Garyushi Shangomaru
Ryuni Capital City, Garyudōra, Ryudō-ShanGriLa, hTraé; Ammday, 21st of Shandowr
The Royal Capital has always been a favorite place of mine; from the hustle and bustle of the market to the streets filled with the voices of its denizens. It somehow manages to keep me at awe, that isn't to say that my life in Mirini hasn't been pleasant, but Ryuni is my hometown.
"Ah yes, welcome Your Majesty," a merchant greeted me as I was making my way to the Royal Palace.
"No, no, please," I began, "I'm no longer a Prince, I've since taken up other duties." Truth be told, I'd been appointed as the Prime Minister of Garyudōra's sister nation, Miryudōra about a month and a half ago and it's been fairly easy to manage and maintain; however the scar that was left on the people will take much time to heal. "But speaking of His Majesty, have you seen my elder brother?" I asked the merchant.
"Ah yes," he chuckled nervously, "I last saw the Prince causing a commotion at the Imperial Guild Hall."
"Oh Great Mother," I shook my head in disappointment, "Leave him alone too long and he'll always find his way to some booze."
"Oh I'm sure he's not getting into too much trouble," he continued, " I remember seeing him with that one princess, oh what was her name?"
Call it a hunch, but could he be talking about—? I pondered. "Do you mean Princess Rebecca?" I asked with urgency in my voice.
"That's the one," the merchant replied with the goofiest of smiles, "I hear beast-folk don't really care for rowdiness, and that princess sure did seem prim and proper. I bet she's forcing him to sip tea instead of ale—."
"GATE!" I screamed, and instantly two enormous stone doors manifested in front of me, "I'm sorry but I must go, thank you this conversation has been most helpful." I pushed the doors open and a vortex of mana swirled before me, I stepped through the doors and found myself in an alleyway near the guild hall.
Dammit, I cursed, I'd forgotten that I never actually been inside the building before, which was a problem. I quickly ran inside the building and as I had suspected, both my brother and Princess Rebecca were chugging back full barrels of beer, much to the guild master's displeasure.
"Please Your Majesty," one of the guild hall's receptionists pleaded, "you have to pace yourself—."
"It's always 'Mind yourself, you're a Royal,' or, 'You're not acting befitting of a ruler,' well who said I wanted to anyway," my brother drunkenly exclaimed, his face was drenched in sweat and his cheeks were red from the alcohol. "Well ya'know what, Becca," he hiccuped, "I'm gonna do my own thing."
"I bet you'll still end up on the throne," quickly quipped Rebecca, much to my brother's chagrin.
"Okay, okay," I stepped in and interrupted "I think you two need to sober up, especially you." I looked at my brother intensely, my being in Ryuni wasn't for leisure, in fact it was an urgent matter. "We need to go to the palace and speak with the emperor, I was told that this was a pressing matter and I would like for you two to take your roles a bit more seriously," I confessed.
"Fine," my brother threw his hands in the air, "But don't think I'm not going to complain, I really just want to loaf around."I made my brother and Princess Rebecca gather their things as we left the guild hall, I had to apologize profusely for my brother's behavior and you better believe, I was going to remember that. As we walked outside the building, I'd summoned a Gate to take us to the Royal Palace where the emperor would be expecting us.
The Ryuni Palace was more ordained than Mirini's, mostly because the emperor of Garyudōra is, in lack of better words flamboyant in nature. We were greeted by a precession of palace attendants, knights and guardsmen, much to my brother's annoyance. However, it was a reminder of the responsibility that he'll eventually have to take up.
"Welcome, Your Majesty, Prime Minister, and Princess Rebecca," greeted Jasper, the top Royal Guardsman in all of ShanGriLa. "The Emperor has been expecting your arrival, he's in the throne room now," he continued.
SLAP—! My brother slapped his cheeks in an attempt to sober himself up, "yeah, yeah, we know," he snapped.
"Show some respect," I barked, "you may be the prince but you still need to have manners." We bowed our heads and made our way to the throne room. I've always marveled at the beauty of this palace, it had a dragon's essence embedded in its walls which gave it a feeling of divinity.
As we entered the throne room, we were greeted warmly by the emperor, "My beautiful boys! Oh how I've missed you both," our father came charging towards us, taking us into his embrace. The emperor of Garyudōra, Platinum Dragon Emperor Samael, at first glance, one would assume he were one of my siblings or classmate even, but due to him being the only full-blooded dragon in all of hTraé and being a Cardinal race, he's blessed with longevity.
"How is it you have more energy than your own children," pointed a poised and hooded woman standing next to the throne, she removed her hood and revealed herself to be Shinar Pandora. In all of the realm of hTraé, Shinar Pandora was amongst the eldest and wisest, she had served as our patron goddess's first subordinate and coincidentally was one of the Four Cardinal Races, a Nightskinned Demon. She was an elderly woman, however she didn't let that stop her from doing her job as an advisor. Her skin resembled the star filled night sky, and she wore her hair in six straight-back braids that ran down her back. "Need I remind you that this is a pressing issue," she continued, "please let's continue, so I can put these old bones to rest."
My father stuck his tongue out at the Shinar, and she replied with daggers in her eyes, "kidding," he giggled as he leisurely sat back on the throne. "Now, I've summoned you three here today to do a little investigation," father began with the briefing. He stretched his right arm outward and the room itself shifted into something ethereal. In front of us, the emperor manifested a playback feed of a giant silver slime destroying a small village of Gargoyles. Father cleared his throat before continuing, "there appears to be a number of Slime Viper attacks in the north eastern region of Jigoku. I'd like for you to see what's going on and report back to me with your findings."The room's air was thick, however I found it odd that he summoned us here just to have us investigate some Slime Vipers.
"But aren't Slime Vipers normally docile," asked Rebecca, "it doesn't make sense for them to be active enough to attack the denizens of Jigoku, especially considering they're not even native to the land."
"Quite perceptive," chimed Shinar Pandora, "the fourth Cardinal Race, the Slime race, aren't known to venture outside of East Sidhe, coupled with the larger predators coursing the Void Ocean, the situation has caused many eyebrows to rise."
"So what, all we have to do is round up some slime," blurted my brother, "why can't we just have the Royal Guard take care of it?"
Father gave us a mischievous smile before saying, "there's more to this than just rounding up some slime. It's also an escort mission, Shinar Pandora, if you will." The Shinar stepped forward and waved her hand letting the mana swell around it.
"This mission is something of a collaborative effort," she began, "the current Demon Lord of Sleep, Demon Lord Morpheus is delegating a group for you to meet with upon your arrival to the continent. From there Demon Lord Morpheus will give the necessary information to aid you on the success of this mission." The playback feed changed from the slime attack to a group of four mages, these must be the ones we're supposed to be helping, I wondered. The feed zoomed in to reveal the group's faces, there were three Nightskinned Demons, two male and one female, and the last member of the party appeared to be either a Hyuman or a Vampire.
The two male mages wore long robes with gold and green stitching on the sleeves and hood, while the Hyuman had on leather pants and a white blouse. Lastly, the female demon appeared to be a Miko, she had a pure white kimono and a red bonnet covering her hair. She was placed in the front of the group and I'd assume she was leading the vanguard by the way she took command. The Slime Viper unleashed a massive and powerful explosion, spreading its venom throughout the battlefield and in a matter of seconds, the Miko erected an impenetrable barrier. The force from the attack caused her bonnet to fly off to reveal her hair, which is something Mikos are forbidden to show.
"Oh dear Mother," my brother gasped, "who is that woman? The one in the front, with the storm curls, Lady Pandora, is she related to you?"
"Brother, be at ease," I whispered, "this is official business we're doing—."
"She is indeed," responded Shinar Pandora, "her name is Twyla, and as a matter of fact it was she who insisted that the three of you take part in this mission."
I looked over at my brother and it was clear that he was smitten. Honestly, he wasn't the type to fall head over heels for anyone. In fact, I didn't even think he liked women, or men even. I just thought that he believed that romance and relationships were overrated. I could be projecting my own feelings of the matter, but I'd never seen him this excited to see anyone.
"Twyla Les Fleurs Précieuses, Mansukabe Bouclair, Guillermo Devereux, and Spinella Tepes are, like the three of you," continued Shinar Pandora, "candidates considered to be the realms next Demon Lords. Out of all of Jigoku, these four are most exceptional and I'm confident one of them will become a Demon Lord."
"So there are more candidates?" asked Rebecca, "well I guess that makes sense, considering there are currently five Demon Lords."
"Yes, to my knowledge there are at least twelve of you," informed Father, "quite the impressive candidate class, wouldn't you say Lady Pandora?"
"Indeed," she replied, "though that just means each of you will need to stand out amongst your peers in order to become worthy of the title of Demon Lord."
This was new information to the three of us, we'd only been given our own candidacy a month ago; "will any other candidates be taking part or will it only be the seven of us?" I asked.
"It'll only be the seven of you," answered Father, "the candidates are off doing an equivalent mission for Demon Lord Anubis—."
"Twyla," exclaimed my brother, I hadn't paid him much mind, but I did catch him muttering to himself, and I'm assuming he was repeating her name. And as if a switch flipped in his mind, his demeanor did a complete 180, "M'Lord, when do we depart?"
"What's with the sudden change of attitude," laughed Father, "if I didn't know any better I'd say you've fallen in love! My little man is growing up!" Father continued teasing my brother, however he didn't let it get to him, in fact his disposition was unwavering.
"Father please," my brother said with a straight face, "we must continue with this briefing, so that Shinar Pandora can get some rest."
"You're concerned about the wrong things," the Shinar announced, "however, since this is an urgent matter, you'll need to prepare to leave within 24 hours. There will be a small ship ready for you in the Astral Cape that'll take you to a port in the Akuma Dynasty of Jigoku. There you'll meet with Demon Lord Morpheus to receive your next instructions."The three of us each looked at each other and gave a subtle nod confirming that we understood.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," shouted Father, "the other Demon Lords and I agreed to give you all code names from this point forward. To be honest, it was all my idea, so you can thank me for giving y'all some totally badass names! Rebecca, you'll be known as Eos and Shangomaru, you'll be Aether—."
"This is so trivial," interrupted my brother, "Father we must approach this with the utmost—."
"Lastly, you'll be named Chronos," Father ignored him as if he hadn't just protested, "these names corresponds with the Aspect that you have an affinity for. Jasper—."
"Yes, Lord Second," alerted Jasper, surprising the three of us.
"Were you here the whole time," questioned Brother.
"Notify Hikariryushi Ogugee, Meera Dracoventis, Dorinda Bouldier, Laith Balasit, and Dimitri Greenwitch about the mission and make sure they're prepared for departure," instructed Father. "Although the three of you were requested, I and Shinar Pandora feel it would be necessary for you to have a little back up, just in case." The way he said that made me feel a bit uneasy, and it was totally on brand for him. Since he's the only dragon in the realm, he has a habit of not taking things too seriously, it could be because of his invulnerability, but Father always has an air of whimsy about him.
"Of course, Your Majesty," answered Jasper. "Consider the task done, we'll meet you at the Astral Cape at dawn."
Once the conversation was over, Rebecca and I made our way to the palace sleeping quarters, while my brother retired to his own room. Although it's only been a month and a half, I missed the walls of this palace, the memories my brother and I shared here were ones I will always cherish. Surprisingly my room had been kept exactly how I left it, scriptcraft textbooks mixed with countless notes and scratch paper; I'd almost forgotten how much of a hermit I was.
I looked through the notes and saw that I was conducting research on the relationship between biology and mana. That's right, before I left I was just starting my research, I thought. I was first introduced to the relation by Rebecca, she wanted to find a way to make a being out of mana, and she wondered if someone would be able to carry the child to term. However, we weren't able to begin to dive deep in the research since I'd been appointed as Prime Minister, I wonder if she's interested in this.
The following morning, Rebecca, my brother, and I set out to meet the rest of the investigation party. We were arranged to meet right outside the capital's main entrance and I was surprised that we weren't the first group to arrive, we were actually the last.
"Most warmest of greetings, Your Majesty," Dimitri announced while giving an exaggerated and grandiose bow, "oh and salutations to you too, Prime Minister and Young Prince."
"There's no time for pleasantries," informed Jasper, "by order of His Majesty, Platinum Dragon Emperor Samael, all members of the investigation party should refer to the three candidates by their appointed code names."
"You have got to be kidding," exclaimed my brother, "he's really forcing to use those names?!"
"Oh chin up," I said trying to calm him down, "Chronos is actually a really cool name." To be honest, I really did like the names that were given, it almost felt as though the title of Demon Lord was within reach.
"I know the names are cool," he confessed, "I'm just upset that I didn't come up with them! He's always stealing my thunder and coming up with awesome stuff he knows I'd eventually dream up!"There was a bit of truth behind his words, our whole childhood he'd get upset at the grand gestures Father gave us. I don't he harbors resentment though, I do find it funny how he always doing some sort of mental gymnastics to reach his conclusions.
"You can complain later," announced Shinar Pandora as she approached us along with Father. My brother, rather I say Chronos stiffened his posture and calmed his petty feelings. Father was dressed in his Imperial Commander regalia; it was platinum with a light blue shoulder tassels. His platinum blue hair, which was normally in a messy Afro, was neatly braided into six straight-back braids, just like Shinar Pandora. Might it have been a coincidence, however I felt as though they were trying to tell us something, and it had to do with the number six.
"I'm glad to see you all made it," praised Father, "I expect this mission to take a few hundred years and in that time I'd like updates on any new findings that would be of interest."
"Anything of interest?" I asked, "what are you expecting us to find?" I was starting to feel uneasy again, and I started to believe that he was going to continue to drop another bomb on us.
"And I also have a surprise member to add to the party," Father continued as I were mute, "give a grand ole welcome to, Princess Oshubana—! Oh don't be shy, come on." From behind Shinar Pandora, our younger sister who barely just enrolled in Avalon Academy, stepped forward and curtsied before us.
"My name is Princess Garyushi Oshubana, and I look forward to aiding you," she said while arising. My youngest sibling, and coincidentally my only other sibling aside from my elder brother, has been suffering from an unknown inflection, possibly a curse. Most of her your younger years, the first hundred or so years, she suffered intense headaches, that eventually manifested into something greater. The curse seems to be absorbing not just mana, but some other substance that acts like mana. She regularly attends rehabilitation to help regulate her mana and to detoxify the foreign mana from her Cache.
"Do you think it's a good idea that she comes along?" I asked.
"There is a remedy for my curse in Gargoria," Oshubana stated, "please Brother, let me come with you. Father already said I could go, and it's his word over yours, but I want you to say it."
"I don't see a problem with it," Chronos said, it was really surprised, I'd thought he'd be the first to protest her involvement, but I was wrong. "Bashi," he continued, "you have to make sure you call either of us if you're unable to manage your mana levels. Shang—uh, I mean, Aether, will find or create a void to store it in and I'll restore you back to normal."There was a glimmer in Father's eyes as he watched his children bond, and I had to admit, it was a touching sight.
"Well in that case, Nieth, Hanzo," I said as I turned and faced the forest and two being instantly appeared. Hanzo dressed like a standard shinobi, except opting to let his free-form dreads breathe. Nieth on the other hand looked more like a huntress, equipped with different types of bows and arrows at her disposal.
"Oouu," Father exclaimed, "Ninja!"
"Yes sir," Hanzo replied.
"I want one of you to stay be Bashi's side and alert me if you sense any danger you can't handle," I stated, and without hesitation, Hanzo flash stepped out of sight. I can trust that he'd keep a close eye on her, I thought. I looked the rest of the party and instructed Nieth to join them before we set out.
"Is everyone accounted for," Father yelled, "if not, oh well. Good luck on the investigation! And let me know the juicy gossip!"He can be a handful at times, but I do love him, and I'm sure Bashi and Chronos do too.
The journey to the Astral Cape wasn't too long, not even an afternoon's worth of walking, mostly uneventful. The cape houses a small island that's home to sirens, ShanGriLa's Void Ocean Guides. The Void Ocean isn't like regular water, staying in one place for too long and you'll be swallowed by the vast nothingness that is the Void Ocean. Sirens and other Ocean-folk live and commune in structures that branch out from the mainland, using a mixture of stable bedrock and sophisticated scriptcraft acting as a barrier holding it all together.
When we made it to the docks of the cape we were greeted by two siren, however instead of mermaids, like one would think, these women had legs. "Welcome, we've been expecting you," one of the two siren greeted, "My name is Liana, and this is my sister, Kiana, and we'll be your guides to Jigoku." Liana had deep amber skin and her moss green hair was both messy and wavy, while Kiana sported a shorter hairstyle, red starter locs. The sisters led us to the ship we'd use for our voyage, while they themselves dove into the ocean. It wasn't long before we saw their heads emerge from the water and the pointed us in the direction to set course to our destination.
We sailed the Void Ocean for about a month and in that time I spent continuing the prior research. I already understood the importance and mechanisms behind a mage's Cache, allowing the storage and regulation of mana; however if a being was created by mana, it would run the risk of death via Mana Depletion. I was going to need an expert's opinion on this and thankfully Rebecca wasn't too far.
"Oh brother look," exclaimed Bashi, "I can see the land!" I'd looked beyond the Void Ocean and saw that we were approaching the continent. Jigoku, also known as the Demon Continent, but it's the first continent discovered by our Great Mother. It has two main nations, The Akuma Dynasty in the south and The Kingdom of Gargoria in the north. The dynasty is divided into four main regions or Quarters, and one capital. The Vampyre Quarter is, like the name would suggest ran by Vampires, a Demonic-Hyuman-sub race that have a mastery of blood magic. The Yokai Quarter is overseen by a nine tailed fox named Kitsune, who I heard is another one of the goddess's subjects. In the far west, The Loa Quarter is ran by Azizas, fairy-demon hybrids, whereas the Twilight Quarter is led by the Nightskinned Demons. Each Quarter reports to the main capital, Asuma City, where the continent's Demon Lord resides.
Our destination was set for Saint Moonlight's Port in the Twilight Quarter, which borders the capital city. Once we arrived, we were greeted by Demon Lord Morpheus himself, along with several of his subordinates. He was a slim man and he was without a doubt a Vampire; his skin, although brown, was a sickly pale and he deep dark bags under his eyes. "It is a pleasure meeting you all," began the demon lord, "My name is Morpheus, and I do hope your journey was pleasant."
"Yes of course," I said, "my name is Aether, and this is Chronos and that's Eos, we're here to help with your slime problem."
The Demon Lord sized each of us up, as if we were incapable of handling the task, but quickly changed his tune as soon as he saw Jasper.
"Lord Samael has briefed them on the situation," Jasper announced, "Lord Morpheus, he said 'The Eve of Insanity is upon us' and we ought to be prepared for it." This was the first id ever heard of this, and it made me feel even more uneasy about this whole situation.
"I see," the Demon Lord said while folding his arms and furrowing his brow, "well if it's all the same to you, there's a few things I'd like to say about this 'Eve of Insanity'. Please, come to my manor, the other candidates should be just making it back from their mission."
We gathered our belongings and took a bicorn carriage to the manor; on the ride, we passed through both the Twilight Quarter and Asuma City. The quarter was filled with speakeasies and nightclubs and I was worried that my brother would snap break from his love trance and start drowning himself in alcohol. I wouldn't say I'm wishing for his downfall, I just know my brother, and the sudden change in his attitude, albeit jarring, is welcomed.
"I think we're approaching the city's entrance," alerted Chronos, "we got here faster than I expected."
My brother was on to something, the distance between the port and the capital had to have been at the very least three days worth of travel. However, we were able to make the trip in a matter of minutes, was spatial magic used without my knowing, I wondered.
"Ah, I see you noticed," noted Demon Lord Morpheus, "I took us down a special route, one that naturally distorts space. We call these routes 'Desired Paths' and they can be found all throughout the realm."
It hadn't occurred to me, but I'd seem to recall a lesson in one of my textbooks describing these "Desired Paths". It said the each path has two destinations, the heart of the land and the heart of the hTraé. The paths were created by Demon Lord Beelzebub after the defeat of The Forsaken One. Unfortunately, there isn't much information known about it, even to someone like me, one of her descendants.
"Brother, have you heard of these 'Desired Paths,'" asked Chronos, "it seems right up your alley considering your affinity with spatial magic."
"Surprisingly I only know as much as Lord Morpheus spoke of," I said, "it's still as much of a mystery to me as it is to you—."
Oshubana exclaimed, "we're here! Oh look at the walls! What type of stone is this? Is it Obsidian like in the Ryudō? Oh wow, look there, I can see a castle, is that where we're going? Oh I have so many questions!"She's rather curious for a young lady, but I can understand why, most of her life she'd been sheltered.
As we approached the main entrance, I noticed something odd out of the window. An ominous aura had been watching us the moment we touched down in Asuma City, and I wasn't sure if anyone else sensed it. Upon second glance, however, the aura had disappeared and I couldn't trace it.
Unlike the hustle and bustle of the Twilight Quarter, Asuma City was a bit calmer. There were plenty of markets and restaurants one can enjoy, and I'd noticed there were a lot of university students walking around.
"Brother, I didn't know there was a school here," piped Oshubana, "is it like Avalon Academy?"
"There are five schools of the Demonic Arts," informed Demon Lord Morpheus, "there's Alucard Arts, Mistress DuBois' School of Scriptcraft, The Nura School of Spirits, Académie des Fleurs Précieuses, and First Demonic's University. Each university specializes in a wide variety of different scriptcraft, but all sharing the same goal."
"Which is?" Oshubana asked with puppy dog eyes.
The demon lord smiled at my sister before saying, "cultivating my successor."
It hadn't dawned on me before now, but I started thinking about my own experience in this role. How I could've very well been cultivated to take on the responsibility of having dominion over a concept. The idea of it is honestly a bit overwhelming, however given my current position as Prime Minister, the responsibility is somewhat inevitable.
"It would appear we have made it," announced Demon Lord Morpheus, "Please, I welcome you to my humble abode."
As we exited the carriage, I got a better look at the manor, and it was nothing more than breathtaking. There were spires carved from both bedrock and Obsidian stone, and compared to the rest of the city, there was a gothic atmosphere exuding from it. This was definitely the home of a Demon Lord, and although my father is also a Demon Lord, I wouldn't exactly say he gives off the impression of a Demon Lord. We were greeted by the manor attendees and were led to the briefing room where we'd be filled in on the rest of the mission.
To be Continued...