Spheri Society - Howling Snow 04
A while after the dinner, I was back in my room, reading some books I had gotten from the bookshelf back at our base. Currently, I was reading the Botanist's Guide to the Multiversal Ecosystems, which was a very helpful book, despite the overly long name. It contained plentiful info on various plants and fruits that inhabited various universes, hence the name Jem had stayed a while longer before he left as well, about to turn in for the night, based upon his outfit – his black sweats and a white tank top. I humored myself, wondering how many maids he'd encounter and undoubtedly charm before he went to sleep. He's a very attractive person, I have to admit. Tall, dark and handsome, with a good amount of charisma to boot. Not to mention goofy – I'll never forget just how red he got when I accidentally opened his dorm door to find him in full cowboy clothing, posing in the mirror – so red he could've made Rooibos tea look pale in comparison.
I turned the page, right as I heard a light knock at the door. I thankfully wasn't in my pajamas yet, so I didn't worry about my looks – I was in my t-shirt and pants still, after all, just like when the investigative group met Jem & me. I slowly opened the door to find Jem looking at me a bit sleepily, but still smiling with his canines visible. He still had a little bit of distension at his stomach, probably due to him, yet again, eating like a horse. I let him in, to which he started purring. As soon as he got to the middle, he pulled me into his arms and whispered in Spheric. "Will you be okay without me, little bro?" he asked, gazing worriedly at me.
"I'll be fine, Jem, don't worry." I said with a smile to assure him. "It's just one night, and you know that I'm quite capable at fighting as well – we're the same rank, after all. And if things get dire, King Caineghis was kind enough to let us have rooms that connect to each other, so we can help each other if we need it."
"Ha, you know me though – I wanna protect ya. I've been like that for... how many years now?"
"Well, if you count all of our missions together, then... probably 777 by now. Talk about a lucky number." I whispered quietly into Jem's chest.
Jem snickered a little. "Man, glad we don't age, huh? We'd be old geezers ten times over..." he whispered.
"And to think, really, that we're practically twins, only twelve hours apart..." I relaxed in Jem's arms, letting his warmth soothe me into a more calm state, much more than reading out of the guide would have. I don't know what it was about him – his hugs, his smile, or just him taking care of me – but I always felt safe with him around. I've known him for such a long time that I couldn't imagine life without him. Seven hundred plus years is quite a while, after all.
During my life in my own world, when I was still just a human, I was always isolated from others. By some boundary or another, I'd always end up alone; no one to relate to, no one to talk to, no one that would really consider me to be integral to their lives. They'd give a nod, pass me by, with nothing to talk about until they were far away. I was alone. I was practically mute.
Then one day, I was found by a traveling Spheri by the name of Aldus and taken in by the society. He was a man of about thirty in looks, but still retained vigor like that of a man in his prime – tall and muscular, with blonde hair and blue eyes; he had a fondness for long coats, and from my time under him, I grew to see him as a father. He now serves on the Spheric Council of Elders. He'd helped me train a bit, then he got me fully inducted into Spheri culture and their society... Honestly, Raulden does look a bit like him... well, mostly, anyway...
Shortly thereafter, I met Jemri; over time, we became friends, even brothers. We even got girlfriends who acted like sisters to each other, similar to us. We would almost always be seen together. And as far as I was concerned, there was no true separation for us, sans us going to one of our worlds. It was the one thing I feared the most; it was the only thing that could potentially change that... of course, I wouldn't let it, since I basically have immortality here... because this certainly isn't my realm.
And that's why I fear for Jemri... unlike most of us, he didn't have many memories of his home world; but, I remember a thing or two that some of my superiors had told me, and what I had found after some research. Aldus had also been the one to save him, a few days prior to my 'rescue'. His parents were deeply distressed from what I hear, and his older brother had been in a deep, depressive state for a few years after Jem's disappearance. I'd asked Aldus why he had done something like that, tearing Jem from his real family. He told me that when Jem was 'adopted' into the society, that in his world, someone would have killed him in his sleep that night. So if Aldus didn't rescue him, no one would have – he would have died. So really, he saved him. He...
Another knock rapped on the door, causing me to interrupt my monologue. I was just getting to the good part, too... I unlocked from Jem's hold and padded to the door. Lo and behold, Raulden, whose paunch was still present from dinner, was there. Again. Then again, he is practically our escort and de-facto tour guide.
"Ah, both of you are here. Er... may I speak to Ieremiah alone for a little bit?" he asked.
Jem and I looked at each other. "I suppose that would be all right." I said.
Jem whispered to me, "If it gets outta hand, you know the drill." I nodded, whispering an 'I know' back. He left the room via the side door, rather than the door Raulden had come through. There was a small moment of silence between us, to which I coughed after not being able to take it any longer.
"I...er... wanted to ask you something..." Raulden looked down to me with a face of... near worry, really. Worry, concern, sorrow... like it was a derecho of agony, but without tears. "What... what is Jemri like?"
I can honestly say that question hit me like a ton of bricks. "Umm... uh... I mean, you can just go in there and ask him yourself, but...umm... what do you mean, anyway?" I mean... how do you answer that?
"Well... h-how is he to you?" Ack, Raulden, don't give me those eyes! For a guy his size, he sure knows how to make himself look like a kid... even though he's at least a foot above me, height-wise.
"Umm... well, he's really protective of me... he's usually aloof unless it's me or kids that he's dealing with... er... uh..." ...I... never figured it would be this hard to describe him... but something tells me it has to do with Raulden's expressions. "But... he's actually really nice when you get to know him... like... a big brother figure, I suppose, if you're younger. He's very... brotherly, I guess?"
Raulden nodded with a hum. "I see..." he said in a lower tone than normal, which was already low anyway.
"What circumstance brought you to us at this hour, though? Is the morrow not a suitable time?" I asked. Seriously, this is at least 11:00 PM we're talking about here.
"I've been having... nightmares, I guess. Ones that involved the two of you, before I met you. Though before I continue, I guess I should also thank you for those potato skins you had prepared..." the blond giant said, rubbing his also-distended stomach with a grin before returning to his somber complexion. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if they were... well, y'know. "Anyway, now that I look at you two up close... I think... I think I know."
"Hmm? Know what?"
"Jemri... he is... well, was... my little brother. I'm sure of it now."
'...Wait, what!? He really...!? May the Lord be merciful upon me... It's coming true...' I thought to myself. 'Worst case scenario doesn't begin to describe this...'
"I... I see... and what of the nightmares?"
"...Well... one of you... either Jemri or you, dies. It switches every so often as well." ...Oh, no. I've had prophetic dreams before, so... whether or not it's real, this is dangerous. "I know you probably don't like me that much, but... at least, let me pay you back for your courtesy. Just... let me know what I can do." He took my hand and enveloped it in his. "And, well... I know you'll do it already, but... keep my little brother safe, okay? Even if he isn't really my little brother, I... feel for him just the same. Tiger instincts, you know." Raulden chuckled quietly.
"All right; you have my word that I'll do all in my power to protect Jemri, just as he does for me. As for something you could do for me...hmm... I'll have to ponder it a while. I'll tell you when I can. Is this acceptable?"
"Of course. I'll look forward to it, especially if it involves food!" he chuckled again. "Well, I guess I shall let you rest now, since tomorrow is most likely a big day. Good night, Ieremiah."
"As well for you. I pray that your dreams will be well tonight. Hopefully that will be enough to keep the nightmare at bay." Raulden nodded with a smile, and closed the door, presumably heading back to his room. Well, at least he's not as rowdy as I had thought him to be.
A few minutes later, Jem stepped back into the room, a somewhat worried look on his face. "...So bro, what'd he say? ...I tried listenin', but turns out these stone walls've got good soundproofin' stuff in'em."
...Typical Jem. "No worries. Basically, since we have shown hospitality to him, he's said he's in our debt, and especially if it involves food."
Jem sighed with relief. "Well, if that's all it was..." he said, hugging me again and stroking my hair.
"G'night, little bro. I'll see ya in the mornin'." He rumbled, kissing me on the forehead and leaving to his room.
I had slept silently that night, but the dream was another matter altogether. After a few shifts of scenery, Raulden appeared with a rather solemn look on his face, almost the same as when he'd inquired about Jem, but then I'd seen a few tears roll down his cheeks. I felt horrible pain in my chest... then... urgh...
After that I woke up with the dawn's light filling my room. I assume it was about seven in the morning, or whatever time system they have here. And thus I found out why there was a pain in my chest – Jem had laid his paw on it – in tiger form... Yeesh... he's getting heavy... maybe I shouldn't indulge his appetite so much... ow...
Jem chuffed and laid his head on the place next to mine on the pillow. I rubbed his head, right behind the ears like he likes it. After a bit of petting, he shifted back into his humanoid form, and laid the rest of himself onto my bed next to me. "Mornin', li'l bro." he muttered deeply.
"Hey. What's up?" I weakly replied to him in Spheric. I'd gotten so used to Spheric that I forgot Jem was quite fluent in English. That and I was groggy, but I digress.
"We should probably get ready soon. I bet the King wants us to do things while we're here... some kinda outreach program 'r somethin'." He mumbled.
"I wouldn't be surprised," I sighed. "He seems like the kind of king to do that. Very helpful and all for his people, but he's like medicine – best to take him in small doses."
Jem smirked, and patted me on the back twice. "Well, time to rise 'n' shine, little bro. Let's see what they have for breakfast." And with that, he practically jumped out of the bed and ran down to the dining hall. Meanwhile, I dressed casually with a green t-shirt, pair of jeans, socks, my casual shoes, and my glasses, then walked downstairs like a normal person.
In the massive dining hall, plentiful cats and tigers were devouring various foodstuffs, from venison bacon and omelets to fruit pies and various pancakes, from the looks of it. I found Jem with at least two platters full of food, sitting next to Raulden, who had at least four platters of similar foods. When I say platters I don't mean plates; I mean like the extra-large kind you find waiters using at sit-down restaurants for family-size tables. These guys can eat. Apparently this was a buffet-style breakfast, which seems delightfully different from the soup line you see in those military movies – that and for cats and tigers, they weren't as loud as I thought they would be. Still a lot of them, though... hopefully none of them decide to pull the "hey, let's pick on the new guy" routine.
I was in the middle of getting some of the fruit when Mordecai came up to me. "Oh, hey, Mordecai." He smiled and nodded.
"Are you liking Gallia, Ye... Yera.. Yerim... Grr... your name is difficult." He frowned. I snickered a little – my name is rather odd, I guess. Sure, it's not as bad as some other names, but it's up there for not being used, since its other forms, like Jeremiah, are more common.
"Think of it like 'airy' but with a 'yuh' sound before it. So, Iery."
"...Iery." He smiled, probably happy he got it right. I know the feeling when I read some names, like Caupean or Verian. I'm never sure of them. Or Gaelic, for that matter. That language... just... ack. Reading it is one thing, speaking it is another. At least we didn't wind up in Jugdral – I hear there's a ton of Jugdrali names that're similar to Gaelic. "Will you join me?" he asked. I nodded, and went over to his table with my small plate of fruit. Thankfully they had smaller plates just right for me. I read up on the fruit here last night, and what I have seems to be more of the stellaberries, mevaria, and suposko fruits, which aren't to be confused with cuposko fruits, though they have many similarities. The mevaria seemed a good bit like an elderberry with more orange color and larger berries, carrying a salty yet minty flavor. Meanwhile, suposko was very similar to a pawpaw, almost like a natural custard, having a candied orange kind of taste to it. Supposedly the cuposko fruit had a similar taste but lemon flavor, which seems to be a favorite among the cat laguz, but not the tigers or lions. Speaking of them, two other tigers sat across from the big blue-haired weretiger, one blond haired, and the other a greyish brown.
"This is Binh and Cledwyn. They are friends of Mordecai." Binh was the brown, and Cledwyn was the blond.
"'sup, little guy!" Cledwyn smirked. I nodded with a faint smile in return. "How d'ya like Gallian fruit? Pretty tasty, huh?"
"It's very interesting; any fruit from my land is usually either sweet or sour. Neither saltiness nor bitterness was in our fruits naturally, at least in most of them." I replied. "This mevaria fruit almost tastes like salmon roe, to be honest. It's something I didn't quite expect, but it's pleasant nonetheless, especially since I love most fish, especially when it's in sushi."
They all looked at each other. "What's 'sushi'?" Binh asked.
"You take rice grains, cook them and soak them in vinegar until they're really sticky, then you get some fresh fish, cut it up, optionally steam it, then wrap it in the rice, then wrap that in some dried seaweed. That's the basics, at least."
"The seaweed sounds kinda weird, but other than that it sounds pretty good!" Cledwyn said, then both he and Binh looked somewhere else.
I ignored their head turns and continued. "All it does really-" their eyes starting bulging, "-is just bind them togethe-" I feel a presence...
Suddenly I heard a large thunk next to me, with a large... lion-size hand accompanying it. I think I know who this is. 'Dear Lord help me, it's the beefcake.' "There you are, tiny beorc!" Binh and Cledwyn both winced, as one smack on the back from Skrimir later and I was visibly trembling from the pain... just... ow... I can barely stop shaking from that... "Hahaha! How do you feel about a fight after breakfast?" he boomed. 'Agh... get him away from me NOW.' The trio of tigers looked at each other somewhat fearfully, potentially at what my fate may be.
"...I think I'll pass... besides, I think you'd have a better time with Jemri. He'd be able to go toe-to-toe with you much more than I could." I reasoned he wouldn't buy it, but it was what I had... and now the tigers just looked pitifully at me. '...It didn't work, did it...' I thought to myself.
"Nonsense!" '...Nope.' "You and I will have a bout on the field and it will be glorious!" 'Sigh... might as well humor him...' I could feel Jem just glaring Skrimir down right now. I was more of the mage type, but with my battle form, at least I could fly and I had the speed factor above him. If he clawed me even once though, I'd probably be done for. "I hope you put up a good fight, little one – I'll give it my all!" '...Oh dear, he's drawing attention again. Someone, please make him stop...' I looked at Mordecai with my best 'Please, save me!" face, but all he offered was a gentle pat on the back and smile. I switched to my 'Are you serious?' face at him, but to no avail.
After I ate the rest of my fruit in sheer anxiety, and Skrimir was done with his... whatever manner of what he had, which seemed to be at least four platters worth of food, we prepped for the arena. Jem came up to me, clearly worried. "Little bro, you sure about this?" he asked.
"I don't want to, but I probably have to – besides, at the very least we shouldn't anger the Gallians, which I have a feeling you'd do more if you fought, knowing your specialty. Gallians tend to hate fire." I whispered to him.
Jem thought on it for a while. "Good point... they'd probably hate me just because I use something anywhere near magic..." he whispered back to me, hopefully not gaining any unwanted ears. "Remember how even the King reacted last night? I was near scared in my boots that he'd get us!" he whispered in Spheric.
"Yeah. I saw every one of them freak out behind their composure. Best be careful, Jem." I warned.
"Will do, little bro. Good luck – based on what Raulden says, the prince is tenacious in battle. Knowing him and what I guess is my race in general, he'll try to get ya head on. Just duck'n'weave like ya do, and you'll do fine. He doesn't seem too bright." Jem snickered.
"Ha! I hope you're right." Well, at least Jemri's rooting for me.
The arena was rather simple; a simple enclosure of about 30 yards, with a line across the middle, and two small dashes, presumably for hand-to-hand combat. Raulden decided to mediate the match, since he could match Skrimir pound for pound. Cheers from various Gallians roared through the air, mostly for Skrimir to "show the human what we laguz can do", and then a couple of them were shouting for me to take Skrimir down a few pegs. I couldn't tell if it was in jest or if they were serious.
"Before I begin," Raulden boomed, "Ieremiah, can you transform?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Can you fly?" he asked.
"...Yes." I answered. Shocks and awe came from the crowd. They obviously haven't seen a Spheri in action, particularly a Wind Spheri.
"This match shall be simple. Whoever puts the other on the ground first, wins. Any show of blood shall disqualify the aggressor, making the defender win by default. No flight is allowed on the field." 'Rats... I can't fly then...' "Also, if either opponent transforms back into their original form from exhaustion, they are disqualified." 'There's a strategy... if I can do it in 30 minutes or less.'
He looked at both of us. "Now, transform." Skrimir let out a roar, shapeshifting into a massive lion. ''This will be a tough fight.' I thought to myself. 'I'll need a good strategy to beat him. He didn't say anything about magic or spheres though, so I have that, at least. Here goes...'
"Spherus Shot, Load the Slots!" I transformed into my battle form. My long white trench coat returned as a sage's mantle, and now adorned with my Spherus symbol, the scales, in an alternating pattern that went down the length of it. My thigh-length boots were armored with lightweight opal plating, covering most of my legs and up to my waist on the outer edge. A similar armor covered my torso, divided into sections that would allow me more mobility and flexibility, but still retained itself as good armor. An even scales symbol of amethyst was in the center of the breastplate. My arms were covered similar to my legs, with plated gloves protecting my hands. Rapha, my signature staff, was now much more armed, with a slim, long, dull blade of cobalt adorning each side of the top white crystal sphere. The emerald crystal now became the shaft, ending with a dull round tip of gold at the other end.
I readied my staff into position, and saw Skrimir crouching. Raulden lifted his meaty hand high, and left to the rim of the circle. "At the ready... Go!" he shouted. As predicted by Jem, Skrimir did the most obvious thing: charge at me. He noticed I was left-handed, and went a little to the left in his pounce. I dodged to the right, quickly activating a hastening sphere – I'll need one to dodge Skrimir's attacks. Time slowed to half speed, allowing me to react more quickly. Beefcake turned around to face me, seeing a few clock symbols around me, which happens with lower-level hasteners. I didn't want to make it too hard for him to see my attacks, since most of his will be pretty obvious with his large frame swinging around. He lunged again, but my quickened state easily dodged. I activated my barrier sphere – hopefully that'll keep the big lout at bay. It doesn't reflect attacks since it's lower level, but it'll do. Skrimir roared in anger, possibly quickening himself. He leaped skyward again. 'He's high enough... now!' Going under him, I swung my staff, hitting him firmly in the side, knocking him sideways and onto the ground. He rolled back onto his feet, then tried lunging at me again. I repeated the process again, getting various cheers from the crowd, and what seemed to be a smile from Raulden. Skrimir seemed to get the hint that his lunges wouldn't work, and started bounding around the arena, trying to match my movements. 'My hastener's about to wear off, and I only have about fifteen minutes left... iI's dangerous to stack hastener spheres... I'll have to be good on my timing to get it active again...' Quickly, I activated two of my other spheres, a strengthener to my armor, and a strength booster. 'Hopefully this will work.'
Skrimir abruptly stopped, smirked however his lion form smirked and lunged low to the ground. I dodged, and right after I landed, I felt the hastener wear off. 'NOW!' I turned a one-eighty and slammed my staff down on his back. Down to the ground he went. A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd. .'..I won... I WON!' I felt quite relieved. I shifted back to normal, just in time for Jem to briefly fling me into the air and catch me in one of his tiger hugs. His entire body seemed to just ooze with pride. He chuckled, "That's my little bro! I knew ya could do it!"
Jem finally set me down after at least five minutes of straight clamping me to his chest. Raulden put his hand on my shoulder. "You did well, little one. I've not seen anyone else besides the four of us contend against Skrimir like that, and not only that, but you won!" The blond giant beamed, apparently proud of me.
Skrimir came up to me, hand on his back, probably rubbing the bruise I likely placed on it. "Well, little beorc, you sure know how to pack a punch." He grinned with a slight grimace of pain.
"I didn't hit you too hard, did I? Hold on a second..." I got out Rapha and placed some Aid spheres into the sockets in the dulled sapphire blades.
Jem clapped his hands on Skrimir's shoulders. "Okay man, just hold still. Iery's gonna heal your back and get it back into shape, in case he dislocated something. I know you guys probably don't like staves and whatnot, but Ier's one of our best healers. You'll be fine." Skrimir nodded as he stood still. I focused as best as I could, both massaging and realigning the bones and muscles that got out of place. It was good practice for me too, since I'd not done it in a while. Hopefully I wouldn't hurt him accidentally.
Skrimir growled a little bit, balling his fists rather tightly. Jem backed away for a few seconds and rushed over to my position, hoping Skrimir wouldn't do something rash with his large, balled fists. Thankfully, I got him healed rather quickly. He relaxed his muscles a bit and flexed a little. "You have my thanks, little beorc. Not only a fighter, but a healer as well!" the giant lion-man guffawed, slapping on the back. Needless to say this HURT since I'm basically a squishy little wizard compared to him, and this one actually sent me reeling to the dirt. Thankfully I can wash my t-shirt and other clothes easily because of the wonderful abilities of spheres.
Beefcake blushed. "Er... sorry about that, little beorc! I forget we laguz are of much stronger constitution than you." He said, offering his massive hand to help me up, to which I accepted. Jem healed me up to par again after a few seconds.
"Now that this little ordeal is ove-" I got interrupted by a loud throat clearing and a slow clap by two very large hands that weren't Skrimir. ...And lo, the King himself cometh.
"Quite impressive, Iudex. Not many best Skrimir in battle." he bellowed.
"It was good practice, King Gallia. I have not fought a battle in approximately three years. Though I admit, he would be easily beaten had I fought at full strength."
"At full strength? I would like to see that, if only once."
"There's quite a few differences. I'm sure you noticed that the blades upon my staff, Rapha, were blunt."
While Skrimir widened his eyes in shock, Caineghis smiled. "Indeed, I did. That last strike, given those little spheres you used, and with the force you hit Skrimir, could've easily cut him in half, had you fought with the blades sharp. I thank you for sparing him."
I nodded. 'Well, that was unexpected.' I thought. 'Usually a warrior king would be mad if I didn't fight at full strength. Maybe I can relax a little here; it'd be a nice change of pace, to say the least.'
"I would ask a favor of you; would you be willing to teach a few of us in these Spheric arts of yours?" he asked.
'I knew it...' I sighed to myself. Jem and I looked at each other skeptically. "Let us get back to you on that." Jem & I turned and conversed in Spheric, so as to not be eavesdropped.
"What do you think, Little Bro?"
"Honestly, we don't need to have people become Spheri unless absolutely necessary. I recall from the history of this place that right now they had just gotten done with a war against Ashera, their deity, united her again, and their world has just gotten back into balance. Our coming here and stirring things up would be an absolute travesty upon their land, not to mention break the peace they've fought so hard to claim. We need to get out of here as soon as possible and rejoin Cleinias and Sheryl. After that, we need to get back and-"
A large explosion erupted from the forest over yonder, shaking the ground enough to topple me into Jem's chest.
"Looks like we just got incentive!" Jemri growled. We nodded to each other, and shifted again. "Spherus Shot, Load the Slots!"
Gallian Cuisine Entry 03: Mevaria
An orange colored elderberry-like fruit that carries a salty yet minty flavor. They're commonly dried and ground into Mevaria Salt, which is a highly valued spice. The juices from ripe mevarias are pale in color and have been found to have antibacterial properties, and have been incorporated into dental medicines and dentifrices. Gallia has recently been able to make a neutral toothpaste of sorts to incorporate other flavors besides mevaria into the dentifrices, but it still remains the most popular flavor.
Gallian Cuisine Entry 04: Suposko
An orange fruit similar in shape to a pawpaw or papaya. The custard insides have a taste similar to that of creamsicle ice cream, and Gallian cuisine often features suposkos as part of a dessert recipe or ensemble. These fruits are often kept for this purpose, and are a popular treat amongst children, especially in the incredibly humid and hot Gallian summers. It is one of the most popular flavors of multi-flavor treats in Gallia.
Gallian Cuisine Entry 05: Cuposko
A yellow fruit similar to its cousin, the suposko. While suposkos taste similar to oranges, the cuposko is more akin to that of a lemon meringue, and is much more sour in flavor. Cat laguz find this to be quite a treat in summer, but tiger and lion laguz seem to have an aversion to it after childhood, possibly due to its sour, more acidic nature than its milder cousin. Gallia places cuposko as a more acquired taste in its flavor rankings.