Chapter 1: Prior To

The breeze made it's way through the village of Xeuber gently and silently. The feeling was soothing as it mutely blew across the grassy plains. The sightless force only being made known by the coolness it brought with it. The verdant planes swayed, its natural grasses dancing to the melody of nature. The oak trees vegetating the small village danced too, making their own sweet noises. The soft rustling of the grassy plane being all that could be heard for miles, a sound that would lie to rest on deaf ears. The sky was clear; the air was crisp and clean, and the smell of the salty ocean from the south was being blown back where it came from.

The village itself, much like the plane surrounding it, was lively. The village people went about their daily chores farming, ranching, fishing, or just cleaning. It was mid-day, afternoon if you will, and the children were taking a break from their schoolings. Most went back to their feudal stone homes to their families to assist them in their work. Others, though, went to enjoy themselves on the calm day. One specifically made his way quickly, racing down the wavering dirt roads. He flew past the Tailor's home, through the town square, stopping there for a moment to look at the giant crystal in the center of the very village.

Most of the village people went on, as if the crystal wasn't anything important. But it was very important, without a doubt the most crucial part of life in the village. The crystal that seemed to shine with an inner blue mana protected the village from the dangers of the outside world. It formed a protective barrier around the quiet place to keep it from harm, and to keep the inhabitants living. Though it had no name, everyone could look up to it, no matter whom they were. Every race on the planet was grateful for the protection it gave.

The dangers from outside had a name, though. It was called "miasma." The miasma showed up many years before, though no one knows quite how it came to be. The invisible toxin acted as a sort of radiation, and whoever was caught out within the toxin, could surely be pronounced as dead. There was only one way to counter the effects of the miasma, and that was the crystals. The crystals appeared as the miasma did, and immediately became places of life. But they, too, had their flaws. The crystals were not absolute; they needed assistance from the beings on the planet.

The earliest of teachings said, that the crystals were dying. They did not have infinite power; there were, in fact, limits. A substance called "myrrh" could control this limit. Myrrh was a very rare substance, which purified and replenished the crystals when applied. But it could only be obtained from a "myrrh tree," which was also a very rare sight. They could only be found in the most treacherous of places for some inexplicable reason. This caused difficulty for the beings of the planet, and the added fact that the myrrh trees only produced myrrh drops every other year did naught to help the situation either.

Thus, the oldest legend was formed, the crystal caravans. These caravans were sent from each town to gather myrrh for their respective crystals. Volunteers ran the caravans, each usually being fit enough in one way or another to combat the monsters that lived within the miasma. These "adventurers" could be of any race, and are meant to be strong and willing. They would set off every year to find the myrrh until they resigned or until death. Ultimately, it was up to them to keep their village living.

The young boy was lost in thought, knowing the importance of the crystal caravans. He wanted to take the responsibility of one of those caravans, he wanted to join one and travel out to the myrrh trees. He would ask the ones who went to seek out the trees question after question, about the places they saw, and about the crystal chalice. Though the crystal chalice was an easily understood thing, he always wanted to observe it. He thought it looked pretty, it being a smaller version of the crystal he was gazing upon right then. It was also a container for the drops of myrrh. He found it a truly exciting subject... probably the only one he'd pay attention to.

The boy shook his head. He forgot that he was supposed to go visit his best friend down at the farm. He turned and dashed down around the blacksmith's house, taking a sharp right turn into the farmyard. Though it was a farm, it wasn't overly impressive, it was just something to keep the village going. A few vegetables grew in a small garden-like area, and then there was a house. They had no animals; the young boy never could recall a time that his friend's family ever asked to by an animal. On the doorstep was the boy's friend, who looked to be frustrated. The boy approached her then and looked down upon the young Selkie's sitting form.

"Kazuo!" She said with glee, jumping up and taking his hands into her own. "You're here!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I was late, Kaegomé." The young Calvat responded with a soft smile.

"Well where were you?" Kaegomé asked, suddenly seeming frustrated.

"I... I don't know." Kazuo responded nervously.

"Humph! You don't know?" She said, letting go of his hands and crossing her arms, tapping her foot on the step. "You were probably daydreaming again!"

"Well..." Kazuo said sheepishly, running his fingers through his well-kept chestnut coloured hair. "It was just the crystal..."

"You were thinking about the caravan again." Kaegomé butt in.

"Yeah..."

The young Selkie pushed past her Calvat friend and proceeded to walk off of the farmyard. Kazuo hesitated a moment before taking off after her. He quickly caught up to her, and they just continued to walk, not saying a word to one another. Kazuo knew that his friend was prone to mood-swings, and could go from chipper to cross in a matter of moments. But he also knew, similarly, that she could go back quite quickly. He grinned and gave Kaegomé a hard pat on the shoulder before running forwards. He laughed, knowing exactly what he had in mind.

"Ha! You can't catch me!" He called out back to her, running towards their favorite place.

"Ugh! You!" Kaegomé called back to him. "We'll see!"

The Calvat boy didn't need to look back for his friend any longer. He knew for certain that he was being pursued in their little game of tag. He ran quickly around the farmyard before going next door to the fisherman's home. He liked that spot because it was located right on the coast of the village, and it had a beautiful view of the water. Kazuo and Kaegomé always went there, it was their special place. The place always set Kaegomé into a good mood again, whether it went quickly or slowly, whatever mood she was in would change to chipper, it never failed. He ran to the coast and stopped then, just standing and waiting for his friend. He didn't even have enough time to turn around though, as he was tackled to the ground.

"Ha! Got'chya!" Kaegomé proclaimed, taking her friend's arm and twisting it behind his back.

"Hey! Ouch!" Kazuo shouted, squirming a bit. "Let go! Let me go!"

"Say 'Kaegomé, you are the greatest' then." She teased, putting more pressure on the appendage she had. "Say it!"

"Ah! Kaegomé! Let me go!" The Calvat exclaimed, just feeling more pain coarse through his arm. "You're the greatest!"

"And?" The Selkie continued to tease. "What else?"

"You didn't say...!" Kazuo was about to imply, but he felt more pressure, along with more pain applied to his arm. "You are...! You're the greatest friend in the whole world, almost!"

"Almost?" Kaegomé inquired.

"I meant EVER!" Kazuo shouted out in pain.

The Selkie giggled and let go of the Calvat's arm, getting off of his back. Kazuo sat up with a small groan, rubbing his arm. It worked quickly this time, he thought, she was already back to her normal self. Kaegomé sat down beside him and smiled, gazing out to the sea. It definitely worked, and it was then time for quiet chitchat. These conversations normally went on for the whole hour they had away from their schoolings, and were almost always about adventuring or the crystal caravan. Other time spend there was used playing games, like make-belief things. They always enjoyed pretending they were brave heroes, just like how they saw the myrrh tree seekers.

They spoke for a quick few minutes before deciding to play one of these games. Kazuo said that they should imagine that they were fighting a gigantic beast that was guarding a myrrh tree. Though Kaegomé said that they should be exploring a bran new place for once, instead of fighting monsters. Normally, Kazuo always won arguments like this, but on that day, he decided that it would be best to let her do, as she wanted. And so they explored, pretending that they were in a mysterious forest. They used a fairly big rock to symbolize the crystal chalice while they walked, wandering around the village at their free will. They wandered all the way to the merchant's home before spotting an odd creature.

They stopped and looked at it. It was a Yuke; there was no mistaking it. It seemed to be looking in a tree, and jumping, reaching up towards the great oak's branches. It made slight grunting noises as it reached, as if trying to get something. It's metal helmet ha two horns protruding from it, and the brass it was made from gleamed in the sunlight. Kazuo and Kaegomé had both seen this young Yuke before, it attended the schoolings they did, though it rarely spoke a word. Kaegomé approached it then, walking over to it and looking up in the tree.

"Um, Kaegomé." Kazuo said. "Our game, remember?"

"What are you looking for, Senken?" Kaegomé said, looking at the Yuke.

Senken only responded by pointing up into the tree. He didn't say a word, but when Kaegomé peered into it's branches, she saw a book. The Yuke must have accidentally left it up there somehow. Kaegomé smiled and said that she would help get the book own if the Senken would give her a boost. Senken nodded in agreement and kneeled down, letting Kaegomé stand up on his shoulders. Taking a good hold of her ankles, Senken stood up slowly. Since he was taller than both Kaegomé and Kazuo, the added height easily reached the branch. The Selkie reached up and took hold of the book.

"Okay I've got it!" Kaegomé said. "Can I come down now?"

"Kaegomé, I really don't like this guy." Kazuo said quietly. "Hurry up, will ya?"

As Senken went to put Kaegomé down, his knees shook. Being a Yuke, he wasn't very strong; he was more into the intelligence. He fell then, his legs giving way as he fell onto his knees. Kaegomé gave a slight shriek as she fell, her ankles slipping from the feathered fingers of the Yuke, her footing lost as she slipped forward a bit. She fell so that she was then sitting on the Yuke's shoulders, her legs around his slim neck. The added impact made Senken fall onto his face on the ground. Kaegomé was sitting on his upper back then as she looked down at Senken.

Kazuo ran over to Kaegomé and helped her up, glaring down at the Yuke. Senken stood up by himself and brushed himself off, checking for kinks in his helmet. There was one right o the beak of it, and he traced along the small kink with a feathered digit. He sighed with a shrug and looked at Kaegomé. The Selkie blushed deeply and began to laugh, as did the Yuke. The Calvat though didn't seem amused. He glared at Senken, this cold stare making the Yuke stop his cheerful chuckle

"You dropped her! You stupid Yuke!" Kazuo shouted, startling both Senken and Kaegomé.

"Kazuo!" Kaegomé said, raising her voice in disbelief. "Senken is NOT stupid!"

"That stupid Yuke dropped you! He could have at least been a bit more considerate, since you were helping it." Kazuo said in an angry tone.

"But... It wasn't his fault." Kaegomé responded, looking at Senken. The Yuke ha his head down in shame, his shoulders drooped. "Look what you did!"

"He should feel sorry!" Kazuo shouted, snatching the book out of Kaegom's arms and shoving it to the Yuke, pushing it into his chest. "Take your darn book and go away!"

Senken sighed and took the book. He looked at Kaegomé and said something. But what he said was seemingly gibberish, being mostly random noises. Neither Kazuo nor Kaegomé understood what he was saying. He just walked away then, heading back to his home. He was one of the only Yukes in the entire village, his family making up the rest. Needless to say, he was used to hearing things such as what the obnoxious rancher's child had said. Kazuo and Kaegomé watched as Senken sulked all the way back home and inside the house.

"What did you do that for?" Kaegomé exclaimed, turning to Kazuo. "Why were you so mean to Senken? He has enough problems, not being able to speak our language, and being one of the only Yukes in the village! You should be ashamed!"

"I just don't like him." Kazuo argued.

"Ugh!" Kaegomé cried out in frustration. "Kazuo, I'm going back to school now."

Kazuo watched as his friend walked away, clearly angry with him. He sighed and shrugged, deciding to stop at home before going back to school. Kaegomé was indeed very angry, thinking that Kazuo was just a rude little brat. Thinking back, she couldn't figure out how she put up with him. She felt sorry for Senken; she must have been his only fiend. She walked back up to the small clearing past her home, past the tailor's shop, an sat down. Her schooling wouldn't begin for another twenty minutes, so she waited and thought.

As Kazuo left his home to head for the clearing, he saw Senken. Senken looked at him quietly, as if deciding whether he should keep walking, or just wait until Kazuo moved up ahead. Kazuo kept walking then, turning a cold shoulder to the Yuke. Senken sighed and lagged along behind, trying to keep his distance. He felt badly for making the Calvat mad, even though he knew it was for a silly reason. His actions were accidental, and he figured the rancher must have known that. It was just something to do with Yukes, he guessed. Sighing again, he walked forward, reaching the clearing along with a bunch of other children. He sat down in the clearing, away from the other children, silently taking a book out of his cloak and beginning to read. Kazuo went to sit beside Kaegomé, but when he tried, she said the spot was taken.

"Yeah right." Kazuo scoffed, just moving to sit somewhere else.

They waited for a few moments before their teacher came. He walked over to Senken first, and looked down at him. Speaking a few words, he nodded and patted the Yuke on the shoulder before moving to address the rest of the children. At that moment they learned the economics of the town, how much food and animals were sold for. The class was relatively simple, being directed only towards teaching the children the basics of the world. The class went on until about three in the afternoon.

"So to make blacksmiths make stuff for you, you need to give them the materials AND pay them?" Kazuo stated.

"That's correct." His teacher responded.

"How lame." Kazuo muttered.

"Okay everyone, I suppose that is enough. I will quiz you all on the things we covered today, tomorrow." The teacher said. "Have a nice evening, and try not to forget what you've learned. That means you Kazuo."

The rest of the "class" laughed and giggled at this.

"I wont ma'am." Kazuo groaned.