Kozmo

And the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code.

As is usual of Urzuks, the insanity of infinity had started getting to him after a few millenias. Maintaining the statue of Omnibus had grown tedius to him, being so distant from land that he seldom would have anything to interact with. Maybe a stray Chisudo, but they’d swiftly leave once they spotted the lack of food. 

So, as any responsible servant of the Wardens would do, he left. Flew down to Flower Cove to see if anything interesting was happening.

To his absolute delight there was a small pack of Wystoras, darting in and out of bushes and squealing with joy. From the roof of the cavern he descended, landing right in front of the pack and chanting a welcoming cry. The herd proceeded to bundle up and scream at him, clearly frightened by the sudden appearance of an unknown creature.

So, he took flight again, not wishing to worry the poor little stupid creatures. His next landing spot was right outside of the Volcano, where a Kendyll was taking a nap. Its jaw was lazily hanging open, rows of teeth seemingly beckoning for Kozmo to inspect them. Being curious of the massive creature before him, he obliged, sticking his head within the beast’s gullet to get a proper gander at its massive incisors. By the luck of Farhaus he was able to pull his head out before it crashed down on his skull, the feathers lining his neck seemingly having irritated the Kendyll’s throat. It clambered to its feet and roared at him, making a great display of aggression. 

Pushing aside the impressiveness of its stature and voice, Kozmo fled, wanting to avoid the need to repair his mask for the hundredth time.

He only intended to visit one more region before returning to his Warden’s shrine, as such when he touched down upon Pride Rocks he was met with overwhelming disappointment at the lack of anything.

No creatures were walking about, not even a Sha’Rei. I mean sure, there were plenty of carcasses. But no creatures! 

At least, that’s what he thought until a glisten of light caught his eye. Within a cave lying beneath one of the grand rocks he could sense the aura of a living being. It was harsh and toxic, as if suffering from multiple afflictions. Mind you, he couldn’t see or tell what it was (its scent seeming to have been hidden) but regardless he chirped and wandered over.

Whilst on his way to the cave it seems that the owner of the aura had left, apparently having lost whatever conditions had been bothering it as it was no longer noticeable. He did notice footsteps appear beside him as he walked, but they were headed in the opposite direction, so he took no mind.

Upon his arrival he marvelled at the cave, it having been meticulously decorated with flowers and gemstones, as well as a mobile made of bone and teeth hanging above a crumpled shape. There seemed to be a layer of fur in that corner, spread out like a bed. As his paws touched the material, he relaxed, noting it to be soft and warm. He would have taken a hap right there, but there was another pile of fur on top of the blanket. It was black with dim circles scattered across it, and a makeshift mask shattered on the ground before it. A Shararook.

The jaw was massive, roughly the same size as Kozmo himself, but he could tell this was a child. Its fur was thin and bristle, and the mask looked as though it had been haphazardly scribbled on, clearly the work of an amateur. He reasoned that it must have been trying to mimic one of its parents. Parents. It was an odd word to him, having never had any of his own. One might suppose Omnibus could be considered his “parent”, but he was certainly not shown any love by them.

Parents, such a funny concept. Spending your days dedicated to protecting a little copy of yourself, sacrificing your own food and health to assist them. Of course, some species would abandon their children at an early age (mainly fliers) but not Shararooks. He had heard of them before and was under the impression that they were good parents, living within communities beneath the earth. But this wasn’t a community, it was a single cave. And a single child. A single unmoving child, with no parents around to protect it. Such a shame he thought, as he sat beside the poor thing, wondering why it had been abandoned, left to die alone.

Unfortunately for him, he shouldn’t have been questioning “why” it was gone but rather “where”, for unknowing to him there was now something standing at the entrance of the cave, staring down at an Urzuk hovering just above their child.

Only after the jaws of death had shut upon him had he realised he was no longer alone. There was still time to consider the implications of this, as his head detached from his body and clunked against the floor. That’s the funky thing about an Urzuk’s immortality, they can be broken beyond recognition, but they’ll remain “alive” provided their body remains at least partially intact. His still alive body thrashed against the Shararook, attempting to break free and reconnect with his head, but the beast did not relent. She bit deeply into him with a gaping maw, ripping out feathers and fleshy clay, digging into his stomach as if trying to retrieve his last meal.

The sensation was odd, for despite his carefully crafted nerves being severed, the magic holding him together still forced him to feel what was occuring. There was no pain, just confusion as to what was happening. Why was it attacking him? He’d done nothing. His body being well beyond function, he was left only capable of thinking. 

Against the cold stone floor his head lay, pondering just what this creature was trying to do. Her child was already dead, killing him would do nothing. Was this just a way of releasing rage? Perhaps, but again, why him? Did it think he had killed the child? Even a Minawii could sense his inability to fight, so it didn’t seem plausible. But as he would learn, grief muddies your eyes.

For the next hour he could only lay in confusion as his body was torn apart chunk by chunk. It certainly wasn’t tasty, considering he mainly consisted of clay and mud, but the Mother wasn’t mauling him out of hunger, not a physical one at least.

Kozmo has never been one for sympathy, let alone empathy, so no amount of questions he asked himself would be able to answer why creatures acted in the ways that they did. He understood their inherent survival instincts, but not other actions. Not why they would nuzzle each other as they layed in the sun, why they would offer food to others, especially not why they would kill without reason. But there was always a reason, including now.

Eventually, none of his body remained, only his still pondering head propped in place by his mask sticking into the ground. The mask was odd for an Urzuk, seemingly broken by design. Two tusks protuded from the sides and into the front, boring into the cheeks of the mask and further into his face. When the Shararook tore off his mask it brought about the first sensation of pain throughout this entire encounter, something he was somewhat grateful for.

He knew he probably shouldn’t be grateful though, as the creature stood above him mouth agape, he should have been fearful of his imposing death. But death, oh death.. Such an intriguing idea. Being a servant of Novus, the unknown was oh so enticing to him, and what is more unknown than death?

Shutting his eyes and bracing for the end, he thought back about his life, wondering if he’ll still remember it when he passes on. But what was there to think about? He had spent all of his days at the shrine, never leaving, never learning. Every day had been the same as the last, he may aswell have been only a day old and there would be no difference to him. His age mattered not as he perished, leading to a new feeling growing in his mind.

Teeth cut his face in two as his remaining eyes stared at the beast. He saw its scars, its damage, its signs of life. A life long lived, well lived. Lived. This creature had existed for so much less time than him, and yet it had lived so much more. He was jealous. He wished they could trade places. Mortal life would be a joy for him, getting to explore and wander Sonaria with the threat of death at every corner, full of unknown challenges. Meanwhile the Shararook could live eternally on, have more children and try to not let the next one die.

It seemed that for once in his existence, Omnibus took notice of him. As his skull was split in two, his wish was granted.

Screams wrecked the cave, his screams. He felt his soul being ripped from his mind and body, torn in half just as his face had been. The Mother was in a similar situation, writhing on the floor as he saw the colour drain from it, the light being removed from their numerous eyes as they cried for help.

Lights and colours clashed in rage and fear, the two souls merging and breaking and merging again, as if oil being forced into water. Chunks of Kozmo’s body shook madly on the floor, slowly pulling back towards his head and reforming time after time until it resembled him before the attack. It was not him though, just a husk, he himself was in the air in the clash, his mind and soul colliding with the other’s. He saw his body dim.

The souls crushed closer together, both trying to pull apart but the pain of their minds rendering them helpless. Then there was a rip, there was a tear, as the souls were pulled back apart again and returned to their bodies. But it wasn’t their bodies anymore. Or were they? What were they? His mind felt wrong. It felt as if the thoughts weren’t his own, not entirely at least. It was oddly empty, his feelings hollow and lessened, but at the same time greater, it didn’t make sense.

Trembling, he rose from the ground pushing heavily on his paws, feeling a weight on his soul not felt before. As he moved, so did the Shararook. She jumped up and snarled at him wildly, screaming for answers of what had happened, why she could hear other thoughts in her head. 

But he didn’t know.

Behaviour

A nomadic Urzuk with a tendency for traumatising other creatures. It’s unintentional, he swears, but nonetheless this has led to a rather disconcerting aura to surround him. Well, that’s bound to happen when you insist on dangling Puffwumps off of cliffs and stalking Khikhus through the night.

He’s a pacifist at heart, refusing to ever truly harm another being. At the absolute most he’ll give a quick nip to a predator attempting to hound a prey. Despite his passive nature, he will glady watch other creatures engage in battle, especially enjoying fights involving creatures capable of invisibility. There’s something incredibly enticing to him about it, being able to watch it slowly stalking, knowing that the little creature before it is blissfully unaware.

That’s why he tends to follow Mellohi so much, her hunting style is very entertaining to him. Due to her tendency to kill more than she can chew, Kozmo is able to grab some of the remains for himself negating any need for him to actually find his own food

Speech

His speech is rather odd, feeling an almost incessant needto talk in a Iambic Pentamiter.

• You harm me my friend, no ill will was meant. Me and myself the others all resent”

• “Mad as the light watching you now my dear. I am a friend, you have no need to fear”

• “I never lie, please do not say as such. False words are used by the weak as a crutch”

His written words are normal though, leading to many companions preferring him to write out his thoughts and opinions in dirt or sand so that it needs no interpretation.

Relationships

Mellohi (Shararook): He’s a tad frightened of her (considering her ability to swiftly break his neck) but considers her to be a friend anyway. Once in a blue moon he may be seen snuggling up in her matted fur as if a child clinging to their mother.

Seraph (Moonelle): Most species he’s ok with, but Moonelle are not one of them. He keeps as much distance from them as possible due to past experiences. The Seraph’s gleeful hunting of weaker species infuriates Kozmo, but a hospitable attitude it kept up for the sake of cooperation.

Owa’Styrus: He holds a strong admiration for this species, as he only learnt to write/speak due to stealing their scrolls and eavesdropping their conversations.