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The Dazan Short Story

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Trapped between what sounded like a bickering couple, Derek tried thinking over how to say this next part. He knew how to speak Drailian, but gender came off as a tricky subject with humans. He didn’t speak up about it because he didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but he also didn’t want to hurt Roana either.
Up this close, he saw a bit of facial hair sprouting down the woman’s neck.
“Roana,” Derek asked, “do you want me to use girl pronouns or boy pronouns on you?”
The two castle workers froze mid-walk. Roana’s smile wilted, her eyes screaming that the subject be changed. Nero, holding onto the hilt of his sword, looked over the railing for the priest to see if he’d heard what Derek had just asked.
Roana pushed up her slipping …show more content…

Derek didn’t get it. According to the King and Queen, marriages were celebrated as accomplishments.
Coming back to life with Nero’s touch, Roana pushed her ponytail to her shoulder and asked, “What’re you looking for exactly?”
“Let’s start with a map. That would have the least words on it. I can get a feel for the world that way.”
Well, we have a map for every district in the Kingdom. Would you like to start off here?”
Derek went to pick up a new atlas when he paused. “What did you say?”
“This section is for the mountains, and this one is for freshwater lakes.”
Touching his empty pants pocket, Derek looked out the window to the lush trees, the forest, and the strange mountains that, if he blurred his eyes, looked like a giant wall slashing across the countryside.
Every district in the Kingdom.
District.
The District of something.
The District of…
Next to the window hung a giant map half-covered in shadows. It drew out the entire world of Drail. The castle sat at the bottom and the Kavka Mountains dotted the top. Open spaces marked towns and farmlands, but other than them and the ocean, nothing else made up the small world.
“Did the artist forget to draw the rest? Where does the ocean go?” Derek asked.
“Go?” Roana asked. “Do you not know?”
“Do I not know what?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I meant about God’s Barrier Do you know it?”
Derek’s eye widened. No. Not the right word, but something close to it. “What is it?”
“God’s Barrier keeps us in

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