Hou’yi Sh’e’sh’ou

As the population of the Stone-Dwellers wasn't plentiful and had diminished significantly in AC-CMXCIX, when the Ēvolūtus reached the final generation available before much of the organs and interior of the Stone-Dwellers would be completely erased from the future generations. To allow their children the right not to live as a cripple or worse was only granted to those whose familial generations before them who had had the longest line of ancestry, meaning that the ones who had only eighteen familial generations before them's children weren't likely to be born at all, and even then, born as a shrivelled corpse whose body couldn't cope with the sudden lack of organs. Ones with twenty-seven familial generations before them, however, had a near-guaranteed promise of their children managing to be able to thrive and live—if not even better than most—with no organs and other interior and exterior bodily functions.

Because of this, in AC-CMXCIX, the last year of the Annus Captīvitātis, more than three quarters of the Stone-Dwelling families' bloodlines died out, leaving the already kindling population even smaller.

It was also because of this that abandoned children were extremely rare cases, with most having their parents died in battle against wandering creatures from the depths of Stone.

Because of this, the Cathedral of Hope had only managed to gather the twenty-four children whose parents were dead or had been abandoned by their family.

The cathedral's purpose was not to encourage social interactions from its guests, but to provide food and classes from which the children could learn and prepare for their future, and as a result of this, many who grew up in the cathedral were not well as socialising, and making conversation in general.

Angel, originally having spent most of his time in the city begging and looking pitiful, had no need to talk and make conversation. Later, as he was trying to become more experienced at sneaking, he could not make conversation. And then, after being disappointed in himself and the Stone-Dwellers, he spent all his time in a public library, where he made no move to enter into any conversation that may have been ongoing.

Even when he did speak at all, it was to pray to the Being of the Nights and Days or to buy food from stalls.

As a result of this, when Hou'yi entered the temple, Angel wasn't sure how to react, but because his curiosity had been aroused by the figure, he decided to make conversation.

—————

'What's that half-circle you carry?' Angel looked at the half-circle that lay beside Hou'yi.

Hou'yi, who had been looking at the tapestries carved onto the walls of the temple, turned his gaze towards Angel. 'Hmmm?' He smiled, pointing at the half-circle. 'This is a bow. It is a weapon.'

Angel blinked, still staring at the bow. 'Can I examine it?'

'That, one of Sky, is an acceptable condition, as long as you tell me your name, and what you are doing in this temple, and not with your family.'

'I am Angel of Sky, and my family are dead.'

Hou'yi's gaze seemed to change slightly. 'Angel?'he mused quietly, his eyes narrowing slightly, before it was gone and he smiled. 'I have hunted angels.'

Angel frowned. 'What do angels look like?'

Again Hou'yi seemed slightly taken aback, looking strangely at Angel. 'Angels one of the highest order of the creatures of the depths. They have no colour—it is impossible to see them, since they have no distinguishable form, but you can sense them just as clearly. They are beautiful creatures.' He smiled, almost melancholically. 'When they do not wish to be sensed, nothing can be felt.'

Hou'yi glanced at Angel, and seeing him still listening, continued. 'They were named as such since they are reminiscent of the angels of the Above, impossible to kill, feared, solitary and dangerous in its endeavours. It is a good thing that they—like most of the creatures of the depths—have no interest in meddling with the lives of Stone-Dwellers.'

'You said you hunted angels,'Angel spoke quietly.

A brief pause. 'Yes, I did say that.'

Angel, seeing that Hou'yi didn't seem to wish to say any more, took out his notebook and started to draw the bow, tilting it around in order to get all of its points.

He tried occasionally to figure out what certain parts did, and only for the ones he truly didn't know and couldn't figure out did Angel ask Hou'yi.

He learned that the bow string was meant to be pulled back, and that the nots caused by the action would then transfer to the arrow as metallic-nots, which then caused the arrow to fly through the air.

Hou'yi had also explained that proper position was very essential in being able to properly fire an arrow, and that although it wasn't as important as it had been in the Above, it still was an important part of how successful your draw would be.

'This is Chang'e,'Hou'yi explained fondly, gently touching the bow. 'She's a Kai'yuan'gong.'

'What is that?'Angel asked curiously, putting this down in his notebook as well.

Hou'yi smiled slightly. 'That's a type of bow.' Then, looking at how Angel spelled it, he frowned slightly and politely borrowed the pen, writing down the actual spelling.

Angel smiled, his black eyes seeming to gleam. 'That's a beautiful name, Hou'yi.'

'Thank you, Angel.' The man hesitated slightly, then said carefully: 'May I look at your notebook?'

Angel nodded. 'Of course. I don't mind.'

Hou'yi seemed relieved and taking the notebook from Angel, he started reading through it.

After a while Angel realised that he was apparently still reading, so he turned to Chang'e and once again started examining the beautiful bow.