Part 1

"Wait!!"

The rustling shrubs parted to reveal a speeding figure.

"I said Wait!"

The young girl running fervently seemed deaf to these bellowed cries.

She danced through the foliage and zipped past the unveiling scenery of buildings and people alike.

Her inhuman agility allowed her to scale up the rooftops of these small buildings.

As she does this, a persistent figure seems close in tow.

A boy, a bit younger but close enough in age that one could hardly notice, was desperately chasing her.

"Damnit, Aisha!! Slow down!!"

They jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Their noise was easily mistaken for the occasional monkeys with a similar habit.

"If you can shout then you can run Oraki!! Try to keep up!!"

The girl happily replied to her dear friend.

"I swear. She's worse than Tili..."

Oraki’s sister was an equally free-spirited being. Which meant he was well accustomed to such frivolous whims.

It didn’t make it less tiresome.

" I heard that. Want us to put you in a headlock later?"

" I apologize for my actions. Anyway, where are we rushing off to?"

"The port. I heard an envoy from the Northern Continent will be there."

" Oh. Yeah. They're some Holy Ambassadors. On a pilgrimage or something. Ranga and my father should be there."

" Wait. You knew!? Why didn’t you tell me!?"

"Didn’t seem important."

"This alone has earned you consecutive joint locks."

"Seriously!!?"

As they jumped and landed atop the final roof, their destination came into view.

Down the sloping brow it spread out before them.

River Tana’s easternmost port . It was filled to the brim with people and goods alike.

The shimmering waters were littered with all manner of seaworthy vessels.

From simple fishing boats to heavy Cargo Ships. Their craftsmanship was always a feast for the eyes.

Especially for young Aisha.

" Nothing beats the view of the seaside with a gentle breeze. Can you smell the freedom Oraki?"

" I can smell the fish..."

The winded Oraki gave his snide remark.

" Honestly, it's like you want me to do this."

"Wha-?"

The young boy's reward was an instant submission hold. The speed she got behind him was almost mythical.

The young boy had no hope of evasion.

Thankfully, his gasping for air was only momentary as Aisha's eye soon caught sight of a certain prince.

" Look, there's Prince Ranga!"

"Hmm?"

In the distance, Royal Carriages dragged by ferocious War Rhinos had stopped next to one of the many ships approaching the port.

This ship wasn't particularly massive but made up for it with its lavish decorations.

An enormous crowd surrounded the royal caravan. They sang the honoured names of Vutenia's royal heirs.

Prince Ranga and his older brother, Prince Vuma astutely waved back at the cheering public.

"Hail the sons of Vurai!! Hail the sons of Zai!!!"

Such were the accolades they gave the young princes. All while being kept a distance away by the surrounding guard.

However, there was someone else that the public could not help but cheer on. Their very own honored son.

"Great Mekari!! You owe me a drink!!"

" You owe me two cows!!!"

"I doubt that!!"

Mekari’s sharp response was greeted with the hearty laughter of the adoring public.

He may have been Vutenia’s greatest warrior but he was not above the public’s antics.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“The public’s excitement aside. Rest assured that everything is ready to receive our guests, Prince Vuma.”

Mekari gave his report to the favored prince of Vutenia.

The elder prince gave his reply.

“Thank you. General Mekari. I feel safe knowing you’re with us.”

“Why am I here? You could do this on your own.”

The younger prince expressed his discomfort.

Vuma astutely replied…

“Father said we both take his place in welcoming these ambassadors. It’s your first delegate and a big one at that. Try to behave.”

“Hmph. Why didn’t they just go straight to the capital?”

“It seems they’re interested in visiting the Ministry of Knowledge and seeing the Academy.”

“Why?”

“Hard to say.”

“Isn’t their god some weirdo that likes saying he’s the ‘one true god’ or something?”

The one to answer that was Mekari.

“It’s surprisingly common for lands with one deity ruling over all domains. Since only one deity controls everything, their followers don’t need to worship other gods. This makes that monotheistic god the only true god in their territories. Any others would seem weaker or unnecessary.”

“Is that why their followers always like saying ours are fake?”

“I wouldn’t say always. Those are the more radical groups and they’re usually the smaller ones. They aren’t all the same, my young prince.”

“I see.”

Ranga didn’t seem too convinced. The stories he had heard from visiting the town markets seemed to paint a lot of things in a bad light. After all, some of the major wars in the Northern Lands were because of people arguing over this very subject.

“What about you, Lord Vurai? How do you feel about all that?”

Vuma initiated his very own queries on the matter.

Vurai, Chief God of Sky and Wind, naturally gave his response.

“There’s nothing to be said. The notion itself isn’t inaccurate as far as their territories go. And in essence, one could argue they are indeed True Gods.”

“But they’re spreading it beyond their borders.”

“Faith is something that can be freely spread to and from all lands. The Mandates allow for that.”

“…”

Hearing that, Ranga could not help but agree.

“In any case, even in Vutenia, there are some that believe having three Chief Gods is unnecessary and that only I should rule over all. There’s always someone like that in every place.”

“Okay!! I get it. See them first. Not Judge them first.”

Ranga seemed to realize Vuma’s intention in making the query.

Vuma affirmed the lesson learned.

“Good. Seems you’re sharper than you look.”

“Yeah. Yeah…”

Still, he could not help but wonder what kind of person would be coming out of that extravagant vessel.

Suddenly, as if to satisfy his curiosity, an abrupt burst of translucent light rose from the anchored ship.

The royal guard and Vutenia’s princes seemed to be the only ones alarmed by this sudden occurrence.

A clear testament of its spiritual nature rather than physical.

Divine at that.

As sudden as it came, the large column soon faded and the door to the main chambers of the floating vessel opened.

They came out in waves. Three Soldiers in fully clad armor. Three Servants carting away some unique utensils. Three holy men glowing in radiant aura.

As the ship workers astutely prepared an alighting platform. The one that all eyes were on was the eldest among the holy men.

His eyes as sharp as razors. A flowing white beard with which to accentuate his stoic facial features. Even the common citizens could feel that he was a man of great spirit and even great wisdom.

As they descended and approached the noble escort that awaited them, tension could be felt with each step they took.

The incense smell and unique design of their robes made them feel even more alien than they needed to be.

Noble families from the Northern Continent had made their way to Vutenia before but it was the first time any of them had seen Divine Vessels of this stature.

As they stood before them, they saw the flag carrying the noble crest of Vutenian Royalty and declared themselves accordingly.

“We greet the honored nobles of Vutenia. We are but holy servants of the Most-High on a pilgrimage across the Eastern Seas.”

The eldest of them was the one to extend the greeting. His voice was coarse but with stoic clarity.

Noble Vuma proceeded to greet them and take reign of the shifting air.

“I bid you welcome, Holy delegates. I am Prince Vuma, firstborn of High King Zai and his representative escort for your travels here.”

“Prince Ranga. Lastborn of High King Zai. Acting as escort.”

Ranga’s quick introduction exuded a false confidence when compared to Vuma’s fluid and elaborate one. It didn’t help that the young prince knew it.

The tall, bearded old man extended his hand to greet the royal heirs. His intense aura was as focused as a sharp blade but had no ill intent.

Vutenia’s greatest blade was right beside the princes and would have unsheathed itself had it been otherwise.

“A pleasure to meet you, honored princes. I am San Nik-oh I can’t hold it…”

“…?”

A thunderous noise dispelled the tense air and seemed to replace it with a warmer breeze.

The expression of the one who caused it had shifted from that of a stoic elder to that of a gentle and ecstatic old man.

It was as if he had reached a profound truth of creation itself.

For a moment it seemed as if time stood still as the noise rang out. Even Great Mekari was at a loss for words.

“Bishop Nikolas!!!”

“Such behavior is unbecoming of you!!”

The two holy men next to him were understandably furious if not completely embarrassed.

“I couldn’t help it. I went a little overboard during the feast last night and doing Communion on top of a shaky boat was never good for my bowel movements.”

The gentle elder lightly replied in a state of euphoria.

“This is why we told you to exercise moderation when stockpiling foods back at Lamu port.”

“I was doing really well though. It’s just everyone was staring at us so seriously and I was really surprised by the huge horned beasts at the back so I couldn’t help it.”

His mischievous tone while saying this was unbefitting of him. In response to this…

“That’s no excuse for farting so loudly!!!”

Their chastising of the elder priest tore away any semblance of dignity he had left.

“In any case, a thousand apologies for my mishap there. Once again, I am San Nikolas. Bishop of Myra. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The way he shamelessly went back to the elegant priest-like demeanor from before was a kind of power in its own right.

“Y-Yes. A pleasure...”

Prince Vuma met his handshake accordingly while unsure of how to proceed for the first time in a while.

Ranga was just flabbergasted as he silently shook the old man’s hand.

“What a weirdo…”

This was the conclusion that the young prince came to.

Part 2

“Whoa!! Oraki!! Did you see how crazy his aura was!?”

“Did you see how crazy his fart was?”

An elbow to the shoulder naturally followed Oraki’s remark.

“They’re leaving? We have to catch up to them!!”

Aisha said while already grabbing hold of Oraki as she ran towards the leftwards edge.

Her plan was intercepting the caravan as it moved up the main roadway. However...

“How? We’d have to jump down and we’re too high up.”

“Don’t worry. We’re strong. We’ll be fine. Besides, your dad will catch us.”

As she said this, she tightly grabbed onto Oraki’s hand to prevent his escape.

“No. It’s too risky. If he doesn’t, I’ll have broken legs for a week. And that’s only if my mom doesn’t kill me…”

Oraki protested while trying to pull back.

“Ugh…you’re such a baby!!! Big baby-boy!!! You sure you’re a first-born?”

“Huh?”

As the first and only son of the House of Wamedza. A place where the unreasonable requests are as boundless as the women making them are ruthless…

Doubting his qualifications for that role was a good way of pissing Oraki off.

“Sh-shut up!! You want to jump? Fine!!”

Oraki said this and proceeded to dart forward while grabbing onto Aisha’s hand.

“Let’s jump !!!”

“Yay!!”

Naturally, Aisha was well aware of this fact and all too happy for it.

With a running start of less than 10 meters, they launched themselves over twice that height.

Their target was an unsuspecting Great General.

Halfway through, Oraki realized the error of his ways as his anger gave way to a stupid expression.

Halfway through, Aisha was having the time of her life.

“Damnit!!! I fell for it again!!!”

“Ahahaha!!!”