I do not own any charafter a created by JK
Shout out to those sexy betas
CHAPTER FOUR
Two voices began speaking excitedly as their bodies materialized in front of a simple framed house.
"That was amazing! No pulling or tugging," Tina said with utter bewilderment as she tucked the crystal back in her coat pocket.
"No awful retching feeling! Why isn't the whole world traveling this way?" Newt was surprised at the ease of transport he just experienced and checked his case, pleased to find no disgruntled passengers.
"Ah, there you are! My son told me you would be arriving soon. Come here, you two!" Newt and Tina were swept up in a hug by a large chested woman with a bubbly personality. Her hair was in a long plait that flowed down her back and was peppered with little white beads. "My name is Pules," she said while beaming at the travelers.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tina and this is Newt. You must be Sahale's mother." She shared a cordial greeting with the pleasant woman while Newt observed the magic around him with wide eyed amazement. He tugged on Tina's sleeve to bring her attention outwards.
Outside of Pules' house, one could feel the magic flowing through the air. An older woman sat at what appeared to be a harp but on the opposite side of her, fabric was being formed from the music she played. The material shimmered as it rose up to fold itself, the animals woven into the fabric ran and played along with the beautiful melody she created. A bit farther down the road, a circle of children cheered on as handsome teenager sang a story to them. As the words flowed around them, rocks laid out on the ground transformed into the figures of a beautiful woman evading capture from a bear. The small woman tumbled over the laps of the children, peeking out from behind them as the bear twisted and turned through the maze of bodies searching for her. Two white and brown pinto horses galloped into town pulling a cart of fish behind them then suddenly transformed into men carrying on a jovial conversation as they pulled the cart next to a hut beside another house. The fish began to float out of the cart, losing their scales and bones as the filets hung themselves in preparation of the curing process. Everywhere you could look there was new and beautiful magic to discover.
Sahale stepped out of his house and draped his arms around Newt and Tina's shoulders. "Welcome to our village." Sahale beamed with pride for his people.
Tina tried to take in everything around her. "This is amazing. That music-"
"It's the most beautiful thing I have ever heard." Newt said in awe of the customs he was observing.
"Our magic is rooted in instinct, in our humanity. Music is one of the first things that humans created and we use our magic to broaden what music can achieve. Magic exists for creation and expansion, never solely for destruction," Pules happily explained.
"Now," Sahale pulled them in closer under his arms, "you want to go see the fun stuff?" Newt and Tina nodded in response. "We'll see you at the feast, nek," Sahale said over his shoulder.
"Have fun, nuqisus," Pules waved them on as she commanded that night's dinner ingredients to sort themselves into baskets ready to be taken to the feast hall.
Sahale began to lead the two bewildered outsiders away from his house and deeper into the village. They passed by other family groups preparing for the feast to happen later that night. All the roads in the village diverged from a center point containing a long building set behind an amphitheatre that seemed to be alive with sounds.
Sahale turned back to face Newt and Tina and said "This is where we train and bond with our spirit. Follow me."
The amphitheatre was carved down into the bedrock and had a covering made of intertwining vines that continued to writhe and tangle to provide shade. As the trio descended the steps, small red flowers bloomed, glowing slightly to illuminate the path. They found their way down the stairs and sat along a bench halfway into the amphitheatre. A few people stood in the middle, amicably chatting while a man and woman took their seats in ornately carved thrones directly across from where Newt, Tina, and Sahale had sat down.
"That man is Eluwilussit. He is able to connect us to our spirit. That ability has been passed down his family since our people came together. He is said to have descended from Achak, the first man able to bond to spiritual power." Sahale gestured towards the older man whose eyes were clouded white, his long graying hair decorated with beads and feathers. He appeared to be watching a different scene in front of them while twisting a stone hanging from a leather cord off of the staff at his side. "She is Winema," Sahale turned their attention on the gorgeous woman to the left of Eluwilussit, "chosen at birth to be our chief. She carries the mark of Angeni, the female spirit who watches over us all." Winema's arms were covered with darker skin that looked like wings cascading over her muscles. She wore a jeweled band on her head which had a large turquoise stone that rested between her stunning green and amber eyes.
"Oh, Sahale! Sahale, over here!" called a young man standing with the small group of people in the center.
"That is my brother, Chogan." Sahale said to Newt and Tina while waving towards the teenager whom Newt recognized as the one who was entertaining the small children when they first arrived. Chogan had the same curved nose as Sahale but seemed to still be growing into his wiry frame. His jet black hair fell just to his shoulders where fresh tattoos emerged from the sleeve of his shirt. "He just received his binding last week and now believes he has something to prove," Sahale laughed out.
Winema stood and held a hand up that instantly silenced the amphitheatre. "We are here to assist Hassun in preparation for achieving his binding." Winema gestured towards a young man who, despite his intimidating size, looked rather timid. "Sahale has brought two outsiders with him today," Winema raised her hand to point to the newcomers, a nervous chuckle escaped from Tina and carried through the silence, "so let's show them what we are capable of!" Winema thrust her fist in the air to an uproar of applause as the group in the center encircled Hassun.
Hassun looked at each of the faces while he nervously pawed his onyx and leather bracelet. He got down on one knee, put his left hand to the ground, and took a few deep breaths. As Hassun brought his gaze back up towards the circle, his whole body changed into a stone-like armor with the release of his breath.
"Whoo-hoo, that's it Hassun!" Sahale jumped up and cheered on with the rest of the crown. Newt and Tina's jaws dropped open in surprise, stuck to their seats as they watched with amazement.
"Alright, Chogan, Mika, you distract him. Machk I'll give you a boost," one of the men took charge and directed the others.
Chogan flipped into the air, adding a bit of flair as he transformed into a blackbird and began circling Hassun's head. Mika crouched and turned into a raccoon, instantly heading for Hassun's feet in an attempt to trip him. While the young man was trying to shake off the pests, Machk began to run towards the speaker and bent forward to lower his arms to the ground. Fur erupted over his body as he took the form of a bear letting out a deep roar. The speaker, whom Sahale said was named Nodin, brought one leg back as if he were bracing himself for impact. Right when Machk was about to barrel into Nodin, the man turned into a pillar of wind that pushed Machk high into the air aimed right at Hassun.
"Yeah! Whoa!" Newt jumped up and cheered, rattling the case at his feet. Tina was still wide eyed, having never seen any type of magic other than the one she grew up with.
Hassun was distracted by the small animals flitting around him that he almost missed the brown bear soaring down towards his head. At the last second, Hassun put his arms up and the stone spread out from his skin like a table, shielding him from Machk's landing. The bear collided heavily with the stone and was thrown off to the side of the circle, transforming back into a man. Nodin ran over to tend to the unconscious fighter.
"Rowtag, Istas, you're up. Try and trap him," Nodin called to the two remaining members of the circle as he turned back to Machk. Eluwilussit and Winema watched each move carefully, gauging Hassun's reaction to each blow.
"Me first, Istas," Rowtag demanded, holding his arm to the side to stop his sister from advancing first as she rolled her eyes. He rubbed the garnet pendant around his neck and took off at a full sprint straight at Hassun. Chogan and Mika lept out of the way leaving Hassun to turn and face his new attacker. He summoned rocks to erupt out of the ground in an effort to block Rowtag from gaining speed but he dodged each new obstacle as it emerged, rolling and diving across the ground to avoid collision. Rowtag reached Hassun and dove through the air transforming into fire at his feet.
"Argh!" Hassun cried out.
"Hold your form!" A man called out from the stands, "command your spirit, Hassun."
Rowtag began to melt the ground, trapping Hassun where he stood concentrating on keeping his stone armor, neglecting the need for offence. Istas stepped forward and released a flurry of snow deep from her lungs towards the fighters, freezing Hassun's feet in place.
"Hey, you almost got me!" Rowtag shouted at his sister as the fire rose up and solidified into his human form, leaving his hair aflame to match his mood. Istas took a deep breath to retaliate but a thick smoke began to fill the center of the amphitheatre, thwarting any more fighting as they struggled to see. The smoke disappeared instantly and the man who commanded Hassun from the stands was now right next to him in the center, breaking his feet free from the ground.
"That's enough you two. This is Hassun's training, not your playroom." The man said and was met with a huff and annoyed sigh in response from the two bickering siblings.
"Thank you, Iye," Winema smiled down, "Hassun, you held your ground and have wonderful defense but some situations require retaliation. Work on trapping your opponent before next week."
"Thank you, Winema." Hassun bowed to their chief and shook off the remaining pebbles from his feet.
"That. Was bloody. Brilliant!" Newt shouted and clapped wildly. "Tina did you ever imagine magic like this existed? I've traveled the world and I've never seen anything like that. Merlin's beard, they shot a bear in the air!" Newt excitedly played through what they had just witnessed in complete awe of the skill presented before them. Tina still sat in a state of shock, never realizing what magic was capable of achieving. Different little growls and whimpers of intrigue floated up from Newt's case as he stammered on in amazement.
"This is Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein. They'll be joining us for dinner," Sahale explained to the watchful eyes of the amphitheatre.
They stared on at Newt's strange movements peppered with mumbling and sounds of POW and bloody brilliant as he reveled in the show of magical prowess they had just performed. Once Newt had calmed and plopped back on the bench, the amphitheatre began to empty as everyone headed to dinner. Sahale got up to congratulate his brother's friend on his performance.
"I never imagined seeing something like that in my life," Tina finally spoke up and looked into Newt's eyes, "No wonder you travel the world. You get to discover so much that I've never even dreamed of," she said enviously, coming to terms with what she had just witnessed.
"You could come with me some time?" Newt sheepishly asked. "You would get to see loads of different kinds of magic."
"And meet all sorts of people." Tina added, shying her eyes away.
"Though I've never met anyone like you before," Newt slid his hand in to hers, causing Tina to grin as a light pink blush spread across her cheeks.
"Ready for dinner?" Sahale called from the top of the stairs, "Come on!"
"Best not to keep our hosts waiting," Newt said as he picked up his case and led Tina out of the amphitheatre, not letting go of her hand. She unabashedly beamed as they climbed the stairs out into the open air and towards their feast.
A/n- Nek is Algonquin for my mother
Nuqisus means my son
All of their names were chosen to hold specific meaning, feel free to ask questions of if you can't find the translation for them.
Thank you for reading :)
