{{NavChap|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade]] |[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter II - Brotherhood]]}}

{{Quotation|''Bélénor Nébius, narrator'' • ''Cheng Lai'SuKi, illustrator''|

Pü squinted as his mother came out of the hut. His tribe might well be settled in a gigantic stump of a felled sky-tree, the bark ceiling, badly damaged, let in a few astral rays at certain times of the day, one of which had just found the eye of the little Zorai, who took refuge between his mother's breasts. In the absence of celestial light, the community was lightening itself with the help of lamps containing fireflies. Although some might have described the atmosphere as gloomy, Pü loved it when his mother took him for a walk in the sloping and winding streets, or on the suspension bridges that connected the different levels of the small city. The village, much higher than it was wide, was built vertically. The dwellings were located in the heights, while the lower levels were reserved for communal areas, such as stores, places of worship, the dojo, and the dining hall. Pü loved the dining hall. The other Zorais were very kind to him and the food was plentiful. Yet this time, the toddler sensed that the walk was nothing like ordinary. The other members of the tribe were present in numbers, forming a path from the family hut to the village heights. All wore their black ceremonial dress, consisting of a loincloth of vegetal fibers, a wide belt of braided straw, but especially recognizable by the imposing white amber lens that adorned each of the plexuses. As the family moved forward, led by Pü's mother, the people bowed deferentially and joined the group. As this scene suggested, the Fu-Tao family was no ordinary family.

Her husband '''Sang Fu-Tao was the Black Mask''', the First Warrior, military chief of the tribe. A few months after his birth, Niï, their eldest son, had been promised a great destiny by Grandmother Bä-Bä, the witch and seer of the village. According to the prophecy, during a major planetary event, Niï Fu-Tao would succeed his father as Black Mask, and above all, would become the Sacred Warrior. Elected by Ma-Duk the Great Genitor, Niï Fu-Tao would be brought to tour the world, converting the lost to the True Faith, subduing the atheists and exterminating the heretics. For the Zorai Theocracy, this prophecy was precisely coming under heresy.

For the conflict that opposed the tribe to the rest of the country was first of all religious. Indeed, all Zorais worshipped the [[Kami|Kamis]], mysterious spiritual entities that protected the [[ecosystems]]. Able to change their appearance at will and to travel without physical constraint, these divine guardians permanently ensured that no one compromised the fragile balance of [[Atys]], the plant planet where all were coexisting. Although discreet, they shared close relations with the homins, as long as those showed respect for nature. Among the different homin peoples, the Zorais were by far the most receptive to the magic of the Kamis. Already provided with a large size and a blue skin, which distinguished them from the rest of the hominity, a bony and horned mask grew moreover on their face, from their forehead, in their adolescence. This mask represented the true soul of its wearer and testified to the unique link he had with the Kamis. However, if every Zorai worshipped the Kamis, not everyone agreed on the identity of the Supreme Kami. For the huge majority of Zorais, the Kamis served [[Jena]], the Goddess of the Day Star and the Mother of Hominity. For the dissident tribe, Jena was a usurping goddess from the sky, alien to Atys and wanting it evil. According to them, the one and only Supreme Kami was Ma-Duk, meaning "Great Mask" in the Zorai language. He was the Great Genitor, asleep in the depths of Atys. A god that no one recognized but them.

But the discordance did not end there. The Zorai Theocracy, which had become particularly isolationist after the [[Fyros]] people had besieged Zoran and burned its Great Library more than a century earlier, had built the Great Wall, a gigantic edifice protecting the borders of the Jungle from all foreign contact. However, this Great Wall had never prevented the Theocracy from maintaining relations with the [[Karavan]], a strange group of hominoids dressed from head to toe in amazing black armor and using prodigious instruments. These singular entities, whose true nature no one knew, lived in the skies of Atys. Traveling with curious vehicles capable of overcoming gravity, they crisscrossed the planet to spread the word and serve the interests of the goddess Jena. In exchange for their loyalty, the Karavan had given the Zorais the secrets of magnetism and electrostatic properties, and had also taught them to write. The Kamis abhorred the Karavan, and did not hesitate to make this known to the homins, but this never prevented the Council of Elders from accepting their gifts, and use, today still, Karavan knowledge to levitate the buildings of Zoran. For the dissident tribe, as an apostle of Jena abhorred by the Kamis, the Karavan had to be seen as a serious threat and fought accordingly.

For Pü Fu-Tao, the little last-born, nestled at that moment against his mother's breast, none of this made sense yet. However, with his big black eyes, he looked at the villagers with astonished look, aware that today something seemed to be different. Perhaps he knew, deep down, that something important was about to come. When, recognizing the alleys between the huts, he understood that they were going to Grandmother Bä-Bä's house, his heart began to race. He did not like the old woman. Her gaunt mask frightened him, her smell stung his nose, and her presence was associated with illness. Grandmother Bä-Bä was in fact also the village healer, whom people went to see to find solutions to their problems. Although the Fu-Tao couple represented the authority within the tribe, everyone knew that Grandmother Bä-Bä was actually the central pillar of the community. It was said that she was older than the oldest Zorai in the country, and that she had helped deliver every member of the tribe.

The old woman placed the dagger on the altar and retrieved a small leather purse from her apron. One by one, she took out seven strange dice, which she passed over the bloody blade. Once the last relic was blessed with blood, she incanted a formula. Then the strange symbols engraved on the faces of the dice absorbed the light and came to life. Pü had completely stopped crying, hypnotized by the terrifying spectacle unfolding before his eyes. The witch was throwing the dice at full speed and without interruption on the altar, which ones were projecting reddish animated frescoes on the walls.

:''"From now on, your son's future, and perhaps the future of all hominkind, depends on your lie. It is a necessary evil. Never forget."

An unrivaled cheer ran through the assembly. Waking up with a start, Pü swept the crowd with his gaze. Which stopped sharply on his father's black mask. The little Zorai opened his eyes wide in amazement. For the first time, he guessed a smile.

{{NavChap|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade]] |[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter II - Brotherhood]]}}

{{Portal|The Great Library}}

{{Portal|Zoraï}}

[[Category:Chronicles of the First Crusade‎]]