In reply, I told Suzuki Sensei about the history of the tribes of the Land and the ancient laws that they used to follow, as well as the Noble Judges. I attempted to describe the blood covenant but was interrupted.
"And I heard you received the inheritance of one of these lines of judges?" Suzuki Sensei prompted me.
"Yes," I sighed. "It's what birthed my silver hair to match my husband's and why our names have both been changed to include Shigure. We are of the Shigure line of judges."
"So it is possible that the first of your line of judges was of Nihon descent, judging by the name?"
"Correct," I said, not daring to nod. Only carefully putting one careful step at a time. I recited back the names that Shigure had drummed into my head during that time we had wandered the dream trails in a half dead state. Belatedly, I realised that the majority of the names were of Nihon origin. How interesting.
"Mmm," Suzuki Sensei made a thoughtful listening sound, seeming to pick up on what I was only now realising. "Quite a few names sound native to Nihon."
"I think so too," I agreed.
"You've never met any of your predecessors other than your husband?" Suzuki Sensei asked.
"No," I replied. "There are only two lines of judges left in the whole of the country. They were the only ones to escape the judgement that fell when the judges betrayed their roles and turned away from the Creator Father. The land where they used to live became a land filled with death. Shigure thinks that it's possible that because of them or it was around that same time that the tribes and the ancient tribal laws began to become corrupted."
"Tell me about the inheritance you received. What power has it bestowed upon you?"
I had to pause at that and think. Much of it was mysterious and hard to describe.
"The most I can tell you is the learning of the words of power and the authority that comes with it. It's a language that even my ability to understand languages has difficulty interpreting. I am not as adept in it as Shigure though. The other is that we act as the mouthpiece of the Creator Father for those who do not know and cannot hear Him. I'm not sure about the pronouncing of judgement and punishment. That seemed to be more related to the tribes than anyone else," I puffed and wiped some sweat from my face while I walked.
I didn't want to tell these people about the ability of our left eyes that glowed red when we stirred up the full force of our legacies. The red eye enabled us to see further, see more in more detail and to comprehend what was seen faster. It was better to keep such a secret to ourselves. It was enough to touch on the basics for these Nihon agents.
There was a long period of silence while Suzuki Sensei digested the information I had divulged.
"Then, was what happened to the Blue Gulf City and your tribes considered divine judgement and retribution?" Suzuki Sensei asked me.
"Yes. In a manner of speaking. I don't know most of the details. I was still a new apprentice at the time. The Creator Father said that the sins of the people in the tribes and of the city was too much. The Land could no longer bear the weight, and he could no longer ignore the cries of the blood of so many innocents. From what I know, they were enslaving, buying and selling people with special abilities. In the tribes, they had begun eating children and had many evil rituals designed to keep the elders in power and stronger than anyone else. Any who opposed them or the witch doctors died. The witch doctors also captured and drank the blood of many of the judges. I think in the City, they were also performing human experiments on some of the ability users or forcing them to breed or something. I don't know. I was sheltered from all of that."
"Have you seen what happened to that whole region after the war ended?" Suzuki Sensei asked me.
"After the big earthquake?" I asked. "No. Shigure and I were taken away after we were dug out by his family. We have been too unwell and then too busy since then to find out more. Your people have also been careful to keep most of the news from us. Maybe not Shigure. I haven't been informed. Maybe he wants to hide the information from me. All I know is that the whole region was completely destroyed and the earthquake split a trench from the Blue Gulf all the way across the sea through the country of our enemies on the other side of the sea."
"I will confirm how much information I can share with you," Suzuki Sensei hesitated. "Do you know why they would withhold the details of that information from you?"
"I was a girl of the tribes," I told Suzuki Sensei. "The Land belonged to us and we belonged to the Land. If the Land was destroyed, it means a part of our identity has been destroyed. It means we become like other rootless people. Originally, the people of the tribes were meant to live and die with their Land. However, I became an outcast. They even threw me off the Cliffs of the Dead. So while I had that connection, the connection has been broken and so I no longer have to die. At the same time, they were my family and my people. Although they tried to kill me when I went to warn them of what was to come, in the end… basically, I have a very strong emotional connection to that region. Although I know what happened in my head and I saw much of what happened, I didn't see the end of it. I don't think I can bear it if I saw it right now. All of the desert, the Tangled Mountains and the entire region of tribal lands. That's a lot of land. A lot of people. And I couldn't stop it."
I wiped my eyes, weeping now, as I walked, hard enough that I could no longer see where I was going.
"Stop. Calm down. You'll fall and hurt yourself like this. I think I know why they haven't given you too many details now," Suzuki Sensei sighed, renewing his grip on my elbow when my legs began to give way. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it."
"They were evil and I hated them, but it was home, you know?" I sobbed, letting Suzuki Sensei pull me into an awkward hug and patting my back. "I loved them all the same. Just like I loved the Land. The Land had done nothing but tried to support us after all these years and generations. And in the end, the Land couldn't take it anymore. What had it done to be treated that way?"
Suzuki Sensei's friend tried to help me keep walking. The two of them helping me take some weight off my weak and wobbly legs. My legs were becoming like soft noodles. They just didn't want to carry me anymore.
A hand was put to my forehead. The three murmured and other hands touched my forehead, my cheeks and neck. I was sure that it was very hot. I felt hot. Very hot.
In the end, I was helped onto Suzuki Sensei's back and he carried me in a piggyback while I rested my head on his shoulder. The pace picked up and Suzuki Sensei tried to keep me distracted by changing the topic.
I had a feeling I had developed a fever. My mind was beginning to feel muggy and muddled. My head felt extremely heavy. All my joints ached. I was also feeling both extremely hot and extremely chilled in turns.
My wet clothes were uncomfortable and the night wind was cold like the air from a fridge.