Shoji and the Field of Memories
CHAPTER 1 - The Meeting (Part One)
(Alicante, Idris)
"I hate this part."
Shoji sighed as he loosened the leather straps across his chest. He brought around the twin scimitars still sheathed in their cross back holster and handed them to the guard. Beyond the man's shoulder, he could see the massive stone archway that beckoned the Clave's main hall. It gleamed and shone against the light streaming down from the skylights overhead.
He sighed again as the guard placed his blades alongside the other weapons on the heavy oak table. Shoji longed to hold their familiar weight in his hands. He would much rather be back at the Tokyo Institute in the training room with Kevin than here in this overly ornate edifice.
His parabatai, Kevin, stood behind him tall and cavalier, running his hand through his light brown hair falling around his head like a crown. His light eyes seemed gray in the daylight and he wore a beard short and trimmed precisely along his jawline. He smirked to himself and shrugged as he placed his broadsword on the table.
"You'll get used to it. Better to have everyone disarmed than go into a small room with everyone pointing sharp things at each other." He thanked the guards and moved on ahead of Sho towards the archway.
"Well, it isn't technically fair. If you think about it, the Shadowhunters are the only ones unarmed in there." Sho trudged on behind Kevin, clearly not pleased to be putting distance between himself and his trusted blades.
"See, this is why no one brings you to Clave meetings. You sulk and it brings the whole mood down. These can be such entertaining turnouts if you give them a chance!" Kevin maintained his confident air as his heavy boots sounded against the glossy tile floor.
They came to the tall stone arch and passed through, bore right and followed along behind a row of wooden benches. The room was circular, the center hosting three tiers ascending to metallic thrones on which the head Clave members sat. Surrounding the bottom tier were rows of benches that could seat a few hundred when larger assemblies were held.
Sho and Kevin walked along the back wall following the curve of the room until they were in the far back and standing below the prismatic stained-glass windows adorned with the Clave crest. They passed through another archway, this one flanked by heavy wooden doors with the crests of the Downworld burned into them.
The Downworld were all those magical and mythical beings that entertained dreams and nightmares alike. They had origins unknown, but an infamy that spread beyond languages and cultures. They were the cursed Night's Children (the vampires), the infected lycanthropes (the werewolves), the mystical Faerie and Unfaerie Courts (the faeries), and the half-breed Children of Lilith (the warlocks).
Often at war with one another, their tentative peace was normally short-lived and their relationship with the Shadowhunters was contentious at the best of times. Though presently it looked like the Downworld were in an uncharacteristically long golden age between themselves and their only remaining grudges were reserved for the Shadowhunters and the Clave that led them.
Sho scanned the room they entered with a trained eye. He noticed the only exit being the doorway they entered from, the circular layout of the room like the one before it, and the number of people in attendance.
He wasn't sure if people was the correct term. Since this was an official meeting of the Clave and Downworld the room was rather diverse.
Sho recognized the other Shadowhunters of the Clave immediately. Besides Kevin and himself there were two others already seated at the large round table in the center of the room. They donned all black attire and had ink black runes scrawled on their arms and necks.
One of them Sho recognized as Consul Liam, the defunct leader of the Clave. He was the youngest appointed Consul ever chosen which made his name and face all the more recognizable. Having only held the position for a few short years, the young man looked understandably both uptight and appeasing.
That being said, he was a handsome man, his black hair cut short and neat and his clothes dark and tailored. He was slender, yet he held himself with confidence and appeared larger because of it.
Kevin and Sho were not themselves members of this special Counsel but were invited by Consul Liam himself, likely due to Kevin's relationship as nephew to the Inquisitor.
Walking around the table to join the other Shadowhunters, they passed the chittering laughter of the Faerie and Unfaerie court representatives. The faeries looked at them with gleaming eyes and radiant, crooked smiles. The air around them seemed to sparkle, like dust caught in sunlight, and Sho could smell earth and saltwater as he walked by.
"If it would please everyone, kindly be seated," Liam proclaimed to the room, taking a seat again as he gestured around the table. Sho and Kevin joined them, Kevin smiling at the dark-haired Shadowhunter to his right as he took his seat. Sho heard them share "hellos" but hadn't seen the woman before. Instead, he looked across the table as the other members took their seats.
"Typical. The bloodsuckers are late."
Sho recognized the man as Eric, pack leader to the San Francisco lycanthropes. Like most werewolves Sho had encountered, Eric had a certain ruggedness to him. His clothing was oversized and heavy, completely hiding the curiously strong body underneath. He wore glasses high on his nose and his brow was furrowed in agitation. He kept his gaze off the others in the room and leaned back into his chair, arms folded and clearly not pleased to be there.
"Eric, please," the lovely blonde woman next to him whispered under her breath.
Sho knew her as well. It was Tanya, leader of the Praetor Lupus and Eric' wife. The Praetor Lupus was a governing body of their own, though unlike the Clave they had only existed for a few hundred years. Tanya was their newest leader and well respected among the Downworld.
Overseeing the Praetor Lupus meant that she was ranked higher than any other werewolf and was responsible for the members that made up the Praetor forces. The soldiers protected fledgling Downworld who had yet to be found and eased into their new lives, such as new vampires and werewolves, or infant warlocks abandoned by their families. The soldiers were a mix of Downworld beings, though to Sho's knowledge they lacked any warlocks since they were fewer and often lived solitary and eremitic lives.
Tanya was quite pretty, her straight blonde hair cropped at the shoulder and her eyes clear and light. In contrast to her husband, she wore lighter color business attire and around her neck hung the gold emblem of the Praetor Lupus from a sturdy chain.
She smiled towards Eric and patted his arm. He visibly relaxed, his frown melting into a placated expression. Eric's attendance wasn't entirely necessary at these meetings, like Sho's, but Tanya wouldn't have come without him. Sho noticed the way they leaned toward each other and seemed to bring a warmth to the room. Even Sho could admit it was touching. He had to remind himself of the immense power they could render if needed.
"The Night's Children representative is coming, we have her assurance. Filly is on her way to portal them as we speak, they will be here shortly," Liam spoke precisely and with the seasoned approach of a politician.
"We are glad to see everyone could make it today. Kevin, Shoji, thank you for being here. How is the Tokyo Institute?"
"Sweltering. Tokyo summers are not very forgiving," Kevin responded honestly.
Sho nodded his agreement but said nothing. He wasn't yet sure of his place in the room and preferred to follow Kevin's lead and observe. He was proud that he had learned the valuable skill of reading the room before acting. It was something that Kevin often struggled with, being of a more headstrong temperament. The balance is what made them such excellent parabatai.
"You called this meeting rather quickly Liam," Kevin continued. "I hope there isn't some catastrophic event that needs our attention. I wore the wrong boots if there is."
"You have a pair of catastrophe boots? Do you pair them with your disaster socks?" The dark-haired woman beside Kevin chuckled to herself.
"Yes, thank you Min Hee, but there will be no need for costume changes today. I will inform everyone of the event at hand when all the parties are present," Liam gave a warning look towards Min Hee and she rolled her eyes and leaned in to whisper something to Kevin. He laughed and elbowed her back, the two of them smiling fondly.
How did Kevin have a friend like this that Sho had never met?
Truthfully, she was quite striking. Dark wavy hair that hung to her shoulders and small but piercing eyes that he imagined would be uncomfortable to stare into for any extended period. It wasn't that she was off-putting, just that she didn't seem the type who could be trifled with.
Sho saw that Min Hee's upper arms were tight in their leather jacket and her shoulders were big and wide. That almost certainly meant she was adept at dual wielding like himself.
The faeries had taken their place next to Sho at the table. They sat softly, almost floating in their chairs. They had etched grins on their face and the one next to Sho had streaks of silver and violet in her styled brown hair. She also wore multiple piercings in her pointed ears and delicate stone rings on every long, taloned finger. She wasn't tall, but had a bright and spirited energy to her. Her clothes were long and flowed in navy blue waves over the arm of the chair onto the floor. There seemed to be incredibly thin cross sections of leaves and feathers woven into the delicate fabric.
"My name is Shakara. I'm pleased to meet you Shadowhunter," the faerie whispered toward Sho, her green eyes sparkling.
She tilted her small head and seemed to be sizing him up with her eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have any blood of the fair folk in your veins, would you? I sense an aura predisposed to righteous nobility. Or is that just your Nephilim nature?" Shakara giggled to herself and tossed back her hair with a wave of her decorated hand.
"Um," Sho began, "there's no faerie in my family that I know of. And I wouldn't say I'm predisposed to anything except perhaps stubbornness," he smiled and copied the faerie's movement, pushing his long dark hair onto his back. He wore his hair half up in a long ponytail and let the rest fall down around his shoulders. His cheekbones were high and his eyes and eyebrows pointed up and back giving his face a certain sharpness.
There could have been something faerie-like about him had he not the astringent characteristics and markings of a Shadowhunter.
"How disappointing" sighed Shakara, "your looks would suit the faerie court very finely young Shadowhunter," she flashed a set of very white and slightly pointed teeth at him and then leaned away to speak with her companion.
Sho sighed quietly and leaned back. He wasn't used to being in such close proximity to the fair folk. The way they chittered and flirted was hard to translate. And though it was impossible for them to tell a lie, they found more inventive ways to hide their truths. His short interaction with Shakara was the first time in years he had been spoken to by a faerie.
For all their beauty they were a little unnerving in his opinion.
Just then the wall behind Eric and Tanya began to flutter like ripples in water. It took on a purple sheen and sparkled brightly with what looked like small flakes of snow cascading down from the ceiling. It made a sound like the crackling of a fire and steam hissing from a kettle.
All eyes in the room turning to the portal as it opened. The space behind the shower of glitz and snow turned black and out of the darkness, Sho saw two figures walking towards them. They walked out from under the shower and into the room.
