Fox Files with Nokhum, tribe of Yerikuu
I'm really sorry I'm a day late with this one but I went somewhere strange and needed some time to sort everything out. And, you know, verify that it was all real.
Okay, so hear me out here. This week on Fox Files things are a bit more abstract. I went somewhere else. Sometime that's not now. And not in my usual 'I went back to England in 1910', no...I wasn't on earth anymore. And the calendar was not the Gregorian one.
The person I met wasn't a human. And yet...I know it was real. I can't explain it. Different universe? New timeline? Multiverse? I do not know. I do know that I talked to Nokhum. He gave me a fake name, but when I googled him (which took a lot of work and digging and I'm still not sure how I found it), I found the real him.
I was wandering through this beautiful place. I knew it wasn't Earth so I was surprised when I was pulled toward him. I stopped him to chat and even though his defenses were up, he talked to me.
So here we go!
Cali: Hi there. Umm, this is going to be a weird question, but where are we?
Nokhum: I don't understand.
Cali: This place. I'm not from here and I was brought here. I'm just not sure where here is. Can you help me? I'm not sure how long I've been gone. What year is this?
*He looked at me for a minute with a hard expression. I don't know what softened it, but something in his eyes told me he'd talk to me.*
Nokhum: We are in Wen. It's the fourth Age of Awat.
Cali: The fourth Age of Awat? Of course.
*He screwed up his face like he was trying to size me up but continued.*
Nokhum: The year is 1178.
Cali: Right. Thank you. Umm...Wen? I've never heard of it.
Nokhum: It's on a northern island, just off the coast of the world’s only continent.
Cali: Right. Thank you. So, what's your name?
Nokhum: Umi.
*I went with this because I didn't know any better, but once I got home and did some digging, I found it was a false name.*
Cali: Very nice to meet you Umi. Do you mind if I ask you some more personal questions?
*He narrowed his eyes at me and paused, but did eventually nod.*
Nokhum: Like what?
Cali: Something simple. What’s your favorite color?
Nokhum: Green, like the moss carpet in my home.
Cali: Actual moss?
*He nodded*
Cali: Hmm. Okay. So tell me about where you're from.
Nokhum: In my early years, I was raised by the forest.
Cali: Where by the forest?
Nokhum: No, by the forest. Not near it.
Cali: Oh, well that's neat.
Nokhum: Back then, I tried to stay away from where the population was. It wasn’t until Kiicatia found me that I moved to the Hive, where I live now in Wen. I’ve traveled all over the world, but I always return to the hill in Wen’togen where Willow waits.
Cali: It's nice to have a place like that to call home. What do you like to do for fun?
Nokhum: I don’t have time for fun anymore. I have to find Kiicatia, by any means necessary. But when I had time for such things, I enjoyed playing the flute and creating dust puppets to animate my melody.
Cali: Who is Kiicatia:
Nokhum: Kiicatia is my whole reason for living. She was stolen from me by slavers, but I will find the proof necessary in order to request a search party.
Cali: That's amazing of you. I'm sorry you lost her.
*He nodded curtly and I felt bad asking any more about her.*
Cali: Is there anyone else in your life?
Nokhum: Atnu is my work partner, and he is a diplomat to humans and underlings. Slate is the Master of the Peace Keepers where I work, and Adahai is the Master of the Joined Grove where I teach translation. And I’m close to the spirits of the forest, especially Willow and Birch.
Cali: Alright. Well, what else is going on in your life now?
*He narrows his eyes, studying me before answering.*
Nokhum: I’ve realized that the Council of Elders will not help me find Kiicatia, so I’ve begun searching for alternate ways of locating the lost.
*He looks both ways.*
Nokhum: What do you know of magic?
Cali: Magic?
*He nodded.*
Cali: Literally nothing.
Nokhum: Nothing?
*I shook my head. He sighed.*
Nokhum: Then there is nothing more to say on it. I cannot teach you.
Cali: I... Right. I understand. Will it help find her?
Nokhum: I believe it will, yes.
Cali: I hope that it does. Besides finding her, what else do you see in your future?
Nokhum: I’m looking forward to the Peace Talks between Lowasii, humans, and Underlings that are coming up after New Spring. This year, Prince Rosu of the Underground Empire of Bashaan is planning to attend the festival. This meeting must go well because Bashaan holds Wen’s debt, and rumors claim that Prince Rosu plans upon collecting the total after his coronation. But you didn’t hear that from me.
Cali: Of course not. What's your part in all that?
Nokhum: I can’t talk about that with someone outside the Peace Keepers.
Cali: Of course, I understand. Can you tell me what's standing in your way?
Nokhum: The Council of Elders is standing in my way of finding Kiicatia, but Prince Rosu is standing in the way of peace and freedom for Wen.
Cali: What is the Council of Elders?
*I'm actually not even sure if this question got out. I felt myself fading away. I blinked and found myself in my bed.*
I didn't get out of bed right away because I really wasn't sure this had been one of my traveling dreams. I almost brushed it aside. Eventually, though I just had a gut feeling and decided to check it out.
It took some digging and I eventually came across his arrest record. It was an interesting read.
The age of Fire begins in six days.
For fifteen hundred years, Slate and the other rebels have trained students to return Fire’s energy to the city of Wen. All have failed. Only one is left, and Nokhum’s past is less than ideal. If he cannot convince the Council of Elders to allow Fire magic to return, chaos will claim the city. The rebels are determined to avoid that end— even if it means sacrificing his student to chaos’s demons to make the Council believe Fire’s energy is necessary.
Magically talented people are disappearing.
Nokhum is convinced that his life-mate is still alive— no matter what everyone else says. Human slavers who salivate for magical beings have taken her. Realizing the Council of Elders will not help him, he seeks forbidden magics to find her. His plans are derailed when Slate sends him out of the city for training. Will his time in the Whisperwood be his undoing?
Even more interesting was a book I found by R. Ramey Guerrero. If you want to learn more about Nokhum, I suggest you check out their book. It can be found HERE!
You can also learn more about Guerrero on their website.
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