Searching for That Light - A Houshin Engi Fantasy
Chapter 1
Prologue
Moonglow danced upon the white sheets of snow covering the sides of the worn pathway. A soft wind blew, cold but not biting. A few rabbits, their fur white coats for the winter, peered out at the tall dark figure staggering down the path. The moon shone on him and made him almost luminescent. A wolf appeared, the rabbits scattered. The wolf smelt blood and weakness. The slavering jaws opened in anticipation and the creature watched the figure stumbled, not with the rabbits? curiosity, but with hunger.
There was blood on the frozen dirt of the pathway, dribbling like half-set gel down the man?s leg. Red stains, made brown in the moonlight, were thick on the man?s clothing. He gripped his staff tightly and tried to move on. He could hear the wolves gathering. And the drip of saliva from their jaws. The feathers of the arrows lodged in his leg brushed against his heavy robe.
The arrow tip moved against muscle. He let out a sharp gasp of pain and collapsed.
The wolves heard his cry and they bounded out from the thicket, red eyes gleaming.
Chapter One
Youzen woke up, gasping, seeing glittering red eyes. Sweat rolled down the sides of his cheek, and the pillow was soaked wet. He clutched at the blanket tightly, and stared at the dark wooden beams above him. The room he was in was dark and the windows half open. He shivered a little for the tunic he was redressed in was thin and short.
An unlit candlestick sat on the table a short distance away from him. His staff leaned against the wall near him, his bundle was placed on a chair next to the staff. There were still bloodstains on it.
The wizard felt a dull, throbbing pain in his left leg. Pulling the blanket away, he saw thick bandages wound around his injured leg and the faint smell of a poultice wafted up to his nostrils. He sucked his teeth slowly, realizing the sour taste of meat broth hung in his mouth.
The doors creaked. A shadowy figure entered, carrying a tray of some sort. Instinctively, Youzen bent forward and tried to grab his staff. His attempts failed and he doubled over in pain, clutching at his leg. The figure let out an exclamation and hurriedly left the tray on the table. The candlestick was lit in a flash, and a young man kneeled beside the bed, urging the wizard to lie back. Youzen gritted his teeth in pain and squinted at the face hovering above him.
It was a face as fair as any princess. Luminous blue-violet eyes, more violet than blue, looked at him, wide with pure concern. Whatever tiny breeze that came into the small room played with the soft sky-colored hair upon his head. The young man wore white, shadowed in the dancing candlelight. He shook his head and glanced anxiously at the bandaged leg. A relieved look came over his features as the bandages were not stained with new blood.
"Who are you"? Youzen finally croaked when he felt the young man relax.
"My name is Fugen." The young man smiled tiredly. He took the tray of food from the table and pulled up a chair, sitting next to the bed, placing the tray on his lap. "I am glad you are awake. You have been sleeping for days, Sir Wizard. I took the liberty of changing your clothes, please forgive me."
The young man blushed and gestured to a cupboard shrouded in the dark at the end of the room.
"I left your clothes in that cupboard. I tried to mend them the best I could, and clean away the bloodstains." Fugen picked up the bowl of warm gruel and offered to feed the wizard. Youzen sat up slowly, and insisted he could eat on his own. Shrugging with a smile, Fugen obliged.
"What happened? Did you rescue me?" Youzen murmured, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of stewed meat. "You don't look like you could had handled a pack of wolves." His eyes ran down Fugen's thin frame assessingly.
Fugen broke into a huge smile and waved his hands. "No, no, Sir. I did not chase away those wolves. My friend did the chasing away. I merely tried to heal you. Tenka and I were out searching for game and we saw the wolves surrounding you. Tenka loped off a few heads from them and my spells put some to sleep."
"You are a wizard?" Youzen eyed the blue-haired youth closely. He couldn?t smell anything wizardly about Fugen. Fugen shook his head. "No, I am a cleric." Reaching into his tunic, Fugen pulled out an amulet and dangled it before the wizard. Youzen recognized the symbol etched upon the silver pendant and he nodded. At least, he knew it was not some quack doctor who took those arrows out from his leg. If it was, the arrowheads would still be in there.
The cleric slipped the pendant back into his tunic and beamed.
"How do you find the food? You were unconscious for days. I had to force you to swallow soup." The cleric sounded terribly apologetic again. Youzen shook his head and put down the soup spoon.
"I have yet to thank you for saving my life. And this Tenka you speak of. Is he around? I would like to thank him." Youzen glanced at Fugen momentarily. The cleric tilted his head to one side and thought for a while.
"I think he's out hunting again. He's always wanting to catch big game." Fugen spoke with a laugh. "But, in fact, I think, there are only rabbits in this forest. I don?t know whether there are any large animals at all!"
"You don't live here?" Youzen's eyebrow rose lightly at Fugen's comment.
Fugen shook his head. "No, Sir, we are journeying towards the Moon Citadel, to the northern tip of this country. This.." The cleric glanced around. "belongs to Tenka's grandmother. We are just staying here for the week, before we move on again."
Youzen just nodded. He took up the tray and handed it to the cleric, indicating he did not want to eat anymore. Fugen stood up and smiled.
"I will leave you to rest, Sir Wizard. If you need anything, I will be in the adjacent room." The cleric blew out the candle and left the room silently. Youzen laid back in his bed and pondered. The two, the cleric and the strange warrior-like person, Tenka, were heading towards the same destination as he is. Something shot through his mind.
Are they after the same thing?
Chapter 1
Prologue
Moonglow danced upon the white sheets of snow covering the sides of the worn pathway. A soft wind blew, cold but not biting. A few rabbits, their fur white coats for the winter, peered out at the tall dark figure staggering down the path. The moon shone on him and made him almost luminescent. A wolf appeared, the rabbits scattered. The wolf smelt blood and weakness. The slavering jaws opened in anticipation and the creature watched the figure stumbled, not with the rabbits? curiosity, but with hunger.
There was blood on the frozen dirt of the pathway, dribbling like half-set gel down the man?s leg. Red stains, made brown in the moonlight, were thick on the man?s clothing. He gripped his staff tightly and tried to move on. He could hear the wolves gathering. And the drip of saliva from their jaws. The feathers of the arrows lodged in his leg brushed against his heavy robe.
The arrow tip moved against muscle. He let out a sharp gasp of pain and collapsed.
The wolves heard his cry and they bounded out from the thicket, red eyes gleaming.
Chapter One
Youzen woke up, gasping, seeing glittering red eyes. Sweat rolled down the sides of his cheek, and the pillow was soaked wet. He clutched at the blanket tightly, and stared at the dark wooden beams above him. The room he was in was dark and the windows half open. He shivered a little for the tunic he was redressed in was thin and short.
An unlit candlestick sat on the table a short distance away from him. His staff leaned against the wall near him, his bundle was placed on a chair next to the staff. There were still bloodstains on it.
The wizard felt a dull, throbbing pain in his left leg. Pulling the blanket away, he saw thick bandages wound around his injured leg and the faint smell of a poultice wafted up to his nostrils. He sucked his teeth slowly, realizing the sour taste of meat broth hung in his mouth.
The doors creaked. A shadowy figure entered, carrying a tray of some sort. Instinctively, Youzen bent forward and tried to grab his staff. His attempts failed and he doubled over in pain, clutching at his leg. The figure let out an exclamation and hurriedly left the tray on the table. The candlestick was lit in a flash, and a young man kneeled beside the bed, urging the wizard to lie back. Youzen gritted his teeth in pain and squinted at the face hovering above him.
It was a face as fair as any princess. Luminous blue-violet eyes, more violet than blue, looked at him, wide with pure concern. Whatever tiny breeze that came into the small room played with the soft sky-colored hair upon his head. The young man wore white, shadowed in the dancing candlelight. He shook his head and glanced anxiously at the bandaged leg. A relieved look came over his features as the bandages were not stained with new blood.
"Who are you"? Youzen finally croaked when he felt the young man relax.
"My name is Fugen." The young man smiled tiredly. He took the tray of food from the table and pulled up a chair, sitting next to the bed, placing the tray on his lap. "I am glad you are awake. You have been sleeping for days, Sir Wizard. I took the liberty of changing your clothes, please forgive me."
The young man blushed and gestured to a cupboard shrouded in the dark at the end of the room.
"I left your clothes in that cupboard. I tried to mend them the best I could, and clean away the bloodstains." Fugen picked up the bowl of warm gruel and offered to feed the wizard. Youzen sat up slowly, and insisted he could eat on his own. Shrugging with a smile, Fugen obliged.
"What happened? Did you rescue me?" Youzen murmured, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of stewed meat. "You don't look like you could had handled a pack of wolves." His eyes ran down Fugen's thin frame assessingly.
Fugen broke into a huge smile and waved his hands. "No, no, Sir. I did not chase away those wolves. My friend did the chasing away. I merely tried to heal you. Tenka and I were out searching for game and we saw the wolves surrounding you. Tenka loped off a few heads from them and my spells put some to sleep."
"You are a wizard?" Youzen eyed the blue-haired youth closely. He couldn?t smell anything wizardly about Fugen. Fugen shook his head. "No, I am a cleric." Reaching into his tunic, Fugen pulled out an amulet and dangled it before the wizard. Youzen recognized the symbol etched upon the silver pendant and he nodded. At least, he knew it was not some quack doctor who took those arrows out from his leg. If it was, the arrowheads would still be in there.
The cleric slipped the pendant back into his tunic and beamed.
"How do you find the food? You were unconscious for days. I had to force you to swallow soup." The cleric sounded terribly apologetic again. Youzen shook his head and put down the soup spoon.
"I have yet to thank you for saving my life. And this Tenka you speak of. Is he around? I would like to thank him." Youzen glanced at Fugen momentarily. The cleric tilted his head to one side and thought for a while.
"I think he's out hunting again. He's always wanting to catch big game." Fugen spoke with a laugh. "But, in fact, I think, there are only rabbits in this forest. I don?t know whether there are any large animals at all!"
"You don't live here?" Youzen's eyebrow rose lightly at Fugen's comment.
Fugen shook his head. "No, Sir, we are journeying towards the Moon Citadel, to the northern tip of this country. This.." The cleric glanced around. "belongs to Tenka's grandmother. We are just staying here for the week, before we move on again."
Youzen just nodded. He took up the tray and handed it to the cleric, indicating he did not want to eat anymore. Fugen stood up and smiled.
"I will leave you to rest, Sir Wizard. If you need anything, I will be in the adjacent room." The cleric blew out the candle and left the room silently. Youzen laid back in his bed and pondered. The two, the cleric and the strange warrior-like person, Tenka, were heading towards the same destination as he is. Something shot through his mind.
Are they after the same thing?