NOVEL NEXT Beyond the Cradle 2 – A New Journey
“Off to another adventure eh, old timer?”
The kaijin chief, Uruwan, had an amused expression as he watched Jortus load several bags and parcels onto a wagon.
“Oh come off it, Old Uru. It’s been too long since I’ve had a break. *Sigh* Sometimes, I wonder if the Guild even remembers I’m getting on in years,” said the old mage with an exaggerated sigh.
Uruwan shook his head, “Why even answer their call, then? I’m sure there’re other young powerful mages with a list of accomplishments as long as yours,” he said in a joking tone.
The old mage then turned to Uruwan, his jolly air from earlier having faded, “The Guild found traces of the Grimori Family, Uru.”
Hearing this, the old kaijin chief’s laughing expression disappeared as he responded, “Those old vamps, huh. You really do have your work cut out for you, old mage. First the Chimeric Fallen Bloom, then the Niskari, and now the ancient bloodsuckers. It isn’t even halfway through the year and yet these old things keep popping up. What next, the remnants of the Sarmadai Empire are surfacing or is the “Old King” awakening?”
Jortus shook his head as he chuckled at Uruwan’s rant, “Don’t be so dramatic, Uru. This investigation shouldn’t be too dangerous. It’s just one of their abandoned Tomb-Forts, but considering it’s one that belonged to the Grimoris, we’re just taking precautions.”
The old chief nodded at his words before asking, “So, I take it you need to bring Rakai along?”
Jortus thought about it for a moment then shook his head.
“While I do want to bring him with me, I believe the man still needs time. After all, it’s not that often a father gets to experience their daughter speeding past their teen years directly into womanhood.”
Snorting while holding in a laugh, the old chief couldn’t help but retort, “You having no kids is showing, old mage. You’d be surprised how many fathers actually think that way of their girls. Rakai’s case is just in a more extreme sense, but basically, it’s no different.”
Choosing to ignore his comment, Jortus changed the topic, “In any case, Gern and his party is with me. Loen has them assisting me to clear out their records until I’m satisfied. Gern himself is of decent skill, but I’ll have to temper the other two. Honestly, it feels like Loen dumped them on me because he didn’t want to deal with them himself. Hmph.”
Shaking his head while smiling amusingly, Uruwan noticed the approach of the group they were just talking about accompanied by Rakai, his daughter, and their village’s new “Divine protector”.
“Grandpa! Elder! I brought them as requested!”
While Misesha called out cheerfully, Rakai quietly bowed towards Jortus and the elder.
Noticing the tension in his actions, Jortus shook his head, “Don’t be so stiff, lad. I ain’t dragging you out of these woods yet, so stop looking so glum in front of little Misha,” teased the old mage as he patted Misesha. Or at least tried to until he realized she was now only a head and a half shorter than he is.
“Urm… well, in any case, Gern’s group should be enough for this new task. Besides, our little friend here will be tagging along as well… much to my apprehension,” he said while sounding defeated.
He honestly didn’t want to bring the changeling to Kilmarn considering he has no control over its actions despite what he submitted in his reports, but after bringing this up with it before, the little beast somewhat understood him and let its intent to come along known.
Jortus obviously tried to object since it was like bringing a massive ticking timebomb – for his reputation and for the safety of the population, but whether it didn’t understand or it simply chose to ignore him was unclear. All he knew was the beast just decided to tilt its head and stare at him while following him all over the place.
It wasn’t until Misesha’s help did it finally come to understand the mage’s plight and wandered off. But later on, it came back to show him how well disciplined its companions were by showing him how their training went. From then, it became clear to Jortus that it was still intent on joining him and that it completely misunderstood who the mage was actually concerned about.
Giving up, he simply told the little creature that it needed to follow his instructions while in town and to avoid trouble as much as it could.
Seeing the beast silently stare at him without tilting its head, the mage took it to mean that this was simply the best he could do and prayed to the gods of order that his mental condition would hold.
Not knowing about Jortus’ inner turmoil, Rakai’s expression softened as he let out a sigh, “I will miss our time, Jortus. I really did enjoy our journeys during my days as a Seeker, but this time means a lot to me and my daughter, so I truly thank you for it.”
On the side, Uruwan couldn’t help but grumble to himself after listening to them, “We won’t be learning much from the world in the time Rakai is here. In a few months or maybe sooner, Misesha will likely become a full-grown woman and I have no doubt she’ll choose to journey with the beast to strengthen her bond with it as I did with mine. *sigh* Hopefully when the time comes, his nerves will hold out.”
The village had completely chosen to accept the changeling as a [Divine Beast].
Unlike beasts born from magic, monsters, and Tyrants, these creatures differed in that they held an important role in maintaining order within the natural world, similar to the Fae. While the Fae maintained the order of nature and the elements, the Divine Beasts maintained order among the creatures and their ecosystems.
They were as strong if not stronger than most Tyrants, and unlike most beasts, held incomparable intelligence. But what truly sets them apart was that they possessed some level of divinity.
In other words, they either served as the messenger of gods or were gods themselves. No Divine Beasts were the same and each were their own solitary existence, to a degree that overshadows even Tyrants. Though they may share racial traits with the creature from which their vessel has taken form, they are by no means restrained by that form and can still bring forth divine retribution should one incite their ire.
Possessing only minor blessings and no true name, they were considered lesser gods. Make no mistake, however, as whether they gained their divinity through the blessing of true gods or bestowed upon them by the land, they are still gods and are therefore above the reach of mortal ken.
These minor gods are the beings the Kaijin people have chosen to serve and their devotion to these lesser deities is the sole reason why they could stand to face the entities of the beyond alongside the Fae.
Uruwan did not sense divinity within the changeling in the same way as the Divine Fire Wolf he served, but he could sense a power that was far above his reach. Not just in strength or ability, but more of a presence that exudes something beyond even the fire wolf’s divinity. This was why he had chosen not to disparage the village’s preconception of it.
It didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned that Misesha chose to serve as its priestess, however. After all, the creature was clearly not a Divine Beast, but of a rather more suspicious nature. Despite this, the creature has so far shown no malicious intent nor hostility towards the village in the time it spent with them.
If anything, the creature has shown nothing more than what seems to be curiosity towards the villagers and has strangely been sensitive to Misesha’s well-being. Often times, if the beast isn’t wrestling with its companions or hanging around the old mage, it could be found being dragged around by Misesha, constantly watching her while being toyed with by the other children – its high tolerance being something which Uruwan was incredibly thankful for.
He wasn’t sure if the beast had a temper, but never once had it shown to be upset or angered over the things the children did to it, such as climbing on top of it or braiding its mane. They even pushed and pulled the beast over who gets to play with it every now and then, and Uruwan could’ve sworn he lost a few years as his blood ran cold when he saw it happen for the first time.
Jortus was in shock at the time too, but perhaps being contracted to the beast, he sensed its mood and simply waved off the situation.
“…”
Gone was the cheerful attitude of the little kaijin girl when she realized it was time to say goodbye. Misesha clearly showed dejection at having to separate from the creature, but perhaps understanding the situation, she chose to remain silent.
Sensing that the girl was upset, the changeling tilted its head in thought since it could determine the cause was her wanting to come along with their group.
It’s not like it was against it, but it thought it better to let her kin decide what’s best for her. The problem now laid in the fact that it wouldn’t be able to monitor her growth, so it decided to apply one of the few tricks it had come to learn.
It looked around for something then after having found it, signaled Zamorg to fetch the item. Looking towards where the changeling had directed it, Zamorg went off then returned holding a log.
Ignoring the others’ reactions, several tendrils extended from the changeling’s back to envelop the entire log. Once it was fully covered, the tendrils then twisted to crush the chunk of wood. From the gaps of the tendrils, a drop of resin started to form until it was larger than a fingernail.
As the drop formed, the changeling inserted the end of one tendril and released a few drops of blood. Then, using a technique it had observed a few times from the little fae, it began to speed up the hardening of the resin using mana.
The technique itself was simple since it was neither trying to generate or form an element, nor trying to directly convert the object into another. It was merely speeding up the process of what the substance would eventually become; similar to how water would eventually evaporate or increase in temperature when heated.
Soon, a golden tear-shaped amber was formed that had a shimmering red center. Satisfied with the result, the changeling then offered the tear-shaped amber to Misesha.
With its powers having grown, it can now sense parts of itself and their condition even from a great distance. Enhanced by mana, its cells can also now survive separated from the main body for a far longer time – long enough to at least serve until the girl has fully matured.
It still lacked the means to completely control its cells remotely since once they separate, they lose connection to all its mental processes completely, but it believed that this can be overcome once it has consumed creatures with the means to manipulate separate parts of itself.
Normally, this wouldn’t have worked since it could only detect the conditions of its own cells, but after having grafted parts of itself to rejuvenate the girl in the past, its blood within the amber should be able to monitor the young kaijin as long as it’s within a certain radius of her.
To the changeling, this was just a means to help it continue with its observation on a curious development, but to Misesha, this action meant so much more.
Among the Kaijin, there’s a tradition where if one would leave on a journey, they would leave behind a part of themselves such as a bundle of hair or a piece of their horn to their family. To those who would venture forth, they believed it was like leaving behind a guiding post that would eventually lead them home.
Not only did the changeling leave her a part of itself, the item it was leaving was its very own blood. For the Kaijin, to leave one’s blood is to signify one’s devotion and promise that they will be bound to that person. Usually, this was only done between people who are truly special to each other.
Of course, Misesha, who was always by the changeling’s side since its arrival, didn’t really think it did this while knowing its meaning, but this one simple act of coincidence brought unparalleled joy to the kaijin girl.
To the changeling’s surprise, all traces of reluctance and melancholy it had sensed from her had completely disappeared. Only joy and what feels to be resolve emanated from her as she suddenly dropped down to pull the changeling into a big tearful hug.
“My master… Morph, thank you… I promise, once I’m ready… I’ll be sure to join you and truly serve by your side.”
Once again, Misesha reaffirmed her desire to serve as its maiden priestess. She wasn’t blind to her own rapid development and once her body is mature enough, she was determined to take the test to become their village's next Seeker in her father’s place in order to join their journey.
To the others, her tearful embrace seemed like an uplifting scene, but Uruwan could see the tension and restraint on Rakai despite his expression and demeanor remaining unchanged. The old kaijin admitted that he underestimated him and honestly thought that he’d explode at this point, but he still sincerely hoped that Rakai would relax with time.
The changeling didn’t really understand her message, but it felt her conviction. And despite its confusion towards what’s happening, it was nonetheless satisfied that the girl stopped being depressed. However, it felt somewhat alarmed that the girl’s father had somehow sent faint feelings of hostility.
It turned towards the mage to confirm if it had done something concerning, but all it saw was that he had a most strange expression. Or rather, it was an expression it had no understanding of its meaning.
Currently, Jortus had an expression that could be described as equal parts leery and equal parts amazed. Did this little beast do this on purpose after observing the livelihood of the Kaijin? Did it actually accept Misesha as its priestess since it understood its role as a Divine Beast? Or was it simply just doing things on a whim without reason?
Whatever the real reason is, Jortus understood one important task he must do before they leave.
He must now leave Rakai some of his special tea. The one that helped with stress pains in particular.
***
