THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: SOULLESS

The outside of the archive was much bigger than the inside. It’s toog was 30 feet off the ground support by stone pillars. Now that Sagiri had successfully made it outside he could admire the archive run exclusively by the ink keepers. Its outside was built with crafted stones. Each one a different shape than the next yet they fit together so perfectly. It showed the talent of the architectures and builders and the ancient power inside of him burned with familiarity. It begged him to move closer to get a glance of the past. He moved closer, his hand stretched out forward but before he could lay his hand on the cold stone, he withdrew it quickly. On his periphery he saw someone peeking at him from the other side. It was a subtle peek but it did not seem like spying. More like curiosity.

He turned around swiftly only to see Kiana’s shaved head disappearing behind the corner. She had pulled her hood over her head but he knew it was her because had totally missed her presence. She disappeared quickly and Sagiri gave chase. He was already on edge and her mannerism throughout the day. The whispers of the echo inside of him however did not scream any warning of danger danger. It stayed silent so he knew she was not a danger to him. She was still soundless and her presence undetectable and that gave Sagiri an uneasy feeling. He was so used to knowing almost everything and feeling everyone feelings when they were around him, yet he could not feel hers.

By the time he got to the spot where she was. There was no one there and her presence was no longer nearby. Damn it! He stood on the spot looking around. He had missed her again. Just then the movement of carriages pulled by. He was wearing his Oru-shells but his senses were still intact. They were printed with the logo of Yalami forest school. Its logo is an image of a palmate leaf with a hole in the middle where a beast like a wolf’s head sat it’s mane joining to become one with the leaf. The three peaks of the leaf went up the middle one pointing up like an arrow while the other two curved in giving the image an almost circular look. It was simple yet magnificent. It told of the story its roots and what the forest harboured. Those from Yalami Forest School mostly referred to themselves as ,’The beasts of the forest.

Two female officials dressed in green combat from head to toe went into another building and came out soon after with a girl. Sagiri couldn’t see her face from where he stood but just subtly she turned her head and looked in his direction. Her her mist silver eyes locking with his. It was subtle before her dark grey hair covered her face. She was being escorted into one of the carriage envoys. She was an aged candidate too, just like Sagiri. One of the three that Jalume had talked about. She was petite and did not have any striking features apart from her eyes but that was not why Sagiri stood on edge. Something was very odd with her. The moment they locked eyes the whispers inside of him had come alive whispering a warning.

They said one word ”soulless”. He staggered a little at the warning but when he looked up she was already securely in the carriage. The envoys sure moved first and Sagiri wondered why. It’s not like someone was going to steal a student. Right?

There was another weird thing going on because just like Kiana, Sagiri could not feel her emotions, he could slightly feel her presence but not even one emotion oozed from her. It was like she was empty. Either she was empty or she was from a clan whose secret art was hiding their feelings. How odd. The archive inside of him had never encountered that before. It seemed he had a lot to learn. He was lost in his thoughts and completely forgotten about Kiana, however soon he felt a tingling sensation by his covered neck a few seconds. He turned around swiftly only to send Kiana jumping swiftly a few steps back, her dust rose eyes blinking rapidly.

”Where are you just sniffing me?” Sagiri opened his mouth in disbelief. How long has she been standing behind me? Sagiri felt even more unsettled. He did not like having no control over his surroundings. Now that he was really looking at her he couldn’t help but realize many strange things about her. She might have the body and looks of a young woman but she was behaving like a child or a cat. Her mannerism was off. She looked like she wanted to sniff him again but he moved away quickly. He did not like having people in his personal space or more like he was not used to it.

”Dont you dare!” Sagiri put his hand out in warning. She stayed put a few feet away but she kept moving weirdly as if she wanted to jump him. He felt the urge to touch her head and see what was really going on in her head but he was still exhausted and he did not want the person watching him to have any idea. He wished he could look into a person’s memory just by being close to them.

”Is that girl from your clan?” he asked, looking at the departing envoy. She shook her head moving a step closer.

”Is concealing your presence a secret art of your clan?” she looked at him like she did not understand his question before she shook her head no. She took another step closer still intended on sniffing him and he did not understand why. Had the ink keeper lied to him about her background? And if so, why?

”If you tell me how you do it, I’ll let you sniff me.” He added a shudder going down his spine at those uncomfortable words. Being stuck in the dark was however more uncomfortable to him. As a person who thought he knew everything up to now, not knowing was absolutely unnerving. Her eyes filled with light and she took another step closer timidly. She was about to say something when two things happened simultaneously.

”Kiana! Come here.” Another ink keeper appeared and she froze visibly. Sagiri did not like it. Something was definitely going on. The feeble ink keeper’s eyes darkened as he looked at Sagiri. They stared at each other for a minute before another ink keeper appeared. He was the one who had gives Sagiri his results. Sagiri snapped his eyes to him but when he looked back Kiana had disappeared again.

”Galka War Academy’s envoy is here.” he announced and sagiri finally broke his staring contest with the other ink keeper. He knew going to a school was the only way to get answers. For now, I’ll it go, he thought and as much as he felt rage just staring at the older ink keeper he let it slide. It was not in his best interest to pry at the moment. He followed after the ink keeper from earlier down another pathway and into another building. They did not go into any room and kept walking straight through the corridor cutting across the building until they stepped outside. He only had but a second to take in what was in front of him before a huge shadow blocked his path.

One angular black carriage that looked more like a war vehicle was stationed up in front of the door. The Galka War Academy logo was embedded into the sides. The logo, an angular shield with the head of a lion engraved in the middle. A crown sat at the top of it as if to announce their position as the ’king of the north’. Two swords cut across behind the shield their hilts firm and on the edge of each hilt where the hilt has two curved handles sticking out a rather delicate string is suspended and at its edge sits a razor looking flower. Two men standing beside the carriage are dressed in black military combat, knives strapped at the thigh, military hoods complement the uniform making them look even more intimidating while two sat in the roofless carriage facing each other. There was nothing soft about their appearance. The men are built with pure muscle and all of them stand easily a foot taller than sagiri. They looked like the definition of beast of battle.

”I am captain Salka Asakana, we are to escort you to Galka.” The man who had just blocked his path announced. He was a foot taller than the other men. What could they be possibly feeding them in the north? Sagiri wondered, breaking a step back to look at his face. His swirling grey eyes were sharp and his long hair was pulled into two bulky braids that ran down his back where they were tamed by two red shells.

”Get in.” he commanded but Sagiri did not make a move. His face was the definition of stoic. He clearly did not like leaving his position as the head of the galka elite unit just to babysit. He did not know what was so important about the little wimp in front of him to be forced to leave his position but now that he stood in front of Sagiri was even more disappointed. He looked mysterious yes but he was too skinny and tiny. How was he going to survive a day in Galka War Academy?

”Do they not feed their kids in the east?” He grumbled loudly at the ink keeper who laughed politely but Sagiri was seething inwardly. The more he met new people in the city the more naive and small he felt and he did not like it. The man in front of him was built like a beast. Even his small finger was made of pure muscles. He was finally starting to understand why the northerners were known as beasts of battle. His entire physique was built to kill. Why could his ’benefactor’ choose a school in the north for him. He was not that tiny but standing close to the northerner he felt like an ant. He oozed of power and Sagiri could only smell confidence from him. He did not in the slightest smell fear like Jalume and his puny companions. Compared to him, Jalume and his lurkies seemed like a bunch of kids.

Was his benefactor trying to kill him with intimidation, suffering or he was just a wicked person who enjoyed torturing others. Salka had just called him a kid who was unfed and to be honest standing next to him he looked malnourished.

Sagiri slithered into one of the carriages after a moment of hesitation, feeling small for the first time in his life. He had been successfully diminished in a span of a day. He had been outsmarted, outwitted and outsized. The two men did not make a move considering they were sitted at the door. He pushed himself awkward between them and say at the far back. His promise of revenging his ’benefactor’ had changed. Just making him feel how he felt in the saffocation chamber was not enough. He was going to make him feel actual pain and tear him limb from limb.