30

Over 20 years ago, the fragile peace that existed amongst the islands today wasn't even in consideration. By the time I met Shezira, I had already lost my two older brothers, and my mother had died from birthing me. All I had left was my father.

His name was Garric, and he was the closest thing our island had to what I am today. Tiziano was warlike and divided by two prominent families. My family and your mother Le's family. Le's family was headed by her father Konsu. The two sides both had specialties; my family was responsible for the defense of our seas and Konsu's family was mainly fishermen.

Naturally, I didn't get along with Le, as our families were rivals and though my father wanted me to marry her, I wasn't interested. Originally Le was supposed to marry my older brother Marric, but he died only a week before their ceremony.

Loka interrupted her father's recount of history with a question,

"Did you ever really love mom?"

Taryu looked at her and sighed,

"Your mother and I had our moments, but many times we had our fights as well. She always wanted to steer the village in a direction against what I wanted. Always challenging me or going behind my back to steal away power."

Taryu let out another sigh, but this time a smirk played along his face,

"But I did love Le, she gave me you, and at the end of the day she made me stronger and happy in some of my darkest moments."

Loka wiped a tear away from her face and signaled for her father to continue his story.

Sometimes I think back to how I was and wish I was more like you or Lycurgus, but instead, I was brash, impatience, and temperamental. Though I fought for the village I truly just wanted to fight and explore the seas. It was that drive that led me to find Shezira.

I was on a hunt that lasted into a stormy night. My crew pleaded for me to turn back towards Tiziano, but I didn't listen. Normally I would have listened, but the prey was especially rare for Tiziano being a pod of Tiger Whales. A calf would be enough to supply food for a month and rarely did a pod stray into the waters of Tiziano.

Sometime during the night, we were hit by a storm. I had not expected it to be so violent and being unprepared against the sea is unforgiving. As I tried to wrestle the ship under control I was thrown overboard. Fortunately, there was a piece of wood for me to latch onto and stay afloat. I stayed adrift for about 4 or 5 days without food or drink.

I thought I was going to die. When I had washed onto shore, I was barely coherent.

He was nothing more than a beast wrapped in human flesh. A young Taryu washed up on the shores of the island of Yfantis and was found by Shezira. The young weaver was scouring the beach for shells to grind down into powder to create a stronger thread. She wanted something unbreakable and what she found instead was a man with an unbreakable heart and spirit.

For 3 days Taryu went in and out of consciousness, and Shezira nursed him back to health. On the fourth day, he awoke, though he was still fairly injured and had acquired the first of many scars that would adorn his body. A long-wicked slash stretched the width of his lower back that went from the left hip to about his upper right abdomen.

"What's your name?" asked a soft voice. Taryu turned his head towards the entrance of the room. There stood a woman tall, muscular yet slightly curvy. Her hair was a stormy grey that lay passed her shoulders. Her mocha brown skin and striking green eyes left Taryu stunned for a brief moment.

"I'm Taryu, son of Garric defender of Tiziano." The young woman made a gesture that made Taryu slightly on edge, "Where am I?" he asked.

"Well, you're on Yfantis."

Taryu's eyes grew wide, as fear and nervousness filled him. He was stuck between bolting for the door or just calming down. His anxiety got the best of him as he made a lunge for the door, but before he made it through the doorway his body was restrained. He looked down at his arms and faintly saw threads that reflected the light of the sun.

"I'm sorry my father told me to bind you. He said you looked a lot like your father Garric." Taryu strained against the threads, but they only seemed to tighten and restrain his movements further. He managed to turn his head back toward the woman and asked her, "Who are you?"

The woman smiled and with a sweet voice said, "I'm Shezira daughter of Lydan, chief of Yfantis."

Despite the tension and anxiety, Taryu felt his stay at Yfantis was much more peaceful. Later that day he told Lydan the situation that got him here. Though Lydan seemed to study Taryu heavily he was extremely generous to Taryu, offering him to stay here till a ship could be made for him to travel back. Taryu also learned that he had been staying in the room of Shezira's deceased older brother Sangus, which continued to be his room during his stay.

The next few days Taryu toured the island of Yfantis with Shezira as his guide. He was surprised by how vastly different the architecture was between Yfantis and Tiziano. The homes of Tiziano were built primarily using the trees from the woods to the north of the village. The trees had a great property with absorbing water and flexed a lot during the storms. Using the properties of the technique known as deep rooting, even if the walls were to break or blow down as long as the post of the house remained it was easy to rebuild, Yfantis however was much different. Their houses appeared to be made from some kind of stone.

"Shezira how do you guys get the rocks to become your walls?" Taryu asked as they explored the northern area of the main village.

Shezira laughed at the way he asked the question, "Well I'm not a builder, but I've seen the process a few times. Basically, we create a liquified version of the stone, and using a core of petrified wood and threads for the outline we pour the liquified stone and allow it to harden. Once it hardens, we remove the core and pour in a different mixture that helps self-repair the walls if needed."

Taryu's eyes were wide with amazement, "How is it made? How do you guys find such stones?"

Shezira burst out laughing, "Oh my goodness, I'm not a builder Taryu, but I may be able to take you to the master buildsmen Cementous, he actually figured out that you could make this liquid stone."

Taryu smiled, "I'd really love that Shezira."

Taryu was constantly amazed by the structure of the island. The people of Yfantis used the higher terrain for seed land for their crops, protecting them from the flooding of the Malunod. Unlike Tiziano which had one centralized village, Yfantis had three along key areas of the island, Kayseri, Sivas, and Isparta which Shezira called Polisses.

Each Polis had two main sources of production. Kayseri found along the western coast of Yfantis mainly was a fishing polis, also gathering many materials for weaving such as waterbed reeds and certain materials for dyes. Sivas was the most central Polis and where the chief lived. They primarily harvested stone and farmed. Isparta was located on the eastern portion of the island, which was highly elevated and surrounded by many trees protecting the city from the Malunod and is the oldest Polis. There they harvest wood and fibrous material for weaving.

Taryu traded as much knowledge as he could with the people of Yfantis, showing them ship-building techniques and in return learning certain building practices and farming techniques. He wound up spending a whole month in Yfantis as Shezira being his guide before his ship was finally complete.

*******

Taryu recounted his experience of his stay in Yfantis with a brimming smile of that of a gleeful child.

"After I stayed for over a month, I planned to return home, but at that time I made a promise to Shezira that I would come back and get her and marry her."

Taryu raised his left arm and showed a red cloth wrapped around it. "This was the physical symbol of that promise that she gave me before I left," Taryu said as the smile left his face.

"Everything sounds good, so what happened Dada?" Loka asked genuinely curious.

Taryu's right hand reached up and touched the scar that marks his face. He traced his finger across the scar. He took a deep breath.

"Lydan wanted to conquer Tiziano. He gave me Shezira's hand in marriage and accompanied me on my voyage back to Tiziano." Taryu looked down, he could feel a pain in his chest lurking beneath the surface, slicing through, and giving him a stinging sensation in his chest. He placed his scarred left hand over his heart.

"I thought I had gotten over the pain of this but…"

Loka moved closer to her father that had his head down and saw … tears.

She gently reached out her hand and touched her father's cheek, before moving in closer and hugging him. She was now holding the giant of a man; someone she had never seen cry in all her years. Someone she imagined unbreakable now faltering.

"I still remember that night," Taryu spoke barely above a whisper, his voice weakened from the memory and emotions that broke his heart.

"I found my father on death's door, his body was broken and bloodied, missing an arm and leg as though he had been attacked by some wild beast. I remember even though the rain was heavy I heard his voice so clearly. He asked me to marry your mother, to make Tiziano whole and strengthen the village."

Loka let go of her father and looked into his eyes. She saw that it wasn't just the memory that tore at his heart but simply the fatigue of life that seemed to have finally wrought its toll on him. She had never seen her father look so tired, so beaten, so mortal.

"I don't know Loka; I don't know how he managed to be such an amazing father. He was all I had left. There isn't a day I don't miss him. His words, the firmness they carried the guidance they provided. I can't help but feel like I've failed. Not just him but more importantly you guys. You, and your brothers and sisters. I failed to maintain the family I built. I knew how your mother was but yet… I still handled everything so wrong. I'm sorry my baby girl."

Loka who was now brought to tears herself hugged her father once again, "No dada you were wonderful. Don't ever say you failed again. All of us love you, I know trust me. The praise everyone gives you can be annoying dad. What happened to mom wasn't your fault."

Taryu held his daughter tightly, and for a moment all his pain and misery went away. He had regained the fervor and strength needed to continue and strive and make things right. He had explained his past to Loka now all that was left was to convince Lycurgus of what to do should he win.

He stood up to his full height, renewed by the strength and love of his daughter Loka, but it all vanished when he heard the roar of the crowd above.