DISCOVERY PT 1: The Trip To Knowledge
After the discovery of Bara the four of them wanted to celebrate by taking Bara around the islands. They set out rather early in the morning. Without a clock it was hard to tell the time, but they didn’t care they lived life according to their time and how they felt. It was easier that way and made them the happiest. Casee packs a snack for each of them, Yuki brings Tog, Fazil and Bara head the pack and they take the side rail underground and land in Traal the Fourth Island. Bara doesn’t really want to be here but he goes along with it. He stays close to his friends keeping an eye out for his uncle or father.
Bara sounding a bit scared:
Guys not to be a downer or nothing but how long are we going to be here? When I left my dad and uncle were after me. I don’t want them to spot me here and snatch me up. I don’t want to go back there.
Casee:
Well, what village are you from?
Bara:
Vilich. I know because I used to see it on my dad’s work clothes. Farmers here put their village name and name of their farm on their clothes. I’m not sure why though.
Fazil:
Probably for the distributor’s benefit. Knowing where it came from is helpful for the buyer.
Bara thinking over Fazil’s words:
Oh I never thought about it like that before. Still I hope I don’t see those clothes or them again!
Casee:
Oh we’re not even going over there it’s too dark. When we explore islands we don’t go everywhere. Some places for us are just too scary to even go towards, so we try and stay away. Besides Yuki is pretty much scared of everything we go near.
Yuki:
Well not everything, but the forest over there is scary beyond scary. Too much doom and gloom for me.
Bara:
You’ve been over there before?
Fazil:
Oh yeah we have. It’s not fun over there some old man kept yelling at us saying “You damn loser kids!” Yuki usually ran away and Casee would stick her tongue out at him and laugh. I just stood there and glared at him till he turned around and left us alone.
Bara with anger and bitterness:
That sounds like my dad or uncle. They both sound alike because they are both mean spirited and hateful. The only things they know how to say out of their evil mouths are horrible and cruel words.
Casee trying to lighten the mood again:
Who knew? You stayed over there and here we are together. It’s funny how life works out sometimes. I would’ve never imagined that we’d be friends with someone who came from over there.
Yuki agreeing with Casee:
Craziness.
Bara:
Do you always do that? End your sentences with one or two words? It’s weird because it’s like you’re summing up what you just said, well, in this case what Casee just said.
Yuki in a small voice:
Well mostly. I can’t help it.
Casee with a smile at Yuki:
Get used to it, Bara. Fazil and I have had to.
Fazil:
Okay guys we’re heading towards Acryl the largest village on this island. It has some peil. My mom used to make it when she was alive and I loved the way she made it. She used to tell me that Acryl was famous for it.
Casee:
Are you sure we should do that. That stuff is hot. How are you going to steal it and what if we get caught? Patrol is heavy over here.
Fazil:
We’re not going to steal it. Now before you start Case (seeing her facial expression) Yesterday, before I made it back home, I stole this lady’s wallet. She was a HUGE pain so she deserved it. Now we’re going to buy stuff today for our home.
Yuki:
Can we get one of those lamps that you touch and everything lights up automatically? That’s what we should get first.
Fazil:
That’s exactly what we’re going to get first. That lady had enough Demmi for us to get almost anything we wanted.
Casee frowning:
That wasn’t right Fazil. We can’t spend everything of hers even if she was a pill. Come on we are better than that of course.
Fazil:
Fine then… we won’t spend it all and I’ll even turn it in to some patrolman on the street when we return. We’ll be generous with her unintended “donation” of money to us and then we’ll have it returned. Satisfied?
Casee with a satisfied smile:
Good.
Casee didn’t mind that Fazil had to steal for them but she did mind doing things that were wrong just to do it. After all they weren’t bad kids.
Fazil:
Okay there’s the side rail that leads to Acryl so let’s head on out.
Bara looks back towards the way of his old life and then runs to catch up with the other three. This was all new to him, and yet, the others made it seem as though they’d been doing this since they were born. They all step on the side rail and make it across without fail. Next they walk on towards the largest village on Traal to buy some stuff for their underground nest. After a couple hours of shopping they go to the park and sit by the fountain to eat. Each island had a park and a fountain to represent Sidia and Charma and every time they sat by one of these Holy fountains Casee said a prayer for them.
Bara:
Why do you pray by the fountain?
Casee:
So that it may reach Sidia and Charma. These are Holy fountains after all.
Bara:
Wow I really didn’t know that. Who are Sidia and Charma?
For the first time Yuki spits out what he’s eating and stares with great surprise at Bara. Fazil stares at Casee who is silent and baffled. The three friends are stunned by Bara’s lack of knowledge of their holy God and Goddess. Yuki and Casee stare on speechless, so Fazil steps up to explain.
Fazil:
You really have been locked away from life. You don’t even know who our God and Goddess of Arcantha are! They are the Heads that hold this world together and, they created the Four Clans. The Four Clans of Sidia and Charma dwell within each village on each island as our shadow spirits.
Casee:
Wow there is so much you need to learn. We’re going to the bookstore right now.
Yuki over exaggerating:
My mind has become liquid. I can’t believe my ears. This poor, poor soul! (With his head down shaking from side to side) Very sad.
They get up without finishing their lunch and head straight for one of the bookstores in the village. After browsing through the history of Arcantha Casee finds one on the Four Clans and Yuki finds another on Sidia and Charma. Fazil waits for them to finish up so that he can pay for the books and they can leave. After buying the books they leave the village and Traal heading back home to set their stuff up and to help Bara understand more about himself.
Yuki:
See, here Bara, here’s something about Traiths and what they can do. It’s not much only a small passage only because they are a bit of a mystery, but it’s enough for you to get a good picture of who you are. It’s a darn shame you’ve been in the dark all this time.
Casee:
Yeah, it is. Well, here is a section on how the Clans became what they are. There’s also something here about the sixth island.
Fazil:
Clover? Hmm that island is forbidden to everybody. No one is allowed there and hasn’t been for a very long time. It’s even closed off from the rest of the islands on Arcantha. Even though it’s part of Arcantha it is separate from it. It’s weird because no one talks about it and the books have very little about it.
Yuki:
That sounds scary that one of the islands is closed off for good. It makes me think that it was a bad place that had to be closed down or something; makes me think of a place that is dark and desolate; abandoned. Does it say why?
Casee:
No, it doesn’t it just says that it is no longer in use, but that is the birthplace of the first Arcanthian Gods and Goddess’ officials or the Four Heads of the Clans of Sidia and Charma. There’s a whole thing in here about the Gods, the head God and Goddess, and the Heads of the Four Clans. This is pretty cool. I wish we had access to this stuff growing up with those people we called parents. They didn’t have to be such bad people towards us. They could’ve been better than that.
Yuki:
It would’ve been nice to learn it from them instead of some book I happened to stumble across while breaking into my parent’s study and going through their things. I didn’t want to break into their study, but I needed something to do in that abandoned house of mine.
Fazil laughs a little at Yuki and Casee tries to stifle a giggle. All in all they are very eager to learn more and discover more about who they are and what clan does what. The books open up their minds in new ways and in some ways Bara is satisfied, but still, there is more to them than just what the books say and Bara wanted to know more; they all did. For now they would rest, but what would tomorrow hold? They would find that out when tomorrow came. Tonight they sleep; dreaming of what was to come.
