Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 5: The Cult of the Crimson Isles

Chapter 8

Sometimes, first impressions are misleading.

-Llox

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Though he initially slept soundly, Kuna ended up waking up in the middle of the night with a faint jolt. The previous conversation with Kalei, it seemed, had inspired a somewhat unpleasant dream- not The Nightmare, thankfully, but it still made it hard to get back to sleep. With a sigh, he carefully sat up, making sure not to wake Lykou. He knew it’d be a little bit before he could drift off again, and in any case he suddenly felt a little bit restless.

Taking care not to make any noise, he carefully slipped out of bed and poked his head out of the tent. Oddly, there didn’t appear to be anyone watching the fire- and he distinctly remembered the Enlightened making a point of their sacred Watch duty. The sereva slipped out of the tent and looked around. Eventually, after pacing around a bit, he sat down by the fire and sighed. Probably Kalei’s watch, he thought to himself. He volunteered for a double watch after all. Must have gotten tired and skipped the rest of it after the others were asleep though.

He was only partially right, however. With his back turned to the trail, he didn’t see Kalei returning with an arm load of extra wood for the fire. The raptuva paused at the edge of the camp when he saw the sereva sitting up. He hesitated for a minute, then quietly walked around and set the wood down with the rest of the stockpile, startling Kuna. Without a word, he walked over and sat down by the fire as well, though he was careful to keep some distance between him and the sereva, and avoided meeting his gaze.

There was an awkward silence as neither of them knew what to say to one another. And in truth, Kuna was almost tempted to go back to the tent now that he knew for certain who he’d be stuck sitting up with. But then the raptuva finally spoke up, albeit quietly, so as not to disturb the others. “Trouble sleeping?”

Kuna eyed him for a moment, then went back to staring into the fire. “Mhmm.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

They both sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, interrupted only by the occasional crackle of the wood burning.

“Sorry about earlier, too,” Kalei finally said. “If I’d known about your parents…” He paused and winced as something occurred to him. “Shit, I hope that’s not what kept you up.”

Kuna shot him a quick look. “S’part of it, yeah.”

“...sorry again.” After a minute, the raptuva brought his hand to his face and sighed. “I’m supposed to be vigilant, but I shouldn’t have just jumped to conclusions. In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m kind of a fuckup, so I guess I just… I try to make up for it with… well, anyway, sorry.”

“Mmm,” the sereva replied after a brief pause, watching the sparks dance as he tapped the burning tip of the stick on one of the larger pieces of burning wood. “Whatever. Don’t worry about it.”

There was another extended silence, much longer this time. Again, it was Kalei that broke it, his voice somewhat shakier this time. “...I’m not a bad person, you know.”

“Mm?” Kuna responded, snapping out of his thoughts. “What?”

“I’m… not a bad person,” Kalei repeated after a brief pause, holding his head in his hands. “I didn’t… I didn’t join the order just to push people around, I swear.”

Kuna rolled his eyes slightly, then examined the end of the charred stick. “If you say so.”

“No really, I didn’t,” the raptuva continued insistently, then took a deep, slightly unsteady breath and rubbed his arm. “But I guess my motives weren’t entirely pure either, and what you said back in the village... bit harder than you probably realized, because you… you weren’t too far off.”

“You don’t say,” the sereva responded, arching a brow at him.

“Believe it or not I was going to intervene and help that kid- you just got to the situation first. And... well… I was curious to see what you’d do.”

“What, gonna risk letting a kid be corrupted by some strange ‘evil demonic outsider’ just to ‘see what they’d do’?” the sereva snarked with a brief, sardonic smirk. “Gee, how noble of you.”

Kalei winced at the jab, then rolled his eyes slightly. “Yeah okay. Fine, I get it. But I was right there in case anything went wrong. And… sorry again for accusing you of that shit.” He sighed and rubbed his arm a bit. “Point is, that Tama kid kind of… reminded me of myself at that age.”

“Oh really?” Kuna asked somewhat dubiously.

“Yeah. Was always getting picked on- probably because I’m a clumsy, absent-minded fuck-up all the time, and at the time I was kind of scrawny and weak, too. Got tired of people walking all over me. Wanted to join the order when I got older, because I figured it’d make people respect me and treat me decently for once.” He let out a brief, sarcastic laugh, then folded up his legs and rested his chin on his arm. “Obviously, that’s going about as well as everything else I do.”

Kuna frowned and actually felt a bit bad for the guy. “Damn… maybe not the most noble motive, but I guess I can’t exactly blame you.”

“Mmm… don’t get me wrong, I want to help people, too. Would just be nice if they were less… well, cruel and judgemental, I guess.”

“Heh, I know the feeling.”

“Sorry again for-”

“Not talking about you this time,” Kuna said, then sighed. He flicked the rest of the stick into the fire with a bitter expression and propped his head up on his hand as he watched it burn. “I grew up weak and sickly all the time myself, and people got it in their head that I was ‘cursed’ somehow. E-especially after… you know.”

Kalei winced. “No shit? Damn.” He looked around a bit, then sighed again and smiled faintly at the sereva. “Hey, thanks again for patching my sorry ass up earlier. What do you say we start over? I promise I won’t be such an overcompensating prick this time.”

Kuna stared at him a moment, then smirked faintly as he looked back down into the flames. “Kind of assumed we just did.”

The raptuva snickered. “Alright, fair enough. Thanks.”

“You want me to get the rest of those scratches and shit for you?”

“Nah. I need all the reminders I can get to not be such an idiot.”

“Suit yourself.”

The raptuva glanced around at the tents a short distance away, then continued, careful to keep his voice down. “Honestly I don’t even know how I managed to get into the Order, unless they just feel like having someone to kick around and blame for things,” he said, then picked up a stick to poke at the fire himself. “Starting to think joining was just another mistake of mine, at this rate.”

Kuna eyed him thoughtfully for a moment. “...well, don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe? No offense, but I get the feeling you’re not really all that spiritual after all.”

Kalei stared at him warily for a moment, then shrugged, shooting a brief, somewhat nervous glance at Matai’s tent. “I mean, yes and no. I really am dedicated to Tuimana. I do my morning and evening prayers dutifully, and I really would like to kick demon asses someday. But… I dunno. I think mostly I just don’t see any other way I might be able to make something of myself.” He rolled his eyes a bit and sighed. “Not like I was any good at woodworking or anything. And nobody’s going to give me the chance to learn anything back home. Giving a clutz like me sharp and heavy tools to work with probably isn’t a bright idea anyway.”

Kuna frowned. “Could just be the village you grew up in was kinda shit. The one Lykou and I arrived at seemed nice. I’m sure you could find something to do down there.”

Kalei shrugged. “Maybe. They say the ones on the mountain are safer because they’re closer to Tuimana, but I have to admit people do generally seem happier and more… pleasant, down there, on the rare chances I get to talk to them. Even if a lot of the shacks are a bit…”

“Simple?” Kuna suggested with a faint smirk. At least from his very limited experience seeing only the two villages up close, the one on the mountain seemed more well-put together. Despite being smaller, it seemed to have larger and sturdier homes for its residents, whereas most of the ones near the beach had almost looked hastily thrown together.

“...well… yeah,” the raptuva replied with mild amusement.

“Hey, better simple, small homes full of nice people than big, fancy ones full of assholes.”

Kalei snickered. “Fair point. I guess if they end up kicking me out of the Order for being such a clutz, maybe I can go become a fisher or something. And hopefully not drown in the process.”

“Good to have a backup plan,” Kuna agreed with a shrug, then thought for a moment. “So you’re really into the idea of the demon hunting thing huh?”

“Well yeah. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s fucking shit up, and it’d be nice if I could fuck up a demon’s face, you know?” the raptuva responded with a smirk.

“Good luck,” Kuna said with a shiver. “They’re nothing to take lightly, believe me.”

“Yeah, about that… they pretty much have to bind with a person to do anything, right? So what’d the fucker that attacked you and your parents look like?”

The sereva’s eye twitched and he got a far-away look for a moment.

“...Fuck. Shit. I’m a dumbass. An absolute idiot,” the raptuva said, immediately facepalming again. “Sorry, forget I asked-”

Kuna shook his head and snapped himself out of his thoughts, then shot a brief look at the raptuva. “Just be glad you don’t have ursarans on these islands.”

“Ursarans?”

“Big, violent… ‘people’ technically, though I use that term loosely with them. Some of the biggest around. With claws and stripes and the worst attitudes. They’re real big on conquest and dominance,” Kuna finished his comment through gritted teeth, then took a deep breath to calm himself. “And those are the ones that aren’t making pacts with demons. Then you get the occasional one that gets all buddy-buddy with one, and they go crazy with bloodlust, and… they’re called ravagers. Even other ursarans won’t deal with ‘em. They’re walking nightmares given flesh.”

Kalei just stared at him with a bewildered look for a moment. “...shit. And without the Order… it’s a wonder anyone survives out there.”

The sereva stared back into the fire again with a brief shiver. “I’m just glad demons are pretty rare.”

“...really?” the raptuva gave him a dubious look. “As often as we find tainted individuals here working with them, I figured it’d be even worse outside the Order’s reach. Or do you just have your own gods and Orders to deal with them elsewhere?”

Kuna met his dubious look with one of his own. “None that I’ve met… I mean a lot of villages and tribes have some sort of magic users around that usually handle anything involving spirits, but you rarely hear of any demons except in very rare occasions.”

“That’s… huh. Wonder why we have such a problem with them here, then?”

The sereva had some doubts, but he wasn’t sure he should voice them. “Heh, yeah… weird.” He thought for a moment and decided to nudge up to the subject without voicing it directly. “Sooo… I take it you’ve never seen one yourself, even though they’re apparently a common problem here?”

“I-… well, no, I guess not. There’ve been one or two people I kind of knew before it turned out they were doing dark deals in secret, but I figured that’s just how they were, usually. All deceptive and sneaky, y’know.”

“They don’t… look different?”

“Well, no… should they? Do, er… ‘ravagers’ look different from other ursarans?”

Kuna shivered some more and held himself as he dipped back into those horrific memories- including the more recent one. “Y-yeah. They l-lose chunks of their fur, their eyes glow r-red, their teeth and c-claws get freakishly long and sharp, and just…” He paused to collect himself a little. “L-like I said, they’re like living nightmares.”

“That’s… no offense, but you sure you’re remembering right? You were a kid, after all.”

The sereva shot him a brief glare. “Lykou and I had the m-misfortune of m-meeting another one on our little journey a f-few weeks ago. Believe me, the m-memory was accurate.”

“You-!” the raptuva blurted out, then stopped himself, glancing over to the tents briefly before again lowering his voice. “You saw another one, just the two of you?? How the hell did you survive that??”

“Very n-nearly didn’t. Luckily the, uh…” Kuna fidgeted uncomfortably as he stared off into the distance for a moment. He then took another deep, calming breath to steady his nerves and clear his head. “...the individual that taught me to use magic saved our asses.”

Kalei stared at him thoughtfully. “Which was… who? Or… what?”

Kuna shot him a look.

“Hey, not assuming a demon!”

“The thought did cross your mind though, didn’t it?” Kuna said with a brief smirk, then sighed. “No, but honestly I can see how you might think that. Frankly we have very mixed feelings about her now too, even after she taught me magic and saved our lives.”

“Oh? W… why’s that?”

Kuna mulled it over for a moment, wary of how much he should share. But at this point he figured he might as well continue- as messed up as it was to think, he realized the others probably wouldn’t listen to the recruit if he suddenly decided to go back to being all accusatory and hostile again. So he took another deep breath, and continued, “Well, she’s the reason Lykou and I got ripped away from our home land and magically transported somewhere way across the world.”

“...what.”

“Yeah. Her name’s Inkari. She’s… a jarzin. Which are these people that are all these super powerful magic users, to the point that by the time they become adults, they’re like… halfway spirits themselves, because of how they channel so much energy from the spirit world through themselves. Orrr… so we’ve been told. To be honest I don’t know what to believe.”

Kalei stared at him silently for a moment, his expression slowly becoming more dubious. “...and you don’t think that sounds like a demon?” he eventually asked, somewhat incredulously.

Kuna let out a brief, humorless laugh. “Hey, believe me, I absolutely get why you’d say that. And given her… departure, the last time we saw her, I considered that myself. But demons aren’t really the type to save peoples’ lives.” He sighed and rubbed his head. “Apparently, jarzin use all their power to… mess with people, but in a way that supposedly makes things better the long run, even if it’s chaotic at first. And… for all the shit we’ve been through, Lykou and I have turned up at the right time and place several times to help people in trouble. Bad trouble, even. In fact we may have helped this one group, the shakonu, protect their village from some demons of some kind.”

The raptuva eyed him thoughtfully for a minute. “...you do realize how that all sounds, right?”

“Yep.” Kuna arched a brow and smirked faintly. “Not going to go back to accusations now, are you?”

Kalei stared at him again, then shook his head. “Nah,” he said with a small smile. “I doubt anyone working with demons would bother making up stories about people more powerful than themselves. I may not be an expert yet or anything, but self-debasing doesn’t seem like the kind of thing they’d do.”

“I… well, I wouldn’t know honestly, the only ones I know about are too violent or… twisted to talk much anyway.”

“Well either way, I also don’t think a demon-tainted person would have patched me up after that fall. Especially after… well, earlier. I may be a screwup, but I can at least admit it,” the raptuva said with an awkward grin. “As wild as the things you’re telling me sound, you seem like a decent guy now that I’ve taken time to talk to you.”

“Heh, thanks. You seem alright, too,” the sereva replied with a small smile. He then sighed and rubbed his neck. “But honestly our whole journey’s been kind of crazy so far, so I wouldn’t blame you for being at least a bit skeptical. If anything I’m surprised none of the others seem inclined to doubt it when Lykou tells them about it. But hey, I guess he’s just charismatic like that,” he said, his tired mind starting to wander as he stared off into the middle distance. “With that sweet, friendly face of his…”

“Oh, right. I forgot he was telling them all about you guys’ trip. Guess I missed out on all that.”

Kuna snapped out of his reverie. “Er, yeah. Honestly, as many times as he’s told it to different people lately, I’m surprised he’s not getting tired of it.”

“What about you? I don’t suppose you could give me the short version? I have to admit I’m curious.”

“There… really isn’t a ‘short’ version, honestly. We’ve seen and done quite a bit over the past month and a half, believe me.”

“Damn, a month and a half? That’s a long time to be so far away from home.”

“No kidding,” Kuna agreed, then frowned. “He doesn’t always show it, but I know it’s eating Lykou up inside. I just wish I could help him more.”

“Poor guy. Hopefully, the Speaker can help you guys find your way home sooner- er, that is what you’re heading up there for, right? I thought I heard something like that.”

“Sort of. There are these magic… portal things we’ve been using to get around. They form in these old stone arches scattered around the world, and you can use them to travel a long distance in the blink of an eye.”

“Damn. Lot of… magic out there, apparently.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kuna said with a smirk.

“And… what about you? Aren’t you homesick too?”

Kuna stared at him levelly. “Nope. Gotta have a home to be homesick.”

“….huh? Come again?”

“My people are nomadic. Never stay in one place. Remember how I said they got it in their head I was ‘cursed’?”

“Yyyyeahhh…?”

“Well apparently they decided to move on without me one morning. I woke up and they were just… gone.”

Kalei stared wide-eyed at him for a moment. “...fuck, man. That’s… harsh. To say the least. I’m so sorry.”

“Mhmm. I was in a bad, dark place for a while. Hell, if I’m being honest, that was probably the point where if a demon DID approach me… I might have been vulnerable enough to give in.” Kuna sighed, then eventually let a smile creep back across his face as he watched the flames dance in front of him. “Luckily, Lykou found me. As awkward as it was between us at first, that big soft ball of sweetness and optimism saved me in ways I can never thank him enough for.”

“Oh really? Sounds like he’s quite a guy,” the raptuva commented with a smirk. “Maybe he should start his own Order when you guys get back.”

Kuna grinned at the thought, then yawned and stretched a bit. “Speaking of that fluffbutt, though, I should get back in there and get some sleep.”

“G’night then. I hope you sleep better this time. And, er, thanks for giving me another chance.”

“Sure thing,” Kuna said, standing up and brushing himself off. “Hope your watch is up soon so you can get some rest before long yourself.”

“Ah, don’t worry about me. I’ve pushed through worse. If nothing else, I’ll catch up a bit when we reach the shrine. Hopefully.”

Kuna yawned again, then gave a brief wave before returning to the tent and cuddling up with Lykou. He laid there for a few minutes, thinking things over. He was still anxious about the Shrine, but it felt nice to know at least one of the red cloaks wasn’t as bad as he initially thought. And being close to the sleeping konuul again definitely helped him settle in. Before long, he drifted back off to sleep.

*****

In the morning, Kuna woke up being gently nudged by Lykou. He groaned slightly at first, but then couldn’t help but blush and grin a little when he realized he was being held in the konuul’s lap. He rubbed his eyes and blinked up at his friend groggily. “Wha…?”

Lykou chuckled a bit and booped the sereva’s nose playfully. “I’d let ya sleep in, but the others are eager to get back on the trail. I figured you’d want at least a little time to eat breakfast and wake up before then. You sleep alright? You’re usually up earlier.”

“Mmm, so-so,” Kuna replied, then yawned and stretched. “Had a bad dream, ‘n woke up in the middle of th’ night.”

“Oh damn,” Lykou frowned and rubbed the sereva’s head softly. “You should’ve woke me up so you could talk about it or something.”

“Eh, I didn’t want to disturb you.” Kuna reluctantly pried himself out of his friend’s lap and stretched some more, trying to wake himself up some more. “Anyway, I did manage to get back to sleep eventually, obviously. I should be alright after a decent breakfast. You already eat?”

“Nah, I waited for you.”

“Aww, you know you didn’t have to do that…”

“I wanted to though. Missed having your company when I was storytelling yesterday so I figured I’d wait for you to join if they have any more questions,” Lykou said, then grinned. “You gotta practice more storytelling yourself, you know. Can’t duck it forever. How else am I going to fluster you by bragging up about your accomplishments?”

“Yeah yeah,” Kuna said with a smirk, rolling his eyes slightly, then yawned again. “Ya big sweet goofball.”

Lykou chuckled. “C’mon, let’s go join the others before you decide to doze back off. Moving around should help.”

“Mmkay.”

After joining the others by the smokey remnants of the fire, Kuna dug out some fruit to eat and Tane had an exceptionally groggy Kalei bring Lykou his breakfast. The recruit initially reached out to offer the meat to Kuna without thinking about it, clearly not all there. Before the konuul could interject, Kuna just smiled awkwardly and gently pushed the raptuva’s hand back. “Uhh, wrong outsider.”

Kalei blinked a few times, then hastily turned to hand it to Lykou instead with an awkward, embarrassed smile. “R-right, sorry!”

“Pay more attention to what you’re doing,” Lykou said with a slight glare.

“Sorrysorry…”

Kuna nudged his friend, then leaned in to whisper, “Go easy on him, he’s had even less sleep than me. By a good bit, I imagine.”

“Well… yeah but he kind of earned it, didn’t he?” Lykou said, a bit surprised at the sudden sympathy. “After what you told me last night-”

“After I got up from that bad dream, we ended up chatting a bit during his watch. He apologized.”

“Oh… well, that’s… good, I guess.” The konuul took a quick bite of food, then eyed the recruit as he half-stumbled back over to the tents to help Tane and Hina pack them up. “What’s his deal, anyway?”

“Honestly kind of feel bad for him,” Kuna replied quietly, watching Tane once again giving Kalei a hard time. “I’ll tell ya more later, but he actually seems alright once he stops… well, trying too hard.”

“Yeah? Huh,” Lykou watched the trio for a minute as he sipped from a coconut-shell cup. After a minute, Hina got Tane’s attention and began talking to him about something, temporarily distracting the most ‘shouty’ member of the group from haranguing their youngest member.

“Ah, good morning boys!” Matai said as he, Koa, and Anaru returned from some excursion into the forest to join them by the firepit. “I was starting to worry a little about you two. Did you sleep well?”

“Kuna woke up in the middle of the night, but managed to get back to sleep. He might be a little groggy for a while.”

“I’ll be fine,” Kuna replied between bites of fruit.

“Sorry to hear that, friend. I hope you’ll find solace in knowing Tuimana will be watching over us on our ascent. And I’m sure you’ll sleep much better at the shrine in the heart of his domain!”

“And the hike is quite pretty,” Anaru chimed in as he, too, joined the group by the firepit. “These sacred trails are well maintained, so while I wouldn’t call it leisurely, the hike should generally be a pleasant one.”

“Yes indeed. If you find yourself struggling, let us know and we’ll do what we can to aid you. One way or another, Tuimana always provides for the faithful.”

Kuna glanced around a bit. “These islands really are pretty, even if the weather’s not what we’re used to. I love all the flowers.”

“I’ll second that. All the color here is really something.”

“And a lot of them smell really nice. Especially those big pink ones,” Kuna said, nodding to a patch of the flowers in question growing near the campsite.

Koa smiled and eyed the flowers briefly as well. “Ah yes, Tuimana has brought many beauties to these islands.”

“Those blushblooms are grown in a lot of villages specifically because they smell so nice. They also make decent tea that’s helpful when you’re a bit sick,” Anaru pointed out, then smirked. “Of course, some do other things with them as well. Like wear them in their feathers or bathe with them to try and make themselves smell nice.”

Matai rolled his eyes a bit. “Mm, yes. Youthful vanity at its finest.”

“At least there’s no harm in it,” Anaru continued with a chuckle.

“Bathe in them, huh? Hmm,” Lykou commented, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I can see why. Their scent is so strong, but sweet,” Kuna remarked. “So… what were you three doing in the forest just now?”

“Taking a prayer walk,” Koa replied. “Another of our meditative traditions, like the watch.”

“Good way to start the morning, both spiritually and physically. Helps to wake up a bit,” Anaru added.

“Speaking of which,” Lykou said, turning to Kuna. “You sure you’re going to be alright? I can carry some of your things if-”

“I’ll be fine, Kou,” the sereva assured him with a smile, then nudged him lightly. “Thanks for being sweet like that though.” He glanced over at Kalei again. The recruit was finishing with helping to pack the tents up, and occasionally stumbled in the process. “I’m more worried about him. How long was he up?”

“Don’t worry about Kalei,” Koa said dismissively. “He’s a sturdy young recruit, as… absent-minded and uncoordinated as he can be sometimes. He’ll be fine.”

Matai nodded. “And he needs to learn discipline. A bit of hardship builds character, after all.”

Kuna went back to eating the rest of his breakfast without commenting, though some thoughts ran through his head. ‘Hardship builds character’, huh? Funny how that’s always said by the people causing hardship for someone else, he mused internally.

“So how far up is this big Shrine?” Lykou asked.

“A fair way up. It’ll take us most of the day to get there, even if we keep up a good pace, but we should arrive in time for dinner and the evening ceremony.”

“Evening ceremony?”

“Yes. In the evening, the Speaker, or one of his four Overseers performs a ritual ceremony giving gratitude for another day in Tuimana’s protection, and declaring the Order’s vigilance against evil forces during the night. Members of nearby villages often attend some of the larger ones.”

“It’s usually fairly simple and quick, with larger ones to celebrate special occasions. Normally that means the defeat of a demonic force or capture of its collaborators, but I suspect the Speaker will want to make a special occasion to mark the first foreign visitors to the island in recent memory as well,” Anaru pointed out with a smile. “I’ve only been once or twice myself, unfortunately, as I’m usually busy down near the coast.”

“You’re always welcome to join us up here in the core of Tuimana’s domain, you know,” Koa pointed out. “You’ve certainly earned it. Leave the coastal duties to the Recruits and Initiates.”

“Seriously,” Hina said, walking over to join them. “Much better accommodations up here anyway.”

“Ah, but I feel much more useful down there. Comfort comes second to serving those most at risk to Tuimana’s enemies.”

“If you say so.”

“Now now, Hina. If Tuimana sees fit to guide him back down to the coasts, who are we to question it?” Matai interjected, then nodded to Anaru. “I applaud your commitment to your calling, friend.”

“Sounds like your heart is in the right place alright,” Lykou agreed. “So what all is involved in this ceremony thing?”

“Oh, just some invocations and rirtuals. Although, as I said, I suspect the Speaker will want to add a little flare for some newcomers. There’s a fair chance he’ll demonstrate his special blessings from Tuimana in the process.”

“You mean his… magic?” Kuna hazarded.

“...I suppose if you want to put it crudely, yes,” Koa replied.

“S-sorry…”

“Quite alright, Kuna,” Matai assured him. “In fact, I suspect he’ll want to talk to you about your own blessings afterwards. It is all too rare these days that we find another with such gifts that isn’t demon-tainted. No doubt he will be overjoyed to meet you.”

“Ehehe… yeah, I’m… looking forward to it,” Kuna replied with an uneasy grin, then looked away and stuffed another piece of fruit in his mouth.

Tane walked over with his arms crossed. “Well, I think we’re almost done packing. So, assuming Kalei doesn’t screw anything else up, we’re ready to go whenever.”

“Don’t feel rushed though!” Matai insisted. “Take your time and finish your breakfast at your own pace.”

*****

After they’d finished, the group set out and began their long hike. They passed by and through several other small mountain villages along the way, though they only stopped in one around lunchtime, and briefly at that. Kuna couldn’t help but notice that the further up they went, the more haunted and wary some of the villagers appeared. Unlike the friendly, curious faces they’d been met with down on the coast, they were increasingly being met with suspicious, wary looks- if anyone bothered to pay any attention to them at all. Many in fact were so frantically busy trying to keep up with daily tasks that they barely even seemed to notice the group passing through. There were more members of the Order present the further up they went, as well, who seemed to be in charge of the villages, rather than any chieftain figure or council.

Initially conversation came and went, but it became a bit less frequent as the climb grew more challenging. The climb was getting steeper, even on the trail, and seriously began testing their endurance. The forest started thinning as they made their way higher up the mountainside, too, so they had less shade from the sun in some areas. Kalei in particular had to be prodded a few times for stopping to catch his breath. On the bright side, the air was at least getting a little cooler as well, and the breeze had picked back up.

Finally, as the sun was starting to set, they rounded the corner of a large rock outcropping and started up a long, broad path straight up a steep slope. Lykou, Kuna, and even Kalei paused to gawk at the structure visible at the top, before being gently nudged forwards- less gently in Kalei’s case. It was an enormous building made from a combination of wood and ornately carved stone, with tall torches set in the ground lining the path up to the structure, which several, presumably lower ranking members of the Order were in the process of lighting for the night. Several other fairly sizable structures were situated nearby, which ordinarily would have been impressive in their own right- but they were nothing compared to the one in the middle. Slatted windows lined the lower portions of its wall, with a few larger round ones up high catching the breeze. The lower windows were all opened, and there was a small, flickering light behind each of them- presumably smaller torches or something similar. An enormous double doorway was at the center, flanked by a pair of stone obelisks, each of which was capped by a polished, pyramid-shaped tip made from the black and red stone the boys had seen on the beach. They were just starting to glow in the setting sunlight.

“Welcome to the seat of the Order, my friends,” Matai announced as they neared the top of the incline. When they reached the door, he opened one side while Koa opened the other, inviting them in. “Behold, the Shrine of Tuimana.”

As breathtaking as the outside had been, the inside was even moreso. Spherical polished Tears of Tuimana- or perhaps Pelenock Teeth- lined the walls intermittently, casting a dim red light on top of the candlelight that was also present. The entryway led to a central chamber with two halls going off to the left and right. In the back of the chamber, an enormous, solid chunk of obsidian carved into a strange shape sat surrounded by candles and sconces holding more Tear stones. The light from the candles passed through the red glowing portions of the stones, casting dramatic lighting on an enormous mural that covered the back wall, depicting the island, surrounded by monstrous being cowering in the corners, with a golden halo around the island itself. The odd shape of the statue was explained by the shadows that it cast from the candle and Tear light, forming shapes that looked like brave warriors facing down the monsters depicted in the mural with spears.

Above them all, standing over the peak of the mountain- or rather, coming out of it, was a vague, amorphous mass with a pair of glowing white eyes. It looked like it was on fire, but at the same time much of its body almost looked like it was meant to be flowing like water. Other than a pair of vague arms, its form was fairly ambiguous. But it was pretty obvious what the figure was meant to represent.

Matai, Koa, and Anaru proceeded to walk over and kneel at the base of the statue, then began praying. Meanwhile, Hina stretched and glanced around. “Well, I’m going to get find a room and set my things down, if anyone needs me.”

“Sounds good,” Tane said, then turned and shook Kalei out of his stupor. “Don’t just stand there, recruit! Make yourself useful and let the cooks nextdoor know we’re here. And see if you can give them a hand. Er,” he paused to look the recruit over. “Preferably not with anything involving fire or sharp tools.”

“Y-yes sir,” Kalei responded, the fatigue imminently obvious in his tone.

Tane watched him go, then sighed and rubbed his head. “Actually, I better make sure the idiot doesn’t go hurting anyone in the process.” He briefly flashed a smile to the outsiders. “I’ll see you two at dinner.”

“Er, right, see you… there,” Lykou said as the raptuva quickly hurried off without waiting for their response.

Matai returned after finishing his prayer and rested a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders. “Well I’m sure you two are eager to rest up after that hike. They’ll be serving dinner in the meal house soon- that’s the big building to the right when you head out the door. In the meantime, there should be an open room down at the end of the hall on your left for you to set your things. I’m going to go check in with my superior. Welcome again, friends.”

“Thank you, this place looks amazing,” Lykou commented, staring up at the mural and the statue again. A few moments after Matai left, Anaru and Koa rose as well, with the former joining them while the latter wandered off down the hall to the right. “I assume that’s Tuimana at the top there?”

“Yes indeed. In all his burning glory,” Anaru replied, smiling. “I’ll be happy to tell you more about him and the Shrine later, but I think I’m going to go see if I can help set things up in the meal house. See you there, friends.”

Lykou and Kuna lingered for a few minutes, just taking in all the ornate details of both the shrine itself and its surroundings. “Man, this place is… something else.”

“Yeah,” Kuna agreed, though he couldn’t help but feel there was a slightly ominous edge to everything. “It kind of reminds me of the, um… ursaran temple. Only different.”

“I imagine that was kind of similar when it was in active use, yeah. But they didn’t have those glowing stones. Talk about imposing, heh.”

“Mhmm…” Kuna again found himself eyeing the depiction of Tuimana with a growing uneasy feeling. “Well, let’s go find that room so we can put our things away.”

“Alright,” Lykou agreed. They turned down the side hall and when they found a vacant room at the end, they were pleasantly surprised to see a fairly nice set of beds there. After sharing a brief look, they piled their bags on one bed, knowing they’d be sharing the other, even if it was slightly cramped. The room itself was on the small side, but in a cozy, comfortable way. The single candle sitting on the windowsill helped amplify the feeling.

Kuna yawned a bit. “Man, I’m almost tempted to just stay in here now and skip dinner.”

“Tempting as it might be, we don’t want to be rude,” Lykou reminded him, pulling him into a side-armed hug and guiding him back out of the room to slowly make their way to the meal house.

“Yeah, I know, I know.” The sereva sighed. “I hope that… ceremony thing doesn’t take too long. And that this… ‘Speaker’ guy doesn’t mind if we hold off on chit-chat until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’m with you. That was quite a hike, and I’m not even lacking sleep like you are. So I can only imagine how you feel.”

“I’m sure Kalei’s doing even worse. Did you see how rough he looks? Wish the others would give him a break.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty tough on the guy. Excessively, even,” Lykou replied, then arched a brow at his friend. “So you two talked things out last night huh?”

“Yeah. He’s alright.”

“What was it you two initially, er… had a confrontation over?”

Kuna proceeded to tell him about their initial conflict, and go into more detail about the previous evening’s fruit-gathering incident.

Lykou frowned. “So just because you use magic without, what, something involving blood, that makes you demonic somehow? Well that’s stupid.”

“Yeah. And all that talk of demons and shit brought up… you know, memories. Hence why I had sleep trouble.”

“You should’ve told me, Ku.”

“What, so you can tear him a new one, or have an extra excuse to cuddle me more?” Kuna responded with a smirk.

“Why not both?” Lykou replied with a grin.

“Well anyway, like I said, he apologized and we talked things out. He’s not such a bad guy afterall. Pretty sure all the paranoia and demon accusations were just him trying to seem tough and impress the others. And maybe obscure his own… issues. But he acknowledged it was wrong and we had a nice conversation. Heh... might even say we have a small bit of common ground.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm. He got picked on a lot growing up, for being weak and uncoordinated. He’s had to deal with a lot of folks treating him bad all along. I gather his home village kinda… sucks, if you know what I mean. He joined the order just in hopes of getting away from all that.”

“Oh. Damn. Looks like that’s not going so well for him either.”

“Yeah, I genuinely feel bad for him now.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll at least get some rest ton- hey, isn’t that him?”

As they approached the entrance to the meal house entrance, they spotted the recruit sitting on the ground with his back against the outside wall, by himself. He was idly munching on a hunk of dried meat, and presumably finally appreciating a restful moment not being shouted at.

“Hey, yeah…”

They shared a look. “...lets grab our food and join him,” Lykou suggested after a moment. “For once I’d rather avoid the crowd, too.”

“Sounds good to me.”

After they slipped inside the building to quickly grab their food, a colorful bird watching from the corner of the Shrine building’s roof began preening his feathers.