Chapter 74: Outcasts
Spring of 8 AG, Village of Enharsha (Two months before the eclipse)
At dawn, Yemoja was preparing to start her morning duties at the temple when she heard a commotion out in the village commons. It took her barely a moment to realize it was Ylenia shouting in protest, begging to be freed. Alarmed, Yemoja rushed out of the temple to see Ylenia with her hands bound behind her back, being forced along by two Kotengu to Koray who was standing before the Elder's Hall.
"Koray! What is the meaning of this?!" Yemoja shouted as she rushed over.
Koray looked to her and said, "Ylenia is guilty of poisoning my father."
"What proof do you have of such an outrageous claim?" demanded Yemoja.
Koray produced a small wooden box carved with symbols of the sea and stained blue, a belonging of Ylenia's, and opened it to reveal some vibrant red berries and dried bark. He declared that his sister confirmed the berries and bark belonged to the yew trees out in the forest. Turning to speak to the growing crowd, Koray declared that Ylenia must have resented his father's choice to exile her daughter and plotted to poison him slowly over the years so no one would suspect her.
"Except she took it too far this time," he said coldly. "My father has suddenly become deathly ill after the morning meal and Nisha is doing everything she can to heal him."
Yemoja looked at Ylenia, then to Koray. She did her best to stay calm. Nothing about this felt right. She knew Ylenia would never harm another soul, but the box Koray held in his hand did indeed belonged to Ylenia. It was one of the few possessions she had brought with her during her journey from the northeastern coast. The question of how Koray got a hold of the box lingered in Yemoja's mind.
"I know Ylenia, she would never harm your father," Yemoja argued. "There must be some other explanation."
"She has deceived you as she has done this whole village for years," Koray retorted. He proceeded to argue that Ylenia presumably had charm magic as well as her 'deceptive' shapeshifting sorcery. He asserted that she had deceived them all and he was no longer going to fall for her tricks. The crowd murmured, voicing that Koray had a point.
"Even if you are correct, you cannot just pass judgment without a trial," Yemoja argued.
"As acting Elder, I will do what I must for the safety of the community," Koray countered. "She will be detained until I determine a fitting punishment."
Yemoja exchanged a helpless look with Ylenia. She wanted to tell Koray to leave Ylenia alone, but she had a duty as the High Priestess to help maintain order within the village. She told herself she would find proof of Ylenia's innocence before Koray could pass judgment any further.
"Koray!"
Everyone looked to see Nisha, Koray's older sister, running to him with tears in her eyes. She was followed closely by their younger brother, Tuncay. Both looked devastated.
"Father is- He's-," Nisha's voice was choked up and shaking. "I-I did everything I could- I'm-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…." Koray stared at Nisha, seemingly shocked as she broke into sobs. Tuncay sadly confirmed that their father had died, softly saying he just stopped breathing and won't wake up. Koray embraced his siblings and promised them that he would take care of everything. After a brief embrace, Koray stepped away from Nisha and Tuncay.
Turning to the Kotengu who had Ylenia restrained, he coldly declared, "Take her to the cenote."
"Koray, you can't-" Yemoja protested. A few more Kotengu blocked her path. Koray didn't even bother to look back as he declared, "I will do what is necessary to keep this village safe. She's already claimed my father's life. I will now allow anyone else to endure such a loss."
As Yemoja was held back, Ylenia was dragged off to the back tunnels of the cavern that led to the deepest parts of the cave where a cenote was located. Cut off from the rest of the world, the place was regarded as the passage to the underworld where sinners would be sentenced to death by drowning, just like those who had turned their back on the Great Fire and caused the sky islands to fall.
Yemoja's heart raced. She couldn't lose another loved one. Not again. Letting out a roar, Yemoja summoned lightning to her fists, causing the two Kotengu holding her back to let go before she could shock them. She ran forward and grabbed Koray by the shoulder. She let just enough electricity surge forward to stun the young Kotengu but not seriously harm him.
As Koray collapsed to the ground, Yemoja hurried over to Ylenia and stunned the two Kotengu holding her. Dissipating the rest of the lightning, Yemoja grabbed Ylenia and pulled her along as they both ran towards the tunnel that led to the forest. Surprised at Yemoja's outburst and betrayal, no one dared make a move to stop her.
There was no time to hurry to either home to retrieve any belongings, the only option was to flee through the tunnel into the forest. They ran as fast as they could through the tunnel, illuminated by crystalline sconces.
Outside the protective shield of the village's cavern, Yemoja and Ylenia found themselves in the pouring rain. Despite the wind and rain, Yemoja kept a tight grip on Ylenia's hand and pulled her along as they ran into the storm.
When Yemoja was certain they were not being pursued, she came to a stop under a tree and turned to Ylenia. Ylenia looked absolutely shocked, her eyes wide with fear. Yemoja embraced her tightly, then held her face in her hands as she told Ylenia that everything would be okay.
Looking in the direction of the keep, Yemoja said, "We will be safe at the keep with Flea and Zarya. Let's hurry."
~o~O~o~
The sudden late spring squall left Flea and Zeal with not a lot to do besides studying and training. To their surprise, the kitchen door suddenly swung open and Flea and Zarya looked over to see Yemoja standing at the door, soaking wet. It took Flea a second to realize she wasn't alone. Standing beside Yemoja was Ylenia, who was just as drenched. Yemoja had an arm around her as she led them both into the room.
"I apologize for the intrusion," Yemoja breathed. "The village is no longer safe for us."
Zarya quickly teleported away and reappeared with a bundle of blankets in her arms. She offered them to Yemoja and Ylenia before hurrying over to the kettle over the hearth, declaring that they needed hot tea to warm up.
"What the hell happened?" asked Flea.
Yemoja guided Ylenia over to the hearth so they could sit down and warm up. She sighed and explained the situation; how Koray accused Ylenia of murdering his father by slowly poisoning him and how Koray was quick to attempt to execute her. Accepting the cup of tea from Zarya, Yemoja told Flea that she attacked Koray and rescued Ylenia before they fled to the keep.
Flea frowned and asked Yemoja if she thought Koray would come to the keep. Yemoja shook her head and expressed doubt simply because he would be busy trying to keep control over the village after her betrayal. Besides which, no one else knew exactly how to locate the keep quickly, the knowledge of its location not being worthy of noting for the majority of the village.
"While it is true I was upset with Ilkay's punishment of my daughter, I would never have done him any harm," Ylenia finally spoke. "Koray must have been poisoning his own father, but I cannot understand why he would do such a thing or why put the blame on me."
"Simple, he wanted to be in charge and you were an easy scapegoat," Flea stated flatly. "I knew of others just like him in my era. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I actually know a descendant or two personally. One Kotengu in particular is coming to mind, but that's irrelevant at the moment."
Flea reiterated that, for his own piece of mind, he needed to make sure that Koray wasn't going to send anyone to deal with them. He expected Yemoja to tell him to calm down but instead Yemoja asked him to retrieve some items from her room if he was going to go spy on the village.
"What could be so important I need to sneak into your room?" Flea asked.
"In my haste to save Ylenia, I forgot a wooden bracelet I had received from my husband when we were young and courting. I had inlaid the stones Zarya enchanted into it…. and if there was ever a time to need the stones, it would be now," Yemoja answered, removing her medallion and offering it to Flea. "Given the growing concerns I had regarding Koray, I have been warding my room against outsiders, so you will need my medallion to pass the warding spell. The bracelet will be in a small wooden box on the shelf by my personal altar."
Flea nodded. He accepted Yemoja's medallion and slipped it on. After Yemoja thanked him, Flea promised he would be quick before he teleported away.
~o~O~o~
Flea arrived at the cavern's entrance and teleported to the village temple, reappearing in Yemoja's room. He immediately spied the altar and the small statue of petrified wood, polished and carved to depict a symbol that greatly resembled the symbol on Zarya's silver charm surrounded by what was either fires or flowers, it was hard to say. There were shelves on either side of the altar which held many scrolls and a couple wooden boxes. As Flea approached the shelves, he heard voices on the other side of the door.
It sounded like Koray was telling someone to undo the ward. Another voice, meek and feminine, stammered that they would dispel the ward but it would take time. There was a pause, then Flea heard Koray sigh. Curious, Flea moved closer to the door.
"Just do what you can, dear sister," Koray said. "I fear that Yemoja was aiding Ylenia in hurting our father, given her eagerness to hurt me and run away with that murderer. Her actions alone are proof of it, but if there are any more answers to be found, I would appreciate them."
There was a pause before Koray apologized to his sister and added that he regretted not dealing with 'that soulless human and her deceitful Daemon' when he first met them. Maybe then, he said with false worry, Yemoja wouldn't have been corrupted. Wishing his sister luck, Koray said he would go address the village and ease their worries.
Looking around the room, Flea decided, in addition to finding Yemoja's bracelet, that he would take anything to do with the eclipse if there was any scrolls or other evidence. After all, they didn't need anyone poking around and sabotaging the ritual. Flea thought an apology to Yemoja and proceeded to quietly ransack her room.
He found, besides the bracelet he was sent to look for, what looked like a small knife or dagger in the same box, a few scrolls pertaining to the eclipse and stars, and the recipe for a few medicines like the salve Yemoja kept giving him. Spying Yemoja's cloak, he threw it onto the bed and put everything on it before tying the cloak up like a bundle.
The faint hum of magic still hung in the air, hinting to Flea that Koray's sister had yet to dispel the ward. He felt like he still had time to make sure Koray wasn't going to do anything to hurt Zarya or Yemoja. After teleporting to the bell tower, Flea hid the bundle and then shapeshifted into a bat before going over to the Elder's Hall.
From his vantage point, he could see the whole village, safely shielded from the rains outside. Nothing particularly noteworthy, but what caught his attention was the crowd gathering in the center of the village.
Still in bat form, Flea flew up and hid in the shadows of the awning of the roof to see what was going on. He spied Koray telling the crowd that their esteemed High Priestess had defied the laws of their people and consorted with Ciemra and a human. Flea had no idea what a “Ciemra” was but he was more than certain that Koray was talking about Ylenia and Zarya. He heard the crowd chatter loudly, expressing doubt even as some had witnessed Yemoja's actions.
Koray called out to the crowd, “Yemoja was deceived by the human girl, tricked into betraying us. We all know how the Emissaries were deceived by a demon disguised as one of their own. The girl was clearly a demon in disguise sent to corrupt our beloved High Priestess. How else could a seemingly harmless human child wield magic long since denied to her kind?"
The crowd quietly clamored and whispered among themselves. Flea couldn’t hear any words clearly, but it was obvious that Koray had made a compelling argument to the villagers. He silently scoffed at how gullible they were. Someone called out, asking Koray if the village was safe since Yemoja and Ylenia had fled to the outside. What if Ylenia led strangers to their village?
Koray held up his hands to signal the crowd to calm. Once the crowd was quiet, Koray declared that he and a handful of hunters would do whatever it took to locate the human's hideout and ensure the safety of the village, even if that meant sending Yemoja's soul to the Great Fire for judgment. He expressed sorrow that it had come to this outcome, but Flea knew by the way he spoke and acted, Koray was lying through his beak about his feelings on the matter.
Feeling a bit fed-up with Koray's whole deal, Flea decided in that moment, since Koray believed in demons, he would give him one. While still a bat, he flew up and found an atrium in the middle of the building. Flea got an idea in the heat of the moment. It was a terribly petty idea and Flea was feeling petty. As he landed, Flea shifted his form to that of Yemoja. He reasoned that she was already seen as the enemy so he Quietly, he peered inside the rooms that lined the atrium. One side seemed to be the storerooms and the kitchen, the other side appeared to be the bedrooms. Within the first room, Flea found a still form laying on the bed. Upon closer inspection, Flea saw that it was the body of who he assumed was Koray's father. A simply cloth covered the body and while Flea did not want to disrespect the dead, but he peered under the cloth to get a look at the father of the Kotengu who sought to hurt him.
After getting a good look at the body and covering Ilkay back up, Flea, all the while still in Yemoja's form, moved back to the atrium just as Koray entered from the main hall.
"Yemoja?! How did you get in here, you bitch?!" Koray shouted.
Flea grinned and shifted his form to Ilkay's as he spoke. Not knowing how Ilkay had sounded in life, Flea spoke in his own voice, "Is that any way to speak to your father?"
Koray's eyes went wide with horror and he shouted out, "How dare you take his form, you demon! The Great Fire will see you burn to ashes for this insult!"
Flea laughed and shifted his form once more. This time he took on the appearance of his Void Mage form, although he made a few embellishments to his outfit and look to make himself look a bit more scary with sharper fangs and pitch-black eyes with pupils of malevolent light. He even gave himself horns like Ozzie had done with his illusions.
"I can appear as anything or anyone I want," Flea declared proudly. He waved a hand and summoned his starry abyss illusion. He smirked when Koray jolted as if expecting to fall but found himself still on solid ground he couldn't see. "Maybe you should be more concerned with monsters who are real than some god you can’t see or hear."
Smiling wickedly, Flea said, "I heard every word of your plan, so let me be perfectly clear. Harm a single hair on either Yemoja or Zarya and your family and descendants will pay a thousandfold for your actions."
"You wouldn't-"
"Oh, but I can and would… I know that I have met your bloodline now that you've shown your true face," Flea interrupted. "As long as Zarya and I live in this era, I will make it my personal mission to ensure you never know peace. Any villager, any animal… It might be me checking up on you to make sure you are being a good little crow and staying away from my friends. Remember that."
And with that, Flea dropped the illusion and shifted into the form of a large raven and flew up and out of the atrium. Up in the air, Flea looked down to see three Kotengu hurry over to a still stunned Koray. A mother carrying a toddler followed by an older child… Flea half-wondered how the three were related to Koray but decided it didn't matter. He had made his point and planted the seeds of paranoia in Koray.
Deciding he had done enough damage for now, Flea flew over to where he had hid the bundle of Yemoja's belongings and shifted back normal. He picked up the bundle and teleported to just outside the cave. Seeing the rains had stopped for now, Flea slung the bundle over his shoulder and took flight back to the keep.