7 Fish Out of Water 1

Keiji: “Don’t fall overboard!”

Yuuki: “Don’t let them get on the boat!”

The preceptors hollered instructions from the leading canoe over the uproar of the turbulent Mizusashi river, added to which was the off-shore turmoil unfolding around them.

The young sailors were too preoccupied to respond to the directions of their guardians. A pack of lamia surrounded their canoes, trying to take bites out of them.

Lamia were hideous, riverine beasts with bulbous, smooth heads and at least three feet long bodies. Some were as large as seven feet. They had gaping jaws that snapped like crocodiles, with a mouthful of teeth as large as fingers. Their most distinguishing feature was that they had no eyes. They navigated through vibrations and smells, and their only motivation was raw flesh; hence, the preceptor’s instructions to not fall overboard made mighty sense. Since the lamia were amphibious, they could hop on land (or on boats, canoes, and ships) with the support of their tails. And therefore, thwarting their attempts to get onto the canoes seemed like a priority as well.

A month had passed since the training of the Legacy Trials aspirants had started. Summer had settled in with a torrid vein. The preceptor duo had decided to temper their students in a summer camp- at a location of their choosing. After a few days worth of paperwork and preparation, they set off to their destination.

The party had begun their journey from the base of Chojo hill, where the Mizusashi and the Kurosashi rivers meet to form the mighty Reisui river. The Reisui torrents are so powerful that only ocean-grade ships could cruise through them unharmed. Therefore, shipbuilding had thrived as a prosperous trade in Karasuma. Many boats had sunk in the unforgiving Reisui until the villagers learned to pay reverence to the river and carve resilient, deep-water boats and ships.

Karasuma had three major ports. The Nagato port (on the Kurosashi river, north of Chojo hill)- was primarily a trade and commerce unit. The Minato port (on the Reisui, east of the hill)- was where the royal naval fleets were. The Gakuto port (south of the hill)- was for the use of the common folk. Even though the Daigaku had access to all three ports, the preceptors and the Legacy Unit used hidden docks and jetties known only to them. Chojo hill was an extensive area with undulating terrain, and to date, it had not been possible to map the region in its entirety.

The river-faring party had left from a rocky, clandestine pier with five military-grade canoes. The party included Keiji and Yuuki sensei (the Daigaku preceptors) and the twelve qualified aspirants of the Legacy Trials, belonging to Mikashita-kin. Tagging along were a sub-squad of three- Lieutenant Yorokobi Miyamoto and two non-ranking soldiers. Kento was heir to the reigning Overlord Senju, and hence, a military escort was mandatory at all times, outside the kin grounds.

They had divided themselves among the canoes as follows-

Canoe 1: Keiji (M, 26), Yuuki sensei (M, 23)

Canoe 2: Shigeo (M,15), Akako (F, 16), Kento (M, 16)

Canoe 3: Hajime (M, 20), Megumin (F, 19), Yuuta (M, 20)

Canoe 4: Daigo (M, 20), Kafu (M, 19), Chiyo (F, 17)

Canoe 5: Nadeko (F, 15), Illumi (M, 15), Masaki (M, 15)

Their destination was the Bokuso glades that lay beyond the marshes formed by the Mizusashi backwaters. As the river turned around Chojo hill from the West, it backtracked several miles into the south-western lands and gave birth to the Doronuma marshes. The marshes were murky and treacherous, home to rabid beasts of prey, venomous reptiles, and blood-thirsty insects. Some of the local tribes believed that dark magical beasts, capable of kitsu manipulation, had also made it their abode. The way to the Bokuso glades was a narrow creek through the Doronuma marshes, known as the Kegare. To enter the stream, the party had to row upstream from Minato port, in the Reisui, and turn west into the Mizusashi. A mile up the river’s mouth, the waters flooded into the land to form the Kegare creek on the left.

It was an upstream journey, but the military-grade canoes were kitsu operated and overcame the resistance of the rivers with ease. Trouble arrived when they encountered a pack of hungry lamia moving upstream. The lamia make their way downstream- into the warmer waters at night and retract upstream in the morning- to hunt for prey. They consume anything moving- from fish to humans to larger animals. The apex predators of the river waters were the carnivorous lamia.

Setting off kitsu sequences could damage and sink the boats, and hence the young sailors had not resorted to them yet. They had tried to fend off the gnarled creatures with their swords. But as the lamia crashed against the canoes, the sailing kitsu ingrained into them started dwindling, and the boats slowed down. The preceptor and military sub-squad canoes had gained thirty feet distance over the last canoe. Canoe 3 (Hajime-Megumin-Yuuta) and Canoe 4 (Daigo-Kafu-Chiyo) were not far behind. Canoe 2 (Shigeo-Akako-Kento) and Canoe 5 (Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki) lagged, as they could not fight the creatures off fast enough. The lamia besieged the canoes, slowing them down. It was only a matter of time before any injury or mortality took place.

One of the lamia clinging to Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki canoe exploded, and Nadeko screamed. Blood and viscera splattered against their boat. Everyone else looked for the source and saw a roughly thirty-foot-long lance made of kitsu extending from the preceptors’ canoe. It looked like a bolt of lighting, white as ivory. Yuuki had funneled raiki into a kitsu synthesis weapon, which he held on to with both arms. A kitsu sequence had manifested the weapon, but it weighed as much as a thirty-foot wooden lance would; one could wonder what inhuman strength Yuuki possessed. He could change the length of the lance at will and skiver the lamia from a distance. One by one, he started impaling the vicious creatures. Unfortunately, they were a pack of at least two dozen, and a live lamia replaced a casualty almost immediately.

The canoes had slowed down to a drift. A large lamia managed to jump onto the Shigeo-Akako-Kento canoe. The young ones hurled themselves to the opposite deck, avoiding its snapping jaws. Kento realized that no amount of taekkyon ability could put down a five-foot-long beast like the one before him. While he considered jumping off the canoe, Akako went ahead, formed a fistful of kitsu, and punched the lamia on its head. The beast clicked and cackled, momentarily disoriented. Then it hopped into the air once and landed on the boat. The impact levered the canoe to a slant, throwing Kento and Akako into the water. Meanwhile, several small lamia had already clung onto the Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki canoe.

While being twisted and turned by the river torrent, he looked around and saw two large shapes approaching him in the water. This is the end, he concluded.

Three events happened simultaneously. Lieutenant Yorokobi jumped into the water. Yuuki shortened his lance and pole vaulted from the river floor, which catapulted him to the siege area. The third event was so surreal that the other young sailors could not believe their eyes.

Keiji was running on water.

It was so fast that it seemed as if he was gliding on the current. The preceptor reached the site within a couple of seconds, and without coming to a halt, he squatted on the water surface, all the time skimming, ankle-deep; and plunged both arms under, yanking out two of the lamia- that were around the drowning Kento. The creatures convulsed and disintegrated in his hands. The miraculous Keiji ran on further, reaching the Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki canoe. He circled the boat as if it were firm ground, plucking off the smaller lamia- which exploded with his touch.

Yorokobi had swum underwater to rescue Kento, seizing him by the middle and hoisting him up onto the canoe again. On the other side, Yuuki was trying to heave Akako- who, in shock, clung to him tightly. Shigeo had to pry her off the preceptor. Yorokobi and Yuuki restored the kitsu operations of the canoes, and they caught up with the others soon. Within five minutes, they were back on track, and Kento and Akako had come to their senses.

They had reached the turn into the backwaters. As they entered the Kegare, the water seemed to turn clearer, and the current became idle. The lamia did not follow the party into the creek. There must have been more daunting predators, this side of the land.

The canoes sailed close to each other in the narrow creek, propelled only by the operating kitsu. The young ones shared their horrifying experiences.

The military sub-squad and preceptor canoes sailed ahead. Yorokobi, from the abutting canoe, looked deep in thought.

Keiji: “Lamia have never been this bold. They aren’t this strong in the east. Something's not right here. What do you think, Yuuki?”

Yuuki looked around at the harsh natural surroundings and took in the acrid smells.

Yuuki: “I have a feeling we are going to find that out soon.”