“Well, those were some interesting stories… but, I wonder why regular Red Mages are not told this. Isn’t it important for everyone to know the history and mistakes of the Red Mages?” Izanami said, as she and Zane walked back to the village at the end of the day.
“Yeah, I don’t know why only Red Mage Warriors are given that much knowledge of the past. Hey, Izanami – isn’t that your friend, Artemis, coming back from a hunt?”
“Looks like it, and looks like they found a lot this time.”
Artemis started walking over to Izanami and Zane. “Hey, how are my two favourite Red Mage Warriors?” Izanami and Zane looked at each other, not sure how to reply to Artemis’ greeting. “Geez, guys, can’t you take a joke? Are you both too ‘superior’ now to talk to a hunter?” said Artemis.
“Uh, well, I’ll leave you ladies to chat. See you tomorrow, Izanami,” Zane said as he returned home.
“Hey, Izanami, there you are!” a voice yelled from the outskirts of the village.
“Oh, hey, Santo,” Izanami replied.
“This leather book dropped from your cloak. I just wanted to return it to you!” Santo handed the book over to Izanami.
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to find me and give it back to me right away,” said Izanami
“Well, you’re a part of the Red Mage Warrior family now. Yep… we are one happy, little dysfunctional family that looks out for each other!” Santo joked.
“Family…,” Izanami whispered.
“Yeah, it’s great! Well, I have to get going. See you tomorrow, Izanami!” said Santo.
“So, Zu-Zu, how was your first day of Red Mage Warrior training?” Artemis asked as the two girls walked towards Artemis’s family’s hut. Izanami was silent. Her eyes were blank, as she continued to walk beside her friend. “Izanami, are you okay?” Concerned for her friend, Artemis stopped walking and she gently grabbed Izanami’s arm.
Izanami turned her head towards Artemis with a confused look on her face when she felt Artemis holding her arm. “I’m sorry… did you say something, Artemis?”
Artemis nodded. “What’s wrong? I thought that you’d be so excited about your new training that you wouldn’t be able to stop talking. But you’re completely silent. What happened?”
“Nothing happened. Training was fine,” said Izanami.
“That’s all you have to say?” replied Artemis.
“Yeah, that’s all,” said Izanami.
The two girls arrived at Artemis’s hut where her mother was outside to greet them. “Hello, girls! Izanami, I haven’t seen you in so long, how have you been? Will you be staying for dinner?”
“Dinner…,” Izanami repeated. “Oh, no, thank you. I think I’m going to go home now. See you later Artemis.” Izanami continued to walk to her hut. She was dragging her feet against the stone walkway, making a loud, shuffling noise. Her cloak gently wisped about in the mild breeze.
“Is Izanami okay? I’ve never seen her like this,” Artemis’s mother asked her daughter.
“I don’t know, mother. I’ve already tried talking to her. She’s just so stubborn sometimes, but I think something is seriously bothering her,” replied Artemis.
Izanami stopped at the doorway of her hut for a moment. Slowly, she reached for the door handle and walked into the dimly lit interior. The sun was almost set and the moons were beginning to shine. Her hut was exactly the same as she left it over a month earlier. The bucket that Artemis used to pour water on Izanami was still on the floor, next to the bed. The hut was lifeless. Izanami walked towards the window and looked out. She could see families outside together, getting ready to eat, siblings playing together… they were not alone, like Izanami. Izanami took a few steps backwards and was stopped by her bed. At that moment, she clung to her pendant that was on her chest with one hand as she slowly slid down onto the floor. Tears filled her eyes. She pulled in her knees up to her chest as she buried her face into her arms. The hood of her cloak fell over and covered her head. There was a knock at Izanami’s door. Still curled up, Izanami did not move or speak.
“Izanami, are you there? It’s Artemis… are you okay?” Izanami still did not reply. “Izanami, I’m coming in.” Artemis opened the door. When she saw her best friend on the ground, crying, Artemis rushed to Izanami’s side. As Artemis put her arm around Izanami, she said, “Hey, Zu-Zu, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Artemis… I don’t want to be alone anymore,” Izanami whispered as the tears continued to fall from her eyes.
“But, Zu-Zu, you aren’t alone. You have me, and Zane… and what about what that Santo guy said?”
“It’s not the same, Artemis… you know what I mean, right?” replied Izanami.
“Yeah, I know. So, since you haven’t been home for a month, how about you and I go to the village centre and get you some food? We should probably go now, before all the good stuff is gone. I don’t know if you noticed, but we got a good find today; so let’s go before all the good portions of meat are gone.” Artemis stood up. She walked to the kitchen area of the hut and grabbed a basket, then walked back to where Izanami was still on the floor, now sniffling. Holding out her hand, Artemis said, “It’ll be okay, Zu-Zu. Wanna know something?” Izanami nodded. “You are the strongest person I know, and a talented Mage. I bet your mother would have been so proud of you. But then again, she always was. Do you remember that one time when we were seven?” Izanami nodded, with a small smile on her face. “I remember it was a sunny, autumn day. The leaves on the trees had already changed colour. We were playing by the well and you transmutated the water into the shape of a horse. You made it gallop and prance around for ten minutes. But, when one of the other villagers came and yelled at us for what we were doing, you lost focus and all the water fell on the villager. Instead of being disciplined by your mother, she was so amazed that you were able to maintain such a large transmutation, for so long, at a young age. I think you became such a talented Mage because she always encouraged you, right from the start. I think that encouragement stayed with you even after she died. It’s because of that that you were able to grow so much, not only as a Mage but as a person, and it’s because of that that she will always be with you,” said Artemis.
“Geez, Artemis, why do you have to say stuff like that!” Izanami began crying wildly as she placed her head on Artemis’ shoulder.
Artemis placed the basket she was holding on the floor. She then put her arms around Izanami as she gently rubbed Izanami’s back. “It’s okay, Zu-Zu, just let it all out. Take your time. By the way, you haven’t had a good cry in a while, have you?” Artemis spoke in a gentle voice.
“No…,” Izanami whimpered back. After about five minutes Izanami calmed down. She stood up straight and wiped the tears away from her eyes with her cloak and sniffed back her runny nose. With one hand, Artemis grabbed the basket on the floor and, with the other, she softly grabbed onto Izanami’s arm.
“Shall we go, Zu-Zu?” asked Artemis. Izanami nodded. Together, the two girls left the hut. “Do you remember how we used to skip when we walked together on the stone pathway, when we were little, because we liked the sound our shoes made against the stone?” Izanami nodded. Artemis began to add a slight skip to her walk. Izanami did not. This made Izanami slightly trip. She then gave Artemis a small frown. “Whoa, I guess Zu-Zu is Miss Serious now. Red Mage Warriors aren’t allowed to have a little bit of fun?” Artemis teased. Artemis returned to a normal walking pace. Looking around at the village, the two girls felt at ease. There was a warm, soft breeze that tickled their exposed skin when it blew. Everywhere, the huts were dimly lit by the tranquil dance of the flames of candles. Children were running around, playing together. A group of children were chasing a rabbit in an open space between two huts. The rabbit made a sharp turn and ran across the stone pathway. Not paying much attention to their surroundings, the children ran into Artemis and Izanami. The rabbit managed to escape, but the children did not escape scraped knees as they fell. Their mothers came towards their
weeping children. Artemis explained what had happened.
“We are terribly sorry, great Mage, for this inconvenience. The children are deeply sorry,” one of the mothers said to Izanami. Within the society of this village, Red Mage Warriors and the Elders were treated with the most respect.
“There’s no need to be sorry. They were just acting like kids,” Izanami spoke in a soft, monotone voice.
“Thank you, humble Mage, your words are too kind,” the mother gave a quick bow as she herded the children back to the open area between the huts.
The village centre was in sight. Three tables had been set up. On one table, fresh cuts of meat were wrapped in leather, tied together with a straw-like rope. The middle table had a variety of handmade goods such as cloths, shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, hats, bags, and other goods. The last table consisted of fresh vegetables from the crops of the village, as well as fruit, berries, nuts, and herbs. All of the items on these tables were free. This society did not use currency as a means of trade. Each member of the society was allowed to take whatever they needed for the day. Since there was no currency used for trade, there was a great sense of trust and responsibility among all the villagers. Izanami and Artemis almost reached the tables when Izanami suddenly hid behind Artemis.
“What’s wrong, Zu-Zu?” Artemis softly asked. Izanami motioned her head in the direction of a woman who was picking up supplies for her family. It was Zane’s mother, Marine. “Why are you scared of her? She won’t do anything to you,” whispered Artemis. Izanami made a small whimper. Pulling and practically dragging Izanami, Artemis managed to get both herself and Izanami to the tables. Marine walked past Izanami and Artemis. She was completely silent, but shot a piercing glare towards Izanami. Izanami hid her face in Artemis’ shoulder as tears began forming in her eyes. Before the tears of guilt could escape from her eyes, Artemis pulled Izanami toward the table of handmade goods. “So, Zu-Zu, I think you need some new cloths and towels… oh, and maybe a new outfit!”
“But the cloths and towels I have are fine. I just need to wash them,” said Izanami.
“Izanami, they have holes in them,” replied Artemis.
“So?” said Izanami.
“So, that means they’re old and gross!” Artemis grabbed three small cloths and two large towels and put them into the basket. “Okay, now some meat and fresh fruits and veggies! What do you want, Zu-Zu?” said Artemis.
“I dunno, you’re the expert on these things. I’m just a Mage,” replied Izanami.
“You know, Zu-Zu, you should maybe ask one of the people who cook meals for the old or sick people. You know, the people that helped you right after when…oops, sorry,” said Artemis.
“No, it’s okay. Yeah, the people who used to cook my meals for me right after my mother died. Yeah, I guess I could ask them to teach me how to cook, but I think I know enough not to give myself food poisoning,” Izanami said with a slight, forced smile.
“Why must you be so stubborn, especially when it comes to getting help from others?” questioned Artemis.
“You know I don’t like to rely on others,” replied Izanami.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to live life alone all the time. Let people help you once in a while; you might like it,” said Artemis.
“Maybe… anyway, I should go, Artemis. Thanks for everything.” Izanami grabbed her basket from Artemis and shuffled her feet on the stone pathway all the way back to her hut, her body slightly swaying back and forth as she walked.
That night, Izanami had difficulty sleeping. So many different questions swam through her mind. Questions like why Red Mages could no longer use any heka, or why most Red Mage Warriors were no longer able to use Black heka. She also wondered what Red Mages were like in ancient times, what they could do with heka, and what other techniques they used. Izanami turned onto her side. Her eyes grew heavy. She tried to dismiss these questions from her consciousness, knowing that she would rather sleep than ponder such things into the early morning. Then, finally, she drifted off into a deep slumber.
Chapter 8