The summer plains surrounded a quiet village, only the sound of children playing in the sun tore through the air warmed by the greater of the two suns. It was abe, the time of day when you work and most adults were out managing the fields or taking care of the houses and children.
Abe'ora would be up for about 8 earth-hours on her own and would then be joined by Nia'ora for 2 hours during the time of Eni when you eat and gather around the town-square to talk and gossip. When small Nia is alone in the sky it is time to worship the gods, the spirits of the land and the brave Knights who fend off the animals still roaming the planes.
After 4 hours of Nia comes the time of darkness, Fael, when beasts roam freely and humans stay inside of the protective village borders. The electric walls that surround every village is usually enough to keep them away but they are still a problem outside.
Animals of all kinds in this world is considered a waste of air, they eat the crops and even each other. Meat is unthinkable in food, you only consume what the soil has given. Blood is a sacred thing and a source of life, your soul is bonded in your blood and you are bound to this world through it. Thus you would be infected by another soul if you in any way take in blood from some other living thing, risking being possessed if the giver of blood is dead.
That is why you share blood in a marriage and with your sons and daughters, to be bound in a deep way beyond comprehension.
But at this moment in time it was Ape and now it was summertime and hard work.
A silverhaired youth with piercing blue eyes was out working as was all the other villagers of age. He was like the others used to this mundane way of occupying the hours of light, following the same routines as the whole land and most of the world. Only the savages of south followed their own routines, and they forbade killing animals a long time ago. Some said the savages shared their blood with animals, making them a part of themselves and using them as weapons but none knew for sure.
And that was gossip for the adults, the youth and his friends were more concerned about the knights and their future. At least his friends were, they all spoke of the kights as heroes and wanted to be one when they were older. The only thing they would need was a Living Weapon, a testimony of power to qualify for training as a Knight.
And the others let the silverhaired youth be outside of the conversation, they knew that he had a weapon but wanted no part of the knights to everyone's surprise. But they never pried, it was not allowed to pester people about their own cause.
And the work of knights now was not easy, most animals were extinct now but those that were left were the real beasts, cunning and strong creatures that were no easy prey.
People spoke of a great reptile that could crush a house wit the swipe of it's tail and a ghostly wolf slipping past the defenses of villages to steal away babies to eat. A mighty race of water-serpents roamed the seas and easily sank ships and a bird that could whip up stormwinds with the simple beat of it's wings.
The giants were still out there, the small and easy to kill animals had been killed ages ago when the cleansing begun.
They concluded that it had to be the reason for his staying in the village and they saw him as a cowardly but smart fellow, one of them who chose to be quiet. He rarely spoke and no one really knew where he came from but as before, they did not pry. Neither did they know how he got his hands on the weapon, the supposed to be lightning blade.
All living weapons have a general shape and an element or two, they can change shape if the master is strong enough and they are used in many ways. The natural elements (fire, rock, wind, water) are most common while things like ice, force, chrystal, lightning, magma and the like are rare and comes in varying shapes. No weapon is the same and all have a consciousness of its own.
The other boys had only seen the youth use it once and they thought it looked like lightning crackled around it a few times, but they were not sure.
He always carried it with him though, a master could not stay long from his weapon for they were also bonded by blood. He called the blade Sharie and she hung from his belt in the form of a curved dagger.
The day flew by, as it always did, and Enu also passed in its usual routine. But something changed as the great sun sank and left little Nia alone. The youth with silver hair and ice-cold blue eyes, Chiku, felt it like a ripple over his skin, coming back again and again.
Others shivered for no reason, it was not cold and no wind clew trough. Some called it the work of a playful whisp, others called it something dark, maybe a warning.
But to Chiku it was a calling, and even though he were supposed to join the rest of the village in the temple he walked off from the square.
As soon as he had passed the lightly guarded wall he shifted, in a leap turning into something akin to an arctic wolf. His white coat glistered in the purple and orange light of Nia and the eyes stayed the same ice blue, body sleek and big feet well padded and silent as he raced over the field well hidden in the tall plants.
He did this many times a month, but this had been different. Usually he were the one to call together their band of leaders but this time it had been the winged ones. They were not many but still greater in number than the wolves who were nearly extinct by now, the wolves that he represented and protected.
He reached the forest fast and were quick to find the almost invisible trail that lead to a mountain that humans never got close to. They preferred to stay on the plains, they did not even venture into the forest unless completely necessary. The monsters kept to the forest after all.
A rocky path led him to a cliff shooting out over a sort of bowl in the massive mountain, a gentle slope down into the Circle, the place where only animals and beasts ventured and the place for the leaders to meet.
Chiku found his footing by automation, he had wandered this place for thousands of years. He was, by far, the eldest and he did not know why he never aged further. But he did not question what the gods had given him, and what shape they had given him. The animals could not know that he was human and the humans could not know that he was a beast, he was cleft in two and he never complained.
But now something stirred within him, made him almost shiver in anticipation. He could see it ripple in the air in the Circle as could the rest of the assembled, all seemed anxious.
"Why are we called tonight?"
The voice of Chiku was a little raspy and cold, like a wind sweeping over a tundra, and it reached every ear within the Circle. They listened to him, knowing he was their elder and knowing that he was strong. He had killed more humans than anyone else the last seasons, thus protecting his own tribe as well as the other tribes.
A beast, not a normal animal, stepped out from the crowd. It was a female harpy, her wide wings spreading out as she got more room and she spoke in a shrill voice that bore into the marrow of most.
"We had a visitor today, a beast that called herself Tueur Duele and when I asked her what she killed she answered with spirits. She walked with shadows in her steps, body almost like a harpy but no feathery wings. She asked to be present at a meeting and I will call her here if you all will allow it. I think she would like to talk to you Chiku."
The speech was over quickly and chatter in many tongues broke out. None knew of a beast like this, no animal had ever looked like the description. Could it be a new race, or some trickery from the humans?
A great Thunder-elk bellowed out his verdict after a minute or two and many joined him.
"Let her in, we are many enough to stop an attack if this proves to be a feint."
And so the harpy that had spoke called out with a cry, the infrasonic waves traveling far beyond the mountain and forest.
"And now we wait for this creature to..."
The Elk spoke up, trying to get a leading part in this, but stopped abruptly as a shape suddenly took place in the middle of the Circle. Shadows wrung around the bony legs and black cloth covered the narrow hips, fingers thin as claws and a beautiful but sunken face was the first things that most of the animals and beasts saw.
But Chiku's eyes seemed dead-set on meeting the creatures' and they were yellow and black, a combination Chiku had never before seen and it scared him. The eyes seemed cold, at first unfocused but then as they met the icy-blue of the wolf the gaze of the shadowy creature turned softer, as if finding what it had been looking for.
The beast in the middle spoke up after meeting and holding Chiku's eyes, speaking in a velvety sweet voice that spun around the head of all present, locking them in place.
"My name is just as dear Kannia said Duele and I have been looking for Chiku for a long time. I traveled here alone, but I hope that I will leave this mountain in your company proud wolf, we have much to talk about.
I come from far away and I will not stay here, you need not fear for your prey. I am a Shadow-walker, a Caster of darkness or what you may call me. I am no human and I do not mingle with them, I just send their soul to their maker."
The words were interpreted as if she killed humans and thus the crowd roared approvingly, anyone who killed their enemy was their friend. But Chiku listened with the ears of both animal and man and he wondered if it really was a type of beast before them. She seemed much too cunning and deceiving for being a regular beast, and her thin complexion did not help him in believing that she was normal.
"What would I gain from talking with you, shadow? I have never heard of your tribe before, even though you say you live far away. I have seen the world and shadow-walkers are something wholly new even to my eyes."
It was Chiku that spoke of course, voicing his suspicion. And by his words Duele leaned her head to the side, eyes never leaving Chiku.
"I am here to talk about many things, among them a blue-eyed human and Sharie."
A growl slipped past the lips of Chiku, none but humans knew about the blade so how could this one that apparently wasn't human know? And since she hadn't called him on being a human he hoped that she was not after his hide.
He let his eyes close in thought for a few seconds and then met her eyes again, resolve visible for all to see and almost touchable in the air.
"We will speak in private over Fall of Wind, all others shall stay here and if anyone tries to listen in on our conversation you will be punished by death delivered personally by me. Is that a good enough arrangement Duele?"
She inclined her head once and the crowd parted, showing the way to the Fall of Wind.
More of a steep ravine than a fall, the Fall of Wind stretched out below the two beasts overlooking the fields and the village. The female, self-proclaimed shadow-walker Duele, shook her head to some silent thought and then spoke with the same velvety voice softened by her closeness to the wolf she had been looking for.
"No, that will not do..." was spoken into the quiet night air around them, the voiced from the Circle far gone. And as those words had died out she turned to the male wolf at her side.
"You are not as the others and I will tell you how you became so and why I know if you will let me. It is a rather long but important story so I hope you will listen."
He, on the other hand, was feeling rather exposed so close to an unknown entity in wolf-form and not having to think about the secret since she knew all about him. A sigh was let out and suddenly there stood a young man at her side and not a wolf.
His silver hair and ice-blue eyes seemed too clear in the weak light of stars, no light colour should be so visible. It was as if the shine came from within rather than from the outside and as he spoke it was in the sweet voice of a boy and not the raspy growl from a beast.
"I do hope that you are telling me something important since my purpose living like this, never dying and always living split in two has been kept in the dark. The Gods never answer my prayers as if they can not even hear me while the humans get answers from right and left to their prayers.
I want to know why I feel like I don't belong while I also feel that I can not leave this world on it's own without the humans ending all life.
Pray, tell me all you know about me and my purpose in life."
He was first answered with a smile and then she spoke. She spoke of the universe in all shapes, she spoke of him and Ishika and why they were created and she told him of more brothers and sisters to come, she spoke of a wager long forgotten and a war fought since ancient times even by her standards.
And by the time she had finished he was standing straight, staring out over the village he fought to protect from both outer and inner threats, that he had seen grow and prosper for 6000 years. He had not always been present, a boy not growing is suspicious, but he had always been there and never questioned their importance to him.
Now it seemed like the things he had projected his purpose upon had been far too small and insignificant. He had more than that to fight for now.
Tracks of tears could be seen down his cheeks, some falling in slow trails still.
"I would like to stay here for a few more years, twenty maybe. Hopefully I can lead as many beasts and animals as I can to safety in those years. The humans must not win this, will you let me fight them in my way?"
She nodded again and gave him a featherlight peck on the forehead, her ghastly lips barely touching his skin and still spreading warmth into his soul. She raised one bony hand and cupped his cheek after that, met his steady gaze with trusting eyes.
"Come looking for me when you feel that you are satisfied here, I will leave a portal with you that will lead to me wherever I am, it can also be used for communication. Trust me, you are not alone anymore my dearest wolf. I am always with you, as will your kin be when you meet with them.
Fare well and do your best, the gods here are too weak to even try and stop you."
She faded away at that but left a jewel in his hand, a shard as if made of ice and as he watched it melted into his skin but still leaving the feeling of something being there. And he knew instinctively how he was supposed to use it if and when the need would arise.
Chiku came back to the Circle in wolf-form, none there had a clue what had been spoken between the two for so long.
"Duele brought a warning, a heeding for all of us. She has left information with me, since I am the eldest here and she asked me to lead you to a new place. She knows about some of the plans the humans are devising and we cannot fight this one.
We need to move swiftly."
Rubrik: Chiku - Wolf of snow 
sön okt 17, 2010 4:52 pm
