Forgotten History

Sachi looked around the library. The sinking feeling of hopelessness taking over. The library was massive. Way too massive. Where would they even begin?

It was massive but ever so beautiful that Sachi couldn't help but be in awe.

An ancient, echoing sanitary of knowledge, where the air hummed softly with arcane energy and the scent of dust, parchment, and of old magic lingering. The library is vast, domed, and dimly lit by glowing orbs that drift lazily near the ceiling like enchanted fireflies. Along the curved stone walls stand normal bookshelves reaching the ceiling, filled with endless amount of literature. 

Sachi was more taken in by what was above the ground - floating bookshelves. They drifted silently across the open space like ships on an invisible current. Their movement is slow, deliberate, and graceful, casting large shadows that crawl across the floor. 

Sachi didn't know where they could start but she felt like she could spend eternity in this place, and she wouldn't mind. There was a warm comforting feeling in this place, as if calling you in to rest.

"Actually, before we begin..." Himari's voice bringing Sachi out of her admiration. 

"Sachi, I got to ask... Why are you carrying a mop?" Himari questioned.

"Huh?" Sachi looked in her hands, she didn't realize she had been holding it this whole time. "I thought I could use it as a weapon..." She meekly admitted.

Himari couldn't stifle her laugh. 

"Hey, at least I have a weapon." Sachi defended.

"What do you mean? I have a weapon too." Himari brought up her hands into fists.

It was Nobu's turn to laugh. "There's no way a punch from you would hurt."

Himari glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I trained you Himari. You have good technique but no strength in your attacks." Nobu used his powers to craft a lightweight sword to suit Himari's size. "You'd have better luck wielding an actual weapon." Nobu handed Himari the sword. "I'll train you more and teach Sachi once we get out of this palace."

Nobu took the small handheld fan from his side and handed it to Sachi. "I wouldn't feel right giving you a weapon when I've never seen you use one, but I also wouldn't feel right leaving you defenseless. This fan contains magic to control the winds. With this you would be like the people of these islands. The fan has the power, so you don't need to be a magic user to use it. Maybe you'd have better luck using it than someone." Nobu's eyes looked to Himari.

"It happened only twice!" Himari huffed.

"Once was bad enough. I don't know why I let you try again."

"What happened?" Sachi asked.

"She used the fan and blew herself right off the island. Not once but twice!" Nobu explained. 

Sachi laughed to herself. 

"Oh, whatever! Come on let's look for any information about this prophecy." Himari said as she made her way further into the library.

Nobu spread his wings and flew to the floating bookshelves. Sachi followed Himari to the regular bookshelves.

The bookcases towered over them as they made their way between the whimsical aisles. Each book faintly glowed with the light of its wisdom and sung a song of its knowledge, beckoning for someone to read them. 

Himari made her way to one of the bookcases in the corner of the library. She scanned the books and scrolls and grabbed a handful of them. One book caught her attention. She gazed upon it, hesitant to reach for it, until ultimately, she decided to take it. She brought her pile of information to one of the tables in the center of the library. 

Sachi wandered around the library looking for anything that could be of help. Until she finally spotted a book that emitted no glow, unlike the rest of the books. She picked it up. It was a small old book with pages worn and thin by the age of time. She blew the dust off and carefully opened the book to read its contents. It was the history of this world. It spoke of a time long before magic was used in daily life. Of a time when the Tengu, Tsuchigumo, and the humans shared the lands. Of a time where the sky and the land were once one. Sachi couldn't believe it. This world was so different than how it was now. What could have happened? She tried to look more into the book, but the pages were missing. 

"I think this is what you're looking for..." A voice gently spoke behind her.

Sachi turned around startled to discover Prince Soma had snuck up behind her. In his hands were the ripped-out pages that were missing from the book in her hand. "How did you know?"

"Knowing Himari, I knew this would be the place she would come to for answers. She always did... I figured the information from that book might be useful to you all."

Sachi took the missing pages from Prince Soma's hands and looked over them. 

-

Long ago, the islands of the sky and the land of the surface was one big kingdom where Tengu,  the Tsuchigumo, humans, and other Yokai alike roamed the lands. The Tengu were warriors and the Tsuchigumo watched over the humans to keep them safe from other evil Yokai that wanted the lands for themselves and to possess the humans. However, the humans grew distrust towards the Tengu and the Tsuchigumo, for despite their human-like appearance, they were also Yokai. The humans believed the Yokai would turn on them, so the humans asked the Tengu and Tsuchigumo to train them in magic and martial arts so that they could return the favor of protection. But once the humans grew strong enough, they waged war and drove the Tengu far away into the mountains and the Tsuchigumo underground and claimed the land for themselves. The Tengu and Tsuchigumo were furious with the treatment and grew to resent the humans. They began to act like the other evil Yokai by tricking, kidnapping, and killing humans out of revenge, losing their human-like features and reverting to their Yokai appearance. 

Until one day, the world split in two. The land shook profusely and broke apart. Pieces of the land floated up into the sky, never to be seen again. A dense cloud barrier formed forever separating the two lands. The land on the surface was never the same again. Since then, the Tengu were trapped in the mountains by the thick cloud barrier that separated the sky and land and the Tsuchigumo were lost to the underground caves. The evil Yokai continued to play tricks, kidnap, and kill the humans, but the humans were able to defend themselves with their magic, eventually sealing the evil Yokai within the cloud barrier. The humans despite being separated, built civilizations and adapted to their new surroundings. But the human's greed and distrust continued even amongst themselves. Wars raged, lives lost, lands destroyed. The spirit of the world was angry at the human's constant betrayal and greed. So, the spirit of the world placed a curse on the humans:

"Unless the wrongs are made right.

A soul of another world will step through

The barrier shall break.

The sky shall meet the earth

Forever changing what was known.

Only when there is peace

Shall the land heal."

-

Sachi read the last page with the curse. This was the prophecy the people all feared, but the prophecy they know isn't completed. She was indeed the soul the curse spoke about, and it did seem like the Great Collapse was starting to happen, but she couldn't help but think there was hope. "If we right the wrongs of the past then maybe we can save everyone..."

"How can we expect to right the wrongs of a past nobody believes in...? I have read this information hundreds of times, but I never really believed it until I saw you..." Prince Soma's eyes looked past Sachi.

Sachi looked behind her and noticed Nobu was there. She didn't know how long he had been listening behind her.

"I thought the Yokai were fantasies for children, not forgotten history." Soma continued. "Tell me, is this really what happened? Were your people driven away by mine?"

Nobu's voice was low. "It was long before my time. But the elders and even my parents warned me never to trust humans or get close to them as humans saw us as their enemy."

"Why did you come to the sky islands then?" Prince Soma questioned.

"I wanted to fly freely. It was all I ever wanted since I was young. I took a risk to leave the mountain, and I was lucky to escape the cloud barrier, only to run into Himari. When I first met her, I was terrified. I thought she would attack me and be as horrifying as they say humans are. But when I looked at the human child that was no bigger than myself just smiling and thanking me, I thought there was no way she could be dangerous."

"I take it you had something to do with Himari's disappearance all those years ago?"

"If you're asking if I kidnapped her, I didn't. I made a deal with her to teach her magic, not knowing she has no aptitude for it."

"Then, I have to ask." Prince Soma looked Nobu straight in the eyes. "Are you the one that put that curse on Himari?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Tension was forming. Sachi didn't know what they were talking about. Himari was cursed? What curse?