Japxican

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INTRODUCTION

There was a time, in the beginning of days, some time after Yahlírin had breathed life into nothingness and formed what is known as the Ancient World, that Maldeir, who despised all things, using his great power opened up the earth. It was such that the démons and dark spirits, servants of Maldeir, would enter the world to bring all life to nothingness, or perverse and twist it into chaos. Maldeir’s leading pawns—Morkhem and Enthahtúlen, that is Death and Hatred in the common speech, and Dethshaiken, the writhed earth god—massacred the people and land. Those colonies that escaped spread to the far reaches of the world.
Yet Maldeir soon met his demise when Yahlírin, in his anger, sent the Hallêneth to drive every demon and foul spirit back into the abyss from whence they came. And Yahlírin chained Maldeir to the fiery lake-bottom of Malth, which is Hell, forever to suffer continuous turmoil and pain.
The war of the deities had left a devastating scar on the world’s face, one that would forever remain. The people had left and over time, almost all had forgotten the tragedy of the Ancient World. All records of time had been lost, except in the lands of Serenesti in the east, in A’theria, and of Lehfnen in the west, in A’kahlia. Only in those places was history passed down through the generations.
None ventured beyond the great Wall of Separation, built upon the retreat of their ancestors, and still none wandered south beyond the Galthori River, for certain death would come to those that did, or so rumours told, which many did believe.
And thus there was an age of steady quiet, though not of peace, for each day held a level of uncertainty in it. Life continued on, coming to being, growing, withering and dying, and the world, called A’Thírin, remained steadfast, subconsciously waiting for another shake in its existence.

Japxican

CHAPTER 1

The small land of Suíten, bordered by the Balkai Mountains to the north and the Great River of Plenty to the south, consisted mainly of flat lands with a hilly terrain just before the mountain range. Along the riverside grew small trees, lush green shrubbery, and tall grass. The trees, however, thinned out as they grew more inland and gradually became no more. They and the green plants among them were replaced with long, golden grass that stretched across the plain, over the rolling hills and ended abruptly before the mountains. A main road ran through the country down to the city of Shalom.

Across the River of Plenty, which was home to a vast assortment of fish, there ran a sturdy bridge, the Bridge of New Crossing, constructed for the purpose of exploration when unknown lands became overpopulated in the liveable areas, and other areas became rather unliveable. Yet the people of Suíten never crossed it, nor travelled afar to other lands, many fearing the mystery of the other races of their kind.


There was one evening in the autumn season, when the leaves began to turn from green to golden yellow, that the sun, like a heavy weight in the sky, began its usual long decent toward the western hills, spreading a dazzling spectrum of colours overhead which graced the striated clouds with glowing edges. A young traveller staggered onto the bridge. He walked, almost in a daze, while beholding the sunset with awe, as if he had never before beheld its glory. The boy was naught but younger than ten, though his body appeared to have seen fifty years of gruelling war and suffering; that was hidden behind a mask of tattered clothes. In his weary eyes was a faint look of innocence that only a child could have.

He stopped halfway across the bridge and peered over the side wall into the river. There he marvelled at all the fish swimming every which way, bustling about in their unique colours and shapes. Then he looked up along the bridge and saw Shalom, vast and golden about the riverside. He continued his journey at a quicker pace, reaching the city just before nightfall.

The city was quiet, most having retired to their homes for supper. The odd man would dart here and there, but no women. He looked about much of the city searching for an inn, till at last he found one that was small and old, at least as far as inns go, but he stepped inside to look nonetheless. Inside was a dim-lit room: a staircase to the left led to an upper floor; a low table in the middle surrounded by a few strategically placed filled sacs to lounge on; a door to the right which possibly led to another room; and a window on the far wall opposite the front door.

The boy shut the door quietly and cautiously crept across the room, collapsing on one of the filled sacs. The place was very quiet, not very well-kept, perhaps abandoned; but the child was still too young in his life to think about these things. He was soon fast asleep, curled up on his comfy seat that formed to the shape of his body.