History of Aoi Zaya: NSFW, TW

[SnowWolf1118]

From childhood, adulthood, to immortality, the life of Aoi Zaya will be explained in this topic over time. It will only include important, plot-related posts. His beginnings as an elemental, how he came to work under the emperor, etc. Updates in the title are subject to my whim. Content of the history are also subjected to my whim. Under no circumstances should you assume the story being told is the truth because Aoi does not tell the truth.

Aoi's posting colors are cyan and dark cyan.

Aoi means the hollyhock plant; blue-green colours.

Akane's posting colors are red and dark red.

Akane means madder and red dye.

I had no idea, but it fits them. Water is blue-green, and Aoi is water. Fire is red and also associated with anger, Akane is fire and gets mad real fast.

Violet is Aoi's and Akane's combined posting color when they are speaking in unison.

Resunotek's posting color is green.

Resunotek's name means skilled at child-rearing.
She is called Min in Chinese.

Kökedai's posting color is blue.

Kökedai's name means blue with the masculine suffix.
He is called Qing in Chinese.

Mei's posting color is orange.

Daiyu's posting color is indigo.

Liu's posting color is dark violet.

Everyone else's posting colors will be determined as the story goes.

Ainu-English Dictionary  

[SnowWolf1118]

List of Zaya household members and ages in Part 1:
Kökedai (Qing): Father of Aoi and Akane, 30 years old.
Resunotek (Min): Mother of Aoi and Akane, 22 years old.
Akane (Mai): Aoi's older twin sister, 6 years old.
Aoi (Shaoqing): Akane's younger twin brother, 6 years old.
Meifen: Second sister; 5 years old.
Chuntao: Third sister, 3 years old.
Liu: Fourth sister, 9 months.

Resunotek names her daughters after plants while her sons after the sea or the color blue.  

[SnowWolf1118]

List of Zaya household members and ages in Part 2:

Kökedai (Qing): Father of Aoi and Akane; 40 years old.
Resunotek (Min): Mother of Aoi and Akane; 32 years old.
Akane (Mai): First daughter and Aoi's older twin sister; 16 years old.
Aoi (Shao Qing): First son and Akane's younger twin brother; 16 years old.
Meifen: Second daughter; 15 years old.
Chuntao: Third daughter; 13 years old.
Liu: Fourth daughter; 11 years old.
Bai: Second son; 10 years old.
Jinghai: Third son; 8 years old.
Melin: Fifth daughter; 7 years old.
Bolin: Fourth son; 5 years old.
Luli: Sixth daughter and identical twin of Qiang; 3 years old.
Tungmei: Seventh daughter and identical twin of Jia Yang; 3 years old.
Bojing: Sixth son; 2 months.  

[SnowWolf1118]

List of Zaya household members and ages in Part 3:
(Ages progress from Part 2 to those shown in Part 3. Ages of Aoi's wives and concubines are their first appearance ages.)

Kökedai (Qing): Father of Aoi and Akane; 47 years old.
Resunotek (Min): Mother of Aoi and Akane; 39 years old.
Akane (Mai): First daughter and Aoi's older twin sister; 23 years old.
Aoi (Shaoqing): First son and Akane's younger twin brother; 23 years old.
Meifen: Second daughter; 22 years old.
Chuntao: Third daughter; 20 years old.
Liu: Fourth daughter; 18 years old.
Bai: Second son; 17 years old.
Jinhhai: Third son; 15 years old.
Meilin: Fifth daughter; 14 years old.
Bolin: Fourth son; 12 years old.
Luli: Sixth daughter and identical twin of Qiang; 10 years old.
Tungmei: Seventh daughter and identical twin of Jia Yang; 10 years old.
Bojing: Sixth son; 7 years old.
Jiang: Seventh son; 5 years old.
Hai: Eighth son; 4 years old.
Zhilan: Eighth daughter and fraternal twin of Su Yin; 2 years old.
Xiulan: Ninth daughter and fraternal twin of Ting; 2 years old.

Aoi's wives:
Qiu: First wife; 16 years old.
Shan: Second wife; 15 years old.
Ai: Former concubine candidate of the emperor; third wife; 14 years old.
Biyu: "A spoil of war", has three children; fourth wife; 23 years old.
Chun-hua: Fifth wife; 19 years old.
Daiyu: Sixth wife; 12 years old.
Fen Fang: Seventh wife; 6 years old.
Dongmei: "A spoil of war", has one child; eighth wife; 14 years old.
Huian: Aoi's ninth wife; 10 years old.
Mina: A north Indian princess, older half-sister of Suma; 11th wife; 18 years old.
Suma: A north Indian princess, younger half-sister of Mina; 12th wife; 17 years old.
Xue Ya: Former priestess, captured in battle by Aoi's division; Aoi took her on as his 13th wife; 26 years old.
Pema: "A spoil of war" with five children; 14th wife; 24 years old.
Pakpao: A Thai nobleman's daughter; 15th wife; 7 years old.
Somsri: A Thai nobleman's illegitimate daughter; 16th wife; 4 years old.
Farzana: A Persian nobleman's daughter; 17th wife; 15 years old.
Khurshed: "A spoil of war" with two children; 18th wife; 25 years old.
Jiayi: 19th wife; 7 years old.
Lifen: 20th wife; 9 years old.

Aoi's concubines:
Li Gin: 1st concubine; 5 years old.
Lu Li: 2nd concubine; 9 years old.
Mei Lin: 3rd concubine and Ming Zhu's sister; 12 years old.
Ming Zhu: 4th concubine and Mei Lin's sister: 10 years old.
Ming Hong: 5th concubine; 14 years old.
Nuo: 6th concubine; 16 years old.
Nu Ying: "A spoil of war" with four children; 7th concubine; 27 years old.
Ai: "A spoil of war" with 2 children; 8th concubine; 25 years old.
Peijing: "A spoil of war" with 8 children; 9th concubine; 30 years old.
Huan: "A spoil of war" with 3 children; 10th concubine; 32 years old.
Dong Mei: "A spoil of war"; 11th concubine; 20 years old.
Dan Dan: "A spoil of war"; 12th concubine; 21 years old.
Chang Ying: 13th concubine; 24 years old.
Bao Zhai: 14th concubine; 23 years old.
Chun Tao: 15th concubine; 24 years old.  

[SnowWolf1118]

Snow crunched beneath Akane's straw boots as she forced herself to keep up with Aoi, her younger twin brother, as they searched for firewood. He wasn't as physically strong as her, but he managed to walk ahead of her through the knee-deep snow. The gods knew Aoi was not strong enough to lift a small ax, let alone something heavier, yet he always continued to surprise those around him. He always surprised them with his strong heart and convictions. For someone so small, he was so strong. Quick to smile, quick to laugh, and quick to love. Her Aoi was a good boy, better than her. He spoiled her and their younger sisters instead of focusing on himself. He did his best to ease their pregnant mother's worries. He was such a good boy.

Aoi had given her his straw boots after hers tore. She had tried to refuse him, but he was more stubborn than he appeared. Akane watched his small feet turn red and his toes blue as they walked through the snow. Beneath his threadbare clothes, she could tell he was shivering. She was shivering. It was freezing, yet he never complained of the cold. Her Aoi was such a good boy. He always stayed strong for her.

Sometimes Akane wished he wouldn't. Sometimes, she wished he would act selfishly, like children his age, like her, but he never did.

They were deep into the bamboo forest, and Akane could see her Aoi looked upset about something. Of course, only she could tell he was upset. Akane was Aoi's other half. Without each other, they were not complete. When Aoi was without Akane, the village children would harass him, throw stones and sticks at him, beat him. They'd ask if he was truly a boy, taunt him about his status. Her Aoi, without complaint, took these physical and verbal beatings without so much as a whimper. Yet when she stepped in, they all ran away, afraid of her fists. Akane did not care that the village viewed them as rats in the sewage. No one picked on her Aoi, no one. She'd kill to protect him. She'd sacrifice herself for him. She'd—

Ouf! Aoi jutted out his tiny, bone-thin arm in front of her, bringing her back to the present reality. He barred her from walking any further. "Akane, we've wandered too far," he said, his dark gaze shifting around their surroundings. "We're returning. Now." The order carried an urgency that halted any protests from her, so she turned around without a complaint.
Instead, Akane was full of questions. "Aoi, Akane wants to know what's wrong. We can still find our way back home, so we're not lost..."
"No, Aoi has a bad feeling, so we must return home," said Aoi, but without saying anything more.

Bad feeling? What bad feeling? Why did Aoi always know when bad things would happen? Akane wished she was as smart as Aoi—

Looking down, Akane stared at her hand joined to her Aoi's, watching as his twig-like fingers squeezed hers. "Akane is the smartest person I know." Aoi gazed at her, willing Akane to believe his words; and she almost did believe him. If it came from Aoi, Akane would believe the sun revolved around the earth.

A CRUNCH! sounded from behind her, and then, "Grrrrr...." from the front. Akane didn't need to turn around and know what it was, and Aoi didn't let her.

Pulling her along, Aoi ran through the snow with a quickness she didn't think possible. She couldn't stop herself from staring down at his blue toes, bewildered. How did they not fall off at all? They looked like blocks of ice to her.

But then another tug by Aoi brought her back to the present. Akane watched as Aoi searched for something, shelter maybe, then exclaimed at his luck. Before Akane had a moment's pause, Aoi pushed her in a crevice between two rocks. It was a small shrine in front of one of the only trees in the bamboo forest. It was a shrine for the village's forest deity. "Aoi—"
"Please protect my Akane, honorable shén. Please protect her," Aoi prayed as he knelt in front of the shrine before turning around to face their pursuer.

It was his prized hunting dog. The one he let out whenever he felt bored, to catch any trespassers. Akane now knew why Aoi had a bad feeling. He knew they crossed the property line.

Akane refused to squeeze her eyes shut as Aoi faced the massive, vicious dog trained to corner his before he ripped it to shreds. Aoi knew this, Akane knew this, and still Aoi faced the dog. A huge dog with thick black fur and black eyes. Sometimes, Akane thought that Aoi and this dog could be one in the same. Maybe, one day, Aoi would transform into a dog like this and then he would love at least one of them.

As she watched Aoi and the dog circle each other, Akane felt hot tears stream down her face. Aoi was going to die. Her Aoi was going to die. Reaching out, Akane tried to get to him, but pain soon shot down her arm. It frightened her. She couldn't leave the shrine. Some unseen force was keeping her in. It was the forest shén protecting her, as Aoi had prayed. But he didn't pray for himself. If he had hid in the shrine, he would be protected to. Protected, but trapped in the cold. As realization dawned on her, the dog lunged for Aoi's throat. "Aoi! No!" screeched Akane.

~~~~

Hot, searing energy surged through Akane's body, and then it stopped, leaving behind only a warm, glowing ember in its wake. The girl couldn't remember what happened. She could only remember searching for dead bamboo to use as fire, then nothing. When she woke up, she was so warm. Aoi was so warm. His blue fingers and toes were pink. Akane smiled at her little brother before shaking him awake. "Aoi, wake up. You need to see this." Around them, the snow had disappeared and steam rose from the scorched earth below them. She looked around and found the village forest deity glowing behind them. Things were going to be different now.  

[SnowWolf1118]

Aoi panicked when he saw the shrine glowing behind them and steam rising around them. The snow was gone and the earth previously hidden by the snow scorched. Immediately, he became distraught thinking Akane-iějiě had been hurt by the power that must have caused this, but she just shook her head and smiled at him while pointing to his hands and feet. Aoi, confused, looked at himself and saw everything that had turned blue was pink again; he could feel everything again. No numb toes or fingers, it was great, and if he was doing fine, so was Akane-iějiě.

At that moment, Aoi realized they needed to tell their mother, but no one else. Stories of this could lead to him finding out, and who knows what he was do to them. He could even send men to take Aoi and Akane-iějiě away to death, or away to the Emperor and his royal court as entertainment. The villagers did not treat them well, and he doubted his men or the emperor's men would treat them any better. Truly, Aoi believed he would beat their mother if they tried to rebel against them. This incident, whatever it was, was new to them, and it would take many years before they could properly comprehend it. Neither Aoi nor Akane-iějiě could protect their mother if he tried to beat her. They were still as weak and as pathetic as ever.

Squaring his shoulders, Aoi started straight as Akane-iějiě, gripping her by her arms so she couldn't run away. "Akane-iějiě, we mustn't tell anyone," he hissed, letting his gaze bore into hers, watching as her soft brown eyes, flecked with gray, widened. "Only Mother can know. Breathe not a word to our sisters. Make no indications to him that we have changed...Ever." Until they could be free, far from their village and far from him, they could never reveal the truth.
"Akane promises Aoi, she won't speak of this, so please don't cry. Okay, Aoi? Don't cry." Akane-iějiě's face crumpled up as she rubbed her hands against his face, making him realize, for the first time, he was crying. The hot tears streamed down his face like a river, never-ending and powerful.

Sobbing, Aoi shook his head, tried to shake it, but Akane-iějiě kept his head in place, pressed against her bony shoulders. Like their mother—she was so much like their mother—Akane-iějiě whispered reassurances into his ears. Gripping his Akane-iějiě, Aoi cried and cried in the cold until his tears dried out. "Akane-iějiě?" he mumbled against the thin fabric of her clothing.
"Yes, Aoi?"
"Let's go home," he sniffed as he pulled back to gaze at his Akane-iějiě, who was smiling like their mother.

Holding hands, they gathered the bamboo scattered around them—the ones they had collected until the weird moment before their world changed—and returned home.

All the while, Aoi thought of what he must do to protect his Akane-iějiě, their mother, and their little sisters. He suspected it involved sacrificing himself more than anyone could know.  

[SnowWolf1118]

Resunotek sat by the smothering charcoal in the fireplace of the slave quarters, nursing her little Liu. Resunotek did not know if her child would survive the winter. It was her luck to give birth to him so late into the winter. She could barely feed herself and her four other children. How could she possibly feed this little daughter of hers? Resunotek already had to take care of Chungtao, her toddler who couldn't yet work in the estate like her older siblings, or receive training in dance and song like the other slaves' children. As of yet, none of her daughters proved themselves talented with dance or song. Only her only son, Aoi, the child who resembled him the most, showed talent, but he could not sell a boy dancer at a high price like he could a girl dancer. For years, Resunotek watched as her previous master and him trained the daughters of other slaves in song and dance, then sold them to nobles. Never did she want this for her own daughters, but at least her daughters would be better fed, better clothed, and better treated than herself.

However, it was not so, and Resunotek knew he would never train Aoi in dance and song because of his resemblance. The embarrassment of the child would make him the laughing stock of the village.

Sighing, Resunotek tried to stop Liu from being so fussy, but the infant did not wish to drink anymore of the scarce milk she could provide for her. Resigning herself, she slipped her breast back under her clothing and burped her child.
"Min, where are your children? Why have they not returned yet with the firewood?" called one of the elderly slaves, a foul-mouthed man who always glared at her with disdain and who always received a glare of disdain in return. She did not like the old man. He was crude and decrepit. She did not know why he hadn't sold him yet.
"Jingsheng, they will return when they find enough bamboo to keep a fire for the night," she scolded the old man, and instantly shielded Liu from his raised hand.
"Mother! We've returned!" The high-pitched voice of her little Akane rang through the slave quarters, earning her the glares of the other slaves.
Aoi entered behind her, like a shadow, carrying more bamboo than she thought possible. "We have brought enough bamboo to keep the fire for several nights," Aoi's soft voice was a whisper in the winter storm. "Shaoqing will place the bamboo in a dry spot." Her Aoi bowed to the other slaves, a model of perfect manners. Resunotek didn't know where she son learned such mannerisms except from mimicking those of him and his guests.

Then, of course, no one objected to her son taking on the burden of placing the bamboo in a dry spot, away from the cold drafts and leaky roof. And, as usual, Akane trailed behind Aoi, chastising him for taking on the task without asking her for help. Where one went, the other was meant to follow.

Wrapping Liu in the thickest blanket given to her by him, Resunotek made room beside her sleeping daughter Chungtao by the fire for her eldest children.

It wasn't long until all the slaves were settled in for the night, all sound asleep save for herself and her eldest children.  

[SnowWolf1118]

As the breathing of the other slaves deepened into a steady, rhythmical chorus, Akane pressed herself close against her mother. With all the slaves now asleep, she felt more comfortable with telling her mother the secret she and Aoi had been keeping from her. "Mama," whispered the young girl, "Something happened today while we were gathering bamboo." As she spoke, she kept her language in the tongue of her grandmother's and great-grandfather's people, the Ainu, because the last thing she wanted was one of the slaves waking up and eavesdropping on their conversation. Both Akane and Aoi would rather take a lashing at speaking the language of their mother's family than having him find out about their powers.
"Mai, Mama spoke to you," hissed Aoi, calling her by the Chinese name given to her because the name her mother chose was not one he approved of.
"Sorry, Mama. It's just, watch the fire. I have been practicing since this happened."
"Mai, what do you—Oh, may the gods have mercy on us. Never let anyone know of this power!" Akane could see it took all her mother's strength to not scream. The embers before them, at Akane's command, burned stronger and brighter than before, turning into a small flame, but it shouldn't have been possible. No one was stirring the embers or fanning them.
Akane hugged her mother and motioned for her to watch Aoi. "Shaoqing, show her," commanded the girl. Aoi obliged.
Before them, a pot filled with snow had been placed by the fire so it could melt and be boiled in the morning for tea. At Aoi's command, just a subtle twirl of his finger, the melted snow in the pot swirled around. Their mother was beyond stunned.
"Until we gain our freedom, we won't let anyone know, Mama. We promise, so please, stay strong until then." His voice was barely audible, his words more of a mumble, but she could see it was because he was falling asleep. And she was too. For them both, it was hard to keep their eyelids from drooping; and soon enough, they were both asleep.  

[SnowWolf1118]

Aoi wanted to say more to his mother about what happened to him and Akane-iějiě, but exhaustion won out. Fear and worry coursed through him all day long on their trek back home, but as soon as he was back in his mother's warm embrace, those fears and worries disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, or before the light of dawn, Aoi and the other slaves were awake and moving through their morning routines. The women went to prepare the morning meal while Aoi and a few of the other men went to slaughter a few animals for the meal. Today would be bāozi—steamed stuff buns filled with pork—tea, and rice porridge. Akane-iějiě was with their mother cleaning the estate because the last time Akane-iějiě tried her hand at cooking, it resulted in her nearly losing a thumb.

Actually, Akane-iějiě was more suitable for slaughtering the pigs and other livestock. Aoi knew he wasn't suitable for the job because his hand always shook before he broke the animal's neck or slit its throat. Today, they were killing two of the sow's young piglets, gutting them, cleaning them, and overall preparing them for the women to cook. The servants cleaned out the cattle and pig pens as the slaves did the dirty work. They also served to watch over them so they wouldn't try to poison him, their master.

Gritting against the task, Aoi pulled the two piglets from the sow—while the older slaves held the sow back so she couldn't protect her offspring—and then dropped them on the slaughtering table. In two swift movements, he picked up the nearby mallet and cracked their skulls. The little animals twitched a few times before stilling for the last time. The older slaves took the piglets and began to clean them, leaving Aoi to nibble on a stale bun before his run to the kitchen where the women were preparing the dough for the tender flesh of the piglets.

Aoi didn't want to continue their usual routine. Come spring, things will change. Things would change, for both him and Akane-iějiě. He wouldn't be living on the slave quarters during winter and Akane-iějiě wouldn't be living here at all, not if he could help it. Akane-iějiě couldn't remain here, soon he would sell her if she continued to show no skill in domestic work.  

[SnowWolf1118]

The winter passed, cold and harsh, unforgiving to all those who had no homes and those whose homes were nothing more than an old horse stable unsuitable for horses, and Akane found herself staring at three robe-clad bhikkhunī and five equally robe-clad bhikkhu, wincing against the bright orange color of those robes hurting her eyes. She didn't like the way they smiled at her, or the other village girls, girls who were daughters of poor farmers or of slaves. The bhikkhunī said they and the bhikkhu came to take them, and even some useless boys, into the fold of the Sēngjiā, to educate them, to impart them the teachings of the Buddha and the bodhisattva.

But Akane knew better. From the moment these women and men came into the village, it was because he had sent for them to gather up all the useless girls from the village. He probably promised to give a significant donation to the pagoda of the bhikkhunī and the bhikkhu. Of course the other villagers would agree to his decision. And Akane wouldn't forget how the begging the monastics had to do in order to gain enough to survive was still viewed as pitiful and disgraceful, yet the villagers would gladly ignore it if it meant they would take their useless daughters off their hands. Not when he was going to donate to them. He was the wealthiest man in their desolate little village, not even a blink on any map in the empire. Instead of selling their useless daughters and girl-slaves, they would give them to the bhikkhunī to raise and nurture in order for them to become proper girls they could sell. Proper girls they could marry off at steep prices to men two or three times their ages. Proper girls whose very presence in the Sēngjiā would elevate the social status of their families, even if it was by a fraction because it was more favorable to have a male family member enter the Sēngjiā. Donating to a Sēngjiā for bhikkhu would bring them more positive dhrama because males were always better. Being male was being superior to being female. It wasn't like women risked their lives bringing those sorry-a** men into the world. "...and so we look forward to seeing you all flourish under the Buddha's teachings."

Before Akane had realized it, she had missed the whole speech the ordained monastics gave the gathered girls, about how wonderful and fulfilling their lives would be from now on. Akane hated it. Her life was far from perfect, far from desirable, but at least she was with her family. And now she had power to protect them. It would take years, but she would master her powers and use them to free her family, burn the estate to the ground, with him inside it.

Glancing around, Akane tried to locate her family, but she could only see the solemn-faced men of the village, their dark, leathery skin like a masked pulled over their skulls. At least for the older ones. The younger ones looked like they've seen better days, but Akane knew that one day they too would look like their fathers and grandfathers. And all these men wanted their daughters and girl-slaves gone. They wanted them far away, where they wouldn't have to pour precious resources into them. Akane did not want to be here anymore, not under their cold gazes. Akane wanted her mother, she wanted her Aoi.

And then the monastics began lining them up, loading them onto a cart to take them far away from their homes. As the children began piling in, she could see a number of them crying or trying not to. No one wanted to leave home. No one wanted to go live with a bunch of strangers, have their futures decided for them. Akane bet many of them were asking what they did wrong to be punished like this, why they were being sent away. The children around Akane's age, six or seven, though the monastics weren't supposed to take six year old children into the cloth, were having the hardest time keeping their composure. Akane knew that because she was tearing up, too. And when one of the bhikkhunī, a young one, around her mother's age, tried to pull Akane toward the cart, she resisted.

Akane pulled away, tried to run, she even prepared to scream so none of the monastics wanted her, but then a shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw him staring down at her, his coal-black eyes burning a hole through her tiny body. He didn't have to raise a hand for her to instantly shut up. The message in his gaze spoke enough. Resist, open her mouth and scream, and her mother, her brother and sisters, would pay the consequence.

So she didn't resist going into the cart. In fact, she climbed into it herself, wedged between the tanner's daughter and the magistrate's girl-slave, his illegitimate daughter as village gossip said. An illegitimate daughter of her owner, like Akane. He was her father. A thoroughly mixed-blood, useless mongrel that her father was sending away to the pagoda so she could be useful to him.

Staring at the village as it slowly disappeared, but not the men and their wives. No, these people followed them so theri may complete the novice vows, renouncing worldly desires and thoughts. If only her family was taking part in this sacred ritual, but it was only her father and his wife who would attend her ceremony, for formality. His wife didn't like her, or her mother and siblings. A vain little tart. That vixen would rather never set her gaze on any of them ever again, and the feeling was mutual.

Then Akane thought how, the next time she saw her family, the wretched family her father and his wife hated, would be if her father thought she was now useful to him. But that was in another twelve years.

I'll earn my freedom. I'll earn all of ours. I promise Mama, Aoi, she vowed as the tears finally rolled down her hollow cheeks.