{"id":954,"date":"2023-02-27T21:57:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T21:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/?p=954"},"modified":"2023-02-27T22:00:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T22:00:24","slug":"prologo-paginas-perdidas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/2023\/02\/27\/prologo-paginas-perdidas\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost Pages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe beast awoke and headed for the river, so I was told by the last ones I released, the lucky ones who escaped with their lives\u2026 The time has come\u201d. Sorrowful and worried, the young man who bore his metallic-blue armor, his shoulder and right arm exposed, got up on his mount, whose color matched his suit's. It was a nice dragonfly, a giant insect, which he tenderly called Argonaut. Like a metallic-blue ray, they took flight inside the dense curtain of falling water -- nothing could be more difficult. <\/span>Com ar pesaroso e preocupado, o rapaz ostentava sua armadura azul met\u00e1lico com o ombro e bra\u00e7o direito expostos, subiu em sua montaria de cor igual a sua vestimenta. Uma bela lib\u00e9lula, um inseto gigante a quem chamava ternamente Argonauta. Como um raio, em azul met\u00e1lico al\u00e7ou voo por dentro da densa cortina de \u00e1gua que ca\u00eda, nada poderia ser mais dif\u00edcil.<\/span><\/p>

Amid a torrent of lightning bolts that brightened everything in silver tones, he saw the desolation of what had once been the most promising city in the Firmamundo. His heart was heavy, not only for the past he saw destroyed but mainly for the decisions he would have to make. On the saddle of his magnificent animal, he clenched his fist in hate and fear of losing his most endearing one, who was now coming down with King Eumano's fleet, heading towards the beast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

After parting ways with the debris of his home town and his parents' old castle, which had just served as a throne for the beast, the Archer dove in with Argonaut. There, he appallingly contemplated the behemoth going up the Sarga\u00e7o Bravo River, knee-deep in water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The current hindered the monster's headway, but at each step it took brutal waves clashed against triremes, clippers and smaller boats, overturning and sinking them. Some recently released catatais tried to climb the abomination just to be devoured or crushed. The first chapter of the catatau slavery and extinction was being written.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Amid the chaos, the young man went down to a river beach as he heard screams. There was a shack that housed an orphanage, where children in panic yelled for their lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cQuiet now! Or you will draw the monster here\u201d, the young man whispered with his index finger on his lips, as he hit an iron lock with a rock, trying to free them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span> \u201cThey locked us here, sir. We are the sacrifice for the monster to devour us and go away. It didn\u2019t even see us, just looks ahead\u201d, an older girl said, trying to pacify the younger ones. Her words hit the young man\u2019s stomach like a sledgehammer. It senses her, the bastard sniffs out her presence\u201d. <\/span>\u201cEle a sente, o desgra\u00e7ado fareja a presen\u00e7a dela\u201d<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The current had carried pieces of boats to the shoreline, where they remained stranded; distant screams mixed with thunder as heavy rain drops clashed against the river\u2019s muddy waters, forming a devastating painting. Blood ran from the young man\u2019s hand, such was the anger with which he clenched the rock as he struck the shack\u2019s padlock strongly until he finally released the children. Then he just commanded:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cGo up the stairs and hide!\u201d The young man\u2019s blue eyes sparkled at every lightning bolt that flashed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The lightning seemed to be attracted, not to the giant, but to a large galleon nearby. The Archer knew she was there. His body trembled in a mix of cold and fear as he noticed the released ones going up the stairway and shouted to his mount.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cArgonaut, Krahash!\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span> \u201c<\/span>What came over my father to offer children as sacrifice?! That was sick\u2026 and now I return as a prodigal, maybe the catatais really should go into extinction.<\/span>Trapped in his thoughts, he flew quickly above the beast as it faced the heroic fleet, which hurled balls of fire by means of rudimentary trebuckets and catapults; nevertheless, the beast kept sinking boats extremely easily, devouring catatais, armours and all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Camouflaged by the heavy mass of water that fell torrentially, he passed over the giant unnoticed. He finally spotted the Sanctuary Protector, the war galleon of King Eumano Lokumorst, the catatau sovereign of the plains. On the deck, next to the king, she was shining in silver, sparking all over her skin as if evoking lightning bolts; her soaked, fire-red hair emitted smoke as she seemed to be floating, so small and delicate and at the same time so powerful\u2026<\/span>Eumano, you wretch, why have you brought her here into this chaos?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In his deep dive, Argonaut spotted the galleon. The dragonfly barely landed and the Archer had leapt off the animal still in movement. His first measure was to deliver a punch right in the king\u2019s face, knocking His Majesty to the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span> \u201cEumano, you sap, why have you brought her?\u201d The young man was shaking with anger, biting his lip to the point of having a thin trickle of blood running down his chin. Soldiers aimed their spears and swords at him. None of that mattered; he only wanted his beloved to be safe, something utopic at that moment.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cCalm down! She summoned everyone, insisting that the burden was hers. I tried to dissuade her, as you suggested, and one lightning bolt after the other kept striking the fields\u2026 soldiers, lay down your weapons, we\u2019re on the same side\u201d, the sovereign told his men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

A guttural roar made the men tremble on the grand galleon, which wobbled abruptly with the movement of the beast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Argonaut, after landing, was having a meal before the next step could be taken. The Archer took his mysterious bow and four, also blue, arrows, also blue, besides the soaked cloth bag he had on his back. That was the moment he should take the most difficult of his decisions. He turned immediately towards his beloved, she came sweetly to meet him, landing gently on the deck. Simple, yet beautiful, barefoot in her worn white dress, her eyes shining in pure silver, mesmerizing and genuine in loveliness.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWhy have you come?\u201d, he asked, his eyes brimming with tears disguised under the water that ran down his hair and his face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cDo you have the Harp? Has she handed it to you?\u201d, the young woman asked him.<\/span><\/p>

\u201c<\/span>How did she know about the Harp? I had told her I would handle that! However, she proves herself to be a real princess; she commands the troops, she shows that she knows much more than I do. I could not lie, my beloved feels and knows the truth, he thought.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>. <\/span>Contrariado,<\/span> Against his will, he opened his backpack and sadly handed her the artifact, the Harp of enchantment. He gazed at her and the world stopped for an instant, she was so fragile and he felt protected by her side.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cUar! The catatais are mine!\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The one brief moment of tenderness was abruptly broken when the monster destroyed one of the big war ships, filled with oil. Pitch exploded, burning whoever happened to be nearby like a torch. The abomination spoke, causing terror and fright. The young man clutched tightly at his bow, bracing himself for the strife, when Eumano called him:<\/span><\/p>

\u201cHave you found the answers? A certain deity with the eyes of a thousand stars that has visited you in dreams\u2026 what has she told you?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cShe just gave me this fine armor and three pieces of advice\u2026\u201d, he answered in disdain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cAnd you\u2026?\u201d The astonished king watched as a galley was pummeled until it sank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cIf advice were good, she\u2019d have sold it, not given it with a harp on the side.\u201d The young man seemed disturbed, not by the king\u2019s questions, but by the advice from that deity. \u201cMany men mock the Sons of Firmamundo, I didn\u2019t think I would be one of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The Archer shook his head and did not answer.<\/span><\/p>

Desperate cries were heard around the Sarga\u00e7o Bravo riverbed, another vessel met its sad end. In fact, the young man should follow the deity\u2019s advice, but instead he chose to keep it for himself. There was no time, catataus were being slaughtered like rats with blows of a broom. <\/span>My people will be brutally extinct, and I cannot let my most precious asset become the victim of this wretched behemoth, the prospect hero thought,<\/span>as he stared at the creature\u2019s topaz-yellow eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cPlease, project her. I will dance with the beast.\u201d The Archer was putting his armor helmet on.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cCan you beat it? Other dragonfly knights have fallen today\u201d, the king said. The young man sensed fury pulsating in his veins, as well as fear emanating from the sovereign\u2019s body. The taste of iron landed on his tongue after another bite at his lip. The The abomination approached and boats started paddling against the currents to escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cBetter than that, I will make it pay\u201d, he answered with a cruel smirk as he turned towards his beloved, the reason for all the decisions he had taken.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cMy adorable one, my treasure! I won\u2019t allow that you to carry out that madness. I will knock down the beast, trust me.\u201d He stroked her face softly, feeling the warmth of her skin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

With a discreet, worried smile, she reached out to him, saying tenderly:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cLet us do it together. We are attached, you know we are, and that is how it should be.\"<\/span><\/p>

\u201cOnly today, my beloved, the deity has to be wrong. There is no time, many more will die. I\u2019ll go!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

People fell, the giant swallowed them, there was no time left to follow advice, the young man was convinced that the daughter of Firmamundo was wrong.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cBeloved, its Ghist has been corrupted.\u201d The young woman brought a new term that did not seem to make much sense.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cGhist? What in the hell is that?\u201d <\/span>Eumano oscillated between fear and curiosity.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span> \u201cWhat the hell, we have no time.\u201d The Archer seemed more aprehensive.\n\n\u201cBeloved, please\u2026\u201d But the young man headed for the dragonfly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

His last glance caught a tear evaporating amid the heat emanated from the princess of Firmamundo. He mounted the dragonfly, which sparkled like sapphire at the storm\u2019s flashes. With his bow drawn, he flew towards the ferocity. New or old history, with or without advice, this ends here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The young man drew the monstrosity\u2019s attention by going in circles around it. The beast tried to catch, squeeze and smash the intrepid young man against the muddy waters. With its palm, the colossal being cast a mass of water against the pair that was teasing it. Fast as an arrow, the dragonfly glided parallel to the wall of water, so close that the young man could wet the tip of his fingers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As they dodged, they zigzagged near its gape, causing a violent clash of monstrous teeth. They escaped again, and maybe for the first time the abominable being was meeting a rival that could face it. Without blinking, the beast clashed one hand against the other, and the wave of air and water sent them upwards. At its master\u2019s command, Argonaut retracted its wings and dove in a swirl to open them close to the water. The young man knew dragonflies could not fly on days of calamitous storm, but Argonaut was a rare specimen, a Furioso, and could do things no other dragonfly would do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As they glided close to the water blade, the pair passed between their opponent\u2019s legs, making it lose its balance as it moved abruptly to catch them at the Sarga\u00e7o Bravo riverbed. The movement generated a wave that almost sank more boats, spreading total terror to those watching the dance.<\/span><\/p>

Enraged, the colossus roared again and took its first punishment. Amid gasps, grunts and coughs, the beast tried to comprehend what had just happened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The first arrow was stuck into its uvula. The metallic-blue ray went cutting raindrops on its way to pierce and shake the red ball at the back of the beast\u2019s mouth. It gasped and squealed, and the young man, proud of his deed, wondered if the creature had ever felt such pain. At a distance, the children climbed the stairs in safety, even if momentary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As the colossus roared, the second arrow sank between its eyes, unfortunately not so effectively. Then, searching for another distraction, the blue pair resumed their dance with the dazed creature, now punching the air at random and bellowing loudly. Between spins, the young man could see the vessel farther away, but his beloved was shining more intensely and that worried him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The giant\u2019s fist almost hit him and his mount full on. Taking the chance to counterattack, with his legs tight on Argonaut\u2019s flanks, the pair traced a spiraling path around its stretched arm, passing quickly by its face.<\/span>They swerved to the right until they were close to its ear, where the third and most cruel punishment was delivered.<\/span>.<\/span> Flying into its ear, the projectile pierced the monstrous thing\u2019s eardrum. The affliction almost made it fall as it looked dizzy and made pendular movements, its balance clearly affected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The young man eyed the monster\u2019s suffering look, feeling neither any comfort in it nor mercy for his opponent. Argonaut floated as its master exhibited a victorious air, too self-confident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

With one last arrow left, the young man thought: advice is not needed, only four special arrows. He drew it from his quiver and placed it into the bowstring, its diamond head covered in frog drool, a poison that in small doses makes people faint, but with the amount that was there, and shot into its eye, would certainly do something worse.\n\nThe beast screamed menacingly.\n\n \u201cI want you to know that the one to put an end to your reign is Lu\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>

For the arrogance and vacillation of the pair, the ancestral being struck Argonaut violently; knight and mount spun through the sky like a top until they crashed on the river beach. The arrow head scratched the Archer\u2019s exposed arm, opening a small tear; the young man was in terrible pain when the beast turned to him. His mount closed its eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Subdued. He would be one more of the many devoured ones. Consumed by fear, poison and wounds, the Archer could not move. He had dug his own end. So, his beloved, the treasure of Firmamundo, joined the battle by evoking a ray that hit the monster right in the arrow stuck to its forehead. The girl floated like a sphere of silver light, playing the Harp, wrapped in majestic halos of light and bringing peace to the battle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Unfortunately, the effects of the venom destined to the monster took its toll. Not even the powerful halos of light were capable of removing the damage caused by the poisonous arrow.\n\nAs the vertigo seized his body, the young man went limp, nauseated, devoid of any notion of time and space. Engulfed by pain and formication, he saw his beloved ascending to heaven. He no longer cared about the giant, he only had eyes for his Little Star rising, until everything turned into darkness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>



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\u201cA besta despertou e rumou para o rio, assim me disseram os \u00faltimos que libertei, aqueles sortudos que escaparam com vida… \u00c9 chegada a hora\u201d. Com ar pesaroso e preocupado, o rapaz ostentava sua armadura azul met\u00e1lico com o ombro e bra\u00e7o direito expostos, subiu em sua montaria de cor igual a sua vestimenta. Uma […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cronicas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":960,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions\/960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firmamundo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}