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"I have a bad habit of playing God"

Juan belonged in Jaya if he was being honest. It of course wouldn’t be a long term residence for him (no place could serve that purpose for the free spirited nomad) but it definitely suited him. It was one island that had been split by the knock up stream, just as his crew had been split by the storm that separated them. It was sort of fitting, him being sent to a split up island after being split up from his friends, and that truth was not unknown by Juan. ”Jaya, you’re split up just like I am. Maybe I’ll stay here a bit longer and make your part of the map more detailed than I normally would.” He spoke directly to the island, getting down on one knee and touching the soil beneath him as he spoke.

Juan would then stand up, and after brushing the dirt from the front of his robes, he’d begin walking. In addition to being a split up island, Jaya also had logical reason for wanting to get accustomed to the island of Jaya. It’s port town ‘Mock Town’ was rumored to be the only area from which a mythical sky island was accessible. With that in mind, Juan wandered the town aimlessly, occasionally talking to locals but not really focusing on finding the way to the Sky Island. ”Things have a way of working themselves out. Whatever I’m meant to find, I will find, Juan would tell himself whenever the thought of actually focusing on finding the island crossed his mind.

As Juan looked around the island though, that nagging thought became louder and more annoying. Not finding a place he desperately wanted to put on his map was enough to bother even the typically stoic winged man. ’I cannot allow myself to become upset,’ he thought to himself. And so, as he stopped his walk through a crowded area of the town, the young man sank to his knees and began to meditate. The crowd parted around him instantly, people taking extra care to avoid bumping into the strange man who rested on his knees in the middle of a crowd. Mothers covered their children’s eyes, not wanting them to imitate his behavior or think it normal. Juan was unaware of them though. His mind was blank as he tried to balance his emotions. Pretty much any normal source or noise or distraction was brushed off, but as he sat there on his knees in public, he was struck by a strange feeling. Someone was watching him.

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"I have a bad habit of playing God"

Of course he was being watched! He was sitting on his knees in the middle of a previously crowded area. Juan tried to shake off the strange feeling and continue his balancing ritual but even as people avoided the area and averted their gazes, the feeling of eyes on him refused to leave Juan. This feeling was now all Juan could focus on, and he was now trying to locate the source without opening his eyes. It was difficult, as Juan didn't have any sort of extrasensory perception, just focus and intuition, but when his eyes suddenly snapped open and his head whipped to his right he locked gazes with a figure in the distance. About 15 meters away there was a seemingly male figure staring intently at Juan. This locking of gazes only lasted about 10 seconds though, because once Juan had locked eyes with the man he rose to his feet, before taking a step towards the figure.

As soon as Juan's foot went towards him though, the man ducked away into the masses of people that had resumed travel once Juan had stopped kneeling. Curious of the man's observation of him, Juan took to the skies. His white wings launched him 15 feet into the air almost instantly, allowing him to get a clear view of where the other man had been. Flying over there, Juan noticed the man up close and was able to notice how truly strange the man looked. He was wearing a long cloak, and appeared to be quite built based on how well he filled out his cloak. On his face, the man wore a golden mask with the face of a bird, except there was a long nose instead of a beak.

Once the man realized that Juan was moving towards him, he took off. The man was fast, that much Juan was sure of. Even as Juan was able to keep pace with the man's sprint by flying, the speed the man was moving meant Juan would be unable to catch him if he lost speed trying to dive down to grab the man. After about 5 seconds of chasing him down though, the issue solved itself when the man slowed down to a jog and began to remove his cloak. The removal of the cloak started a whole different problem for Juan though, as the removal strange man's cloak freed a set of small wings on his back. These wings were much smaller than the typical set of wings, able to be hidden comfortably under a jacket or, like the man had done, under a cloak. "There's no way he can fly with wings that small," Juan actually stopped flying as he was so confused by what the man would do next. "It's just not possible." Juan was about to learn though, that the strange man didn't care what Juan thought was impossible. Before Juan's very eyes, the man's wings began to flap, carrying him into the air and away from Juan. Though he was momentarily stunned, Juan quickly shook off his disbelief and continued to chase the strange masked man.

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As Juan chased the man with small wings, his mind began to fill with questions,"Why was he following me? He has wings just like I do, is that why he was watching me? Could he be connected with that Sky Island? Should I really be following him?" At least his last question had an answer. He definitely needed to be following this guy, especially considering the question before it. If this winged guy had anything to do with the Sky Island then Juan wouldn't allow himself to just let him get away. Thankfully, the difference in the sizes of their wings allowed Juan to move faster than the other winged man and eventually catch up to him. Once the man realized that there was no chance of losing Juan, he gave up and just decided to land himself in an alleyway in a secluded part of the town.

"Finally, now i can just talk to this guy," Juan said to himself. Once Juan landed next to the other man he would begin to speak to him, wanting to let the other man know he was peaceful before the situation could escalate. "Hey! I'm Juan. You're pretty fast, I wouldn't want any problems with y-" Juan wouldn't even get to finish his thought before a group of winged men dressed similarly to the one Juan had chased down stepped out of the alley in front of him. There were 5 men in front of Juan now, 3 of which were pointing rifles directly at his head.

Juan's face dropped. Not only had he foolishly followed this man into an ambush, but he'd allowed himself to be put into a position where his life was in danger. Juan could feel the anger bubbling up within him, and knowing there was no way these guys would just let him get down and meditate, he decided to try and reason with them,"Guys, do we really need to resort to violence? Whatever problems you think we have can just be talked out and resolved i assure you.

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"I have a bad habit of playing God"

Surrounded by a group of unknown men in masks, with three rifles pointed directly at him, a normal person would be nervous. And this was one of the few situations where Juan would be considered normal. "Guys, we dont need to fight. Whatever issue there is here could be solved with words, trust me. We don't need violence." Visibly sweating, Juan hoped that he would be allowed to live. He had too much to do, too many places to see to be killed here. The men with the rifles looked over to the man who had been watching Juan. 'That guy must be their leader or something,' Juan observed. The leader guy looked into Juan's eyes, and staring deeply into his soul said,"Our winged brother lives," Juan allowed his legs to relax at this, after he had tensed them up in preparation for his escape maneuver. "If he is willing to learn our way that is. Another winged brother following the path of enlightenment would be immensely beneficial to the cause, and i'd really prefer to end the encounter without bloodshed." Having directed the last statement to his own men, he waited for them to lower their weapons before speaking to Juan directly,"So, what say you brother? Are you willing to walk the path of enlightenment with me?" Taking a moment to process things, the young man happily extended a hand towards the leader,"I'm always down to go on a new adventure," he said aloud,'Though it's not like i really have a choice, its either their "path of enlightenment" or death, and I choose life' The leader grinned and shook Juan's hand eagerly,"Nice to have you onboard, I love the chance to bring fresh faces into our group, and I love helping them find enlightenment."

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"I have a bad habit of playing God"

The small party of winged men walked into the alley from which the armed group of men had emerged earlier. 'A shady group based out of an alley, looks like I decided to join the right group after all,' Juan thought sarcastically.  His doubts turned out to be for nothing though, because as the group of men walked deeper and deeper into the dark alley, Juan noticed that it was MUCH longer than a typical alleyway. "So, this is your headquarters? An extremely long dark alley?" Though Juan couldn't see in the dark, he could almost feel the dirty looks from the winged men. The leader however, burst out laughing, before he stopped in front of Juan and held out a hand,"No, this is." Before Juan's very eyes the dark alley was lit up by an insane amount of wall mounted torches, revealing a massive golden temple within the alley. "Woah, this is not what is was expecting. The smug looks on the faces of all the winged men aside from the leader made the experience a bit less amazing, but Juan could not deny that the temple was incredible. The golden floor seemed to stretch hundreds of yards in all directions around him, and with golden walls behind massive golden pillars leading up 20 meters before ending in front of the open sky, this temple was the sort of place even a free spirit like Juan could call a home. Juan's jaw dropped, and he didn't raise it as he took in all the sights of the temple until the leader spoke to him,"I see you enjoy the sight of our temple, I hope the setting is able to inspire you to commit to your duties. "Woah, I know we agreed that I would join you guys, but I feel like things are moving a little too quick. I don't even know who you guys are or exactly what you do." Earlier when Juan was at gun point he was willing to say whatever would get him out alive, but now that he wasn't in danger he could begin to think rationally. "You're right, my name is Kaiyo, and we are the children of the sun. We are a group of devoted worshipers of the sun god.The sun is the source of all life, and we believe that through our devotion and worship we contribute to the sun's continued assistance of mankind."

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After Kaiyo's speech, Juan's mind was filled with questions. 'What kind of insane guys have I gotten involved with? What's my next move here? Should I just go along with them at least until I figure out what's going on? Before Juan could even finish processing what was going on around him, Kaiyo continued to speak,"So, what do you say Juan, you going to be joining us? Or will we have to find another new recruit? Juan had no clue what happened to members who refused to join this group, and he had no interest in being the next person to go through whatever happened to those who refused to worship with them. "I'm in," he told them. "Wonderful!Kaiyo exclaimed,"Now that you've agreed to join us, its time to get you initiated.

The small party walked deeper into the temple, towards what Juan could only assume was some sort of meeting place. As they walked though, they approached a room with an opened door from which Juan could hear loud screams of pain and the sounds of crackling flames. As they finally passed the room, Juan could see what appeared to be the body of a man, only it was wrapped in oily rags, and it was being lowered into a pit of flames. "Don't worry about whats in there brother Juan, Kaiyo said as he closed the door,"That room is for non believers only, and I hope you won't ever have to go in there." And with that, Kaiyo walked the completely appalled Juan towards their original destination.