CHAPTER 8 – Jiuli Clan
“Lei-Lei.”
“Yes, Father?”
“You must not lose face in the heat of danger.”
“I know, Father.”
Kai, chief of the Jiuli clan, set his eyes over his hundred-man squad as they set out for a hunt, which loosely meant look for anything you can eat. Some were shirtless with only a long, black skirt covering their southern regions while others wore thick hides skinned from Silverwolves. Each man held an iron spear in their dominant hand parallel to their hips.
One warrior stood apart from the rest, but she wouldn’t call herself that. Ethercaster was better suited.
Lei-Lei, a socially awkward girl held her wooden staff with both her hands. She kept her green hair in a bob with bangs that covered her silver eyes. Since she was blind, she had no desire to show them off. Her ears came from the distinct features of the Jiuli Clan: long and pointed like the elves of Yuato, Land of the West. Unlike the men who dressed like proper warriors, she wore a grey robe too large for her petite frame with a belt that tightened around her slim waist.
Unlike her fellow Jiuli, she was blessed by Inanis and was gifted four spirits that watched over her. They were the Voice of Rain, Voice of Mist, Voice of Wind, and Voice of Ice, and together, they gave her an immoderate amount of ether. Her parents assumed her sight had been the cost of her gift. To not waste the blessing, she was sent to a village outside of the Kratian Mountains, and there, she met a mystic who taught her a technique that made the most out of her abundant ether: an ether field.
It acted like a web. When she released her ether into the air, anything that disturbed it brought a signal back to her. She could even keep watch behind her.
Like any other day, Lei-Lei's head lowered to the ground. Today was special though. It would be her first time assisting her father on a hunt, and she couldn’t be any more nervous.
“Brighten up!” A warrior shouted in the front. It was Danei. He had entered the ladder half of his life and the top of his head had gone completely bald, leaving only his sides to bear the green hair of the Jiuli.
“You’re the daughter of the chieftain after all!” Kuei added. He was near the same age as Danei, and they’d been friends for as long as they could remember. His face developed wrinkles, and his physical abilities were less than desirable.
Soon, the hundred-man squad erupted in cheers, cheering the young girl on for her first hunt. Albeit a bit overwhelmed, Lei-Lei waved—a shy smile on her face. “Thank you, everyone...!”
Minor preparations were made before they embarked, like checking armor and weapons. When all was done, Lei-Lei walked beside her father with his men following behind.
“Head high, Lei-Lei,” Chieftain Kai said as he held his daughter’s chin up. “Watch your step too.”
“I can’t...” she whispered, her voice quieter than usual. How could she when she was blind?
The chieftain looked away awkwardly. Despite the fourteen years he had fathered Lei-Lei, he always managed to forget she was blind. Her ether field had done wonders for her.
“Father, shouldn’t I be in the back?” Lei-Lei whispered again. “I can’t fight up close like you can... You know that...”
With a light pat on his daughter’s back, the Chieftan whispered back. “Worry not. I want you to have a close-up t. feel what a hunt is like”
A sense of pride washed over Lei-Lei and she smiled. Her father felt she was brave enough to be on the frontlines
“Zerkerbears!” A man yelled.
Chieftan Kai turned. Three bears ten times larger than him growled as his men intruded on their territory. Kai’s men threw their Spears, but their fur was too thick to break through. He pushed his daughter aside. “Find high ground, quick!”
Lei-Lei nodded and immediately began her concentration. She held firmly to her staff and remained still, steadily releasing a stream of ether that surrounded her environment. She could feel everything. The tall hardwood trees, the men and their beating hearts, and even the worms that hid below her feet.
There was no natural high ground like a hill, so she had improvised. She ran up to the base of the nearest tree and pointed the tip of her staff under her. “Voice of Wind: Wyvern’s Gust!” Threads of ether gathered below her, blowing away dirt as they launched her a dozen meters into the air. At the peak of her travel, she clung to a branch and began climbing.
Chieftain Kai began shouting for his men to get into formation, but it was no use. No matter what they did, the Zerkerbears tore through their defenses, sending them flying. Some yelled as they landed against trees while others much luckier landed in bushes.
All hope was lost. Half the men were out of commission now and Chieftain Kai had run out of ideas. A retreat needed to be called.
“What do we do, Chieftain?!” Danei yelled, his sword drawn and his hands trembling.
Kuei charged in front of Danei and blocked one of the Zerkerbear’s swipes, though it broke his posture and knocked him down. “Focus, Kuei—”
Another Zerkerbear interrupted Kuei and swiped him away.
Chieftan Kai raised his spear and took a deep breath in before roaring. “Help anyone injured and retreat! I will fend off the Zerkerbears in the meantime!”
Finally, Lei-Lei thought as her head grazed the forest ceiling. She straddled herself firmly on a branch and used her ether field to aid in directing her staff at the Zerkerbears. Her father had been struggling while she climbed, and it was time to show off. “I beseech you, Voice of Rain: Imprisonment Aqua!”
Blue threads of ether rippled at the tip of Lei-Lei's staff, forming a sphere that grew to the size of the Zerkerbears. She released the spell with the recoil of it nearly knocking her off her branch. She caught herself and gripped her staff again before carefully controlling the trajectory of her spell. “Father, move!”
Chieftain Kai looked back and smiled as he noticed the gargantuan spell floating towards him. He leaped back as the sphere of water swallowed the three Zerkerbears whole, leaving them levitating in the air to drown.
Lei-Lei grit her teeth as she struggled to control her ether. When her ether field declared them dead, she finally released Imprisonment Aqua, falling forward on her branch as she let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Change of plans, men!” Chieftain Kai shouted. He approached the Zerkerbears and planted his spear through its thick fur. “Tonight, we feast!”
***
The Jiuli clan came together that night, surrounding a bonfire roasting three Zerkerbears. The men whose efforts went towards hauling them sat on thick logs, drinking and chatting with one another while the women helped turn and cook the meat. The children played carelessly around the fire, and one was even scolded by their mother for setting a stick alight.
“Give me another serving of meat!” Danei yelled out, raising his bowl in the air.
“As if!” his wife took the bowl from his hand. She could see the disappointment in his face but looked away. “You are getting too fat! It’s no wonder you got so hurt during today’s hunt!”
“It’s quite the opposite really,” he said. His finger pointed to Kuei on the other side of the fire with his wife. “I had to save that cowardly fellow over there.”
While everyone had fun, in her own little world near the edge of the village, Lei-Lei sat underneath a tree. She looked as if she was brooding, but she wasn’t. Today, lives were nearly lost. To prevent another hunt like this, she casted her ether field around the village. It exhausted her ether supply, but by practicing, she could be more efficient and use less in the future. It helped that by training, she could keep watch over her people in case danger neared. Occasionally, she’d sense a small rodent or another small beast running about, but there was never anything too dangerous.
A young girl holding a slab of Zerkerbear meat noticed Lei-Lei sitting under the tree, away from everyone else. Her hair was straight and green just like Lei-Lei's, but her’s was longer and reached her shoulders, flaring outward. Adorned from wrist to forearms were her precious beaded bracelets. Just to make sure it was Lei-Lei, she blinked her silver eyes and squinted through the dark. Her long and pointed ears flickered.
She approached her and squatted. “What are you doing?”
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Lei-Lei had already sensed Fei, her younger sister, coming over with food. “Training. You know that.”
Fei smiled before handing her sister the meat. “Papa says you must eat. He asked that you come celebrate with everyone else too.”
The irresistible aroma of cooked meat rushed Lei-Lei acute senses. Though reluctant, she brought both her hands out, and her little sister placed the meat in them. Lei-Lei took a small bite and began to chew. The meat was tough, but that was to be expected from the even tougher Zerkerbears.
“Come on, Lei-Lei!” Fei urged. “Everyone wants to praise you for how well you did today.”
“I can’t...” Lei-Lei replied. “It’s my job to watch the village. What will we do when danger arrives?”
Fei puffed out her chest. “We’ll have you is what!” She grabbed hold of her sister's forearm. “Plus, Payuei says he’d like to have a dance with you around the fire.”
Payuei, a boy the same age as Lei-Lei had had his eyes on her for quite some time now. The two weren’t very familiar with each other. Lei-Lei knew him from the hunts, and supposedly, her father arranged her to marry him when she turned sixteen.
“I have no interest in that boy. Besides, I saw him cowering when father fought against the Zerkerbears.”
“How could you have seen him if you’re bli—”
Lei-Lei lightly elbowed her sister. She already knew the answer to that.
Fei sighed. “Then with that ether field of yours, look at how sad Payuei is!”
Lei-Lei's voice was but a whisper now. “No way! Even Kuei showed more bravery! Kuei! Kuei of all people!”
Fei cringed at the thought of Kuei being a brave and strong man. After Lei-Lei swallowed her third bite of the Zerkerbear meat, she handed it back to her sister and dismissed her, telling her she needed to focus. Saddened by the news, she knew it was impossible to budge Lei-Lei out of her comfort zone.
Using the ether field for such long periods was excruciating work, and Lei-Lei eventually grew tired; her excuse of training could no longer be upheld. She walked to the fire and festivities with nervous steps, holding on dearly to her precious staff. Even without her ether field, navigating the village was easy since she’d developed an internal map of it. Her staff doubled as cane in case something blocked her path. The loud and obnoxious laughter of her father helped in finding where her family sat.
“Look,” a boy teased, punching Payuei’s arm as he spotted Lei-Lei across from the fire. “It’s your woman.”
Walking out of the shadows with her head to the floor was Lei-Lei.
Payuei’s other friend pointed at her. “Look at her! She’s practically asking for you to go up to her.”
Lei-Lei could hear their distant words. I knew this would happen...
Having had enough, Payuei stood up and stretched. He slicked back his hair, slapped his freckled face together, and walked toward his future wife. He turned back one last time and smirked at his friends. “Watch me.”
Even without an ether field, Lei-Lei could sense the presence of arrogance approaching her. It had a certain stench to it that made her want to avoid at all costs.
Payuei stopped in front of the nervous wreck and greeted her the Jiuli way. “Jukon.”
He was met with a deathly silence. Jukon, a way of saying hello, was meant to be welcoming and formal.
Lei-Lei's body stiffened as she turned her body the other way, walking around the boy.
Failure wouldn’t stop Payuei. He clicked his tongue and got in front of his future wife again, “Jukon, Lei-Lei—”
“Jukon...” she mumbled under her breath as she walked around him again.
Payuei looked back to see his friends on the floor, rubbing their bellies as they laughed hysterically. Determined not to make a fool of himself, an even more direct approach was required. Once again, he stood in front of Lei-Lei.
“Lei-Lei, please listen to me,” he said. “Would you care for a dance around the fire?”
“Sorry,” she said. Lei-Lei's pace was even faster now, and she quickly came to her father’s side, sitting beside him on a log. Payuei had left at that point, humiliated.
“Is he getting on your nerves?” Chieftan Kai asked, having watched the interaction.
Lei-Lei nodded.
A woman sitting on Chieftan Kai’s other side leaned forward and looked at Lei-Lei. It was her mother Funu, a slim and tender woman. “Payuei? That nice boy over there?”
“He wanted to dance with me,” Lei-Lei said while hugging her staff. “I didn’t want to.”
“You’re going to marry that boy soon, so why not dance with him?” Chieftain Kai asked.
“That’s right!” Funu agreed.
Lei-Lei pouted before letting out a deep sigh. “No more of this love talk please.”
As she sat still, embracing the fire’s warmth, she heard rustling behind her and clutched her staff. Her instincts told her to use her ether field, but she had run out of ether not long ago.
“Oi, Lei-Lei!” Danei shouted. He stood up from the log he sat on and raised a cup of fermented fruit juice in the air. He was clearly drunk and out of his mind, but his actions had good intentions. “From all of us to you, thank you for this great hunt—”
The ground shook. The frolicking of the Jiuli stopped, and then the ground shook again. The shaking turned into rumbling as the roars of Zerkerbears broke the night’s joy.
“Everyone!” Chieftain Kai shouted. Had the Zerkerbear’s families come for them? Several more of them yelled, an abnormal number for their lifestyle. “Gather your weapons and prepare to—”
A Zerkerbear jumped over the Chieftain, landing in the large fire as it set itself aflame. It squirmed in pain but continued sprinting despite it, setting the nearby trees on fire. A plethora of beasts followed after it and ran throug the village, Silverwolves, Falchionos, and Taipedes included. They destroyed the Jiuli’s homes and trampled their bodies in a frenzy. If they stopped, they’d die.
Lei-Lei heard the barking of silverwolves, hisses of Taipedes and the cawing of Falchionos, but no sound was louder than the Jiuli who screamed and cried as their bodies were crushed under the weight of large beasts. She too would be crushed if she didn’t move and tried releasing her ether field to guide herself, but again that didn’t work.
Suddenly, her father picked her up and hauled her over his broad shoulders. He’d noticed his second daughter missing. “Funu, find Fei!” he shouted to his wife. As she wove between the stampede of beasts, he set his eyes on his eldest daughter. “Lei-Lei, what’s wrong?” His gaze raced back and forth between his daughter and his men, but they were either dead or trying to flee from the mess. His last hope was for his daughter, the one who had saved his people before. “Come on, use your ether and get us out of this!”
“What? I.... I can’t...”
“Why? Why can’t you?!”
“I don’t have any more ether, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow before I can use more of—”
“Inanis damn it! You are my daughter! I know what you’re capable and not capable of! The village is in your hands and if you don’t use your ether now, we’re all going to die!”
It terrified Lei-Lei hearing her father yell at her. Fear consumed her mind as she desperately pointed her staff to the ground. “I beseech you, Voice of Ice: Glaciation!” Nothing appeared at the tip of her staff. She tried again and again, but stopped when her chanting had become desperate cries of nothingness.
The stampede of beasts came to an abrupt stop. What followed were the cries of hundreds of high-pitched voices.
A Juili who survived yelled. “Erklings! Erklings!”
Little naked men with green and mossy skin dashed out from where the animals had come from, laughing cynically. It was rare to see them in these parts.
From the stories Lei-Lei had heard, Erklings were ruthless little bastards. Their definition of fun meant rape and torture. She wondered why Inanis birthed them.
Chieftain Kai set his daughter down when he watched the Erklings surround the woman and kill the rest of his men. He wanted to apologize for panicking and yelling at her, but that wasn’t possible. “Run, Lei-Lei.”
Lei-Lei's legs trembled. She could even feel a warm trickling run down the insides of her thighs. “What you ask of me is impossible, father! I can’t run without my ether field aiding me!”
Chieftain Kai pushed his daughter forward. “Just keep running the way you’re facing now and don’t come back!”
Her father had left and she was lost. Lei-Lei's legs quivered and her body felt like it’d sink into herself, but she had no choice but to follow her father’s orders. She listened to the shouts and cries of her father as he fought off the cackling Erklings. She ran deep into the forests, far enough until the sounds coming from the village became whispers. There must have been so many. Could her father handle them all?
She couldn’t help but cry. What about Fei? What about her mother?
Lei-Lei' used her staff as a cane. Her legs brushed against soft leaves and sharp twigs as the hellish sounds of Erklings and the Jiuli disappeared. Her legs eventually gave in too. She leaned against a tree and slid down it its rigid bark and cried into her hands. Sleeping in the forests alone meant wishing for death, but something in her mind told her everything would disappear if she did. When her tears ran dry, her head hung as she slept while sitting.
***
The warmth of the morning sun touched Lei-Lei's face.
Lei-Lei awoke, her silver eyes twitched with dark bags underneath. The events that occurred last night seemed unreal; it must’ve been a dream. She stood up and felt something crawling inside her robe.
A Smapede snuck itself in and she screamed while shaking her body violently. Even after all the shaking, the insect persisted and stuck onto her. She took off her robe and flicked the creature off before putting it back on.
Her ether had recovered from last night. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to manage back to the village. She hadn’t traveled as far as she thought, and she returned to the village fairly quick.
“Is anyone there?” Lei-Lei did her best to shout, but her voice was naturally quiet. She could feel everything with her ether field: the rubble of destroyed homes on the ground, daggers stuck in flesh, and the remains of Erklings littering the floor. She suddenly stopped when her ether field detected a familiar presence.
Her mother and sister were lying beside each other. Lei-Lei could sense her mother’s bleeding from her nether region, her hymen torn and abused. She was dead. Her sister was unconscious but had bleeding wounds tied up in cloth.
As much as Lei-Lei wanted to cry, her tears had run dry from last night. She approached her mother who reeked of Erkling sweat and walked around her to sit on her knees beside Fei. She nudged her. “Wake up.”
The ether field had its range extended, revealing hundreds of other Jiuli corpses, most of them unrecognizable and scattered. Chieftan kai sat against rubble, and his hand reflexively gripped his sword despite being dead. From head to toe, his body had been drenched in the blood of Erklings still fresh from the previous night. Had he been fighting all this time?
“Lei-Lei...?” Fei groaned, her eyes barely opening.
If Lei-Lei could cry, she’d weep right then and there. Despite the injuries her sister had sustained, she hugged her tightly and covered her innocent eyes, moving them away from their mother.
“Close your eyes, Fei. Please, close your eyes.”