Sachihiro

I wake up and stretch before doing a few pushups to warm myself up some. I walk barefooted to the latrine area and relieve myself, wash my face and put on some clothes. I'm usually very comfortable in my hakama when home but since I've been here I've been promoting the persona of a tribal savage as many expect to see from us.

The Mare are actually more closely to what other people expect to see when they see Tribesmen I've noticed. The Mare are literary a tough-skinned people from a cold harsh continent with dangerous forests and snowy cold winters. They fight for every scrap of land from the orcs, the beasts and the weather.

Unlike us, they have a written language and some records of their history, much more comprehensive than ours. They are great warriors almost seemingly bred for battle with wide shoulders and strong bones, plus they also have the berserker rage that is just like ours.

I've befriended one of them who I met at the Academy before he subsequently disappeared after only two months there. We met again by chance yesterday after a session at the baths and we had a long talk.

Ragnar is apparently now a personal disciple of one of the higher ranked members of the conclave, a woman by the name of Zaraya who I'm dying to meet, and tonight I might get to meet her.

It's not yet dawn so its too early for the Proelium to be doing their jog, or at least the Proelium at my level but I'm sticking to Ragnar like a leechfly today. I mean there are a lot of women named Zaraya Zarachi in the world I'm sure, its a big world and there are a lot of people but if she is who I think she might be then I want her as a teacher. Om can keep Cyrus Black to himself with his enigmatic voice that disturbs all our berserker spirits.

I put on my leather pants, my boots, my comfortable pleated t-shirt that goes past my waist stopping at my thighs with 'V' shaped partitions on the sides, then I put on my belt. It has my beautiful but simply designed throwing axe on my right hip and my beautiful and deadly o-katana in a sheath on my left hip. I put on my harness and strap my wrapped nodachi onto my back. With a dagger in my left boot I'm ready to go and am out the door in a jog.

My height has stabilised at 6 feet 4 inches and I'm definitely done growing now, 1.9m in the measurements used by the Hito and apparently the rest of the world. I'm average height ranging on short for the men of my people but I feel quit tall when dealing with a lot of the other human tribes and peoples. I wonder how tall Dee has gotten, I wonder if I'm still taller than him.

I get to the area Ragnar told me to wait for him and I don't have to wait long. He comes out of the shadows barefoot as is his way, the hilt of a long sword wrapped in a white cloth prominent over his left shoulder. His skin that slightly 'dead corps in winter' grey and the runes evident on his chest as he appears barechested. Behind him is another man, maybe 170cm tall carrying a short sword on his back, a dagger on his waist and another in his booth.

"This is Silo, Silo this is the Sachihiro I mentioned. Sachi is a nice young lad, Silo is from Persia and there they cut his tongue out with a spirit possessed weapon, it can't be grown back by magic so he's mostly quiet." Ragnar says to both of us and I'm not sure what to say except saying 'at least it wasn't your dick' seems to be at the forefront of my mind.But that seems like something insensitive to say.

"What do you have planned for us?" I ask Ragnar instead of voicing all the shit that goes on in my head.

He shrugs, "I have to do an errand for Zaraya then I do the regiment she told me to do the next six days after which I go see her."

"So, you'll only see her after 6 days?"

"Unless she comes to check up on me yea, why do you want to meet her anyways?" He asks as we start walking towards the walkways and to the south gate.

"I think she trained a friend of mine some years ago, I would like her as a trainer as well," I say honestly even as our pace picks up, I wonder what assignment she sent Ragnar to do.

Outside the compound, it's mostly mist and dense forest for a while but the mist is enchanted to confuse anyone not a Civitas member, I don't imagine how it can differentiate but it does. Some of the more powerful beasts that aren't in the know about who we are have been able to pass through though.

We walk through the mist and into the forest proper and we spend the next three hours helping Ragnar find and pick plants, not exactly what I was expecting.

Ragnar has slightly grey skin, bare feet and is bare-chested every time I see him. He is broad and big with a wide chest and bulging shoulders and back muscles. In fact, every single muscle on the man's body seems well defined and used, that's not usually the case with someone who only uses one type of weapon so the big ass sword on his back is a slight enigma.

The Mare don't seem all that different from other people with regular toned skin from a distance, it's only when you get closer that you either imagine they have a cosmetic paint or they have a strange skin tone, and then it's only when you touch them that you feel the difference.

Ragnar acts and moves like a warrior, he looks like a warrior, his aura feels like a warriors aura. So why is it that he has no scares besides the runes on his body? We pick herbs and flowers mostly in silence, I surprise Silo by knowing how to sign in Common. It's weird that there is a sign language for Common at all actually but life is strange.

Ragnar's hair is grey like an old man's, he does look long in the teeth as well with deep lines etched into his face but he still moves smoothly. I'm tempted to ask how old he is but Asriel and the Hito found the question invasive, in fact most Awakened seem to find it inappropriate for some reason. If he isn't Awakened which I doubt he is, he could be anything between 55 and 70 by the look of him and feel of his aura but if he is Awakened and is somehow hiding it from me. For him to look as old as he does he'd either have to have Awakened late in his life and could still be as young as 150 or I guess be ancient life Kazimoto or something.

 

From the gathering mission we head back to the compound, the streets are busy with people now. I don't know were all these people are coming from but there are new people every day here it seems. We head to the apothecary area and head into a little store with many little jars on the counter. Our entrance either trips some kind of signal or the woman that comes to greet us has very good senses or both.

The sight of her distracts me a moment, I frown trying to evaluate how far my berserker rage is to help determine whether or not I'm being affected by mental magic. Her skin tone is almost exactly like Ragnar's only smoother and more beautiful. She looks like she has put a powder on her face to excenuiate her beauty yet, having observed the curiosity that is the Mare people I know that's her natural face. It's just the first time I'm seeing a female Mare.

"#%#&£; sjdjfkf mskfbfjfkf fkfkfkf?"

She says in their tongues that is very difficult to decipher. He responds likewise and she smiles at him then at Silo before giving me a look. I bow my head slightly but say nothing, it isn't the first time I've been distracted by a pretty face but I try not to let women lead me into trouble any longer.

We head to the back where there are two more Mare women, one an old crone that is probably 100 years old without ever Awakening and the other a girl child that is about 14 and just makes me miss my baby. They serve us tea as Ragnar shows them our sack of plants carefully gathered into separate little bags.

They seem delighted as we are served the very strange tea that's brewed on the spot and gets me completely high and having auditory hallucinations, I keep my mouth shut though in case I'm going crazy or it's only happening to me.

The shadows in the room get deeper and deeper as the 4 Mare converse with each other. I keep looking at the beautiful woman whose name I've gathered is Isis.

They talk for a few more minutes "You have very beautiful skin." I impulsively say to Isis as I lean forward and my hand touches her face. The little girl giggles and Isis takes my hand from her face, she nods and drops it gently before they continue talking.

Seeing her and the little girls skin makes me realise how coarse and worn Ragnar's skin actually is. She looks like she has powered her face in a delicate artistic way yet having touched her soft skin I know this is all her.

I try to stand but stumble slightly, I flare up my spiritual pressure to try and help clear my mind or any attacks that might be taking place within me. The old woman stands and tries to lead me deeper within the room, I bulk until I notice everyone else behind me as well. I should have brought Om as backup in case my judgment is compromised or they are making me complacent with their auras.

We head to a dark basement with a tent in the middle of it. Silo and Ragnar go in without preamble and I stumble in after then.

The tent is completely filled with smoke, smoke that doesn't dissipate or escape even with the flap open. Ragnar grunts and sits me down on a log beside him before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. What are the odds he'd let himself be poisoned as well?

I hear another new voice outside but I'm already hearing and seeing thing as it is. There seem to be faces in the smoke looking at me with sadness, judgment and disapproval.

"Fuck you." I shout at them and their sadness, life was hard, so fucken' what?

I'm not sure how long I stay in there but I eventually let up on the spiritual pressure and almost immediately hear another voice.

"I've been trying to reach you for a long time Sachihiro ."

I wonder when this shit will wear off, now the voices know my name. I close my eyes and breath in to meditate as best I can with all this attention on me.

"Why have you shunned me Sachihiro, why have you not prayed to me?"

"I pray to no one, I have accepted no one above myself."

"Have you not accepted my blessing for yourself and your children, have you not defended the temple I share with my siblings, have you not been accumulating personal knowledge with an obsessive hunger previously unknown to your people? How can you then say you haven't accepted me?"

Okay, I think this is starting to make sense now but I should confirm just in case I'm mistaken. "Who are you?"

"I am knowledge, sometimes I am wisdom but only rarely these days, my people refer to me as Sapientia, some know me as Orùla. You may call me friend."

I think about that for a moment, I guess I'm not actually hallucinating then but this is the definition of tripping.

"So, how have you been?" And with those words, a conversation with my de facto deity begins.

We talk and talk and talk and I get to know It better. Talking to wisdom is a bit trippy and It doesn't actually answer any questions but sort of leads a conversation in a way that leads me to extrapolate meaning and make my own conclusions. I learn a lot though and its fulfilling in a way that I can't quite explain, having something that helps protect your spirit from other spiritual beings. Knowing you aren't as alone as we usually are in the world, its nice.

By the time we leave the tent, I don't know whether or not I've sobered up but I feel great. We thank the family of three and leave for the meditation hall and I stick close to Ragnar as he goes to a type of meditation known as 'opening'. The class is about to begin just as we get there and we are led through a guided meditation session that is the weirdest I've ever experienced.

We just let shit in, we sort of try to open ourselves to outside influence in a way that's almost like crown chakra meditation but different. The world, voices, peoples ideas, spirits, anything and everything we try to let them in and through, keeping nothing of the world within ourselves. Its like trying to catch sight of the wind but okey...

After an hour there we go to the baths where you pay to get washed and massaged, I don't like paying for thing so I've never been here but I pay for all three of cause I'm the one tagging along today. Ragnar gives the people there instructions and we each go to our own separate soapy baths where I take off all my clothes but am told to rinse in a shower before going in.

Then I'm scrubbed really hard and thoroughly by a young man who is all business, we argue a bit when I grab his wrist an inch from my genitals, "not going to happen."

A woman replaces him and she does the most comprehensive cleaning of my cock and ass I have ever imagined. Then I am towelled down before being directed to a steam room where Silo and Ragnar are already lounging naked. Ragnar has really big 'fucken' balls.

After 30 minutes of steaming, we rinse again and recieve very very thorough massages, my first ever. The masseuse changes three times, one specialising in a different type of massage, it all leaves me very blissful and malleable.

By the time we leave with out clothes cleaned and all our possessions in order I could just melt onto the floor, even Silo has a slight smile on his face. Ragnar leads us to an acupuncture specialist, I'm familiar with them from Paradisum. They already know him and we are directed into a single room with three mats on the floor. Its taking off my clothes again and I'm starting to see why Ragnar is barely dresses all the time.

We start seated, each of us with our own acupuncturist working on us. Though they speak amongst themselves and discuss us as they work. The needles are enchanted somehow, I feel it the moment one touches my face. It looks terrifying having these long thin needles poked into your face and into little gaps and cavities in my skull bone I didn't know I had. Some are stopped directly on my bone but it all feels more like a pressure than pain.

Needles go into my neck and shoulders and back and chest. I end up holding my arms out at the sides with needles sticking into my armpits and underarms. Ragnar actually has a needle sticking out of his 'fucken' left eyeball! I think I would have refused that one but I already have a slight shin of sweat as the guy keeps going lower and lower with his 'fucken' needles. Silo has a few in his mouth in whatever remained of his tongue and some in his throat.

By the time they are done with us, our skin smells sour and slightly repugnant, I have no idea where all that comes from after such a thorough washing. We are led to showers and we clean ourselves with soap.

"We probably should have taken the baths after this 'fucken' process," I say but Ragnar shakes his head.

"This is how Zaraya said it should be done, this is how I do it."

"Right, got it." I say, "so what next?"

He grins happily, "now we spar at the Proelium."

I soon figure out that the people he spars with are on a completely different level to the people I usually spar with. They make mincemeat of me but I give it my all, not resorting to spirit or the Rage or even my zanpakutō. This is about skill with your weapon of choice so I grab whatever closely resembles my nodachi best and get at them. There are about 30 or so people in this class, all seem to be friends or well acquainted and they all make child's play of me. Silo is nowhere to be found but at the end of 3 hours I think he's made the smarter choice.

We all go for ale after a stop at the healers and we are all laughter and gossip in the classy sophisticated way man gossip, without malice or badmouthing. Its good, reminds me of home. I meet a slew of new and interesting people and I was exposed to a lot of different sword styles.

"So what next?" I ask excitedly as we leave the drinking area, he gives me a look.

"Now to the library for learning nadic humanoid anatomy, difficult for me." He says with a frown.

"I can help with that." And Silo is already there and we get to studying, I learn for the first time that I'm a really good teacher or else I just have really good students but they both praise me for my assistance as we leave the study area.

From there it's time for sex according to Ragnar and we go to an area I didn't even know existed one floor down where the vampires and other peoples with light sensitivity make their homes.

"Why not just go to the baths, there is always someone already naked, wet and willing there," I ask as we travel the dark corridors of the sub level of the compound.

"No, no, this is professional sex," Ragnar says shaking his head. I shrug, hasn't led me wrong yet, I feel great.

We reach a beautiful building made of dark stones that touches the ceiling of the dark cave/compound system. Inside the foyer is a very soft dark carpet and lounges, couches, pillows, benches, stools all along the wall and there are a number of people both male and female, young and old sitting or lounging on some of them. The place smells fresh, dim lit but bright colours decorate the walls.

We take our sits and wait with a little small talk/signing between Silo and I. A woman comes in, looks around and grabs a man by the hand and leads him further inside between the red-hued silk curtains.

A man or a woman, not sure which comes a minute later and takes a young girl away, she is trembling slightly. 'This place is very strange.' I sign to Silo and he nods with a big smile on his face as he is led away.

Ragnar goes next, then an old woman with a slightly bent back. I wait another hour before someone deigns to even consider me. But I'm eventually also led away.

The inner passages are dimly lit or lit in different colours, the area in red is full of bodies writhing in quiet passion, the area in a blue colour is full of naked people just talking and casually touching each other between drinks, the slightly purple area has only women, the slightly orange has only men and it goes on and one with 8 colours in total.

I'm led to the white area with white couches and we sit and have drinks sent to us. "Did you enjoy the tour of the first floor?" The beautiful woman with a no-nonsense aura asks giving me direct eye contact.

"Yes, its a very interesting place."

"Most people think so, but first-time arrivals here never get to have sex. I can read by your aura that's what you expected but first, we talk, and no lying to me. My name is Abigail, what might I call you?"

"Sachihiro."

"Well then Sachihiro, how was your day?"

And so we talk, we talk and talk for about an hour, laughing and getting to know each other. Even going to another area with music and dancing together, I didn't even know I could dance but I am way too drunk to worry much by the time we get there about it.

She introduces me to some of her friends Victoria and Laurika. We all drink and get to know each other a little, but Abigail eventually leads me out another way that takes me directly to the surface she kisses my cheek, "Come see me again sometime." She says and walks back into the shadowy embrace of the underside.

I look around and it seems about time for the nightly raids on the underworlders. I quickly jog to join my battlegroup, I will definitely be sticking with Ragnar for a while, definitely.