Kaara thought about it for a second. She knew how to hunt Magakos, but her mother had always specifically kept her away from Malaki. She had assumed it was because of her curse, but since neither Rorik nor Arik had properly fought one either that meant there was a different reason.
“Maybe they want us to figure it out? I’ve always heard no two types of Malaki can be killed with the same method, so figuring out how to kill one is part of being able to hunt it, right?”
“Then why is it that every year when a group of kids our age goes out, there’s always death that follows? Why do we offer our souls to them?” Rorik said in a grim tone.
Kaara felt a chill, “Why do we do that?” She remembered how Tulos had called it a ‘culling’.
It was true, but it hadn’t hit her until now. Kaara hadn’t thought much about why they wanted to cull them in the first place. She had always been raised knowing it was just a fact of life being out in the Tibur.
“I think my parents wanted to protect me from this. That’s why they left the Tibur clan.” Rorik said, “I’ve thought about this for a while, but no answer seems to fit.”
“Do you think it has something to do with our soulmarks maybe?”
“I don’t know. What do we gain from sacrificing ourselves to the Malaki?”
Something popped into Kaara’s head, “I remember something Tiksu said a long time ago when I was little. He said that eating Malaki was the only way to completely destroy them, but he also said it was the only way to rescue those who had been killed by it.”
“What does that even mean?” Arik said, scratching her head.
”I dunno, I always thought it was just a saying. Sort of a thing to make sure we didn’t waste food people died for. Maybe it means even if we die to them as long as the Malaki is killed and eaten, in the end those souls are rescued.”
“Do you think there’s some truth to it? What happens to a person’s soul when it’s eaten by a Malaki anyway?”
“I dunno, but what I do know is that the hunters always eat different portions of the meat from the rest of us,” Kaara said, resisting the urge to hang upside down to think deeper on this.
“What do you mean? I’ve never noticed a difference, have you?” Arik said, looking at Rorik.
“No, not me.”
“That’s because you guys haven’t cooked Malaki before like I have. Sometimes, the hunters will bring multiple types of Malaki back. They will always get the first picks and they also choose for their apprentices. After that, the chefs get their pick, with the rest going to the children or any refugees traveling with us- so long as it’s cooked with some Ingen fruit, that is. Otherwise we just make it into a big stew for everyone instead.”
“It’s true that without the parts of an Ingen tree like its seeds and fruit, eating a Malaki would only corrupt us like it does to anything else,” Rorik said, “But you’re saying that the adults don’t need that anymore?”
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“Sometimes they don’t need it, sometimes they eat less of it. In the end, any meal I’ve prepared for the hunters and their apprentices always uses less Ingen based ingredients. It’s still always there, but not anywhere near the amount we’d put in a child’s meal.”
“Now that you mention it, ever since I became an apprentice, I noticed I was a lot sharper than usual.”Arik said, “My strength grew faster than it ever has. I thought it was just due to training and experience, but maybe it’s the food that’s been doing it.”
“So for whatever reason, there’s something about a Malaki’s meat which can make us stronger depending on which one we eat. Maybe the Ingen tree siphons some of the power we would otherwise get?” Rorik offered.
“That’s not it either. My dad loves Ingen jam, and he eats it all the time!”
“Well that doesn’t necessarily mean my theory is untrue, but I see your point. Your dad is the strongest here, so there’s got to be another component to it that we don’t know about. Maybe the amount of Ingen fruit in the meal doesn’t matter at all and we’re just focusing on it too much.”
“Maybe. But the hunters always get a portion of a Malaki’s core to eat in their meal too. I’d call it their ‘heart’ but it’s not really a heart. It’s this weird goopy thing that pulses and it’s real fun to poke.”
“I think we might be getting sidetracked a bit. What does any of this have to do with The Siren Ceremony and sacrificing people?” Arik said.
Rorik crossed his arms, “When my parents died, Rux was insistent that I eat a piece of the Malaki that killed them. I was reluctant at first, but after I did, I felt… something. I’d forgotten all about it until now. I figured it was just how it felt to eat one of those monsters for the first time, but what if it was something else? Something about rescuing my parent’s souls or something?”
“That could be true, but how do we save souls by eating? Sounds kind of silly if you ask me. Especially since we’re shittin’ them out after. If I were a ghost I’d feel pretty disrespected having been eaten and shat out twice.” Arik said.
Kaara remembered what she saw at the dragon’s teeth,“Dad said that dragons gain power by eating us right before we grow old. Ingen trees grow to their massive size by consuming magical creatures too. Maybe Malaki are the same way? And maybe we’re the same way when we eat really strong Malaki?”
“It would explain why I still can’t touch Uncle Rux no matter how hard I train,” Rorik sighed, “If the adult hunters are about a hundred levels above us. Rux is probably a thousand.”
Kaara massaged her temples, “I’ll have to think on this a little more, but putting that aside for now, there’s one other thing I wanted to mention. Tadios already knows this, but when I was at the dragon’s teeth gravesite, I think I saw my grandparent’s ghosts.”
“So you’re cursed to attract Malaki and you see ghosts? Next you’re gonna tell me you’ve been getting prophetic dreams,” Arik chuckled.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” Kaara said in such a serious tone it make Arik jolt.
“Wait, really? What are you the main character of a folktale or somethin’?”
“I’m just me, but I dunno what it all means.”
“Well, I’ve never known you to lie or be deceptive about things like this. What are your dreams about?”
Kaara told them about the dreams she’d been having. About the deep abyss, the figure she couldn’t help, and the occasional change of scenery she experienced. Right up until the encounter that brought her outside. When it came time to mention the grinning Malaki-esque ghost, for some reason her body completely avoided the topic. She didn’t know why, but she could only mention the golden ghost it was, but not that it turned around and snapped its finger in front of her.
“Well there’s only one way to find out what it all means right?” Rorik said.
“What do you mean?” Kaara asked.
“There’s a cave matching what you described in your dream. I say we pay a visit to it and see what we find.”