Tsukihana

Interview Transcript: Tsukihana

Tsukihana is from a small village on Tarrak-Zhu called Kosai, which was relatively unknown to most and in a wilder part of Tarrak-Zhu. For those that do know where Kosai is, know that Kosai is near the Mines of Kara and fabled volcanic hot springs. The Kosai Hot Springs are rumored to revitalize people from exhaustion, which comes in handy for keeping a stable workforce of miners. When visitors come to Kosai, it is usually to use the Kosai Hot Springs or to buy raw Komi, a rare metal, or gems and stones extracted from the Mines of Kara.

Tsuki lived a relatively quiet life in Kosai with her older brother, Hikashenshi, and her mother, Miko. Tsuki and Miko frequently referred to Hikashenshi as Hika. Unbeknownst to Tsuki, her mother, Miko, was a sorcerer and geologic researcher on Tarra-Zhu. Miko was regarded as a shaw women in Kosai that the people feared but respected, since they were all superstitious. This made things a bit difficult for Tsuki and Hika because they were ridiculed by the others in Kosai, especially the other kids. The other kids would call them Akubanan, which is a derogatory term for witches’ spawn. Consequently, Hika and Tsuki were close siblings and kept mostly to themselves. Being alone was never something that bothered Tsuki much since she had her brother, and it gave her time to explore the hot springs, mines, and make things out of Komi or stones she would find. This tinkering Tsuki would do was never something that Miko or Hika discouraged, but it was considered odd for a child in Kara to want to tinker or make things rather than become a hunter, a miner, or a warrior. Miko never really talked about Tsuki and Hika’s father, Kebi, and he was never around. Tsuki was always curious about him though. The only thing she knew about him was that he was a skilled warrior. 

When Tsuki was about 7 years old a band of pirates raided Kosai taking anything of value and stealing from the mine. Miko hid Tsuki and Hika in a barrel in an effort to protect them from the raiders and buy time to cast an incantation. The raiders broke in and fought with Miko before she could finish her incantation. They fought Miko for the barrel Tsuki and Hika were hiding in. The harder Miko fought to keep the barrel, the more the raiders wanted the barrel not realizing that Tsuki and Hika were inside. Although Kara was a small town full of hunters and warriors, there were simply not enough of them to fight the large crew that vastly outnumbered the small village of Kara.

When the pirates finished plundering to their hearts’ content they took their spoils to their ship, the Cephius, and disembarked from Tarrak-Zhu. Once the crew of the Cephius opened the barrel that Tsuki and Hika were hiding in, they instantly understood why Miko fought so hard to protect the barrel. After some squabbling amongst the crew, the captain of the Cephius, Captain Mikhail, decided to keep Tsuki and Hika on board as ship hands for remedial tasks that the crew never really wanted to do anyway. For many years Hika and Tsuki tried to con or fight Captina Mikhail into taking them back to Tarrac-Zhu to no avail. This sparked a long journey for both Tsuki and Hika, where they learned their way around a ship and how to lie, con, cheat, and steal. Frequently they were mistreated by the crew until they were sufficient in their tasks and could earn their keep, which didn’t happen until they were much older. If they did not earn their keep, the crew would punish them ruthlessly punish them with beatings.

In their down time Hika learned to play a lute and Tsuki would jokingly dance Hika’s playing. This was the only temporary escape they had from their homesickness and from the nightmare they were living in. As Hika and Tsuki grew older, both became better at music and dance in addition to learning how to lie, cheat, and steal. When they went to other planets and towns, they had a routine where Hika would play and Tsuki would dance to entertain a crowd. But as Tsuki danced, she always found a way to pick pocket anyone fixated on her. Tsuki and Hika didn’t care much for the raiding parties. So this was how they earned their keep instead.    

One day Captain Mikhail heard of a sector of uncharted wild space called the Limbo of the Lost, rumored to have a secret moon with a hidden shrine, which was said to be the gateway to the gods of old. Should the seeker succeed in gaining an audience with the gods, the gods could bestow a vestige to the seeker. But the gods would only do so if a suitable offering was given to the gods. A vestige could bring the seeker untold riches or power. The seeker would have to bring an offering pleasing to the gods to gain their favor. However, others also say that if the gods are displeased with the offering, they may also smite the seeker instead. Since there is frequently at least a grain of truth in such rumors and he had nothing better to do, Captain Mikhail decided to seek out this sector of uncharted space.

The Limbo of the Lost is known as a natural phenomenon where ships just disappear or show up smashed to pieces somewhere else without any explanation. The local space frontier folk do not understand and are superstitious of the Limbo of the Lost. Consequently, the locals stay away from any area even near the Limbo of the Lost.

When the Cephius entered the Limbo of the Lost, such was their fate. Tsuki had a fragmented memory of how it happened. All she remember was hearing a loud crash and hearing the sound of wood cracking and metal twisting. She was in the crews’ quarters playing a dice game with her Hika at the time. She and Hika both looked at each other wide eyed. Both instantly knew something was wrong. Just as Tsuki and Hika began to rushing to deck, an overwhelming wall of water rushed into the crew quarters. Tsuki clutched the railing at the base of the stairs and reached for Hika’s arm grasping him firmly. The side of the ship bust into what seemed like an endless expanse sucking Tsuki and Hika out into the great beyond of an endless ocean. The force of the water broke Tsuki’s hold on Hika. She could see Hika reaching for her in the water as he slipped away into the swirling eddies of despair. The Cephus was smashed to pieces.

Undenounced to her, Tsuki had landed on a remote asteroid with a thin atmosphere that was covered in water. Tsuki had a searing pain in her head. She had no idea where she was or what would happen to her. In a frantic panic, Tsuki clung to the wreckage for dear life since she didn’t know how to swim. There was very little water on Tarrak-Zhu and the hot springs were generally shallow. So she never learned when she was younger. She was always on the Cephius as a prisoner when she was a child. So the crew never let her get near the edge of ship in an effort to keep her from trying to escape by diving overboard. They had no idea Tsuki would never attempt this since she didn’t know how to swim and water generally made her a bit uneasy. Once she was part of the crew as an adult there was never a reason to go into the water. Tsuki was not terribly disturbed by the demise of Cephius, only that her brother, was lost in the wreck.

While she was stranded, Tsuki was attacked by a Kaishaw, a parasitic tape worm that drains it hosts magic and lifeforce. She had lost any weapons she had on her during the chaos other than her whip. Afraid for her life she picked up a piece of debris and desperately threw it at the Kaishaw, which was when she realized that she hit the Kaishaw twice. A dagger shot out from her hand as she threw the debris piercing the Kaishaw straight through the head and killing it instantly.

Somehow Captain Marris was passing by on the Starlight and noticed the strange asteroid. Asteroids aren’t normally covered in water and he was a bit low on his water supply anyway. Captain Marris thought it was strange and moved the ship a bit closer to investigate and replenish the ships’ water supply, which is where he found Tsuki. Although Captain Marris of the Starlight found her and took pity on her, he had a gut feeling that Tsuki may be useful in some capacity on his ship. His crew was lighter than he’d have liked it at the time. Even if she were only to function as a ship right or another deck hand, she may still be useful. 

Dream - Reaching