The Dark Mage

Chapter 24: The Yako Tribe

    After his short stop in the Sycamore city, Yako made his way through the different train stations in different cities. He did this, because the Tanuki Republic didn't have many airports. This was because it was a very mountainous country with few valleys big enough to build a runway for commercial airlines. As such, some of the only aircraft seen around Tanuki airports were small propeller-driven aircraft or helicopters. The Tanuki clan was also not a rich country while at the same time not impoverished, and it was much more cost effective and easier to maintain the railways than it was for regional air travel.

     But while traveling, Yako noticed that Metropolitan Onesimus was with him on every train car. Yako then got curious as to why this was and asked him, "Are you headed to the same place I am?"

     Metropolitan Onesimus answered, "I don't know. Where are you headed?"

     "I'm going back to my old house in the Kitsune clan."

     "Good. I'm headed to Saint Nicholas Enlightener of the Kitsune Clan monastery for an ordination."

     "Since when did the Kitsune clan have any Christians left after they all cowardly fled to Szolsura rather than fix their own home when they had the power to do so? Obviously Vixie is not being ordained despite her being braver and more principled than most of these men and not even an executor way back when they all left."

     "I've known about it ever since friar Victor told me and that he is catechizing a crowd of catechumens. I already have two priests under my authority there. I am regularly in contact with them and desire to see their congregations myself as any bishop should see all the churches in his diocese at least once a year."

      And despite his high social standing in Tanuki society, Metropolitan Onesimus simply traveled in his plain monastic cassock with his deacon and didn't think much of the high regard the Tanukis had for him and his willingness to stand up to corruption which almost got him defrocked by a corrupt council of bishops who were under the payroll of the parliament. And even though this meant he also received a stipend from the Tanuki parliament, he was personally and publicly against this practice seeing it as a very easy source of corruption in the church authorities as becoming dependent on the state and becoming its extension which had happened multiple times throughout the history of the Tanuki people and a few times times before Onesimus's own eyes. However, changing this practice was the perogative of the Tanuki parliament which had put it into law, and he had no authority to do anything about it.

      The three continued their travel together until they all stepped out at the Kitsune border station. Outside the customs office stood armed Kitsune guards as a barbed wire fence stretched as far as the eye could see along the border. And while standing there, the magic suppression field could be felt by any creature capable of magic and rated for at least a 7-tailed Kitsune's magical ability. In line could be seen a whole bunch of different kinds of people, Szolsurans, Selenese, Elves, Inus, Nekos, and Americans, but there were hardly any Tanukis waiting in line besides Onesimus and his deacon.

      Eventually it became Yako's turn to get through, and the customs agent saw immediately that Yako had 9 tails and was therefore considered one of the Kitsune clan's own people regardless of what was in his passport. As such, the customs agent didn't look at Yako's Selenese passport too scrupulously and stamped it right away before saying, "Welcome home. Glory to Vixie."