The Legend Of K'öæluæ's Scales

Greetings again, my dear readers. This is Lu'kifær Morkinstar back with another tale from around the galaxy. This is Journal Entry #2245 and today's entry will be the 4th from the series of talks focussing on the Alpha Axmoiri Planetary System. This tale is brought to you from the Planet Exxobar.

Exxobar is a truly frigid planet. Being the 6th planet from the center of its system, the yellow giant Alpha Axmoiri, this planet is another one from the numerous in our universe, where life grew and thrived in the cold. While it may not be as cold as the harsh landscape of Grïnjdarlay or even the dangerous world of Jötunheimr, it was still a cold cold place. If I have to make a comparison from my previous travels, it would be akin to the Antarctica habitat of Planet Earth from the Sol Planetary System. If the Antarctica habitat encompassed an entire planet and there existed almost no concept of summer ever. Almost. But more on that later.

The inhabitants of Exxobar are termed as "Exœbiars", according to the Galactic Directory while their domestic self acclaimed term for their kind is "Samuians". Since Exxobar is a Category 3 planet i.e. their planetary species haven't evolved enough along the timeline to begin space travel, the Galactic Directory hasn't been updated with their self acclaimed term yet. Hopefully, that shall change within the next 40-50 galaxals*. For the remainder of this entry, we shall call them as they call themselves i.e. as Samuins. Samuins are bipedal category species bearing the closest resemblance to the Marltains of the Brixby System or the Humans of the Sol System. And similar to the Marltains, they also followed a binary classification system for distinguishing between themselves. Exxobar takes 1 click* to go around its star and as such, we can divide its click into 15 momentas*. It experiences Winter for 14.5 momentas of its click, with a brief half momenta period of semi warmth that marks as the end of its click. This semi warmth is because, at that particular point of its click, Exxobar is the closest to Alpha Axmoiri. This warmth gives rise to moisture, which gives rise to the phenomenon of snow. That is what today's entry will be covering. The Samuin's Legend of K'öæluæ's Scales explains why it snows on their planet during that half momenta in a click. The tale and the events that transpired in it have been translated to the best of my capabilities and understanding while keeping in mind the galactic standard for uniformity.

Many many milgalaxals* ago, when the world of Exxobar was young, the Empire of Jazi ruled the 4 corners of the planet. It was a time when gods and monsters existed and their actions had a direct impact on the lives of the Samuins.

There were 14 gods and 14 monsters. From these, the water god Xærion and the fire serpent K'öæluæ were arch enemies. For milgalaxals, they had been at war. The god trying his best to drown the land and freeze it solid, to expand his domain. And the serpent would spread warmth and flames to ensure that the life that existed on land was not snuffed out by the god's waves. And thus they fought, click after click, galaxal after galaxal, in a never-ending cycle between the destruction of life and the survival of it.

So during the peak of the Age of Jazi, there lived a young Samuin by the name of Feeriko. She was an orphan, who made a living by fishing. She would at times travel to the coldest corners of Exxobar, fishing on the ice, hoping to catch something so that she could survive. And it was during one such expedition to the Hiirtanica habitat, that she was accidentally caught between the crossfire of the 2 arch entities. It was by unprecedented luck that she was noticed by K'öæluæ as she was drowning. When she came to, she was cradled in the warm embrace of the most attractive Samuin male that she had ever seen. After freaking out and nearly chopping his head off (because face it, who wouldn't freak out waking up to a cuddle from an unknown stranger, no matter which planetary system you belong to. Unless you're from the Killuga System, where cuddling a stranger is their form of an arm shake), the Samuin male calmed her down and revealed to her that he was none other than the alter manifestation of the serpent K'öæluæ. And that even though he had managed to save her from drowning in the frigid waters, most of her body had almost succumbed to the icebite. And that he had kept her in his warm embrace to heal her damaged parts. And that her body was still recovering, as the healing wasn't completed yet.

[Fun Exxobar Fact #21- According to ancient Samuin records, the Serpent K'öæluæ's flames were known to have healing powers. Hence the "healing embrace". I guess.]

K'öæluæ was tired of being locked in this never-ending strife with Xærion. For so long had he been at war, that he felt so empty and hollow. He couldn't remember why he decided that life was worth saving. And just when he decided to give up, a Samuin fell right into his path. Just like that, he felt he could rediscover his original purpose and regain his resolve. So he made Feeriko an offer. It would take 1 momenta for him to heal her back to good health. In exchange for that, while he healed her, he wished to hear about her life and also convince him why life is worth saving. Because if she failed to convince him, no longer would he act as the barrier against Xærion's conquering waves. And life as Exxobar knew it, would be wiped out. (Wow, what a load of pressure on one individual, am I right?)

Lucky for the Samuins who still thrive today, Feeriko stepped up to the challenge. She told the serpent of her hardships and the joy and satisfaction she got when she overcame them. She spoke of the thrill of catching, roasting, and eating a Bilder Serpent fish. She spoke about the artists of the Vœrtex Guild and the masterpieces they painted, the moments of history they had captured and envisioned onto their canvases. Including the first battle between Xærion and K'öæluæ, as he rose from the Yzkril Habi-sea and protected the land. She spoke and spoke and kept on speaking. What exactly she spoke of, varies from rendition to rendition of this tale within Exxobar. But the result was still the same. After 1 momenta had passed, not only had she rekindled K'öæluæ's belief that life was worth saving, but she also won his heart. And they were wed after that in Sacred bond.

However, to the surprise of everyone, Xærion disappeared after his last battle with K'öæluæ. His whereabouts remained unknown for 15 clicks. During that time, K'öæluæ and Feeriko had offspring of their own. And he settled down and would join her on her fishing expeditions. And experience all the things that she had said were worth saving life for. And enjoyed them too. After a few clicks of no signs of his nemesis, K'öæluæ's powers began waning. Since his strength was linked to his conflicts and now he had no more need for it. And that was of no concern to him. Since it was the first time in his existence that he was free from strife. And free to do as he pleased.

After 15 clicks, Xærion appeared again. He had figured out the key to his victory. To lull the serpent into inactivity. To let him build attachments and liabilities. For those were weaknesses that would keep his foe distracted. And finally, allow him the victory he yearned for. Instead of this stale deadlock that had been going on for galaxals. So for 15 clicks, he gathered his power. Pulling from the depths of his being and pooling it up as his nemesis grew power weakened and slipped away. Until he finally unleashed multiple gigantic waves from various directions. All of them heading towards the place where K'öæluæ's family stayed. The catch for K'öæluæ was thus set. For he could either go out and fight a weakened Xærion and restart their eternal fight again, but lose his family and place in the process. Or burn his remaining power and life force to save them. And leave Xærion alive to recover and destroy all life in his absence.

K'öæluæ knew what his duty was. To fight Xærion for the greater good. A family and life were never meant in his existence. Sacrifices should be made. For that was his purpose and his role. But even though he knew what he should be doing, he couldn't. For he had formed attachments. And no one, not even gods or monsters can break free of them easily. But he had a trick up his sleeve that Xærion didn't know about. For the serpent could split himself into two, at the cost of halving his already diminished powers even further. So the serpent split into two; one going ahead and burning its life flames to seal away a weakened Xærion's power for good while the other sacrificed itself to neutralize the incoming waves. It wasn't completely successful and the remaining moisture, although not a lot, mixed itself with the leftover scales of the serpent and became snow. And that rainy mixture became the advent of the first snowfall on Exxobar.

And that was that. Two arch-nemesis had wiped themselves out. One in his quest to destroy and one in his quest to protect. The Samuins who were saved honored their protector and made him a legend and a part of their culture. And the story of that brief bit of snowfall every click is said to be a regenerated and very weakened K'öæluæ, sacrificing himself cyclically, to suppress the waves of Xærion. And his clickial sacrifice is symbolized by the falling of snow, which is said to be his scales. And that's how the Legend Of K'öæluæ's Scales from the Planet Exxobar came about.

Is there truth in their legend? No one knows. My aim is never to prove or disprove the tales I come across. Just to report them to you, my dear readers. This is Lu'kifær Morkinstar concluding Journal Entry #2245, Series 4 of 16 from the Alpha Axmoiri System.