《The Four Wheel Saga》19 Fish Out of Water 7
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Uzziah turned out to be a well-mannered lad with a penchant for discipline. He used the honorifics correctly, showed proper deference to the preceptors, and exhibited every trait of a gracious host.
The boy had alert, inky eyes and pitch-black braided hair. The young Yamazaki was about Kento’s height, darker in complexion, and looked much more weathered. He had an air of maturity around him that made others do his bidding.
As the group proceeded towards the main edifice of the floating house, Uzziah ordered the attendants around, sending one for refreshments and another to fetch his mother, Midori Yamazaki.
He tasked a tall, muscular man named Shufuku to remove barnacles from the canoes and clean and repair them wherever necessary. Illumi-Masaki-Nadeko’s canoe, particularly, needed special attention. Plenty of lamia entrails were spattered against the wood. It smelled like an unclean butcher shop.
In other words, Uzziah was mature for his age. The citadel-bred youngsters, in contrast, were barely ever courteous to their preceptors or elders. They always had the annoying tendency to gossip and interrupt each other. As they had been raised in palatial quarters, the tribal settlement was a rural experience for them.
Hajime and Yuuta had already begun teasing Megumin, saying that the house was likely to sink because she had boarded it. Nadeko and Masaki had started their tattle, with Illumi sandwiched between them. Shigeo had begun a discourse on the Wajin tribe settlement, about how the houses were constructed with shelter-kitsu to withstand harsh elements of nature.
Uzziah: “I would like to appeal to our revered guests that they maintain decorum in the Yamazaki house. Here, peace is the virtue above all.”
The group quieted themselves, embarrassed. They remained glib, regardless, and carried on their conversations through whispers. Yuuki and Keiji could barely keep themselves from smirking at the comical scene.
Kento had been silent all along. Before the party had set out on the journey, Senju had apprised his son that a visit to the Yamazaki house was scheduled. Therefore, the arrival was not a surprise for him.
Kento remembered meeting Uzziah several times during the ages of six to ten. He specifically recalled the time when they were ten years old. They had attended the grand carnival during the Goddess Festival that year. They had almost become friends.
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However, many years later, Uzziah looked and sounded different. The jolly kid who used to love apple candies had turned into a stern, glacial teenager.
Uzziah had pretended not to recognize him.
Or had he forgotten Kento? What did he go through in all these years that made him so aloof?
The path led to a wide shoji door, six feet tall and equally wide. It slid open to reveal traditional interiors with minimal furniture. Members of the house went about their chores, occasionally stopping to pay courtesy to the preceptors from the Daigaku and to Lieutenant Yorokobi.
Midori Yamazaki, Hakaku’s wife and Uzziah’s mother, received the party inside. She had a dusky complexion and a pleasant face, with braided hair cinched into a large bun.
Midori greeted the older warriors with affection and fawned over the children with motherly love. She offered them food and refreshments brought by an attendant. Uzziah took his leave, asserting that he had to join a foraging party.
They were allowed some time to rest before being summoned by the lord of the house.
Lord Hakaku’s reading room was an inner sanctum of the main building. It was the only room in the entire structure painted opaque, with glass panels to insulate sound. While the room had no windows, a segment of the roof had been made of tinted glass to illuminate the room. A steep staircase rose from a corner, leading up to a private terrace, which could be used for lounging and surveillance.
Inside the room, tribal art and craft adorned the walls. Stacks of books were neatly arranged on low tables with seat cushions on the floor for study.
Chief Strategist-Economist Hakaku Yamazaki was perched opposite one of these tables, strewn over with a plethora of documents- reports, maps, inventory lists, and registers. He examined them with a magnifying glass. As the party entered, he gracefully left his seat and welcomed them.
Hakako: “Yuuki, Keiji- you are gladly received. Young residents of the citadel, you are also welcome to my humble abode.”
The party bowed in deference and presented their credentials, which he accepted and acknowledged.
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Keiji, as a senior preceptor, enjoyed the rank of a Commander. In contrast, Yuuki had a position equivalent to Vice-Commander. Both ranks were higher than Lieutenant Yorokobi, who was two levels below the Vice Commander. Hakaku, as Chief Strategist, was the same rank as a kin-lord or a War General.
In his early forties, Lord Hakaku was almost the same age as Overlord Senju. He had a luxuriant, impeccably black beard covering most of his face. His clothes looked home-stitched and rustic.
It was known to all that Hakaku was very close to the Overlord. Despite being born into different kin, the two had first crossed paths as child prodigies. They started off as rivals in the then Legacy Trials and later became comrades in the Legacy Unit. They had fought as allies in the Zenmetsu war as War Generals.
During the said war, the six village-nations were divided as follows:
Karasuma + Karamishi + Karakori
and
Karamohi + Karayama + Karasuki.
Thus, there were two opposing warring factions.
After the war, in which Karasuma and allies were triumphant, Hakaku was due to be the next kin-lord of the Yamazaki-kin. But he had committed a taboo with Midori of the Wajin tribe, one of their allies.
Fighting together on the fringe of the continent, Hakaku and Midori had saved each other’s lives more than once. They had found solace in each other’s arms. On their way back, Midori had found herself with child.
The couple had approached a local sharin priest immediately and gotten married. The then kin-lord of Yamazaki-kin, Hakaku’s father, Saburou Yamazaki, had rejected Midori as a daughter-in-law. As a punishment for violating kin laws, he had banished his son from the citadel. Marrying outside the warrior kin was a taboo then.
Saburou had made his younger son, Baraku, the heir.
Hakaku had retreated to the Wajin tribe settlement with his bride. Midori’s community had accepted him with open arms. Over time, owing to his wisdom and skills, they had constituted him as an elder of the tribe. He had contributed substantially to the development of the community since then.
When Senju Mikashita had become the Overlord, he had appointed Hakaku as Chief Strategist and Economist. Thereafter, the golden age of Karasuma was set into motion.
Hakaku lived a day’s travel away from Karasuma. He teleported to the citadel whenever necessary to overcome the distance and time through the seiton technique.
After the guests took their seats, an attendant served some dandelion tea.
Yuuki: “Lord Hakaku, do the tribals work for you in exchange for pay?”
Hakaku: “You are speaking of the attendants, I presume? Some of them have pledged themselves to my service. Others are in-laws. There is no distinction of blood in the Wajin tribe. The ones you declare as family become your family.”
There were testimonial nods of approval all around.
Hakaku’s attention went to Kento.
Hakaku: “Kento, my dear boy. I have seen you around on the Mikashita grounds. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to speak with you over the past year. I feel guilty about the oversight.”
Kento: “I understand, Uncle. You and Father are busy in the village’s administration.”
Hakaku: “How considerate of you. But I give you my word that the next time I visit the Mikashita estate, I will certainly spend some time with you. (To Keiji) I received the news of the lamia attack and would like to hear in detail how the events unfolded. If what you say is true, then the lives of sailors passing through that route are in imminent danger. We must act quickly. Besides, the Overlord has sent me a confidential message through an elemental bird. He wants me to convey a salient piece of information to you. We will proceed with the topics. First, let us excuse your students.”
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Omnipocalypse Monsters(Shelved Timeline)
System Edit: This timeline has been shelved, but the adventures of the Omegas and her kids will continue in the next System Update Timeline with additional foes and challenges early on to guide the Omegas into a less destructive path of protection.The Omnipocalypse was every apocalypse humans ever imagined all happening at once, zombies, plagues, nukes, EMPs, Robot uprisings. Not just the earth either, It happened to every World ever dreamed up by men too: heaven, hell, and every other afterlife or spirit world ended, plus the worlds of books and stories bled into reality. It all broke apart and either; became new places on the chaotic Earth or part of the even messier spirit world. Magic beasts mutated by radiation, Robots mastering Magic, the mixture of everything made the horrors... well, more horrible. Omega; A young Woman with few memories wakes to find she has spent 2500 years in stasis, in a basement of scientific horrors. Creatures and Things that could supposedly destroy the world if ever let free. Horrors of which she was the last to get free. Rather then Quest for world domination or destruction; Omega keeps getting drawn into a protective role over other orphans, lost monsters, and broken AIs. So she decides to build something to help all her little monster family be safe. -------This story is meant to be a behind the scenes look at stories about kids solving problems that should be beyond them. I always wanted to see a story about Professor Oak, Dumbledore, or any other mentor who trains the main characters. I like the idea of someone looking at the apocalyptic world and deciding to make it safe enough that a small child can wander off and make some monster their pet. The pokemon games have fun systems to consider the behind the scenes workings of, like what training a team rocket member goes through to become a villain cut out for children to defeat. how they prevent a deific pokemon from accidentally murdering some little rat with its immense psionic power. However, the story itself is not really meant to be a pokemon parody, I draw inspiration from every genre of fiction, any type of game, this story is the only one I plan of ever writing without a clear cut ending planned, I love the infinite storytelling capacity of things like Doctor who's TARDIS, the Stargate or Rick's portal gun. In this case, I wanted the setting itself to be one where any and every story might happen. Cover Image by kalli gruen from Pixabay Discord Image by Digital Photo and Design DigiPD.com from Pixabay
8 262Evil Incarnate
Description In a world where anything goes humans, demons, bestias and many other species have the potential of harnessing dormant powers within them, this world is called „Zenda“… Abed a man from modern-day Earth tortured by society, by his family and by himself accepts a deal he better should not have! He finds himself suddenly waking up in Hell in the body of an crippled and impovered noble named Sirius Faust, a youth of noble descent that had been exiled from his homeland in the North by his family on the way to Antemor City, he gets caught by slavers and has been sold to an evil Mage. First he has to escape from hell, escape from that madman of an Mage and get to Antemor City... Little did he know what would await him when he receives a summons from his family years later to return to the Northlands and inherit the position of the family head… This is the tale of his escape from hell... This is his tale of aquiring unimiganiable powers... This is his tale of escaping from the grasp of an madman... This is the tale of his life before the summons.. This is the tale of his journey northward and the experiences he gathers along the way... This is the tale of his rebuilding his family’s dominion and keeping it safe from other power-hungry nobles... This is the “Evil Incarnate”.
8 137Fantazia and the Two Graves
In Z323 angels and demons used to reside in neighboring countries called Fantazia and Two Graves. War would often break out between them in a battle for sovereign reign over good and evil. Ragnarok was the main driving force for these wars as he wanted to be king. The despair waged on for years until Z519. No one knows exactly what happened, but Ragnarok was ultimately defeated, or so everyone thought. Will the new heroes rise up to defend the newly found peace? Or will evil win over everything?
8 91Fire Touched
Chosen by the god of fire as his champion in the mortal realm, Sarah Wycombe wants nothing more than to live the free life of an adventurer with John, her childhood friend. She finds herself having to fend off the forceful attempts from the Fire God’s faithful while investigating a mysterious cult who seeks to elevate their minor deity to godhood. In the magical world of Sera Thun, the orcs, fresh from a catastrophic defeat, seek to elevate the deity of night creatures to the pantheon in an effort to save their outcast people. Sarah Wycombe is part of a group of adventurers that uncover the grisly truth of how the worshipers of the night goddess intend to achieve their goals and seek to put an end to their ambitions. Along the way, she discovers that she has been chosen by the god of fire to act as His vessel in the mortal realm. As the Chosen of Agni, she is the keeper of the blue flame, which grants her considerable power. She must use this power to aid her band of outcasts to put an end to the night goddess’ ambitions while trying to avoid the zealous worshippers of the Fire God who seek to force her into a life of devotion towards their deity. New Chapters on Monday Wednesday Friday
8 174Primal Beast
You've heard the countless stories of powerful human cultivatiors, who could level mountains and overturn the heavens. But, what of the thousands of beasts who roam the forests? Could a truly powerful primal beast emerge and become a top cultivator? Will be coming back with more soon~
8 188The Silver Exile
(Closed. Thanks for reading.)The Earth suffered a virus unprecedented in history. It mutated all things, the living and non-living, and turned fantasy into a horror-filled reality. Within twenty years, humanity only encompassed 15% of the Earth and lost 90% of its population to the virus.Humans began being born with a small crystal core in their bodies. After years of research, humanity discovered they could access a foreign energy and use it to fight the monsters. Some people devilry, some magic, and some called it divine prominence.Over a thousand years past and humanity was able to make city states, nations almost non-existent. Technology was nearly non-existent as the method to make them was lost. Those who lived in the city were safe and all immune or compatible with the virus to awaken the crystal cores' powers.This is the story of the Silver Exile, a boy wielding a silver sword who used to live out in the wilderness. Exiles were born out the city and were expected to die. This is the story of how he lived.
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