Drawing Eyes

"What were those animals?" Cage asks, "The ones you and the City Guards were riding on," him and Yoru have been walking for a few hours on the dirt road, which Cage does not mind. It is hot, mind-numbingly so. Still, he does not agree with Kyro that this heat is worse than that of Kalar. At least here you can look around and not be reminded of your torment by the piles of ash and rivers of bubbling lava.

"Skoans," Yoru responds, glancing at Cage as they walk side by side, "They are good animals. A bit aggressive sometimes, but the only species to overtake the speed of a Rajin soldier. Though they are impossible to use in war."

"Why is that?" Cage asks, glancing at Yoru. She is stunning. He doesn't know how old the woman is, but by the smoothness of her skin and her light voice, he guesses early or mid-twenties. Though Cage does not know if human aging is applicable to Rajin.

"Skoan are more intelligent than most, but they are still animals. Battle and bloodshed cause them to go from slightly aggressive to ripping the throat out of anything that moves," Yoru says, wiping sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, "couple that thirst for blood with their speed, strength, and armor, and you've got an indiscriminate killing machine that even the most experienced soldiers will have difficulty with."

Cage nods, returning his eyes to the path before them. Ahead, the dirt road transitions into a stone path with weeds poking through the gaps. Colorful trees line the road in sparse numbers, blessing the traveling duo with a moment of shade every few minutes. Though Cage notices that despite the sweat beading on her forehead, Yoru is unbothered by the heat.

An hour passes like this, the stone below stinging the bottom of Cage's feet. It is nothing compared to that black rock.

The white walls of Yellen come into view less than a mile ahead, accompanied by that tall iron gate. Now that he is closer, Cage sees the depictions on the gate clearly.

Like Greek wall sculptures he had seen in textbooks during his previous life, the engravings depict a sturdily built man with a war hammer held back and over his head, a smile on his face. The triumphant figure is on the right gate, and on the left gate, a horde of creatures with no eyes and disfigured bodies reach for him. The monsters look similar to a parasite in shape, but the lines outlining them are erratic and uneven.

Cage looks up and beyond the gate, at the statue standing high on the mountain. That man and the one on the gate are obviously the same person, he thinks. Black eyes glance at Yoru, who walks with a slight smile. The woman returns a glance with those burning suns for eyes, "Have any more questions? Kyro informed me of your natural curiosity," she says.

Cage nods, and thinks of asking about the man on the gate. Though he suspects that the man is Betor, the Rajin man that traveled with Tiren a thousand years ago. Even if it's not Betor on the gate, Cage has a more important question on his mind, "Where will I be staying? If it's alright for me to be here," he asks.

The Rajin woman holds her smile, though it seems hollow to the one observing it, "As long as you follow the laws of Yellen and do not stick your nose where it does not belong, you are welcome here," she says, eyes drifting forward, "To answer your question, you will be staying with me until your stay is over. This will be the first time I have opened my doors to anyone, so you should feel special."

Cage nods, the corners of his lips curling slightly, "Thank you," he says. Kyro is lucky, Cage thinks, to have a sister like her. Despite everything he has been told about how the rest of this society views Collectors, Yoru obviously cares deeply for Kyro and Ingen. So much so that she is willing to risk her reputation by visiting them herself.

Surely they are not the only ones, Cage thinks. There have to be others that think like this, that actually care for their family, no matter what happens. There are many people that only care for themselves, and he knows this, but there are so many more who care for others. This is a different world though, so perhaps Cage is wrong. Either way, he can not bring himself to believe that everyone save for Yoru and the others are bad.

"We've arrived," Yoru says, interrupting his thoughts, "They will ask your name, and you will answer them. Other than that, let me do the talking."

Cage glances at her, nodding. Now that he is right in front of the gate, he is awestruck by the sheer size of the wall and gate before him. The white stone and polished iron stand over him, looking down, whispering what little significance he holds compared to their power. The engravings do a similar thing, screaming into life with the incredible artistry and composition that Cage could never match.

Yoru's sharp chin is raised to gaze at the top of the wall. She raises an open palm to the Rajin soliders leaning over the edge, their faces obscured by shadows. One of the soldiers disappears, and a second later, the scratching sound of gears and cogs turning sounds as the gate begins to move. The two massive hunks of iron slide slowly, opening outwards until a gap as wide as three men is created, then it stops.

Three City Guards appear from the gap, one with a spear, one with a sword, and another with a massive iron bow. Cage furrows his brows at the last one. It would make sense that some would use bows, he thinks, but it still feels strange to see. From what he has seen and heard, Rajin do not seem like the type to hang back and attack with range.

The guard with a spear stands in front with his white robe rustling gently in the wind. He has a stocky build and is perhaps a few inches taller than Kyro. Though unlike the gentle yet noble face of the Rajin Cage knows so well, this man has a face that screams anger. Perhaps he is actually angry. He has silver hair styled in a military cut, and much like every other guard Cage has seen, the man's violet face is littered with wrinkles.

"Are you well, Detor?" Yoru asks, a diplomatic smile on her lips.

"I am," Detor responds with a stiff voice, bowing forward, "I can see that you are the same."

"Very observant," Yoru says. Cage looks at the woman, and for a split second, he sees the corner of her mouth twitch. She either notices his gaze or realizes herself because it ceases instantly.

Detor raises his head again, looking at Cage with that resting expression of anger. His thin silver brows never show any other emotion, despite his calm voice, "Your name?" he asks.

"Cage," The black-eyed man responds.

Detor nods, looking over Cage's attire and stark injury, "Your reason for visiting?" he asks.

Cage blinks. Why is he here? He woke up on Kalar, met Kyro and Ingen, then ended up on this planet. He thinks about his goal. It would be convenient if his brother happened to be here, but he knows that is not likely. Still, to reach that goal, Cage will need to learn about this universe, its people, and perhaps a bit about how to defeat the ones that block his way, "To learn," Cage replies.

Detor nods again, brown eyes looking back at Yoru, "I suppose you have chosen to guide him. I will not ask why he is wearing that... thing, but you should have him change as soon as possible," he says.

Yoru nods curtly, "Of course," she responds.

Detor returns the gesture and steps to the side, the others following his movements. Cage follows behind Yoru as they approach the gate. He exchanges looks with the guards as he walks, and despite Detor having the same expression as always, the other two look disgusted, as if Cage is wearing nothing but his skin. He agrees with the silver-haired guard in his mind, the leotard will have to go if everyone will treat him this way because of it.

The thought is pushed from Cage's mind as he steps through the gate, the rough stone that he walked on before changing to smooth, shiny stone that almost looks like poured concrete. He raises a hand to his face, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness nearly blinding him.

After a few hard blinks, Cage lowers his hand and looks around, the reason for his sudden blindness becoming apparent. Save for brown roofs and wooden stalls stationed on the side of the street, everything is white. These people must have some kind of infatuation with the color, from what Cage can see. The white stone buildings are connected on either side of the street, only separated by crossing streets, creating what looks like massive apartment complexes.

Even with the chaos of the connected homes and shops, there is an order to it all. Each particular home or shop is placed together, and there are clear distinctions between each by the shape and design.

Homes are taller buildings that have flat fronts with white stairs leading to doors, and shuttered windows two or three stories up. Shops are shorter and wider with overhangs shading their fronts, held up by cylindrical columns. On the front of some shops, colorful tapestries rustle softly in the breeze. Cage can't read the strange symbols, to his own confusion.

Why can he speak the language, but can not read it?

Rajin crowd the streets, accompanied by a roar of chatter. Conversations, arguments, vendors yelling about a sale for strange fruit and vegetables. The city is quite literally buzzing. Blue, violet, and red skin all mesh together in the river of life that Cage and Yoru pass through. The men are ridiculously tall just as he had expected, some a bit shorter than Kyro and some almost as tall as Ingen. It seems the sore loser of a Rajin is the tallest of his race.

The women, while not as great in height, are still tall in their own right. Some are taller than Cage by at least a foot. They wear similar dresses to Yoru, though few of them are as shiny and well-made as hers. Meanwhile, every single man dons the same black robe that the dead soldiers did, weapons strapped to their back, sides, or held in their hand. The only exception to this rule is the guards and children.

Rajin boys run through the crowd and jump around on the side of the street, laughing and playing with other boys. They wear similar robes to the men, only grey in color. Wooden weapons are strapped to their person or held in their hands. If it were not for the adult's height and what Ingen had told him about Mount Manifestation, Cage would have a hard time believing they are children. Most are already as tall as him, and even the youngest ones rise to Cage's chest.

Not surprisingly, Cage draws a vast array of looks. Some confused, some disgusted like those guards, and some with pure murder intent. However, when these people see who he is traveling with, they all look the other way. His forehead wrinkles as he notices this, and he begins to ask why, but quickly closes his mouth. There is little chance he would be heard over this deafening chatter.

Yoru takes Cage to a clothing shop, takes one look at him, and tells him to wait. She comes back with a black Gi similar to what the children wear, except this one has pants and sleeves. The Gi fits loose, and the sandals Yoru brought for him are so thin he might as well still be barefoot.

Cage decides to not wear the sandals. Despite each step he takes causing him slight discomfort, the stone against his feet makes him feel safe. Grounded. Plus, after going barefoot for so long, it feels strange to change that.

Half an hour passes as they exit the clothing shop and carve through the crowds, taking left or right turns every once in a while. To break up the distracting chaos that are the clumps of homes and shops, plazas pop up sparsely in the city. They are big, open sections surrounded by buildings and lain with the same smooth stone, most with fountains and statues in the middle of the circular area.

These places are no escape from the crowds, but at least most are standing and conversing instead of hustling to their next destination like mad men. Vendors are gathered in their greatest numbers here, most selling some kind of food, none of which Cage has heard of. Though there are a few that sell trinkets and other odd objects.

The sight is rare, but every once in a while Cage catches a glimpse of unknown races walking through the crowds or loitering in the plazas. Each of them is a different race; Cage guesses that not many foreigners visit in groups. One race has pitch-black skin and red eyes, they are on the shorter side. Another has a massive body with the head of a lion. Are they all lion-headed, or are there other animals in the same race? Cage does not think he will gain anything by guessing at the moment.

That mountain is close now, towering over Yellen and casting its shadow over a larger section. Cage follows Yoru from one of the plazas toward a massive building separate from all others. It seems familiar for some reason.

Tall circular columns rise at least thirty feet, built around the entire construct, holding up the porch-like overhang and platform below. Above the columns, the white stone is decorated with a detailed design of a great tree. A triangular roof rises above that, extending across the entirety of the rectangular building. Cage has seen a few buildings like these throughout the city, each with a different design on the face.

Yoru turns to him, "This is the Foreign Visitor Registry. Foreigners handle all of their tedious business here. Applying for citizenship, directions, registering wares to trade. We'll get you registered here," she says.

Cage furrows his brows, "Citizenship? Does that mean foreigners actually live here?" he asks.

Yoru nods, "It is a very long and boring process, but yes. Raj is safer than most planets, and that draws many that are more than willing to do whatever is needed to live here. Though many are rejected for different reasons," she says.

Cage nods slowly, "Raj is safer? Safer from wh-"

"Let's not waste any time," Yoru interrupts, turning and stepping toward the grand building, "I would like to be home before dark."

Cage hesitates, face twisted in confusion. However, even with the woman's strange reaction, he isn't exactly in the position to demand answers. And so, Cage follows behind Yoru, more than ready to be away from the crowds in the streets.