“Once upon a time, there was a vast circular city on the emerging continent, with buildings so high as to touch the sky. Everything was in gold, overflowing with riches, food and textiles, fine arts, and dances. The music rang from morning to evening in the general cheerfulness of the population. They were all happy and serene until one terrible day, the demons set foot in the beautiful city, destroying and trampling everything on their way.”
Some children bring their hands to cover their tiny mouths, their eyes wide open in fear, while watching a black-horned puppet moving awkwardly between tongues of fabric as red as fire, shaken by the wind, on the stage.
The storyteller waits for the whispers to subside and continues the narration. “The evil demons drove all the humans out of the city, locking them out of the golden doors and leaving them to the hardship of weather. Our ancestors then began to build new villages, smaller and more modest, so that the demons wouldn’t try to steal their houses again, but it was not long before that, tired of being locked up in the beautiful city, they went outside to hunt humans. They found and imprisoned them, burning their homes, eating their children, and locking them in metal cages!”
One of the young listeners cries, frightened by the man's voice, who smiles and adds, “Then, seven men rebelled against the fearsome five Great Demons!”
The children's voices rise joyfully, “The seven Clan leaders!”
“Exactly! The seven heads of the main clans: TaShan Yao, the Sun of the Taijàng; Lúthien the Wise, of the Zhiliào; Galion, the Ferrous of the Duatiè; Aegnor, the Merchant of the Quìn Shuì; Nuin the Hunter, with her faithful blue wolf of the Xùnfù Zhè; Delrid, the Soul of the Lìng Hun; and finally Phinion, the Grass of the Quìanquian.” Each character is presented with small colorful puppets, which move on stage between the cheerful laughter of the children.
The storyteller continues urgently, “Our seven heroes bravely faced the five Great Demons: Pestilence, Famine, War, Deception, and Madness.” Five figures with grotesque and scary features appear on the cardboard stage, approaching the seven humans.
“With a swift leap and the seven Artifacts, our heroes hit the evil demons, killing all their enemies. With great courage and dedication, they closed the doors of the beautiful golden city, which sank into the earth, sealing them inside! Even today, if we go north, beyond the grand spirit forest, we can see a round red lake that fills the whole area where the great city used to be. And five of those seven clans now peacefully rule our continent, maintaining harmony and order.”
The story ends with the defeat of the demon puppets at the hands of the seven heroes, unleashing the children’s jubilation and the applause of the adults who stop to admire the puppet show.
A girl snorts at the tale and moves quickly away from the corner of the busy shopping street.
The city of Aryo has become an anthill. It has expanded twice in the last 50 years, now counting at least four times the past population, and that’s without considering the continuous comings and goings of merchants all over the Rèn. Being a port city, every kind of person passes by, creating a melting pot of accents, smells, and flavors that make her head spin.
Rei looks at the big central harbor, the largest in the entire region of Aqua, with about 100 larger ships and several little ones belonging to smaller clans.
These humans forget too quickly. Five major clans… of course, they never talk about the other two.
The Quìanquian, from the Tartan region, had been destroyed a long time ago by raids of angry demons, probably tired of being enslaved and chopped into pieces to sell on the black market.
Humans hunted down the Taijàng. They were hanged and locked up at the foot of the Iron Mountains, deprived of all property and freedom. The Taijàng was the Sun Clan, shining on all the others, yet they fell into disgrace under the name of Rishi of the eclipse for being deceived and weakened by energy corruption. But now it’s all burnt, and Rei can still feel the smoke filling her lungs and the screams clouding her senses.
She's not too fond of demons due to some unpleasant past experiences, yet she believes them to be way better than humans. At the end of the day, demons are a minority in a world built against them. They have no leadership, being their nameless Great Ones stuck in the demonic continent, nor the strength to fight against monkeys. But after all this time, things should have changed, and if it weren't for those powerful relics, maybe they would have...
Rei adjusts her long, black high ponytail and grabs the summer cape's flaps to cover the lower half of her face. This camouflage is what she most often uses for business and goes well unnoticed. With big black eyes, very long eyelashes, and fair skin, her figure is of average height. This is the only thing that can't be altered, yet the rest is quite different from the original appearance, tainted with greys, white, and a pair of amethyst eyes. Peculiar colors even for a demon, representing a condemnation for a fubai: a simple life corrupted and chained in the Rishi.
For the mission, she is wearing a suit with dark leather pants adherent to her sinuous body and a blouse with a U-neck that comes out soft from the metal belt tight at the waist, where she has hung a canteen, and a wallet well-hidden under the cloak. A small detail is always on the tip of her right ear: a minute silver hoop earring from which a half moon hangs, a childhood heirloom whose sun-shaped sibling has long since been lost.
With a frowny expression, the girl crosses the street to finally enter the tavern she is looking for. There are so many people that she has to dodge to make her way to the bar. Everything smells so human.
I won’t stay long.
She orders a light beer and a plate of fish, as one of her usual informants told her in the neutral zones. Her eyes wander around, looking for someone who could resemble who she has in mind. They’ll find you, he said; all you have to do is follow instructions. Yet time passes, and nothing happens. They will find you, my ass! The masked fubai thinks nervously. After several hours, there isn’t the slightest trace of anyone.
Rei pays with annoyance and comes out of that shit-hole, walking fast towards the harbor. Maybe the smell of the sea will be strong enough to make her finally breathe in peace. She crosses the huge sidewalk, now bare from all the ornaments and stalls of the market. Few humans are still there because of the curfew that falls in the evening. Rei has heard of it, but now that she’s there, it all seems pretty strange, especially in a place like this. She walks silently among the shadows of the buildings, hiding her presence from the guards, who wander around lazily, and finally arrives at the port. Down the long staircase that leads to the stone base, she hides between piles of wooden boxes.
“Get a move on! We don’t have all night.” A guard makes an impatient gesture with his hand as he paces back and forth in front of a ship just docked.
The other humans begin to fiddle with the thick wooden door, opening the big locks with vigor and mastery. One of them gets in, his nose curling in disgust as soon as he puts his face inside. “They fucking stink.” He dips a hand off the ship's void. Rei didn't see much from her position except metal armor and wood. Yet she immediately understands what the cargo is: slaves.
The guard's arm returns to sight as he forcibly drags a battered demon behind him.
The slave trade is widespread these days.
A demonic body can have various uses for humans, as a slave, as pieces to create armor and weapons, and even as ingredients for reinvigorating or rejuvenating potions with temporary effects. Rumors say that eating demon meat leads to the development of greater shinat control. Bullshit since everyone knows that that kind of energy is the prerogative of humans. It can be defined as the very energy of life, and it’s harmful, if not deadly, for a demon that manipulates corruption, an inner energy called rasuah.
Fucking animals.
Maybe that’s why there is a curfew in the city; many people are here, including families and children, and this is not a good show for them.
The fubai rolls her eyes, hearing subdued groans from the demons. They certainly drugged them and judging by the visible wounds on their bodies, they have already been beaten several times. She walks away from that corner of the pier and looks for a quiet, dark place to rest. This job is hard enough, and there’s no need to feel guilty for strangers.
After a few minutes, Rei finds a small, rickety warehouse full of ropes for docking, sits on them, and stretches her arms, closing her eyes, now lilac again: their true color. Her mind returns to the story of the birth of the seven heroes. Anger floods her veins, making her constantly turn on that uncomfortable, arranged bed.
Suddenly, a rustle draws her attention outside the warehouse. Her breath gets so tenuous that she seems not to breathe. Someone sneaks into the small dark room and goes near her, rustling paper noise next to her ear. In a split second, she stands up, pointing a knife straight at the mysterious figure's throat. Faking to be harmless worked.
“Wait, stop!” he whispers with a pierced voice. The smell reveals he is a demon. Rei stands still for a while, then lowers the dagger and forcefully grabs the newcomer, crushing him on the stone floor. “And who would you be?” she hisses.
A nervous chuckle in response. “A friend, the one you were waiting for.”
Her eyes quickly moved to the sheet of paper he had left near the bed of ropes. The moonlight shows a faded map. She lets him go, slowly covering the blade and crossing her arms over her chest. “Couldn’t you just give it to me?”
The four-eyed demon gets up, brushes his clothes, and then shakes his head. Adjusting the little glasses on his nose, he comments, “The person you’re looking for doesn’t like to publicize his location, that’s all.”
Rei snorts, walks out of the small warehouse to better observe the map, and turns her nose to its lousy quality. “Did you draw it? It’s too rough.”
“It’s the only one around.”
“Why?”
He looks at her, smiling, and his lips tighten as he sees the fubai caressing the dagger's hilt. Patience is rapidly slipping away. He steps back and chuckles nervously, “Y-you can’t get close enough to draw a better one. There seems to be a barrier of rasuah so strong as to confuse even us demons.”
The news makes her amethyst eyes wider. Fascinating.
“That’s it. My payment, please.”
Rei nods, brings a hand to her waist, and then freezes and asks, “How long have you been following me?”
“It’s a secret of business, my dear!” the demon gloats, foreshadowing a shower of money.
In a single moment, her fingers are so strong on his neck that his eyes turn reddish and round because of the increasing pressure. Her smile gleams at his confused look as she tells him in an angelic tone, “Since he’s so powerful, it’s better to ingratiate him immediately, don’t you think?”
Her face gets dangerously close to the demon’s pale one, and she brushes her lips on his. “Thanks for the map.” Then he feels a rash of heat filling him inside as a river of magma burns, leaving destruction at her touch. In a second, the demon's body gets softer under her hand and falls to the ground as an empty sack. She walks over him, settles the backpack on her shoulders, and leaves.
Now Rei has an almost decent track to follow.
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