The Lore of the Battle Kongs

A Kong, it can’t be… The Oracle muttered under her breath, peering at the lumbering silhouette higher up on the ridge. The Oracle dropped the burlap sack of herbs she’d gathered and rested against her staff, gazing up, following the silhouettes trek along the spine of the mountain. 

The sun would soon fall behind the mountains but the glare of the setting sun was warm, a hike up would be possible before nightfall. 

No one’s seen a wartime Kong in 20 years, she thought in silence…

The view from the Neverian Peaks ridgeline was unlike any other in the Kingdom, from this high up you can look west and see the golden-red sands of the Wastelands and to the East, the Kingdom. Sprawling fields that make up Kong Steppe in the northeast part of the Kingdom contrasted only by the lush canopies of the Bananatopian jungle directly to the south. The Kong, marred from war and tired from the months-long trek through the sands looked out over the wastelands miles below hoping to never see the golden mounds again. One last look, he thought, as memories of the past 2 decades raced through his mind. Overwhelmed by sudden rage born in the grief he carried he pounded his chest and let out a defiant roar that seemed to echo across the peaks. Nearly half of the Kong’s were lost in battle and many would succumb to injuries on the long journey home.

Grief is for wasteland chimps, keep pushing forward, he thought with a grunt. The burning rage he felt was his only company along the frigid mountain pass and it kept him warm enough to make the ridgeline before nightfall. 

The sun began to set behind him. He could see the glowing lights in the valley far below. Apex City beaconed and he was on a mission. Carry advanced word that the Kong’s would be arriving at the Kingdom gates in just a few months time and to send healers to meet them in the wastelands. He was wounded, exhausted and in need of rest. Almost 2 decades of chasing the wasteland army through the vast wastelands had caught up to him on that ridge.

Conjuring up the little bit of strength he had left, he turned his gaze down the trail thinking back to his younger years growing up in the Kingdom, and playing in these mountains. I can make it to the city, he thought. A warm flicker of light appeared in the treeline below clearing the haze of his swirling thoughts.

Why would someone be up here this late, he wondered. No one can survive a winter night at this altitude.

The Kong began a hasty descent from the ridge, toward the treeline, and the flickering fire.

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A loud roar from the ridge above seemed to shake the trees around her as she prepared to light her fire. Only a Kong roars like that, she thought proudly. She’d decided not to trek up to the ridge for fear of being found frozen in the spring but instead decided to make her camp at the treeline. The path he’d have to take to get to the base of the mountain would go right past her camp. The roar galvanized her resolve to stay the night along the frigid trail, she felt a sort of pride and with her burlap sack of fresh herbs she could provide aid if needed. 

As she prepared to light the fire she thought about the long history of the Kong’s and how they ruled over and built up the Kingdom lands below so many decades ago.

There were 24,000 Kong’s that fled the wastelands to follow the Great Kong she remembered, each of them had built up and ruled over their own piece of Kingdom land. The Kong’s welcomed Wasteland Apes who sought refuge and taught them how to fight, gave them a place to settle, build a tribe and earn rank, status and wealth. The Kong’s, under the leadership of the Great  built a haven for Apes but the Wasteland Kong wanted to take the Kingdom lands for himself and re-enslave all within, turning Apes back into mindless conscripts that would serve in his army.

The Kongs united in a call to war and journeyed deep into the Wastelands with the Great Kong to fight and defend the haven they’d built. But they were never heard from again. Scouts and search parties were dispatched to search for them but the blowing Wasteland sands had erased all traces of the past…

It was dark now and the light of the fire seemed to dance among the surrounding trees as the Oracle mashed medicinal herbs into a paste in a stone bowl. The tall pines around her swayed gently, taking the brunt of the icy Neverii winds blowing high above her head. In the distance she can see a flickering light. She quickly bagged the paste and stuffed the back into her burlap sack.

Guided by the moonlight and his torch the Kong approaches the treeline and can smell the burning embers of the fire close by. He wearily pulls the war axe from his hip and lumbers on slowly.

“Helloooo” he bellows

Leaving behind the warmth and glow of the fire in the wooded refuge, she soon finds herself navigating an icy, rocky, moonlit trail making her way toward the figure with the torch. 

“I am no threat” she cries out 

“Show yourself to me, I am an Oracle of the Neverii, and a healer”

The Kong stumbles on toward her, and stops just paces away, towering over her at more than twice her height, still wearing the armor he left with 20 years before.

“how can this be” she says softly

“There are many more of us” the Kong replies 

“they’ll be here soon.”

The Kong stumbles, drops his axe and collapses. He dies at her feet.

His name was Batu. He was a warrior. 

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Kara, now the courageous Oracle that braved a night alone in the frigid peaks gathered he people for an expedition to the peaks where they later carried Batu down from the mountain. His name and the news he brought swept across the Kingdom like wildfire in the coming weeks. Batu the Kong was heralded as a hero, and the Kingdom rejoiced over the return of what Kingdom Apes dubbed “Batu’s Kongs”. 

Healer brigades were dispatched and within a month 12,000 Kongs were back home. The name the people gave to the returning Kong’s “Batu’s Kong’s”, stuck. Later morphing into “Battle Kongs” to memorialize their struggle during the war. 

Kara never forgot that night in the peaks. Not because of her or Batu’s courage but because of what she found in Batu’s satchel. Batu kept a journal and an ominous totem with him. The journal states that the totem is imbued with the spirit of the Apex Kong’s and the one who holds it will find their land safe from any wasteland attacks or any attempts to to conquer it by force. Batu goes on to say that the Great Kong was meant to create 24,000 totems to protect all lands in the Kingdom should all the Kong’s perish but the Great Kong only made 3,000 before he was slain by the Wasteland Kong.

Kara went on to lead an expedition into the wastelands to recover the 3,000 buried ‘Apex Kong’ totems. Bringing them back to the Banana Kong in Apex City. The Banana Kong gifted Kara with Batu’s totem, and a large plot of land at the foot of Kong Mountain for her people and Batu’s people. A statue of Batu holding his axe was erected at the foot of the mountain pass where Kara can often be seen preparing Apes for the ceremonial journey to the top of Kong Mountain.