The Familiar Stranger Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - This Is Azimuth

By - SoulDragonWithFlow

Under the orange light of the early morning sun, Raiko stood like a guardian in the mountains, looking with fear, nostalgia and regret at what lay below. Nestled in the mountains, covered in crystal white snow, was his origin, his original home and the stage for his childhood. Genesis.
“My clan.” He whispered to himself with heavy nostalgia. Looking down at the small settlement cradled in the hills, the mountains towering above it and the buildings looking as if they were part of the landscape itself, it was a truly beautiful (if slightly painful for Raiko) sight. Most of the buildings were made from a mixture of wood and stone, (definitely sourced from the landscape) but the few big buildings were made from a blend of shining metal and glistening glass. In the centre of the village, there stood what appeared to be a huge hall or stadium, enclosed in a mighty glass dome that glistened and shined with shimmering beauty under the bright, harsh orange light of the rising sun. At the far end of the village, placed a little way away from the stone wall that surrounded the main village itself, their stood two, huge metal and glass towers, one on each side of the settlement and each had a towering metal shaft reaching far into the sky mounted on its tallest point. The twin towers were lightning catchers, hence their placement slightly away from the main village. Several small buildings littered the surrounding hills in the snow, connected only to the main settlement by a few tiny single paths that were shaped with the land and snaked their way through the snow to each outbuilding. The small outer buildings were probably just shacks where food and other things could be stored without risk of disturbance from interfering kits, but any of them could just have easily been a small cottage residence of someone who wanted a bit of quiet and privacy. The sun shined down generously on the small tribe even at this early hour and illuminated it with visible sunbeams, as if the Gods themselves were watching over this peaceful place, ensuring it remained quiet, peaceful and without trouble or interference from the outside world. All in all, it really was a staggeringly beautiful spectacle to behold. “We made it.” Raiko said out loud.
“By the skies Raiko.” Crystal said under her breath. “This is where you grew up?” Raiko nodded. “It’s stunning! Why did you ever leave?” It was a rhetorical question but still brought forward shameful memories in Raiko’s mind. Those thoughts disappeared however as he watched a dragon, most likely coming back from an early morning training flight, dive down toward the village. As he did so, he appeared to pass through a kind of barrier, sending waves shooting across the sky like ripples in water. The ripples continued and bent downward, revealing a dome shape for a brief instant before the waves faded and the field turned completely invisible once more.
“What the hell?” Raiko said under his breath. He knew what it was, but it didn’t make sense why he was seeing it. “Com’on. We’ll have to stick to the trees though. I don’t want any of them knowing we’re here yet.” Raiko said to the dragoness accompanying him. “Especially now.” He added under his breath.

A short while later, both found themselves in view of the main gate, but still hiding in the light cover of the trees. The gates were tall and caved with beautiful, intricate tribal patterns and on the pillars on each side, on top there stood a posing stone dragon; a male on one side and a dragoness on the other. Each statue had the Azimuth Mountains symbol carved into its shoulder, just like Raiko’s own shoulder markings. It wasn’t the statues that bothered Crystal however; it was the two threatening, armored guards standing outside the gates.  Raiko was not a small male specimen by any stretch; but rather a muscular former warrior who was more than a match for most in a fight, but these two guards were noticeably bigger, and even stronger looking. Their armor looked fairly heavy duty too, making the already burly guards look even more intimidating.
“Ah, there you are!” Raiko said to himself as he rooted through his large bag.
“Raiko, I doubt that is going to do you much good!” Crystal commented unhelpfully as she looked at the large black cloth Raiko was holding.
“Yes it will.” Raiko said as he unfolded the cloak. “I don’t plan on sneaking in, I plan on going in through the main gate.” Crystal looked confused and slightly worried.  “Look Crystal, getting in isn’t the problem, they’ll let us in no problem but the last time I was here, last time… I might have out stayed my welcome. I don’t want to think what they’ll do to me if they find out I’m still alive. So I have this to hide my face.” He presented the cloak to Crystal. “This is a hunting cloak. Normally they’re just used for training kits in stalking prey, but lucky for me, Twilight’s father was a Ghost Hunter; people who sneak up on animals and attempt to kill them...” Raiko wondered what word Twilight would use. “kindly.” He finished. Crystal still looked confused. Raiko decided to demonstrate. “Look you can see me, yes?” Crystal nodded. Raiko threw on the cloak. “How about now?” Raiko’s words where more like echoes to Crystal. She knew full well he was standing in front of her, but somehow, she was having a tiny bit more trouble keeping her concentration on him, not much, but enough to be noticeable. She was having to make a conscious effort to keep him the focus of her mind. “Hello?” Another echo invaded her mind and she realized she had been staring at him.
“It’s weird, it’s like, I know full well you’re there, but… It’s… It’s harder to focus on you.” Crystal commented.
“See? It makes you almost unnoticeable, if whatever you’re stalking is some dumb little animal like a rabbit or a sheep – useful for clumsy kits. Doesn’t work so well on dragons though. The more intelligent they are, the more they notice you. It won’t make me invisible, or even unnoticed, just…” Raiko paused for a second, searching for the word. “just unregistered.” He finished, as he took off the cloak again. “Like you, you knew I was there, and you could still talk to me, but you had to focus right? Like you were tired or distracted?” Crystal nodded. “I brought it to hide my face not make me invisible, but the magic can’t hurt.” Raiko threw it on again, ensuring to lift the hood too. “You ready?” He asked.
“Let’s go.” Crystal confirmed.


Unusually, Raiko did feel a tiny pang of worry as he approached the two guards, his identity hidden by the cloak. Crystal was still taken aback by the village’s beauty and magnificence, staring as if hypnotised at the mighty wall surrounding the peaceful settlement. She snapped to attention as she heard Raiko mutter an unusual word, one she didn’t understand.
“Mayewa.” He said and each of the guards repeated the word back to him. They then started communicating in a language completely unheard to Crystal, although Raiko appeared to be understanding every word as he replied equally fluently with his own series of seemingly made-up words.
“We have travelled far, and seek a means of resupply. May we enter?”
“Are you carrying any weapons traveler?”
“Only those that make our journey easier, small blades, darts and such. We are peaceful and mean your people no harm.”
“Enter at your own will, but the people are restless at this time, so I would advise against drawing attention to yourself. You may enter and make use of our peaceful home, but know also that our soldiers are keeping a very close watch on visitors.”
“Thank you brother, but may I ask why? You appear to have your shields up and you say your people are restless? I have always heard stories of the Azimuth clans being reserved and peaceful.” The conversation continued, with Crystal left simply wondering what was being said.  Eventually however, the two guards stepped aside and the huge gates began to swing inward, leaving the shield disputed around their edges.

Crystal was simply left with her jaw hanging open in pure awe and amazement at the staggering beauty of the great settlement up close. The buildings shimmered under the early morning light and casted long shadows onto the crystal white snow. A few dragons could occasionally be seen flying high above the buildings and the air was crisp, cold and fresh in her nose. As they walked through the village, Crystal kept spotting more and more interesting things around her. A stunning metal statue of a dragon with his jaw to the sky and with liquid water spewing quickly from his muzzle was the first thing she noticed, the water shooting straight up to a good height before tumbling back down and landing in the fountain’s base. She next noticed a couple of dragons in huts, preparing to sell their respective goods for the day and she even noticed one individual landing on the snow with a kill on his back. He stopped to look right at Crystal. His expression was unreadable and he stared at her for several uncomfortable moments, before entering one of the taller buildings. Overall, it was quiet, reserved but Crystal also detected an era of nervousness among the residence. The few who were awake at this early time of the morning were either staring at her, as if uneasy of strangers, or deliberately avoiding eye contact all together. Raiko spotted one shop owner in particular just lifting the wooden door in front of his hut, opening his shop to customers.
“You see that guy over there just setting up?” Raiko said to Crystal, pointing out the shop owner. Crystal nodded. “Go to him and say ‘Mayewa’ - Greetings Brother. He’ll respond by greeting you back, at which point you ask for a translator stone. That’s ‘Plea, jui sera ei lenamina stemi.” Crystal nodded and repeated the sentence to the best of her ability but not good enough. Raiko repeated it back and it took a couple of attempts before Crystal got it right enough to be understandable. “Here, this will cover it.” He said, handing her a small red ruby. “Once you have it, go north up the village until you find a large, stone and metal structure; like a pointy tower with the very tip cut off. Wait for me there.”
“W-Why? Where are you going?” Crystal asked.
“There’s a couple of things I have to do first.” She was going to do as she was told, but she watched Raiko curiously, as just before he had traveled out of her sight, he seemed to stop at another market stand further down the path.

Crystal sat by the dragon fountain, examining the tiny blue and white stone in her paw. She had never used translation magic before, owing to the fact dragons in most cultures tended to move around a fair amount, visiting new places and even full permanent migration was not uncommon. As a result, most dragons spoke roughly the same language, although with a few minor differences here and there along with a huge range of accents and dialects. Language did change over time, hence the existence of “Accent Dragon Text” but most cultures and settlements adapted to each other as time went by. The clans in the Azimuth Mountains however were an exception to the rule, having it in their nature to stay among themselves, reserved and peaceful while watching the other clans in the lands below.

Crystal sighed as she looked at the tiny stone. It was no bigger than her own eye, but she feared what it might feel like as she had heard one or two unpleasant stories of how the magic affected some. She sighed again.
“Well, here goes.” She said before placing the tiny stone under her tongue. She immediately gasped in shock as she felt the magic beginning to invade her mind, poking around in the deepest recesses of her memories and thoughts and invading every corner of her mind. Her vision seemed to shift for a second, as if malfunctioning and light began to crawl out of her muzzle, spreading like vines up her face in complex patterns, before arriving at her temples, and spiraling around and stopping there. And then, it stopped. The discomfort and unpleasantness of the magic hacking her brain, tuning her synapses and filling her senses with haze simply stopped, leaving her staggered, heart pounding, and slightly out of breath but otherwise unharmed.  
She looked around at her surroundings, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the quiet market place. Everything, from the sight of a local buying bread and talking to the shop owner, to the sound of water in the fountain, to the crisp smell of snow was coming into her mind through a haze, as if she was slightly detached from her own body. She turned to look at the fountain, and the engraving inscribed around the base. At first, the complicated and unfamiliar symbols were mere gibberish to Crystal, but as soon as she looked at them, the characters began to float off the stone, rearranging themselves and changing their shapes to form a perfectly readable language. She read the words out loud.

“Through the storm, for our land, together we stand, to fight, and to fly, until the Ancestors sing our last songs”

In that one sentence, it suddenly made sense. Why Raiko had risked his life and dared to face his people again, all to save the brother that betrayed him and hurt the one he loved, as well as to save Crystal herself, a dragoness that Raiko originally was convinced was guilty and deserved her fate. The stories he told her of the two brothers looking out for each other and why this was all so important to him. It was his culture, his nature, part of him even. Azimethians were family, and looked out for each other. Azimethians were a true family that never turned their back on their own. They would stand together, fight together, and if necessary, fall together. Dash was Raiko’s brother and always would be.

Meanwhile, the black dragon himself was walking alone, on a small isolated path through the snowy hills, leading away from the main village. The small path was dotted with stone torches on either side that magically lit themselves one by one as he approached, each a thick hexagonal shaft supporting a large flaming cauldron. The wind blew a fair amount of the white powdery snow on to the small stone cobble path, obscuring it and making it blend even further into the landscape. He paused for a second, checking to make sure he was not being watched before taking out a small wooden box he had bought at Flitch’s shop. He then took out a gold and silver necklace he had bought only moments ago. It consisted of two solid curved bands, made from white gold and hinged at one end. Mounted on the hinge was a beautifully paw-crafted silver carving of the twin moons circling each other in harmony. Each moon was encrusted with a bright jewel; one a dark red ruby and the other a sparkling bright blue sapphire, both brilliant gems and shield cut. At the bottom of the pendent there hung a heart-cut diamond, encased only by a thin silver wire cadge around its edge. The symbol of Azimuth was engraved into the back of the pendent itself under the hinge and Raiko had asked the jeweler to engrave a special message into the gold neck bands. Engraved in beautiful calligraphy was his message.

Together we stand, from the storms to the skies of blue. Forever my love, I stand by you

He smiled and carefully placed the necklace in the box along with a note before closing the lid. The chest made a loud clunking sound as it sealed and locked itself. Raiko placed a paw on the lid and the entire box began to glow and vibrate. He took a few steps back and watched as the chest slowly levitated off the ground before evaporating instantly, disappearing seemingly into thin air. Raiko tightened his cloak, making sure his face remained concealed before continuing down the snowy path.

Before long his destination came into sight. Ahead of him lay a mountain ledge, protruding a little way out of the mountain itself, resulting in a clear drop over the edge. Beyond the cliff edge was a staggeringly beautiful view, straight out to the neighboring mountains and the bright blue sea below. The view stretch for miles, far enough to see the mists and clouds skirting the distant mountains and even the occasional storm beginning to break towards the lower levels as the hills gave way to the coastline and the sea beyond. The landscape and staggering natural view from this point was only half the story. Floating just beyond the cliff edge, dancing slowly and graciously around each other in perfect harmonious orbit, were a collection of huge stone tablets, each decorated in its own unique style of intricate carvings around its edges. The Tablets Of The Dead.

Raiko was now standing at the edge of Spirit's Mountain, a feeling that filled him with regret and sorrow. The last time he had stood here had been when he had said goodbye to his first true love. Images of her family crying alongside him filled his mind from his past. The huge stone slabs in front of him, floated and orbited each other in several layers; circles and spheres each inside the last. Raiko approached the cliff edge, looking out to the suspended stone tablets beyond. In front of him, just a few feet from the very edge, a small wooden pillar extruded from the ground, supporting a small stone plate mounted at the top. Engraved into the plate, in beautiful Azimethian text was a message in respect to the spirits said goodbye to in this isolated place.

From the opening in the stone and earth thy left behind,
The spirits’ ember burns, with singing and whirlwind harmony.
A sphere, which is as many thousand spheres,
Flow, as our elements, magic and light.
Here we honor our loved, and remember the lost.
So that they will be found, in the embrace of our ancestors.
And that we to, will one day come home when our time comes.

With a heavy sigh of painful remembrance, he placed his paw on the stone plate, thinking of Zoe. A pulse of light shot through the pillar and into the ground. A second later, one of the tablets broke off from its perpetual harmonious orbit and floated gracefully over to him, presenting itself in all its towering glory. The tall rectangular stone slab was carved with a single flaming rose, with the stem going straight down the middle before curving into an intricate series of complicated flowing patterns at the bottom and at the top, overlooking the flaming rose, was a depiction of the Alesi at the time: Master Elder Sherlia – supposedly the one who brought Mistyte back at the cost of his own life. He and Raiko had been good friends and Raiko had looked up to him a lot. The huge stone flipped over, revealing an apparently blank and smooth surface. A second later however, words began to burn themselves into its surface. The first name that appeared was his friend Sherlia himself, his name glowing and burning at the top of the tablet, along with his message to the living.
“Our Allies know us, but our Ancestors know us truly. Some secrets are taken to the grave, and some knowledge left unshared, but never beyond. Make this life as clear as birth in your own vision to avoid irrelevancy. Do this and thou will be reborn.” It was a classic riddle from the genius himself; he often liked to provoke thought and confusion in those he taught. It meant you should share your knowledge and secrets with those you trust, because one day the secrets wouldn’t matter and if left unshared, your knowledge would die with you. It meant you should let go of the past and move on without secrets weighing you down. This one quote played a great role in him getting together with Twilight. But he wasn’t here for her, or even for the Alesi, but for the one he loved and lost: Zoe.

Glowing a few meters further down, much closer to eye level, was another name – Zoe Gale. Raiko sighed as he read the quote underneath.
“Not everyone is safe, and not everyone is true. But I always felt safe with you, my loyal soldier, my eternal love, my Raiko. You are my warrior and my guardian, and I love you.”
Raiko sighed heavily, remembering her and all the times they spent together. A small smile crept across his face and he whispered his response.
“I love you too Zoe.” He felt like crying, but didn’t. It had been too long for tears. It was time to move on. He lowered his hood, and bowed in head in respect to the spirits honored here. Both sets of grandparents were here too, and a friend of his who had gone hunting one day but never returned. Raiko just sat there for a while in silence, remembering those who had moved on, the ghostly silence of this isolated among isolated places only broken by the faint low whistle of the echoing mountain wind.

When he eventually opened his eyes, the heavy weight of emotion still hanging over him, something else caught his attention. More words were at the bottom of the tablet, the Azimethian characters burning themselves into the stone like the others. With his paw activating the panel, the magical tablets should have shown him all spirits related to him, but he had already read all the names he thought he had said goodbye to. He couldn’t think of anyone else. His face dropped however as he scanned through the words. He read it several times just to be sure.
“Ok that’s weird.” He muttered to himself. He lifted his hood again before shooting off into the clear skies back to the village.

Seconds later, a plume of snow erupted from the mountainside, a thin trail of falling white dust stretching high into the sky, as if something had quickly taken off or been projected.