The only child in the village brought over a strange man. The villagers had their bows aimed at the man after firing a warning shot. The man wore perplexing clothing they had not even seen on the Hydarians. Dangerous. Outsiders were a threat, they have taken too much from them.
"Cease your shooting, my people!" Numa, the young boy shouted at the villagers. "This man is a disguised deity! I have confirmed this fact myself! I have seen his magical lair and divine instruments."
"What nonsense are you speaking, boy? This foreign blood has tricked you, so?" A hunter replied angrily. "Return to your senses! He must be a Hydarian spy sent to find you! Run over here right now!"
"We must silence him before he can run away and report the boy's existence!" Another hunter chimed in.
"Cease this mockery of the divine! I'm telling you he is a god!" Numa replied. "I swear upon the Seven! Please, just let us through. I will take full responsibility for this."
The hunters murmured and looked at each other. Numa was foolish, but they knew this little trickster would not jeopardize the lives of the villagers. They had never seen him act like this, and while the boy's delusion must have thought this mysterious man was a god, perhaps it was more correct to assume that this was a man lost in the forest or a man in the middle of a journey who happened to be passing by. If that were the case, then even with Ohm's hatred for outsiders because of the Hydarians, it would reflect badly on their reputation if they did not provide a minimum amount of hospitality to a genuine guest. But what the villagers could not figure out yet was the reason why the boy was capable of communicating with this strange man in a language they did not comprehend. The boy had never had encounters with any other languages aside from Osmanian dialects in other tribes and Hydarians. That fact indeed struck them as odd.
After some discussions amongst themselves, the hunters lowered their bows.
"Fine, if that man only seeks to enter the village as a guest, we will guide him inside." One of the hunters said.
"I, Ahmi, will serve as the guide," Ahmi said. He was an imposing, muscular man despite his shorter stature, one could see his years of hunting wild beasts and surviving in the wild. He shaved off all hair on his body and wore tribal markings on his face like many of the hunters.
Numa began speaking to the strange man in the strange language again. The hunters questioned themselves when they saw this.
"What manner of tongue is that? I had never heard of it." One hunter muttered.
"It sounds nearly like chanting. Could this man be a Druid of sorts?" Another said.
Ahmi stepped forward and motioned the two of them to follow him.
"Ahmi, take us to the injured woman, the one with her arms cut," Numa said to Ahmi.
"What?" Ahmi looked at him confused. "You were not there, I would have felt your presence. How did you know?" he asked, puzzled.
"I'll tell you later. Please! This man can heal her!" Numa said.
"Nonsense." Ahmi shook his head but decided to indulge the boy. Perhaps it would serve as a lesson in trusting strangers, he thought. Healing a severed arm? even High Druids could not perform such a feat.
As they walked, numerous eyes followed their path. The villagers who just witnessed another traumatizing event were taken aback seeing a total stranger walking in their midst.
"Who is this man?" A man asked as they walked by.
The people were terrified, they thought this man was a Hydarian envoy being invited into the village. But there were hunters nearby, and there was only one man, so they could only wish for nothing to occur. It did not take long for them to arrive in the hut which housed the injured.
"We are here," Ahmi said.
"Please let him examine her," Numa said.
"You should stop this, boy! Your caretaker is there as well!"
"I know! Please! I swear!" The boy pleaded.
Ahmi shook his head. "Fine, I will end this man's life the second I sense any hostility." He opened the curtain into the hut. "I do not know what you expect this man to do, boy."
All of them entered one by one. The mysterious man was carrying something, a white box with a strange red cross marking. Could he be a missionary? Ahmi was thinking in his mind, as he thought the strange symbol was an indication of some sort of religious doctrine.
The Hydarians were not the first outsiders they encountered. For hundreds of years, people claiming to be missionaries entered these lands in a bid to align the 'savage' Osmanians with their true religions, numerous as they were. These 'primitive' people who have not been introduced to the ways of these outsiders' gods were said to be 'innocent' people that must be brought on to the correct path come armageddon. The Osma alliance between the tribes decided that since they came in peace, the people in the Osma Reaches were prohibited to exhibit hostility to these individuals. If some Osmanians decided to follow their doctrines, then so be it, but they must leave these lands immediately — or suffer the wrath of the Seven gods that the Osma people worshipped. It helped that these missionaries often brought gifts and tributes that would aid the tribes.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
If he's a missionary, then I suppose to let him try his 'divine' remedy. Ahmi said in his mind. He was incredibly sceptical of any remedy that would fix a severed arm. It was simply not possible no matter which god you serve. He witnessed the man re-attaching the arm and wrapping it with some sort of weird transparent cloth with green liquid inside of it. It was then that he saw something that shattered his common sense.
Ahmi witnessed the arm inside the green liquid very slowly re-attaching itself to the main body. he saw nerves, vessels and bones reforming themselves and finding their way to their true home. It was as if the arm itself became alive, a puppy searching and finding its mother.
That's ludicrous! Ahmi exclaimed in his mind. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets. In his mental absence, Numa and the mysterious man were talking to each other. A question snapped him out of his daze.
"Ahmi, Master Manusya seek to meet another Elder. Can you call them?" Numa asked.
"Manusya!? Is that his name?" Ahmi said in surprise, something about that name shocked him. "A-alright. I will call another Elder," he said stuttering nervously.
"That would not be necessary." From the curtain of the hut, a croaky old voice could be heard. It was another Elder, signified by the throne of plants on her head.
"Elder Yekshi!" Numa and Ahmi both exclaimed at the same time. She was an old lady who seemed the same age as Vanir.
"I witnessed everything." Elder Yekshi said, she suddenly bowed down. "Oh, the time for Osma liberation is finally here. Our Aksha, Manusya!" She said.
Numa and Ahmi were both shocked at the sight of this. Numa knew that Manusya, to him, was indeed a deity of sorts. But he did not know what this 'Aksha' that Elder Yeksha was referring to was.
Manusya quickly rushed forward and helped the old lady stand up straight from her bow again, he said something to the boy worryingly.
"Master Manusya wishes for you to not bow at him!" Numa said nervously.
"You are impudent, child." Elder Yeksha said while glaring at the young boy. "Aksha, please follow me to the Great Hut to meet the other elders. We also wish to converse with a Great One." The elder bowed again and walked away from the door. Manusya and the others could not do anything else but follow along.
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The Great Hut served as the village's meeting hall between the elders and the villagers. There were no tables or any furniture, it was simply a big hall with rugs made out of animal pelts and fur. Everyone in the audience would sit down in a big circle on the floor itself. There were no distinctions of hierarchy, everyone had equal standing, with the elders being the moderator of sorts to the meetings.
Five elders were present, they were also just summoned by Elder Yeksha confused about what just happened to call for a meeting. After Elder Yeksha whispered something to them, they were all in understanding and awe, and all of them bowed to Manusya. The man of the hour sat down near the door, with the elders all sitting down opposite him. Numa sat next to Manusya, while Ahmi chose to sit near them but not too close. There was no one else in attendance.
"Numa."Elder Yeksha called out.
"Y-yes, Elder?" Numa replied nervously.
"You speak Aksha's language, yes?" The elder asked.
Numa simply nodded.
"Then it is as the legend says. You must translate everything we will say to the exact to the Aksha, and translate his words back to us." Elder Yeksha said.
Numa gulped down his saliva nervously but nodded.
"Aksha, we pray for your arrival since the coming of the Hydarians. Please save us from this plight." All the elders in attendance bowed down in unison.
Manusya's eyes bulged out. Numa translated the elder's words and Manusya hurriedly answered something back.
"E-elders, it seems Master Manusya do not know what you are talking about. May you please explain everything?" Numa said.
"Is he really the Aksha?" Another elder asked questioningly.
"Why must we believe this fraud is the Aksha!" An elder man barked.
"Silence! Heresy! Cease this preposterous doubt on the Aksha. Despicable non-believers!" Elder Yeksha bellowed. "You see the boy speaking the ancient tongue, and his name is Manusya, a name that someone outside of our lands and familiar with our legends would know. It could only be him!"
The other elders bit their tongues and stayed silent after Elder Yeksha's scolding. Even with equal positions, they all knew of Elder Yeksha's strength and dominance over them.
"Numa, convey my words." Elder Yeksha turned her attention back to Manusya. "We are the original people. Our legends passed down through countless generations have stated that the origin of all life came from Mount Hoop. The first goddess told the ancestors of the Osma to guard these lands until the arrival of our Aksha—Lightbringer— named Manusya, the saviour of not only our people but the world." she explained.
"Mount Hoop! That's where his divine lair is!" Numa exclaimed. He snapped out of his surprise and translated the elder's words to Manusya.
"It cannot be..." An elder muttered.
"Is it really him? But everything seems to be falling into place! Including the invasion of our people."
"It's too convenient..."
Murmurs of discussions started again. They were all trying to make sense of this mind-shattering information according to their culture and beliefs.
"No, no. He must have interrogated an elder from another tribe to disguise himself as the Aksha! What proof do we have of his powers?" The same elder that questioned the legitimacy of Manusya asked passionately.
Suddenly, at the same moment, a villager barged into the Great Hut without warning.
"Elders!" The villager shouted.
"Impertinent! How could you interrupt a meeting!?" An elder bellowed.
"It's Lahmi!" The villager said, out of breath from running. "Her arm is healed! It's attached to her body again!" they said joyfully.
Silence. Everyone suddenly turned silent after hearing the news the villager brought to the Great Hut. Collectively, their eyes and attention turned to Manusya. Eyes of fear, awe and reverence threatened to engulf the man.
"Honorable elders." An unexpected voice. It was Manusya, speaking the language of the Osma people, he said with an accented voice.
"I not Aksha, but I come in help," Manusya said in broken Osmanian. He smiled brightly.
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ART
Elder Yeksha:
[https://i.imgur.com/eFQBPOH.png]
Ahmi:
[https://i.imgur.com/TjGqNbl.png]