Latest / The Monster Catcher's Journal / Urekeb

Transcript

Urekeb · The Monster Catcher's Journal

• 0:38
  Travelers and Monster Catchers abound, I'm Stella
• 0:40
  Ferris and you've crash landed on the Monster
• 0:42
  Catchers Journal podcast. Eurekeb isn't just
• 0:48
  any glyph, he's a haunting fusion of scarecrow
• 0:50
  and crow. His body is woven from tattered black
• 0:52
  feathers and brittle straw. Giving him a ragged,
• 0:56
  wind -woven silhouette perched atop a crooked
• 0:58
  frame is a crow head with the jagged straw beak.
• 1:02
  And from beneath his tangled feather -straw mask,
• 1:05
  Glow two dark red eyes, eyes that cut through
• 1:07
  you like a knife, and make your soul flinch if
• 1:10
  you stare too long. But despite his fearsome
• 1:14
  appearance, Yurikeb is only a mare, an animal
• 1:18
  -born glyph created from feathers and straw.
• 1:22
  His nature is instinctive rather than evil, driven
• 1:24
  by the haunting magic that gave him his shape.
• 1:28
  When I finally set out to catch Yurikeb, I only
• 1:31
  meant for me to go. This was supposed to be my
• 1:37
  mission, my burden to handle alone. I slipped
• 1:40
  out in the dead of night, careful not to wake
• 1:42
  anyone in the sanctuary house. The air was cold
• 1:45
  enough to sting my lungs, and every creak of
• 1:47
  the floorboards felt like a scream, or a beak
• 1:50
  perched silently on my shoulder, as feathers
• 1:53
  puffed against the chill, eyes gleaming. With
• 1:57
  excitement, or mourning, I couldn't really tell
• 2:00
  which. Only once we were outside, The sanctuary
• 2:11
  was shrinking below until it was only a warm
• 2:14
  glow in the darkness. I thought I was finally
• 2:17
  alone, free to face your ekeb without dragging
• 2:19
  anyone else into danger. But just as the forest
• 2:24
  clearing came into view, where the scarecrow
• 2:27
  crow was said to wander, I heard a rustling behind
• 2:30
  me, going somewhere without us. I nearly fell
• 2:34
  out of the sky, Zen and Luna wedged in the back
• 2:37
  of my glider car. As if they'd been there the
• 2:41
  whole time, Luna giving a small wave while Xenna's
• 2:44
  eyes narrowed. With that, you should have known
• 2:47
  better. Look, you know, that she always got.
• 2:50
  My heart pounded. How? How long have you been
• 2:54
  back there? Long enough to know you were planning
• 2:57
  something reckless, Xenna said, crossing her
• 3:00
  arms. Luna grinned, and long enough to scare
• 3:05
  you. Sorry, not sorry. or a beak let out a disgruntled
• 3:09
  squawk. Clearly offended that he hadn't noticed
• 3:15
  them either. So much for going alone, I thought.
• 3:20
  We were headed for Stone Cavern Peak, a jagged
• 3:24
  razor edge mountain clawed at the night sky.
• 3:27
  Even from a distance it looked hostile, as if
• 3:30
  the earth itself had tried to tear free and never
• 3:32
  settled back into the place. Legends whispered
• 3:35
  that no one reached the summit without being
• 3:37
  watched or followed. That peak wasn't just a
• 3:40
  landmark, it was where the Urakeb built its nest.
• 3:43
  Not a small nest like a normal bird would make,
• 3:46
  this was a massive twisted nest structure of
• 3:54
  branches, straw, and torn cloth woven into the
• 3:57
  skeletal mouth of a cavern. A nest large enough
• 4:00
  to hold 20 Urakeb at once. 20 straw -feathered,
• 4:05
  knife -eyed creatures lurking together in the
• 4:07
  dark. And we were flying straight toward it.
• 4:11
  The closer we got, the quieter everything became.
• 4:13
  Even the wind seemed to hush, as if afraid to
• 4:16
  disturb what lived up there. Or a beak shifted
• 4:19
  uneasily on my shoulder. Xena tightened her grip
• 4:22
  on my shoulder as well. Luna swallowed her playful
• 4:28
  grin, long gone. Stone Cavern Peak loomed ahead,
• 4:33
  and suddenly going alone didn't seem like such
• 4:36
  a bad idea after all. By the time we reached
• 4:41
  the cavern mouth at Stone Cavern Peak, the sky
• 4:44
  above glowed with its usual eerie light. The
• 4:47
  three moons hung like silver lanterns beside
• 4:49
  the twin suns, their combined radiance casting
• 4:53
  strange overlapping shadows across the jagged
• 4:55
  mountaintop. There was no darkness to hide in,
• 4:59
  not in a world where the sky never slept. We
• 5:02
  had to rely on silence instead. We pressed into
• 5:06
  the cavern where the rock swallowed most of the
• 5:09
  celestial glow. Our footsteps softened against
• 5:12
  the cold stone floor. The air smelled of damp
• 5:15
  feathers and straw. Ahead the nest rose from
• 5:19
  the cavern's center, a twisted towering structure
• 5:21
  woven from sticks. fabric scraps and shed feathers.
• 5:27
  We crept closer. Inside the nest were dozens
• 5:30
  of eggs, each one threaded with faint red veins
• 5:35
  that pulsed faintly. Waiting to hatch, it was
• 5:38
  egg laying season, which meant the flock would
• 5:41
  be more territorial than ever. We should have
• 5:44
  left right then. I started to back away when
• 5:47
  a sharp cavern, followed by the scraping drag
• 5:57
  of claws on stone. My test tightened. We'd been
• 6:00
  spotted. Instinct took over. I dropped a glyphid
• 6:04
  pyramid -shaped trapping device, activating it
• 6:09
  with a tap of my finger. A flash, then a whirl
• 6:12
  of binding energy, and once Eurekeb was yanked
• 6:16
  inside the capture seal, I snatched the glyphid
• 6:20
  off the ground, shoved it into my bag, and hissed,
• 6:24
  Run! We sprinted for the hovercraft, moons and
• 6:28
  suns casting long warped shadows behind us. The
• 6:32
  moment the doors sealed, I launched us into the
• 6:34
  sky. Hover engines roaring, but the victory lasted
• 6:37
  only seconds. Behind us came a furious chorus
• 6:40
  of cause. As a swarm of Eureka bursts out of
• 6:44
  the cavern, wings of straw and feathers beating
• 6:47
  wildly, red eyes burning like coals. They took
• 6:51
  to the sky in a cloud of rage and came after
• 6:53
  us. I pushed the hovercraft as fast as it would
• 6:58
  go, hoping we could lose the Urkeb in open air,
• 7:02
  but the moment we soared over the Luan Academy,
• 7:05
  the flock caught up. Straw wings beat against
• 7:08
  the windshield and sharp beaks hammered at the
• 7:11
  hood. Crack, poke, rip! One particularly vicious
• 7:17
  Urkeb stabbed his beak straight through the engine.
• 7:20
  casing the hovercraft sputtered or a beak squawked
• 7:25
  we all screamed and then we dropped the hovercraft
• 7:29
  spiraled downward past the library tower across
• 7:32
  the training courtyard and crash we tore straight
• 7:35
  through the side of a classroom dust exploded
• 7:39
  everywhere in a chalk white cloud the urakebs
• 7:42
  startled by the impact scattered and fled into
• 7:45
  the sky leaving us sitting in a hovercraft half
• 7:48
  wedged into a classroom wall piece of ceiling
• 7:51
  drifted down like snow. For a moment everything
• 7:55
  was silent, then came a slow, irritated knock
• 7:58
  on the hovercraft door. I swallowed hard and
• 8:02
  slid it open. There stood Ori and arms crossed,
• 8:05
  jaws clenched, and eyes blazing with a fury that
• 8:09
  could melt still. It would have been terrifying
• 8:11
  if he wasn't absolutely covered head to toe in
• 8:14
  white wall dust, his hair sticking up like he'd
• 8:17
  been electrocuted. and a chunk of plaster resting
• 8:20
  on his shoulder like a fancy accessory. Xenna
• 8:24
  snored it, Luna burst into laughter, I did not.
• 8:27
  Orion excelled through his nose, a puff of white
• 8:30
  dust misting into the air. Stelliferous, he said
• 8:34
  in a dangerously calm voice. Would you like to
• 8:37
  explain why there's a hovercraft in my classroom?
• 8:42
  I opened my mouth, ready to explain the situation,
• 8:46
  then closed it again. Then opened it again. The
• 8:49
  words had apparently packed their bags and left
• 8:52
  with my brain. Well, I began. That depends on
• 8:56
  where you'd like me to start. The part where
• 8:59
  we heroically survived the swarm of your keb
• 9:02
  or the part where your academy will all sacrifice
• 9:05
  itself for our safety. Luna gave me a proud thumbs
• 9:08
  up. Xena slapped a hand over her face. Orion
• 9:13
  stared at me, not blinking, not breathing, just
• 9:17
  staring. The kind of stare that makes you rethink
• 9:19
  every decision you've ever made since birth.
• 9:22
  Behind him in the classroom, the classroom had
• 9:26
  erupted into pure chaos. Students were whispering,
• 9:29
  climbing over desks to look at the hovercraft
• 9:31
  like it was a mythical creature, poking at the
• 9:34
  feathers stuck in the wall. Someone found half
• 9:38
  of a Yurokab egg shell and began passing it around
• 9:42
  like treasure. A second year student attempted
• 9:44
  to climb into the pilot seat until Orion snapped.
• 9:47
  Nobody touches the vehicle. They froze mid -step.
• 9:51
  One student raised a hand. Professor Orion, does
• 9:53
  this mean we get extra credit for surviving a
• 9:58
  real -life case study? No, Wren, Orion replied
• 10:02
  through credit teeth. This means you will all
• 10:04
  do a three -page report on why you should not
• 10:06
  be in a room with Stella Ferris during egg season.
• 10:11
  Half the class groaned. One kid started writing
• 10:13
  immediately while muttering, worth it. Orion
• 10:16
  turned back to me, his voice low. Office. Now.
• 10:22
  We climbed out of the hovercraft wreckage, dust
• 10:24
  crunched under our boots as we followed him through
• 10:27
  the destroyed classroom and into the hallway.
• 10:31
  He flicked his fingers, doors shutting, barriers
• 10:33
  sealing, privacy spell humming into place like
• 10:37
  a magical do not disturb sign. In his office,
• 10:40
  the air felt heavy, like the room itself knew
• 10:42
  trouble when it saw it. Oren rounded on me. You
• 10:47
  went to Stone Cavern Peak, the nesting ground,
• 10:51
  during egg season. He spoke as if outlining a
• 10:54
  list of war crimes. Yes, I said quietly. With
• 10:58
  no clearance, no backup, and with two students
• 11:01
  who don't yet know the difference between a containment
• 11:04
  rune and a summoning rune. I do know the difference,
• 11:07
  Luna protested. Is that an elbowter? No, you
• 11:10
  don't. Luna shrugged. Okay, well. One of them
• 11:14
  involved circles. Orion massaged his temple so
• 11:19
  hard I thought it might erase his own face. Stelliferous,
• 11:24
  he said finally. You could have died. All three
• 11:27
  of you. And for what? To capture a single glyph?
• 11:31
  The air shifted. My heartbeat slowed. The humor
• 11:35
  drained out of the room like someone had pulled
• 11:38
  a plug. It wasn't just any glyph, I said. Orion's
• 11:41
  eyes sharpened. No, but that still doesn't justify.
• 11:44
  It wasn't just about the glyph I snapped louder
• 11:46
  than intended. Silence wrapped around us, heavy
• 11:50
  and unblinking. Luna and Xenna exchanged a look,
• 11:53
  sensing the mood change. They stepped back, letting
• 11:55
  the tension sharpen like a blade. I swallowed,
• 11:59
  forcing the words out. You knew, Orion didn't
• 12:02
  respond. You knew about Kazunora, I continued,
• 12:06
  voice shaking. You knew what catching a mere
• 12:09
  boar could do. What it could help or what it
• 12:13
  could help me understand and you didn't tell
• 12:16
  me orange draw clinched I took a step forward
• 12:18
  anger rising like heat from a flame. I'd been
• 12:21
  trying to smother for a long time You caught
• 12:25
  me or you taught me every spell every rule every
• 12:28
  warning except the truth except one thing I need
• 12:32
  it most Sena gently touched my arm Stella I Shook
• 12:37
  her off. I had to find out from a book buried
• 12:39
  in a Restricted archive not from you the person
• 12:43
  who promised to teach me everything Orleans voice
• 12:46
  was quiet when he finally spoke you were not
• 12:49
  ready not ready I repeat it incredulous my sister's
• 12:53
  soul is trapped Changed and you think I wasn't
• 12:56
  ready to know why? To know how it happened to
• 12:59
  know what could Undo it Orion didn't look angry
• 13:04
  anymore. Just tired like he'd aged ten years
• 13:08
  in three seconds Was trying to protect you, he
• 13:10
  said softly. I stared at him, at the man who
• 13:13
  saved me, taught me, guided me. Right now, I
• 13:16
  didn't know if he felt like a mentor or a liar.
• 13:21
  Protect me, I whispered, or control what I knew.
• 13:26
  No one spoke, not Orion, not Xena, not Luna,
• 13:29
  not me. For the first time since crashing through
• 13:32
  his classroom wall, I wish the Urakeb had kept
• 13:35
  chasing us. Because facing Orion's silence hurt
• 13:38
  far worse. contract around us, the air thick
• 14:08
  with magic and emotion, Oregon flinched not visibly,
• 14:12
  not dramatically, but enough that I saw the truth
• 14:14
  hit him. Stella Ferris, he tried again, hands
• 14:19
  raised slightly in a calming gesture, please
• 14:22
  calm down, we don't want the principal to hear.
• 14:25
  At that moment, or at the mention of the principal,
• 14:31
  the all -seeing council elder who Presence could
• 14:34
  rip through the walls and thoughts alike. Xena
• 14:38
  and Luna stiffened. Even the warden office felt
• 14:42
  darker. Shadows heavier as if the very name summoned
• 14:46
  attention. But I was too far gone for fear. Letter
• 14:50
  snapped. My voice cracked raw and loud in the
• 14:53
  magically sealed space. I don't care. Xena stepped
• 14:57
  forward towards me. So I know I backed away from
• 15:02
  all of them. Orion. I am done being kept in the
• 15:07
  dark by him, by the Academy, by the Council,
• 15:10
  by everyone. Orion's voice was quiet but strained.
• 15:13
  You don't know what you're saying. Yes, I do.
• 15:16
  Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I
• 15:18
  refused to let them fall. You're all terrified
• 15:21
  of what I might learn, of what I might become,
• 15:24
  but you know what scares me more? Orion swallowed
• 15:27
  stealth. That I'm already too late to save Kazunora.
• 15:32
  The names... slammed into the room like a spell
• 15:34
  gone wrong, even the office wards hummed in response.
• 15:39
  Orion's expression cracked, not in anger but
• 15:41
  regret, so deep it made something twist inside
• 15:44
  of me. He took a step closer, voice barely above
• 15:47
  a whisper. If the principal hears this, hears
• 15:49
  you, they will not show mercy. You are walking
• 15:52
  a line you cannot see. I'm done being led blind,
• 15:56
  I whispered. If I have to walk that line alone,
• 15:59
  then so be it. settled again, but not the awkward
• 16:04
  kind, the dangerous kind, the kind that comes
• 16:06
  right before lightning strikes. You can't do
• 16:12
  this, Stella Ferris, Orion's voice sharpened,
• 16:14
  not angry, but edged with fear. If you continue
• 16:18
  like this, if you challenge the council aloud,
• 16:22
  you could be expelled from Luan Academy forever.
• 16:25
  His words hit the room like a spell strike, even
• 16:29
  the protective runes around or along the office
• 16:31
  walls flickered at the weight behind them, but
• 16:35
  the threat didn't stop me. It ignited me. I don't
• 16:38
  care I explode it, the words ripping out of me
• 16:41
  before I could stop them. What good is graduation?
• 16:44
  What good is a title, a diploma, a place in this
• 16:47
  academy if my sister, my only own blood, is out
• 16:50
  there living as a glyph because the council decided
• 16:54
  it was fitting? My voice cracked raw and shaking
• 16:57
  with the pain I hadn't had. Time to process,
• 17:00
  since the truth hit me. A sister I didn't even
• 17:03
  remember until today, Orion. My throat tightened.
• 17:06
  And the council, your council, stole that memory
• 17:08
  from me, from us. Xena gasped softly. Luna's
• 17:12
  eyes widened, hand covering her mouth. Orion
• 17:15
  closed, his eyes pained. Stella fares, please.
• 17:19
  No! My magic flared. An involuntary pulse. Responding
• 17:24
  to the storm inside me, the lights flickered,
• 17:26
  the room trembled, or a beak hopped. anxiously
• 17:28
  on my shoulder, feathers fluffing with its distress.
• 17:34
  Orion raised a hand to stabilize the warding
• 17:37
  spell around the office. Listen to me, there
• 17:39
  are laws, ancient laws. Fasol is corrupted beyond.
• 17:44
  Don't, I said back, cutting him off, holding
• 17:46
  up a shaking hand. Don't you dare use their laws
• 17:49
  as an excuse. Not after you kept this from me.
• 17:52
  Not after you let me think she was just gone.
• 17:56
  Orion's composure slipped. just for a moment,
• 17:59
  a moment where guilt, regret, and something like
• 18:02
  shame crossed his expression. I wasn't allowed
• 18:05
  to tell you, he said quietly. Your memories were
• 18:07
  sealed by order of the principal and the council.
• 18:10
  I swore an oath. So your oath to them mattered
• 18:16
  more than the truth to me. The silence was instant,
• 18:23
  heavy, suffocating. Orion opened his mouth, then
• 18:26
  closed it. He didn't have an answer, at least
• 18:28
  not one that would break something between us
• 18:32
  even further. Or wouldn't break something between
• 18:34
  us even further, sorry. I felt tears gather,
• 18:38
  burning, but I refused to let them fall. Not
• 18:41
  in front of him, not while I was still shaking
• 18:44
  with rage. I would rather be expelled than keep
• 18:48
  pretending everything is fine, I said, voice
• 18:50
  trembling, but sure. I'd rather lose the Academy
• 18:53
  than lose whatever chance I have left to save
• 18:55
  her. My next words came out small, but sharp
• 18:58
  enough to cut. Because what's the point of earning
• 19:01
  a future here, if I'm the only one who gets one?
• 19:06
  Zinna stepped to my side, placing a hand on my
• 19:08
  shoulder. Luna moved to my other side, silent
• 19:12
  but supportive. For the first time since the
• 19:15
  hovercraft crashed, I wasn't shaking alone. Orion
• 19:19
  stared at me, something breaking in his eyes.
• 19:22
  Stella Ferris, you have no idea what forces you
• 19:24
  are about to provoke. Then let them be provoked,
• 19:28
  I whispered. I'm done living by their rules.
• 19:33
  I hadn't known it yet, but the older principal,
• 19:36
  the one who had let me slide a few times and
• 19:38
  who was like me, a woman had taken a job elsewhere.
• 19:43
  She had been lenient in ways no one else would
• 19:46
  give me chances. I didn't always deserve. I had
• 19:50
  trusted her in a way I never thought I would
• 19:52
  trust another authority figure. Replacing her
• 19:55
  was someone far less forgiving, someone who didn't
• 19:59
  tolerate mistakes and subordination or anything
• 20:02
  that smacked a rebellion. The new principal and
• 20:08
  new head of the council was Star Maury, Miss
• 20:11
  Maury. As the students whispered her name, she
• 20:15
  was strict, cruel, and her reputation alone made
• 20:18
  students flinch. Every story about her carried
• 20:21
  warnings. Those who defied her disappeared from
• 20:24
  the Academy's records at least for a while, and
• 20:27
  in an instant, as if she had been waiting for
• 20:30
  my outburst, she appeared. The office wall shimmered
• 20:33
  for a heartbeat, and then she was there, standing
• 20:36
  tall, her hair pulled back in a severe knot,
• 20:40
  a uniform crisp and perfect eye sharp, as knives,
• 20:44
  thorny, radiated from her heavy and unyielding.
• 20:48
  I see you are opposing the council's decision,
• 20:51
  she said, her voice cutting through the office
• 20:53
  like ice. Well, Quasar, we will suspend you for
• 20:57
  three days. Three days. Three long days. The
• 21:01
  words slammed into me, isolation away from the
• 21:04
  Academy, away from everything I was doing to
• 21:06
  find Casanora as a... cure. My hands curled into
• 21:12
  fists, my chest burned. I tried to speak, but
• 21:16
  no sound came out. Silent she snapped, her hands
• 21:20
  lifted in the words, and the office pulled subtly,
• 21:25
  as if reinforcing the truth of her words. This
• 21:28
  is not a request, it is an order from the Council.
• 21:31
  Your actions today challenging the decision of
• 21:34
  the Council, endangering students, and damaging
• 21:37
  Academy property, cannot go unpunished. Xena
• 21:41
  and Luna exchanged glances uneasy, but neither
• 21:43
  dared speak. Even Orion said nothing, his jaw
• 21:48
  - set tight as stone. You're lucky the council
• 21:50
  is lenient, Miss Morris continued. Consider this
• 21:54
  a warning. Step out of line again and your future
• 21:56
  at Luan Academy will be decided not by suspension,
• 22:00
  but by permanent expulsion. Her gaze swept the
• 22:04
  room sharp and calculating, then without another
• 22:06
  word, she vanished as suddenly as she had arrived,
• 22:09
  leaving the office colder, heavier and suffocatingly
• 22:12
  silent. I sank against the edge of the cold stone
• 22:16
  wall. hands trembling, suspended, three days,
• 22:21
  and all I could think about was Kazunora out
• 22:24
  there at my sanctuary home, living as a glyph
• 22:28
  while the council and now Star Maury stood firmly
• 22:32
  in my way. I was bound, determined to find a
• 22:38
  cure for my sister and to bring her back to her
• 22:41
  original human form, but if the council... had
• 22:45
  it their way, she would stay a glyph forever,
• 22:48
  bound to a form that she did not choose and was
• 22:53
  not of her doing. Well guys, that's another episode
• 22:57
  of the Monster Caster Journal podcast. I hope
• 22:59
  you come next time. And may the glyphs always
• 23:02
  protect you.