☼ Northwestern Desert

[Ergo War]

A relatively cool but extremely dry expanse of desert in the far northwestern corner of the Wind Country. Several minor countries border this area, though there are few roads leading directly to them. This area tends to be fairly lawless as a result of its isolation and its proximity to several borders.

tab Notable Features:

• Skiski Vein: 1000 kg total. Very sparsely distributed (mined in quantities similar to coal, rather than the max).

 

[Ergo War]

((Claiming mining and 1 treasure reward from the reopening.))

After running for what seemed like an eternity, Bast arrived at an area appropriately isolated from the rest of the country. With only her golems as witness, she let out a scream filled with years' worth of frustration, anguish, and loss, having all recently come to a head with the loss of Sonyo. It hadn't helped to learn that Shukaku hadn't killed the girl, and it definitely hadn't helped to learn that Rouran was where it had happened. There hadn't been anything out here as she'd told her comrades; it was just a lonely, isolated stretch of desolate wasteland.

That swell of emotion turned into productivity almost on accident. Bast carved away at the earth, her golems sorting through the debris as though it were a matter of course, a behavior they no doubt picked up from her mining trips. Eventually she found herself in a cave, then a series of caves and caverns, and ultimately at a dead end, where she stopped to catch her breath. She was in a circular room maybe twenty meters across, water trickling down the walls and from the earthen spires that hung from the ceiling.

Mononoke moved noiselessly through the darkness and draped a cloth across her creator. Bast pulled it close, then slipped it on when she realized it was the outerwear she'd gotten from the Villagers for everything she'd done to help them following the attack. Attacks, rather, if the past few years were to be counted all at once.

A light appeared in the center of the cave. Bast's stomach lurched at the sight of what appeared to be phantom kittens playing with a smooth glass ball the size of their heads. One was bright while the other was darker, but both glowed blue brightly enough to cast shadows.

Almost as if they sensed her fear, the cats batted the ball over toward the woman. When she had recovered enough to move, she reached out to knock it back, only to be confronted by her other fear. Unceremoniously, she found herself being reverse-summoned elsewhere.

---To Behemoths Island---

 

[Ergo War]

Almost a day after her initial departure, Bast popped out of a scroll held by Mononoke, who had returned to the surface. Based on the tracks visible in the sand, the golem had been quite concerned with its master's disappearance The sun was still low on the eastern horizon, indicating it was early in the morning. The woman took a moment to reassure her golems that she was back, probably for good this time.

She was feeling considerably less awful after that short stint on the distant island of the Behemoths. The pain and frustration of Sonyo's loss still weighed heavily on her. She suspected it always would, like the other deaths of her comrades. Before that thought could settle in much, she decided to test out her new summons. With a few hand seals and a minimal amount of Chakra, she activated Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

The entity that came out was fairly gargantuan for an E-Rank summon, being about her size. It was one that she hadn't met, presumably the Aten that Admah had mentioned. It was a bluish-gray and seemed like it had just awoken.

"Good morning," it greeted her with a gentle voice. "You must be the new summoner. You have quite the companions here. They are artificial, are they not?"

"Yes. I am Bast. How did you...?"

"Aten. You will find my understanding of the mind is fairly deep. They look somewhat hollow, like empty shells on the seashore. Still, to get that far along, you have done well."

"Thank you."

"Now, Bast, do you need something?"

Bast looked around at the wasteland. There was no one as far as the eye could see.

"Company?" she suggested. "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure I hadn't been hallucinating. My apologies for summoning you while you were still waking up."

"'Tis no worry. I got to see something interesting." Aten looked at Mononoke and Maimakterion with one beady eye. "If there's nothing, I will take my leave. Bab and Rai are better for company. They're small enough to blend in well with your species and friendly enough not to be put out."

With that bit of advice the creature known as Aten vanished in a puff of smoke.  

[Ergo War]

The shade of the cave was cool, like an icy glass of lemonade after a long day of work. Bast lounged, her eyes halfway glazed over behind her goggles. The midday sun baked the sand outside, swathing it in a heat haze. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she fell asleep.

Recent events had sapped her of much of her energy without her even noticing. To say nothing of the Behemoths, the news of Sonyo's passing alone had nearly taken everything out of her. How many of her students and comrades did that make?

Death was not something that could be hidden from. When it came for someone, there was very little anyone else could do, even with all the medical advancements and techniques in the world. That was something she was supposed to have come to terms with a long time ago, and it was definitely something she thought she had. She wished she could ask Ganchou what he thought about it, but he was dead too. San and Siniku were off doing who knew what, who knew where. This wasn't something she could bring up to Zyonu or her uncle or cousin, and her father was nowhere to be found; she'd have to find some other avenue to blow off steam.

Her eyes slid open again. She wasn't sure how much later it was, but the sun looked like it had barely moved. After scanning the empty landscape, the woman sighed and got lost in thought again.

Aten was right, in a manner of speaking: she would have to summon Bab and Rai. Not for company--though that was certainly a bonus--but to help her get past one of her ridiculous fears. Like she'd done with Howaido's fear of fire back in the day, she just had to re-frame the issue in her mind, to dismantle it and render it benign.

She summoned Bab and Rai. The two kittens popped into existence and immediately tackled her leg. While they gnawed on it, she took a deep breath.

If these creatures are dangerous, it isn't because they're abnormal cats, she told herself. If they're dangerous through conventional means, I can handle them. If they're dangerous through unconventional means, I can adapt. Think of Hecate. It's a living skeleton of a cat, yet nothing bad has happened because of it. If it looks like a cat and acts like a cat, regardless of its origin or constitution, it is a cat. Nail that fact to your skull.

She reached one hand out and ran it along one of the kittens' backs. It didn't feel normal, of course, but the tingle of electricity coming off of its body was warm, and it pushed back against her just like a flesh and blood cat would have.

"Bab."

One of them perked its ears up.

"Rai."

This time the other did. At least she had their names down now.  

[Ergo War]

"Play?" Bab asked, tilting its head. The cat was already practically wrapped around her leg, which it had just taken a break from biting.

"Haven't you had enough of that yet?" Bast answered, gesturing toward her leg. As if to rebuke her, Rai took another nibble. "I suppose not. Are you two made of electricity?"

"Yep! Zap-zap-zap!"

"Can you also fight?"

"You know it, Miss Basty! We go zap-zap and get some food, right Rai?"

"Hrngrmph," Rai concurred with its mouth full of knee.

The woman took off her headband and held it slightly outside the cave, dragging her summons with her as she moved. When she was able to get it into sunlight, she moved the reflection around on the cave walls. It took a moment for them to spot it, but true to their appearances, Bab and Rai took off after the light. She had them chase it around until they looked tired, then dismissed them.

The phobia was still there, but it was getting better. Baby steps.  

[Ergo War]

Time for round three. Bast ran through the seals quickly and summoned the next Behemoth in line, which turned out to be Nen, the cat-fish thing from the beach. Her interest hit rock bottom when she remembered how disappointed it had been when it couldn't see under her robes.

"You, huh?" she mumbled with a heavy sigh.

"Ladies don't usually sigh when I'm around," Nen cracked, smirking as much as his physiology allowed. "That aside, what hole did you summon me to? What, was an oven too inconvenient? You want sun-baked Nen? 'Cause this is how you get him!"

"What are you on about? I knew you were water-aligned, but can you actually not stand being out of it? You looked amphibious to me."

"It's not that... well... maybe it IS that... it's just... how do you stand all this dryness?!"

"I live in a desert. Were you not aware?"

"Lies! Don't say such cruel things! So beautiful, but such harsh words! How can I enjoy your company if I can't swim?"

Nen fell into a swoon, leaving Bast wondering what she'd gotten herself into with all this summoning business. Had San had to put up with stuff like this from the Bears? Did Ayame take this from the Snakes?  

[Ergo War]

"Are there more drama queens like you among the Behemoths?" Bast asked Nen as the latter pretended to gasp for air. "Seriously, Bab and Rai were less of a handful than you so far."

"Your words wound me! But fine, point taken. Can we at least get a bit farther into the shade? If I get too dry, I get a bit itchy."

The woman took a few steps back to allow her summon some space to pick itself up. After a few seconds, it became clear that a joke wasn't incoming, so she nodded.

"It is a bit warm out today. Perhaps there is a spring farther down."  

[Ergo War]

While cooler than above, the darkness of the cave wasn't doing much to put Bast at ease with a relatively unknown entity at her back. He didn't make any more passes at her, but Nen was making sure to stay a bit closer than she had hoped he would. They eventually did come across a trickle of water leaking out from the wall, which was where her summon decided to sit for a spell. She guessed that was mostly to keep up appearances, since the amount of water was negligible compared to his mass.

"So what brought you out to this dank locale, O Great Summoner?" Nen inquired. She could almost hear a smirk on his lips.

"Oh, I have my reasons. This place is quite far away from civilization, for starters."

"You sure about that? I've seen my share of caves, and this stuff down here looks recent and manmade."

"Ah," Bast exhaled, taking a seat against the opposite wall. "That would be because of me. There was a bit here already, of course, but some more appeared in the course of me working some things out."

Nen tucked his forepaws under his chest like a cat as he settled in. It was oddly adorable, the woman thought, but at the same time a bit too scaly for her liking. Plus, he smelled like fish.

"You made this? Pull the other one."

"It's true, though."

"Huh. Sure thing, boss lady."

It had been a while since she'd been called by that name.  

[Ergo War]

"So, Nen, tell me something," Bast opened.

"You want to know my three sizes?" Nen offered with a snicker.

Bast took a swig from her flask, not batting an eyelash.

"No matter how I look at it, you're an aquatic summon when the rest I've seen have been strictly terrestrial. Is there a theme to the Behemoths, or are you a collection of large and possibly ancient creatures that live in the same area?"

"Well, we're certainly large--hey, hey, no weapons, I'll behave."

Bast put her senbon back into their pouch at the creature's insistence, though she really felt like she needed to draw a line somewhere when it came to these perverted jokes.

"Sheesh, tough crowd. You always this much of a prude? Wait, no, I didn't mean it, I'll answer the question! Some of us are old, like Admah and Aten. As far as themes go, we're all pretty solidly tied to specific elements. Yours truly? I'm the waves of course! The grand, beautiful ocean, inspiration to poets and travelers everywhere! ...is it just me, or is it oddly draining in here?"

"Bab and Rai are obvious in that light, but what's Aten? And Seda?"

"Mind and wind. Seriously, do you not feel that? It's exhausting down here!"

"Wind? The horned one with the spiky carapace?"

"Yes, her! Seda! Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get the heck out of here. Normally I'd give a pretty lady all my attention, even if she's a stickler like yourself, but this place is making me feel weird. Call me someplace a bit more moist next time, okay?"

Before she could snap back with anything witty, Nen was gone, vanished in a puff of smoke. With yet another sigh, she returned to the surface for some fresh air. It was, indeed, a bit draining in there. The sand brought life back to her weary bones, though.  

[Ergo War]

A shard of skiski glinted in the light of the evening sun. Bast closed her fist around it and pocketed it. Following Nen's complaints, the woman had taken the time to investigate the cave she'd dug and found the shard. Individually they weren't much, but she suspected there were more. This was probably something she'd have to take up with her uncle.

She slammed her hand on the ground, summoning the next of the Behemoths without really giving it a second thought. She was still reveling in the novelty of having a summon of her own. Well, reveling inasmuch as she reveled in most things. It seemed she wasn't the only one, since one more creature than she bargained for arrived. The hulking beast that was Seda was accompanied by Aten.

"Observation only," the latter stated before Bast could even question it. The woman responded with a nod.

"We meet again, Seda," she greeted the more bearlike of the Behemoths. "Thank you again for your care and guidance. It was a great help."

"No, no, it was only natural. On the contrary, I'd like to thank you for your concern for us," Seda returned, sounding slightly flustered. She shook her head like a dog shaking off water, which set the plates on her back clacking against each other. Her voice had a completely different tonal quality to it out in the desert compared to the forest; it was like air whistling across the lip of a bottle.  

[Ergo War]

"Miss Bast, I would like to express a concern," Seda stated after the third turn in an otherwise pointless conversation. Aten sat off to one side, staring at the pair.

The sudden pronouncement left Bast somewhat taken aback. Unsure how she should handle these sorts of things--she had only been a summoner for almost a full day--she eventually settled on hearing her summon out. This one had, thus far, proven significantly less prone to bringing up sexual matters than Nen had been.

"I may be mistaken, but when we first met, you seemed distressed. Was that, perhaps, due to our appearances?"

"Not at all," Bast responded without a moment's hesitation. "I admit to being afraid of Bab and Rai, but I don't find you all intimidating thus far."

"Bab and Rai? The little ones?" The pitch of Seda's voice raised noticeably at that. While she didn't look at Bast, she did tilt her head to one side out of confusion. "...Hm. That does make sense, based on your reaction to Hakan. Life stories can be touchy things, but may I ask, at least, what it is that you do? Hermitage seems unlikely by your appearance and the recent construction of this cave."

"I am a shinobi," Bast said, keeping things simply.

"Sorry, I'm not too familiar with everything that entails. Is seeing extraordinary things common for shinobi?"

"For some," Bast answered with a tense sigh. "Are you familiar with soldiers?"

"Not personally, but stories have come to the island. They are ones who do battle, yes?"

"Typically at others' behest, yes. Shinobi are the same, though the exact details of what they do day-to-day varies. Some train themselves physically, some mentally, some have stores or grow plants or do any number of other things. All are expected to fight in times of danger."

"Your job, what is it?" Aten interjected for the first time, articulating a question that Seda was clearly leading up to.

"Undefined. Most often, I'm called on to serve as a teacher to younger shinobi or to protect the non-shinobi. Since it's the obvious follow-up: my professional status is undefined because I used to be the Kage of my Village. That's something similar to a warlord or a queen, if those terms are more familiar."

They were.  

[Ergo War]

"May I ask something now?" Bast inquired after a lengthy discussion of power structures and daily tasks for a queen/warlord/Kage, one which Seda had only seemed halfway interested in while Aten had been quietly enraptured.

"By all means, Miss Bast," Seda responded, the wind whistling across her back.

"You sound different here than you did on the Behemoths' Island. Is that some quirk of your biology? Something related to your wind affinity?" the woman asked, ogling her conversational partner out of the corner of her eye.

"Mm, well, yes, I suppose it's something like that," Seda acquiesced with a few pats of her forepaws against the sand. "Whether it's by biology or related to my wind affinity--or both--I have a bunch of little holes on the underside of my shell. They make different noises in different winds. They also store pollen. Very useful when Spring rolls around."

"I can imagine. Humans make something similar called 'windchimes', but those are meant to be hung from the eaves of a house. Some people say they put the spirits of the dead at ease."

"Do they?"

Bast turned her head to look at Seda fully, then turned her gaze back toward the dunes.

"I hope so."

"Hmm. Human spirituality is weird."

"How so? It's strange, certainly, but humor me; I don't usually get to talk to a non-human about these things."

"You spend your days working and sometimes fighting, then some of you die, and you put up charms to ward them away. If you love them, it would make sense that you would be excited to see them again."

"A fair assessment," Bast responded, her voice even. "I think the difference in our understanding on that point comes from assumptions about death. The standard in most places I've visited has been that death is awful for the one who died, unless their spirit is put at ease somehow. Hence, the windchimes. You see them at houses of surviving family members and at funerals."

"You talk like an outsider. That's supposed to be where I'm coming from."

"I am. I have no proof either way, so I hope that death is gentle. More pleasant than this world at least. Most likely, though, you just die and become fertilizer. What's your stance on the matter?"

"You die and become fertilizer."

"Fair enough."  

[Ergo War]

"What's that 'meaning of the elements' thing you mentioned earlier?" Seda tilted her head again, this time so that her horns were angled away from her summoner. It was a very smooth movement, almost unnaturally so. Bast couldn't help but think of puppets when she saw it, specifically the way their limbs rotated on ball joints.

"It was just a mental exercise I used to get Howaido over his fear of fire."

"Yes, your adoptive son. You've mentioned as much. But please, I'd like to hear it as well," the behemoth insisted.

"Well," Bast opened, buying a moment to try to remember her own chain of thought back then. "He was afraid of fire, like I mentioned. The goal was to convince him that fire was a natural part of life. It destroyed, yes, but it also cleared the way for new growth. Metaphysically, it represents passion and the energy that keeps us moving. A lack of fire is sometimes just as dangerous as too much."

"Oh, very wise!"

"Not really. I more or less came up with it on the spot when I learned he was afraid of it."

"All the more so! What of the others? You have five primary elements."

"Ah, yes," Bast said, faltering.

"What do they stand for? Make something up right now if you have to."

It seemed Seda was more than a little interested in pursuing the topic. Bast kind of understood where the behemoth was coming from, given that the behemoths were embodiments of those elements, more or less.

"I didn't really--Okay. Water brings life, but also change. Metaphysically it represents adaptability. Earth is static and forms the foundation for all life. It relates to endurance and reason. Lightning is almost the exact opposite; its existence is fleeting, but no less powerful for it. Unlike fire, it almost exclusively destroys if left to its own devices. It is the strength of mind and body that moves us. Wind is vast, formless, and carries both life and expression. Was that satisfactory?"

"Absolutely, Miss Bast!" Seda cried joyously, tapping her forepaws against the ground and wiggling her torso a bit. "I carry life and expression...! Hey, wait, you had way more to say about lightning than you did about wind."

The last sentence sounded like an accusation and was accompanied by a stopping of the stomping. Bast looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, having Wind and Earth elements myself, I find them a bit difficult to talk about in the same way. They're more instinctual at this point. Everyone else in my family has Lightning, so for a while I thought I could tap into it if I studied enough. No such luck, thus far."  

[Ergo War]

"That's odd," Aten interrupted several minutes later. Before either of the other two could figure out what she was talking about, the tapir-like being continued: "You can use lightning. It's weak, but there. By magnitude, maybe a third... no, fourth element? You have something above it. What is your third element?"

Bast gave Aten a look of wary curiosity, her brow furrowed with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"I haven't been able to manifest more than two, excluding Inton and Youton. Can you see my elements?"

"No. Strong hunch. Usually not wrong." Aten turned her head toward the other behemoth as she spoke. There was a moment where they exchanged a silent glance before Aten made a low whistling sound from her mouth. Seda perked up immediately at that.

"Miss Bast, you said the one who died was... Sonyo?"

"One of much too many."

"What do you want to do to honor the memory of Sonyo and all the others you've lost?"

"Beyond the typical revenge schemes, nothing comes to mind."

"Allow me to rephrase: What seeds of passion have they planted in you?"

The words were a bit confusing, but their meaning quickly became clear. For Bast--someone who had lost many students, comrades, and loved ones--what could she do to honor their memory? What had they held dear? What was the thread underlying their deaths? Revenge was petty. Breaking down didn't solve anything. Stalling out was an insult to their resolves. Moving forward was something she could do, but it wasn't enough.

Enduring was enough to save her, but no one else. Her breath would carry her words, but not those of the dead. Passion would drive not just her to greater heights, but others too. Passion was--

"Miss Bast, may I escort you home? You're so far away and it's so dark out."

Aten dispersed.

"Please, Seda. I'm worried I might get lost again."