Chapter 3: Rue

  Krayer is separated into 3 large continents; Arang, Eeglo, and Jayu. The Magic Forces are made up of people, from all over Krayer, but Alice, Jack, and I come from Jayu, specifically. Within Jayu there are 4 countries; Jeonsa in the north, Masulsa in the south, Dodug in the west, and Yasuja in the east. Although each country has it’s own diverse qualities, economy, and political system, there are general facts that you need to know. Jeonsa, the country we are in right now, is known as the warrior country. Kings govern different parts of the country, and things like money and fame are granted to their knights. They protect the king's land, its people, and can represent their kingdoms in arena fights. Across from Jeonsa is Masulsa, the magic country. Masulsa is home to the most powerful wizards. They rule with intellect over strength, opting for a magic council over a monarchy. In the west, there is Dodug, the thief country. A very distasteful nickname, but fitting. Many wizards that come from there are thugs, assassins, rogues, and mercenaries. The economy is also very poor, and the entire country is suffering through some dark age. Across from them is Yasuja. Yasuja is the beastman country, and is also where I was born. However, I moved away from there because of its aristocracy. Power is given to the people with the most money, and the country is thriving in it. The beastman race are full of elitist, and they look down on other people.

  “Yawwnn! Ezio please. This is soooo boring.” So far it’s been a week, and it’s been pretty cool. Even though I haven’t done anything “magical”, I’m learning about a new culture.

  “Jae… you need learn this.”

  “It was interesting the first time you told me, but you've explained all about Krayer already. Like 5 times.” Ezio looked into his notes.

  “Are you sure we covered this…”

  “YES!” Don’t get me wrong, Ezio is a pretty smart guy, and I respect him, but he's a terrible teacher. He stutters a lot, covers the same material over and over again, and so far I haven’t learn any magic.

  “Sigh, I knew this probably wasn’t going to work. It's time for you to start school.”

  “Noooo!!! Don’t take me back to that hell!” I screamed, clawing my way out of his apartment. However I couldn't get away, because with only his right arm, he had me suspended in the air. He then casually tossed me onto the couch.

  “You obviously aren't learning anything from me.” Ezio said. His arms were crossed, and he seemed serious. “Look it’s not like I want you to go to school, if I knew how to teach, I’d do it.”

  “Sigh. I guess it can't be helped.” If I want to be successful, and going to school is the only way to do so, then I can't complain.

  “Plus teaching you is giving me a migraine.”

  “Hey. You're the terrible teacher.” I said defending myself.

  “Well you’re the one that has a first grade intellect of our world.” Ezio retorted.

  “I already made plans. You’ll be going to ‘Magnostadt: School for Beginners’”

  “For beginners? Like a prep school?”

  “No. Like the preschool.”

  “What! You can’t expect me to go to a preschool.”

  “Why not? You have the knowledge of preschooler, why not start from preschool”  

  “B-b-but you can’t” Ezio used his eagle like eyes to glare at me, there was no getting my way whenever he does that. I started to think of how embarrassing it will be, being practically the only adult learning with a bunch of kids. Despite Ezio’s intimidating stare, I began to open my mouth to argue once more.

  “Look, the teacher there, Ms. Claude, is going to teach you how to use your magic. Magic is integrated into our lives, since birth. It's not too different than talking or walking, in that aspect. Teaching someone who has never been introduced to magic there entire life is like teaching a man, who has never met another soul, how to speak. An adventurer like me, isn't suited to teach you magic.” He interrupted.

  “Oh I get it now.” I smacked my hand with my fist, in enlightenment. Ezio began to nod his head. “I need an educator to teach me. Someone as dumb as you would never be able too. I'm sorry Ezio, that I didn't understand this sooner. You're right, I need an actual teacher, to teach me how to ‘speak’.” I said in spite, with a twinge of sarcasm in my voice. Trying to hold in his annoyance with me, he continued to nod his head. “Alright i'll go, but i'm not happy.”

  “Happiness, is but an illusion.” Ezio replied.

  It is now later in the day, after Ezio dropped the bomb on me. Since there wasn't much to do inside his apartment, I often went outside to explore this new world. I scouted around the innards of the town, the perimeter, and some of the shops. This beautiful city’s name is Xenial. Xenial isn't very big, and also isn't under the jurisdiction of any king. There are dozens of kingdoms in Jeonsa, with several cities within them. But small cities, like Xenial for example, doesn't provide much resources to the bigger kingdoms, thus are left alone. For the most part.

  To the south of town, where Ezio and me came through, was a vast field extending to a much bigger city. The place I teleported to, is the same place the criminals are teleported to, and are led to the bigger city. There is a wall surrounding the perimeter of Xenial, and the only other exit is westbound. The west exit fed into a wide, long road, leading to a forest. I wanted to go out further but Ezio told me that monsters were farther out.

  I checked my pockets. I had a couple copper and silver coins that Ezio gave me. I guess I can go to the market and buy something cool. I hope I don’t overpay. I don’t really know the fair amount to pay, for things. I know a slice of pizza in Seattle is a dollar fifty, but how much can I get with a copper coin?

  Exploring the market, I saw a lot of cool things; weapons, jjijda items, and food. If i’m going to be an adventurer, i'm gonna need some starter equipment. Eh… I don’t think I can buy any weapons with the amount of money I have, so let's try something I can eat. I trailed through the market, until something caught my eye. It was a fruit that looks like a combination of a pumpkin and an apple. The pumple was small, and shaped like an apple, with the ridges and color of a pumpkin. That sounds like an amazing combination. I pulled out some copper coins and went up to the vendor.

  Having only learned Krayen language a short time ago, I had trouble asking the seller what I wanted. I looked at the sign, and tried to ask the vendor.

  “I… in… incid?” I stumbled.

  “What?” he asked.

  I tried to point at the pumple and repeatedly asked for one.

  “Speak up kid. I don’t got all day.” I was about ready to give up, until I heard a woman’s voice behind me.

  “Those are incidians.” she said. I looked back at her with gratitude. I was so grateful in fact, I ended up buying two.

  "Thanks for the food! The name’s Rue. Your’s?” She asked excitedly. We were walking away from the vendor now, me trying to bite into the incidian, her bringing out a knife.

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  “It’s Jae. Jae Fault.” I said unhinging my jaw, trying to eat my new found fruit. I wasn’t getting anywhere, so I looked over at Rue to see what she was doing. She was holding a knife over me, eyes staring up menacingly.

  “Woah! What are you doing!” I yelled, jumping away, landing on my ass. She pulled the knife down, cutting into her incidian.

  “Is something the problem?” she asked concerned, her head tilted slightly to the right, yellow eyes looking at me with worry.

  “Oh sorry. Too many people in my life has tried to kill me recently. Heh, heh.” I didn’t get a good look at her until now. She was relatively short to me, about 5’7” to my 6’1”. Rue had brown, boyish hair, yellow eyes, and is very skinny. To complement her slim figure, she also didn't have any discerning features in her chest area. From top to bottom, Rue was wearing a white scarf over cloth armor, that covered her chest and upper torso. A right, leather glove that only cover her index and middle fingers, and climbed up her forearm. A belt with a multitude of weapons and satchels. Brown, baggy pants, with the end of the sleeves tied around her calves. She would look more like a rogue or assassin, if it weren't for the massive long bow strapped to her back. She was fully equipped, and ready for combat.

  “Let me guess. You're an adventurer.” I got up to my feet, smacking the dirt from my butt.

  “Yes. I'm here for a client. I was on my way there, then I bumped into you.”

  “Yeah. Sorry for startling you. The knife looming over my shoulder kinda scared me.” Still who cuts fruit by holding a blade higher than their height, I thought to myself. She looked at me, then her hand, then back at me.

  “Oh, I'm so sorry!” she sang. “I'm not really around a lot of people.” Rue was twirling her fingers, the incidian cupped between her hands. “I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.” Her head was bowed down, apologetically. I wasn't really mad, it was probably my own fault for misunderstanding the situation. It was definitely my fault for reacting the way I did. Her apologizing in such a cute way, made me blush. Even if I were mad, no one could stay angry at that face.

  “Look, you were just cutting fruit, so I'm not angry or anything.” I still had my incidian in my hand. “But if you feel bad, then you can make up for it, by teaching me how to eat this thing.” Rue smiled kindly.

  We were sitting at a water fountain, in the middle of the city. Understanding that this world doesn't have plumbing or electricity, I knew it was powered by magic. Rue was teaching me how cut the incidian, It wasn't a difficult procedure. She cut it in half, and to my surprise it was hollow, however the meat of it was an half an inch thick. Now it kinda reminds me of a cantaloupe. I dug in, and it was the best non-meat, probably healthy, thing I have ever eaten. It was sweet, and tangy, and the texture was almost cream like.

  “This is great.” I exclaimed.

  “Yup!” she responded, smiling. “Still… Something is sorta bothering me.” I took a break from eating, and turned my head in wonder. “It's kinda weird that you don't know what an incidian is, much more you didn't even know how to read the word.” It's because I'm from earth, I thought. Wait is this something I should tell others easily. I wasn't advised against it, and this world already knows of earth. It’s not one of those scenarios where I will be blasted for heresy. Right? “What's more, your speech is broken, and you have really strange hair. Not only is your hairstyle really strange, it's black, yet I see specks of white on the side of your head.”

  “Look, I'm actually not from Krayer.” Rue stared in confusion. “I'm from earth, the other world. I just learned this language a couple months ago.” At first she looked shocked, but her usual smile came back. “The reason why my hair is two different colors is because I'm half Krayen, and half Earthling.”

  “Wow! I've only heard of Earth, I’ve always wanted to go.” I thought she was going to be sceptic, or upset with me. Instead, she was leaning forward, waiting for my next words. In fact she was so interested, I ended up telling her about how I ended up here, and I even showed her my eyes.

  “So yeah. Now I'm trying to learn magic, and improve myself. I'm going to become stronger, not just because I have to, because I want to.” I finished.

  “Your story is awe-inspiring. And don't worry, you'll make an amazing wizard. Your a half-breed.”

  “?”

  “All throughout history, half-breeds have always been acknowledged for being stronger than us normal wizards.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It's why the beastmen race are so special.”

  “Huh?”

  “Cross species birthrates are really low, so the outcomes are always amazing, like the beastmen for example. All throughout my childhood, the only thing I've ever been taught was to respect and honor the beastmen.” I thought back to Ezio’s own words about beastmen, and grew confused. “Oh no, i’m late for my client. I have to go now. This is where we say goodbye.”

  “Wait! Before you go… Where are you from.”

  “A small city in Dodug. Why?”

  “Oh nothing. It’s just that I really hope I can see you again… Friend.” Oh shit. I called her a friend without thinking twice. I waited for her reply of disgust, but instead I was treated with a warm smile.

  “O.K. friend. May we cross paths in the future.” She said running away into the streets. Happiness spread throughout my body. I can’t believe she called me a friend back. I was overjoyed, but a creeping suspicion haunted my thought. I need to talk to Ezio.

  “It’s all propaganda bullshit.” Ezio was telling me. I made my way back to his apartment, and explained to him about Rue. I told him about what Rue had said to me, concerning beastmen. “It’s true that half-breeds typically are stronger than regular wizards, but beastmen are not half-breeds. Beastmen are just another race with different sub-animal types, not cross species. They are exactly like other wizards, just with a couple physical changes. Just because I can fly, and my vision is better than others, doesn’t put me on the same level as half-breeds.”  

  “Rue told me about her being raised with this teaching.”

  “Dodug is a very poor country. Yasuja, being a very rich one, has a lot of influence on it. It isn’t surprising that beastmen hold a firm grip on what is being taught amongst the kids in Dodug. I bet some of those kids are being taught that Beastmen are gods.”

  “That… that’s terrible.”

  “That’s why I left.” Ezio finished. I felt terrible for Rue, and her country, they are all being told lies. My mind drifted to Earth and Krayer. It isn't much different from that isn't it.

  “When I see Rue, i'm gonna tell her.”

  “Hey, Jae.”

  “Yeah?”

  “The next time you see her, bring her to me, i'll make sure to explain. Who knows what she’ll do if you try telling her. Also, aside from all this, remember to wake up early tomorrow. You’re starting school.”

  “Nooooooo!!!!” I cried throughout the night.

  “Hmmm… hmm...hmmmmmm” Rue was humming to herself. “Yay! I made a new friend. Heh, I don't really have a lot of those. Well not human ones at least.” Rue was walking towards her client’s address. Although she was born in Dodug, she learned advanced magic and moved to Jeonsa. Jeonsa may be known as the warrior country, but because it’s the biggest of the four, it is the place most riddled with monsters, evil guilds, and quests. It is the perfect place for all adventurers. Rue had accepted the offer of an extremely vague quest, that paid extremely well, just yesterday.

  “O.K. i'm here…” Rue’s keen senses could already feel the intense aura radiating from the small cabin. At first she knocked on the door, but got no reply. Most people would walk away now, thinking their client wasn't home, but Rue could feel some sort of pressure. She knew someone was there, she knew she had to go through the door.

  Inside the cabin, the floors were a mess, everything was dirty, and there was a horrific smell in the air. The room was dark and musty, Rue could barely see at all. At the back of the cabin, she could vaguely make out the silhouette, of a woman crying on a couch. Slowly Rue reached the crying woman, and asked...

  “Ma’am, I’m here for your quest. You want me to catch someone?”

  “Sniff, sniff… My daughter!” the lady cried hysterically.

  “You want me to find your daughter?”

  “No…” The woman, who was hunched over crying, leaned backwards to reveal a naked bloodied corpse on the floor, at the side of the couch. Rue was obviously taken aback by what she just witnessed. “I want you to find the person who did this to my daughter, and kill him!” Rue grimaced at the girl's dead body, it must have been there for at least a week. The mother has been sobbing here, not so much as burying her daughter, all to enact vengeance on the killer. Although she was disgusted by the mother, Rue knew all too well how it feels to lose someone.

  “I don’t accept assassination requests.” Rue said darkly. She could feel the broken woman’s feelings surge through her. “Those are for dark guilds and mercenaries. I will find the killer, but I will take him to a nearby kingdom. Just because no King rules this land, many will still gladly take in another prisoner, especially a murderer.”

  “Look at my daughter's body!” the woman screamed. “Surely she didn’t strip herself.” Rue held back a tear. The usually joyous girl, was filled with anger. “Please. I ask you just this once, walk the path of blood and revenge my daughter.” Rue looked back at the lifeless girl.

  “What does the murderer look like…”

  “I only saw, as he escaped my house. He has black hair, but I could tell he colored it. He was also speaking an incomprehensible language as he ran, he wasn’t from here.” Rue couldn't believe what she was hearing. She understood now, why Jae had been so scared when she pulled out a knife.

  “I’ll find him. I’ll… kill him” Rue felt betrayed. She truly thought she found a friend.