The boats arrived with little fanfare and they stepped foot into the trade town of Trinity. Due to its nature as a trade town, it was operating under a blanket peace of ‘No Territory’ allowing anyone of varying Pantheons to live here if they so wished to without worrying about the Accord. It made sense since it’s sitting close to Khemetic Territory, Grecic Territory, and the Nornic Territory of Kiol.
Keith stayed silent, his ears swiveling this way and that as he adjusted to the sounds of the town. Unlike the crowded marketplace of Seipodon, it was a much more manageable noise level. In a way, Trinity reminded him of Kiol, if only a little bit more populated. Still, he’s feeling the night, and his inability to sleep back at the ship meant he was wandering in a half-aware haze.
It helps that they arrived late at night, so a few people were out and about.
“First stop, an inn. Period.” Silon said, wiping away dream sand from her eyes.
Hyacinth nodded, his hair is in a similar state of disarrangement, with the golden bands holding messy black hair in his signature bubble braid. He must have rushed to get himself ready after napping. Keith’s never had long hair but he’s pretty sure that it must be a headache to have to tie up his hair like that.
Leonith, the only one presentable between the four of them by proxy of having prepared ten minutes earlier, pointed at a nearby inn. “That should work.”
Silon nodded, yawning. “ Let’s go, then…”
Keith stumbled after her, not paying attention to his surroundings other than the inn. Two hands landed on his shoulders, steering him away from bumping into someone. He blinked, turning his head to see who it was.
“Ah, thanks.” Is all he could say, as Hyacinth steered him away from bumping into yet another person.
Hyacinth nodded. “Keep walking.”
So he did, turning his head to see Leonith next to Silon, obviously keeping an eye out for her.
Makes sense,, he thought to himself. She’s Fae-Chosen and it used to cause Kari to have some difficulties due to the otherworldly beauty that comes along with it.
Yes, Kari did deal with a few troubles, mainly many who wanted to try and marry her, kidnap her, or the like from a variety of people such as knights, princes, and the very poor farmers. Oryath wasn’t affected since he very much was into men. Most of the time, they had to beat back Kari’s pursuers like a gang of angry older brothers and sisters. Aina was straight forward with the use of sword, spear, and fire. Yugiri was fond of sending them on impossible quests.
Most likely, Silon would suffer the same problems. He followed Hyacinth’s steer. They were close now, Leonith and Silon standing at the entrance waiting for them. He can hear the sound of a string instrument, the stamping of feet against wood, and cheering. He grimaced.
“Will you be alright?” Leonith asked as soon as the two caught up, glancing at his ears.
“I need a moment to adjust, but I’ll be fine.” He made a face as he caught the whiff of beer and sweat and food. Covering his nose, he continued. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Entering the inn, he shielded his eyes and pressed his ears against his head to muffle the noise as he adjusted. Blinking at this, he realized they were cheering and egging on two people. One was a man with black hair and eyes of blue and yellow. He’s smiling and laughing while playing the Shamisen, clearly dressed from the Territory of Wuhe. In front of him on the makeshift stage of the inn, is a man similarly dressed from Wuhe. He has shining silver hair with a red circlet and a simple red mask that forms a beak around the nose, covering his upper face. Besides that is the white feather fan in his hand.
Keith stood still, watching him.
He’s in a room full of mirrors watching as his lover practiced, a bottle of water in his hand as he kept his eyes on how he danced. The other was mouthing the words of the song, obviously preparing for his next concert. In his hand is a fan, with the theme of his concert being, ‘Wind’. The songs being about Freedom, longing for freedom, loving freedom, being free, giving and searching, it was also to represent his hope.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
To be free to do as he wishes.
Unbidden, he began to mouth the lyrics, one he knows by heart having heard it again and again and again by his side.
“Ktf klcv yfcfjat ws klcur lr lwjulcjgs, yea P offi la jcskjs. Pc ws tfjga, jcv lc ws rbei, wjsyf rbwfvjs P mjc ois, ois, ois jkjs.”
“Bflat, ktja’r kgbcu?” Vlibc aegcfv ab tlw, uibklcu ugffc fsfr ujhlcu ja tlw defralbclcuis. Keuulcu ja tlr riffnf, rtf rjlv, “Jbwf bc. Qf ralii cffv ab qjs obg beg gbbwr.”
He blinked, looking away from the dancer. “Ah, right, sorry. I just thought I saw someone I knew. It must have been a coincidence.”
“Come on, Leonith’s already asking for our rooms. Hyacinth’s already giving his part of the payment.” Silon smiled, “It’s thirty silver a night.”
Keith took out the needed money, putting away thoughts of the past. It’s only a coincidence. There’s no way anyone would know that song, let alone the dance. The fact he had to be reminded of it from seeing someone else, it makes him feel a twinge of guilt. What kind of lover was he, to forget such an important thing?
He did not see the way red eyes glanced at him and the minor stutter in those steps before the man shook his head and kept dancing. After all, it must be his melancholy thoughts bringing up ghosts of the past.
Right?
Besides, it’s his guilt plaguing him for what he’ll be doing soon. The party died down and the moon was high in the sky. Now that they were out of the inn, hidden amidst the throng of buildings, they stood still.
“Come on.” Shiki frowned. “Don’t tell me a single dance is enough to tire you out.”
He scowled. “Never. I was merely lost in thought.”
Shiki glanced at him, unconvinced. “Sure you were. Come now. My servants are already toting about their ghost lamps. I need you to do your job. Sadly, that means we’ll have to be separated for the time being.”
Ren nodded, his hand brushing against the circlet on his head. “Such a shame indeed. Well, I’ll be off then.”
Turning away, he began plotting. After all, the plan needs the land, not the people. So it’ll be fine. Nodding to himself, he got to work, taking a deep breath and stepping onto the wind, dancing slowly in order to keep himself afloat. His fan shook down a few feathers that entered people’s homes.
Hopefully he’ll get them all out.
Hopefully.
Smoke. That’s the first thing Keith registers as he shoots up from his bed. He shivered as a cold breeze brushed against him. Ah, no wonder he forgot to close the windows. This must be smoke from someone’s house. As he got up to close it, he saw a bright green light in the distance.
No. Keith froze. This could only mean one thing. They were going to turn this place into a base.
“Keith!” Leonith’s voice cried out. “Keith, are you awake?!”
“I’m up! I’m up!” He called out, grabbing his pack and opening the door.
Without a word, Leonith moved, grabbing him and shoving his pack in a storage seal. Keith coughed as smoke drifted through the building. With it being this strong then that must mean they set this place on fire too! He cursed, eyes tearing up as the smoke grew stronger.
“Hyacinth and Silon are getting the people out. Come on, we need to help them.”
Keith covered his nose, using his hearing to face Leonith. “Ghost flames need to be put out by something stronger than just blessed water. We need graveyard dirt and on this massive scale, I don’t think we can get that to work.”
Leonith snarled. “But it’s enough to stall it. Go, find Silon! I’ll bless Hyacinth’s water.”
“Got it.” Keith replied, blinking out the tears in order to search for Silon.
With the smoke blocking his sense of smell, the only thing he can rely on are his eyes and ears. On his way, he opened up doors and listened for anyone calling for help. A lot of rooms were empty, the windows open and the room messy, clearly speaking of a hasty retreat. There were a few people who were leaving though, rushing out with their things.
The fire was worsening now, tainting the world green as it reached into the rafters.
Crack!
A beam tilted down, threatening to fall on the rushing people. At this rate, he’s not sure where he is in this maze of smoke and flame. One of the men that was once cheering the music on, tripped over a stray chair. He was right underneath the precarious rafter. Cursing underneath his breath, Keith used his gift to bind the rafter up, gold chains keeping it together as ghost flames began to eat away at the wood.
“Go and search for a woman with bright red hair and glowing green eyes!” He exclaimed. “She will help!”
The man stared at him dumbfounded and could only nod in understanding. Clumsily, he got to his feet and out the entrance. He searched the room, his senses adjusted to the scent of smoke and fire. Once sure that the man was the last of the evacuating people, he ran out the exit.
There in a large circle of faintly glowing yellow, is Silon and the survivors. Her hands glowing as she treated injuries and checked upon the others. Joining her, he sighed over the lack of smoke in her barrier. Mages, they’re the best gift to ever be conceived.
“Where are the other two?” She asked, moving to check up on him.
Keith frowned. “I’m not sure. Leonith said he’d be with Hyacinth to stall the flames. Have the rest of the houses been checked?”
“I sent some of my spirit summons to help with evacuating the people. So far, it seems that there’s less people in their homes.” She sighed. “All one of my fairies found was a singular feather of white, it looks like it belongs to a crane. But I think that’s one of the trading goods that came from Wuhe Territory.”
Wind began to gust below. Encouraged by the wind, the green flames grew larger and brighter. Keith grimaced.
“Get them to a safer place. I’ll go look for where the wind is coming from.” He ordered, already knowing in his heart the very source.
He should have realized the man dancing was a tengu.
Silon nodded, and turned to the people as Keith began to run against the wind. As he did so, he passed by Hyacinth and Leonith who were helping the spirits evacuate another building. Hyacinth glanced at him and for a moment he paused.
“The wind is a tengu.” Is all he says and the other nods in understanding.
“Don’t overwork yourself. You’re a heavy person to carry.”
Keith scoffed and continued running. The best way to find a tengu is to run against the wind. Turning left, he found himself upon a hill, gazing at the tengu dancing elegantly.
To the sky, to the sea, I want to always be me!
Keith scowled at his thoughts, now wasn’t the time to recall an old love. He needs to focus. Taking out his dagger, he threw it at the tengu. Already the wind from the fan knocked it off course. That was only the distraction. He teleported behind him, gold chains moving to attack him from behind.
The fan closed, catching the gold chain. The tengu kept silent, as the wind blowing down the mountain stopped. He furrowed his eyebrows.
Why isn’t he putting up much of a fight?
He yanked the fan out of his grip and used his other hand to remove the red mask, essentially disarming him.
Brilliant scarlet eyes gaze up at him, tired. His breath catches. His hand dropping the mask as he whispered one name.
His name.
“Lawrence?”
Countdown: 0
This chapter was a bit harder to start with, I had so many ideas of how to approach it but none of them really ‘satisfied’ me until I figured out how to approach it. That and I guess Ren was so reluctant to burn this place, he literally procrastinated the chapter. Some characters really do come to life. But yay! Lawrence aka Ren is now introduced! I’ve been waiting patiently to introduce him because I have a fondness for bird-themes, combine this with mythology and yay, it’s a great mix!
Ah, I’ve been busy balancing this with school work, as well as other projects I’m working on. (And then there’s just me playing games lol) Luckily, after this chapter, Ren was quite eager for the next chapter to happen and that one flowed smoothly. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and comments, I would reply but my monke brain goes ‘person happy! Person comment! YAY’ and I don’t think that’s a suitable reply lol
Squeal! So his lover was a star!!!! 🤩 But why do I get this ominous feeling that Hyacinth is going to be the third wheel? 😢 No, I have already started to cherish him and now he is going to get abandoned?!😭