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It ached.
Ken'pai wasn't sure if it was his heart, or if it was coming from the amulet itself. His only reminder of his tribe. A small stone of turquoise, set between three great fangs of a great wolf that Ken'pai felled in his hunting trials. The magic of his tribe was imbued deep within it, similar to the magical brand that he and all his other tribesmen bore on their chests. The shape of the sun, over their hearts...
It was a powerful kind of magic, not one that any one of them could control, save for the High Shaman. Rather, it was a magic of unity. When alone, it was powerless, but when two Emerald Sunscale were together, they were as powerful as ten, maybe more. It was why a mere child like Ken'pai could fell a great wolf in the first place. Under the watchful eye of Jin'ze, and the unity of their own magics weaving together...
But now Jin'ze had been called to carry out Ken'pai's sentence. Exile. But the Emerald Sunscale never left it at simple Exile...any one of them could survive in the forests of Satol. No. Much like all the other heretics, he was to be hunted. Having knowledge of the outside world, of other civilizations was too heavy a sin to be left alive. And Jin'ze was to lead his executioners...most likely others of his hunting troupe.
He was given a very short time to prepare. The lizardman grabbed a satchel and stowed one treasured book away, along with some supplies, a spear and some hunting knives...and his amulet. With one last teary eyed look, he wordlessly said goodbye to his father.
The hunt went long into the day. If anything, Ken'pai was quite crafty, able to cover his tracks and spot lookouts and scouts. He traveled a very long way. The sun began to set, the chill beginning to fill the air as it did most nights. But he dared not make a fire. When he made it to the riverbank, he saw him.
Jin'ze.
The huntmaster looked into Ken'pai's cyan eyes, nodded, and turned away, going back into the underbrush. Ken'pai heard a few words in the distance, almost too hard to hear. "Dead...fell...river..."
He sighed a heavy breath of relief before the events of the day finally caught up to him, leaving the teenage lizardman quietly sobbing by the banks of the river, until he had finally fallen asleep.
He awoke to find a blanket had been placed on him, and the book he protected so carefully left next to him, open. It was a book of machinery, although they were rather basic at the time. Illustrations of levers, pulleys, wheels, screws...all bound by words Ken'pai didn't understand, but the diagrams helped.
Ken'pai took the blanket and wrapped it around himself, standing up and hearing a peculiar clinking, hissing sound. Over on the bank of the river was a small...creature, but was it a creature? It looked as though it was some kind of spider, but made of metal. It had a small container that it dipped into the river and placed back on top of itself, before slowly skittering away into the forest.
The lizardman followed it, coming upon a cottage in the woods with a few more similar machines about, performing various tasks. One was delicately putting wet clothes on a line. Another was picking vegetables from a modest garden. He stood there in wonder, before the door opened. A grey-bearded man stepping out and giving him a smile.
"Didn't expect to see you again. You can keep the blanket."
Ken'pai didn't exactly understand the man's words, so the human came a little closer, pointing at his satchel.
"I saw your book," the man said.
The lizardman pulled out the book and showed it to the man. "Yes, yes I know. Machines. That's what these are!" He gestured to a small metal spider at his feet. "Ma...chines."
"Ma...sheen...?" Ken'pai struggled with the word.
The old man nodded and pointed to himself. "I'm Gray. Gray."
Ken'pai nodded and patted himself on the chest. "Ken'pai."
"Ken'pai. A good name. Would...you like to learn about machines?"
"Machines!"
"Yes, machines!" He gestured for the lizardman to come inside. "Though I suppose we should start with Common. C'mon in, we have a lot of work ahead of us."
The ache subsided.
Ken'pai opened his eyes and saw that his amulet was giving off a gentle turquoise glow. He opened his hand to look at it, then closed it again, thinking of his years under Gray's tutelage to become a Mechanist of his own, perhaps it was warmed by his own heart at the recollection of happier times. Or perhaps it was acting to soothe the lizardman. He couldn't be sure one way or the other, but he was grateful nonetheless.
He looked up at the night sky and smiled.
"Thank you, Jin'ze. Thank you...Master Gray."
And with that, he returned to his workshop, eager to continue with his work.
Writing by me, the art was a gift from my good friend Fox-Babi. http://sum-vulpes.tumblr.com
Please let me know what you think of the story! ^.=.^
Ken'pai wasn't sure if it was his heart, or if it was coming from the amulet itself. His only reminder of his tribe. A small stone of turquoise, set between three great fangs of a great wolf that Ken'pai felled in his hunting trials. The magic of his tribe was imbued deep within it, similar to the magical brand that he and all his other tribesmen bore on their chests. The shape of the sun, over their hearts...
It was a powerful kind of magic, not one that any one of them could control, save for the High Shaman. Rather, it was a magic of unity. When alone, it was powerless, but when two Emerald Sunscale were together, they were as powerful as ten, maybe more. It was why a mere child like Ken'pai could fell a great wolf in the first place. Under the watchful eye of Jin'ze, and the unity of their own magics weaving together...
But now Jin'ze had been called to carry out Ken'pai's sentence. Exile. But the Emerald Sunscale never left it at simple Exile...any one of them could survive in the forests of Satol. No. Much like all the other heretics, he was to be hunted. Having knowledge of the outside world, of other civilizations was too heavy a sin to be left alive. And Jin'ze was to lead his executioners...most likely others of his hunting troupe.
He was given a very short time to prepare. The lizardman grabbed a satchel and stowed one treasured book away, along with some supplies, a spear and some hunting knives...and his amulet. With one last teary eyed look, he wordlessly said goodbye to his father.
The hunt went long into the day. If anything, Ken'pai was quite crafty, able to cover his tracks and spot lookouts and scouts. He traveled a very long way. The sun began to set, the chill beginning to fill the air as it did most nights. But he dared not make a fire. When he made it to the riverbank, he saw him.
Jin'ze.
The huntmaster looked into Ken'pai's cyan eyes, nodded, and turned away, going back into the underbrush. Ken'pai heard a few words in the distance, almost too hard to hear. "Dead...fell...river..."
He sighed a heavy breath of relief before the events of the day finally caught up to him, leaving the teenage lizardman quietly sobbing by the banks of the river, until he had finally fallen asleep.
He awoke to find a blanket had been placed on him, and the book he protected so carefully left next to him, open. It was a book of machinery, although they were rather basic at the time. Illustrations of levers, pulleys, wheels, screws...all bound by words Ken'pai didn't understand, but the diagrams helped.
Ken'pai took the blanket and wrapped it around himself, standing up and hearing a peculiar clinking, hissing sound. Over on the bank of the river was a small...creature, but was it a creature? It looked as though it was some kind of spider, but made of metal. It had a small container that it dipped into the river and placed back on top of itself, before slowly skittering away into the forest.
The lizardman followed it, coming upon a cottage in the woods with a few more similar machines about, performing various tasks. One was delicately putting wet clothes on a line. Another was picking vegetables from a modest garden. He stood there in wonder, before the door opened. A grey-bearded man stepping out and giving him a smile.
"Didn't expect to see you again. You can keep the blanket."
Ken'pai didn't exactly understand the man's words, so the human came a little closer, pointing at his satchel.
"I saw your book," the man said.
The lizardman pulled out the book and showed it to the man. "Yes, yes I know. Machines. That's what these are!" He gestured to a small metal spider at his feet. "Ma...chines."
"Ma...sheen...?" Ken'pai struggled with the word.
The old man nodded and pointed to himself. "I'm Gray. Gray."
Ken'pai nodded and patted himself on the chest. "Ken'pai."
"Ken'pai. A good name. Would...you like to learn about machines?"
"Machines!"
"Yes, machines!" He gestured for the lizardman to come inside. "Though I suppose we should start with Common. C'mon in, we have a lot of work ahead of us."
The ache subsided.
Ken'pai opened his eyes and saw that his amulet was giving off a gentle turquoise glow. He opened his hand to look at it, then closed it again, thinking of his years under Gray's tutelage to become a Mechanist of his own, perhaps it was warmed by his own heart at the recollection of happier times. Or perhaps it was acting to soothe the lizardman. He couldn't be sure one way or the other, but he was grateful nonetheless.
He looked up at the night sky and smiled.
"Thank you, Jin'ze. Thank you...Master Gray."
And with that, he returned to his workshop, eager to continue with his work.
Writing by me, the art was a gift from my good friend Fox-Babi. http://sum-vulpes.tumblr.com
Please let me know what you think of the story! ^.=.^
Category All / All
Species Reptilian (Other)
Size 766 x 1280px
File Size 103.7 kB
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