An Apeiron Story: Let’s Get Hot
Hey y’all! Another week, another Apeiron blogpost. This week we’ve got a continuation of the adventures of Crit, Happy, and Tommy — you…
Hey y’all! Another week, another Apeiron blogpost. This week we’ve got a continuation of the adventures of Crit, Happy, and Tommy — you can read previous parts here, here, and here.
Couple of quick community announcements: our Wonderverse Discord bot will be live on Nov 20th, which should make purchasing goodies from the Soul Shop that much easier. On top of that, we’re also launching a new Doodypoints (DDP) system on our Discord. Godlings (our official Apeiron asset holders) can earn by completing tasks around Doodaria (our server) and get FE to spend on premium rewards!
On top of that we have a special BIG SWORD’S BOUNTY this month. Big Sword is a Foonie Magi and notable Boss Rush grinder who has posted a bounty of 20FE(!!!) for the first person who can beat his Cycle 4 Boss Rush clear time of 18:50. Good luck!
Finally, we’d like to say a big thanks to all the doods who showed up to our IRL community DADI hosted fan booth at ESGS in Manila. We had a great time meeting y’all and spreading the doody love. Big thanks to everyone who helped: Asta, Biku, AbbieG, BossOppa, Seanny, Meatboy, Sinichi, and JENGKOZ. And thanks to all of the other doods who showed up and made the event so wonderfully memorable~ Cheers!
With that all said and done, let’s get to the good stuff and start exploring the Realm of Fire. Doods, it’s going to get HOT🔥
______
He heard a rumble — and then he felt it, the ground trembling underneath his not insignificant buttocks. He opened his eyes and stared up at a flaming red sky. He coughed. The air was sooty with dust. But there was a smell of something…he looked down. He was perched on — kind of squeezed amidst — a large pile of food. “Huh, how did I get here?” Tommy asked himself.
“That’s what we’d like to know.”
Tommy looked up from the food and saw two doods dressed in loincloths and with impressively tattooed bodies staring at him curiously.
“We found you in the pile of food that we were about to offer to the volcano. Good thing we discovered you before we threw you in, eh?!” One of the half-clothed doods giggled.
“What? A volcano?!” Tommy paused for a moment. “What’s a volcano?”
The two other doods stared at him strangely, as if he were an unusual piece of fruit that could be deliciously sweet or grossly sour. “You don’t know what a volcano is? You must not be from ‘round here.”
“Nope.”
“A volcano is a big mountain that spits fire,” explained the other. He pointed. “Right over there.”
“Oh!” said Tommy. He turned around and gawked. Towering above him into the sky was a huge mountain sheathed in ash. The bare rocky mountainside had lava flowing down its side in erratic, narrow rivulets, smoke rising and mixing with the generally sooty air.
“So that’s why it’s so hot,” said Tommy.
“It’s the home of Lord Flameo,” said the first dood. “He’s the God of Fire. You’re sitting in our offerings to him.”
“Oh!” said Tommy, jumping up, ignoring the offerings completely. “Perfect! We were trying to travel to meet Lord Flameo to get his blessing and-”
He paused. His head darted back and forth. “Wait — where are the others?” All he could see were rocks, the volcano behind them, and the two tattooed doods. Where were his dad Crit the Dragoon and Happy the Summoner?
“What others?” the doods asked him.
“My dad — he’s got a helmet. His name is Crit. And a dood named Happy. Except she’s kind of grumpy. We were traveling together…I think.”
The first tattooed dood shrugged. “We only saw you here.”
“Hmm…weird.”
The other tattooed dood stretched and yawned. “Well we’re done here anyway. Wanna come with us?”
“Where you doods going?”
“To the food street! We’re hungry.”
“Yeah!” Tommy thought a bite to eat would certainly clear his mind up. “My name’s Tommy.”
“I’m Flare,” said the second tattooed dood. He grinned at Tommy.
“I’m Flint,” said the first tattooed dood. He flexed in a manner that suggested he had muscles (he did not). “People call us the Char Brothers.”
“Neat!”
And so the Char Brothers ditched their work in preparing the offerings and led Tommy to the foot of the volcano. It was pretty steep. And the ground itself was hot! Tommy was hopping around like a dood on a hot tin roof, while the two charred doods were completely unbothered. At one point Tommy almost hotfooted himself into a river of lava, but the Char Brothers were quick on their feet and pulled him out of danger.
Tommy also saw magma pools and hot springs around the area. The magma pools were filled with dangerously bright bubbling red molten rock. The hot springs, on the other hand, had a thin layer of iridescent shimmer above the water, seeming to shine from the golden glowing rocks that filled the base of the hotspring. Some doods were bathing there. The Char Brothers waved.
As they got closer to the foot of the volcano, the ground cooled enough that Tommy could walk normally. The rock shifted to become pebbles, and then ashen sand. Then suddenly one of the Char Brothers stopped him.
“Careful there, you don’t want to fall into quicksand,” said Flint.
“OH WHAT” Tommy exclaimed.
Apparently there was quicksand, which the Char Brothers helped Tommy to skirt around.
“How do you doods even live here?” said Tommy. “It’s dangerous.”
The Char Brothers laughed. “For an outsider dood, maybe,” said Flare. “We’re used to it.”
As they descended, they crested a rise of rocks and Tommy saw a winding road below them. Both sides of this well-trodden path were lined with hawker stalls with doods yelling out their wares while other doods shopped and munched on the yummy snacks. The smell of roasted dolk meat drifted up through the air and Tommy’s mouth began to water.
As they got closer, Tommy could see that the street extended out to an area of flatness where there seemed to be ships at rest. He pointed at them. “Is that…uh…why are those ships there?”
“Those are our homes,” said Flint proudly. “The desert ships. We use them to get around the desert around the volcano.”
“Wow!” said Tommy. “Neat.”
Finally they reached the hustle and bustle of the food street. The masts and rigging of the desert ships swayed and creaked above the noise of a lot of doods mulling about trying to get food.
There were many colorful signs and canopies set up, and the smells that Tommy had sniffed from higher up were now overwhelming: roasted cuts of dolk, deep fried tupeck legs, and a whole assortment of crispy desert insect things that he was a little afraid of trying but honestly still smelled good.
The young dood’s stomach finally got the better of him: “I’m hungry! I want to try out everything!” Tommy rushed to the end of a line, Flint and Flare hot on his heels.
It was a long line. They couldn’t even tell how long it was to wait, all they could see were just doods, doods were everywhere, and the line was not orderly at all but somehow there was a system of its own where doods just seemed to have figured who was going first and who drifted away in the middle. It was going to be a long time, so they started chatting.
“Why are there so many food stalls?” Tommy asked.
“This is the main road up the volcano, so it’s an important place for us Fire Doods. The volcano is connected to our Lord Flameo’s house, and if we throw food inside the volcano, he’ll receive our offerings!” Flint explained. “So a lot of doods come here to give some offerings, and then of course before they go up they want to get some food.”
“Oh yeah! Flameo. Can you tell me more about him? I want to meet him!”
“Meet him? Hahaha, that’s a crazy wish, but I think he’ll like your spirit!” Flare giggled while slapping his own tummy that was hanging out just above his loincloth. “Doods say that our Lord Flameo will invite doods that win the EPIC FIREBALL TOURNAMENT to join him for dinner. You might just want to give that a try.”
“What’s THE EPIC FIREBALL TOURNAMENT?” Tommy asked, making sure to add emphasis.
“Well, we set a ball on fire. Then you kick it around, try and score a goal,” Flint said while tapping his feet around, juggling an imaginary fireball. “It’s the most popular sport around here!”
“Kick a flaming ball? Woah!” Tommy backed off, but then he thought that if he didn’t do this, they wouldn’t be able to save the doods who needed their help, and he wouldn’t be able to meet up with his brother Timmy again. He needed to be brave. “I guess I have to do it then. Can you teach me how to play?”
“Of course, you’re cool so we’ll teach ya! We LOVE fireball!” yelled Flare while pounding his chest.
As they were chatting, suddenly two doods appeared walking through the crowds. They were both holding big skewers of barbecued dolk meat. One of them was trying to figure out how to eat the meat without taking off his helmet. Tommy recognized him immediately.
“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!” Tommy dashed out of the line and ran towards Crit.
“Oh Tommy! You’re here! Great! We were really worried,” said Crit, still thinking about how to eat the skewers.
“How did you get here?” asked Happy curiously.
Tommy shrugged. “I can’t remember. I woke up in a pile of food.”
“Huh,” said Happy. “Well we had quite the adventure looking for you. But the spirits told us you’d be here, and they were right.”
Crit gave his son a dolk skewer and then grabbed him in a one-handed hug. “We’re back together again! Woooooo!”
“Wait dad, I’ve got two new friends! Hang on a sec…” Tommy dashed back to where Flint and Flare was waiting, and brought them over.
Crit watched his son running away in tiny steps and he smiled. He had never let Tommy adventure on his own, but seeing Tommy doing just fine all by himself, well, he was happy about that. Proud.
After Tommy had introduced Flint and Flare to Crit and Happy, and after they had all chomped down on some skewers, Tommy told them about the EPIC FIREBALL TOURNAMENT.
“Anyway dad, I wanna join and try and win. It’s the easiest way to get to see Flameo and get his blessing.”
“Hmmm…it sounds kinda dangerous, son. Why don’t we all join?”
Flint and Flare shook their heads. “It’s a young dood’s game.”
“I’m still young!” said Crit. “Just let me- ouch!”
Happy slapped his helmet. “Let Tommy do it.”
“Ow…what was that for…are you sure about this, Tommy?”
“Yeah!” said Tommy, holding up his arms. Unlike a lot of other doods, Tommy did, in fact, have some impressive muscles. When had he gotten so strong? “I’m tough, dad! I can do it!”
Crit remembered back when they were in the White City, when his other son was with him; Tommy and Timmy were a pair of silly little brothers who he had to look after. Now that Timmy was staying at Coralia, the realm of elemental water, Tommy was the only son staying with him throughout the journey. Crit knew that Tommy wanted to take on the responsibility to get Flameo’s blessing, so that they could meet Lady Cosmos and tell her about the Taint. Oh, doodlings, they grew up so fast.
They spent a bit more time eating at the food street, and then Flint and Flare led them off to one side of the street, a large, flat, and relatively packed ground where some doods were kicking fireballs around. An EDEN loomed over the pitch, its shadow providing comfort even as wayward mana particles danced in the air.
“So what’s first?” asked Tommy, once they were standing on the pitch. He didn’t want to show it, but he was a little nervous.
“First, we’ll teach you how to play fireball!” Flint patted on Tommy and took a ball out of nowhere, setting it on fire with a pile of burning straws at the side of the space.
“Umm, but it’s on fire! How?” Tommy shrieked.
“Don’t worry, put this on your body!” Flare took a bag of volcano ashes out of nowhere (how did they do that?). “I just scooped them fresh from the volcano. The volcano dust here is magical, given to us by our Lord Flameo. It protects doods from burning!”
“Oh, cool.” Tommy put some of the dust on his body. His body became very itchy that he couldn’t stop scratching, but he had to endure the itch for the sport. For his brother. For his family. For the blessing, and for the godiverse!
Now that the three doods were covered in the magically protective dust, they stepped onto the pitch and started to train. Flint and Flare were not only good at demonstrating their soccer skills, they even had time to do some sort of weird tricks. Flint could spin for five circles and end with a perfect split to prevent the fireball from entering the goal, while Flare could easily bounce the fireball with his round doody butt and score for the team. Tommy was having quite a hard time, he couldn’t even start practicing the tricks, as he was afraid of catching himself on fire.
On the side of the pitch was a sitting area. Crit was standing right on the first row, his eyes following Tommy to wherever he was. He was unusually quiet. Happy picked a spot close to him and closed her eyes, talking to the air, to the spirits. After a long time had passed, she opened her eyes. She saw Crit in the exact same position as when she had started her meditation. She sighed.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Happy sat next to Crit and gave him a pat on the back.
“You’re right, he’ll be fine,” Crit repeated mechanically. He himself didn’t sound fine.
Happy sighed, then returned to her spot and continued with her meditation. Suddenly, she felt a burst of mana energy coming out of the area. Weirded out so she inspected her surroundings, only to find the three doods kicking a dazzlingly bright fireball while Tommy was hopping around with his burnt feet and heading to rest next to the EDEN pillar. What had that been? Hmmm…
That night, the exhausted doods went to the Boiling Bath — one of the larger and more popular hot springs on the volcano. This hot spring was famous because it always had bubbles bubbling except for when no doods were in there, no bubbles would appear — a mystery. Flint, Flare, and Tommy toweled off the dust and grime from training and jumped in the bath with some skewers to eat while bathing.
The spice and the boiling spring water warmed up their bodies during the cold and starless night. Tommy was wondering where the stars had gone, he could only see a thick layer of ashes veiled over the sky. Crit and Happy finished soaking and decided to go get some more things to eat. Tommy stayed with the Char Bros in the bath. He felt very dirty and it felt good to clean off.
Eventually, Tommy started to feel relaxed soaking in the warm water after a full day of hard work. Although there were occasional snack breaks that kept him motivated; working out just wasn’t on the docket for a dood, but it wasn’t that bad, in fact he felt a second round of energy charging inside of him.
“Why do you doods love to work out and play sports here?” Tommy asked.
“Because it’s fun? And also food usually comes after!” said Flint while tearing his meat skewer apart.
“And sometimes even when we’re playing, we have food breaks!” Flare added, “Hehe! It’s fun! And also, our lord Flameo loves everything related to heat and that includes Friirryah! Cooking! Sports!”
“Why do you want to play fireball then? Just to meet Flameo?” Flint looked at Tommy curiously. “Why do you want to meet him?”
“Umm… I want to… prove myself?” Tommy thought for a while. He remembered the moment when he was still with Timmy, his brother. He recalled how helpless he felt when he saw his brother doing magic. He couldn’t do that. But he was strong. He knew it.
“Huh, that’s something,” Flint nodded and pretended to be thinking deeply, instead he was just falling asleep as the hot spring was just too relaxing.
“Ok, let’s win the tournament! Don’t worry, we’ll help you out!” Flare made a funny face to cheer him up. Tommy grinned.
Although there were no moons or stars, the night was filled with laughter and good food. The now wrinkly doods got out of the hot spring, except Flint who fell asleep and was forgotten until some bubbles floated to the surface and they noticed him. They dragged Flint out of the pool, then made way into Flint and Flare’s dingy hut where they met up with Crit and Happy and all huddled together for warmth during the night.
_______
Each early morning for the next few days: training, eat, training, eat, bath, sleep. And now he had to get up again. Tommy yawned and rubbed his eyes. A bit of ash got on his face, but he had gotten used to the itch by now. One of the Char Brothers popped his head in the doorway of the hut.
“So are you ready for the tournament?” asked Flint. “It’s today!”
“Already time?” Tommy rubbed his eyes even more viciously, blinking several times, “alright then, I guess I’m ready!” In fact he didn’t feel super confident. He couldn’t do any fancy tricks. But at least he could control the fireball. He had scored once. So that was something.
“Let’s head for the Sparkfire Arena! Otherwise, it’s gonna be full of doods soon,” said Flint.
They traveled from the hut across the volcano, down the food street, down all the way to the desert boats. From there, an older dood ran a ferrying service that would take them to the Sparkfire Arena, which was off across the sands — not far, but far enough that taking a boat was worth it.
The Sparkfire Arena itself was nestled amongst the dunes, with stone seating carved into the sides so that doods could sit and watch and enjoy the matches. When they arrived, Tommy, Flint and Flare went one way and Crit and Happy went the other. Crit gave his son a big hug.
“Good luck, Tommy! I know you can do it!”
“Thanks dad,” said Tommy, quickly trying to get out of his dad’s hug. He waved as he headed down to the competitor’s area.
Meanwhile, Crit and Happy settled on the third row of the spectator stand. Originally, Crit wanted to sit in the front row, but the mad fireball fan doods beat them to it and occupied all the seats. Those doods wore colorful headbands and brought hand-made cardboards with written slogans. He could read the name “Wild Wrath” in messy handwriting… Was it a team’s name? Crit quickly cobbled together a small sign that said “GO TOMMY!” Happy bought some nuts to eat from a snackdood.
Blare horns and music began to echo within the arena, and the one and only Broadcaster Dood introduced the different teams. The first match began — but it wasn’t Tommy’s turn yet. The fireball fan doods cheered and booed and the atmosphere was generally pretty rowdy. Crit felt nervous. Happy munched on her nuts.
And so the tournament went on. Then, it was time for Tommy’s team to have their match. Tommy walked onto the pitch, his feet shaking. Flint and Flare gave him comforting slaps on the back. But he still felt really nervous. What would he do if he failed? And the countdown was starting…
“3”
“TOMMMMMYYYY!”
“2”
Tommy looked at the crowd and saw his dad and Happy both jumping up and down. He saw the GO TOMMY! sign they had made. And he felt better.
“1”
Game time!
The sound of the horn began their match, and the fireball started. Seeing his son hustling on the field, Crits shouted even louder. He was so proud of his son!
Broadcaster Dood, the loyal servant to Magis — the God of Organized Play — was sitting in a booth and yelling his commentaries through a huge megaphone given to him by his god.
“LIKE A BERSERKER, TOMMY FROM … Wait, where is that dood from again? Anyway, this foreign little dood is a flash of pure inspiration for the Charries! Let me tip my doody hat to the birth of this new star. Tommy is absolutely lighting up the arena here!!!!!! Look at him go! He lifts off the fireball with a mighty kick and shoots it past the keeper!!!!.. GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!” screamed the Broadcaster Dood.
“AND NOW, we can see that the opposing doods — the Wild Wrath are not happy with that, they are heading for Tommy’s goal post, and OH OH — they just scored!! GOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL-”
“The Charries better keep up the good work, otherwise they are going to fall behind! Wild Wrath are not messing around! But OH MY GOD, Flare just did a double-cross alley-oop to his brother Flint, his twinkle toes, his magic feet, the fireball is like his baby, following him wherever he goes… AND HERE WE GOOO…GOOOOOOOOOOOAL! ” the Broadcaster Dood continued to hype up the field.
The sun was shining right into the middle of the coliseum, adding even more heat to the land of flames. The teams had about 30 seconds left to beat each other, and the Charries were getting tired. Tommy wasn’t even thinking anymore. He just got the fireball at his feet, shifted it around a little, and kicked it with all his might.
“AND IT’S THE NEW DOOD TOMMY WITH ANOTHER GOAL! Doods and doodettes, the Charries have beaten the Wild Wrath!”
Tommy, Flint, Flare, and the other Charries got into a big circle and started jumping up and down with excitement. They had done it!
Flint was laughing like crazy. “We never made it past the first round before! And now we’ve done it. WOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Flare was huffing and puffing and slapping Tommy on the back over and over. “You played like a maddood out there Tommy, I loved it! You’re crazy! CRAZY GOOD!”
Tommy looked up at the crowd. Crit and Happy were jumping up and down. Crit had even taken off his helmet and was waving like mad. Happy gave him a thumbs up. Tommy smiled and waved.
The tournament continued. They beat their next opponents easily enough, and then the ones after that too. They had done it! The sun was setting now, transforming the arena into a blazing orange color, and they were all pretty tired. But it was just one last match now. The finals…
“What a tournament this year, doods! No one expected the Charries to make it this far. But now they’re up against the Blazy Blasts, and this is a team of champions. It’s the FINALS so let me hear you doods SHOUT!”
“Wooooooooo!!!” The whole arena was shaking with wild doods yelling and cheering. There were even some doods holding slogans that supported the Charries. And of course Crit and Happy were right amongst all of them.
“Go, Tommy! Go, my son! You can do it!” Crit attempted to yell louder than doods that were supporting the Blazy Blast, “That’s my son!! MY SOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!” Even Happy was getting in the mood: “The spirits say he’s going to win! HE’s GOING TO DO IT!!!”
WIth a blow of the whistle, the finals started. Tommy blined. Then, suddenly, a dood from the Blazy Blast ran to the middle of the arena and kicked the fireball. Flint reacted quick enough to block the fireball from entering the goal post, but then another teammate from the Blazy Blast dashed forward and kicked the fireball into the goal. A wave of cheering resounded within the arena. Tommy was shocked. So fast!
“Oh no! Sorry doods, I wasn’t reacting quick enough…” Flint lowered his head and said to his two teammates.
“It’s ok, you still have me!” Flare responded with a smile. Tommy patted his friend to encourage him too.
However, the Blazy Blast had an early advantage and they quickly knocked in another two goals Tommy tried his best to score for his team, but no matter how hard he kicked the fireball, his opponents were able to defend it and made their wildfire counterattack. He looked at Flint and Flare and the other Charries, and they looked so tired. Their team spirit was destroyed.
But then Tommy had a weird feeling in him. He was supposed to be the one to win the tournament and meet Flameo. Then he remembered back in Coralia, how he witnessed his brother Timmy winning all the arcade games, while he could help nothing. He had finally realized it. He was angry at himself. He wanted to be stronger!
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Tommy roared with a loud voice, just like a beast. His opponents were shocked, the whole arena was shocked. For a moment, the Blazy Blast was immobilized by his scary roar. Even Tommy didn’t know he had that in himself. He seized the opportunity to take action and got the fireball in control. And with a powerful kick, he shot the ball right into the goal like a shooting star!
“Unbelievable! The Charries have finally scored their first goal in the final! Will this be the start of something?” the host dood reported exhilaratingly.
“THAT’S THE WAY TOMMY YOU CAN DO IT!” Crit yelled and yelled.
“Oh! That’s what it is!” Happy realized. She turned to Crit. “The burst of mana I felt before. It came from Tommy! He’s a blessed dood — an Apostle like us! Tommy is a Berserker!”
Tommy was out of this world. He dashed from location to location, quickly following the movement of the fireball, winning the ball back for his team, and then spearheading his opponents so that they actually tried to jump out of his way.
“AAAAAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!” Tommy scored for his team again with a roar. Both his teammates and opponents were just staring at him with their jaws dropped. It was like the field was now Tommy’s playground.
“That’s a total of 5 goals for Tommy’s team! And that’s it! The game is over! Oh my, our new champion has been decided!” the host dood yelled“Congratulations to TO THE CHARRIESSSSSSSSS”
“Wooooohooooo!” All the doods in the arena were jumping up and down and hugging each other. Many of them were chanting for the Charries. Crits couldn’t help but hug Happy tightly, yelling into her ears about how proud he was.
On the other side, Tommy was gradually calming down and wondered what he just did. Was it really him? Why was he so angry and uncontrollable? He just felt that there was a burst of energy within his body, and that he couldn’t stop himself from being mad. What happened to him?
“Hey dood, you’re so strong and cool!” Flare came by Tommy and gave him a hip bump, “how did you do that?”
“Uh, I have no idea,” Tommy shook his head innocently.
“Well, now we’re gonan get an invite to Lord Flameo’s dinner! Dood, I dreamt of meeting him for a long time, but I never knew that it could come true! Thanks, bro!” Flint exclaimed.
Oh right, he did it! He could meet Flameo and ask for his blessing! Tommy was so excited that he wanted to celebrate with his dad and Happy immediately, but he knew that he had to wait for a little bit longer. Just one more thing to do…
Soon, the worker doods brought the team to the podium and started the awarding ceremony. Tommy stood proudly on the highest tier, with his head up and chest outward. One of the worker doods gave him a medal for him which was made of some shiny metals just like those gemstones he saw from around the hot springs. Then, Tommy’s eyes searched for Crit in the crowd, and spotted him clapping so proudly. Aww dood, he’s gonna cry.
With the evening coming on, the Charries traveled triumphantly back to the volcano with their fans cheering for them the whole way. In a daze, Tommy wondered where they would dine with the Elemental Lord of Fire. Would they really go inside the volcano? Maybe they would bring him to a temple in the sky just like Lark the Elemental Lord of Air did last time?
“Ok doods, we’ve arrived!” The worker doods had carted them all right up to the rim of the caldera. Below them, lava boiled and steamed.
“Huh? But that’s just the volcano? Where’s Lord Flameo’s house?” Flint tilted his head doubtfully.
“Bro, I musta got ash in my eyes! I see no Flameo our lord, but only lava,” said Flare incredulously.
“Wait… are we… the offerings?!” Tommy backed off a bit from the volcano and observed the expressions of the worker doods, trying to know what was going on.
“Just go in now!” A grumpy worker dood kicked the cheeky butt of Tommy and doinked him down into the volcano opening. With a scream of fear, Tommy yelled as he tumbled down the sides of the caldera, thinking he would surely die from the burning lava, but at the very last moment, the lava split from the center and slowly formed into a hollow cylinder with lava walls, allowing him to safely drop into the depths of the volcano.
“Ahhhhhh-” After a long time of falling, he landed on a solid ground under the volcano and did a couple bounces; luckily his doody butt served as a cushion. Flint and Flare and the other Charries followed behind and fell onto the ground right beside him, then the worker doods arrived too, landing nimbly.
“Woah, the volcano! I never thought of a place like this inside the volcano!” Flare did a weird dance flinging and waving his hands, which nearly caused him to catch himself on fire from a lava lake that was one step away.
“Doods, we have to go fast! We can’t be late!” One of the worker doods pushed them into a line and hurried them onwards towards the temple that had appeared amidst the lake.
And so, Tommy cautiously trudged through the perilous volcano cave, making sure that he didn’t step onto any lava pits accidentally or touch any burning rocks.
The worker doods kneeled down in front of a gate. It must be the entrance to enter the temple of Flameo. And so, Tommy kneeled down with his new friends too. The gates gradually opened, inviting them to go in.
After walking through the atrium, they entered an enormous banquet hall, with high tables all set up neatly and gourmet food — the finest cuts of dolk meat prepared with numbing spices, the most succulent fishes in steaming sauces, the finest of doodburgers on piles of chips — all served on exquisite golden tableware. Bright candles were lit in the middle of the tables, and the crimson color of the burning lava reflected on the tableware dangerously, making everything shiny and glittering.
There were already some gods settled in the hall, some of them were chattering, while others were walking around, amazed by the hall decorations. The gods gave the doods a look as they entered, but otherwise ignored them. Tommy, Flint and Flare carefully got into their seats and waited patiently. It was all a bit too much. But doods never stay quiet for long.
“That’s crazy! I’ve never seen a god in my life,” Flare said with his jaw wide open.
“I’ve met gods and I’ve joined a party at the White City before, but this temple is so hot and burning!” Tommy exclaimed while his attention was attracted to literally anything in the hall. He really wanted that blessing.
“Where is our lord Flameo though? I don’t think he’s among these gods,” Flint asked.
Just the moment Flint asked, there were drops of lava dripping from the ceiling, which drew attention to the guests. More and more lava started to merge and combine into a weird but fat silhouette, with more and more lava was grouping together, it became a magma creature. Then, the magma creature burnt brighter and brighter, until it shone a beaming light that nearly blinded all the doods. A godly figure appeared.
“HA HA HAAAA! What a lovely banquet! I’m glad to have gathered you all here,” the godly figure laughed, which caused a tiny quake in the hall. His voice was strong, and the fire burning on his head became more vigorous. He had a broad smile and laugh lines etched on his boisterous face. But there was something intimidating about Lord Flameo. Fire danced in his eyes, always moving, always watching.
“Oooo what luscious hair my lord Flameo has?” swooned one of the gods.
“That’s him! Oh, look at me, my lord!” Flare waved his hands dramatically, trying to get the attention of Flameo, but the calling of a tiny dood was so unnoticeable that he failed miserably.
“Now, let’s start feasting and drinking, my friends!” Flameo lifted a goblet of finest firewine and quaffed it in an instant. All the gods in the hall were clapping for him, and the waiter doods pulled out huge plates of the local delicacy — barbecued charchar bird — onto the table.
Tommy was wondering if he should approach Flameo directly and ask for his blessing, however, he was not sure if a god would listen to the story of a tiny dood. He remembered back then at the party in White City, his dad asked him to gather information and perform some tricks to gain the attention of gods, so he asked Flint and Flare to help him with it. However, all Flint and Flare could focus on was which plate of food was the tastiest, and some gossip about famous gods and doods who he didn’t even care about.
Tommy was uncertain about his next move. Suddenly, there was a loud burst coming from Flameo’s table. He was yelling at one of the waiter doods angrily.
“Why is the charchar bird overcooked and full of spice? I ASKED FOR MEDIUM WELL! IT IS NOW TOO ROUGH!”
“Sorry my lord, I’ll prepare it again right now…” the waiter dood shivered with a trembling voice.
“IT’S TOO LATE! I’M GOING TO PUNT YOU!” Flameo shouted, the fire on his head was blazing just like a volcano eruption, the volcanic floors were now shaking, his flames burnt the ceilings into the color of charcoal.
“No, please don’t punt me! It’s the cook’s fault! Punt him not me!” The waiter dood shook his head violently, and prostrated himself in front of Flameo.
“What a silly dood, failing to follow the orders of their god.”
“I would’ve punted him if I were Flameo.”
“If I was him, I would have spoken to him afterwards than spoiling the party-”
Some gods were gossipping about the incident. Flameo heard all the comments, and his flames became more and more uncontrollable, causing the volcano to quake more and more viciously, silencing all the guests.
“ENOUGH! The banquet has ended!”
Flameo slapped the table and brushed off all the dishes on it. Even his godly guests backed away from him knowing his temper; the rage of the Elemental Lord of Fire was not to be trifled with (and indeed, a trifle now lay oozing out onto the floor).
While everyone was freaking out, Tommy was just plain old annoyed. He was still pondering on how to get Flameo’s blessing, but the waiter dood had ruined his plan. It’s not what he wanted. He was frustrated. Had he gone through that whole stupid fireball tournament for nothing? All that training?!
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Silence. A dood roaring? The gods all stared, including Flameo. Tommy huffed and puffed but with everyone staring at him he…calmed down. Oh dear. What was going to happen next?
“HAHAHA! That’s funny, little dood! Look at how angry he got! HAHAHA!” Flameo burst into laughter and summoned Tommy to his sight, his eyes running flame-tears down while he was chuckling. Meanwhile, the food was being reserved to the table and the banquet continued while Tommy and Flameo were talking. “Who are you, little dood? Ah yes! Are you the champion of today’s tournament?”
“Y-yes,” the distance between Tommy and Flameo had made him stutter nervously, but then he took a deep breath and collected himself, “I’m Tommy, the champion of today’s fireball tournament, and I want your blessing, lord Flameo!”
“Your roar is so funny — like a tiny tupeck or something. Seems like both of us can get angry sometimes, little dood — haha!” Flameo guffawed again, then demonstratively made a loud roar, which nearly shattered the mirrors in the banquet hall and deafened Tommy. Everything was shaking dangerously, which made the guests gasp. Tommy roared too. It felt like the right thing to do. He stopped when Flameo stopped. Flameo gave him a pat on the head. It stung a bit, his hand was very hot. “What do you want, tiny one? Food? I can give you all the food you want!”
“Umm, I’m actually trying to find Lady Cosmos and tell her about the Taint, because I have some friends out there who need some help, so can you please give me the blessing?” Tommy asked.
“Right, the Taint. THE TAINT!” All of a sudden, Flameo was burning furiously again, his flame was about to turn Tommy into ashes, but then he calmed down. “Well, why not after all? I don’t mind! Here’s your blessing, brave little dood!”
After receiving the blessing, Tommy was taken back to the doods table. Flare and Flint waved to him happily.
“Bro, you did it!” Flint did a high five with Tommy.
“Now I understand where all our food offerings have gone…” said Flare, stuffing food into his mouth without any hesitation.
Tommy sighed. He had done it. He had the blessing! Now he could relax. He dug into the feast with gusto.
The banquet lasted long into the early hours. After everyone became drunk over the free flow juice and unlimited foods, Tommy and his dood companions were eventually tossed out of the volcano by the gods, along with hundreds and thousands of magical mana stones raining all over the realm, nourishing the deserts.
Blinking, Tommy stood up, and arm in arm with his comrades Flint and Flare, they went back to the hut. Crit and Happy were waiting for him.
“DAD! I DID IT!” Tommy ran to Crit and gave him a big hug.
“TOMMY! I’m so proud of you, son!” Crit patted his back with tears.
“Did you get the blessing?” asked Happy nervously.
Tommy grinned and held it out to the Summoner. She grabbed it, then gave him a hug. “You did it! Good job, young dood.”
Crit cheered. “Just one more blessing to go now! To the realm of Earth!”
Tommy fidgeted. “Well, actually…dad. I want to help and all. But I also really like it here.”
He looked at Flint and Flare. They both nodded. “We want Tommy to be the captain of the Charries!”
“Oh,” said Crit. He was shocked. “Oh well…if that’s what you want, son.”
“Don’t worry, dad,” said Tommy, smiling. “I’ll be there when you need me. And you’ll know where to find me! And when you see me next time, I’m going to be even stronger!”
“Well then…” said Crit. “This is goodbye, son.”
“Yeah. But not bye forever. Just bye for now,” said Tommy.
“Yeah,” said Crit.
“Come here you two,” said Happy. And the three of them had a big hug together.
And with that, Crit and Happy continued onto the realm of Earth, on a quest to receive the last blessing of the elemental lords so they could meet with Cosmos and save their friends trapped in a dungeon outside, somewhere in the godiverse. But that’s a story for another day.
END
— — — —
And that’s all for today! Did you enjoy this rip-roaring ride through the Realm of Fire? Let us know! We’d love to hear what you think about this story — and others! Head on over to our Discord to chat with doods about Apeiron all day long, and make sure to follow us on Twitter so you get all the latest doody news.
As always, thank you for reading godlings. ~
About Apeiron
Apeiron is the world’s first NFT-based play-and-earn god game. Apeiron will feature a unique card-based action-adventure combat system combined with god game simulation gameplay inspired by classic god games like Populous and Black & White. Players will be able to build up planets from above before descending to the ground as a powerful Avatar to solve the mysteries of the universe. Players will grow their planet to the point of developmental stagnation, then reset the planetary cycle via an Armageddon event to allow for even more advancement and thrilling late-game alliance level GvE and GvG activities. Apeiron will use a tri-token architecture, which means that there will be three separate tokens to navigate their ecosystem: a governance token, a play-to-earn token, and a premium alliance token.
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