Tsuki ✔️COMPLETE

Chapter 1: The Family

His son, Kai Sei Tsuki, was born in the summer of 1315 and no one could deny him his joy. He kept the prefix 'Kai' as was family tradition and decided he was already enough without additional frills. His father had been the Lord Kaidono, a brilliant town planner and champion of the people, son of Her Ladyship Kaimiri Sei Tsuki who had constructed the first stone buildings and became their first governor. He was Lord Kaito, the next to carry the name. Now he had a healthy baby with his curling locks and sparkling eyes who could grow up to be anyone or anything he wanted to be regardless of his heritage. He hoped.

Little Kai was four now, gripping one of his mother's hands as he pulled berries from their stems with his uncoordinated fingers. He was laughing, throwing most into his mother's apron but unable to resist eating the ones he liked best. Yomi beamed with adoration. She was still so beautiful, even after the horrors of loss and famine. Her hair was a bright red and her eyes stormy. She was more tan than he was, she loved the sun. Her cheeks were no longer sunken. Wherever she walked, the world seemed a little brighter and when she spoke, she brought a gentle authority. She was sublime, and he adored her.

Kaito watched them fondly from the hill. He had not brought Kai here yet to meet his sister at her resting place. It was too soon. With any luck, Kai would never need to know of the superstition surrounding the sister he never met, and the family he was born into.

His eyes were torn back to the town in an instant as he suddenly heard the town horn blast. Coming through the forest he saw figures in a clearing, heading towards his home. The horn did not signal friend or foe, only the approach of outsiders. He was not expecting traders so early in the year.

Kaito's eyes fell on his wife. She had looked up too, her hand noticeably tighter around their son's. The little boy's face eyes were wide, waiting for an answer to a question Kaito could not hear.

All the townsfolk in the fields began to retreat to the walls. With a small flick of his hand he summoned moisture from warm, humid air around him and formed thin sheets under his shoes. He slid down the hill quickly as he had done since he was a boy. That was another reason his people liked to keep to themselves. They had the unique ability to manipulate water in all its forms and use it at their will. The Sei family in particular had risen to leadership thanks to their close relationship with the elements. Kaito could use the water in the environment as easily as he could his own hands.

Yomi will take the boy, look for others, said a familiar voice. This low and scratchy voice was with him often, always coming from somewhere outside his body, like a shadow. It felt as natural as his conscious but in reality the entity that spoke was another being entirely.

Like his family before him, he was connected with the energy of the planet and the creatures formed in that energy. The Tsuki people knew them as Elemental Demons. By forming a sacred bond with one, a Tsuki could join with a demon and combine their powers. Linked together until their deaths, the demon and the Tsuki would be connected by at least one point of contact, giving the host heightened senses and an extra four monstrous, ethereal arms.

To the eye, a water demon was like a streaky, inky blue version of the host's shadow come to life. It's face was blank, besides two wide red eyes with pupils like black diamonds. There was no easily discernible mouth above it's chin, but a Tsuki knew better. Anyone could see a demon, but only its host could hear it speak.

When times were darker, a warrior Tsuki with an equally powerful demon was a formidable defender of his homeland. Their armies were small but devastating. The Tsuki had enjoyed peace through their reputation.

Kaito took his demon's advice and scanned the fields for stragglers. Most were running. Some had water nearby to aid their escape. Not everyone had Kaito's command over the water in the air.