ASA OF NEPTUNE

chapter 006 ⚘

CHAPTER 6:

Beyond the Sand

(Icyln North's POV)

Five years ago, the surface had a visitor.

They came as a group of sky people—at least, that is what we called them. I was too young to truly understand at the time, just a girl of eight, and Cypress was barely two, while my brother Ansel was thirteen. Asa of the Surface, along with the scouts, met these strangers at Castle-Valley, the border between our Upper Village, a mountain of white sands.

The sky people arrived riding strange contraptions of metal, machines that shimmered in the harsh desert sun and moved with a power they claimed came from fire and lightning. It was unlike anything we had ever seen. That is why we called them sky people, for they seemed like beings from another realm. They said they came from Collymore, a city beyond the sands, tied to something larger called the Union—a coalition of species and civilizations that we had only heard whispers of in old tales. We had no idea such a powerful system existed outside our world. We knew of outsiders, yes, but never dreamed of the complex systems that governed their lives, their politics, their technology.

Asa of the Surface, the figure who welcomed the sky people, was not the real leader of our tribe. She acted as the face of the tribe, masking the true chiefess, Asa of Kai, who ruled from the hidden depths of our village. Asa of the Surface was chosen from among the most trusted advisors and alchemists, those trained under the watchful eye of Aetherbloom like Wendy, a figure of quiet strength. Whoever she was before taking up the mantle of Asa, she was someone of importance, someone with skills of leadership and power woven into the very fabric of our society.

When the sky people arrived, Asa of the Surface greeted them not with hostility but with warmth. Her presence alone stopped what might have been a bloody clash between the scouts and these strange visitors. The sky people claimed they came bearing stories—stories from a book that formed the core of their beliefs, the "Book of Sinag," a text revered within the walls of Stronghand, a powerful city beyond our understanding. They did not come to force their beliefs upon us or to subdue our tribe. Instead, they sought common ground, urging us to see the connections between their teachings and our own.