「This is the record of events happening nearby the mountains of the west of the land that was called Yama. The record focuses primarily on the thoughts and experiences of the outsider woman, travelling alone through the rocky path.」

When the one is trying to achieve certain goal, and when that goal feels really important to reach, should the one be required holding off some actions that would help the achievement, just because it is considered immoral?,

thoughts and contemplations in the vein of that one were something that Nathalie was completely accustomed to. In this particular instance, the question was still left unanswered. Many people, however would doubt that she wasn't sure. They would rather clearly think that Nathalie has already found her answer and this answer is obvious "No". After all, she was doing things that in the eyes of many, would be considered nothing else than violating moral norms just out of the pure egoism. Assuming, they knew about her actions, of course. Since the young age, Nathalie was well educated in the subjects of the proper etiquette and the good behaviour, trying to live by those teachings in her daily life... at least as long as the other people were looking. She was taking some effort to not feel like she was betraying her own principles. Nothing wrong will happen if no one knows except me. I bring no harm to anyone. I am not stealing things. It is not a crime if there is no victims. Those are only some of the sentences she was repeating in her own mind in order to calm her own moral compass. There was a reason why the contemplations and excuses of the ethical matters were present in her head. Nathalie was practicing magic, which required crossing some of the boundaries that were set up by the society.

The women currently was travelling by herself on the road. She was riding a horse, which was quite a rare sight in this part of the world. A bag and a cage with a raven were attached to the saddle. The mount was moving in a slow pace, allowing for her to carefully observe the surroundings in peace. This fact alone was quite crucial. The road was leading through the sparsely populated mountains, so she needed to focus in order to not miss the signs of the potential object of her search. Her dark eyes in a colour of greyish blue were looking for the signs of the civilisation. Of course, not any of them. She had in mind something rather specific. Things like the abandoned houses, small chapels or shrines near the bumpy road, the old temples left in ruins where not a single soul care about in these days - all the places were people were offer the worship and prayers to the gods in the past and where those people aren't found around anymore. Practicing the profession of a mage, like Nathalie was doing, would be made much more problematic if anyone else was actually there. The reason for it being "problematic" was rather simple - it would be very rude. Generally speaking, gods are not fond of the magical arts, so it would be only natural to expect from the devout followers to not agree for Nathelie to do things as she desired. Yet, the places related to the divine worship were a necessity as the magical arts could only exist due to their presence.

Looking through the hood covering her face, she did notice some irregularity in the surroundings. Up to this point, giant and step rock formations were essentially taking the role of the stone walls on the both sides of this mountainous road. Currently, however, Nathalie was seeing a gap in the natural barrier located left to her. The rock interval was so big that it could probably fit an elephant, yet the irregularities of the shape of the stone formation made it surprisingly easy to miss. Feeling interested by this curiosity, Nathalie has stopped her black horse and has looked closer. She has noticed that this gap seems to be the start of the surprisingly wide natural path. The lush foliage growing there was pointing out the fact that barely anyone travels there, if at all. Fortunately, the plants weren't intense enough to prevent the large animal, like a horse, from entering there. Nathalie was intrigued. There wasn't any clear sign she will find anything useful there, but the search would be easier that it was up to this point. One has greater chances of finding some abandoned building closer to the path that no person walks than the one with a lot of travellers, after all. Feeling excited on the thought of potential discovery, she commanded her horse to go again, this time turning left and abandoning the cobblestone pathway, entering the unknown.

Riding through the wild road, she has noticed that the terrain is going upwards. She hoped that it won't get too steep for the horse. Very quickly, the rocky walls grew higher than on the main path. The stones now were so tall, that it covered Nathalie with some shadow. She felt pleasantly cool, upon entering the zone with less sunlight. Not needing the head protection anymore, she took off her reddish-coloured hood, revealing a bit curly, thick, black hair and the face of the olive complexion. She looked around her surroundings. The stone walls didn't seem to point out for anything significant for her, at least for now. Nathalie was sure that she could take things easy, for some time. She decided to direct her gaze above, seeing the distant mountain top so high that it was clearly visible even with rocky barriers around the path. She looked again at the boulders closer to her. She thought it was beautiful. Her heart was filled with an admiration for the calm scenery. Even the seemingly mundane foliage was enhancing her impressions, in that very moment. The dark eyes of hers turned to the mountain top again. It's beauty, in Nathalie's opinion, couldn't be overstated. With such stunning magnificence, I would not be surprised if it's inhabitants were rather divine, she thought. Gods were the subject of the fascination of hers, naturally besides the magical arts and the contemplations regarding her own morality. Nathalie continued wondering: Is that it? A seat of some god on the top of this wonderful mountain? The thought itself was enough to make heart beat faster, while her mind was going deeper and deeper into the realm of the fantasy.

I hope sooner or later my eyes will be blessed with the sight of some divine estate. I bet every single one of them is unparalleled in beauty with anything made by the mortal hands. Their courtyards must been decorated with the stunning columns. Their walls, must have been made with the rock more glamorous than the marble of the highest quality. I guess even walking with no shoes on the bare floor of those estates would feel like taking soft steps on the best carpet that could possibly exists. And when I think of sleeping in one of their beds... If a place serves as a home for such wonderful beings like gods, it must be something exceptional and worthy of the highest degree of the admiration. Seeing one, either a place or a god with my own very eyes....

Nathalie was completely submerged into the fantasy of hers. She was of course perfectly aware of the fact that the number of the gods who would be interested with the direct contact with someone like her, never mind letting her into their own house, was painfully small. Knowledge of the magical arts tended to make someone not being trustworthy in the eyes of the gods. She understood it completely. Even if she met the god who would be willing to fulfil her dreams, despite knowing this detail about her, she wouldn't trust this god either. Not in the slightest. The gods who liked mages were generally not belonging to the kind of gods one would want to deal with.

The feeling of having something in the nose has suddenly brought Nathalie out of her fantasy into the reality again. The smell couldn't be mistaken. It was very weak, but it was enough to bring her into the state of being alerted. She felt there is the smoke somewhere. She didn't stop the horse, but the entire attention of hers were focusing on spotting anything out of order. That smell could mean many thing like the fire in the wild far away from there, but there was one specific possibility that she thought is much more likely. The smoke could mean that someone either is somewhere close or was close enough not that long ago. She followed further the path until she has spotted it is going in the two directions. One part continued straight, the other was leading left, seemingly inside the rock wall. Nathalie has looked at this turning point and her eyes gas noticed something that intrigued her. The ending of this new path could be seen and it was looking like a dark hole far enough. On top of that, the smell of the smoke intensified there. Nathalie had no doubts, there was the cave on the end of thee road and it looked that it was inhabited by someone. Who might be living there?, she thought, It's far removed from the main pathway... maybe some hermit decided to stay there? Or some traveller like me made the camping site? Or maybe it's hiding place of a criminal... Suddenly she realized that all the paths were wide enough for the another possibility to occur.... or maybe... I hope not... The image of a violent, red-skinned giant with two horns above its eyes has showed up with her mind... maybe it's the home belonging to an oni....

Nathalie immediately frozen in place. If her suspicions were true and the oni is present here, she could be in the really grave danger. Those giants has been the source of fear for the humans longer than they could ever know. It was said that the oni are coming into the existence on the Plane of the Dead, out of the Forms of the people that were infamous for the exceptionally cruelty. The others were saying these red giants were the soldiers serving demons who want to destroy all of the humanity. There were even stories about the most evil people that existed turning into the oni when they were still alive, letting their monstrous nature to manifest in the flesh. Nathalie has heard many of those stories in her homeland and in many places she visited. She was knowledgeable enough to be sure that they are just that - stories. Oni were not the forces of evil neither the humans, dead or alive were turning into them through the power of their sins. Regardless of the facts, however, in those legends there was the grain of truth. Oni were incredibly violent, powerful and dangerous, known for hunting down any prey that came close. Lonely travellers could be the great target. Some oni even were coming closer to the human settlements. Nathalie has heard enough stories about the herd of cattle being completely exterminated one by one. She even knew cases of the children being taken away by the oni when they were playing, most likely ending up being consumed by the red giant.

The lonely mage became wondering what actions need to be done in a situation like that. Just because there might be an oni here, it doesn't necessarily means that it is here right now. It could as well go out on the hunt, leaving some remains of the hearth that could create some smoke. Of course, it might not be the hideout of the oni at all. In any case, this cave seemed like it might be one of the places Nathalie was looking for. Even if it is the red giant, oni are not mindless monsters. They are, just like humans, dedicating their prayers to the gods as well and are commonly having the spots used for the worship inside of their lairs. The goal of mine should be there, if there is no one home, she thought. There would be another detail working on the her advantage if that's the case - oni were living the solitaire lifestyle, so there was no risk of having too many of them to worry about. Fortunately, she also knew a way to check if there is a red giant inside.

Nathlie has stopped the horse and started to undo the buttons in her loose, red coat, covering her otherwise lightly-coloured and rather tight outfit. On the inside side of the red clothing, there was a little secret - the numbers of pockets, hiding some of her magical accessories far from the eyes of the other people. Her slightly tanned hands started to pull out items out of there. The three of them seemed to be useful in the situation like that and ended up being taken out. The first was a piece of chalk, perfect for drawing on the stone. The second - the small, crystal needle looking as it had its insides filled by the liquid emitting light on its own. And finally the third - small, yet quite thick volume of a codex. Besides that, Nathalie also has untied the bag attached to the saddle of hers, glanced quickly at the raven in the cage nearby, and pulled out a dark and cold stone tablet. Having all of what she needed in her hands, she dismounted, putting her sandal-shoded feet on the ground for the first time since the few last hours. She made the few steps, up to the spot that was relatively empty of foliage and had sat on the ground, placing all the items in front of her.

Nathlie opened the codex and started to nervously flip it's small, but numerous vellum pages filled with the various complex signs and the descriptions mysterious for anyone not aware. She was searching something specific. It was somewhere here, I remember, she has thought, while keeping quickly turning the pages. The detection of each of the Four Mortal Peoples... Here it should be... humans... fae... ghouls... finally, oni. With the fact that oni are encountered more commonly than either fae or ghouls I could have expect that the author of those notes would give them the priority concerning the order but it turned out to be the false hope. She took the chalk into her hands, preparing for the newly found ritual of oni detection. Her fingers, started to draw on the stone tablet the nearly perfect replica of the complex sign from the codex. She didn't forget to include the slight modification of it, however. Normally, the drawing would possess the shape targeting lose the divine power present in the immediate surroundings. There wasn't any close, so the sign now included the additional designated space for the charge crystal. In that spot, she was put down the glowing needle to serve as the source of power. The effect of detection must be manifested onto something... hmmm... I think my dagger should be fine for this purpose. She has looked again into the insides of the coat, into the pocket that was could be accessed the quickest. Her fingers has pulled the short sheathed weapon from the inside. One short movement later, the bronze blade was uncovered. The dagger was then placed on the dedicated spot on the chalk drawing. The ritual was prepared. Now, the only thing left: to lighten the drawing in order to make the magic work.

The tanned hand has reached one of the pockets in the inner side of the cloak single final time before the ritual. In between the slender fingers there was present the small translucent crystal sealed vial filled with dark crimson red liquid. Nathalie was holding a bit of her own blood right now, preserved in a way that would prevent it from drying out. Lightening was always started with a blood of a member of one mortal peoples, the best one for that role usually being the one belonging to the mage who wants to use the effects of the drawing. The vial was unsealed, followed by the crimson drop falling right on the chalk sign. The red light showed up in the place of the drawn white lines. The brightness of the lightened sign has lost some intensity after less than a single second, but it kept glowing. The ritual was done and the dagger was ready to fulfil its purpose - to detect any oni that could be present nearby. Nathalie wasn't sure, however, if the effect of the sign is working correctly. The bronze blade was looking the same as before. If it was working as intended, it should glow brightly if there was an oni in the area. The mage wondered if the radius of thee effect is reaching far enough - it was her intention, but she knew she could have make some mistake. There was nothing concrete to suggest that, so she decided to trust her own skills and approach the cave. She has packed the stone tabled with the lightened drawing back in its place to hide the presence of the ritual, while sticking the crystal needle into the fold of the sleeve of her coat in order to monitor how much fuel for maintaining the detection sign has been left inside. The mage started slowly go closer and closer to the entrance to the cave, looking at the short blade for the entire duration. Her legs were making steps in the potentially dreadful direction, but the detector was as bronze as it was before. Eventually she was standing just in front of the darkness. The silence was present everywhere. It didn't seem anyone inside was looking in the entrance and also there was no sign of the oni nearby. With her heart beating heavily, Nathalie finally did the final step and has left the daylight, submerging into the cold darkness of the cavern.

When entering the cave, she has lost her sight, as the result of the vast brightness difference. She decided to stop until her eyes would get used to the darkness. The silence from before continued. It really seemed like no one's there. The scent of the burned out fire was even stronger than initially. There was no doubt, the source is somewhere here. Nathalie was still nervous. While, there was no alert related to any oni nearby, the detection sign wasn't something that would work indefinitely. The needle, used as the power source was containing the small amount of the divine power which was fuelling the burning of the drawing, slowly depleting with the each passing second. The moment the crystal would stop glowing, the sign would be extinguished and  the dagger would lose all its current detection effects. Nathalie needed to do what she came here for as quickly as possible, if she didn't want to risk her own life, especially since she had no means of checking it the ritual is still up if the blade isn't reacting to anything. She felt like she was waiting precious time just waiting for her eyesight.

Rather quickly, she got used to the darkness and was able to spot things in the cave. She immediately noticed quite big remains of the bonfire, extinguished quite recently. It was undoubtedly the source of the smell. The quick glance on the rest of the cave allowed her to spot some simple, crudely-made wooden and stone furniture. The size of it was way too big to serve the human being. That confirms it - it's a hideout on an oni, Nathalie thought and focused on her blade even more just in case it would start glowing. The raw nature of the objects made the case  even stronger - the oni did not form the society in any meaningful way. Every single one of them was making the furniture by themselves. There was no specialised craftsmen among them, only the trials and errors of the single person. Nathalie also spotted some remains of the food thrown in one place. It was mostly consisting of bones that had the meat beaten off of them. They were mostly looking like something like they would belong to the animals that could be encountered here in the wild, but she also recognised some originating from the horses, the cattle and the humans. This discovery has made her a bit more afraid of her own fate. However, she felt no other emotion. She never quite understood why humans often were disgusted or uneasy about the corpses of the others being eaten or rotten away. For her the only concern was that of what would happen to herself, the dead bodies created barely any emotions besides that. Nathalie looked around the cave further and her attention was brought up by some rather small and simple paintings on the wall. The housekeeper seems rather creative, looks promising, she thought, still searching for any place of worship.

The mage went deeper into the cave. She discovered that one of the walls contained the corridor going into the other side. She looked into that new possible pathway and she noticed that there was a dim light on the end of it. Nathalie has hoped that there will be finally  something useful for her on destination. Just in case, she quickly glanced at her blade. Still not a sign of the glow. Her mind was assured that the oni is probably far way, likely hunting for food, as those giants were mostly carnivorous. When the mage was getting closer to the light, it became clear for her that the corridor is the way out of the cavern. Nathalie's eyes became blinded by the brightness of the sun. Her skin has felt the warmth of the summer day. After a short while, she got used again to the environment and begun to analyse her surroundings. 

The place where Nathalie came outside was resembling the courtyard or a garden. Limited by the incredibly high and steep rocks on all sides, it seemed like the cave she went through is the only point that could connect it with the world outside. Naturally, the blue sky could be perfectly seen above. Nathalie even noticed the thin, dark line far above the clouds, dividing the heavens - the Celestial Serpent whose long body was wrapping around the skies all around the World. The ground below was covered with the floor of the short  grass and flowers of many colours. The surroundings also contained few trees of not very high status. Overall, the foliage created the image of the beautiful garden, rather wild, but taken care of, belonging to the someone with the sense of the aesthetics. The next discovery of the Nathalie was confirming that notion even harder. Far from the entrance, at the feet of the natural stone wall, something was present, hiding behind the tree branches. The mage came closer and noticed table made out of stone with the size rather small for an oni. The furniture was protected from above by the wooden rooftop supported by few thin columns. She approached it, feeling the excitement. The stone wall behind the table was covered in the elaborate colourful paintings. On the tabletop, she could notice the statues made out of wood depicting a figure with two arms and legs. The whole place looked really promising. She just needed one conclusive evidence. Nathalie has reached one of the hidden coat pocket again and pulled out small rounded object made out of the copper. One side of it was made out of glass, showing the crystal needle floating in the black liquid. Nathalie has turned a little dial located at the back of the device, opening the access for input to the divine power in the surroundings. She peeked inside of the object, through the glass. The needle in the dark liquid was spinning quickly, as if it is fuelled by all the power here, she thought, Well, not 'if', it is actually fuelled by it, she immediately corrected herself in her mind. It's spinning so fast... there must be the quite large deposit here. Nathalie has already knew she has found what she was looking for.

The mage has quickly peeked at her blade. It was as bronze as ever, with not a sign of glowing of any kind. Another peek was directed at the needle in the detector again. It was still spinning. Nathalie was safe, but she knew that the divine power fuelling the drawing she made to know if there is an oni nearby can deplete any moment. That would result in the dagger losing its detecting capabilities. Immediately, she took the chalk from her cloak into her fingers and started to mark the stone altar, that she initially mistook for the table, with an another sign. She didn't even needed to pull out the codex, let alone search inside of it, as she knew that drawing by heart. The few instinctive hand movements later, it was finished. The mage has took out of her pockets around the two dozen. All of them were lustreless, completely devoid of the divine power. In a while, that fact was about to change.

The chalk lines of the drawing were the instructions for the effect to take place. Some of them were pointing out to the specific spot, dedicated for the empty containers that could store the loose divine power. The mage has put the prepared needles there. Unlike the drawing the Nathalie has made before entering the cave, this specific one had set as the fuel source not a crystal, but the surroundings. When it was done, she has put back the piece of chalk back in her pocket.  She has took another vial with her own blood and the crimson drop has fallen onto the white line. The drawing was lightened in that very moment, instantly starting to glow with the intense red colour. Nathalie has looked into the power detector once again. The needle inside of the device was still spinning quickly, but it started noticeably slowing down. The crystals placed near the drawing started having dim brightness inside of them. The ritual was working properly. I could have just take those needles with myself. Since the drawing is lightened it will be working until it will run out of the fuel in this location, even if the target would be moved, she thought and has looked at the crystal in her sleeve. The divine power inside of it was nearly depleted. Soon the blade won't be able to detect anything. For sure not an oni coming back to its own home. Maybe I should hurry. She has checked the power detector. The needle inside of it was slower and slower. It seems it will be done soon. Nathalie felt bad, while reminding herself of the fact that she was taught to not have the device running all the time. After all, it was wasting a bit of the scraps of divinity. She couldn't help her, however. She was feeling mentally comforted by the fact she could monitor the current state, that she could look at the drawing all in the place. She sometimes had the thought that this could bring her doom, but she was keeping doing this anyways. She felt safer that way, even if she was perfectly aware that wasn't much rational.

Nathalie decided to spend last few moments of the power transfer by examining more closely the pace of worship. The subject of her thinking was the topic of to which god the owner was directing the prayers. The oni, the people of Destruction, usually and naturally has worshipped mostly the ones coming from the Destruction Dynasty, particularly the snake-shaped descendants of the Celestial Serpent, referred commonly as "dragons". Nathalie has doubt this would be the case with this specific one. While all gods were pretty different, the dragons rarely paid that many attention to the artistic expressions just like the oni themselves. This was contrasting heavily with the paintings and sculptures she has found all around the altar. Could this oni, despite not being a human, able to Connect with a god from the creation Dynasty? she was wondering in her mind. She suspected this could be possible, after all there were plenty of humans Connecting with the other Dynasties of gods other than Creation, but she didn't know the example of an oni doing similar thing with the god of the less compatible  kind. The next step with this line of thinking was another the question that showed up in the Nathalie's mind: Power of which god am I stealing? No, not really stealing. Just taking. After all, this god will never come for this power. The same as the oni living here. She has knew, however, that both this oni and this god would have quite serious objections concerning her actions right now.

The dagger still wasn't showing any signs of glowing. Nathlie has checked it's power source in her sleeve. It was still not depleted, although that moment was rather close. Her eyes has looked at the detector device again. The needle inside was about to stop in a few seconds. In the moment that happened, the red glowing sign on the altar disappeared completely, leaving not a trace of the chalk it was before the contact with a drop of blood. The only thing visible was the stone altar, looking as if nothing has happened and the crystal needles now seemingly filled with the bright liquid. The glow was so strong that it could possibly be seen in the bright sunlight. The ritual was finished. The drawing has been extinguished and nearly all the divine power present in the area was now stored inside the dozen of the crystal needles. The only exception were those bits used for running the ritual of the power transfer itself and by the detection device. Nathalie knew she was done here. She has grabbed the filled needles in her hand and hidden back her inside the pocket in the inner side of her red coat. She continued to do the similar thing with the detection device. She has checked the sleeve once again. The crystal needle there was now completely lustreless. The dagger was not detecting anything anymore.

With heavy beating of her heart and the quick steps of her feet, Nathalie went back inside of the cave. This time, Nathalie didn't waste her time with getting used to it. Fortunately, she has roughly remembered the insides and just rushed into to the exit. The cool and the darkness  turned out to last only relatively short moment and her skin has felt the warmth of the sunlight once again. After the few more steps her slender fingers were touching the main of her horse who was waiting in the spot for the whole time and her ears were hearing the sound of the raven located in a small cage attached to the saddle. She pulled her red cloak down a bit in order to give her legs wearing fairly tight, light-coloured and long to the ankles trousers, more moveability. One quick movement later and she was already mounted, putting her feet in the sandals on the sides the horse. She has put the dagger and the used needle into her pockets, quickly alerted her steed and went down the path she came from, trying to go back on the road as fast as possible, hoping to never meet the owner of the cave she just visited.

While riding away, she begun to think in more details about what has happened. She wasn't happy that the ritual of the oni detection had not enough fuel, but she also knew very well she could have just slightly earlier. She quickly made peace with that, however. After all, once the drawing would be lightened it would take the power from the designated source until said power would be present there, no matter what. No additional source of power could be added after that moment either. All the measurements of how much there would be needed for the task had to be done beforehand. If she had decided to put too little - whole thing would stop too early, if she had used too much - the surplus would be wasted. In fact, she came to the conclusion that her measurements were quite close to the perfect condition. That said, she knew that the mages knew the way to mitigate those problems, however it required achieving certain stage in the magical arts. Nathalie has checked the hidden pockets of her coat. She has noticed that she might have enough divine power stored to reach the said stage. This thought combined with the rhythmic hoofbeat reaching her ears and the fact that the cave is further and further away has put her mind in the relaxed state. She glanced over the raven in the cage one last time before finally focusing on the next step of her journey - searching for a city.