The next day....

“Are you ready, Lani? Let's go see what this all about.”

I was heading to the city center with Atjani. There was a ceremony to celebrate the birth of Lam Lathi. It was when the bandit saved the first dancer. Lam Lathi always made sure to trace our tribal roots carefully. The celebration in Maraseer would fill the night with excitement. I liked the silence better, but it was distracting. This was a way for us to forget our arguments and take our mind off the picture.

“Mmm.”

I dart across the city square and look up at the tree trunk stage. I remembered it from yesterday. It looked better at late sunset. Soon it would be dark again. Atjani and I were walking to an imperial inn. Lam Lathi had many of them spread throughout the Ryoken lands.

A tiring walk later, I find myself wandering around an imperial inn. It was decently large. Decorative irises made of rubies and tiger's eyes encircled the outside walls as if they were protecting the structure from unwanted guests. The eyes peered outward and I stare back at them. I rub my fingers on their edges. One was chipped.

A group of testy slang girls littered the streets near me. Their wanton hand-signs touched my eyes and we smile and talk, spreading rumors and secret motives. I had some privacy from Atjani again. Other messengers were looking for a message to dance, even a love letter for a special one to feel their love at the stages. The dancers laugh with me, becoming quiet as they stare at Atjani. He wasn't wearing a bandanna. You were supposed to. It was part of the celebration.

Next to the women were life-sized naked figurines, showing the world that Lam Lathi had conquered the physical. Our imperial tempests were always on the prowl, hoping to pick up on those who left our many sanctuaries. It was always safe at the inn from the outside. Inside it was different. I play with my tempest chains. My guardians weren't allowed in.

“Mmm... I remember these inns. Tempests are executed if they enter.”

Imperial inns were supposed to be free of tempests allowing those within to talk freely and gripe about their hatred of Lam Lathi. To Atjani, venting was a normal thing to do, but to the empire it meant a release of frustration that would not mingle with the desire to riot. People needed sanctuary from the many imperial eyes. It was a place Lam Lathi was hesitant to touch. It was often a haven for those fleeing possession.

I give a hand signal to my tempests and tell them to wait outside for me. I watch a nearby torch burn and dance, as all four of my invisible friends wait outside.

Atjani follows me inside. A large banner falls behind us. There was more than one entrance.

Incense smoke passes over my face as I walk over to the far side of the room. I turn around a chair and straddle it, leaning the back of it against the table. Others who didn't have a bench seat along the wall were doing the same. It helped prevent people from reaching across the table and attacking another on the other side. It was a sign of peace among the tribes, saying I won't reach across and hurt you. I take a seat near the corner and grab a rock marker from the center of the table. I place the marker at the seat next to me, letting everyone know Atjani was sitting there.

Atjani mutter to himself, as he takes a seat next to me. Every one pulls up a chair on our side as food is passed around. A few people go outside to smoke, while others stack coins to balance them and gamble them away. As lively as the place was, it was quiet for the amount of people. My eyes observe to the stairwell behind me. It led to the rooftops, and connected this building to the others where people stayed.

This floor was large enough for everyone. There were numerous tables. Among each group of tables were floating candles, sitting on the interior half-walls. The floating candles also lined the entire inside wall, with gaps in the roof above to let the smoke out. My eyes observe the people from every tribe, who were passing through the city. The only tribe that wasn't there was mine. It was a no-name tribe. It wasn't bothersome. It felt like Lam Lathi here and I was happy again.

“At least I'm not wearing a Palani tribal belt,” mutters Atjani, looking over. I frown. Palani was a worthless tribe, known for their heartlessness and passionate cruelty. Nothing good came from the northern continent above the Ryoken Island continent.

I touch my messenger's blade against my boot as others walk by. Atjani brought his knife, but didn't bring his rifle. The extra weight gradually wore him down. I still felt safe. There were lots of tempests outside from the collected people and Lam Lathi had its recruits stationed down the street.

Another person wedges their way into our table as conversation fills the air. There was going to be a gift exchange later, where you brought one in and took one out of the chamber. I had put some of my coins in an envelop and sealed it. I had to pay for both of us, but both of us would receive a gift. That's what mattered.

The torches outside become more vivid when the sun sets. One of the imperial inn keepers starts lighting candles and floating them around the room so we can see better. Shared food was all around. The night was passing kindly. I hand Atjani a piece of it to try.

“You need to try,” I say wryly. “You might save the world if you do.”

“How kind,” he mutters with annoyance.

Atjani takes the bite and eats it spitefully. He continues staring across the room. Strangers were motioning at him. My eyes dart to them and back at my friend. I touch my hair and pull a string.

I wrap my bandanna around Atjani's mouth. He was getting some stares and unwanted gestures and I didn't want the night to be ruined. I wanted him to feel part of the celebration like me. He should have worn a bandanna and at least tried to be part of it. I even bought him one. He threw it on the ground. I finish tying off my bandanna around Atjani'a mouth. He adjusts it with a grin.

“I guess that makes us lovers,” mutters Atjani. He leans close to me. “I'm good at killing my love story. So thanks for the gift wrap.”

I narrow my eyes at Atjani. He was mocking our previous argument.

“No!”

I wasn't giving my bandanna to Atjani anymore. I did it to try and stop a fight between him and his tribal enemies. It happened more than once on our journey. People could tell he was once part of the resistance, who killed the sacred dancers. I was starting to understand. They were making rude gestures about him for not having a bandanna. The resistance used to burn them in defiance of Lam Lathi soldiers. Lam Lathi always made an effort to return the bandanna to one's lover, if they died. My eyes dart to Atjani. I could tell a fight was brewing.

Atjani changes his mind and I hold away my cloth. I look at him. “Nope. Too late.”

“I'm glad we can relate on something,” he returns.

I try to refocus on the celebration. The night was supposed to be about finding true love and a hero, not a passing lover. It was like the sacred war we breathed. My people remembered our wars because we suffered and died for each other. We didn't erase the wounds. We used them to grow closer to those that loved us, and further from our enemies.

The same could be said for a broken heart. Pain was intimate. It could bring two people together when they understood what the other had been through. Everyone was fighting a war against suffering. When they fought together it made them closer. I look at my bandanna in my hand. I wanted to find my special one. It was all or nothing. The experience of true love was hard and worth suffering for. That's what gave it meaning. That's what created intimacy. Among the tribes, it was the most important part of being Ryoken.

“Mmm.....”

Somehow being a Lam Lathi messenger didn't quite match my bandanna. It was hard to settle down when all you did was travel from stage to stage. The journey was dangerous and dancers were often killed at the stages. Only someone who was willing to bear the pain, and deal with being influenced, would come along. Lam Lathi said that meant they truly loved us. I didn't know if that was true anymore.

Suddenly, everything becomes much quieter. In a split second, a man comes hurdling through one of the entrances, whipping up the entrance banner. A clank resounds. I hear heavy footsteps enters the room, even pulling the candle flames in a new direction. My eyes focus. A man enters as others crash into the entrances to his side and rear. The newcomer was Caparan. He starts to speak and I frantically try to translate what he says for the others.

“Hello Ryoken. I am Maur Crescendo. I come from Capara bearing sacred gifts from afar.”

The torches are stifled outside, as water falls on them from high above. Inside, the candles continue to blind Maur as he looks over at us. Four armored bodyguards position themselves around the floating candles and prepare to pinch them out. Maur finishes with a loud and mocking whisper.

“Let's see what happens, when the lights go out. Tonight, I have candles to baptize. So everyone, listen to the preacher.”

The lights go out. Everything goes dark.