Little Pink Starfish

“I prepared these for you, Lord Nyne…”

Lu waved a feather, smiling awkwardly. He must still be feeling troubled about losing the feather. Finding his intention both admirable and a little pitiful, Nyne smiled.

“All the feathers are lovely and beautiful.”

“Right? These are just samples—I’ve had dozens of each kind delivered to your sanctum.”

With his guilt somewhat eased, Lu’s face brightened slightly. Still, Nyne couldn’t help wondering just how many birds had been caught to produce that many feathers of each kind. Most likely, the servants and slaves in Lu’s estate had feasted on bird meat for the past few days.

Because his time with Amon at the lake had left such an impression, Nyne stayed there until nightfall. He watched the fireflies twinkling, ate dinner there on impulse, and only returned to the sanctum when it was already late at night.

Popo and Lu carefully tended and arranged Nyne’s sleeping quarters. Since Nyne disliked anyone staying nearby while he slept, his vast room was soon emptied of all but him. By the bed was a fancy bell—ringing it would summon a servant instantly.

Unable to sleep right away, Nyne lit a lamp and lay stretched out on a chair, reading. The newly written book on the gods beyond Trastasa was quite interesting. Reading the section about Amon, the most powerful war god on this land, Nyne wondered whether he truly was the strongest among the gods, or if it was just priestly exaggeration.

“Unlike other gods, who had only one Sha, only the almighty Lord Amon had hundreds of Lesha…”

Reading that part again, Nyne, despite knowing it was blasphemous, secretly hoped Amon wasn’t the most powerful god. If that were the case, then there might not be any Lesha. His vision grew dim. It wasn’t just because he disliked Lesha for being Amon’s concubines…

Just as he was reading about a newly born fire god in the north, the sound of a bird chirping came from somewhere very close by.

Usually, daytime and nighttime birds have very different songs. While daytime birds chirp brightly, night birds often sound gloomy. Wondering if some daytime bird had stayed up, Nyne looked around—and spotted a pink bird sitting on the terrace railing.

“What the…”

Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, he set down his book and rose. The bird had a long, elegant tail. Its black eyes sparkled as it looked at him, then it chirped again with a beautiful tone. Looking closer, Nyne saw a pink flower placed beside it. The bird picked up the flower in its beak again and fluttered into the room.

Nyne knew he should summon the battle priest currently on guard. But it wasn’t Yiwu tonight—it was Seinka Hoan. Nyne’s curiosity sparkled in his eyes as he silently kept still.

The bird placed the flower on the table closest to Nyne. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen a pink bird—he could find flamingos by the lake. But pink birds aside from flamingos were very rare.

This one’s feathers were as soft and pink as flower petals. Nyne thought of the pink-furred cat he had seen a few nights ago. Its owner must really like the color pink. Naturally, another pink-haired person came to mind: Lan Gwen.

“Who’s your master?”

He gently reached out as he asked. The bird tilted its head adorably and flew to perch on Nyne’s index finger. It was small and light, its long tail feathers covering the back of his hand. When he petted it, it narrowed its eyes and chirped sweetly. But perhaps noticing his sneaky attempt to grab it, the bird quickly flew away out the terrace. Only the pink flower remained.

The next day, Nyne visited the menagerie. After feeding his beloved leopard Napa by hand, he headed to the aviary. The bird house resembled a massive cage—brass bars radiated around a central stone pillar, each space between bars covered in fine linen to allow air in and keep the sun and birds out.

As Nyne entered, dozens of birds chirped and flitted around. Listening to the attending priest explain, Nyne examined them one by one. Beautiful birds with all kinds of colorful feathers filled the aviary, but aside from flamingos, there was not a single pink-feathered bird.

While enjoying refreshments, Nyne asked Yiwu:

“Yiwu, have you ever seen a pink bird?”

“You mean a flamingo, my Lord?”

Yiwu answered, glancing curiously at Lu’s increasingly extravagant feather fan.

“No, something smaller.”

“I’ve seen birds with red feathers. But I’ve never seen any small bird with pink ones, Sha.”

“I see…”

Nyne grew even more curious about the identity of last night’s bird. A pink cat, a pink bird… and how did they get past the keen senses of battle priests and sneak into his bedchamber?

That night, Nyne kept glancing at the terrace while half-heartedly reading the same book. Finally, something appeared again over the terrace railing. Nyne narrowed his eyes.

A pink cat and a pink bird could still be coincidences. But this?

A pink lizard, larger than his own foot, crept silently across the terrace railing with a flower in its mouth. The petals dragged on the ground. Spreading its legs, it leapt down and skittered to Nyne’s feet, placing the flower down. It licked its big round eyes with its tongue, then backed away and stared.

Nyne picked up the flower. A small letter was tied to it with ribbon. He opened it and read:

“May I come see you again at this time tomorrow night? I await your answer.”

At the bottom was a name: Lan Gwen.
Nyne wasn’t even surprised anymore. Looking down at the pink lizard now licking his pinky toe, he scoffed.

“What kind of trick is this?”

His words were cold, yet his cheeks were slightly flushed. In all his life, he had never experienced such a strange situation. His daily routine had always been nothing more than rituals and banquets, tended by devoted priests, and meeting with Amon.

It would be right to report Lan Gwen’s secret stunt to the priests. Then Gwen would be expelled and punished. But… Nyne hesitated. Not for long.

Instead of calling Popo or the guards, Nyne stood up.

He threw Gwen’s letter into the brazier and burned it. He had no intention of writing a reply.

“Tell your master not to even think about coming.”

As if understanding, the lizard flattened itself against the ground, looking slightly dejected.

Feeling oddly sorry, Nyne paused in thought, then pulled a red flower with golden stamens from a vase. Breaking the stem to make it easier to carry, he placed it in front of the lizard now climbing the table. The lizard immediately picked it up. Petals dragging again, it scuttled off toward the terrace and disappeared.

Nyne quietly watched the spot where it vanished, then returned to bed.

He lay there imagining what would happen if someone discovered a Sha having secret nighttime meetings with a Lesha. That Gwen would be executed was easy to guess. But what would happen to himself?

How much did Amon truly value him? Would Amon cherish him enough to overlook a secret rendezvous with a Lesha?

Not wanting to leave any more openings for Gwen, Nyne sent a message late that afternoon asking if he could stay the night at Amon’s sanctum. The approval came quickly.

By the time he arrived, the sun was setting. As he stepped down from the palanquin, Ossen Iyad greeted him.

“You seem to be in a fine mood lately, Sha. Were you pleased with the last ritual?”

At that question, Nyne recalled the dark-night ritual. It had nothing particularly special. He ate one sweet rice cake, lay on the bed, and the priests burned incense. The scent dulled his mind, leaving him dazed for a few days—after which, his mood improved considerably.

Still, Nyne always felt an odd discomfort during Iyad’s rituals. Letting the priests fix the folds of his robe, he replied coldly:

“A ritual is a ritual. There’s no ‘pleased’ or ‘not.’”

“I asked foolishly. Forgive me, Sha.”

Ossen Iyad bowed respectfully again. Once the priests finished adjusting his garments, Nyne began walking. Behind him, Iyad and the other priests followed in a line.