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“When Niï pushed the curtains of the hut, he was assailed by the tempting smell of dinner. While it had been agreed upon earlier that he would prepare the evening meal, his mother had already returned from her diplomatic mission, and was working on it in his place. Kneeling over a small amber stockpot, she was seasoning the cold soup it contained with various aromatic herbs. Looï glanced at her elder, making sure he hadn't forgotten to leave his equipment outside. Within the family household, the rules were strict, and Looï saw to it they were respected by all. Dressed in a simple woven loincloth, Niï greeted his mother. At twenty years old, the Zoraï had a body with chiseled muscles, whose blue skin, clear and smooth, reflected his youth.
- "Ah Nii, there you are. The meeting with the neighboring tribe ended earlier than expected. Can you come and help me, please?"
The homin bowed respectfully in response and came to sit cross-legged in front of a log on which many fruits had been arranged. He picked up a dagger and began to gently cut the colorful dishes. Looï was keeping on seasoning the contents of the stockpot.
- "Did your training go well?" she asked her son.
- "Yes, and even better than expected. Guess what happened!"
Looï abandoned her soup for a few moments and turned to her assistant.
- "Um, you finally defeated Uncle Ke'val in a duel?"
- "No, better yet!"
Looï looked at him with insistence a few seconds, trying to read through his tattooed mask. To no avail.
- "I renounce. Come on, tell me."
Niï put his dagger on the log and stood up. Standing in profile, he pointed to his hip with the index finger.
- "Pü managed to catch my handbell! You would have seen him, he has been outstanding. Just when I thought he was at the end of his rope, he kicked up a cloud of dust and leaped as if he was about to cast a shock wave. Partially blinded and ready to withstand the spell, I didn't realize that this leap was a decoy: Pü didn't send a shockwave, but, taking advantage of the fact that I was staring at him, he rooted my ankles. Disconcerted, I lost my balance and barely had time to free myself from the fetter when he was already on me, bell in hand. He told me he had totally improvised, it was amazing! He's just seven years old, can you imagine?"
The ladle that Looï was holding fell to the ground. She stared at her son without saying a word.
- "Mom, are you alright?"
- "Yes, yes... Forgive me. Indeed, it's a great achievement."
- "You're worried about father, right?" said Niï, while sitting down again suddenly.
- "Niï…. You know your father. Especially, do not take into account what he will say this evening," she said in a compassionate tone.
And at that same time, the homin in question, as if obeying an invocation, passed the drapes of the hut. Resting on a muscular neck and trapezius, the impressive mask entirely tattooed with black swept the room with his gaze. Seeing that his eldest had already arrived, Sang stopped short. He stared at him coldly for a few seconds, then shifted eyes to his wife.
- "We were right, Looï. I spent my day tracking down the Karavan agents, and I can confirm that they have set up camp in the west, on the border of the Purple Marshes. They are conducting experiments on the evil that is rampant there, I am convinced!"
At the mention of the Purple Marshes, Looi's body tensed. This diseased area of the Jungle was plagued by some mysterious form of pollution or sickness, able to contaminate living things and seemingly consuming Atys as it progressed.
Sang continued, his tone as raging as ever.
- "These demons from the heavens are truly the embodiment of evil! I curse the Theocracy for getting friendly with them. Besides, maybe they are in cahoots, and allow them to conduct their dark experiments?"
Looï put the pieces Niï had just finished cutting into a bowl containing dried fruit and stood up.
- "I don't think so, Sang. The Theocracy is greedy and corrupt, but not so greedy as to encourage the Karavan to conduct experiments in the Purple Marshes. The Kamis would never forgive Min-Cho. Tomorrow, a diplomatic meeting between the various Jungle tribes and the Theocracy will be held in Zoran. I will try to find out more."
Sang muttered a few words at the mention of Min-Cho, the so-called Great Sage, and grabbed a goatskin of water. Looï continued, ignoring her husband's annoyance.
- "By the way, I received this afternoon important news, by izam, from the Fyros Empire. News with a strong international impact…. Sang, are you listening to me?"
In fact the Black Mask was not listening to his wife, but was staring at his son with insistence. Once his thirst quenched, he walked towards him.
- "We need to talk, Niï. I have heard that Pü has defeated you."
- "Father, I…"
- "Niï, you are twelve years his senior! You are destined to become my successor, the future Black Mask! It is unthinkable that…"
Looï suddenly pops into her husband's field of vision, ladle in hand.
- "Sang, not here. Not at mealtime. By the way, Niï, please go get your brother. He's in my workshop."
With his mask down and his fists clenched, the young adult headed for the exit of the hut. As he passed the drapes, his mother was still staring intently at his father, now holding to him the cooking utensil. The atmosphere seemed extremely tense. Outside, the fireflies that populated the stump of the sky-tree had awakened, bathing the surroundings of the hut in pockets of moving lights. Full of anger, Niï grabbed the short sword he had put in the rack when he arrived, and threw it away. The weapon went to plant itself in a thick arched root which was used as portal for the homins, and perch for the izams, these red and white winged messengers which flew away from now on in the direction of the ceiling of bark, while pushing their mocking and shrill cries.
-–—o§O§o—–-Bending over a basin of water, Pü was admiring his reflection. True, his face did not yet have the bony mask characteristic of those of his people, but with his face thus covered with paint, he found himself particularly beautiful. Indeed, the young Zorai had painted his entire face white and reproduced the black esoteric symbols tattooed on the masks of his elders. Would he look like this when he became an adult after growing his mask? He wondered. Around his neck, several necklaces much too big for him were tangled. It went the same for the bracelets that he was forced to catch hold of his hands, for they were too large for his wrists. Just as he was, finally, about to crown his frizzy blue hair with a magnificent diadem, a sound crack was heard in his back. Instinctively, Pü rolled to the side and put himself in a defensive posture: although still a child, he was a born warrior, partly already conditioned, moreover, by several years of intensive training. Scanning the small room, he frowned. Except for the many tools and jewelry that were stored there, it was empty of any presence. Thinking he had been dreaming, he turned back to the water basin, and like a surprised animal, jumped back: a Kami was now standing in front of the container and also seemed to be contemplating his reflection.
This was the first time Pü had met a protector spirit of Atys. True to the description he had been given of the Kamis populating the Jungle, this one had taken on the appearance of a black ball of hair barely a meter tall. Slightly paunchy and endowed with two short clawed legs, it held the edges of the container with its too long arms. Curious, the young Zorai moved forward a step. Then the creature's small head turned toward him, and Pü could watch its two large, entirely white eyes.His empty gaze was mesmerizing. At once distressing and comforting. At once foreign and familiar. Pü swallowed, unable to fathom his own emotions. As if intrigued by the little homin, the Kami cocked his head to the side. He pointed a claw in his direction. Pü swallowed a second time.
- "He… Hello Kami. My name is Pü Fu-Tao. D... Do you have a name?"
The Kami pointed his claw in his direction once again.
- "Uh… Can you speak? I've been told that Kamis can speak."
The Kami put its claw on his furry head, before pointing it again in Pü's direction. The child's face lit up.
- "Ah, you want Mom's tiara?" he said, walking towards him with the amber crown in his hand. "She made it, like all the jewelry you can see here! This is her workshop, and mom is a master jeweler. She makes incredible fineries that protect the tribe's warriors with magic!"
The Kami, whose claw was still pointed in Pü's direction, laid his gaze on the diadem.
- "Do you want it? I can give it to you. I think Mom would be very happy to give a gift to a Kami!"
Pü handed the ornament to the Kami, who catched it with his long arms. The creature stared at the marvel for a few seconds, then pressed it abruptly against his chest. At the same time, someone went into the workshop. Pü turned to the drapes, and as he made out his brother's mask, something rolled across the floor: the Kami had vanished as suddenly as he had appeared a few dozen seconds earlier, leaving his gift behind.
Seeing his brother's get-up, Niï sighed.
"Pü, wash your face and put away Mom's jewelry, please. It's time for dinner."
Obediently, Pü took a deep breath and dipped his face into the basin. Emerging from the water, he placed the jewelry he was wearing on his mother's workbench. Finally, he bent down to pick up the diadem.
- "Niï, a Kami was there in the workshop. I think he wanted Mom's diadem. He held it tightly to him."
- "What?" her brother replied doubtfully.
- "I promise you, there was a Kami right there! All hairy, all black. With two big white eyes. It appeared at a blow and disappeared when you arrived."
Niï knelt down in front of his little brother.
- "If that's true, then you're probably very special, Pü. I myself have already seen a Kami once on a mission, but only from a distance."
Niï's voice changed, taking on a much bleaker tone.
- "Well no, not probably, that's a sure thing, you are very special, little brother."
Dropping the diadem on the workbench, Pü walked towards the workshop exit, his still naked face lit up with a smile.
- "We are both very special, Niï! You will be the Black Mask, and I will become your Shadow!"
Niï sighed and agreed. He got up and followed his younger brother.
- "Pü, can you not talk at the table about the training this afternoon?" asked Niï, as they walked towards the main hut.
- "Uh…. Yes, if you want. Why?"
- "Father is angry. Not at you, but at me…."
- "But why?"
- "It's complicated…. I'll explain it to you, some other day."
Pü grumbled.
- "He's angry all the time…."
And indeed, Sang Fu-Tao seemed angry. As promised, Pü did not mention the handbell. In fact, no one uttered a word, and the family enjoyed their soup in silence. The atmosphere was much heavier than usual. Tense, and not knowing why his father was angry, Pü tried to lighten the mood with what he imagined was good news. He spoke in a hesitant voice.
- "Ah, by the way, earlier when... when I was in the workshop, before Niï came to get me, a Kami appeared. He wanted your diadem, Mom!"
At these words, his father nearly suffocated.
- "What did you say, Pü? A Kami appeared to you in your mother's workshop?"
The young Zorai smiled happily at his father and nodded, too young to understand that he had just sealed the fate of the dinner. Sang replied without delay.
- "Pü, this is no time for fun. Stop telling nonsense and focus on your bowl."
A veil of sorrow instantly covered the child's face.
- "But…. I…. I'm not telling nonsense….
- "Pü, please eat. And in silence."
The youngest threw a sad look at his mother, convinced that she would take his defense without delay, but, to his surprise, it was his older brother who did it in a start. Usually, Niï did not oppose his father, with whom he was rarely in disagreement. But this time, exasperated by the unjust reprimand of the Black Mask, he did not succeed in containing his anger. His older brother slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.
- "Don't call Pü a liar!"
Sang nearly suffocated a second time. Rising to his feet, he gave his eldest son a frosty look.
- "I beg your pardon, Niï?"
- "You…. You heard me right! If Pü said he saw a Kami, then he saw one! Pü is not a liar."
- "You let Pü catch your handbell and now you cover his lies? But what are you playing at?" replied the Black Mask with a deceptively calm air.
Niï exploded with anger.
- "I didn't let him take the bell, he just did extremely well! It's time you accepted that sometimes things don't go your way! You're just a Black Mask, you don't have Grandma Bä-Bä's gifts of prescience!"
Sang swung his stool and walked toward his son. Then the High Priestess stood up, and the hut charged with energy flood. Around her, the air began to vibrate, and the light abruptly distorted: Looï was giving off an overwhelming aura.
- ""That's enough!" she shouted in an amplified voice.
Instinctively, Sang and Niï let themselves fall to the ground.
- "Sang, Pü does not lie! I felt the presence of a Kami nearby earlier, so he confirms my intuition. Do not forget, you are not only the Black Mask, you are also the father of these children! Niï, respect your father, and do not blaspheme! The Black Mask and Granny Bä-Bä each play their own role. Your comparison is dishonorable! Now, let's finish dinner, and in silence, please."
The two Zorais sat back down without saying a word. Pü was staring at his mother, his eyes shining with admiration. She smiled at him. In accordance with her orders, and despite the palpable tension, the rest of the meal went on calmly. When all four had finished their bowl of fruit and the table was cleared, Sang got up and headed for the exit of the hut.
- "Niï, get your equipment and meet me at the dojo," said his father calmly.
Niï stood up and glanced at her brother and mother. Both of them sent him an encouraging smile.
- "Yes father, I'll follow you."
Sang and his eldest came out of the hut and the atmosphere was instantly appesed. Pü ran for refuge into the arms of his mother, still sitting at the wooden table.
- "You're too strong, Mom! Tell me, are you stronger than father?"
Looï hugged her son and let out a laugh.
- "It all depends, Pü. Your father is a much better warrior than I am. I'm no match for him in hand-to-hand combat. But like Grandmother Bä-Bä, I have been blessed by the Kami. My mastery of magic is far superior to that of any of you."
- "I want to be blessed by the Kamis too!" replied Pü, returning her embrace.
Looï guffawed again.
- "It is not something we choose, Pü. It is the Kamis that choose us. By the way, can you tell me more about the Kami you met?"
- "He was all hairy, all black, and had big white eyes. He pointed at me with his claw several times in a row, whithout I understood why. Then I realized that he wanted your diadem, so I gave it to him! But he disappeared by dropping it at the time Niï arrived…."
Pensive, Looï passed a hand behind her son's neck and tenderly stroked his skull.
- "I see, that's interesting. Hold on to that memory Pü, it's not every day that a Kami comes to meet a homin, so young moreover."
Looï stood up, forcing his youngest son down from his knees.
- "Pü, can you wait for me outside for your evening classes? As you will see, the program of the day has changed."
Pü agreed and got out the hut.
-–—o§O§o—–-Sitting on the edge of the large root on which the family hut was built, Pü watched the other dwellings of the village, located on either side of the stump heights, and lit by the tireless dance of the fireflies. Several stories below his feet, he could see the thatched roof of the dojo, where his father was probably in the middle of training his brother. He hoped that both of them had calmed down. Pü had a very close relationship with his older brother, who constantly showed him love, but who could also show authority when necessary. He was his best friend as well as confidant.
As agreed, his mother didn't delay to joined him for his evening classes. She sat down next to him.
- "So, as I was saying earlier, I've decided to change today's schedule. Originally, I was going to give you an in-depth botany class, but some fresh and important news came to me from the Fyros Empire earlier this afternoon. They concern imperial policy. So I thought it would be more relevant to take the time to discuss them. Is that okay with you?"
Pü nodded and snuggled up to his mother. He loved these moments with her, in all intimacy, without anyone to disturb them. He loved listening to her voice, and making her proud, reciting her lessons to perfection. As the future Shadow of the Black Mask, Pü needed to know more than anyone else about the history of Atys, for im to properly appreciate the relationships between its nations, and thus advise his brother as best he could when leading the Sacred War. So today, the botany class had turned into a discussion session on current events in the Fyros Empire, whose territory located in the far boreal deserts had always fascinated Pü. Accustomed to lush jungles, the young Zorai had always wondered how it was possible to live in such lands. But the hostile climate they suffered was a good match for his idea of the Fyros, that people of proud and courageous warriors whose ardent temperament drove them to incessantly advance. In fact, even the physical appearance of the Fyros exuded harshness: stocky bodies, bulging muscles, swarthy skin. Born warriors. While the hawkish attitude of the Pü tribe made it almost unique among the various tribes of the Jungle, it was its common denominator with those of the Desert.
- "Well.I would not teach you anything by reminding you that the current Emperor of the Fyros is Thesop, the youngest son of Abylus the Learned. For if Pyto, his eldest son, succeeded him at his death, as the imperial tradition wants, the reign of the latter was very short. As you know, two years after his accession to the throne he was assassinated by his younger brother Thesop."
As Looï had expected, Pü's face suddenly darkened. He tightened his embrace and buried his face in his mother's chest. A muffled voice came out there.
- "Mom, I still don't understand why Thesop killed his big brother. It makes me sad."
Looï stroked her son's bare back affectionately.
- "I told you before, Pü: it's the call of power. Some people will do anything to get more power. Even kill loved ones."
- "I do not understand mom, and that frightens me, lamented Pü, the face always buried between the breasts of his mother. One day Niï will be the Sacred Warrior, the most powerful homin of Atys. Do you think that I too will want to take his place? I love Niï very much, I don't want that to happen…."
The Zoraï grabbed her son by the shoulders and helped him to straighten up. Pü was surprised by his look. It was strangely mystical, as if she was trying to probe his soul. Her voice had changed, too.
- "Pü, do you desire power?"
At these words, the expression on the little homin's face changed dramatically. It was rare to see such determination in a child's eyes.
- "No! I am not interested in power! All I want is to grow up fast to protect you and Niï!"
Looï rested his bony forehead against his son's, breaking so eye contact.
- "So don't worry Pü, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Everything will happen as Grandmother Bä-Bä predicted…."
Pü nodded his head up and down.
- "Well. As you know, the beginning of Thesop's reign was marked by fierce repression and a true demon hunt. The imperial generals, very loyal to Emperor Pyto, have never forgiven his brother. This is probably why the assassination of Thesop the Fratricide a week ago was not followed by any funeral ceremony. It is even said that the Fyros people have been celebrating for several nights now the coronation of his successor, who is none other than the son of the lamented Pyto, the now Emperor Krospas…. These are the news that reached me from the Desert this afternoon, and that I wanted to tell you about."
Pü's face illuminated.
- "Wow! Pyto has been avenged! Any idea who the assassin is?"
- "Not that I know of, no. Although he was murdered in public, on the Agora of Fyre…."
- "Do you think this will change a lot?"
- "For the Fyros populating the cities of the Empire, yes, a lot. Very few Fyros were supporting Thesop. For the Kingdom of Matia, the Trykoth Federation, and the Zoraï Theocracy, I can't say yet. All will depend on the international policy of Emperor Krospas. For us, however, this does not change anything: the Fyros are indeed on good terms with the Kamis and on the outs with the Karavan, but they remain for the most part miscreants who do not know about the existence of Ma-Duk, the Supreme Kami. Sooner or later we will have to convert them to the True Faith."
Pü was agreeing weakly, when suddenly a voice was heard. It belonged to Ke'val, his father's brother. The brother of the Black Mask, then. His brother and his Shadow, whom Pü should one day succeed.
- "Looï, Pü, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
- "No Ke'val, I was discussing with Pü the assassination of Emperor Thesop, we were just finishing up," said Looï as she stood up.
Pü stood up in turn. His uncle looked a lot like his father, right down to the horns of his mask. Only the untattooed parts of this one made it easy to tell the two homins apart. Pü was very fond of his uncle, who was his referent master instructor. He trained with him almost every day. Like his father, Ke'val was very strict. But in contrst to the last, he knew how to express compliments. Thinking back on the conversation he had just had with his mother, Pü couldn't help but wonder if Ke'val had ever wished to take the Black Mask's place. The thought terrified him. Very fortunately, his uncle did not give him the opportunity to wander any longer in his thoughts.
- "Pü, I wanted to congratulate you. Shengi told me of your prowess at dojo."
Shengi, Ke'val's son, had thus told him about the handbell. Pü got along very well with his cousin, with whom he loved to spend time. The child blushed again and bowed his head.
- "Thanks Uncle Ke'val."
The Black Mask Shadow ruffled his nephew's hair abruptly.
- "You are truly exceptional. I am impatient to see you grow up. I am impatient to see Grandmother Bä-Bä's predictions come true. You too, Looï, aren't you?"
Looï took a step back. Pü raised his head, looking at his uncle and then his mother, not understanding the latter's reaction. Grandmother Bä-Bä's predictions. Yes, one day he and Niï would succeed his father and uncle to lead the Sacred War. In order to make the Happy Days happen. This was what everyone within the tribe was waiting for. So why, at this very moment, did the child detect concern behind his mother's mask?
Again, an unanswered question. Definitely, Pü was eager to grow up.
Belenor Nebius, narrator
