. . . “It could’ve been worse.” Shahryar stated, watching his friend bend and stretch as he listened to bones popping and cracking from the leftover stiffness.
Tokori grunted. “How could it have been worse?”
“It could’ve been Barker getting away instead of of the Herres.” The elf answered, hiding his amusement.
“How is the public supposed to believe that I can handle Barker and Notchimine after seeing the fiasco with the Herres couple?”
“You’re leaving out the part where Barker is significantly less powerful than a jotun and evens out with the shapeshifter and that a jotun is one of the races in the double-fives, it’s impressive that you even managed to slow that much energy down.” The elf answered simply. “Ohtli herself was only ever successful because she was small and quick, combining her with a jotun adds power to her stealth and speed.”
“Logic is never a way to make anyone feel better.” Tokori countered, though Shahryar recognized the joke.
“If you wanted someone to make you feel better you’d hurry along and find yourself a decent woman.” He retorted, then jerked a thumb. “C’mon, S’Don’s probably already picked up where we left off yesterday.”
Tokori grunted. “If he’s already done that then I have time to continue what I came here for in the first place.”
“Which is. . ?”
“Tea.” The witch answered, then strode towards the tea house, run by a rather friendly red kitsune family.
Shahryar blinked, then shrugged, he’d really always figured Tokori to be more of a coffee type person.
It wasn’t long afterwards that Tokori emerged from the shop, seeming to have a friendly conversation with a two-tailed kitsune; Shahryar couldn’t be sure because of the rather ghostly owl mask he wore.
The elf had once asked about the purpose of such a mask, Tokori had merely explained that his people believed that the body was sacred and meant to be covered and clean, only seen by direct family members and one’s spouse.
Shahryar didn’t really understand, but knew that would be the best explanation he would ever get from the tight-lipped owl-man.
Tokori finished his discussion and returned to his friend, bumping his shoulder then moving back to where they left off, then began searching for S’Don in the now dwindling crowds. Hopefully today they’d be able to find that mercenary. . .
. . . Jonathan’s mind was almost literally blown.
He was a fast reader and such, usually managed to absorb everything he read.
However, this was somewhat different.
All of the history of his planet was in these books, catalogued like myths and illustrated like children’s tales. Alexandria, the dynasties of China, both World Wars, battle of Thermopylae, the personal history of Van Gogh and Picasso, all the way up to the bombing of the World Trade Center.
That wasn’t all he found. He never was one for mythology, but recognized references, or maybe simply the origins, of ancient myths from his home.
The first empire erected by the dracanae, founded in the jagged mountains full of dormant and active volcanoes, a matriarchal society ruled by a single queen. An entire area full of people much like the volcanoes, unpredictable, hot-blooded and powerful.
After that, the kitsune, a much gentler, more peaceful people, though prone to mischievous tricks were mostly a farming and textile-based community, even if every kitsune was required to learn the ways of the sword. Peaceful unless provoked.
The third were the elves, diviners, farmers and swordsmen, warriors, apparently the males, referred to as elves, were less magically inclined than their women, the fae.
After that was the jotun, living much like deer, gathering once a year for the games/rut, where the females, huldra, danced and flaunted and the males, jotuns, dueled and fought.
After that there were the wereclans, shapeshifters that hunted, foraged ran, living in a way comparable to the Native Americans of his world mixed in with various pack and herd animals.
The loogaroo, a frightening race of arcane fire and dark shades. They were apparently the last to receive an empire, but the sixth to rebuild theirs after the great war.
The druids and unicorns created their homes at the same time, but again, due to the rebuilding stage after the great war, druids were the seventh empire and unicorns the eighth. Neutral and ‘pure’ races, supposedly, never involved in any of the wars or squabbles.
After that was the naga empire, a very wet and marshy place, more water than land, but apparently the nagas liked it that way.
The tenth empire belonged to the lamia, centaurs but with lion instead of horse. Usually savage, though apparently there were some who had shown themselves to be more civilized and such, like Richard and Lucille.
The eleventh and last empire belonged to a new and unique kind of people, the witches, holding a kind of magic unknown to the other races, what made the witches dangerous was the fact that their magic, color magic, could only be obstructed by another color magic more powerful than their own and of the opposite color.
Unstoppable magic.
Jonathan shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck.
So much was here, he was almost astounded.
