TERRIA
With another day ended, and a new ally made (sort of), Tsi, Celcia and Inuyasha sat down in front of the campfire and feasted upon the freshly cooked deer that Inuyasha had had the courtesy to catch.
"Thanks, Inuyasha!" said Celcia, "I gotta admit, you're a much better hunter than Tsi."
"Don't get too thankful," answered Inuyasha, in his usual rude tone, "I'd rather you hunt your own food, but I can't eat all that deer and I'll be damned if it goes to waste."
Tsi simply sat, quietly eating his meal. He was thinking deeply about what had gone on over the past week. He thought mostly about the sword, Stratos, and the seemingly endless attempts on his life. Whoever was after him, they had gone to some great lengths already to eliminate him, and he was worried about what his enemy's next move would be. Particularly, how many lives it would cost.
"Hey Tsi," asked Celcia, suddenly, "you transformed into Gemini when you fought Inuyasha, right?"
"Mm hmm," answered the young Terrian.
"Well," continued the elf, "you clearly become a lot more powerful when you do, so why wait so long? How come you didn't do that back in Myet?"
"Well," answered Tsi, putting his plate in his lap, "it's risky. When a Terrian changes into one of the twelve guardians, they become much stronger and overall better fighters, but there's a catch. You see, on top of using up a lot of energy, whenever a Terrian takes on a new form, a part of their soul is lost in the process. The reason why this is particularly dangerous is because there's no telling which part of their soul a Terrian will lose."
"You serious?" asked the surprised Celcia.
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, "As a matter of fact, if a Terrian were to take on all twelve forms, their soul would be completely destroyed. They would become nothing more than an empty shell of their former self, and they would wander through existence without ever knowing their place."
"Creepy," responded the elf.
"Now I have a question," asked Inuyasha, "I hear that in order to be a Terrian, you have to be born a Terrian. Is that true?"
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, nodding his head.
"Well, what's so special aboutch'a?" continued the curious half-demon, "You seem pretty much human to me."
"Well," began Tsi, "legend has it that one day, thousands of years ago, the divine entity that many people called God became too heavily burdened by its two kingdoms. It foresaw the destruction of both kingdoms in the near future if it could not take strong hold of them soon. So, God split itself into two separate entities, the God, Mobia, and the Goddess, Terria. Mobia ruled over the heavens, while Terria ruled over the earth. This rule restored order to the kingdoms and brought balance back to them. When that was done and over with, Terria made haste to find what went so wrong that God would lose its hold on the earth in the first place. This is when she noticed the problem was in its people. I'm sure everyone here agrees that humans are imperfect beings, correct?"
"No question about that" answered Inuyasha, crossing his arms.
"Well," continued Tsi, "Terria found the humans to be too imperfect. So she decided to create a race of her own. Terria birthed six daughters and six sons, each one bestowed with power over one of the Earth's elements. They were the first Terrians."
"So that's it?" asked Inuyasha, "She was gonna make the world a better place by givin' her kids powers? Please tell me that's not the end of it."
"Your right," answered Tsi, "You see, because of their great power, the Terrians were also able to gain great influence, and eventually became leaders in the eyes of the people. They weren't just all talk like everyone else. They new what had to be done, and they had the power to do it. Crime disappeared, fear became a memory, and it finally looked like things were just going right for everyone."
"But..." said Celcia, holding her bent legs as her head rested on her knees.
"But," continued Tsi, "unfortunately, it couldn't last. One day, a terrible disaster came completely out of nowhere and threatened the lives of all who lived on this planet. The Terrians, their duty being to keep the planet safe, made the ultimate sacrifice to conquer that disaster. But, though their bodies were destroyed, their spirits survived and returned to Terria, and, through people like me, they still fulfill the task she gave them so many years ago. I am one of their descendants."
"So that's it, huh?" asked Inuyasha.
"Just about," answered Tsi, "There are a few differences between my generation and the originals, however. For one, Terrians don't necessarily become the guardians themselves as much as we just use their skills, and since we're technically only part Terrian, we can only sustain a single form for a short time. More skilled Terrians can hold a form for longer times, but I'm not at that level yet."
"Wait a minute," said Celcia, abruptly, "If the Terrian trait is passed on genetically, then how come there are so few of you?"
"Well," answered Tsi, "not only are there Terrians that haven't been discovered yet, but the gene is only passed on to the fifth generation, if at all."
"So you're saying," began Inuyasha, "there're Terrians out there that don't even know what they are?"
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, "and with how hard it is to distinguish us from regular humans, some of us, if not most of us don't even get discovered."
"Kind of like actors," said a perky Celcia.
"Or good voice dubbers," responded Inuyasha, calmly.
"Wow," Tsi thought, "Inuyasha has a sense of humor. Who'd of thought?"
"Actually," said Tsi, "Terrians are becoming even more rare with each generation, and I can't help but wonder, when were all gone, are the people of this planet going to mess things up again, or will they have finally learned a better way to live?"
"Don't get your hopes up," responded Inuyasha, "Humans are so afraid of change, it's ridiculous. God forbid they ever try to care about one another."
"Aw," replied Celcia, "c'mon, Inuyasha, you gotta give the humans a little credit. After all, they've managed to last this long."
"Yeah," snapped Inuyasha, "with the help of a Goddess. Some feet of development that is."
Tsi stood up and set his plate down.
"Night guys," said the young Terrian as he walked over to his backpack.
"Yeah," replied Inuyasha, plainly as he lied down on his side, set his head on his palm and shut his eyes.
Tsi set up his sleeping bag, lied down in it, and fell asleep.
Celcia stayed up for a little while. She thought, "Maybe the humans aren't the greatest of God's creatures, but there are still those that are at least a little decent. Like that girl from Loru, Mina, and her family as well."
Suddenly the image of Junpei entered Celcia's mind.
"Then again," she said to herself, a sweat-drop over her head, "There are some exceptions."
With another day ended, and a new ally made (sort of), Tsi, Celcia and Inuyasha sat down in front of the campfire and feasted upon the freshly cooked deer that Inuyasha had had the courtesy to catch.
"Thanks, Inuyasha!" said Celcia, "I gotta admit, you're a much better hunter than Tsi."
"Don't get too thankful," answered Inuyasha, in his usual rude tone, "I'd rather you hunt your own food, but I can't eat all that deer and I'll be damned if it goes to waste."
Tsi simply sat, quietly eating his meal. He was thinking deeply about what had gone on over the past week. He thought mostly about the sword, Stratos, and the seemingly endless attempts on his life. Whoever was after him, they had gone to some great lengths already to eliminate him, and he was worried about what his enemy's next move would be. Particularly, how many lives it would cost.
"Hey Tsi," asked Celcia, suddenly, "you transformed into Gemini when you fought Inuyasha, right?"
"Mm hmm," answered the young Terrian.
"Well," continued the elf, "you clearly become a lot more powerful when you do, so why wait so long? How come you didn't do that back in Myet?"
"Well," answered Tsi, putting his plate in his lap, "it's risky. When a Terrian changes into one of the twelve guardians, they become much stronger and overall better fighters, but there's a catch. You see, on top of using up a lot of energy, whenever a Terrian takes on a new form, a part of their soul is lost in the process. The reason why this is particularly dangerous is because there's no telling which part of their soul a Terrian will lose."
"You serious?" asked the surprised Celcia.
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, "As a matter of fact, if a Terrian were to take on all twelve forms, their soul would be completely destroyed. They would become nothing more than an empty shell of their former self, and they would wander through existence without ever knowing their place."
"Creepy," responded the elf.
"Now I have a question," asked Inuyasha, "I hear that in order to be a Terrian, you have to be born a Terrian. Is that true?"
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, nodding his head.
"Well, what's so special aboutch'a?" continued the curious half-demon, "You seem pretty much human to me."
"Well," began Tsi, "legend has it that one day, thousands of years ago, the divine entity that many people called God became too heavily burdened by its two kingdoms. It foresaw the destruction of both kingdoms in the near future if it could not take strong hold of them soon. So, God split itself into two separate entities, the God, Mobia, and the Goddess, Terria. Mobia ruled over the heavens, while Terria ruled over the earth. This rule restored order to the kingdoms and brought balance back to them. When that was done and over with, Terria made haste to find what went so wrong that God would lose its hold on the earth in the first place. This is when she noticed the problem was in its people. I'm sure everyone here agrees that humans are imperfect beings, correct?"
"No question about that" answered Inuyasha, crossing his arms.
"Well," continued Tsi, "Terria found the humans to be too imperfect. So she decided to create a race of her own. Terria birthed six daughters and six sons, each one bestowed with power over one of the Earth's elements. They were the first Terrians."
"So that's it?" asked Inuyasha, "She was gonna make the world a better place by givin' her kids powers? Please tell me that's not the end of it."
"Your right," answered Tsi, "You see, because of their great power, the Terrians were also able to gain great influence, and eventually became leaders in the eyes of the people. They weren't just all talk like everyone else. They new what had to be done, and they had the power to do it. Crime disappeared, fear became a memory, and it finally looked like things were just going right for everyone."
"But..." said Celcia, holding her bent legs as her head rested on her knees.
"But," continued Tsi, "unfortunately, it couldn't last. One day, a terrible disaster came completely out of nowhere and threatened the lives of all who lived on this planet. The Terrians, their duty being to keep the planet safe, made the ultimate sacrifice to conquer that disaster. But, though their bodies were destroyed, their spirits survived and returned to Terria, and, through people like me, they still fulfill the task she gave them so many years ago. I am one of their descendants."
"So that's it, huh?" asked Inuyasha.
"Just about," answered Tsi, "There are a few differences between my generation and the originals, however. For one, Terrians don't necessarily become the guardians themselves as much as we just use their skills, and since we're technically only part Terrian, we can only sustain a single form for a short time. More skilled Terrians can hold a form for longer times, but I'm not at that level yet."
"Wait a minute," said Celcia, abruptly, "If the Terrian trait is passed on genetically, then how come there are so few of you?"
"Well," answered Tsi, "not only are there Terrians that haven't been discovered yet, but the gene is only passed on to the fifth generation, if at all."
"So you're saying," began Inuyasha, "there're Terrians out there that don't even know what they are?"
"Mm hmm," answered Tsi, "and with how hard it is to distinguish us from regular humans, some of us, if not most of us don't even get discovered."
"Kind of like actors," said a perky Celcia.
"Or good voice dubbers," responded Inuyasha, calmly.
"Wow," Tsi thought, "Inuyasha has a sense of humor. Who'd of thought?"
"Actually," said Tsi, "Terrians are becoming even more rare with each generation, and I can't help but wonder, when were all gone, are the people of this planet going to mess things up again, or will they have finally learned a better way to live?"
"Don't get your hopes up," responded Inuyasha, "Humans are so afraid of change, it's ridiculous. God forbid they ever try to care about one another."
"Aw," replied Celcia, "c'mon, Inuyasha, you gotta give the humans a little credit. After all, they've managed to last this long."
"Yeah," snapped Inuyasha, "with the help of a Goddess. Some feet of development that is."
Tsi stood up and set his plate down.
"Night guys," said the young Terrian as he walked over to his backpack.
"Yeah," replied Inuyasha, plainly as he lied down on his side, set his head on his palm and shut his eyes.
Tsi set up his sleeping bag, lied down in it, and fell asleep.
Celcia stayed up for a little while. She thought, "Maybe the humans aren't the greatest of God's creatures, but there are still those that are at least a little decent. Like that girl from Loru, Mina, and her family as well."
Suddenly the image of Junpei entered Celcia's mind.
"Then again," she said to herself, a sweat-drop over her head, "There are some exceptions."