My ideas I would like to claim

Before anyone starts to use Ideas that I came up with first I shall write a few of my Ideas concerning the Story with Kefenste, Jia and Lee Lee I'm currently developing now.

Well first of all, the name of the land the main story takes place in is called Endobas.

Endobas is taken from the words End of Blood and Sanity.

It is a country that neighbours the continent Pekura. I still haven't decided if Endobas will be part of Pekura, but it connects to another country to the right and that land is part of another big land mass. So yes im still deciding.

I had a few names here and there that i was going to call Endobas originally. Names such as Chotle, Cotle, Eobas, Egis, Eroes, Gofpuri, Wayo, Wayol, Wayon, Votna, Yseav, Noyaw, Naof, Vabeu, Rofset, Raien, Rebor, Norein, Rosein and Teom.

In the end I chose Eobas, Teom and Endobas as the three top choices. Of course I chose Endobas, and that is how it came into being. All of the names above were taken from words i punned together just like how I formed the name Endobas. But the above mentioned names will be used for other things, for example Wayol (Way of Leaing) became a martial created in Endobas.

Hmmmm I am afraid Endobas sounds to much like the Fairy tale manga's Edolas. Anywho, I am sticking with Endobas and thats final. I drew the map before I came up with the name in truth and I am almost finished with a cg version of it. Will post it up some day.

Concerning the names mentioned above, Teom which is taken from the words The End Of Mortals, is a major ancient deity of Endobas. Teom, is a masculin portrayed deity but he has other forms that are portrayed as femmine. The ancient Deity is also associated with Darkness and the night, but he is not associated with wickedness and overall Teom is more similair to a Hindu deity in Reality. Is is also known to have 3 Star-consorts which gave birth to other spirits which are also worshipped like deities.

Leaings and Corleings are originally from Endobas. There are also many Shabasium in Endobas, and almost rival the numbers of leaings in Endobas. leaings where the first beings to be born from the trees of Endobas (which were in truth the 3 star's children which took the form of trees). They have distinct long ears and they are in tune with nature and as such can talk with many things that most others cannot understand, such as animals, plants etc. Only the first generation of leaings were born from the ancient trees and were scattered across all over Endobas. The formed their own clans and only lived in the forests. From there leaings were born from each other.

The first tribes were carefree, not even caring much for structures or clothes and usually basked in the many lakes and rivers. They worshipped the spirits , the children of the 3 stars, the stars themselves and Teom. As their numbers and knowledge grew, some of the tribes and their clans developed into Forest Villages. These villages also remained in the forests, but were grand feats to behold. The very trees and lakes, rivers and mountains become their structures. Their faith remained very similar to their original one. But even with these new villages many leaings remained to living with their ancient ways and moved deeper into the forests to keep themselves 'pure'. Coreleings, who are directly related to leaings, that live in large masses of water like the sea were originally leaings that spent most their lives in bodies of water worshipping the water spirits. Their children in turn were born differently and moved to the sea and created a grand kingdom not far from the shores of Endobas.

Havbasiums (races that are usually half Basium or humanoid) also lived alongside with leaings and were some of the animals that the spirits gave power too, so many of them have are also related to leaings.

Endobas like countries from Pekura, such as Raulo, Ameternia and Glaseal, does have some asian cultures present, albeit much less than the aforementioned countries. It is more like Lunailell and Rosenia, which takes inspiration from Medievil Venice, portugal and england. Endobas also takes many cultures from South africa.

In the end, one must try imagine Southern Africa in a European fantasy-forest like land. With a dash of some Asian cultures here and there. The languages consist of Southern African like languages and very few Asian.

In terms of Size, Endobas is at least a quarter more bigger in land mass than South Africa is.

The story that I referred to in the beginning takes place in a era of a leaing-race and havbasium-race opression and colonisation.

Just to give a bit of backstory to this; when a lot of shabasium's of the north and east of Endobas came to the land to colonize it, the leaings of course did not stand down and fought against the invaders.

Shabaisum from Lunailell had already settled in in many parts of Endobas already, but Lunailell had become a strong ally of Endobas a few decades before the Shabasium of the north lands and east lands invaded. As such , in Pekura, there are many leaings in Lunaillel because of this alliance.

The leaings of Endobas and the shabasium of Lunailell fought together to protect the land from the invaders. But after many wars and a few decades, the invaders took most of the west, north-west and South-west of Endobas from its original owners. The east contained the few kingdoms of the Shabasium of Lunailell and villages of the leaings. From this age onwards, many leaings took on a lot the cultures and ways of the Lunailell people and lived in their kingdoms.

But of course, the original leaings, now known as the Dark-waters, the leaings who made homes from the nature around them, now known as the Forest-weavers still exsisted in the deep forests of Endobas.

The colonized parts of Endobas had many of the Dark-waters and Forest-weavers intergrated with their soceity and with time; created segregation laws restricting leaings and havbasiums to live in poorer areas, not allowing them to go to certain areas of the found in the colonised kingdoms and many more laws that almost sometimes treated them like slaves. Also the west, trades with a few counrties from Pekura, the biggest contributor would be Rafana and thus their are a lot of other races that make their home in the bigger west part of Endobas.

These laws parallel the laws of the Apartheid era of South Africa. Also the colonized kingdoms spoke 'united' langauges which are almost identicle to many South African languages. The colonized west Endobas still plans on taking control over the free east Kingdoms, hoping to bring 'peace' with their rule over all of Endobas.

This is the setting that Lee Lee, the boston terrier, Kefentse, an 10 year old boy from mabopane and Jia, a 10 year old girl from capital park pretoria shall experirnce when they arrive in a village in the west of Endobas.

In my next post I will talk a bit more about Endobas, but i will focus on describing the overall plot of this story in progress.

Well from now on I will use the ChoMiPet Blog to rant, but more importantly to just add anything related to the developing ChoMiPet universe.

Today two new things had struck me.

First, yet another story idea came to me in like a Vision-Version (V.V.) while on my way to college.

I havnt gotten the setting down and names decided yet but the plot is as simple as this:

The story follows the current life of a strange person who has become a famous writer. There is one cacth though. . .

He has lost the use of his short term memory.

But he still continues to write, and how unique his writing style and fashion is.

The second thing I came up with today was a genre. Many of you may have heard, and already know well of, the genres known as Cyberpunk, Bio-Punk, Steam-punk, Nano-punk etc.

Well in the years of my generation, ive began to notice that there is a lot of Vampire lit going around. Each author seems to come up with their own Vampire lore and setting and what not. I can mention many vampire books, Television serieses, movies, manga and anime that are popular today, but im sure you know of them already.

So the Genre I came up with today in College, while in Narrative class, I have dubbed:
Blood-punk.

A genre which classifies story to have beings or creatures that suck blood or to have any other vampire-like elements within the story.

So in other words, elements heavily relating to blood, the consuming of blood or any vampire elements is Blood-punk.

Also as from now on, any stories or ideas and/or stories me or my co-author create are a of C.O.B TM (Cups of Blood)

Chapter 3: Traveling darkness (incomplete version)

Maybe I’ve never known who I was this whole time. I could just be a figment of my own imagination and not truly exist. But I still strive; I still go on with this existence. I wonder the eternal darkness of your heart. It is my partner, my love and the very thing has that keeps me going…

Something is making its way through the cold desert under the resentful night sky. It rests its tired head on a flying carpet, which flies so low that its master’s hand dangles and brushes against the sand below. Travelling from the vast, far away, desert city of Extioneria; it ventures its way to the ever raining forest in the south. The carpet’s master is but a young, strong and adventurous soul and while he lies down on his trusty fabric steed; he gazes up towards the diamond filled sky. But after some time, the boy eventually falls asleep while drifting through the desert, dreaming his troubles away.

He has received a request of sorts and this is the reason why he has been travelling through the desert. His goal lies within the forest of eternal rain and he will have to meet up with a certain a certain village chief.

Finally the carpet starts to near its destination and it leans to one side with its young master toppling overboard and rolling down on a nearby sand dune. He’s surprisingly still remains fast asleep while he is tumbling all the way down. After reaching the bottom of the dune, he finally started to wake from his sleep. Stretching while getting himself up; he looks around to see his current location. He still seemed like he was in a daze of sorts; like he could do with a little more sleep. Looking upwards he started to make his way up the dune as he needed to know where his flying steed might have flown off too.

Petsu is only fourteen years of age. Very carefree and also a revered warrior; his height and childish looks fool many of those who sought to oppose him. Petsu is actually only known in name, as no one could ever identify him in their first encounter. He always wears a long black leather coat which has a hood that conceals most of his face. A cuirass of armour covers and protects his upper abdomen and also covers a black shirt he wears beneath it. For the lower area of his body he wears a pair of black leather pants fastened to his waist with a belt. His footwear; a pair of strange white boots strapped to his legs. Oddly enough, such a mysterious and powerful boy carried no visible weapons on his person at this point in time.

Quickly scanning across the night sky, Petsu finally spots his flying carpet. Without giving any type of signal, the carpet swoops down and hovers next to Petsu’s side. “Hey now lets not be getting any funny ideas of runnin away now ya hear, it’s about time you went too sleep.” Petsu ordered. The boy’s voice was soft; not complementing his reputation at all. Petsu grabs the carpet at its end it and the carpet flops itself down to the sand. While Petsu still holds it at the end, it starts to roll itself up. As it is about to finish, Petsu quickly reaches into his coat’s inner pocket and takes out a belt. Now completely rolled up, Petsu ties the carpet up with the belt in the middle. He fastens it tight and lets some of the belt out so that he can hold on to it. Petsu throws the now rolled up carpet over his right shoulder holding it by the belt. ‘‘Well, I still think I shoulda brought an umbrella along; it always seems to rain in that place…heh I guess there’s no going back now.” After saying this, the boy lets out a grave sigh. He quickly shrugs and shakes his head and stands straight and moves on. Petsu had awoken right by the border of the only forest on the entire the continent of Pekura. He knew that this was a constantly guarded environment. It may be relieved of warring villages and warrior codes, but no one from the outside could easily tread on such a haven.

Too many have tried to take the powers of this forest for their own gains. Petsu will have to be on his guard the whole time, until he meets with his client that has requested his service. Now, in front of him, in reach, was the border of the forest of eternal rain. A ditch signified the border; this was usually flooded as the trees right by the border did not stop pouring down their rain. These trees seemed to some kind of palm tree, but their giant leaves seemed to be as stiff as stone. The water simply poured from these stiff leaves. “Well, time to get soaked then” exclaimed Petsu. He swiftly leaped into the forest, over the ditch, past some of the trees and landed with a splash. In the border area, the water went up to one’s ankles. Petsu could already feel his carpet getting soaked. At least his coat was not like this.

There were no trees like the moon palms in the border area and it was too dark too travel in the night time. One would fall into ponds, lakes, rivers and could even be taken by desperate water spirits in a heart beat. Also not to mention how many trees the traveller would bump into. When ever night took over the forest, it was even more dangerous than the blood drenched sands of the desert.

Petsu was not new to the kingdom of the forest and he had acquired a reasonable amount of knowledge of its workings in the past. Even though others could not travel in this kind of dark, Petsu was one who had no problem seeing under these conditions. He had learned how to perform this kind of feat when he was still very young. The way Petsu could see in the night was like how the desert sanxurians saw it for themselves. Onwards into the forest Petsu went. The trees in this area were very tightly packed and there was not much place for Petsu to move about. There had been certain paths one had to take in order to advance into the forest. Petsu managed his way through many cramped areas until things started to widen up.

He passed many strange trees in which mostly all of them poured rain down upon him. There had been trees that bore fruits that looked like hands, ones that looked eyes, in which their gaze followed Petsu and even trees that grew random fruits all at once. Truly this forest was a marvel. But Petsu had to stay focused as he knew of the impending dangers that may lie ahead of him.

The pouring from the trees stopped. That was the first way you were able to tell that morning had broken in the forest. The sound of the rain that lulled many a small child into a slumber would just stop and the forest would begin to move again like it had been set to an alarm.

“Midori Nee- san! Midori Nee- san!”
Midori was dozing outside the Miyamoto house on a hammock slung between two Moon palms. She had woken up early to prepare for the day and listen to the rain, she loved the rain. It made her mind drift, almost like a hallucination but with less imagery and more sound. Midori heard the shouts and opened one eye, she stretched in her hammock and moved hair out her eyes. Next to her stood the twins, Suzume and her older sister Ayume, Ayume looked at Midori rather sternly. Midori sighed heavily: “Ayume Nee- San, I can tell you want to say something.”

The sister nodded: “Your hair, can you not tie it back? You’d look much prettier. And your miko outfit is so dirty. Give it to mother to clean. Why do you not get a new one? You’d look so pretty Midori, you know this.” Ayume Miyamoto was the glorified beautician of the ten sisters in the house. Always perfectly looked after, she never had a hair out of place. She was sixteen years old and had a reputation for making some of the males in the village’s mind race.

Her hair was a dark shade of brown and was always glossy and clean. She had pale skin and her eyes seemed to match being a light green colour, seemingly lighter that the eye colour her sisters’ all shared. Her clothes added to her striking beauty, she got another of their sisters to actually make clothes for her and they always seemed to compliment her. Midori envied her sister Ayume for her beauty, though she knew she would never have such patience to beautify herself.

“I think Midori Nee- san is pretty!” Midori looked behind Ayume to see Suzume looking rather cleaned up herself. Her hair had been combed and she was dressed in her best. But her face showed a look of stern disapproval of Ayume’s criticism.

Midori smiled and stood up: “Ayume Nee- san. You know that I could never be as pretty as you. I’m far too lazy. But Suzume, you look ready for your outing!”

Suzume grinned broadly: “I am! But Hatoko and Matoko wouldn’t believe me! I am coming to the shrine with you today, aren’t I? Aren’t I?” Hatoko stomped her foot and scowled: “It’s unfair!” “Midori Nee- san, we’re older than Suzume.

Why won’t you take us?” whimpered Matoko, Matoko was the more sweet natured and patient of the twins. She generally always stood a little behind Hatoko. Ayume rolled her eyes: “For one I can’t get you two decent. Mother would never let you leave the village looking like this. And its father’s will that Suzume can go. If you two were a little less hyperactive then maybe you’d have a chance. Come inside now you two.” Hatoko kicked her foot on the ground: “It’s still not fair.” Midori felt a slight tug of emotion at the display of her sisters but when she looked at Suzume and could clearly see her excitement, it made everything seem better.

“I’ve got lunch packed. Mother gave it to me for us; I also brought a book and some things to write with. Mother wants me to start practicing, that’s only if visiting the shrine is boring and I don’t think so! Midori Nee- san can we get going?” Midori put her arm around her little sister and laughed: “Well, alright then. Let’s go.” Midori lead Suzume through the village, they walked some of the route that she walked with her father the other day. They greeted people as they walked; some people were already informing Midori that they planned to come and visit her up at the shrine. This only served to broaden the smile on Suzume’s face. Though the youngest, Suzume was rather intuitive. She had looked up to Midori than most of all her siblings. There was a bond between that even Midori was unable to deny. Suzume knew that Midori’s outlook to life was simpler than that of the rest, but Suzume also knew that even in her father’s eyes, Midori was a special child. Midori was born to draw people in with her manner and her light aloof smile; it amused Suzume to wonder why Midori could see so little about herself. As they approached the gate up to the temple pathway, a figure ran up behind them and clasped around Midori and Suzume’s arm. Midori turned around with a start, she looked to see that it was Hiroshi. He seemed to have run to catch up with them.

“Hiroshi?” Midori said, rather confused as to his sudden appearance. Hiroshi stood up straight with a grin on his face, yet again he looked like he was to be working in the fields.

“Hello,” the boy said simply and smiled, he looked at Suzume. “My! You’re growing so fast! Where are you two off to?” Suzume decided to answer: “Oh! Oh! I’m going to the shrine today! Father says I could start working there one day maybe, Hatoko and Matoko are so jealous!”

Midori cleared her throat: “Was there reason in you stopping us?” “Oh no, I merely just wanted to greet you that was all,” Hiroshi explained. “Well, forgive us but we are not to run late. Come Suzume,” Midori smiled faintly and took hold of Suzume’s hand again.

They began to walk again and stepped onto the path up the mountain. “Maybe I shall come and see you at the shrine!” Hiroshi called out as he watched them going up the path. Midori stopped and then raised her voice: “If you have a proper reason to then you’re welcome!” Suzume remained silent as Midori then began to lead her up the mountain. Midori knew this route so well that she did not even need to take a glance down before her to see the path. Suzume, being so young, could not walk as fast as Midori and she was too intrigued by everything around. They stopped frequently for her to pick flowers or merely just look at the view.

“Midori Nee- san, I think that boy wants to marry you,” Suzume commented as she came back with a Moon fruit in her hands.

Midori looked at Suzume: “Who? Hiroshi? That’s just pure nonsense Suzume. I am a miko and he is in the fields all the time. I am too young to even think of marriage, you are too for that matter!”

Suzume had begun to walk again and looked back at Midori: “But Midori Nee- san is pretty. Many boys will stand at the door for you, just like with Ayume- Nee san! You shall have a nice husband, the best one ever!”

Midori somehow could not find a reply to her sister’s wild dreams. She was still too young to understand that Midori wanted to dedicate her life to the shrine and its well being. She shook her head and smiled, casting her eyes down and continued forward. They walked for a little while when Midori finally looked up and was perturbed by a strange silence. She also realized Suzume was no longer in front of her.

“Suzume! Where are you, Suzume?” Midori called out and began to look around.

She stopped and waited for a reply, her breath becoming quicker as she began to worry. “Suzume!” Midori shouted as she then strayed from the path, she pushed through trees and vines as she called her sister’s name.

“Midori Nee- san! I’m over here!” Midori heard her sister’s call and rushed towards it, she pushed through all the trees and then found herself in a clearing. Midori looked around, she had not been to these parts often but she had explored the area quite thoroughly. She saw her sister sitting on a rock; she looked relieved to see Midori.

Midori ran towards her and dropped to her knees, she placed her hands on Suzume’s shoulders: “Why did you run off like that? I have never been so worried!” Suzume’s eyes filled with tears: “I… I thought I heard someone talking here! I came and looked but I saw nobody. Then… then I didn’t… know where I was. So… so I sat here. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean too!”

Midori wanted to be angry with the little girl but she could see the sincerity in the child, she wrapped her arms around her to ease her fit of crying. Suzume cried into her shoulder for a few minutes and slowly began to calm down. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again and let go of Midori. Midori smiled and nodded, she looked around the clearing and made a quick check that they were where she thought they were.

“Well, if we go in that direction then we can still make it to the shrine,” Midori motioned to a passage near a large tree.

She stood up on her feet and held out her hand for Suzume. Suzume did not even reach for it, she stayed sitting and looking at the one tree. “Midori Nee- san… there’s someone…” Suzume whispered quietly.

Midori glanced in the direction her sister was looking and then down at Suzume: “Whoever you are. Please make your presence known.”

Suddenly Midori felt the air grow heavier and also finding it harder too breathe. Suzume seemed to shake while holding onto her sister. Now seemingly out of nowhere, a heavy mist came down from the trees and envelopes the two girls. Midori can barely see anything around her. Midori did recognize that the trees over towering them in this area were more of the uncommon type found in the forest.

These strangely disfigured pine trees did not give off rain from their leaves, rather they only gave off a heavy mist. Triggering this kind of phenomena called for a type of disturbance, the air being rather heavy would be the cause in this case.

“M-make it s-stop….M-Midori nee-san” pleaded Suzume. “Its okay Suzume, this all shall be over soon…be strong.” Midori said hastily. Midori was concerned as too what Suzume had heard and what caused the strange heaviness in the air.

“Okay now, let’s move a bit back now, slowly.” Midori ordered. “O-okay.” Suzume whimpered. The two sisters started to move, stepping backwards while holding onto each other. As they started to move back Midori could clearly see that the mist was starting to hold up. The air quickly returned to its normal state. The mist was almost gone, but Midori still scanned around the area, she seemed to feel an ominous presence.

“Is…everything going to be okay?” Suzume asked very softly. “Yes everything shal-

“And here I thought you might’ve been a threat? The voice had come from behind Midori.

“There!” Suzume pointed out. Midori swiftly turned around. She darted her gaze to where Suzume had been pointing too. Above them in the branches in a disfigured pine tree, was someone. A rather dark figure wearing a black leather coat, also hooding its head, and its upper area covered in silver curiass of armor. Sitting in the branches this rather small person looks down onto Midori and Suzume.

“Oh goodness now, am I that intimidating?” said the person.

“Who are you! Show yourself, what is your business here!” Midori ordered in a loud tone.

Suzume was rather intrigued with this mysterious being in the tree; she could not take her eyes of it. Midori was rather afraid as to what this person’s intentions were. She had never met an outsider without her father being around her. Also she had never felt this sort of presence before. This had happened all too fast without much warning.

“Please do not be alarmed I certainly do not mean you any harm.” said the person in a rather charming voice.

Midori stepped closer to the tree this person was in. “You have not gardened to my order! Tell me who you are and what your business is here!” Midori said in a louder tone.

The figure quickly put up his hands and shook his head. “First of all, I thought you were one of those pesky water spirits; I had run into some of them last night. Rather they came looking for me or how ever you want to put it. Well I had been expecting them to try and so they did try and get me but I managed to hold them off quite easily.” The person said quite calmly.

“Y-you managed to beat one of those ?” Suzume said rather inquisitively.

“Well I did last time I checked, small one. As for my business, I was requested for my services specifically from one the villages of this forest. I believe it is the village that governs the rest.” The person said in a more playful tone. “I hail from that village which reigns over the other village in this forest. I have the role as guardian over the forest and as priestess over the shrine.” Midori said in response to the person. “Ah I see so. I have never seen a priestess such as you. Man, this place is as interesting as it was so many years ago.”

“I somehow feel you know a lot about the forest, but even if I am a priestess I cannot allow any harm to come to the forest or its people. If you do not have any proof of my village requesting your services, then please leave this this 'forest level' now.”

“Alright, aright don’t worry ‘shaman girl’.” The person jumped down from its perch on the disfigured pine and landed gracefully on the ground.

It took off its hood to reveal a rather young, effeminate face, with long white hair and blue piercing eyes. Midori had to examine rather carefully to tell whether it was a boy or not. Petsu’s clam expression relieved Midori some what and Suzume was rather dazzled by Petsu’s appearance. Midori seemed to relax her body but kept her watchful eyes fixed on Petsu’s movement.

Suzume even took a step forward in order to get a better look at Petsu; although Midori still held her hand tightly. Petsu reached inside his coat’s inner pocket and took out what seemed to be a envelope of sorts. He walked cautiously towards Midori, still giving off a smile. Midori took the enveloped and let go of Suzume. The envelope was made of what seemed to be hide skin. It was already unsealed and Midori opened it up and took out the contents from within the envelope. Already by the materials used to make the envelope Midori could tell it must have come from someone within the forest. The hide skin was from an animal that only resided near her village. Midori can literally feel the different reikon waves passing through anything; this is how she recognized the animal because she has the unique gift to read and sense specific reikon signatures in detail.

Midori began to read a letter that she found in the envelope. It was a letter sent from her father, Rezurii. Unlike her other sisters, Midori was taught how to read and write by her father. She also adopted his strange, but stylish, script like hand writing and calligraphic style.

“I assume that you find the request rather legitimate.” There was a school in one of the villages in which children went to, in order to study, but her father decided to teach Midori himself instead. There is a specific reason for him doing so. In actuality the ability to read and sense specific reikon signatures is very rare and only Midori and her father share this unique ability. Only those with this ability are to inherit the role of priestess or priest and later take on the role as chief of the village. Midori always knew she was different from her other siblings and family. She seemed to always carry this burden, knowing she didn’t have any other choice in life.

“This letter states that the chief Rezurii, requested your audience at our village.” Midori explained.

“Well as I asked, you seem to believe it? The chief Rezurii sent me that letter a week ago, and as he requested I ventured into the forest to find his village.” Explained Petsu. “Even with your past experience of this forest, how did you make it this far so quickly?”

>> To be Completed...

Chapter 2: Wandering in the desert of hope

.
Maybe basking in this unforgivable world, I can become stronger. I will plunge those who dare to tarnish my purpose into the depths of misery. They will all come to comprehend my divine mission. I cannot let you down, for it is not the way you want to see it. If only I could rely on hope, to give me guidance…

Tired, the land underneath his feet was withered and brittle. He kicked the earth and watched the dust clouds pick up and hover around him. There was no wind to move the dust much further. In his field of vision he could see nothing but brown.

His clan had been born from the desert itself. Many legends told of how his clan came to be. Some say, they were fire demons who were granted human form. Others say they were born from the volcanoes in the North. It was even thought that the sand gods gave birth to their clan. No outsiders knew of the true origin of this clan. It was certain that they had been ruling the desert before anyone else who had settled in the desert. Anything that touched the sand was treading on their kingdom.

The boy sighed deeply; he was of the family of the leader of the clan. His father had pride in the fact that he had the strength to fight armies with only a handful of warriors. Weakness in the village was not tolerated. You did not see many people exchanging casual conversation and being together as family. In this village, the men trained their bodies and pushed their limits all in the hope that they could win the favour of his father.

The boy was brought up with the pride of battle and the harshness of the desert. Although young, he was worthy to be called a warrior. Battle and his clan were the only true purposes he had in his life, he knew no better.

He continued to walk; the sun beat down on his arms and caused his skin to look even more olive in tone. His hair was black, long and unkempt. His brown eyes seemed to go with the tone of his skin. He wore a type of ragged scarf, very light brown in colour. It covered the lower half of his face to protect his air passages from inhaling a lot of dust. It also aided in hiding him.

Being the son of the clan leader was only made worse by his sister, the eldest child in the family. A tyrant in the form of a female, she had high expectations of her brother, higher than their father’s in fact. She expected him to fall in line and do as he was told. He was not part of the family in her eyes, he was merely another warrior. Even when he fought his best, even when he excelled more than the rest of the warriors of the clan, his sister took no notice. He sometimes felt that it would be simpler to just leave his family and blend in with the common folk of the village. He would feel less pressured in that respect to always live up to the expectations.

Arriving on top of one of the sand dunes, something catches his swift eyes. At the bottom of the dune are what seem to be the remains of a recent battle. He quickly slides down the dune to go get a closer look. There are many corpses scattered around. Bodies were cut and the sand stained with the fresh masses of their blood. Although to an outsider something should seem a miss. The bodies were ridden of their armor, equipment and there were no weapons to be found. The bodies were barely clothed too. Also, it would seem all the corpses found here belonged to the same clan. The boy knew the answer to what seems a baffling scene.

The clans of the desert thrived on war and battle; this was their only true income. This is why after a battle is over; they would take the enemies belongings and equipment for themselves. It would also be apparent to the boy that these clansmen were ambushed by a more cunning and stealthier clan. These poor souls also didn’t seem to hail from the desert; they seemed to be outsiders which explained why they had been defeated so easily in a land so unfamiliar. Alas there were no spoils for the boy to bring home, so he dashed across the massacred bodies and carried on his path. He was slightly more cautious as he was aware that he could have been attacked at any given moment, especially at the scene of so recent an attack. Once again, the duties of his clan flooded into his mind once more. He tried to rid himself of these thoughts by trying to overcome them with something more pleasant.

He shook his head and looked at the sun: “You should stop dreaming Chozanshi; it’ll only leave you disappointed. You’re the son of the clan’s leader; you can never run from that which is in your blood.”

Chozanshi made his way up another dune with his arm held before him to shield the sun’s rays from his eyes. From this dune he’d have an even better view of where he stayed and where the enemy was. War was a complex thing, from birth he always had enemies placed before him. The enemies of his clan were his enemies, even though he had possibly never met them and they had never made much impact in his life.

It was a simple and uncaring life Chozanshi craved, something many other desert boys of his age also desired. War and battle was infused into his bloodline from the very beginning. Although he did not dare to admit it, he enjoyed cutting down his enemies, the rush of victory made him want to carry on with his life. It was something sickening, yet so pleasurable at the same time.
Once at the top of the dune he shut his eyes, even when away from everyone he felt compelled to draw his blade and train. It was as if the voices of his family and trainers would ring loudly in his head.

He reached behind him and grabbed the black hilt of his blade, this was a katana. There was an engraving of the symbol for fire inscribed on it, the flame of the desert, the flame needed for war, the flame to lead an army. The eternally burning pleasure for battle, infused into his blood.
As like anyone from his clan, or anyone hailing from the desert, it was only right for the children to have the knowledge on how to forge their own weapons. This blade was made by Chozanshi himself, somehow some of his own reikon flowed through the blade.

He held the weapon out ahead of him, what followed seemed like a dance. He thrust forward and seemed to hold a fight with the air before him. He spun around and as he moved he kicked up the earth, clouds hovered around him and all you could catch was the glint of his blade splitting the clouds.

He had the title “Sand reaver” which was what the soldiers called him when they saw him train this way, they would believe that once he was truly in the motions of fighting and the dust clouds collected from the swiftness of his step. You would never realise when he had delivered the killing blow. He was like the unseen flame, cutting like the sand and as harsh as the desert.
Chozanshi continued to train like this till the weather grew cooler, he was lost in the motions of swinging his katana. His mind was emptied of thought and of dreams; there was nothing but him and the blade in his hand. That was how it should be. Thoughts and dreams could only disappoint.

If one traveling across the desert did not see Chozanshi, one would think that was a small sand tornado. In the distance a noise could be heard coming closer and closer. It was the sound of hooves, hooves of a black stallion approaching Chozanshi. He felt the vibrations in the earth and stopped dead, he knew who was coming and he could only presume why. The stallion stopped and a figure hopped off the horse. In the darkening sky the figure was more of a silhouette. Thin and tall, the figure walked briskly up to him.

Chozanshi did not move nor was he worried about what kind of danger this figure would bring to him. He knew this one all too well, although he could not help feeling uneasy in the presence of this person. He had the strong desire of wanting to run away and escape.

He suddenly felt a hand fly across his face and deliver a stinging blow. He held his hand over where he was hit and glared into the very familiar person’s eyes. This was, to Chozanshi’s dismay, his elder sister. One of the people he had come to fear in the recent years of his life.
“You missed yet another training session! How do you expect to be ready for our next wave of attack on the forest you insolent boy!”

The strength of Chozanshi’s sister was something many feared; he dared not stand up to her.
Chozanshi looked at his sister in the eyes, even in the lack of light he could see her glaring down at him, her hatred for him very clear. He knew not to anger her any more, he spoke clearly and without any tone of defiance: “I was training myself out here too Hotaru.”

He could only back away, from what only seemed to be more hurtful commands. This wasn’t what Chozanshi liked to endure at all. Chozanshi would have preferred to brave the deserts for a week than put up this kind of behaviour. Only this woman, his sister Hotaru, would be able to put this kind of fear into him. Not even his father could induce this kind of fear into the very foundations of his heart.

The woman bit her lip as she proceeded to slap her younger brother again: “You are not excused from training! You think you are some type of hero, don’t you? Having the family title makes you exempt from doing what every other soldier does, doesn’t it? Well, you are wrong! How dare you even consider that a thought worth thinking, you foul being!”

Hotaru was angered by the fact that their father would blame her for failing her duties to keep her brother in check. This was part of the reason that fueled her very hatred towards her brother these days. Duty has changed this older sibling, it may have made her stronger, but it seemed that the flames of her spirit were tinged with a jealousy so intense.

Chozanshi’s face burned more than ever. His sister’s confrontational relationship with him was something that left only a bitter taste in his mouth. He even wondered at times if he could even consider her family anymore. She held the title of “sister” but now she acted in no way like one that Chozanshi knew. He bowed before his sister, as low as he could on the dune. She glared down at him, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

The poor boy’s heart was racing, so hard one would think they could feel the heart beats as ripples in the sand.

Many a thing passed into Hotaru’s head, but she knew she had to change Chozanshi. Somehow this change must bring Chozanshi down to a more controllable level. It would be a great challenge for her. “Now, I expect you to follow me back to the house. I expect speed and you shall go to father and excuse your stupidity. I shall personally make sure that you attend training tomorrow or else you will have me to deal with. Understood?”

Chozanshi remained in his bowed position, he merely nodded at this command. He waited until Hotaru had mounted her steed again and had galloped off back to the village. Only then did he get up and watch his sister leave. He thought briefly how he had never had a good relationship with any female. He could not remember his mother; his sister was a tempest to live with. He didn’t even have a care giver that had left any maternal impression on him. He shook his head; his sister’s voice ringing in his ears reminded him that he was expected home soon. The king of the desert was waiting. The sooner the better so he placed his katana on his back into the scabbard and began to run, living in the desert all his life he had become so accustomed to the sand giving way underneath his feet. It was to his advantage to have such stamina. He focused on his breathing, attempting to get the thoughts out of his head yet again. The more he thought, the more he realised that his life was less than ideal. It was a thought that frightened him so the less he thought of it the better he felt. Thinking truly had no place in the wars of the desert.
As the cold wind passed his face and the twilight sky finally showed itself, Chozanshi could finally see his village on the horizon. This was home; this was his prison. He had been always been bound to this place. If only, somehow, he could find some hope deep within the sands of the desert in order to find freedom. So that he could set out on to his own journey of adventure, that is what his heart truly craved. For now, he would fight for this, his hope, his true purpose.

He finally was starting to near his home; he just needed to follow the more visible path. At this point there was an ancient road coming from the gates of the village. Chozanshi took his time looking at the engravings of this ancient marvel. Chozanshi, following the road, as he drew much closer the towering walls had begun to overshadow him. The Village gates had two great statues each on each side of the gate. They were created to represent the gods of the volcano and desert. This signified the union which was said to be the creation of people of this village. Chozanshi was finally at the gates of his village now. One would think, from the outside, the walls make it look a pyramid only made up only to the half point. The village’ walls assembled like two of these half pyramids but together. If looked from above it would form a star shape. The village was built in such a way that the King was safe in the epicenter.

No other buildings, besides the king’s dome shaped palace was visible outside the village walls. As Chozanshi neared the greatly reinforced gates he gazed upward, his eyes passed the gate and looked to the much taller walls. The walls had windows gazing out to the desert. They were closed shut. Above the windows were small figure barely recognizable in the limited light of this time of day. It was one of the village’s guards which had been posted to oversee this south gate. Chozanshi knew that Hotaru must have entered before him, and thus the guard must have been expecting him too. Chozanshi called to the guard above: ‘‘It is I, the prince of the desert and the fire that scorches its sands!”

The guard seemed to vanish from Chozanshi’s sight. The eyes of the two statues of the gods lit up. Their light seemed too concentrated on Chozanshi and after a few seconds the light disappeared. The mighty gate finally started to open only slightly, Chozanshi stepped forward. Two warriors of the village came out to escort their majesty in and, very likely they would be with him all the way back to the palace. They stood side by side by Chozanshi.

They wore plates of armor on their arms, and were tall men. They had the same type of scarf Chozanshi had which also covered most of their faces. The top of their heads were covered with turbans. They wore similar pants to Chozanshi but their knees and boots were protected by more pieces of armor. A lot of the armor seemed different, and most of it did not match the other pieces. Some a sparkling silver, others a sand hazy piece of work. This was most likely taken from the different warriors they defeated in battle. They looked to be strong clansmen, their skin the same as their prince. The small party finally sets off into the village; the gate began to close behind them.

Chozanshi did not need this kind security within the village’s walls, for no one would dare try and cross the King of the entire desert. This sanctuary, or prison to Chozanshi, was the safest in the entire desert kingdom. Not even the greatly controlled city was this safe. These guards were truly ordered to make sure Chozanshi made his way to the palace without any thought of escaping into the shadows of the city. The young prince could not help but keep his eyes locked on the ground; he did not feel like letting people see the clear fear in his eyes. The guard’s security made him seem weak to others; this was an insult to his pride. It made it seem like all his training he did was worth almost nothing to his family.

Anybody who even dared to try and reach the leader would have to deal with the warriors who lived around him. If you managed to get into the palace, then there was no way that you would get out. With this being the ruling desert village, this structural design had been a necessity. Chozanshi’s father had changed the village in many ways for the better and there was no way that the people were going to allow any harm to come to him.

Chozanshi was now on the path to the palace, the guards were still walking by his side. The village itself was like maze. If once again, someone were to look from the top, the inner walls of the village were built with the intention to confuse a stranger. The village was divided into four sectors. Your caste determined which sector of the village you belonged to. Chozanshi was currently walking through the more rural sectors. Within the maze like walls, there were houses made out of the most abundant resource of clay. The people of this sector were not poor or in need of resources, they were warrior caste, but their rank was not of the ones who deserved a more privileged sector. The people of this sector were happy not to fight and rightly they were often not selected to join battle. The people of this sector all knew that, even though they were the lowest caste, they would live happier lives than most. Happy long lives for that matter.

After going through many different paths and turns, Chozanshi’s party finally arrived at the palace gates. These were of a more ornate design than any other building in the village. Many who visited the city would marvel at its design. Its circular form and dome shaped roof were unseen in most of the architecture of the island of Pekura. The same statues of the gods outside of the village gates were here by the palace’s gates as well. Atop the palace gates two guards stood alert, dressed in a dark red uniform with a helmet which obscured the face of each.

When the two uniformed warriors noticed Chozanshi’s party approaching, they quickly stood on their guard, and bowed deeply before him. Chozanshi turned to see that his temporary bodyguards had all but disappeared. This did not surprise him in the slightest. “Welcome home young master Chozanshi,” both warriors said in unison, this greeting was the same every time he returned home. They even greeted his sister in this manner, though she always complained about how they referred to her by her first name.

“Good evening,” Chozanshi said plainly. They began to pull open the palace gate that allowed him entry into his home and then he began to walk in. Whilst in most houses one would notice things such as faded curtains, in this house the materials used were only the finest. The family too wore nothing but the finest clothing and armor as well.

As the gate began to close, he turned around and cleared his throat. The two men at the gate looked at him. Chozanshi scuffed his foot on the floor and nodded: “Thank you.”

This was a sentiment he felt compelled to give the men, he felt that it would somehow make them feel a little more proud to stand there if they felt acknowledged. He knew he would like to feel acknowledged for something more than just his bloodline.

Chozanshi was right, the warriors stood there at the gate almost flabbergasted at this comment from the son of their leader. Not once had they been praised for their work but tonight it had happened. Small acts of kindness were something that this village did not often see, coming from the head family in particular. This was a place of warriors, of ruthless cunning but certainly not petty pleasantries.

“There… there is hope in this desert,” the one man commented as he stood tall yet again before the gate.

The other warrior nodded as he took his position yet again and looked between the village pathways and noted the blue gleam of the forest: “I believe so too, though does he? I wonder…”
Chozanshi was in the palace now. He stood in one of the four entrance chambers on the ground level. Inside, this so called sanctuary was much more different compared to the rugged sandy buildings seen outside. The inner walls of the palace were a resplendent white, decorated with richly coloured tapestries and the floors were covered in carpets of red and blue. Chozanshi looked around the room; there were three red doors in this room. Out of the middle door came one of the Palace maids. She wore a white kimono with a red sash. This maid seemed to have fairer skin and a hairstyle fitting for one of her caste. Chozanshi knew this woman very well and he knew that she was here to take him to his father.

The maid took Chozanshi through a few rooms and they headed upstairs making their way to the King’s room. He came before the door to the King’s room, red like all the others. The door was already half open, and Chozanshi could hear Hotaru and their father talking. Chozanshi had only peeked into the room, not going in as he did not feel he should enter yet.

“Chozanshi, you may come in my son.” said a deep and mellow voice.

Chozanshi clenched his fists tightly as he took a deep breath and stepped inside the throne room. He was met by a familiar sharp scent of fire from the fireplace in the room. The King preferred to have his fireplace light the dark room up. This room was like a place of reflection for Chozanshi’s father, who was found here on many a day, plotting and making decisions which affected his village. The King’s room was one that contained the finest of furniture and decor. He was sitting on his throne, Hotaru stood behind their father glaring down at Chozanshi as always.
“He missed yet another training session father; he surely is not worthy to lead a troop of men as you were saying. He is not even remotely sorry for playing truant!” Hotaru said firmly, her tone rising in agitation.

Chozanshi was caught by surprise and looked at his father, he had not heard about him leading anything. This was indeed the first time he was hearing this: “Father?”

Chozanshi’s father was a tall and muscular man, his skin was bronzed from time in the sun and in his face you could see that time had already began to leave its impression on the man. He was clean shaven and his eyes were dark and fiery almost in the light of this room. His hair was drawn back tightly in a similar manner to what Hotaru’s was. It was just as dark as his eyes. One could see the definite likeness between the King and his son. He wore a basic outfit at this moment owing to the fact that it was his time of rest; it was a black outfit that men who would attend training would wear. He wore a crimson cape though with gold detail of a dragon on it. This very cape was indicating his royalty; this was the image of Takeo who led this village to glory at all costs.

“Father, what is this about leading them?” Chozanshi asked tentatively, he could see that asking about this was only inflaming his sister even more.

Hotaru snarled: “You shouldn’t talk to Father like that, what is this sudden insolence in you? Father, I apologize for his lack of respect.”

Takeo held out his hand to indicate to Hotaru to be still, as a father he knew how hard she tried to please him. He admired how she went over and above her duties to bring the family name pride. He was proud to acknowledge her as his first born. He then looked at his son, no leader ever wanted a second born son but he had one. A son, who looked like his own reflection of youth and honour but with a greater heart than his, the King could not deny it.

“I believe we give him the chance, but it is not to be taken lightly. No son of mine should fail in a task that is given to him personally by the King. What have you got to say about this Chozanshi?” Takeo asked his son with a stern tone, he had hopes that his son would at least be a proud leader of an army even of not able to take the throne.

This was prince’s fate; he could only gaze into the fireplace and wonder. The desert was open and free, but this fire was controlled and would die out if not fueled properly. The prince could only hope he could wake up…with at least a bit of freedom…

Chapter 1: The eternal rain of heaven.

I’m here, not knowing why. If I find you, will I find my lost purpose? I’m searching in the eternal rain of your lost memories. Will you remember my existence? Shall you ask me why? I just want to know you; I want some of your existence within me…

It must have been some form of heaven, at least to someone who first found the shrine entrance. If you took the narrow pathway up the side of the mountain from the village in the forest, after encountering the lush green tones of the forest, you’d find yourself encountering the smallest part of heaven on earth. It was a small clearing that was lit only by the sun shining between the trees. You faced a large cliff face that played host to the water supply of the village. A large waterfall wrestled its way down into the large dam below.

The trees themselves were a miracle to behold. From the sky looking down upon this land, you would see nothing but clear warm skies and the signs of a beautiful day. But from under the trees canopy, there was a haze. A constant light haze that once you walked through, you felt almost damp from water. That was the beauty of this forest, to those that resided in it. There was always water… the trees provided and that was how it had always been.

Many sought the mystical powers of this forest, as there were many who needed it. It was the ancient Spirits of nature who made these wonders possible. In the world there were those who used the powers of the forest for their own gain. Thus there were the guardians of the forest who protected its wonders at all costs.

Now to a more trained eye, you would notice as you walked into the clearing that you passed through a torii gate, faded with age so it almost blended in with the vegetation. Another one was hidden behind the waterfall; this was the true entrance to the Shrine in the forest. This shrine was only cared for by one person, she spent her days doing small simple chores and spending time assisting anyone who decided to visit the shrine.

Her name was Midori, Midori Miyamoto, seventh daughter of the leader of the clan that resided at the base of the mountain. Since the day she had found this shrine, she had dedicated her life to caring for it and for those who passed through its entrance. This trait of Midori was what made her so loved by the people in the village, particularly her father. One would believe that she would be rather insignificant in comparison to her oldest sister whom was destined to lead the clan one day. Out of ten daughters, Midori had always been favored.

Midori sat at the edge of the water, noticing her reflection. She may have been a priestess but she was still prone to the thoughts of teenagers, however disciplined she may have been. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair, she never really thought to keep it tied up but was contemplating it due to the length. As she let the strands of her hair go, they fell to around her waist and brushed the floor. She pushed her fringe out of her face and took note of her eyes; her father always said that her eyes were emerald just like her own mother. Midori had always thought of her mother as the most beautiful woman to grace the earth.

“Now Midori, why do you insist on looking at yourself so much? You really need to remember that you shouldn’t want to beautify yourself. You’re a priestess!” Midori sighed as she then stood up and dusted off her dress. She then dipped her hand into the pool of water and quickly brought it up to her mouth. Even in Midori’s briefest movement, she did it with such grace and lightness. Her eyes caught the sun setting; the dusk was when she knew she must return. Her father would have it no other way. She walked to the first torii and then turned back to catch a last glimpse of her sanctuary before returning home. Midori knew that structures outside her home such as these were almost impossible to locate. Thus she savored every moment of her farewell to the place of her paradise.

The descent home, as the sun lowered, was a much more sense requiring trip. She ran her hands along the trunks of trees and her fingers felt the familiar knots and scratches. She had to duck for low lying branches and not even the noises of the animals startled her anymore. She may have been but fourteen but she was more than accustomed to this trip. The moisture from the trees did not even cause her to lose her footing. There were many secrets about the trees in this forest and not even Midori was certain she knew them all.

Dreams seemed to drive Midori as of today. She had felt another presence within the sanctuary of the forest. As the leaves of the trees let down unpredictable showers of rain, Midori seemed to always look around. She wondered if she’d ever see something. But only the rain proved visible to her. Of the many animals that lived in the trees and within the ground, only some were able to live in the eternal rain of the forest. Midori moved onwards, following the barely visible path. Her unique bonds with the spirits of the forest made the path clear for Midori. She didn’t mind the rain at all, she was born with it. As she neared the end of the path, the other trees didn’t seem to let down rain as much the other trees had.

Wondering about the outside world of this realm, Midori looked up toward the canopy of the trees. Most of the lands surrounding the forest realm were desert, and many warriors sought entrance into the realm of the forest.

Midori stepped off the path and into the village; it seemed a simple place with quaint cottages lined up neatly. You could not truly see the houses for they had become covered in the soft mosses of the forest. Some even played host to flowers that had begun creeping up the sides of the walls. The people of the forest did not mind, when they lived so at peace with the forest there was nothing for them to truly fear or worry over. Even in the village, there was the mist- like rain that fell and seemed to bless the village. Midori smiled as she recollected the tales she had heard, as long as the village protected the forest then the forest would be a guardian to those that resided within it. Midori walked down the rows of houses, all quite silent except for a chuckle or a slight murmur. After dusk the village was quiet with families eating meals together and rounding off the day in rest. She eventually reached where she lived.

The village was also blessed by the rain given by the trees. But these ones did not pour constantly. They would stop in the day, and give in and pour in the night. These trees were marvels as like the rest in the forest. These dense palms bore sphere- like fruit which glowed brightly in the night. The fruits were like solid glass and were used by the villagers when they dropped down from the trees. The village people called these trees growing around them: moon palms.

The House of Miyamoto, the largest cottage in the village that housed the village leader and his family was what Midori called home. She was the seventh daughter of the leader and yet she was not the last. She prided herself in having nine other sisters to be able to entrust with her life. Her mother and father and always wanted a son to be able to carry on the family name but it seemed that the kami of the forest did not see this as the destiny of the family.

The trees up above began to allow the rains to pour, the light started to cower away from the night. The fruits ignited, lighting the paths of the village. Midori stopped at the door to the large cottage and ran her fingers over the door frame as she slipped off her sandals to walk inside. She slid the door open silently and stepped into the well lit corridor before her.

“I’m home,” Midori said quietly, she had a feeling that she may have missed the family meal with her slow stroll through the forest and almost feared incurring the wrath of her mother. She stepped silently past the room where her father held council with villagers and before she even managed to get past the room where they dined, she was caught.

“Midori Nee-san?”

Midori stopped and looked to see her youngest sister at the door. The girl was about seven years in age; she had short brown hair which was never kept tidy to their mother’s dismay. She had bright green eyes, a trait that most of the Miyamoto daughters had been born with. The little girl stood there wearing a short faded yellow gown and rubbing her eyes. Midori shook her head and knelt down to be at eye level with her sister:

“Suzume- chan, I’m certain that you are meant to be sleeping by now? The little girl shook her head and looked at Midori with a fierce admiration:

“Midori Nee-san is meant to tell me about her day before I sleep. We barely see you and everyone else is always so busy.”

By ‘we’, Suzume was referring to herself and the two other siblings that were younger than Midori. Midori relented to the pleas of this little girl, she had always felt protective over Suzume and in turn, Suzume seemed to hold Midori on a pedestal in comparison to even the eldest sister in the house. Midori took the girls hand in hers as she was lead past the rooms of most of her sisters to the room of her youngest sisters. Three cots stood between toys and clothing that had kept them entertained for the day.

It seemed the rain was pouring heavily this night, the sound of raindrops falling could be heard on the roof of the cottage.

“Hatoko! Matoko! Wake up! Midori Nee-san is back!” Suzume said in a hushed voice, once this was said, Midori saw two heads pop up out of the beds and turn to her.

Midori shook her head: “Father will not be pleased with this. And I will be the one to end up in trouble.” She grabbed hold of a wooden stool which had become her customary seat every day on her return, she sighed heavily and sat down.

“Midori Nee- san would never get in trouble!”

“Father is too fond of you!”

The twins were identical, both quite adventuresome and troublesome. Their darker skin tone showed a lot of time spent outside planning and scheming and giving the villagers reason to raise their voices. Matoko and Hatoko Miyamoto were indeed renowned for their ability to cause mischief.

The twins seemed to have always been near were the sun snuck into the forest. Also there were known to be solar fruit bearing trees. These are similar to the fruit in the village’s trees, they shown the rays of the sun which were absorbed by the leaves of the trees. Midori looked at herself in comparison with her twin sisters, she seemed almost invisible. Her duties always seemed to steer her away from such areas her sisters had the time to visit. She shook her head and looked out the window; it was a marvel to see the village lit up at night.

“Midori Nee- san? Where is your head today?”

Midori chuckled as she looked at her sisters: “Dreams, for some reason that is what I feel is most important today.”

“Dreams?” The twins said in unison, they dared not say much more. Their sister was always such a story teller and they always relaxed due to the lightness of the tone of Midori’s voice.
“Yes, dreams. Now I shan’t speak much more till I see your eyes are shut,” with this statement three pairs of eyes shut and three heads remained on their pillows. “I tended the temple in a solitary state today; nobody seemed to need guiding so I did as I felt compelled. I prayed and cleaned and tended to the general needs of the land. Standing outside by the falls though, I had this feeling that a change was being sent our way, a change that will alter all of our destinies in some way. I first thought this should be feared but… the mists, they eased my conscience. So now my head is filled with a beautiful dream of what is to come. A vivid and warm dream, it makes my heart feel so abundant!”

The stories Midori told her siblings always got her into an adventurous mood. Sometimes she’d forget who she was telling the stories to; it was like she was writing her own book with the very words coming out of her mind. Her style of telling these stories was quite vivid, filled with body movements and life.

“Midori, they are asleep now.” Midori was startled by yet another member of her family, she stood up and bowed politely to her eldest sister, Saisei Miyamoto who stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

She was a tall woman for her age; she had dark green eyes that showed the burden she carried. Saisei was the eldest daughter. In her twenties, she had already begun to attend meetings with the village people to watch how her father ran the village with a stern and thoughtful law. Her hair was dark and neatly tied back. She had the air of pride to her, which was fitting for her position. The responsibility weighed heavy though, it made Saisei be more mature than what she was meant to be. Even when she was young, she was to behave and keep her younger sisters in their place whilst mother and father were busy. Saisei kept Midori’s strong will in line, she’d always put Midori onto the right track. Midori always looked up to her sister.

“Sorry Saisei nee-san. Did I wake you?” Midori put the stool back in its place and stepped out of the room, shutting the door lightly.

Saisei shook her head and sighed: “You know I can’t sleep myself until you are home. Father would never forgive me if a hair was harmed on your head.”

“I can defend myself, even you are aware of this,” Midori grumbled as she began to walk down to her room with Saisei following behind. Midori opened the door to her room and then turned back to her sister.

Even though her role model, Midori wanted to prove to Saisei, she was someone who could take care of herself.

“You know as well as all of us, father seems to hold your very safety and happiness closest to his heart,” Saisei scanned her sister’s face, “It must be because of how you are in harmony with this very forest. Or the devotion you show. You have an admirable heart Midori- chan; even I can admit I envy the love you show to all.”

This was true; Midori’s heart seemed to shine light into every one of the villagers. She was the perfect example, even though Midori did not regard herself worthy enough for such praise.
Midori lowered her head at this compliment from her sister; her face flushed a hint of red:
“Nee- san, you are to be admired yourself. You have a great duty to our home! I know that I am rather proud of how you hold the Miyamoto name in such high regard!” As Midori said this she stifled a yawn, the day was now catching up with her and she felt her body succumbing to the idea of sleep. Saisei saw this and put her hand on Midori’s head. She looked at her for a moment and then turned to depart to her own room. Midori shut the door to her room and leaned against the cool wall. She sighed and let her eyes wander out the window again.

The view outside into the rainy night always made Midori think, it made her strive to wonder. But she did not enjoy her habits of staring out into the night. She wanted her mind at peace.
“Why does the thought of this dream intrigue me so? This dream, I pray I get to live it soon.”
Finally giving in to her needs of rest, she prepared herself for bed. She changed herself into a long white shirt which was quite big and roomy for her. Her damp and muddy clothes lay in the corner of her small room. She usually found time to bathe herself, but this time she needed the rest. Bathing would have to wait till the early morning of tomorrow. She tucked herself into her bed; she couldn’t help but continue staring out of the window whilst she remained under her covers. The blanket came up to her eyes. Midori found this to be the only way she could fall asleep. She was soon sleeping, for the next day a new adventure would begin.

The winds were changing around her; soon she would have to face the darkness formed out of her dreams. It would be her inescapable fate.

The faintest rays of the sun filtered through the forest at the break of dawn; with this the village would begin to stir into life. The men would rise to go tend the cattle and the fields within the forest whilst the women would tend to the children and some would busy themselves with mending and cleaning. There was always a peace in the village; one would never believe that there was ever a frequent wave of attack on this land by the inhabitants of the desert.

Midori had gone out early to bathe and was now walking back to her home; she noticed a figure near their house. There were two familiar figures in fact, deep in discussion. Midori picked up the pace of her step and with her bundle of clothing she stopped before her father and Saisei.
Saisei was wearing a deep purple kimono today and in her hands she held parchment and writing materials. She looked at Midori:

“And where were you?” Midori scratched her head and smiled: “I took an early bath, I apologise if I missed breakfast.”

“You mother was not happy with you, I dare say that she never is,” Midori’s father commented.
Midori’s face went red with embarrassment; she opened her mouth to reply to her father but could not think of what to say. Midori felt the firm hand of her father placed on her shoulder, she looked up at him and he smiled lightly. Midori’s father was a lean man, though one should not fool oneself into thinking of him as weak. He had a wise face, seemingly always in thought. He was a man of careful planning. His hair was short and bristly, it was greying slightly. This was similar in fact to the bristling facial hair of his face; he was a man who disliked a long beard and moustache. It was from the influence of his daughters whom agreed that he looked far friendlier and easier to approach without it. His lead in a manner unlike the norm of other leaders, he enjoyed involving himself in every aspect of his village. He trained young men in combat; he even helped out in the fields. He would always make sure everyone was well supplied for.
Today he wore a blue garb, a sword was slung over his shoulder and he wore a short cape. Such frivolous things as crowns and silk would only get spoiled being worn out to work with the villagers. Rezurii Miyamoto was a man with his people foremost in his mind.

“Saisei, why don’t you take Midori’s things inside? She can accompany me today on my visit to some of the villagers.”

Saisei rolled her eyes, she should have known this would happen. She nodded: “As you wish Father, I shall let Mother know that she will not see Midori till later.”

Rezurii nodded and then motioned to Midori to hand her things over, Midori did as requested and watched Saisei walk inside: “Father, I should be going soon.”

“Would you deny a father a chance to see his daughter?” Rezurii said with a raised brow, he put his arm around his daughter’s shoulder and led her down the path of the village. Midori felt she could not protest, her father was dearer to her than what one could imagine. She had always had a strong relationship with him, he understood her thoughts the best.

The path before them was scattered with flat stones in an attempt to mark the path more clearly. They began to walk past many houses.

“Good day Miyamoto- sama!”

“Where are you off to today Miyamoto- sama?”

“I see you have Midori with you today! Good day Midori!”

Everyone whom they walked past greeted them fervently, Midori would smile as her father would spend a few minutes talking to every person, enquiring about the family. At the house that they had stopped at currently, the wife had run inside and had returned with a basket of fresh fruit.

“Why thank you my dear, my family will certainly be thankful themselves. Midori, look at what the house of Aizawa has given us,” Rezurii commented as he took the basket and handed it to Midori. She looked down to see some berries and some Moon Palm globes. The fruit of the Moon Palm was in fact the juiciest and most sustainable fruit in the village.

In thanks Midori curtsied and smiled broadly: “You’re hospitality towards my family is so kind. Thank you and may your family be blessed abundantly!”

The woman smiled and chuckled as she went off back inside her cottage. They began to walk again down the path, Midori was now carrying the fruit basket and was still not too certain where they were going.

“If you had been my first born then the village would have been well looked after in the time after my life,” Rezurii finally said as they stopped by a well, it too was covered by moss and flowers, almost hidden from view.

“Father! Saisei Nee- san is much more level headed and she was born for such a responsibility. My place is in a temple, it’s not too difficult for me. And I thrive on my time there,” Midori said defensively, her father always made such strange comments relating to her. She always felt the need to defend her sisters against this.

Rezurii chuckled as he drew up a bucket full of water; he picked up a large loose bucket from next to the well and poured the water into it. He proceeded to get more water from the well:
“Of all my daughters, you are the only one to have such a strong link with the forest. The only one I could ever really teach anything, the rest of them got taken under the wing of your mother.”

Midori shrugged and looked over her shoulder: “I don’t even know how that happened. Suzume- chan may have a small link, but that is about it.” Midori’s father lifted up the now full bucket of water and continued to walk again: “I leave you to perfect that in Suzume then, she may be able to help you up in the temple then, if you wish it to do it.”

Before them was a small field, it was filled with an assortment of fruits and vegetables growing quite prosperously thanks to the Moon Palms. There were a few UV releasing palms so even without the sunshine from the sky, the plants flourished. There were men here busy harvesting what seemed like wheat. There was a rustic and simple fence that Rezurii placed the bucket of water on. He pointed to the men: “I’d like you to go offer them some water. Do not worry; I will keep an eye on the fruit basket.”

Midori shuffled her feet on the ground: “Father, is that all you wanted me here for?”
Midori’s father chuckled and gave her a slight nudge, Midori looked back at him and then began to make her way through the tall stalks of wheat that prickled her skin as it brushed against it. The men were all quite focused on their work, all with their eyes set on the ground pulling up the plants and setting them in a pile.

“Umm… Good day!” Midori blurted out, unsure of how else to greet them and get their attention. The men all stopped and looked at Midori.

“Midori? What brings you here to the fields?”

“We’ve been blessed yet again with bountiful crops! We shall request you to come bless when we are planting again.”

“You are quite the good luck charm, ever since you have worked at the temple.” Midori blushed scarlet at these comments; she was not one who could take praise without showing any colour.
“You’re comments flatter me, I came here wondering if any of you are thirsty? My father drew some water for you all.”

The men were baffled by the comment, after a few glances amongst each other, they all seemed to agree. Midori then turned to lead them to her father. Some of the men followed immediately, the younger ones seemed to hold back.

“She is definitely the better Miyamoto daughter.”

“Miyamoto- sama, he apparently treasures her above the rest. Imagine trying to get her hand in marriage?”

“She’s a priestess; we aren’t allowed to even think of marrying her.”
“Oh yes, well let’s go get some water shall we.”

Rezurii watched as his daughter lead a horde of men to him. She would turn casually at times and pass a comment to the men behind her. It seemed almost infectious, every time they would smile. Not a forced smile, not something to impress even him, Midori made villagers smile from inside. She was truly a light in this village, one that many young men wanted to call theirs.

“Miyamoto- sama, you’re kindness to us is far beyond the call of duty!” One of the older men commented as Rezurii dipped a battered cup into the bucket and handed the man the water.

“Nonsense my good men, if I do not look after those who look after me then what type of a leader is that?” Rezurii stated philosophically and handed out more water.

Midori stood to one side and watched her father connecting with his village, the men all laughed and were truly respectful of her father. She welled up with pride as she watched him; he even spoke to the boys with a casual air.

“Midori, would you like some water?”

Midori was startled by the voice and looked to see one of the younger men looking at her with a cup in hand. She knew him very well; he was an old friend of hers in fact. He was Hiroshi, a bright young boy a few years older than Midori. He wore no shirt but faded blue tattered longs; he had light brown hair that looked ruffled by work. He had bright green eyes and an honest look on his face. Midori took the cup gingerly and took a sip of water, she glanced at Hiroshi and just nodded.

“We barely see you anymore,” Hiroshi commented plainly, looking forward at the rest of the men conversing with Rezurii.

Midori looked down and took another sip of water: “I work at the temple mostly; you’d have a better chance of finding me there.”

Hiroshi looked at the girl, he had known her so long and he had always marveled at her. He did this in secret though, as his friends had said, she was a priestess who was not allowed such attachments as love. He chuckled to himself:

“I should come and visit you then. We used to see each other a lot, didn’t we? It was quite a change when you stopped visiting our house. My mother misses your visits.”

Midori began to feel uncomfortable with the conversation, she remembered being such good friends with Hiroshi but with age she felt it inappropriate to be his friend. Her mother was the main reason of her discomfort, warning her against men and their intentions. It had put a strain on the relationship. Rezurii seemed to notice Midori shuffling uncomfortably and cleared his throat:

“Well men, I thank you yet again for the work you have done. I shall keep you no longer. Midori, come along now.”

“I’m coming Father!” Midori called out, with some relief. She hurriedly handed Hiroshi the cup and with a brisk wave of her hand in greeting, she was at her father’s side as they began to walk back home.

“Did you see it?” Rezurii commented out of the blue, Midori did not understand what he was meaning.

“See what Father? The men were working hard with the harvest in the field? Maybe it was the gratitude on their faces that you wanted me to see? I did see it all, Father.”

Rezurii shook his head and placed his arm around his daughter: “It seems that no matter how I try, you can’t seem to see how the people light up around you. I wonder if that is the will of the forest. I suppose I shall never know, shall I?”

Midori shook her head and grumbled, such outings with her father always had these alternate reasons. He was always trying to show her something that she failed to see, the obvious was never what he wanted. However much she was like her father, she somehow could not see most of what he saw. She was almost tempted to call it naïveté, but she knew that she tried very hard to understand. She could not see any light like her father could, maybe it was how it should be.
Maybe she was blinded by her own light.

Still working on it.

While the universe of ChoMiPet is expanding quite drastically, the chapters still need work, but chapters 1,2 and 3 will be posted up in the near future along with other extra bits of information. For now though, this is the maps to start you out with. Chapters 1,2 and 3 take place in the two detailed country maps.


The Continent of Pekura


Ameternia


Glaseal


Well thats that for now. More will follow for sure!

Well going to get started...

Well first things first.

Before we created ChoMiPet i had created a sort of universe in which all my stories take place in. ChoMiPet is no different.


Ive never had a blog before. So I'm using this blog in order to get me and my co-writer's story around.

The planet in which ChoMiPet takes place in is in the Galaxy known as the "Realm of Archetypus".

Well, this is all I am going to reveal at present. We have chapters and maps ready to be uploaded in due time. So it may take a while. Also I will be putting glossary's at certain points in the story.