CHAPTER IV

The Child of Lenity

               

There was a splendid place at the far side of the glowing sky. In the graciousness of its gales, butterflies, flowers and the nature itself bloomed along with the eternal spring life of human that connected to the co-existence human’s bizarre world.

The dew on the lush, green grasses refused to disappear just like the splendid land itself that never ever withered.

 

He was never the child of a human and he truly belonged to the mountain of Zei where a god lay; his birthfather the deity of the healing unicorn, Tai.Deep down the mountain of Zei, they both lived peacefully together and protected the land of Zhang Empire.

 

A child was tossed aside by his parents in the shrine of Zei one day and learned after hand the unusual power within the child's body. The deity has foreseen the child having the power of water just like the child of lenity that he has been protecting for years. And even though it was hard, he kept him isolated from the human world. Oh how he wished his son to live a normal life: spending some time with humans below the mountain but he wanted to protect him. So he kept him away from the people of Zhang Empire. Tai created a barrier that lasted for decades to protect the nature of mountain Zei from the abusive mankind and to conceal him, and his son while they both protected the folks living beneath the mountain lands.

 

Ten years ago, in the middle of a starry night, a woman once wandered down the mountain. Her hair was blond and long as her veil on her head clung around her shoulder. Her skin glimmered in the darkness just like her emerald eyes when it hits the moon's gentle light. Her beauty blinded the eyes of men.

The deity fell for her the moment she saw her.

 

“ You, a child of two humans, you must bear the child of deity for wandering here in the sacred land of Zei.”

 

She finally reached the place where deity lay and saw the enchanting environment of the healing god lived. It was a place was the moon's light glowed brightly. The tree's branches swayed as the wind blew. The fireflies shimmered just like the fairies in the fairytales from the books she have read and crystal pond underneath the largest tree of acacia shined and illuminated brightly. Its reflected light from the moon gave brightness to the dark night of forest.

She saw a man standing beside the pond and extended his hand to her.

It was Tai’s human form. He was incredibly gorgeous and definitely different from a common man. His hair was long as hers and his eyes were pure as the blue ocean. He was wearing silky traditional clothing that enveloped his lean body.

But despite the stunning features Tai had, there was something that catches her eyes the most: the horn on his forehead and his long white silver tail behind him that showed his true self as the deity of the healing unicorn from the legend of Zhang Empire that was passed through the generations of their family.

They both stared each other's beauty and gradually fell in love. The deity spoke that the woman must bear his child before the woman left the mountain. She was afraid of what she was felt seeing the man who had horns. Her heart fluttered everytime she thought about him. The feeling was foreign to her but it felt good.

One day, after from her peaceful sleep, she woke up. Everything around her was new and then realized she was on the mountain of Zei.

Tai bought the woman up to the mountain so he could still see her every day. The beautiful woman didn't say anything and continued to live up on the mountains until she got pregnant.

Months after, a boy was born from the love between the god and a human. She named him after her name and the mountain’s name together.

The world inside the mountain of Zei is quite different from the human's. From the very beginning, it was the not place for a human to live for.

The woman weakened and fell ill after delivering her child out from her womb. Tai healed her numerous of times but she gradually kept on going back to being sick.

 

One day, Tai went down the nearby market hiding his true identity from flock of human around him. He bought foods and medicines for her when he saw the countless placards plastered on the rock wall of the southern continent. His eyes widened as he froze on the place he was standing and saw the mother of his child engraved on the rocks.

 

“Oh, our poor princess, I wonder where she is.” someone blabbered from his back.

 

Tai turned his heel and faced the man. “She’s a princess?”

 

“Oh, yes, she’s the crowned empress of the empire and sadly, she’s still out there. Missing for eighteen months.” The old man answered.

 

Tai ran fast as he could back to the mountains dragging along the goods that he bought from the market. His appearance briefly changed to his true form and saw her feeding their child.

 

“Are you the princess of the empire below us?” he asked her.

 

The woman stopped from what she was doing. “Yes, I’m the heiress of the next Zhang Empire.” She firmly closed her eyes and stuttered, “I'm Princess Zhang Yi Mei.”

 

Tai walked towards her, his hands dropping the basket of goods and bought their baby to his arms. A servant came beside him and carried the baby.

“Bring him to the palace. Feed him.” He told his servant and the other nodded then finally left.

 

“This is not a place for you to stay” He sat beside her and reached from her hands. ”It’s time for you to go back.”

 

“But? How about you and our child?” The princess worriedly said as the tears gradually rolled down from her pretty eyes.

 

“You stayed too long in this land. Your spirit doesn’t belong here.” He felt her hands gripped his and he smiled sadly. “You and your family will protect the land of Zhang Empire and we, me and our child, will embrace you with our protection.”

 

A sphere of light abruptly came out below where the woman sat. The light wrapped her whole body and in just a blink of an eye, she was already gone and was transported to the gates of the palace of Zhang Empire. The royal guards stumbled when they saw their princess lying on the ground.

 

The shouts of “Princess Yi Mei is back!”  Can be heard throughout the whole empire.

 

He stood in a branch of a tall tree while he holds his son. Tai watched the busy and lively empire from their comeback of their princess. He shut his eyes tightly and whispered something then went back to his palace up on the mountains of Zei.

 

The emperor commanded for a large banquet inside the palace for the princess and even the common people of empire were celebrating for her. The night will going to be a long and lively for everyone. However, the liveliness of the empire saddened the princess even more as she wept quietly and longed for her child and for her beloved up in the mountains.

She slept that night with a bead of tear falling slowly from her cheeks. 

              

Days have passed and she pointlessly tried to enter the mountains but everything around her remained the same. The same trees, and ferns, and wild flowers. She kept on walking pointlessly but she never seemed to found the palace.

The unicorn deity continuously watched her from afar. Seeing that she was fine was just enough for him.

 

It was another day of going out the mountain and Princess Yi Mei was getting ready for it when her stomach pained that made her fell down to her knees. Her face lost its color and beads of cold perspiration fell down from her face. She clutched the carpet beneath her and clenched her teeth from pain. Luckily, a servant found her lying onto the floor and helped her to get onto her bed.

 

“Are you alright, Princess Yi Mei?” the servant worriedly asked.

 

The servant ordered the foot soldiers to fetch the most skilled healer in the empire but a doctor from a foreign land has arrived instead.

The Queen and the youngest princess sat beside her bed while the doctor checked her thoroughly. From the symptoms princess Yi Mei was experiencing, the doctor suspected that she was suffering from a unknown illness but he was certain that the pain started out on her pelvis. The doctor's thumbs slightly pressed her navel and felt something circular inside her.

Princess Yi Mei heard him gasp and whisper tumor.

The doctor delivered the sad news that he came up with the examination on the princess ailment.

“Your Majesty, I’m afraid the princess is suffering from severe illness down to her abdominal part.” the doctor theorized.

 

“Wh-what do you mean by that?” the queen stammered.

 

“Mostly, it is from giving birth at such young age and improper deliberation. Sadly, she won’t be able to bear a child again” replied the doctor.

 

The queen turned her head to the princess and asked, “Princess Yi Mei, what does that means?”

 

“Mo-mother...” She felt her hands trembled but she answered her mother anyway, “I gave birth to the child of the mountain deity of Zei” the princess cried as she hoped to see her child again.

 

“The god of healing, you say?” Her mother tried to contain her surprise. She couldn't believe what her daughter have said. When the word was reported to the king, he stormed inside the princess’ room.

 

“You shameless princess, get out of here! I order you to be exiled in this empire and never show you face again” The mad emperor ordered.

 

“But she’s the next heiress of the empire” The queen reasoned.

 

“Princess Yi Wei will rule the next throne after her younger sister,” the emperor said as a matter of factly.

 

“Father, no!” Princess Yi Wei insisted.

 

The servants had no choice but to obey the merciless order of the emperor. The princess was sent out of the empire and was isolated in the village of Hakbong.  The deity of mountain saved her and they’re reunited once again. But with her current illness, Princess Yi Mei eventually died after a year.

 

Six years later.

 

 The mountain god continuously protected the mainland of Zhang Empire despite of losing his beloved. And their child, Zei Rei is now in the age of seven. They lived happily together with the child named Tao that was left in the foot of the mountain five years previously.

He lay in a small basket and was left with a letter that contains a simple letter that said his name was Tao. Despite of his small and fragile body and his sound of crying, there was a power that resided in his body. As he cried, the things around him stopped from acting out.

The falling leaves, the moving branches of a tree above his head and the butterflies that flew near him. The mountain has decided to take him and Tai raised him like he was his own child aside from Zei Rei, of course.

     

Meanwhile, the palace of Zhang Empire has lost its radiance; Princess Yi Wei killed herself when her beloved older sister was exiled and was falsely told that Princess Yi Mei was gone missing again and found dead in the river of Hakbong Village.

No one has left to succeed the throne and the emperor was already old to further continue his reign. He decided to search for the child of the exiled Princess Yi Mei. He ordered to assemble all the skilled monks, shamans and exorcists both from mainland and foreign lands near their empire.

 

“ I, Lu Yuan , emperor of Zhang command you to search for the child of the exiled princess inside the mountain of Zei.” The emperor raised his voice a little more.  “The one who will found the child shall be rewarded!”

 

Large number of monks, shamans, and exorcists entered mountain of Zei after.

No one could break the barrier the resided before the mountain except for a young exorcist named Alford Bren from the holy land of Glindaire. He managed to break the barrier made the deity that has been created for years.The flock of men entered the depths of mountain as Alford Bren led them.

Hours after, they saw a large form of a unicorn and saw two children underneath his fury tail from afar.

 

“What shall we do?” The monk wondered loudly.  “There are two of them...”

 

“Then let’s get both of them!” the other one suggested.

 

The majority of shamans decided not to fight but instead, they sealed the unicorn deity of the mountain of Zei. And fortunately, they have successfully succeeded.They captured the two childs together and bought it to the emperor.

 

“Emperor Lu Yuan,” the shaman bowed. “We bought you the child of the exiled princess.” he said.

 

“Your Highness, I brought the older child. He’s the one, the child of Princess Yi Mei.” Alford Bren proclaimed.

 

“How can you say that he’s the child of the exiled princess?” the emperor asked.

 

“As you can see, based on the age, the princess was gone missing seven years ago. This child looks old enough and these... unusual features of him...  I was also told that he was a child of the mountain deity.”

 

The eyes of the people inside the room glued instantly to the poor child because of his unbelievable features.The emperor said that the exiled Princess was human and that the other one might be the child of the princess.But Alford Bren firmly insisted that the older one is now seven years old and was named as Zei Rei which is name was sort of close to the Princess Yi Mei’s name which made the emperor convince.  Alford Bren received a large amount of reward for breaking the barrier and for getting the child of Princess Yi Mei.

 

Zei Rei and Tao held hands tightly when they hear people discussing about them. The scary and disgusted eyes stared right through them and it made their body tremble from fear.

When the palace finally decided that Zei Rei was the child of exiled Princess, they forcedly separated the two. The foot soldier held Tao and Zei Rei reached for his hand. Tao struggled out from the soldier's tight grip on his behind and wailed. The foot soldier was ordered to send the child to the loyal servant warriors of the Zhangs, the Wang Family.

 

“And that child was me.” Wang Tao said to Riyeol and Light as he ended his story under the starry night sky of Rendell.