Yami Tulip-Jin: People actually _like_ one of your stories, Aibou. I can hardly believe it.
Tulip-Jin: ^_^
Yami TJ: It's true after all - people in America WILL watch anything, no matter how much it stinks.
TJ: O_O
Chibi Red Eyes Black Dragon: Rawrr... (Uh-oh...)
TJ: *wallops Yami TJ into the stratosphere with the Millennium Mace*
Chibi Red Eyes: *sighs* Rawr rawr rawwwwr... (They're at it again...)
TJ: I feel _much_ better now. On with the fic!
Disclaimer: Are you an idiot or something that needs this more than once?
**************************************************************************************************************************
Of course, I did survive childhood. Plenty of my siblings didn't, including Darna, Zeporith, and Haskal, but that was some plague thing. I didn't even get sick. Father did. He wasn't considered quite right in the head after that. It was around then that I was studying magic with my most intent.
Old Master had vanished two years back; Septhroith - he and I had grown very distant, although I still considered him a friend - had tutored me for the last year, but now Henshin was doing some high intensity stuff and they hadn't come back from the Great Temple for months. So I was left to teach myself.
Magic, at first, was just something to relieve the monotony of my existence. Now that we were older, my siblings weren't interested in killing me off anymore. My sisters were trying to become proper women so they could get married as soon as possible, and my brothers wanted to fight wars and hunt - anything so long as they could kill something.
I, on the other hand, had neither the interest nor the build required to seek such pursuits. So one day Old Master came up to me and asked if I wanted to study magic. I suppose what got me agreeing was that he _wanted_ to know if I wanted to learn it - everyone that knew about my so-called 'Chosen' status would keep preaching about my 'destiny' and the magic I was going to pass along.
When given a choice, I choose magic only because it beat staring into space all day.
But now I was done with basic magic. I could do a few small spells already - if you've ever heard of the Marketplace Inferno, I can assure you that was just a minor illumination spell that got out of hand.
I mean it! It wasn't supposed to actually set things _alight_! Septhroith laughed so hard that his priest's hat fell off when I tried to explain my side of it…the jerk.
Anyway, I was finished with the basics and was poking around the library for something else to do when I came across something unusual. Three slaves were in there, supposedly cleaning, but it looked more like they were fighting. They didn't see me, so I was able to watch with some amusement.
One of them I recognized - Anza. Numari had also died from the plague, despite her status as the eldest daughter, and Anza was a normal slave now. She got to spend more time watching the palace dancers then she'd ever had as a maid, which we both felt was an ironic twist of fate.
I knew that if I was ever given the chance I would have her assigned as a dancer first thing. I never told her that, though - I knew she'd think it was silly. The other two, one with blond hair and one with brown hair, were a pair I had seen before but their names escaped me at the moment. All three of them were arguing about something.
"You're not supposed to touch the scrolls Jono! You'll get whipped for it!"
"Aw, c'mon Anza, I just wanna see what's so important about these things…"
"I wouldn't look if I were you, Jono…besides, since when can you read?"
"You'd better take that back Hotra! I can read better then you do!"
"Will the two of you just quit it? You're going to get us all in trouble! Put them back before someone sees us!"
I couldn't resist - I had to do it.
"It's a little late for that, I think," I said.
All three of them whirled around, looked at me long enough to register 'Very Important Person', and threw themselves at my feet begging not to be punished.
Glad there was no one else to see the rather amusing display, I tapped Anza on the shoulder, and when she finally glanced up I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Oh! Yamakali! I didn't realize it was you! Guys, its okay, you can get up!"
Jono and Hotra looked at me warily as they slowly got up. They seemed suspicious, which they had a right to be of course. Normally, there was only one way for Anza to know someone with my level of status.
Of course we were both too young for that and frankly it was absurd, but that was the way things were. Another thing I would work on if given the chance.
"Sorry about the noise, these two decided to investigate scrolls when they were supposed to be working."
Jono instantly forgot his suspicions as he began protesting.
"Hey, we swept and dusted already, and what's wrong with being curious, huh?"
"He's got a point," I said.
Jono grinned. "See? Even _he_ agrees with me!"
"Looks like miracles really do happen," Hotra said, and that started the pair on each other again until I coughed politely, reminding them I was still there.
"So, Anza - who's yer little nobleman friend? He's, eh, kinda young for ya, ain't he?"
Even though the accusation was to be expected, I still turned bright red. Anza, on the other hand, spazzed out.
"How DARE you say such a thing, Jono! We're just FRIENDS, that's all! And if you'd bother to LISTEN when people spoke then you'd already know who he is anyway!"
Hotra and Jono laughed nervously as they tried to fend off an enraged Anza. I finally stepped in to save them. It was then Hotra figured things out.
"Hey, wait a second…isn't Yamakali the name of a Prince? That one with the creepy nickname?"
I frowned. Being known to everyone as 'Demon-spawn' wasn't something I was particularly proud of.
"Yes, that would be me, and I can assure you any and all rumors you've heard are completely false."
Hotra put up his hands defensively. "No way, I would never have believed them anyway, rumors are stupid! Eh heh heh…"
He looked like he knew he was about to get his head ripped off, and as much as I hated to disappoint I knew Anza would do the same to me if I tried. Besides, I was beginning to like these two anyway. I decided to change the subject.
"So…what was it that was so interesting over here anyway?"
They took a second to track on what I was talking about.
"Oh, some really old scrolls over here. I don't know how these two could have opened them, but they were in these silver boxes," Anza said as she pointed them out to me.
"Don't look at me! I think the lock was broken or something! It just opened up when I barely even touched it," Jono protested.
I took a look at the box in question and blanched.
"This case is sealed by magic - there's no lock to break - and it's only supposed to open for the priests!"
"Well…does that mean I'm really a priest?" Jono looked very pleased with himself.
"The spells are rather old…I suppose this one must have worn off by now…"
Hotra and Anza jumped as Jono fell on his head.
"So much for the reign of High Priest Jono," Hotra laughed.
"One of these days, Hotra…"
Anza and I were laughing as well, until she stopped.
"What's up Anza?"
"I think someone's coming…and we left the scrolls in a total mess! If the scholars see this we're going to get in huge trouble!"
I'm not sure what prompted me to open my mouth just then, but I felt I had to do something.
"Hold on, I have an idea. You three go out the back way. I'll cover for you."
"Really? Thanks Yamakali, you're the best!"
They ran out the back and I managed to restore a slight semblance of order just as one of the more important scholars, Lakasul, walked up.
"My Prince?"
He looked at the disarrayed shelves with scorn - he was a stickler for organization - and said, "You seem to be putting some…_enthusiasm_…into your studies, my Prince."
"Yes, well…I did lose track of time…I will straighten these up right away, Master Scholar," I said, making sure my words came across respectful.
Lakasul seemed mollified and left. I heaved a sigh of relief afterwards - thank Nut he hadn't seen the open silver case.
There were only a few scrolls out of place, either lying open or shelved out of order, and it didn't take me very long to fix that. There was only one left, an old map, and it went into the silver case. As I was putting it back in, one of the others in the case caught my eye. Since there was no one watching I pulled it out and looked at the first part of it.
"A theory of magical influence in the Dark World…"
I really don't know what made me do it. I rolled up the scroll and hid it under my robes, closing the top of the silver case and heading for my chambers. Once I had privacy - rumors or no rumors, nobody entered without permission - I looked over the entire scroll more carefully. It was partly a history, partly speculation. I knew I wasn't supposed to be looking at it at all, but still, I read it.
And from there I first learned of the dark and dangerous place known as the Shadow Realm…
Tulip-Jin: ^_^
Yami TJ: It's true after all - people in America WILL watch anything, no matter how much it stinks.
TJ: O_O
Chibi Red Eyes Black Dragon: Rawrr... (Uh-oh...)
TJ: *wallops Yami TJ into the stratosphere with the Millennium Mace*
Chibi Red Eyes: *sighs* Rawr rawr rawwwwr... (They're at it again...)
TJ: I feel _much_ better now. On with the fic!
Disclaimer: Are you an idiot or something that needs this more than once?
**************************************************************************************************************************
Of course, I did survive childhood. Plenty of my siblings didn't, including Darna, Zeporith, and Haskal, but that was some plague thing. I didn't even get sick. Father did. He wasn't considered quite right in the head after that. It was around then that I was studying magic with my most intent.
Old Master had vanished two years back; Septhroith - he and I had grown very distant, although I still considered him a friend - had tutored me for the last year, but now Henshin was doing some high intensity stuff and they hadn't come back from the Great Temple for months. So I was left to teach myself.
Magic, at first, was just something to relieve the monotony of my existence. Now that we were older, my siblings weren't interested in killing me off anymore. My sisters were trying to become proper women so they could get married as soon as possible, and my brothers wanted to fight wars and hunt - anything so long as they could kill something.
I, on the other hand, had neither the interest nor the build required to seek such pursuits. So one day Old Master came up to me and asked if I wanted to study magic. I suppose what got me agreeing was that he _wanted_ to know if I wanted to learn it - everyone that knew about my so-called 'Chosen' status would keep preaching about my 'destiny' and the magic I was going to pass along.
When given a choice, I choose magic only because it beat staring into space all day.
But now I was done with basic magic. I could do a few small spells already - if you've ever heard of the Marketplace Inferno, I can assure you that was just a minor illumination spell that got out of hand.
I mean it! It wasn't supposed to actually set things _alight_! Septhroith laughed so hard that his priest's hat fell off when I tried to explain my side of it…the jerk.
Anyway, I was finished with the basics and was poking around the library for something else to do when I came across something unusual. Three slaves were in there, supposedly cleaning, but it looked more like they were fighting. They didn't see me, so I was able to watch with some amusement.
One of them I recognized - Anza. Numari had also died from the plague, despite her status as the eldest daughter, and Anza was a normal slave now. She got to spend more time watching the palace dancers then she'd ever had as a maid, which we both felt was an ironic twist of fate.
I knew that if I was ever given the chance I would have her assigned as a dancer first thing. I never told her that, though - I knew she'd think it was silly. The other two, one with blond hair and one with brown hair, were a pair I had seen before but their names escaped me at the moment. All three of them were arguing about something.
"You're not supposed to touch the scrolls Jono! You'll get whipped for it!"
"Aw, c'mon Anza, I just wanna see what's so important about these things…"
"I wouldn't look if I were you, Jono…besides, since when can you read?"
"You'd better take that back Hotra! I can read better then you do!"
"Will the two of you just quit it? You're going to get us all in trouble! Put them back before someone sees us!"
I couldn't resist - I had to do it.
"It's a little late for that, I think," I said.
All three of them whirled around, looked at me long enough to register 'Very Important Person', and threw themselves at my feet begging not to be punished.
Glad there was no one else to see the rather amusing display, I tapped Anza on the shoulder, and when she finally glanced up I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Oh! Yamakali! I didn't realize it was you! Guys, its okay, you can get up!"
Jono and Hotra looked at me warily as they slowly got up. They seemed suspicious, which they had a right to be of course. Normally, there was only one way for Anza to know someone with my level of status.
Of course we were both too young for that and frankly it was absurd, but that was the way things were. Another thing I would work on if given the chance.
"Sorry about the noise, these two decided to investigate scrolls when they were supposed to be working."
Jono instantly forgot his suspicions as he began protesting.
"Hey, we swept and dusted already, and what's wrong with being curious, huh?"
"He's got a point," I said.
Jono grinned. "See? Even _he_ agrees with me!"
"Looks like miracles really do happen," Hotra said, and that started the pair on each other again until I coughed politely, reminding them I was still there.
"So, Anza - who's yer little nobleman friend? He's, eh, kinda young for ya, ain't he?"
Even though the accusation was to be expected, I still turned bright red. Anza, on the other hand, spazzed out.
"How DARE you say such a thing, Jono! We're just FRIENDS, that's all! And if you'd bother to LISTEN when people spoke then you'd already know who he is anyway!"
Hotra and Jono laughed nervously as they tried to fend off an enraged Anza. I finally stepped in to save them. It was then Hotra figured things out.
"Hey, wait a second…isn't Yamakali the name of a Prince? That one with the creepy nickname?"
I frowned. Being known to everyone as 'Demon-spawn' wasn't something I was particularly proud of.
"Yes, that would be me, and I can assure you any and all rumors you've heard are completely false."
Hotra put up his hands defensively. "No way, I would never have believed them anyway, rumors are stupid! Eh heh heh…"
He looked like he knew he was about to get his head ripped off, and as much as I hated to disappoint I knew Anza would do the same to me if I tried. Besides, I was beginning to like these two anyway. I decided to change the subject.
"So…what was it that was so interesting over here anyway?"
They took a second to track on what I was talking about.
"Oh, some really old scrolls over here. I don't know how these two could have opened them, but they were in these silver boxes," Anza said as she pointed them out to me.
"Don't look at me! I think the lock was broken or something! It just opened up when I barely even touched it," Jono protested.
I took a look at the box in question and blanched.
"This case is sealed by magic - there's no lock to break - and it's only supposed to open for the priests!"
"Well…does that mean I'm really a priest?" Jono looked very pleased with himself.
"The spells are rather old…I suppose this one must have worn off by now…"
Hotra and Anza jumped as Jono fell on his head.
"So much for the reign of High Priest Jono," Hotra laughed.
"One of these days, Hotra…"
Anza and I were laughing as well, until she stopped.
"What's up Anza?"
"I think someone's coming…and we left the scrolls in a total mess! If the scholars see this we're going to get in huge trouble!"
I'm not sure what prompted me to open my mouth just then, but I felt I had to do something.
"Hold on, I have an idea. You three go out the back way. I'll cover for you."
"Really? Thanks Yamakali, you're the best!"
They ran out the back and I managed to restore a slight semblance of order just as one of the more important scholars, Lakasul, walked up.
"My Prince?"
He looked at the disarrayed shelves with scorn - he was a stickler for organization - and said, "You seem to be putting some…_enthusiasm_…into your studies, my Prince."
"Yes, well…I did lose track of time…I will straighten these up right away, Master Scholar," I said, making sure my words came across respectful.
Lakasul seemed mollified and left. I heaved a sigh of relief afterwards - thank Nut he hadn't seen the open silver case.
There were only a few scrolls out of place, either lying open or shelved out of order, and it didn't take me very long to fix that. There was only one left, an old map, and it went into the silver case. As I was putting it back in, one of the others in the case caught my eye. Since there was no one watching I pulled it out and looked at the first part of it.
"A theory of magical influence in the Dark World…"
I really don't know what made me do it. I rolled up the scroll and hid it under my robes, closing the top of the silver case and heading for my chambers. Once I had privacy - rumors or no rumors, nobody entered without permission - I looked over the entire scroll more carefully. It was partly a history, partly speculation. I knew I wasn't supposed to be looking at it at all, but still, I read it.
And from there I first learned of the dark and dangerous place known as the Shadow Realm…
