-West Fuuhzan-
-358 New Fuuhzan Calendar-
It was a wet autumnal evening. The thin rain covered everything like a mist while the smell of moisture was visibly carried on a soft cool breeze.
In a tavern near the border between West and North Fuuhzan, a man was being particularly loud. He was drinking and complaining with enough volume that any traveller within the limited visual range of the tavern would partake is his rant, whether they wanted to or not.
"No no no!" His voice cut through all other chatter and noise with ease, "You just don't understand."
The atmosphere inside the tavern was warm and cosy, with a pretty packed hall filled with food and drinks alike.
"It's not just words on a page," He continued, seemingly at everyone in the tavern simultaneously, "The ink used, especially, makes all the difference. The words, the paper, the ink, they all tell their own story, and I have the first two; I lack the third."
The energy around the tavern stayed warm and friendly, no one seemed particularly bothered by rowdiness.
"If it's ink you're after, Shin," Another man heckled through the chitchat, "Why are even here? The North is where all the best inks are made!"
Laughter and cheering could be heard from a select few patrons.
"Oh, I have searched all over North Fuuhzan, but none will do," Shin sighed dramatically, "And where better to drink your sadness away?"
Shin raised his cup high, which got a round of cheers from everyone present, this time the staff included.
"None will do." He said to himself as he stared intently at his now empty cup.
The bustle around him continued while he became more withdrawn. He didn't notice a very old woman had walked up behind him and came to sit across from him. It wasn't until she poured some wine into his cup that he suddenly became aware of her. As Shin looked the old woman over, barely seeing her face under her large hood, the winds struck the exterior of the tavern hard and suddenly, sending a cold shivers all throughout.
The sudden gust sent a shiver down Shin's spine, sobering him up temporarily. He took a more careful look at the old lady this time. Something was off about her, but he couldn't place it. Before he had any change to inspect her further, she took a deep gulp from the bottle and sat it down between them.
"Shin Doku of Tohsang," The old lady said quietly, "I would very much like to help you. Tell me more about what you are looking for."
Shin looked at her suspiciously, through squinted eyes.
"No disrespect to one who fills my cup," He eventually said as he raised the glass to his face to inspect it, "But I very much doubt the ink I seek exists at all."
The old lady leant back a little, revealing a smirk.
"I have no doubts you are correct," She said while she slowly pointed at him, "But what of a raw material with which to have ink made?"
"And you think there is a material out there that is black and dark enough," Shin said almost mockingly, "That has the required depth and sadness to convey my greatest work — something the greatest ink makers haven't achieved yet?"
"I do believe I know of such a material," The old lady said before taking a long sip from the bottle, "It is, however, unconventional."
Shin said nothing but subconsciously leant in closer, as if to say, go on.
"Far to the North-West of here, deep within the Misty Ravines," She began, enchanting Shin and transporting him there in his mind, "Lives a small creature said to have existed since before light shone on the world."
"And this should interest me?" Shin said dismissively, chugging the contents of his cup.
"Without a single double," She said with a devilish smile, "Legends describe only the darkest of features. Dark textured fur that makes the night blush, black eyes that cut through darkness, a long legacy of being hunted runs through their blood."
Shin was sold immediately. The language of the ancient legends always did have a special place in his heart, it transported him to a world of possibility.
"Turning this essence into ink is another matter, of course," The old lady added, before noticing Shin had already stopped listening, "As no ordinary ink maker will do."
The old lady had now become aware that Shin was entirely in a world of his own, took a last sip of the bottle, before disappearing as quickly as she had arrived, leaving the bottle for him.
Minutes later Shin came back to his senses only to notice that the old woman was gone. The possibility of a way forward had taken root, and it took only till the end of the bottle for Shin to venture forth with renewed vigour, heading for the Misty Ravines to the North-West.
It took him a few weeks of travelling to make it to the cliff ranges of which the Misty Ravines was also a part. Locals freely offered to help find the area, though every single one, without fail, attempted to warn him. Though the warnings did not even register with Shin, every farmer and hunter he asked for directions warned him never to touch the creatures he sought. That was if could even find them in the first place. Protected by the Kami, was the phrase they all chose.
In the late evening Shin was certain he had found the right ravine when he approached one that pulsated with a cold breeze. It brushed past him ever so softly, drawing him in with a barely perceptible whisper. Something inside him was overwhelmed by a cold shiver bouncing up and down his spine; there was no doubt this was the place. In his excitement and without even thinking he climbed down into the ravine, only to find that within a few steps the ravine was already pitch black with the thick mist that never seemed to let up. It was too dangerous for him to climb in this darkness, so he got out and prepared to set up camp till the morning.
The night passed by quietly with only one moment Shin being awoken by a strange howl. It was somewhere between a song and a screech, and something he had never heard before. By the time morning had come, Shin was climbing down into the Misty Ravine. The mist was as thick as ever, but with the light of day so fresh, Shin could actually see a little bit which made him feel safe to explore.
And explore he did, for several days in a row, in fact. He searched all day and never found the creatures; though he could hear their calls now day and night. It drove him so mad that he even choose to remain down in the Misty Ravine one night, but the result remained the same. He climbed back out and immediately searched for his alcohol containing gourd, which he sadly knew was almost empty.
As he lay there half asleep, feeling utterly defeated, a ruffling of foliage caught his ear. From the dark bushes a man appeared, seemingly lost and constantly looking about him. He also hadn't noticed Shin laying on the ground, and Shin wasn't bothered enough to correct that. Perhaps Shin should have said something, after all, as the lost man walked right into him and tripped ceremoniously. As the man fell his entire bag spilled its content as swiftly as a creature that had been waiting for a moment to escape, and promptly plopped onto the ground; spread all across Shin's camp.
"Oh no," The man said, as he slowly raised himself off the floor, "Not again."
"Hey There!" Shin said after a brief pause of bewilderment, "Watch your step, you could so easily fall upon a traveller."
"My apologies," The lost man bowed over and over, between grabbing the different tools strewn about, "I honestly was not paying attention, nor expecting to come across another soul so deep into the wilderness."
The lost man continued to reach for his tools and supplies on the floor, barely acknowledging Shin at all.
Shin reluctantly straightened himself off the floor and reached for a small hammer that was near him.
"Let me at least help y…" Shin began before being interrupted by the man diving in like a vulture and knocking his hand away from the hammer.
"They don't like being handled by strangers," He said quickly and quietly, "It's not personal, you understand."
Shin was left flabbergasted, he had never met someone like this.
"I was only trying to help," Shin said defensively, "Tell your tools my name is Shin, nice to meet you."
"Rheji." The lost man nodded in agreement.
There was a moment of silence while Shin got comfortable on his sleeping bag, while Rheji put away the supplies and wrapped his tools — a few small hammers, a pair of tongs, a small folding fan and some ornament with many bells — into thick but soft looking cloth. When Rheji was done packing everything away incident he sighed in relief as if he had been expecting something to go wrong. Shin raised an eyebrow at this odd behaviour, though Rheji was too distracted to notice.
"So, Rheji," Shin began, "What brings you to the remote region of the Misty Ravine?"
"Well," Rheji said with an embarrassed chuckle, "I've been summoned to Shuzhou, but I think I'm going the wrong way."
"I'm afraid I'm not from here," Shin laughed, "I don't think I can help you."
Rheji looked down Shin's few items, then up at the emerging light of the morning.
"Yourself?" Rheji eventually asked.
As if summoned, the very familiar howl of Shin's tormentors came from deep within the ravine near the camp.
"That," Shin said as he pointed to the direction of the howl, "I've come searching for one of those furry black creatures that dwell here."
"The night marten?" Rheji said in a somewhat surprised tone, "I would stay away from those if I was you, local legends say that looking for them is seeking trouble."
"So I've heard," Shin dismissed, "A couple of times. Though that hardly matters when I can't even find them."
Rheji took a moment to think something through in his mind.
"What do you want the marten for anyway?" He eventually asked Shin.
"That doesn't concern you," Shin responded, "Why do you ask?"
"Well," Rheji began with a long pause, "I might know a trick to help find them, I just don't know whether I should tell you."
Both looked at each other intently and in complete silence. Several howls filled the air as they locked eyes unblinkingly for as long as they could. The tension was broken when one of Rheji's hammers dropped out of the bag of its own accord. Both of them jumped a little, followed by starting to laugh simultaneously, dispelling a lot of the tension.
Rheji picked up the hammer and looked at it with an amused expression before returning it to to the bag.
"Fine," Shin said reluctantly as he laid back on his sleeping bag, "I will tell you exactly why I am seeking this creature, and you can decide for yourself whether you want to tell me.
"You see, I am a poet by trade. Some moons ago I saw before me the epitome of the deadly Northern nights; it was dark and raw and its sight has left a black mark on my soul. I sought to convey this stain into a poem but first the words weren't quite right. Considering that I my profession, that was easy enough to correct. I quickly ran into the issue that the paper just wasn't good enough either. Though that was more difficult, I relatively quickly found a paper pure and white and so perfectly primed for the conveyance of that bitter darkness."
Shin went quiet for a moment and looked upon his own bag where he kept a writing kit, quietly lost in thought. A sense of frustration then quickly grew on his face, which he tried to quell by downing the last gulps from his gourd.
"The most important, however," Shin then continued, a little sadness growing on his face as he looked intently into the gourd to confirm it was empty, "The ink has eluded me for months now. No ink maker in North Fuuhzan has been able to create an ink that has the right features to truly embody my greatest work and I had given up. That was until I heard of a creature that is said to have all the right features, and that brings me here now. I've just tried to seek them all night but I found nothing."
Another taunting howl emerged from deep within the ravine, which noticeably irritated Shin.
"How do you intent on making ink from this creature?" Rheji asked sincerely.
"I don't know," Shin said frankly, "I'd go to an ink maker and ask them if they can use its fur, maybe, to create an ink."
"I don't think that's how that works," Rheji responded with a head shake, "Though, I will admit I am not an ink maker."
"Well it won't matter how I intend on using the animal to create ink," Shin protested, "If I can't find it in the first place."
Rheji had to admit Shin had a bit of a point, and couldn't help but shrug his shoulders a little in agreement.
"Well, then Shin the poet," Rheji said with an uncomfortable smile, "Perhaps it was fate that we meet today."
"Oh?" Shin said surprised, "And why do you say that?"
"Perhaps I should reintroduce myself," Rheji said as he stood up, "My name is Rheji Furika and I am a Master Spirit-Smith."
Rheji opened his palm and the hammer he had put away into his bag jumped out of the bag straight into his hand.
"My master was a legend, and he taught me everything he knows." Rheji said with a strange sense of pride, "Though I have never done such a thing, I may be able to extract the darkest essence from this creature and condense it into an ink for you."
"Does that mean…" Shin began, feeling hyped up by Rheji's suddenly positive energy, "That you've chosen to help me?"
"I guess I have," Rheji said, seemingly surprised with himself, "And I suppose I should tell you how we can find these creatures."
Shin's face lit up completely.
"We should celebrate," Rheji said, "We will only be able to find them under a full moon, and tonight happens to be the time."
Rheji ruffled into his bag and pulled out a gourd of his own, which he promptly handed over to Shin.
"I guess you were right," Shin said as he gleefully held the entirely full gourd in his hand, "It really must have been fate."