It took them several hours to arrive to their desired island. Kayo was drawing energy from the backup of a backup tank he didn't even know he had, and he was nearing the bottom of that one too. Happens when the only food you had time to eat were leftovers from a greasy fast food joint for years.
"I... Better... Become... The... Dragon Warrior... Forthis..." he gasped, taking 3 second pauses to breathe between each word.
The woman had energy to spare even after all the bridges and stairs. Kayo couldn't hide the fact he was a little jealous. Thankfully, his energy replenished abnormally fast. Yet another thing to the ever-growing list of things to have an existential crisis over later.
From the distance, it didn't seem like it, but the temple on the island was huge, more like a compound. Its walls snaked across the entire perimeter of the landmass, a single large gate serving as the entrance, currently wide open. Behind the wall, Kayo could see several towers reminiscent of pagodas, one noticably taller than the others. That must've been the main building.
The walls were thick enough to temporarily adjust his eyes to the shade, blinding him as he emerged on the other side. Indeed, only four towers were scattered across the whole compound, seemingly ordered into a plus shape. The tallest tower was the one furthest away from the gate. The rest of the space was either empty, scattered with some weird jungle gym esque structures, or had smaller, longer buildings taking up space. On those jungle gyms, there were groups of people of varying heights, ages, and even species, all tirelessly and flawlessly jumping from rung to rung, either trying to knock each other off or reach the top, which Kayo couldn't make out anymore due to how high straight up it was.
The tallest tower seemed to be their destination now. The deeper into the compound they went, the more Kayo felt like he was walking through a decently sized town. Even simply eyeing it made it clear that it was much larger than the village way back.
As they slowly approached the main tower, Kayo let out a deep, annoyed groan. More stairs.
Of course there are stairs leading up to this thing...
His guide ignored him. Probably for the best.
• • •
Stairs conquered. Again. Much to Kayo's relief, those were the last of them.
The interior of the tower was rather grandiose, even for a temple. Pillars with coiling golden snakes around them, murals depicting ancient battles on one side of the wall, and training students on the other. Underneath the murals were stands and pedestals with various artifacts, from weapons and armors to regal pottery. The floor was as clean as if it had never been touched, its dark maroon surface littered with pale pink blossoms. Directly in front of them was a large, circular segmented pyramid, each segment holding burning incense. Atop the pyramid was a lone monk, and it may have been a trick of the shadows and distance, but Kayo thought he was floating up there.
The woman said something to the monk, getting his attention. He stood up, and with a grace one could only compare to a feather, jumped off his pyramid. Took him a while to actually descend. Kayo could now see a rolled up cloth resting on the monk's shoulders.
Show-off.
The woman and the monk engaged in a short conversation, occasionally glancing or pointing at Kayo who tried his best to currently not exist as to not make things awkward... Mostly for himself.
When they finished, the monk gestured for Kayo to come closer, which he obliged.
"Án khevra mul-zaar, ve án tula mul-vozh," said the monk, "Ké sáruun dax-ti?"
Kayo only returned a puzzled stare.
That's definitely a different language, that much I can tell, but... Why?
Nothing the lack of a response, the monk continued: "Sha'vel'Kethrik?"
Is he trying to trial-and-error his way into a language I could speak?
Though monks were patient, it was clear that this method wasn't bearing any fruit, and likely would not for a while.
Maybe he just wanted to flex the number of languages he knows.
After a minute of thinking, the monk raised his hands and yelled some strange word into the ether. Answering the call, frigid winds entered the tower, snatched the rolled up cloth on the monk's shoulders, and hovered next to him with the vague suggestion of something physical underneath, like one of those cheap blankets children used for ghost costumes.
With a few exchanged words and a lot of gesturing towards Kayo, the ghost nodded and flew towards him. The cloth was left behind as it rammed into Kayo's face, but something definitely disappeared from underneath. And Kayo knew exactly where.
"Hello," the ghost said from within Kayo's mind.
"Hi," Kayo responded awkwardly, "Could you believe that's the second time someone unconsensually entered my mind?"
"I sorry, is necessary for talk."
"As long as that's all that it's for."
The ghost paused, seemingly collecting its own thoughts, "I name Makan. You trust better when name give?"
"So that's what he just yelled. I'm Kayo, by the way."
"Good. Now... Holder say you not from here. I can tell from language now, but I no recognize at all. Where from?"
Still skeptical about the whole 'another world' situation, Kayo decided to obfuscate the truth again.
"I'm from so far away that my people don't even know of your existence, and it's safe to say that's mutual," he continued, "My ship sunk during a pirate attack, and I woke up on the beach of this land. As far as I know, I'm the only survivor."
"I sorry to hear."
"Don't worry about it. But unfortunately, these are new lands for me, and I have zero connections or knowledge of the life here. So, I'm pretty screwed."
After another few moments to think, the ghost Makan left Kayo's mind completely, returning to its clothed form. It exchanged a few words with the monk, who glanced at Kayo and the girl every so often. When they were done, Makan turned towards Kayo again.
"You allowed stay in temple, learn language and way of life. Grand monk's daughter, girl you come with, will be caretaker, and because she not have spirit, I will be teacher."
Finally, things seemed to be turning towards the better.
"But," the ghost continued, "In trade, you will help with temple chores, things not need speak for."
"Sounds fair to me, how hard could it be?"
• • •
Shortly after the deal was made, Kayo was given a narrow room beneath the eaves of the temple. It smelled faintly of old paper. Needless to say, the first weeks were miserable, despite receiving an admittedly stylish set of clothes as a bonus: a light grey undershirt, thick, dark brown belt over which was tied a thinner, dark grey belt, equally dark grey pants that connected with the shoes.
Makan hovered over him constantly, and although it would only speak up if Kayo was truly desperate for a translation, its presence became annoying almost immediately. The language, or ilayllan, as he would come to know it, had an eerily similar structure to English, or perhaps Spanish, which Kayo spoke a little bit of, so at least he had something to support him. It was the vocabulary that gave him the hardest time.
As promised, his chores required no words. Sweep. Carry water. Burn offerings. Deliver sealed letters he could not read and. Invasion of private letters seemed to be a surprisingly common concern among not only the students, but the monks also.
At night, the grand monk's daughter Aya, his assigned caretaker, would sit across from him with a slate between them. She would draw symbols, and he would try reading them. Oftentimes painfully wrong, much to her amusement.
It was sometime during the rainy season, few months in, that things began to click.
Kayo realized one afternoon that he understood why a novice was being scolded without the ghost translating a word. He was beginning to internalize the vocabulary.
The monks noticed too. At least Kayo thought so, since letters stopped being handed to him, probably out of fear of him being able to read them now.
By the time the wind festivals returned, heralded by ribbons and chimes over every archway, Kayo could speak without Makan's constant intervention. Far from perfect, but clearly enough to be understood. Clearly enough to ask questions.
And that was when the real lessons began. Language lessons gave way to explanations of the way of life in the temple. Why wind was significant to this place, out of all 10 elements. Why the southmost tower was the tallest, and why there were three others in the other cardinal directions. Why spirits had to be hosted by a physical vessel, like Makan's cloth. How magic was a means to better oneself, both physically and spiritually, and required the mage and spirit to cooperate and trust one another.
By the end of his first year in the temple, Kayo no longer needed to translate ilayllan in his head at all.
As much as he would love to stay, Kayo knew he needed to search further, or perhaps deeper. Wind alone was not going to help him return home.
"May the South Wind guide you," said Aya, placing an open palm perpendicular to her abdomen.
Kayo reciprocated both, the gesture and the phrase, before embarking on his journey once again.
The wind will guide me, alright.
Unbeknownst to them, Kayo managed to learn a rudimentary spell by eavesdropping on the temple's students. By listening to the wind itself, he could get the general idea of where he was and which passage was the most worth taking, but not much more than that.
"Wind, show me the way..."
• • •
Somewhere far away...
"Prince Jun, sir!" a royal messenger struggled to run over the newly polished floor, nearly banging his head on the prince's table.
"Careful Richard, I just had the floor cleaned," said the prince calmly, getting up from his chair-throne-thing to help his messenger up, "What has got you in such panic?"
"Sir..." the messenger Richard paused to catch his breath, "My scouts have just reported on the Ruinous Man, the one who keeps razing our settlements and military camps alike!"
"And?"
"And he's currently heading towards our city! Straight line! Prince Jun, you are in grave danger, you have to-"
The prince silenced him with a single raised hand. Richard could feel an aura of calm wash over him like a warm mist.
"Sir?"
The prince walked towards the window and gazed thoughtfully at his city, its tallest high-rises still reaching below the castle's bottom.
"It's likely he wants my father, not me. But try to get in touch with the Ruinous Man, employ immaterial spirits. I want him to know that I am willing to negotiate before we draw any weapons."
"But our people..."
"Of course," the prince turned back towards his messenger, the light from the window enveloping him like a full-body halo, "If he refuses, and he likely will, he will have to deal with me personally," the prince declared, a faint glimmer in his eyes giving the impression of a ringed golden iris...