Peaches and Sunflowers

It was a clear morning sky. In the temple, stood priests in their arrays and people who wished to gather at Chil Wuden. It had just been the previous day when they had gained their victory against the well known prince of the underworld - Asta. He had escaped but for the moment, it was of little consequence.

Not just anyone was allowed in Wuden. Especially today. The hero who had defeated the dark prince and wielded the ring of heavenly dominion, the Aurona, was still there. The monks had insisted on retaining her for the moment.

Because news of her journeys and quest to seek out the ring wasn't all so famous, word that she was indeed a lady, stirred up more reactions than usual. But for all they knew, she wasn't just any human. She was an Ebi.

Sorts of people moved around ceaselessly for different businesses. Soon enough, the main ceremony would begin. Meant for those who were known to have stood so close to the heavens, the hero, who had wielded 'heavens dominion', would be involved in a public ceremony. She was kept in the inner rooms, waiting. Clad in decorative beads from her head, through her clothing, she seemed like one who would be getting married that day. Though, marriage ceremonies were very much different. At that, she sat quietly, waiting. She was probably thinking. How far she had come. The painful and countless sacrifices made during her quest to obtain the only tool that could assure them victory. There would be a lot to recall but for the sake of the ceremony, she chose to leave them out. But then, it was silent here. It felt lonely.

Then, the door creaked open and there entered one of the attendants. He wore a faint smile that pleased her, somewhat. His composure, reminded her of someone. Standing before her, he addressed her as Ebi Taseh, 'one who has seen god'.

"It is time"

She was ready. He escorted her to the monks who were waiting for her in the next chamber. It was time to recede.

Being a hero in Dalem was far from her dreams. She once had a loving mother who called her Tamine - beautiful little one. They wanted to live so far away from the raging war. But being a hero, she left one day and never returned.

Asta had long been the sole enemy of mankind. Since the time he evoked the underworld on the earth, the world had ever since battled with the fury of his contempt for man. He was almost like Hades himself. He razed cities to the ground, dragged the living into the underworld and unleashed terrifying darkness all in a bid to rule. He destroyed man to put him under his feet. It was that contempt that she lost her mother to. She still bore that name she called her. It was a tender name. And even when she was also summoned as a hero, she remained Tamine. And through her long quests and confrontations with the armies of Asta, alongside many other heroes, somehow, she ended it all. A war stemming from thousands of years.

Ebi was the name given to the children of the sky. They had the blood of the pure ones. That was probably who her father was but her mother had no memory of him. But as it were, she was more pure of blood. She was not a mere human. And it wasn't hard to notice. Usually, gifted people were persuaded to be more than mere soldiers. The were called heroes and they worked in bands somewhat independently and tackled the armies of Asta from all directions they could, all the while searching to obtain otherworldly powers scattered throughout the world. When the Aurona was finally discovered by Tamine's band by some sort of miracle, they had already gone through a lot. They had lost a lot of comrades. And the war was pressing on to them. It wouldn't be long before they would have been discovered and destroyed if none of them was capable of wielding it.

And so, the moment came for her, where she was the only one thought to be truly capable. And while she held the ring of immense power, it searched through her. And it was only one thing she wished, 'make them disappear'. And that was all it took for Asta to loose all his armies and his very sudden defeat. He simply couldn't expect that a long forgotten tool would find its way to the hands of not just any human, but an Ebi who sided with the humans. The Ebi was so rare. Only four were known to have lived since the devil was sealed fifty thousand years ago.

......

Slam!

It was the quiet country side of Erlin. It had been a thirty three years since the war ended. Asta had never been heard from again since he was last seen at Uhai where he had vanished through a portal.

Here, someone endlessly cut through chunks of wood with an axe. It was a sunny day. In this part of Erlin, things barely happened apart from people and their daily business.

Slam!

Mankind had been very slow to embrace this new peace. They had lived in the torrents of war for thousands of years. A lot of practices and cultures had even been founded on this war. But then, here. They seemed like the quickest to formulate normalcy. They were mostly old folks who lived here.

Slam!

This person tirelessly cut through heavy chunks of wood. Eventually, he was done for the day. There was still a pile of wood just by the side. But they weren't for today. He walked up the short flight of stairs up to the front door of his cabin, also made of wood. A simple place. A black lantern inscribed with trails and runes and an arcane seal just above it's base hung outside, swinging in the gentle breeze. Just behind the house, to the right, someone was knocking on something repeatedly. That was the loudest sound that could be heard at that time. It was mid day, but also cloudy, so it was a really pleasant day.

The wood cutter stepped through the doors, to dry his body and sweat. He would have a bath too and head to the local market to get dinner. Dinner tonight would be a wild boar. He would make a nice meal worth looking forward to.

Yes. It was a nice day in the market too. Soldiers were positioned around but they too enjoyed a free atmosphere. Peace was indeed something worth living for. He walks through the muttering market people, ignoring calls from preying market women. He needed curry and vegetables and onions. And he knew just where to get them. He would skip the seller whom he had bought from the last time he visited and move two shops ahead. It was a random selection though. He didn't want to get familiar with anyone. It would be easy since both buyers and sellers were always busy. He also had no intention of hanging around. Since no one was familiar with him, he was usually quick to leave the market. Soon enough, he was on his way back home.

The market was closer to the castle of the lord's. He would be walking directly away from it's overseeing walls back to the country side where he lived along with his peasant neighbors here in Erlin. Actually, Erlin would be describing the state under liege to the highest religious authority, Chil Hadan. This place was more particularly refered to as Peach county. Peach was a very common fruit here. But then, it wasn't quite on demand. It was only known as Peach county because they had more peach in this region.

He strolled back home. It was always calm, and really serene, especially at sunset. Especially just as he strolled by the few peach trees along the somewhat narrow path leading directly into peach county. The clouds painted the with more pink in the fading blue sky.

And just when he thought he was lost in the beauty, he sensed something. More like something from his cabin. Something was moving inside of his home! He was still a bit far off. He would have to sprint. It could be a wild animal and that would be off less consequence. But if it were a person...

There was no way for the culprit to escape. Just when 'he' was done gathering the most he could, the owner of the house was already before him, staring down at 'him'. The slight red glow in his eyes, and the fact that he didn't make a sound while stepping in terrified and stunned the thief. The owner had made it in time to catch the culprit red-handed. But then, the culprit was just a kid...

"Sorry"

Her name was Sati. Sati's parents lived in the castle streets. They didn't have a decent home and where always hungry. So, sometimes Sati would wonder off in search of her own food. And today, she decided to visit peach county. This cabin, to be precise.

"I'm...sorry"

That was the third time she was apologizing even though her target wasn't in the slightest showing any signs of punishing her. He just wouldn't. Especially not after hearing about her background. She looked dirty and tattered. No more than ten years old. He was relieved actually. It was just a child.

"It's alright" he answered her while he brushed her up but she still looked grievous and sorry for her crime. Was this the same person who broke in and attempted to make away with some of the boiled taifu he had left in the kitchen? She even stuffed her mouth. But now, she looked so innocent.

"I'm Ibaran" he introduced himself trying to make her feel better.

"...so Sati, let's just imagine that this never happened, okay. Let's just imagine that you came to ask me for some taifu's and I gave them to you"

She still looked down but her face brightened up a bit. She understood what he meant.

"Alright, take these ones for your family too" he said, offering her a basket full of taifu's.

She accepted the unexpected gift with both hands and her face still looking scared. That seemed to be funny to him though. He never knew he had such a soft spot for children.

And so, he let her go along with a large parcel of roasted meat from the last kill he made. She still looked grievous and didn't really move freely until she had gone far.

He heaved a sigh, shaking his head. Kids...

It was sad that she couldn't have a proper life. It reminded him of his life as a kid too.