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When Poko regained
his senses, he was greeted with the feeling of hunger. Standing up, he
found that he was on the outskirts of a desert that he'd never seen before.
Then reality struck him. His mind raced, recalling all the horrors he had
witnessed. His father, his mother, his family, all gone and dead, massacred
by hordes of Theropods. Poko fell to the ground and began to cry.
No one knows how
long he cried, except for the fact that he stopped when he could cry no
more. He decided he couldn't stay where he was, lest he perish of hunger
and thirst, so he put all of his strength into getting up and starting
to walk. He didn't know where to go, so he set off in the direction of
the setting sun. He fell many times, and became badly bruised, and sleep
beckoned him with every step.
Soon, however, he
came to a path. It was a very wide path, perhaps even a road; it was obviously
well traveled. The landscape had changed; the path ran through a savannah,
where plants grew here and there, and even a tree would pop up every so
often. Poko feasted on some of these plants, and found them to be quite
tasty. He was thankful that, amidst all the things he had lost, he could
at least still eat in this new world. Shortly thereafter, he found a tree
near the path, and curled up underneath it and slept.
It was midday by
the time he awoke, and the sun was already beating down on the landscape,
even through the canopy of the tree. Poko set off once again, continuing
his blind trek following the path. After journeying for a few hours, he
arrived at a fork, and paused briefly to decide his next route. The main
path continued forward, and widened to become a road surfaced with stone.
In the distance, he could barely make out the silhouettes of a city. Looking
to his left, a narrower, less traveled path twisted its way through a thick
forest. After swallowing hard, Poko set out for the city.
The city was grand,
surrounded by a tall wall, and the roofs of many buildings could be seen
peeking overtop of it. The road lead to a gate, where some guards were
present. Poko had never seen any humanoid figures before, and was quite
surprised at their stature and size. They wore strange garments and armor,
and carried many different types of weapons. He went through the gates
unnoticed; the guards looked bored and didn't seem to care who entered
or not. The street that he was walking on was littered with various shops,
and many different types of people and creatures were heading in a variety
of directions.
Needless to say,
Poko was very confused amongst all of this commotion, and had grown very
tired after his long journey. Arriving at a large intersection, he saw
a large and prominent temple to his right.
"Perhaps there will
be someone who can help me there," he thought.
He passed a fountain,
and he drank at length, which got him a few strange looks from citizens
passing by. Exhausted, he sat down on the steps outside the temple, to
rest and think about where he would go next.
A tall man, who
he later found to be an elf, happened to be leaving the temple, and approached
him, smiling.
"You look a little
lost," the man remarked. "Are you looking for someone?"
"Not particularly,"
Poko replied. "I am new to this land and have no idea where to go or what
to do. Who are you?"
"Why, I am Bhaal
Z'Amon, the Seeker of Redemption," the elf proclaimed with authority. "Who
are you?"
"My name is Poko
Ono. I am a dinosaur from a far off land who, by some misfortune, has somehow
arrived here."
Poko again remembered
his family, but tried to hold back his emotions.
"A dinosaur?" Bhaal
exclaimed, "I have never heard of such a creature! Listen, in the temple
to the north, there is a safe place where you can rest. Tomorrow, I will
return to see you, as I feel there is much we could learn from each other."
"Why thank you,
kind sir, I shall wait for you there."
"A dinosaur!" Bhaal
exclaimed again.
He waved amicably,
and then left, obviously in a hurry to go somewhere. Poko headed into the
temple, and sure enough, there was a lovely altar where he could rest.
He lay down, and before long, fell asleep.
When Bhaal came
to see him the next day, Poko felt remarkably refreshed.
"Good Morning! It
is good to see you again," said Poko.
"Greetings," replied
Bhaal. "It is good to see you as well. Now, do tell me about yourself,
as I am very curious to know more about you."
Poko told him of
the dinosaurs and their land, and about how life had been with his family.
He found it very difficult to continue the story to tell of the events
that followed, but somehow managed to do so, and then recounted his journey
in from the desert. Bhaal listened very intently, and seemed to be deeply
pondering everything Poko said. After Poko had finished, Bhaal waited quite
a while before saying anything. Finally, he broke the silence:
"It seems that our
world is not the only one that is troubled," he said in a grave voice.
Poko didn't say
anything, and stared at the ground.
"Well, my friend,"
said Bhaal, his mood now changed, "I would like to thank you for sharing
that with me, and I have sympathy for you. We have more in common than
you'd like to think."
"Tonight," he continued,
"I am having a meeting with some of my followers where I will be preaching
the history of this world, its problems, and what we must do to solve them.
I would appreciate it if you came, as I feel you could make a great contribution
to our cause."
"I would be honored
to attend, as I am curious to learn more about you as well," replied Poko,
lifting his head for the first time in a little while.
"Thank you," said
Bhaal, "I will meet you here and take you to an ancient temple outside
the city where the meeting will be held."
After Bhaal left,
Poko had much to think about. There was obviously much more to Bhaal than
he had originally anticipated, and he was thankful for getting to know
him.
That night, Bhaal
returned, as he had promised. Poko stood up as he strode in.
"Excellent, you
are still here," exclaimed Bhaal, "Follow me and we'll get going, I am
already late."
Poko, since his
legs were not yet fully grown, had to practically jog to keep up with Bhaal's
long, quick stride. Bhaal led him out of the city, through a set of gates
at the other side of town, and before long, they were immersed in a dense
forest.
"Where are we going?"
asked Poko, somewhat frightened by the dark shadows of the trees formed
by the setting sun.
"To an ancient temple,"
replied Bhaal, chuckling, "Don't worry, it is nice and safe there."
After walking for
a little while longer, they branched right at a large tree and followed
a path that Poko wouldn't have noticed unless Bhaal had been there to guide
him.
"Not long now,"
assured Bhaal, looking back over his shoulder.
Surely enough, the
forest thinned and they entered a clearing, where a once magnificent temple
stood. It was ancient, and some of the pillars had collapsed, leaving rubble
scattered about. Despite its physical condition, the temple was encased
in an aura of holiness, emitting a shimmering glow to light up the surroundings
and the interior. Poko stood in awe for some time until Bhaal implied that
they'd best get inside.
"Good evening,"
said Bhaal, to no one in particular.
Before Poko could
ask him who was there, one of the stone statues standing near the doorway
smiled and let them enter. The temple was just as nice inside as it was
outside, and even though Poko had never set foot in such a place before,
he felt remarkably at home and welcome. Many other humanoid creatures were
present; some were as tall as Bhaal, others shorter, and a few were very
short and almost round. There were even some strange creatures he had never
seen before, having large wings and a set of scales that ran down their
back to the tip of their tail, making them very intimidating indeed.
"My friends," Bhaal
began, "We are the Seekers of Redemption."
The modestly sized
crowd gave a cheer, and then sat down to listen to Bhaal. Poko was welcomed
among them, and he sat down as well.
Bhaal began by telling
of the days of old, when the world was at peace. He then went on to tell
of how the world had been transformed into one overrun with greed, war,
and arrogance; a world where they must now live and die as mortals.
"In order to undo
our wrongs of the past," Bhaal continued, "we must each seek to earn Redemption
in the eyes of the god Bosco, my father, and show that we can once again
live in peace."
Bhaal then preached
the benefits of kindness, friendship, peace, life, and helping others.
Poko clearly saw that he had luckily come upon the right group of people,
and felt inspired to learn more about the ways of a Seeker.
"It is by individual
salvation that the world may be saved," Bhaal concluded, "and you are all
welcome to come seek with me, so that we may all work towards accomplishing
this ultimate goal."
After Bhaal had
finished, Poko politely asked if he might be granted the opportunity to
learn how to become a Seeker, and then follow the teachings of Bhaal.
"You are welcome
among us, Poko Ono," replied Bhaal, smiling.
"Thank you, benevolent
Bhaal. I feel that there is much I need to learn, and I have no idea where
to start," admitted Poko.
"We will be here
to help you," assured Bhaal. "When going through life, remember that it
is the journey, not as much the destination, that counts."
And so it was that
Poko embarked upon the journey of a lifetime, the journey of a Seeker of
Redemption.
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