Yuka (I)

It had been half a lunar cycle since her master was killed, along with all the others, and she had finally reached her destination. Yuka and Harry had now escaped the destruction of the sanctuary by the fires in the sky. Maiyuhi told her all those days ago to never look back, but she couldn't help think of the destruction of the place she had called home for over twenty-five years. They had sailed and walked for days, and now they were exhausted. Now on Yam, the dominant island of the Yamachai, it was time for her second visit to the Dominion of Phurz. But this was no educational visit; given what she had seen, it could have apocalyptic consequences.   The port of the capital was big, mainly concerned with sailing from one island of the Yamachai to another, but traders from elsewhere also came. As Yuka came up, she could already see men from the Vulgar Empire and from the Dominion disputing over some matter. The men of Vulgar wore tunics of blue and green, with thick boots and grew their beards out, carrying their valuables in a belt, along with a dagger. The men from the Dominion in contrast, were, bar one, clean shaven, with groomed hair, sandles, and more varied colours of orange and yellow. A centaur woman walked by, brown fur with white spots, holding her head high with many cheap earrings, oblivious to the argument. She looked at Yuka, with her ears pricking at the sight of a Yamachai. Clearly you're new here too, Yuka thought as she looked at the being who seemed half-man, half-horse. Horses were a rare sight in the isles, only found around human traders and diplomats. Vrain colonies even rarer; even today, none of either were present. Harry seemed unsure regardless.   "When will we be there?" He spoke up. He'd asked her this question nigh on every day since they set off from the Sanctuary. "My feet are blistering already! Why can't you have horses to ride?" Harry was certainly used to the ways of men, but they weren't the ways of the isles of the Yamachai.   "We will be there in time, Harry! This is where we shall set off tomorrow. Then you can return to the isles you were born in. Until then, we gather resources and wait." Harry had come to the isles an orphan from further north, somewhere in the 'Southern Alliance' as it was called in the Forbidden Isles. His mother a fisherwoman, and his father a low ranking raider of Vunk, the boy had little prospects as a bastard, and so was sold for a jar of perfume to the Sanctuary, only four years old. Maiyuhi and now Yuka dedicated their time to taking care of him as a scribe. "As for horses," she continued, "you should know by now why our race does not use horses the way men do. Did you forget your fourth ever lesson with us?"   The young man shook his head, stumbling behind her toward the market, nervously looking around as Yamachai traders and shopkeepers stared at him. "When the Ancient Ones-sorry, Great Fathers, were torn from the world by the wrath of the gods for their misuse of magic, my ancestors fled from the K'Voth hordes on horseback, leading your ancestors to fight them and drive them off alone. Thus the Yamachai died out up north destroying the remaining K'Voth, and the survivors fled here. Ever since, every High Priest of your people has disavowed the use of horses." He pulled his black cloak up, straightening it next to his white shirt.   "Good." Yuka nodded. "It seems those horrors didn't dull your learning." She didn't know truly if Harry followed the gods of the Yamachai, or those of Vunk, or some other land, or any at all, but he knew the stories well enough. He was always a scribe, not a warrior. She got out her file and sharpened her claws. It was normally taboo to do it out in the open, but she was exhausted and could not care less at this point. "Perhaps you can get another chance once we reach The Hooded Rat. Its almost a museum as well as an inn!" First though, she needed coin for the night and the journey.   Already she could see the Great Temple in the background of the finance office. Three great stepped pyramids, each seventy metres high and spread evenly, were hard to notice even with the Bank of Yam in front. The Bank was a smaller building, but it was laced with gold across its marble outer layers. A great golden seal was above the seven metre tall doors, as wide as a grown Yamachai is tall, with two hands shaking carved into it. This was where commoner and noble alike would go to take out loans to manage their finances, either in their day to day life or for more serious circumstances.   Just as she was about to walk in, with Harry in tow, the door swung open and a guardswoman came out, with her sword in its sheath, clad in lamellar armour, with a pointed helmet. She looked at least seventy years old, even if her kind aged much more slowly then humans, this was an unusual age to serve as a bodyguard.   Behind her came another guardswoman, this one looking shy of her thirtieth, alongside the patron, who looked as if he came from the Golden Kingdom! This one’s skin was golden instead of her silver, and his ears were pointed upwards instead of sideways. He wore dark brown leather trousers with a a cream coloured tunic, with a blue-green cloak around, encrusted with velvet and silk and pearls, demonstrating his wealth. The jewels he had round his neck, pierced to his ears and even worn round his head were too grandiose for him to be a member of the priesthood, and his extensive tattoos gave him away. Nawpak Xichoto was stood before her! He was   "You're in my way, young-one." He said with annoyance. Truth be told, he was not much older than Yuka, his chin sharpened as if by the hands of a claymaker. His eyes had a distinctive green hint over the strange silver of those of the east. She would find him handsome if it weren't for his arrogance. 'Young-one' had nothing to do with age in Yamachai culture, but was a pejorative used by nobility against those of common birth, even those who had risen to great heights, such as priests and rich merchants. He crossed his arms, and was about to motion for his guard to approach when Yiko retorted.   "It is pleasant to see you, my eminescence"-gods, I hate that phrase, "I can only apologise for my inconveniencing of your day, I am just in a-" he cut her off.   "I do not give a horse's arse about your situation. Move, or they will move you." It took a lot for her to not just knock him to the floor and make his guard welp. But the price would not be worth paying for. She could lead Harry to the Dominion and read the necessary books if she didn't have hands or a tongue, after all! She stepped aside, and signalling Harry, walked toward the entrance. She overheard Xichoto say something nasty to Harry as he walked by, but it was muttered, so she paid no attention to it. They went through the gates.   The guards with that tool of a noble seemed poorly equipped compared to those in the halls of the bank. Merchants and traders were more common, but nobles and priests were also found here. Most priests were supposed to give up personal finance, but they still had obligations to manage the money of their temples and to give to the poor. At the opposite side to her, there were multiple different stands for different patrons to take loans from or trade in expensive items for money. Yuka hoped for the latter. A large loan was tempting, but the Order of Shin and it's finances were burned to the ground, so unless she got very, very lucky, this wasn't an option. She only was able to sell what she didn't need.   "Hello, I would wish to trade." she said to the bored looking clerk at the counter, who was busy looking through his lodger. Clerks at the bank never had the patience for those of common birth as the nobility, it was known. She doubted it was genuine, merely that the expensive patrons could better reward them financially and socially. The old male looked up, moved his spectacle in what was likely his bad eye and straightened himself up.   "And what is it you hope to trade?" He looked at her uniform. "Ah, you're of the Order of Shin? We rarely see you around the capital. Where is your master, Maiyuhi?" The mention of his name made her feel uncomfortable already. She tried to speak up, but it felt like there was some parasite sucking the breath from her. Only murmurs and stutters came out.   Harry spoke up. "The...the Order has been destroyed! Burnt to the ground! Sei Maiyuhi was killed by..." he paused. "There were meteors, and flaming towers, and a second sun, and-" he ran out of breath, and while he was prepared to say more, the clerk's inpatient look ran his thoughts into the ground. You foolish boy! Now he'll think we are mad! She gave him a scowl.   "I...I see." The clerk got up, revealing his position. He was a dwarf! A Yamachai of this height was very rare. Most Yamachai were between two-hundred and two-hundred-and-twenty centimetres tall, but the clerk was less than one-hundred-and-thirty, even with black boots on, yet with a normal sized head. He walked out of his enclosure after unlocking the gate, before relocking. "Come with me. You have some explaining to do." He waddled forward towards a side door, where the guards next relented and allowed Yuka and Harry to proceed further. The outer vaults of the bank were less grandiose than the opening hall, and were seemingly for special matters. The destruction of the Order was clearly considered important even for these crooks!   Leading them through to the back desk, the guards there were noticeably more armoured, with white streaked with gold, and two handed swords instead of one. They moved past once the clerk gave the signal, into the office of the chief banker. For some seconds, the door remained closed, until it was open, and the representative smiled and waved them in. A one-hundred-and-ninety year old male, his eyes had faded to a dull grey-brown, and his body was wrinkled, his claws worn down to being blunt. She rarely saw members of her kind this old, even considering the prolonged lifespan of her race. He wore a velvet kimono, with a domed has adorned with the feathers of a peacock.   "Hello there, I am Noruskal Hiniliyuu, and I represent the Bank's best interests here in the capital as a representative." He said this all with a pleasant smile, at least on his mouth. He turned to his servant. "Thank you for escorting these guests here, Lana, you may return to your job." Lana nodded happily and closed the door behind him as he left. The supreme banker in charge crept forward in his chair. "Don't worry about him, he's always a prickly young fellow. Regardless, I am concerned with news regarding your master. We have certainly heard from our contacts that the Shin Order was destroyed in a great fire. Some of them said lightning was to blame, and others sabotage, though by whom is debated amongst my peers." He leaned back, while waving Yuka to sit down in a spare chair. Harry remained seated. Humans in the isles of the Yamachai would never have the same treatment as the race of its namesake. Noruskal turned to her directly now; "Your mentee's story definitely seems more fantastical than our theories, but I nevertheless think his place as a primary eyewitness can't be discredited. Yours, as a direct mentor of Maiyuhi, would be even more valued. Tell me more."   Yuka explained all the events of the day her Order died, and of their journey back, and of the books they had been recommended to take with them to learn. Some jewels and artefacts had also been collected, and these could be sold for the coin necessary to find out more about the ancient runes and alleged 'shards'. There were ruins older than the Olmese empire itself in the Yamachai isles, and they were full of wonders and knowledge from early civilisations, and perhaps the ancestors of all her kind, but none wee as old as those in the Forbidden Isles, which supposedly dated to the time when magic was as free as the air and sea. Hiniliyii nodded throughout all this and jotted it down, comparing it with relevant notes.   "Interesting." He finally put the pen and paper down. "Those are certainly different to any of our reports. You are aware magic died out a long time ago, aren't you? If it ever existed at all. It would seem what you have just said contradicts everything scholars know about the modern world; even mummers and performers know better than to invoke anything but subtle displays of magic. If it weren't from your mouth, I would dismiss you as completely mad." This puzzled Yuka.   "Then why don't you consider me such?" She asked. Harry looked with awe, clearly looking for something to say but not daring to.   "Because even one such as myself needs to keep an open mind. I saw the moons change colours in the night with my own eyes, and I saw in the horizon the faint glimpse of some distant fire. Something very unusual happened there, and I wish to know what. If it is as serious as you claim, then my financial interests, or indeed any interest us mortals may have, is in serious jeopardy. I will give you free accommodation in the Hooded Rat, and I will cover your expenses in the Dominion. Mother be damned, I'll even cover your drinks! Just send me a letter if you need more money, or even do that...dreaming your order supposedly does. Just get to the bottom of this!" He got up and handed her the seal of the bank. "Thank you for coming, may your path be ordered!" This was the motto of the bank, partly inspired, or perhaps mocking, of one of the main scriptures preached in the temples. Yiko got up and left, after picking up her initial sum of money for the Hooded Rat.   "Would you say that was a success, Sei?" Yuka was taken back by being referred to as master, but since the other members of the Order were dead, she guessed it was only appropriate now.   "In the end, I would indeed say so. Now let us acquaint with the Hooded Rat. We will need rest before the true journey awaits. You've never been that far in a ship before, have you?" He shook his head. She had thought no less. "Then prepare yourself. We have much to do." The outposts of the city were quite crowded today, and she needed to keep Harry close to ensure she didn't lose him. A young human could be very vulnerable to dishonourable men in such a place. Pickpockets were punished harshly under city laws, but poverty still meant some thought it was worth the risk. She felt elbows push into her, and the odd scrape of a claw on her tunic and trousers as she pushed through a group queuing for a fishmonger's latest catch. It wasn't far now, she hoped.   When they finally reached the inn, it was quite busy. What she had not known was that it was a museum as well as an inn! Besides the main hall where drinks were served, there were sliding doors to the museum part. Patrons looked up from their positions as they drank red tea from small mugs, while the young men and boys sat on benches rapidly downing small cups of Jikewi liquor, giggling as they saw Yuka and Harry walk in. She paid them no attention. They're young, and boys are boys, she thought. She just didn't want Harry getting any ideas. Alcohol was forbidden to those of the Order, and their destruction wouldn't change that rule.   Yuka approached the bar itself. The servants were busy gathering drinks for patrons and guests, as the inkeep arrived to great her. She was an older woman with wrinkled skin, the silver having washed out to be almost like ash, and with a scar where one eye should have been. She must have had an interesting and dangerous life, Yiko thought. "Hello, Sei." She must have recognised the robes of Shin from previous encounters-"welcome to the Hooded Rat! What can I do for you and your...human today?"   Yuka spoke up. "Placeholder Hiniliyuu sent me to stay here tonight. He would pay for my accommodation and any drinks me and my student desire here." She passed over the seal the patron had given her. The owner's faded green eye bulged, moving her sharpened claws across the edges to see the patterns in the grooves. It was well known that the groove patterns on seals and other talismans had a secret language within the Yamachai culture, though not many even in the nobility knew it. It seems the income and the Placeholder has common history. Without a word, she passed Yuka a cup of green tea and a cup of honeyed water for Harry. She could hear his little sigh of disappointment that it was not an alcoholic drink. Next, she handed the printed key to each room. The sliding doors for rooms were kept in place by these vertical locks, and it would take a while for any hand besides a yamachai's to get used to it. Yuka thanked the owner and wanted to go to her room to meditate, but Harry had other plans.   He soon was gesturing to her to look into the museum part. He had always been more interested in the aholarship side of the Order than the martial side. Given his scrawny figure and lack of claws, Yuka wasn't surprised his shorter human frame was more suited to reading and collecting information. She relented and they walked right in to observe.   It was certainly a very impressive collection. There were many artefacts of armour, pottery, weapons and bones here. The bones of an apostate-similar to the beast she had slew when she was initiated, were present in one cabinet. The glass was much too thick for even a professional soldier to break without a mace, and so the risk of theft wasn't great. In a brief flash, she was back to where she was when she fought the beast that had also come from the Great Fathers' loins. The rain on her skin, it's harsh shrieks echoing through their air. It's claws in her sides, and her blade in its throat.   It was merely a different way of conception from human women. More bones were to be seen, though she was focussed on a granite tablet, a relic of a soldier who wrote to his family in the War on Heresy over six-hundred years ago. A true hardship, for a belief that one does good can drive him to great evils as well.   The scrolls of older tones were present inside as well. In a glass case was a vase from the Empire of Olm, the Dominion's ancient predecessor, which was only toppled by the Great Flames. Engraved in it was the story of the Olmese rise to power, using iron and cavalry to triumph over the copper and bronze wielding centaurs and lesser men on foot. It also showed the great Olmese emperor Harnyxia inviting in the early Phurzic people, long before they became the Dominion, as a show of his generosity. Funny how they left out the brutal purges against the Vrain colonies, she thought. But then again, history was written by the victor. The Yamachai, much as they prided themselves on non-intervention and longevity, was no different to the other mortal races there. She got up as she heard Harry yelp with excitement.   "Incredible!" He exclaimed. She walked over for a bit past the pottery before she found a giant skull. The skull of a giant, of course. "This must have been over sixteen or seventeen feet tall in life! Five metres in Phurz!" He looked down from the mounted skull from the branch it was on. "And it's claws! They're like sword blades! By the Mother of the Sky, I wish these were still around!" Yuka smiled back at him and bent down for a closer look.   Looking at the skull's great blunt teeth and sharpened canines, and the arms as long as a grown man of her kind, this race would have been a marvel to behold. Taller even than the tuskers of the Forbidden Isles, and dwarfed only by the colossataurs of Porpuda, the giants were a gentle race of plant eaters, using their metre long claws to pull down branches to feed. If the legends were true, they were bred of the same horrible stock as the Yamachai and apostates, but they kept their fathers' size if nothing else. Her own ancestors had long ago hunted this race into the grave, and even if some remnants had made it past those many hunts, the Great Fires and the hardships it brought would have destroyed these last remnants too. She hoped the next fire wouldn't end her own race.   "I admire your enthusiasm, Harry. I hope you have a good time cataloguing all these bones and artefacts. They were always more to Maiyuhi's taste than my own. I need to go to my room to meditate before bed. Make sure you're in your chambers by sunset!" To that he said goodnight and started writing. Yuka could now retire to her chambers. As she left the room, she felt something stir.   Turning round was a tablet with writing that seemed to be painted cyan green. No, she realised; it seemed to glow green. These tunes were utterly unlike the writings of the Yamachai, the Phurzic, the Illustrions, Azori, Altyi, Evergno, Hinnic, Vulgar, Vunk, Silver-tongued, Miyangi, Xu or even old Olmese, all languages of the isles or the east she had been taught in the Order. This seemed more...Ancient.   Yuka looked at the tablet. The writing was incomprehensible to her, not resembling any living language. It didn't even appear in straight lines, but slanted in arrow shapes, dipping in the middle. The letters and symbols seemed wholly unrelated to the patterns she knew, yet it felt as if the tablet was telling her...something. She had seen something indeed the night the temple was destroyed. Great flames descended from the sky to kill her master, but before that, there had been a small red glowing from the book the traitor had held. Not within the book, embedded in it. She shook her head as the memories flushed back in. The Gems of the old myths. Could they be real? Could magic actually exist beyond the barriers of the world? Could someone or some group be wanting to bring it back? She felt nausea overcome her, and before she could pull herself out of the room, she fainted. Her vision was fading as shapes came in to move. The only one she recognised was Harry, the others were faceless shadows coming in, and a glowing gold, just like the fires. No time to meditate, she thought as she passed out.