King of the Yaso

It was another silent day with nothing but the piled-up snow around them.

Nevin poked out his head from inside a snow cave and shook the snow from his fur before using the wings on his back to soar up into the outside world.

“They’ll find us.”

“They’ll know where our village is!”

His people tried to discourage him as they poked out their faces behind him, but Nevin was too caught up in enjoying freedom for the first time in a long while. He waved back to them to tell them that his body, covered in white fur, wouldn’t stand out against the winter scenery. Then he soared higher up into the sky as if he had nothing to fear.

Heavy clouds hung low in a dimly lit sky, and the ever-falling snow ensured visibility would remain low. Spotting someone with a body so well camouflaged would be no easy task.

From holes that looked like polka dots in the snow, he saw several of his people peeking out their heads as if the village chief’s selfishness made them tempted to leave with him. No one would have guessed that there was a village here under the deep snow populated by hundreds of people. The large tribe that was targeting the land, the great tribe of humans from the south, had never once found their village.

Above all, this was the height of winter. Finding food was difficult during this harsh season, and there were few who dared take the risk of wandering across this land. What few there were included the kobudeer tribe who lived on their great fat stores and whose teeth could strip the bark from the trees regardless of the season. The flying beeks—the natural enemy of the yaso species such as the lulso—were nowhere to be seen at this time of year.

Winter in barren lands would drive even the most troublesome of beasts, who would rule the lands during any other season, into their nests, making it the safest time of the year for the lulso despite its harshness.

Until recently that was.

I have to be the one to fix this.

The blessings Nevin received made him invulnerable to the cold.

The lulso could not tolerate low temperatures, but the guardian bearers who served as their soldiers were an exception.

Nevin was chief of the lulso and king over all eight of the winged ones. Among some of the winged tribes that normally laid eggs, a special child would sometimes gain life while still growing within the stomach of a queen and then be born living. Their bodies would grow to be strong, and they were particularly intelligent in many cases. It was generally these individuals who would inherit the treasured land gods of the winged ones. Nevin was likewise found to have these rare properties and he was given a guardian.

As Nevin protected his species from the harsh battle for survival on the desolate plains, he gradually became stronger and wiser, and they had made him king of the yaso before he knew it.

If I can’t save the ones they’ve caught... it’ll be our village next.

He’d heard news.

A village had been destroyed.

Even in this terrible winter, they’re still finding our nests and destroying them.

Creatures that took to their nests and turned sluggish made easy prey for the humans.

Not only were their guardian bearers resistant to the cold, the humans could strip the pelts from other living creatures to cover themselves as they marched tirelessly, even through deep snow.

A budding village of the lulso formed by a recent splitting of the nest had been attacked. Several of his people were killed while those with the most beautiful wings were chosen as prisoners. The humans had slaughtered numerous species that lived on the land, and they kept body parts of the fallen to commemorate their victories. The small lulso seemed to match their preferences exactly because they were often captured alive and then kept as playthings. When the humans grew tired of tormenting them, they would rip off their wings and laugh as they died.

He wanted to save his people before such terrible things happened to them.

Lulso would beg for their lives as humans tortured them by tearing off their wings and demanded to know the whereabouts of more of their kind. Many lulso feared losing their wings so badly that they’d talk, but the humans would tear off their wings all the same. It was just another reason why the malicious humans had to be dealt with before they expanded enough to reach more villages.

The sun was low and the sky dim as Nevin searched for signs of the humans. When he found them, they were already embroiled in a battle.

They were distressingly close to the lulso village. It was entirely possible that they’d been headed for Nevin’s village with the intent of raiding it, but had been unfortunate enough to encounter another enemy.

The mountain god!

The lulso village was a nest hidden among shrubs and undergrowth at the foot of a small mountain that rose from the barren plains. And at the peak of that mountain, a savage god of fearsome power had made its nest.

The massive serpent had a long coiling body, three heads with mouths large enough to swallow a kobudeer whole, and two tails that rattled when they shook.

The mountain god was a natural enemy of the lulso, but it also protected them by keeping outside invaders away. It was incredibly unusual for a small mountain to hold the gravesites of two different land gods, and the two species that had provided host vessels for those gods had formed a symbiotic relationship.

The undergrowth concealing the lulso village was a natural defensive wall that had been planted and nurtured for the sake of preventing the mountain god from attacking. It was covered in thorns, and the shrubs gave off a scent hated by the mountain god.

We’re saved, Nevin thought.

The mountain god had a terrible temper and would never allow its nest to be disturbed. Its robust trunk was thick like a large tree, but above all, it had strength fearsome enough to crush a large boulder once it coiled itself around it.

The human army had provoked the god of the mountain. It was alarming to learn that they could dispatch an army so large across a desolate plain in winter. The humans had advanced knowledge of metalworking, and their weapons were mostly iron-made. The individual soldiers were weak, but when they attacked in numbers, the damage they caused could not be ignored.

The mountain god quickly became covered in blood as it thrashed in its violent rage. Nevin was sure that one or two hundred humans had been killed just while he was watching.

The superiority of the mountain god was evident. Then, from among the human army, new soldiers stepped forward who were clearly different from the others. These soldiers charged at the mountain god all at once.

Some of the humans were guardian bearers just like Nevin. The course of the battle changed quickly. The humans had brought an absurdly powerful force to attack in winter. There were at least 100 guardian bearers. Humans were a widespread species, but even so, gathering 100 guardian bearers together must have left their territories undefended. This was not normal behavior. They were risking everything.

The mountain god howled.

It was a cry like Nevin had never heard before. From the gaps in the rocks, more of its kind crawled out to come to its aid, but those were slaughtered one after another.

Nevin understood immediately what would happen if that army reached his village. He trembled with fear unlike anything he had ever felt before.

I just need to save our friends.

He sneaked into the camp to the rear of the humans and searched each part of it until he found the cage that held his friends.

His fellow lulso were bound hand and foot with chains placed around their necks. The bruises that covered their limbs were evidence of how brutally they’d been treated.

Nevin smashed the cage open and then broke the chains.

He scolded his friends for crying, and then, just as they were about to take flight, their surroundings shook as the mountain god unleashed a shrill cry louder than any before it. Nevin brushed the snow from his eyelashes and hurried outside.

Human victory cries echoed across the mountain. The humans, ecstatic over the expansion of their territory, were dancing wildly in the snow. Some hurried to round up the children of the mountain god like playthings, and others were absorbed in the process of tearing scales from the mountain god’s body. They showed no concern for the soldiers they’d lost. They were satisfied as long as they won and demonstrated the superior strength of their species.

The lulso feared they’d be caught and tormented once more. His people fled, but Nevin knew he had to find some way to distract the attention of the humans away from his nest. With the mountain god defeated, the lulso nesting at the mountain’s foot would think they had no choice but to flee the place.

If I can just buy them some time.

Nevin took flight.

He grazed soldiers of the human army gathered at the top of the mountain as he flew by. Humans could only crawl along the ground, so their only hope of catching lulso was to target their nests.

The attention of the humans was drawn to the lulso flying through the sky. The humans who’d been playing with the remains of the mountain god were now pointing at Nevin and crying out.

You’ve seen me. Now come, humans.

Nevin’s wings were exceptionally beautiful even for a lulso. It also meant that he could fly at high speed. Some of the humans chased after him in their excitement.

“Ignore the decoy!”

Nevin’s plan soon came to nothing.

They had spotted his people fleeing some distance away.

The human army that covered the mountain side moved in to crush them. Nevin drew back in a panic, knowing that they would attack the nest. The wind direction changed and snow was increasingly entering his eyes. Nevin screamed as a shiver ran up his back. The thorny plants surrounding the nest had been cleared away, and humans were pouring into the nest.

Yaso could fly, but they were virtually powerless in their nests. They’d become skilled at hiding deeper within their nests when threatened by humans, but that was only enough to ensure the survival of a few.

Their once-peaceful nest was now stained with the bodily fluids that spilled from Nevin’s people.

Nevin was spurred on by his rage. He approached one entrance to the nest and did what he could to stop the swarm of humans from entering, despite knowing it was too little, too late. He killed one human after another.

“This bug’s a guardian bearer!” a human shouted.

Lulso were far inferior in terms of physical strength, so they were taken aback when Nevin could overpower so many humans. That was when several human guardian bearers appeared. Nevin fought madly for his life and drove the humans back many times using the martial arts of the yaso.

But the next guardian bearer that appeared was the strongest human warrior in the army.

“Surrender quietly.”

The first Balta was a small man, covered in the blood of the mountain god, and wearing a faint smile.