Hoshi no Amaterasu

[Amaterasu]

“So, we’re now making an alliance with Amber and the others, and we aim to have the trolls and dwarves become involved in it”, said Oki. It had been about twenty minutes now since they had left Fort Amber. Or the growing town of Atlas, rather.

“Exactly. The only trolls we ran into were in the mids of a fight against dwarves… and you and I know that war can make decent person into a monster. Bloodlust, trauma, fear, the loss of comrades and many others can warp an individual, so our first impression of them was very disfavorable. According to the dwarves they’re a fight-happy group but in this world everyone is. We should give them a proper chance.”

“What’s to say that they will not just attempt to fight us over the lands that we want to take?”

“They might. We will have to prepare for that… the same goes for the dwarves, though. What’s to say that their greed won’t get the better of them and cause them to betray us over whatever resources we unearth? The same may go for Amber’s newly found red Dust, by the way… it’s a valuable resource that many may be interested in.”

“Ye know I’m right ‘ere, don’t you?” grumbled Urist. “It ain’t very nice to voice yer mistrust of a group yer befriended with, in front of one o’ ‘em, Ammy.”

“I’m aware, Urist”, said Amaterasu. “And I was not meaning to say that it will happen. I was merely hinting that it is a possibility… moreso for Amber than for us, since she is not befriended with the dwarves.”

“Aye, but the Fort is turning into a fairly profitable location fer dwarven merchants. It’d be bad if the outpost got destroyed.”

“They could just take it”, Fiara pointed out. “But for now it’s more beneficial to let Amber keep things though, and to keep a good relationship with her since she maintains the outpost and doesn’t impose a tax or anything, so I imagine that she’s okay for now.”

With that the matter was concluded and not spoken of again. Silence fell over the Nimbus, and eventually the four of them each sat facing a cardinal direction to keep an eye out for threats and dangers and thinking about their own matters. Like this, hours passed. Only when the sun began to set did they stop.

“This feels familiar”, remarked Oki as they sat down. Fiara and Urist had produced some dried foodstuffs from their backpacks and Amaterasu had made a campfire with summoned logs and a torch, to keep them warm and heat some water for drinking. “It’s not even been that long since the expedition but it feels like ages ago.”

“Aye”, agreed Urist. “It’s almost nostalgic. Although, ah’m lookin’ forward ta a good pint o’ ale an’ a proper bed after all that adventurin’. At least fer one or two nights.”

“Don’t worry, Urist. Once we build Hoshi you will have a perfect opportunity to sleep”, said Amaterasu.

“Since when do we know that our outpost will be named Hoshi?” asked Fiara with a frown.

“Wha’s Hoshi mean?” Urist asked before Amaterasu could answer.

“Hoshi means star. And like a beacon star in the sky that lights the path to lost travelers we will be a beacon of light in the Frozen Fields to help those who wish for it.”

“Tha’s symbolic… bu’ ah don’ think that the dwarves an’ trolls need any guidance or help.”

Amaterasu grinned. “Of course, that’s what they think… but what if I told you that I have ideas? With Amber’s help we can create something that everyone traversing these treacherous lands will need. Let’s see… we had a fairly safe, snowstorm-free day, didn’t we. And even so we have been traveling for hours, and yet we are far from our destination.”

“Aye…”

“What if there was a way to skip that journey entirely, in exchange of a small fee?”

“Ye don’ mean…”

“Yes. In my homeland of Nippon there were mirrors, called Origin Mirrors, which are imbued with magical properties. You can warp from one to another if you know how. All it requires is that one steps into the light reflected by an Origin Mirror and cast a secret Celestial Brush technique of Kasugami, the Celestial Brush Kami of the Veil of Mist technique. It should be an easy matter to imbue a piece of parchment with the secret technique so that it can be used by anyone, not just me. And if we make the Origin Mirrors big enough, it would also be possible to warp large items. Like say, carriages.”

Urist stroked his beard. “If tha’ worked out… ye could transport goods an’ people across the Fields without ever settin’ foot into the dangerous areas. Ye could skip tha treacherous thin ice crusts, tha snow-covered fissures… ye’d save on supplies fer the drivers an’ pack animals… it’d be a fortune. It’s simple, bu’ a genius stroke.”

“Thank you! In any case, it would create an incentive to visit our city, at least until others copy our concept, but by that point I hope to have established a presence and branched out to other industries too. But for this plan to work, we need to be somewhere accessible, where merchants would be able to come to easily and from where they would be able to reach Zul’gurand and Dwarfholm to sell their wares. Somewhere central, between the two areas.”

“Aye, bu’ the center o’ the Fields is formed by the mountains tha’ eventually turn into the Roof o’ the World.”

“That’s why we are not at the perfect location. We will be somewhat closer to the Nexus Gate than in the dead center of the Fields. There is a large plain that we passed, that would be well suited.”

“Ye know o’ such a place? We’ve been travelin’ fer days once we got outta Dwarfholm. How’d ye remember?”

“Oki, you know what I speak of, don’t you? I think you would be able to explain it better than me.”

“Yes… I do.” The warrior turned a bit in his seat and faced Urist. “Allow me to explain what Amaterasu refers to: the land we come from, Nippon, is an island of limited size, but with a large population. It is rare to find uninhabited land suitable for living, agriculture and such. As a result I suppose that our people have a sense for that type of place ingrained in our senses. Sort of like you have it in your blood to see where to best swing your pick when mining.”

The dwarf stroked his beard again, as he always did when thinking. “And yer sure ye remember where that plain is?”

“Absolutely. You see…” Amaterasu drew a circle into the snow, and a dot in the middle. Then she drew a small dot on the bottom of the circle, and one on its left end. “Here, closest to me, is Dwarfholm. Over there, on my left, is the Nexus Gate. When we departed for the Void Gate, we took a large detour… in the shape of an F, I guess. We moved slightly towards the Nexus Gate, like so… to circumvent the mountain range here. Then we turned away from the Nexus Gate at a sharp angle to the right, to reach the perimeter of the Roof of the World.”

“And?”

“And, that means that our journey to the plain, located very close to where we cut that angle, will be shorter from Fort Amber than it was from Dwarfholm. I estimate that we will be arriving there tomorrow in the afternoon.”

“Will such a short journey be enough to make merchants pay for the Warping?” intervened Fiara.

“You’re forgetting that we are moving very fast… merchants move slower due to their cargo, which means more days spent out. And even then, the minutes that they save rack up very quickly.” She drew a line from the dot representing Dwarfholm, to the Nexus Gate dot. “This journey would take, let’s say three days. If they come to Hoshi - “ she drew another, much shorter line - “let’s say it takes one day. Warping is instant. Another half day to the Nexus Gate from Fort Amber, one and a half days. In two directions, this saves them three days every time they do the trip. Three trips makes for nine saved days, ten trips is thirty… you get my point. They’ll readily pay up a fair amount considering how much they save, and that money can go towards improving our infrastructure and attracting more settlers.”

“Which increases the risk that one side will try to monopolize this advantage, by removing us from the equation”, remarked Oki sinisterly.

“Yes… but that is a risk we have to take.” Then she took a bite of the dried meat and they switched to a different subject. Some two hours later they each went into their tent to sleep as the sun set and the cold Frozen Fields were covered in even colder night. Fiara and Urist were the first to go, with Amaterasu and Oki staying behind until the fire went out. Just as the former prepared to go however, Oki held her back.

“You’re glowing”, he remarked with a serious tone. “Have you noticed?”

“Glowing? Oh, yes… I’ve noticed, but I have no idea where it’s coming from. It’s been there for a while but it keeps getting stronger.” She scritched her skin. In daylight, especially in an environment as bright as the Frozen Fields, it wasn’t noticeable, but now at night it was more appearant. The glow was seemingly coming from within her, a multicolored light of unknown origin.

“Do you think it’s a disease or something?”

“I don’t think so, I wouldn’t have any idea what sort of disease that could be.”

“Does it itch? I noticed you scratching yourself.”

“A little. But that’s more the Frozen Fields’ temperature shifts, I believe. Don’t worry about it, Oki. If I feel sick, I will be sure to let you all know, and seek aid.”

“Alright… just be careful, you’re our lifeline out here and I’d never forgive myself if you died because of my neglect to watch over you.”

“Thank you Oki, but I believe it to be the other way around… the kami watch over mankind.”

“That’s true”, said Oki and smiled. “But what about monks and shrine guardians who keep shrines and temples in good repair?”

“Our power is not bound to a building or a place of worship”, the kami explained and laughed as she slid into the tent. She carefully placed the Wover Tear, her most treasured possession, into her backpack and used that as a pillow, so nobody could steal it without waking her. The unseeming black orb was held in a leather bag lined with silk on the inside, to conceal it from prying eyes, and even then she was very careful with it. As she finished the preparations to sleep, she explained: “These places are kept in a good state to prove that mankind has not forgotten about us, that they know their place and that they continue to seek our favour and goodwill. But let us have this discussion another day. I feel tired from a long day, and I need to sleep before I explode of giddiness… giddiness at building the city of light.”

Explode. It was a strangely fitting word for the events that were to come in the following day.