A Nagas tale

A Naga amongst us

After the attack, I made sure to keep Audrey with me at all times. She seemed to gain an irrational fear of the ocean and remained around the center of the ship away from the edge. I can tell Yuri has questions but has decided to reserve them for when we get off the ship. Today is the last day and we are nearing the docks in the city of Norsta. Audrey looks out at the nearing port town of Nori. She stands inside the building not wanting to get too close to the edge. "She seems traumatized." Yuri chuckles. "I assume you will let me know what that was about." He states. The ship had to report the attack so it was not going to be possible for me to hide Audreys Identity from the general. "You will get the information soon." I agree. I turn to Audrey who is now leaning on the glass writing in the log her grandfather gave her. 'she's been writing in it since we got on the ship.' I walk over to her not saying a word knowing she wouldn't be able to see me. I look at what she was writing down 'August 6th we have made landfall, thankfully no other attack has been launched towards the ship. The food still lacks luster and I can't wait to get home.' She sighs "Ugh I could go for some pozole with chicken and onions." she mutters lifting her eyes from the book. She jumps seeing me standing at the door. "Oh my god! Kogen! What did I say about sneaking up on me!" she knits her brows. I pick up the pen she dropped and hand it to her "Sorry, you were so focused on your book." I caress her cheek. Her brown eyes soften before she walks closer to me. She hugs me and sighs hiding her face in my shirt as always rubbing her face. I let her calm down before I guide her back to our room to pick up our things. On our way to disembark Yyvonne and Seinna met with us on the dock. "where is Yuri?" I ask them. Sienna points back "He went to get us a car to go to the central city." Audrey remains silent watching the world around us. I look at her when she hugs my arm her eyes focused on the ocean behind us. I follow her eyes and spot the aura of that thing that attacked the ship. "We should get going," I order before picking Audrey off the ground. We find Yuri talking with the driver. "Ah! They are here!" he walks over to us quickly shoving the girls into the car. I put Audrey down so she could take her seat. Yuri and I taking ours last after putting our stuff in the trunk before the driver takes off. Audrey leaned against me relaxing a lot more now that we were moving away from the water. "So, can I ask what that was about?" Yuri asks me. I look at Audrey who seems unsure if she should talk. "Audrey, do you know what that was?" I ask. She nods pressing her cheek against my arm. "Leviathan." her answer is short. "Leviathan? Are you talking about that dormant Tribe of the ocean?" He asks. She sits up and nods "The ancestor warned me to hide my aura before going into the ocean." She tells him. "The ancestor?" he mocks. She nods "They felt the ancestor that's sealed his aura into my sword and targeted me despite my hiding." she whispers. 'is that why she gave the sword to me!?' She takes a deep breath. "The ancestor, alright," Yuri mutters ready to toss sarcastic remarks. "So you are telling me that the dormant Leviathan tribe came out of their sleep just to attack you? A fox tribe member with a sword that carries the ancestor's aura." he scoffs. I glare at him knowing he is already getting on Audrey's nerves. "We should make sure to keep you locked away from the ocean then!" he scoffs. "It's ridiculous if you think you are anything special to warrant their attention." I kick his leg "Enough." I hiss seeing Audrey narrow her eyes. "Oh!? And why should I stop am I harming this fox's ego?" he asks. "Yuri, I said enough," I warn. He scoffs turning his eyes out of the window. The rest of the drive was tense and silent. Audrey ended up falling asleep against me releasing her aura in the process. That night we went to our designated houses and rested for the night. 

In a large meeting room, an older gentleman walks in looking at the reports on his desk. The reports all come from one area of his reach 'Ezra forest.' He looks at the reports about the fluctuating aura the forest gave off. The attack they staved off from the snake tribe and the recent attack on their ship to the city. 'something is happening.' He felt it in his bones that something in the air had changed. 'beasts from the depths of the ocean attacking a civilian ship.' He frowns. A knock on the door gets his attention. "come in." he answers watching twelve leaders walk into the room. Ten men and two women all of which he holds much respect for. The twelve tribes they represent are bears, phoenixes, Thunderbirds, bobcats, Foxes, wolves, snowy owls, Lynxes, Lions, and cheetahs. The forest of Ezra falls under the control of the bear tribe who are going to be his main focus. "Good morning General Ammar." they all greet together. "Good morning." I greet. "I hope your travels were safe." I look at Kogen and Yuri who both seem upset. "Yes, sir our travels were safe and relaxing!" The others answer except for the two bears. "Kogen and Yuri, mind explaining this report?" I lift the paper from his desk. They step forward "We hit some bumpy seas but it was put into control." Kogen answers. "We are still looking into what caused this bump," Yuri adds. The man nods "I see, then I will move on to the next thing." He sets the report down and looks at the others. "Based on the information Yuri provided for me." he starts. "During October of last year, there was a fluctuation in the aura of the living forest Ezra." He points out. "then during the start of the year the same fluctuation occurred following with a massive surge in the forests aura during March and the start of April." he sets the papers down. "Can I ask what the cause of these dramatic fluctuations is?" The man watches Yuri as he steps forward "I have been studying the area since the first fluctuation occurred." Kogen kept his eyes focused ahead but he seemed ready to answer. "I know what caused the anomalies," he answers turning to face the general. "I will have to ask for permission to present the cause of it," he asks. The general nods "If you have the answer then by all means present it." He allows. Kogen turns and walks to the doors. He opens the door and holds his hand out. Whatever he was presenting was hiding away from sight. A hand takes his nervously stepping out from behind the wall. Kogen leads the young woman into the room. She is about five foot three with long black hair and dark brown eyes. Her skin is a soft tan color she wears a sleeveless shirt with cargo caprice. The shirt is open just above her breast showing off the bear tribe seal. A sword rests on her hip that is wrapped in black tape. She keeps her eyes down hesitation in each step she takes. "Are you really going to keep going on with this ridiculous scheme!" Yuri hisses. "As much as you may worship your wife she is not the cause for the fluctuations or the attack on the ship!" he barks at Kogen. Her aura is hidden tucked away for nobody to see. He stops at the center of the others and looks at the general. "This is Ezra Audrey." The name sends silence throughout the room choking Yuri's arguments out. "We are not near the water, you don't need to hide," he tells her. She looks at him before turning her eyes to the others. "Ezra?" A young woman steps up her blond hair bounces with her step. "Ezra!? that tribe of Naga has been extinct for over a million years!" She spits her doubt. Audrey takes a deep breath before releasing her aura to its fullest. Those gathered stepped back as the aura tangled them in its hold. Making them silent witnesses to the truth in Kogen's words. "The Naga tribe has been living in hiding up till 235 years ago," Audrey answers the woman's claim. "My tribe is the guardian of the forest. We watch hidden from prying eyes unless we want to be killed by the government." she spits back at the woman. The aura grew heavy around them with Audrey's anger. "I see, my men caused your tribe grief." The general mutters. She looks at him without hesitation "Yes, if not for Kogen's actions I believe the forest would have died, and followed after would be the world." she states. The general does not refute her words knowing well her warnings ring true. "So, how did this young lady cause the disruption?" He asks turning his attention to Kogen. "The elder Naga that is under the protection of the bear tribe, applied spells around the forest seeking his blood after his son vanished 2,500 years ago." Kogen relays the information the elder gave him. "These spells revert any distortions created in the forest and react to his blood in other dimensions." His answers gained the attention of Yuri and the others. "The elder's son escaped this world through a dimensional rift," "My father left in search of a different Naga he befriended, In the world of that Naga I was born and lived until recently." Audrey explains. "My father searched for the reason why his friend went missing in a short time like 30 years the nagas world had died within that time." She steps towards the general. "a purgatory world." he answers. Audrey nods picking up the sword from her hip. "We searched the area where the naga of that world once ruled, and found that they had been massacred by the Leviathan tribe, God of the sea." The general's eyes darken at the mention of the Leviathan tribe. "The ancestor of that world sealed himself within this sword," Audrey looks at the sword "He will remain within my protection as my guide and mentor." She explains. The general looks at the report of the attack. "So, the attack on the ship." he mutters. Audrey nods "The Leviathan tribe targeted the ancestor's aura, and me for being near it." He frowns "Do you believe they will pose a threat?" he asks. Audrey shrugs "I am not entirely sure why they attacked, I only know what the ancestor has told me." she explains pulling out her notebook. "All of our tribe's history has been lost to time due to how little we had to preserve any historical writings of my elders." She turns to Kogen who puts his hand on her shoulder. "How can your tribe be so irresponsible!" The blond woman barks. Audrey turns to her "My tribe has only survived one Naga after the other, WE did not have an army of us to preserve and restore the history of our home." Her aura now becoming suffocating. "My elders did their best to save our history within their ability! Had there been anyone to offer aid history would not be so obscure!" She steps to the woman. "Audrey." Kogen stops her. She looks at him and scoffs at the woman. "I understand your tribe suffered, and is near extinction, no blame is to fall on the cornered." the general offers pardons. "So, the Naga tribe has married into the bear tribe, what a twist of fate." A man dressed with an unkept beard speaks up. Audrey turns to him before taking a deep breath. Her aura pulls away from around the room and wraps around her body. "Audrey, you should be careful with how you use your aura." Kogen scolds. She nods "I'm fine, I had enough rest." she waves him off. He frowns "You should go back and rest." He orders. She looks at him before looking around the room. "Fine, I didn't plan to come here to be a science project." she mutters before walking past the people gathered. "Audrey." Kogen huffs as he leads her out of the room. Yuri seemed dumbstruck as the woman walked past him before flicking him off. "I hope you enjoy being sidelined." she huffs before Kogen grabs her arm "Audrey, you can argue with Yuri later." he scolds. She sighs "Sidelined!?" he shouts. She stops and nods "The elder and my father have been searching for the old barrier spell used around the ancestor's cave," she answers. She puts her hand on her stomach "Knowing the elder He will not want me near the cave once it's announced." She smirks "Sad the scientist won't get to research such a jucy excavation with old tech." she taunts. Yuri frowns "Why you sorry excuse." "Enough!" Kogen shouts. Yuri frowns "Audrey, you need to get some rest, worry about that once we are back home." he scolds. She nods "Hm? Oh yeah no problem, I was just telling Yuri that he isn't allowed anywhere near the excavation sight." she answers before walking to the door. "Can't trust a neigh sayer." she grins before walking out of the room.