Chaser of Faith

“This town, Beythas, is the center of the country, Ythe, on the continent, Nanimat, on this planet, Aksan.”

“Dude. I am never going to remember this.”

“It’s not so bad. You’ll get used to it.”

Adriel had his hand on my shoulder, almost possessively. It made me a little uncomfortable, but every time I tried to shrug him off, he would tell me that it was to keep me safe. There were many unsavory characters in this city. Beythas, I suppose it was called.

Beythas had cobblestone roadways lined with shops. The city itself was surrounded by a high, dark, hand-made stone wall. Adriel told me that the king of Ythe wanted to protect its largest, most diverse merchant city. It was the heart of the country and continent, pulsing with life and culture. I was in a state of shock, my mouth hung open dumbly. As he dragged me through the streets of Beythas, I couldn’t help but stare at the old buildings, the orange sky, the rather frightening creatures. I saw some shops that sold weapons, some that sold food, and even some that sold jewelry and trinkets. Adriel offered to buy me some jewelry, but I declined, giving him a laugh. The signs hanging above the shops and on the walls of the buildings were written in a different language.

Most of the creatures spoke a different language that I did not understand called Sanen, but Adriel promised that he would teach me this language in time, as well. He explained that Sanen was the main language of this continent, but there was another common language that was actually very closely linked with the English language called Ronen.

We had been walking through the town, looking for new clothes for myself, finally settling on one store. It was dark inside, but relatively empty, making me feel great relief from judging eyes. We had received many cold, intimidating stares from the residents of this city due to my appearance, Adriel had said.

While we walked I struggled to keep up in my bare feet, and hunched over, frequently crossing my arms to protect my chest. Adriel threatened to pick me up several times when I hissed from stepping on pebbles. Each time he asked I scoffed at him, telling him no.

The crowd around me continued to stare. The residents were creatures of many different races and species. It was an incredible shock. Creatures big and small, some with wings, some with tails. Skin colored stark white, deep brown, blue, green- you name it. Some with hair and some covered in fur. Adriel had promised he would teach me about the planet’s inhabitants and cultures some day.

“So,” I whispered to him, leaning towards him. “Are all of those, um, people, from the same place? Are they all from this planet?” Adriel put another brown dress in my arms to add to the bag of garments and shoes that he would buy for me. The fashion in this city was mostly muted colors, nothing to attract attention to yourself. Especially the women’s fashion. I could only assume that this place would not be the most friendly…

“The people here,” Adriel started, placing a grey dress and black cloak into my arms. “Are from many different parts of this continent and even a handful from the island Sicht to the west, as well as a very small percentage of inhabitants from other solar systems. Aksan is the central planet of our system, Aksanimur. The other two planets in our system are uninhabited.” My head was spinning. Too much information.

“Alright, this is really just too much.” I tossed the dresses, shirts, and pants at him. “What am I supposed to do here? This is not my world. I don’t belong here.” I shook my head at him, putting my fingers to my temples in frustration. Adriel guided me towards the store owner at the counter, throwing the clothes at him and placing the three pairs of shoes down in front of him.

“Claire. Don’t worry about that. That is the least of your problems.” He handed the merchant a handful of silver coins and started to stuff the clothes into the canvas-like bag in my hands. I put on a pair of the shoes quickly. He took the black cloak and draped it over my shoulders, pulling the hood up over my head. I frowned, taking the hood down, fixing my hair and buttoning the collar.

He took the bag from me, placing a stiff hand on my shoulder again. He seemed to be in a rush. I avoided stares as we left the shop, finding our way back to the main road of Beythas.

“Could you be any more cryptic, asshole?” I snarled at Adriel. “What do you mean? And, would you slow down?” I asked, finally stopping him, removing his hand from my shoulder and turning to face him. “Just. Everything needs to slow down.” Someone bumped into me from my right, making me stumble a bit. A rough, deep voice started speaking, rambling in a different language. I looked at the source. It was a man three heads taller than the two of us, with grey skin and completely black eyes. He was scowling and motioning at me, who was staring with fearful wide eyes, as he spoke gruffly at me.

“Sav rith ga vaxontor es. Gesantura.” Adriel raised his hand to him, smiling and nodding his head for a moment.

“Li votor. Geer rith nal es.” The man scowled wider, showing bright white teeth. He moved on quickly, and Adriel immediately placed his hand on my shoulder again and moved us with the rest of the crowd. I frowned deeply.

“What the hell was that?” I looked up at him. He had a smirk on his face, though he was trying to conceal it.

“You’re such a dummy. You can’t just stop in the middle of the street. He told us to get out of his way. This isn’t a place that you want to mosey through. Don’t ever get in anyone’s way here,” he chastised with a laugh. “Like I said, you’ve got bigger things to worry about than what your new hobbies will be on this planet.” I squinted my eyes at him. We were still moving too fast. My head was spinning.

I looked forward into the crowd of people. We were moving towards one of the corners of the wall. Just above the wall I could see the top of a tower. It was the tallest building here, by far.

“What is that? That building outside the city?” Adriel looked from me, to the sky above the wall. He shrugged.

“That’s just the king’s palace. You’re in the capital city. Beythas is very politically important.”

“Who is the king? Does he have a family? Is he a good king?” Adriel sighed.

“So many boring questions.” Suddenly there was another hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly, snapping my head to my right to see the other angel. Rahmiel.

“Oh god, you scared me.” Rahmiel smiled down at me. I moved to the side of the crowd, trying to stay out of everyone’s way but still moving slowly. The two angels followed.

“I am sorry.” He looked over at Adriel, letting his smile fall. “Have you-” I cut him off rather quickly.

“Can I… What did you do to my home?” Rahmiel looked at me stoically, frowning.”Is it… Is it gone?” He said nothing for a moment.

“I’m sorry. Truly.” I slowed my pace more, knowing better than to stop walking altogether as I stared ahead blankly.

There really was no turning back.

We did not speak for a while. I was lost in thought, chewing at my lip and wringing my hands. Adriel put a hand in my hair, pushing it out of my face.

“Cheer up, Claire. It’s not so bad.” I frowned deeper and glared at him.

“That is not helping me right now,” I choked out.

By this time we had reached the end of the street, near the corner of the city, stopping near the wall. There was a grand wooden bridge in the tall, wide arch in the stone. I could see a river underneath the bridge that must have run around the entire city. Beyond the bridge, I could see a dirt path and green grass, trees, and a field of yellow flowers. I opened my mouth in amazement. It was quite like Earth. It did not make me sad, which surprised me. I felt, oddly enough, hopeful.

Maybe this world wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe I could really have a life here. A better life. A less lonely life.

“It’s beautiful here,” I mused softly. I looked at Rahmiel who slowly smiled. He seemed relieved.

“Wait until you see the nights here. Two moons and the brightest, most beautiful stars you’ll ever see,” Rahmiel told me quietly. He held my gaze for a moment. I felt surprisingly calmer looking into his deep sapphire eyes. He had a calming, peaceful presence. He blinked a few times, looking over to Adriel quickly. “Have you gotten her any clothes she may need?” he asked sharply. He looked over at me before Adriel could answer. “He has treated you well, hasn’t he?” I nodded, but Adriel spoke before I had the chance.

“Of course I have. I wouldn’t harm a pretty little hair on her pretty little head. And yes, we just finished our shopping trip,” he said snippily, moving a little closer to me. Rahmiel nodded, smiling at me.

“I’m glad.”

“But we’re not done yet,” I said quickly. “We can’t be. I still need basic shit. Shampoo, soap, a razor… tampons.” I blushed. “I’m a girl, dudes. I have different needs than you might be used to.” Rahmiel looked away, smiling timidly, but Adriel laughed loudly.

“We can take care of that last part. The females in our world have a different method for such… for such things,” Rahmiel said, taking his hand away from my shoulder and scratching the back of his neck, looking up to the sky. I smiled.

“Okay.”

-*-

“Sav rith kolet bet es.”

“Sav rith... kolet bet... es.”

“I am not from here.”

“What does each word mean exactly?” I asked slowly, shifting the bag of clothes in my arms to my other hip. Adriel had been teaching me small words and useful phrases as we walked down the main road to their home in the west of Beythas.

The trees that lined the dirt road were quite like oak trees with greyish-brown bark and large, bright green leaves. There were exotic, grand, vibrant yellow and purple flowers underneath the trees. There were no clouds in the sky, and as the day went on, the sky changed from a light orange to a pale peach.

“Pretty much translated word for word: I, am, not, from, here. It’s pretty simple, you’ll catch on quick.” I heard Rahmiel chuckle up ahead. He was leading the way to his home and Adriel and I were close behind.

“So ‘sav’ means ‘I’?” Adriel nodded

“Yeah. So if ‘votor’ means ‘to apologize,’ how would you say ‘I apologize’?”

“Sav... votor?” Adriel grinned at me, and I suddenly noticed his canines were enlarged. They looked more like fangs. My heart picked up speed. Adriel noticed my expression change and stopped smiling.

“You look a little pale. What’s wrong?” Rahmiel looked back to us, concern clouding his eyes.

“No, no, I’m fine. How much further till we get to your house, Rahmiel?” He looked up to the sky for a moment.

“We’re about twenty minutes from the city border, we should be at the house in about five or ten minutes, depending on how fast we walk.”

“You guys live on the border of Beythas. Why not in the center?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Beythas can be a dangerous place,” Rahmiel said slowly. Adriel snorted.

“Crowded, too, with all the wrong people,” he huffed. Rahmiel gave him a pointed look.

“So you guys are just trying to keep out of trouble?” I asked, looking to Rahmiel.

“Trying to keep me out of trouble, that is,” Adriel huffed again. “Rahmiel is a glorified babysitter.” I could hear Rahmiel grind his teeth, making me wince, as he turned back around.

“Be quiet, Adriel.” I frowned, at Rahmiel’s sharp, quiet words, but I said nothing. I wasn’t ready to open that can of worms, yet.

“Claire, what’s your last name?” Adriel asked after a beat of silence. I heard Rahmiel sigh from up ahead.

“Don’t you ever shut up?” he muttered quietly. Adriel ignored him.

“Turn,” I added quickly. “What’s your last name?”

“My mother’s family name was Kafth. My father’s family name is Mastrios.” I noticed his verb tense choice, but was afraid to ask.

“And you grew up on this planet?”

“On Aksan? Yeah, but I grew up in Vix. It’s a city in the south, made up of mostly dark angels. I’m first generation on this planet. Most dark angels grow up in Hell.”

“In… Hell? Are you serious?”

“Uh, yes?”

“So… God is real?”

“Oh, well, there’s no one God. All the systems of religion have their own respective gods. My ancestors have worshipped the angel Lucifer for centuries. Just like Rahmiel’s ancestor’s have worshipped the angel Michael.” I stayed silent, trying to absorb all of this new information.

“Don’t overwhelm her, Adriel,” Rahmiel scolded.

“I’m just keeping her informed and answering her questions, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Adriel put his arm around my shoulders. “Am I overwhelming you, Claire?” I frowned.

“Uh, it’s just a lot to think about.”

“See? Leave her be,” Rahmiel said shortly. It was quiet once more. The only sounds that could be heard were our footsteps dragging across the pebbles and dirt of the road. No birds tweeting, no crickets chirping, or bugs buzzing. It was completely silent. I felt uneasy. It was a few minutes before I finally spoke up.

“Why is it so quiet here?” I asked, looking up at Adriel. He looked at me surprised.

“You think it’s quiet here? That’s rather odd,” he noted quietly. I frowned.

“Why is that odd? What am I supposed to be hearing?”

“You tell me, I’m curious.” I sighed and paused to listen once more. Just our footsteps, still.

“All I can hear is us walking.”

“You don’t hear all the ynz chirping?” I stared at him.

“The what? All I hear is us.” Adriel pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“Is that normal, Rahmiel? Maybe her species can’t hear above a certain decibel?” Rahmiel turned around again.

“I’ve certainly never met a human who couldn’t hear the ynz… So, it’s possible. I suppose that does give us a little clue as to what she is.” I felt a spike of anger

“Stop saying I’m not human. If I’m not human, how could I have grown up on Earth? I mean, if I’m not human, then my parents wouldn’t be human, and that can’t be possible. I mean, how could I not know if I’m human or not?” Adriel shrugged.

“It happens more than you think. The Sintragoniat always have their eyes closed to anything they could consider abnormal.” I pursed my lips thoughtfully, nervous to ask about his word choice once more.

“Sintragoniat?”

“Ah, the Sanen word for the people of Sintragon- Earth.”

“Why call us that? What does it mean?” Adriel laughed cruelly.

“You really want to know?” I bit my lip.

“Uh, I think so.”

“Sintragon means ‘empty life.’ Sintragoniat means ‘those of empty life.’” I frowned and squinted at him, ducking away from his arm.

“That’s very mean.”

“Well, your people, though you may not have known until today, have persecuted people of Aksan in the past, so I believe the Saniat- the first people of Aksan- did not take kindly to your people in the past.”

“Oh…”

“It’s not your fault,” Rahmiel said quickly from ahead, turning to face me. “It’s not against you. And you’re not even technically of Earth, so don’t think another moment about it.” He immediately realized his attempt at comfort was a little harsh, and shrugged sheepishly turning back to the direction in which we were walking. I bit my lip, staying silent. “There’s the house, Claire.” I looked up, seeing it in the distance. I let my face relax at the sight of the quaint, two-story, house, buried in the trees.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” I mused quietly, summoning a miniscule smile.

“It’s not much,” Adriel sighed.

“But it’s home,” Rahmiel added. I let my smile grow as we drew nearer.

There were rustic dark brown shingles on the walls and the roof. I could see a chimney above the tall trees. The grass was a healthy green, littered with flowers of all colors. There was a white fence to separate the house from the road. It was like a dream.

“I love it,” I admitted. Rahmiel gave me an honest, content smile.

“I’m very glad to hear that.” We reached the fence, and Adriel hopped it, making Rahmiel sigh and roll his eyes. “Come on in, we’ll get you settled.” Rahmiel opened the gate for me, and I followed after Adriel, feeling hopeful and excited.

“Sav… votor. Sav... rith... kolet... bet... es.”