Hi guys! *hugs*
I'm updating a week earlier than I initially planned. I planned to update on the 10th but I couldn't wait any longer lol There is an update scheduale on my story's blog, 'amongthewaterweeds,' I have a total of three chapters that I will be posting regularly, this month, March, and then April. I also give progress updates and other snippets of the story in there too, so check it out if you want XD
ONCE AGAIN! I would like to give a fic recommendation! But not one, BUT TWO! HAHA Because why not share the love XD The first is called 'Heart's Desire' by Nayru Elric and basically it predates the events of the cannon following the lives of Gon and Killua. IT IS BEAUTIFUL! I SWEAR TO GOD IT IS AMAZING! It's only two chapters, but omg it pulls at your heart strings let me tell you LOL I loved reading it! You're going to be reading this story with a giant grin on your face like I was lol The author writes everyone 100 percent in character, personalities and quirks and all. I highly recommend it XD
The second recommendation I would like to give, and it's probably not a surprise, but you guys (probably, maybe, hopefully) know that I LOOOOOOOOOVE 'Poisoned Amaryllis' by Kigamin (aka My lovely Yui! I LOVE YOU!) like I am so invested in this fic, it is my favorite gdjkfgdfg Not only do I love the dynamics between her Killua and her OC Hana (a precious gemstone, puppy, and badass hunter might I add ;D) but I am enraptured by the mystery and crime she weaves within it. I mean, the twists and turns and revelations are the best I have ever read and my eyes are always glued to the screen when reading it LOL her action scenes and nen battles are to die for like it is on the level of what you see in the official HXH story omg XD Yes, it's that good dfhdjkfg and I personally want to break the evil villain's hipbone (if you read PA and read the latest chapter than you would possibly know what I'm talking about, or not really, its a dumb joke I made okay never mind. JUST READ IT!) *takes out a giant megaphone, breathes* PLEASE READ THIS STORY IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! LOL please support the stories you read, it lets the authors know that you care and it keeps the story going strong! Because I think we have that one (or several) fics that were our absolute favorite, but the last time they were updated was like in 2009, so yeah, support is key!
Any-hoo! I hope you guys like this chapter! Happy reading!
(Italics indicate flashback scenes)
Chapter 34: Fall x of the x Cayennes (part 1)
At the site of the Cayenne Ruins, hunters were busy at work. Like they always were. Not that they weren't given any breaks or holidays. Eyes may be pointed narrowly to the head of the expedition project, specifically at Gon Freecss for their continuous arduous labor. When Gon had a lead idea, everyone knew that they would be working long hours and long nights and even longer days. That's not to say they minded the labor. This is when they perform their best. Also, the nearest doughnut & coffee shop was the busiest (and happiest) when the hunters were, and hunters needed thinking food. Preferably sugary thinking food, with sprinkles and jelly cream fillings. Gon thought to himself that he was taking up Killua's penchant for sweets. Soon he found himself dumping dozens of packets of sugar into his coffee. He was also starting to realize he possibly had a problem when he was just tearing packets of sugar open and just eating them from there. He was turning into Killua. As much as he loves his dear brother in law, this did cause him some inner turmoil. Specifically, in his stomach. Currently, to ease his growing addiction. He sipped a plain cup of tea. No milk. No cream. No sugar. How sad.
He finished his bland beverage with a sour face and tossed the paper cup into the trash can. He may not have been enticed by the drink, but he was enticed by the recent discovery his team made. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he quickly prepared himself for an important analysis. Smocks and gloves and masks were worn by all the others in the room, standing around and examining the object of interest.
For all these hunters, solving the mystery of one of the greatest empire's tragedy was like a game. The thrill of finding one clue after the other. One step closer to unveiling the truth shrouded with darkness for thousands of years. Today was a landmark for the expedition, for they were one step closer to revealing the truth of Cayenne's demise.
Within a certain lab, certain artifacts were brought over. The lights in the room were deafening sharp yet provided no warmth. The coldness of the air consumed the room, creating the perfect environment for an autopsy to be performed. Well, an autopsy of a thousand-year old corpse. Several corpses. Which were all in excellent condition, due to the nen enchantments placed upon them.
The bodies were laid to rest within the inner region of Ettikaul, in an underground temple. Hundreds and hundreds of them. All finely dressed in silk robes, heads and wrists and necks adorned with medallions of jewels and pearls and gold. Mosaic pendants laid on each of their bare foreheads, pendants depicting the sun. Their hands clasped elegantly over their chests with herbs and incense placed into their palms. But the one that caught the keen interest of the hunters was the youngest of the corpses. The last one to die predating Cayenne's Great Fall. This one would reveal the unsolved truth for them.
Another odd feature sets this mummified body apart from the others. Unlike the others this was the only mummy that still had its heart intact inside its chest. All other vital organs remained as they were, but the heart should have been removed like the others before it. Upon examination, there was a single puncture wound that entered through the left shoulder and down into the mediastinum cavity, exiting posterior to the right ribcage. A quick death.
These were Cayenne's Children. Boys and girls chosen by the capital to embody the divinity of the great empress Caye herself. They were treated as gods and goddesses, prayed to and prayed for, they ensured the fortune and success of all those around them, for their home and people. And their final duty was the same as Caye's as she first stepped foot onto the new world called Mobius. A blade to their heart was all it took on the eve of their sixteenth year. They were known as the blessed, the sacred, and the cursed.
Gon peered down at the body of what used to be a sixteen-year-old boy, who was chosen to be one of the sacred children of Cayenne. Chosen to be the sacrificial lamb. He should have died like the others, a quick cut below the ribs would have indicated just that, but fate worked out differently for him.
He was murdered.
He shouldn't have slept in so late.
Or else he would have been able to avoid the dreadful fiend who he owes a fair amount of money to. Several month's rent he neglected to pay due to his sad, but not regretful habit of gambling dices and shells down at the taverns. It wasn't just gambling he was doing, he was talking, debating, arguing will all the modern thinkers within the city. Because the only logical place to find any of them gathered together was around a full barrel of beer. And beautiful women.
He opened his eyes just a bit and a hazy image appeared in front of him. In his disoriented state, he imagined it to be glaring and smoldering at him with steam hissing out of its mouth and ears. Could it possibly be a monstrous dragon to wake him up from his sleep?
Ah, it was only his landlady.
"Get up! Get up! You lazy boy!" Shouted a very annoying woman. And the boy she was referring to was actually a twenty-three-year-old young man. He certainly doesn't have the body of a boy, but he reasoned that to an ancient creature such as herself everyone must look like babies to her. He would have thought how much longer she had on this earth, but something collided coldly against his back and head, leaving him and most importantly his mat, soaking wet.
He jumped up quickly like a frightened cat, shocked. At first, he was a little appalled to be thrown chilly water at, but this was the closest to a bath he's had in days. So, he was partially thankful for the impudent gesture. He wiped a hand over his face, droplets of water dripping from his hair. "I had a dream that the beautiful goddess of the river visited me, for a moment I thought I was spirited away, but I'm relieved to know it's just you to keep me grounded on this earth."
"Where's the rent Yun? All the other tenants pay on time. All except you." The landlady said bitterly through gritted teeth, well, technically through the few the remaining teeth she had left which wasn't a lot. She sure gets down to business fast.
"Thenal, you've known me for years. I am the type of scoundrel to purposefully neglect to pay rent? I'll be sure to get the money you need for next month's rent on time. I promise." Yun said as he discarded his soaked-up clothes and began to change into new ones.
Thenal pulled out a knife from her bodice.
Goddess Caye, she's serious today. Just a few days ago she put a notice on his door, but now a knife. Yun shook his head to himself. Hospitality has died in Ettikaul.
"Apprentices of scribes are paid well. Yet you just happen to come back here with empty pockets."
"How would you know? The city is full of crooks and thieves waiting in the dark alleys to take advantage on earnest and hardworking men. I could possibly be robbed every single night when I return from work!"
"Not with those arms." Thenal retorted.
Yun looked down at his arms. She was right. He could stop a stampede of wildebeests with them. He cursed himself horribly for not coming up with a more believable lie.
Yun tied a maroon garb around his waist, symbolizing he was what she said he looked like, a scribe, a scholar of the high court, an insufferable idiot who neglects to pay rent. He was apprenticed under the scholar Tervum. Who was very, very picky about which pupils to take on and guide beneath his wings. But lately Tervum has gotten into a particular conundrum with influential public officials and has riled up the entire youth of Cayenne, which has landed him in the custody of the police. First, he decided to disown his home and possessions in order to live a material free life and to strengthen his connection with the mother earth free from the clutches of avarice and greed. Secondly, he also decided to live in a barrel. Disturbing the public peace with his indecency.
This was all the rage with the big thinking philosophers. Throwing away property and valuables and living in barrels.
Yun picked up his satchel and tossed Thenal a little bag. A little, jingling bag. The contents clattered as she weighed them in her hands. She opened it up and counted each and every coin. Stuffing them into her bodice. And when she was satisfied with the pay, so did her knife. "If you pay on time, we wouldn't have these scuttles."
"And make our encounters less exciting? No, I wouldn't have it any other way."
It seemed as if Thenal blushed, but he wasn't sure if dragons were capable of blushing. Thenal looked down and brushed the creases from her skirt with her crinkled hands. Back in the day, when Yun thought it was impossible for Thenal to be called a young maid, she had several children. Many of which who stayed in Ettikual by enlisting to become soldiers and missionaries. It was a known fact that anyone who fights against the soldiers of Cayenne either return home with their shields in their arms or return on them. Many of Thenal's children contributed to the latter. "Well, they do make my days less dreary."
"Tell me Thenal, is the cazar road clear for travel? I'm in a hurry."
Thenal rolled her eyes, "of course not, that ridiculous circus has taken up its entire residence. One after another. Everyone here feels they have to be entertained every minute of every day. It wasn't like this back in my day. We rose with the sun and fell with it, working diligently. Unlike your generation, wasting away one's youth at the circuses and taverns."
Yun stopped listening after 'circus.' "What? It hasn't ended yet?" Yun said. To be honest, Yun loves the circus, but only when it is convenient for him and today it proved to be very inconvenient. "That only leaves with my less desirable choice."
"And where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"The amphitheater."
Thanel began to hobble her way through the door, "It's another waste of time if you ask me. All ye do is watch lions chase goats and goats chase lions. The monotony of it all bores me."
Yun strapped on his sandals quickly, swung open the door and stampeded down the stone staircase into the streets of Ettikaul. The streets were crowded with merchants selling goods of all kinds, valuable and others sold to look valuable, self-proclaimed oracles offering love spells, fortunes, and readings of one's future to the rich and wealthy. Musicians tinkering with the aura's of plants and animals, creating melodies, beautiful and silly, for passerby's to listen to and a bucket for them to offer up their monetary gratitude. Yun passed all of them with only one thought in his mind.
'He will be at the amphitheater today. I can't miss him.'
The amphitheater was Ettikaul's greatest pride and joy, or at least one of the many pride and joys within Ettikaul. There was practically a holiday every other day, so extravagant feasts were common and so were entertainers like traveling circuses, fortune tellers, mystical nen performers, but most importantly, the amphitheater.
Yun looked upon the massive structure and how it scaled towards the ends of the sky. He watched as people made their way into the front entrance, people of all classes traveled into the inner city, on holiday of course, to witness the spectacular brawls that unveil within these stones walls.
A strict schedule maintained the order of the festivities. The light weight brawls would happen in the morning consisting of what Thenal called monotonous. Animals such as lions and tigers and hyenas would claw and bite at each other, sometimes exotic magical beasts would be brought into the arena like kirikos and horned elephants and platypus bears, but usually kirikos were found to be spectators at the event not dualists within them. Although, there were some famous kirikos within Ettikaul who became known for their fighting skills in the amphitheater. Yun, knows for certain. One such creature who has made a name for himself owns at least several dozen mansions with at least several dozen more mistresses within them. As the afternoon rises, human entertainment becomes the center of attention. Warriors and ex-soldiers and war prisoners are brought into the arena to dual. 'Battle to the death' was the most favorited by the people, but so was public humiliation. On most occasions the losers were disgraced by the throwing of rotten cabbages by the spectators.
The emperor, who always made it his job to attend the amphitheater daily, would throw the first cabbage.
Yun made his way past soldiers lined up to fight, and others who reeked of rotten cabbages. That used to be him standing in line, betting his life in the amphitheater. And on rotten cabbages. Well, it was better than losing one's head. Yun thought to himself while clamping his nose with his fist, tight. The scent was too nostalgic.
Another highlight of the afternoon, besides watching the epic duals between nen warriors and prisoners that truly roused the spectators. The highlight of the entire show was the public executions. Executions of corrupt politicians, villainous thieves and criminals, or officials and scholars that rubbed the emperor the wrong way.
Yun shoved and pushed his way through a crowd of praying thieves, convicts, and charlatans who were to be the center of attention within the coming afternoon. Yun yelled and barked at a guard to grant him permission of one of these highlights.
The guard narrowed his gaze at Yun. His gaze traveled towards his maroon sash and the insignia of 'a carrier of knowledge.' Realization came upon the man when he knew he was dealing with a scribe, a person who preserves the history and legacy of the written word of Caye. The guard, begrudgingly, unlocked the iron gate and let Yun pass through.
Yun slammed with fists unto the iron bars, summoning the attention of the occupant behind them. "What is wrong with you!?"
The barrel wobbled an inch and then some.
"Tervum!" Yun barked. "I swear, if you don't get out of that barrel and face me, I will personally drag you out of it."
Like a turtle, a head slowly surfaced out of the barrel. Then a neck and a body to go with it. The man of the barrel, who goes by the name of Tervum, furiously burrowed his eyebrows at his one and only pupil that dared to visit him in his confinement. He really should be thankful, but all he could muster was pure spite and anger towards his, one and only, pupil. To show his gratitude, he spat a large one in his star pupil's face. "How dare you show yourself to me. Traitor. After I've taught you all I know."
The embers of a torch flickered and jumped off the wall, only to sizzle and dissipate on the ground. Yun wiped the remnants of his mentor's greeting off his face. "That's better." At least Tervum came out of the barrel. Baby steps at a time.
Yun removed a scroll from his satchel, which he hoped would catch the old man's interest. It didn't. Tervum began to sink back into his barrel and resume contemplating big, philosopher thoughts. Like why rivers only run downhill and not up; and why must they run when they could walk? If they run, did they start by crawling? So many questions filled up his mind, and his barrel.
An artery within Yun's head began to burst. Yun whipped open the scroll, furiously. "Here is a petition of one hundred signatures of friends and colleagues who are in support of your life, but are mainly against your execution. The final signature was almost impossible to get. There was so much arguing and yelling and bargaining, but I was able to acquire it just last night. You're welcome."
Tervum quirked up an eyebrow, curious. "And whose was it?"
"Allura's."
Tervum's eyebrow rose even higher like the moon.
"Your wife's!"
Tervum slammed his hand against his barrel, hard. "Curse that woman! Why would she do such an abominable thing to me!? Will she ever leave me to my own accord!" Tervum was surrounded by an endless abyss of betrayal. First his pupil and now his wife. How can one go on in such a cruel world?
"Your wife, these signatures, these people, and I are here to save your life, but you seem more than eager to throw it away! This petition is legal in the eyes of the court and you can be forgiven. All this nonsense you've put yourself through will be overturned and you can go back into the streets of Ettikaul as the man you once were. Respected and dignified."
Tervum breathed and looked up at the young boy. He spoke, barely. "What else will I have to do?"
"You will have to make a public apology, retracting all the heresy you spoke against the high court officials."
Tervum shook his head back and forth, frantically. "No. No. No. No. No. I cannot. You cannot make me. I stand by what I said to all those nitwits."
"Do you wish to live or die!?"
"Death would be kinder to me than to live the rest of my life upholding values I do not believe in!"
"Why must you make everything so difficult? Stubbornness will be the end of you! All you must do is apologize. Apologize out there in the arena, to the emperor and officials. It's just a few words-
"Yun," Tervum said, sternly. "You are young, and you may think you know all that I know. But you do not. You do not know all that I know and all that I don't know, and I feel, If I am to be executed out where the lions feed and graze, let it be not because I ruffled a few of the officials the wrong way, but because I have failed you as a master. I failed you as a teacher. As a human being. I failed to pass on the importance of our history."
Yun rolled up the scroll of all one hundred signatures and stuffed it into his satchel, his spirit brimmed to the top with gloom and doom. He looked his mentor in the eyes with an icy stare and spoke gravely, "The spoken word is dead."
A loud thud echoed through the prisoner's corridors that rung of frustration and anguish. Tervum's voice embodied rage as he spoke, "the spoken word is the only true word. You give power to death by saying it does. The spoken word is alive!"
"The spoken word did nothing but imprison you! But these signatures of the written word will save you. They give meaning back into our language. There is life and power in these words. The times are changing, Tervum! Conservative thinkers of the old age like you are becoming less and less idolized and are thrown behind bars!"
Suddenly, Yun focused his aura in the palm of his hands. Surging into his fingertips. He tapped his hand against the stone, cold walls and began writing sacred runes onto the walls. Breathing life into these words. Yun wrote a simple proverb, 'the blind speak only of darkness.' Evoking Tervum's wraith in the process.
"You are no student of mine!"
The 'conundrum' that placed the once great thinker Tervum behind bars with the company of his barrel is because of the old versus new debate traveling and developing throughout the young minds of Cayenne. It is most commonly known as the ongoing dual between the old, spoken word and the new, written word. Tervum obviously supported the spoken word. He supported open debates with his students all in a circle, each and every one looking directly at the other in the eye. Everyone's aura would speak, together and simultaneously. Equality was the fundamental value in these debates, words would be exchanged back and forth. Individual voices would be heard. No one was forgotten. Oral traditions, rules and customs, and stories of the great ancestors of long ago, were told orally and passed down from one sacred storyteller to the other. The word was alive within these individuals. They carried truth and meaning within their hearts, wherever they went. They breathed life into the words they spoke, in their voices. And their nen carried them along larger distances for them to be heard. This was the spoken word. The spoken word which Tervum loved and would die for.
Yun, on the other hand, was in support of the written word. As a scribe, one of his duties is to document the history and sacred stories of the ancestors of the past. Soon, there began a shift in documentation. Recording victories of the past in scrolls, on parchment, in stone, and in temples. He believed there was power to the written word, in the practice of nen engraving and impressions. For documenting Cayenne's legacy was the only way to keep it alive and well and not have it be orally manipulated by vagabonds. The spoken word means nothing, not when it can be etched into stone and survive for all time. There was a beauty in seeing ones own words pulsate with life on the surface from which they were written. The power to transcend time was the written words power that far exceeded the spoken. A power that Tervum could not or would not possibly understand.
"The written word only brings isolation." Tervum said, "It silences the group, while raises up one individual. There is no equality in that."
"But letting the entire group speak is like trying to have a conversation with someone across from you in the amphitheater over dozens of other conversations. Noisy and impossible. The spoken word brings confusion and discord, while written word brings clarity and understanding."
"Yun," Tervum's voice spoke gruffly. "Thank you for visiting me. You may leave now."
His one and only pupil cursed his mentor's name (and his barrel) and left. He no longer cared. It was not his fault he couldn't save him that old fool. He tried. He tried all he could.
Or at least he tried with all his might to convince himself that he did. At the moment of the trial, Yun sat all the way in the upper bleachers. He saw the backs of spectators and heard their cheers of the convicted. Then he saw his friend, his dear teacher thrust onto the platform as everyone screamed heresy.
Tervum was tried, rather unfairly, within the stone walls of the amphitheater. Rotten cabbages were held off until the final moment of the trial, whose outcome was obvious considering its location. No prisoner ever taking part in an amphitheater trail was ever tried to be innocent of all charges. The audience roared with excitement as the prisoner's sentence was issued. For his crime, Tervum was convicted of corrupting the young minds of the citizens of Cayenne.
Tervum's last words were muffled by the roar of the audience, screaming and yelling and barking like wild beasts for the death of a once great man. But they only saw him as an old, crazy hermit in a barrel. Tervum spoke words Yun wished he could hear. It also looked as if Tervum spat profusely at his executioner. He still had his fighting spirit. Poor guy.
As the sword rose, suspense filled the arena. Yun couldn't look away, and he imagined between the shifting figures of those chanting his friend's death, he saw Tervum look up at him and smile. Saying his final goodbye. Although Yun couldn't hear those final words, he heard the man's aura. It was calm and refined and spoke of dignity and respect. He was still the teacher, still the man Yun found a friend in. Yun was the only one to bow his head to Tervum. He stayed that way for quite some time.
The only suitable punishment for corrupting the minds of Cayenne was death.
Yun gritted his teeth as the audience roared while Tervum's aura silenced.
How he prayed to the Goddess Caye that it was the other way around.
Yun, swallowed by complete and utter despair, did the only thing he could do to ease his weakening spirit.
He went to the circus on cazar road.
Currently, he was looking rather grumpy sitting next to a pen of fluffy fox bear cubs wearing adorable little hats embroidered with stars. One fox cub nuzzled its nose against Yun's foot. It wanted to be petted or at least be given a treat. When it saw that it was going nowhere with the young man, the little cute fox cub moved on to a new target. A little girl who was holding a bag of snacks, consisting of roasted sweet potato slices.
The fox cub knew it made an excellent decision when the girl offered it a treat. Yun rolled his eyes at the ingenious little two-timer.
When the little girl had no more treats to give, the fox cub moved on once again. Yun altered his aura, making it playful and hopefully endearing to the cub. It didn't even bat a lash at him. Yun, gave up on using his aura, grabbed a torn bag lying on the ground and crumpled it up in his hands, mocking the sound of a delicious bag of snacks.
Finally, the fox cub whipped its tail around and ran towards Yun, tapping its paws against him. It bobbed its head up and down, left and right, side to side, in search of goodies. It found none, but Yun grabbed the little creature and cradled it in his arms and gave it a good scratch behind its ears. The cub happily complied and let itself be pampered. Although, it still wished it would be given a treat. Preferably something salty, like dried squid on a stick or salted cod fish.
Yun looked ahead and saw a group of performers putting on a show. One woman wielded a torch and manipulated the flame. Growing. Shrinking. Changing its shape and color. The crowd watched in amusement as she began to depict a fearsome beast covered in scales and claws. The woman, a professional actress, questioned the crowd and asked if there was a hero brave enough to stand up to the beast. The same little girl, who offered the sweet potato snacks to the fox cub, happily offered to defeat the beast. She rolled up her sleeves and readied her fists and conjured up the laughter of the audience in response.
Yun wanted her to give the fiery beast a black eye, mentally cheering her on with the fox cub in his lap.
The actress manipulated the flames of the beast and had it travel to the top of the tent, its tail blazing a fiery trail that singed some of the audience member's hair. It pounced in the air and roared a magnificent roar (That was graciously supplied by the stage and sound crew with their high tech, state of the art machinery the circus has to offer. Giant snail shells and bugle horns were the way to go for all mystical beast sounds.)
The crowd cheered as the little girl was thrown a shield, making her look like a little warrior. Suddenly, the actress stepped up her game, wrung out her hands and wrists and commanded the beast to run straight towards the girl, and breath a tornado of fire.
The little girl quickly evaded the attack, out of the fire's way, rolling onto the ground brilliantly with her shield protecting her body. Her eyes fiercely locked onto the beast and suddenly realizing she had no tool for offense. She quickly whipped out a sword from a soldier's sheath and took a mighty stance against the beast.
Yun's jaw dropped (and so did majority of the crowd's), while the fox cub patted its paws against his knees in sheer anticipation. The fox cub was rooting for the girl whom offered it snacks. She, in its eyes, was a hero. It barked (cheered) for her victory.
The girl gripped her shield as the beast breathed a fiery storm at her. She hid behind a vase and planned strategically. Soon, when her window of opportunity arrived, the second when the fire stopped, and beast needed to breath. The girl swooped out from the protection of the vase and readied her sword. Thrusted into the heart of the monster, it keeled over and dissipated into ash. Vanquished and defeated. The girl raised up her shield and the crowd cheered for her victory.
For her victory against the beast, and for putting on an excellent show, the girl was given a prize of what looked to be a toy dragon. A small, wooden carving of an old, ancient beast with a painted face and body. Its head clacked forward and back and so did its jaw, revealing a sharp tongue and teeth. The girl smiled a toothy grin and made her way throughout the rest of the circus, a path already cleared by audience members for her. Possibly hoping to vanquish more beasts and win more prizes.
This is possibly when the first 'carnival games' appeared in history.
As Yun contemplated whether to take up arms against a fiery beast himself, the fox cub jumped out of his lap and into the crowd.
"Wait," cried Yun. He grabbed a bag of salted cod fish from a nearby stall and waved it in the air frantically, chasing after the cub. "I have snacks!"
He hastily followed the aura of the cub as if it was a compass. He passed stall after stall, vendor after vendor, and a plethora more of nen entertainers like the woman who manipulated fire from the act before. He passed by a man who was surrounded by sheet of pressed papyrus. One by one, aura pulsated in the tips of his fingers. There a flick, a twirl, and a swipe. Suddenly what appeared in his hands was the papyrus cutting itself up and molding into whatever creation he had in mind. He crafted a necklace. A miniature raft. Then a beetle. He placed the paper beetle into the hands of a little boy, and a smile erupted on the boy's face when the beetle's wings began to flap and buzz and take flight.
Yun smiled to himself, as he was still chasing the fox cub, he witnessed the same trick a long time ago at the circus with his family. His smile began to slowly falter and so did his running. He stood still in the crowd and stared down at the back of salted fish in his hands. For a moment, he scorned himself for getting distracted, by chasing the fox cub, by venturing to the circus on more than one occasion, by becoming entangled within the politics and rumors of the high court.
He let himself forget why he decided to live in Ettikaul in the first place. He threw the bag of fish onto the ground and gritted his teeth. He was almost out of time and here he was fooling around and wasting it. Yun may have failed to save Tervum, but he wasn't going to fail this time.
The sound of ocean waves enveloped his ears. It was an enchanting aura he swore he would never forget the sound of. His heart beat fast as the bearer of the sound became obvious, with the fox cub happily sitting on his lap.
The bearer was adorned in silk robes and jewels, with a medallion of the sun over his chest. His hair was the color of the sun and shined golden yellow like the same flowers that bear its name. Then his smile, the most radiant of them all. Yun immediately remembered his purpose being in Ettikaul. The feeling overwhelmed his body and soul as he began to make his way towards the boy.
The guards surrounding the little sun noticed Yun's presence right away and unsheathed their swords in response.
"Stand down," said the boy. The fox cub nuzzled its nose in the palm of his hand, possibly searching for a treat. It couldn't find one. Maybe it should try the other hand? It did just that. "He's harmless."
The guards, reluctantly, retreated. But their swords were still unsheathed as their eyes locked onto Yun, already labeling him as a threat. One guard scoffed at Yun. Yun ignored him.
"Are you sure?" asked Yun, playfully. "They seem to think otherwise."
"Hmmm, you do have a point." The boy quirked up his eyebrow and scratched his chin. His bodyguards were certainly dull, but they were to be trusted. He might as well put Yun to the test to prove his guards wrong. "come closer and close your eyes."
Yun did just that, angering a few guards in the process. Then he kneeled in front of the boy and suddenly he was met with a moist sensation on his nose. Yun opened his eyes and realized the fox cub was becoming well acquainted with it. It licked Yun's nose and the boy giggled in response. Yun kneeled there, dumfounded.
"It certainly thinks your safe!" the boy laughed.
"It thinks I'm a snack." Yun retorted.
"Well, you are certainly bitter. I can tell that much from your aura. It certainly has changed over the years. Although, bitterness is not the best quality for snacks to be honest."
The fox cub wagged its tail and stared up at the two humans, oblivious to the conversation going on. Then it made up its mind to run off, seeing as though they have forgotten about it.
The boy pouted from its absence, "I guess it didn't want to stay in our company."
"No worries," Yun said, patting the boy on his head. "You still have me."
The boy continued to pout and sigh once more, dramatically.
"…"
"Kidding," the boy smiled. "Well, if I were to compare the two, I'd rather have my brother by my side than a cub."
Yun felt his spirit rise, triumphantly.
"I mean, I have so many more fox cubs back home. Surely, I'd miss them much more than a fox cub I'd just met today." But then he thought of adopting the circus cub. A twelfth cub to his family wouldn't make that much of a difference. It would make his home livelier, but it would certainly annoy his advisors… He decided that he would adopt the cub.
Then Yun's spirit plummeted just as fast.
Seeing the look on the other's face caused both of them to erupt into a fit of laughter. Just then, Yun embraced his younger brother, and painfully remembered the last time he felt this way. The last time he hugged his brother was eight years. Eight years before his brother was taken away from him by the high court to enter the city of Ettikaul. Eight years ago, when Astra was chosen to be a child of Cayenne. Chosen to be sacrificed for the good of the empire. To bear the burden of being one of the sacred, one of the blessed, and one of the cursed. It disgusted Yun. This nauseating sensation filled all the crevices of his heart. Yet, his brother was finally in his arms.
"Astra," Yun said, tenderly. "I'm so happy to see you again."
"Me too, brother."
Yun also wanted to tell his brother that he was scared, but words failed him to do so. Instead, he held unto his brother, who knows for how long. Deep in his heart, he knew he was the same as the fiery monster conjured by the actress from the show before. He would claw, he would scream, and he would fight anyone who was foolish enough to take all that he held dear to him. He may have failed to take back Tervum, but he wasn't going to fail with Astra.
Astra, handed over from his family at the age of seven, now belonged to Ettikaul. Astra belonged to the Goddess Caye. Yun knew that if his plan were to succeed, it would be considered treason against not only his home, but to Caye herself and all the gods above.
He was going to take back his brother, no matter what. Even if it meant endangering his immortal soul and evoking the wraith of the gods.
Yun held his hands, tight.
He was going to save his brother, and be rid of this rotten city.
Gen didn't know much about ancient civilizations or thousand years old corpses, but he was very knowledgeable about the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll lollipop. Right now, he was on his 87th lick. No one, not even the scientists, hunters, excavators or daddy (who seemed to be really excited about whatever news that was being projected onto the big screen) was going to interfere with his experiment. Gen thought that his discovery may even outshine that of the Cayenne Civilization. Just in case, when Gen discovers the exact number it takes, he will have to tell no one. This was top secret information and people were prone to copy off one another and take credit for said discovery. Like Susan, who tried to copy off Gen's spelling quiz in class.
Gen pouted to himself. It wasn't fair. Susan can't even spell 'egg,' and it just so happened on a day when Gen got a huge headache (from staying up too late, half past eight, working on his list to shove in Elodea's face) that he too was having trouble spelling the same word. Which is very unlike him. He was used to spelling big words like 'cadaver,' 'guillotine,'' nunnery,' and 'homicide,' granted many of the words that made his vocabulary very colorful all came from Shakespearian works. Now that he thought about it, 'egg' was a difficult word. If one gets caught up in debating between one g or two, it become a very hard word to spell!
Susan ended up blaming Gen that he was the reason she misspelled the word. Gen decided that he hates Susan, and decided that he no longer cares that her mother packs Twinkies in her lunch box every day. Even though the Twinkies were very promising (and delicious), Gen can't be associated with a cheater. He earns gold stars in class every day and if his star count were to slip, he would surely regret it later on.
Kindergarten is a jungle. Gen thought to himself, very seriously.
Soon, Gen smiled from ear to ear as he finally made it into the chocolate center on his 107th lick. That will show Bobby Johansson (the boy he sits next to in Mrs. Merry's art class who always tries to eat glue whenever they work with popsicle sticks and googly eyes. Bobby is a good kid, according to Gen). Bobby told him it only takes 90 licks, but Gen seems to have proven him wrong!
As Gen hummed happily to himself and enjoyed his delicious victory, Alluka (his sweet mumzie) held unto his hand.
Gen, Alluka, and the hunters looked at the projector in front of the room as a pixelated image began to form on in. Forensic scientists alongside artists were able to extract critical genetic information from the corpse of interest, the last Child of Cayenne before the fall occurred.
Gen tugged on Alluka's hand, impatient. "Mommy, I want to go to the library." Usually kids beg their parents to take them to the toy store, and although that was a reasonable choice to Gen as well, the library was more of his cup of tea. Not that he likes tea. Ew. The library was more of his cup of hot chocolate. Ah, much better.
"I'll take you there as soon as the presentation is over. Okay?"
"Okay…" Gen said, defeated. "But I have to finish reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bottom just got turned into a donkey and things are not working out between him and Titania." Their relationship is on the rocks, but there wasn't really one to begin with. Gen shook his head, dramatically.
"Don't worry," said Alluka. She was going to say that there is a donkey in all of us, but in the presence of her sweet six-year-old son, she refrained from doing so. "They will still be there when you get back."
"I hope so!" Gen said, a little too loudly. Gen was at this sweet and tender age that he thought it was possible for characters in the television to pop right out of it and come and go as they please. Gen knew it was a definite truth with television, because someone keeps eating all the cookies in the cookie jar and it was obviously the cookie monster. That's what his daddy keeps telling him anyway, (with cookie crumbs haphazardly smeared around his mouth. That man and his growing sugar addiction), but he was still debating whether characters can leave a book. Gen thought otherwise, because it had something to do with the space time continuum or because books are closed most of the time, so characters have a harder time squeezing through the pages to leave.
Now, Gen was busy chewing on the chocolate center when the image pixelized on the screen. This was also when his father, Gon Freecss, began to say that the Cayenne's valued nen users, and the most common type of nen users were, in fact, manipulators. Warriors, performers, scholars, artisans and so much more. Gen slowly rolled his eyes. Sure, it seemed that everyone around him could use nen and these seriously old people from way back when were even manipulators too. Everyone except him! This fact slightly stung Gen in his heart, how badly he wanted to use nen, but mostly he wanted to be a manipulator like Elodea. From his negative result on the LP paper test, he can't even use nen! Gen cracked the piece of chocolate in his mouth, hard. Now he was constantly reminded about it with the 'Cayennes' and their 'civilization' and his dad's 'enthusiastic attitude' towards telling about it. Gen sadly sighed to himself when he realized he finished off his lollipop. All he was left with was the stick.
On the screen, the image slowly blurred and began to take shape. Everyone seemed to be really excited, all except Gen. Lines were beginning to become clear and colors began to enhance. Gen first caught site of the boy's golden hair and the curvature of his lips.
The picture became crystal clear, revealing the face of the boy who once lived a long time ago. His eyes were closed, but it simply looked like he was taking a nap. Ready to awake at any moment. He was the epitome of the sun. All the hunters in the room clapped and congratulated the other on a job well done. One step closer to revealing the truth.
Alluka said, "Isn't he pretty Gen? Hm? Gumdrop, what's wrong?" Alluka bent down and kneeled towards her son, caressing her hand on his cheek. "Why are you crying?"
Gen's lips quivered as he brought up a hand to his eyes. They were wet and damp and tears rolled down his cheeks, and they plopped onto the floor one by one. "Mommy. He's alone. He's always alone, mommy." Gen cried softly, but he said nothing more than that.
All he knew was that he was overcome with a sudden wave of sadness looking at the boy who was as beautiful as the sun. The boy who lived a very long time ago. Gen's heart ached horribly for the first time, for the boy up on the screen.
A deep, aching sadness.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The next update is planned to be on March 10th and then April 14th, but they could be subject to change like this one. SO! I would love to know your thoughts please *puppy eyes*, and thank you so much for the favs and follows! It means so much XD
See you guys next time! Bye!