Six Paths - Prelude
#1 of Six Paths
Six Paths - Prelude
"Attention. Flight 501 bound for Lukea will begin boarding in ten minutes... Kano. Roya oba-sisina sula Lukea geran vi se mon."
I shifted in my seat as I heard the announcement. I couldn't believe I was doing this. This would be my first time leaving the islands, and I was heading for the wrong Continent. Well... I shouldn't say wrong, but... let me explain.
This world is separated into the three parts; Sobria, Lukea, and Saro. Sobria is the continent to the east inhabited purely by humans. Lukea to the west is inhabited completely by the Koja, the other sapient species of this planet. Their appearance is animalistic, but they are actually very civil. In between Sobria and Lukea are the Saro Islands.
The Saro Islands is the only place in the world where both humans and Koja live together. It's where their cultures blend together to form something unique.
You probably don't see the problem yet... Well because of this blended culture everyone on the Saro Islands has some understanding of both English and Runga. It really depends on the human-Koja ratio of the island you live on. If you live on an island that is more populated by Koja than human, then it's more likely you're going to understand Runga better than English.
I come from one of the smaller islands where the ratio is about even. As such, I'm fluent in both languages... and that's something that's very valuable in this world.
High school graduates from my island are offered a little incentive... get a huge scholarship in exchange for traveling to one of the continents to help teach the other language.
Normally students are sent to the continent of their species, but... I'm heading to Lukea, and I'm not a Koja. This is something that hasn't ever happened before. It might have been because I waited too long to apply for the program, because there weren't any more openings in Sobria. The program isn't one to deny applicants, so instead they are sending me to Lukea for a year.
What's more... I'm being sent to a rather small town called Serona. Koja in the big cities sometimes see humans on business trips, but they are never seen outside the cities. So there's a big chance that I'm heading to a place where its inhabitants have never seen a human in person.
"Attention. Flight 501 bound for Lukea will begin boarding in 5 minutes... Kano. Roya oba-sisina sula Lukea geran vi oba mon."
There's nothing I can do about this. I hear Lukea is a great place, but I'm just not excited about the idea of everyone having their eyes watching me. Plus... if I back out I'll be charged a fine larger than that I would receive from the scholarship.
I let out a sigh. There's one more thing that's on my mind... it's nothing bad, but it's something I have to do before I arrive in Serona. I was given a list of six candidates to be my host family. Yeah, the program doesn't just send us to fend for ourselves. Families in the area actually put their name in to become hosts for those from the islands. If selected they would be compensated for their generosity by Lukea's government.
One of the prerequisites for becoming a host is that you have to have at least one child. The reason is because that determines which school will receive the help. This folder shows six kids, some not so much younger than myself. Let's see...
Andun Shiloh
Age: 13
Species: Lona Koja (Golden Retriever)
Personal assessment: Andun comes from a family of four. He has a younger sister who hasn't started school. His parents promote daily exercising at dawn... I'm not really a morning person. Andun's favorite hobby is playing soccer. I didn't realize it was popular in Lukea as well. Andun himself looks to be a very happy kid. One interesting thing about his picture, though, is that he has unusually large ears.
Edward Nilu
Age: 13
Species: Dopino Koja (Black Cat)
Personal assessment: Edward is the only child of what appears to be the richest family in Serona. His parents are usually traveling the continent on business, leaving Edward under the care of his butler. Never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone with a butler. The only hobby that's listed for him is reading. That can't be the only thing he enjoys, can it? The information provided is from the parents so they might not know all about their own son.
Gen Koda
Age: 15
Species: Bumeqi Koja (Brown Bear)
Personal Assessment: Looking at his picture... Gen doesn't seem to be very happy. It's not a look of anger, but more like a look of apathy; like nothing fazes him. Apparently he has a twin brother, but the two were separated when their parents divorced. Gen lives with his father. Hobbies... none are listed? Either his father didn't know any of Gen's hobbies, or he chose not to write any down.
Malu Daro
Age: 16
Species: Doqona Koja (Husky)
Personal Assessment: If Gen looks uninterested in his picture, Malu looks pissed in his. Not the most flattering picture, but it looks like whoever took this was lucky enough to have done that. It says he lives with his mother and step-father. Hobbies include sneaking out... arguing with parents... and playing guitar at late hours... Who wrote this? It's almost as if they're trying to not be selected. Then why would they even submit this?
Noah Denga
Age: 12
Species: *Butani Koja (Brown Wolf)
Personal Assessment: The youngest of the six candidates. He seems a bit camera shy in the picture. Says that his parents work in the city two hours away. Must be hard for him, probably doesn't get to see his parents much. It doesn't list any guardians, so he must be able to fend for himself while his parents are gone. Current hobby? Video games? I wonder what it means by current hobby. There's also a note in his file that says "* Special Case." I wonder what that means.
Teo Velu
Age: 16
Species: Fepeno Koja (Tiger)
Personal Assessment: Talk about a smile. Teo seems to be the most enthusiastic about this, if not the happiest. Says he lives with his father, who owns a fairly popular restaurant in Serona. It's not a surprise his hobby is cooking. He must help his father at the restaurant. There doesn't seem to be anything else of interest in his file. Odd... I was wondering about things for the other kids, but this one seems straightforward. Again... these reports are written by the parents so there could be more.
"Attention. Flight 501 bound for Lukea is now boarding... Kano. Roya oba-sisina sula Lukea geran rusa."
It's time to go. I still can't decide which of the six I'm going to choose. Some look more inviting than others, but once I make my choice I'll be stuck with it for a year. Perhaps things will change for the better? For the worse? It's a nine hour flight to Lukea... perhaps resting on it will bring me the answer.
Six kids... six Koja kids. No matter which one I end up choosing, I know that this is going to be one interesting year.
Well there's the prelude to my next series. The interesting part? I'm going to let you, the reader, decide which of the six kids he will choose.
So go ahead and post your vote in your comment. Whoever receives the most votes will be the one who gets chosen. And don't worry. I plan to write about all six of these kids, but I'm doing one at a time.
Other than that, post what you think about this prelude. I don't think I'm going to keep the first person narrative for future chapters (I just used it for exposition ^_^). I also want to focus the story on the kids more than the human.
So again, vote, otherwise I'll just pick one at random (Which is no fun at all xP).