Koki Nori

The morning sun was beginning to rise as Luna and Violet were packing up their horses. The twin princes ran up behind the girls laughing and tugging on their cloaks. They turned to see the boys holding out small matching trinkets.

"These are for you," Ishti said

"They will protect you on your journey" Kal continued

"Good luck on your travels," they said in unison.

The girls took the small wooden Hali beasts. Violet had hers painted purple with small flowers on the side, while Luna's was black with white moons and stars. "Thank you very much, when we return maybe you can meet my little sister. She's about the same age as you two." Luna said as the boys began to grin.

"We can't wait!" they said in unison again. Their nursemaid called the princes inside for breakfast as the boys raced each other to the door. Smiling Luna watched their sibling rivalry just reminding her of her own siblings back home. It has only been 2 days but Luna was starting to feel homesick.

The girls tied their trinkets to their belts and rode out of the city walls.

As they headed for the next town the Queen was watching them disappear into the sunrise. The Queen whispered into her hands, "Bless these children on their journey. For I fear they are headed to more dangerous places in which we cannot protect them." She stated as the King came behind his wife and put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

As the morning rose into the afternoon. The steads were trotting along the path, as Luna began to talk to Violet about what she experienced last night.

"Just as I went to go to bed I felt something similar stirring in my chest but not as strong as you are describing... Maybe it's your way to finding the rest of the warriors"

Thinking about it, Luna couldn't help but agree. After all why else would she have this feeling? They drifted into other topics and began looking off into where they were headed. Koki-Nori.

Koki-Nori is the 2nd biggest Tribe in the Kingdom of Deir.

They specialize in the combined combat styles of all the ancient tribes from the past along with their large market that offered many unique and rare items. The trails were covered in dark red dirt. The damp dirt began to stick to the hooves of the horses as the sun began to shine through the small patches of trees on the trail. It gave the girls a small break from the sun before riding up to the towering gates.

The girls were greeted by 2 guards, they had strong builds and wore an odd shade of blue furs with white paint marking their faces and arms. Upon spotting the girls they quickly bowed and kept a fist to their chest and began to greet the princesses.

"Your Majesties, King Naiser has sent word you would arrive." said the taller guard with a spear decorated with colorful feathers.

"Oh bless that king" Luna whispered to herself.

"Before we head to our lodging, is it alright if we explore?" Violet inquired "Yes your grace, please we will have our stable hands take the utmost care of your horses while you stay at Koki-Nori." The guard responded snapping his fingers to the men off on the side. Walking up with carrots and apples in hand, both horses' ears perked up at the sight and smell of their favorite treats.

Luna and Violet dismounted and gave their eager horses over to the stable hands.

"Thank you very much," Luna said patting the stable boy's shoulder.

Walking around the village, many people passing by began to greet them. Grabbing Violet's arm, she turned to see Lunas face in awe at Koki-Nori's infamous market. Luna could smell the cooking of an array of foods. While walking deeper into the market she could hear the crackle of fire between stalls.

Violet saw new colors in the tapestries, that littered one stall and the monochromatic hues of a tattoo stall next to it. Some stalls even sold small exotic animals you could buy as pets.

The market offered almost anything you could think of.

Luna and Violet took this time to split up to see what else the market offer.

Violet stopped at a weapon stall to look over their work. She spotted a small but long dagger with words inscribed onto the blade.

"Ah, I see you have eyes on the blade." a voice spoke.

Violet looked up to see a heavyset man with a big peppered colored beard with matching fluffy hair pulled into a bun. His dark eyes showed amusement to her shocked face at ogling a weapon. The man picked it up as Violet cleared her throat.

"Yes, the design of the blade is very unique. What are these words inscribed?" Violet asked "The blade is of my design. It resembles the horn of an extinct beast from our history. The words engraved, however, are an old spell." He explained

"A spell?" Violet inquired

"Yes, the spell will aid any wielder with the ability of the very beast it was forged after." He continued "What was this great beast?" Violet asked

The man smiled and turned around to pull them aside to reveal a large tapestry. Weaved onto the cloth was a horned beast

"This is the Reiwei. They are said to grow as big as the trees in Juro. They have long jagged teeth and sharp curved claws. It had a small but long horn on its nose that held a deadly poison. The kingdom of Deir was said to defeat this creature many generations ago." The man told. The beast in the illustration was dark green with yellow eyes. The snout was snarled showing its deadly rows of teeth. Its face was narrow with a horn at the tip of its nose. Its skin resembled the surface of a tree

"They said when they tamed one of the beasts they were the most loyal of creatures. The beast would protect till the very end. The spell on this blade will make the beast appear in spirit to protect its wielder when in danger" The man finished giving the blade to Violet. Looking over the intricate blade Violet looked at the man

"How much?" She asked,

"For you princess, I will let you have it. I heard about your journey and you're a foe. You'll need it more than anyone else." he said, Violet looked stunned. Word travels fast.

"Well, for your kindness, I'll give you 20 jitas," Violet said, giving the man the large gold coins. The man's smile widened.

"Thank you kindly, princesses. I would do anything to keep my family safe. Good luck on your endeavors." He thanked. Violet turned away from the stall she saw Luna looking off into the forest by the market. "Luna?" Violet called out walking up behind her best friend

"There, it's in there. The next heart." Luna finished without looking at Violet and began to walk into the forest.