Makanuele Rumble (Jekua Book 3), page 1
Makanuele Rumble
Jekua Book 3
Travis M. Riddle
Copyright © 2023 by Travis M. Riddle
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover illustration by Baj Singh.
Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design.
Bestiary illustrations by Tom Parker.
Created with Vellum
Also by Travis M. Riddle
JEKUA
On Lavender Tides
A Fracture in the Qwisdeep
HOUNDSTOOTH
Flesh Eater
Mother Pig
Dirt King
USTLIAN TALES
Balam, Spring
Spit and Song
STANDALONES
Wondrous
The Narrows
For Forrest
Previously, in A Fracture in the Qwisdeep…
After beating his cousin Wasaaru in a Jekua battle, Balt is feeling more confident than ever in his abilities as a Summoner, and he’s itching to imprint more Jekuas to add to his roster.
Luckily, the next island they must travel to for Alani’s pilgrimage is Qwi, which is home to the Volukho Wildlife Center. The VWC is a wildlife reserve, filled with beautiful and powerful endangered Jekuas. Any Summoner would consider themselves lucky to grasp the opportunity to imprint one of the VWC’s rarities.
The VWC is comprised of a massive, island-spanning jungle known locally as the Qwisdeep, and many dangers lurk within it. Much to Balt’s disappointment, Alani insists that they travel with a tour group to prevent themselves from getting lost or stranded somewhere inside the jungle. Since it is her pilgrimage, and he is merely her escort, Balt agrees.
They set out into the jungle with their group, which is full of colorful characters. The most boisterous include an incessantly worried man named Pompadieu, as well as two conspiracy theorist twin brothers named Yud and Yi. There are other, more reserved members of their group, such as the beautiful and mysterious Tollushish woman Valentina, as well as a peculiar man named Reno who mostly keeps to himself.
With their tour guide leading them through the jungle, they come to discover a number of interesting and rare Jekuas. Alani has a surprising encounter with something called a Crawllusk, while Balt is able to use the reserve’s bait combined with his grandmother’s knowledge to imprint a Mirrorbear. It’s a strange Jekua, one that possesses no inherent Type-based abilities of its own, but is able to absorb the powers of others and reflect them back on its enemies.
The more they travel, however, the more Pompadieu complains about the jungle’s conditions, as if he was unaware that traipsing through a humid jungle might be somewhat more uncomfortable than a stay in a resort. Balt becomes increasingly worried that the tour group is limiting his experience in the Qwisdeep, and those feelings are reinforced when the group must stop for multiple days to allow Pompadieu’s upset stomach to pass.
Balt is able to convince Alani that they should break off from the group, saying that they will reach the other side of the VWC and get to the next Veptilo sooner. Plus, they have homing beacons that rangers can track if they end up in any real danger. She’s reluctant, but eventually agrees. She wants to get out of the jungle sooner rather than later.
Striking out on their own, Balt and Alani run into their share of trouble. Between aggressive Jekuas and the harsh environment, Alani comes to think that they should have stuck with the others, but it’s too late to turn back.
The worst of it comes when they must cross a bridge over a river that is filled with angry Jekuas called Wortens. The massive creatures are thrashing about underneath the bridge, smashing their tentacles into the fragile structure. While Alani wants to turn back, find another way across the river, Balt assures her they can cross safely. He uses his Puffolin Dipper’s Petal Shield technique to protect them from the flailing tentacles as they cross, but one breaks through and they have to make a run for it.
Alani is snatched by a Worten, nearly dragged into the river’s depths, but Balt manages to use Dipper’s Vine Whip ability to pull her to safety. In the process, he ends up losing most of their supplies, including their food and their trackers. The effort also pushes him into soulsickness, and needless to say, Alani is highly displeased.
Eventually Balt recovers, but tensions are high between the two friends. They continue their trek northward through the jungle and find themselves pursued by a dangerous Jekua called a Mosstopus. Balt must fend off the creature, and ends up imprinting it.
Unfortunately, that is not the only danger they face. They are soon apprehended by Reno, who also broke off from their tour group. As it turns out, the man is a poacher, and he came into the VWC in search of Jekuas called Jolloms. He has smuggled in equipment to harvest the creatures’ beaks, which he intends to sell on the black market. Balt tries to put a stop to this, but Reno gets the upper hand, and the duo is held hostage while the poacher scampers off into the jungle to find his prey.
After a while, they are discovered by the eclectic twins Yud and Yi, who also left the tour group in search of an ancient and mysterious Jekua (which Balt is convinced does not actually exist). The twins are able to help them escape, and Balt swears he’s going to stop Reno.
Together, the four of them track down the poacher and are able to turn the tables on him. After a harrowing battle, they tie up Reno and use one of Yud and Yi’s trackers to call on the VWC rangers.
When the rangers arrive, they take Reno into custody. But, much to Balt and Alani’s surprise, there is a familiar face with the rangers. Niona Daneo, the young woman to whom they returned a memory card on Totta Island, is traveling with the rangers and her father. The pair of Daneos have come to the VWC to observe a beautiful and rare mating ritual among a flock of Jekuas called Korjes. Balt and Alani agree to join the rangers as they transport the Daneos northward.
As the group travels and gets to know each other, they learn that Niona’s next destination is the island of Na Tana, in the city of Makanuele, which will soon be hosting a huge tournament called the Makanuele Rumble. It’s the same tournament Balt intends to enter, and part of the reason he joined Alani on this trip. They invite Niona to join them in their travels, and in turn, she invites them to watch the mating ritual with her and her father.
Balt is desperate to join them in observing the Korj ritual, but they come to discover that it will coincide with the only time a Church Elder can escort Alani to the Veptilo. She is insistent that he should join her, since rumors of danger at the shrines are the reason he was invited on this trip, but Balt is sure that she’ll be perfectly safe at the shrine. Alani is fed up with his attitude toward her pilgrimage, always prioritizing his Jekuas, and a rift forms between them. She tells Balt she doesn’t care if he goes to watch the ritual, he can do what he wants.
So Balt meets up with Niona and her father to watch the Korj mating ritual. It’s a breathtaking spectacle, truly a once in a lifetime event. He’s thankful that he was able to see it, especially by Niona’s side. His feelings for her are deepening, and he’s compelled to kiss her in this unexpectedly romantic setting, but he’s afraid his feelings are not reciprocated. Not to mention her father is mere feet away.
Meanwhile, Alani visits the second Veptilo. In the middle of her own ritual, it is suddenly attacked by a group of people who wear skintight white suits with constantly-moving black streaks. Their faces are obscured by studded diamond masks, through which they are able to summon bizarre creatures. They seem somewhat like Jekuas, but they are constructed entirely of multicolored crystal. While some of these people work to distract Alani and the Church’s coral golems, others attempt to cut the Veptilo from the earth in order to steal it. Alani scrambles to get away while the golems fight back, and eventually the attackers are forced to flee without accomplishing their goal.
While it’s a relief that the Veptilo remains intact, Alani suffers several mild injuries from the assault. When Balt returns to the hotel hours later, ready to excitedly tell her about the Korjes, he’s shocked to find her in such a condition. Alani dismisses him immediately.
The next day, Balt tries to make it up to Alani, but she has no further patience for him. She tears into him for abandoning her, saying that she might not have been hurt if he’d been there with his Jekuas like he promised he would be when they left Tanepke. Balt doubles down on his previous promise, telling her that he won’t let his love of summoning cloud his judgment anymore. In fact, he tells her that he will skip out on competing in the Makanuele Rumble.
A fracture has formed in their friendship, but soon it is time to continue their journey to the next island.
Contents
1. Doug
2. Picking the Team
3. A Favor
4. The Barrier
5. Makanuele City
6. Not Awkward
7. Puke and Paws
8. In the Living Room
9. The Third Veptilo
10. Family Names
11. Elimination Round
12. Remisti Vana’s Big Boy
13. Strings of Light
14. The Bracket
15. Conversation at Konatari
16. Opening Ceremony
17. Wasaaru vs. Renata
18. Doubt
19. Balt vs. Rei
20. An Interesting Conundrum
21. Niona vs. Justine
22. Siuv’s Younger Sister
23. Sensory Overload
24. The Blitz Trio
25. Niona vs. Yakka
26. Floor People
27. Balt vs. Zu
28. In Which A Staggering Revelation is Made
29. Barnello’s
30. Across the Bar
31. A Magical Night
32. Oh Well
33. Niona vs. Winston
34. Gravity Fields
35. Balt vs. Johnny
36. Balt’s Neverending Parade
37. Devastatingly Huge Problems
38. Sixth Floor, Section T
39. Niona vs. Desi
40. Wasaaru vs. David
41. Xamaneki Garden
42. Niona vs. Uil
43. Distractions
44. Closing Ceremony
45. In the Arena
46. In the Stands
47. Rows and Rows
48. Crushed
49. Soultear
50. Pour One Out
51. Timestamp
Excerpts from Remisti Vana’s Bestiary
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1
Doug
The scent of charred dirt permeated the air, burning Niona’s nostrils as she adjusted her stance, dirtying the soles of her shoes.
This was gonna be over in a minute. Two, tops. It was clear as day the guy was flagging, his breathing already staccato after a mere three or four minutes of battling. He stood there, thirty or forty feet further down the path, his legs spread apart and his fists clenched at his side like he was posing for some lame, mid-budget action flick. Embarrassing to be so much more invested in the “look” of a cool Summoner than training to be an actually good Summoner.
It was too bad, really. Niona had been antsy to get a solid sparring match in, and this guy simply wasn’t hacking it. Usually Balt was a good person to practice against, but he’d been in some weird funk ever since they departed from Qwi Island. In the four days they’d been traveling through Na Tana, he’d hardly done more than summon one of his four Jekuas to walk alongside them to build up his mana tank. In addition to that, it felt like he’d barely spoken either. He was overall a lot more reserved than she was accustomed to after the few previous days she’d spent with the guy.
Right now, he stood at the edge of the path next to Alani and Pistachio. The hulking Mosstopus loomed over the two of them, standing at least twice their height. His fuzzy green fur ruffled in the warm summer wind. They were heading toward the center of the island, far from the ocean’s shores and its cooler breezes. All of them stared ahead at the battle taking place, which Pistachio was doing creepily with his lack of eyes.
Speaking of the battle, now was no time to get distracted.
Losing to this chump would be even more embarrassing than his goofy stance.
The guy (what was his name again? Dillon? Rillon? Killian? Doug?) was posing a few feet behind his Jekua, a big dumb Sonic-Type with a smattering of Radiant powers called a Sunkin. It looked like a mound of yellow clay given a vaguely humanoid form, with thick, rounded features and stubby limbs. It had three fat fingers on the ends of its arms and V-shaped cleft feet. The thing’s face was completely flat, with two narrow slits for a nose, beady eyes, and a juicy-lipped mouth. In the center of its back was what appeared to be a glistening red gem, but Niona suspected it was a trick of the light and was just more clay-y junk.
Niona had summoned her Dullwhip, which she had affectionately nicknamed Armband. It was not the best name in the world, but the fish’s long, thin, brown tail reminded her of an exceptionally ugly armband her father had bought her when she was six or seven. Even now, she could not fathom why he ever thought she would like the thing, and she had only worn it for a day (during which she was mercilessly mocked by her classmates) before it was shoved into the deep, dark recesses of her underwear drawer.
Armband was a long, flat fish that skirted along the sand under the ocean’s glittering surface. Both of a Dullwhip’s eyes were on the top of its head—big, bulging, ugly things that looked like bubbles ready to burst. Its scales were a dull, unattractive brown color and it had thin frills wavering on its sides, with its body ending in a long, thin tail trailing behind it. Dullwhips used Radiant magic to camouflage themselves on the ocean floor to hide from predators and sneak up on unsuspecting smaller crustaceans and the occasional worm or two. They could also use Elastic magic to stretch out those long tails to grab their prey or wrap it around underwater structures to hold themselves in place while they rested.
So far, the other Summoner (she was just going to call him “Doug,” he seemed like a Doug) was growing increasingly frustrated by Armband’s camouflage technique. Niona kept making Armband essentially disappear and float around the battlefield before either whipping the Sunkin with its tail or grabbing its legs and yanking it off its feet. His Sunkin kept trying to blast Armband with fiery streams of light from its mouth, to no avail. Doug and his Sunkin both tightened their fists in anger.
“Stop doing that!” he shouted, stomping his foot much like a toddler would.
“Stop what?” Niona asked cheekily. “Winning?” She’d barely put a dent in her mana, while it was clear that every sunbeam the guy’s Jekua unleashed drained a huge chunk of his energy. He probably thought he could swiftly end the battle by bringing out the big guns, especially after seeing the weird, ugly little fish she’d summoned. She grinned with amusement.
Up to this point, she’d really just been toying with him. Egging him on, hoping he’d surprise her. But all he kept doing was shooting that sunbeam at her near-invisible fish. Although, technically he wasn’t shooting it at Armband, because the Dullwhip was always practically on the other side of the battlefield. Doug’s predictions for Armband’s movements were poor, to put it mildly.
Enough fooling around. This guy was boring.
Niona dropped Armband’s camouflage for just a second, granting Doug a quick glimpse at the fish’s location. It was fast enough to seem like an error on her part, but it wasn’t. The next instant, the camouflage was back up, making her mana trickle from her body ever so slightly faster.
Doug roared with fury as the Sunkin blasted the spot where Armband had been with another sunbeam, as if the Dullwhip would have ever in a million years remained idly waiting.
If Doug would stop and think for one single second, he would realize that he could easily use his Jekua’s Sonic abilities to create a small earthquake and disrupt Armband’s trajectory, send the fish skittering away, possibly even cutting off its camouflage. Or he could use his Radiant magic (if he was skilled enough, anyway) to create a bubble of darkness on the battlefield, which would also throw off the camouflage and also make it harder for Niona to see what was happening. Or, if he wanted to avoid further embarrassment, he could use Sonic magic to shake the earth underneath his Sunkin’s feet and make it sink down into the ground and disappear forever.
But her strategy of messing with him, doing the same thing over and over, was paying off. He was reacting exactly as she suspected he would, despite her desire for him to switch things up. The more she toyed with him, narrowly (or so he assumed) avoiding his blasts of energy, the more Doug dug in his heels. He’d chosen a strategy, and not even the Veptists themselves could convince him to try something different.
