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CHAPTER 7 CHALLENGE TO THE LABYRINTH – Episode 5 – The Silver Wolf (Part 1)

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The group departed from Krausk and headed towards the settlement of the Tessler Clan. The Tessler Clan are Jameen, small humanoid creatures with ape-like appearances. Even as adults, they only reach about the height of a 12 or 13-year-old human. They live in the forest and know it intimately. Humans cannot defeat them in the forest.

Normally, the Jameen live apart from humans, but the Tessler Clan’s settlement is very close to the domain of the Great Lord Egzera. Krausk is at the northern edge of the Egzera domain, and the Tessler Clan’s village is directly east of it. Carefully watching for signs of presence in the treetops, they approached the Tessler Clan’s settlement.

There they are.

Bard halted the group. In the forest, Bard, Godon, Karz, Taranka, Quinta, and Carla stopped their horses and looked up into the treetops.

They’re here. Though not clearly visible, there is a presence. Bard called out in a loud voice.

“I am Bard Rowen. I wish to see Lord Yemite.”

There was no reply, but the presence in the treetops increased. One by one, they seemed to be gathering. Bard called out again in a loud voice.

“I am Bard Rowen. I wish to see Lord Yemite.”

High-pitched voices were exchanging calls. They were likely debating how to handle this group that had stopped at the entrance to their territory. Ordinary Jameen do not understand human speech, but they should have heard the name “Yemite”.

“Is Lord Yemite present? Is Lord Yemite present?”

Bard continued calling out. He remained on his horse, not dismounting. They waited for some time. Then, a presence silently descended a large tree and landed on the ground. It was a large Jameen – the Jameen hero, Yemite.

“So you are the human who defeated the spirit beast of the Blue Panther. Brave warrior, what business have you come for?”

Bard dismounted Yuetan and sat cross-legged on the ground. Yemite approached and stood before him. Seated, Bard’s head was slightly lower than Yemite’s standing height. Bard gestured for the rest of the group to join. Godon and the others also dismounted their horses and sat in an arc around Bard. Bard spoke.

“Greetings, Lord Yemite. I am Bard Rowen. I came here seven years ago as well. Lord Yemite, I have something I wish to discuss with you and hear your opinion. It was five years ago. Over 800 demonic beasts appeared west of the Ova River and attacked the human kingdoms.”

“What?!” Yemite exclaimed in a shrill, high-pitched voice. Then, sitting face-to-face with Bard, he said, “Let us hear the story.”

His stature was small, but he exuded dignity and a quiet authority.

Bard recounted the events starting from when the Corpus Fortress was attacked by the horde of demonic beasts, and described the dialogue he had with Queen Manuno. He then told of what he had heard from Zariya, and finally, the conversation he had with Maura, the one who has “taken root in the earth,” in the Misty Valley.

“Bard Rowen, you are a rare human who knows the truth of the spirits. I am glad to receive you. But your tale is astonishing, and there are many parts I do not fully understand. Let us discuss this in orderly way.”

And so the Jameen hero Yemite began to speak, his voice high-pitched like an unbroken child’s, but with the wisdom and experience of many years.

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“We Jameen possess the ‘Blue Stone’ (Yelgog) and the ‘Red Stone’ (Lologorg). These were granted to us specially by the great human king, not given to other races. The reason is that the Jameen have always revered the spirits. After the ‘Great Barrier’ was created, separating the spirits, our ancestors pleaded with the great king. They asked that a way be provided for the spirits to be drawn to us, so that we could be the first to know when the spirits returned to their original pure forms. The great king granted this request. We Jameen were given the ‘Blue Stone’ and the ‘Red Stone’. To ensure they would not be lost, they were entrusted to be managed by each clan.

The ‘Red Stone’ was buried in the most secure place – the ancestral shrines of each clan. This is why the spirits are drawn to this place and are born, possessing beasts to become ‘spirit beasts’. What humans call ‘demonic beasts’ are these special, fierce beasts harboring ancient spirits. We Jameen call each one a ‘spirit beast’ and revere them, keeping them with us. We pray that the ancient spirits dwelling in the spirit beasts will awaken from their madness and return to their original pure forms as soon as possible. Any spirit beasts that we do not designate as ‘spirit beasts’ are guided to the remote wilderness, so they do not conflict with humans.

The news that the pure, benevolent spirits have survived with Lujura-Tiant is very good. I will immediately inform the other clans as well. However, the story of Manuno being used to birth many demonic beasts and have them attack humans is unforgivable. As for the Dragonoids, we Jameen do not know much about them. The one who would know would be Gerkaast.

In the ancient past, the Dragonoids ruled over the many races of this land. They were so powerful that the other races could not resist them at all. They had the ability to control the flying dragons (Yent Nada) and a strange power that could paralyze enemies with just a glare. They looked down on the other races from above, issuing commands for their amusement, and then consuming them. We Jameen lived in constant fear, looking up at those flying creatures, daring not to resist or rebel, lest our entire clan be torn to shreds. The only ones who could interact with them as near-equals were the Gerkaast. The Dragonoids had to show respect for the Gerkaast’s strength. And their strange powers did not work on the Gerkaast. The Dragonoids are no longer in this land. They no longer command us or consume us. They were driven away by the great king. But we in the clans do not know where they are now or what they are doing. We must ask Gerkaast.

Bard Rowen, we Jameen also heard that ‘Found you’ voice you mentioned. You heard it, and understood it. I heard it too, and understood it. Not only that, but even those Jameen in our clans who do not know the human language, heard that voice and understood it. I had been pondering what it all meant. Those words were spoken in the language of humans, but they were also spoken in the languages of other races. They merged into a single word, like overlapping leaves, and resonated in the minds of everyone. Likely in the minds of all the beings of this continent. This is no ordinary occurrence. The one who spoke those words possesses tremendous power and knowledge.

Bard Rowen. I would like to join you on your journey, but if I were to take the Jameen and travel to the human world, trouble would likely arise. So I will wait here for your news. I will teach all of Jameen’s people your name. From now on, you and the humans you bring can always enter the settlements of Jameen.

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Hearing the story about the “Red Stone” buried in the ancestral shrine of the clan, Bard understood. Jameen dislikes humans. They dislike living near human settlements. It was strange that they had built a settlement so close to a human village. But the fact that they had buried the “Red Stone” in the ancestral shrine means they had made that a sacred site for the revival of ancient spirits. In that sense, it was doubly immovable. Even as the human settlements expanded and gradually drew closer to their own settlement, they could not relocate.

Bard suddenly remembered something. About the elder Pinen. Yemite knew about the elder Pinen. They said they owed a debt of gratitude to the elder Pinen. And they called the elder Pinen the “Aura (Sage)” Pinen.

Bard explained to Yemite that the elder Pinen was in Fyuzarion. He explained that the elder, along with a young man he had taken as a grandson, was living vibrantly as a healer, helping and supporting the people. Yemite was greatly pleased to hear this, but when Bard probed further, Yemite did not explain why they called him the “Aura (Sage)”. It was likely related to a vow of silence. Bard did not inquire further.

Yemite urged Bard to go visit Gerkaast. He suggested going to the settlement of Gerkaast, far to the south in the eastern frontier of the continent, east of the Ova River. Bard said he wanted to go to the settlement of the Zoe clan, west of the Ova. When he said he was friends with the clan chief and his deputy, Yemite was surprised.

“The Zoe clan is a great clan, and an ancient one at that. I see, if you can hear from the Zoe clan, that would be best. Even so, Bard Rowen. To be friends with Gerkaast, you are an interesting man.”

The group bid farewell to Yemite and continued their journey. That night, during their meal, Quinta spoke to Karz.

“Lord Karz, that warrior Yemite was quite skilled, wasn’t he? He walked on the grass and leaves without making his weight felt, and his movements of standing and sitting were like the soft wind.”

“Did you notice the arrowhead?”

“The arrowhead?”

When Yemite was showing the location of the Gerkaast settlement in the far southern eastern frontier, he had drawn a map on the ground using an arrow from his quiver. That was likely the arrowhead Karz was referring to. But Quinta had not paid attention to the arrowhead, so he did not understand what Karz was getting at.

“That was carved from the bone of a demonic beast. And that bow is no ordinary weapon. It did not let me sense its breathing. That man is strong.”

Quinta nodded firmly at Karz’s words. There are many powerful beings in this world. Quinta’s goal was still far away.

As he was carried on the back of his beloved horse Yueitan, Bard was pondering Yemite’s story about the Dragonoids controlling the wyverns and riding them to dominate the continent. Even back in Pakula, he had occasionally sighted wyverns in the far distance, high in the sky. But once, when he was young, he had seen a wyvern from the peak of a high mountain. Though the distance was considerable, he had thought he saw something riding on its back. Could that have been a Dragonoid? If so, then perhaps all those wyverns he had seen were carrying Dragonoids. The Dragonoids may have been coming and going to the human world far more frequently than Bard had imagined. Where did they go and what did they do?