Training in hell


Sakura ran down the street. Behind her she heard a sound like an explosion.

It was a fairly normal street in Malfeas. The stones contained traps and there was a shop nearby that sold souls but it was fairly normal. The giant primordial behind her that was slowly making it's way down the street did stand out a bit though.

The Yozi was vast. So large that calling it continental in scale was downplaying it. It was covered in darkness that was supposedly just black hair but Sakura thought was likely something else.

As she ran she tripped backwards and started to slide towards the living black hole. It's gravity pulled at her dress as she slowly slid closer.

She reached down and grabbed onto the stones of the road beneath her and luckily it wasn't trapped. She made her way back to her feet before running on further.

The Yozi was Isidoros, the Black Boar that Twists the Skies and Szoreny had told her that to prove herself worthy of the next part of his training she had to attract Isidoros's attention and tell him that Szoreny wanted to talk to him.

She realised that she was being sent on a chore but this was a bit out of her scale. How on earth was she meant to attract the attention of a Yozi of this scale? She had already tried the obvious ones, most Yozi heard any prayer that an Exalted sent to them. Isidoros though didn't even react to it.

She wanted to be polite in her role as the messenger so she couldn't chuck a rock at his toe and hope he saw her. Even then it was likely that he wouldn't even notice that much.

So she did the simple thing and asked local demons. Apparently there was a plan in place for this as most demons didn't want their house trampled. The plan was for a flying demon to fly miles up to Isidoros's head and then ask him nicely to go somewhere else.

He didn't walk quickly but he didn't need to as he could change layers in only a few steps. He could likely cross all of Malfeas with a short jog.

As she ran she searched for a demon that would be able to carry her to his head but most had already fled as the survival rate from the normal method was low. Most decided to cut their losses and move elsewhere.

His next footstep destroyed an entire street that she just left so she ran to her right to try and get out of his path.

Eventually she saw a viable demon. It was a little thing like a bat and she hadn't seen it's like before but it's wings were as large as sails from a small ship. It was fleeing with all the other demons but she rushed forward stealthily, imbuing the action with the power of the ebon dragon, and caught the demon.

"Let me go! Me go Let!" It chittered in a fast voice. Sakura held on and locked gazes with it's red ringed eyes "I am a Green Sun Prince, I command you to obey." Into her words she mixed the authority of Cecelyne, the Endless Desert. Demonic Primacy of Essence, a charm that enforces her will upon demons weaker than she was. It was a passive charm but she noted it's activation with a smile.

The demon wilted slightly in her grasp before responding "What wish is yours, Royal Highness?" Wish what be yours?"

Sakura smiled before pointing up "You are to take me to the great lord's head so I can talk to him."

The demon wilted further still before nodding "Yes your Royal Highness. Royal Highness yes, yes."

She let go of the demon who extended four arms, each with a claw that could wrap around a limb. With one set of arms it grabbed her by the shoulders and with the other it wrapped the arms around her waist. It then began beating it's great wings and it began to fly higher and higher.

After at least five minutes she reached the hips of the yozi and began to wonder at it's size better now she wasn't running away.

He was conceptually 'The largest yozi' which then led to the question of how he was trapped within Malfeas. Isidoros knew no limits and yet he had been caged it was a contradiction made real. They had likely done the same in order to trap all of the yozi. Their cage was reinforced against conceptual attempts to break through and yet smaller demons could still escape.

Either way she reached his neck after about half an hour of flight. With only a few more minutes she was flying at the same level as his boar's snout. She directed the demon carrying her to bring her around to his front.

When she was there she called out, her throat going hoarse from the scream of it.

"GREAT LORD ISIDOROS! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!"

A moment passed as he seemed to move on toward her without noticing. His eyes were as black as the rest of him so she couldn't see if he was even looking at her.

"GREAT LORD ISIDOROS! I BRING A MESSAGE FROM GREAT LORD SZORENY!"

At this he finally stopped. His entire hulking form stopped and he turned as if looking for her. When he opened his mouth and spoke it was in a sound louder than any she had heard before.

"WHERE ARE YOU, OH LITTLE MESSENGER OF MY FRIEND?"

Sakura took in a breath before screaming again.

"GREAT LORD ISIDOROS! I AM HERE!"

At this the great boars head that drew in all things turned to look at her.

"WELL AT LEAST HE SENT SOMEONE LARGER THAN NORMAL, I CAN AT LEAST SEE YOU LITTLE ONE. MOST HE SENDS ARE TO ME AS MOTES ARE TO YOU."

Sakura had gone deaf by this point but his words resounded in her bones so she still heard him.

"GREAT LORD SZORENY WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU!"

The great boars head nodded.

"YOUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN HEARD LITTLE ONE. TELL MY FRIEND I WILL VISIT HIM THE NEXT TIME I FEEL LIKE IT."

Sakura nodded to the demon and he began to take her down away from the yozi. The demon muttered something but she couldn't hear it. She just wanted to go back to her house in the Conventicle and rest off her deafness. Luckily that was quite easy for an Exalted to heal.


End of chapter.

Going back to Sakura now, we haven't been with her in a while and I was bored with the other two.