Yup. Fast update, fast update. I had nothing better to do, so I sat down and typed for about six hours straight. I care! This one is my longest by far, partly to make up for the shorter chapter eight, and partly because this was the best spot to stop it, in my opinion. This one is dedicated to a friend of mine, who's name shall not be said. Happy birthday! Anyway, read and review!
I stared. I could only stare at the enormous city of Gandara, as I looked up at it from immediately inside the city walls. It was easily the most impressive and amazing thing that I had ever seen. Gigantic towers and buildings made of sleek stone and shining metal and perfectly polished glass rose high into the sky, like the largest of trees. The immense city walls surrounded the whole thing, or at least I think they did. I could only see a tiny fraction of the city, but it was mind-boggling. Flashing, multicolored lights covered the buildings, lighting the place up as bright as day, despite the thick, black clouds that clung overtop the town. I couldn't even see the scarlet sky, or the continual flashes of lightning. Not that I was looking up, that is. My eyes were fixed on the city, mind overwhelmed by not only the sheer size of it, but the technology! Luminous signs hung from posts or the buildings themselves, providing light without using fire. A monstrous sheet of metal had flashing pictures on it, pictures that moved and showed demons doing things on it. Elegantly carved statues perched atop buildings or sat at street corners. Hundreds of youkai milled about, walking here, there, into the buildings, out of them, all talking and jabbering and yelling. I saw more demons in twenty seconds than I had in my entire life. Even the sky had winged demons soaring about, trying to beat the crowds. There wasn't much of a place to land, though, and when those airborne apparitions dropped down to land, the others had to hastily make room or get squished.
Noise was colossal, what with the voices of so many demons, the clicking sound made by sharp claws tapping against the stone, the crack of thunder, the rustling of cloth brushing against things. There was barking and screeching and sloshing and roaring and growling and a whole hoard of other sounds I couldn't even begin to describe. And the smells! Even with my fairly dulled sense of smell, I could clearly sniff out many, many things. The acrid tang of smoke in particular caught my interest, and there was the faint smell of ozone from the amount of lightning there was. The sweaty scent of so many bodies pressed close together was almost enough to make me vomit, and there were the individual scents that identified particular species of apparitions. A smell that reminded me of rotting flesh passed so close by that I gagged, the demon in particular having the body of a snake yet four clawed, humanoid arms and the head of a lion. The scent of smoky, burning wood was also recognizable as that of a certain breed of fire demon, and the crisp, fresh air sort of smell, mixed with that of rosemary met my nose. There were far too many smells to stop and consider all of them, though. A musky sort of animal smell, an apply sort of scent, even one that smelled like rich soil and salt were noticeable.
I could even taste the difference between this place and my home. The air was much thicker, more humid, and harder to breathe. It wasn't as fresh as the air I was used to breathing, and it tasted a bit funny, a bit like blood. The sun, which was directly overhead at this time of day, warmed the stone and were it not for the cloud cover I was sure that it would be unbearably hot. The streets were paved with rock that had been worn down by thousands of feet stepping on it each day, and it was smooth to my bare feet. As I stood there, awestruck, a horned demon with a second mouth on its belly elbowed me out of the way, and I tried to regain my balance. Luckily, I succeeded; otherwise I might have pitched forward into one of the other youkai in front of me.
Snapping out of the trance that this assault on my senses had induced, I looked over to Tal.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" he asked, a pleasant expression on his face.
I nodded. For one of the first times ever, words failed me, and I couldn't possibly think of a way to describe it.
"Come on, Touya. Let's hit the air," he suggested, plucking me off the ground. One of the youkai to the side of us, a colossal brute with a thick green hide, yelled some choice words at the two of us before Tal spread his wings. The demon that had previously been angry quickly hopped back, as did some of the others around us. Pounding his wings, the bat demon leaped into the air, joining the others.
"Dumb winged jerks," a demon with five eyes muttered. "Don't give a damn about those of us who get stuck in the way."
There wasn't half as much aerial traffic as there was on the ground, so we made our way through the sky fairly quickly. We circled over the market square for a little bit, although at one point a crow apparition with seemingly no care for anyone else flew kamikaze through the air like a black-feathered bullet, and Tal had to stall, not beating his wings at all in order to avoid getting hit. A few quick beats and we were back in our regular position, but it had still been rather frightening.
Tal paused over a wide, open square where he could easily land were it not for the youkai down there. He hovered for a bit, hoping that his shadow would scare a few of them off, but none even moved.
"Hey! You down there! I'm going to land!" he called out.
A few of the apparitions moved, but a chimera demon didn't falter.
"Could you please move?" the bat demon asked, stressing the word 'please' to the limit.
"I ain't squashing nobody or flying around up there even though I can," the chimera replied. "'Cause o' that, I ain't gonna move for you."
His coarse manner of speech got on my nerves, as did his grating voice, one that sounded like many stones rolling over and over down a mountainside.
Tal frowned, spreading his wings to their fullest yet not flapping, so that he glided downwards, hoping that whoever was beneath him would move in time. Grumbling and growling, the bestial demon shuffled to the side, where Tal gracefully landed, folding his wings and setting me down.
"Thank you," he politely said, while the lion-bodied thing sneered at him, ambling off.
There were many colorful stalls and stands, all of them selling something or another, be they gorgeous swords that I was sure Shishi would envy or woven carpets and tapestries with exotic designs on them. I gawked and gasped appreciatively, suddenly wishing that I had brought my money. There were exquisitely carved wooden figurines and gold plated chess sets, animals in cages and clothes made of silks and stitched with beautiful fabric that made me feel shabby in comparison, what with my white tank top underneath a light blue vest with baggy powder blue pants and lack of shoes. Tal led me past them all, until we reached a plain stall with a single word painted on the front: Traveling.
The youkai running it was of medium height, and he had purple-blue hair that hung down to his shoulders and warm golden eyes. This demon had a fine-boned face and pale skin. He wore outlandish clothes that caused me to stare before the brunette youkai lightly cuffed me on the back of the head and told me that it was rude to stare. Still, they were of an interesting variety. A cape fell to mid-back, or at least that was what I had seen in the second that the demon had been turned to the side. It was made of crimson feathers that had a splotch of orangey-yellow in the center, like the phoenixes of legend. He had on an overly large, plum colored jacket that reached down to his knees, and it was stitched with golden thread in intricate, flowing patterns. The collar of his jacket was the same shade of scarlet as his cape, and golden buttons ran down the left side of it, the coat left unbuttoned. His shirt was a skintight white one that showed him to be exceptionally slender, and a ruby-colored sash was tied around his waist. His pants were loose-fitting red ones that had similar gold edging to it, and they had deep pockets, from what I could tell. The waistband was a purple that matched his jacket. All in all, an odd combination.
"For what do you need my services?" he asked in a soft, melodic voice. I was entranced by the indigo-haired apparition.
"We need to travel to the ice apparition's village."
"Easily done," he replied. "As for the cost, I require but two hundred gold coins."
Tal's face seemed to brighten up immensely. I was sure that he had expected more than that.
"Thank you."
"It is no problem. As you assuredly know, I am a yaminade; my race is well known for their ability to go anywhere in the three worlds. Please, just call me Vaifar. Come on, both of you."
He brought his hands through a series of intricate passes, and a rend appeared in the air. Through it, I could see snow and ice, and a small town that paled in comparison to the giant city we were leaving. Still, this was where I belonged; the ice lands.
Motioning for us with his delicate hands, he stepped through the tear in reality. I hesitantly followed, Tal bringing up the rear. It felt like every other step I had taken, except for the wave of vertigo that I experienced upon moving between Gandara and the icy northern lands.
Tal had rummaged through his pockets, extracting two platinum coins. My eyes widened; I hadn't ever seen a platinum coin. One of those was equal to a hundred gold.
Vaifar nodded, before stepping back through the rip.
"When would you like me to return?" he asked.
"Half a day's time should be fine," Tal responded, handing the yaminade the money.
"I shall return then," he promised, sealing the gap.
The ice village was settled high atop a plateau. We began to hike up the hill, stumbling every now and then on the ice. Tal was shivering, mud-colored wings wrapped around him in an attempt to stay warm. The cold didn't bother me much, although my legs, which had been soaked up to the knees by the snow, were getting kind of chilly, as well as my bare feet. We climbed up the final distance, and there it was.
It was a small, modest village, and compared to the grandeur of Gandara it seemed meager. Still, it was beautiful in its own way. Without any real access to wood, the houses had all been made out of stone, and icicles dangled off of the roofs. A small wall made of ice had been erected around it.
"So this is home…" I whispered.
"What was that, Touya?" Tal asked.
"Nothing," I murmured. I hadn't meant to speak aloud.
We approached the front, where the only breach in the walls was. Two guards stood at attention, protecting their town. I was stunned at how different these ice youkai looked from me. One had messy teal hair, worn in more of a hair-don't than a hairdo. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue, and he was tall, strong-looking. The other had auburn hair that was down past her shoulders, kept neat and combed in place. She, despite being a bit smaller than the other, still looked equally formidable. As Tal and I approached, they stepped together, barring the entrance.
"Outsiders are not allowed unless they are coming for trading," the woman said.
"But, we need to see the village elder," the bat youkai protested. I wasn't comfortable around strangers, so I stepped behind Tal, hiding like a young child would.
"No outsiders allowed," the man repeated.
"Would you let an ice demon in?" he asked.
"Yes," the man answered.
"What about an ice demon's companions?"
"It depends," the brunette replied.
"How about the ice demon's adopted father?"
"Yes," the man decided. "That would be allowed."
"Come on, Touya," Tal said, using a leathery wing to push me to the side, so that the guards could see me. "They said we could go in."
"No, we didn't," the woman argued. "We said that an ice demon and their adopted father could."
"This is Touya. He's an ice youkai, and I'm his guardian."
They traded glances. Clearly, the two hadn't been expecting that.
"Prove it," they demanded in unison.
"C'mon, Touya, show them what you can do."
I knew that I couldn't call up the ice at will, so I mutely shook my head, trying to hide behind the bat demon again. He sighed audibly, extending his wing again and pushing me forward. I stumbled, barely regaining my balance.
"If you can't prove that he is one of us, then you cannot go in."
"But that's our problem!" Tal exclaimed. "He doesn't know how to use his aura, and it is acting up, so he needs someone to help him learn how to use it."
"Wait here with Chotryn. I'll take the boy before the elders," the women said, grabbing me roughly by the wrist. I cried out with surprise, nonetheless following her. Tal nodded slowly, remaining where he was.
She didn't say anything as she led me through the streets, not relinquishing her viselike grip on my wrist. Some of the townsfolk stared at me, probably finding visitors unusual, especially an odd-looking one like me. Add that to the fact that I was being dragged around like a convict, and people were bound to gape. The guard pulled me into a large building, decorated with a mosaic of an enormous dragon on the front. The huge beast was made of marble, with sapphires for the eyes, and chips of obsidian for the pupils. Tiny scales had been carved over the whole thing, and it looked almost lifelike. Its front talons, each as large as my hand, curved over the doorway, the wings spread wide and the tail curving around to the right of the doorway. I was stunned at the wonderful craftsmanship.
Inside, seated in a semi-circle on blue cushions, were five youkai, each one old enough to have probably seen more years than I had seen months. The women leading me bowed so low I was sure her forehead was scraping the ground. I paused, unsure, before she jerked me to the ground, forcing me to bow to the others. Being shoved around just because they were stronger than me was something I was used to, but I had expected to be treated a bit better since they were of the same species. Then again, they already said that they weren't sure if I was an ice demon.
"What is it, Lysoi?" the only woman in the group asked.
"Him. He showed up a few minutes ago with a bat demon" she spoke the words 'bat demon' with disgust "of all things. The bat was claiming that he's an ice youkai, and that they're here because he needs helping learning how to use it."
"I see. Bring him here," the man in the center, one with steel-gray hair, requested.
Lysoi dragged me forward, and I couldn't stifle a yelp of pain as she dropped me on the ground before them.
"There is no need to treat the boy like that," another said.
"I am sorry," the guard apologized.
"You are dismissed."
She bowed low, before leaving. I was left on my knees before a council of powerful and intelligent apparitions.
"What is your name, young one?"
"Touya," I replied, voice soft. I stared at the ground, as was my habit.
"Lysoi says that you claim to be an ice apparition. Is that true?" one asked.
I nodded, more than a bit intimidated. There were so many of them, and each one was much stronger than I was. Only pride had kept the quiver out of my voice.
"And you cannot show us that you are?"
I shook my head.
"How did you find out?" the woman gently asked.
"I had been angry. I was really mad and then…it just happened. Everything went all cold and ice was everywhere. I don't know how I did it…" I replied.
"I see," the demon in the middle said. "If that is it, then you could always learn how to use it on your own."
I almost sighed, disappointed.
"But…a couple of days ago, when I hadn't been doing anything, it went kind of crazy. My aura was attacking me. It cut these into my body," I desperately tried, pointing to a few of the gashes "and it hurt me all over. I had to mentally subdue it."
This raised an uproar from the others.
"Why could that have happened?" a blonde asked.
"It must've been his emotions. He needs to come to terms with himself!" a white-haired youkai insisted.
"No, no, he needs proper training! He needs to learn how to use his energy!" a teal-haired demon suggested.
"You're both wrong! He needs someone to treat him with certain medicines," the violet-eyed woman argued.
"It's his emotions! You all know I'm right!"
"No! He needs to have his aura removed for the time being!" a wrinkled old man said.
"Training is the key!"
"No, it's his belief of himself!"
"Silence!" the gray-haired demon bellowed. The others abruptly stopped talking. "Before we need to worry about any of this, we must find out whether or not this outrageous claim is true."
They didn't believe me. I sighed, waiting for them to say something else. After all, I already told them that I couldn't control it. How were they supposed to discover that I truly was what I had said without me being able to freeze something?
"Well, little one, please come over here."
I swallowed, standing up. With slow, hesitant steps, I paced over to him. I stopped a couple of feet away, but he motioned for me to come a little bit closer. Hesitant, I stepped a few paces closer. He reached out, laying his hand on my chest. I squirmed under his touch, unable to help it.
His energy flowed into my body, and I flinched, trying to pull away. The one behind me held me still, though, and I couldn't get away. All of the sudden, my ki flared into being; the man had forced me to use my energy. Ice flowed over the ground, spreading up the wall. The eyebrows practically shot off of his head. I, too, was stunned. It felt awful to have someone use my energy without my permission. I tried to make it stop, but I had about as much success with that as I had had with tapping into my energy in the first place.
He withdrew his energy, halting mine as well. I was easily tired from using any aura at all, and this tiny usage made me sleepy.
"Well…he's an ice demon, that's for sure," the one who had argued for psychological troubles said at last.
"We will try the medicine. Taedos, please fetch those herbs."
The woman stood up, bowed, and left.
"Little one, you seem to be rather nervous. Please try and calm down. It does not suit an ice youkai to be jittery. Just be a bit more tranquil," the blonde suggested.
I nodded slowly, but it wasn't exactly easy to ditch fear. All that I could manage was looking a bit less worried.
This is so weird, I thought. Here I am, in the middle of where I'm supposed to be. Maybe…maybe I could find…my parents?
"I don't know who my parents are," I murmured. "Do you…think that there's anyone here…that may be them?"
They traded glances, looking worried.
"How old are you?" the blue-haired man asked.
"Thirty-two," I replied.
"I don't think anyone left around that time," they said, thoughtful.
"But you have to consider some things," one of the others cut in. "Whether or not he's a pureblood ice demon, who the mother was, who the father was, what kind of medications might have been used… things like that could affect how long the pregnancy was. We can't be sure."
"He's a pureblood. I could feel it," the leader announced. "His energy was far too refined for him to be anything but."
"Well…we need information. Someone, fetch the bat."
The one who suggested training stood up, bowing formally as all the others had before, and left. Minutes later, he returned, a shivering Tal at his heels. My eyes lit up, and I moved to stand up before the eldest of them placed a hand on my shoulder, telling me to stay.
"I swear my wings are going to freeze off," Tal muttered. "Could I possibly get a jacket or something over here?"
The others stared at him with disdain. I winced, upset that Tal had already said the wrong thing. The leader forced a smile.
"Well, sir, what is your name?"
"Cotalyn," he replied.
"Yes, Cotalyn… How old was Touya when he…fell under your care? And what were the circumstances for that?"
"He was five, and I adopted him from an orphanage on the outskirts of Gandara."
I nodded. That was nothing new to me.
"Yes. And how old was he when he could first talk?"
"He was sixteen."
"Interesting…so you're saying that he was the equivalent of a human five year old when he said his first word?" he asked.
"Yes."
"And what would that be?"
"He first said 'Why?'" Tal confessed.
"Uh-huh. And… When did he learn how to read? Two, three years later?"
"Actually, he could read since he was nine," Tal replied.
"Not much of a talker, is he?" he asked.
"No, he never really was. He likes to paint, to read, to write, though. He's a dreamer, not a doer."
I didn't like being talked about as though I wasn't here. In an attempt to make them remember that I was, indeed, still in the room, I coughed lightly.
No one said or did anything. I sighed. Being ignored wasn't something that I liked very much. Shishi had always paid attention to me. Even the bullies, for all of their gibes and jokes, noticed me.
Just then, the woman returned, a small vial of something. She handed it to me, before taking her seat again.
"Drink that, and you should feel better."
"Well, thank you," Tal murmured. "Come on, Touya. Let's go."
I meekly obeyed, bowing to the others, and following the bat out. We both left. The bat demon spread his wings, flapping them a few times to bring some warmth to them.
"It's too cold up here," he told me. "I can't see how you can take this."
"I suppose I'm naturally immune to the cold."
He tossed his wings into the air, before folding them at his sides; that was his way of shrugging. We stepped out of the village, the guards snapping to attention as we left. We tread through the knee-deep snow, but I had this faint prickling sensation on the back of my neck, as though someone was watching us.
A tall demon seemed to melt out of the thick, snow-filled air. He fell into step beside of us, before Tal and I both stopped.
"Who are you?" the brunette demanded, spreading his wings to hide me from the stranger.
"Jumpy, are you?" he smoothly asked, avoiding the question. The other tried to sidestep, trying to see around the bat's wings.
"You didn't answer," Tal replied, stepping to block him.
"Tariel," he said. "But that's just a name, of no real concern. I believe that I can help you with your little problem."
"I…don't know what you're talking about. The elders got this all wrapped up."
"Pass me the bottle, then," he challenged.
I dodged around Tal's wings, each longer than I was tall, so that this Tariel person could see me. His hair was darker than ink, and it was slightly messy, looking as though he hadn't combed it in a while, and it was almost as long as mine was. His eyes were a deep sea green, and he had on an expression of mild curiosity. He was of medium height; taller than I was, which was not a surprise, but not close to Tal's height. A plain, sensible tunic in a nondescript shade of blue wrapped it up.
Reaching into my vest pockets, I pulled out the tiny bottle with its green liquid. The man gently took it from my hand, popped the wax seal, and sniffed at it. Thoughtful, he took a small sip, before frowning slightly.
"This is mint extract," he said at last. "It has little to no medicinal properties beyond treating stomachaches and bug bites."
"Then I do need help," I spoke up.
"Touya? Are you sure about this?" Tal asked.
I nodded.
"Well, then, I can help you. I'm a trained ice warrior, and troubles of the aura are easily handled," he responded. "Come, let us discuss this."
We nodded, and began to speak with Tariel.
Yes...I honestly looked up the medicinal properties of mint. I have no real life, huh? As for the age thing, as far as I see it, demons age slowly at first, speed up for a bit, then hardly age at all. Yeah... Anyway, I couldn't resist the great big description of Gandara. My muse demanded that it be written! Yup! Review, please!
