Rather life is a sequence of rapid collisions and transient encounters forming events that engage one another.
One of those events was them meeting for the first time. An arrangement by the heavens themselves. Before that time, neither knew that the other existed in the same world.
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Only two people had ever successfully made contact with the Land of the Gods. The second person was a young Keid Al Magus Leon. A reckless young man who was once considered an ace pilot of his squadron. Searching for the Land of the Gods was akin to suicide. Then again, people rarely go looking for divine powers until they believe in no better solution than death.
“I don’t teach military mutts.” her mother would say to him.
Keid would remember the pitiful look on Neagil’s face as she observed his sorry attempt at convincing her mother to take him as a student. It was a judgemental gaze. As if every word and gesture that Keid used was only confirming all of the preconceived ideas she had about him.
They would only exchange glances at each other despite being under the same roof, and those exchanges were few and far between as Keid’s very existence became consumed by his rigorous training. He would see her shuffling about though. Busy with chores, sparring, studies, and prayer.
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“Mma,”
“Yea my dear?”
“You hate people like him. So why are you helping?”
“Ah. I must be going soft.” Her mother heavily exhales “Still. He’s a military dog. And I fear that I will have to pay for my actions here one day.”
An continues her explanation.
“That’s why we call them dogs. They follow the orders of their master.”
“He calls you his master.”
“For now.”
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She mostly kept her distance from him.
It wasn’t until one day that he caught her reading one of his books that he spoke his first words that were directed to her: “You can keep it if you’d like?”
Neagil simply stood up startled, neatly putting his book back on the pile where she found it and scampered on to other tasks. Needless to say, she found the book outside her room the next morning with a note written inside.
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“That’s because she’s the Skymapper.” the little girl named Noy would tell him on his one day off at the market.
“Oh really?”
He played along. Two boys also about the same age as her were also grouped around him in support of the little girl. Their names were Lan and Aiden.
“That must be so cool. If I was the Skymapper, I would use my fire powers to burn down the whole school so we don't have to take anymore math tests.” Lan cheered.
Aiden tried to be the voice of reason. “You’re supposed to use your powers for good Lan.” He sighs in frustration. “That’s why Neagil-ap’s the Skymapper and you’re not.”
“What is the Skymapper exactly?” asks Keid naively.
Lan spits out “Did your mom never tell you about the legend? She can turn huge, fly, and breathe fire.”
Keid inquires “Does that make her a dragon…?”
“Light! She breathes light!” Aiden corrected.
“My mom always told me that the Skymapper was supposed to be a human star. So that if our sun disappeared, she would take its place.” added Noy.
“My grandma said Neagil-ap’s going to be the one to protect us from the great disaster.”
“Wow. So she's like a hero.” Keid said, struggling to carry his purchases while talking to the kids. He had one more stop before heading back to the house.
“Yup! Look! It’s Neagil-ap!” Noy cheered with Lan and Aiden joining her and they rushed to their favorite person standing by the door of the shop.
It seemed that there was an entourage by her.
“And the princess!” exclaimed Noy. Lan and Aiden promptly chiming in.
As was custom for Isteni nobility, the princess was fully covered aside from her face. And he could tell that she exuded authority simply in her existence. Even without the presence of a sword or shield, one could gauge the feeling that she was a woman that could not be conquered, for her life had already been predestined by higher powers that promised only the best for her.
Keid was surprised to see Isteni royalty out and about in the open, but it made sense considering the limited size of Isten, its monarchs would have more frequent public appearances.
Neagil introduced him promptly. “Your royal highness. Please meet my mother’s apprentice. Mr. Keid Leon.” Followed by an usher for him to bow which he dutifully did.
“Welcome to Isten Mr. Leon. I assume you’re being well taken care of by Miss Neagil’s family.” The princess’s voice failing to falter even for a moment as she courteously addressed him.
“I can say without hesitation that I have no complaints.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. If you’ll excuse me, I do have an appointment. But I warmly welcome you to our city and please do enjoy your time here.”
They bid the princess farewell. And before he realized it, the kids had dispersed too. It was only Keid, Neagil and his bags of goods that were left idle by the street corner.
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She helped him carry his bags up the hill. Keid wanted to ask Neagil about what the kids had told him, but she spoke before he could bring up the question.
“Thank you for the book.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve read it several times, and I do have some questions.”
“Hmm?”
“The narrator… Mr. Caraway..I find him to be a likable but confusing character. Early on, he tells us that he is rather reserved in his judgment of others.” Neagil continues. “Yet throughout the whole book, it seems all he does is judge and criticize everyone,...even when it concerns immoral acts that he approves and even considers partaking in. I’m having a difficult time identifying and understanding if the story even has a protagonist.”
“Maybe that’s the point. There isn’t anyone completely free of sin. That we can criticize people all we like, create as much moral distance with them as we can.”
Keid heaves out as they continue walking uphill.
“But in the end, we’re equally capable of acting out our vices just like them.”
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“And don’t ever show your face here again.” said his Master with an almost relieved smile.
“Thank you for everything you’ve taught me.” said Keid with sincerity.
His aircraft had been repaired and was now loaded with all his belongings. It was ready to depart with no intention of coming back.
Neagil waited by the shoal as her mother bid her student farewell.
He approached her. Then he leaned into her to whisper something that made her eyes distend as wide as they could.
As he walked backwards, smiling, she would try to re-compose herself as her mother watched, dumbfounded by the audacity of her student to be so intimate with her daughter. But he was already in the cockpit before she could berate him. With the roar of the engines, the small plane exited the Isteni airspace for the world below.
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There is a quietness that pervades a place after someone leaves. She always knew that he was temporary, so why was it so hard for her to return to her way of life before he happened?
The annexe went back to its original state. In fact, no one would believe that the young man lived and studied here for a year if it weren’t for the books he left with her.
After I make something of myself. I’ll come back and marry you.
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“What are you gonna do now?”
A bitter reunion. They were both standing in front of the stone block placed in the ground with the names of the lost and deceased carved on its hide.
It had been years. And seeing her again in trying circumstances was not something he anticipated.
She touches the carving of her mother’s name.
“I’m going to stay here. I have to look after them.” The surviving Istenis were temporarily in a decommissioned territory camp, trying to make some sense of their city’s collapse.
“And who will look after you?”
She briefly gives him a direct glance before turning her head back while he continues to look at the stone and the world beyond.
“I can get by. I’m a skymapper.”
“That you are. You’re also my teacher’s daughter.”
His statement solidifying Neagil’s position in his life. It had been years.
“I see you got everything you wanted. I’m truly happy for you. You worked hard for it.”
“Thank you.” Although it was a statement of gratitude. His words felt like a mere formality. She can hear him take a deep breath.
“But it’s not enough. And sometimes I feel really helpless. I want to make this country⸺no, this world a better place for people. For future generations.”
Keid looks back to the congregation of people in the encampment. “For people who need a new home.”
And he lets out a defeated huff. “I’m sure it sounds foolish.”
“No it doesn’t.”
She turns her head to directly face him.
“It sounds genuine. Do what you believe is right.”
Contrary to what the popular think, righteousness is relative and can be a dangerous philosophy to live by. In a war, each party involved develops their own ideology in an effort to destroy the other. Understanding the truth requires someone to look with the eyes of God. And that is why the judgment of simple humans is outsourced to the divine. In some cultures, it is through religion, just like it was for her mother, who believed in the temporariness of the material world, and that her true life would begin in death, where the comfort of her existence would be dictated by her mortal actions. Neagil wished that she could possess that same resolve.
Keid gives Neagil a small smile.
He opened his mouth and made a brief sound as if he was about to say something, likely a question but abruptly stopped. Neagil waited for him to try again. He didn’t.
Conveniently, she forgot about it.
“I promise to visit after we settle the situation in the East.” And she hoped that he would keep that promise. Although it could’ve been in less drastic circumstances, they were no longer separated by leagues of airspace.
He never came to visit. He never got a chance to, because war erupted on the Eastern front.
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There were talks of diplomacy between the now displaced Isteni nation and the mountainous country of Sieg. Marriage between their Princess Imeri and the king of Sieg was the most heated topic of discussion. The most offending line posed that Istenis would renounce their sovereignty in exchange for acceptance by the Sieg nations. Negotiations of the agreement were still underway.
Yet the Istenis were running out of time. Not only were they physically weak from the change in altitude on the surface world, but the conditions in the encampment led many to succumb to disease. Neagil would become Imeri’s right hand in coordinating efforts to best take care of the surviving Istenis but even Imeri was seeing that only one choice lay ahead of her if she was to ensure continuation of the Isteni identity.
And it was the day that she watched another child be buried that she came to her decision.
She banishes Neagil.
“I don’t understand. People are dying. I am of more use here.”
“Yes, but for how long? They are perishing and we are only delaying the inevitable.”
“Unless.”
“You go out. Leave and make our story known. Find a safe place for us. Find Keid. Find your family. Find help.” Imeri grasps onto Neagil’s shoulders “Out of all of us. You are strong enough to survive this world right now. I believe that you are even strong enough to end this global conflict.”
“I can’t leave you, or them. Not-not like this!”
Letting go of Neagil, Imeri takes a good look at her friend.
“This isn’t an option for you, Neagil. You will leave first thing in the morning. That is an order from your sovereign.”
And she turned away from her friend and subject, leaving Neagil to process her fate.
She took extra time in properly embracing Lan, Aiden, and Noy before her journey. Neagil advised them to be good children and not trouble their families while she would be away; she did not tell them that this may be the last time they see her. Princess Imeri was there to send her off that morning. She hugged her before Neagil picked up her luggage and was hauled away in the armored vehicle that would take her to the closest checkpoint.
As the vehicle rattled away, Imeri’s silhouette and those of the others disappeared into the sand clouds. Neagil had never had siblings before, or even friends of her age. And now she lost her sister.
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Before she could recall much of her situation, Neagil found herself at the doors of the Emerstate National Military Academy, for the next two years.
For the next two years, she would fend for human decency in a place run by animals. Her mother had always encouraged her to have faith in all that was good, and she never had prepared to come to a place that could wring that faith dry.
And the greatest insult of it all was that she would not be allowed to make contact with Keid. He was deployed and no one recognized her as having any pertinent relationship to him to warrant a call or telegram.
Keid’s card was still in her possession. It’s home in the pocket of her uniform. She had fiddled with it so much that it was now decorated by thousands of miniscule creases. It was ironic really. The last time she had seen him, Keid had explained how serious the situation was in the East, strongly discouraging her to keep herself and the rest of the Istenis as far from there as possible. Yet here she was. Following in the footsteps he had involuntarily left for her.
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Neagil had always been very forgiving. She had to, after having been born in a life where she was often shunned. She could forgive being stripped of her clothes and personal effects. She could forgive being stripped of her faith and authority.
But she couldn’t forgive the act of robbing her autonomy, her body and her identity⸺as Neagil⸺the daughter of a master, the friend of a sovereign, the possible wife of this country’s future leader⸺an act would never be made right, even if this world’s god died and revived a thousand times.
They would tell her to be patient. That the country was at war and someone of Keid’s caliber needed to focus on his position. He was risking his life and those of his subordinates. That she be wise to prepare herself for his death.
Regardless of their remarks, Neagil could not accept the idea of Keid dying. He had far too much to live for. Far too much to fight for. If he was at the front, that’s where she needed to be, and the universe granted her wishes as her rookie squadron was soon deployed there too.
The first war of the century, they called it. She followed him into that war. The war where he was made a hero. And although he could never do wrong in her eyes, she needed to come to terms with the true title that reflected his actions. And hers.
War criminals.
In their inevitable second reunion after over a year, she expected him to not recognize her.
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