The Day of Thunder

[Jiyo Sora]

The Nezumi had gotten used to him, it seemed, and Soryu had certainly gotten used to them.

The trip south, escorted by four Jiyo bushi to the border, then by two Nezumi warriors into their Empire, seemed a lifetime ago- more distant than his life at home before the trip.

He didn't see Ti'ake Chuk'tchick much- his father had told him probably wouldn't. White Moonrise was a bit like Uncle Shiba- always, always busy.

"And he doesn't really like humans all that much, Soryu. Not as a group."

"You say he's your friend, though, Dad..."

"He is. And as his friend, I'm telling you, he won't be the only Nezumi who needs some space. They're a great people in many, many ways, but they're different, and we need to respect the differences."

T’tok tch’tch, on the other hand... reminded him a bit of his mother. Oh, obviously they looked nothing alike, but he thought they'd probably like each other.

I forget if they met- I know Dad met her, but...

Whatever the case, T'tok had made sure he had what he needed- a room to call his own, food, and most importantly, enough guidance around the city that he could now make his own way. He wasn't at all surprised to find that the library with its Rememberers was a place he felt comfortable. His weak human nose would never let him truly read Nezumi memory sticks, of course, but the other thing, the thing that had begun as foresight like his father's before it had revealed itself under the tutelage of the Isawa, let him get a feeling from them.

The Isawa called him an Ishiken, and that was all right, so far as it went. The Void was all, the Void was nothing, and whatever else it might mean, it meant he could "read" some of the memory sticks, albeit haltingly.

Of course, since the official reason for his visit was the transcription of Memory sticks, he usually had the benefit of a translator- which had some bearing on his other research. His father had told him about the Five Ancient Races.

And using the lore of the Nezumi, he was putting it together. Kind of. It was a lot to take in.

Five Races. Five Elements.

"Water has fish-of-coral-palace." Sounds like the Ningyo the Lion have befriended.

"Air has clever-black-bird." Maybe we should ask Kakita this one...

"Earth has copper-diggers." Literally no idea. Sound weird.

"Fire has trolls." Never seen one.

"Not know what red-lion-heads are, but last race." Void. The Nezumi have difficulty with the concept of the Void, but... I don't. Not the same way.

So it was that Soryu started discussing it in depth, first with Rememberers, but then a shaman or two.

"I don't think it's the same thing as Name, not exactly, but we- humans- have a connection to the Void. And the Void... might be the Name of all reality."

Soryu blinked after he said it out loud.

This is why Father sent me here. I wouldn't have thought to put it that way before spending this time with the Brave-Warriors-Who-Remember, but...

"I'm not sure, it's... I need to know more about Name before I really... commit to that..."

The shaman flicked her whiskers and made an amused sound. It wasn't a word, he'd picked up enough of the Nezumi language to know that much. "I think-think we'll need to talk-talk some more, pup."

Soryu grinned. "I would like that."