Chikei

The Heart of the Forest is a place where secrets are told through the flavour of a meal, not whispered in shadow. It’s why Chikei chose to stay. They sit beneath the amber-leaved trees, motionless behind their masks, cane resting across their lap. Locals assume they are a quiet pilgrim, perhaps asleep. But their hands, hidden from view, are always working, carving tiny, intricate animals from fallen twigs. It is a calming, tangible practice they began after untangling the web of illusions spun by Azamuku. The deceiver’s magic was a maze of lies meant to consume souls; the grain of wood is honest. Chikei carves the truth into something solid, a silent rebuttal to a world of phantoms.