“Coming up!” a member announced as a cacophonous rumbling shook the loose terrain. Sand, dirt, rubble, anything that was too close rose and fell like the waves on the deep blue. The void-sea parted, murky purple-black slinking away and leaving an abyss in its absence.

Strands of thin, barely-visible black fibers flexed as a new patch of consecrated land rose out of the gaping hole. Like a missing puzzle piece, it slid into place next to the formerly sandy beach, crashing with a loud rumble. The whole island shifted, ever so slightly, as the new landmass docked. Screeching, crunching, grinding, slamming filled the air, deafening as the newly risen earth began to knit itself to the old. Rock on rock violence as the churning mass assimilated.

From a perceived safe distance a pair of dust covered members watched, grime covered goggles on their odd masks protecting them from the particles that now clogged the air.

“These never get old,” a husky voice rose just above the rumbling. “Only time it happens is when the Tu’i get loose. And we have the honor of preparing it for expansion.”

The owner of the dry voice coughed as he inhaled a wayward gust of sand. Spitting and sputtering, he hawked up a large bit of phlegm, expelling it as the noise and commotion died down.

“Come on, new boots,” The older man began speaking through his bout of the coughs. “Gotta move quick or we won’t get any of the good stuff.”

“Stay low or ye’ll get knocked on yer ass,” the older member grumbled as he took tentative steps forward, slightly crouched. His rumpled, probably slept-in uniform shirt hugged his rotund belly, jiggling with each step.

The newer member, clothes still showing signs of being freshly pressed and taken care of, followed suit. Their eyes glowed through their grimey goggles as they both invoked.

“Left!” The older man grunted as he slid smoothly to his right. A faint glow emanated from beneath his dark uniform pants as the man moved much faster than one would have expected of someone his size.

The younger member grunted as they tossed themselves to the right, landing with a hard thud. A wheeze and a cough as they tried to roll back onto their feet. Sudden weightlessness as they found themselves thrust into the air, flailing as they lost the ability to control their body.

“Nonga,” the older member wheezed, feet still firmly planted on the unstable ground. His old, gnarled hand tensed as he held it flat, pushing at the undulating soil. “Nonga!”

Eyes wide, everything felt like it had slowed for the younger member. Like a wave on a stormy night, the once stiff land rose towards them, jagged edges and tears creasing the formerly untouched area. Bits of rock and sand coalesced, forming a small, dense ball. With a loud crack and bang, the condensed thing flew at the younger member, eyes still glowing behind the dirty eyewear.

Their vision fluttered. Like a stop motion short, one moment the condensed clump hung in the air, the next it tore through their vulnerable, squishy body. Phantom pain twisted their face into a mask of horror before their body was even able to send the proper signals.

Behind the suspended member a gory flower bloomed. A bubbling, inky black ichor painted the seething land, rubble churning over the masterpiece as it continued its vicious assimilation.

Crouching, the older member retracted his outstretched arm, the glow of his tatau dimming as he focused on keeping his center of gravity low. Rocks and loose dirt bounced off his goggles as an ominous shadow rose above him. The older man sucked his teeth.

A wave of living terra crashed around the two members, engulfing them amid a din of crashing rock.

Clad in their all-black, a pair of Faifekau stepped forward. Their bodies emitted a faint glow, dark clothes visibly lightening as they strode towards the rippling surface of the newly joined mass.

“Toka!” they announced in a simultaneous chant as they swept their arms forward. Obediently, the restless newborn fell into place. Like a falling wave, the undulating earth collapsed and took shape, trembling under the command from the two Faifekau.

From the spot where the two members had been, a black mist rose as the black ichor spread with the acquiescing surface.

“Retrieve them,” one of the Faifekau spoke over their shoulder.

_______________________________________

Nima and Rua stepped out of the eternally shadowed arena entrance, clad in the grey-blues of a lowly maintenance member. The Conglomerate symbol adorned the breast pocket on the left side of their shirts. It was a strange thing, a stylized C shaped like an eye. If one were to look closely at the stitching one would notice the finely patterned tatau ingrained into each and every suture. Rounding out the middle of the C and making it look like an eye was an outline of the Motu.

“The smell of new land,” Nima drew in a deep breath, smiling as his chest expanded. “Always smells so good after a challenge.”

Rua snorted, her platform boots clicking against the paved steps as they descended. “At least he didn’t cry on the grounds this time.”

Nima chuckled, a deep rumbling that resonated, waves of disturbed air emanating away from him. It made the steps quiver under the presence of the leader of the Tu’i.

A pair of members, dressed in the same grey-blues as the Tu’i, paused as they noticed the odd behavior. Like a fleeting thought, the moment passed and they continued.

“Evening,” one of them called out to the two Tu’i, raising a hand in greeting. “Hopefully you all left some work for the rest of us.”

The member smiled, completely unaware of who they were speaking with.

Nima returned the smile, eyes glinting dangerously. He gestured back, making a quick, short cutting motion as a wave. “Oh there’s plenty left over.”

The two innocuous members laughed. Genuine laughter, something the Tu’i rarely ever heard.

“Well,” the talkative member said as the two pairs passed one another, briefly sharing the same step. “You two have a good one. Be seeing ya.”

Nima nodded, smile still not touching his cold eyes. Rua gave a curt nod, lips pressed in a thin line.

“I don’t know why you even talk to them,” Rua muttered as they reached the bottom of the flight of steps.

“Because,” Nima’s voice dropped an octave, dipping so low that it almost sounded like detuned white noise. “It’s more fun when they’re clueless.”

The dipping sun cast its fiery pink-orange gaze across the island, throwing long shadows across the path as the two Tu’i walked. Because of his presence the void-sea quivered, hesitant to ebb and flow like it normally would.

“It does feel good,” Nima kicked a rock, sending it a couple steps ahead. “To be out.”

Rua kept her gaze forward, observing a group of members sitting under an awning. “I don’t see the appeal.”

“Heh,” Nima chuckled, this one actually containing some warmth. “You just haven’t been cooped up as long as I have.”

Their crunching footsteps announced them as the members turned. A few greeted the two newcomers, passing them a pair of cups made out of sanded down, smoothed coconut halves.

“You guys part of the clean up?” One of the members, a dark-skinned man, stirred the contents of a large bowl sitting in front of him with a long handled ladle. He scooped and poured the murky substance into the Tu’i’s waiting cups.

“Mm,” Nima murmured as he downed the dirty concoction. It hit the back of his throat with a refreshingly disgusting splash, sliding down his gullet as he reveled in being able to taste, feel, smell, see, everything. “They really went crazy.”

Rua grunted as she quickly downed the nasty stuff. It didn’t have much of a smell to it, it just tasted like shit. But that was a personal opinion, one that very few others shared. Shuddering as the bitter liquid made her purse her lips, she grabbed a chopped end of sugarcane laying in a small bowl and bit into it, peeling the stiff skin away with her sharp teeth. Barely any of the soft, white meat was uncovered before she greedily sunk her chompers into it, ripping off a hefty bit. The sweet nectar flooded her taste buds as her eyes rolled backwards.

Often, the Tu’i forgot what it was like to sense. To feel, breathe, eat, taste, to actually have to live. And every time Rua went out, on too few occasions at a time, she happily relished in the extremes. Despite her feigned reticence, she actually enjoyed being able to feel again.

Nima gutted it out. After so long, cooped up in that confining home of theirs, he felt he deserved to feel the disgust, the enjoyment. Material bodies were funny things, so fragile and yet so aware. He smiled sourly as he held his cup out once more, politely shaking his head as Rua offered him a sweet stick, as some of the sweet ambrosia dripped down the side of her lip.

As his cup was filled, a pair of Faifekau hurried past, faces shadowed. Their hurried steps click-clacked against the tamped dirt road, tupenu’s billowing as they took their hasty strides. Behind them, a tall woman walked, long legs carrying her along effortlessly. Her tightly wound bun of hair made her face angular, severe. As the group passed the members, and the Tu’i who were masquerading as the rank-and-file, stood and bowed their heads slightly.

Nima smiled, a playful smirk really, as the woman’s eyes passed over him and Rua. For a moment her eyes glistened with recognition. Nima wiggled his left eye-brow at her, lips still pulled taut in his grin. A fleeting smile touched her lips before the sun’s setting glare cast her face back into shadow. Behind her a pair of well-dressed members scrambled, arms full with papers and tablets. Both were struggling to keep pace, huffing and puffing, eyes glued to the woman’s back.

“The Named,” a member muttered, only daring to speak up after they were sure the woman and her entourage were far enough away. As they all took their seats once more, the member continued. “You’d do well to remember, newbie. You’ve got some good luck, getting to see one of Them on your first day.”

Nibbling on her stick of sugary excellence, Rua looked at the two members through slitted eyes. Keen senses were things each of the Tu’i had possessed even before earning the title. So it was child’s play for her to eavesdrop on a pair of members who weren’t even aware of how loud they actually were.

“Remember the rules,” the older member, with their stained uniform and tanned, leathery skin, tried to keep their voice down. They kept their head bowed, speaking to the ground. On the lapel of their uniform was a small pin, designating them as a trainer.

“Most important amongst them, no names. Unless you want to join the void,” the trainer jutted their chin at the odd, terrifying purple-black void-sea. It acted like the Deep Blue, ebbing and flowing, crashing and breaking. But it felt off, simply looking at it gave the viewer headaches and a deep, off-kilter unease.

Their fresh faced companion gawked at the odd thing, mouth agape as if it were the first time they had laid eyes on the Motu’s natural defense system. Their unlined face and cleanly pressed uniform gave away just how new they were. Newly folded into the cold, uncaring embrace of the Conglomerate, thrown into the deep end and they hadn’t been told they’d be swimming for their lives.

“Don’t look too long,” the trainer grunted, coughing a little as a dry, dusty wind passed. “Or you’ll have a really bad time for the next couple of days.”

Nima snorted, having just downed his fifth cup. The brew was flowing through him now, causing his vision to swim just a tad. His eyes lazily swept over the brackish void-sea and he chuckled, a mirthless chortle really.

The menacing purple-black water cowered under his gaze, wilting and fleeing. Screams of the tormented rose, audible only to the regents of the island.

_______________________________________

The shadowy confines of the Domain shimmered and shifted as a gaping abyss opened itself, swallowing ‘Ekolu’s huge form. His bare feet slapped against the simultaneously rigid yet fluid ground. Under each step he took it vibrated and rippled as if he were stepping on the still surface of sitting water.

Every muscle twitched as he walked, jumping and flexing. Craggy and mountainous, he was a giant mass of agitated sinew. Sweat ran down his hairless body as he stepped into his little corner, his refuge. The undulating portal blinked closed, retreating in on itself before popping out of existence, bathing his large back in a tapestry of purple-pink-oranges from the slowly setting sun.

The clearing he stepped into was draped in a perpetual twilight, stuck in the few minutes of beauty as the sun's mischievous gaze slowly descended to its night time abode. A soft sea breeze twisted through the tall grass, pushing the leafy bits back and forth as they sighed their strange chorus. They bent away as the hulking man walked by, eyes staring at the ground as huge droplets fell from his chin, splashing and kicking up bits of red dirt.

Ahead of him, a traditional hut sat on a raised foundation. It was modest, small, enough. A small wind chime fluttered, hanging above the little porch. It clinked and clattered melodiously.

He came to a slow, unwilling halt a few steps away from the porch. Sweat still rolled down his back, arms, and legs. But the heaviest bits of liquid dripped from his face as a stream of tears flowed down and off his chin.

“GGGRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

The small hut trembled as the big man roared. His jaw creaked as his mouth grew wider and wider. Steam rose as the air around his formidable body sizzled. The light breeze stilled, all sound ceasing in awe of the outburst.

His powerful back oscillated, the muscles twitching and turning as the steam leaked from every pore. Rivers of sweat turned the packed dirt ground into a muddy mess. Saliva and tears mixed at the corners of his nose and mouth, becoming a thick slurry as it dripped off his chin. As he continued to scream his voice wavered, climbing in pitch as his mass shrunk. The air continued to crackle, the steam growing into a thick mist as it shrouded him.

The screaming stopped abruptly as a thud and a splash replaced it. ‘Ekolu whimpered as the hot mist cleared, revealing his pitiful state. Writhing in the mud was a mass of loose, heavily tattooed skin. It sagged, flabby and fleshy like an ill-fitting costume. His gaunt face, marred with caked mud and mucus, drowned beneath a large flap of skin from his shoulder. Tears continued to flow, pooling beneath his turned face.

The eternally setting sun continued its vigil, watching as the Tu’i wallowed in his frustration and self-pity. It passed no judgements, held no opinions. It simply observed, keeping its half-lidded gaze steady on the imaginary little clearing the weeping man had conjured for himself.

---

Water splashed, hitting ‘Ekolu’s sweat slick skin. It sizzled as if it had landed on a heated slab of iron. He whimpered as his form slowly returned to its usual muscle-bound appearance.

“Get up you big baby,” Wha waved her open hand at the prone man. Another stream of water drenched the man, sizzling less this time. “I’ve got a better way for you to vent.”

‘Ekolu opened his bleary eyes and peered at her, vision still clouded from the pooled liquid. He was met with the sight of Wha’s alluring nakedness. She stood over him, legs planted on either side of his head, slightly askance. Her scent filled his nose as he stared up, fuzzy vision clearing, as he was graced with a view of her grinning lips.

She chuckled as she stepped forward, allowing him to bask in the glory of her naked form as she walked towards the waiting hut. He scrambled to his feet, letting his drenched malo fall away from his hips as he followed.