Promise & Antithesis Of Life

The moon's shimmering silver glow trailed past the half-antler horn of Korou's home, dispersing into a showering light. Underneath it, Naobi pulled her staff up and called for the school of playful Cyan trail. It was a quarter to eleven, well past his bedtime, but today seemed to be an exception.

From the confines of the shut door, he could hear carefree gossip of his mother and Atla, mostly their shared complaints regarding him. Occasionally, his father would chip in with a comedic quip. It would make him crack a smile and others a giggle.

"Why did you visit?"

"Do I need a reason to see my friends?"

That was the first time Korou had heard of that. In nearly eight years of living at this humble abode, he had never caught a glimpse of Naobi, not even amongst his father's acquaintances. The only time she was remotely mentioned was during the dialogues over dinner, or gossip about the monastery and sometimes when his mother reminisced about her days after marriage. Concludingly, the nature of such a relationship, which she claims to have, was inconceivable to him.

"I wasn't aware." Korou exhaled deeply. He had enough pragmatic failures for this year.

"I have been busy since your birth." Her lips had curled into a rueful smile. She shot him a reassuring glance. "The rituals, then clean up," She counted in her fingers. "Exhausting tribal politics and other complications."

"Is that why you are leaving?"

"No, that's personal." Naobi tapped her staff, dispersing the Cyan trails. Their light sparkled like blooming petals, and then they melted away. It was dark again. "Magecraft business." She added, her profile lit up underneath the silvery glow. Her chuba fluttered slightly over the centre, revealing the three crown insignia of the Imperial Court and a coat of arms- a crown over a trifecta of books, a sword and a staff. "Demiurge exterminations, inspecting some monograms, a few research papers and maybe a guest lecture."

Korou's brow knitted in disbelief. His mouth was left agape. He knew she was famous, but for someone from rural enclaves, her list would shame even the most prolific scholar.

"Didn't I tell you, I have quite the reputation?" Naobi shot him a cheeky grin. Despite her age, Korou swore she acted like a teen.

"All of this in our province?" Korou grimaced over the utter absurdity of his question. Of course, it wasn't their province. Why would she be presenting research papers to an agrarian society?

"No," replied Naobi in a dazzled gaze. "The central and south-eastern province."

"Teutonia? Vanga?"

"Yes, and maybe North too."

"Raetia as well." Korou was astonished by the amount of ground she was about to cover. Despite her demeanour, Naobi was still in her late eighties. He was sure this perpetual wandering would be exhausting for her body.

"Just a routine check of Lichtflamme, the lair of Greater demiurge." Naobi waved her hand in reassurance. "And others are simply an annual sightseeing with those tasks I mentioned earlier."

"Can I term it a vacation then?" Korou concluded with a grin.

"Maybe." Naobi shrugged. "But mostly it's Demiurges. They have become slightly active in our part of the world."

That again, Korou shuffled on his seat. The Sangoi beneath him strained. They have always been brushing over these 'Demiurges', first it was Atla, then the Athongbas, and now even his master. It was vexing to hear extensively about this world's enemy, yet be unacquainted with its existence.

"Are we still at war?" Korou paused. His brows knitted, his fingers tapping the erum.

"With who?" Naobi glanced with a smile. "You need to be specific, my disciple."

"Demiurges. Who else?" He replied in an irritable tone. It wasn't his intention, but the frustration of months spilt.

"Can one fight a war against an earthquake?" asked Naobi curtly, her palms flattening the fabric of her chuba.

Great, now we are talking in riddles.

"No, it's a natural calamity..." His eyes widened. Pieces of scattered facts sequenced themselves in his mind. He could hear the symphony of satisfying clicks. "They are natural calamities?"

"One, when talking in scholarly circles, needs to be specific, Korou." Naobi sat with a sigh, her shoulders slumped. "And yes, they are."

"How?" Korou's curiosity trickled in a disordered query. "Aren't they living? Like the Asamahi? Or the Narwhal from the southern seas?"

"Do you think natural calamities are inanimate?"

"Factually yes, poetically no."

"Then what about the nature around you?" She pointed around. The hushed gale, creaks of bamboo stock, faint buzzing of Meru bees, porpoise of the Cyan trail and his own breathing in symmetry with them. It was animate.

"They are alive," he sighed. "But then they aren't enemies of natural order."

"What qualifies one to be called that?"

"That is what I want to find out." Korou shrugged. "But the monastery has been hell bent on guarding the facts behind fiction."

"The Athongbas believe in drilling the hate, rather than in-depth philosophy of these creations." Naobi let out a tired huff. "The tale of Shaman King and anecdotes of Cataclysm are great literature. But when it comes to understanding these beings, they are only a preface."

"Antithesis of life," Naobi mumbled after a pause. Her fingers tapped over the staff again. "Or specifically, the true nature of living."

Korou tilted his head in a daze. Rather than answers, he fell into a spiral of new questions.

"It is connected with Ydalba's cosmology. It's in year six advanced modules." Naobi explained.

"Can I read those?"

"You can't," She shot him, but quickly reteriated. "Not because of your capabilities, they are in abundance, but the prerequisite required to understand the jargon it is crammed with, is vast. It takes even the brightest of minds at least a year to navigate through."

"I can do it."

"I am sure, but everything has a time," She grinned. "Like I said, to walk, one must learn to crawl, and to run vice versa."

Korou pursed his lips into a tiny pout. He didn't want to be reminded of that day. It wasn't his finest moment.

"And as for the war against Demiurges," Naobi yawned, her lids dropped in fatigue. "It never stopped; we only saw a brief respite. Although to win against them, I don't see any hope."

"Because they are natural calamities?"

"That too, but also my personal philosophy," She pressed her back over the erum wall and closed her eyes. "If you have a mountain as an obstacle, what do you do?"

"Scale it... I guess?" He had had enough riddles for today.

She gave a dreamy smile. "I would just walk around it."

"And Demiurges are that mountain."

"More or less. To live is to die, and to die is to live again. Demiurges are the antithesis of living, thus, also our counterparts."

"Pessimistic."

This was his first proper initiation towards the abstract enemy of the natural order. Yet it felt strangely far-fetched. The lack of visual aid and his master's philosophical musing only made him question the chassis of the Demiurge's existence further.

"Hardly, I would rather say I am one of the realists." Naobi pulled her staff into a tight embrace. She was about to drift to sleep. "Instead of a purge, co-existence would be practical. Though even that is a far-fetched dream."

"You make absolutely no sense, master." Korou jumped off the Sangoi and called for Atla. It was midnight, and Naobi needed rest.

"Not now, but maybe when you are old it might."

"Who knows?" He could hear Atla's slow and hesitant footsteps. She didn't want to leave yet. "But Master, if your ideal is so radical, why follow up with this charade?"

Naobi let out a sleepy giggle. He wasn't sure if she was awake or pretending to be asleep.

"It's to keep a promise to someone dear to me."

And then Korou heard her snore into slumber.