh~

And the clump of vines burst into flames. She had switched her gun's mode, allowing her to shoot fire instead of electricity

Yeah! Take that, idiot, I thought.

"Nice work, Eura!"

"Aw, crap," she muttered.

I looked up to see... the flames swiftly spreading in my direction.

"Nice work, Eura." Well, her gun has a water mode too, so I should be fine, so long as Venny doesn—

Three of Venny's heads hovered over the flames and... barfed on them. Now it smelled like burning honey-vomit. I was worried that the vomit would burn my skin, but to my surprise, it had no effect. On the contrary, the vomit only melted plant matter, including the vines holding me, allowing me to break free.

How convenient.

"Nice work, Venny!"

Hard to tell, but I swear I saw a couple of his heads scowl there.

"Wanna answer my questions now?" Eura asked, as I stretched and shook off the pain.

"I came here to partake in the beautiful scenery. As for why he chose to toy with my self-esteem, rather than killing me..."

"...?" Eura cocked her head.

"HE'S OBVIOUSLY SOME KIND OF SICK, SADISTIC PERVERT!"

"..." Eura seemed nonplussed.

Seems we still have a way to go with humor...

Venny, on the other hand, seemed quite perturbed by the sudden accusation.

As I wondered about Venny's understanding of human speech, he got started on another assault. He sent a volley of vines in our direction, forcing us to jump back out of range.

"Well, time to go," the coward spat.

"No. I will have my revenge."

"Cool. I'm leaving."

"Stop, Eura." I placed my hands on her shoulders. She looked away. "Think. If we have to run with our tails between our legs... from Venny of all people? We'll never make it on the outside."

She looked down at her shoes, seemingly considering my words carefully. Then, she looked up at me and asked: "...Who the hell is Venny?"

"..." I pointed at Venny.

"...Him?"

She sure is slow today...

"Do plants even have genders?"

Hmm, that's a good point... Do they? How do plants reproduce? How would one even—No! Don't get sidetracked! This sly fox is trying to change the subject on you!

I tightened my grip. "Eura, please. I'm not sure I ca—"

"Fine. I have a plan anyway."

"Really?" I beamed. She's not usually one to make suggestions

"First, turn your sword on."

I frowned. "I can cut it just fine without that." My sword's 'on' mode was almost always a terrible idea. I was never entirely sure how it worked, (perhaps something to do with gravity manipulation?) but essentially the blade turns molten. As one might no doubt assume, this posed a great—and often unnecessary—risk to the wielder and their surroundings.

"Hesitating? I told you I have a plan. I just need you to cut off one head. I'll follow behind."

Well, I suppose I'll just have to have faith.

My mind made up, I pulled back my blade's cross-guard, activating its 'on' mode.

-Zhz-

Immediately, a burst of heat and light.

Here goes nothing...

Eura grabbed hold on the back of my robe and we charged like lightning. Venny reacted quickly as well. He launched a furious onslaught of vines in our direction, and dodging wasn't an option with a girl clinging to my back.

So instead, I cut. More accurately, scorched. Each time I severed a vine, it left writhing, flaming remains. Venny, of course, resorted to vomiting on the flames to put them out, dissolving more vines in the process. As predicted, the battlefield had quickly become a dangerous, fiery mess.

Eura focused on shooting electricity to force Venny to deflect, drawing it's vines away. She covered my blind spots, doing her best to make it easier for me. She even tugged me away from flaming vines.

At first, it was tough. With my escape blocked by flaming vines, a single error would have been catastrophic. Normally I would have found such a brutal task arduous, but for some strange reason, midway in, I realized I was having a blast. I wielded my blade with grace. Up, down, left; right, up, left. It was a waltz.

Before I knew it, Eura had her back to me, and we were spinning. Spinning, and performing extravagant, showy moves. The battlefield was a disaster of flame, writhing vines, and lightning, yet there we were. Dancing.

In what felt like an instant, we had gotten to the center; and, for the fifth time that day, I decapitated Venny. With that done, Eura pointed her gun inside and—

Splat!

Vomit. Everywhere. Eura had switched her gun's mode again, this time firing a powerful gust of wind into the beasts neck, straight into the belly. This forced digestive fluid out of the stomach, spraying into the air out of the eight other heads.

Purple rain came down, dissolving Venny's entire body.

Poor guy. Done in by acid reflux.

—Wait!

"It's not over yet, Eura! The core is hiding somewhere underground!"

I turned off my sword and threw it down as we began frantically digging through the mud with our bare hands. Come on, come on! It's gotta be here somewhere! If we didn't find it soon, it would regenerate. Then we'd have a 27-headed Venny on our hands.

"I think I got it!" Eura shouted, tugging on a large green root. I rushed over to help her, and sure enough. Out came a large seed, about the size of a football. It was covered in mucus and wriggling roots.

"Gross!" Eura squealed, throwing it on the ground.

Time to put an end to this, I thought, powering my sword once again. And then, in one swift motion, I brought my sword down on it.

Shz-

"What the?!" It didn't work. Try as I might, I just couldn't cut the damn thing. This left us with only one option.

"We need something to contain it!" Eura shouted, while I turned off my sword.

Ah, but what to contain it with?

While I was stressing over how to contain it, the roots protruding it began to grow immensely in size. I cut them all before it could get out of hand.

Think! Think! There's gotta be something here we can use to—

While Eura was playing around with her menu--possibly trying to summon a container--I came up with the perfect plan.

And so, with all the grace of a swan, I stripped.

My bathrobe.

I took off my bathrobe, wrapped it around the slimy seed, and tied it tight. This, of course, had the unintended side-effect of bestowing upon Eura's eyes a most profound sight of my pristine masculinity.

Vaelyn's voracious vegetable, Venny the viney, vomiting villain, vanquished at last, Popped into my head.

I turned to the beet-red Eura.

"Vael—"

"Give it," she said sternly.

"Oh, okay..." I handed her Venny and tried again. "Va—"

"Bye." She teleported away.

Hmm. I didn't get to say my line. Well, whatever.

I summoned a cup of coffee, and resumed my peaceful morning.