Chapter 54: Allies of Light
"Sit down here and wait," Taqui said to Zuzi and Bayne when they arrived at the temple.
Benches and tables had been set up and garlands had been attached to the branches of trees. However, this garlands looked pretty fluffy …
Zuzi paid attention to Taqui again when she walked towards the altar which was standing in front of the temple. Everybody followed her with their eyes.
Eventually Taqui stopped in front of the altar and looked at the gathered persons for a long time before she began to speak.
"Like every year we've gathered here today again to honor Nubigena, Goddess of Clouds, and Aither, God of Wind, because without them Nubes, our home, wouldn't exist. It's about five thousand years ago that our ancestors settled down here and left behind their beloved old home in the process. And all of this in service of the prophecy."
"Again this prophecy …" Zuzi murmured. She was waiting for her grandmother to say more about it, but she didn't stay with this topic.
"But let us not speak about the past, but let us thank Nubigena and Aither in a silent prayer that they make this life possible for us."
Everybody lowered their heads, folded their hands and prayed to those two gods. For some minutes it was deadly silent in front of the temple, then Taqui announced: "And now let us celebrate!"
Some men and women in airy red robes brought food, and soon the tables were filled with unknown food that made your mouth water.
Taqui came to Zuzi and Bayne again who didn't know if they should eat as well.
"Help yourself. It abounds," Taqui remarked.
"Shouldn't I get to know my family first?" Zuzi asked. "I … I think I'm too nervous to eat anything now anyway …"
Taqui smiled. "I can understand you, Zuzi. But you'll get to know your family soon enough. Besides, you two already have to be starving."
"Well, I am …" Bayne remarked, constantly looking at the food. It almost seemed as if he was afraid there wouldn't be anything left for him soon.
Zuzi sighed. "Alright … But will you at least answer me some questions along the way?"
"Of course."
Bayne immediately began to fill his plate with food while Zuzi only took a fruit that looked like a crossing of a banana and a strawberry. It was longish and bright red but wasn't curved like a banana and instead as hairy as a strawberry.
"Um … Can the skin be eaten?" Zuzi asked her grandmother, not sure if the unfamiliar fruit was equaling more the banana or the strawberry.
"Yes. By the way, that's an Yrme and, like you probably already assumed, a crossing of a banana and a strawberry," Taqui explained.
When Zuzi bit into the fruit she realized that it tasted exactly like a crossing of a banana and a strawberry as well. "Mmh … It's delicious …"
They were eating silently for a while, then Zuzi had to ask the first question.
"You said your ancestors came here about five thousand years ago … And that in service of the prophecy … But how does that relate to each other?"
Taqui closed her eyes. "In former times our people lived on a little island north of … Ah, what was the name of the city again? Palma …"
"Palmacosta?" Bayne helped her between two bites.
"Exactly. You have to know, we hadn't had any contact to the outside world since we started living here … Apart from a few exceptions. So we have our entire knowledge about the rest of the world only because of documents, scrolls and books. Well, anyway, our people lived there. Back then it already differed greatly from other peoples, on the one hand in their culture, on the other hand also physically."
"In what way?" Zuzi inquired.
"Our ancestors had all been relatively small humans; the tallest of them had just about the height of a ten year old child," Taqui answered. "Fortunately that changed over the years." She laughed.
Bayne suddenly stopped eating. "Wait … Does that mean … your ancestors were the Minoho?"
"The Minoho?" Zuzi asked, amazed that her boyfriend knew of a people she had never heard of before.
"I once read about them in a book … Like already said they were very small but pretty intelligent, they build the most wondrous buildings of which hardly any still exist today. At least we don't know about that. On the island they once lived on hardly anything can be found of this people," Bayne explained.
"Our people was called that way back then … and it is today as well, even if the name 'small human', which is the meaning of the word 'Minoho', isn't right anymore. We lived on this island until one day the prophet appeared and asked us to do some favors for him. The Minoho were a friendly people, and so they did him those favors when they learned what an importance they had. Because they were to conduce to the prophecy."
"What were those favors? And in what way did they conduce to the prophecy?" Zuzi wanted to know.
"First of all our people was supposed to hide the Moonstone Shivers, which the prophet gave to us, in different places where they were safe from thieves and treasure hunters, because they were determined for the Moon Healer who has to join the shivers together to heal the moon. We did the same with the Sun Crystals and Star Pieces. Furthermore, we sealed a moon wolf near one of the Moonstone Shivers which was supposed to be a loyal companion to the Moon Healer. And then the prophet asked us to leave our home and settle down here."
"Why?" Bayne asked.
"To protect our unique culture and religion."
"Hmm …" Zuzi though for a while. "But how were you able to reach Nubes? Did Rheairds already exist back then?"
Taqui smiled. "No, such flying machines like you have didn't exist back then. We came here by ourselves."
Zuzi and Bayne looked at the woman helplessly. What did she mean by that? Did they climb up here? But that couldn't be, Nubes was a flying land mass that wasn't connected to the earth.
"Ah, I see. Of course you can't make head or tail out of it. Very well, then I'll explain to you first of all how Nubes was created. Back then it was only a spot of earth that was lifted by Aither, God of Wind, and is carried since then by the wind. After that Nubigena created a huge cloud that surrounded Nubes so that nobody found the village."
"I see, so all of this happened after you were on this spot of earth," Bayne assumed.
Taqui shook her head. "No, no, not at all. All of this happened before we even knew that Nubes would be our new home. So when we learned of it and adjourned to the flying land mass we didn't know how to reach our new home. Aither then gave us the power to ride on the wind."
"To ride on the wind? So you can … fly on your own?" Bayne asked unbelievingly. His food was long forgotten.
"Well, it may look for others that way, but … It's no effort for us. We just let us be carried by the wind, but we can direct it the way we need it. It requires much training by the way and is thus taught pre-teen," Taqui explained.
"C-Can I do that as well?" Zuzi asked.
Taqui shook her head. "No. Like I said much training is needed and it's best if you're trained early."
Zuzi sighed. That would've been too good to be true anyway.
"But maybe you can still learn it," her grandmother said. "It could of course take some time, but … Well, maybe you're a natural talent. It would at least be no problem to teach you the basics."
Zuzi was grinning from one ear to another. "Oh, that would be so great!"
"Hey, can I learn that as well?" Bayne asked hopefully.
"No," Taqui replied right off the bat. "Only descendants of the Minoho can learn that."
Bayne looked disappointed. "What a pity. But to tell you the truth I already expected that much."
By now almost everybody had finished eating and was talking happily with their neighbors. Taqui arose from the bench.
"Come with me please," she said to Zuzi and Bayne.
The two followed her confusedly to the altar and felt the curious looks of the Minoho on their backs. They felt a little bit uncomfortable to be stared at by so many people as if they were some exhibition objects.
Taqui once again looked at the crowd and waited until they had quieted down, then she started speaking once more. "Like some of you maybe still remember we don't only celebrate today in honor of Aither and Nubigena. Today we also celebrate the fact that the prophecy has started to be fulfilled. Those two here are the proof." She looked at Zuzi and her boyfriend who seemed to be a little bit perplex. "Their arrival had been foretold a long time ago, the arrival of Bayne Muyami and Zuzi Nanashino, two Allies of Light."
Allies of Light? Just why did it sound so familiar to Zuzi? Ah, right, Tiga had murmured something about them. What had it been? 'Seems like I can't get around the conversation with Thanatos; the Allies of Light have to be complete.' Well, she wasn't still any smarter now.
"Thus we can now do the last favor the prophet has asked our people. Bring the Weapons of Light!" Taqui commanded, and two men, who seemed to have waited only for this sentence, brought two weapons and handed them to the old woman. She turned to Bayne and held two wooden pieces that were connected by a chain in front of him.
"This weapon is called Nunchaku. Take it, Bayne, it had always been determined for you."
The ninja took the weapon without hesitating; Zuzi frowned when he suddenly relaxed. Then her grandmother came to her and held an iron fan in front of her. "The name of this weapon is Tessen. It was never determined for another hand than yours."
Zuzi took the fan, and an indescribable feeling rushed immediately through her body. It was almost as if she had had a hole in her heart for her whole life which had been closed now.
"These weapons can send back any undead to the underworld, and that exactly is your task." She closed her eyes and quoted something:
"Allies of Light
Perform your task
Send the Envoys of Death
To the underworld
Banish the Shadow King
And seal the shadow world
To help
The servants."
She opened her eyes again. "It's written that way in the prophecy."
"The Envoys of Death? Didn't Sheena, Zelos and Ashton talk about them once?" Zuzi asked, whispering.
Bayne just shrugged.
Yes, she was pretty sure of it. But she didn't have the opportunity to continue thinking about it because four person came towards her and smiled at her. She intuitively knew who this persons were: her family.
So, Zuzi and Bayne belong to the Allies of Light ... ^^ Of course, they're not the only ones. Maybe you can already guess who belongs to them as well. ;)
The weapons Bayne and Zuzi got are Japanese again ... Well, doesn't that seem somehow familiar? xDD
To be continued ...
