LITR 3731 Creative Writing 2006

Demra Trube

One More Time

            This section of the Shade Realm had been well traveled during the numerous millennia. The energy left behind from many of the former visitors could still be sensed. Not that all of these visitors could be sensed; these traces would start to slowly disappear after about three millennia. Eventually, the traces would still exist but could not be sensed by humans anymore.

            Looking towards the deeper areas of the Shade Realm, there was something moving outward. The material of it humanoid body was thick and billowy. Suddenly, it stopped. It was scouting the surrounding area. As the entity searched with all of its senses, he did not detect anything else that was supernatural around it. Its name, Toki, was still known in many other Realms. Toki planned to venture out to the Mortal Realm to explore what was happening on the Yomi Plain.

            According to the newly banished Shades, some fool politician, Kenji, had been allowing Inaka refugees to migrate into the currently uninhabited Yomi Plain. The Yomi Plain contains one of the naturally occurring Borders between the Shade Realm and the Mortal Realm. To mark this boundary, and to keep it closed, the Elders built part of the Ancient Wall. This is a long chain of large standing stones. Some of the Wall had to be rebuilt part way through the Rebellion. The builders had not been able to finish their work. The area had to be abandoned many years ago because of strange occurrences with Shades. The Shades were able to come through the broken Wall.

            Kenji probably wanted to put the refugees somewhere out of the government’s way; this wouldn’t be the first time refugees caused Kireiriku problems. Toki planned to visit Yomi Plain.

* * *

            “The Yomi Plain ...?” Naganori looked up. His long graying black hair fell slightly in his face. He swept it back quickly.

            “Exactly,” said Shinya, nodding. “That was my reaction.”

            Naganori looked back down at the map spread across the polished wooden table. There had once been a town there: Shimizu. Now Shimizu, like the rest of the Yomi Plain, was abandoned. No one had lived there since the end of the Yomi Rebellion. The Yomi Rebellion was the rebellion of heavily oppressed people against the Kireiriku government. There had been supernatural occurrences when the place had been occupied. The occurrences had stopped once the area had been abandoned at the end of the Yomi Rebellion That was roughly thirty years ago.

            “Sir?”

            He twitched as Shinya’s voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up. Naganori could not figure out the look on Shinya’s face. It could have been pity. Puzzlement was also a possibility. For a few months, Naganori wondered if the young man thought he was losing his mind.

            Shinya continued with what he was saying. “The report states the strange occurrences started about three weeks ago. Nomads saw people building large buildings a few months before that. None of the nomads were able to identify the builders. When the builders reported the nomads lingering around, the government designated a new route for them--”

            “And now Kenji is moving the Inaka refugees to that very same area.” Naganori met Shinya’s eyes. “Has there been any word of the sorcerer?”

            “Yes, but very little. The sorcerer is a woman, so it’s actually a sorcereress. Her name is believed to be Yuki. I did some studying into her background. I found that she was a noble woman who was exiled a few years ago for practicing evil sorcery. Some of the reports I read implied that Yuki may have been leading other people. I do not know if this was before or after her exilement. If she has followers, they are very likely still helping her. ”

            “The name sounds familiar ...”

            “She was one of the people who destroyed large parts of the Wall to get more magical power. She also supported Kenji’s Separation Bill.” Shinya supplied.

            Naganori looked down. How on Kireiriku could he forget? As a result of Yuki’s destruction of the Wall, the Shades caused a great deal of damage on Kireiriku. Then, she supported Kenji’s discrimination against non-human and part-human entities and non-citizens. His memories were beginning to merge and fade.

            “It seems Yuki is following the Ancient Wall to Shimizu. She cannot possibly destroy all of the Wall. She is very likely destroying the parts she feels will help her gain more power.” Shinya explained.

            “Then it is a good idea to stop her.”

            “Naturally.” A wry smile was on Shinya’s face.

            “Find out anything else about Yuki and anything Shade that might help her. I will continue looking for clues to Kenji’s plan of moving the Inaka.” Shinya inclined his head slightly. He quietly left the room.

* * *

            It was long into the night. Stars hung in silvery sheets across the inky sky. One of the best places to observe this was the Yomi Plain. An eerie glow was cast over the plain. Momotaro, a boy in his mid-teens, stood on the wooded edge of the area. His head was turned toward the sky. A telescope was pressed firmly to his eye. His shoulder-length black hair was hanging backwards because of how much he had his head tilted back. His darkly colored cotton clothes hung on his thin body. Momotaro enjoyed coming here to observe the natural beauty of the Yomi Plain.

            He settled himself into a sitting position next to his bag. Momotaro trained his telescope on one of the large stones of the Ancient Wall. It was very difficult to see it at night. He would have loved to take a closer look, but did not dare get any closer; he had heard too many stories about what had happened to people who did that.

            The use of the the Ancient Wall had not been discussed openly for many decades. As a result, Momotaro knew very little about it. He did know that it had been used during the Yomi Rebellion. He also knew it had been erected part way through the Rebellion. The builders had not been able to finish it. The boy shivered thinking of only using a small part of a defense to protect himself from what was on the other side of the Border.

            There was a sudden pulse of energy from the Boarder. Jumping from surprise, Momotaro sent himself sprawling across the grass. His heart was racing. His whole body was shaking. As shook, he rolled over onto his stomach. Slowly, he raised his head. He looked across the plain to the Ancient Wall. Several of the stones were shattered. Large pieces of stone were laying across the grass. One of the broken stones had been broken in half horizontally. From the break, a large Shade was pulling itself from the stone. As it pulled itself out, it slowly formed into a large humanoid shape.

            Quickly grabbing his belongings, Momotaro crawled sideways into the woods. He wanted to put a few more feet between himself and that thing. He shoved himself under a large bush. Out of breath, Momotaro pulled a Transporter Ring out of his bag. He was glad he had taken the Ring from his father. Pushing it onto his with a shaking hand, the Ring glowed green. Forcing himself to concentrate, he closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing. Then he heard the worst thing possible: slow heavy foot steps. The Shade had sensed him very quickly. Trying to focus on his home, Momotaro held the Ring to make sure it didn’t fall off his finger.

* * *

            Naganori stood at the window in his study. For a long time he had just stared blankly out of the window. He had been thinking. He didn’t know how long he had stood there. When he finally come out of his thoughts, Naganori realized how exhausted he was. It felt like he had been standing there for hours. The setting sun cast everything in deeper colors and gave everything longer shadows. Naganori slowly went over that day’s events. Shinya had brought him more news that morning. A young boy had almost been attacked by a Greater Shade. Naganori thought he knew who this Shade was: Toki.

            Toki had been one of the Shades that had given the Living so many problems. Naganori had never been sure if this Shade had ever been part of the Yomi Rebellion. Many Shades caused many more problems during that time. Of course, Toki had always been clever. It would have been easy for him to conceal his involvement. Naganori let out a heavy sigh. His eyes slid from the window and landed on the floor.

            He rubbed his face. For the first time in a long while, he realized how little he had been shaving. His face was rough but not hairy yet. The attack had brought back memories Naganori had not even realized he still had. The Yomi Rebellion ... the seemingly endless battles ... seeing things and doing things anybody would want to forget. There was no going back, Naganori knew.

            Naganori cursed under his breath. He deeply wished he did not have to do it all over again. For a long time Naganori had known it would start again. The knowledge had been shoved deep down so he would not have to deal with it.

            He looked out of the window again. The sun had gone down even lower. His study was cast in deeper shadows. He could see his reflection slightly in the window. Leaning closer, he studied himself in the window. He had changed a great deal after the Yomi Rebellion. Naganori had never consciously realized that before. His eyes were shadowed. Faint scars covered most of his face. He had always been surprised about how well they had healed. Naganori had thought he would be disfigured. He knew he was not as fit or thin as he used to be. Naganori had allowed himself to be lazy about his training. Now he may not be able to perform his duty.

            He turned from the window and walked pass the polished wooden table with the map still spread across it. He would put it up later. He reached the door and went down the stairs. Naganori’s hair fell into his face again. He naturally shook it back. One of the female servants had nagged him to let her cut it a few days ago. He had refused. His increasing apathy depressed him even more. Naganori could not be apathetic or depressed now; at least not outwardly.

            He would tell Shinya to get Naganori’s things together. He wanted to question the boy and do whatever else was necessary. Shinya had said the boy lived in a small village. It was common knowledge that villagers found strangers very untrustworthy. Naganori knew this from boyhood experiences as well. This meant he would have trouble getting the boy away from his guardians. The boy may not even trust Naganori.

            He left the stairs, crossed the hall, and entered the dining hall. As expected, Shinya was already down there. He was sitting and looked up as Naganori entered. His chin was resting in his thin hand. Shinya’s dark features looked strange compared to the lighter colors of the servants clothing he wore. Naganori felt like Shinya’s complete opposite whenever he was next to him. Naganori blinked quickly to bring himself back to the present. Naganori knew what he had to do. “I would like to question the boy. I will need your help. You remember the ways of the villages better than I do.”

            Shinya nodded. “The boy will need someone to explain what happened. I am sure the villagers will not explain it to him. Most of the villages are able to collectively remember what the Shades have done in the past. Of course, that does not mean anyone is willing to explain to the boy what happened or what it means.”

            “Yes. I remember how it was,” Naganori said vaguely. “I need you to prepare--”

            “I already have, sir. I hoped you would go.”

            Naganori held Shinya’s gaze for a few moments. Then his eyes slid to the floor. “What else is there for me to do?” he whispered.

            Shinya opened his mouth. Naganori interrupted before he could speak.

            “We will leave as soon as possible. If you have not gotten prepared then you need to do so.”

            Shinya quickly closed his mouth and nodded. Naganori turned. As he went back to his study, he made a mental list of everything he wanted to take. Memories of previous trips came back. In the end, it always seemed to him that he knew what he had to do.

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