“His daitai1Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power. … were tainted,” ZenTar2Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind). whispered in disbelief, and then looked at ZaiWin3Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos)., to see that he too had frozen in place, his face even paler than normal, as if he were about to faint at any moment.
“Nox4 Literally nox (night). Nox is the name of the Clan (family name), also the name of a Province. ZaiWin uses it because he is the Governor of Nox.! Nox!!” he had to repeat, raising his voice, and ZaiWin finally blinked, turning his head to look at him, a lost, helpless expression on his face. “It’s all right! It’s just a little bit! You can hold him, right? Just hold him! I’ll be right back!”
Pushing the boy into his arms, ZenTar quickly got up and rushed back to where they’d set their temporary camp.
Nox ZaiWin did his best to obey, holding that warm, lifeless body in his arms, protecting his head against his chest, the light breath brushing across his hand assuring him that he was still alive.
Yes, he was alive. But for how long?, he couldn't help wonder in silent desperation. He took a peek at Snow's back, wanting and not wanting to see at the same time, his mind swirling out of control.
ZenTar returned not long after, and quickly spread a blanket on the ground, pulling Snow away from his arms. ZaiWin almost killed him for that. He might probably have really killed him, if he weren’t so spent. As he was right now he couldn’t even master enough strength to resist him.
“Help me undress him!”
ZaiWin nodded and obeyed, even though he had serious doubts that he would be able to help with much of anything.
First his coat, then his tunic, until he was completely bare chested. Holding him carefully, ZenTar laid Snow face down on the blanket, and ZaiWin could could clearly see the beautiful, intricate pearly lines on his back slowly turning black.
Opening a pouch similar to his, ZenTar took out two blue crystals, and ZaiWin recalled that he too, had given him a crystal like that just not long a go. Looking for it, he found it still locked inside Snow’s hand, its original glow completely gone.
“This is nothing we haven’t dealt with before!” ZenTar was saying while pressing the crystals against Snow’s back. “It’s what’s to be expected, when you fight against the feimao5Literally fei (raging / furious) + mao (beast / monster). Raving beasts that appear in unbalanced, ungoverned lands. They possess destructive markings that in turn corrupt the land even further. Hard to explain in just 2 lines -_-; Anyway. Bad, vicious things that need to be killed.!”
“Is it really …?” ZaiWin’s voice was nothing but a whisper, but it was still loud enough for ZenTar to hear, his green eyes shooting up, looking angrily at him.
“Stop thinking stupid things! He’s just a kid! Just now learning how to control his daitai! Of course he doesn’t know how to protect himself! I’d be really surprised if he hadn’t been tainted!”
ZaiWin clenched his fists and lowered his gaze.
“VinWei6Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) said …”
“Who cares about what she said?! This is not your doing! I agree she is kind of an expert where Tien’Elhar7Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language. are concerned! But you said it yourself! She was just guessing most of the things! Besides, this kid is nothing like any Tien’Elhar we’ve ever known! Just look at these daitai! Do you even know what they mean?!”
ZaiWin raised his gaze to look at his back, at the now darkened markings. No, he didn’t know what they meant, not specifically anyway. But he knew all too well what they could do.
Slowly realizing what he was looking at, part of the fearful fog clouding his mind cleared away.
That’s right. None of the other markings had been tainted. Only those strange ones, that looked very much like the markings covering the feimao’s bodies. It was a wonder ZenTar didn’t recognized the similarities, he thought, peering up at him as the other man focused on keeping the cleansing crystals active. Maybe those markings were especially susceptible to the feimao's dark, destructive energy. They could even be reacting to the their proximity, the same way other feimao normally reacted, allowing them to locate each other and band together.
Looking at the brat’s unconscious face, ZaiWin couldn’t stop himself, placing a hand on his head, gently caressing his soft hair.
No matter the case, there was no way a Celestial could ever survive having his daitai tainted. ZenTar was right, and it was just a few lines, nothing a few cleansing crystals couldn’t handle. But it had been more than enough to have him running such a high fever.
How the brat could bear carrying such opposing sets of daitai on his back and still be alive was a true mystery. But, even though they were the personification of everything that a Celestial shouldn't be, even though they were cruel, destructive markings, capable of erasing hundreds of lives with a single breath, they were still pure and true to their destructive nature. Having them tainted, their original nature twisted and defiled, was an entire different matter.
Even though it was just a few lines, it took another two crystals until the darkness was completely washed away without a trace, Snow’s high fever immediately breaking.
With a sigh of relief, ZenTar looked inside his pouch.
“We should have asked Vin for more crystals,” he commented critically and looked up at ZaiWin. “You too. You look like shit! You should use a few of those green ones.”
ZaiWin shook his head.
“He already did that,” he declared, looking down at the now sleeping brat. “What could be done, anyways.”
ZenTar sighed deeply.
“I know you had no other choice, it being a type two and all. But if we’re going to cross paths with more of those things from now on, we may as well review or plans.”
ZaiWin took a deep breath and looked at the trees around them.
“We’re too close to Tei8Literally tei (metal). Where Tei is the name of the Clan, also the name of a Province.’s border. We should probably try and travel east, deeper into Sur9Literally sur (plain). Where Sur is the name of the Clan, also the name of a Province.’s territory.”
“You’re really convinced that they’re coming from Tei. Sur is the Province without a Governor, you know? There’s a good chance that they actually took over Sur instead of Tei.”
“The Province of Sur is our neighbor, and we never had problems like these at our borders. Bands of cutthroats and thieves, and the occasional slave traders, yes. But in the last four years we haven’t received a single report of a feimao’s sighting in Nox. If Sur was overrun with them, then I’m sure they would have already appeared in Nox as well, like what we're seeing in Wei.”
“Maybe they just didn’t have enough time to get that far north,” ZenTar suggested.
“Maybe. But I still think we should make sure. For the sake of Nox’s protection as well.”
ZenTar sighed and nodded.
“Fine, then. We’ll travel east from now on. And we still have to get to the bottom of this problem as well,” he added, looking down at the kid lying in front of him, and ZaiWin instinctively caressed his soft hair. “You should get some rest. I doubt we’ll be getting out of here anytime soon.”
Suddenly remembering the other members of his group, ZaiWin raised his head to look at ZenTar.
“MenTar10Literally men (lake) + tar (wind) and HawkEye Were they all right?”
“HawkEye is fine. He never set foot inside that death area. He’s just a bit intoxicated from the miasma and a bit sore, since I inadvertently kind of sent him flying a few yards,” ZenTar shamelessly confessed and his expression immediately turned darker. “MenTar, however, is a complete different story. He’s also the reason why I’m almost out of crystals. If it weren’t for the kid protecting them back there, he’d be dead.” ZenTar sighed. “I really hate this entire fucking situation! This kid … he deserves a lot better than any of us …” he muttered under his breath, unable to look at his sleeping face again, and stood up to return to his brother’s side.
Nox ZaiWin gently aligned Snow's disheveled silver hair around his face. He looked so peaceful, his features soft and gentle. He’d be a heart-breaker in a few years, he could easily guess by the delicate arch of his eyebrows, his long silvery eyelashes casting small shadows over his cheeks. If only the world could change and stop judging a person’s worth, life and death, based on silly things like the color of one’s hair. As things stood, he would probably never get to live that long. He would probably never get the chance to grow up to his full height. And the first person in the way of him attaining such basic, simple goals, was no one other than himself.
ZenTar was right, he recognized with a heavy weight on his heart. He did deserve a lot better than any of them.
Read all chapters and now I must wait...??☹
So sorry for that
Thank you so much for reading so far and for all your kind support! 